Rocket To Russia

So ends an era....

Whether or not the NBA tips off at all next season remains to be seen. One thing is for sure though, Yao Ming won't be attempting to get through another season. Most of us Rockets fans assumed that Yao would be retiring this summer. It was still inspiring to see him accompanying the Rockets when I saw them in Philly in late March. I am sure there were many excuses a lot of other players would have come up with to have missed that game completely. Clearly, all Yao has ever wanted to do is be a successful, dominant NBA center. Unfortunately, we were only able to see this potential in very limited stretches throughout his career. Still, those glimpses were some of the more dominant stretches a player 7"3" or taller has ever seen in the league.

It all started almost ten years ago now. I was living off Monroe Avenue on Rutgers Street. This was Houston's first season without Hakeem Olajuwon at Center. Steve Francis missed over a month in that season around the Holidays. Honestly, I did not watch a lot of games that season. I remember looking it as a rebuilding year for Houston. Plus I was heavily involved with all of my Enterprise Hardcore endeavors at the time. The very next season was when I got very excited about NBA basketball again. Yes, this was a year before Lebron, Carmelo, Wade, Bosh, and company entered into the league. I remember watching the 2002 NBA draft lottery in hopes that Houston could somehow land the first pick. I had heard about Yao Ming and I knew this was exactly what I needed to get me excited about the NBA again. A year after we lose The Dream, we get The Dynasty? Yes, I would love to have that happen. Now, they just had to win the lottery. Steve Francis made up for those games he missed earlier in the season, by showing up to the lottery and being the lucky charm the Rockets would need to acquire their future dominant big man. Now anyone who wants to say the last decade as a Rockets fan has been a waste will look back on this moment as the moment that put them here. Imagine if Houston ended up with a later pick and ended up drafting someone else. Ok, that is for another time and place...

Despite a lot of early criticisms, Yao's first three seasons were injury-free and his production increased (slightly) every one of those three seasons. Still, a lot of people called Yao soft and questioned his determination and potential in the playoffs. After Yao's second season, Houston traded Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley for Trach McGrady. At the time, I was excited at the idea of coupling one of the NBA's best scorers with an up and coming dominant center. While I always enjoyed having Steve Francis on the Rockets, this trade seemed to make the Rockets better on paper. Steve Francis saw his career decline rather rapidly after this trade. He is still only 34, so I guess a comeback is still a possibility for the next couple years. I was looking forward to the 2004-05 NBA season more than I had any other season since the Rockets won back to back titles a decade earlier. With a couple years of playing together, the sky seemed to be the potential limit for this team. Unfortunately, this never ended up happening, as Yao and TMAC were on the verge of several injury plagued seasons. Before this could happen though, they got my hopes up against the Dallas Mavericks, only to be blown out in a game 7 that TMAC never showed up for (and I fell asleep during, a tradition I have kept up to this day). That was the only full season Yao and TMAC would team up for. In 2005-06, TMAC started his string of chronic back and knee issues, and Yao started having foot issues. Every year I would get my hopes up, and every year these two would end up on the bench in street clothes. Finally, just as I start thinking to myself that Yao should not be exepcted to play 70 or more games in a season, he played a full season.

In 2008-09, Yao missed only 5 games. This would be TMAC's first time getting out of the first round, although he technically didn't do anything as he was injured. I remember being so excited to finally see my team in the second round of the playoffs again. It was a feeling that would not last very long for me. The Lakers were up next and I did not have very high expectations. The Rockets did win the first game of this series, but then lost the next two. The second loss was especially bad, because this spelled the beginning of the end for Yao Ming. I remember sitting at the bar at Elixir- drunk - wondering why this had to keep happening. Granted, Houston did stretch that series to 7 games. I was still nervous as all hell for the future of the Rockets.

Yao played five more games after this season, none of which were really all that noteworthy. I looked at the Rockets payroll a couple times this season, dreaming of the day when Yao's contract would not be there anymore. Now that the day is here, I am kind of sad. They do have Hasheem Thabeet waiting in the wings, but I doubt he is going to have anywhere near the potential his predecessors in Yao and Hakeem had.

H2O "Don't Forget Your Roots" cover album coming soon...

Shaq Fu...

ROCK THE BELLS 2011

I bought my ticket for the final day of This is Hardcore Fest yesterday. I honestly thought that was the end of my big summer travel plans. I forgot that there is one other big annual underground musical event that I have been missing for the last six years due to poor planning on my part. Well it looks like I will be doing my damnedest to make it out to Rock The Bells lineup this year. Rae and Ghost sold me...

This is Hardcore 2011

2011 Black N Blue Bowl wrap up...

After almost three months of hype and anticipation, I finally got to see another real deal New York Hardcore show, courtesy of Black N Blue Productions and a lot of great bands.
I flew out of Rochester at around 9:45AM on Saturday. It was my first time taking the quick 75 minute flight from Rochester to New York and hopefully not my last. That was much better than the 7 hour bus ride home. Anyway, I arrived in Midtown Manhattan around noon and walked around in the heat until I reached Terri restaurant. They had some pretty decent vegan/vegetarian food. I tried the "meatballs" sub. It was great, I will be back for more. By the time I had finished that sandwich, it was already time to head over to the show. Time does move fast in New York. That and I only had three hours to begin with when I got there.

I got to the venue and found a few friends from Rochester to jump in line with. The doors were just opening so the line moved fast. This was my first time going to an out of town show this big in about eight years. It was cool seeing that many hardcore kids (and washed up older dudes like myself) lined up for this tremendous bill. Not long after we got upstairs Bottom Out took the stage. They were a pretty decent, heavier band from Long Island. They got a lot of the kids warmed up as I hunted down a medium size Gorilla Biscuits shirt. Mission accomplished on both ends. Take Offense was up next. Out of the first few bands, they were one of the ones I was most stoked to see. They are a great up and coming band from Chula Vista, CA. You can definitely tell people have been checking their full length out, as they got a great reaction for their short set. No Turning Back was up next. They were the one European band on the bill so that made me pretty stoked. I never realized they have been a band since 1997! They got a pretty good response and the Breakdown cover was in pretty good timing. Down To Nothing has been around for around a decade and I think this was one of my first times hearing them, yet alone seeing them live. They were a real fun band to watch and it was fun seeing kids go nuts all over the stage for them. Richmond Straight Edge in the house. Long Island's Backtrack were up next and they also got a pretty great response. It was great seeing all of the new NYHC bands playing along side with all of the old bands. Backtrack is one of the few current hardcore bands that I really enjoy and it was good seeing them live finally. The time had come for some of the older bands to take the stage. Unfortunately for me, the next three bands were all bands that I have DL'd material from in the last three years, but never fell in love with completely. So these bands weren't quite as classic to me, yet I was still extremely excited to see them all take the stage one by one. Maximum Penalty was first up. They really brought it and it was great seeing a lot of the older DMS guys lose their shit. Plus it was real cool, hearing old stories of the Ritz and all of the classic shows that they had there. Lord EZEC came onstage and did a song with them too. Apparently this was the "special guest" people had been overhyping on message boards. The show was pretty great with or without any surprises. Antidote was up next. I was familiar with their Thou Shall Not Kill record and seeing them all on stage together was truly inspiring for me. Actually, most of the day was extremely inspiring for me. As a 30 year old who hasn't necessarily accomplished much on paper, it is great to be able to reflect on all the hardcore memories, both new and old. It is also great to see people that are twenty years (or more) older than me still going off to this music. Antidote also did a few great covers that really got the crowd going. They did two Minor Threat songs (Filler right into I Don't Wanna Hear It, how great was that?). They also did a cover of "Rise Above" by Black Flag later on in their set. All of the punk rockers that were in attendance sure seemed to love this. There were a couple punkers that were entertaining me throughout the show. They would get on stage, skank around the stage a bit, and then jump (not dive, jump) off. This show also featured the most "stage moshing" I had seen at a show since PosiFest 2002. Absolution was up next. They have always been one of the more obscure New York bands for me. I stood off to the side of the stage and enjoyed their set very much. I'm not quite sure how old their singer Djinji is, but it was great seeing him go off like he was. Even he said that he would probably be feeling it on Sunday though. It was worth it to me to see this band and their great presence, despite the couple technical difficulties they had during their set. Terror played after Absolution and the place was absolute chaos as expected. Terror has become Hatebreed circa 2002 for me at this point; a band I still love listening to, but for safety purposes I prefer to stand back and watch the chaos ensue from the side. It is definitely still entertaining watching Scott Vogel work a crowd. The last time I had seen Sick of it All was when my friend Jim and I caught three of their shows in a row in December of 2003 (the middle of which I booked at the Penny Arcade). Like a lot of cynical people, I have not kept up with them very much during their "indie" years. It is still great seeing them live, especially on a night like this where they played mostly old material. I was glad to see them cover As One for Raybeez. I considered heading up to the stage for this, but I was saving all of my energy for Gorilla Biscuits. I saw a few old faces in the crowd during Sick of it All's set. It was too packed by this point for me to seek them out after. Plus all I mainly did in between every band was refill my water bottle in the disgusting bathroom (not having any hookups in NYC sucks) and sit down when I got a few extra minutes. Getting older kind of sucks. Agnostic Front put on a great show, playing mostly older stuff, including a few songs I don't think I had seen them perform live before (Toxic Shock, With Time, etc.). I am older, but obviously not THAT old. I did find it funny to see Roger say "this is our last song" for their last four songs.

I saw Gorilla Biscuits when I was in Denver in 2006 and it was absolutely incredible. I saved all of my energy for their set, as this might be my last chance to ever see them live. I had hoped throughout the day that maybe at least 200 people were going to clear out after AF, as some people I know aren't that into Gorilla Biscuits. Yeah, that definitely did not happen. I got up about six rows back from the stage and waited for GB to take the stage. After a few minutes of checking this and that, they finally got up there, trumpets and all. It was incredible seeing that intro live. People were already diving during that of course. Once some space cleared up, I rushed up to the front of the stage, just a tad bit to the side of where people were mostly diving. That did not really stop me from getting my head crawled on, but it was better than being dove on every five seconds. I stayed at this spot for a few songs, as I contemplated becoming yet another annoying stage potato. I finally said fuck it and stood there for a few songs to catch my breath mostly. My only complaints about this show would have to be the heat, lack of air, and extremely overpriced water. It was worth putting up with that and being dehydrated most of Sunday. It was incredible looking out into the crowd for those few songs and seeing how many people were really packed into this room. Anyway, once Gorilla Biscuits played Cats & Dogs, I decided it was time for me to execute the first of a few weak stage dives off that mammoth stage. Sorry, I am from a smaller town where my Penny Arcade shows were the only "big stage" hardcore shows that I ever regularly attended. I felt very youthful for the brief time I was in between stage and people. At this point, I realized I was getting exhausted so I returned to my previous position of standing on the front side of the stage. I got back up there for New York Crew and Time Flies though. Gorilla Biscuits closed with Start Today and of course, the stage and front were way too packed for me, so I took a few steps back. Start Today is an album that I can still relate to some 15 years after I first heard it. The lyrics and the music are something I plan to take with me everywhere I go in life. I am happy to have finally seen a really big show in New York City. I got a flyer for a Cro Mags show in NY on July 1. If I can get my situation in order, I will probably be headed down for that as well. I am already definitely going down for Sunday of This is Hardcore fest. It will be great to see Reach The Sky again. There was never a point in my life where I thought I was done with hardcore altogether. Sure, I have given up on Enterprise Hardcore and Rochester Hardcore a number of times. But the music and the messages I have learned from this lifestyle are something that just won't go away for me.

From the city that never sleeps...

I have my itinerary printed all off. I will be flying out of Rochester at 9:45 in the morning and will be headed pretty much straight for the show from there. It has been a long time since I have been to a show like this so I am really not sure exactly what to expect. I know that Gorilla Biscuits and Agnostic Front are still two of my favorite hardcore bands of all time. It will be great to see them both in New York City finally.
Back when I was really into this whole hardcore phenomenon, I always thought this year would be special to me because I would be 30 and thus I would have been into hardcore for half of my life. Well I don't really feel all that special I guess since I am not quite as active in hardcore as I was ten years ago. I still take a lot of the ethics that I learned from this scene and put them to daily use. I have hardcore to thank for helping me become vegan. I also honestly learned most of the "business" knowledge that I know from hardcore.
Since Gorilla Biscuits and Agnostic Front were two of the first bands to help me get all crazy over hardcore, I think it is fitting that they will be the headliners at this show. The word "epic" has been getting thrown around a lot by the BNB staff when they have been promoting this show. I hope I end up using that word in my post show haze.

Welcome to Houston

I don't know that this is an improvement over Rick Adelman. Given the available candidates though, I am glad that Houston ended up with Kevin McHale as their new coach. Now they just have to resign Yao to an incentive-laden deal and resign Chuck Hayes and they will be all set for next season.

The NBA Finals are taking their talents to South Beach

After 11 months of hype (and a lot of failed hope for some), the Heat have reached the NBA Finals. Aside from a match up with the Lakers, things really couldn't have been scripted much better than this. You have a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals- a real chance for Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry to redeem themselves. This will also be a chance for Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem to get another ring, and it would obviously be pretty sweet for Lebron James and Chris Bosh to parade around South Beach with the NBA trophy in just their first season there. Dallas also has a few hungry veterans on their team, with Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Tyson Chandler having played in 269 combined playoff games heading into these finals. It is obvious that both teams are going to be hungry, but unfortunately only one will walk away with the Larry O'Brien trophy.

I was correct when it mattered, for the most part I guess. I would have expected the Eastern Conference Finals to go to at least six games though. I guess the Bulls are still a player or two away from taking that next step. As a huge fan of the sport of basketball itself, I will personally be happy no matter what the outcome of this series is. But I have said a few times over the season that I would enjoy watching the Heat win the title in the face of all their critics, Mark Cuban included. I think a lot of people expected the Heat to be here in their first or year or two, but I feel a few fans have to at least be surprised at how easily they got there. Same goes for Dallas I guess. As I have said, I give Dallas plenty of credit. I did not even expect them to get passed the Trail Blazers. Dallas has been shocking me throughout the playoffs but against Oklahoma City, I wasn't as surprised. I put the Thunder in a very similar category as the Bulls. They are two young and exciting teams, that lack the experience that will help carry them into the Finals. The talent is there for both teams, it just needs to develop a bit more for a few of the players.
Both of these teams should be well rested heading into Tuesday's opening game in Miami. On paper, Dallas has a much deeper roster and their bench could tell the tale in this series. If Rick Carlisle can find an adequate balance for his players and find a way to shut Lebron and Wade down, they will be able to win this series easily. I know there's the whole team chemistry thing, but you have to wonder how much Caron Butler could help in shutting down the Heat's Big Three. Again, Dallas has been playing some of the best basketball in the NBA over the last few months so if anyone can beat the Heat, it's them. You would think that bringing Butler back at less than 100% probably would negative impact the Mavs' chemistry. At the same time, Dallas is going to have their hands full when Lebron, Wade, and Bosh are all at full steam. I am going with the team I have been rooting for all throughout the playoffs and I am going to pick the Heat in six games.

Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks

Again, credit is due to the Dallas Mavericks. They beat three decent teams and now they are going back to the NBA Finals. Honestly, aside from a couple series these playoffs have been pretty anti-climactic for me. I think the Finals are about to change all of that though. I have to say, I wasn't expecting this out of Dallas at all this season. Now when I look at their roster, it does make sense. I also recall thinking LAST SEASON that Dallas would win it all. That might be why I wrote them off so easily this year, I got sick of them making me look like an idiot. Well, they managed to do it again anyway! I have been quietly rooting for the Miami Heat to show all the trash talkers that they are for real during these playoffs. I will not be disappointed if the Bulls or Mavericks win the title at this point though.

Happy 32nd birthday to Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady's time in Houston will be known mostly for injuries and not living up to the hype. I like to remember this game, a night where I was lucky enough to be woken up by my buddy PD just in time to watch McGrady make history.

HTGC Video

At 30 years old, I am just old enough to remember the movie (and great idea for a soundtrack) Judgement Night. This was released when I was just entering junior high, a period when I would transition from a kid who listened to rap music to a kid who listened to punk and eventually hardcore. I honestly never owned this soundtrack, but the concept of it and a few of the songs on it were always great to me. Where else can you hear Ice-T and Slayer perform a medley of Exploited songs? I will also say that I think bringing Seattle's own Mudhoney and Sir Mix A Lot on to do the song "Freak Momma" was sheer genius. Anyway, the movie itself isn't that great either. I usually find myself watching it almost every time it is on tv though. It has a younger Cuba Gooding Jr. and Jeremy Piven, as well as a pretty sweet appearance by Everlast. Other than that, the best part of Judgement Night was probably the CONCEPT of the soundtrack, mixing heavy music with rap music. It was a concept that had not really been done all that much, outside of Walk This Way and Ice-T's group Body Count. Loud Records tried something like this a few years later, having heavy bands come in and re-record a few hip-hop classics. That didn't work out all that well. Then, Terror even did a remix for Jedi Mind Tricks. This was decent, but still not the hip-hop/hardcore collaboration that I have been looking for since I was a teenager.
When I first heard that Sean Price and Cold World would be doing a track together, I got really excited. Cold World have been fusing hip-hop samples with their Hardcore sound for years now. Not only that, but they have one of the best guitar sounds in hardcore (in my opinion of course). To top it off, their drummer did a great remix of John Blaze a few years back. Sean Price has been slaying mics with a variety of Duck Down groups over the years. He also killed it on a few Jedi Mind Tricks records. I saw him with Black Moon in Toronto in 2005. I fell asleep when he played here in 2009 unfortunately. I was not sleeping on this record though, I ordered it from The White Glove Group. I was happy to see it arrive with my mail on Record Store Day. I was even happier to see that the artwork was not only in 3D, but came with accompanying glasses to view said artwork. Now to the music, like the last Cold World it is slightly more rock than their first record. Sean Price does most of the vocals on here, rapping a little bit faster than usual to go along with the music. The video is pretty basic, makes me think it would be pretty entertaining to see Sean Price perform this song with Cold World at a big hardcore festival. I hope the reception is positive enough for this song and video for Cold World to release more like it in the future.

RIP Macho Man Randy Savage

Today is a sad day for wrestling fans worldwide. I admit, I have not watched wrestling very much at all since 1997, but in the late 80s WWF and NWA had me glued to the television set almost every weekend, until I discovered basketball and music. What first got me interested in all of the "madness" was seeing this fight live on one of those "Main Event" broadcasts they used to do. I recall this being on a Friday not a Saturday though, although this was over twenty years ago so I could be wrong. Anyway, this was the lead up to Wrestlemania V, a main event that featured Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage going at in the main event. Hogan did in fact win this match, but Savage had already developed a reputation worldwide as one of the greatest professional wrestlers around. When people mention Savage, his iconic Wrestlemania III bout with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat is usually a hot topic. Many people consider this to be the greatest match in pro wrestling history. Here is a small clip from that match, featuring the best commentator in wrestling history- Jesse "the body" Ventura.

How could anyone not like you?

I never understood how anyone could possibly not vibe off the Beastie Boys...

Summer tour season starts May 23 in Rochester with Coliseum, Like Wolves...

This is the time of year where if you are a fan of live music, you basically have something to do three or four times per week, many of those times in good weather. The first show that will commence this season is sure to be a doozy, featuring Coliseum, Like Wolves, Night Owls, and Love Pork. This is a 7:30PM show at the Bug Jar on Monday May 23. Sorry kids, this one is 18 and over! More info HERE

MaxPen

Robert Traylor RIP 1977-2011

I was saddened to hear of this news this week and a bit surprised. Of course, it was not news to me that Robert Traylor had been in poor health and he had heart issues for years because of this. Hopefully, this opens a lot of eyes for people my age to eat healthier. He was only four years older than me.
Most people know that Traylor went to Michigan and that he broke a backboard in a game while there. Many NBA fans will also remember Traylor for a couple reasons. First, he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, only to be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for some German prospect named Dirk Nowitzki. That didn't end up well for both teams, as Traylor ended up playing 93 games over two seasons with the Bucks. A lot of fans might also recognize Traylor as having been a role player on the Cavs during Lebron's second season. One thing some people might not realize is how many all stars Traylor teamed up with in 1995 during a few high school competitions...

Two more fall...

What a long week for two of the NBA's most storied franchises. I have to give a ton of credit to the Dallas Mavericks. I have been sleeping on them all season long and expected them to completely roll over when these playoffs started. They have done just the opposite, first defeating the Portland Trail Blazers, then completely embarrassing the two time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. This was the shocker of the year for myself and a lot of diehard NBA fans. Sure, the Lakers had slipped down the stretch this season and had almost fell to the New Orleans Hornets before waking up. They never regained their momentum against Dallas and the result was a sweep and then a few moves that left a lot of fans with sour feelings towards a few Lakers. Andrew Bynum's youth showed in the final minutes leading up to his cheap shot, and even in the moments following it. It took him a few days to really show any remorse and even then it all seemed like he was doing that because he had to. This Lakers team clearly won't be back in this form next year. Sure, their core may remain in tact, but they will definitely be doing anything they can to get their hands on some youth this offseason. The fact that this was Phil Jackson's last season as a coach really didn't hit me until ESPN started flooding the waves with their usual, over the top sappy stories about Jackson's great career. Even though he coached a lot of rival teams against my Rockets over the years, I have always respected him as a coach and the game will miss him. If he does not come back next season.
I don't think many fans expected the Boston Celtics to be healthy enough to make a deep playoff run this season. For me, seeing them lose to the Heat was about what I expected from them this season. It was great to see the Heat get one step closer to doing what they have set out to do since last July. I think it was great to see both teams respecting each other after the game, too. Doc Rivers said what I have been saying all season long about Lebron James not doing anything wrong by going to the Heat. Yet because of The Decision, everyone has trashed him all season long. People can trash on as they advance even further in the playoffs. It will be very interesting to see where Boston goes from here. Doc Rivers already claims to be on board for next season. There has been some speculation that Kevin Garnett would retire after this season. He proved to still be effective during these playoffs though, so I think he will come back for another season and go for another ring with this core. Who knows what Shaq will do next season. It's been said enough times, but the trade Danny Ainge made with the Thunder really screwed up this teams toughness. Now the Thunder have a legit title shot on their hands.

BACKTRACK NYHC

This was in the paper a couple Sundays ago...

Bin Laden Didn't Blow Up The Projects...

Today is a great to listen to this...

One step closer

The first round was a tune up for most teams, as no series went past six games. Things will get a little tougher for the eight remaining teams over the next week or two. In a couple weeks, there will only be four remaining teams. I am making some predictions again, they are below. For the record, I was 5 for 8 overall in the first round. The Hawks, Grizzlies, and Mavericks were all teams that went on when I thought they wouldn't. In retrospect, two of the three weren't all that surprising, only the Spurs have me still a bit shocked. I was expecting them to fall to the Thunder in five games.

The Grizzlies will now have that honor, as the Thunder will be too deep and tough for them in this series. I don't think the Thunder will run over all the Grizzlies, but I also don't expect this series to go the full seven games. Zach Randolph has been doing his thing, but this is Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook's time to shine. The Thunder win this series in six games.
Sorry to Mark Cuban and any Mavericks fans, but I still don't give them the credit that they feel is owed to them. This is even coming off the Hornets almost shocking the Lakers out of the playoffs. I don't expect the Mavs to compete much with these Lakers as the Lakers will win this series in five games.

The Hawks played well against the Magic and gave their city a lot to look forward to in years to come. They are one player away from going on a deep playoff run. Unfortunately, the loss of Kirk Hinrich makes them two players away from that run. This loss will make it easy for Derrick Rose to exploit their defense as needed and the Bulls will win this series in five games.
The Heat and Celtics is one of the matchups a lot of us were looking forward to when the playoffs became set in stone. A lot of this will depend on health and how everyone plays towards the end of games, but I think the Heat will win this series in seven games. That would make for potentially the first full series thus far.
Right now, I am leaning towards the Bulls, Thunder, and Heat as teams playing like potential champions right now. The Lakers will be in that category soon too. Youth has been one of the biggest trends thus far, as the older Spurs bowed out to the younger Grizzlies and The Lakers looked destined to do the same with the Hornets for a couple games. The Thunder will likely showcase their youth against the Grizzlies, en route to another potential showdown with the Lakers. Oklahoma is ready to redeem themselves from last year. I know I am not alone in praying for a Thunder/Heat Finals at this point. I've seen enough "traditional team" finals the last few years.

2011 Black N Blue Bowl is less than a month away...

April showers bring the second round of the NBA Playoffs to us...

The NBA Playoffs have gotten into full swing rather quickly and there has been no shortage of excitement. There have been a lot of hard fought matchups, but not many upsets yet. Half of the eight opening series went five games or less, with Boston being the only sweep. With seven of the eight teams having made the second round already, I am going to take a look back at my picks from two weeks ago.
I hit the nail on the head with Bulls series, but I wasn't expecting the series to be that competitive. Hopefully this Pacers team will continue to improve next season. Meanwhile, the Bulls move on and face the Hawks in the second round. Those Hawks were the biggest surprise of the first round for me. In retrospect however, it is of course no surprise that the Magic fell apart that quickly. Orlando had better move quickly and start getting some good, young talent around Dwight Howard. Otherwise, they can do their best to get whatever they can from the Lakers for him in the offseason. Anyway, I don't think the impressive run will continue for the Hawks against the Bulls, especially if Kirk Hinrich is unable to go in this series. Derrick Rose will run all over the Hawks if they don't have someone good guarding him.
I figured the Heat would have their way with the 76ers and they did. They will have a much tougher match up on their hands in the second round when the face the Boston Celtics. Boston cruised against the Knicks in the first round, sweeping them out of four games. Watching those games made you feel sorry for the Knicks. They finally make the playoffs after all these years and then they play the brand of basketball that kept them out of the playoffs. Blame it on a lineup that had only played a third of a season together going into the playoffs. The Celtics could be too much for the Heat to handle if they get Shaq back healthy. I can't wait for that series.

I won't make any further predictions on the Spurs/Grizzlies series. That has been somewhat of a surprise, although I have been saying all season that I did not think this Spurs team was Built To Last in the playoffs.
The Thunder pretty much did what I expected to, though the Nuggets gave them a run for their money in a couple of those first games. This Thunder team is fully capable of winning the next few NBA titles. I hope they get to face the Lakers again in the playoffs this year. That will be the best series of the playoffs if it happens again.
I got one wrong in each Conference (possibly two if the Grizzlies close out the Spurs) and the Blazers failed me in the West. What can I say, I have zero faith in the Mavericks when it comes to the playoffs. They will lose to the Lakers, bank on that. I was surprised to see the Lakers falter a little bit with New Orleans. I guess I forgot how great Chris Paul can be at times. Kobe Bryant may have to fake another injury or two, but this Lakers team will probably coast through the next round.

Heavy Metal Kings show review

The Heavy Metal Kings tour hit Rochester on Thursday night. I missed the opening act like a dick and got there just in time for King Syze to hit the stage. He is another Philadelphia MC that I had heard a few times over the years, both on the AOTP records and on his Syzemology LP. I liked seeing him live, but the energy wasn't quite what I had hoped for and the beats didn't sound all that loud through the system to me. I'll chalk it up to a bad night and me being more excited to see Paz and Bill than anything else. He did get the crowd warmed up though. As I have mentioned before, seeing Vinnie Paz was a big deal to me as I have been a fan of Jedi Mind Tricks for some time now. Listening to some of the older Jedi Mind Tricks songs brings back memories of where I was when I first heard them and I obviously love nostalgia. Ill Bill is one artist that has always slipped through the cracks for me for some reason. This made me happy to hear that Paz and Bill would be sharing the stage. They did just as I thought they would, jumping back and forth from some of Ill Bill's solo stuff (as well as Non-Phixion and I think there was a La Coka Nostra song in the mix too) to all of the Paz work. It was a good mix of Jedi Mind Tricks classics, a couple AOTP joints, as well as a few of Paz's more recent solo songs. King Syze joined them to do his work on AOTP's classic "Battle Cry." As expected, they closed with Heavy Metal Kings. I guess my only complaint would be that they only played for about an hour. I was hoping for more, but for ten bucks I guess I can't really complain. It was great finally seeing Vinnie Paz live on stage and hopefully next time it will be with Jedi Mind Tricks or possibly the whole entire AOTP crew.

I will be putting my allowance aside every week until late June...

As mentioned on here a few times in recent weeks, Panini America is bringing Video Trading cards to the industry. Their first line of video cards will be randomly inserted in Totally Certified, available late June. Those cards will feature Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Kobe Bryant, and John Wall. To say that I have been hoping for a Kobe Bryant autograph in every pack of cards I have opened this season would be an understatement. It would be great to be able to pull one of these cards. It will be no easy task as they are only releasing 51 video cards of each player. One can only imagine what these cards will be fetching on e bay when people get their hands on them.


*Update- A Derrick Rose Absolute 10-11 Autograph just sold for $330 on ebay...

Representing- it's Illmatic

Gang Starr has got to be the sure shot...

RIP GURU. It's hard to believe that a year has already gone by. Luckily you left us with plenty of great pieces of music to pass down to future generations. A lot of people talk about Biggie, Tupac, Big L, and Big Pun in the "G.O.A.T." discussion, yet I rarely here Guru's name come up in this conversation. He definitely belongs in that category in my opiion.

Beastie Boys new album...

The Beastie Boys are one of my favorite bands, if not my favorite band. Their catalog speaks for itself and it is truly inspiring seeing them working on great, original music after all of these years. The Fight For Your Right revisited video features a dead sea scroll-sized list of Hollywood actors. That will be released on May 3, in conjunction with their new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2. Both the short film and record are going to rule.

So long, coach...

It really didn't take long at all and I guess at the end of the day, I'm not that surprised. In what has been described as a "mutual parting," Rick Adelman and the Rockets have parted ways. That only adds to the already growing list of questions facing the Rockets brass this offseason. Of course, the main question is what to do with Yao Ming. Yao has been a huge injury disappointment in recent seasons and a big part of most Rockets fans wouldn't mind moving on. Still, we have caught some glimpses of a great center in recent seasons. He could help Hasheem Thabeet develop into a great young center. I really hope Houston keeps Chase Budinger and continues to let him blossom. He will be a good wing man for many years to come, not really an all star per se but a damned dependable scorer and defender. There are a lot of great building blocks with this team, but as I saw first hand last month, Houston still has no proven leader. It will all start with a good coach. I haven't thrown my name into the hat yet, but I probably will soon.

Heavy Metal Kings Tour (Vinnie Paz, Ill Bill) hitting Rochester this week...

As mentioned here a couple months ago, the Heavy Metal Kings tour will be hitting Rochester this week. For me when I started branching out musically at the beginning of the last decade, Jedi Mind Tricks (and later most of the AOTP camp) took the place of a lot of hardcore I had been previously listening to. The Heavy Metal Kings/Hardcore Hip-hop hybrid is a very sensible pairing for someone with my background. This is one of the best and most original hip-hop lineups to hit Rochester in years. It only makes sense that they would play at Dub Land Underground, where other great hip-hop acts such as Slick Rick, Afu-Ra, Sean Price, Louis Logic, Reef The Lost Cauze, Cut Chemist, and many others have graced the stage in recent years. This will be a great set I am sure and I hope the crowd is as diverse as the music.






"Don’t miss ILL Bill and Vinnie Paz performing live as Heavy Metal Kings this spring in support of their new album which hits stores April 5, 2011. The Heavy Metal Kings Tour is a unique opportunity to catch ILL Bill and Vinnie Paz performing live together as Heavy Metal Kings with a setlist that will feature songs spanning more than a decade’s worth of indie hip hop classics from their combined catalogs, including songs from their solo albums as well as tracks from Jedi Mind Tricks, Non-Phixion, La Coka Nostra, Army of the Pharaohs, and their new Heavy Metal Kings album."

Christmas in April, where amazing begins...

Today is Record Store Day, so I don't have as much time as I would like to get this ready. That proves my theory that NBA seasons go by way too fast. The playoffs seem as long to me as the regular season. Luckily, we're in for a treat with the playoffs this year. Not so much in the first round, but in the next couple where we will see many of the matchups we have all been daydreaming about for quite some time. This will also see the first playoff runs of the new look Heat, Knicks, Bulls, and Nuggets. Although not many people expect the Nuggets to be around for very long. It is still great to see what that team has been able to do this season amidst all of the Melo controversy and roster overhauling. I am bummed that my Rockets did not make the playoffs for the second consecutive season. They gave me high hopes for a minute there. Oddly enough, those hopes started to fade around the time we went to Philly to see them blow it against the 76ers (see: MoleCunt). While i do consider myself a lover of basketball, I am by no means a pro expert. The following picks are just for fun and you should not go putting up your mortgage on them.

First Round
Eastern Conference
The Indiana Pacers stood up and made their way into the playoffs when most people thought they would just roll over under their new no-name coach. Vogel kept finding the fresh meat throughout the latter part of the season and the Pacers were able to continually set it off down the stretch. That won't be the case against these Chicago Bulls. The Pacers will probably win one game on their home court, otherwise the Bulls win this series in five games.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a fun, young athletic team to watch and they could be on the rise within the next couple seasons. Unfortunately, they won't have enough good players to shut down the Heat's big three of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Heat will win this series in six games.

Fans from this part of the country have been waiting for a decade now for the Knicks to be relevant in the NBA again. That time is finally here, as they are only one or two pieces away from a deep playoff run. That run won't come this year, although they will take the Celtics to the brink of elimination. I don't think the Knicks will have enough pieces though, and The Celtics will win this series in seven games.

The Hawks could provide the spoiler role against the Magic, but I fully expect them to fall apart in this series. In fact, I don't even think it will go the distance as the Magic will win this series in six games.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for the Heat to win it all throughout the playoffs. I have been listening to all of the haters all season long and I would love nothing more than to see Lebron hoist up the trophy and his middle finger ad the end of all of this. However, I still think they are one piece away from making that happen. I am going to pick them over the Bulls in a hard fought Eastern Conference finals though.

Western Conference
The Grizzlies have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the last few months. I have also been saying all season long that I think something will happen to ruin the Spurs playoff run after a great season. I don't expect that to happen this soon though, as the Spurs will win this series in six games.

This is a bad time to be a Hornets fan. If David West were healthy, they still would have no chance. In what I expect to be the only sweep, The Lakers will win this series in four games.

Dallas Mavericks fans are no stranger to playoff failure. I am sure they all still have Golden State in the backs of their minds. They will have Portland on their minds after this series too, as The Trail Blazers will win this series in six games.

Oklahoma City has a real legitimate shot in my opinion at playing the spoiler this season for the Lakers or the Spurs, possibly both. George Karl's Nuggets have been pulling it together all season long, bringing this team much further than most thought possible. The bus stops here, as the Thunder will win this series in six games.

I do think the Lakers will get it together and go to the finals for the fourth consecutive season. That is of course as long as Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and the Black Mamba hold up for the next two months. If everyone stays healthy on this team, this will mark an unprecedented fourth three-peat for Phil Jackson. That would be incredible.

I still wonder if this is a joke/publicity stunt. Either way, GO VEGAN!

More on the first ever video trading cards...

As mentioned here a few days back, Panini is bringing the future of card collecting to the table very soon. I did not realize it was going to be this soon, though. In June, Panini will be releasing it's Totally Certified product, which will feature the first video cards. You will be able to find randomly inserted video cards of Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, John Wall, and new Panini signee Blake Griffin. I am going to have to start putting some of my allowance aside for the next two months. I imagine this will be one of Panini's higher priced items. If everything works out, these cards will be released just in time for the NBA finals. The playoffs start this weekend and I am glad to have this nerdy hobby to keep me busy during these games.

Would it really end any other way?

I GOT MY TICKET!

Ego Trips Get In the Way of the Goals We Set

I turned 30 a couple weeks ago. I have always been of the "Young Til I Die" mentality when it comes to living my life. I had always said in my late teens and early twenties that I would be involved in hardcore and punk well into my 30s. For a couple years there, it really looked like that was not going to happen. I am done running names through the mud, but from 2003-2005, I let a couple people around here ruin what I have loved so dearly before and after without question. A few big mouths and bad attitudes turned me off from what had been my everyday routine from the moment I woke up until I turned the lights out at night. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was never going to truly give up on all of this. For starters, I have never completely stopped listening to Hardcore, I just didn't want anything to do with it for a couple years. And when I say IT, I don't mean the music, but the actual scene itself. When you make something your routine for ten or more hours a day, it will eventually get tiring with or without bad seeds around. I put every ounce of energy I had into Hardcore from 1997-2004, pretty much without stopping. I'm not sorry for anything I said from 2005-2007. I have never been the type to kiss anyone's ass or say something just to get a positive vibe out of someone. If I don't like you, I'm more than likely going to let you know if you give me enough reason to. That's just the way that I am. For me, Hardcore is supposed to be an escape from the everyday bullshit. I am not one of those people that thinks only negative people from the gutter should be in hardcore, either. While I was "raised" by a poor, single mother, I went to a Catholic school and grew up around all sorts of people. Because of this, I have always tried to accept anyone I could as long as they gave me a chance to. Now for many of my first years in Hardcore, I noticed a lot of snobby, holier than thou bullshit in my hometown. As a lot of these people were pretty "important" in my hometown, I figured it would be best not to ever get involved with any shit talk with them. I noticed many of these people were going away to college and forgetting all about hardcore one person at a time anyway. During all of this, I was quickly making a name for myself anyway through Enterprise Hardcore and all of my hard work. I even got the local media interested in the local hardcore scene, LONG before hardcore became the Hot Topic shit show that it is now. For a couple years (late 2003 to about November of 2005), I had enough of all the shit talkers and went off on every single one of them, basically one at a time. There were some shows and bands here during that time (mainly Dawn of War and Borrowed Time) that kept my interest. I also had a life changing experience when I saw the Gorilla Biscuits in Denver in 2006. There were several other bands that kept me interested throughout all of this well, including Reign Supreme, Heavy Hearted, Cold World, Blacklisted, and more recently Backtrack, Naysayer, and Take Offense. The only regret that I have ever had at any point during all of this is for the Rochester Hardcore scene. At points during these years where I was "finding myself," you were ok, and at others, you weren't. The one thing that I think everyone can say about what I did with Enterprise Hardcore is very simple. I never acted like I was better than any hardcore bands and I would give everyone a chance. On top of that, when you see "Enterprise Hardcore Presents" on a flyer you know you are getting a consistent show every time. The last year has been pretty decent though so I can't really complain. What's been most interesting to me throughout all of this is to see that hardcore really hasn't changed all that much in seven years. I have only traveled to a few out of town shows in the last couple years, but the networking and community vibe that I feel every time I set foot in a hardcore show is something very unique. That is why I am still here.

ENTERPRISE HARDCORE PRESENTS...APRIL LINEUP

Enterprise Hardcore Presents...
THIS SHOW IS 18+ NOT 21+
Friday April 8
DJ Nailbiter
Cheebahawk
more tba
Dub Land Underground, 315 Alexander St. 10PM 18+ $5
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Friday April 22
Malformed
Nightmares
Cheebahawk
The Navigator
Elixir, 938 S. Clinton Ave. 8pm $6
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Saturday April 30
Cheap Tragedies (Cleveland)
To Hell And Back (Albany)
Memory Loss
The Inducers
Dub Land Underground. 315 Alexander Street. Rochester, NY. 4pm. $7.
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