X's & O's, Zeros & Ones

A blog about sports, video games, and music from a casual fan of the first, and a die-hard fan of the rest.

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Now this is what I call breaking news.

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eSports and Evolution 2012 (Part 1) - By Sam Accardo

While yes, Evolution (the biggest fighting game tournament in the world) 2012 ended a few weeks ago, the changing of the guard that occurred during the tournament is one that will not soon be forgotten. For the past 10 years that Evolution (Evo) has been run, if you look at the finalists in many of the popular fighting games in the current millennium, you will see 2 nations dominating the field: America and Japan. And for that matter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was dominated by American players. But that all changed once the champions were crowned in Las Vegas on July 8th, 2012.

There is a reason that people love watching the Superbowl, the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals, the World Series, and other championship sporting events. It’s because that’s where the stories get made. Big sports events are so popular, I know people that use them as a way to remember where they were or what they were doing at the time. I’d bet five dollars that a male football fan would be able to give you the 2 contenders in the Superbowl 5 years back from memory as he’s picking up flowers on the way home for his wife’s birthday party that he just remembered is in an hour. For example, I completely remember exactly who I was with and where I was during game 6 of the recent Stanley Cup Finals. And even though the event is for video games, that same phenomenon occurs with Evolution just as much.

But before I get into the startling finals of both Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition (Version 2012) and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I want to talk a little bit about eSports in general. As you may have noticed, this blog is about sports and video games. So when watching sports and playing video games are combined, it’s like Christmas came early and I got everything I wanted. But whenever I watch videos of people playing video games, I get a few odd looks. The look that says, “you know… you could actually be playing the game instead of just watching it.” I’ve never understood why that is since no one gives you an odd look when you’re watching sports on TV. I mean, what’s stopping you from going out and shooting some hoops yourself? Regardless of the fact that it’s a video game that I’m watching, it still requires an extreme level of dedication and practice to be able to compete and win at Evo. And that dedication and hard work deserve respect. But I think the problem is that people don’t understand how hard it is to do a 50+ hit combo in fighting games. And until people understand those concepts, people will never give gamers the respect that they deserve.

The players that do respect the elite players at big tournaments like Evolution make up the Fighting Game Community (FGC). It consists of players, fans, and tournament organizers that are dedicated to fighting games and the culture around the games. And it is one of the most vocal communities in all of video games. One of the members, Seth Killian, eventually worked with Capcom as a sort of ambassador for Capcom to talk to the FGC and see what they were saying about their games. The FGC is the sole reason arcades are still functioning in this current industry where gaming is either on your PC, game console, or phone. And the FGC has made Evolution a worldwide event that is fueled by the hype and popularity the FGC provides. To say the FGC is something to overlook, would be like overlooking the fans of soccer on a worldwide scale. And to say that professional eSports is something to be overlooked will soon be impossible.

  In a recent business move, CBS Interactive, the network which has deals with the NFL and NCAA, set up deals with Own3D and the North American Star League. Own3D is most known for hosting live streams of League of Legends (currently one of the most played games on the internet), but other developers like iD and Valve also use their services. And the North American Star League hosts the biggest tournament for Starcraft 2 outside of South Korea. CBS Interactive also has deals with TwitchTV and Major League Gaming (two other popular video game streaming companies). Clearly CBS Interactive has read the writing on the wall: eSports are becoming more and more popular. And CBS wants to be there when the writing comes true. And I’m positive that at some point, eSports will be at the very least, the same popularity as hockey or soccer. But that won’t happen until the wider audience actually understands why the matches are so cool in the first place.

For the longest time I swore off baseball. As far as I was concerned, baseball may have been America’s pastime, but football was America’s sport. But then one day a friend of mine (who is co-creator and writer of this fine website) explained to me how insane of a skill pitching is. And then I sat down and watched Kershaw (GO DOYERS!) pitch the ball. And my buddy was absolutely right. Watching a guy pitch is something else. And that was the same feeling I get when I watch a player like Alex Valle pulling off a solid combo on a good punish, or watching Filipino Champ unleash an insanely difficult combo in the finals of Evolution 2012. And the reason I wrote off baseball is the same reason eSports haven’t transcended their target audience: people just don’t understand why what the players do at Evolution makes people jump up and down and scream their lungs out. And until the general public realizes how difficult it is to play at a competitive level in video games, video games and the players who play them will never give them the respect they deserve.

[exesandones]

More Than Just Horrorcore - By Sam Accardo

Tyler, the Creator, the… creator of a rap group awesomely named Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, is a kid that has polarized many members and fans of the rap industry. I for one, love OFWGKTA. The first album I listened to from the OFWGKTA collective was BLACKENEDWHITE written by the duo of Hodgy Beats and Left Brain (who refer to themselves as Mellowhype when they are a duo) and it was insane. “Fuck the Police”, a track on BLACKENEDWHITE, is still one of my favorite tracks from OF in general. But I became an official fan when I finally picked up a copy of Goblin, the second album by Tyler, the Creator.

I won’t go so far as to say I love Tyler and all that he does. But he is a personal inspiration to me and I absolutely adore the “fuck-you” attitude he has. His interviews are the best. Mainly because he doesn’t care at all about doing the interview and he lets people know it. I recommend watching the entire video, but the interview (which is where I started the video at) is the best part.

On top of his devil may care attitude, the dude knows how to make a beat. He very rarely uses samples for his own stuff (which deserves credit in my opinion), and the instrumentals are very unique in and of themselves. For the record, I rate an instrumental for a track very highly with my overall opinion of the track. In other words, I can get past mediocre raps over a really good beat. But great lyrics over a boring club beat just turn me off. But for me, Tyler has both. And while some don’t like his lyrical flow, I personally like how disjointed it can be.

And on top of THAT, he directs his own music videos (as his alter ego Wolf Haley). All of the videos he’s made are very unique and have somewhat of a narrative to them. And in today’s world of pop music where almost every music video have some epic full-length movie story crammed into a 7 minute music video, it’s refreshing to see a music video that either doesn’t take itself seriously, or a video that has a narrative that follows the lyrics very closely. Add those two to his videos for Yonkers, Sam is Dead, NY (Ned Flander), and Oldie, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s a damn good portfolio for a director who has a mere 21 years under his belt.

But despite the fact that he’s a competent rapper, producer, director, skater, and a creator of all the clothing designs that pretty much every OFWGKTA member sports (when they’re not wearing Supreme), people still write him off because his lyrics are offensive, misogynistic, and “brutal-even-for-horrorcore”. Offensive? Absolutely. Misogynistic? I won’t deny that either. But referring to it as just horrorcore? That’s where I get pissed.

If I had a nickel for every time someone referred to Tyler as some horrorcore rapper, I’d probably have like 65 cents or something.  But I’d give it all away just to hear someone say they actually listened to his other albums and lyrics and find out it’s not all just a bunch of horrorcore. But let’s draw a comparison here. Does anyone remember RZA was a member of Gravediggaz? (I hope everyone does by the way.) Does anyone refer to the RZA as that horrorcore dude? I mean, does Tyler need to create a slew of albums as some alter ego that are not in any way horrorcore whatsoever for people to accept maybe he’s actually not a one trick pony? (I realize he has like 3 names he refers to himself as, but you know what I’m getting at.)

Well, I guarantee you Tyler won’t create a series of albums that only consists of daisies, rainbows and sunshine; I’d add unicorns to that list, but he’s referenced them once or twice. So I’ll do the next best thing: I’ve chosen 10 verses (some of them are not complete since they were so long) that don’t talk at all about anything along the lines of rape or anything else that would be considered horrorcore. And before everyone cries foul about me only choosing verses that don’t include offensive and controversial lyrics, I only chose verses from tracks that had no horrorcore lyrics in the entire song. So basically, I’ve got 10 songs here from the beginning of his career all the way up to The OF Tape Vol. 2 that have no horrorcore lyrics in them whatsoever. Hell, that’s enough to make a mixtape.

Also, lyrics about getting his dick sucked or having sex with girls or other violent acts (see Nightmare) don't count as hororcore. I mean, no one refers to Eminem as horrorcore, yet he has some lyrics like Tyler's too. (Slim Shady LP anyone?) So let’s be honest, if you listen to rap, you should have come to expect that kind of talk at this point. There’s a reason they print those Parental Advisory warning labels on the album cover.

 10 verses:

“I'm the square just like the tile, right down the fucking isle

Music was my only friend, ever since I was a child

I make niggas frown, just to give myself a smile

Mother was my father, the nigga didn't bother

To send a kid a dollar, my only role model was

Niggas that record and that could play keyboards

And wild piano chords make me happy

Dr. Suess more important than Jesus

Y'all immigrants to depression, Nigga give me a visa

We sick, the same lames that sneeze us

Made us turn to Jazz now, because the black kids would tease us”

The Tape Intro – Tyler, the Creator

  “But, I'm super steezy like my last beat

My bitch super greezy like her lunch be granola bars

I spill healthy verses, call 'em granola bars

Now every bitch wanna eat her Casey Veggies with no salt

Now it's so crazy, other people than my moms is callin' me baby

My nigga get ya hopes down, you couldn't persuade me

To collaborate with you niggas, ya lyrics is lazy

I'm undefeated, but the suede shoes is Puma

I'm the cancer and the tumor with the drums and the tubas blastin'

I'm a crook and it's a castle

If I am the shit, then I'm guessin' my mom's a asshole”

Back For Another One – Tyler, the Creator

  “Fuck cars I have a damn unicorn

That flies me to places, with spaceships, that don't need money

Where I can free at hand, eat candy with Easter bunnies

Where donuts equal water, inhalers and mushrooms

And we don't have cars, we have balloons and we zoom through

Sound and the bass is astoundin'

The snare plays square no roundin'

Major ninth chords tower synth like it's Yao Ming

Kobe, imaginary friends, fuck homies (They don't know me)

The tooth fairy blow me, swallow don't shit this

With my Donald Trump hair piece you're an apprentice

You're fired and tired, you can't stay up like a limp dick

If you think you can spit then I am the fuckin' dentist

My visions that I record, the instruments I adore

The happiness that I hoard (can't be bought) at liquor stores

You faggots can buy chains but Utopia can't afford

And they sore on hatin' reality that I ignore

You can try to walk inside my brain but I close the door

Fuck dogs, I roll around with my pet dinosaur”

Pimp Slap – Tyler, the Creator

“Bitch shake your ass, shake it until the wet sweat

Crawls right down the crack of your ass

Booty meets snack, back that ass up

Until you come back up and lick my sack up

I'm Tyler the Creator, hang with thrashers and skaters

I do sound like Darth Vader

But that's not stoppin' me from eatin' your muffin

I think you and your friends

Should come with me to get your salad tossed

Cause when I make this stew

In your gold pot addin' extra sauce because…”

Bitches Brewin’ – Tyler, The Creator

“A, C. Remember me? Fuck you. (Uhh...)

Still a rapper, no chain. Still skate, ??? tray

Got a couple aliens get in the zone

And them lames still trying to get the number of phone

All up in MySpace tryin' to get in my space

I gotta tell these faggots to leave me alone

Same asthma, different flare

Same inhaler, different air

Same truth, a different dare

Same club a billionaire”

Remember Me? ­– Tyler, the Creator

“I make music for a reason, didn't vote Obama

So you can charge me with treason

Year round asshole, the fuck you season

The flu, I'm sick that's why everybody sneezin'

I'm always cheesin', smile for a reason

Fuck as I fuck you, I'm always teasin'

My daughter need milk and a quilt

So I'm sellin' the the haze for six bucks cause she always sneezin'

Some people need drugs, some people need dubs

On they car note to go to the club

But really, really, really, all I need deep down is a hug”

Commercial – Tyler, the Creator

“This is what the devil plays before he goes to sleep

Some food for thought, this food for death, go ahead and fucking eat

My father's dead, well I don't know, we'll never fucking meet

I cut my wrist and play piano cause I'm so depressed

Somebody call the pastor, this bastard is so possessed

This meeting just begun, nigga I'm Satan's son”

Bastard – Tyler, the Creator

“I'm an odd fellow, the opposite of mellow

The therapist said hello but my mom would wonder

I was dealing with iller shit like professional plumbers

Like food for thought was my father but I ain't have the hunger

My self esteem was like me, tall and full of flaws

My pride is gone, I'm that guy like Aaron Hall

Shit, I know some niggas wear their hearts on they sleeves

But I wear mine on my head, Supreme”

Pigs Fly (feat. Domo Genesis) – Tyler, The Creator

“I'm from the city of niggas that get grizz-ills and bitties

With really shitty cosmetically hit titties

It's, dope is what I been spark, second then my pen start

Bringin' back that crack shit like Amy Wine's skidmarks

Now sit it in a pamper, Yonk went viral

Price up a 'Preme camper, now I got a buncha

White bitches, tour bus lookin' like a fuckin' hamper

Dick went postal now my passport is stamped up

See if white kids in fuckin' Europe understand him

Radicals the anthem, turn the fuckin' amps up

Hot shit, it's mosh pits, stage dive, crowd surf

Lookin' like I'm throwin fuckin' tantrums

Thanks to label crackers now I'm ballin' like it's cancer

Cause being broke is uncool, buddy, get your aunt fucked, Golf Wang

(Goblin was a disappointment) Yeah, right

Shit dropped, I bought a house that night

While you was at home leavin' comments tryna pay ya bill

I was on tour makin' some grands, findin' time to kill

Wakin' up in different countries sayin' "Yo, this is real?"

Whole City Behind Us feat. Tyler, the Creator  – Domo Genesis

  “They say that I'm shock value

How about you hop off cock and turn volume down?

I haven't got around to telling my mom shit (why?)

Cause I don't know how to... (whoa)

All I want is her support, whenever the fight's at home

When mommy cusses out cousin, some knifes get shown

Now she's really fuckin' pissed, so the knives get thrown

And hit her in her fucking neck, now her throat's all gone

Looking like a fucking monster from the Twilight Zone

Then they wonder why I stay at Travis' pad with a backpack

For the whole week, full of plastic-wrapped black tees

And deodorant like his house is my home

I could live with the same hat

And the same flat-screen TV watching Flapjack

And the same bacon and waffles on a nice Saturday

Where I skate with the same fucking friends that

Didn't give a fuck about fame or a name, oh

"Message from GZA, oh, another one from Plain Pat"

Email full of emails, I never write back

Ain't kill myself yet, and I already want my life back”

Nightmare – Tyler, The Creator

“OF, shit that's all I got

From my bigger brother Frankie to my little brother Tac

From that father figure Clancy to that skatey nigga Nak

Shreddin' down 'Fax, Wolf Gang run the fuckin' block

Storefront, knee tat

Book cover is the same lettering on lettermans and cotton socks

And grip tape...and my shoes

Um, I was 15 when I first drew that donut

5 years later, for our label yea we own it

I started an empire, I ain't even old enough

To drink a fucking beer, I'm tipsy off this soda pop

This is for the niggers in the suburbs

And the white kids with nigger friends who say the n-word

And the ones that got called weird, fag, bitch, nerd

Cause you was into jazz, kitty cats, and Steven Spielberg

They say we ain't actin' right

Always try to turn our fuckin' color into black and white

But they'll never change 'em, never understand 'em

Radical's my anthem, turn my fucking amps up

So instead of critiquing and bitchin', bein' mad as fuck

Just admit, not only are we talented, we're rad as fuck, bitches”

Oldie – Odd Future

To anyone who actually is willing to give Tyler another shot, I highly recommend just straight up listening to these songs in their entirety. These lyrics are good by themselves, but to me, it’s his flow over his beats that really sell the lyrics. I’m sure the tracks can all be found on YouTube. If you had to pick an album, go with Goblin, his second album. It has some dark lyrics that are of the horrorcore variety, but there is so much more on the album than just shock value. It gets real.

And lastly, I am not defending Tyler, the Creator, Odd Future, or anyone affiliated with them. I could care less if people hate on them and consider them offensive. If they want to defend their lyrics, I’ll let them do it. I just consider myself a big fan of the work they produce and it frustrates me when I hear people write Tyler off because he’s a horrorcore rapper, when he really isn’t and he does so much more than just rap. What I am defending are these words courtesy of Tyler, the Creator himself. They come from the track Sandwitches off of Goblin: “And we don't fucking make horrorcore, you fucking idiots / Listen deeper than the music before you put it in a box, Wolf Gang.” And I’ll admit, as a fan, it’s not always that easy to take what the artist says for granted. Well, it is, but if you actually know pop music artists, they are often not what they portray in their music. Which is fine, that’s their shtick. But what I think people don’t get is that Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All are just being themselves. And sometimes, just being yourself can be pretty dark and scary and a lot of people may not understand it. But OFWGKTA will never change, because, to them, the lyrics are just words that they say. And words only have the power that you give them.

[exesandones]

Listen to "Channel Orange" Right Now - By Sam Accardo

It’s official. Frank Ocean is the best R&B singer in the game right now. That sounds like a lofty statement, I won’t lie. But put anyone up against Ocean and watch them fall short. These days in the current pop industry everyone is supposed to have a full package. You should be able to sing, dance, act, and sell merchandise for branding. But Frank Ocean, just like everyone else in the OFWGKTA group, has decided to give a big middle finger to the current business model of the pop world. And pretty soon everyone is going to try and do the same.

I hate listening to some new pop starlet where as soon as you hear them start to sing, you realize why you don’t listen to them in the first place. I don’t care how good studio wizardry can make someone sound; anyone who knows anything about recording (and I like to think I know a thing or two about it) realizes that you can’t polish a turd. I’m not going to name any one of those polished turds, because I can’t. I have a crappy memory as it is, and I’m not going to spend time trying to remember who’s singing it is that I hate. I’m going to remember the singer who made me go “Holy shit. This is good.” And as soon as I heard the sample of the PS1 startup noise on the beginning of Channel Orange, I already thought to myself “Oh, this is gonna be good.” And by the time he goes in on his first song, I thought “Oh…this is very, very good.”

Frank has a flow that reminds me of ODB in a sense (key phrase is “in a sense”). One of the reasons no one has been able to sound like the Ol’ Dirty Bastard is because ODB would go from rapping to his weird way of singing at the flick of a switch. Ocean does the same thing, but he flicks the switch from singing to rapping. To me, Frank Ocean is reminiscent of the ODB because Ocean is actually unique, like the Ol’ Dirty Bastard. But just like ODB was respected for his rapping, wit and sly lyrics, Frank Ocean will be respected for his singing, wit and sly lyrics.

Another thing I hate about pop starlets and their songs is that their lyrics are shit. Whether they wrote the lyrics themselves, or they had some writer prepare them for the session, they always wind up being repetitive and full of smelly brown stuff. Ever since I listened to Nostalgia, Ultra., Frank Ocean’s first album, I respected Frank’s skills as a lyricist, both in terms of writing a hook and making a deep verse. I could cite a few lines and prove my point right here, but we’re talking about music, not poetry. Go load up Novacane on YouTube if you don’t believe me. Hell, you can probably still download Nostalgia, Ultra. off of Odd Future’s website. But trust me, whether you pick Channel Orange or Nostalgia, Ultra. you will be impressed.

Like I said, I don’t know many current R&B artists or many at all for that matter. But I do know good music, and Frank Ocean is good fucking music. It seems as though everyone in the pop world is asked to have the whole package. And to be honest, I bet Frank could even act pretty well if he wanted to. (Although I’ve yet to see any performances on Loiter Squad). But the thing is, Frank Ocean does have the whole package. He can rap, sing, and write. And while that may not impress some industry head at Disney, (does anyone really want to even impress the person who greenlit the whole Justin Bieber phenom?) Frank Ocean, and the rest of OFWGKTA for that matter, is going to make everyone turn and scratch their head at how this guy out of nowhere became an R&B star. And funny enough, it’s because he actually has some real goddamn talent.

[exesandones]

A Quick Rant on Nash to the Lakers - By Sam Accardo

I for one, love this deal. While it came at a steep price for a good amount of draft picks from 2013-2015, I think that it’s a great way to augment the end of the Kobe Bryant era.

I’ll be honest; I don’t watch too many other basketball games outside of the Lakers in the regular season, but I do try to watch a few Phoenix Suns games, because I love watching Nash play.

In a move that surprised many Los Angelinos and Phoenetians (that last one is a Louis CK reference), Steve Nash coming to the Lakers to try and contend for the ring is a great move for all parties involved. Lets face it, at 38, Steve Nash is near the end of his career. I don’t want to make it sound like this means I don’t want Nash on the Lakers. I’m just saying he’s at an age where he can’t play nearly as hard like the other young PGs in the league. So him going to the Lakers allows him to highlight his strengths (perimeter shooting, great passing, and a high IQ), while hiding his weakness: a defense that just can’t deal with Westbrook, Williams, Rose, etc. And it’s a good move for Phoenix as it puts them in a good place to start the rebuilding phase that it seems like the Suns are entering.

On top of that, Nash is the best player to fill the slot that Fisher left. I enjoyed seeing Sessions play, and up until the Playoffs started, I thought he was the answer to our PG woes. But we all know what happened to him. Which is fine, given the fact that it was his first ever appearance in the Playoffs right after being thrown into an entirely different offensive scheme. But the thing is, the Los Angeles Laker play for champions, and right now, LA is hungry for that ring. And while a Deron Williams might be the younger player that you can go forward with, it was clear that Williams wasn’t avaliable and I don’t know of another young PG that is of equal value as Williams. So as far as I’m concerned, Buss and Kupchak have made the best offseason move since they traded for Chris Paul. Oh wait, I meant attempted to trade for CP3. And finally, the question of what the Lakers will do with the 8.9$ trade exception that came out of Odom’s request to leave LA has finally been answered. And as far as I'm concerned, that exception was used very well.

Sidenote: So far I have no problem with Jim Buss. Considering what Buss inherited post-CBA and the huge setback that is Bryant’s contract, I like what he has done so far, especially considering this deal for Nash.

Everyone whether they be a fan, hater, or front office employee has realized that the Lakers need a point-guard. And after a mere 2 years after Kidd won a ring at 38, I think trading for Steve Nash is a great move given the way the league stands right now. The Lakers may have gotten older shortly after they got a bit younger. But that age comes with a 2-time NBA MVP and a player who makes great plays every time he starts dribbling. Welcome to Los Angeles, Steve.

We’ll see if this is the final piece the Lakers need to truthfully contend amongst the Big Bad Heat, but considering they still have trade-bait (and solid good players at that) in Gasol & Bynum, I like the place Los Angeles is in right now.

Photo credits go to @DonovanStrain

[hefferbrew]

Ted: Lessons in blatant racism that white people can laugh at - By Cameron Heffernan

After seeing Ted a few nights back Cameron needed a little time to process the racist crap he had to sit through. He kind of enjoyed the film, but in the end, he realized that Seth McFarlane has relied on blatant racism for to long and it’s about time to find a new way to be funny.

Read More

[exesandones]

Are We Really Still Hating on Lebron? - By Sam Accardo

Weeks after the NBA Finals of 2012 have come to a close, apparently people still feel the need to publicly hate on LeBron James. Everyone has an opinion and I have one that's equally as invalid as the next person, but the argument that LeBron James isn't the best player in the NBA is just insane.

So why might he not be the best player in the NBA? So far I've heard that he's not a team player, he flops, Kevin Durant is a better player and he had to team up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Some of those arguments are actually true (who doesn't flop in the NBA), but all of them are pointless. No matter what you say, he had a stellar performance in the NBA Finals, and none of that performance had any reason to not consider him the best player of the year, if not the league.

In the Finals LeBron James averaged 7.4 assists per game. That means that every game there were at least 14 points made from passes by James. Now if we compare this to his averages for assists in the previous rounds of the Playoffs, we see that he averaged as low as 3.9 (Eastern Conference Finals) and as high as 6.2. So that means that in the most crucial series, and what is usually an extremely tough series, (I consider a 4-1 domination easier than a 7 game series against a Boston that few people fought would even get to the ECF) LeBron James tried to be more of a team player than he had in the entire Playoffs. So that's one argument debunked.

He flops. Yes he does. I won't deny it. But who doesn't? Derek Fisher sure does flop, and he is one of the most revered players in the game right now (unless you hate the Lakers or something). Durant flops. Bosh flops. Kobe flops. If you youtube "*playername* flop" you'll find at least 1 video of someone flopping with a flood of comments arguing for and against it. Either way, you can't punish James for flopping when everyone else does it. In a game where the people who make decisions are human and can make mistakes, players have added tricking the refs to their repertoire of winning games. I may not like it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Next argument.

Kevin Durant is a better player? Really? That's what you're going with? First of all the Finals exposed that KD really has to work on his defense. James manhandled him once they actually started putting James on Durant and do I even need to bring up the last two games of the Eastern Conference Finals? Also, while Durant is trying to develop a defense, James merely has to perfect his. Consider for a second that this is his first year. And he is still very much in his prime. I only see a future where LeBron James continues to dominate the league.

And lastly, he had to make the "Big 3" in Miami to win. Okay, first of all. Pretty much every team has a "Big 3". The Lakers have Kobe, Gasol (not for long), and Bynum. OKC has Durant, Westbrook, and Harden (although people are still wondering where he was during the NBA Finals). And the Spurs have Duncan, Genobli, and Parker. Also, Kobe won rings with Shaq and Gasol. The last time Kobe won a ring was when Gasol was playing second fiddle to his performance. Jordan couldn't get the Pistons off his back until Pippen (coming off an All-Star year performance) was able to be the defensive stopper they needed to win the Finals. And then when Jordan left the Bulls, Pippen wasn't able to grab another finals victory until Jordan came back. Basketball is a team game, and no matter how good of a player you are, no one should doubt your skills for teaming up with another good player. For the love of god, the job of the general manager and the owner of a team is to find the best players available to help out his stars. Look what happened to Dan Gilbert. He hated on LeBron hard after he left and now the only thing he has to show for it is a ring finger with no ring and a ring in his face courtesy of LeBron James (this is a metaphor folks. I doubt that happened). So to anyone thinking that he needed Wade and Bosh and Miami to win, you're right. He totally did. But that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be the Finals MVP and it definitely don't mean he shouldn't have gotten his 3rd MVP of his career.

For the record, I'm not even bringing up him leaving Cleveland. That's irrelevant to being the best player in the league. And so is The Decision.

Lets face it folks, LeBron is the king right now. And as far as I'm concerned, he earned that throne.

[exesandones]

Is the Kinect for Casual Gamers? - By Sam Accardo

Microsoft has always tried very hard of removing their stigma of only being for the hardcore gamer. They have revamped their user interface multiple times since its inception, and have tried to cater to the indie gamer market. But one thing Microsoft (and other companies) are still trying to covet, are the casual gamer. But is the Kinect Microsoft's answer to finally making the Xbox 360 fun for the casual gamer?

As a hardcore gamer, I already find myself turning off a game if the controls are complex and unforgiving or if the gameplay punishes you too much for mistakes. I can hardly count how many games I put down because I lost an hour of storyline progression because the checkpoint was at the beginning of the level. But before you cry foul at my claim of being a hardcore gamer, please understand that I to have priorities in life. I wish I could spend hours and hours playing games to get every secret and master every trick. But I can't. And if I'm someone who actually wants to play games and truly enjoys them, imagine how a casual gamer feels about annoying controls and ridiculously tough storylines. Ask your casual gamer friends if they've played Dead Space. I'd be surprised if they even heard of it. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will have to get better at catering to the casual gamer, or we'll have another video game depression like the one in 1983. But if Microsoft doesn't improve this glorified Eye-Toy, then I doubt Microsoft will ever really corner the casual gamer market.

[exesandones]

Introduction - By Sam Accardo

We all have opinions. Every last one of us. Some are more vocal about it. Some choose to keep their opinions to themselves. I choose to put my opinions out there and see who listens. If anyone does, I'll elaborate for them. If anyone turns away, I'll throw them out there for the next person.

But even then (and now) I'm a nerd first and foremost. While most fans were watching their favorite team on Saturdays, I was up late trying to make sure I could run without getting tired in GTA: Vice City (I did it too. Just stick to the beach.) It wasn't until I started dating my current girlfriend that I started actually paying attention to sports. She is a huge Patriots fan (check your hate at the door please) and she got me into football. So I started following the Buffalo Bills since my family is from Niagara Falls. Fast forward to today and now I watch basketball, football, and hockey. I might even casually follow Los Dodgers.

The first video game I ever played was Descent. And if you know and actually played that game, you get respect in my book. I give it credit for me becoming a shoot first ask later gamer. I've dabbled in RPGs and MMORPGs (Final Fantasies, WoW, etc.) but I always wind up back playing a shooter (Valve and Halo) or fighting games (Capcom).

Make sure you understand this. I am not a sports expert and I don't consider myself to be one. I watch games and I form opinions. I don't know too much about the history of, really, any of the games but I plan to learn it over time. But I do know my video games and I do know my music. If you like my opinions then keep checking back. I'll commit to an opinion at least once a week. If you don't, then check out Hefferbrew. They actually know a lot about sports.

Enjoy.

-sam

P.S. I'd also like to thank Hefferbrew for convincing me to get off my lazy ass and actually make one o' these fancy blog things.