Ah, What a Day This Was...

You Look Bored.....

The And1 Tai Chi Returns!

Is Rafer Alston wearing two different colored shoes? Nooooope! The And1 legend, Skip to My Lou, is in fact wearing one of the ugliest sneakers to ever squeak the hardwood. White on the outside, navy on the inside. The most comfortable basketball sneaker I've ever worn. I. Must. Have. It. Now!

What's that? You don't remember the And1 Tai Chi mid? Maybe the man who made it famous can jog your memory....

Best of all, the usual suspects (Champs, Footlocker, etc) all have it in stock. Why didn't I purchase it? Because the only decent color scheme they have in stock is the red ones that Vince made famous. I wore the white and navy ones and Sports Authority has it close as they have it in white on the outside and black on the inside. May just have to pull the trigger on that one!

Verizon's Misfit Commercial

Now that I've been on AT&T for a couple months, I can say that I dearly miss "The Network". Often I have what appears to be a full signal, yet I drop a call or can't make a call at all. Much of the time, I only have the Emergency Only signal. Very frustrating.

In that spirit, I hope you all have seen Verizon's newest attack ads on AT&T. My favorite one is this one:

Disturbing Use of Technology

So I'm reading some articles from the usual geek sites I frequently visit and stumble upon this ad:


As an iphone user, I love having apps that do practically anything as much as the next person, but really? Really???

2010 Free Agency

So, I know this whole Lebron free agency thing has been a huge topic in the basketball world for the past couple years to the point that it's gotten downright annoying. Specifically, as a Nets fan, it seems like every story eventually comes back to the possibility of Lebron in a Nets uniform because of his love for the NYC area, especially Brooklyn, and close friendship with minority owner Jay-Z.

First off, let's be clear that Jay-Z owns 1.47% of the team. Hardly anything at all. Also, is it just me or are all these reporters ignoring the most obvious questions here? By now, everyone knows the Nets have a new Russian owner coming in with unlimited monetary resources. Why has no one even brought up the topic about whether or not Jay-Z will still own his 1.47% of the team? Jay-Z's stake in the team is part of current ownership. Once this sale is finalized, shouldn't the assumption be that Jay-Z will no longer be a minority owner? I realize it's possible that Prokhorov (the new owner) will keep him onboard for the publicity Jay-Z gives the team as well as connections to players, but no one is even asking this question. The sale was originally built around one big prerequisite. The Nets move to Brooklyn needs to be official before the sale goes through. Now, I realize Prokhorov has indicated that he still wants the team, under a new deal for less money, if the Nets stay in Newark. However, Jay-Z is all about Brooklyn and the whole reason he invested in the last sale was because the intent was to move the team to Brooklyn. Long story short, if the Nets don't actually move to Brooklyn, Jay-Z's biggest purpose for the investment is no longer there. He wanted a stake in an NBA team that played in his backyard, not Newark. And don't forget, this is all irrelevant if Jay-Z is no longer a minority owner under the new ownership group which is something no one is asking, but I would assume to be the case.

There's one other problem with the theory Lebron will sign with the Nets this summer. I've been saying it for a long time and the media has not even brought it up because, honestly, I don't even think they've realized it. John Williamson. He wore #23 for the Nets and it was retired about 15 years ago if my memory serves me correctly. I know what you're thinking, he'll volunteer to unretire his number. However, you'd be wrong because Mr. Williamson has passed away and I think it's safe to say that it would be in poor taste for the Nets to unretire it on their own. Would Bron be willing to play with any number other than 23? He did wear #32 in high school early on, but that's retired by the Nets also thanks to Dr. Julius Erving.

All this said, I'm not convinced the Lebron won't join the Nets. There is no team in the NBA with more unknowns surrounding it than the Nets and one of the possible scenarios is that this team with tons of young potential finalizes its plans for a state-of-the-art arena in Brooklyn with $27 million in cap space this summer to sign 2 legitimate all-star caliber players. Let's not forget a new owner with bottomless pockets willing to pay any price for an unstoppable team. Yes, I realize the NBA has a salary cap, but an owner willing to pay an unlimited luxury tax for going over that cap is a big deal to incoming free agents. Also, the Nets have two first found picks this year; they have the first round pick from the Mavs (from the Jason Kidd trade) and their own pick, sure to be in the lottery.

And now we come to the article that I woke up to this morning, causing me to resurrect this blog from the depths of the meadowlands. Lebron is suddenly thinking that no one in the NBA should be wearing #23, out of respect for Michael Jordan. Why didn't he think of this 7 years ago when he was entering the NBA? Possibly because he's been thinking about next season in NJ where he can't wear #23? Maybe he wants to start this "movement" because he wants the whole league to give up #23 before he's forced to? Hmmmm.....

It's going to be a long season for Nets fans. I'm enjoying watching Brook develop into a dominant threat now that he's added a great 18-ft jumper to his game, but really the only purpose of this season is to enhance that lottery pick as much as possible. With the two first round picks in the 2010 draft, $27 million in cap space, and a new owner with unlimited cash who is actually a fan of the game, I think this must be the most exciting time ever to be a fan of arguably the worst team in the entire league.