NBA Draft

I may be in the minority, but I like the NBA's age limit. Setting the age limit at age 19 forces almost all high schoolers to attend college for at least one year. It gives the players one more year to develop their skills and it gives scouts a chance to evaluate players in the college forum. I don't buy into the myth that there are casualties of the age limit. Of course, I would hate to see a guy get hurt in his freshman season. However, if a guy has a bad freshman year and his draft stock goes down, why should I feel bad for him? It means two things: 1) he may not be as good as we thought he was during his senior year of high school (and thus he has not caused an NBA team to throw away millions of dollars on him) and 2) he has three seasons to improve on the college level. There is no rule that top 10 high school prospects HAVE to turn pro after one season. This season, the recruiting player rankings were very accurate. The top 9 high school prospects last year were as follows (according to Scout.com):

1) O.J. Mayo - USC
2) Michael Beasley - Kansas State
3) Kevin Love - UCLA
4) Eric Gordon - Indiana
5) Derrick Rose - Memphis
6) Kyle Singler - Duke
7) Bill Walker - Kansas State
8) Donte Green - Syracuse
9) Jerryd Bayless - Arizona

After one year of college ball, we learned that Rose and Beasley project as the top 2 prospects and Love, Mayo, Gordon, and Bayless are all top 7 prospects. Green and Walker are mid-to-late first rounders. Only Singler is returning to school. Thus, no one on this list was harmed by having to attend college. I wish several of them had decided to return to school, but either way the rule did not adversely affect them. Walker could argue that he would have been a top 10 pick directly out of high school, but he tore an ACL last season and looked lackluster at times this season. He will likely still be a 1st round pick so he can't really complaint too much. Green should have returned to school.

As for tonight's draft, I think the Heat would be crazy to take anyone other than Beasley (assuming the Bulls take Rose). I like Bayless more than Mayo, but I think both could be scoring points guards in the mold of Chauncey Billups and Gilbert Arenas. I think Kevin Love and Eric Gordon will be solid NBA players. I think Bill Walker will be a bust.

I am hoping my Bobcats can land Love, Joe Alexander (West Virginia), Russell Westbrook (UCLA), or Brook Lopez (Stanford) with the 9th pick. I believe Lopez will be a solid NBA center -- not an All-Star but a consistent 15 point/8 rebound guy. If the Bobcats get him and re-sign Okafor, they can move Okafor to the 4 spot. I'd like to see them get a point guard with the 20th pick that they obtained from the Nuggets.

I am biased, but Sean Singletary from Virginia is one of my favorite college basketball players of all time. He is undersized for an NBA guard (5'11''), but he has enough talent to play in the league. He can score, handle, pass, defend, and his motor never stops. He makes everyone around him better. He was forced to shoot more than he wanted to in college because of the lack of talent around him. There is no doubt that his shooting percentage will rise when he is surrounded with more skilled teammates. I expect to see him drafted somewhere between 45 and 60 --- preferably to a team where he would immediately come in as the backup point guard.

My top 5 sleepers in the 2nd round (overlooked guys that will be in the league for a long time): 1) D.J. White (Indiana), 2) J.R. Giddens (New Mexico, transfer from Kansas), 3) Singletary, 4) Mike Taylor (Iowa State, played last year in NBA D-League), and 5) Joe Crawford (Kentucky).

Observations from a Pearl Jam Concert

1) They can still rock.

2) I last saw Pearl Jam live in 1999. I cannot think of many other bands in this generation that you can go a decade between concerts and the second one is just as good as the first (maybe Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, etc.).

3) I was never a fan of holding up lighters during slow songs at rock concerts. Today, cell phones have replaced lighters. Lame.

4) Eddie Vedder is 43, but he still acts like he's 25. He was drinking wine out of the bottle on stage. At one point, he tossed the bottle to some students in the front row. Three or four of them took a sip before security confiscated the bottle. Vedder then asked the security guard for the bottle and proceeded to take a 5-10 second chug. Vedder said the band hung out in Nashville the night before and challenged Kings of Leon (the opening band who is from Nashville) to a contest in which whoever stays up the latest and has the biggest hangover wins. Vedder proudly announced that he won.

5) The only downside of the concert was Vedder's anti-Bush and anti-war rants. Some of the crowd cheered Eddie's politics, but he was booed heavily at times. He called Southern conservatives "ignorant and proud of it." That did not sit well with the Columbia, South Carolina crowd. He made up for the boos by asking the crowd if George W. was USC's mascot (the cocks). Even the Southern conservatives in the crowd agreed that Bush is a jackass.

6) In my opinion, 3 of the best 4 songs played last night came off the "Ten" album (Alive, Porch, Even Flow). That took me back to '91. 4th grade was awesome.

7) I got ripped on by co-workers who still see Pearl Jam as a grunge band. Joking or not, most of them acted like they didn't know Pearl Jam was still together. I think the band got mixed in with grunge bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and others just because they are all from Seattle. I didn't see one person with a flannel shirt or Doc Martens on last night. Pearl Jam's music doesn't sound "90s" to me, like Stone Temple Pilots and other bands formerly compared to PJ would now.

8) Jimmy Buffett is the only other concert I have been to with such a wide range of ages in the crowd. There were people that probably weren't born when Pearl Jam formed in 1990 and some that were well in their 60s now. Most of the people in the quasi-mosh pit up front were college age.

9) In the summer, outdoor concert venues are way better than indoor venues. Last night, we were inside, way up in the nosebleed section, and sober. But it was still awesome. Ipso facto, go see Pearl Jam live before they turn into the Rolling Stones.

Real World Hollywood

What a weird season of "The Real World" so far. No cast member is particularly likable. One guy got kicked out for never coming to work at the improv club because he was pursuing male modeling job prospects. Another guy went to rehab for a month then came back and decided to leave. Will, a promising African-American musician, exclusively wears Michigan State t-shirts -- but get this -- he has like 4 Michigan State shirts and none of them are green (Michigan State's team color). The two white girls just complain about every member of the house all day. The black girl is a stripper back in Philly and may be in jail right now for a domestic violence charge. Every single person I know in my life -- including the weird people I know -- would be the most normal person in that house. I hope none of these people ever does a Real World/Road Rules challenge. I will not watch if they do --- sike, of course I'll watch.

Ramblings

I am stealing the “Ramblings” idea from Sports Guy on ESPN.com, but the random thoughts are my own.

• I suspect the writers of “How I Met Your Mother” are regretting the whole format of the show. It probably seemed like an interesting idea when they pitched it to CBS – every episode would begin with omniscient narrator Bob Saget telling his children (from 20 years in the future) a new story that would eventually lead to how he met their mother. The show is very good, but no one really cares who Ted marries and it is somewhat creepy that future Ted is telling future Ted’s kids about every girl he dates and every drunken night he endures. Personally, Barney (formerly Doogie Howser, MD) is what makes the show worth watching. The writers are already centering more episodes around Barney’s antics. We are three seasons into the series, and we still have not met the mother of Ted’s children. Wake me up when this show evolves into more than just Barney being awesome.

• 2008 has been a good year for music so far. I cannot remember a six-month span during the post-Napster era in which I cared so much about new albums coming out. It would be an understatement to say that I have not been very impressed with more than a handful of albums during this decade. I started using Napster in 1999 and have paid for three or four CDs since then. I have bought dozens of songs on iTunes, but never an entire album. I may not even buy the entire album for these bands, but check out new albums from My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers, Death Cab for Cutie, The Black Keys, The Black Crowes, Coldplay (if you have some anti-depressants around the house), and Radiohead.

• I joined Blockbuster online last year, and I have been on a documentary kick lately. Here is my list of the top 10 documentaries:

10. Spellbound: This documentary follows 6 or 7 pre-teens who are preparing for the national spelling bee in Washington, D.C. The kids are major nerds, but the suspense will get to you.

9. Murderball: All about quad rugby -- basically "kill the man with the ball"...in a wheelchair. Very good flick.

8. The Thin Blue Line: This is about a man who was convicted of a murder he did not commit. A year after the documentary came out, the inmate’s conviction was overturned and he was released.

7. Wordplay: A documentary about crossword puzzles. Put on your glasses and pocket protectors for this one! No seriously, it’s worth watching.

6. Shorty: This is about a man with Down’s Syndrome who is Hampden-Sydney football’s number one fan. I am biased but this is a great documentary, even if you know nothing about Hampden-Sydney.

5. Air Guitar Nation: Did you know there is an international air guitar competition in Finland every year? This is a highly entertaining 90 minutes.

4. Hoop Dreams: I own this on VHS. Interesting look at the world of college basketball recruiting from two high school ballers’ point of view.

3. King of Kong : A Fistful of Quarters: I highly recommend this documentary about arcade video games, namely Donkey Kong. I know it sounds dorky, but this movie is great.

2. Devil’s Playground: This is a very interesting glimpse at the Amish tradition of rumspringa, in which 16-18 year olds dress in normal clothes, drive cars, and drink heavily for months or years at a time until deciding whether or not to join the Church. I did not expect to see Amish teens with meth addictions.

1. Supersize Me: This was a well done documentary and I get the point he is trying to make, but sometimes people just want a bucket of fries. Most people are not stupid enough to eat at McDonald’s every day. I can no longer supersize because of you, asshole.

• E! has overtaken MTV and VH1 for celebreality supremacy. I am hooked on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “Living Lohan,” “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated,” and “Girls Next Door.”

• Speaking of celebreality, remember when “The Osbournes” was the number 1 rated reality show? The other day it took me hours to remember the youngest daughter’s name. Quick, see if you can think of it. There’s Ozzy, Sharon, Jack, and…still thinking? It’s Kelly. I guess her music career didn’t work out.

• It’s beach season and that means one thing for me – load up on sunscreen. I don’t get tan. I go to the beach to get less of a farmer’s tan.

• Jalen Rose is my favorite ESPN basketball analyst. The former member of Michigan’s Fab 5 freshman class is intelligent, insightful, and funny. He even wears a bow tie. Unlike most former players-turned-analysts, Jalen does his homework and doesn’t just read the teleprompter.

• I think it’s ironic that my brother (financial advisor who is a good cook) watches “Boston Legal” in the same time slot that I (attorney with no culinary skills) watch “Top Chef.”

• Office league co-ed softball is more fun when you don’t take it too seriously. Especially when every other team has players that don’t even work for their team’s company. It also doesn’t help when the commissioner of the league makes up stupid rules like pitch to your own team and use different size softballs for girls and guys. But I’m not bitter that my squad is 0-2.

90210 Sneak Peak

I did not expect to see Michael from "The Wire" on the new 90210. Most people are skeptical of this show, but how could it be any worse than "One Tree Hill"?

Flight of the Conchords

With all due respect to Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Flight of the Conchords are what Tenacious D wishes they were. FOTC are funny, talented, and popular. By FOTC, I am referring to the band and the show. HBO picked up the program for a second season (unfortunately, it's not set to air until January 2009) and the group's new album debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts a few weeks ago. The album is composed entirely of songs from season 1 -- which are great but I'd rather wait on the DVDs.

90210

The CW officially picked up a BH9er spin-off, cleverly titled "90210," for the Fall 2008 lineup. The show will revolve around West Beverly High and Kelly Taylor is back...as a guidance counselor. I don't know where that came from but I like it. Apparently, Donna Martin will return as well. No word yet on Brandon, Dylan, Steve, or David.

In what would have to be her third or fourth CW series, Aunt Becky from "Full House" (Lori Loughlin) will be a main character in 90210, as will Lucille Bluth from "Arrested Development." Two great casting jobs there. There is also a teen star from "Degrassi" who will join this cast. Let's hope that 90210, like Degrassi, "goes there."

I expect this brief post to be the first of many 90210 posts to come in the next several months. Stay tuned as the full cast gets announced. With the abundance of mediocre scripted TV today, I welcome back 90210 with open arms. The creators need to get on the horn with Brandon Walsh and give him whatever he wants.

Late Night Talk Shows

I've thought about it for over a week, and I still think Jimmy Fallon replacing Conan O'Brien on Late Night in May 2009 is a TERRIBLE idea for many reasons. One, Fallon is not that funny. Have you seen Fever Pitch? Two, I cannot imagine him interacting well with a wide variety of guests. Conan could interview actors, comedians, musicians, athletes, kids, Martha Stewart, etc. and the conversations always flowed well. No other talk show host has the ability to make his interview style seem so unforced. Most of the interviews I've seen with Fallon (in which he is the guest) appear a bit awkward. I just don't understand what makes Fallon so appealing to NBC? He left Saturday Night Live to pursue a movie career, which has gone absolutely nowhere. While he was on SNL, he was maybe the fourth funniest person on the show and he made a career of laughing (and breaking character) while Will Ferrell killed it.

NBC could have made a worse choice (see Carson Daly, Kathy Griffin, Jeff Foxworthy, among others) and I suppose there are people that find Jimmy Fallon funny and/or charming, but the choice does nothing for me. While I am glad that NBC is finally forcing Jay Leno out on the Tonight Show and Conan does deserve the top spot, it will be sad to see Conan leave Late Night. Will he have to do the Tonight Show from LA rather than NYC? Can he still have such risqué characters as the Webcam Manatee, the Masturbating Bear, and Vomiting Kermit? NBC executives may turn a blind eye to some of the skits when the show airs at 1 AM, but they will regulate the Tonight Show.

I wonder if Conan is even excited about the promotion. It will undoubtedly mean more money, but does he even consider it a promotion? I felt like over the last five years, Conan landed as many big stars are Leno and Letterman, despite the late time slot. His guests had equal star power and he had more leeway with inappropriate skits. Will the infamous Preparation H Raymond come with Conan to the Tonight Show? I love Letterman, but the Late Show has gone downhill over the last 5 or 6 years and his ratings are in big trouble when Conan moves to 11:30.

Actors just aren't meant to be talk show hosts. Ellen is one of the better actor-hosts, but I could not see her doing a late night talk show. She is better suited for the afternoon. Jimmy Kimmel is good, but he is technically not an actor. Same for Craig Kilborn (not sure where he disappeared to). I hope Fallon is good because I don't watch the Craig Ferguson show (CBS), but I will be surprised if he is. I assume Conan will take his writers with him, which will hurt Fallon even more. Fallon will no longer be able to ride on the coattails of Tina Fey's writing and Will Ferrell's physical comedy.