Blogging My Brains Out

If you follow me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or follow me by peeping into my windows, you've probably noticed my recent transition in the blogosphere.

About a month ago, I joined a site called Examiner.com as the Indiana Pacers beat writer in an attempt to hone my column writing skills in a very laxed, nothing-to-lose setting while also making pennies on the side. I was having fun doing it, but I wasn't getting the kind of traffic that I wanted and I also thought the site's format and structure was set in 1909. The day that Scheid the Glide, the Photog and I got together in Columbus for some drinking, I told them about the site that I really wanted to write for -- Indy Cornrows. It's the best Pacers blog out there, and I was hoping that my columns would get noticed enough during the Summer and Fall that I could begin writing periodically for IC during the 2009-10 season. Just like certain other areas of my life that I don't like to discuss, things went off quicker than I expected.

The next day after I saw the two Whodi's, I was contacted by Tom, the guy who started Indy Cornrows back in 2006. [Brief background] A few months after starting the site, he joined the SB Nation blogging community and IC has been the staple and home for Pacers blogging ever since. Tom works with Pacers.com to provide stories, he gets media credentials to any game or event, he appears reguarly on Indy Radio shows and he works in cooperation with Yahoo! Sports.

Tom offered me co-control of the Cornrows, making me the first person to have the honor. I was thrilled and I dumped Examiner quicker than God dumped celebrities this week. My average daily hits on Examiner topped out at about 300 per day. IC has an average of 3,000 per day. After Thursday's draft where the Pacers made some noise by drafting Tyler Hansbrough 52 picks too soon, IC had 11,000 hits in two days. I plan on doing a weekly column on IC (which should get rough during July and August), while also helping out with the news as much as possible. I'm hoping to also get some press credentials to a couple of games during the season. Things really took off yesterday morning with my reaction column to Hansbrough. It has been plastered all over the Internet with a lot of support, while some people think I'm the worst thing since unsliced bread. Either way, when a site dedicated to paintball in South Africa links to your story, you know things are going well.

Point is...if you haven't checked out the IC yet, take a peak at it here. If the Pacers aren't your cup of rum, then check out the entire SB Nation and join your favorite team.

On to the links...

It's Beetles...with an A
With Michael Jackson's death, people in BeatleNation honored him a split second before spitting on his fresh grave by wondering who gets the rights to the Beatles songs. In one of the best business decisions ever, Jackson outbid Paul and Yoko in 1985 to buy the rights to the Beatles catalog and he's been living off of them ever since. Unfortunately, he wasn't the majority holder anymore because he needed to them to help pay all those debts for molesting boys, so Paul and Co. won't get much of a chance to own his songs. It would actually be more plausible to see Jackson returning as a zombie.

Hello, Mr. Radio
Don't have a name for this one, but I don't think it matters. Enjoy!

My Sox Are White
So...no more bragging about how awesome I am at fantasy baseball. Talk about all-time backfires. Although I'm poised to seal a win this week over the Err Dizz, I lost two weeks in a row to the two best teams in the league after my last post. Awful. My pitching went down the shitter, two of my best arms went on the DL, and my bats were dead in a cave somewhere. Hopefully, this week's resurgence is a sign of things to come, but I'm not guaranteeing anything anymore. Consider that lesson learned.

Mrs. Thug Mrs.
Lauren and Spencer are reaching out to Stephanie about her eating problem. Lauren also says that she's going to skip Kristin's premiere on the Hills.

Info for Bo
Here's a link to your blog. Apparently, you've forgotten that it exists.

You Tube...no, you're a tube
Best wedding invitation ever.

You Tube...Office-style

Had these two videos e-mailed to me today and I had to immediately share them. They combine the greatness of The Lonely Island songs with video from The Office. Nothing says Michael Scott like "I'm a Boss" and a hearty rendetion of "I'm on a Boat" to get you through your work day (which I don't have, but it doesn't mean I can't share with others).

Note: There is no "bleeping" going on with these versions, so if you aren't mentally, physically, emotionally and drastically prepared to hear the lyrics "Eat some chicken strips (like a boss), Chop my balls off (like a boss)" etc., then you should skip this post. For those of you who haven't chopped off your balls...enjoy.



And for the second one...

Link me...

Apparently because I've been expending so much energy on my Pacers blog, I have neglected my faithful, loyal and CatDog-like followers of this blog. So I'm going to keep the blabbing to a minimum as I focus on the lives of my readers in a "links-only" column. Enjoy...

Info for Bo
Batista. Oh how I knew thee. Poor guy. First he gets his arm torn from his body, then he's expected to wrestle in a cage match where he wins the title belt before getting his ass handed to him on a platter the next night by Randy Orton and his cronies. Then he has to act like a five-year-old girl as he's carried out on a stretcher while he cringes excessively while pleading to the medics to make the belt "not too tight" as he's carried into the ambulance. Awful. Pitiful. Sickly. Disgusting. Pick whichever adjective fits yer mood. Now, he's out for the next four months recovering. Not only that, but reports are surfacing that his contract is up in one year, but the four months that he misses will be tacked on to the end of the contract to make up for lost time. Not the best weekend for the legend Batista. In other news, Mr. Kennedy STILL released by the WWE.

My Sox are White
This Drunken Chuggers fantasy baseball league is going to be the end of me. The parity in the league is sickening. Here I am, the toast of the town, the hot dog, the big cheese, the "so black he's purple" professional athlete and yet, I'm still tied for first place. After rolling off to a thundering 8-1 season record, I am still tied with Team Sobucki for first place, while Team Deeb sniffs my ass with a 6-2-1 spot. After that, there's no one above .500. Awful. Pitiful. Sickly. Disgusting. Pick whichever adjective fits yer mood. Hell, pick em all. After I dispose of Team Maloney this week, next week's grandiose battle between the titans of Team Sobucki and Team Stevenson will be the main event. I've heard rumblings that the Commish is working out television rights to Versus. Right now, Sobucki has the upper hand as he is the only other team to beat me. What's he doing with his lower hand? More beating.

Hello, Mr. Radio
See video below for reason of photo. Enjoy.

Mrs. Thug Mrs.
So the wife has decided that she wasn't getting enough airtime in my blog, so she pulled a Yoko and broke up the band. Now she's gone solo. Visit her musings on education, money and life with the greatest man on Earth here. And yes, I was referring to the Err Dizz.

It's Beetles...with an A
The first reports out of England surfaced today that the two Beatles' box sets being released on Sept. 9 will cost more than a combined $600. For those of you counting at home, that's now more than $900 that I will need to spend that day to own the following: The Beatles: Rock Band video game, the complete stereo remasters and the complete mono remasters. Who's up for selling plasma again?

I Me Mine
This segment is dedicated to the other Sean Stevenson's in the world who somehow land in my news alerts/google search. Unfortunately, due to my recent celebrity as a Pacer bloggin' machine, the first four news alerts of "Sean Stevenson" are actually me. In fact, the fourth one is Cleveland.com referencing one of the articles I wrote. Excuse me as I celebrate like God after He sank the game winning 3-pointer against the Bulls in 1998.

But thank the maker for the Ogemaw County Herald. This award-winning newspaper's Web site goes in-and-out (and that's what she said), but a brief snippet of news shows a certain Sean Stevenson placing 15th in the discus by throwing it 108-9.9 feet at the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association team track finals. So Sean, thank you for bringing celebrity and greatness to our name.

You Tube...no, you're a tube
This is for everyone who only has dreams of a Saved by the Bell Reunion. I know I'm not alone in this and I'm glad to see that Zack Morris is true to the cell phone...

The Beatles + Video Game = I win!

I knew I needed to post something today, but I had no clue what to write about. I had topics that ranged from "Happy June", the fact that I'm broke and unemployed, the nice weather, how I felt ridiculously old watching the MTV Movie Awards last night, or a heartfelt goodbye to LC's last episode on the Hills.

Then I was saved. Can I get an Amen?

Hell, we are all saved by what happened this afternoon. The E3 Expo is this weekend, which is something I haven't been excited about since Madden announced it was adding a franchise mode that effectively changed the course of my life forever. This year, however, came a big announcement. I haven't played my Wii in forever, but this game got me excited about playing video games again.

My current status with video games is very murky. I've reached the stage where I don't know if I feel comfortable wasting an entire day by playing a season of Madden. Here I am at 25 years of age. That's got to be about the point where you go past the personal video game stage and enter the family fun entertainment stage. My switch from an Xbox 360 to a Nintendo Wii last year helped accelerate this process as I can no longer play EA Sports games (if you haven't played an EA Sports game on Wii, let me just say that you feel similar to a soldier who just trekked 59 miles during the Bataan Death March before falling to the ground, then you get stabbed by the bayonete of a Japanese soldier. Luckily, you happen to be the grandson of Filipino national hero Andrés Bonifácio, so your life is spared after a Filipino, disguised as a Japanese soldier, acts like he kills you but you're really taken off the road to help John Wayne lead the resistence before General MacArthur comes back three years later. So playing Madden on Wii feels like you're being stabbed after walking 59 miles, but really, you're helping John Wayne, so you keep playing even though it sucks. And I've had numerous people tell me they felt the same way).

Well, the game that could be my last personal gaming purchase will be released on Sept. 9, 2009. The game, affectionally known as The Beatles: Rock Band, was debuted today at the E3 thingy. The trailor is now up online. (See: below)

I was pretty ecstatic as I watched the gaming versions of John, Paul, George and Ringo play at the Cavern Club, Ed Sullivan Show, Shea Stadium and the Budokan, but the bird broke through the cage when the I Am The Walrus segment appeared. Awesome! And then it ends with them in the studio, on the roof and a scene where they play on a hill. Besides the hill thing, the looks are uncanny. The settings look real. They've captured all of the biggest moments and stages of their career. Dhani Harrison, George's son, has proved to be an invaluable asset to the game producers as he's provided historically accurate information.

That said, I am concerned about the Back in the U.S.S.R. segment, which featured the Beatles in the studio for the White Album sessions, with Ringo on drums. Obviously, readers of this blog know that Ringo temporarily quit the band when the song was introduced on Aug. 22, 1968. The three remaining Beatles, instead of halting recording sessions, finished the song in five takes in two days with Paul on drums (although two other drum tracks were overdubbed later, but these were thought to be added by either John or George, according to Mark Lewisohn). Ringo came back several days after the song was completed. So, really, it should be Paul playing drums in the game, and Ringo should be shown crying in his house as he wonders why the hell he just flushed his career down the toilet by quitting the Greatest Band on Earth. Obviously, anyone could be the drummer for the Beatles. C'mon Ringo. Get it together.

Now, you may be saying, "Wow, Sean. How about you try not to an effin' d-bag right now? They just made a stupid video game about a band that you've devoted more of your life to than God. Maybe you should lighten up a little bit." Two responses: 1) Why is there not a "God: The Video Game"? I mean, the Bible has violence, killing, blood, God, royalty, back-stabbing and snakes, which is everything you want in a video game. Let's recreate the Old Testament here. I want to control Moses by parting the waters and unleashing a plague that kills all the first-born babies in Egypt. I want to be David and sling the rock at Goliath's face. I want to be Noah and go Oregon Trial style by sailing the Ark around rocks, while fending off lions in the Captain's quarters. Someone get to work on this. 2) If I'm dropping $250 on a video game, the info better be right. If you bought Madden and it had the Packers as the best team in the NFL, then you'd want a refund because that's obviously bullshit. So let's get this fixed before the release date.

The only problem is that barring some miracle that I become employable, stay in school, graduate and own a teaching job by next June, I will never own this game as it's priced at $250 for the limited edition bundle, which includes the Hofner Bass. The September release date is also the worst month in the world. Not only will all my extra money (this "extra money" doesn't actually exist for the Mrs. Thug Mrs. and I, but we'll make it up for blogging purposes) going to four family birthdays that month, and I will be ensconsed in 15 hours of classes on campus, two correspondence classes, one part-time job and one day spent in a high school classroom per week. Also, the entire Beatles catalog is being remastered and released the same day -- in mono and stereo. Awesome. When's this economy turning around again?

Either way, I look forward to owning this game at some point in my life. Now if only I could design God: The Video Game...

You Tube...no, you're a tube
This should be obvious...

Scrubs: Hit me baby...one more time

Similar to the old, impoverished woman near the beginning of Monty Python's Holy Grail, everybody's all-time favorite sitcom is still screeching and claiming "I'm not dead yet" from the bottom of its swollen lungs.

In an effort to jump start ABC's Better Off Ted, the television network has decided to renew Scrubs for an 18-episode ninth season in order to continue the pairing with other ABC comedies next season. This is happening despite this blog's valient attempt to bury the show after its perfect season-ending finale two weeks ago. Personally, I'm confused, angry, sad, thrilled, disappointed, ecstatic and furious all-in-one. It's like I just started my period. I'm glad the show is coming back as you always wish the things you love never end, but I missed the announcement when Scrubs was suddenly transformed into the comedic replica of ER. It was just a month ago when ER was FINALLY killed and murdered off the air and everybody's sentiment was that it went about 57 years too long. Scrubs appears to be headed toward a similar fate.

IGN's Eric Goldman contacted ABC to get the scoop on the renewal of Scrubs, and ABC officials said, although they receive a lot of money through syndication of the show, the decision to renew wasn't financial. I was gonna call B.S.F.S.B.S. (that's short for Ball State Fans Shouting Bull Shit), but there is some positive news with the renewal. Creative force Bill Lawrence is returning for the next season. Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke have each signed on for six episodes. That could be interesting. ABC President Steve McPhearson told IGN:

"Zach's in six [for sure], but maybe more. We haven't confirmed it's the first six. It may be across the first 13 [episodes]."

But that's about it for the good news. No word yet on the return of the Janitor, as he's currently involved in a new sitcom. Other characters are unknowns as well. The other giant elephant in the room is the new concept of the show. McPhearson said the show could go one of two ways:

"Yeah, one is a complete departure from Sacred Heart and one is at Sacred Heart. [Bill] is actually going to pitch me both ideas pretty shortly, when he's ready. He's been pretty busy doing the pilot [Cougar Town], but once he pitches them we'll make a decision and we'll get that out there so that people know what to expect."

Leaving Sacred Heart? Why even keep the name Scrubs then? I still think that losing the foreign-looking guy to Parks and Recreation was a major blow to continuing the show by following the interns. But, maybe they can find another hilarious intern to take his place. The key will be whether Dr. Cox, Janitor, Carla and Turk return to the show (along with the countless secondary characters). I can't think of a single reason why any of them would come back (Ok, one reason...the quan), but you really need all four to keep me interested. I don't know. I have a strange feeling that this would be like the Beatles continuing after 1970 instead of disbanding on top of their game. There would still be a few good years and songs left along with one great comeback tour and then the band would release a "Disco" album in 1975. And that's not good for anybody.

On to the links...

2 minutes...2-ah
I need to post a new story on my Pacers blog today, but until then here's a link to my latest post on the mock drafts. Click on the link and make me some money people. You're my only hope.

It's Beetles...with an A
If you recall, I talked some major talk the other day about the upcoming release of the Beatles Trivial Pursuit game. I was confident enough to challenge anybody in the world. Consider that challenge rescinded. Beatles' blogger Steve Marinucci posted six of the "harder" questions from the game this week. Wow. I apparently know nothing. I knew two of them. The other four, I couldn't even give a guess. Here's the link to the questions...good luck.

Hello, Mr. Radio
In celebration of this weekend's race...enjoy!

My Sox are White
Fantasy baseball is supposed to be hard right? Maybe it's just the competition, but my dominance in the Err Dizz's league continues. How? I have no clue. I can't name 80 percent of my team. Here, let's try: Santana, Greinke (spelling?), Buehrle (spelling?), Bruce, Lincecum, Peavy, Gonzalez (there has to be one on every team) and some catcher named Nipples (after clarification, his name is actually Napoli, but I really like Nipples so we're going with that). I'm winning a tight race this week, but a victory will keep me in a tie for first place with a 6-1 record. Go team of people I don't know!

Mrs. Thug Mrs.
A couple of Idol links for you today: Rolling Stone tells us what we learned from this season and now Clay Aiken says he doesn't like Adam Lambert...shocking. Go Anoop! Also, check Bo's link below.

Info for Bo
Yer boys were at the Lakers game last night.

Turn up the Aperture!
Here's an article that talks about where the future of photography is headed and what happens to photographers when they get there. Here's the link.

You tube...no, you're a tube
I now have new goals as a future parent.

McMahon vs. Stern PPV: Monday, May 25

"If Relationship George walks through that door, he will kill Independent George! A George divided against itself, cannot stand!" - George Costanza, Seinfeld

Two areas of my life are colliding. Similar to the struggle that George Costanza faced when Susan encroached on his personal life when she began socializing with his friends, the NBA is encroaching on my weekly Monday night love affair with professional wrestling.

I only ask for one night per week to snuggle up to the television set with a cold beer and some popcorn to watch wrestling live. I can't afford the pay-per-views, I tape Smackdown (yet rarely watch it) and after one episode of the new show WWE Superstars I already had enough. So it all boils down to me laying on the couch from 9-11 p.m. every Monday to watch RAW. Everything else stops. There's no homework, no writing, no blogging, no talking and, this is important, no basketball.

Even the Pacers could only get VIP treatment on my TV during commercial breaks on Monday nights. And that was being generous. But, now, I've got a problem.

The issue: The WWE has been booked since last August to be in the Alex English Center on Monday, May 25 (I just completed a five-minute debate with myself on whether to rename the Pepsi Center after English or Dan Issel. Their career stats in Denver are nearly identical: English played in 30 more games, English averaged five more points per game, Issel got the edge in rebounding and Big Man Dan had a slight edge in Win Shares. The push went to English because he played for the Pacers for two seasons. Biased? Yes, but I'm OK with it...note to self: get a job). The WWE claims to have sold more than 10,000 tickets and is expected to sell out the day of the event. But instead of fans watching Batista continue to whip up on Orton, Vickie doing unspeakable things to Santina or anything involving the greatness that is Kelly Kelly, the people of Denver could be stuck with NBA Playoff basketball.

After the Lakers wrapped up their seven-game series with Houston on Sunday, the NBA scheduled Game 4 of the Denver-LA Western Conference Finals series in the Alex English Center for...Monday, May 25. Now, I'm no businessman, but even I see a problem here.

The scheduling conflict has put two of my favorite things in life at odds with one another. How rude! But the great thing is that neither side is willing to budge at this point. That means RAW is WAR again. The NBA says they're having the event that day no matter what, and Vince McMahon says his trucks are driving to Denver no matter what.

McMahon, of course, is using the media coverage of this debacle to his full advantage. Here is link to his awesome interview with ESPN where he says that Alex English Center owner Stan Kroenke should be "arrested for impersonating a good businessman." That's classic. Unfortunately, my guess is that RAW will move to another locale. Although Vince could take Stern in a cage match any day of the week, I'm afraid Stern may have too much authority in this situation since the Nuggets have a permanent home in Denver, while the WWE is just passing through town. But, I would claim that the WWE has every right, especially since the NBA is just as rigged as the WWE. I mean, if you have a choice between two rigged, entertainment shows, wouldn't you choose the one with the hot divas (and I'm not talking about Kobe here)?

ESPN's Mike & Mike Show had one of its better moments this morning when they developed a radio clip of an announcer doing the Lakers-Nuggets game. In the middle of a Laker possession, Triple H and the Undertaker come out to the floor and wrestled members of both teams. The Undertaker, in his usual style, tombstoned the crap out of Kobe.

That would make a memorable Monday night.

On to the links...

2 minutes...2-ah
While I've been stuck at home unemployed (although two job interviews have taken place this week so good things might happen...fingers crossed), I applied to be the Pacers beat reporter for a citizen journalism site called examiner.com. Each major U.S. city has its own site and I am part of the Indianapolis network. I posted my first article this morning (a simple rehash of my Granger MIP article), but with the draft lottery tonight, I'm sure I'll have more up before this evening. I get paid very little and its based on page views. So, click here and boost me up to the top.

It's Beetles...with an A
All is quiet in BeatleLand at the moment. But in my latest Beatlefan Magazine (oh yes, I am a subscriber to Beatlefan Magazine, so suck it) Bruce Spizer reveals that he is working on an all-Beatles Trivial Pursuit game that should be out by July or August. It will consist of 2,600 questions in six categories. I think now is a good time to challenge anybody to a dual of Beatle-wit. Name the time and place, and I'll be there to make you run for your life.

Hello, Mr. Radio
Just because I can...Enjoy!

Info for Bo
I'm sure you're enjoying this WWE vs. NBA as much as I am, so here are some clips from Vince's past that should remind Stern to never, ever, ever mess with THE Vince McMahon. Clip 1. Clip 2. Clip 3. Clip 4. Clip 5.

Mrs. Thug Mrs.
More info on your cheating peeps Jon and Kate.

You Tube...no, you're a tube
Will Ferrell's return to SNL this weekend had it's moments and this was the best of them. Nothing tops Jeopardy.

The Future of Danny Granger

You never know when one of those “be careful what you wished for moments” is going to pop up in life. Whether you’re the band who wanted sex, drugs and rock & roll only to be squashed by expectations on a follow-up album thus leaving you only with drugs (Oasis following What’s the Story Morning Glory? with Be Here Now fits perfectly here) or you’re the movie star who hit the big-time with a blockbuster smash, only your next movie bombed so badly that you’re acting and film-choice suffered for an entire decade (anyone heard from Ben Affleck recently?)

One of those moments crept up on Pacers fans this week when Danny Granger, who was giddy as a school boy after returning from his honeymoon in Italy, received the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. He joined former Pacer stars Jermaine O’Neal and Jalen Rose as winners of the award. Let’s just say, when I found out that Danny had won, I was ecstatic, happy and as thrilled as a middle-aged father seeing his fail-at-life son win the “Best Sportsmanship” trophy on his Little League team. After being shut out of the playoffs for the fourth straight year, any good Pacers' news that comes my way results in a shower of confetti and champagne around the apartment. Visions of grandeur floated around my head as I saw future Pacers' teams hoisting Danny into the air after his game-winning jumper in the NBA Finals. One award and I was back on cloud nine.

But there’s a little more to the story about this award, and it’s not a pleasant one.

Of all 24 NBA players who have garnered the recognition since the award’s inception in 1986, how many of them would you guess have won an NBA title? Five? Six? 24? Well here’s the scoop Alice (see below: Scrubs Side Note) -- it’s actually a big, old goose egg. That’s right. Twenty-four different players have won the award, yet none (zero, zip) have a Larry O’Brien trophy sitting next to it in their trophy cases.

SCRUBS SIDE NOTE HERE: How much do I miss Scrubs right now? My God, what a freakin’ awesome finale last week. I’m not going to say my tear ducts swelled up a little when J.D. walked down the hallway and saw the ghosts of his past (including the final goodby from Hooch in a straight-jacket), but man, did I nearly cry like a bastard baby when that happened. Kudos to Bill Lawrence for devising the perfect ending to the perfect show. Yet, after that memorable ending, ABC has renewed the show (according to the LA Times)! Give it up already you D-bags!!! The show is over! How can you seriously bring the show back after an ending like that? It’s impossible. You're only setting it up for ruin. The show will die quicker than the middle-aged father’s dreams of his boy actually amounting to something in life (see above: middle-aged father analogy).

Back to the MIP award. There are several reasons why this anomaly has occurred.

1) Decent players dominating on bad teams: Half of the players who won the award played on teams that drafted in the top 10 in the lottery the next season. It’s not a coincidence that most of those players had only one or two good seasons in the league and those seasons happened to occur on teams that sucked harder than (insert your favorite porn star…and that’s what she said). Had these players been on the 1996 Bulls, they may not have gotten off the bench. (Examples: Scott Skiles, 1990, Orlando Magic; Dana Barros, 1995, 76ers)

2) Signing an outrageous contract with a bad team: I thought the majority of players who won the award would have been in contract years, but this was far from the case. But for unfortunate players who did take home the trophy during a contract year, the result wasn’t always the best scenario. Because bad teams, which have more cap space, are more likely to throw larger amounts of money at bad players, the winners of the MIP award “go for the money” instead of playing to win. This move killed several careers. Had the players taken role positions on good teams for less money (a Robert Horry-esque move), they would have improved their “getting ass after games” quota. But their inability to “choose wisely” cost them in every way imaginable by staying in the doldrums of the league. (Examples: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (the artist former known as Chris Jackson) stayed with Denver; Barros (again) signed with lowly Boston; Gilbert Arenas left an up-and-coming Warriors squad to sign with Washington (although they had one good first-round series with the Cavs several years later).

3) Only three potential franchise players have won the award: Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O’Neal (I just threw up in my mouth) and Arenas were all set up to be their respective “faces” of the franchise after they won the award. O’Neal (again, more stomach fluid-like acid stuff burning my trachea right now) only lived up to expectations for two seasons, McGrady never panned out in Orlando and Arenas can’t stay on the court in Washington. Thus, every other winner of the award were merely second and third cogs in the machine. This means Granger immediately jumps to “Mount Rushmore” status of MIP winners.

Granger is an elite player. One year after sharing the role with Mike Dunleavy (speaking of which, check out his blog), Granger has become the sole face of the franchise. He is our McGrady, our second-coming of O’Neal (good God, someone stick an arrow in my neck) and our Arenas. Now, I know all of those situations sound awful, but hear me out. There’s something different about Danny, and not in a gay way. His rhetoric is always about “getting better” and “working harder.” Apparently he’s the hardest NBA worker East of L.A. and West of Cleveland.

I don’t think the problem for Danny will be winning this award. Sure, he might carry a little more swagger now, maybe even think he’s a little better than he really is, but I think everybody can live with that. I think it's pretty apparent that Danny is being setup as the man to break the curse of the MIP. There's only one thing stopping him.

The most disturbing thing about this whole thing is this: he’s now married. That's a whole 'nother can of worms. Could be good, could be awful. It's a coin flip. Here's hoping the new wife is the second-coming of Peg Bundy, which forces Danny to think that the training gym is like Al's shoe salesman gig -- it's better than being at home.

You Tube...no, you're a tube

Da Man

Bringin' SNL back...

Justin Timberlake is ridiculous.

He's ridiculously funny. He's ridiculously talented. He's ridiculously good looking (according to the Mrs. Thug Mrs.) He's also ridiculously awesome at being the best thing for Saturday Night Live since Chris Farley's interview with Sir Paul.

Last night's episode of SNL marked the third occasion in which JT (I'm pretty sure that we're on good enough terms to go by initials here) has hosted the program. His second hosting gig was highlighted by "Dick in a Box" and Saturday's "MotherLover" song will surely spark another YouTube bonanza. But, for the first time in years, decades and even centuries, I thoroughly enjoyed SNL last night.

Every skit was hilarious, with the lone exception being the awkward opening sketch which happened to not feature a certain host. I'm not a big SNL history buff, and I missed every episode from 2002-2006 due to inebriation on every Saturday night, but JT has to be one of the best hosts in the history of the show, if not THE best. Obviously Walken, Baldwin and Martin are said to have some of the best episodes, and both Baldwin and Martin had funny episodes this year, but they couldn't touch JT's episode with a 10-foot pole. Most SNL fans say that Tom Hanks is at the top of the list when it comes to SNL hosts, but most of his appearances came in the late-80's before he stopped being funny and started acting retarded. So those episodes mean nothing to me. Seeing as all of those hosts just mentioned are pushing closer to death than birth, it's safe to say that JT is the lone great host of our generation.

I think I missed one episode this season, and although this season has been good, it took a giant leap forward with last night's episode and I'm expecting big things out of Will Ferrell's upcoming host spot. JT's jab at former hook-up Britney Spears (in a clever skit that had Timberlake as an immigrant on his way to America talking about his future great-grandchild): “I’d like to think that at first, he’ll date a popular female singer. Publicly, they’ll claim to be virgins. But privately, he hit it.” He brought Jimmy Fallon back for the "Barry Gibb Show" skit; he absolutely killed in the street hawker skit; stole the thunder in the "Target Lady" sketch; and, finally, he outdid the musical guest , Ciara, by providing the only good part of her song. Weekend Update (which did not feature JT) even kicked butt with the debut of the comedy duo "Spitzer and Paterson" based on those lovable New York governors. The pair is sure to be put into the recurring character arsenal. And anytime you get Leonard Nimoy to make an appearance and call people who don't like the new Star Trek film "dickheads" is good in my book.

Overall, a great performance last night that should solidify the fact that SNL needs JT to host at least once a year and it wouldn't hurt to have him do it twice.

On to the links...

It's Beetles...with an A
If you're free from May 21-25 (a.k.a. Memorial Day Weekend) then you should come with me to the Abbey Road On The River Festival in Louisville. Thrilling right? Just found out about it this morning so plans aren't set, but I find it hard to believe that people would rather attend the Indy 500 than watch more than 40 Beatles cover bands play continuously for four days. Is this heaven? No, it's Louisville.

2 minutes...2-ah
The Pacers are still not in the playoffs.

Hello Mr. Radio
Here is Johanna Botta from MTV's the Real World. Enjoy...

Info for Bo
After winning their first playoff series in NBA franchise history, the 93-94 Pacers opened with a Game One upset of No. 1 seed Atlanta in the semifinals on May 10. What a ride for this team. The Pacers opened the series off with a deciding 96-85 win as five Indiana players scored in double-figures led by Reggie Miller's 18 points. Derrick McKey provided a nice 1-of-4 performance for two points in 26 minutes of play.

My Sox are White
Domination. After suffering my first defeat of the year last week, my fantasy baseball squad turned up the heat in a battle for second place against Err Dizz's squad. Heading into the final day of the week-long battle, my team of misfits, underdogs and heroes held a 449-260 lead and will almost certainly grab the win. My quest for fantasy sport domination is back on track.

I Me Mine
This segment is dedicated to the other Sean Stevenson's in the world who somehow land in my news alerts/google search. Apparently, the insulation specialists of Westville Ltd. are bucking the economic downturn by expanding into new offices at the New Brook Business Park. Man, that's freakin exciting! New chairs, new bathrooms, new pencils and new office romances! The company, which specialises in cavity wall insulation, has seen a boom in customers taking on better insulation in an attempt to reduce energy bills and save money. The reason for their ability to thrive in a dead economy?

Sean Stevenson. That's right. My friend, colleague and name brethren is saving the world, one insulation specialist at a time. Here's what the genius and general manager of Westville had to say:

"Now we have a company headquarters that is the spacious and professional environment that our staff deserve. I have no doubt that it will improve our capabilities still further."

Ah, sentence structure may not be Sean's forte (a common trait among brothers), but this new company headquarters is the exact push that he needs to become the second-best Sean Stevenson in the world. Thank you for bringing celebrity and greatness to our name.

You Tube...no, you're a tube
"MotherLover" Enjoy...