Rendclaw

I agree. Washington is a much bigger headache for the Pistons that the Cavs are with LeBron learning on the job, as it were. D'Antoni should have a long discussion with Avery Johnson about instilling a defensive mindset into a team. That being said, if the Lakers win this series, it is not going to end in Game 5. Game 6, mayyybe.

Exactly. I'm more concerned about Rip Hamilton because while he did a bang-up job on Redd defensively, he has been in an offensive slump since before the playoffs started, and having a not-so-good left ankle does not help matters. He is missing a lot of free throws, and shots that he could make in his sleep are much harder. Credit some of that to the Bucks making life more difficult, but its still an area of concern for me. That win by Chicago Sunday is looming larger than ever now, because the Heat have to put together winning back-to-back games, and I don;t think they can right now. They're way inconsistent, and the fact that Chicago took everything they had in the first for four games and are still in Miami's face speaks as much for the negatives that they have as the positives that Chicago possesses. The Heat will prolly win in seven, simply because Chicago is still too young and are prone to making the same young team mistakes that the Heat only sometimes capitalize upon.

I think that the Pistons will get it done tonight, not for lack of trying by the Bucks. And then they'll get crushed at the Palace, and the Pistons can laugh while the rest of the Eastern Conference beats the shit out of each other...

Exactly. Even if its a minor sprain, it hurts like fucking hell for a time. Back in 1993 while playing basketball, I came down on someone's foot and sprained my ankle very badly (you know, the kind where you feel and hear a loud POP when it happens). I couldn;t walk for almost a week and was limping around for about two months. I have always had weak ankles ever since I was a kid, and it doesn;t take much to sprain them, sometimes even just stepping wrong. I felt sympathy for Chandler when it happened, because I know what that's like. Making millions of dollars and being a pro athlete doesn't automatically mean that you become more or less of a man because of it. Different people react differently to pain. Some can suck it up, some can't. Whatever.

No Doubt was doomed from the moment they put a camera on Gwen. The Don't Speak video was dead on perfect in expressing it.

Damn. Now thats some cosplay for your ass.

I can't argue for the simple reason that Amare went down and the Suns got better. Like Tim Duncan was back in '03, this is the "safe" pick for MVP. LeBron isn't there just yet. A year, two at the most if he develops a killer instinct. As far as Chauncey, the fact that he has such a great team around him actually hurt his chances to win it.

I got hooked on Burnout 3 when I went to Idaho for a few days this month, so I bought it. Fun stuff, even though the roundabout way you have to unlock all the tracks is a little annoying. Nothing beats doing a Road Rage race while Ozzy's "Secret Loser" plays in the background. Reminds of the opening race scene in that cheeseball classic, "The Wraith". I just love my custom soundtrack. And just on a lark I bought Capcom Vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millenium 2001. Thats pretty fun, though I need to download a full roster/special move faq.

Practice, practice, practice. Its the only way you can master the techniques. Its what practice mode is for. My problem is, just like with the real instrument, I am too much of a perfectionist and I get frustrated quickly. Alternate picking is necessary to get past Medium level. Each progressive level focuses on a particular technique.

I actually enjoyed survival mode. Not everything has to have a reward. I played Pocket Fighter in the arcade, and I had to stop because I was laughing too hard to make any real progress. No one is excited about having the compilation, even though I will most likely buy it. Capcom descended into Crapcom awhile ago, so is it that shocking that things have turned out the way they have? And Anya, if you play fighting games almost exclusively, you're going to get burnt out at some point. I stopped because I rather would spend my money on more worthwhile pursuits than blowing it in the arcade. That was right around 28 for me, especially when the Fun Machines in Orlando all shut down. Hell, when I go to Pinball Pete's here in Ann Arbor I usually play the classic games rather than the new ones, because I simply do not have the time, energy, or the patience to devote to mastering them, especially when you have some 15-22 year old hotshot whose live revolves completely around the damn game not having courtesy to respect you telling him no when he asks to play against you, and proceeds to blow you off the machine to assuage his fragile ego. A sign of my advancing age to be sure, but there it is.

That, or a chili dog, complete with bun.. ye fucking gods.

I think Regal has those trademarked. I wasn;t impressed by this past episode, because the more shit Ross talked the more I knew that he was going to get beaten, and badly beaten at that. I'm just not feeling this season. While I am personally glad that the "truce" happened (because as I said before, it was taking away from the true purpose of the show), no one on either team with the possible exception of Herman (and he hasn;t done much to this point, it seems that its all rep at this time) really captures my interest. After watching some of Unleashed, it was amazing to me just how bad the production value was in the beginning. and I hate to say it because to some this might be sacriledge, but watching Royce Gracie fight was rather boring to me. I'm glad that BJJ, while highly effective, is just one of the techniques that some fighters learn, and not the be-all end-all that it was back in the beginning. Any of you guys in the know care to tell me why that is?

Considering he's the first coach to get the Mavs to actually play defense, I can;t argue that selection at all. I knew from that moment he got in David Robinson's face that he was going to make a good coach. I think that Denver is going to get swept on their home floor. That one shot of Carmelo hanging his head in the 2nd quarter spoke volumes.

Stan Hansen is the *man*... even when he was just a gimmick in the WWF back then.

Pistons roll after giving up a 19 point lead and then getting it right back after some Bucks started talking shit when it was a 4 point game. To me, it seems that is a major knock on the bucks: They're a young, talented team with a lights-out shooter in Michael Redd, but they act like they have a title or two under their belts when in actuality they haven;t won a damned thing, much less a playoff series against the Pistons in at least the last three years. I don't even want to hear about a "NBA wants a Kobe/Shaq Finals". I hate conspiracy theories. The Suns are going to take the Lakers out, and the Heat are going to struggle through the playoffs until the Pistons take them out in the Finals. Nuff Said.

I'm mixed about it myself. While I love Trek movies, they really misstepped with Nemesis. I was thinking that a DS9 movie would have been a better bet, but I have to agree about Trek needing a serious break. Not to mention that Paramount is trying to carve more meat off that dying carcass every chance they get. The DVD box sets are still over $100 apiece, and now they;re coming out with compilations of classic, TNG, DS9, and Voyager episodes based on a theme. They know that they have their fans by the short and curlies.

And for the love of God, why would you listen to Plaschke? About anything??

You're cool by me, Porter, but you seriously need to put the crack pipe down. Miami and New Jersey are the only teams with a legitimate shot on knocking out the Pistons. The Bulls are still too young to make any serious noise in the playoffs, and they need a legit center to do it, besides.

Tell that to my sister. She's 6'5".

Not bad.... one would *have* to have a good-sized rack to pull off She-Ra.

Good news, says I. I was into this the moment it aired. I keep waiting for the inevitable bitch-slapping Nicki is going to get.

Wow.... all of the things that I wanted in the sequel are coming out. These guys have a vision, thats for sure. Big, those songs *should* kick your ass. Then again I'm stuck on medium, so I don;t have any room to talk.

That would take one hell of a collapse by the Clippers... I'm fine with the Spurs getting the Lakers in the first round, because that means that the Spurs will advance in six, tops. I can;t see the Lakers going any further than that with the squad they have. Kobe would have to average at least 50 a game just to give them a chance and with Bowen guarding him, I doubt that is going to happen. 30, sure. 40, maybe. And Rip, stop worrying about the "Brad Miller curse", or whatever the hell it is. I would worry more about Artest.

I left for work after the first quarter was over and the Pacers had a one-point lead. I felt fairly confident that no matter how horrible Stephen Jackson played, the game would be a close one and would make me feel a little better about this team, even if we didn't win...then I stop in BW3's after work to see that we ended up losing by 25. The Pistons shoot *eight* free throws for the game to our 28, and win by 25 points. Inexcusable, I don't care how good the Pistons are. Just a horrible effort all around. Even Peja had a bad game, the number of which can be counted on one hand since the trade. I hate to keep harping on this, but that Harrington trade is looking worse with every game. What makes it worse is Jackson refusing to acknowledge how horrible he's been as of late. Stephen Jackson just sucks. There's no way to sugarcoat that. He's another example of a player who had a decent year and cashed in with another team, only to go right into the toilet.

Personally, they're playing up the Tito-Shamrock feud a little TOO much. What kind of crap is that Tito and Ken not wanting to be in the same building to analyze the fighters?? I was afraid from the start that it was going to be more about Ken's and Tito's dislike for each other than it was going to be about who the best fighter is in each weight class, and after that first episode, it seems that its going to go that way.