Hello World! Hey! How ya doing!?
Today is Thanksgiving! Happy Turkey Day! I want to thank all my Native American chiefs and the Pilgrims for giving us such a wonderful holiday. I hope everyone stuffs their mouths with a lot of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry, corn, etc. Mmmmmmm Yum! Well, since today is such a blissful day, I will enter your minds’ with a jubilant post.

Every school has that one class that every single student takes during one of their semesters because it is extremely easy and exciting. For Syracuse University, it is Human Sexuality. Once a week, you attend a lecture and the professor either puts up slides of body parts or brings in homosexual/transsexual speakers. The class is thrilling because we always see something that we have never seen before. Two weeks ago, the professor put up photographs of extremely hairy vagina’s and funky penises. Those pictures had me cringing in my seat like a Kindergartner looking at body parts for the first time! The class used to use the same exam every year so everyone would get an automatic A. However, they finally decided to change it but it is still quite easy. Finally, for a large portion of the grade, every student must either write an essay, attend a discussion every week, or attend six couple enrichment sessions if the student possesses a girlfriend/boyfriend. So what do you think I did? Hell yea babyyyyy. I do have a girlfriend. ;]

Let me take a quick moment to introduce her. Michelle Jeon loves to eat; she often brags that she can devour up to six plates of food at the dining hall. She also loves to take pictures and has an extraordinary talent in which she can look exactly the same in every single photograph. She is a very passionate girl who works fairly hard at what she wants (except weight loss) and is a girl of many thoughts. She is different from what she appears as and I’m glad that I saw it. And um… I can go into detail about all the other important traits and qualities of her but that’s only for me to know =).  Also, I was just kidding; she really is not fat at all. She is very good at being a girlfriend and should minor in it!

So here are the adventures of our couple enrichment sessions. We were able to shrink six sessions into four by making each one longer. You are lucky I am sharing!

Session 1:

Honestly, I was scared. Michelle was too. We had heard many rumors that couples would often break up because of these sessions. So with this terrified mindset, we both walked into our first session. The first day was slow. The activities were not very fun and Michelle refused to talk because she was nervous… Therefore, we had to rely on my smooth mouth. We had two counselors, Monica and Natasha: We were Monica’s last couple while also being Natasha’s first couple! So anyway, our first activity was a questionnaire. Michelle and I had to sit in a tiny room and answer questions about our relationship while the counselors waited outside; we had to circle a number from one to ten (Disagree-Agree) on questions like “Will you and your partner get married?” Sounds boring huh? It kind of was. We then proceeded to ‘Emotional Jenga’, which was a little bit more fun. Basically, it is the same as regular Jenga but under some of the blocks are adjectives that we would have to connect with our love life. So for example, if the word was “jealous,” whoever pulled it out would have to tell the significant other of a time when he/she was jealous in the relationship. What went on during the game will stay enclosed. It is a life between us two and it should stay like that. Don’t you think? But I did tell her that I will keep her safe forever when I pulled out “Safety.” Hehe.

Session 2:

This day was probably my favorite. By the way, we were in a larger room! Also, Michelle started to talk because she was now comfortable so it made our experience better. So when we walked in and settled down, the counselors whipped out a sandbox filled with sand. Then they also opened up three closets overflowing with toys. Our assignment was to use the toys to describe our relationship in the present, in the future, and how we view family. So we brainstormed together and built what was on our minds on the sandbox. The counselors took a picture of each situation but we liked the “Our relationship in the present” model the best so the counselors printed out a picture of that for us. Even though it is a bit embarrasing to say with my own mouth, I think the whole process was very cute; we tried really hard while giggling to closely translate whatever was in our brain to the sandbox. Our end product was this picture:

Michelle chose the treasure chest to portray that she treasures our relationship. She also decided that two little dogs would represent us and put us on a bridge to resemble that we will always be able to come together no matter the situation. I told her I should be a lion but she would not listen…She also picked two clay models, one with open arms and another crying, to say that we would always welcome each other with open arms at times of difficulty. I truly appreciated everything she did on that sandbox =). The first thing I did was place a snake and two devils under the bridge. From this, I tried to say that we would be able to be together even if there are obstacles. Then I placed a globe and made two soldiers point their guns at it. This means that we would be able to fight the world together and whatever it throws at us. The fire displays our love which will always be burning. The two empty books means that we will both write and live a beautiful story with each other. (It was really cute when Michelle placed just one book later on for the “Our relationship in the future” model and said that our life stories will become one). The open shell facing up means that we will always open up to each other without hesitation. On the other hand, the Spongebob hints that we will also be a joking couple in order to have fun at times. Finally, the genie means that I will try and fulfill all her wishes. Honestly speaking, when else would 19 year old college students play on a sandbox with toys? However, it was a very bonding activity and I hope others can experience it. I came to the conclusion that corny exercises help a lot in relationship building. Plus, if you are with the person you appreciate, everything should be fun.

Session 3:

We started off by drawing our family trees. This activity was good because we learned a lot about each others families. Obviously. One thing that I can tell you guys is that her family does not own a pet. On the other hand guys, I hope all you readers know about Yodi! Anyway, while I was figuring out my family tree, I realized that I did not know many names and ages of people in my family. But please forgive me, my mother has eight siblings. Somehow, I finished it and it was pretty accurate. As you can see, mine (top) is far more complicated than her family tree.

The activity that came after was probably the most meaningful activity out of everything. The counselors gave us blank white papers and told us to decorate a border. After we had borders, they told us to write each other a compliment. I told her that her smile brightens up my day and that all my stress goes away for a moment, and more. We then had to make another border and had to write each other a secret. I told her about a time in my life when I completely changed from a shy boy who had no friends to a confident young adult doing everything right. A story that may seem cliche, but how music saved my life (I will probably write about this in a future entry). It is a point in my life that not many know about, not even my parents. Anyway, with these two activities finished, we were dismissed. While walking out, Michelle and I told each other how happy these sessions make us; we would always walk out extremely joyful every time.

Session 4 (Last):

The last session =(. Although these sessions take up precious free time every Tuesday, I was really sad that it was soon ending. I liked it because I had fun but also because I knew that it made Michelle happy. Anyway, Michelle was in a bad mood this day; she felt sick and was feeling down because coffee sometimes does that to her. And to make everything better, one of the counselors (the fun and experienced one) was late. So we were stuck with an inexperience counselor working by herself which made it a bit boring. Our first activity was to draw a flower and write inside the pedals things that have changed within our relationship because of the sessions and what we should still fix. During this activity, Michelle was being very difficult: she sat down and did not do anything. LOL. Since I am such a nice guy and since I knew she was not feeling well, I did the whole activity by myself and acted as if nothing was wrong in front of the counselors. I made it seem like Michelle was contributing so that the counselors would not suspect anything.

After much hard work, we started the second activity. It was a game to find out how well we know each other. So for example, when the counselor said “favorite food” we would write our own answer on the bottom and what we thought the other person’s favorite food was on top. If you got it right, you would get a point. Another question was “What would you miss the most if you guys were long distance?” We both put “Everything.” You know what it is. Finally, when all the questions were asked, Michelle had more points than me and I had to give her a prize. She wanted me to make her dinner so I will have to do this once in the near future.

I am so glad I got a chance to attend these sessions. It was an opportunity in which Michelle and I were able to grow as a couple. We were able to look into what may happen in the future, how we could become a better couple, and learn stuff about each other that we did not know of. I really recommend couple enrichment to every couple, especially if you go to Syracuse University. I thank our counselors for leading us and hsowing us a great time. I asked them “Why did we have so much fun when other couples say it was intense and often break up?” They responded “We went easy on you. We sensed that you guy are really healthy and had no problems to bring up. You deserved to have a great time.” Michelle and I bought them chocolate and handed them a card each. They told us we were the first to ever do that. We ended our last session with a group hug. <3

Bottom: Monica
Top: Natasha, Michelle, Me

Has Jay-Z become NYC’s leading man? I remember when I first played Jay’s “Empire State of Mind” back in August and that first guitar lick which laid directly under a solid kick drum automatically separated itself from the rest of the material on “Blueprint 3.” Al Shux, the track’s producer, knew exactly what he was doing.

Well fast forward to November 25, the track hand delivered Hov his first #1 single on Billboard’ Hot 100, it possessed Lil Mama’s irrelevant ass to hop onstage during Hov and A.Keys’ monumental performance at the VMA’s in September, became the official N.Y. Yankees World Series anthem and has everyone from Australia to the Bronx praising the Big Apple.

With that said, MSG.com is letting the people decide whether or not “Empire State of Mind” deserves the accolades of “Unofficial Anthem” status for the city of New York. On December 4th (Hova’s date of birth), MSG will air Jay’s “Answer The Call” concert from September at 10:30pm and then follow up with Frank Sinatra’s, “Frank Sinatra: The Main Event” concert from October 1974.

After the concerts, you can head over to MSG.com to vote if you think Jay’s,  “Empire State of Mind” should replace Sinatra’s, “New York, New York” as the Big Apple’s unofficial anthem. King of New York, 50? Riiiiiiiiiiiight. But hey, I still like your aggressive content. *Jay-Z Laugh* Hahhahahahahaha.

THOUGHTS????

I started playing basketball when I was 6 years old. The last time I stepped on a basketball court was senior year of high school. Needless to say, a great majority of my childhood and adolescence revolved around the game of basketball. My winters were spent playing in my township’s rec league on Saturdays and traveling around the state with my travel team on Sundays. My springs were spent watching the New York Knicks religiously.

Believe it or not, I lived and died with the New York Knicks in the 90’s. They were my team. I didn’t get their channel on the 19-inch television in my room, so every night I would fall asleep with a Sony handheld radio under my pillow and I would listen to the soothing voices of Gus Johnson and Walt Frazier call the Knicks games on WFAN. I can’t tell you how many nights I was woken up by one of Gus Johnson’s frenzied calls when John Starks hit a game-winning three or Charles Oakley dove into the press row to save a loose ball. If I dozed off before the game was over, the first thing I would do before I brushed my teeth for school the next morning was turn the radio back on and try to catch the final score.

Although I wasn’t even 7 years old at the time, I can vaguely remember the 1994 Finals against Houston. Luckily, they made it back again in the spring of 1999. After a season shortened by the lock-out, my Knicks made an improbable run to the NBA Finals as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. It was one of the best springs of my life. From Allan Houston’s runner in the lane to win Game 5 against Pat Riley and the Heat, to Larry Johnson’s 4-point play in Game 4 of the Conference Finals against the Pacers. I watched that play on my knees with my hands clasped together in front of the TV in my parents bedroom. When Johnson hit that shot over Dale Davis, I jumped so high that I came dangerously close to hitting my head on the ceiling fan. My parents thought that someone dropped a piano through the floor.

In the Finals, we were swept away in five games by a Spurs team that was at the beginning of a run that would bring them 4 titles in the next 7 years. As for us, it was the beginning of the end. After the 1999 Finals, we made one more run the following season, taking the Miami Heat to 7 games in another classic May battle before falling to the Pacers in the Conference Finals. Patrick Ewing was shipped off to Seattle the following offseason and the Knicks have made the playoffs only twice more since then and only posted a winning record once.

Over the next 6 years, I watched an incompetent front office and even more incompetent ownership run a once proud franchise into the ground. The decline of the New York Knicks this past decade has been such an epic disaster that it makes the Titanic look like a bath toy. Something else happened during that time though, something happened between the Knicks and I. We began to grow apart. Like they had done to so many fans, their organization had alienated me. The World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, a place that had seen NBA Championships and countless legends now houses a failing franchise and the laughingstock of the NBA. The mecca of basketball, a building that never stopped rocking in the city that never sleeps, now struggles to fill its seats.

This where you come in, Mr. James. I, along with just about every other person that still calls themselves a New York Knicks fan, desperately want you to come to New York next summer. In fact, it’s more than that — we need you to come to New York next summer. I know we haven’t won a championship in 36 years and that we haven’t even made the playoffs since 2003, but believe me when I say that New Yorkers are passionate about their basketball. You might not be able to tell at first glance, but we still love our Knicks. We still love our Knicks even if this past decade was like the sports equivalent of going through a messy divorce. Maybe we’re a little more distant now, but we’re still here. Maybe we aren’t as loud as we used to be, but it was them who took away our voice. It was the Jim Dolans and Scott Laydens and Isiah Thomases that took this team away from us, and now we want it back. We want it all back. If you want it too, this is where you’re going to find it. If you want to win a title, we are your best shot. We have cleared enough cap space for 2010 to put an actual supporting cast around you, not just Shaquille O’Neal. If you want to become the biggest superstar the NBA has ever seen, New York is the city that will let you become just that. Come on, I mean Spike Lee is even wearing a #23 Knicks jersey already. And it’s not Toney Douglas.

We need you to save our team, LeBron. We need you to bring basketball back to New York, back to where it belongs, back to Madison Square Garden. We need you to make us matter again. The days of intense April and May playoff battles against the Heat and Pacers are long gone now. Long gone is Patrick Ewing dunking over Alonzo Mourning to win Game 7. Long gone is Allan Houston hitting a jumper over Reggie Miller to ice a Game 6 in Indiana. Long gone is John Starks dunking over Michael Jordan, Jeff Van Gundy swinging on Mourning’s legs and Chris Childs taking a swing at P.J. Brown. It’s all a distant memory now.

LeBron, you can help us remember again. There’s so much history that’s been lost among the wreckage of this decade. With your help, we can start rewriting that history. Adding pages to the legends, and adding banners to the rafters. LeBron James, deep down inside you want to be New York Knickerbocker. So when we send you that invitation next July, come on in and make yourself at home.

Sincerely,

Every New York Knicks Fan Ever

*Because of the short week and the holiday weekend, no picks column for Week 12, but here are my picks:

Green Bay (-11.5) over DETROIT

Oakland (+13.5) over DALLAS

DENVER (+5) over NY Giants

Indianapolis (-3.5) over HOUSTON

CINCINNATI (-14) over Cleveland

MINNESOTA (-11) over Chicago

Washington (+9) over PHILADELPHIA

Miami (-3) over BUFFALO

Arizona (+3) over TENNESSEE

Seattle (-3) over ST. LOUIS

Tampa Bay (+12.5) over ATLANTA

Carolina (+3) over NY JETS

SAN FRANCISCO (-3) over Jacksonville

SAN DIEGO (-13.5) over Kansas City

BALTIMORE (-2.5) over Pittsburgh

New England (+2.5) over NEW ORLEANS

Last Week: 8-7

Season Total: 90-70

New York’s reputation is that of a basketball Mecca, a city where point guards as tough as Chuck Liddell grow up playing on its gritty blacktop courts in neighborhoods that the average suburbanite only has nightmares about.

At least that’s what I thought when I took my first trip to Madison Square Garden on Sunday to watch the Celtics battle the Knicks. I didn’t dare wear anything green – I figured I’d have a 50/50 chance of getting shanked on 32^nd Street if I busted out a Kevin Garnett jersey. I thought I’d be sitting on my hands the whole time while taking in the game from the Garden’s third tier.

Man, was I wrong. Basketball hasn’t just gone soft in the Big Apple – it’s double-delicate Charmin, part Broadway production, part movie studio, part begging, and completely dreadful on a court that hasn’t seen a championship since the Knicks captured the 1972-73 NBA title.

For all the city’s storied hoops history, a quick scan of the banners (or lack of them) in the Garden rafters showed that the Knicks have won just two championships. It was a perfect example of how perception becomes reality – I always thought they were one of the league’s most prominent franchises, but I wouldn’t make that mistake now after scanning their mostly blank résumé.

Then I realized the trick that the Knicks have been playing on their fans for years. Actually, it was blasting in my ears throughout the pregame courtesy of Brooklyn’s own High & Mighty Brass Band. They were the house entertainment in the stands, and they definitely stood out – for going on way too long. I was pretty thankful at that point for my $9 beer, poured for me by a delightful young woman named Kaleena who admitted within five seconds that she was actually a Celtics fan and had a crush on Garnett and Ray Allen.

Halfway through my beer I thought I was at a minor league baseball game – and for those who know me, 12 ounces wouldn’t alter my brain that much. T-shirts started flying into the crowd, thrown by Knicks’ Street Team members who were dancing around the court and giving away free swag. It was hardly a dignified gesture befitting a team that plays in the self-proclaimed World’s Most Famous Arena. This exercise repeated itself about 10 times throughout the course of the afternoon – certainly the Steinbrenners were watching on MSG and taking production notes about what to do to liven up Yankee Stadium next spring.

I thought the free giveaways were about as low as the Knicks would go. Nope. They jumped straight to outright begging next courtesy of point guard Chris Duhon, who addressed the crowd following the National Anthem. Duhon thanked the fans for coming out and “supporting us through the tough times we’re having right now.” If 3-8 is only tough, I can’t imagine what 2-9 would have been if New York had lost to the Nets the night before. For some reason I couldn’t quite picture Josh Beckett taking the microphone before his Opening Day start at Fenway Park in April and asking the fans to make sure they keep coming back.

On it went from there, complete with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell making idiots of themselves courtside while filming a movie that will come out next summer, Anthony Anderson starting the wave, Joe Girardi being honored at halftime as the winner of the Sweetwater Clifton City Spirit Award (allegedly a charitable foundation run by the Knicks – likely a shameless attempt to get the crowd to cheer something by that point), and some fool proposing to his girlfriend on Garden Vision at halftime. Hopefully their marriage is more successful than the product the Knicks put on the court. For some reason, if the guy was intelligent enough to get engaged in a place associated with chronic losing, I have my doubts that the happy couple will be seeing a 10^th anniversary.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot – Garnett’s overtime jumper as time expired gave the Celtics a 107-105 win. Maybe that was the point the whole time.

Lately I’ve been to Madison Square Garden watching Cirque du Soleil’s Wintuk with a friend. Amazingly they hosted 2 really huge events at the very same time: The Wintuk – Show and a Rangers icehockey match. Hardly any other event location on earth (probably not even many cities) would be able to manage this. Although I have to admit that I wonder, why they didn’t try to seperate those to events a little in time, cause after the show the Penn Station subway station was really overcrowded.

Obviously it takes good organizatizing skills to manage two such events within one building that smoothly – and indeed those guys don’t forget a thing: from a guy shouting at you which line you’d better choose (“Wintuk to the right!!!”) to personnel in the ladies room directing you to the next free toilet in case you shouldn’t be able to maintain an overview over the thousands of stalls (that are btw still not enough, but of course, the line outside was managed perfectly, too…)

Still thinking about New York and how must it look in the fall. Is the Broadway Boulevard covered in leaves or not? Cause there may be no trees on Broadway Boulevard. I wouldn’t know that…

All these thoughts about New York and I’ve never even visited it. That’s just hilarious!

Never been at the Empire State Building or at the Madison Square Garden. Never been anywhere in New York…never been to New York.

They keep talking about it all-day-long in Seinfeld: about the baseball matches, about writing scripts about nothing, about just taking a cab downtown.

I guess it’s better than nothing…I could even say I know New York, even if I’ve never been there…

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I was there –  but sadly have yet obtained such a press pass to get backstage.  Rolling Stone, however, put together a pretty complete album of backstage shots from the 25th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concerts a few weeks back.

View the slide show here – my personal favorites are a solo of Yoko Ono, and one of Sting, Annie Lennox and Lenny Kravitz.  Wonder what a threesome would entail with those three?

Für mich eines der geilsten Depeche Mode – Songs!

Watched the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs last night on ESPN and was able to catch the end of the Blazers-Pistons game on Fox Detroit live from Portland; this after doing some advance scouting at Lansing Community College (The Stars played the Mott Bears) two tough teams that we have to play against twice this year.

Dirk Nowitzki went off for 41 points last night in leading the Mavs to a 99-94 overtime win. (Dirk dropped 11 of the Mavs 15 points in the extra session)  The one area that caught my eye after reading the boxscore was in 44 minutes of burn, Dirk didn’t record a single assist.  Maybe it was because Jason Terry and Jason Kidd shot a combined 5-25. Upon further review, when you can score like that, who needs to share the ball.  Dirk likes to catch the ball on the high post, face up to the basket and score on his man.  At times he will take the ball to the basket and finish with either hand. I’ve never been a big Nowitzki fan in the past but after watching him the past few nights, I’m starting to warm up to him.  It boggles my mind as to why the Spurs didn’t double team him more often? Make someone else beat you.  If the Mavs only had a decent center, they would make a run at the Western conference championship.

(Courtesy of NBA.Com)

Dallas only turned the ball over five times in the game; as opposed to Richard Jefferson of the Spurs who committed five himself.  Spurs coach Greg Popovich was calling for more ball movement and people movement in the huddle.  That makes sense.  You get the defense moving and possibly breaking down.

Is the Mavs shooting coach on vacation? They shot 3-17 from distance last night. Time to get some extra shots up…

ESPN’s Mark Jackson made a good point during the telecast, ‘You’re the fastest player on the floor, act like it.” Not really sure who is was talking about though.  Speaking of Action Jackson, the former Loughlin Lion CHSAA all-star, seems out of place without his buddy Jeff Van Gundy.

I noticed Monte Mathis behind Mavs bench, clipboard in hand.  Mathis used to be a college assistant and one day we were sitting together at the Nike camp watching high school players go through drills in Indy. While Herb Livsey (NBA scout and basketball trainer) was lecturing the kids on footwork, Monte was a bit too loud for Herb, who proceeded to yell at us…Sorry Herb.

This has nothing to do with the game but why must ESPN show Mark Cuban after every single play? Does he really make a difference? He’s got some entourage huh? Does he get his t-shirts at baby Gap?

Brandon Roy had a great comment last night after Portland’s win over Detroit.  He was asked about his team, “Our defense is better, we’re making the effort on defense.”

Interesting question asked during Pistons telecast on Fox last night during game about Blazers center Greg Oden’s future. 12% of Pistons fans said he is going to the Hall of Fame. Huh?

Pistons assistant coach Darryl Walker was a good defensive player in his day-Quick hands, got down in a stance and was a tough son-of-a-bitch. Did you know he was one of Hubie Brown’s favorite players in New York when Hubie was the coach?

Memo to NBA Marketing people; If there happen to be open seats courtside, and by half-time those ‘rich’ folks have not arrived, teams should send their interns up (or even Dance squads) top and bring down the real fans to fill them at half-time. Can you imagine how a father of two kids would feel sitting way up top in the nose bleed seats to be asked to come down to courtside and get a close up look of their favorite players? Which takes me back to the 80’s when I would buy a ticket at Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks for $4 only to sneak way down to courtside and listen to Hubie Brown coach his team. “POWER RIGHT, POWER RIGHT!”, was the usual call coming from the Knicks bench.

For what it’s worth, Lebron James WOULD make a very good NFL player despite what Jeremy Shockey thinks/says…James has strength, speed and most of all, courage.  If Antonio Gates can be a success in the NFL after playing college basketball, James would be all-pro.

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

I’m on Facebook and you can follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

Last Monday’s episode of RAW was at times sloppy, at times inspired, and all over strange.  Hosted by Rowdy Roddy Piper and emanating from WWE’s most hallowed venue Madison Square Garden, the show did little to advance story lines or promote next Sunday’s Survivor Series PPV.  Instead it saw the booking team indulge its own off-the-wall whims: inciting and then blowing off a feud between Piper and McMahon, having DX beat down and then offer medical attention to Hornswoggle, and opening the Garden’s doors (and handing TV time) to all manner of B through K level celebrities.

The one segment that not only abided by RAW’s week to week continuity but actually advanced it was also the best segment of the night: the brawl between Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston.  It was excruciatingly obvious that Kingston was coming out to make the save, as Orton wound up to punt a beaten-down Roddy Piper in the temple.  Orton certainly saw it coming, stopping in mid-punt and looking angrily down the entrance corridor before Kingston’s music even started playing.  Clearly the sound technician missed his or her queue, or maybe Kingston wasn’t ready on time.  Whomever was at fault, it was unfortunately Orton who looked bad, stutter stepping toward Hot Rod, with a look on his face like that of a high school actor whose stage partner just said the wrong line.  However, the segment recovered quickly from the botch, as Kingston stormed to Piper’s rescue and engaged Orton in an intense, spot-laced, extracurricular slugfest.

Orton first got the better of his rival, landing a few blows and executing a beautiful guillotine catapult on Kingston.  When the former champ went for his patented head punt, however (inspiring Michael Cole’s panicked call: “He’s about to end Kingston’s career!”), Kofi nimbly spun out of harm’s way and landed a cross body block/knee to the chest.  The pair then brawled to the outside and into the the audience, coming to rest at one WWE’s trademarked backstage tables, littered with unmanned production equipment (they really shouldn’t leave that expensive stuff lying around).  Kingston used one item of said equipment to strike Orton across the forehead (giving him a hard-way in the process).  He then laid RKO out on the table and climbed to a nearby railing.  The crowd popped when he suggested a leap from the railing, and then booed heartily when a group of officials denied the spot and restrained him.  A moment later, however, they got the blood that they paid for, as Kingston dashed through the wall of referees, perched again on the railing, and leapt off to land a devastating double leg drop on the still prone Orton.

It was interesting how Kingston, with the refs hot on his heels, still took the time to preface the leap with his patented shoulder shuffle.  You can’t deny the man’s showmanship.  I wonder how the officials (off camera at the time) indisposed themselves to give Kofi the time he needed.  My guess is they repeatedly fell all over each other, like the Keystone Cops on brown acid.

The notoriously defiant NYC crowd was whole-heartedly behind Kingston for this segment, and he delivered in a big way.

Elsewhere on the show:  Roddy Piper did a fine job as host.  He was often scatter-minded and very self-referencing, but we expect as much from the Hot Rod, and it remains entertaining to be reminded of his past exploits (speaking of which, I wonder if the fire extinguisher he had backstage was the same one he used to douse the late Morton Downey Jr. at Wrestlemania V… or did he buy a new extinguisher and name it Morton?).  Piper certainly plays his part to perfection, no matter how infrequently he steps into it.  Either he’s got a method actor’s evolved commitment to character or his advancing years have turned his old unstable, cockeyed work into a shoot.

The teased street fight between Piper and McMahon was an odd segment, and in the end turned out to be nothing more than filler.  Their verbal confrontation was entertaining, especially on Hot Rod’s part.  McMahon was his usual smug, un-engaging self.

 Jack Swagger avenged his loss to Evan Bourne by squashing him in a rematch.  It’s strange that creative continues to cast Bourne as a struggling under-carder who can only manage fluke victories.  I know I’m not alone in my belief that, when it comes to the WWE audience, Bourne is capable of drawing more than just sympathy. 

 Both the Miz and MVP performed well in their surprise United States Championship match.  The crowd was solidly behind MVP (which again should not be undervalued, considering New York fans’ reputation).  Their support for him, however, may have been partially in thanks to the Miz, who garnered some serious heat during his pre-match promo (in which he suggested that the Yankees did not earn but buy their recent World Series win).  Miz is excelling in his role as the heel who tells the truths that the masses would rather ignore.  He’s still kind of annoying, but he’s using that to his advantage as well.

 The DX segment was unremarkable save for its surreal ending.  The one relevant piece of story-telling it offered was in the team’s acknowledgment of their competing against one another for Cena’s championship at Survivor Series, and their insistence that they could do so without fatally wounding their partnership and friendship.  As Triple H put it, “It doesn’t matter which one of us wins the championship.  [All that matters is] that the championship comes to DX.”  We’ll see.  So far there has been no hint of dissension between Triple H and Michaels. 

As for their double crossing of Hornswoggle: I don’t think the stunt went over with the crowd.  Michael Cole tried to pass it off as DX being DX, the edgiest, most unpredictable tag team in WWE history (although personally I believe that honor belongs to the Jumping Bomb Angels… but maybe Cole just meant within the men’s division).  The crowd, however, didn’t see it that way.  Their booing was warranted.  A man of Triple H’s size assaulting a little person, and doing so with a face’s impunity isn’t easy to get behind.  Plus Degeneration X is supposed to be an anti-authority faction punishing those who abuse the power they have over others.  If they target instead the marginalized and powerless, their gimmick makes no narrative sense.  At this point it seems like Hornswoggle will somehow factor into the triple threat match for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series.  The bout really won’t suffer from his involvement;  Michaels, Triple H, and Cena have been so jovial and nonchalant about the match, that there’s really no intensity for the Leprechaun to diffuse.  It should be interesting anyway, to see how it all plays out.

 The Lumber Jill match, in which Melina defended her Diva’s Championship against Alicia Fox was actually quite good.  Fox is slowly perfecting her heelish swagger, and it was nice to see the crowd get behind Melina, a good worker who often seems  to suffer from low confidence.

 The show’s main event was epic in design:  DX v.s. Jerishow v.s. Cena and the Undertaker, in a triple threat tag match.  Such a star-studded contest on free television is bound to fall way short of its potential, and this one did.  Still it was fun to watch, and all the competitors got in some nice spots.  The Undertaker in particular looked faster, better balanced, and more energetic than he has since WM25.  Of course the Dead Man’s tombstone pile driver on Cena after the latter scored the pin over Triple H, stole what thunder the match itself had.  It was a bizarre move (though a popular one with the crowd, which true to NYC form was mostly anti Cena).  In the coming months, I have a feeling this unprovoked attack will play over and over again and be regarded as the moment that sparked the Undertaker/Cena program, which will likely culminate at WM26.

 On the official Lateral Press ratings scale, this episode of RAW gets:

Three and 1/2 out of Five Stars.

Por Planisphere

En este vídeo vemos la aparición sorpresa que Lilian García hizo este lunes en el RAW, desde el Madison Square Garden, para cantar el himno nacional americano
El hecho de que ella radica en Nueva York, permitió que fuera posible

Varias fuentes apuntan que  WrestleMania 27 podría tener lugar en el Skydome en Toronto, Ontario, Canadá. Si el evento tiene lugar en el Skydome, serían  junto con el Madison Square Garden y el Rosemont Horizon, las únicas sedes en que se a celebrado WrestleMania en tres ocasiones, pues el Skydome ya ha sido sede de las ediciones 6 y 18

Miami, Atlanta e Indianápolis también compiten por la sede, la decisión oficial la conoceremos muy pronto.

Tomorrow under the blazing lights of Madison Square Garden, Carolina will get its first test of the season against  No. 15 Ohio State in the 2K Sports Classic.

The matchup will be tricky as the Heels are a frontcourt-heavy team, and Ohio State is guard-laden — star guard-laden.

The Buckeyes’ point guard, in case you hadn’t heard of him, is Evan Turner, and he might challenge for National Player of the Year. If you get a chance — which if you read this blog, you probably will tomorrow night — you should watch this guy play. At 6′7″, he’s OSU’s point guard and fifth tallest player. He chalked up a triple double in the Buckeyes’ first game of the season, with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, and followed it up with 24 points and 17 rebounds against James Madison last Thursday. As you probably inferred from that stat line, the guy is active on the glass, and once he gets a defensive rebound the ball is consequently in the hands of  OSU’s point guard, making the outlet pass a threat.

Other than Turner, they’ve got David Lighty, William Buford and John Diebler, who are all 6′5″ or 6′6″, play guard and log starter’s minutes. After watching the James Madison game, it appears Turner and Lighty look to drive first, but are certainly not shy about popping a trey. Diebler and Buford seemed more perimeter oriented. As a team, they don’t take a ton of threes, but don’t leave them open because they can shoot them at a good percentage.

Sounds like a pretty dangerous team right?

Here’s where the matchup gets interesting. Of the four players taller than Turner (6′8″ and up), only two of them play significant minutes. At 6′9″, Kyle Madsen has been starting and last year’s starting center, 6′8″ Dallas Lauderdale, has been coming off the bench while he recovers from a broken bone in his hand. Against JMU, Madsen played 19 minutes and Lauderdale 13. OSU doesn’t really depend on its post play.

Carolina, however, does.

It’s widely accepted that UNC’s frontcourt is certainly the deepest and possibly the most talented in the nation. It will be interesting to see how Thad Matta decides to defend the Heels. If he plays man-to-man, mismatches will result out the wookie, allowing the likes of Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller and John Henson to dominate down low. I’m guessing he’ll play some kind of zone, if not for the whole game, at least large portions of it. This would challenge UNC’s guards in getting the ball inside and also require them to make plays they might not normally make.

The thing I could see hurting the Buckeyes is foul trouble. Their top six players, maybe seven, are talented enough to play with the Heels, but after that, I’m not so sure they have the depth. Another observation, is that the Bucks’ best player is also one of their tallest on the floor many times. If OSU decides to match up size-wise, Turner would end up banging down low more often than not, possibly tiring him out.

Prediction: OSU’s shooting will suffer because of Carolina’s size on defense. UNC will win the rebounding, not often giving up more than one shot. Evan Turner will have 20 points and 11 rebounds, but his efforts will be in vain. Carolina is too deep and by the time the game’s over, Turner is worn out and his teammates are frustrated because they couldn’t get their offense going.

Final Score: UNC 82 OSU 70

Watch Capitals VS Rangers Live Online Full Free Stream – Highlights

The Washington Capitals (12-4-4) is the current division leader for Southeast, leading the Lightning with eight match points. Tonight, the Capitals look to avenge their 4-3 loss to the Rangers last Oct 8, when Marian Gaborik scored two straight goals for the Rangers to complete the comeback win. The good news for the Capitals, Alex Ovechkin (Ovi) is expected to play tonight vs the Rangers, after missing six games due to upper back strain he suffered last Nov 1st.

For the New York Rangers (11-8-1), they need to play with more consistency. After winning seven straight games last October, the Rangers are playing inconsistently. The main reason for the Rangers late failures is the loss of their players Brandon Dubinsky (broken hand) and Chris Drury due to injury. Will the Rangers get the upset win against the Capitals tonight?

Watch Washington Capitals VS New York Rangers LIVE from the Madison Square Garden, home of the Rangers. Don’t miss the full live coverage of the Capitals VS Rangers NHL game from VERSUS (HD) and TSN2 (HD) network streaming. The Capitals vs Rangers tips off at exactly 7 PM ET.

Every gala programme requires good infrastructural set up in order to make it a successful event. The New York City has every possible amenity that is just the right kind of ingredient to make a concert an absolutely sold out affair. The New York City is a modern developed city that easily boasts off several venues that are capable of holding world famous concerts of eminent artists across the continents. The best concert venues in New York City always are in high demand among the common public so that they can get a glimpse of their music idols.

To begin with, the prestigious Carnegie Hall comes to the foray. Eminent classical musicians and also the artists of popular music perform regularly at this hall. It is known across every country in the world for its sheer interior beauty, and top class acoustics. The Carnegie Hall has its artistic programming systems and inbuilt development infrastructural set ups alongside fine marketing departments. It boats off around two hundred and fifty artistic performances in each season and is also conveniently rented out to the various performing groups of different countries. Each and every person feels really proud to witness a gorgeous concert in the Carnegie Hall in New York City.

No person can deny the prominence of the world famous Roseland Ballroom in the cultural scenario of New York City. It is also known as the Roseland Dance City. It serves for several purposes taking into account the nature of various artistic performances. The Roseland Ballroom simultaneously acts as a fine dance hall and also for the venue of world class concerts. It accommodates more than 2000 people for a well flourished concert and every person wants to be among the audiences witnessing the wonderful cultural events. Bands and artists like AC/DC, Rolling Stones, Madonna, Paul McCartney etc have performed here. Even mega events like huge movie premiers take place at the Roseland Ballroom.

The Bowery Ballroom is yet another excellent venue for the purpose of world class concerts in New York City. It has a long history behind it as it was built just before the beginning of the period of the Great Depression and later it was converted to a concert hall to meet the cultural needs of the common public. It is comparatively a much more compact concert hall with more limited seating capacity and arrangements but is equipped with all sorts of modern facilities that are essential for conducting massive concerts. The rush for the tickets of the concerts at the Bowery Ballroom is huge as world class artists from every corner of the musical arena perform at this prestigious locale.

The list of the best concert venues in New York City is further prolonged by the addition of the Radio City Music Hall. As the name suggests, it primarily concentrates on the musical platforms of the artists and the corresponding mega events such as massive concerts. The Radio City Music Hall is at the Rockefeller Centre of New York City. It has got an interesting nick name – the Showplace of the Nation – indicating its immense significance in the musical arena not only in New York City but also in USA from an overall perspective. Coveted award shows like the Grammy Awards and MTV Video Music Awards are being frequently held at the Radio City Music Hall.

Next comes the lovable Madison Square Garden. It is the main hub of several kinds of cultural events and many gala sporting events that pull huge amount of crowds from various regions. People virtually go berserk in order to get tickets to watch concerts at the Madison Square Garden. It hosts a whopping over three hundred events annually which is arguably matched by very few venues all over the world.

The Beacon Theatre is also a marvellous venue for the purpose of organizing world class concerts in New York City. It is a historic place and is located in the upper Broadway region in Manhattan. Several rock and blues bands perform at this venue round the year.

The Irving Plaza is yet another gorgeous venue in New York City that hosts top class concerts of world famous artists and also gives platforms to the local performing bands and solo musicians.

Dans son  Bruce Brunch du  15 novembre 2009 sur The Hawk, la radio rock du Jersey shore, Tom Cunningham a retrouvé et interviewé le fan qui a fait la “request” d’Higher and Higher lors du concert de Bruce Springsteen du 20 octobre au Spectrum de Philadelphie.

Ce fan a expliqué son choix : ce classique soul des années 60 lui semblait particulièrement convenir avec la trompette de Curt Ramm.
Séduit par ce morceau, Bruce Springsteen l’a joué depuis dans tous ses concerts, sauf celui de Saint-Louis le 25 octobre.
Le plus souvent, Higher and Higher vient conclure en beauté le show, comme ci-dessous le 8 novembre au Madison Square Garden de New Ÿork, en duo avec Elvis Costello.