New Cardinals Stadium

I don't remember if we had talked about this, but I found a story on the new Arizona Cardinals stadium. The removable turf design sounds pretty cool. The field will be natural grass that sits outside and on game days they just roll it into the stadium to play. The story says its been used in Europe and Asia, but this is the first time I ever heard of it.

http://www.sportsvenue-technology.com/projects/arizona_cardinals/

WTF!!!??

Umm...yeah...thank God I'm not a Texans fan.

MVP oops

He'll fit in well with Huggins

Mayo suspended?:
O.J. Mayo, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2007 who is considering Kansas State because of his close relationship with coach Bob Huggins, has been suspended from North College Hill High in Cincinnati for 180 school days, a school board member told Cincinnati’s WKRC TV station. The suspension, the station says, follows an alleged confrontation last week with a female student.

Final comments on Vince

Apparently, we're not the only ones ripping Vincanity a new one.

From ESPN.com
Stop the Vinsanity, Nets! [I don't] mind Vince taking over if he's hitting, but the Nets have too much talent to watch Vince if he's missing.

From MSNBC.com
I’m a patient man. When I see an athlete struggle, I’m willing to wait and see if he can play his way out of his malaise. I don’t think I can wait too long in the case of Vince Carter, though. I don’t think the New Jersey Nets can, either. The Nets lost Game 1 of their best-of-seven series against the Indiana Pacers in New Jersey, thanks in part to Carter’s ghastly shooting. Although he did finish with a team-high 31 points (along with 13 boards and six assists), he was just 12 of 33 from the field. Just two of his 12 field goals came on jump shots. He was also 1 for 8 from three-point range, including two air balls.
He’s already had his dog outing. As an NBA superstar, you’re only allowed one per series.

Yikes.

Bball celebrity lookalikes

Because I have decided it is better for my sanity and my friendships to just ignore all of the hating on VC, I thought I would lighten the mood by linking to nbadraft.net's celebrity lookalike page. There are a lot of them and some of them are kind of eh, but the drew gooden / ray nagin (mayor of New Orleans) I thought was particularly funny.

http://nbadraft.net/actorteam.asp

I Love This Game!

I appreciate it when you guys keep me up to date on college hoops. Even though I could care less about Bill Self's abilities and how UNC's recruiting class ranks. Now that it's playoff time, I feel it's my duty to update everyone on former college (and HS) stars in the NBA.

1) "We are all witnesses". The Nike ad says it all. Bron Bron has arrived. I watched that Cavs-Wiz. I haven't seen one player dominate an entire game like that since Jordan in 1992. And he may be better right now. A triple double in his first playoff game? Unbelievable performance.

2) Speaking of dominant: the defending champion Spurs were just that this weekend. This by far their deepest team. Think about this: they got Duncan, Ginoboli, Nazr and Tony Parker (no one gets into the lane easier than Mr. Longoria) in the starting five. Then they bring Michael Finley, Van Exel and Big Shot Rob (Horry) off the bench. These aren't the old Spurs as evidenced by the 122 points (73 at the half)

3) Detroit: damn they're good. Definitely the favorites.

4) Fun series' to watch:
Bulls-Heat: The Baby Bulls may be the most fun to watch. A great collection of young college players that play with heart and never seems to give up. I thought I'd say this but Kirk Hinrich is one of my favorite players to watch. He's a good point guard and an even better shooter. And this Noccioni kid is good too. Unfortunately, they're about one big man away from being an elite team in the East. Oh and no one can guard Wade or Shaq. Wade is next year's MVP - write it down.

Clippers-Nuggets: I never liked Sam Cassell or as Barkley calls him "Gollum". Not at FSU, not at Houston, not at Minnesota. But then he became a Clipper. I'm sorry but if you can turnaround a franchise like the Clips, you get my respect. Sam I Am is that damn ballsy and has changed the whole personality of this team/franchise. And for anyone who says Duke doesn't produce good NBA players, look no further than Elton (formerly Fat) Brand. Easily, a top 10 player in the league now. Name another player who can give you 25 and 12 a night, besides KG and a healthy Duncan.

Nets-Pacers: Only because Vince will add another playoff failure to his resume. Hey, but at least he looks cool revving up his imaginary motorcycle after dunks. And great shot selection in that 12 for 33 performance, VInce! VC sucks my nuts.

5) My vote for MVP (if I had one): 3rd - Steve Nash; another great season by the most exciting PG on the most exciting team. 2nd - Kobe; I hate him almost as much as I hate Vince; sure he's the worst ballhog in league history, but the Lakers wouldn't have won 30 games without him.
My MVP - Dirk Nowitski; the guy has carried the Mavs all season long to a franchise record for wins. And he's been doing it without Nash or Finley. The Diggler has become a top 5 player in the league and a franchise player in 2 short seasons.
But based on his 81 point game, Kobe will the MVP. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me - the best player on the 7th seeded team winning MVP? I'll give Vince Carter this much, I agree with assessment that Kobe's 81 pt game sends the wrong message to kids. As if this generation didnt produce enough ballhogs.

JD

Thanks Roy!

You left Kansas just the way it was when you got there, minus the national Championship! Thanks to your "lack of institutional control" we are now again under NCAA investigation. Good thing we quit hiring UNC grads; they're all dirty. Maybe those illegal recruiting rumors of Lester Earl and Luke Axtell were true after all.

And this from CarolinaSucks.com. Not sure if it is true, but it's definitely funny:


Vince Carter to Erect Statue to Honor Himself Vince Carter has graciously donated $2.5 million to Daytona's Mainland High School to build a new gym. It comes with a catch. a) You must name the gym "The Vince Carter Athletic Center" and b) You must erect a $70,000 statue of VC to immortalize him for generations to come. As far as we know, no pencils or paper or scholarship funding is included in the gift. Although every school needs a nice gym, we think this sends a clear message to the kids in Daytona: You, too, can be wealthy and famous if you grow up to be 6' 7", can jump over tall French guys, and give 50% effort to your employer so you can be transferred. Naturally, most of the Daytona school board is thrilled with such a large donation. But o­ne member had this to say... "I'm sure he's a fine young man. He made a donation to the high school, which was nice and very appreciated. And we named the gym after him, which seems to me to be quite enough to do, and which we would have done whether he demanded it or not. But this — this is over the top. ... o­ne should not erect a statue to o­neself." There is no truth to the rumor that the statue's head will enlarged. Link to Toronto Star article. Click o­n the picture to enlarge.Published Dec 12, 2005 - 07:13 PM

Classic Episode

I admittedly haven't watched many South Park episodes in the last year. But last week's episode about Family Guy and Muhammed was hilarious. And even though I like Family Guy, Trey and Matt made some great points that Family Guy's jokes rarely derive from the plot. In case you missed it, here's a sampling.

In honor of the start of the 2006 NBA playoffs, I give you undeniable evidence that Yao Ming is a bitch. He made some big strides this year to improve his rep. But if his career were to end now, he'd be remembered as a bitch, right up there with Patrick Ewing, 'Zo and Shawn Bradley.

-JD

V for Vendetta review by Alan Moore

Since V for Vendetta has been discussed recently, I saw this article and figured I'd see what the masses thought about it.

I still haven't seen the movie, but for those who don't know, Alan Moore, the man who wrote the comic book that the movie is based on, is kinda nuts. It makes him very creative and also crazy as hell. Anyway, his basic problem with the movie is it was made at all. Which is a pretty principled take, considering all of the money he stands to make.

http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/interviews/m/moore_alan_060315/

How Cool Would This Be?

Evidently, comedian Lewis Black (UNC '74) is teaching classes at the old alma mater. Hey Cullen, wouldn't you have rather had him for Drama 15? Yet another reason that youth is wasted on the young...

-D

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12266885/

ACC News

Has anyone heard anything new about Wake basketball or Skip Prosser?
If Calipari joins NC State, Wake will have gone from second best in the ACC to fourth in the last of the Big Four in just two years. Amazing. Unless Skip is replaced, we may soon be reliving the pre-Odom days over again (yearly 7th-9th place finishes). Please leave Skip. Please. Hire Mike Montgomery, he'll be available soon.

-JD

Julius Hodge Shot!

I always knew he wa Thug Life!

Apparently Chris Paul wasn't the only one giving shots to his lower body...

Other famous Winstonians

Going along with Joey's post, I looked at Jill Wagner's profile on IMDB.com...pretty sweet.

Then I looked at the other people IMDB has listed as at least being born in Winston (just click on the link under Jill Wagner's name).

Did anyone else here know that Howard Cossell (yes that one), Chicago Cub great Mark Grace, and Pam "Foxy Brown" Grier were all from Winston-Salem?

And knowing is half the battle,

-D

Duke's struggles

Even bigger news than the men's Lacrosse team cancelling their email, I mean season, is the news that Eric Boateng is transferring from Duke. This is a little premature considering McRoberts may be going pro, leaving plenty of minutes down low for the Boatloadofcrap. Their lineup will be very thin if McRoberts leaves. I, for one, expect Coach K to have midseason surgery to pin all of Duke's losses next year, and there will be many, on Wojo and Collins. Dawkins, as heir apparent, must remain clean.

Now how funny would it be if McRoberts went pro and Paulus quit to play football?

Where was this chick when we were growing up?

Jav, do you remember that chick Jill Wagner who may or may not respond to posts on her IMDB message board? Well, it looks like she finally made it past Mercury and TGI Friday commercials. She's starring in the new Blade series on Spike. Here's the trailer.

For those of you who don't know, this girl was on Punk'd for a season (the one with Dax and the kid). She's been in tons of commercials in the last year. Why should you care: a) she's hot and b) amazingly she's from Winston. Class of 97 at Ledford (I think). Look for her photo shoot from Stuff magazine. Priceless

--JD

Christmas in Philly

While the rest of the NFL schedule isn't released until later today, one game has already been leaked, Dallas at Philadelphia...on Christmas Day. I'm sure Cullen and I aren't the only ones hoping for a white Christmas. The possibility (likelihood) of T.O. being pelted by snowballs from Eagles fans will make for great TV. Thank you NFL!

Worst Final Four EVER?

3 games; 3 blowouts

I hate on UCLA. Their fans were all out in force Saturday night. Too bad they couldn't bottle some of that game for Florida. I think I watched a total of ten minutes of the Title game. Yawn. How could there be so many tight ones in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight and then groan...3 blowouts?

CULLEN FILM REVIEW:
V FOR VENDETTA
Which marks the first time I've been to the movies in a LONG time. Maybe since King Kong?? (I've erased 'Underworld: Evolution' from my memory)
Needless to say, since this was from the Wachoviaski brothers, who both created the Matrix and then subseqently ruined the franchise, I had low expectations. Hey! This movie was actually pretty good. Hugo Weaving was well cast, I kept waiting for him to say "Mr. Anderson," but it never came up. Natalie "Amidala" Portman plays a young woman who gets her head shaved for appearing all the Star Wars prequels. GASP. And then she somehow finds the burn victim in the jester mask hot and interesting. So the terrorist (or hero) "V", gets pissed off about being burned alive in a research lab by a neofascist British government and starts a revolution. He kills a lot of people that deserve it and there are a lot of memorable quotes: "Ideas are bulletproof!" Fortunately the movie does hit the viewer over the head saying terrorism is okay. But you have to wonder, in a fascist regime, would the Star Wars prequels ever have been made? Would that be a better world?

Review of Inside Man to follow soon...

Cullen returns April 8-18

CBS Sucks!!

Could the announcers be any more biased toward Florida?!

Damn, that inbounds play was awesome! Noah just got posterized!

UCLA

As we get ready to watch UCLA go for title #12, I saw this article that does shed a little light on the 10 in 12 years. I guess back then, no one wanted to believe that a guy like Wooden would do anything shady. Kind of hard to believe though that nobody thought this was a little weird.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AiW_6.tOCB0Rn7pJsF1d9G3evbYF?slug=dw-uclalegacy040206&prov=yhoo&type=lgns