Saturday, January 31, 2009

Friday, January 30, 2009

Superbowl - Who will win? Lets look to the WAG's

Superbowl 43 is this Sunday. Its an "epic" battle between the Steelers and Cardinals. One which I can't even begin to predict an outcome. So instead of trying to use facts to choose a winner I figured we'd look to the Wives and Girlfriends of the starting Quarterbacks to make our choice. Below you will see Rumoured girlfriend of Ben
Ben Roethlisberger Missy Peregrym and also Kurt Warner and his wife Brenda (even her name is ugly).

Anyway as you can see White Chocolate Blog is predicting a HUGE WIN for the Steelers.

Missy Peregrym (Girlfriend of Ben Roethlisberger)



Brenda Warner

Photo of the Day - There are no words

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Old School Video of the Week



"Cherchez La Ghost" - Ghostface Killah
(Got this from Kanye's blog)

Side Boob of the Day - Sarah Stage

Swag of the Day - First look at 2009 NBA Rookie Sophomore game Jerseys




I don't care if this 18 yr old kid designed these....they are AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!

Youtube of the Day - Superbowl 43 I LOVE BODYPAINT

Underboob of the Week - Tarney Halle

Photo of the Day - Rehab looks TOUGH!




They said Tom Brady was rehabbing his surgically repaired knee hard but I had NO IDEA! This looks tough. Its great to see Giselle Bundchand helping him out. That's what a good wife should do.

Raptors Recap - The "Skin of their Teeth" Edition

The game last night in New Jersey was as close to a must win game as you can get before the all-star break. If this team has any sort of shot at a playoff spot they had to get that game last night. Back healthy and with the backup PG spot sorted out this team is poised to go on a run.

However the Nets had other plans. Toronto weathered the storm and somehow got the win last night. They withstood 16 first quarter points from Vince Carter, who hit 4 three's in the quarter. They withstood another huge late game run by the nets and narrowly escaped defeat when Devin Harris missed a WIDE open jumper after breaking Joey Graham's ankles. A couple things struck me as odd on the play however. Harris had 20 seconds and the ball and waited until about 7-8 seconds were left to make his move. Also Laurence Frank didn't call a timeout to run a play. Sure they got a good shot but I honestly think the Raptors stole one last night.

How'd they do it? Anthony Parkery and Jose Calderon that's how. I don't know whats gotten into Ap but since being slotted in to backup Jose he has been on fire. I think that ANY notion the Raptors may have had to trade him and his expiring contract before the Feb 19th deadline have to be forgotten. This team needs him.
Calderon was awesome again running the point posting another double double.

Bargnani had an off night and I think we can contribute that to him trimming that beard of his.

JO has been ok off the bench. He needs to find his legs though. I can't see the Heat making a deal for him or anyone until much closer to the deadline. The Heat are going pretty good right now and I think they want to see where they are playoff wise before making a deal.

The Raptors have another must win tomorrow at home against the BUcks and hopefully can parley that into maybe a 2-2 record once they face the magic,cavs, lakers and hornets starting Sunday.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Totally Random



David Stern at Rucker Park in Harlem...rocking a Terror Squad chain?!
(thanks to Sean Francois for this one!)

youtube of the day 2 - I DARE you to find a better gameshow clip

Sideboob of the Day - Alicia Whitton

Youtube of the day - Crying Giants fan

Photo of the Day - That girls got a big Corn Hold

Monday, January 26, 2009

Youtube of the day - Steve Nash PROBABLY should have gotten out of the way

Side boob/Hand Bra of the Day - Jessice-Jane Clement

Raptors Recap - The "two in a row" edition

The raptors had a nice weekend beating the Bulls with a 20-4 run in the last 6 min of the game Friday in Chicago. They then took care of business at home yesterday against a truly awful Kings club.

The Raptors welcomed back Jose Calderon who lit it up against the Bulls and Kings. It doesn't look like he missed even a game. Andrea Bargnani continues to impress me. He has really settled into the roll as the starting center and is shooting the ball better than I can ever remember. He's getting to the rim as well and yesterday got to the free throw line 10 times. Chris Bosh seems to have returned to his early season form as well. JO was also quite good off the bench yesterday with a double double.

Its nice to see Triano give Jamario the quick hook for missing defensive assignments. Moon has been pulled early into quarters in the past 2 in favor of Joey Graham who has played well. AP has also found his game since being moved to fill in the backup PG spot. He seems to have a little more pep in his step and has done a really nice job handling the backup duties.

I really hope this is a sign of things to come for this team. If they can get the next 2 they'll have some confidence going into the game against the Magic on Sunday.

The trade for Shawn Marion still looms large over this team and I expect if JO continues play well I expect the deal to go down sometime this week.

The thing that a lot of people don't realize about the cap space that Marion's contract provides is that they don't have to use it to sign a free agent. Under league rules a team that is under the salary cap can make a trade for a player of that value without taking back the same value in a contract. There will be teams looking to shed players this offseason and BC can either sign up a free agent or make a trade to get what they need.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

Hand Bra of the Day - Sarah Dunn

Sideboob of the Day - Sarah Dunn

Britney Spears - All of the boys and all of the girls are beggin to "if you seek amy"

Britney Spears newest single "If you Seek Amy" is creating some buzz for its sneaky title and chorus.

In the song she blatantly states that that everyone wants to "If you seek amy". Which when said/sung quickly sounds like everyone wants to "F" her. which is probably true.

The song is actually quite clever and I hope radio stations will play it. Although I doubt they will without an edit that will likely ruin the song. Check it out here and judge for yourself. Should it be played unedited on radio? (chorus is at about the 45 second mark)

Raptors Game Day- All you need is cap space



The Raptors finish their road trip tonight in Chicago against the Bulls.

Rumours are still floating that a deal for O'neil to the Heat for Marion is close as teams exchanged medical records for the players yesterday.

I think that this deal is still likely to go down if O'neil shows in the next 2-3 games that he's healthy.

The deal basically means the Raptors rent Marion for the rest of the season and then have his whopping 17.5 million dollar contract to use to fix this team in the off season.

People are starting to get on Colangelo's back here in Toronto and I've started wondering why. Despite his off season gamble on O'neil he has still turned this team around. Sure they have underachieved this season but so have numerous other teams that made bold moves such as Philly.

Colangelo is still the guy with the reputation and 2 executive of the year awards. So I say to everyone in the city, just cool it. There is NOBODY else out there that can turn this team around. NOBODY.

I remember back to the 2006 season when they dropped Jalen Rose's contract and BC came into town with a tonne of cap space and turned this team around in much less time than anyone thought. Heck they won a Divison championship the following season!

I have no doubt that he can stretch the almighty dollar to get the right players and the right coach in here to make this team relevant again. Remember, he still has a franchise player in Bosh. An all star caliber point guard in Calderon. Andrea Bargnani is finally playing up to expectations AND he'll have a decent 1st round pick. That's a pretty good nucleus to build around.

Its not going to take much. All he needs is Marion's expiring contract and he'll get it done. Have Faith!

Street Sign of the Day




Romanian Street sign. Hmm I think its slippery Be careful!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

There's a Lingerie Football League? Why didn't anyone tell me!!!!



I CANNOT belive this is the first I'm hearing of this 8 team league!

This is amazing. Why isn't this on TV every weekend instead of Poker?

Swag of the Day - Barack Obama Action figures









Collect the whole set here

Youtube of the Day - The Obama's do WHAT TOGETHER?

Raptors Recap - The "I hate TSN2" edition

The game was on TSN2 again last night. I caught part of it on the radio and part of it I streamed online.

I surmised a couple things from what I heard/saw. The first being that this team is lacking any sort of confidence. They were in it for the first half like they have been all season. Then the third quarter came and you could almost just see it on the Raptors faces that they were going to give it away which they did.

Tayshaun Prince killed the Raptors in the 3rd scoring 12 of his 25 points. It is so frustrating to watch an opposing wing player DESTROY these guys night in and night out.

Thankfully it appears as though the JO to Miami for Marion deal is almost done.

The other thing I noticed is that the Raptors tried going big again and it didn't work. Playing Bosh, O'Neil and Bargnani is not the answer for this team. Especially against a team like the pistons that can just KILL You from everywhere on the floor.

I can't remember the last time a Raptors team lost 7 games in a row. As if that wasn't enough to upset you this morning, news that Kris Humphries fractured his right fibula and will be out weeks and maybe even months adds just a little more salt in the wounds.

Lets get this trade over with. Rebuild the team THIS offseason with the cap space and see where they can go next year. Use the rest of this season to bring guys like Ukic and Bargnani along.

One never knows what can happen. They could go on a streak and win 4 or 5 in a row and get back into race.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Raptors Game Day - A plan to fix the Raptors?



Raps take on the Pistons tonight. The match up has got me to thinking/dreaming about scenario's for the Raptors.

As we all know the raptors are in desperate need of a go to scorer. The Pistons made an early season deal to bring in Allen Iverson and his expiring contract. They aren't likely to resign him and he isn't likely to get a max deal similar to the one he has now.

IF the O'neil for Marion deal goes down (which with each passing day looks less and less likely) the Raptors will have 21.5 million in cap space this off season(if you add Anthony Parkers 4.5 million deal to Marion's expiring deal).

What could the raptors do with this money? Well I don't think they'd have a shot at signing Hedo Turkgulu or Lamar Odem. I think those 2 players will be in the highest demand this off season.

The Raptors could however throw some money, say 8 million a season, at Iverson. I'm not sure he'd want to come up north but a 3 year deal might do the trick. They could then take 4 million and bring back Delfino to play the wing. They could resign Rasho Nesterovic who would likely give them a nice discount (maybe 3 mil a year for 2 yrs) because of his love of the city. He could backup Bargnani.

If they can resign parker to a smaller deal (say 3 million a year for 2 yrs) he could backup the SG position. I would even suggest throwing some money at free agent Trevor Ariza to come off the bench (maybe the full MLE of 5 or 6 mill). Which they can do if they let Joey G go.

They'd have Moon to backup the wing position as he'd resign for next to nothing to stay in the NBA. They'd still have Ukic and could bring him along slowly because AI could run the point when Calderon needs a breather.

Having AI would give them a proven late game scorer and somebody that can create his own shot and get to the rim. The only downside I can see is with rebounding. A back court of AI and Jose wouldn't rebound the ball very well but they could change the line up based on match ups.

The lineup would look like this:

PG Calderon
SG Iverson
PF Bosh
SF Delfino or Ariza
C Bargnani


and a bench of:

SF Trevor Ariza or Delfino
SG Anthony Parker
SF Jamario Moon (if he resigns but will be cheap)
C Rasho Nesterovic
PG Roko Ukic
C Kris Humphries
C Nathan Jawai

Just a thought. Let me know if I've totally lost my mind (which I might have).

Hand Bra of the Day - Arianny Celeste

Youtube of the Day - Coldplay Life in Technicolor ii video



Best part is at the 3:29 mark when the guy with the video camera mouths the words "Fu#$ Yeah"!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Youtube of the Day - George Bush's Greatest hits




Tomorrow is a pretty big day in History. With Obama coming into office I felt it appropriate to salute the man he is replacing. The one and only George W Bush

NBA All-star Uniforms unveiled - Love or Hate em?





So futuristic. I don't mind them. They aren't my Fav but they're ok.

Rators Game Day - O'neil for Marion: is it happening? Whats in it for the Raps?



The Raptors play a rare 2pm Monday afternoon game today against the Hawks (its MLK day in the US).

However the latest around the team isn't what's happening on the court its what is potentially happening behind the scenes.

Reports have the Raptors shipping Jermaine O'neil to the Heat for Sean Marion with the only sticking point being how O'neil knee holds up in the next few games. Word is that Pat Riley wants to make sure he is getting somebody that can contribute before pulling the trigger.

The latest report has Riley saying that there is no deal imminent but we all know where there's smoke there's fire and the writing is on the wall for O'neil.

After their loss to the Suns yesterday the Raptors are 10 games under .500 and its looking more and more bleak that they will see the playoffs.

Colangelo needs to make a change and this Marion deal is just what the Doctor ordered.

What does Marion bring to this team?

Well other than his 17 million dollar expiring contract he brings the Athleticism and rebounding presence the raptors so desperately need from the wing.

According to John Hollinger of ESPN Sean Marion is the BEST REBOUNDING small forward in the entire league statistically. Also 45% of his shots come from the inside. Consider that Moon shoots inside at a rate of 10%, Kapono at 23% and Parker at 15% and this is obviously a HUGE upgrade.

Marion's contract is the most attractive part of this deal though. The raptors would have to take on Marcus Banks terrible 4.5 million contract in the deal but that's a small price to pay to have 17 million in cap flexibility this off season.

Also getting Marion now allows them to audition him on the wing for half a season. If he provides what they need and fits in then they can always resign him to a reduced contract (no way he is going to command 17 million this off season).

The one downside to this deal is that the Raptors do lose a big inside presence in O'neil. Bargnani has played very well over this last 10 game stretch but that doesn't change the fact that his game is mostly perimeter based. As such Bargs is 56th out of 57 centers in the league in rebounding.

I still make this deal in a heartbeat though. O'neil never really fit in here and something drastic has to be done.

I just hope Riley doesn't get cold feet and back out of this deal because in all honesty I wouldn't take o'neil.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Youtube of the day - Gavin Castleton performs Nothing Compares to you

Nothing Compares 2 U (cover) live


Gavin Castleton performs a live version of Nothing Compares 2 U (made famous by Sinead O'Connor) in his bedroom using a Line 6 looping delay (but multitracked for better mixing in post production), a Gulbransen pump organ, and everything else (including synthetic kick drums) with a Roland JP8000.

This is one to THE coolest things I've seen in a while. Genius!

Raptors - O'Neil For Marion coming soon?


According to Yahoo sports its close.


If O'neil says he thinks he'll end up in Miami the chances are that he will.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Side Boob of the Day



Angel Lola Luv. Kapow!

Youtube of the Day - Ryan Secrest tries to high five a blind guy

I don't watch American Idol but I do know that Ryan Seacrest is an idiot as evidenced here.

Celebrities that Twitter

I'm not on Twitter but the more I hear about it the more interesting it seems.
I've looked into it and a surprising number of Celebrities Twitter regularly.
Here is a list of just a few.


Barack obama
Coldplay
Shaquille O'neil
Rachel Bilson
Jimmy Fallon
Snoop Dog
Kevin Smith
Eli Manning
MC Hammer

Here is a link to more

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Side boob of the Day with bonus hand bra - Sarah Underwood



Youtube of the Day 2 - Kobe Bryant sells ankle insurance? From a horse?

Youtube of the Day - Improv group does a Food Court Musical

Raptors Recap - The "another one gets away" edition

The game was on TSN 2 again last night so I didn't watch the entire thing. Streaming a game on the internet isn't what I'd call a good experience. What I saw when I did watch last nights game was a team that lacked energy again and took 2 1/2 quarters to get going.

Andrea Bargnani played his 9th great game in a row scoring a career high with 31 points and also hauled in 10 boards. However they didn't look for him late in the fourth quarter. A series of bad decisions late in the game by the one and only Will Solomon lead to a very close finish. Triano finally learned his lesson and went with Ukic to finish the last couple of minutes and that gave the Raptors a chance to win.

With the ball in his hands and down 2 they gave the ball to Chris Bosh. He tried a pump fake spin on Jokim Noah which was blocked, rather easily I might add.

This sequence to finish the game just illustrates the glaring need for this team.
They need a guy that can create his own shot. Chris Bosh can carry them an entire game but in the dying seconds he cannot get the shot they need.

I'm beginning to think the "diamond in the rough" that Colangelo found last year in Jamario Moon might be to blame for all of this. Moon played just well enough for BC to think he didn't need to address that position in the off season when Colangelo had the Chips to make a deal. Instead they went for Jermaine O'neil and are now saddled with his horrible contract and potentially another TJ/Jose type feud once JO is back healthy and looks to start at center.

The season is half way through and I'm beginning to think that it can't end soon enough. They can't win the easy games, they can't win the close games, they can't win the hard games, they can't win at home.

They are now 8 games below .500 and are the 4th worst team in the East ahead of only Washington, Charlotte and Indiana. They are 40 games into the season and will have to go 30-12 just to reach 46 wins which is what the 6th seed is projected to have. The 6th seed! That would still mean a playoff with Orlando, Boston or Cleveland!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Raptors vs Bulls Live stream

If you want the english play by play click here

Watch live video from www.lyrictr.net23.net on Justin.tv

Sideboob of the Day - Abigail Clancy (with bonus Hand Bra)





Raptors Game Day - Welcome Back Swirsk


The Raptors play the Chicago Bulls tonight at the ACC. The next 10 games are a critical stretch for this team if they really have their sights set on making the playoffs.

Games against Chicago (two games), Indiana (road), Phoenix, Atlanta (road), Detroit (road), Sacramento, New Jersey(road) and Milwaukee are ALL winnable games for this team. If they don't come out of this stretch at 7-3 or the very least 6-4 then they are likely done for the year.

Reports are swirling that Jermaine O'neil could return tonight for the Raptors and if I were Jay Traino I would would NOT hesitate to bring him off the bench.

The LAST thing this team needs to do is jerk Bargnani around again. He has settled into a great groove playing alongside Chris Bosh and to upset that now could do terrible damage to his game. After all lets be honest, O'neil is not part of the long term plans here so if it makes him upset I say deal with it.

Tonight also marks the return of beloved announcer Chuck Swirsky to the ACC.
Swirsky left Toronto in the off season to do radio play by play for the Bulls. He stated family reasons for the move but I have always maintained that there was something more to it. He LOVED the city and couldn't do enough to promote this team and the city. I am sure the ACC crowd will give him a warm reception tonight.

As for this team well I wonder what the plan is. Had they won the games they absolutely should have won earlier in the season (OKC, Milwaukee ect) then they would be right in the race for 8th spot with a chance to do some real damage in this next stretch. I am assuming that a trade will be made sometime before the deadline and I know that Colangelo is likely holding out to get the best deal possible but how long should be wait? Once a trade is made it takes some time to implement the new person into the rotation. One would assume that any trade will be for a starting Wing and so it becomes that much harder to incorporate that person into the mix.
Its my opinion that if he waits too long that it could do more damage than good.

The game is on TSN 2 again tonight so look here later in the day for the link to the live stream of the game.

UPDATE - O'Neil and Calderon will miss the next 2 games according to Jay Triano today.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Side Boob of the Day - Minka Kelly

Youtube of the Day part 2 - The best cheerleader commercial ever



That's gotta cheer up raptor fans after watching that Celtics Video.

Youtube of theday - This is funny to anyone who isn't a Raptors fan



For the record I Hate the Celtics. I hate Paul pierce and his stupid free throw stance. I hate Ray Allen and his arm sleeve. I hate Kevin Garnett and his "intensity" of guarding bosh with his chin in his chest. I wish bosh had broken the guys nose. I hate Rajon Rondo and his stupid ball fake. I hate them all mostly becauuse of their cockiness. If they just played the game and let the winning speak for itself that'd be ok but they don't and that to me is bush league stuff. Don't even get me started on the late game dunk!

Applications now being accepted for the best job in the world



In order to promote tourism in the State. The board of tourism is accepting applications for the BEST JOB EVER. The details of the job are as follow:

Position: Island caretaker. Duties: Lazing around Australia's Great Barrier Reef for six months. Salary: 150,000 Australian dollars ($100,000USD).

The job requires you to blog about the island once a week.

I think ANYBODY could handle that!.

Hand Bra of the Week - Lucy Pinder

Raptors Recap - The "Close but no cigar" Edition

Well they almost pulled that one out last night. A hard fought battle the entire way through and honestly one of the best Raptors games I've watched all season.

The assumption that the Raptors would lose both of the games in the back to back with the celtics was a good one. However if I had to guess what game they'd have a better shot at I, along with many others, would have said the 12:30 home game on sunday.

WRONG.

My point on this is that this team is SO FRUSTRATING to try and figure out.

They are finally getting consistent production from Andrea Bargnani. Bosh and Bargnani seem to have a rhythm together on the court that they haven't had in the past.
They are getting decent contributions from guys like Joey Graham and Jamario Moon but none of it is enough.

They don't have what it takes to get to that next gear like the Celtics do so why keep the team the same?

The last second three that Bargnani made off the broken play was totally unexpected and nice to see. However, the Raptors need a guy that can take over a game in the last few minutes. A guy like Paul pierce who no matter what the opponant does WILL NOT let his team lose.

Bosh is a wonderful player and a true superstar but he is too easy to shut down at the end of games. A good hard double team that keeps him on the perimeter or just good one on one defense from a guy like Garnett is all it takes. He is NOT a go to late game scorer.

This team needs that presence in order to get to the next level.

Whenever I tell somebody that I really want to watch the entire basketball game the inevitable response is "why you only have to watch the last 5 minutes". Which is actually true (although I maintain the last five min are better when you've watched the other 43). The reason for that is because in Basketball the last five minutes is when teams lock down on defense, turn things up a notch. THAT is when Bosh can't perform. He hasn't in all his years here and he won't because he is too easy to negate without another option.

That is why they lost in overtime and that is why they lose close games. I have faith that Colangelo will make a deal to either get this team under the cap THIS summer or to bring guys in to help now.

All in all though I was thoroughly entertained last night and really that's all I can ask for at this point in the season.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Side Boob of the Day - Stacey Dash

Raptors Recap - The "only one sentance required" edition

Don't leave Ray Allen open above the three point line EVER.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Side Boob of the Day X2



Sarah Shahi. Hot.

Side Boob of the Day - Scarlett Johansson

Raptors Game Day - O'neil for Marion?

Over the past five games Andrea Bargnani has averaged 22 points, 5.8 reb and 1.8 block per game)as the Raptors starting center.

Many have wondered if it's the consistent roll as a starter that he's been given that has contributed to his success.

I believe that while Bargnani is the type of player that will thrive once the Raptors stop jerking him around. I still don't know if he can average the numbers he has been putting up.

That said I would still like to see him be given the chance.

I mentioned way back in early December that the best move for this team was to trade Jermaine O'neil.

I maintain this stance even though several others have now jumped on the bangwagon.

It is truly the only way to improve this team before the 2010 season when Bosh can leave as a free agent and lets not kid ourselves here HE WILL leave if they don't improve. As much as he says he loves the city I cannot imagine a scenario where he would get the chance to play with Lebron in the biggest market in the NBA and say no especially if the raptors are as awful as they have been this season.

That said, I've thrown around a lot of scenarios here lately. All of them to this point have basically been pipe dream best case scenarios.

But to make a trade the deal has to work for both teams (unless of course you're Kevin Mchale).

What the Raptors need to do is find somebody that is paid close to or as much as O'neil that makes sense for BOTH teams and then make that deal.

So after scanning the NBA rosters I believe that there is only 1 player that fits that bill.

Hello Sean Marion.

Why Marion? The answer is three fold

1. He is making 17 million a season and expires after THIS season
2. He has a history with Colangelo so he'd know what he was getting.
3. He plays the position they covet most right now. Marion can start on the wing right away and give them some of the things they need.

Marion isn't the ideal candidate that is for sure but he gives them just enough that the deal would work for the raptors. He can't create his own shot but I think working with Jose in pick and rolls will open things up for him a bit.

Why would Miami do this?

Miami gets a starting center to put with D wade right away thus helping them continue their push to the playoffs. We ALL remember what happened the last time the Heat paired Wade with a legit Starting Center. Not to say that I'm comparing O'neil with... well... O'neil, but he is better than what they've got now.

Also Marion's contract expires at the end of THIS season while we all know that O'neils doesn't expire until the season after. Regardless the deal works for both teams cap wise because the Heat will have cap space for 2010 and the Raptors will get it this off season.

We have to be honest with ourselves and realize that the Raptors, even with a tonne of cap space were never really going to be major players in the 2010 Free agent frenzy. So I ask why not take the 17 million this off season and spend it on guys to surround Bosh with?

Realistically with the 17 million in cap space they could do so many things. For example they could bring back Delfino for 4 million a year. They could resign Rasho (who LOVES toronto) as a backup center for 2 or 3 million a year and STILL have 10 million to sign a starting wing and a backup Point guard if Roko can't do the job next season. The 17 million doesn't even take into consideration Anthony Parker's 4.5 million expiring contract which they can use to either resign him or get another SG.

This to me seems like a no brainer. I'd make the deal today and let Bargs finish the season at center sink or swim.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Side Boob of the Day - Joanna Krupa

White Chocolate Album update! Steeebo live on the Lizzy grimace show!




P.S best viewed on Internet explorer. May not work with firefox

Raptors Recap - The "Bargnani's the best" Edition

Hey another win! By my count that makes 3 of the last 4 with a VERY winnable one coming up at home tomorrow. Yes the loss to the Bucks should have been a win but if they can get a W tomorrow this team will be right back in the thick of things. They may even be riding high enough to get a split on their back to back with Boston, who have not played well at all lately.

After watching the game last night 2 things became clear to me.

1. Andrea Bargnani is improving. He is confident, showing emotion (hello fist pump after his 4th quarter three), Blocking out his man under the basket, taking the ball to the basket with a purpose and even blocking shots.

One play in particular to me at least showed that he is learning and improving. One drive he had a full head of steam going to the basket and instead of trying to force up a shot or run right into his man for a charge like he would have done last season he dumped the ball off for an easy raptors layup.

Sure he's not rebounding as much as most would like but if he can give them what he did last night every night I think most people would be happy with that.
The only question I have is can he do this coming off the bench when the 21 million dollar man is healthy again?

2. Will Solomon played well until the fourth quarter and then reverted back to his bad decision making. He has a tendency to force things too much and it almost cost them another win. The raptors went scoreless AGAIN in a 2:40 stretch with about 5 min to play and that was because Will didn't look to get the ball to Bosh or even Bargnani. On a couple of possessions he drove into the paint and was stripped of the ball and another he took ill advised jump shots. The Raptors are lucky that Mike James missed a couple late shots during that stretch or it would have been a much closer finish.

All in all a good road win for these guys. I'm actually looking forward to seeing them Friday against the Grizzlies.

On another note congratulation has to go to Jamario Moon. His wife gave birth to a baby Girl yesterday. The best line that I read all day yesterday was from a post on RealGm. The post read:

"Congrats to Jamario on his new baby. Its nice to see that he took it to the hole at least once this season"

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Cuban keep your mits off Bargnani....but can we interest you in a Pooh pooh platter of O'neil and Kapono

It would appear that Brian Colangelo didn't appreciate the rumors earlier today that he was shipping Andrea Bargnani off to the Mavericks for Josh Howard.

So Raptor fans it sounds as though nothing major is imminent.

I still think a match might be able to be made in Dallas. I was looking over the rosters and found this trade which works under the Trade machine. Basically its as follows:

Toronto trades - Jermaine O'neil and Jason Kapono to Dallas
Dallas Trades - Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and DeSagna Diop to Toronto

It helps Dallas with a big guy in the post and cap room in 2010 as well as a big time shooter in Kapono. This also rids them of Diop's awful contract. It also rids them of Stackhouses contract (7 million a year) a year early.

The upside for the Raptors is obvious.

Howard gives them the wing they need and Diop as a backup in the middle even though his contract stinks (4 more yrs and 20 million). Stackhouse give them a little more depth at SG if Parker doesn't return after this season.

The Raptors lose their major cap flexibility in 2010 but really what does it matter if they have cap space then because Bosh won't be back if they continue losing.

Youtube of the Day - Jaydiohead

You may or may not have heard Danger Mouse's mash up of Jay Z's Black album and the Beatles White album called the Grey album a few years back.

Well this morning I ran into Jaydiohead. A mix of Jay Z and Radiohead done by producers "minty fresh beats". Enjoy the mash ups of Dirt off your Shoulder and and Paranoid Android called "Dirt off your android". As well as Jay Z's "No hook" and Radioheads "Karma Police". Also here is "Change order" a combo of Never Change and Gagging Order.

Dirt off your android



No Karma



Change Order

Raptors Game Day - Rumors edition

The latest Raptors rumor has the Raptors shipping Bargnani and Parker to Dallas for pothead Josh Howard and DeSagna Diop. There would have to be some other pieces included to make salaries match but this is a decent deal for the Raptors.

It leaves them short at shooting guard losing Parker. I don't know how I feel about having to watch Kapono or Graham start every night. If they can shore up the SF position and get value for Bargnani and then maybe bring back Delfino then they should make this deal.

Diop's contract is not attractive at all he's owed $5.85 million for the next 3 years.

We'll have to see how this all plays out but the lure of Howard on the wing is an interesting one. I'm not sure this is the deal BC has in mind to make him give up on Bargnani.

UPDATE - It appears that this deal isn't even or never was close to happening. After more thought I'd have to say that is probably a good thing

Side Boob of the Day - Kate Beckinsale

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Youtube of the day - Triple dose

We brought you Spaghetti cat a few weeks back, today we bring you Cat flushing a toilet, Chipanzee riding a segway and Hamster on a piano.
I couldn't decide which one I liked best so I just posted them all.

Enjoy





Raptors Recap - The "Blame it on Will" Edition

Wow now that was quite upsetting.

Bosh is abusing the Bucks on 12 of 14 shooting. The Bucks don't have anybody that can even do a passable job at defending him and Bosh takes 2 shots in the fourth quarter!

I saw Jay Triano's post game press conference where he blamed the loss on the Bucks just catching some lucky breaks. He pointed out 4 posessions in particular:

1. A blown call where the ball went off Francisco Elson's Foot and the Refs gave the ball to the Bucks

2. A luke Ridnour three late in the clock (ridnour is an awful three point shooter)

3. a bail our three from the corner where the ball came to Charlie Bell and he hit a tough shot with 1 on the shot clock

4. Another three by Ridnour over bosh

I'm sorry but as bad as those breaks were for the Raptors, I cannot put the blame on anyone else other than Will Solomon.

People will look at the box score and see his 11 assists and maybe think he played well. The truth is he didn't. He was 2 for 13 from the floor and made terrible terrible decisions with the ball.

He should NOT have been on the floor in the fourth. Roko should have been. Will took 2 terrible threes late in the fourth and never looked to get Bosh the ball. The raptors were outscored 12-0 in the last 2:30 of the game and the blame for that is on Will. Sure the Bucks were doubling Bosh but he was getting to the line through the double team all night long.

Roko was playing great, getting into the paint and making sure that Bosh was getting the ball. Sure Roko doesn't have a handle on that high screen and roll that Bosh and Jose run so well but Will certainly didn't run it.

This game was winnable in every way. The decision to go with Will over Roko was a bad one and cost them the game. End of story.

Monday, January 5, 2009

youtube of the day - Jones BigASS storage

Raptors Game Day - Back in the Playoff race?

So the raptors have started 09' off with a bang. They roll in to Milwaukee tonight to face a equally average Bucks team. This is what the kids might call a "winnable" game.
If the raptors can take care of business tonight and then beat the Wizards and Grizz later this week they could very well see themselves back in the playoff race.

Consider that they are currently 1.5 games back of the eighth spot which coincidentally is held by the Bucks. A win tonight puts them 1/2 a game back and with the 2 other winnable games this week things could get interesting.

I've maintained that eighth is not where this team needs to be. They WILL lose in 4 or 5 to the Celtics or Cavs but at this point in the year I think its great that they might have a shot to redeem themselves a little.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Raptors Recap - The "first quality win of the year" Edition

So that was exciting!! The Raptors withstood a late rally from the Magic to grab their first win against a real quality opponent this season.

This was all done WITHOUT Jermaine O'Neil and Jose Calderon who both sat out with injuries.

Word is that Jose isn't going to make the mini 2 game road trip this week to Milwaukee and Washington which is probably the right call.

The Raptors now have legit shot at stringing together a 4 game win streak going into a back to back with Boston.

The play of Anthony Parker and Roko Ukic cannot be overlooked today. Roko's runner to put the raptors up late was just a flash of what he can bring to this team. I have maintained that Roko is going to be a quality player in this league once he can get his jump shot going. His height, creativity with the ball and his speed are all tough to defend and if he can start keeping opposing PG's honest by knocking down jumpers then the raptors will hve a formidable duo with him and Jose. Roko might not get to that point for a year or two but that BIG runner late today was nice to see.

Bargnani has also played well lately. His shot has been dropping and he's gotten into the paint and made some nice moves down low. He's defending well and really what he has given them the past 3-4 games is all they need from him.

They still need a guy that can create his own shot and get to the rim and free throw line consistently. If they can add somebody like that then they will be dangerous.

For now its just nice to see these guys get a quality win and hold a lead at home.

Off to Milwaukee and Washington this week. Both are "winnable" games which we all know have not been so winnable this season (hello OKC). If they can however get the wins then maybe, just maybe they can start rolling and take 1 of 2 from the Celtics and get back into the Playoff race.

MURPHY'S OTHER 15 LAWS...

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

2. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

3. He, who laughs last, thinks slowest.

4. A day without sunshine is like, well, night.

5. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

6. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

7. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

8. The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

9. It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end-to-end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them.

10. If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

11. The things that come to those that wait, may be the things left by those who got there first.

12. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

13. Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries.

14 . The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in the dark.

15. When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Raptors Recap - The "can they build on this" Edition

So a win. A blowout win. At home. Can they build on this?

Well the answer we all want to hear is yes but with the Magic coming to town Sunday my gut feeling is that they will likely lose that one and probably in convincing fashion.

Especially if O'neil and now Calderon aren't able to play. They do have the Bucks early next week and I'm thinking if they can get that one then maybe just maybe they can get things going.

Last nights game was on TSN 2 again so I was only able to catch it in the abbreviated Game in an Hour. From what I saw, the Rockets looked totally disinterested the entire game. T-mac provided a mail-in performance that was worthy of his Cousin Vince Carter.
On one play Moon has the ball driving to the rim against T-mac. Instead of trying to wrap Moon up or strip the ball or even hustle back he just let moon by for a dunk. Awful awful play for McGrady.

Bargnani looked good for the second straight game. He was aggressive with the ball and wasn't afraid to mix it up a little with Yao on the block.

I am happy to see Parker back in the starting line up. I think we can all agree that Kapono is a specialist and when he was starting and being asked to create his own shot he was awful.

I'm hoping the Raps can build on this but like I said I think that will start next week in Milwaukee. If they can somehow manage a win against the magic without Jose and JO well then that would be a new year miracle.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Youtube of the Day - Top 10 NBA plays this season so far

Curious about Benjamin?

"Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

It's sad, it's funny, it's sweet, it's got it all...in one word it's amazing!

Don't get a large drink though, this movie runs nearly 3 hours. It didn't feel like a long movie though.

This movie should be experienced by everyone. Young or old, skid or scholar.
Go see this movie, you won't be disappointed.

My rating: 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year