Ended career on a streak of 215 consecutive starts (longest active)
5x Pro Bowl selection, 3x First Team All-Pro
14 non-offensive touchdowns
The only player in NFL history with over 40 interceptions (47) and over 25 sacks (28)
Philly was where Buccaneers seasons usually went to die. Unproven in the cold. McNabb picked off by Ronde. 92 yards to the house. Sealed the deal. Stunned Silence. On to the Super Bowl. I cried.
Over 100,000 downloads in two days. Not bad at all. Cassie's mixtape is going like hotcakes, but no one knew exactly what to expect. She hasn't put out any projects in a while so this must be good, right? It seems like every single track has a big-name feature so this must be good, right? I had to download to support a fellow Connecticut native and I must say, it's been playing in my car for about a full week.
'Take Care of Me Baby' beat out a few tracks to make Tuesday Tunage. Pusha T's flow put it over the top for me. "WOO!"
Melo's been playing out of his mind this month, which has only existed for a week and a day. He wouldn't cool down if Amar'e Stoudemire punched another fire extinguisher. After four monster games, he's already got the Player of the Month award in transit to his humble abode. Wifey can throw it on a shelf underneath Carmelo's painting of Carmelo.
April 2nd: Melo drops 50 on the Heat
April 3rd: Melo hangs a 40-burger in ATL
For the second consecutive game, the Knicks' opponent chose not to double-team Carmelo and for the second consecutive game, he went off. 40 points but only one 3-ball and just six free throw attempts. Jumpers. All day. Most of them with Josh Smith's hand in his face. More embarrassing for Mr. Smith was probably listening to his home crowd go nuts for Melo as the game wrapped up (Sure, Syracuse faithful were in attendance to watch the Orange compete in the Final Four, but just go with me here). Embarrassing, Josh! The A was chanting M-V-P for the enemy! Grimy! The best part of the game had to be Sportscenter's highlights, which gave Melo's jump shots NBA Jam effects.
April 5th: Against the Bucks, Melo is money
In front of the 1972-1973 Knicks championship team that was honored at halftime, Carmelo Anthony recorded his league-leading eighth 40-point game in a blowout over Milwaukee. Under the Friday night lights, Melo also cleaned up the glass with 14 boards. Three straight 40-point games ties Melo's idol--and new Hall of Fame inductee--Knick great, Bernard King.
April 7th: A little under the weather?
You KNOW Melo was on a tear when his performance in this huge statement win in Oklahoma City was described as only 36 points. 14 more rebounds? Zero turnovers? He's beasting.
When interviewed during this stretch, Melo said it's time to win the big one. He'd done it in high school, He did it as a freshman at Syracuse, and he had done it twice in the Olympics. The Knicks as a team need to get healthy, but after getting his knee drained, Carmelo looks like he's from another planet; he feels good, he's playing great.
For years it's almost been like there's multiple Melos out there.
With the emergence of JR Smith, and when his squad is at full strength, hopefully Melo doesn't have to do it all when the Knicks attempt a serious playoff run.
Above is the new UConn wordmark, the first item revealed in the university's rebranding project. April 18th will mark the big debut of the University of Connecticut's new and improved logo set.
Word on the street was the logos would be tweaked, but we now know that the oak leaf and the UConn seal will not be touched. But suspense grows in regards to what will be done to the C and the intertwining UC logos. Most of the interest in UConn's rebranding is centered around the husky dog. After the realization that there aren't too many things less menacing than the panting tongue of man's best friend, the school will adopt a tougher looking canine. Unfortunately, bloody fangs and foamy jowls will stay on the cutting room floor.
We'll have to wait a couple weeks to see the next Jonathan, and though I'm all about tradition, I'm excited for what's in store. New is always cool. My coworker, a fellow UConn alum, isn't pleased and says, "If it aint broke don't fix it," and she carries around a Knicks notebook so she's obviously a good decision maker, but she's wrong on this one--we need this dog to put his tongue back in his mouth and model his game after Cujo. Even golden retrievers in Maryland think we're soft.
I'm not the biggest fan of JT's new album (bland, bland, bland), but great music grows on you so it would be irresponsible to make my judgment concrete. I wish the project were more soulful if he were going to abandon the bounce, the pop, the strong rhythmic groove that took us by storm in the first place ('Let The Groove Get In' brought the funk, but to me it's just an updated version of Michael Jackson's 'Wanna Be Startin Somethin'). Some of what's lost can be attributed to JT not calling on Pharrell this go 'round; some can be explained by what I'd describe as Timberland and JT finding a comfort zone sonically. It's a debonair musical swagger, created by beautiful vocal harmonies and a relentless reliance on the falsetto. This is a very low energy album, but I guess sometimes we need to slow it down to a nice two-step.
Sidenote: "I got that tunnel vision for you" sounds like a great line to use on your potential squeeze. I could be totally wrong though, so I'd rather someone else give it a shot and let me know how that goes.
With Opening Day upon us, Mets fans are designing this season's line of brown paper bag headwear due for the annual kick to the groin, in memory of the unprecedented buyout of Roberto Martin Antonio Bonilla. Declining to pay Bobby the $5.9 million owed to him in a lump sum when they released him, the New York Metropolitans decided to defer payment for 10 years, then spread the due money over the span of a quarter century, with interest. Bobby Bonilla will be paid $1,193,248.20 per year by the New York Mets until he's 73 years old. He hasn't played for the club since 1999 but will be receiving checks until the year 2035.
A fan of Los Metsies myself, I'm actually in the minority who feel great for Bonilla. Most of the stories we hear about retired ballplayers are riches-to-rags stories. We talk about how a 22 year old athlete signs his first contract and he's "set for life" but Bobby Bonilla may actually die a millionaire. His unborn grandchildren will be living well. It's not his fault the front office trusted the advice of investment guru Bernie Madoff.
Per espn.com:
The $5.9 million went into a Madoff account, which was theoretically supposed to collect a double-digit interest rate over the life of the agreement. Only about an 8 percent return would have been needed to pay Bonilla his $1.2 million a year from 2011 to 2035. The Mets did the math and figured they'd be able to turn a $60-70 million profit on the arrangement.
After Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme was exposed, the Mets barely had enough to make the first payment to Bonilla.
Waiting 10 years to get paid sounds rough; I'm sure he wasn't walking around with his pockets inside out, but life changes when you're not getting that pro athlete money anymore. But that decade is up and now Bobby Bo's pockets are straight up obese. Much respect.
With the money bags they didn't pay Bonilla upfront, the Mets were able to get some guys (like pitcher Mike Hampton) who fueled their World Series run in 2000, but they've been to the postseason exactly one time since.
:: single tear streaks down cheek ::
Just try and get this W over the Padres today, Metsies.
***
UPDATE:
The Mets are in 1st place and on pace to go 162-0.
Earth, Wind & Fire's 'Fantasy' was a fantastic sample; shouts to Just Blaze on the track. You can find 'As One' on Jay-Z's seventh studio album, The Blueprint 2. With help from Beanie Sigel, Memph Bleek, Freeway, The Youngest in Charge, P. Crakk, Sparks, and Rell, this is a hidden gem on an under-appreciated LP.
You drive an ambulance. You got your bachelor's in Psychology but quickly found out that the only job you can get with a Psych degree is Psychology Professor. Your girlfriend moved in and replaced the stack of dirty magazines on the tank lid of your toilet with potpourri. The delivery guy always brings the pizza in 31 minutes and you don't have the testicular fortitude to speak up because he looks like the type to spit in your next pie. On the road, the side-part in your hair screams, "Please cut me off but give me a courtesy wave anyway." I guess it's pretty cool to work at NFL games every Sunday, but then one of these goons has the nerve to go and get injured and 21 more meatheads crowd around him on the turf, in your way when you're just trying to do your job. You try to calm down and think of more pleasant things, but daydreams of T&A invoke the scent of lilac and before you know it you've stomped the gas pedal smooth through the floor of the hospital wagon and mowed down a couple linebackers and a wide receiver.
Every road rager has a story. Even the driver in one of the more infamous and hilarious glitches in video game history.
There's no way on Planet Earth that I'll ever believe that this bug slipped through the cracks of the Madden team. Of course there's been other malfunctions, but for a cutting edge product that prides itself on being progressive and realistic (e.g. You can absolutely wiff on a truckstick, players that sustain concussions are done for the rest of the contest), it's hard to believe that Madden overlooked vehicular homicide. There's sound effects and everything. C'mon.
With that said, am I the only one that got butterflies every time a quarterback was tackled, anticipating the glorious overlay that would read something along the lines of "#15 injured by #99"? I cheered louder during an injury than Philly fans in '99. Mass media has me desensitized to violence to the point that the more outrageous it is, the more likely I am to shoot 2% through my nostrils. Apparently the driver was gone by Madden '96 though I've never in my life seen an ambulance faster to the scene. We need it back! It would definitely make up for that whole QB flashlight bs. And who knows, he might have had a sesh or two on the leather couch to address the road rage.
You run over a couple (thousand) people and all of a sudden EA Sports wants to fire you. What gives? Otto failed his driver's test in epic fashion, and not only did he ultimately get his job back, but he's been employed by the Springfield Public School system for about a quarter century. Where's the justice? The ambulance driver kept gamers on their toes and knocked players clean out of their cleats; he was a solid contributor to the Madden experience. Maddonites everywhere want his employment reinstated, effective immediately. But whether or not the public gets what it wants, watching the carnage was fun while it lasted. Bravo, Madden team, bravo.
For a guy who planned on calling it quits about 10 years ago, Jigga Man is going STRONG. Coming off the uber success of all things Watch the Throne, Jay-Z's at it again; this time Justin Timberlake and Kendrick Lamar tap in for Kanye--co-headlining with Hov on two separate tours--and they've assembled quite the clique.
Announced last week at SXBW, "Yahoo on the Road" will make 21 stops in three months:
This will be more of a festival than your average tour, with surprise guests, including actors, comedians, and a yodeler. President Carter and Kendrick will be the names on the marquee, but keep your eyes peeled for the likes of J. Cole and Macklemore, who reportedly will serve as the opening acts overseas. This should be cool since J. Cole was born in Germany, and Macklemore has notariety in Europe after one of his songs was used in a popular Miller beer ad across the pond.
Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean, and Trey Songz are rumored to be part of the London finale (July 9-14), and those who get to see Jay-Z & JT on stage will be treated to a sneak peek of their tour which will start less than two weeks later.
True Jay-Z aficionados know his affinity for the hot season of the year, and he looks to bring extra heat to his 17th Summer by teaming up with Jessica Biel's husband for a 12-stadium spectacular between mid-July and mid-August:
Kendrick, Ocean, fun., Travie McCoy, and even my main man Ryan Leslie are some of the names being tossed around that may possibly open up for the 'Suit and Tie' collaborators. Maybe Drizzy will be around when the tour kicks off in Toronto. Maybe Yeezy will help tear down the Chi, despite his beef with JT. Too Short in The Bay? Em in Detroit? Obama in B-More? Eva Mendes in Miami? After seeing Jay-Z perform various times I know nothing is out of the realm of possibilities with this man. Not even performing from centerfield so regular schmucks like myself couldn't see him without military grade binoculars. Hov, wtf?
All will be forgiven if the wife piece lets him bring out Blue Ivy for her part in 'Glory' or if Shawn Corey is initially lowered down onto the stage on strings in a Hawaiian shirt. Forreal though.
32 shows in 11 weeks? Can't knock the hustle. I may need to sell a limb to keep up with the Summer takeover; seeing one show simply won't suffice. Look out for me, I'll be the one-armed man applauding by smacking the back of his neck.
Before I even begin, let me express my astonishment in regards to my discovery that there are TWO sequels to this movie--Angels in the Endzone and Angels in the Infield--HUH!? I didn't even dig any deeper. I don't want to know.
I have a bone to pick with my man Walt and all of Disney Pictures. What's up with the premise of Angels in the Outfield? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone; nobody else noticed the heartless proposition this movie is centered around? Little Roger, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock From The Sun, Inception), is in foster care. So sad. Mom died. Where's Dad? Oh he's just chillin around the way, smoking a pack a day. He even drops by the foster home sometimes to rip his son's heart clean out of his chest. Not only does Roger's dad, played by Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding, The Grey), clown his son for his fandom of the worst team in baseball, but he smacks the boy with one of the rudest lines in the history of cinema.
Roger: Dad, when are we gonna be a family again? =(
Dad: ..I'd say when the Angels win the pennant.
That just happened. Then Dad speeds off on his motorcycle, leaving his 11-year-old in a cloud of secondhand smoke and confusion.
Let me break this down for you again, because I really don't think you feel me: A FATHER LEFT HIS SON AT A FOSTER HOME AND TOLD HIM HE'D COME BACK FOR HIM WHEN THE WORST TEAM IN BASEBALL WENT TO THE WORLD SERIES. What the french, toast?
Everybody knows what happens next: The kid is 11 so he took it super literally and prayed that the Angels turn it around. Then Doc Brown Christopher Lloyd and his gang of actual angels take the baseball team to the promised land (See what I did there?) Too bad this Father of the Year candidate permanently gave up custody of Roger when the Angels were one game from the pennant. THIS IS A KIDS' MOVIE, MAN! I mean, I have laughed four times while writing this, but I'm a 20-something so this is hilariously inappropriate and thus, makes my day. But as a student of Park Avenue Elementary when this movie came out, I was unprepared to internalize the direct relationship between the success of the California Angels and my father's love..
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