North Texas Mescan

Lebron's Unpopular Triple Double

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:25:00 +0000

I don’t know where I’ve said it but I know I’ve said it. One of my favorite things about the NBA Playoffs is the feeling you get after each game. It’s either that you can’t lose, or you will never win again.

It can be obnoxious when you are impartial and ESPN is blasting it at you all day. It sounds impenetrably true when it is your squad facing an elimination game. It happens so quickly but it feels like forever.

That is what makes it fun.

I am rooting hard for these Miami Heat.

I am feeling all these losses, man. Feeling ‘em. That’s how I enjoy this league. Cold impartiality? Nah. That shit is for bitter people.

I am not a stranger to this feeling, though. My taste in fandom had me root for the underdog a lot of the time. When it wasn’t the Spurs, I rooted against Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing, Dirk and for Barkley, Hakeem, Payton, Kemp, Malone, Stockton, Hornacek, Reggie, Kidd, Iverson, Wade, KG, Pierce, Allen.

I've learned that hyperbole and narrative reduction are part of this game. Listening to the stories about Jordan in the 90s, you would think the dude averaged 82 wins a year, and swept every series. Truth is that there were some close calls to Detroit, Phoenix, Indiana and Utah.

But History is written by the victor. That is also part of this game.

***

Maybe having too much too soon really did fuck up LeBron's head some. He says all the right things and does some of the right things some of the time. I mean, he did (finally) become the all-around force that everyone wanted him to be in 2007, winning the MVP two times since. He took over playoff games against the NBA’s best defenses (Detroit, Boston). Then . . . he quit?

Something happened.

His mom smashed with Delonte or he lost the edge that drove him to do it alone, or he was led astray by his handlers.

Something.

He is still so fuggin’ good at this game that it is easy to miss that he occasionally drifts. That was the knock on his game in his early Cleveland days. Could it be that he is still trying to figure out how to win a playoff game with D-Wade? Not just how to beat the Clips in November but when you are on the biggest of the big stages? I know this isn’t the first series but it can be argued that this is the toughest.

The other playoff games were easier, with opponents that were overmatched and/or overwhelmed. Boston lost their heart and is old. Chicago only had Derrick Rose. These Mavericks are old veterans that are too desperate for a last-chance title to worry about getting blocked and/or dunked on.

It would suck if it is just bad luck that is killing him now. Like a slugger that hits a slump in the World Series or something. He looks a little hesitant shooting. Compare the fadeaway at the end of the third with the way he has been shooting in the last two. The difference? He made them then, he misses them now.

It would be easier to do like Bosh and just dismiss James’ Game Five as “Triple double. We just didn’t win the game.”

Nah.

LBJ is not playing like Wade is playing. That is not to say that Dwyane is playing like a MJ (or how we think MJ would play if he were 26 and on this Heat squad). Nope. Wade has turned the ball over and missed free-throws in crucial situations. No one talks about how Wade tripped and LeBron saved a Dagger by blocking -- kinda looked like fouling-- Marion, keeping Miami in the game with a minute or so left tonight.

Hey. How about that fumble on the potential game tying three the other day? How about the free throw that kept it at three instead of two? Anyone?

Nah. All these writers are talking LeBron and giving Wade a pass because he looks like he is playing all-out. I’m one of them. Effort sins are forgivable sins. So says me.

The same passes are given to Dirk and for the same reason. Dude is playing great and looks to be playing about as well as he can. No one expects him to D anyone up (anymore) and late in games he is going to the rim (Game 5 -Dunk w 2:25, Game 4 - gamewinner, Game 2- gamewinner).

For all of James’ stats and productivity in his role as point-forward, he doesn’t look like he is leaving it all on the floor. That isn’t compared to just his potential, that is compared to 2007 LeBron. And, of course D-Wade and Dirk. I am a fan of his game except when his game looks like he is trying to play like 38-year old Jason Kidd instead of two-time MVP LeBron James.

***

So what about those Mavericks? Well they are doing to the Heat what they did to LA: they aren’t giving up. They aren’t letting the bigger, stronger, more athletic team roll over them. They definitely aren’t as talented as Miami or LA--physically. They do have that old man game, that mental talent and experience to play damn near the perfect basketball required to make 15-point comebacks and hang around in games that other teams chalk up as losses. That stuff-- call it resilience, toughness, team-ball, togetherness or whatever--it was the straw eliminated LA and the thing that put the Mavericks on the precipice of their first title.

It’s that Rocky thing I wrote about after the last one.

However, I’ll say it again: Apollo won the fight.

Mavericks, Heat tied at 2-2 2011 NBA Finals

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:06:00 +0000

Yours truly. Back again.

I wanted to get in my thoughts on the finals before I shuttered NTM for good (or until I move back up to northern Texas).

On LeBron:

King James has been ripped and analyzed and talked about for his Decision (poorly handled), his aspirations (Global Icon? Really?) and his trophy case (filled with individual accolades). He is oddly self-aware of his image yet sometimes unaware of the consequences of that. Methinks he is perhaps too talented to appreciate. Take away his other-worldly athleticism and he might be everyone’s favorite underrated player. Instead, he is built like Karl Malone and has hops like Vince Carter. Dude is a beast. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have Mike Jordan’s drive to be the best, nor Kobe’s drive to be Mike Jordan.

What does that mean?

It means we think he could be even more awesome than he already is and we give him shit for not immediately producing the results he "should" be.

That said, he cannot be held blameless. Watch the Decision and listen to his interviews. Look at his tattoos. LeBron brings a lot of that on himself. Cool if he fully understands the consequences and can he deal with the seemingly overwhelming burden of expectation that is placed on him. Is that so? That remains to be seen.

What do we make of his Game 4 performance?

It was a bad game. Those who parrot the zero-sum thinking that a win means you are clutch and a loss means you suck sound stupid. Summing up Game Four as “LeBron sucked, Heat lose” does not do nearly enough justice to the Mavericks nor to the rest of the Heat.

All of the above goes for baggin’ on Dirk when Dallas loses this series.

On Dirk:

Way back in the first round vs Portland I mentioned on Twitter that Herr Dirk was Dave Robinson if he never had Timmy. The soft label, the playoff ‘failures’, the individual accolades are all very similar. ‘Tis why I can’t feel unyielding, irrational hate towards the guy. I know what it felt like to root for Dave and hear the barrage of unfair criticism.

So how can I root against Dirk in this Finals?

He doesn’t need a Finals victory to validate his baller status in my eyes. I ain’t down with the “ITS ALL ABOUT THE RINGZ” bullshit. It is mostly about the rings. Mostly. The rest is far too complicated to describe in this space.

On the Mavericks:

Gutty. Admittedly, I ignored the Mavs this season. Well, ignored is the wrong word. I didn’t take them the least bit seriously but not without reason. Other than a surprisingly good record, they hadn’t shown they were going to nut up in the playoffs. They have.

Sure, the Lakers helped beat themselves and OKC and Portland weren’t serious championship contenders. That means nothing. This Mavs teams is not as young and ferocious as that 2006 squad, but it does have more mental talent. They run out older, wiser Dirk who has vaccinated his game against the tricks that befuddled him in the past, future HOF Jason Kidd instead of Net castoff Devin Harris, 13-year veteran Shawn Marion instead of Josh Howard and Tyson Chandler instead of the junk pile that Dallas used at center.

The stink of the past playoff failures turned people off. Playoff victories and big wins in tough situations were the only things that could make the NBA fandom take this team seriously. Lo, and behold some amazing play by Herr Dirk and ballsy 15-point comebacks (three of ‘em) have resurrected the Metroplex fanbase into full-on Douche-mode (my interpretation).

As unlikeable as these Mavs are to little ol’ me, they are making these playoffs fun to watch. That is why I want to watch in the first place, anyway. Fun.

That said, did anyone really think that the Mavericks were going to give up and die in Game Four? Dallas has already shown they believe enough to not quit and are skilled enough to execute a comeback. They have no reason to think they cannot do the same in this series. It is pretty rare for a squad to have that combo. They shirked off a “for sure” loss in Game Two and nearly stole another on their home floor. This game? Actually they should have sewn it up with around a minute-thirty to go. Dallas had wide-open shots from Terry, Dirk and DeShawn that didn’t drop and spared Miami a KO blow.

On Heat:

So now they have the pressure. Who is applying this pressure? Media. Some can be self-applied but it is hard to duck 48-hours of questions without it affecting your mindset. That is, of course, if you don’t believe in yourself and/or your system. Reaching the Finals, playing so well for stretches and the presence of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James has to give that team some confidence. For D-Wade? His ability and performance this series gives him even more. For LeBron? Well, the shadow of doubt might creep into his mind. Maybe it won’t. Hard to tell with that dude. It isn’t new pressure or criticism and his press conferences seem to show a guy that is not rattled in the least. He has an answer for every question, takes responsibility for his (poor) performances and seems to have an idea how to improve it. Sounds like confidence to me.

Still, it is like in Rocky when Apollo Creed knocks down Rocky for the 100th time and yet he gets up. Apollo turns, looks at him and shakes his head in disbelief. Dude won’t stay down. Miami is the more talented, more athletic squad. So far, they won’t stay down.

By the way Apollo wins that fight.

Cuban v Trolling

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Mark Cuban started a small uproar amongst media-types with his post on the role of media for sports teams.

I’m going to make this short and sweet. In the year 2011, I’m not sure I have a need for beat writers from ESPN.com, Yahoo, or any website for that matter to ever be in our locker room before or after a game. I think we have finally reached a point where not only can we communicate any and all factual information from our players and team directly to our fans and customers as effectively as any big sports website, but I think we have also reached a point where our interests are no longer aligned. I think those websites have become the equivalent of paparazzi rather than reporters.

There is the crux of his argument. He goes on to weigh the relative (to his business success) importance of each medium of information. His points about TV and physical newspapers remind me of the David Norris’ (Matt Damon) speech about the right amount of scuffing on the politician’s shoe. You don’t want to alienate the working man but you also need the big wig dollar. So it is with print vs online. Balance, baby.

The most controversial point -- in that it is the one being discussed most -- is the one about internet reporters.

Here is the meat of the argument:

If you can back up what you say with well thought out and in depth analysis, you know the things that some people used to call journalism, you are welcome in the locker room.

The internet reporters who get paid , IMHO , are to the Mavs and any sports team, the least valuable of all media . I’m a firm believer that their interests are not only not aligned with sports teams like the Mavs, but in fact are diametrically opposed. They tend to look at the number of page views they get for any article as ‘their ratings”. More is better. Which in turn leads them to gear their work towards generating more pageviews.

I totally agree with the guy. Totes. Cuban has guys trolling for divisive quotes in is locker room that eff up his business.* Is it really so hard to understand why he is questioning why he enables this?

What about the public’s right to know? That is the tricky part. How much does the public have a right to? Locker room conversations? Private lives of players? Sexual liaisons?

Part of being a fan is wanting to know more. There is a near-insatiable desire for more information about these sports and games and teams and players. Witness the growth of ESPN and the non-stop stream of stuff from insiders that when looked at is really just stuff and nothing of any real usefulness.

You hear reports of the practice statistics at workouts. “QB hit only 3 out of 11 slants today in the 7-on-7.” We read it because we want it and pretend we know what to do with it.** They report it because we want it and pretend we know what to do with it. It is part of the fantasy of being a fan. Unfortunately there is no safe word and we are still trying to find out if we are all cool with what is going on. It is tough in the age of The Internet Never Forgets and Everyone Can Tweet A Pic of Your Anus.

We’ve explored the depths of the internet’s ability to investigate (all the way to nekkid dong pics) and now it’s time to decide if we want to see that (not me).

I commend those who fight for freedom of information and the retention of these new investigative powers. This is not the frontline of that battle, however. Asking “How much does this loss hurt?” and “Do you want to play in New York?” isn’t asking the tough question anymore when you ask it the millionth time in the case of the former and thousandth time in the case of the latter.

This isn’t Lybia, nor Afghanistan, where in-depth reporting brings vital information that could potentially save some lives. It’s a fuggin game, yo.*** And asking those types of questions is akin to asking rebels, “So how did you fell about that last bombing?”

It is a good moment to question if what we are doing here is good and if everyone is cool with it. Cuban is doing just that. It is smart. It’d be smart of the rest of the internetters to take stock of themselves and do a little philosophic self-examination. Short-form filler and puff pieces? Totally the realm of the internet, now and increasingly the realm of the Organization. “Teams don’t need a third party to tell the good anymore.” Aptly put by internet-friend Brian.

Long-form stuff is still up-for-grabs. Although Kindle and the iPad are trying to muscle in, there are still strong arguments for long-form stuff remaining primarily physical in nature. It would be wise for those with access to make good use of it and not fugg it up for everyone.

Another cool thing about Cuban talking about this: that we, the Internet, can make use of it. I’m totally on board with people directly communicating concerns instead of taking action. Makes me respect the dude more (begrudgingly).

Go Spurs.

*This is another branching off point for another set of criticisms of the Maverick mental toughness. These have some weight but not employing mental midgets is but one way to alleviate the problem. Removing instigators is another.

**There are probably ancillary benefits to a greater knowledge of the game. I read somewhere that incoming college frosh are more mentally ready for the strategy part of football largely because of being exposed to it via Madden and its obsessive attention-to-detail.

***I know that line is tired and cliche as the questions I just called tired and cliche. It is no less true.

Be Berry Berry Quiet. I'm Job Huntin'

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Really.

Not to long ago I made the executive decision to leave my place of employment and seek out new opportunities. That really is just a nice way of saying that I quit.

So I've been a-huntin'.

You find some curious things on the prowl. There are a lot of poorly-written job postings which pique interest solely for the sucker-exploitation that could occur. That is just the evil PT Barnum in me, however. I have already sat in a few waiting rooms with fellow job-seekers. Some of them display their desperation on their faces. They look ragged and eager-to-please.

There was one guy who regaled me with stories of is old job. He seemed sad to leave it. I didn't ask him how or why he was no longer with them. I didn't want to ruin his groove so close to his interview.

A few of the candidates are cocky, young talkers. Full disclosure: I am sure that some interviewees think I fall into this category, as well. They want to chat up the others waiting to get the once-over by some asshole hiring manager. They ask questions with no intentions of listening to the responses. They make jokes. They talk. And talk.

They aren't even the worst. The receptionist who has stories is the worst. Why? Well you want to make a good impression. You listen. You nod. You look at pictures of her dog. You pretend to care.

Yet I continue. So far I've not had any luck despite my charm and my impressive resume.

It's okay I didn't want those crappy jobs anyway.

Fare thee well, 2010.

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 08:17:00 +0000

I remarked to my wife just the other day that this year has been memorable one for us. Lots of things happened. Not just regular ol' stuff, mind you, but some major ass shit. We graduated college, moved, got a new car, she got a new job, I announced that I was resigning mine and we traveled to the West Coast again.

That is just off the top of my head, too.

There is other stuff. Stuff that doesn't seem big at first glance, but is conspicuous when compared to the rest of my years. I dropped football (for the most part) for football. The latter being soccer. I don't know if I would call the World Cup the catalyst, but it unsurprisingly had a major impact on my new hobby. Now I have this little indoor league squad that I captain. Who woulda thunk? I play FIFA a shitload more than NCAA Football, a fact that would have been unbelievable last year. Again, not huge stuff but big in comparison.

2010 has also been important for this little blog. It has fallen into disuse. There have only been 60 posts (including this one) this year. I am of two minds on what to do with it's future. There are different outlets for the rants that it originally housed and this also has no real overall theme, anyway. Other topics were compartmentalized in their own sites in an attempt at correct that problem, leaving me with nothing but bullshit for this thing. A traverse through the archives reveals filler posts in between a few longer rants that otherwise would have had no home. So I thought about deleting it.

I don't want to do that, though. It doesn't cost me more than ten bucks a year (domain registration) and the previously mentioned uses -- housing the things too long for twitter and too personal for the other sites, and it let's me try out web-related coding from time to time -- have stayed my hand.

The most prominent complaint is that I feel like I have to keep putting stuff up here, even when I don't have much to say. I'd like any posts to come organically and not be forced. Other times I try to give myself reasons to write because it gives me motivation and reason to not let my writing skills atrophy.

Whatever. I'll probably let it go on until I become embarrassed by it or something.

I am proud of Mean Green Nation and Denton: Rated. I had high hopes for the latter, but my own procrastination combined with circumstances conspiring against it prevented a more vigorous effort. It gets the most regular views despite it's poor maintenance record and I still want to do more fun stuff with it. We'll see how all that goes.

MGN is like NTM, part two. One of the unacknowledged reasons for starting this blog was because I had it somewhere in my head that I should blog about being at UNT, but not really. Early on I realized that topic wasn't focused enough for a blog theme. And really -- what the fuck would anyone care what some asshole did at school everyday? I certainly wasn't going to write up the actual things I did, either. If I would have, there would have been two realistic options: A.) Be boring as shit and B.) Live an interesting life while also secretly blogging about it. That would require an amazing ability to be vague yet compelling. I would have had to do some Harriet the Spy shit. Unfortunately, I am a little too honorable and also a little too underfunded. I ain't got socialite money and I was/am spoken for. 'The fuck kind of stories am I going to tell then? Amirite?

Let's not leave out the fact that both options are extremely self-important, douchey things to cover. I've perused a few 'I Wore This Outfit Today' posts in my time on the webz. Completely uninteresting. I've also seen my share of 'Drunken Tales of Hook Up, Bro' (try Deadspin for that) stories, too. Completely eyeroll-inducing.

As I was saying, however, MGN is focused. It has purpose and it has a future. For that I am glad.

It does, disappointingly, have it's limitations. Whereas other team-focused blogs can use the national media as tools, the dearth of coverage for North Texas games makes this shit fairly difficult. To make the blog really awesome, I will have to go out and actually work at it. Ugh.

Not that I am unwilling. I am totally down for a labor of love. Not so down for a labor of love and sacrifice, though. This means, of course, that really doing it would use up the time and effort I have earmarked for other hobbies and life shit. Sometime next year I will probably make a full run at it. A very large portion of the site's popularity will vary with the popularity and success of the UNT basketball squad. Right now I am predominantly writing for the five people who give a shit about the night to night adventure of the college basketball regular season.

If only I gave more of a shit, too. I used to be a die-hard guy. I would have been awesome at this shit if 13-year old me was covering this team. Like they did to my dad, time and experience have transformed me into a big-picture guy.

Wait. I am being a little unfair to myself. I do have fits of obsessiveness on occasion. I probably would breakdown some UNT film if I didn't have to shoot it myself--

You know what? Fuck it. I'll stop bitching. I need to find me a way to get game clips. If I have to go to the video guy, I'll go to the fucking video guy.

Sorry for being a little bitch, 11 phantom readers.

I also apologize for this turning into a blog-retrospective, but really, you don't pay me and it's my shit anyway so I can do that.

Happy New Year!

Nick Denton: Media Giant

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:50:00 +0000

Ol' Nicky is on his way to changing the way a blog is looked at again. A major force in the mainstreaming of blogs in the first place, his company is now attempting to change the "gutter" perception (as he puts it) in the new layout on all his sites.

The 2011 template represents the most significant change in the Gawker model since the launch of Gizmodo and Gawker in 2002. One could go further: it represents an evolution of the very blog form that has transformed online media over the last eight years. The internet, television and magazines are merging; and the optimal strategy will assemble the best from each medium.
You can already see 2011 layout on the beta versions of Gawker and other titles. The blog scroll, long the central element of the page, is shifted to the right column, still prominent but subordinate; that reverse-chronological listing of the latest stories goes from about two thirds of the active area of the front door down to one third; and only headlines are displayed.
Every inside page will hew to the same template as the front page. No matter whether the visitor keys in the site address or arrives from the side by a link on Facebook or elsewhere, he or she will be greeted not just by a story but by an index of other recent items. This scaled-down but omnipresent "blog" column gives one-click access to the next item, much like the headline pane in a feed reader or Apple's email app on the iPad.
In place of the original content column: one visually appealing "splash" story, typically built around compelling video or other widescreen imagery and run in full. At its best, a splash will match in visual impact the cover of a magazine or a European tabloid newspaper; and exceed it because the front-page image can actually move.
Outside observers will note that this layout represents some convergence of blog, magazine and television. That's true in the abstract but it's more of a description than an argument. Here are the concrete reasons for the evolution of the Gawker template beyond the straightforward blog format.

I Play Goalie

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:44:00 +0000

I'm sitting in the kitchen area of my apartment watching the Heat play the Wizards -- man those Wiz unis are horrible -- while trying to pen a blog post on McCarney getting hired as UNT head coach. Dan Freaking McCarney. Who knew that guy would play a role in my life, huh? This guy is now going to helm the UNT Football ship for five years (contractually -speaking).

It is weird when a guy that you weren't excited about becomes head coach of your favorite team. There is a begrudging support. I imagine it is like your mom marrying some guy that you really didn't want as your dad.

I suppose I'll be a good little son and support the new guy -- mom apparently loves him and when you look at the situation it makes sense for everyone, honey.

Where was I? Right. Kitchen.

So I was thinking of that and also how Barca killed Real Madrid. Beasted 'em 5-0. Then I thought of how we lost two weeks ago in indoor soccer 11-3. Yeah. Let me make excuses for that real quick:

1. I have never played goalie other than for short stretches in pickup games. I play goalie for this team now.
2. We had no-shows.
3. We aren't that awesome.
4. We never practice.

That is pretty much a recipe for un-success. Failure, some call it.

Whatever the word, the situation it describes is the same.

Anyway I was just thinking about that.

I mean it's my blog and I can do that .

Spurs Looking Good, Cowboys Fire Phillips and Other Thoughts

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 04:03:00 +0000

I've got to say that I am loving this Spurs team. The wins have been closer than I'd like them to be, but they are still wins.

What does that mean? I don't know. You can go around the internets and find people that quote you stats on what winning ugly means. Take them. Believe them. Don't believe them. Whatever.

Gimme wins, yo. Wins.

After squeaking out these wins against the dregs of the Association, the next step will be doing it against the elite. It should probably concern me that we tend to turn the ball over a shitton. We also cannot defend for shit.

Any fan worth their TV will tell you that defense wins championships. Probably unprompted. Defense does win championships. Sure. Just not solely. Execution is more important, though. I want my teams to have the ability to get a basket when they need it, and get a stop when they need it.

We'll have to wait and see what this team is made of, though. Right now we've got RJ, Manu and Neal killing it from outside. What happens when they hit a mid-season slump?* What about injuries? Tony Parker hasn't played a full season since 02-03. Hasn't played 77 games since 06-07. Timmy? Something similar, and Ginobili hasn't played more than 77 ever.

*Shitballs. That reminds me of playoff shooting slumps-- oh my goodness those are unbelievably frustrating. As the guy who has been shooting 40% from 3ball land has Wade Phillips Face. The guy who you felt comfortable with shooting all of a sudden fills you with horror as he launches another soon-to-be-brick of the back rim that really had no shot of going in, in your mind. Fuckballs. Those suck.

So, there ya go. This post is pretty much me saying that I like what is happening so far but waiting for a larger sample size. Riveting, I know.

--Team I can't wait to see lose? Those fucking Lakers. Fuck them.

--Celtics dropped one to the Mavericks on the road (just now). Dude. I like Rondo's game and all, but damn. They do not respect his outside jumper At. All. The guy got left open on a three point shot down two with like ten ticks remaining. That makes me respect ol' Frenchy a little more. TP worked on his jumper and made it respectable. Geez, that was bad.

--Wade Phillips got canned. Really, what else was there to do? I wasn't happy when he was hired. I was pleasantly surprised when he squeezed out that 13-win season. I thought he should have been let go post-Eagledebacle.

Spurs Youth Squad is Looking Promising

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 05:16:00 +0000

Gary Neal was impressive.

I have to admit, I really didn't know much about the guy prior to tonight's game against those horrible Clippers.

Here is more interesting stuff on why the guy probably was not well known.

Whatever. I am sure he was vetted. The guy had 16 points, 6 boards, 2 assists in 20 or so minutes. What I liked most about those points, was that he really shows no hesitation. He isn't scared and ohmygoodness do we need that kind of attitude. I have no doubt that it helps that he has done the whole Euro route (even playing at Barca). Guys that do that usually come in the Association with guns blazing, unaffected by the stage.

Also impressive: James Anderson. Dude had a nice block early in the game and showed some flashes attacking the basket. He is another guy that shows no glitch in his moves. Straight ballin'. Me likes this.

Ah, and of course Tiago Splitter. He had a nice lil' dunk off a Manu assist. In limited minutes he showed his passing ability and toughness. I have to see more -- and against a better team -- before I can get an idea of his game.

Overall it was a nicely played game. The Spurs showed a much better defensive game than against Indy and won. That of course is the ultimate measure. I didn't like how they dropped one to Nawlins -- who have Paul and a bunch o' scrubs. Then again, those Hornets are surprising people. Eh. I'll chalk it up to early season cobwebs or some such.

There was great ball movement throughout the game. Quick, beautiful passes to cutters and to shooters. That new Run and Gun is looking pretty sweet, too.

Again, I know the Clips' suck. That is why I am glad we put a nice win on 'em. Spurs looked in control the whole game and that is what you want to do with a inferior team.

Go Spurs Go.

NBA and other things

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 21:58:00 +0000

I am unusually excited about this upcoming NBA season.

I won't lie and say it isn't because of The Decision and the Miama Troika. Nah, it is partly because of that. I have always liked basketball. I have played more basketball than any other sport. My recent fascination with soccer has probably something to do with my excitement for the NBA season, not to mention North Texas Football and Cowboys football sucking ass cheeks.

All three games are really similar. Alarmingly similar in some respects. Basketball is faster-paced and played with more controllable limbs. Football is just the more physical, stop and go version. I like 'em all.

Whatever. I am totally in to this basketball season.

Not just the NBA, either. I didn't mention that. College basketball is always hard to appreciate because of the dynamic rosters, though. It is notoriously sloppy, physical and sometimes cringe-worthy. Whatever. I'll take it. UNT basketball promises to be awesome, once more. I plan to be there for all the home games. Can't wait.

By the way, I am watching the Mavs-Clippers right now and the Clips look horrible. Again. The more things change and all that.

San Antonio Isn't Big Time?

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:45:00 +0000

Did you hear that San Antonio is getting a NASL team? Yeah. The most interesting thing about it is the debates it caused amongst the city and the talk shows. Is SA a good sports town? Can it be big time?

I've always thought so. I'm thinking from a fan perspective. I know the support will be there. I've argued that because that has been the traditional argument --"This is Cowboy's country! No team will survive!"

The real question has always been the corporate support. Losing AT&T is big time. Out went those upper level big time money guys and gals and a group that could buy up luxury suites.

'Tis why I think a smaller minor-league squad will be pretty decent. Especially one like NASL soccer. I won't pretend to know the ins-and-outs of how the league makes its money. I do know that those players make much more realistic money than big league baseball and big league football players do.

In the meantime the city can go about improving the education and job-earnings of its citizens. Maybe attract a fortune 500 company or nine. You know -- make shit happen that will really bring in a big time team.

Texas Filmakers v UNT School of Journalism

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:26:00 +0000

Quote from MyDentonMusic's Tony Spiro:

There is a battle going on between The University of North Texas and Texas Filmmakers. Both want control over the Denton Public Access Television station (Charter Cable channel 25 and Verizon FiOS channel 39). The UNT School of Journalism wants the station for student produced programming. Texas Filmmakers, a non-profit organization want it for the Denton community.

Back in August, the head of Texas Filmmakers Joshua Butler and four access producers addressed the City Council in the General Session stressing their points including the fact that the University already has its own TV station, NTTV, as well as producing TV shows and airing them on the City access channel (DTV).

The City Council will have to make their decision by the end of the year when the Charter Communications contract for the channel is up.

Check out DentonOpenMedia.com for more information. There is a lot of it. They explain their position pretty well and I have to say that I don't see how the University can reasonably challenge them on their points.

The problem, I suppose, is that UNT is a powerful organization and being right doesn't mean you'll get what you deserve.

Now, this is not to say that I will be watching, producing or even seeking out the channel anytime soon. I mean, take a look at the shows. Lots of boring religious programing on there.

In my short time on earth, I've learned that if you want quality entertainment you do not go to the Public Access channel. With that said, technology has allowed the Producing Public to do more than Wayne's World in their mom's basement. Just as blogs and social media have opened opportunities for some quality writing and worthwhile reading, perhaps we will get some decent productions.

Or we might have stuff like this on our hands. Which, I suppose, is pretty entertaining as it is.

Bleacher Report Really Does Suck

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:43:00 +0000

Oh. My. Goodness.

What. The. Fuckshit.

Perhaps by admitting that I really didn't know too much about Bleacher Report, I will reveal myself to be nothing more than a man behind a curtain, rather than the Great and Powerful Aztecskin that you know me as. Whatever.

Well, to be honest, I wasn't completely unaware of it. I had even read one or two. Like this one, for obvious reasons. I suppose it is better if I just contrast what I thought it was with what it really is (shitty). Here we go:

Blogger. Wordpress. I use these things. They are probably the most well-known blogging platforms on the internets (all of them). I suppose the problem with these hosts/platforms was also the cool thing about them: any fuckhead could use one. That has been the larger problem/cool thing about web 2.0, and the internet in general. Hell, if you wanted to get really historical, you can say that was the problem with giving people access to the printing press.

above: too much freedom

Anyway, what I am saying is that although there are some really good blogs out there, there are some really shitty ones, too. The method for filtering out those shitty blogs was one we as humans have relied on forever: the most popular amongst people we respect. That is all well and good and whatever.

People -- being lazy as is their wont -- started to use aggregators. Doofy business guys*, trying to make a buck, started gobbling up blogs, sites, aggregators, and anything that they could generate traffic from to sell advertising. People were happy with this.

*I call 'em doofy because I don't like them. It is a smart strategy if you want to compete with google and facebook for traffic. What do I mean 'if you want to'? Lol. I should say, 'It's the only way to compete'.

So all these content farms need people to crank out material. To save money they turn to people who will do this shit for free or for damn near it. That is what Bleacher Report is. Non-paying content farm. I know they have editors and stuff, but that is mostly to fix typos and cuss words. Look at this featured NBA article on Sept 15, 2010. Compare that to, say, any of the True Hoop Network guys.

Not even close. For one, that Handarii guy didn't even make a point. The premise of his 'article' is questioning whether or not KG and TD are still elite. Fine. I'd expect something along the lines of maybe outlining what we think 'elite' is or perhaps a comparison of the top 15 players in the NBA in relation to Garnett and Duncan. No? Hurm, well then, maybe not shitty meandering recaps of their respective careers. Oh. I see. You crappily recapped their careers. Sucks.

I would not have even come across this crap if it weren't tweeted by this guy, whom I instantly lost respect for in great measures. Especially since he tweeted like nine articles in a row.

I have a low tolerance for lame links already. I mean, I am trusting you to recommend me something at least mildly entertaining and/or interesting and you give me this? Really? Fuck you too.

Where was I? Oh yes. I still haven't gotten to what I thought it was. I was thinking that it was like a blog network. Something like Bloguin, or Uproxx. Instead it is just crappy articles. Now I understand this a lot more. And I can laugh even harder.

Quickly- a disclaimer of sorts:

I understand that liking something is inherently subjective, and that even other things like humor, wit, and agendas are all things not one-size-fits-all. I even understand that my blog(s) are not winning any Pulizters any time soon. The difference between me and 'Sportswriter' [insert bleacher report correspondent] is that I don't go around calling myself a 'sportswriter.' Talk about insulting a profession. BR even touts this as a perk. You are getting exposure! That is why you don't get paid for your list of things you heard the local sports radio guy say!

It really boils down to this: the average blogger seeks an outlet. The average BR guy wants to pretend to be sportswriter without having the talent, knowledge, drive, spelling ability, or outlet. Also, they suck.

UPDATE:

After revisiting the topic in the comments I decided to follow the google search that led good-hearted Anon to this realm:

'Is Bleacher Report a content farm'

My favorite result is MGoBlog (highly recommended if you like UM or college football in general) :

Do Not Pay Attention to Bleacher Report

There is also this scary post about how crap content succeeds.

Good stuff, both.

UNT Football & August 2010 for Aztecskin

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 08:05:00 +0000

Above: Hope

I checked my recent posts and realized I haven't updated in nearly a month. Whoa.

It has been a crazy week, no?

Let's recap shall we?

Saturday was UNT's home opener.

Went to that. Was fun. We lost. Bummer.

I cannot wait for the new stadium. Fouts sucks ass. If you sit in the endzone seating, you are nine miles away. If you sit in the student section, the sun eats your soul. If you sit in the alumni-donor section, you deal with crippling old people smell combined with all-knowing drunkenness.

There are a few good sightlines though ... if you are walking back from the concession stand.

Just after Dunbar scored 4yd TD

It was nice to see everyone stay longer than one half. I mean both the fans and the team. Every first game at Fouts has been fucking depressing the last five years. This one -- wait for it-- was actually entertaining. Good timing, too. It is kind of hard to complain when you are getting in for free. Now that I actually pay cash money to get in to that decrepit thing, I'd like some value for my dollars. So I am pleased with that.

I still can't wait for the new stadium though. I like end-zone seating because it gives you the coaching film view (or EA Sports NCAA Football view in my case). Awesome.

Birthday:

My birthday was actually last weekend. Best story of the night? My friend falling asleep in the bushes near the rec center, getting woken up at four a.m. and stumbling home. How in the hell did I let him do that? Well, after the bars closed we headed for food. He headed for a lady friend's house. On the way there he took a nap. Totally not my fault.

Indoor Soccer

So far on the season we are 1-1. I have two shots on goal to my name, and two misses. Not impressed? Yeah, neither is one dude on the team. Not only with me, but with anyone who is not him. Dude pulled a Chad Ochocinco/TO in our last game and bounced with a minute left.

I don't suck. I just aint good. I've said before that soccer is a recent hobby for me. So the intricacies of ball handling are not within my grasp. Or my kick or whatever. I did have a pretty sweet ass half bicycle kick. Call it a unicycle kick.

Cowboys:

I said it on twitter.

NFL:

Dude. Arian Foster is a beast.

College Football:

Dude. LaMichael James is a beast.

Also, Denard Robinson is a beast.

Coming soon: Resident Evil 3D and my first 3D experience, Puerto Rico -- the Board Game, Beer, How College Football is like English Football (soccer), KNTU and college radio, Making up with the NT Daily -- maybe, and more!

Also, don't forget to check out meangreennation.com where I wage the one man war against anti-UNTism.

Jumping on the EPL and La Liga

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:19:00 +0000

Bandwagoning. That is what I am doing. It has been a long road from the days where I agreed with Jim Rome's take on soccer, to now, where I am thinking of switching to DirecTV because they have Fox Soccer Channel HD. I play FIFA World Cup 10 more than NCAA Football 11. Lots more. Things have changed.

So, I suppose the final step is to watch the big time soccer leagues. It is the perfect time. I no longer have school (graduated). I no longer work Saturdays (cuz I am awesome). I have the means (more awesome).

Well, I am not awesome enough to wake up at 6 am for Manchester City v Tottenham. I was up early enough to catch defending EPL champs Chelsea drop 6 goals on West Brom at Albion. As I type this I am watching Bolton v Fulham. Later tonight is a match between LA Galaxy and Red Bull New York. Tomorrow is a big match between Arsenal and Liverpool. I am excited about all of these.

The big question I ask my self is this: "How long will this last?"

My Answer: "I dunno."

Really I don't know. Will I be willing to watch Bolton v Wolverhampton over Michigan v Purdue?

Really? They are the same thing. So it might just depends on which is more exciting.

The same thing?! you ask. Yes. The same thing.

One of the ways that I fell into soccer is that I have a much larger capacity for subtlety now than I ever did before. I explain that by citing my age and its accompanying maturity. 'I can drink black coffee and I can watch soccer. I am mature.'

Or something like that.

That or pretentious.

Whichever.

Back to the lower tier football vs lower tier soccer comment :

That newly found capacity for subtlety that comes with age has been combined with and understanding of the game. I understand it and can appreciate it. Voila!

The same thing happened to me when I was eight years old or whatever. I could appreciate basketball-- so I started following it. Same with football. 1995 was when I watched a whole season of NFL football. 1994 was my first for basketball. It was when I stopped saying things like "Why don't they just go dunk it?" and "Why don't they just throw it deep all the time?" and began appreciating the strategy and the reasoning behind the actions (along with dunks and long bombs).

So it was about 2002 during that US run in the World Cup that I finally stopped saying things like "Why don't they just score more?" and began to try to understand how they try to score, what was involved, what was risky, what was safe etc.

So that is why I can enjoy a crappy college team vs another one: I can find something to enjoy in what they are doing.

So maybe it is jumping on the 2010 WC bandwagon, or maybe it is just me liking another sport after maturing a little.

Whichever. I like me some soccer and that is that.

Now maybe I have to pick a team or something ...

'Nother Lazy Link Post --August 7th 2010

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:25:00 +0000

Joe Posnanski on if we are overrating steroidal impact on baseball.

NFL player gets depressed. Blames it on video games.

MLS -- no one is watching.

Wikipedia article wars -- via Gizmodo.

Roy Bragg on internet neo-cons. The gif is the funniest thing. Probably because I'm crazy.

This is awesome. Flickr /via Jenn Herrera.

Programming note: This is post 300!

Lazy Link Post on This Lazy Lazy Day.

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:13:00 +0000

Ahh. I don't even want to talk about which mine is. Mustaches

Tell you the truth: I skimmed it. I did read the William Morris quote. Almost makes me not want to buy things. Almost.

Dippin' Dots has the ugliest website.

Good read about freelancing. I suppose that would apply to other trades as well.

Joe P. on Cleveland and Chagrin.

Women and Mothers and stuff.

On cojones.

Enjoy!

Update:

One more. Slate on car-lessness. *

*This is especially noteworthy for me. We just hired a guy to run a pretty large portion of the company. He is car-less. Everyone thinks its kind of weird.

Quick Update:

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:57:00 +0000

I finally updated the About page.

Big whoop I know.

You'll have to actually come to the site if you are just following this on a rss reader. That means you ten people.

On Blogging-- Some Meta-Commentary

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:05:00 +0000

Someone linked to a story on Politico and the high pressure there leading to journalist burnout much sooner than traditional journalism (read: newspapers.) I won't link to it here, because it wasn't very interesting or new stuff. It took it as more "See? Newspapers were better!"

You know what? Here you go. Like a good citizen of the free market, I'll let you choose for yourself.

You done? Okay.

How this pertains to myself:

I have mentioned once or twice before that although I began blogging for the same reason I began tweeting: to see what all the ruckus was about. Later when I really had something I wanted to talk about, the vote on the new stadium at UNT, I used this outlet for just that. After that, at various times I have either not cared too much for blogging, or had too little time for it, or just really did not have anything interesting to say. You can find evidence of this in the archives to your left. Scroll through some of those summer months and notice the scarcity of postings, and quality postings at that.

Well, at various times I have also attempted to really make an effort with this thing. I tried building a readership by sticking to a particular point of view and spinning off other topics. As always I either lose interest or get distracted.

I suppose it is like dieting and exercising. Most people rollercoaster their way through it all. Very few do the things necessary to achieve and maintain their stated goals.

I sucks to think that I could be that fat guy that is always trying to lose weight but effs it up with a binge every so often.

I also is kind of scary to think of the time and dedication required of the most 'successful' sites. Which brings me to another thought: The term 'blog' is overused. For example: Gizmodo. It is, and has always been referred to as a blog. Is it though? Sure it uses the same format as early weblogs, and the style of writing is informal and somewhat personal like weblogs, but I that probably is the answer right there. It uses elements of weblogs -- those personal logs that people wrote and write -- but only in its presentation. It is more of a 'zine than anything.

The only reason I bring it up at all is that I was thinking about how sites get grouped together. I think this is more of a blog. Lumping this crap together with deadspin and The Big Lead is ridiculous.

Anyway, I know that this post was a rambler, so I'll mercifully end it here. I have to go to work and walk the dogs anyway.

Game Night -- Inception -- Road to the WC: South Africa

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:32:00 +0000

We had a game night at the apartment complex where I live. The Woman had to host it or whatever, so i had to attend or whatever. It was more fun that I thought it would be.

The free food didn't hurt.

So as we were finishing up Acquire, some dude and his chick came to watch us play. Kind of weird, but kind of not, considering that we were the only ones left, they were friends of the manager, and we were very in to the game.

So I ended up losing in a very close fucking game dammitdellihateyou, and as we were finishing up they are asking lots of questions and we are all having a good time, making jokes and whatnot. You know, friend-making stuff.

They start talking about Inception.

"Y'all going to see that?"

"Yeah it looks awesome."

"It's out tonight. The midnight showing."

"Oh shitballs! Fuck me! It does, doesn't it! Fuck!"

Yes I really do curse a-fucking-lot. So we went. It was awesome.

Quickly: here are some reviews that I agree with: Movie Review -- i09.

Also quickly here is my take:

I came in expecting the film to be a be a prop for cgi. It was, but a fully-formed, entertaining, dare-I-say-enthralling prop. I didn't pick up on the heistiness of the movie until it was pointed out by the reviews I read. I could kick my self it was so obvious. That is a complement to the picture, I suppose. I wasn't absorbed in analyzing the movie because I was preoccupied by being entertained. Me being an adult, and having seen hundreds of movies in my lifetime, I could not help but wonder how they did certain things and notice an effect here and there. (When they walk up a 'wall' there is a mini-glitch.) Still, that did not distract from the aforementioned entertainment. I really didn't know what was going to happen and that is awesome. It means that the underlying formulaic structure was well hidden, as it should be.

4/4 jalapeños. (Because I'm brown.)

Before we went to the midnight showing we had two hours to kill. What does a group of five twenty-somethings do? If you said play videogames you are sadly correct!

Play we did.

I've had Fifa Road to the World Cup South Africa 2010 (pretty sure that is the official name) since like day three of the World Cup. What is the point of telling you this? Nothing, besides that I am awesome at it and even though I went 1-1 my win was more awesome so it probably should count for like ten wins so there.

So think about that shit before you want to challenge me.

Punk.

The Trouble With My Car

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:59:00 +0000

So, my car is stupid. Well that is if it was sentient, it would be stupid.

Ok, I'll stop.

My car is overheating. It started yesterday as I was heading to work. Just all of a sudden, I look down at the gauges and see the damn red light shining back at me from the dashboard. Now, I've been in my share of crappy cars in my life. I know what to do when this happens: I blast the heater, slow down, and head for a spot to pull over.

So I'm sitting. And sitting. Nothing.

Usually the heater relieves some of the well, heat. Not working. I checked the coolant levels like two weeks ago, so it I know that its all good there. The car has been running slightly hotter than normal. I probably should have taken the car in then, but whatever.

After it cools down some by just waiting, I begin my now slow drive to work. It doesn't overheat, its seems fine.

One the way back, the car gets near the red light again. Fuck. I pull over somewhere in Lewisville. It takes a while for it to cool down because of the afternoon sun. Eh.

So after sitting there for a while like the dude in the pic above, I finally got home.

The good news is that I took today off to go get it looked at, the bad news is that I gotta pay for it.

Eh.

NCAA 11 --- NTM Review

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:25:00 +0000

Ah yes. The annual review of my favorite game. The difference this year is that, because I am now an old man and have patience, I can wait until I get out of work to grab a copy.

So, this is more of a stop-gap post. To keep you warm while I make some cash in order to purchase it.

Then I will be posting up more interesting stuff than why I don't think our offensive coordinator is hot shit.

Stay tuned.

Update: 12:09am.

Well I got it around 11:35pm. Long story. I'll tell ya laters.

Here we go:

The hype leading up to the release has centered around the graphics, the blocking, and the tweaks to the dynasty.

Of the three, the most important to me has always been the gameplay.

So how does it play? Awesomely. That is the short answer. The long and nit-picky answer is that it is slower than last year's model. In places it is a good thing. Sometimes passes to the flats, slants, and even downfield happened in a blink of an eye. I understand that they were trying to capture the speed of the game when they made it so quick, but gameplay suffered ever so slightly when it became difficult and nigh impossible to stop certain things.

The slower pace can feel sluggish sometimes, however. The tradeoff for improving gameplay and human player reactions is the loss of the fast-paced excitement of the last game. That portion is probably just a personal preference and so doesn't effect anyone much. *

* There is an option to play faster in the game settings.

If you were, and are a big Madden player, you probably are more familiar with the speed element, the blocking, the locomotion, and the play calling screen. It took some getting used to before I was comfortable with the old screen. It probably won't take very long to get used to this one, having played with it for ever. I wonder if EA thought they'd get more people to pick up the game if they remembered that, like, Troy Aikman Football had a similar screen.

Eh. It matters not to me.

So the game. It pretty much is the same as last year with some much needed fixes. I like to go back and look at the replays at the end of the game. What bugged me most about it was when I picked a play from the first quarter, watched it, and exited the replay screen it would put me back at the 4th quarter list. I know. It isn't anything major. After playing 200 or so games it bothers you. Trust.

Any way they fixed that.

Other:

The play designer team does a good job of staying up on trends and really gets all the nuanced plays of an Air Raid or a spread option team. I love that shit. I've linked to smartfootball.com before, and I can't prove it, but I KNOW they read up on some of the blocking and play design stuff. Had to have.

And I love them for it.

I wish I had more time to go into detail about some of the stuff. Alas, I am old and mature. No really. I kind of wish I was 20 again, because I would have played this game all night. Right now? Eh, I got my two online games in and am looking longingly at the sofa pillow next to me. Lame, huh?

Yes. Lame.

Won't be long before I write one of these, I tell ya.

Shitballs. More Oscar Grant stuff, including a coverup? damn

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:27:00 +0000

According to this, this trial was a beating. Mehserle, understandably*, did everything he could to not go to jail. It conflicts with his letter, though.

From the post:

They also lay out the role, the money spent and conflicting testimony delivered by the expensive expert witnesses that Mehserle brought forth. He spent 65k on one witness who attempted to tell everyone the dozens of videos showing Grant’s shooting were unreliable and inconclusive.

*I get it. You play dirty when you are trying to 'win'. He didn't want to go to jail. I get it. I just don't like it. It is an all-in kind of play to defend himself the way he did. You just have to be ready for those consequences.

Aside from the obvious injustices here, what pisses me off now, and back when this first happened, is that this happened all the damn time. People in power get away with this shit all the damn time. The dude was just unlucky enough to be on camera when it happened.

Never thought I'd be thankful for Big Brother.

Check back later for more.

Wordpress, Dog Piss, LeBron. Not in that order

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:56:00 +0000

I had planned on a grand return to the blogosphere. Well, I am not in the blogosphere. I like to pretend I am though, so let's forget the facts for a second.

I had just tweeted that fact, and all I had left to do was walk the fucker (which is meaning my dog) and I would have had 1030 am CST and on to figure out what the hell I was going to write about.

Alas, the fucker pissed in a small corner in the 'den'. (I put it in quotes because it is really a mini-bedroom). So I spent the next hour cleaning up the mess. Oh yeah he shit too. I don't want to leave that out. He shat and piss-ed in the fucking den. Where I had my computer ready to blog. Fuck me.

Thankfully, I have had much experience cleaning up dog-shit and dog-piss. It is weird to be thankful for that, I know. The part I am referring to is that it is not a big ordeal that I couldn't handle. When you have dogs (and I am assuming kids) you get used to cleaning up stuff like that. Vinegar and water baby. Also beer. Beer is for drinking, though. The vinegar-water shit is for the carpet.

Wordpress:

I occasionally get in over my head with projects and things. I call it keeping busy, but others call it bullshitting.

Whatever.

I bring it up because I am trying to re-design my company's website. It was (and is) a shitty little thing. So, in the course of redesigning the front page, I thought I'd get cute and implement a whole CMS to go along with it. One of the best and most useful sites on the webz is css-tricks.com. They talk a lot about Wordpress and how awesome it is for use as a CMS. So, I says to myself, I says, "Self, Let's do this shit." And so I did. Sorta.

Wordpress is challenging to design for. Especially for a n00b like me. Everything is generated dynamically and so your divs have to start on one php page, like header.php, and end in another, like footer.php. It is easy if you are trying to change things like the font color, or background pictures and shit like that. Not so easy if you are repositioning elements and other crap.

That said, I am wrapping my head around it. Having had a horrible wordpress version* of this site for a while and using the version you host on your own, I don't think I could free-host a wordpress version for long. That is the biggest difference for me between Blogger and WP.

*By the way that theme for ntmescan.wordpress.com is awesome-sauce. It changes color based on the pic. Again- awesome-sauce.

I really like Blogger's Design section, too. It let's me mess around with stuff that is beyond my can-do-this-in-two-seconds skill set and still gives me the freedom to tweak it enough where I am not just using a template. WP's themes are awesome, but because of the aforementioned difficulty, they aren't always the most tweak-able. There are some that let you mess around with stuff in the admin screen, which is coolness. For example: the Constructor Theme. You can always get stuff like this: Thematic, and turn it into this: Commune. Sweetness.

Anyway, so I am doing that.

LeBron:

What a douche. It is hard for me to hate on the dude for doing what he wants. Shit, he was a Free Agent, right? Like most people, I say the biggest mistake was in the way he did it. If he would have let Cleveland know that he wasn't going to re-sign, and did the whole 1 hour Decision extravaganza to reveal where his next city, I would have been perfectly fine with it.

Will Leitch had a good read.

Adrian Wojnarowski had a bettter one.

One thing I have been telling my friends, and was mentioned in the Woj article, is that he seems so damn fake. It is weird. But not. "Taking my talents down to South Beach." ?!?! wtf. He stole a sportscenter line. Reminds me of the time he said that a "LeBron James team never gives up" or some shit. Weird. It is like seeing a kid that doesn't know you can drink water from the faucet, or that milk comes from cows, or that they deserve 116K dollar cars because they turned 16. It is sad because we made them that way.

The crazy thing is that LeBron is only slightly older than I am, and I cannot say with certainty that I would be any different. I grew up watching the same shit he did. I wanted to be Deion. I wanted to be A.I. The only thing that prevented my ego from doing the shit they did is my ridiculously inferior talent level.

Maybe I wouldn't be such an idiot. But then again, if no one was telling me that I was an asshole, what would there be to stop me?

Any way, fuck the Heat. Go Spurs.

Fuck LeBron. Oscar Grant Case Verdict Talk

admin@ntmescan.com (aztecskin) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:56:00 +0000

So the policeman that shot an unarmed man in the back while kneeling on him was convicted today. Involuntary Manslaughter.

I am no legal eagle, but that just don't sound right.

Like the lawyer dude said, if he gets any less than the maximum sentence it will be a travesty.

Fuckin' Bullshit, man.

It is hard not to think what would have happened to a black dude if he shot a white dude in the back. You know, besides being shot on the spot.