Bruiser Chong

excuse me? mainstream trash ---> clipse? theres nothing mainstream or formulaic about the clipse album. nothing. except maybe that the neptunes produced. but there production was inspired equally by underground house djs and hip hop. and what is natas? If you knew who they were, you'd know that his statement voids any credibility on what he considers to be trash.

A lot of the big upcoming hip-hop albums leaked already and Ghostface's out-of-nowhere More Fish is one of them. A number of these are leftover from Fishscale, so if you liked the production there, you'll dig this. A lot of the tracks have an old-school feel to them. Admittedly, this feels a lot more like a Theodore Unit album than a straight solo shot, since Ghost's son, Sun God, and Trife Da God are featured on a great deal of the album's 17 tracks. The early winners to me are: - Miguel Sanchez - Guns N' Razors - Street Opera - Blue Armor - You Know I'm No Good I will say that "Greedy Bitches" may rival "Tush" for Ghost's most embarrassing track. Maybe not as bad, but some of the lyrics are just so...not Ghostface. At any rate, Ghost has another solid offering here. BB's going to have it for a 10-spot the week it officially drops, so go out and support the guy.

I doubt they leapfrog anyone. I wouldn't want to sign with them in a weak division, but the way things are shaping up, the other four teams in that division have the groundwork laid to be good/great for years to come.

Liquid Swords is going to appeal more to someone whose interest lies in lyrical content and/or a truly barebones production style. I've always thought GZA to be the most talented emcee to emerge from the Wu, but Ghostface is the most entertaining. As mentioned, Ironman is universally considered his strongest solo effort. You can't really go wrong with much from that album. I'd say that anything but Bulletproof Wallets is worth checking out, but here are some tracks I'd suggest giving a listen to (Ironman excluded): - Mighty Healthy (Supreme Clientele) - One (SC) - Metal Lungies (The Pretty Toney Album) - Save Me Dear (PTA) - Holla (PTA) - Be This Way (PTA) - Run (PTA) - Shakey Dog (Fishscale) - Kilo (FS) - The Champ (FS) - 9 Mili Bros. (FS) - Momma (FS) And like v.2 mentioned, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx feels like a Ghostface album at times, so check that out. Then of course, there's various Wu-Tang tracks; "I Can't Go to Sleep" is a solid one featuring Ghostface. All of that should give you an idea of whether you dig him or not.

The Royals' quest for a fourth-place finish continues, as they ink Octavio Dotel to a one-year, $5 million deal. I know it's tough for me to speak not being in the position, but I think it'd be tough to play for such a terrible team, even considering the money.

Apparently the Garland deal isn't official yet. In minor news, the Cubs have reportedly signed Daryl Ward to a one-year deal. He'll ideally be a bat off the bench. He's one of those players who seemed to have enough pop in his bat that he was always on the fence between a regular and bench guy, so I like the signing. He'll certainly be an upgrade over John Mabry.

As for the Cubs, hey great, they're spending money. They can't be accused of being cheap. Problem is, they're the biggest spenders on the most overpriced FA market I can remember.

The biggest trade of the off-season: "Orioles acquired infielder-outfielder Freddie Bynum from the Cubs for a player to be named."

I'd hate to be a Giants fan, too. A three-year deal for a guy who was having drawing interest for any kind of contract?

As a fairly serious eBay seller, I'll say that feedback is one of the most annoying hassles that comes with the territory. When I first started out, I wanted and expected feedback for every transaction. I'd pester sellers and buyers for it until it was left. Then I got the point where I either felt I had enough or just realized that feedback is and always has been OPTIONAL. Second, if you're a buyer, are you buying the item or the feedback? If you get your item and are happy, then shut the heck up about some stupid feedback that ultimately, means very little. A lot of sellers will not leave feedback first because if they get negged, they will neg back. I see the reasoning, although it seems pretty childish in response to a childish act. I typically leave feedback first regardless, but do so once every few weeks. I hate, hate, hate people emailing me with "reminders" to leave them feedback, even though I state my FB policy. It becomes a bother and ultimately, those are the cases where I'll take longer to leave feedback than in others. Point is, feedback really isn't that important and after you hit a certain number, it's clear you're either a good seller or buyer and the rest is just vanity. Be happy you got your items and go worry about something of actual importance.

Anyone who likes this should track down a track that somehow didn't make the cut called "D Boy." Awesome shit that samples Jeru the Damaja's "Come Clean."

Nothing both ways, which is a first. Gonna be a weird holiday.

If going by street dates, we got two return albums in the span of a week. One got it right; the other did not. I wasn't hating on Jay's album as much as you guys were, but stacking it up against the duo from VA's, it looks like a pile of shit. I loved Lord Willin' and had to accept "Pussy," their pair of mixtapes and freestyles to bridge the four year gap between albums. It was worth it. The Neptunes, who I've been giving crap to for being so stagnant, have proven me wrong. That or they just have amazing chemistry with Clipse. The bulk of the production is a bit more barebones than I've come to expect from The Neptunes, but it doesn't lose any of its luster. In fact, I'd say it compliments Clipse's slow, but authoratative delivery. Whatever the case, this is one album that doesn't have a single track on it that screams, "PLAY ME ON THE RADIO!" It's refreshing to get a fairly big release that bucks the trend and doesn't take a stab at having a handful of radio-friendly tracks. Give it up for Clipse. Let's hope they get the respect they've deserved since Lord Willin'.

I dig Hell Rell.

You'd be surprised how many tacos you can get for $100 million.

Shouldn't the O's be more concerned about getting pitching, anyway?

Lee for six years with Houston is apparently all but a done deal. He's the kind of player I can envision breaking down within a few years, but considering the Astros need for offense and the crazy figures mediocre players are grabbing this offseason, it probably won't be a bad signing.

It took less than 24 hours for someone to look dumber than the Cubs.

The Cubs are reportedly interested in Cliff Floyd. While I applaud them for finally spending, someone needs to inform they need to quit acting like the impressionable kid with their birthday money.

The Cubs are hopeless.

OMG CROSSTOWN DEAL~ Cubs get: Neal Cotts White Sox get: David Aardsma and Carls Vasquez Not sure how to view this. On the one hand, the Cubs get a good lefty, even though they're already paying millions to Scott Eyre for that. On the other, Aardsma was excellent a lot of the time last year and had the makings of a closer. But then again, don't all young Cubs relievers? Except Cliff Bartosh.

Does this mean the Ronny Cedeno experiment's over then?

In the span of two years, I've gone from one of those people who will put his checking account into legit jeopardy just to stockpile DVDs to one of those guys who just shakes his head at people like that. I've finally built my checking account back up (not easy for someone paying their way through college) and am only picking up a couple TV sets during the sale.

Aramis Ramirez wants a six-year deal. He's great offensively, although his inability to be there when the team really needed him made him look more like a great complimentary player. But he sucks defensively and has injury problems.

I'm not sure Drew is worth that kind of coin, but all things considered, I'd rather see the Cubs get him over Soriano and perhaps Carlos Lee. That said, I don't suspect the Cubs net any of those guys, since they'll cost a lot. I'm envisioning a platoon of Todd Hollandsworth and Jeromy Burnitz. That way, we can go out and sign Juan Pierre to a multi-year deal so he can continue being a fabulous leadoff man with a .330 OBP and no power. Truth be told, I'd rather see them focus on re-signing Ramirez if the price isn't THAT outrageous. I know it's going to be overspending, but better they do it on him than Soriano. Forget about Juan Pierre and go get Dave Roberts. I can't see any advantage has over Roberts, other than his a few years younger. Roberts will play a better centerfield, can hit leadoff, has some pop, steals bases with accuracy, and walks. And he's cheaper. My fear with signing either Soriano or Lee (besides the obvious) is that it means discarding Matt Murton. I know he doesn't hit for enough power, but his second half stats were awfully impressive and I think that he'll continue to grow into a good hitter with some decent pop. The real problem is up the middle, where we're saddled is Isturiz and who the hell knows what's going on with second base. The Cubs have disillusions of competing next year, but they're gonna have to spend a lot just to keep the pile of poo squad they fielded last season.