Dirk’s Last Shot

Dirk Nowitzki might go down in history as one of the greatest players of all time. He might be considered one of the greatest big men to ever play in the NBA. He could arguably be put into the category of the best shooters as well. However, all of these accolades and accomplishments will not mean as much if he does not win an NBA championship. Many great players (Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, John Stockton) are all remembered for not getting the job done when it counted. None of their legacies were cemented with a championship. One of the main reasons Michael Jordan is viewed as the greatest player of all time is the 6 championships he helped bring to Chicago in the 90s. And, to go along with that statement, the primary reason that Lebron’s greatness gets questioned is because he hasn’t won jack yet. James could quite possibly be the greatest player of all time when his career is said and done, but as of right now, the argument is laughable. But, as for Dirk, he will get an opportunity starting next Tuesday as Game 1 of the NBA Finals kicks off in Miami, Florida, coincidentally against Lebron James and the Miami Heat. It is a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, which was Dirk’s first opportunity playing for a world title. The Mavericks won the first two games, but then lost the next four, as the Heat captured their first championship in franchise history. Dirk knows how important this series is, for himself, as well as his teammates. Jason Kidd isn’t getting any younger, and at 38, this could be his last chance to win that first championship. Jason Terry is the only player on the Mavericks besides Dirk, that remains from the 2006 team. The storylines for this series are endless. Will Dirk win his first championship, or will Lebron begin his legacy towards becoming the greatest of all time? Will the Mavericks be hungry to avenge their loss five years ago to the Heat? We’ll find out beginning next Tuesday.

I’m hoping that the Mavericks win, primarily because I’ve been watching Dirk and Jason Kidd since I was a little kid, and I’d love to see them win an NBA championship, especially since their careers are both winding down. Lebron is still young, and will have numerous chances to get back to this stage. But for the Mavs, this is quite possibly their last shot to get it done. And in my opinion, nobody deserves it more than Dirk. We’ll see what happens!

OOOHHH YEAHHHH!

I was saddened to find out on Friday morning, as I checked my Facebook newsfeed, that one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, Macho Man Randy Savage was killed. He died of a heart attack while driving in Tampa, Florida at the age of 58. As a kid, my number one passion was wrestling, hands down. I watched wrestling all day, and when I was with friends, we’d all practice the moves on each other and get into character as well. Randy Savage was one of the pillars of the World Wrestling Federation in the late 80s, as well as the early 90s. His unique charisma on the microphone and exceptional wrestling skills separated Randy from the rest of the pack. His interviews were not only intense, they were hilarious! Nobody made me laugh as much as the Macho Man. He really knew how to get into character, and as a kid, I thought wrestling was real. I really thought these guys hated each other, so the Macho Man, to me, was one of the best actors of them all. He always knew how to grasp his audience, and intensify the match he was about to have with his opponent. The storylines he was able to develop with his peers created some of the best matches in wrestling history. One of the most memorable of these matches was at WrestleMania 3, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. In front of 93,000 people, Randy Savage faced Ricky Steamboat in, what many consider, the greatest match of all time. He also had a great rivalry with the Hulk Hogan, as the two men carried the WWF for many years. Randy would leave the WWF in 1994, and went to WCW, where he tried to generate the same character but the response was never as welcoming as it was in the WWF. He was beloved by wrestling fans all over the world. His catchphrases are still used today. He’s most famous for his “Snap into a Slim Jim” line. The Macho Man will surely be missed by wrestling fans throughout the world. His legacy will always be remembered, and hopefully, he will soon be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving than Randy Savage. OOOOOHHHH YEAHHHH!!!!! Here’s just one of his many classic interviews.

King Rose vs. Prince James

Ever since Lebron James decided to “take his talents to South Beach”, he has been the topic of major criticism and controversy. Everyone was shocked when he decided to leave his hometown and join forces with Dwyane Wade in Miami. However, I always expected this from Lebron James. Ever since high school, Lebron has been put on a pedestal higher than the Empire State Building, proclaimed as the next Michael Jordan. He was given a 90 million dollar sneaker deal before he even played a single professional game. Lebron was given the moniker King James, which I thought was pathetic, ever since day 1. The man has been in the league for 8 seasons and has not even won an NBA championship. Although his chances are extremely high this year, especially after knocking off their rivals, The Boston Celtics, one more obstacle stands in his way. The Chicago Bulls are back, led by their MVP, Derrick Rose, who is essentially the opposite of Lebron James. Lebron is full of drama and always in the spotlight. Rose, on the other hand, is somewhat of an introvert. He is one of the most humble and respectful players in the NBA. Lebron has become a brand, similar to what Jordan was back in the mid 90s. He will most likely go on to be successful in other businesses, whereas Rose is completely focused on basketball, and that’s it! Derrick Rose embodies all of the characteristics that a young player should emulate. He is a modest,humble and respectful player who always praises his teammates, and strives to be a better player every year. Rose became the youngest player to win the MVP award this year at 22 years of age. The Bulls have reached their first conference finals since 1998, the last year Jordan played for them. It’s going to be a great series, and I’m hoping Rose’s Bulls move on to the NBA Finals.I love everything he stands for as an NBA player. As for Lebron, I hope he continues to fail, because for a man with no championships, he acts like he’s already proven more than anyone else. He hasn’t proven anything, and I hope he never does! Here’s some highlights of the MVP, Derrick Rose! The conference finals start this Sunday at 5 p.m.

Bin Laden’s gone…so are our troops!

So almost 10 years have gone by since the horrifying attacks on September 11, 2001, orchestrated by the Al Qaieda leader, Osama Bin Laden. On May 1st, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, as well as numerous attacks on American soil in the past, was finally killed near the capital city of Pakistan. The news broke out early Sunday afternoon, as tweets were spread throughout the world, confirming that Bin laden had in fact been found and killed. I was watching the Mets Phillies game, and I read the breaking news at the bottom of the screen. The crowd slowly started to find out about the news, and soon, chants of U.S.A broke out throughout the entire stadium.

I didn’t know what to think when I first heard the news. A part of me was happy and relieved that we finally got him, but my mind and heart were still focused on all of the soldiers and civilians that were killed by this man, and that nothing would bring those people back. It took us almost 10 years to catch one man, and now that he’s gone, his followers will just continue to preach his beliefs to other potential followers. Bin Laden, here or not, will always have a huge influence on the people that worship him. In a way, it actually might be a little more dangerous now that he’s gone, because his followers might want to strike back at us since we killed their leader.

Being a former military member, it was a bittersweet feeling to know that Bin Laden is finally dead. He’s one of the main reasons I joined, so knowing that he wasn’t able to be found while I was still in the military is a little frustrating. However, it’s definitely relieving that he’s gone. But it’s a little odd that we weren’t given the opportunity to see his body before he was buried. And buried at sea? Are you kidding me?  I think he should have been tortured before he died. Too bad we couldn’t catch him alive. I would have paid to see him tortured. Here’s a video of the Mets Phillies broadcast as fans began to find out about Bin Laden’s death.

Why do Americans care about this Bullshit?

So I guess there was a big wedding in Great Britain this morning…because it was all over every tv station here in America! At least it wasn’t on ESPN, because then I really would have been pissed. But this whole story is astonishing to me. There are so many issues going on in America, but the majority of our nation made sure they were glued to their TV or DVR’d this wedding between two people that have nothing to do with our country at all. I understand the background of the relationship, and it is every woman’s dream to be swept off of her feet by “Prince Charming”, but this wedding turned into an underserving American phenomenon. It blows my mind that so many people were eager to watch this dreadfully boring event. In our group activity on Thursday, it was the only common topic on the front page of the newspapers we cover in class. It’s been the major topic for weeks now, on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and even news channels such as CNN and Fox. I feel that America is as obsessed and passionate about this wedding as the British are. There are even commercials advertising a replica of the Princess’s ring!

This wedding comes on the heels of a major tornado that struck the western region of Alabama on Wednesday. Over 200 people were killed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in what has become one of the most devastating tornados in recent history. After hearing this, it further frustrated me about how fixated this country was on the Royal Wedding. In a way, it perfectly showed where most of our heads are at. I have a bunch of friends that Tivo’d and DVR’d the event, and I’m considering never talking to them again. On facebook, it was the most talked about topic on my newsfeed. Whether people were promoting it, or bashing it, it was still being discussed. And here I am, writing a blog about it! Didn’t we get our independence from them over 230 years ago? The reason we left is because we didn’t want to live in a world controlled by a King and a monarchy. But by the looks of it, I guess our forefathers were wrong.

And it looks like Prince Harry is already stressing out about the marriage. The guy is 28 and has a bigger bald spot than Hulk Hogan!

Steroids…What’s the BIG problem?

So I was browsing the list of instant movies on netflix and i came across a documentary that I’ve been wanting to see for a while called Bigger, Stronger, Faster. The documentary focused on steroids, and the truth behind the controversial drugs. I thought it was going to be completely biased, since most documentaries tend to tell only one side of the story. However, it was a very informative and shocking report of the negatives, as well as the positives, and also the myths that have circulated about steroids.

The documentary examines the steroid use of Christopher Bell, who directed the film, and his two brothers, Mark and Mike. All three brothers idolized American iconic figures such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hulk Hogan and Sylvester Stallone, but the film goes on to show how all of their heroes eventually admit to using performance enhancing drugs. Chris is the main character in the film, and talks about how he contemplated using steroids for a while. His hesitation did not stop his brothers, who both started taking steroids at a very young age. Mark and Mike were both powerlifters, and they figured that they might as well try, since their childhood heroes were using them. Chris, on the other hand, was reluctant because he felt betrayed by his heroes. He always thought that Hogan and Rocky were doing things the “American” way, which was considered natural without any help. For example, in Rocky 4, when Stallone battles the Russian, Ivan Drago, a montage is shown where Drago is being injected with steroids, while Rocky is climbing mountains, throwing logs, beating up meat, and picking up a carriage filled with people. And all this time, our hero was just like the rest of them. Chris goes to a slew of different sources throughout the film to get more information on the truth behind the debatable drugs.

One interesting segment in the film is when Chris finds out that, on a list of the most common emergency visits, steroids is actually number 142 on the list, behind multi vitamins! I was shocked when I realized that more people go to the emergency room because of their inability to digest multi vitamins than those who use steroids.

Chris has a great sense of humor, and adds a little bit of sarcasm when he interviews different people throughout the film. One scene, at Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, he confronts a man that has been working out at this location forever!. He looks about 50 years old, and lives in his van, but still finds the time to work out daily. This scene gives the audience an idea of how determined these men still are about achieving what they once had, but does so in a very depressing and eye opening way.

The film caught my eye because of my love for sports, particularly baseball. We’ve lived through an era where baseball will always be remembered as the “steroid era.” I remember the year when Mark Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa shocked the baseball world in 1998 as they both chased the single season home run record, which was previously 61 held by Roger Maris, and had not been broken for 37 years. Now, there were two people closing in on that record in the same season!. It was insane! Mcgwire eventually broke the record, but Sosa did as well by the end of the season. Three years later, Barry Bonds would break Mcgwire’s record by hitting 73 homeruns, still a single season record to this day. However, all of their accomplishments were short lived, as all of these men were accused of taking performance enhancing drugs. Mcgwire recently confessed, Sosa was caught a few years ago, and with Bonds, it’s just flat out obvious! The guy’s head grew 2 hat sizes!  So, if anyone is interested to find out more about steroids, this is the documentary for you!

Here’s the trailer for the film Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Take a look!

Jersey Whore!

I can’t stand The Jersey Shore. I can’t stand that millions of people watch this show on a weekly basis, and become obsessed with the worthless, low-life characters  that do not have an ounce of talent. Nothing has happened recently regarding these scumbags, but I just felt like getting this off my chest. I’ve always despised this show, even before I ever gave it a chance. But a lot of my friends watch it, so I figured that it’s not necessarily fair to dislike something if you’ve never given it a shot. So a few weeks ago, I decided to watch an episode, and I soon realized that my hatred for the show was completely justified. It was worse than I thought it was. The characters are on the show are the dumbest, immature, ignorant, slutty, uneducated, unattractive people I’ve ever seen on television. If this were the 80s, even 90s, the show would have probably been cut after the first episode. However, in the year 2011, this is exactly what people want to see. It’s obvious, because the ratings are sky high, and these talent-less morons are getting paid millions of dollars to act like complete fools on television.

Snooki, this short, disgusting whore on the show, is one of the most annoying human beings ever allowed on television. She makes a fool of herself every week, making ridiculous comments that are not funny, but sad and embarrassing. I think that’s one of the main reasons why I don’t watch the show. There are so many funny comics on television, people with real talent, who have mastered the art of comedy. In one episode, she admits that she doesn’t even know what tuna is…fucking idiot!

Another reason why I think the show is a complete waste of airtime is the fact that these people are degrading themselves, without actually portraying a character. They are supposedly being “themselves”, but essentially, they are just showing the world how ridiculously worthless they really are. They sleep with people they barely know, the girls are not even attractive and try to cover it up with gallons of makeup, which still doesn’t even help. I can go on and on about why the show is pointless but I don’t have an entire year to list all of its flaws and annoyances. These assholes give New Jersey a bad name, and more importantly, make Italians look like complete idiots. Here’s a clip from the hit television show…Be aware my friends, you might wanna break your screen.