May 2004 Archives

Andrew W.K. / Saturday / 29-May / Lincoln Theatre / Raleigh
Your Enemies Friends / Sunday / 30-May / Cat's Cradle / Chapel Hill
Buelah / Monday / 31-May / Cat's Cradle / Chapel Hill
The Darkness / Thursday / 3-Jun / Grady Cole Center / Charlotte
Beth Orton / Thursday / 10-Jun / Orange Peel / Asheville
Bonnie Prince Billy Friday / 11-Jun / Orange Peel / Asheville
The Connells / Saturday / 12-Jun / TBA / Raleigh
MF Doom & Talib Kweli / Saturday / 12-Jun / Neighborhood Theatre / Charlotte
Longwave / Sunday / 13-Jun / The Room / Charlotte
The Shins / Monday / 14-Jun / Cat's Cradle / Chapel Hill
Ron Sexsmith / Tuesday / 15-Jun / Cat's Cradle / Chapel Hill
The Decemberists / Wednesday / 16-Jun / Cat's Cradle / Chapel Hill
Craker-Camper Von Bethoven / Thursday / 17-Jun / Orange Peel / Asheville
Hobex / Saturday / 26-Jun / Pour House / Raleigh
Dillon Fence / Wednesday / 30-Jun / Visulite Theatre / Charlotte
X-Ecutioners / Wednesday / 7-Jul / Orange Peel / Asheville
Old 97's / Friday / 9-Jul / Orange Peel / Asheville
Rob Base / Friday / 9-Jul / Amos Southend / Charlotte
Southern Culture On The Skids / Friday / 23-Jul / Visulite Theatre / Charlotte

I'll more than likely go see the shows I've listed in bold. I'm half tempted to go to the Rob Base show just to see what he does after he plays It Takes Two and Joy & Pain. What's he gonna do for the rest of the set?

Thanks to Thighs Wide Shut for pointing out this little tidbit:

Somewhere over Massachusetts is a sparrow who apparently doesn't care for '80s rock. Cyndi Lauper was reaching for a high note during her opening number at Saturday's KISS-108-sponsored concert in Mansfield, Mass., when from the sky came a white glob of bird poop.
The fecal critique landed in her open mouth.

HA! Friends from NYC will understand why it was a pleasure reading that.

Hey, get me out of this some way / I wouldn't feel so inhibited
Gotta get me out of this some way / I want to see what it is they see
Stone cold yesterday / changed / how did it change me?

Did Morrissey pull a sickie?

Perhaps a little shopping and pub crawling is exactly what the doctor ordered....Morrissey cancelled commitments he had made on Monday to one of his biggest fans, Craig Kilborn, by having his record company send over a statement saying he had gotten the highly contagious disease, meningitis. Yet early Tuesday (5/25), Morrissey was spotted out and about town just hours after a very disappointed Craig Kilborn had appeared on the KROQ morning show with Kevin and Bean to voice his disappointment at the cancellation of the appearance of his music idol. Morrissey was scheduled to tape two songs Monday (5/24), including his new single “Irish Blood, English Heart,” for broadcast on the The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn Monday and Tuesday...However, Morrissey was spotted DVD shopping at the Hollywood Virgin Megastore at about 1pm Tuesday (5/25), then hanging out outside of his favorite pub in Hollywood, The Cat & Fiddle.

Mental note to self. Add that to the list of places to visit (along with Bukowski's grave) when and if you ever make it to LA).

I'm speechless about this one:

Good Charlotte is one of the biggest bands in the nation right now, a pop-punk quintet that's played the MTV Video Music Awards, graced the cover of Rolling Stone and sold over three million copies of its latest disc, The Young and the Hopeless. To Good Charlotte vocalist Joel Madden, all of these achievements pale in comparison to a recent impromptu karaoke session he did while prepping for the band's next release.
"We were practicing at this practice space in LA, and Morrissey's band was there," Madden relates. "We were hanging out. They were practicing, but Morrissey wasn't there, and they let me go in and sing 'Suedehead' while they played it. It was awesome. It was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life."

Beyonce, your mixtape sucks.

And in today's "I wish I still lived in the 718" news...ProductshopNYC sez PJ Harvey @ the Knitting Factory Wednesday, June 2nd. 8pm. $35. Tickets only available at the Knitting Factory box office.

Also, Boston.com buys Boston Dirt Dogs. I know it's gonna happen someday,to me.

Ugh...still recovering from yesterday which ranked right up there on the Worst. Day. Ever. charts. My Flash class was a waste of time. My instructor sucked, he was just reading out of the book the entire time and basically teaching the program to himself during class. Not exactly a conducive learning environment. Because of his incompetence, class ran over by half an hour and I got to fight the 5 o'clock traffic on the way home.
But that's not why the day sucked. I finally heard back from an employment agency about a job that was available here and I did not get it. I was prepared to write an essay long rant about this but it's not worth the effort. It's just really frustrating because I can't honestly think of a job I'm more suited for. The founder of the company started out as a sportswriter for goodness sakes. *sigh*

So I will again revert to listing a few things that have cheered me up.

First is an email I received from Slatch (via his shiny new Gmail account) after mentioning him and the lovely and talented Rebecca Gates the other day:

I almost killed Rebecca Gates once. I was driving through Brattleborough, Vermont. It was pouring out. She walked directly in front of my car. I slammed on the brakes and missed her by like 2 feet. My girlfriend was like "Did we just almost kill the Spinanes chick?!?" True story.

It's funny only because it didn't happen.

Then today I was chatting with Unofficial information leafblower Correspondent Emily D and she made me realize why Sox fans are so fucking best:

[ilb]: did you check out that Ted Leo song "Me and Mia"? I can't stop listening to it. soooo good.
UilbCED: What?? A nomar song?? I have to hear it.

*cue big fucking smile on my face*

Nooooommaaaahhhhh. So best. Speaking of the Red Sizzle, when playing Oakland, they are so best.

TMac dropped out of the Olympics.

That assclown Damore (his blog SUCKS!!) scooped me with this awesome sea ray interview. Expect a full report from tonight's show on his site tomorrow. Nice one my friend. :) Oh, and for the record, Peabs does not have mono.

Attention ladies, the ever reliable Chromewaves.net is reporting that Seth Cohen will be Jimmy Olsen.

Did anyone else notice how as soon as Bush's approval ratings dropped periously low, that the gov't issued a "we might be attacked by terrorists at some point in the future but that's all we know" warning? Oh wait, of course someone noticed it!

What the fuck else am I supposed to do with my time? It's not like anyone wants to hire me. No, I'm not bitter. Yes I am.

Peep the Official site for Chucky P's next book entitled Stranger Than Fiction.

Chuck Palahniuk's world has always been, well, different from yours and mine. The pieces that comprise Stranger than Fiction, his first nonfiction collection, prove just how different, in ways both highly entertaining and deeply unsettling. Included are encounters with alternative culture heroes Marilyn Manson and Juliette Lewis; the peculiar wages of fame attendant on the big-budget film production of the movie Fight Club; life as an assembly-line drivetrain installer by day, hospice volunteer driver by night; the really peculiar lives of submariners; the really violent world (and mangled ears) of college wrestlers; the underground world of iron-pumping anabolic-steroid gobblers; the immensely upsetting circumstances of his father's murder and the trial of his killer. Each essay or vignette offers a unique facet of existence as lived in and/or observed by one of our most flagrantly daring and original literary talents.

Read an excerpt here.

Right now I'm putting on the finishing touches on next month's MP3 mix. One blast from the past that will be included is This Time from the INXS album Listen Like Thieves. I used to love this song in high school, but I don't think I've heard it since then. I found it on the iTunes Music Store after getting their weekly email and clicking around a bit. This is why online music stores are gonna be around for a long time. I still like going to the record store and walking out with a brand new CD, but for instant gratification, the iTMS is always there. Best of both worlds yo.

With all of my might,
With all of my might i do this.
It's a waste of my time to pursue this.

Yo, what's going on in the D? First Peabs has mono and now we have Wrestlemania XXVII, The Battle of the Buzz - straight outta the D!

In a steel cage match to the death (or until bandwidth is exceeded)! It's:

Kegzie v. Damore

Where is Grambo when you need him? I'm already in Whatevs withdrawl.

I'm in Flash class today learning the difference between vector and rastor graphics, so don't expect much hottness from me until later tonight.

Don't forget, the NBA Draft Lottery is tonight at 8 PM. Check out my preview on Gothamist Sports!

Tomorrow mock draft season kicks off in earnest.

PS - 55,999 other people in addition to myself went out and bought the Morrissey album last week, good enough for a #11 debut on the Billboard albums chart. I wonder how many of them wasted $8 like I did by opting for the bonus DVD that contains all of one video, 9 photos and the lyrics that were already included in a seperate foldout?

Maybe she was swapping spit with the Mozzer.

Damore (someone grab the extinguisher, 'cause he's ON FIRE)
Low Culture
Wonkette

Oh, and yesterday on Around The Horn, J.A. Adande was talking about some baseball team and he said "Yo, they've got 99 problems, but pitching ain't one". That made me laugh too. Yes, I am a dork.

PS - If you haven't downloaded the new Ted Leo demos, what the fuck are you waiting for? Shit is hott!! Me and Mia is easily the bestest song ever since Revelry!

Time to clean out my bookmarks:

The Sports Guy says Boston sports fans have it good.

Don't you think the new Grizzlies logo looks alot like the TWolves logo?

What do Steve Nash, Isiah Thomas and Darrick Martin have in common? They've all been subject to cheap shots by Karl Malone. Can't that guy pick on someone taller than 6-3? David Robinson doesn't count. I'd like to see him try and elbow Gary Trent. David Aldridge wonders why Malone didn't get suspended for Game 3. Wait, we already know why. The League wants the Lakers in the Finals.

Check out FIFA's Top 100 soccer/fitba players ever, selectable by region. Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm were the only Americans to make the cut. Hard to argue.

Why the torn labrum is baseball's most feared injury.

Retail groups say sales were down last week because everyone was in theatres watching Shrek 2. Wait until the new Harry Potter comes out....

Bush's approval rating still near his record low. Maybe he should quit blaming his henchman for everything.

Fat free french fries? What's the point?

Gas Buddy dot com. Find cheap gas in your area.

Why one actor suddenly pops up in ad after ad after ad.

I'm not condoning it one bit, but Slatch has offered to rob either Ted Leo or the lovely and talented Rebecca Gates for a Gmail account.

Curbed is in the house. No pun intended.

Morrissey had to cancel his appearance on The Late Late Show With Craiggers yesterday because of illness. Moz had complained of being sick on many of the nights of his Apollo residency. He was scheduled to tape an interview and two performances on Monday and then another three songs on Wednesday. Craigger's producers are hopeful he can still appear on Wednesday.

A press release from Sanctuary Records read:

“He has been involved in an exhaustive global promotion campaign for (his new album) ‘You Are The Quarry’ the past several months. Unfortunately the strain of his schedule and a recent bout with meningitis resulted in his doctor insisting that he cancel all current appearances. He remains very appreciative of Craig’s continued support as well as the support of his fans.”

Book my tickets! PJ Harvey has been confirmed for Atlanta's Lollpalooza!
Woo Hoo!!!!!

Check out each city's line up here.
Day one finishes with a bang. We get Polly Jean followed by Sonic Youth followed by Morrissey! This Is Love to Diamond Sea to Jack The Ripper. Hott to def. I can't wait. Also, no Spearhead on Day 2 but we get Lee "Scratch" Perry and Mad Professor instead.
Return of the Super Ape yo!

Looks like Day 2 is the day to take off work in NYC. PJ + Pixies + Flaming Lips.

Keane keeps SPM from the top spot.

Argh. Stayed up until 2 AM last night watching some SNL behind the scenes documentary sort of thing on A&E, finally went to bed, woke up at 6:30 for my computer class, drove the 90 minutes in traffic into Charlotte only to be told my class was cancelled because I was the only one to show up and another teacher with a class of eight students failed to show up so my teacher was reassigned to that class. Colour me grumpy and sleep deprived.

Since I have a free day when I didn't expect it, I might take advantage and finally go see Kill Bill Vol 2. Guess what, they have matinee prices down here. Ha!

Here are some things that cheered me up since I returned home:

Semi-formal announcement regarding the rollout of Gothamist Sports. I'm still not on the About page however. I guess it would help if I got off my ass and wrote a bio. You're supposed to be able to write about things you know, but I can't write a bio I'm happy with to save my life. Check out my French Open preview. BTW, can I call it or what? Andre Agassi lost today to a 23 year old qualifier playing in his first ATP match! Agassi, the oldest player in the men's draw, had only played one match on clay coming into the tournament.

The C's are bringing in a bunch of players to work out for the draft. Rumours are swirling that we've already made promises to Predrag "Peja" Samardziski as well as high schoolers Dorrell Wright and Robert Swift. Personally, I'm hoping for Kris Humphries.

Morrissey played a hometown gig in Manchester on his birthday. It was his first show there in 12 years! Same old set...

The most must see film of the summer? Easily Bukowski:Born Into This. Click through to the site for some streaming audio files, info on the film and nation-wide opening dates. It's opening in Atlanta the weekend of my 30th bday, so that might be a road trip worth taking. Don't fear NYC, Redboy spotted a poster there so it's coming to the Big Apple too. Also, check out this full list of Buk's books. I have twenty five of them and have read 22 and a half. What am I gonna read when I finish them all?

lifting weights at 2 a.m.

queers do this
or is it that you're
afraid to die
biceps, triceps, forceps,
what are you going to do
with muscles?
well, muscles please the ladies
and keep the bullies
at bay -
so
what?
is it worth it?
is it worth the collected works
of Balzac?
or a 3 week vacation
in Spain?
or, is it another way of
suffering?
if you got paid to do it,
you'd hate it.
if a man got paid to make love,
he'd hate it.

still, one needs the
exercise -
this writing game:
only the brain and soul get
worked-out.
quit your bitching and
do it.
while other people are sleeping
you're lifting a mountain
with rivers or poems
running off.

- taken from Mockingbird Wish Me Luck

The NYTimes on Mozzer: Music's Misery Man Returns.

Pitchfork review of You Are The Quarry. I'll finally have my review done sometime next week.

Pitchfork on the slammin' new Ted Leo jernt Me and Mia. Go listen to that shit right now! In case you forgot, I heart Ted Leo. No homo.

File this under Greatest. News. Ever. Super Furry Animals' label Placid Casual are to release a compilation of songs by singer Gruff Rhys and drummer Dafydd Ieuan's first band Ffa Coffi Pawb.

Ffa Coffi Pawb existed between 1986 and 1993. The band, who formed in Bethesda, north Wales, were instantly banned from the Welsh media as their name, a verbal practical joke, sounded alarmingly like 'Fuck Off Everybody' when spoken out loud. It actually means 'Everybody's Coffee Beans'.

After the band's demise in 1993, Rhys and Ieuan were joined by Huw Bunford and Guto Pryce from U.Thant and Cian Ciaran from Wwzz to form Super Furry Animals. Ffa Coffi Pawb's guitarist, Rhodri Puw, joined Gorky's Zygotic Mynci to replace departed guitarist John Lawrence and also records as Psycho VII, whilst bassist Dewi Emlyn has toured behind the scenes with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals, Mogwai and Cornelius.

Got all that? What I really need after this is released is to get my hands on some music by Emily, a band that Gruff played drums in and was signed to Creation Records for a brief time.

PP likes Danny Ainge's choice of his new coach. He also tells the US Olympic committee to fuck off in not so many words.

Geoff Petrie says Rick Adleman's job is safe.

Find the aerial photo of your house from the government database.

X3 and X4 shooting back to back in Canada?

The new cut of Donnie Darko will premiere in Seattle during the Seattle International Film Fest on May 29th. More here.

Finally, time to bestow some love on some of my fellow bloggers. First and foremost, big props go out to Damore Retrobuzz who has been killing it of late and is really making a push to be recognized as one of D-town's best bloggers, which is no small feat. Actually his blog sucks, I'm just trying to kiss up and spare myself the harsh words he recently threw at Grambo and Peabs.

Some other blogs I've been reading of late and will soon be added to the ever growing list on the right include:
The Big Ticket
Byron Crawford.com
Sun Tzu
Classical Gasp
Whirred Peas
Rob Jules
The Cheap Seats

Someone tell me why / I do the things
That I don't wanna do
When you're around me / I'm somebody else
Someone tell me why / I act like a fool
When things don't go my way
When you're around me / I'm somebody else

High comedy in Sacramento today as Chris Webber calls out teammates that fail to deliver in clutch situations.

Asked about lessons learned from these years of coming up short in the postseason, Webber paused and then spoke at length about the need - in whatever occupation one resides - to "always go with the ones (who) are the hardest workers and who, when your backs are down, they're the ones who will step up."

"Don't go with the ones who just flow through it," Webber added. "Go with the ones that it hurts them to lose. Go with the ones like Doug Christie. Go with the ones that'll give everything and be the scapegoat for your company, for your family, 'cause those are the ones that will really put their all into it.

"It's really easy to disappear in tough times. And the true character of a person, I think, is your effort and your mentality when you don't know how things are going to turn out."

How ridiculous is that? The man who missed numerous lay-ups in Game 7 (yes I know, he was playing on one leg) and has never met a crunchtime shot that he couldn't pass off to Doug Christie is now in the business of calling out people that can't get it done when it counts. Hey CWebb, call a time out and take a look in the mirror.

Somewhere in California, CWebb and Peja are thankful for Jason Kidd. The "best point guard in the L" dropped a doughnut in the scoring column last night as Detroit smizzacked the Nets and finished the series they should have ended 2 games ago.

I'm in another computer class today so content during daylight hours will be scarce. Until then checkout my latest and best story for Gothamist Sports.

Damn Coolfer, I think we've seen this movie before. Continuing a trend they started way back in the last decade, the Kings lost yet another playoff elimination game on the road; Game 5s against the Jazz and Lakers in 1999 and 2000, and Game 7s against Dallas and Minnesota the past two seasons. Oh for the glory days of 2001 when they were swept by the Lakers. Oh wait, nevermind.

Chalk up this loss to a few things, most notably Kevin Garnett's impressive statline. 31 points and 21 rebounds in a Game 7 = earning your MVP stripes. KG hit every single field goal for the Wolves in the fourth quarter. Dayum. Replays will show CWebb missing that three at the buzzer, but the game was lost for the Kings in crunchtime, specifically with 57 seconds left when CWebb blew an easy layup with Sacto down 4 and with at 16 seconds left when Doug Christie let Sam Cassell stroll up the lane and leisurely get the inbounds pass from Spree. Christie promptly fouled Cassell and he hit two big free throws to put Minny up 4. Cassell is Minny's most clutch player, but he has a bad hip, how can you not make him work to get that ball? Your season is on the line!

CWebb will take the blame for this loss, and he definitely contributed to it, but Rick Adleman will take the fall. He is now 0-7 lifetime in elimination games on the road. Mike Bibby was out of sorts most of the game and Peja only managed 8 points in 46 minutes on 3-12 shooting. This when he was being guarded by Wally Szczerbiak and Fred Hoiberg for most of the game. Does this make him trade bait this summer?

More Game 7 Madness tonight in the LEastern Conference.

On the good news front, the C's hired former Raps assistant Tony Brown. Brown and C's head coach Doc Rivers have been friends since high school and are very much looking forward to working with each other. Brown will oversee the team's defense and big man development. He worked extensively with Chris Bosh last year with impressive results. Let's hope he can work the same magic with Big K and Chris Mihm.

Who is the top Duke player in the NBA?

Do yourself a favor and check out Rick Brunson dot com. Funny shit.

South Carolina will host a Davis Cup tie in September v. Belarus.
FYI - that's tennis news.

Looking at her tour intinerary on Pollstar, it's very conceivable that PJ Harvey could be playing the Atlanta Lollapalooza. Anyone heard the scoop on what dates she'll be playing? More good news: elbow will be in Atlanta. Here is the full line up thusfar.

Quark class that is...Thought I would check in during lunch break.

KG has apologized for his remarks. I'm glad that the media took him to task for what he said. Although, as I was watching Around The Horn yesterday, Denver Post columnist Woody Paige had a good point. He wondered alound why none of the writers that heard KG utter those infamous words called him out right then and there. Excellent question.

Game 7 between the Wolves and Kings is tonight. I know the nation is waiting to witness that crucial match up between Rodney Buford and Darrick Martin. The Kings will miss AP more than people realize (even if Bobby Jax returns to action, which is highly doubtful), however their lack of guard depth will be offset by Sam Cassell's hurt hip and lack of mobility. Peja has to show a pulse for the Kings to get the W. I expect Bibby to come up big, as he always seems to do in big games. If KG is content to stay out on the perimeter and shoot jumpers all game, the Wolves are in trouble. He is only averaging a paltry 6.5 free throw attempts per game while be guarded by a one legged CWebb. Game time is a merciful 8:30 PM EDT.

Here is my second story for Gothamist. Still working out the kinks but it's coming along nicely.

In other news, I can't believe how horrible a program/browser Internet Explorer is. I'm in pop up hell.

More tonight after I get back to the sanctity of my eMac and Safari.

After sleeping in to an almost ungodly hour this morning, I am finally ready to recap this past weekend. I will skip most of the events at the beach, specifically my friend Joey's bachelor party, but lets just say Friday night consisted of watching the three overtimes of the Pistons / Nets game and texting Grambo furiously as the game slipped from Detroit's hands, a few games of poker and some late night bar hopping. Saturday was spent on Carolina Beach (no sunburn! Woo Hoo!) and Saturday night was the main event. Sunday was a very late brunch before my four hour drive home.
I made it back to Charlotte around 8 PM and went over to my friends Eddie's house to chill before the sea ray show later that night. For some ungodly reason, the venue thought it would be a good idea to start the three band bill at 10 PM. I guess they didn't want anyone to come or something. After a quick dinner, Eddie and I headed over to the venue about 11:15 or so. I grabbed a Red Bull and Vodka from the bar and was quickly reminded why I don't drink coffee. Too much caffeine really fucks with my stomach and gives me the shakes. But I digress...
Anyway, about ten 'til midnight or so, the boys (and girl) from Brooklyn took the stage and began their set. Unfortunately I used up the battery in my digicam during the bachelor party and the ensuing hi-jinx and the douchebag manager at Best Buy in Matthews wouldn't let me in the store at 6:05 PM to get a new one one, so I wasn't able to take any pics.
The band played a very enjoyable set to a crowd of about 35 - 45 people. Standouts included Sister Gone, Revelry and the last song before their encore, which I think was Hall Of Fame. During their set, I kept wondering at what point someone decided that a cello player was exactly what the band really needed to fill out their sound. Whoever it was is a fookin' genius. It sounds like such a ridiculous statement to make, but I really think Anne Brewster lifts this band above all the other indie rockers out there. It was fun to watch her sitting there on stage rocking out, playing this decidedly non-rawk instrument that is literally bigger than she is. Her playing really gives the band a unique, introspective vibe that is extremely compelling and completely different from any of their contemporaries (at least any of the bands that I listen to).
Special props go out to Colin, the band's drummer, who played the gig with a 103 degree temperature. From where I was sitting, he was not visible to me for most of the set, but when I moved around in front of the stage later in the set, it was clear that he looked like he was going to puke at any second. Amazingly, he played an almost note perfect set, complete with an amazing encore of LaLaLand. The band had an off day yesterday, so hopefully he was able to stay in bed and sleep that bug off.
After their set, I stuck around to say hello to the band, even though I was about to pass out from exhaustion. I bought a CD and t-shirt from Jeff, the keyboard player, and we chatted about the tour and the band's plans for the immediate future. As I was leaving, he told me to go over and introduce myself to Greg, the guitar player, and I did and in a very nice moment Greg professed to be a very loyal information leafblower reader and said he doesn't go a day without checking in on the site, which was obvs. good to hear. We chatted for a good while and geeked out over the Super Furries, my recent Morrissey trip and the NBA Playoffs. All in all, it was a great night.
This gig was only their fifth of the tour, so you still have plenty of chances to catch my your new favorite band play the best brand of introspective, cello flavored, shoegazer inspired rock out there today. They are in Nashville tonight and Atlanta tomorrow (a gig I unfortunately won't be able to make because of my Quark class on Wednesday). Full tour dates here. Go check them out, buy a shirt and tell them information leafblower sent ya!

Call me crazy, but given the current state of the world, doesn't the following sound a bit funny coming out of the mouth of the current NBA MVP regarding his upcoming Game 7 on Wednesday:

"It's Game 7, man. That's it. It's for all the marbles. Sitting in the house, I'm loadin' up the pump. I'm loadin' up the Uzi. I got a couple M-16s, a couple 9s. I got a couple joints with some silencers on them. I'm just loading clips, a couple grenades. I got a missile launcher with a couple of missiles. I'm ready for war."

Shouldn't there be a moratorium on "war" quotes by athletes and the sports media when the country is actually at war? Will anyone call KG out over his over the top comments? Am I over reacting? Can we somehow pin the rash of defections from the USA Olympic Basketball Team on Dubya?

Keep in mind said MVP won't be representing his country in the Olympics this summer in Athens (although it should be pointed out, he did in the last Olympiad).

Methinks the TWolves are having a hard time dealing with the pressure that seems to mount by the game as they advance farther than the franchise has ever been in the NBA Playoffs. Both of their playoff series this season have been filled with trash talking, ill will and near brawls. The big news from Game 6 was the altercation between KG and his former team mate Anthony Peeler, which resulted in Peeler's two game suspension.

The TWolves franchise has never played in a Game 7 and the Kings are 0-3 in playoff basketball's biggest spectacle. Who will step up on Wednesday?

It's not exactly rocket science but check out this USA Today article that tells us that with a standard recording contract, a band stands to make about $40,000 if they sell 500,000 copies of a CD priced at $18.98.

One thing in the article that was news to me....CD royalties are calculated at 85% of the royalty rate that applies to cassettes and vinyl LP's, a practice that started when CD's were more expensive to produce but is apparently still in place today.

Still recovering from this weekend's alcohol fueled bachelor party festivities. And if that wasn't bad enough, sea ray didn't go on until about 11:45 last night(!!!). All this leads to a rough Monday for your truly, although I am very thankful to be unemployed today. I promise a full recap of the weekend and sea ray gig later tonight or tomorrow.

Until then, here is some stuff to tide you over:

My first story for Gothamist Sports!

The Sports Guy squares off versus Ralph Wiley on the NBA Playoffs.

But have you seen a single coach in Round 2 that made you think, "Wow, that guy knows what the hell he's doing"? I mean, besides Ron Jeremy with the Heat?

All the games this weekend were out of control. The excitement level went from like two all the way up to ten after Derek Fisher's shot and the other games this weekend. David Stern is breathing one big sigh of relief.

The Celtics have started working out draft candidates.

Here's Britney looking less than beautiful.

Guess Who's back / back again?
The Sports Guy's back / tell a friend

Oh. Mah. Gahd.

To my Coachella peeps, all is forgiven. I now know the reason that you weren't able to get The Sports Guy's autograph during your adventure on the West Coast. He doesn't work at the Kimmel show anymore! He quit in order to return to writing full time for ESPN.com! This is HUGE!

Here are some exepts from his latest column in which he delves into The Spurs / Lakers game from last night, The Karate Kid and Survivor All Stars:

Q: Feel my pain. It's now two hours after Game 5 of the Spurs losing on the Derek Fisher miracle shot, and I had to check your "Levels of Losing" column for perspective. Was this a clear-cut Level II "Stomach Punch"?
--Rick Romo, Missouri City, Texas

SG: Funny you should ask -- I wondered about this even as Fisher was sprinting off the court. I can't remember a group of fans going from "Sheer Ecstacy" to "Complete Shock" in a smaller time frame, with the possible exception of A) the '72 Olympic game between USA and USSR, or B) Knicks fans finding out that Scott Layden had been fired and replaced by Isiah Thomas.

Q: Regarding your list of great non-finals NBA performances: What about Larry Bird's Game 7 against Bernard King and the '84 Knicks? 39 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. The great Hubie Brown said that this was the game that elevated Larry from mere future Hall of Famer to mythic, legendary status. Also, I think decisive games should count more than others.
--Seth B, Jonesboro, Ark.

SG: Agreed. You could also argue that Game 5 of the Indy series in '91 should have been on there -- he banged his head on the floor, made the Willis Reed comeback and outbattled Miller and Person. It's tough to narrow it down to one or two memorable Larry playoff games, though. It's like picking a favorite "Chappelle Show" episode -- do you go with Charlie Murphy's story about playing hoops against Prince, or the one with Wayne Brady, or the one with the Black Real World ... I mean, how can you choose?

Q: While being subjected to the "Survivor All-Stars" finale last weekend, I couldn't help but think that it could have turned out to be one of the greatest moments on television if Amber were to win the vote and the million, then pull out a Yankees hat and tell Boston Rob that she used him the entire time.
--Ted Schneider, Seattle

SG: I like how you said it would have been "one of the greatest moments on television." I'm pretty sure that never would have been topped. By the way, what were the odds that the diehard Red Sox fan would end up losing 4-3 -- the same way the Sox lost in the '46, '75 and '86 World Series, as well as the 2003 ALCS -- then be credited for dominating the game all season and outwitting everybody, even though he fell just short in the end? This has all the makings of Dan Shaughnessy's next depressing book.

Q: I don't live in a cave or anything, but I noticed that Page 2 no longer shows you as a writer for "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in the little sentence at the end of each column. I've heard nothing about the show going away, but nothing about you leaving, either. What's going on?
--Matt Karpowitz, Olathe, Kansas

SG: Remember when MJ came back to the Bulls in '95 and put out that two-word press release? Well ...

Anyway ...I'm back.

I just got a huge smile on my face when i read that last bit. And yes I am a huge dork. This makes my weekend. This totally makes sense when you think about it. Earlier this week I pointed out how his writing has been much better of late.

I wish I could expound more on the subject but I am in the middle of my XML class and shit is deep. It's all I can do to keep up. I'm off to the beach for the weekend for a bachelor party, so see you next week!

Also of note:
The NBA playoffs won't last 4 months next season.

sea ray in Charlotte on Sunday night!

0:11 Kobe Bryant made 21 ft Jumper. (72-71)

0:00 Tim Duncan made 17 ft Jumper. (72-73)

0:00 Derek Fisher made 16 ft Two Point Shot. (74-73)

0:00 End Game Lakers win 74-73

"One lucky shot deserves another," Shaquille O'Neal said.

The Lakers head home for Game 6 Saturday night having won three straight.

Effing Lakers!

Well, all these computer classes are paying off. Yesterday I passed my certification test so I am officially Micro$oft certified in PowerPoint XP. The test was much harder than I thought it was going to be. I was really sweating it at the end. I figured out the last question with 18 seconds to go. It will be nice to update the resume with that one. Also, I got a call from a fairly large bank yesterday about a possible opening in their investment services department. Not the sexiest job in the world, but all the built in holidays and straight up 9 to 5 schedule would be nice. We'll see.

Check out this photo of Morrissey and David Johansen taken backstage at the Apollo. I had no idea that he was Buster Poindexter.

Here is an NME review of one of the Wiltern gigs.

And lastly, go to Ultragrrl's site and download The Killers cover of Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself RIGHT NOW. Shit is Hott! Methinks their EP on the iTunes Music Store will be a future purchase.

Speaking of, the iTMS won two Webbies.

Props to Matt 5500 for this pic of a preggers Gynnie from W Magazine.

Oasis to play Glasto warm up.

Info on Paul Weller's new single as well as his upcoming tour and album of covers.

Am I the only one that thinks that Lollapalooza 2004 has a better line up than the Reading/Leeds festival? Super Furries notwithstanding of course. They are worth the trip to the UK by themselves. Let us not forget that last time they played that late on the bill at a festival, someone tried to drive a van through the crowd.

Poor Avril.

Athens latest: Amare in; K-Mart out.

Unfrozen Caveman Centerfielder Johnny Damon will shave his beard later this month for charity. However, the hair stays. Listen to his offseason training porgram:
When he arrived in Fort Myers, Fla., Damon talked about his unusual after-dark training regime: Racing cars on the Orlando street where he lives, which has a 25 mph speed limit.
"Once a car starts coming, I'll just race it to my house," he said. "I scare the cars to speed up a little more, seeing a caveman-looking guy with long hair running at 10 or 11 at night."

1115.org on Nick Berg. I stayed up last night to get some reaction to this from CNN and other news sources, but everyone was mostly covering the prison abuse scandal.

Just because: Costofwardotcom.

You listen to what you’ve got
You listen to what you’ve got
And then you realise that it’s nothing

Computer geeks of the world / Unite and take over!
So apparently Liam Gallagher didn't get his teeth kicked in by the Munich Mafia in December of 2002 as originally reported. Turns out his assailants were actually a group of estate agents and computer salesmen. In other shocking news, the Oasis frontman had been using cocaine and was "totally drunk" when the mêlée broke out in the nightclub. Now his five attackers are likely to be charged with causing grievous bodily harm in the brawl that cost Gallagher his front teeth and left much of the nightclub furniture reduced to matchwood. Gallagher, 31, could also face proceedings, Munich’s chief prosecutor, Anton Winkler, said yesterday.
He added: "He was the worst one in the entire episode. He assaulted a police officer who was trying to pull other people apart. If proceedings are brought he could face a fine or suspended sentence."
The police report states that the fight began because the Oasis group began flicking peanuts at the businessmen.
The Oasis spirit is alive and well if if their music isn't. [link via Catchdubs]

Not to be outdone, big bruva Noel has collaborated on a song with Ian Brown for inclusion on the former Stone Roses vocalists new album. Now if the Gallaghers would only GET AROUND TO FINISHING THEIR OWN FOOKIN' ALBUM!

Brett Anderson spills the beans on the new material he's been working on with Bernard Butler. News of note: Their new group will not be called Suede.

Fight Club desktop icons for OSX! How hot is this? There is also a set for Windoze XP if you're into that sort of thing. Thanks to Redboy for the link.

Speaking of Chucky P, it appears someone is a big fan of this book.

It's official! AT&T Wireless is the worst cellular carrier in the country.

Elijah Wood is the new John Peel. For a short time anyway. Talk about a dream job. [link via Largehearted Boy]

How many times have I talked about this? It seems like such a no brainer! Apple is working diligently to put out of print albums up for sale in it's iTunes Music Store. iTunes, the leader of the digital music services pack, has a catalog of over 700,000 songs -- but that's not nearly enough for Apple. To maintain its lead, the company is on a hunt to find exclusive music, everything from out-of-print singles in music company vaults to songs that have never been pressed onto a CD and even recordings from the estates of deceased artists.
On the conference call about the first birthday of the iTunes Music Store, Jobs said that getting such songs online is one of the next hurdles for online services and the music industry. In general, he said, labels have less than a third of the music in their vaults available for sale because it's too expensive to distribute such CDs to stores.
But to make songs available online, record companies wouldn't have to press CDs, get them to stores and worry about returns. "It's a one-time cost," Luke said. "Once it's been encoded and delivered, it's in the digital marketplace."
And if anyone can get the labels to open the vaults, Jobs can, analysts said.

Coolfer will love this quote in particular:
"It's probably a bit much to say Jobs is saving the music industry, but he's showing them the way into the digital age. They have been stumbling around drunk in the dark," said Barry Ritholtz, a market strategist with Maxim Group, a money-management firm.

Also, Apple was awarded a patent for their iTunes interface.

King James is going to Athens. Also on board is Starbury and The Matrix. I love the Starbury selection (lobbied for it even), but The Matrix? He was less than impressive in the world championships a few years back. Much like Ben Wallace, his game isn't really suited for international competition.

At least we can still yell "Stupid Mascot" at them.

Hmmmmm...ACC coaches want want to keep the conference schedule at 16 games when as the conference expands in the next 2 years. TV wants 18 conference games. Who do you think will win? Yeah, me too. Shame.

What are you looking for? / You’ll never get close,
You definitely don’t know / you definitely don’t know
What you’re about

Even though there was no response to his brilliant Friends v. OC column last week (C'Mon people!) The Sports Guy is on a roll! Much like Cowboy Kevin Millar his batting average is rising by the day. Check out this column where he takes fellow ESPN.com writer Jeff Merron to task for naming the wrong Top 10 Non-Finals Playoff Performances ever. So worth the click through if you have 10 minutes to spare. Or you can read the ilb notes version assembled below.

Today I wanted to tackle Jeff Merron's list of "Top NBA Non-Finals Playoff Performances," which ran yesterday on Page 2 and left me with the Sammi Kapinen "Could somebody help me skate back to my bench?" Face for about three hours afterwards. Eventually I called my editors and demanded Merron's e-mail address so I could sign him up for various porn sites. When they refused, I demanded equal time. Which they granted. Nervously.

(Here's my favorite thing about Hakeem: In a 13-month span, he bested all three rivals from his generation in the playoffs -- Ewing, Shaq and Robinson. How many athletes could say that? In any sport?)

Brilliant stuff. This really brings back good memories from my childhood when the NBA Playoffs were actually exciting, they played more than two games in a seven day span and Robert Parish sucker punching Bill Laimbeer. Yes, the last mention was specifically inserted to take a shot at my loyal readers from Tha D.

Speaking of Peeps from Tha D, check out the Retrobuzz review from this weekend's Last Tourist gig at Paychecks. I hope the group will accept my apologies for not promoting the gig in this space as I was a bit distracted with my Moz trip to NYC. Don't sleep on their May 17th performance opening for the Cosmic Rough Riders at Smalls! Go to their official looking website and download some tunes. Barista Girl is essential and has made it onto quite a few of my iTunes mixes lately.

New Spoon tour! The only Britt that matters will be debuting new material on said dates.

SFA added to Reading/Leeds. OK, time to get a job to fund my August trip to Blighty. I went to both Reading and Leeds with the Furries three years ago and had a grand time backstage and on the tour bus. I took a piss right next to Jarvis from Pulp and Justine from elastica was very nice, as were Gomez. OK, I'll stop name dropping.

Happy Birthday! Not to freak you out or anything, but I can't wait until June when I turn the big 3-0, as my 29th year of existence has brought me nothing but bad luck.

America brought you the hamburger / And America you know here you can shove that hamburger
Morrissey calls us fat pigs on his new record! Literally. At least we have the Happy Meal for Adults now!

The Beta Band to support Morrissey in July. You've got to go pick up Heroes to Zeros toot-suite. It's hella tight.

Moz will be on Subterranean this weekend.

Great Moz article from The Sunday Times. Apollo review from the Guardian.

sea ray started their new tour last night. They hit the QC this Sunday.

Flowerbooking is reporting that (I heart) Ted Leo is entering the studio with none other than Chris Shaw. I absolutely cannot wait to hear the fruits of their labor. Expect a nice, full sounding record from Ted this time around. Just look at Rings Around The World (voted Album of the Year by Mojo Magazine) as an example of the way Chris can really beef up a bands sound. I got to go up to Bearsville when the Super Furries were recording that record and let me tell you, as boring as a recording studio can be, there is NOTHING like seeing you favorite band on the planet creating new music. I tried unsuccessfully to convince the last band I was working with to use Chris Shaw for their upcoming record, but they decided to use The Matrix instead.

Lil' Jon Soundboard. [via Stereogum]

Sympathy / sympathy
You want some / Don't come to me
Don't try me / for sympathy
I don't feel sorry for thee:

Safely back in the Cackalack, craving sleep but it doesn't appear to be in the cards. So be it. Here is the recap of the rest of my NYC trip.

Saturday got off to a crazed start as my lunch with Coolfer at Bonnies Grill (Best. Burgers. EVER - even veggie ones) made me late for my meeting with Tien Mao and Jen Gothamist regarding my new position as a sports writer for Gothamist dot com. I had been a bit worried about the fact that I don't live in Gotham anymore and how that would affect my ability to write about NYC sports, but that doesn't appear to be an issue. Both Jen and Tien are great people and we came up with some really interesting angles and topics for Gothamist Sports. I'm sure a somewhat formal announcement will be forthcoming through proper channels in the future so for now lets just say keep your eyes on Gothamist. They (we) have some big plans for the future and it should be very exciting. I know I am really looking forward to having a great forum to write about my favorite topic. No, not Morrissey, sports!

After the meeting, I wandered downtown to Fiddlesticks Pub to down a few with DJ Redboy and meet Matt 5500. Conversation consisted mostly of computer dorkiness (big surprise I know) and once Molly made it there, we ventured uptown for Moz's last appearance at the World Famous Apollo Theater.

The crowd seemed much more vocal before the gig and Morrissey did not let us down.

At the start of the show Moz and the rest of the band walked onto the stage together and took a bow at the front of the stage. As the band walked to their positions and picked up their instruments, Moz sang a snippet of My Way and then the band began their set.

First of the Gang to Die - Bah. I was hoping for You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side as a surprise. Oh well. This is a great song but I don't think it really serves as a good set opener.
Hairdresser on Fire - The references in the first few lines were changed to Harlem and the crowd let out a big cheer.
Irish Blood, English Heart - Like Woah. We could be in for a big night if he's moved this one so far up in the set. Developing...
** Thank you. Thank you especially to those that have come every night. We have you're addresses. We'll be around.
The Headmaster Ritual - I think the guy sitting directly behind me summed it best when he screamed "HOLY SHIT!" as the band launched into this one. Boz's acoustic guitar was pushed really far up in the mix and musically this version didn't hold a candle to the recorded one but it was a real treat to hear "please excuse me from gym / I've got this terrible cold coming on" and sing "Ah la la la la da da di da deyaaaaay" along with the rest of the crowd. The whole theatre is eating out of his hands at this point.
I Have Forgiven Jesus - This was the worst of all the new songs he played this week. It's OK until it gets to the chorus. Yawn.
**You won't realize that in a few days we will release a new CD album entitled The Impotence of Earnest. Even