Season Opener!!!!

Tonight is the tip off for the 2009-2010 NBA season! Just as I am every season, I'm very excited for a number of reasons. First, is the new faces in new places. I want to see how all of the off season acquisitions will affect each team, for better and for worse. My favorite moves of the off season are Artest to the Lakers, Jefferson to the Spurs and Turkoglu to the Raptors. With Artest, L.A is clearly favored to repeat as champs, with Jefferson the Spurs are back to being potential Western Conference champs and with Turkoglu I see the Raptors back in the playoffs. I also believe the NBA is back in terms of every team being competitive on a nightly basis. Even teams at the bottom of the food chain have talent that will give them a chance to compete. My two sleeper teams of the season are Washington in the East and Oklahoma City in the West. With Gilbert Arenas hopefully healed from injury, Washington has a very deep and young squad that can get them back to being a top 5 team in the East. Additions of Randy Foye and Mike Miller give the Wiz security blankets in case of Arenas getting hurt again. The Thunder also look to have one of the most talented young teams in the entire league. Rookie James Harden gives them a legit 2 guard with Durant, a top 5 scorer in the league, Russell Westbrook, a hugely underrated young guard and Jeff Green, a solid swingman that gives 100% every night. I will be tuned in to every game possible this year. 

New Hope

Today my homeboy and Baltimore's own Trey Robinson dropped his highly anticipated mixtape "Tetris". Trust me when I say, YOU WILL see this man in the big lights. He's the new voice of the 410 and this mixtape will hopefully propel him into a bigger following. Support my man and download the mixtape right HERE

Worth The Trouble?

Early today on ESPN, it was reported that the San Francisco 49ers and rookie WR Michael Crabtree have finally agreed in principle to a contract. Crabtree was very outspoken in his seemingly eternal holdout; the rookie threatened to not sign with San Fran at all in order to re-enter the draft next year if they did not pay him what he wanted. The deal is reportedly worth $32 million over 6 years with $17 million guaranteed. I don't believe that Crabtree is anywhere near as good as his attitude has shown thus far. I also don't believe the '9ers need him to be a successful team this season. Maybe he'll come right in and fit in, but I don't see it happening. Defenses are sure to be overly aggressive towards him because of his illusion of being entitled to acting this way. Let's see how it goes...

NY Bound

This morning it was reported on ESPN that the Cleveland Browns have traded WR Braylon Edwards to the Jets for WR Chansi Stuckey and 2 draft picks. Many stories are surrounding this trade. mainly the story that Edwards allegedly punched a friend of NBA superstar LeBron James a couple nights ago outside of a club. Many speculate that this is the reason why he is getting shipped out of Cleveland. If so, LeBron truly has the key to that city. On a positive note, Braylon is now in a MUCH better situation going to New York to play under exciting, new head coach Rex Ryan and his feisty defense. He also gives rookie Mark Sanchez the big, talented receiver that they have been so desperately searching for. It's also weirdly ironic that Braylon, after having an indirect dispute with LeBron, has been traded to New York, where many believe "The King" will end up in the summer of 2010.

Early Review

Just as I said I would, I grabbed NBA 2k10 yesterday and just like any gamer, I have my likes and dislikes. I really like the additions of shots that 2ksports has added including 40 more runners than last season, more personalized fadeaways, and now leaners. I also like the new move packages that they've assigned to all players; the gameplay is even more realistic now. Now to my dislikes...First off, I use 360 so only Xbox users will relate. I really don't like the complexity of the crossover moves; 2k made it much more difficult to iso your player compared to last year. The next thing that I'm really having trouble accepting is the extremely low ratings that players have. Rookies Steph Curry and Brandon Jennings are both in the 60's!!!??? Blake Griffin and James Harden both have a 76 rating. Are they both that much better than Curry and Jennings? Also, there are only 5 players with a rating of 90 or better: Kobe, D-Wade, LeBron, CP3 and KG(that is in order). I believe Melo, B-Roy, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh all got terribly snubbed. Despite my dislikes I still love the 2k franchise and would take it over Live anyday. I haven't actually played against anyone yet so...I'm taking ALL challengers!!! I WILL NOT LOSE!

No Doubt

This weekend(Friday-Monday) I stayed in New York around Times Square and it was a great experience. I lived in Brooklyn last year while going to school at Long Island University and I loved it then too. But this weekend reaaly closed the deal for me that I'm moving back there once I finish college. It's never a dull moment in NY and it has so many resources open to everyone. I will definitely be taking advantage of those resources soon.

Deeper Than Football

Tonight is the HIGHLY anticipated match between the Minnesota Vikings, led by Brett Favre, and the Green Bay Packers...formerly led by Brett Favre. To me this is the most important game of the entire NFL season. As most should know by now, Brett was and still is in many people's eyes, the face of Green Bay but a falling out led to his departure. Now Brett leads Green Bay's division rival and it is sure to be a classic battle. Both teams matchup pretty well. Favre's heir to the throne, Aaron Rodgers has surfaced as one of the best QB's in the league and will surely put up a fight at Minnesota. I've stated in earlier posts that I think it would be humbling for Brett to lose to Green Bay both times this season because of his revenge-driven rage. I'm anxiously waiting for tonight's game.

Rookie Mistake?

Last night the Jets...well, Mark "Sanchize" struggled all the way to the finish against the Saints. In a game where Drew Brees, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year so far, threw for no TD's, New York still couldn't get a thing going. Mark Sanchez threw a (Short) career high, 3 picks in the loss and lost a fumble for a TD in his own endzone. It was bad. But it brings up the question, was it rookie mistakes or is "Sanchize" not as good as his nickname suggests? At least 2 out of the 3 picks he threw were just plain horrible and his defense gave their all. I think it's time to stop the Flacco comparisons and the "premature crowning", as 1st & 10's Skip Bayless would say, and let Sanchez find his own way in the league, not gas him up into something he's not...