Top 5@'09

The year will soon be ending in a few days’ time so it just means that I should recognize this year’s bests and worst’s. Just like last year, I am blogging about the top five of any category I could think of under the sun. Also, I am naming it on another show that features a countdown of top fives (last year’s came from Rick Kamla’s Fantasy Insider portion of ‘Low Five’) – the Top 5@5 of Magic 89.9. I know it is wrong grammar to use the preposition ‘at’ to refer to a year (it should be ‘in’) but this will not appear to have any reference on Top 5@5 so I will just make do with the wrong grammar usage for the title.

Almost 365 days ago, the new year started with us having a good set of fireworks. We always lit these up either for the superstition that it could bring some luck or for the fun of it. Guess what happened... we had a non-stop drizzle in New Year’s Eve. It was a bit disappointing because we were not able to use all the fireworks. I have waited twelve years for the Year of the Ox and it had started bad (well, technically, it was not yet the Year of the Ox then). I will be honest. This year has been a sucky year for me – it was either status quo on some aspects in my life or it was for the worse. I do not recall anything that went for the better. So much for celebrating my supposed year (although Chinese horoscope states that people born in the year of the Ox will have misfortune in 2009). I am used to terrible years in the past but what sets 2009 apart from them was my different outlook in life. I call it the delusional optimism. If you are emo, just think of it the other way around. Thus, I just moved on from each setback the past year (well, not all). The thinking was more of, “you’ve already tasted bad luck. Do not make it worse by feeling sad for the following days.” I think I got the perspective from Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother. I can also attribute the thinking from Jack in Lost when he stated whenever he feels fear: “Count five seconds and I will stop being afraid.” Thus, I felt like I celebrated most of the year because of some positive moments. Well, these moments actually are more of collective moments (so in short, I never gained anything but the new outlook in a personal level). But still, I was glad for most of the year so I am here to recognize what were the best things that happened for me this year (since it is collective, you will probably understand it).

Again, these are what I consider as my top fives, thus expect it to have some biases. This year’s version, however, is more objective than last year’s.

Are You For Real? Rating the 2009 Movies

First of all, merry Christmas to everyone! (I am writing this during the last hour of the last Christmas of this decade)

Secondly, I am publishing my second blog entry in just three days’ time. This time, I am going to tackle on the movies that I have watched this year (I shall return to rating the decade’s bests after I conclude on this year’s bests). I have done this stuff two years ago where I rated the movies that I have watched at the big screen.

I am tweaking some of the rules though. I am including the movies that I have watched at home even if I have a good sample size of eight movies that I have watched from the big screen (although that is relatively fewer than before) because of the following reasons: 1) I did not want to spend some cash on cinemas because of our HD TV… if you can wait for two to three months, go for it especially if you have a traumatic experience of burning cash on an 80% probability that the movie is going to suck (yeah that was how watching movies in cinemas went last year). 2) It would be depressing to rate movies that I watched (in cinemas) that sucked while leaving out the awesome ones. The great movies deserve some recognition. 3) I was on save up mode this year… oh wait, did I already mention that?

Here are the new criteria:
•    I am going to rate my top ten movies from the flicks that I have watched this year. Taken and Yes Man are counted in the 2009 movies because these were shown by 2009 in the Philippines.
•    Scores in here cannot be directly compared to the scores in my 2007 list because I think the movies in here are better even with lower scores. I just did not want to give high ratings this year.
•    I am changing my rating criteria since some of the movies were not viewed in the cinemas and I have significantly decreased my dozing off rate from 50% in 2007 to 5% in 2009. Here are the new categories and their respective weights:
   o    Interesting Enough? – 10%. This was the ‘did I sleep during the movie?’ category. It still takes into account snoozing but now it also features the following questions? Did I get bored at some points in the movie? Was I really into the movie that no one can distract me even if someone heavily farted in the audience?
   o    Willing to watch again – 10%. This should be renamed rewatchability but I have not re-watched some awesome movies from this year YET I am still planning to view them again in the future.
   o    Storyline / Movie Structure – 40%. I added ten more percent points in here because it is the backbone of the story. This is where the plot, twists, subplots, climaxes and anti-climactic events fall. I am also putting some movie aesthetics in here as well.

   o    Entertainment Value – 25%. A movie is supposed to entertain. This is why blockbusters cash in despite of terrible story and acting. In short, this is the category where Transformers movies shine.
   o    Awesomeness Level – 15%. This used to be the popularity category. Of course, movies are the talk of the town. However, I felt the need to add more factors in this category with the following guide questions: 1) Is the movie memorable enough? 2) If yes, where there catch phrases, memorable lines, ZOMG moments or were Megan Fox’s boobs bouncing every five minutes?

100 Sexiest Female Celebrities of the Decade

My lists of this decade’s bests continue and I am going to delve on an untouched subject thus far. Based on a request from my friend, I am blogging about the 100 sexiest female celebrities of this decade. I know that countless of men’s magazines have performed this type of countdown but that does not stop me from making a list of my own. Magazines normally feature such via a democratic way while I will do mine on a subjective perspective. Biased? Yes, but at least it is not a popularity contest. There is no objective way to determine the most beautiful as the old adage speaks for itself, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The essence of this list is to show you my direction. I don’t care if you will like it or not, what matters is you understand why I ranked it this way.

As much testosterone-charged this blog is, I think this should also appeal to women who appreciate their own kind. That is one characteristic that women have – they can admire members of the same sex and get away with it but if males do that… oh wait, MALES don’t do that, only gays are people with a wang who adore the physical attributes of the same sex.

You may wonder, how is this related to the stuff I normally write about? I usually discuss topics that I am a fan of…whether it be sports, movies, books, music and TV shows. If you have followed some of my earlier works, I have showed great appreciation on some of my female crushes. This is actually the perfect venue to tackle all of those related to my usual topics of sports, movies, music and TV shows as there is always a specific gal that I have been fond of. This blog entry is to have an appreciation for the female celebrities that I have admired this decade.

To start off, let’s define sexy. According to Merriam-Webster, sexy is defined to be something generally attractive or interesting. Sexy is not just about physical beauty. There are some attributes that make other people sexier. Maybe, she is smart or maybe she is a great role model. Heck, I sometimes even consider scheming, nasty women like Blair of Gossip Girl sexy (OK, not all of them though). Just like beauty, sexy is still subjective, but we are going to tackle the different kinds of sexy as we go along the women in this list. It’s a looooooong list so let’s start.

WARNING: This is for mature readers only. (Well, most of my write-ups are anyway) This is mostly about Hollywood celebrities so it would be very normal to see descriptions on sexy, hot, boobs and other body parts as they are advertised for their physical assets. I am just stating facts in here.

The Big Five

I do not know if it is mere coincidence but it seems like I always get acquainted with a new awesome TV series every November/December of each year. For everyone’s information, these were the TV shows that I got to watch for the first time in the past Novembers/Decembers of past years:

2005: Lost
2006: Prison Break
2007: Heroes
2008: How I Met Your Mother

Pretty strong lineup, huh? In my personal (current) Big Four TV Shows, Lost and How I Met Your Mother are part of that list. I got to follow Prison Break past Season 1 to mid Season 2 while I was a Heroes addict from Seasons 1 to 3 until I called it quits a month ago. Before I end the year, it has always been super solid on the TV side. Yes, especially because I am such a TV show addict that I get to watch new shows every now and then. To give you an idea of the shows I have been watching this year, here is the list: Lost, How I Met Your Mother, American Idol, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, Glee, Flash Forward, Lie To Me, 30Rock, Scrubs, Mad Men, Entourage, Gossip Girl, That 70s Show, True Blood, Eastwick and Harper’s Island. No wonder I have not been reading a lot of novels lately. No wonder I get dizzy easily these days.

As I have been watching TV shows crazier than I finished books back in college, I got to have my dose of November/December new series this year. I was not yet aware of having a streak of excellent shows prior to watching these shows but this year is distinct from the previous years because I got to watch not just one, but FOUR new TV shows (should be five but I won’t count Entourage because I watched the pilot episode sometime early this year).

Harper’s Island. After all the hype that my colleagues and friends have given me about this show, I finally gave in. I was supposed to watch this last May but I did not have the first three episodes when I copied from my officemate. My laptop crashed last July so all of the episodes were gone. Fortunately, I got to copy the first eight episodes from another generous officemate. I began watching it last month and it has been good so far. It was good as advertised (quite a number of hot chicks and full of gore). The execution was great because you would contemplate as to who the killer is (I stopped thinking after Kit spoiled me the effin’ ending… friends… they always spoil the ending for you). However, Harper’s Island did not have the flair that the past four TV shows in recent years had. The TV series has become a prolonged mystery movie which could be summarized in two hours. Thus, I found myself dozing off numerous times while watching. Rating: 7/10

Flash Forward. As a huge Lost fan, Flash Forward is the supplement show because of the idea of time traveling. This show actually has promise – the effects were astounding in the pilot episode. You have two ex-Lost stars in the set as well. It was interesting to see how the story unfolds to May 2010. However, I still found myself snoozing as early as the second episode. Do not get me wrong – I am still following the show (but with less eagerness). However, I think Flash Forward failed what Lost capitalized on the time traveling part. Lost had series of time travel which had knit the messy plot into one piece. Lost did not have to give WTF and Holy Shit endings in every episode (unlike Heroes) but the show had a rapidly moving plot that is enough to amaze the audience. Flash Forward, on the other hand, banks on one huge event and their investigation on it. Just like Harper’s Island, you can summarize the show in two hours via a movie. It was just a month and I cannot even recall all the important things that happened per episode. Blame my dozing off or the too many shows that I got to watch, but Flash Forward is miles away from Lost. Rating: 7/10

Glee. Ladies and gentlemen… the most hyped new TV series of the year… Glee! Glee fans, admit it – this show was so hyped that it got a lot of attention early on. I got to borrow Glee episodes from my colleague out of curiosity and voila! I got to watch this TV show as well. What’s the verdict? I must say that it deserves all the hype that it gets. Tell me: how in the effin’ hell will I watch a TV show that portrays high school losers and has no hot chick that would entice me to watch it from its pilot episode onwards? The show must be superb. The kids are talented and the performances were well-executed making me end up craving for the next episode. Glee is not overdone but looks very well-prepared at the same time. The character development is also above average (some get the spotlight mostly but that’s how it should work or else you will not get to have varying degrees of exposure and empathy for the characters). However, Glee has one huge downside – its overall plot seems mediocre for me. It is already well-laid out for the rest of the season. Of course, they can have some twists and all but there is not much room they can work on. Also, I am not certain if the show will age well for me. The show has blockbuster start written all over it but what lies ahead after the first season is a big question mark. But then, Glee did not disappoint when I first watched it. Rating: 8.5/10

Mad Men.

MAD MEN A term coined in the late 1950’s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue. They coined it.

It was actually funny when I first learned of this show. I was listening to Bill Simmons’ podcast on Fantasy NBA when he randomly thought of Fantasy Draft on Boobs. He picked Christina Hendricks first. I wondered then – who is Christina Hendricks? I browsed in IMDB and found out that Christina Hendricks is a redhead celebrity chick in the TV series Mad Men. Does she have big boobs? Absolutely Yes! Did she ever had a nude scene? Definitely No. Simmons continued to pimp her status by having a ‘rate this from 1 to Christina Hendricks Nude Scene’. I got curious and since I found out that Mad Men has a superb rating (and has bagged numerous awards that my mainstream shows never had), I tried downloading Season 1. Its setting is about advertising and marketing so it entices me further.

After 3,875 years, the Season 1 download finished and I finally got to watch Mad Men. Due to my excitement, my expectation level went sky high. The first scene featured the main guy hanging out in an old-fashioned restaurant/cabaret and the atmosphere was 1960s. He was talking to a boring looking waiter about cigarettes. I felt disaster was going to happen as I might end up dozing on a 1960s boring scene. Rating: 0 out of…
…wait for it…

For some weird reason, I was able to watch the whole pilot episode and liked it. There was no interesting turn of event right after the initial scene but I was able to appreciate the 60s mood onwards. My expectation level was 10 out of 10 but Mad Men was still superb. How come? It was like 1950s to 1960s slow paced style and there were little WTF moments in it.

Was it because Christina Hendricks sizzled? Hell, no! Hendricks’ role in the pilot episode was just a cameo appearance.

Why was Mad Men that good?

Mad Men’s plot is well-executed and is superb. It is filled with subtleties as witty lines are thrown out every now and then (without the help of the spoonfeeding laugh of an audience). The 60s may have featured a slow-paced life then (yes, even in Manhattan) but it evokes the mood that you are in another era which will eventually make you want to belong with it. My marketing communications and brand management background also helps as advertising concepts are usually the main topics in their discussions. But just like Grey’s Anatomy, you do not have to be a doctor to understand the full context of what they are talking about. The way they presented their ideas makes you think ‘hey, this is awesome if this was how they thought of advertising before because that is how it is known now.’ The main character – Donald Draper – is just so amazing in conceptualizing that his ideas will make you agree at the end.

[Spoilers Ahead]

Speaking of characters, Mad Men thrives in its character-driven story. You have real and flawed characters. Draper is at the top of his game when it comes to work but he is a womanizer. He also contradicts himself on one of the biggest plot twists of the series. Peggy the secretary is an ambitious woman who quickly moves up the corporate ladder but had one serious mistake. Pete Campbell is the ambitious young employee who strives to please his well-learned parents and his extravagant wife but does it the wrong way by resorting to politicking and other unprofessional manners. Joan Holloway (Hendricks) is the clever vixen who uses her physical assets to her advantage. As there were limited WTF moments in the show, I got to appreciate and understand the distinct qualities of each character from their punchlines to their reactions. And in a bigger layer, I observed that the Mad Men characters move in the behavior of people in the 60’s – women are mostly housewives or have low positions; men have chauvinistic tendencies; people smoke thousands of cigarettes a day; and women start to realize their inner strength on how to cope with the dog-eat-dog society. I find the story coherent and consistent as well. Mad Men depicts reality with the help of social context and imperfect characters. Drama scenes are not over-the-top as well.

Defining Quote of Season 1:
Donald Draper: “Stop talking. Make something yourself.”
Drug Addict: “Like you? You make the lie. You invent want.”
Donald Draper: “I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.”

[Spoilers End]

All in all, Mad Men impressed me as I finished Season 1. Having a chronologically-dependent series also helps. Yes, I love chronologically-dependent TV shows more than stand-alone ones because the former has the craving factor and has the overall plot getting molded as its episode gets shown. Mad Men has the element that makes me like TV series better than movies. TV shows are like novels were the character develops over time. This makes you relate to it, or –even better – this makes the show a part of your life. This is the very idea of escapist. You watch week by week to take in part with the imaginary world you share with the characters. It being realistic makes the show experience ten times better. I first got enticed because of Christina Hendricks but it is not anymore what I am looking for by the time I finished season 1. You know a TV show is special if you crave for it even if there is no shallow element that entices you to watch.

With these, I am now going to have a Big Five for my favorite TV shows and Mad Men is definitely part of it. Rating: Christina Hendricks Nude Scene (even though there is none)

What's The Best Month Of The Year?

Two months ago, Bill Simmons a.k.a. The Sports Guy wrote a mailbag article on what is the best month of the year. It ended with him concluding that October is the best as it barely toppled February due to some factors like Halloween and the major sports. However, that was the American perspective (or just the Sports Guy’s viewpoint). Thus, here I am asking the same effin’ question on the most awesome month of the year. In the Philippine point of view (or just my perspective).

I thought of doing this because I realized that there seems to be no lame month as there’s always something cool every month. I will try to be objective as much as possible (don’t worry, I won’t include my birthday because I do not celebrate it anyway). Weather matters as well. When I was a child, I love summers but because the temperature my body was accustomed to got screwed up when I went to America last year, summers became dreadful as I got flu and (f*ck Global Warming) super dry (parang beer ah). However, TV shows are just those that I consider to be in my Big Four: Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, American Idol (so much for being objective! Haha)

January
Weather: Cold but not rainy (+1)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5), American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA (+1)
Total Score: 4.25

February
Weather: Cold but not rainy (+1)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Lost (+0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5) American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA (+1), Valentine’s Month (+0.5), February Sweeps (+1), NBA All-Star Weekend (+0.25)
Total Score: 6.5

March
Weather: Hot (+0.5)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Lost (+0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5) American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA (+1), Wrestlemania (+0.5)
Total Score: 4.75

April
Weather: Hot (+0.5)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Lost (+0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5) American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA Finals (+1), Beach time! (+0.5), NBA Playoffs (+0.5), Light Traffic in the streets (+1)
Total Score: 6.25

May
Weather: Hot (+0.5)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Lost (+0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5) American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Beach time! (+0.5), NBA Playoffs (+0.5) May Sweeps and Season Finale (+1.5), Light Traffic in the streets (+1)
Total Score: 6.75

June
Weather: Rainy
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: None
Other awesome things: NBA Finals (+1), Summer Hollywood Movie Blockbusters (+1)
Total Score: 2.75

July
Weather: Rainy
Sports: UAAP Basketball (+1)
TV Shows: None
Other awesome things: Summer Hollywood Movie Blockbusters (+1)
Total Score: 2

August
Weather: Rainy
Sports: UAAP Basketball (+1)
TV Shows: None
Other awesome things: None
Total Score: 1

September
Weather: Awfully Stormy (-0.5)
Sports: UAAP Basketball (+1)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5)
Other awesome things: UAAP Playoffs and Cheerdance Competition (+0.5)
Total Score: 2

October
Weather: Awfully Stormy (-0.5)
Sports: UAAP Basketball (+1), NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5)
Other awesome things: UAAP Finals (+1), MLB World Series (+0.5), Fantasy NBA Drafts (+1.5), Octoberfest (+0.5)
Total Score: 5.75

November
Weather: Normal (+1)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA (+1)
Total Score: 3.75

December
Weather: Cold (+1)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.25), How I Met Your Mother (+0.25)
Other awesome things: Holiday Season (+1), Movie Marathon Month (+1), Fantasy NBA (+1), Vacation (+0.5)
Total Score: 5.75

So there you have it… May is the best month of the year thus far with a score of 6.75 barely edging February (6.5). This could change though as Lost will be at its final season next year. Nevertheless, May tops the list for me as you have the season finale of the major TV shows, you get to watch the NBA playoffs in full gear (as there is always a playoff game shown everyday in Cable TV) and the traffic is not that terrible. I may have missed some important events in here so if you could think of one, feel free to reply to this blog post.

No Music, No Life ‘09

Ladies and Gentlemen. People of all ages. I present to you the annual edition of my favorite songs per month… No Music No Life ’09! (Oh wait, I am having this ‘grand’ introduction even if nobody reads my blog… bah! Who cares?) Anyway, for those who have been following my blog through the years, you should know by now that I write about my songs of the month from December of the previous year to November of the current year. Why not the usual January to December format? Uhmmm…to be honest, I have no idea why when I started it in 2006. It grew into a tradition and by now I am sort of thinking that I like it this way because it is unique or it is something similar to how NBA and NFL have their seasons (i.e., in NBA’s case, season starts at October/November and ends in June the next year). It is ‘cool’ this way. But for this year, I think that doing such fits well in my blogging schedule as it gives room to my plan of writing about several topics about ‘the bests of the year and the decade’ starting this December 2009 to January 2010. This will serve as the pilot blog to ‘the commemoration of the bests’ stretch.

(You may have/haven’t noticed that I have been blogging less frequently in the past month. I guess it always happens after the peak season of my blogging – the UAAP season. Nevertheless, December is always a strong journal writing month for me so get ready… to read.)

Enough of the blabber. Here are my songs of the year.

December 2008: Paramore – I Caught Myself
Back-to-back Twilight soundtracks for November and December 2008. It is quite ironic because I did not like Twilight the movie at all. This did not stop me from appreciating Paramore’s semi-emo song about ‘stopping oneself from saying something foolish’. The song starts with a clean plucking pattern that progresses as the bass line starts. I loved this song because it was executed in a simple manner but it still succeeds in invoking strong emotions from its lyrics. This song is actually a good foreshadow of Paramore’s musical direction in their upcoming album then. The band is starting to dwell on acoustic and less hard-hitting tunes. This appeases their alternative-loving fans and I must say that they are maturing very well.

Other Highlights of the Month: Couldn’t think of any so for every time I could not think of a highlight, I will just state the most striking quote of the song of the month: “I know in my heart it’s not you.”

January 2009: Paramore – My Heart
Wow! I just could not get tired of listening to Paramore from November 2008 to January 2009. And, they did not release an album then. You know a band is special if you did not get tired of listening to them months after they were your last year’s best band. But the actual reason why I was still listening to Paramore was because I saved myself from listening their first album All We Know Is Falling up to this point. Of course, I already listened to some hits like Pressure, Emergency and Here We Go Again last year but it was only in January 2009 when I really paid attention to listening to the whole album.

What made this song great? Think Hallelujah. The song is hard-hitting yet it releases strong positive emotions. This is actually a great love song but I soon found out that it fitted as a religious song better. Since this came from Paramore’s first album, Hayley was easily belting long, high notes especially in the climax of this song. Add that to Josh Farro’s background screams and what I got was instant eargasm.

Other Highlights of the Month: If you were wondering, was this the breakup song? No, it is not. I won’t be putting any breakup song in this list.

Before the year 2008 ended, I got to have two concert CD’s: Paramore’s concert in Chicago and Eraserheads’ First Reunion Concert. These played routinely in my newly bought iPod Touch then. If there is such a thing as my runner-up song of the month, that would have to be Eraserheads’ With A Smile.

And if you are wondering, was I in love this month? Definitely not. I just loved listening to these love songs.

Other awesome songs: Alicia Keys & Jack White – Another Way To Die; MGMT – Electric Feel; MGMT – Time To Pretend; Paramore – Decoy

February 2009: Foo Fighters – Everlong
I always have a knack of making old songs as my song of the month. Everlong was my favorite Guitar Hero song. My very limited vocal range fit this song well that I could easily finish Expert Mode even if I turn my back from the TV screen. Other than which, I enjoyed the progression and raw energy this song brings. Also, this is easily one of those songs that have aged well.

Other Highlights of the Month: Runner-up song is Foo Fighters’ My Hero. This is also the month when I got into LSS mode on Lady Gaga’s Just Dance (Yup, there is no typo error there). I was in a club at Valentine’s Day when that song boomed from the DJ’s sound system and I could not help myself but dance to its tune. Yes, it is so mainstream but I could not care less.

Another great song this month was Death Cab For Cutie’s Soul Meets Body. I discovered this song when I was watching a rerun of HIMYM. It was played at the end of the episode. I was already familiar to the song so it became easier to appreciate it then.

March 2009: Fall Out Boy – America’s Suitehearts / Fall Out Boy – The (Shipped) Gold Standard
Fall Out Boy strikes again! Folie A Deux was released some months then and it took me until March before I got hold of my copy. FOB is indeed mainstream now but I do not effin’ care. To be honest, it actually made them better as they evolved into a distinct band. Patrick Stump continues to be one of my favorite vocalists in both of these songs even if I did not care about the meaning of the lyrics that much. The main reason why I liked these songs? Melody. That is what the mainstream Fall Out Boy excels at.

Other Highlights of the Month: Runner-up song would have to be Alexis Grace’s studio version of Dirty Diana. I overplayed it in my iPod Touch even if she was already eliminated from American Idol.

“You can only blame your problems on the world for so long until it all becomes the same old song.”

April 2009: Katharine McPhee – Somewhere Over The Rainbow
American Idol month! Even if my fave got eliminated way too early, I was so into watching America’s most watched show. I found myself listening to past AI songs (…I did not watch the show that much then…) like Carrie Underwood’s Alone, Clay Aiken’s Bridge Over Troubled Water and Kelly Clarkson’s A Moment Like This. YouTube for the win. But the performance that stood out the most was the awesomely beautiful Katharine McPhee’s rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It mesmerized me a lot that I listened to it before I fell asleep.

OHM: As usual, April is the weakest month when it comes to new songs. I always find myself listening to a wide variety of old songs during this month. Just like last year, I went into Beatles mode during this month as I downloaded the whole discography of The Beatles.

May 2009: Snow Patrol – Crack The Shutters
May is Snow Patrol month. For the third straight May, my favorite song is a Snow Patrol single. After I listened to their album A Hundred Million Suns, I could not help but play this particular song repeatedly. Great lyrics. I think this is a close second to the lyrics of the year. As I am not into emo anymore, any positive love song with great poetry like this entices me to listen.

OHM: Runner-up song is The Beatles’ Let It Be from the Let It Be album. I was accustomed to the mellow version of Let It Be. This version, however, has the electric guitar element that made it refreshing to listen to.

Another runner-up song would be Lady Gaga’s Pokerface. Goddamn LSS! I played this song in the background while I was playing hours of Plants vs. Zombies. Yeah, I think I danced to the tune of Pokerface whenever I escape a round when the zombies are supposed to eat my brains. Damn that game… it ate up so much time especially when I finished almost 200 rounds (I should’ve reached 200 but I let it finish because my fingers were already numb and it was already 3 AM just like now when I am typing this. Insomnia sucks!)

June 2009: Gin Blossoms – ‘Til I Hear It From You (Studio or Acoustic Version)
I have been listening to Gin Blossoms for years and this song was already part of my playlist then. However, this fact did not stop me from immersing myself to this good old nineties alternative song. I made a personal vow to avoid listening to emo songs this year (although I still listened to some but I never paid attention to lyrics), thus the next best thing was to listen to lighthearted alternative songs. I was actually listening to ‘Til I Hear It From You in my iPod since Holy Week but I played this song the most this June. Nevertheless, this song amazed me because of its simple acoustic/clear guitar sounds. For the second straight year, my second most favorite tune comes from the month of June.

OMH: I should be putting a good line from the month’s song because there are no other special songs from this month but I did not pay good attention to the lyrics. The music was just simply satisfying in itself.

July 2009: Paramore – When It Rains (Demo Version)
Even if I am already complete on Paramore’s albums, I still downloaded their discography in hope of discovering something new. And boy, was I right! I have been listening to When It Rains since January 2008 but I never fully appreciated the song then. It was just another song in Riot. The demo version, however, has brought the song to a higher level. Its raw nature made it appealing. It was like listening to Paramore perform in your music room. The distorted-yet-not-that-heavy guitar riffs made the song very refreshing. The title itself fits the current weather condition as I listened to it while driving in the busy streets of Makati as the rains kept pouring. The song message is also splendid because it exudes some optimism from a sad person. OK, that’s how I felt from it because the song is really about someone hiding from everyone (without any explanation) because of a sad experience. July was my worst month this year because I had a string of terrible luck then, but this song serves as a reminder to me ‘not to hide or run away’ even if it rains. In short, I tried to do the opposite of what was in the song’s lyrics.

OMH: Another demo version also played in my iPod Touch this month – Death Cab For Cutie’s Title and Registration (Original/Demo Version). It is another raw song where I can clearly hear unedited guitar riffs. It is just great to listen to such stuff because it feels ‘real.’

August 2009: Green Day – 21 Guns / Paramore – Ignorance
August marked the death of the late president Cory Aquino and for some weird reason, I found it appropriate to use 21 Guns as my theme song for the event because of the 21 gun salute. I actually got the idea when someone requested this song in the radio using the same reasoning I had. I like this song because of its message and its instrumental progression. I like it the best when the song climaxes on the part when Billy Joe Armstrong sings “Did you stand too close to the fire like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?” even if I do not know what he means there. LOL. As for Paramore’s Ignorance, that would have to be a no-brainer for a Paramore fan like me. I have been thirsting for a new Paramore single for months. I did not actually like Ignorance when I first heard it but it slowly grew into me. Powerful lyrics. It happens to be one of the very few hard-hitting songs in Brand New Eyes.

OMH: “Well you treat me just like another stranger…”

September 2009: Panic! At The Disco – New Perspective
I do not exactly know where I first heard this song but all I can remember as of the moment is that it was tweeted by Ateneo’s courtside reporter and hours after that, I heard it in the radio and the song instantly clicked to me. It was like PATD’s Northern Downpour last year – the song delivers a positive note that makes me crave it further. In other words, a feel-good LSS. Like most of the lyrics that I liked this year, New Perspective delivers optimism. If I am not mistaken, the song’s meaning is to change for the better by having a new perspective/direction in life. I read from sites that the persona in the song plays along his relationships by just appreciating the shallow things. The song reveals that he realizes that he wants to change these wrong habits by having a better appreciation in life – to be more serious in his relationships. All in all, this is a great song from the vocals, melody and replayability. So far, it has aged well as I can still listen to it without the ‘sawa na feeling’ as of the present time.

OMH: Having a Tap Tap Revenge 2 version of New Perspective makes me like it further. It is the only game where I can see Megan Fox’s image while playing. Awesome! I have to admit that I got LSS on Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me this month as well. For me, she sings mediocre but her beauty and charisma in her music video was undeniable. Damn, she pulled off a girl look which you could rate as 2/ 10 to become a 10/10 by just removing a pair of eyeglasses. Although, brunette Taylor Swift is hotter.

October 2009: Fall Out Boy – What A Catch, Donnie
At early October, I thought that Paramore’s Brick by Boring Brick would be the flavor of the month but I was mistaken. What A Catch, Donnie hit the radio airwaves and I suddenly fell into the spell of LSS. It is quite strange because I usually skip this track whenever I was playing songs from Folie A Deux last summer. Maybe, it was the ‘Soul Meets Body effect.’ The song usually gets drowned by other great songs when I listen to them but when it gets played on a medium where my favorite songs seldom get played, I start to realize the beauty of the song. Music video was also great because Stump gets more exposure than Pete Wentz. Talent needs to get the spotlight more than popularity sometimes.

OMH: Runner-up song is easily Paramore’s Brick by Boring Brick. It actually aged better than Ignorance but What A Catch, Donnie constantly played in my iPod Touch (and has aged well).

November 2009: Paramore – Turn It Off
After waiting for Paramore’s Brand New Eyes for more than a year, I only got hold of an album copy a month after it was released. Some kind of fan I am. Nevertheless, better late than never – BNE is one of the special albums where I instantly fell in love with the tracks in just my first play. Hayley’s voice really has an everlasting charm on me. I first liked The Only Exception as the track-that-I-never-heard-before in the album but I eventually went into the Turn It Off craze. This has single written all over it just like the way I felt on That’s What You Get when I listened to it in January 2008. Turn It Off has the upbeat element that past Paramore songs have but it also blends with the Brand New Eyes concept of toning down and being more alternative than punk. The most important thing in this song is that it has the element that most of the songs in this blog have: great progression. Listening to Hayley belt out the high notes at the climax of their songs never gets tiring as well. This song actually has the makings of the song of the year because it has excellent vocals, melody, rhythm, progression and LYRICS! Song lyrics is usually not Paramore’s strongest suit but I have to say that they pulled it off here as their theme was not cheesy and they used strong metaphors in delivering their semi-religious message. This band has definitely matured as they crack my all-time five greatest bands list.

OMH: When I learned about Paramore’s concert in Manila more than a couple of weeks ago, this was how I felt: giddy-excited-speechless-mark-out-like-a-schoolgirl-OMG-is-this-for-real. If you translate that into Filipino, hindi ako mapakali. Yes, the moment was so priceless because it was a dream come true. Watching a live Paramore concert is one of the things that I should experience before I can die in peace. That and get a picture with Hayley Williams. I just hope that Hayley is back to being a redhead when they perform this coming March 9. Paramore is my most YouTubed band and I know from it that they perform the best (yes I just said that) because they have talent, skills and stage presence wrapped up in one package. They are so charismatic and energetic that they make a way to involve their fans. They top performances by Led Zeppelin, Smashing Pumpkins, Incubus, and Jimmy Eat World whenever I watch their live performances. Yes, I just said that.

So much for overhyping them. I am now starting to temper my expectations because I do not want to get heavily disappointed when I see them live.

Runner-up songs of the month: Kings of Leon – Use Somebody; Paramore – Use Somebody (Acoustic Cover). Other than which, I also liked these songs: Dashboard Confessional – Belle of the Boulevard; Owl City – Fireflies; Boys Like Girls – Love Drunk; Noelle Cassandra’s cover of pop songs in Good Times with Mo.

Album of the Year: Fall Out Boy’s Folie A Deux / Paramore’s Brand New Eyes

Band of the Year: Paramore
Back-to-back years of band of the year. This is how special Paramore is to me. Easily a no-brainer.

Song of the Year: Panic! At The Disco – New Perspective
I was supposed to have Gin Blossoms’ ‘Til I Hear It From You as my song of the year but I figured that it is not good to have an old song as my song of the year. And besides, I listened to New Perspective for three months so it fits quite well. Lyrics-wise, I liked New Perspective better than ‘Til I Hear It From You as well. This year is about optimism, progression and having a new perspective for me so this song fits well in this category.

Other Notable Songs That I Forgot To Mention: The Beatles – With A Little Help From My Friends; Eraserheads – Sembreak; The Beatles – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds; The Beatles – Dear Prudence; The Beatles – We Can Work It Out; Kris Allen – Heartless; The All-American Rejects – Gives You Hell; Muse – Plug In Baby; Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name; The Carpenters – I Won’t Last A Day Without You; Coldplay – The Scientist; Death Cab For Cutie – The Sound of Settling; Death Cab For Cutie – Crooked Teeth; The Fray – You Found Me; Gin Blossoms – Follow You Down (Acoustic); Katy Perry – Hot N’ Cold; New Radicals – You Get What You Give; Paramore – Stuck On You; Snow Patrol – Planets Bend Between Us; Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma; Paramore - Brighter; Paramore -Franklin

Pacman And The Seven Belts

November 15, 2009 1:51 PM

I tweeted about Manny Pacquiao’s recent boxing win over Miguel Cotto. Another one for the Pacman. Good job!

November 27, 2009 9:00 PM

It’s either the controversy on Manny Pacquiao and Krista Ranillo has died down, resolved or I am just not watching much local news lately (either that or I just do not care).

November 19, 2009 6:00 PM

My officemate sent me a link about a blog which featured pictures of Krista Ranillo and Mocha making out. It was not a surprise to me though as I knew a long time ago that Krista is into the sexy and daring business as she had an FHM pictorial last year and she even writes for another men’s magazine. But man, this girl is really milking in the controversy. Like they usually say, ‘controversy creates cash.’

Some random day and time last week

I was chatting with a friend discussing about the Pacman-Krista alleged affair when he immediately shuddered the thought because he thinks that it is not true and it’s just a made-up scandal.

November 18, 2009 7:30 PM

I was finishing dinner at home when the video of Manny and Jinkee in a church at US was flashed in our TV screen. Jinkee was seen crying. I commented on it and my parents remarked that they think it was ‘all for the show’ because Pacquiao and Krista have a new movie to be shown in theatres. Makes sense but is it worth it to taint a national hero’s reputation? Hmmm…

Some random morning last week

I was driving Mom and Jeriel (my brother) to Makati and I was listening to Good Times with Mo (Mojo and Grace Lee). Mo Twister mentioned that it would be a great business idea to sell ‘Team Jinkee’ shirts just like Hollywood stars wore ‘Team Aniston’ and ‘Team Jolie’ at the height of the Aniston-Pitt-Jolie news. People are really cashing in the Jinkee-Pacman-Krista rumors. Controversy. Controversy. Controversy.

November 18, 2009 9 PM

I tuned in to cable news and realized that the Pacquiao-Krista controversy overshadowed Manny’s recent boxing feat. I know that Manny Pacquiao’s character is at stake in here especially that millions of Filipinos idolize the guy, but isn’t it tiring that we get to witness negative (yet is still uncertain) news more than the actual world-class achievement the guy had?! No wonder a lot of Filipinos are tsismosos and tsismosos. Shame on you media for breeding a generation driven by gossip, negativity and speculations. I know media should not be Disney-ish and all but portray some optimism and hope to the Filipino audience. Heck, Batman even covered up for Two Face in Dark Knight just to give some hope or inspiration for a doubting city. And he was covering up for the truth. In Pacquiao’s case, it was all rumor so far.

Oh wait, I have forgotten that controversy creates cash.

November 15, 2009 12 PM

I could barely hear the sound of tricycles and vehicles passing by the village. Yes, at 12 noon. It’s much silent than it is at 3 AM. This only happens when Manny Pacquiao has a bout. Amazing how Filipinos gather up as a nation to be glued in front of their TV sets just to witness the greatest Filipino boxer showcase his boxing skills.

Summer of 1999

We were in Baguio for a summer vacation and we were watching Saksi. Mike Enriquez ends the show asking Filipinos to pray for young Manny Pacquiao’s victory in his boxing match on that weekend. I could remember myself joking my brother that the reason why he lost his red jacket was because Manny Pacquiao stole it so that he will wear it on his match. Kidding aside, I had the feeling then that Pacquiao was going to be more special than Luisito Espinosa because I like the former’s boxing style.

November 15, 2009 1:40 PM

Pacquiao is on his way to victory in the last round and he is preparing to throw a powerful set of blows at Cotto when the referee stopped the fight to declare a TKO. Hell, it’s about time! Blood is already gushing from Cotto’s face. The guy already earned my respect for dueling that long but let us be humane and stop his torture. He deserves it. Manny Pacquiao makes history as the ONLY boxer to win seven titles in different divisions. As much as I hated Manny’s complacency in his practices for this match, I have to say that I could not be much prouder of being a Filipino when Manny prayed in his corner before celebrating his victory. Yes folks, the Filipino can!

November 15, 2009 1:55 PM

I texted my friend to spoil him of the outcome. Wait, let’s delete this as it is anti-climactic. (Yeah, and I am such an a-hole for doing this hahaha)

July 2007

Jam asked me which event I should choose: watching from ringside in a Manny Pacquiao bout or watching from the Patron section of Ateneo-La Salle Game 3 Finals. I chose the latter. This decision haunts me in the present time.

November 25, 2009 11 PM

I was reading Bill Simmons’ mailbag and I found out how he is happy to witness Manny Pacquiao’s victory. Here is the excerpt of it:

Q: If the boxing higher-ups had any sense whatsoever they would give us Pacman/Mayweather in six months. I would stop everything to have a fight night party for this event. I have not paid for a boxing event since Holyfield/Lewis in 1999 but I would spend at least $300-$500 to see this. What is the holdup?
-- Seth Johnson, Middletown, N.Y.

SG: It's going to be disappointing. Just warning you now. Floyd Mayweather Jr. could never in a million years trade punches with Manny Pacquiao. He will be on his bicycle for 12 rounds. There is no way that, at this point in his life, Mayweather wants any part of Pacquiao, a concrete-headed, indefatigable freak of nature who can finish with either hand from every angle. If Mayweather gets in the ring, he'll end up doing more laps than Steve Prefontaine did for the University of Oregon. Just keep your guard up when you're spending that $64.95.

(Important note: Will I be spending that money? Of course! Happily! I made the decision during Pacman's glorious evisceration of Miguel Cotto that he finally had reached the exalted "I Don't Care Who You Are Fighting, I Am Watching It Live & That's That" status, which puts him in the following company: Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tyson. My own personal Mount Rushmore. Pacquiao hit Tiger/Federer status about a year ago, and nobody cared. That's why he needs the Mayweather fight so badly. We've seen dominant pound-for-pound guys these past two decades, but nobody with finishing power anything like what Pacman has. He's like a coked-up Aaron Pryor, only without the coke. Insane. If he's fighting, I am watching.)

I have been watching lots of NBA and ESPN lately and I have to attest that several American media guys have shown their utmost appreciation to Manny Pacquiao. Even Kevin Garnett idolized the guy. Commentators in NBA games sometimes use Manny Pacquiao references whenever a dominant team is beating the hell out of their opponents. Just like what Simmons stated, Pacquiao is in legendary status just like Tiger Woods and Roger Federer currently are. Yet, people sometimes poke fun at the guy because he is unattractive, he barely can speak straight English, you know (I have to admit that I also poke fun at this. His post-match interviews are always part of the highlights) but guess what, does the whole world care? Some people cannot even speak English when they are talking in front of an international audience. And yes, some are just like Manny (or even worse) when they try to speak English without an interpreter.

November 15, 2009 11 AM

I went outside to buy some Coke in the nearby sari-sari store as the undercard matches were ongoing. I realized that time that there was barely a vehicle passing by the streets in our village. As I hurried back home to catch up what is happening (even if I knew that the undercard bouts were still ongoing), I had a sudden realization. Our generation was a bit spoiled in boxing. We were able to witness Filipino glory in boxing for more than a decade already. We have Onyok almost winning the Olympic gold (if not for the stupid judges… yes, I am still bitter on it until now). We have Lusito Espinosa having the belt in the ‘90s. We have Manny Pacquiao punching out every boxer he faced. Simply put, we are in the golden age of Filipino boxing and we somehow get spoiled expecting a Filipino boxer to win whenever there is a match. Watching Manny Pacquiao seemed to be an automatic W for us through the years (except when he dueled Morales). I am sure that some have taken Manny’s feats for granted.

However, I also realized that the Filipino that Manny unseated as the best Pinoy boxer of all time then was Gabriel ‘Flash’ Elorde. The guy achieved his glory several decades ago. Do you know what this means? It means that it is just once in our lifetime that we can experience witnessing something legendary as Manny Pacquiao is. I had alarming thoughts then of ‘what if Pacquiao loses to Cotto? (since the latter is known to be a strong puncher)’ It would stop all of our annual Pacman celebrations and the guy might retire (thus depriving us of witnessing boxing achievements). We are so accustomed to winning that we may have forgotten to value it. It is only during the time when we do not enjoy this convenience that we will learn to realize its worth. And that would be very sad because we are not certain when the next great Filipino boxer rises up to the occasion. It may come or it may never come.

As a sports fan for several years, I have witnessed my favorite teams become champions and I can attest that the years that followed showed undesirable results. It was then when I realize that I was fortunate to see them succeed as a lot never did.

In my books (and in several experts too), Manny Pacquiao belongs to the top ten greatest boxers of all time. To be honest, he can retire any time from now as prolonging it might just taint his legacy. Manny Pacquiao is a phenom. We are so accustomed to seeing him win but we must also remember that we must value his current achievements as well. This is because it will not be easy to replace. This does not just go for Manny but for everything that is valuable to us: what you have in the present cannot be easily replaced.

As for now, let us savor the moment.

Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer

Read the more complete and looooooooooonger version of my review here.

Spoiler Note: If you have not watched (500) Days of Summer, do not read this blog if you do not want to be spoiled. This journal entry is meant to be a movie review/reflection.

(500) Days of Summer is not your normal love story. It isn’t as shown in the disclaimer at the start. It is a story of boy meets girl, but it did not end happily with both of them together at the end. Oh wait, we are getting too quick in describing it (even if this is the first descriptions my memory could provide me).

Summary

The flick is about Tom meeting a very special girl named Summer. The movie showed the usual developments of how two individuals get to meet each other. The great thing about it was, it was done realistically. Based on my experience, I never had a ‘love at first sight’ with a girl whether it be a crush or a girlfriend. The girl normally attracts you in a physical way but nothing happens special quickly. As evidenced in the movie, it was a subtle getting-to-know-you process. It evolved from the party to the elevator routines to the karaoke night before they got to be fully acquainted with each other. When the thing between them developed positively, that was the time they went the next step. It was in American context so the next level was their sexual relationship and dating. In the Philippines, it is normally dating. Nevertheless, you should get it – their relationship developed to something more special.

They dated and Tom had the time of his life. From playing husband and wife with Summer at the mall’s appliance center to their park hangout. It was the mushy part of relationships where they get to have fun with each other’s company. For Tom, it was the ‘honeymoon stage’ where everything seems right at the world and everything about the one you care for seems to be awesome. It developed further when Summer revealed more about her by narrating a story which she never told anyone. That was the time when Tom arrived at the next stage. His feelings grew and the infatuation/companionship grew into love. Unfortunately for him, either he misinterpreted the situation or Summer never felt something deeper for him. Tom’s fondness of Summer grew further and he started perceiving their relationship as a boyfriend/girlfriend thing.

As we know, Summer felt differently (Tom was just a friend to him), thus the inspired Tom who suddenly became the bearer of strong happy thoughts in their greeting card office went crashing and burning when they parted ways. Summer evidently left the office as well. It happened in the midway of the 500 days and he spent the next days feeling what normal human beings endure – depression in the aftermath of a failed relationship. His world shattered and his greeting card messages became depressingly awful. Months went by until Tom met Summer in an unexpected scenario. They got to talk and got to share each other’s moments again. For your typical movie scene, this is the ‘it’s destiny’ point. They separated but since fate showed Tom’s way back to Summer, he thought that they were meant for each other.

Plot thickens when she invited him to a party which made him expect that they will have the happy ending he wished. But reality hit him when he found out that she would be married. Tom went crashing back again to despair. Tom lost his job because of his emotions. On the other hand, Summer gets married. They still got to meet with each other where she put things in closure with Tom. They were just not meant for each other. The story ended when Tom applied for a new job and meeting a new girl. Ironically, this girl’s name was Autumn. Story ends there.

Review and Reflection

That was the chronological summary of the story but the movie was set up to have a non-linear plot. The days jump off from the relationship development moments to the depressing moments and back to the happy ones again. That made the movie more appealing. My brother stated that the movie had a simple plot but because of its structure, it became an art itself. We get to see the ironies of a happily-in-love guy to the loser guy. We get to understand how love greatly affects humans as seen in Tom’s greeting card messages. Instead of pitying Tom for his long emo moment, I saw it in a refreshing, funny way. The movie goes out of the box by being a story of ‘moving on’ and teaching an important lesson about it: being miserable sucks so you really have to move on. I do not know for you, but I understood it that way. The switching situations made me visualize how funny and pathetic it is to continue the misery. A linear method would have me feel more pity and (probably sulk… yikes!) with the main character. Lastly, the artistic non-linear way is the realistic approach because after all, we just remember moments in bits and pieces of non-chronological order.

Speaking of reality, the plot was so genuinely true. I can confidently say that most relationships end up badly. It is about time that we get to watch something that happens 90% of the time in this world. Tom had a significant revelation of this when he resigned: we are usually spoon-fed with goody, happy-ending, fantasy stuff but the truth is, it seldom happens. (500) Days is not your inspirational movie but it gives a valuable point for us to be realistic on how to approach relationships. Yes, there is always a chance that we end up in Summer’s experience of finally finding our true love but we must also be aware that it usually does not happen. I also liked the idea that the writers decided to make it an open-ended story after Tom met Autumn. It made me realize that Autumn will not be necessarily Tom’s next girlfriend but she is more of a symbolism that it is time to move on from Summer.

After all the creative ways and insights that the movie portrayed, I must admit that I liked (500) Days of Summer because I got to relate with the characters easily – not just Tom’s perspective but of Summer’s as well. I do not think that there is any need to elaborate on Tom’s viewpoint because it was already shown in the whole movie that he was the kind of guy who would try to fight everything just to keep his love burning for ‘The One.’ Ask my friends and they can tell you that I was like that for a lot of times. However, the story also made me understand Summer as well. Call her heartless for breaking Tom’s dreams but the movie is just a testament that a relationship is a two-way connection. Summer did not feel anything special from Tom, thus she clarified to him that they were just going to end up as friends. They were not meant to be so it had to end in some ways. The fact that she did not feel deeply in love with him after hundreds of days just showed that it will not materialize at all. She was just realistic. Just like Tom’s little sister. Her comment ‘there are too many fishes in the sea’ does not mean that you should disregard your current relationship and hop from one to another without any care. What it signified was the fact that Tom should look at the bigger perspective – there are lots of opportunities out there if you let them into you and you should not waste them by focusing on a lost cause.

With this, I easily give the movie a rating of 10/10. It was simple yet sensible. Funny and real. It is a break-up movie but it should be a feel-good one as well, because for me, it reinforced my idea of ‘why be miserable when you can be awesome, instead?’

Yankee Doodle Doo

I spent a good number of hours watching Major League Baseball these past few weeks as the Fall Classic reached its climax. Whether it was on live TV or on replay, I viewed the final games with much enthusiasm even if – as usual – my favorite teams are not slugging it out. I want to watch it because baseball is my second most favorite sport. I rarely watched baseball this season though, because ESPN decided to show only Yankees games. Of all the teams, why did they choose the Yankees? Sigh!

For everyone’s information, the New York Yankees are the winningest team in professional sports history. Coming into this season, they have a record of 26 titles and have held the championship at least once a decade except for the ‘80s. The team also happened to have a gigantic payroll of around $200 million. Most star players target the Yankees even if their salary would take a hit. Nevertheless, New York’s squad boasted of elite names this decade like Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Mariano Rivera and Roger Clemens. However, no matter how fat the paycheck was, bad luck hit them as their last championship run was the 2000 Subway Series against the New York Mets.

I fell in love with baseball as a kid. I loved the 90s Atlanta Braves so much as they featured the dominating pitching squad of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Denny Neagle. The Braves successfully produced a title in 1995 and eyed a back-to-back in 1996. They won the first two games of the World Series in ’96 only to be beaten four straight by the New York Yankees – the team that was always mentioned in encyclopedias. In the following years, the Braves went to win the most consecutive NL East pennants only to fall prey to the New York Yankees in 1999 again. The Yankees always buzzkilled my favorite team’s hopes and they remained dominant up to 2000. It is normal for sports fans to hate teams especially if these happen to always defeat the team they root for. It was usually the same case for me. Over the years, I hated watching Alaska Milkmen (PBA), San Antonio Spurs (NBA), Dallas Mavericks (NBA) and De La Salle Green Archers (UAAP) all for the same reasons. The hatred is deep that I sometimes cheer heavily (in front of my TV set) for the team that is battling San Antonio.

What about the Yankees?

To be honest, I do not hate them that much. I even have a Yankee cap here in the house. I respect them for dominating but I still have some amount of hate because I grew up seeing them killing my dreams. I even rooted for the Yankees to beat the Diamondbacks in 2001. Too, bad the pinstripe-clad team lost it. Just when it was the first time I rooted for them. Since then, the Yankees saw their highly paid squad destroyed year after year. They lost to Josh BecKKKKKKKett’s Florida Marlins. New York had the most humiliating defeats of all these years when they lost to their arch-rivals, Boston Red Sox in 2004 (the latter was down 0-3 when they staged the biggest comeback ever in my lifetime). Even if the Yankees acquired A-Rod and Giambi, they were still unsuccessful. For the biased haters, it was simply karma for having a highly paid pseudo-all star team.

2009. Last year of the decade. Yankees are on a nine-year drought and they started the year with a huge controversy. Alex Rodriguez admitted that he was using steroids. I have to admit that I idolized A-Rod a lot especially when he was slugging for the Seattle Mariners, but I could not help but poke fun at the Yankees because of that since I rooted against them 90% of the time. Days went by and the Red Sox steamrolled the Yankees in their first eight outings. I even blogged when I celebrated Boston’s eighth consecutive win against New York. The Yankees were not the threat it used to be.

Months rolled by and the Yankees started gaining their momentum. They snapped Boston’s consecutive wins and have overtaken them for the AL East pennant. By October, the New York Yankees were poised to make another case for the elusive World Series title. This got even stronger when my favorite team – the Yanks’ arch-rivals – was eliminated by the Anaheim Angels. In six games, New York disposed their West Coast opponents to face the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies for the World Title.

The World Series

The Fall Classic. Two titans faced each other for the shot at being immortal in history books. The Phillies have been there while the once-dominant Yankees only had few mainstays like Jeter, Pettitte, Rivera and Posada to proudly have the ‘been there, done that’ attitude. But going to this series, I had an inner feeling that this is the year for the pinstripe team. They are still highly paid but at least they had the right ingredients of winning it all.

Believe it or not, the nine-year drought brings the team wonders. It made even the multi-titlists (Jeter and company) hungry enough to get the World Series title. A decade ago, they were a young, promising squad. In the present time, they are doing their very best to achieve what seemed to be a piece of cake then because time is not anymore at their side. Nevertheless, the past champions especially ex-Red Sox Johnny Damon still have their experience as a vital role for the team’s success. The Yankees had an imbalanced payroll but because they were failures in recent years, their pride was not that huge. The Yankees also had the role players in Swisher, Gardner and Cano. I always believe that the best team is not composed of superstars. There should always be role players. The Yankees are going to win this because they wanted it badly just like Kobe Bryant did last June.

It would not surprise me if the Yankees win this one. I did not root for them, but I did not like the Phillies anyway so I was more of a neutral observer in watching this series.

Game 1 went the Phillies’ way as A-Rod and company had the jitters and Cliff Lee was simply outstanding. The Yankees finally broke through Game 2 after their sluggers faced Pedro Martinez. The tied series shifted to Philadelphia where the turning points occurred. Stealing one game from the road is huge, thus the Phillies (with their championship experience) were on the right track. Unfortunately for them, the Yankees really are an offensive juggernaut. That, combined with the experience of Andy Pettitte, the Yankees were able to snatch back the homecourt advantage.

CC Sabathia steps in the mound in Game 4. The Yankees built an early lead but the Phillies did not want to lose another home game. They were able to tie the game but as soon as the Phillies are set for a new inning to try and gain the lead, the dominating Yankee top-of-the-batting-order delivered runs. Derek Jeter. Johnny Damon. Mark Teixeira. Alex Rodriguez. As soon as one of the earlier guys get into the bases, an RBI was waiting to happen as A-Rod resurrected his ALCS form. Even if the pitchers escaped A-Rod, they will still be facing the offensive catcher Jorge Posada. Philadelphia is even lucky that Hideki Matsui cannot be a designated hitter due to NL rules. Nevertheless, the Yankees were able to create a new lead. Philly was able to inch again as it tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Citizens Bank Park crowd went roaring. Brad Lidge shut down the first two Yankee batters easily and was just one strike away of striking out Johnny Damon. The experienced hitter did not give up and eventually got to first base. That, ladies and gentlemen, was the turning point of the Series. It was just one strike away but the experienced and gutsy Damon was able to reach the base. They already had two outs but it was sufficient enough. Remember, the Yankees’ top-of-the-order. Damon went to steal two bases in one sequence and it paved way for the tie-breaking run off Alex Rodriguez’ bat. The Yankees added insult to injury when Posada drove the next two runs. All the Phillies’ fans could do was sigh and get depressed because after all the hoping of staging a comeback, they were always beaten in the next inning possible by the Yankees. This time, the game’s best closer – Mariano Rivera – went off to finish the next three Philly hitters.

The 3-1 lead is just so huge. Even if the Phillies dominated the Yankees in Game 5, it just reminded them that they need to do the same feat twice. Mind you, the Yankees were giving the Philadelphia crowd a scare even up to the last inning of that game. I was actually hoping for a Game 7 when the series shifted back to New York in Game 6 so that I could watch it live on TV. Unfortunately, the Yankees pulled the plug like euthanasia on the struggling Phillies as Hideki Matsui drove all but one run of the Yankees in their 7-3 win.

The Yankees are back on top. Hate it or not, they have found a way to be successful again. This could pave for future multi-titles or this could be a one-timer. As a baseball fan, I was entertained by watching this series. “It was just the right time for the Yankees to win again.” I said to myself. But given my past experience on how this franchise killed the rest of the league in the ‘90s after they defeated a defending champion, I am actually feeling a bit sick for stating that it was the right time. It is because the Yankees have tasted it again.

The Yankees may end up crushing everyone again. Sigh!

Week 1 Fantasy Buzz(kill)

(For non-fantasy NBA fans, you can just read my final paragraphs. At least you will be able to relate with it.)

The 2009-10 NBA Season has begun. My fantasy drafts finished just right before the new season started and I got a bunch of awesome and awful picks. Finally, the new NBA Season has arrived to validate how superb my fantasy NBA expertise is. Last Wednesday morning (in Manila), I got to watch my Cavs battle the Celtics and my Fantasy NBA players exhibit their hoops skills. At the end of the day, the Cavs suck and so did my sleeper picks. So much for my ‘fantasy NBA expertise.’ I spent the next days more on regretting why I passed on some players more than celebrating Agent Zero’s fantastic return.

Suddenly, Week 1 is about to end.

For the record, I was drunk when I wrote my recent Fantasy NBA article and I removed the owner names in there to have no biases (except on my picks since I know my picks!) However, I will most probably have the same opinions on the picks anyway (whether or not I am intoxicated). I heavily criticized some players but they proved me wrong in most cases this week. As I mentioned last week, it’s the actual results that matter.

These Players Made Me Eat My Words

Eric Gordon (LAC). I commented that this guy will have less opportunities to score with too many offensive options around. I still have the ‘Blake Griffin is not around’ alibi but we must note that the Clips currently have an offensive giant in Chris Kaman so we know with or without Blake, Gordon is going to get his points. I never visualized Baron to suck in scoring this badly as well.

At least, I got it right on Al Thornton. Haha!

TJ Ford (Ind). Yes, TJ is on this list not because I said he sucked. I even stated that he is a good sleeper this year. Ford (or more of his coach) made me eat my words when TJ just had 21 minutes per game so far and has only accumulated ten points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, one block and two turnovers in two games. I did not pick him in my other drafts but he is my keeper in my 18-team 8-player keeper league.

Blake Griffin (LAC). I got him in two of my other leagues. Well, we all know what happened to him.

Jermaine O’ Neal (Mia). Nobody saw the 20-point 10-rebound statlines coming. He is suddenly like the JO of old times. I am not sold on him because of his injury history but he is an absolute steal to whoever drafted him.

Chris Douglas-Roberts (NJ). CD-R proved me wrong more than once. 1) He is a starter. 2) He is not the awesome sleeper that I thought he was. Nevertheless, he made it up awhile ago with his 25-point performance.

Terrence Williams (NJ). Is most probably worse than Moon?! This rookie shined a lot in his debut, Jeff!

Brandon Rush (Ind). So much for me being too confident for this guy. Dude has been benched a lot. O’Brien is fantasy buzzkilling me this season. Grrr!!!

I Told Ya So!

Ever since 2007, I have been blogging about Fantasy NBA and I have noted some of my favorite draft-day picks that would shine in the season. In 2007, it was Caron Butler as he climbed up to Top 5 status before Tough Juice went down. With all the raves I had in this year’s Fantasy Draft, I have some Caron Butler picks.

Josh Smith (Atl). I reached for him in second rounds of my two drafts and I was happy I did it. Smoove is back swatting those shots and crashing the boards.

Al Horford (Atl). I stated he was a good reach. His current averages: 17 PPG, 53.6% FG, 80% FT, 14 RPG, 2 APG, 1 TOPG, 3.5 BPG. A-W-E-S-O-M-E-!-!-!

Andre Miller (Por). I did not say he will be good. I said he will be bad. Coming off the bench in a team that has few possessions really does not help for this veteran PG.

Michael Beasley (Mia). To all the Beasley haters, told ya so! This kid is just primed to shine with or without the controversies. Miami’s choice of not doing anything in the offseason just meant one thing: Beasley will shine. Wade cannot score all the time, folks!

Caron Butler of the Week: Trevor Ariza (Hou). Several pundits hated him in a fantasy standpoint. However, he has proved them wrong in terms of scoring (23.3 PPG, 50% FG) and shooting it from downtown (3.7 3’s per game). Unfortunately for me, I drafted him for his low turnovers. This week, he has damaged me with 4 turnovers per game. Ouch!

For a ninth rounder in a head-to-head league, Ariza’s stats are awesome.

FYI, I am losing 4-5 this week. LOL.

Other Notes

When I was watching the 2009 NBA Draft, the next awesome fantasy player that I had in mind after Griffin and Rubio was Stephen Curry. Unfortunately, he was drafted by Don Nelson’s Warriors. Everybody loves their fast-paced style but some fantasy owners (including me) avoid the Warriors because of Nellie’s propensity to over-shuffle his rotations. There is no safe assurance in his team even for Biedrins owners. Thus, I thought that Curry was not fantasy-worthy this year. Guess what, kid proved me wrong by playing 30++ minutes per game and having noteworthy stats in his first games. There is really a huge reason why New York fans heavily booed Golden State after the latter picked Curry.

I went in a mental lapse when I was picking in my 18-team 8-keeper league when I chose the promising James Harden over preseason favorites Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert. It was because he had ‘keeper’ written all over his name. I forgot that my lineup is already filled with promising keepers and I should be targeting to win than to rebuild. After a week, Harden did have limited playing time but I somehow felt glad I went by my instincts. Rush and Hibbert are struggling this early. I know Harden will get his time to shine. He is not the 3rd pick for nothing.

Ending Message for both non-fantasy NBA and fantasy NBA fans

Last weekend, I started to crave for more of Grey’s Anatomy after I finished watching their last two episodes. This put me to a depressing ‘I am craving to watch a US TV show’ last Sunday. Unfortunately, I have watched all the latest episodes. When Tuesday came, I hurriedly searched for new shows to be available for download. I got disappointed because there was no new ‘How I Met Your Mother’ episode and the only episode I could download was Heroes. As I stated it in Twitter, ‘that crappy show’ was all I could download. It was because I suddenly realized that I watch it for the sake of watching it. I also realized that I watch it because there are some hot chicks in the show (oh wait… they already killed them, right?!) OK, I find Ali Larter sexy and Hayden Panettiere as ‘suddenly passable because they killed too many chicks that I have to settle for her.’ Thus, it was the time Heroes hit the ‘this is a crappy show’ meter.

I have to admit that I am a bit shallow when watching TV shows because one of the enticing factors is viewing beautiful actresses in it. That is normal in the start as I had similar experiences on Lost, Grey’s Anatomy and Prison Break. But, if that remains as the only reason why I watch the show after some seasons, then the show must be terrible. Grey’s Anatomy has the most number of hot chicks in the recent shows that I watch but I do not even care if they existed now (heck, Katherine Heigl just left the show) because I know that the show is going to be great with or without them. Listening to Paramore’s latest album just builds up my theory as I am not that fascinated in Hayley’s external beauty anymore but I am loving their music more than ever because it is awesome as it is.

I just remembered something I heard in a show before: If the only positive comment that people give you is “you are beautiful”, then you are in deep trouble. Beauty is just for starters. In the end, the substance matters more.

What I just wrote might be so cliché-ish but sometimes I just have to get a better realization of the obvious to further appreciate it.

Will I still watch Heroes? Probably. Will I care on how the show is? Definitely, NO.

Fantasy NBA version 2.009

Finally, it is fantasy NBA time again. Actually, most drafts have ended by now but it is never too late to give my analysis on my yearly head-to-head league. This is already quite delayed because I started the league late as I was too pre-occupied with the UAAP Finals which stretched to almost mid-October.

This year, we feature a different twist from that of last year’s. We had some rule changes and the biggest was the keeper rule. We could keep three players from last year provided that we skip the rounds when we these players were picked. We employed this rule so that those on the bottom can have a chance and so that the players are not fixated at their top three.

In this format, there were some huge benefits like Brook Lopez and Russell Westbrook at Round 14 (Wow! It’s like a free Lopez or Westbrook!) but all teams have theirs. Some teams use their Round 1 to keep their marquee players so that even if they ought to pick by Round 1 Pick 8, they still have Chris Paul (very sweet deal). All teams have their ‘keeper steals’ but as we all know, fantasy basketball is not just about having the best players, it’s about having the right mix.

Enough of the explanations. It is time for my analysis on each pick. You may agree or disagree but all are just opinions since at the end of the day, it’s the actual performance that matters.

As most of the best players were kept, you will see an abnormal 1st round where players that normally are taken in 2nd to 3rd rounds were picked in the 1st round. The draft is in snake format where the first pick in the first round was the last placed team last year. Keepers are with the * at the end of their names.

I decided not to post the name of my league mates but for everyone’s information, I am the pick # 1 in the odd rounds and the last pick in even rounds. Yeah, I was the last placed team last year because I stopped handling my team after I found out I was eliminated. I did not know that there were still eliminations happening. As to how I lost to the lower-tier teams, I do not have any idea.

1ST ROUND

1) Amare Stoudamire - Since I was 1st pick, it was logical not to keep my 1st rounder. Amare is the last of the 1st round talent on board so this is a sweet pick
2) Caron Butler* - Not a good keep for most people but Caron can have 1st round value as long as he is not injured.
3) Andre Iguodala – Love this pick. Good year for Iggy
4) Lebron James* - No-brainer
5) David West – Nice percentages but I think he could have been available in the next round.
6) Dirk Nowitzki*- I think it’s a great year for him. Dallas is running.
7) Rajon Rondo – I like this guy’s upside on rebounds and points. Pick was early, but it’s worth the risk.
8) Chris Paul* - Another no-brainer
9) Kevin Garnett – Finally, someone got KG.
10) Dywane Wade* - Another no-brainer as long as he stays healthy
11) Kobe Bryant* - Of the top 7, I think he is last but is still awesome nonetheless. No-brainer again.
12) Chris Bosh*- The best guy available at the start of the round was Amare so keeping Bosh was just right.

2ND ROUND

1) Dwight Howard* - strong keeper but I still hate him for his FT% and TO’s
2) Paul Pierce – I think RayRay is going to explode better.
3) Tim Duncan* - Decent keep.
4) Danny Granger* - More decent keep. That’s an understatement
5) Carlos Boozer – weird situation he is in. Wrong team but is on contract year.
6) Pau Gasol* - Strong keep.
7) Deron Williams* - Another strong keep. This is why we do not have that much choices in the 1st round.
8) Josh Smith – I like Smoove’s chances this year. I think he’ll bounce back.
9) Al Jefferson* - Here’s another good keep but he is currently injured. Uh oh…
10) Troy Murphy – Thank God, he was taken before me. I was having problems of choosing between him and my pick.
11) Steve Nash* - Great keep. Another bounce-back year because they are running again.
12) David Lee – had to choose between him and Jamison (I already knew about the latter’s injury). Looks like I made the right choice as of now.

3RD ROUND

1) Jose Calderon* - assists, threes, turnovers. I am still a Calderon fan.
2) Kevin Martin – love this pick. He is the only option so he will surely produce. There are health issue though.
3) Joe Johnson* - not high on him but it’s still a great keep.
4) Carmelo Anthony* - Points will get better
5) Kevin Durant* - Thievery!
6) Elton Brand – Mixed feelings on him. But it’s the 3rd round so I think this is all good.
7) Mo Williams – Very early. I don’t think he’ll improve with Shaq as a Cav.
8) Vince Carter – see Elton Brand
9) Baron Davis – see Vince Carter
10) Antawn Jamison – Still a solid pick even with the injury. Points, rebounds and threes. Love ‘em.
11) Andris Biedrins – Quite early but people love to get big men early
12) Tony Parker – San Antonio is pretty much loaded with options so fewer nights of being transcendent for Mr. Longoria.

4TH ROUND

1) Brandon Roy* - Thievery again!
2) Jason Kidd*- See Brandon Roy.
3) Andrew Bynum – Mixed feelings on this. Experts say he’ll have a big year but I am pessimistic on it.
4) Mehmet Okur – I think it’s quite early especially with the Millsap-Boozer situation.
5) LaMarcus Aldridge – Bad rebounds last year (7). I don’t see it improving.
6) Gerald Wallace* - I think he’ll have a better year this year.
7) Shawn Marion – possible steal because Dallas is running again.
8) Chauncey Billups* - too many thievery keeps.
9) Rashard Lewis – Good steal even if he is suspended. He will have fewer points but he is still Rashard.
10) Anthony Randolph – Good reach then but he is not going to start now. Uh oh…
11) Emeka Okafor – Another case of quite early pick. Big men are overrated.
12) Hedo Turkoglu – Bad reach by yours truly.

5TH ROUND

1) Jason Richardson – Good reach by yours truly. I think JRich will explode with the Suns’ run and gun game. Remember Golden State?
2) Kevin Love – OK reach then. But now that he is injured, definitely not.
3) Ray Allen – Nice steal. Remember, he is on a contract year.
4) Ben Gordon – he will produce points for sure.
5) Marcus Camby – somebody has to take him
6) Andrea Bargnani – Intriguing pick. I hate his rebounds though.
7) Al Horford – Good example of a good reach. I think he will improve this year.
8) Rudy Gay – Quite risky but the round is just right.
9) Stephen Jackson – Another risky pick. If he gets traded to the Cavs, this pick gets riskier.
10) Michael Redd – Strong pick. I think it’s his time to shine again.
11) Al Harrington – Two words: D’Antoni basketball
12) Eric Gordon – Still does not trust him. There are too many offensive options in slow-ball Dunleavy basketball. They have Baron, Griffin and Kaman there already.

6TH ROUND

1) Charlie Villanueva – I think he can be better as a Piston than when he was under Skiles
2) Jason Terry – Too many offensive options on Dallas but they will run so he will just be fine.
3) Devin Harris* - WOW!!!
4) OJ Mayo – Good steal in my opinion. Memphis loves Mayo and AI has not practiced yet. The only loser in there is the Memphis owner.
5) Boris Diaw – Nice pick. He can slightly improve. Love his assists.
6) TJ Ford – another good sleeper going to this year. Remember, no more Jarett Jack.
7) Jeff Green. He is a Jeff so he must be good. Just kidding! He is good for this pick. OKC is gonna roar this year!
8) Richard Jefferson – Five letters: R-E-A-C-H
9) Greg Oden – Two words: Excellent Reach
10) Manu Ginobili – Injury concerns me. With the addition of RJ, I don’t know if he is still for real.
11) Randy Foye – Three words: Absolutely a Reach
12) Spencer Hawes – Upside reach. This guy already showed that he shines without Brad Miller last year. Guess what, Brad Miller is not anymore in Sac town.

7TH ROUND

1) Mario Chalmers – I reached for this based on team needs. If he delivers just like last year, this is already worth a pick. 4.9 APG, 1.7 3PG, 2 SPG, 2.2 TOPG. Sweet statline.
2) Marc Gasol – Should have been his time to shine but Zach is in Tennessee… D’Oh!
3) Blake Griffin – Sweet pick. This kid will surely produce!
4) Mike Bibby – He is a reach but he always produces anyway.
5) Jamal Crawford – Wow! Back-to-back! Either Bibby or Crawford will shine. Or both will suck.
6) John Salmons – Strong pick here. If he duplicates his Sac assists, this is a steal.
7) Wilson Chandler – Awesome sleeper. Remember: D’Antoni Basketball
8) Allen Iverson – AI stated that he will be a team player this year. That doesn’t bode well fantasy-wise.
9) Andre Miller – He is coming off the bench in a squad with very few possessions. Also, Brandon Roy dominates the ball. Translation: I don’t want Andre Miller in my team.
10) Ron Artest – Decent pick. Whether or not LA wins the championship, I think Phil can put Artest in his place.
11) Thaddeus Young – I am searching for a time machine so that I can tell my past self that I should have picked Young instead of Hedo. Young can rebound, shoot threes, steal, block and Philly has no more Miller. How could have I missed that?
12) DJ Augustin – Love this pick. Strong sleeper especially when he starts.

8TH ROUND

1) Luol Deng – Quite early for an eighth rounder. Deng two years ago is different from Deng now.
2) Zach Randolph* - I just don’t trust this guy in real life. But he is just fine for 8th round.
3) Joakim Noah – Big year ahead.
4) Andrew Bogut – There are injury concerns but if he plays in the crucial stages, this is a steal.
5) Derrick Rose* - Another big year ahead. Expect more points and assists.
6) JR Smith – Last year’s playoffs indicated that JR can explode. Strong year ahead.
7) Michael Beasley – I was devastated after X picked him. I thought I could steal Beasley in the 9th.
8) Raymond Felton – Strong pick here. I love his assists, threes, steals combo.
9) Rasheed Wallace – Prolly the right time to pick him but I am happy I was not the one who picked him.
10) Leandro Barbosa* - nice keeper for 8th round. Expect a great year.
11) Kirk Hinrich – Not high on him this year.
12) Gilbert Arenas* - my own version of thievery. Absolute thievery.

9TH ROUND

1) Trevor Ariza – I think I stole Ariza here. His propensity to steal is just awesome. I will have to suffer the FG% scare though.
2) Nate Robinson – Awesome pick. I hate Nate as a player but fantasy-wise, he is great as long as you did not pick him for assists.
3) Ronnie Brewer – I thought I will get him by the tenth. Wishful thinking, Jeff… “Oh no! There you go! Looked away and missed the show…”
4) Ramon Sessions – Strong sleeper. I just don’t like the idea that Flynn starts over him.
5) Andrei Kirilenko – Great gamble in the 9th. Nothing to lose in this pick.
6) Josh Howard – See Andrei Kirilenko.
7) Rodney Stuckey – Steal if you are not searching for threes.
8) Chris Andersen – Reach but he is still a great block specialist.
9) Chris Kaman – Somebody has to do it.
10) Tyreke Evans – See Ronnie Brewer.
11) Mike Conley – See Chris Kaman.
12) Al Thornton – If I did not like Eric Gordon, what more on Al Thornton?!

10TH ROUND

1) Jermaine O' Neal – Injury prone. No thanks.
2) Grant Hill – Uncertain on this one.
3) Tayshaun Prince – Shouldn’t hurt you anywhere. Detroit won’t under-prioritize him either.
4) Richard Hamilton – Very good steal even if his status is uncertain.
5) Louis Williams – Love his potential but I doubt he will have great assist numbers.
6) Courtney Lee – I think he will still be the role player he was.
7) Monta Ellis* - Somebody call the police. There is thievery in here.
8) Jameer Nelson* - After catching the culprit in #7, proceed to #8.
9) Lamar Odom – The Candyman! Not high on him. He was not great last year and Bynum is expected to deliver this year, therefore don’t expect too much from Mr. Kardashian.
10) Corey Magette – Reports say he will start. Thus, this is a good pick.
11) Luis Scola* - Too many robberies in the tenth round.
12) Shaquille O' Neal – First time for me to draft Shaq. Great steal for me.

11TH ROUND

1) Shane Battier – He can have better numbers as T-Mac is out.
2) Yi Jianlian – Will he, won’t he?
3) Paul Millsap* - Nice keeper.
4) Brandon Jennings – Milwaukee’s scoring is a huge ? except for Redd.
5) Kendrick Perkins – even with the addition of Sheed, this is a good pick if you want blocks
6) Tyson Chandler – Scoring will go down but defensive stats should be the same.
7) Roy Hibbert – Awesome pick! But I think he will battle with consistency.
8) Nene Hilario*- Even with past injury concerns, Nene is still worth the risk.
9) Yao Ming – This was intentional for next year’s keeper purposes
10) Aaron Brooks – Great steal! If only he had great FG%’s, he would have placed better.
11) Anthony Morrow – Is he going to start? It doesn’t matter! I just don’t trust Nellie in fantasy.
12) Anthony Parker – Don’t expect too much from him as a Cav.

12TH ROUND

1) Channing Frye – Loved this pick! I know that he was a disappointment historically but Frye is now on the right team.
2) Delonte West – Any time you can pick someone who brings guns, you just have to do it…NOT!
3) Jonny Flynn – Great pick but I think Sessions will shine fantasy-wise.
4) Tracy McGrady – See Yao Ming.
5) Marvin Williams – Last year, he disappointed. If he doesn’t shine this year, always avoid him.
6) Ryan Gomes. No Kevin Love means that Ryan Gomes will shine…oh wait, did he shine before? Uh oh…
7) Mike Dunleavy – See Yao Ming and Tmac.
8) Chris Duhon – I like this pick. This guy gets tons of assists.
9) Marreese Speights – Great pick but will he have the playing time?
10) Brendan Haywood – D’Oh! I wanted this guy on my squad.
11) Rudy Fernandez - Acting-wise, sure. But I don’t like his chances as a basketball player.
12) Hakim Warrick – Gamble for me since Milwaukee have few options.

13TH ROUND

1) Brandon Rush – Nice steal. Rush is gonna hit from downtown. If you are not down with it, check his stats before the end of last year
2) Brad Miller - No Comment.
3) Luke Ridnour – He can still get the starting gig.
4) James Harden – Great Kleeper (Keeper + Sleeper)
5) Kenyon Martin – Injury issues but it’s the 13th round. I still don’t like him because he has no more upside.
6) Andres Nocioni – Boom or bust pick.
7) Brandon Bass – Magic is loaded so I think this is a bad pick.
8) Julian Wright – Is he for real? He’ll get starting gig, though.
9) Stephen Curry – Intriguing keeper but I do not like him because there are too many wingmen.
10) Samuel Dalembert – Speights is giving him headaches.
11) Peja Stojakovic – I don’t like this pick but as long as he shoots from downtown, he is worth it.
12) Kelenna Azubuike – See Stephen Curry.

14TH ROUND

1) Chris Douglas-Roberts – Damn! I wanted him as my last pick but he will most probably come off the bench so I am not sure if he will shine.
2) Carlos Delfino – I do not like this pick at all.
3) Mike Miller – Nice pick at 14th round. Very much worth it despite the time-share.
4) Tyrus Thomas* - Very inconsistent for my taste but hey it’s the 14th round!
5) Anderson Varejao – Shaq will eat his points but he will start so it’s worth the risk.
6) Brook Lopez* - Super WOW! WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!
7) Beno Udrih – Garcia’s injury helps but after that, nevermind.
8) Ronny Turiaf – Strong block specialist so I love this pick.
9) Drew Gooden – Too many options in Dallas. This guy sucks in defending as well
10) Udonis Haslem – Very nice steal. He is solid and should produce a near double-double
11) Zydrunas Ilgauskas – His production strongly depends on Shaq’s minutes.
12) Russell Westbrook* - See Brook Lopez.

15TH ROUND

1) Carl Landry – If Battier and Ariza won’t shine, I hope Landry does. He has great potential.
2) Jamario Moon – Getting strong production from him is like shooting for the moon.
3) Kyle Lowry – Backup PG but he still has upside.
4) Joel Przybilla – If Oden experiment does not work, this is a steal.
5) Hasheem Thabeet – Darko v 2.0
6) Terrence Williams – is most probably worse than Moon even if he might start.
7) DeJuan Blair – If he gets sufficient playing time, then this pick rocks.
8) Andray Blatche – Repeat after me: Jamison is out for 3-5 weeks.
9) Jason Thompson* - Very good steal in the 15th round.
10) Darko Milicic – Hasheem Thabeet beta
11) Matt Barnes – Repeat after me: Magic has too many offensive options.
12) Jarrett Jack – Strong last pick. He has proven that he will produce even if he comes off the bench.