Rookie Sophomore recap

It was an up and down affair, and just as high flying as I had hoped. I can't imagine the regular all star game being this exciting tomorrow. My favorite dunks of the night came from Blake Griffin, James Harden, and Dejuan Blair. My favorite part is watching Steph Curry look up as Blake Griffin elevates.





John Wall did end up taking home the MVP trophy. Demarcus Cousins had a pretty nice game for the rookies, too. I am excited to watch the Dunk Contest tonight. I might check out some of the D League recap or whatever too, those dudes tend to throw down hard at times too.

Melo to the Nets or Knicks?

Depending on what you read/believe, both the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks appear to have a deal in place for Carmelo Anthony. Of course, he can't be in two places at once so expect this all to get cleared up shortly. I wouldn't be surprised if no formal announcement is made until Monday though.

ROUNDBALL- Derrick Rose. Mavs keep rolling. JJ redick gif

There was only two games on the schedule last night, as most teams were gearing up for another all star weekend. I really wish I was in Los Angeles right now. Here's a gif that I may or may not have made this morning.

The Bulls went into the all star break with a big win against the Spurs last night. I sometimes have trouble recognizing good players on teams I don't like very much. Evidence of this would Michael Jordan, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki. Obviously, I know they are all good players but being such bitter rivals with Texas (and the Bulls), I just never wanted to recognize their talent. Plus, one of my best friends is a Suns fan. So it took two MVP trophies for me to give Nash props. I would welcome him with open arms in a trade to Houston. Anyway, I am saying all this as a back story to why I never wanted to give Derrick Rose props. This season I have recognized very quickly that I can not do this anymore. Derrick Rose has quickly become one of the best players in the NBA and is a legitimate MVP candidate. Last night, the Bulls hosted the Spurs, a team known for its defensive prowess. All Derrick Rose did to that defense was go off for a career high 42 points, as well as 5 boards and 8 assists. He was clearly channeling his inner MJ on the legend's 48th birthday. This Bulls team is going to be a force when Noah returns next week. I can't wait for the playoffs to get here.

Dallas closed out it's first half by defeating the Phoenix Suns on the road last night, 112-106. Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 35 points. You don't really hear about him erupting for high scoring games like this as much as you would have three or four seasons ago. Maybe playing against pal Steve Nash brings the best out in him. Nash had 15 points and 14 assists in the loss and Channing Frye paced them with 24 points. It is still great to look back on how far Channing Frye has come since his early days with the Knicks. Dallas and Miami enter the all star break as the two hottest teams in the NBA.

Pg. 99 reuniting this summer...

VA based band pg.99 will be reuniting and performing Document #8 in its entirety at Best Friend's Day's tenth anniversary in Richmond, VA. This band used to play some great, loud shows in Rochester back in the day and it would be great to see them again.

Kevin Durant signs an exclusive contract with Panini America.

Kevin Durant has signed an exclusive memorabilia deal with Panini. As someone who has recently gotten back into cards, that excites me. Panini has been banging out a ton of quality products this season in hoops, from Prestige to Threads to Donruss, and on. It will be great to be chasing more Durant autos next season now. The move will put Durant's face on some of Panini's main packaging, starting with Absolute Memorbilia in March, a product which by the way was amazing last year.

BEST BASKETBALL HIGHLIGHT OF THE SEASON SO FAR

JJ JUST GOT HIS ANKLES BROKEN. KU CREW!!!!

ROUNDBALL- CAVS CAVS CAVS CAVS

Proving that anything is possible in the NBA, the Cavs avenged an embarrassing loss to the Lakers by beating them last night. The Cavs were able to do all of this despite a ridiculous game from Pau Gasol, where he finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. The Lakers were only down by two in the final seconds of this game, but Ramon Sessions made two key free throws to ice this one. Coincidentally, I picked him up in fantasy basketball yesterday. The word is that this might have been him showcasing himself for other teams. Sessions finished the game off with a season high 32 points. The Cavs also got double doubles from JJ Hickson (13 and 15) and Antawn Jamison (19 and 10). In a perfect world, Jamison would get traded to a contender next week.

The Clippers and Timberwolves played the final of their (over)hyped up "Double double bowls" last night. Blake Griffin produced a line that was almost identical to the last game, with no double double. He finished with a game high 29 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists. The lack of a double double didn't matter much as the Clippers were able to defeat the Timberwolves. Kevin Love had 18 and 18 in the loss for Minnesota. It will be exciting to see Griffin and Love this weekend during all star festivities.

The bad news is that Houston lost to Philadelphia last night. Andre Iguodala had a triple double in the victory (13/12/10), although he did shoot 3/15 from the field in this game. Six other 76ers players scored in double figures in this game. Kyle Lowry (36/4/7, including six threes) and Luis Scola (26 and 13) had big games in the loss for Houston. The good news is that The Rockets are aggressively trying to acquire Nene from the Denver Nuggets. I will take that consolation if we can't snag Carmelo Anthony, although acquiring BOTH in a trade would be amazing.

The Magic did in fact win this game by 25 points. The Wizards are one of the worst teams in the NBA right now. But I still ended up watching the highlights several times, to watch Kirk Hinrich cross JJ Redick over. See the previous post for that and be prepared for a laugh. Anyway, Dwight Howard (32 and 10) and Jason Richardson led the Magic (16/6/3 with three threes) in the victory. Despite getting his ankles broken, JJ Redick did finish off the night with six points.

The Pistons defeated the Pacers in overtime last night, giving Frank Vogel his first losing streak. Tayshaun Prince had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pistons in the victory. Rip Hamilton sat yet again with a "groin" injury. He has played a total of 20 minutes in the last month for the Pistons and you have to wonder what they expect to deal him for next week. Tracy McGrady reached the 18,000 career point plateau in this game. Roy Hibbert continued his recent strong play, finishing off with 29 points and 9 boards in the loss.

Chris Bosh returned to Toronto to a chorus boos as the Heat handed the Raptors their 41st loss of the season. The Big Three all had great games for the Heat, as they combined for 76 of the Heat's 103 points. Dwyane Wade led the Heat once again with 28 points. Andrea Bargnani continues to piece it all together for the lowly Raptors. He led all scorers with 38 points in this game, giving him an average of just under 27 points a game in February.

Despite a flurry of trade talks, negative publicity, and locals losing faith in him, Carmelo Anthony has been having one of his best pro seasons this year. He continued that run last night, helping the Nuggets in a defeat of the Milwaukee Bucks. Anthony led all scorers with 38 points and 12 rebounds. In the final days leading up to the deadline, it has been all but certain the Carmelo Anthony will be playing basketball elsewhere come March. That hasn't effected his play all that much this season from what I have seen. John Salmons led the Bucks with a season high 33 points and Andrew Bogut added 20 rebounds.

Ty Corbin fell to 0-3 as the hot Warriors inched their way closer to the .500 mark. They will head into the all star break only three games under, not bad considering how competitive the west is. Monta Ellis led the Warriors with yet another great game, finishing with 35 points, 4 boards, and 7 assists. I would refer to him as another in a long line of western players that could have been all stars. This was the fifth consecutive home loss for the reeling Jazz.

Having watched my share of Nets games this season, I did not believe that had it in them to close it out against the Celtics last night. Sorry, but I was correct in my judgement of this team. On a night where some teams were clearly looking ahead to the all star break already, the Celtics kept getting down to business. The Nets were actually tied with the Celtics heading into the fourth quarter. Being that they have no clutch players, their whole team shut itself down halfway through the fourth quarter and the Celtics were able to go on a 16-0 run towards the end of the quarter. That obviously did New Jersey in. Paul Pierce rebounded nicely from his 0-10 performance in his last game. He finished the game with 31 points.

The Knicks went into the all star break on a winning note, defeating the Atlanta Hawks by 12. Amare Stoudemire returned from a one game absence and led all scorers with 23 points. Marvin Williams had 17 points and 8 boards for the Hawks in the loss. Unfortunately, neither Williams from either team threw a punch last night though.

The Blazers defeated the Hornets last night, behind yet another big game from Lamarcus Aldridge. Aldridge had 34 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists as the Blazers came back in a big way in the fourth quarter. This was the third loss in a row for the Hornets and the sixth win in a row for the Blazers. I still think Alrdridge should have been an all star over Tim Duncan. One of the big rumors I am seeing today involves a lot of Portland Trail Blazers players. Anything to get more consistent play out of Devin Harris would make me happy at this point. If he gets traded for the second time in his career though, that would make me start wondering about his future in the league.


The Dallas Mavericks had no problem with the Kings last night. They beat them by 16 points, as Tyreke Evans missed his second consecutive game with plantar fasciitis. Jason Kidd led all scorers with 20 points, including six threes! The Mavericks were very well balanced in this game, as seven of their players scored between 11 and 14 points. Demarcus Cousins started this game and responded with another double double- 16 points and 12 boards.

Breakfast with Count Me Out

Miguel Cabrera DUI

Move over Charlie Sheen.

ROUNDBALL- OJ Mayo Returns, Demarcus Cousins too, Channing Frye and DWade go off

There was only six games on the schedule again last night. While it was mostly double digit victories again, there were a couple good games that took place.


Frank Vogel's Pacers did their best to Set it off against the Heat last night. The Pacers were down by 22 after the first quarter and turned to their reserves, to get the lead down to within four at the half. Tyler Hansobrough even gave the Pacers the lead at the end of the third quarter. I feel kind of rude for ragging on him his last couple years at UNC now. The Heat were able to close this game out, seemingly taking over on Lebron's alley oop dunk to himself. The play was reminiscent of Tracy McGrady's annual all star alley oops. The Heat led from that point on. Roy Hibbert continues to play better basketball, finishing this game with 18 points and 7 boards. Dwyane Wade finished with 41 points, while Lebron led my fantasy team as always with 27/6/5, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

The Grizzlies defeated Philadelphia last night in O.J. Mayo's first game back from a ten game suspension. As expected, OJ Mayo didn't play much in this game and Memphis didn't really seem to notice. Mike Conley (22/2/3, with 4 threes, 5 steals, and 2 blocks) and Zach Randolph (21/10/7) led the Grizzlies in the victory. Memphis reaches the all star break on fire, having won 12 of their past 15 games. Rudy Gay left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. The Grizzlies have a week off until they play again so I wouldn't be surprised if Gay doesn't miss a single game. Thaddeus Young led all scorers in this game with 23 points.

Channing Frye had a huge game as the Phoenix Suns were able to hold off the Jazz by one point last night. Channing Frye finished the night off with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and six three pointers. Five of Frye's six threes came in the first quarter. Steve Nash continues to do his thing, finishing off the night with 20 points and 14 assists. The assists helped move him into seventh all time on the career leaders list. Al Jefferson had a big game in the loss, finishing off with 32 points and 10 boards. Someday Ty Corbin will get his first win.

The Thunder crushed the Kings last night, as Tyreke Evans sat out with more plantar fasciitis problems. The Thunder won this game by 30 points so there isn't really much to report on in the box score. Most of the minutes were distributed pretty evenly in this game, as no one on the Thunder played more than 27 minutes. Demarcus Cousins returned to the Kings after his altercation with teammate Donte Greene over the weekend. He came off the bench and led all scorers with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Daequan Cook came off the bench for the Thunder and hit five threes.

The Hornets continued to stumble in Golden State last night. Chris Paul had a pretty miserable night, missing his last eight shots after he had made his first four. This Hornets team has to be careful, as only two games separates them from the ninth spot in the West. This is one of many teams that can't wait for the all star break. The Warriors meanwhile kept winning, pulling themselves to within four games of .500. As usual, Monta Ellis led all scorers with 21 points.

Michael Jordan's Bobcats were in Chicago last night. They were unable to hold off Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Co. as the Bulls went on to win by a dozen points. Deng led all scorers with 24 points and Rose paced everyone with 13 assists. Kurt Thomas had 6 points and 5 rebounds in his 1,000th career game. Gerald Henderson paced the Bobcats with 22 points. Charles Oakley was in the house as well on a real legends night.

HC TIME MACHINE: APRIL 26, 1997 SLUGFEST, HATEBREED

At the Integrity show I mentioned a few days back, I was handed this flyer by Steve Titus. I did not make it to either show and never saw Warzone unfortunately. The best thing I have seen involving Warzone is when I lived in Denver in 2006. I saw the Gorilla Biscuits reunion and they covered As One. I lost my mind, diving off the stage at least three or four times during the first 30 seconds of the song. Cervante's rules.

This was my second hardcore show in Buffalo and the first time I traveled there by myself. Well I went up there with two of my good friends at the time. Five days before this show, I got jumped outside of school and never went back. I guess you could say by this time I was looking forward to letting off some steam at this show. My friends and I caught the bus up to Buffalo for this show and stayed the night with a friend's relatives. We got into Buffalo early in the afternoon, so we could scope out Home of the Hits and to make sure we got into the show. Before the internet and GPS, you had to use a little thing called a map and your head. That's what we set out to do when we got off the Greyhound. I should also point out that this was the first time I caught a bus to a hardcore show. It definitely wouldn't be the last. Anyway, we figured out which bus would take us up Elmwood Avenue and hopped on the next one. While on the bus, we saw a dude with Xs on his hands and an H2O jacket board the bus. He saw us and immediately struck up a conversation with us, asked us where we from and whatnot. We told him we were from here and just hanging out for the Slugfest reunion show. He told us where to get off the bus for Home of the Hits and said he would see us at the show later. I later found out this dude's name was Mike Tranz (sp.?), someone I would see here and there at shows again but never really talk to again. He also referred to Home of the Hits, as "Home of the Shits," a name I have kept up with to this day. We grabbed a pizza before heading to Home of the Hits at a spot on Elmwood Ave where I would enjoy pizza many times after this. That is one of the few things I sometimes miss about being vegan, Buffalo pizza. Anyway, we hung around at Home of the Hits for a bit, grabbed some records, and a few fanzines, and bounced out of there. I think I bought a copy of Second Nature fanzine if I am not mistaken.

After this, we made our way down to the Showplace Theatre. There was two people standing outside, wearing matching Digression shirts. My friend Ben and I ended up chatting with them for a good while as a long line started to develop outside. Their names were Jonah and Ed. They were from Cleveland and I would keep in touch with Jonah for several years after this. While we were standing outside, I bought a copy of Hanging Like A Hex fanzine for the first time. Ryan ended up also being someone that I remained in contact with for many years after this. He also gave us a flyer for the "Syracuse 3 Day Hardcore Fest," a fest which I would attend. I have to admit at this point, I was pretty excited to see Hatebreed. I had been listening to their 7" pretty heavily for the better part of the last month. I had also been listening to the Brothers Keeper full length the week before to get myself ready for some serious sing alongs. I was expecting this show to be packed, as most of the few people in the Rochester hardcore scene were planning on being in attendance. Plus Buffalo hardcore seemed so huge to me back then. I found an old school message board post while looking this one up.


Birthrite canceled so Extinction opened this show off. I remember at the time chalking them up as a crappy mosh band. Obviously members of this band went onto bigger things, as Neeraj toured the world with The Hope Conspiracy, Pete Wentz created a real shitty band that made it big, and Jim Grimes booked a lot of great Chicago Hardcore shows.

Cast Iron Hike was next, a real horrible quirky band from Massachusetts. I have no idea how they got into this show, as Ryan Hex is the only person in the US that I can remember ever liking this band. My friend Ben and I watched from the back and made fun of them.

Hatebreed played next and it wasn't quite the full scale prison riot I had expected. There was a small incident involving one of the Syracuse Sluggers and someone wearing a Strong Intention shirt though. Other than that, this was a pretty tame set. Granted, Hatebreed only had six or seven songs at the time. This was when I was moshing pretty horribly and frequently so I would obviously love to see video of this show. I would go on to see Hatebreed many more times, but this was one of my favorites.

Brother's Keeper was up next and I was pretty amped up to see them by this point. Most of my friends ragged on me over the years for getting into this band, but I don't care. This was some of the most positive music I have heard from a hardcore band, or whatever you want to call them. Ok, so Mike Ski's voice was a little on the high end. I would go on to see the Beekeeper a number of times over the next five years, in Buffalo, Erie, Syracuse, and at a small Rochester that I set up in 2001. I think they were a little too different for hardcore kids, but it was always a breath of fresh air for me to throw The Continuum on.

Slugfest capped the night off. I was pretty beat at this point and pretty unfamiliar with their band so I just stood by a railing drinking some water. However, when they burst into a cover or Minor Threat, I threw my cup of water into the air and ran up front to sing along. This was a practice I would use at several festivals years later. I never really got that into Slugfest, but Scott's next three bands (Despair, Buried Alive, and Terror) would have a large impact on my life for the next five or ten years.


Since I have started writing these articles, I have seen some people also post their great stories from this time period. It is amazing to be able to reflect fourteen years later with some of you people. I have now been into this movement for half of my life and I can't wait to create more memories like the ones I have been talking about on here recently. It is also crazy to think that some of the people in these bands from this particular show are still very active in hardcore bands. Hell, Hatebreed has stayed together this whole entire time. How many hardcore bands have been able to do that without breaking up?

Enterprise Hardcore

Around ten years ago or so, I decided to start up this silly little promotions thing called Enterprise Hardcore. Primarily, I would set up hardcore shows (duh!). Around 2004, I started losing interest. Since then, I have put on about four or five shows with my buddy Dave Palermo. Now that I am about to turn 30 and this Rochester hardcore scene is hanging on by a thread, I have decided to step in for a bit and continue on with my friend Dave. Here are the first four diverse bills we have booked. There will be plenty more.

Sunday February 20, 2011
Bad Taste
Memory Loss
Nightmares
These Eyes
Dub Land Underground 315 Alexander Street Rochester, NY 6PM $5
Facebook Event Page




Sunday February 27, 2011
Orodruin
Death Camp
Beastman
Malformed
Dub Land Underground 315 Alexander Street Rochester, NY 6PM $5
Facebook Event Page

Friday March 18, 2011
Born Low (Albany, Reaper Records)
Dawn of War
The March
These Eyes
Elixir 938 S. Clinton Ave. Rochester, NY 7PM $5
Facebook Event Page

Saturday March 26, 2011
My Island (ex members of Roses are Red and Lifetime, first Rochester appearance)
Banquets
Anyn
plus one more TBA
4PM $5
Facebook Event Page

Naughty By Nature on David Letterman

Naughty By Nature Performed on David Letterman a couple weeks back. Almost nineteen years ago, my sister took me to see them headline a concert at the War Memorial with Das Efx, Cypress Hill, Black Sheep, House of Pain, and Brothers Uv Da Blackmarket. I always wondered what happened to the Brothers. I did find their tape a couple years later and I wasn't all that impressed. Anyway, I guess I wouldn't have expected Naughty By Nature to have such staying power. Then again, they did create two of the biggest hits in hip-hop history. Also, on the Flavor Unit tour, Naughty By Nature was referring to 19Naughty3 as 19Naughty2. I guess it got delayed like every other hip-hop record.

BIG L REST IN PEACE!!!!!!!!!

12 years ago today, hip-hop lost one if it's greatest, if not THE greatest. On February 15, 1999 Big L was shot eight times and tragically died instantly. He was only 24 and his best years were still ahead of him. It is debatable but L could have been well on his way to becoming the greatest MC of all time, a feat that a lot of heads already throw his way anyway. The only two living members of L's group Children of the Corn- Mase and Cam'ron (known as Murder Mase and Killa Cam back then)- have gone on to stardom, thanks in large part to their start with Big L. You can also hear Jay-Z rapping on Big L's debut record: "Lifestyles ov da Poor & Dangerous." This was the only record he would complete while still alive, The Big Picture was released posthumously. Both records are great pieces of hip hop history. Some of his best material are his lengthy freestyles, where L throws out some of most quotable lines I have ever heard. Also, the beat for Flamboyant will still be that fire in fifty years. The connections and talent were definitely there for him to make a name for himself. Unfortunately, we live in a cold world and sometimes people are taken away from us at the most inopportune of times. Luckily, there are enough of us out there to carry the flag on. Hip hop fanatics should be bumping Big L in his memory all day. I know I will be. STOP THE VIOLENCE, INCREASE THE PEACE!!!!!!! TURN OFF THIS LIL WAYNE GARBAGE AND LISTEN TO SOME REAL SHIT.

ROUNDBALL- At least the Rockets won, Lakers lose to Bobcats!

There was only six games lined up last night, so it is kind of hard for me to escape the Kansas loss this morning. I am skipping my morning routine of ESPN shows and whatnot and going straight into movies. Honestly though, I had "that feeling" about the game last night anyway. Sorry.

The brightside is that during the KU loss, the Rockets were busying destroying the Nuggets. Even that was bittersweet, as I lived in Denver for three months in 2006. Most of this win was due in large part to the Rockets bench showing up in a big way to this game. Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill, and Aaron Broooks were all helpful in this victory for the Rockets. Lee led all scorers with 22 points, including five threes. Of course, the word is out now that the Rockets were auditioning Lee for the rest of the league in this game. Carmelo Anthony went to the locker room early to "ice his knees." Not sure if THIS had anything to do with it.

The Hawks defeated the Pistons by fifteen last night, despite being down by fifteen themselves in the second quarter. Josh Smith (27/14/3) and Mike Bibby (16/6/7) led the Hawks in this victory. Expect this Pistons team to continue to tumble even further down the standings over the next two months, if that's at all possible. They are lucky that the Cavaliers are as terrible as they are this year. Greg Monroe will be the lone Piston competing during all star weekend, which I guess is better than my Rockets who have no one playing in any of the events this coming weekend. Hopefully, Daryl Morey will be working.

The Lakers didn't exactly take advantage of their matchup with the Bobcats like I thought they would. Nazr Mohammed and Kwame Brown split the paint minutes right down the line, as they each played exactly 24 minutes. No word on who the genius that made that decision was. The moved proved effective, as Andrew Bynum finished with only 9 points and 6 boards. Pau Gasol did have 17 and 10 though. Gerald Wallace led everyone with 20 points and 11 boards. The Lakers are clearly in need of a break, at home no less.

The Spurs were able to rest their starters yet again, as the Nets played some of their worst basketball of the season last night. Their starters shot a combined 15/48 from the floor (31%). Anytime you do that, you are unlikely to defeat the best team in the league. The only positive from this game is that Brook Lopez had 10 rebounds, five coming on the offensive end. He will probably combine for 10 boards over his next five games now. I wish I could drop him in fantasy basketball.

The Blazers easily defeated the Timberwolves last night in front of a capacity crowd at the Target Center. Kevin Love was able to get a double double, mainly because he played 37 minutes. Jonny Flynn, Corey Brewer, and Wes Johnson started for the Wolves and finished a combined 0/11 from the field. I can't remember very many times that has happened, if ever. The trio finished with a total of six turnovers, one steal, and one block. At least the Wolves have Kevin Love and Darko. The Blazers meanwhile continue to win with a very depleted roster. There is still no word on when Marcus Camby or Brandon Roy will return either. On this night, Lamarcus Aldridge continued to do his thing. The Blazers also got big games from Dante Cunningham and Wes Matthews. Matthews led all scorers with 23 points.

The Bucks used a strong second half from Carlos Delfino en route to a 24 point drubbing of the Clippers. Delfino finished with 26 points, thanks mostly to a career high 7 three pointers. I was both happy and surprised to find him on the free agent list in my fantasy league this morning. I didn't need Demar Derozan anyway. Brandon Jennings also had 20 points and John Salmons tied his career high with 12 assists. Unfortunately, Ersan Ilyasova left the game early in the first quarter after being hit in the eye by Blake Griffin. The Bucks are fast becoming the Blazers of the Eastern Conference. Blake Griffin had a typical night for the Clippers, finishing with 19 points, 12 boards, and 6 assists.

After all of the drama in Sacto the last couple days, Demarcus Cousins gets a fine and apoligizes. God bless athletes. Realistically though, Cousins will now be under the microscope in Sacramento every time he breathes. From the Bee article: "I wish to apologize to my teammates, the Kings' organization and Kings fans for my role in an unfortunate altercation between teammates," Cousins said in a statement. "I accept full responsibility for my actions and know that I must keep raising my standard of professionalism to be my best and a great player in the NBA."
I sincerely hope we see Evans get dunked on by Cousins this weekend, although I don't see it happening.

Who is Arcade Fire?

GOD BLESS THE INTERNET!!!!!! I did download some AF stuff out of curiousity last year, and I would still much rather listen to Agnostic Front personally. Like the band or not, this is a pretty funny website.

LOVE IS

Today is Valentine's Day- a day I would ordinarily just file under another crappy made up holiday, which I guess it is. However, this year on Valentine's Day I get the rare opportunity to spend time with someone I love and appreciate greatly. I've never really believed all of that soul mate/one person out there for everyone crap, but now I am really starting to rethink my whole philosophy. In the last year and a half we have spent together I have been able to get my life back on track, more or less picking up where I left off in the fall of 2003. There is no more "I" when I think about the future now though, it is "We" and "US." I have no real major fears or concerns anymore because I know that you will be there no matter what. That gives me inner peace which is what I was lacking for many years. I can't imagine very many people having the patience to deal with me everyday either. Somehow you have though and for that I have to thank you. I am not exactly sure where the next couple years will lead, but I know that you will be by my side. I love you!!!!!!!!

You can salivate at some of the treats she has been making for this delicious holiday of love on her blog. I helped make cookies a few times, but other than that most of this has been my amazing girlfriend!

Richmond and Denver aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Kansas Jayhawks: #1 team in the nation

The Associated Press just released their new top 25 poll for men's basketball. As expected, the Kansas Jayhawks have risen to the top spot for the first time this season. As I have been saying for sometime now, the only rank that will matter is the final rank and I hope Kansas gets the top spot this season! Rounding out the top ten are Ohio State, Texas, Pittsburgh, Duke, San Diego State, Byu, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Wisconsin. Wisconsin finds themselves in the top ten after defeating then number one Ohio State on Saturday. The Jayhawks will be wearing their number one bullseye tonight as they face Kansas State, a team they obliterated a few weeks ago. The game is at 9PM on ESPN. I hope my girlfriend doesn't mind watching a little bit of that!

Missed dunk fest 2011

Here is the Glen Davis gem. I will try to post the John Wall one later as well.

"STAY OFF THE CRACK, DRINK CHOCOLATE MILK"

Is 2011 going to be CHARLIE SHEEN'S YEAR????



In a related story...

ROUNDBALL- Celtics take one from Heat, Orlando beats LA, OKC falls again

There was eight games yesterday, but there was no shortage of good matchups.In a matinee at the Garden, the Celtics held off the Heat yesterday despite only scoring 26 combined points in the first and fourth quarters. Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with his third triple double of the season, finishing with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and ten assists. Paul Pierce had somewhat of an off day for the Celtics, finishing the day 0 for 10 from the field. This game wasn't pretty, as both teams finished a combined 7 of 31 from beyond the arc in this game. Then in the third quarter, things almost got real ugly as Dwyane Wade leveled Kevin Garnett with a hard box out. They got into each other's faces a little bit, but I think Wade knew what he would be getting himself into. The Heat came all the way back from a double digit deficit in the fourth quarter. Lebron James had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line in the final seconds, but he missed the first of two free throws. The Celtics then sealed it at the foul line, despite a hard attempt by Lebron at stealing the game. One can only hope some of these bad tempers carry over into the playoffs.

Not only did the Cavs wining streak only last one game, but they lost to a team yesterday that had lost their first 25 road games this season. John Wall (19, 5, and 14) and Nick Young (31 points on 14/21 shooting) led the Wizards in this victory. Javale McGee also had a few nice dunks in preparation for next weekend in LA. Speaking of dunks, John Wall got "Sprited" at one point in the second quarter. There's just enough remaining games this season for Cleveland to break their own record for consecutive losses.

In another 2009 NBA Finals rematch (and possible '11 preview?), The Magic defeated the Lakers yesterday. Dwight Howard continued his MVP campaign, dominating the Lakers for a total of 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. The Lakers had won the first four games of this seven game road trip. They will look to rebound tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats. I wouldn't be all that surprised if both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol have big games against Charlotte's weak big men. Either way, they will definitely score a hell of a lot more than 75 points tonight.

Monta Ellis (33, 2, and 7 with three threes), Stephen Curry (23, 2, and 13 with two threes), and David Lee (23 points and a season high 19 boards) all had big games as the Warriors held off the Thunder last night. Russell Westbrook brought it to within one point with a three pointer late in the fourth, but that was as close as the Thunder would get. I would like to make a side note that Russell Westbrook has hit 8 of the 19 three pointers he has this season in February. I hope this is a trend and not a mirage, as Westbrook is my point guard in fantasy basketball.

The Demarcus Cousins situation might get uglier for himself. None of that mattered last night though, as The Kings were able to defeat the Phoenix Suns by a final score of 113-108 last night. Steve Nash (22/2/18) and Marcin Gortat (20 and 12 with three blocks) had great games for the Suns in the loss. I saw someone on either ESPN or NBATV last week mention that Nash's numbers this season are basically the same as they were in his back to back MVP campaigns. That is incredible in my opinion. He of course won't win the MVP this year, but he has remained a very consistent Point Guard as he has gotten older. A night after getting into it with Cousins, Donta Greene tied his season high for points with 19. Tyreke Evans (21/4/7) and Samuel Dalembert (18 and 15 with three blocks) also had nice games for the Kings last night. I miss Carl Landry.

The Grizzlies defeated the Nuggets last night, in the final game of O.J. Mayo's suspension for drinking an energy drink. The Grizzlies won 8 of those 10 games, so I would be surprised if O.J. Mayo even plays as many as seventeen minutes for the Grizzlies again (the amount he played in his last game). Mayo wasn't playing all that great this season anyway, as he was having trouble adjusting to a bench role. Sam Young averaged over 13 points a game in Mayo's absence and Darrell Arthur had a career high 24 points in this game. I don't think that the Grizzlies are going to be worried all that much about Mayo returning. I think Tony Allen will probably be more than help to welcome him back! Carmelo Anthony continues to pace the Nuggets in the midst of all the trade chatter. He led all scorers with 28 points in this contest. He should be in a Rockets uniform during my nap this afternoon.

Blake Griffin brought his dunk tour to Toronto yesterday. He did continue his dominant rookie campaign, finishing off with 21 points and 15 rebounds (including his usual highlights). It wasn't enough though, as the Raptors won this by a final score of 98-93. Quietly, Andrea Bargnani is becoming a great NBA player. He led all scorers with 27 points yesterday, bringing his average to 21.6ppg (16th in the league). This Raptors team is bad, but they could be a lot worse.

Lamarcus Aldridge had yet another gigantic game for the short handed Blazers last night. He finished with 36 points, as the Blazers were able to hold off the Pistons last night. In a perfect world, Tim Duncan will sit out this weekend and let Aldridge take his spot. This Pistons team is very likely going to look a lot different in two weeks. Then again, that assumption is made by a lot of NBA scribes around this time every season. If Brandon Roy's knees hold up, the Blazers might just win one playoff game this season.

1997: Integirty, Lockjaw, Catharsis ROCHESTER

Edit:
As pointed out by Sweeper, Burning Human was the other Troycore band on the bill. They had members of Stigmata, a good and often overlooked Troycore band. I should also make mention of the fact that none of the photos seen here are from this show. I didn't start taking pictures at shows until April of 1997 and I actually don't have any of my old photos anymore anyway. I had about seven apartments from 2000-2005 and at some point in time I lost a lot of stuff. If anyone has any photos from any shows from 1997-2003, I need them ASAP!!!!!


For some reason, not all of my memories from this show are as clear as others. There are a couple events aside from the bands' sets that I do remember from this night. Some of these include buying a HATEBREED 7" off either Scott Vogel or Steve Titus. I am pretty sure I wore this record out within a month. I recall overhearing Steve Titus in total shock at the fact that Erik Warner was selling the VIP lp for $50 at the time. I wonder what that record would fetch off EBAY today. This was also probably the biggest local hardcore show I had been to up to this point. It's hard to say though, because the One King Down show a couple months prior had a pretty decent sized crowd as well. This Integrity show was March 15, 1997- not May 15 as the video states. I know because it was three days before my 16th birthday. I remember this was around the time I had first dabbled in vegetarianism, something I would accomplish for good that summer.

I had always heard stories of Nazi skinheads having been around at Rochester and Buffalo hardcore shows, but for some reason I never really believed these scumbags would really show up to our shows. On this night, I was proven wrong. These wastes of space would only make appearances at a couple shows in 1997 luckily though and that was it.

Anyway, like I said before my memory of this show is a little bit fuzzier than I would like for it to be. What's funny about this show was that it was held at a church that I would end up living down the street from ten years later. No hardcore shows were held there again after a 1998 Cold as Life show though. The first band I remember seeing on this show was LOCKJAW. They were a great and overlooked Buffalo hardcore band. a lot of the members in the band are still around in the Buffalo hardcore scene today. Real good dudes.

I remember two Troycore bands played after this. I know Dying Breed was one of them, but I can't for the life of me remember the other band's name. I recall thinking these bands were more entertaining for their in between song banter than anything else. There was a compilation with all of these bands on it that was in heavy rotation at my frind Ben's house that summer. Both of these bands from what I recall were more on the deathcore side of things.

Catharsis was the band that really stood out for me at this show. I would go crazy over this band for the next four years or so, seeing them in Rochester, Buffalo, Toronto, and Syracuse several times. While some of Brian Dingeldine's lyrical matter is at a times a little over the top, this music was always perfect for my shitty moods over those years. This music would be perfect for the apocalypse. It was at this show that I bought Inside Front fanzine for the first time as well. Some of the stuff that Erik Warner wrote in there was probably the funniest stuff I've ever read in a fanzine. I downloaded most of the Catharsis recordings a year or so ago and they still got me amped up for the revolution. Also, one of my favorite memories of being a hardcore kid involves shooting fireworks off after Gaineville Fest with Brian Catharsis in 2000. Good times.

I am pretty sure Catharsis played right before Integrity, but the Troycore bands might have been after them. Anyway, there were quite a lot of Nazis at this show. Hardcore and punk in the 80s used to bring a lot of these dickheads out in droves. I guess they had a liking for Integrity too, as at least ten or fifteen of them were there. I was straight edge at the time and had a patch on my backpack stating so of course. One of these assholes came up to me before Integrity started and asked me if I had any beer in my bookbag. I said no and walked away. I have imagined myself inflicting a lot of damage on him since then. I guess I'm just glad Quentin Tarantino was able to take my frustrations out for me on the screen a couple years back.
Anyway, I was not all that familiar with Integrity at the time and I honestly wasn't all that into the few songs we were there for. I think all of the tough guy bullshit was a bit much for me then, too. Of course I love it all now. I think this show was before Ezec beat up Dwid in Europe, but I could be wrong..


If you look closely around the three minute mark of the second part of the Integ set, you can see my friends and I leave. I was only sixteen at the time and my friend had a patch on his jacket that said "Kick nazi scum off our streets." While I do agree with the message on the patch, given how riled up these pieces of shit seemed at the time, it seemed like a good idea to bounce. So we did. I remember the next night at a Snapcase show my friend Jim saying he overheard the nazis say afterward: "Where did the SHARPies go? Now I don't know if they were definitely referring to us or not, but I am glad I never found out. I would love to someday hit a nazi in the back of the skull with a lead pipe but it's just not a great idea. It is crazy to watch this video fourteen years later and to wonder what the hell happened to some of these people. There should be a mid-90s east coast hardcore reunion festival soon.

Demarcus Cousins doesn't like losing very much

Shortly after a close loss to the Thunder last night, Demarcus Cousins let his feelings be known to his teammates. It sucks because Demarcus Cousins was starting to put it together in the last couple weeks. Hopefully a one or two game suspension will keep his ego in check and he won't turn into another head case that let's his temper control him. I recently picked him up in fantasy basketball for the third time this season, too. I will probably be dropping him for a guard after I post this article. We'll see how Tyreke Evans and Demarcus Cousins egos play out in the coming weeks, especially during the rookie/sophomore game next weekend.