Choke City

Well I haven't really been inspired to write anything until now. Thanks to the Rockets blowing another 2-0 lead to lose the series, I need to vent. After being up 2-0, we statistically had a 96% chance of winning the series having home court advantage. Only the Rockets could blow it. Sure, McGrady and Yao's stats looked pretty, but they were highly inefficient. Their field goal percentages were way too low, and neither one of them played like they wanted to win until the 4th quarter of game 7. Too little too late, guys. Yao Ming was a debacle on defense the entire series and was a turnover machine. McGrady gave me the impression that he just didn't care.

There is no doubt in my mind the Rockets should have won this series. The main person to blame is Jeff Van Gundy. He will be gone in the next couple of weeks. He made absolutely no adjustments, never changed his game plan, never played Kirk Snyder (who is far more athletic than anyone on the Rockets team), and never motivated his team to win. We never went into halftime with the lead, always came out flat, shot HORRIBLE shots the whole series, and didn't hustle.

Needless to say, I expect a lot of changes to be made next season starting with the head coach. I don't know who we will bring in, but Van Gundy is gone. We need more athletic players, and we need a 3rd scorer to help T-Mac. (cough) Van Gundy never gave Bonzi a chance. He would have been a huge help this series.

I'm rooting for Golden State now. Man, talk about an exciting team to watch. Those guys are legit (I don't care what Dallas fans think. And don't even get me started on Dirk being the MVP). They take it strong to the bucket EVERY SINGLE TIME. I've always been a big Baron Davis fan too.

Anyways.....Right now I'm proud to be a Houstonian. Houston, Texas: where 2-0 leads go to die, where #1 picks go to waste, and where the biggest chokes happen.

.....Oh yeah, Roger Clemens just signed with the Yankees.

Toadies Concert

Last week I went to the Toadies reunion concert with one of my best friends. It was in the middle of downtown Houston in the Verizon Wireless Theater (which is a really cool set up for a concert). There were 2 other bands that played before them trying to make it big. I kinda like the unknown bands because they go out there and play like they have something to prove. Their songs aren't known or as catchy, but they are good performers. Almost like rookies trying to make it in the big leagues.

Anyways....the Toadies finally came out and rocked hard. They opened with "I Come From the Water" and got the crowd stage diving and crowd surfing. Me and J.D. were on the floor about 50 feet in front of the stage so we had to hold our own with all the moshing, pushing and shoving. That's not my thing but I don't mind other people doing it. It makes the concert environment more entertaining and legit. Toadies also sang their big hits "Tyler", "Possum Kingdom", and "Away." If you ever listen to their lyrics, they are a very dark band. That kind of stuff doesn't disturb me like it would others because it's music. And I find their lyrics to be cool.

We did the typical concert-goer stuff. Walked in and surrounded ourselves with people you probably never hang out with, bought a concert t-shirt, hung out around the stage, and talked about which song we think they'll open with. Seeing a band live really makes you appreciate them more. Especially if they are a good "live band." There is such a thing as a good band who just flat out sucks live. However, the Toadies were amazing live.

Music Videos

These are some of the videos I remember watching growing up. They left an impression on me and enhanced my love for music and the meanings of songs. Some are funny, artsy, or just entertaining. Others influenced an entire generation. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Alien Ant Farm - Movies
This is a very clever video portraying scenes from various movies. They came out my freshman year of college and I haven't heard of them since. Oh well.

Nada Surf - Popular
This video dates back to 1996. I was in junior high and I remember me and my best friend watching this video almost every day. I love how you can tell Nada Surf were probably a group of "loners" in high school and they wrote this song to stick it to all the superficial, materialistic people in their class. Now who's popular? (Corny)

Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice
I'm a huge fan of Christopher Walken. Here's why.

Aerosmith - Cryin'
I forgot how "romantic" and mushy this video was. And to think I watched it in 5th grade. Alicia Silverstone made her debut in Aerosmith videos. This was before Clueless. You say I'm wrong? "As if." (Gosh I'm bad at ending these).

Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
I don't know why but I absolutely love this video. I think it's the broadway feel it has to it. Yeah I'll admit...I like broadway.

Metallica - The Unforgiven
This is a very insightful video. It shows struggles throughout life, but no triumph (hence "the unforgiven"). Kinda sad.

Metallica - One
A lot of people think Metallica are just a bunch of heavy metal meatheads. Not the case at all. They are highly intelligent, and highly skilled artists who focus most of their songs on war and personal struggles.

Coldplay - The Scientist
I think this video is amazing. The whole video was shot in reverse and has a sad twist at the end.

Guns N' Roses - November Rain
Just an awesome video.

Pearl Jam - Jeremy
The video that shocked the nation. Based on true events, this video influenced schools everywhere.

Imagine That

Right when I give the Rockets praise, they make me look like a genius by losing to the 2 worst teams in the NBA. Not to mention we're about to play Denver and San Antonio, so basically we will lose 5 out of 6 since I posted the T-Mac MVP blog. I knew right when i hit "submit" the crap would hit the fan. I thought the season was over when Yao went out and they surprise the heck out of me by going 18-7 without him. Then I post T-Mac for MVP and they lose 4 out of 5 (although it's not T-Mac's fault). Good thing I'm not a local sports writer.

This is a common theme for me. I avoid drafting my favorite players in fantasy leagues because I want them to have good years. I purposely passed on Lance Berkman last year because I knew if he was on my team he would have the "Ryan Curse." The "Ryan Curse" is when the team or player I go for falls flat on their face. I hardly ever draft Astros or Rockets for my fantasy teams because of this. So I'll end this by saying the Rockets suck. Maybe now they'll start another winning streak. Anything to prove me wrong.

*By the way, I have tried this reverse "rooting-psychology" for teams I hate...it only makes them win more.

MVP Thus Far

No one seems to notice the high quality season T-Mac is having. If you remember, I posted a blog about 2 months ago thinking the Rockets season was over after Yao Ming went down with a fractured knee. Had I known that McGrady would have absolutely none of that and carry his team to a 17-7 record since Yao went out while scoring over 30 points a game and dishing out over 7 assists a game, I would have been okay. And still, no one ever mumbles one word about how he his carrying a team full of role players to maybe the 3rd or 4th seed. Not to mention 4 of those losses were to the 2 best teams in the NBA (one in which McGrady did not play). At least his home fans know what he has done, and that he has literally played better than anyone in the game over the past 2 months. LeBron, Wade, Nash, Dirk, Kobe...he's played better. 30 ppg and 7 apg is pretty sick. Houston is the only city that realizes his greatness, but that's okay. Sometimes being under the radar is the best way to enter the playoffs. Oh yeah, and once we get that one guy back...that 7'6 center, we should be sittin' pretty.

MVP! MVP! MVP!

Coach Meltdown of the Year?

I think the notable "coach meltdown of the year" has already happened. University of Colorado head coach, Dan Hawkins, joined the likes of Jim Mora and Dennis Green in his latest escapade. He very well may have surpassed them both. The way he went from calm to irrate in a split second is amazing. You can't teach that. Anyways...if you haven't heard it yet, you can click on the link below. But if you're any type of sports fan, then I'm positive you have impersonated it about 50 times this past week like I have. "Go play intramurals, brotha. Go play intramurals."

Random Daily Occurance

This probably isn't a big deal to anyone besides me, but...today I witnessed 2 ACU stickers while driving to work. There's about 2 million people in the Houston area, and I have only seen a total of 5 ACU stickers since going to school there, much less 2 in the same day. Quite an amazing feat if I do say so myself.

Anyways...GO WILDCATS!!