Wednesday, March 26, 2008

What should have happened

Addendum to my previous entry concerning the Hawks.

How much better would the Hawks and Mavs be if the trades for Mike Bibby and Jason Kidd had been switched?

First the Hawks, I would argue that Bibby isn't right for this team at all. He's not the kind of point guard that creates opportunities for other players. He is a better shooter and ball handler then the Hawks previously had but that isn't what the team needs out of it's point guard. They need someone who can push the ball up the floor, penetrate and dominate the ball which isn't Bibby's game. Enter Jason Kidd. While he doesn't help the Hawks dismal outside shooting he does create easier shots for others, controls the tempo of the game and provides veteran leadership on the floor and in the locker room. He dominates that ball, which is fine as the other Hawks players aren't great passers. In addition, he attracts fans and potential free agents this summer.

Second the Mavs, Kidd isn't really hurting the Mavs, but he also isn't making them any better. Dallas isn't a team that looks to push the tempo of the game and in a half court set defenses sag off of Kidd and dare him to shoot, which makes things harder for the other Mavs players. (Note given the Hawks personnel with Kidd they would be a team that would look to push the ball at every opportunity). The Mavs already had great team ball movement before Kidd and now that he dominates the ball the movement has come to a halt. This doesn't nessesarily kill the Mavs it just makes the game harder for everyone. Enter Mike Bibby a solid ball handler, great shooter and good passer in a team passing game. Bibby could hit the outside shot to take pressure off of both Dirk and Josh Howard and still get the the rim enough to keep defenses on their toes. He wouldn't need to create shots for others, Dirk and Howard can create their own shots. He also could be a part of the team instead of being expected to be a team leader. This is something that isn't working with the Mavs since Dirk is obviously the man, which is something Kidd isn't used to.

The bottom line: We need a do-over. The Hawks need a point guard to push the tempo, create shots for others, dominate the ball and provide leadership. The Mavs need a point guard who can hit the outside shot, handle the ball, and fit into their team passing game.

~Viggy

Why aren't the Atlanta Hawks any good?

The theory put forth has been that Atlanta was a talented team a point guard away from being a contender in the East. They have a fantastic scorer in Joe Johnson, explosive wing players in Marvin Williams and Josh Smith and, in my opinion, the Rookie of the Year in the middle in Al Horford. When they traded for Mike Bibby in February I assumed like everyone else they were a lock for the sixth seed in the East. Instead they've been battling with the Nets and Pacers for the eighth and final seed. I see four big reasons behind the Hawks failure to be any better.

1. They have no bench. Josh Childress isn't bad, but one guy isn't depth. A good team has a rotation of at least seven usually eight. After Childress you are looking at: Acie Law (an inconsistent rookie), Mario West (simply not that good), Solomon Jones (ditto) and Zaza Pachulia (a big white guy who sorta takes up space). No bench means the starters play heavy minutes which wears them out not only during the game, but also over the course of the season.

2. They can't win on the road. The Hawks have won just nine road games all season which ranks 23rd in the league. Hawks coach Mike Woodson had this to say about winning on the road, "You've got to control game tempo when you're on the road and you've got to defend and rebound. You do those three things, you put yourself in position to win." Which brings us to our third point.

3. They are deceptively terrible on defense. All of the Hawks starters are capable of locking down on defense, but the effort isn't there. Josh Smith is second in the NBA in blocked shots and 14th in steals and the Hawks still give up almost 100 points per game. This isn't that bad compared to the rest of the league, but when you only average to score 97 point per game it hurts. For our final point,

4. They can't shoot from behind the arc. The Hawks average 4.4 made 3's per game which is good for 27th in the league. This isn't terribly suprising considering most of their players are strong slashers. Unfortunately it allows opposing teams to sag in the middle of the floor which makes it tough for Horford and Williams to get easy looks.

I suspect the Hawks will sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed as the Pacer and Nets continue to suck. The Hawks first round pick belongs to the Suns this year so they will have to address these issues in the free agent market. I've heard rumors that some guy who plays in Washington is planning to opt out. . .

~Viggy

- I know very few people care about the Hawks, but I felt like writing about a team that is ignored by most of the sports media . . . for good reason of course.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

What I'm listening to this week













This is just an EP, but it's perfect for a Sunday morning while reading the paper. In my case Sunday morning has extended all the way into Tuesday night . . . it's been that kinda week.

~Viggy

Your drop of knowledge for the day:

EP definition from Wikipedia: Extended play (EP) is the name typically given to vinyl records or CDs which contain more music than a single, but are too short to qualify as albums.

Monday, March 24, 2008

R-Kwame...

You think R-Kelly is bad because he likes to pee on people? I say more power to him. Some people like a golden shower. I'm not one to judge, especially someone so talented as Mr. Kelly. Granted he definitely slept with that 14 year old but if he got cleared in court then who am I to say otherwise. But Kwame. Man WTF?

"Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick was charged on Monday with misconduct in office, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and perjury, felonies that could end his political career and send him to prison for as long as 80 years."

80 years?!

I was sure that they would charge him with a few things but when you're mayor and you do so many heinous things that they can lock you up for 80 years, then you f-ed up man. End of story.

I mean dude, skip town. You're in deep.
















But no, Kwame isn't one to run. I guess that's about the only good thing you can say about him. But it's to a fault. The fact is he thinks he is going to be cleared of any wrongdoing and even worse he is not going to give up his reign of pain. Somewhere in that little chicken brain of his he still thinks he can be president one day. Someone needs to punch him in the nose. You know, so his eyes water and he sees things fresh.

Moral of the story: If you don't want someone to see something you write, don't write it down.

Stop texting

-Swami

Quick Tourney Challenge Update








Considering Kyle and I have the most potential points remaining I predict that Mr. Cutri will fall from his first place position.

~Viggy

Friday, March 21, 2008

"Survivorman" versus "Man v. Wild"

So I've seen a couple of episodes of both shows and I can't really decide which is better. For those of you who haven't seen either I'll do a quick breakdown.

Survivorman (SM)-
•Guy goes into the wilderness for 7 days without food or water.
•No camera crew, he films himself.
•Pretty much eats anything, but seems to shy away from the bugs and other gross things.


Man v. Wild (MVW)-
•Guy gets dropped off in the wilderness and has to make it back to civilization.
•He has a camera crew that follows him.
•Eats anything and everything the more disgusting the better.


I think it's kind of lame to have a camera crew with you, I mean how dangerous can that really be? It does make for better TV though, SM can get really slow at times. There is something to be said for watching someone eat disgusting things. SM seems to be lacking in this area, most of his time is spent looking for food which leaves little time for eating disgusting things.

Final Verdict- Man v. Wild, simply because the show is more interesting to watch and I refuse to believe that either of these guys are really "surviving." I don't care if you have a camera crew that follows you or a camera crew five miles away. The bottom line is that if something happens you can easily get help which just seems like cheating.

~Viggy

-It is probably critical to note that both of these guys are white. I'm pretty sure that matters.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Black Wrestlers

The NCAA needs to find other sh*t to focus on (like for example, fining the University of Michigan athletics programs for sucking balls). There's nothing I wish to focus on LESS at this point in my life than the plight of half-naked, African American men, rolling around on the floor, grunting and embracing one another. Black wrestlers folks. Black wrestlers. The NCAA says that on March 20th, that's what's up. I say no; it is in-fact NOT what's up.

Look, I'm reasonably progressive, so this isn't about sexual orientation, despite the overtly ignorant nature of my tone and overall argument. But rather, it's about a nasty sport that literally stinks of bad hygiene and silliness. The only time one should wrestle is out of immediate rage build-up (Lighter Than...you know what I'm talking about). This idea that wrestling is somehow a "sport" is laughable at best, and completely ridiculous in actuality.

NCAA, get real. This is black history that I can do without.

If I offended any of you because you happen to be a former (or current) wrestler, well....sorry....you're a flawed individual and that is frankly not my issue to deal with. It's yours, so you can kiss by grits.

Peace,

~Brown Guy

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Join the Ibodera Tourney Challenge on ESPN.com

Click the link below to fill ot your bracket:

ESPN Tourney Challenge

Our Group name is (of course): Ibodera

It costs nothing to join and rumor has it that otherguy will provide the winner with a pair of new tube socks.

Why the Rockets have been better without Yao

The Rockets 22 game win streak ended last night when they lost to the Celtic 94-74 at home. The Celtics destroyed the Rockets in the second half and held T. Mac to 8 points for the game. After watching the Rockets at least six times during the streak I observed two big reason why the Rockets have been playing better without Yao.

1. The team started playing harder, especially and most importantly T-Mac. The bottom line: when T-Mac plays hard and his jumper is falling he's one of the top three offensive players in the league. All of the other players on the team picked up on T-Mac's effort and started throwing themselves after rebounds, loose balls, etc. During the middle of the NBA season most teams tend to coast and put forth a minimum effort. The Rockets caught a lot of teams by surprise and the other teams simply didn't match the effort the Rockets we putting forth.

2. The other players on the team got their games going without Yao clogging the middle of the floor. The Rockets have surrounded Yao with the wrong type of players. Outside of T-Mac and Battier the rest of the Rockets are made up of undersized inside players who can't shoot and slashing guards who are streaky shooters who get going after getting a couple of easy shots near the rim (Not spot-up shooters). Yao is always in the middle of the floor and even though he can step out and hit 18 footers he rarely does and therefore he tends to clog the lane. This means the slashers have a harder time getting to the rim and therefore have a tougher time getting their shot going and the undersized inside players are constantly subjected to quick defensive help by Yao's man. The would be fine if Yao was a little more mobile or more importantly if any of the slashers or undersized inside players could pass.

I would never argue that the Rockets are better without Yao he's a 25-12-4-2-1 guy and he can score over anyone. Unfortunately the Rockets can't seem to get the right kind of players around him.

I expect the Rockets to fade over the rest of the season, but still make the playoffs. They've already expended so much energy and as the playoffs get closer other teams will start locking down on defense and playing harder. I predict T-Mac will again fail to win a first round playoff series.

~Viggy

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Dunkin'...

I know tomorrow is "sports day" but I just uploaded this video of my boy Bobby throwing down last week. He's 31 years old and can jump higher than I could when I was 18.



-Swami

Our new format . . .

The guys at Ibodera have decided to develop a new format for our entries, which will help us to blog on a more consistent basis. To get your scoop on your favorite topics be sure to check the schedule below.

Monday - In the news/Examples of Ibodera in the world
Tuesday - Music/Books/Video Games
Wednesday - Basketball/Other sports
Thursday - Politics/Opinions
Friday - Movies/TV Shows
Weekend - Open (Does anyone even read blogs on the weekends?)

In addition to articles we hope to drop a little knowledge about what is up and coming in the world of music, books, video games, movies and TV shows. We also hope to have some guest bloggers, so if you are interested in getting your two cents in about any of the above topics drop us a line.

~Viggy, Brown Guy, Swami, Lighter than Muki, but darker than Kris, and otherguy

Monday, March 17, 2008

What I'm listening to this week



This isn't brand new, it's just new to me. Blu is an incredible lyricist and he really shines in "Dancing In the Rain" and "Cold Hearted." I love the production by Exile, it's reminiscent of a 90's hip-hop sound that I miss. Give it a listen if you haven't and if you have shame on you for not letting me in on the secret.

~Viggy

-Um so yeah apparently I haven't posted in awhile . . .

Tiger's Better, Is Better Than My Better...

Tiger Woods is ridiculous. He is the most dominant player in any sport in the history of sport. No lie. I can't understand how anyone can be so good at something, and not just good, but so much better than the best in the world.



WTF?!

Let the big dog eat

-Swami

Saturday, March 15, 2008

B-Boy Alert....

My boy Viggy alerted me to the fact that folks who write for this blog typically have on-point views on music across multiple genres. In getting that point across, I wanted to give folks some insight on what's currently in a Brown dude's typical rotation these days, so here's a quick B-Boy mix for your perusal/consumption:

“Desire” – Pharaohe Monch

“Bring Y’All Back Main” – Pete Rock feat. Little Brother

“Body Movin’” – J Dilla

“McNasty Filth” – Jaylib

“Boondock Saints” – DJ Drama & Little Brother w/L.E.G.A.C.Y. and Chaundon

“The Getaway” – Little Brother

“Merchants Of Dreams” – 9th Wonder

“Light It Up” – Nicolay

“Make Your Move” – Hieroglyphics

“Right or Wrong” – Median

“Please Stay” – The ARE

“Pure” – Buff 1


You have to dig for some of this stuff, but I think most of it is on MySpace, iTunes or eMusic if you want to track down some snippets. I'm sure you'll notice the NC/MI emphasis, but what can I say? That's where my mind's at these days (plus the DC-area hip-hop scene leaves something to be desired).

Peace,

Brown Guy

PS. I'm getting ridiculous tonight. And NO ONE can stop me.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

I guess if you gotta be a monkey, be a gorilla

[DISCLAIMER- This post may have redundancy with previous posts, but kiss my a$$, this story's got legs---possibly stripper legs.]

What do Eliot Spitzer and Kwame Kilpatrick have in common with the wildest of wild gorillas? Simple answer. Everything. These two mammals have the wherewithal, gumption and audacity to rise to political stardom by connecting with people on the faux-issues they think they care about (in Detroit it's "who can be the 'blackest'" and in New York it's "who can bust Wall Street's nuts like squirrels before the winter") and then "govern" by polarizing constituencies, while failing to see beyond the diseased tip of their own penises, ultimately falling into the abyss of monkeyishness and "skeet- skeeting" that we now understand to be the political norm. Long, run-on sentence, I know. But I'm on a rant and that's real.


"Like twooooo gorillas in the jungle making love" - R. Kelly



Eliot: "I did not have sexual relations with this woman [she's too old and busted]."
Kwame: "All I need is a hot thang, hot thang, hot thang, hot thang..."

I'm sick of it. Maybe these so-called leaders take too much stock in the "power of the penis" and that's what allowed them to act up like some nubile hominids. But I doubt it.

Eliot Spitzer and Kwame Kilpatrick, you are the bammers of the millennium. As R-Kelly once mused in one of his countless ridiculous-ass songs, "youuuuu don't gotta go home, but you gotta get the helluponoutta heeeere." I look forward to seeing your impending downfall.

Impeach/Recall/Resign,

~Brown Guy

Monday, March 10, 2008

Elllliooooooot....

So Eliot Spitzer (guvernator of ny) is said to have been with high priced prostitutes. Here's what I don't get. When you're in a political office, Mayor of Detroit, President of America, Gov of NY, don't you think you'd stop spreading your goo until you're done. I could see in your last term maybe. You know, who cares if you get elected then. But during your first term, or early on in your career, you should probably just keep it in your pants. When all of your moves are coordinated, how do you even get away to do that. That's one thing I always wondered about Bill. He was the president. Every minutes of his day (everything I know about the presidency I learned from The West Wing) is coordinated by someone else. They tell him what to do and when to do it. So someone knew he was boffing Monica. So what I don't get is where you get the balls to do that. Someone was gonna tell someone. He knew it had to happen. I mean it takes one gully dude to say, 'I don't give a f@!k.' I mean that's some R Kelly type stuff.














I think the word I'm looking for is 'baller.'

How funny would it be in court though if someone on the stand brought in an ET doll and made him say "Elllioooooootttt." Hilarious.

In all honesty I plan on running for mayor one day of whichever city I settle down in (unless it's a big city) and you can be sure that I won't be doing that. Who has the time and energy to deal with that much ibodera when you're that old. No one.

Vote for me

-Swami

Friday, March 7, 2008

Represent

I am sort of out of town right now, but after the most recent volley back and forth about no one posting I decided to make a small but hopefully enjoyable contribution.

The other day I found myself deeply analyzing of my my favorites artist from way back and concluded that NaS' rhymes as a 17 year old are simply more sophisticated than NaS as a 30 year old. I just cant feel him the way we all once could.

So, in the spirit of "representin" ibodera's vow to be better about blogging - I thought I would post the lyrics to an oldie but a goodie: Represent, Illmatic.

Despite the content of the lyrics...

Peace Out,
-Lighter than, but darker than.

Represent, represent!! [repeat 4X]

Straight up shit is real and any day could be your last in the jungle
Get murdered on the humble, guns'll blast, niggaz tumble
The corners is the hot spot, full of mad criminals
who don't care, guzzlin beers, we all stare
at the out-of-towners (Ay, yo, yo, who that?) They better break North
before we get the four pounders, and take their face off
The streets is filled with undercovers, homicide chasin brothers
The D.A.'s on the roof, tryin to, watch us and knock us
And killer coppers, even come through in helicopters
I drink a little vodka, spark a L and hold a Glock for
the fronters, wannabe ill niggaz and spot runners
Thinkin it can't happen til I, trap em and clap em
and leave em done, won't even run about Gods
I don't believe in none of that shit, your facts are backwards
Nas is a rebel of the street corner
Pullin a Tec out the dresser, police got me under pressure

Represent, represent!! [repeat 4X]

Yo, they call me Nas, I'm not your legal type of fella
Moet drinkin, marijuana smokin street dweller
who's always on the corner, rollin up blessed
When I dress, it's never nuttin less than Guess
Cold be walkin with a bop and my hat turned back
Love committin sins and my friends sell crack
This nigga raps with a razor, keep it under my tongue
The school drop-out, never liked the shit from day one
cause life ain't shit but stress fake niggaz and crab stunts
So I guzzle my Hennesey while pullin on mad blunts
The brutalizer, crew de-sizer, accelerator
The type of nigga who be pissin in your elevator
Somehow the rap game reminds me of the crack game
Used to sport Bally's and Gazelle's with black frames
Now I'm into fat chains, sex and Tecs
Fly new chicKs and new kicks, Heine's and Beck's

Represent, represent!! [repeat 3X]

No doubt; see my, stacks are fat, this is what it's about
Before the BDP conflict with MC Shan
Around the time when Shante dissed the Real Roxxane
I used to wake up every mornin, see my crew on the block
Every day's a different plan that had us runnin from cops
If it wasn't hangin out in front of cocaine spots
We was at the candy factory, breakin the locks
Nowadays, I need the green in a flash just like the next man
Fuck a yard God, let me see a hundred grand
Could use a gun Son, but fuck bein the wanted man
but if I hit rock bottom then I'ma be the Son of Sam
Then call the crew to get live too
with Swoop, Hakim, my brother Jungle, Big Bo, cooks up the blow
Mike'll chop it, Mayo, you count the profit
My shit is on the streets, this way the Jakes'll never stop it
It's your brain on drugs, to all fly bitches and thugs
Nuff respect to the projects, I'm ghost, One Love

Represent y'all, represent!! [repeat 4X]

One time for your motherfuckin mind
This goes out to everybody in New York
that's livin the real fuckin life
And every projects, all over
To my man, Big Will he's still here [echoes]
The 40 side of Vernon
My man Big L.E.S.
Big Cee-Lo from the Don
Shawn Penn, the 40 busters
My crew the shorty busters
The 41st side of Vernon posse
The Goodfellas
My man Cormega, Lakid Kid
Can't forget Drawers, the Hillbillies
My man Slate, Wallethead
Black Jay, Big Oogi
Crazy barrio spot (Big Dove)
We rock shit, Ph.D
And my man Primo, from GangStarr
(Ninety-four real shit y'all, Harry O!)
Fuck y'all crab ass niggaz though...
(Yeah, bitch ass niggas!) [etc.]

Monday, March 3, 2008

Teaching Boys and Girls Separately



















I read this article in the times and it got me thinking about how school would have been different if boys and girls were separated. Not by school, but by class. That way there is still co-ed mingling but there are no distractions in class form the opposite sex. I feel like this would have made the most impact in middle school.

For me most of my middle school years were spent playing Magic the Gathering (in front of girls), enjoying math, wearing ridiculously large coke bottle glasses and hating girls for being such bitches. Life would have been a lot better if there was separation. Boys always get along. Sure they pick on each other but it is really all in jest. There would be no competition, it would just be dudes hanging out. Likewise, I feel like one of the things girls hate most about each other is the amount of attention they do or don't get from boys. If Kelly's friend Anne gets more attention from Bobby than she does, then Kelly hates Anne. It's just the way it works.

Personally, girls didn't get along with me back then. Mostly because when they were mean to me, I would say f*ck it, I'm gonna roast you. I would then proceed to call them fat and/or ugly which would make them hate me more but also make them shut up. It was pretty terrible, but don't think you're better than me because I was a nerd and didn't pay attention to you.

Anyways, just something to think about. It's a really interesting article if you've got some time to kill.

-Swami