Clockwork Apple: Amy P. Lifier

All New Yorkers are aware of how bad the subway systems PA systems are. Announcements never get heard in full, especially when we really need it. Well at least there's a human PA system over on the 50th St. 1 train station. Whenever I pass through this station in the afternoon or evening, Amy. P. Lifier is standing by the entrance/exit, giving customers a play-by-play of the 1 train's status. She'll urge people not to run when the train hasn't arrived yet. She's repeatedly either saying "not here yet"or "just missed it" in a clear, loud voice... much better than the PA system. We could use one of these for every station. Maybe the MTA employees should add this to their non-existent list of tasks.

Wimbledon: Up for Grabs

On the women's side, Sharapova was eliminated last week. And last Friday, Ivanovic lost to Zheng Jie 6-1, 6-4. It sounded like a nice clear path for Jelena Jankovic, but she just got out of a tough match yesterday against Caroline Wozniacki. In the first set, where she lost 2-6, it looked as if newcomer Wozniacki was about to upset one more top seed and give Wimbledon some new blood. I already had a blog headline picked out... "Janked." But Jankovic somehow managed to comeback and take the final two sets 6-4 and 6-2, fighting through multiple injuries. She got past the round, but her injuries make her a question mark for this week. This could open the doors for everyone else in the tournament. Maybe we could even see an all-Williams final as both Venus and Serena are still alive!

On the men's side, everyone is still expecting a Federer-Nadal Final. Many of the other top seeds have already been eliminated, which increases the chances of it. So unless there's a major upset, that's what we'll be watching next weekend.

On a side note, I'm watching coverage on NBC right now and they're replaying Maria's game! Even after elimination, she still gets the ratings!

Tech Deals of the Week (6/29-7/5)

Flash Sales
- 4 GB SanDisk @ Best Buy for $27.99
- 4 GB HP @ CompUSA.com for $26.98 [click here]
- 4 GB Kingston @ Circuit City for $19.99
- 8 GB Kingston @ Circuit City for $39.99
- 4 GB SanDisk @ Radio Shack for $24.99
- 4 GB SanDisk Gator @ Radio Shack for $24.99

Hard Drive Sales
- 1 TB Maxtor Ext. @ Best Buy for $199.99
- 640 GB Maxtor Ext. @ Best Buy for $119.99
- 500 GB Maxtor Ext. @ Best Buy for $99.99
- 750 GB WD Ext. @ Best Buy for $139.99
- 1 TB Maxtor Ext. @ CompUSA.com for $183.59 [click here]

EVGA UV Plus @ Circuit City for $69.99
This is a new external VGA "card" that connects to a USB 2.0 port. It supports 1280x1024 or 1440x900 resolution. It's a great solution for a secondary monitor if you don't want to mess with installing 2 graphics cards.

Roses are Red

...and so are the Bulls! It was hard to guess whether the Bulls were going to go for Rose or Beasly. They kept everything under wraps and the team could be adjusted either way, but they ended up going with Chicago native, Derrick Rose. I was in favor of Beasly because of position and his skill with the inside game. the Bull's decision could've been based on personality, which they would've had a much better feel for than anyone writing the sports columns. So I have nothing against the decision. We'll see how it plays out. This of course means that a trade will follow soon. I hope that somehow they can hold on to Hinrich and Gordon. It seems unlikely because they're all small guards. Duhon is likely gone. This acquisition doesn't address the lack of inside presence with the team though... another reason for a trade. The off-season will continue to be interesting.

Welcome to NJ, Yi!

In a last minute pre-draft trade, the Bucks sent Yi, Simmons and a first round pick RJ. This move obviously makes the Bucks a bit stronger immediately as Jefferson is one of the leagues top scorers. He had a great year last year and continues to improve. The only question mark about him is his health. He has a tendency to get injured. One the other side of the trade, NJ is taking a gamble. Yi has great potential, but is still inexperienced. However, being in NJ, he got what he wanted last year... to be in or close to a Chinese community. Maybe getting some Chinese food across the river will give Yi that extra punch! I'm happy to have him on the Nets since every game is televised locally here.

Wimbledon: Early Round Shockers

There were a couple of shockers within the past few days. First off, the Djok's on Novak Djokovic who was upset by the 75th seeded Marat Safin 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-2. Djokovic was the guy that called out Roger Federer after his Roland Garros loss to Nadal. Meanwhile, Roger is cruising by on his homecourt. Who's vulnerable? The only thing I'm upset about is Federer doesn't get a chance to beat Djokovic himself.

Television ratings just went down for the tournament as Maria Sharapova was eliminated by Alla Kudryatseva in straight sets. It was a typical Sharapova loss filled with double faults and unforced errors... as usual, she was probably overthinking things. It's almost like a sickness. It could strike her down against any opponent. When she doesn't have this condition, she's nearly unstoppable.

I'm not sure what's going on with Andy Roddick as he went down to Janko Tipsarevic 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(4) in a close match. Is he actually getting worse on grass? I expected him to make it to the quarter finals at least. The other top American, James Blake was also eliminated. Blake however was never that great at Wimbledon.

Federer's Home Court

"Maybe if he wins it six times, people won't question him. People are sitting here saying, 'Can Roger win Wimbledon?' Yes, he can! He's won it five times!"
- Andy Roddick

Before Wimbledon even started, all the new around the tennis world was about Roger Federer being vulnerable, losing his edge, etc. I'm in agreement with Andy Roddick. Just because Federer lost badly to Nadal in the French Open doesn't mean he's losing his edge. Nadal is awesome on clay. Federer on grass is like Nadal on clay. Did everyone forget how Federer made it up to the French Open final? Remember... even though Nadal rules that event, Federer is still #2. So if Federer is vulnerable, what's that make everyone else in the tournament? I guess the whole idea of Federer on the way down makes a great story, but he's not there yet in my opinion. He's the man to beat in Wimbledon and anyone who walks into the competition thinking otherwise is going to be beaten pretty badly. If he loses this tournament, then maybe people can start talking about it. But it just started and he looked great in the preliminary round.

ThinkCentre S50

Configuring the ThinkCentre S51 from CompUSA 2 weeks ago inspired me to look for other cheap used systems in the market. I found yet another IBM at a store called Kailey Computers. They have a slightly different model... 2.6 Ghz Pentium IV with 256 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD and CD-ROM for a starting price of $129. It's a little slower than the CompUSA model, but performance-wise it's not that much weaker. This system also includes the OS as well as a restore CD and drivers. It's truly complete and it's in the same case as the CompUSA model.

There are only a few upgrades I would add. I would up the RAM to 1 GB for $35 and swap the CD-ROM out for a DVD-RW for $30. They have a $20 shipping charge, putting the total at $214... considerably cheaper than CompUSA.

Beasly-Rose Workouts

Michael Beasly & Derrick Rose both worked out with the Bulls last week. The decision will be made after deeply analyzing these visits. Both guys seemed to be OK personlity-wise. Rose was probably the more serious of the 2 while Rose was slightly more low-key. This is really hard to gauge on a single visit. I just have bad memories of the draft from 2 years ago. The interview with Tyrus Thomas was great and he gave the impression that he would be a gym rat. Based on the interview alone, I would've picked him over LaMarcus Aldridge hands down. That was just what the Bulls did. Since then, he's been in several off the court incidents, mostly involving being late or not showing up to practice. On the court, his game wasn't improving fast enough.


I'm still in favor of going with Beasly as much as I'm starting to like Rose. Aquiring Beasly will keep the Hinrich/Gordon combo intact at the guard position. The front court would be a combination of Deng, Nocioni & Beasly. Those positions can be mixed and matched with Gray, Noah & Thomas as well depending on the opposing team. Many people would be opposed to this because it doesn't address size. My argument is that the Bulls were more successful without the size. They're faster and more agile. Guys like Nocioni are great for playing the big centers. Nocioni at 6'7" is effective at blocking shots and causing turnovers (that lead to fast breaks). Aaron Gray is really the only big guy on the team and he was valuable for the minutes he played last season... give him more minutes! Gooden could also be moved over to the center position.

I would put Hughes, Noah & Thomas on the trade table and see what they can get. In an overcrowded backcourt, I think Hughes is the weakest link as far as personality and work ethic. See Favorabulls for details. Though Thomas & Noah have great potential and athleticism, I don't see them cleaning up their work ethics anytime soon.

Tech Deals of the Week (6/22-6/28)

Flash Sales
- 4 GB PNY @ Circuit City for $24.99
- 8 GB PNY @ Circuit City for $37.99
- 4 GB PNY @ Staples for $24.98
- 4 GB PNY @ Best Buy for $24.99
- 8 GB OCZ @ CompUSA for $31.98 (w/ $10 rebate) [click here]

Hard Drive Sales
- 500 GB WD Int. @ CompUSA for $87.98 [click here]
- 500 GB WD Ext. @ Best Buy for $94.99
- 1 TB WD Ext. @ Best Buy for $179.99
- 500 GB WD Int. (green) @ Best Buy for $89.99
- 1 TB WD Int. (green) @ Best Buy for $169.99
- 750 GB Maxtor Ext. @ Best Buy for $149.99

MS Sidewinder @ Circuit City for $49.99
This is the 5-button gaming mouse with adjustable weights. The more buttons, the more functions can be programmed into it. This model is comparable to the Logitech Revolution series, but I don't know if it measures up in comfort... haven't tried it out yet.

Ten Random Chain Survey Questions for 2008-06-19

1. Where do you want to live when you're older? Suburbs of Gotham
2. Do you have a friend that starts with "K"? no
3. Whats your relationship with the last person you texted? family
4. Where were you last night? home
5. What are you going to do? sleep
6. Would you consider adoption? maybe a dog
7. Are you confused about anything right now? why my company is holding an optional meeting that everyone was required to RSVP for. We could attend the meeting or use up a personal day... but we can't work through it... keyword... optional.
8. What's the last thing you ate? vanilla cookies
9. What's one thing you've learned lately? the backend details of SEO
10. What in the world are you listening to? wai khru

Taking Care of Business

With tonight's win, the Yankees have now won 6 games in a row and are the same number of games above 500. It's nothing to get totally excited about yet though. They're feasting on the National League like they're supposed to. If they continue this offensive onslaught after the Mets series, then we can go nuts! The bad news is they have to go pretty much the rest of their season without their Ace, Wang, who was injured running the bases over the weekend. What might make things OK are the returns of vintage Mussina & Pettitte. These 2 guys will have to carry the team. Joba's been getting used to the starting role lately as well. But again, these guys have to keep up the work when they resume against AL opponents. The Interleague play should be considered a warmup.

NBA Finals - Game 6

It ended tonight and it wasn't even close. The Celtics opened up a 23-point lead by halftime. We've seen this type of lead dwindle in the 2nd half earlier in the series, but not tonight. The Celtics pretty much knew they were going to win it already and they all played like superstars, making the Lakers look like a college team. The final score was 131-92! KG had 26 points & 14 rebounds, a huge bounce back from Game 5. Pierce had 17 with 10 assists. Allen matched Garnett with 26 (including a Finals record 7 treys). Rondo had 21, running with the big boys all year long! Kobe was held to just 22, most of which was in the 1st quarter. It was all Celtics from the 2nd quarter on. The starters came out with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter. If they stayed in, it could've been a 50-60 point rout.

That capped off an amazing season for Boston. Pierce is going to get a lot of the credit and he got the Finals MVP based on numbers, but we all know that Pierce played better with Garnett's defense and Allen opening up the floor with his jump shooting.

Congrats to Doc Rivers & Kevin Garnett! Happy fishing, Kobe!

Farewell, Willie

Willie Randolph was relieved of his duties at midnight last night. Everyone pretty much saw that coming. Sometimes organizations make a move like that just to make a change. The Bulls did that to Scott Skiles last year. The difference with this move was Randolph did nothing to quit on the team. He was pretty much just a scapegoat. Other than Davey Johnson, the legendary manager that won the pennant in 1986, Randolph has the highest winning percentage in Mets history. Over his 3 years with the Mets, he's brought them respect, class and a ton more fans than they used to have. It was unfortunate that he had a team that that failed to put in 100%, resulting in last year's historic collapse and this year's mediocre start. I'm talking about Wagner's strong words backed by blown saves and Reyes' lack of hustle. There was a time when people were saying Reyes was going to be better than Jeter. Are you kidding me!? He might have the physical potential, but he doesn't have an ounce of Jeter's heart & fire. There's of course the bullpen that keeps blowing Santana's masterpieces. And the often injured Pedro. The Sox are totally laughing because they knew they gave him up at the start of his decline.

Anyway, I'm sad for Willie. He did great during his stay at Shea. I hope he gets a good job with the Yankees or Dodgers after this.

NBA Finals - Games 4 & 5

Game 4 was amazing. The Lakers took control early with as much as a 24-point lead. The Celtics were terrible. They just couldn't hit a basket if their life depended on it. It was easily turning out to be a blowout game, but they woke up at the end of the game and handed the Lakers the worst collapse in NBA Finals history. The big three came up big in this game... Pierce had 20, Garnett 16 (11 rebounds) and Allen 19.

Game 5 kind of started out the same way. The Lakers had a huge lead that dwindled away... a bit earlier this time. It was close for most of the game. The Lakers started to pull away again in the 3rd Quarter. The Celtics caught up again. The was a 2-point game in the 4th quarter when Pierce was bringing the ball down the court. Kobe comes from behind and wraps his arm around Pierce's torso, forcing him to lose the ball... no foul and the Lakers took a 4 point lead. What could have been a tie or Celtics lead, turned into a 4-point deficit because of the usual Lakers biased calls. The league should at least start officiating these games a little more fairly, especially with the accusations floating out there in current events. They showed a replay of the "steal" and Bryant touched everything except the ball. how was that not a foul? How could that be missed?

Oh well... at least the Celtics have a chance to finish it in from of their home crowd.

Tech Deals of the Week (6/15-6/21)

Flash Sales
- 4 GB Transcend @ CompUSA.com for $19.74 [click here]
- 4 GB Kingston @ Circuit City for $19.99
- 8 GB Kingston @ Circuit City for $39.99
- 4GB SanDisk @ Office Depot for $27.99

Seagate HDD @ Office Depot
- 500 GB Int. for $99.99
- 750 GB Ext. for $139.99
- 1 TB Int. for $189.99

Philips DVP-3982 @ Circuit City for $59.99
This DVD player upconverts to 1080p and it can play DivX video files.

Targus 15.4" Slipcase @ Circuit City for $19.99
This slipcase actually has more padding than many full laptop cases. It also has a lot of pockets and compartments for organizing accessories. There's even a nice cellphone case on the outside.

Acer 24" LCD @ CompUSA.com for $345.69
This is an older model, but the price is about $150 lower than what it used to be... still great if you're looking for a cheap, but huge display. [click here]

Radio Shack Deals
Everything I listed last week is still valid this week.

On the Same Page

The Yankees are starting to look good again. It finally looks like the htting and pitching are both producing simultaneously. Wang was back to himself during his last outing after the longest drought I could remember for him. On Thursday, Pettitte was solid, giving up just one run. Matsui gave himself a Birthday grand slam to win the game. Yesterday, Joba finally settled into the starting role giving up just one run. Jeter hit a solo homer for the win. Today, Mussina continued his recent consistency. I thought if Moose could get 10 wins for the year, he would've done his part. As of now, he already has 10 and has been the ace for the past couple of months.

With all of the interleague play coming up, it's time for the Yankees to get fat and feed off of the National League like they always have. Winning now is a must because we know that the Sox are going to kick the crap out of the NL too. We have to keep up with them.

Pentium D Barebones

Check out this system from CompUSA.com. For $218.07 (shipping included), you get a 3.2 Ghz Pentium D, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, motherboard, ATX mid-tower and 450 Watt power supply. Does that really sound like a barebones kit? It has almost everything! It's just missing a CPU fan ($19.99 @ CompUSA.com) and a DVD drive ($24.99 @ CompUSA.com). With shipping, it comes out to $265.13. As usual, you can get an OEM XP Home @ Directron for $88.99, bringing the total to $354.12.

Somehow, that came out cheaper than the ThinkCentre S51. This system is a kit, so it's not pre-assembled like the IBM. That was probably a factor. Performance-wise, they're both about the same. This system has the better hard drive, more stock RAM and it's not used. Being a tower, it also has more potential for future customization. The IBM's only advantage is the compact form factor and company reputation.

Azrael's Contender: Season 2

The word is that Contender Asia: Season 2 will be integrated with the K-1 MAX 2008 season. The qualifying tournaments have kicked off with Rumble of the Kings 2008 in Sweden on May 31. So things are all set. This post is how I would run Season 2 in a dream scenario:

1) John Wayne Parr has proven to be a great leader and teacher. So I would have him star in the series as the trainer... maybe even partner with his wife, Angie Parr.

2) Because the Parr family would be the stars, the location would be the Boonchu Gym in Australia that they run. That's a bit of a change from Singapore, but I think Australia also offers some great attractions and restaurants that are comparable Singapore's prizes.

3) The contestants should be more evenly matched. They should all be either amateur or all pros. This would avoid mismatches like JWP vs. Zidov or Naruepol vs. Trevor.

4) The winner of season 2 wins the prize money, but doesn't get the belt unless he can defeat Yodsaenklai Fairtex in a supermatch.

Vinnie Del Negro?

Of all the coaches they could've hired, the Bulls took Vinnie Del Negro? I didn't even know he was into coaching. I thought the guy was on some team's bench! The news was totally out of nowhere. I thought we were set on Doug Collins, which I'd be OK with since Avery Johnson & Jeff Van Gundy both said that they won't be coaching next season. But Del Negro? I would've taken just about anyone else over him... Flip Saunders, Mark Jackson, Mike D'Antoni... even Scottie Pippen was available. Well... we'll see. John Paxson must've saw something in him. I'm willing to give it a chance. There are rumors of taking on Bill Cartwright for assistant coach, which would be great. That might go hand-in-hand with picking Beasly at #1. So a Cartwright hire could give out clues on the Bull's draft pick. Cartwright's coaching could really make Beasly a powerful inside presence.

ThinkCentre S51

CompUSA.com has an off-lease IBM ThinkCentre S51 on sale for $199. For that price, you get a 3 Ghz Pentium IV with 512 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD and DVD-ROM in a small form factor case. The system is about 30 lbs, so the shipping charges bring everything up to $225.71. This is a pretty good price so far. It's a used system, but IBM's are pretty well-built and that shouldn't really be a factor. Now let's start adding what's missing:

This doesn't include an operating system, so I'm going to add in an OEM version of XP Home from Directron for $88.99. To fill the other RAM slot, I'm also going to get a 1 GB module from the same place for $32.99. The shipping comes out to $11.03 for a total of $133.01.

So the total price of the system is $358.72. I'd say that's OK... not great, but still cheap when you consider the form factor.

NBA Finals - Games 1 & 2

So far, so good as the Celtics take the first two games. I don't want to get too optimistic though. As they always say, "it's not a series until a team loses at home." The Celtics were suppose to take the first two. Now they need to get one in LA. This whole series feels a little bit weird for me because I'm very anti-Boston and I obviously hate Posey as a Bulls fan. Posey was actually very important in the Celtic's Game 2 win down the stretch. So I was strangely happy to see him keep the Celtics in the game. Still, I hate the Lakers & Kobe even more. So I'll put aside my feelings about Boston. Anyway, I do have a lot of respect for Kevin Garnett & Ray Allen. I'd like to see them get rings.

Boston really needs to stay focused. They built a 24-point lead in game 2, but let the Lakers creep all the way back to within 2. There's no excuse for that. The Celtics should've just put them away, but they slacked on defense. This is the key to their victory. They've been doing a good job guarding Bryant & Gasol when they're focused.

4 in a Row!

It's the 3-year anniversary of Federer vs Nadal @ Roland Garros. So why not do it again... same place, same time, same characters. Both players had a relatively easy road to the final. Nadal made it without dropping a set on his homecourt, including a dominating semifinal against 3rd seeded Novak Djokovic.

In the first set, Nadal continued his dominance, defeating his opponent 6-1. Federer showed some signs of life in set #2, but still lost 6-3. The final set was a shutout... 6-0. What really emphasizes Nadal's comfort on the clay court is that Federer is also a great player on the surface. He doesn't suck on clay otherwise he wouldn't have made it to the finals 3 years in a row. Federer is easily the 2nd best player in the French Open, but there's just a huge gap between #1 & #2.

In the upcoming Wimbledon, Nadal & Federer will have their roles reversed. I don't get tired of these 2 meeting in the finals every time, so I'll be rooting for them both. It'll be interesting to see who will be the first winner on the other's home surface.

Tech Deals of the Week (6/8-6/14)

Note: A new NY tax law requires Online stores to charge NY sales tax if they have an affiliate in the state. Previously, stores were only required to do so if they had a store presence. So far, of the stores I cover regularly, this affects Amazon and NewEgg.

Flash Sales
- 8 GB SanDisk @ Best Buy for $39.99
- 4 GB SanDisk Gator @ Office Depot for $24.99
- 8 GB Ativa @ Office Depot for $39.99
- 4 GB Transcend @ CompUSA.com for $19.74 [click here]
- 8 GB SanDisk @ Best Buy for $39.99

Hard Drive Sales
- 750 GB Seagate Ext. @ Office Depot for $149.99
- 1 TB Western Digital Ext. @ Best Buy for $199.99

Gigaware Webcam @ Radio Shack for $9.99
The Giagaware accessories seem to go on some kind of rotation because there's always one item on sale each week or 2 weeks. You can't go wrong with a $10 webcam. This one also has a built-in speaker.

1 GB Memorex MP3 Player @ Office Depot for $9.99
I don't know how good Memorex MP3 players are, but $10 is a safe price. There's a $30 mail-in rebate. This device also has a screen, unlike the Shuffle.

Logitech 2.1 Speakers @ Circuit City for $19.99
This system includes an iPod cradle as well. The price is after $30 in 2 mail-in rebates. Best Buy has this on sale for $39.99.

Ana's #1!

So, Ana Ivanovic made it all the way after defeating fellow Serbian, Jelena Jankovic in the semis. She had a relatively easy road this time around. Janokovic was the only opponent that got close as Ana won 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Dinara Safina had a surprising run, knocking off Sharapova and Kuznetsova on the way.

Ana had me worried in the first game. She looked sluggish and wasn't chasing down shots that she normally would've gotten to. She was just warming up though as she won the next 4 games. Then Safina came back and tied things up. It was getting pretty close and both players were breaking each others serves, but Ana took the first set with a rally at the end. The second and final set was pretty much the same. Safina kept battling back. Ana had a comfortable, but not dominating lead. Throughout the match, Ana did a great job of returning serves and Safina made a few too many unforced errors.

Congratulations to Ana Ivanovic, 2008 French Open Champion and new owner of the #1 spot in the rankings!

Red Alert

Dell is offering a special price of $1199 for it's XPS One (PRODUCT) RED. That's $400 off the original price! The monitor is a 20" built-in LCD, so if we factor about $200 for the monitor, then that leaves $999 for the system. There's also a wireless keyboard and mouse... easily another $100 if you get it on sale. Windows Vista Ultimate is $170 @ OEM price. So for $729, you're getting a 2.2 Ghz Core 2 Duo with 2 GB RAM, slot-loading DVD burner, built-in wi-fi and 250 GB HDD. That's pretty good for an all-in-one gaming machine.

All you need to do is configure a XPS One (PRODUCT) RED on Dell's website and enter the following coupon code... ZX9J$$NJNS630C. This offer expires 6/19, so get it now before they run out of stock!

Subway Tales: A Train to Nowhere

After the train arrived, 2 passengers were left in the car when the doors opened. Roger was trying to wake up Miguel and tell him that the train had arrived at its final stop. Miguel was out of it. He just looked up and went back to sleep. There were drool stains all over his black shirt. New passengers filled up the train within minutes, but Miguel was still sound asleep. The train went all the way through all of its stops. Miguel just kept sleeping, occasionally swaying back and forth and falling into passengers as far as 2 seats away. We arrived at the final stop on the other end and he still stayed on. I wonder how many times he's taken the train back and forth already.

Stepping Into Roland Garros

I haven't had a chance to get myself into the Tennis season yet this year. I guess I always lose interest some time during basketball season. Anyway, here's my attempt to catch up and get myself into it again. As usual, the Americans are all gone (see my comments from last year). Federer & Nadal have been coasting and vying for another chapter of "Battle of the Heavyweights."

On the women's side, Sharapova just lost to Safina in the first match I officially watched. Maria started out strong, but then fell into her usual mental trap and started double-faulting. With her elimination and the retirement of Henin, we could easily see a Serbian champ. If Ivanovic & Jankovic win their respective quarterfinals, they'll face each other in the semis.

Sword of Azrael: 200805

Death by Fire: Jonathan Smith really deserves this one for murdering his girlfriend, Margaux Powers. Unfortunately, he escaped Azrael's sword by jumping to his own death. Kepp it cool, Jonathan. It's hot down there!

Slave Pit: The R.Kelly child porn incident was a while ago, but since the trial was covered last month, he easily gets this fine. He deserves this even more so because there's video footage of him and he still denies it. Sadly, he still has a case in our weak judicial system.

Excommunication: Bulls forward, Joakim Noah gets this prize after being caught with drugs and busted for speeding (while not wearing a seatbelt and having a suspended license). The Bulls obviously made a mistake during the interview process with this guy last year as there were many off-court incidents during the season as well.

Beasly vs. Rose

The #1 draft pick is between Michael Beasly of Kansas and Derrick Rose of Memphis. Beasly is a forward with a good inside game while Rose can be a promising point guard. Position aside, Rose seems to be the better player. I think Beasly is a better fit for the Bulls though. They still need that inside presence and I don't think Thomas or Noah can grow into it. While both Hinrich & Gordon are combo guards, I would rather put money on one of them getting better at point than Thomas or Noah improving in the post. Rose is also 6'3", so that doesn't solve the small guard problem. I would continue to rotate Hinrich, Gordon and Sefolosha as needed and leave the guard positions alone. I would still keep Deng & Noc at forward, but instead of rotating them with Thomas or Noah, we need someone new and Beasly could be the missing link. Something noteworthy is Rose's Chicago connection. He's from the city and his agent is the much revered BJ Armstrong. So that's what it looks like on paper so far. Of course, the most important factor for the Bulls is the personality. They need to screen the candidates thoroughly this time and not make the same mistakes they did with Thomas & Noah, who both sounded like hard workers after their interviews.

Friday Night Fights

I started the weekend off with this month's Friday Night Fights. A bunch of us met up after work to watch some local boxing and muay thai fights live. What's nice about these bouts is the judging. It's fair and doesn't have the politics and gambling involved as in pro boxing. There were at least 10 fights with a pro K-1 main event at the end.


Related Links: Boston Muay Thai, Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Church St. Boxing Gym, Friday Night Fights

Tech Deals of the Week (6/1-6/7)

Flash Sales
- 4 GB PNY @ Best Buy for $24.99
- 4 GB Centon @ CompUSA.com for $17.74 [click here]
- 4 GB PNY @ Staples for $24.98
- 8 GB PNY @ Staples for $39.98
- 4 GB SanDisk @ Radio Shack for $24.99
- 8 GB SanDisk @ Radio Shack for $39.99

Samsung Bluetooth Headset @ CompUSA.com for $13.74
The Online price for this is $39.99 with a $30 mail-in rebate & $3.75 shipping cost. The WEP500 is a compact bluetooth headset with no ear hook. I haven't tried it myself, but it looks comfortable and light. [click here]

Logitech VX Nano for $39.99 @ Circuit City
This is almost the same deal as early May, but it's with a $30 mail-in rebate and nothing instant. The end price is still the same if you make no mistakes though.

Battery Charger w/ 2 AA @ Radio Shack for $9.99
Same item as in March, but $10 less!