Some gripes and thoughts on the Palm Pre. By a HTC Winmo fan.

I am currently a Sprint wireless customer (don't groan! they are treating me very well) and I have a HTC Touch Pro. Great phone. Lots of features, etc. If you have been living under a rock, Palm is trying to revive it's business by bringing out the Palm Pre phone. So far estimates are over 500,000 sold since it's June 6 debut. I love the Palm Pre, and could have had one a long time ago, except i am waiting for it to get some key features before i take the web OS plunge:

1) I want more apps. Like, several hundred. This is supposed to be something which makes the pre comparable to the Iphone and separates it from Winmo. Now that the SDK is officially out for developers, I would hope that apps by the dozens are added weekly, but it has been pretty slow. On the other hand, the homebrew community has an apps catalog over 100 now, and with some basic linux knowledge and following of directions you can root your Pre, place it in developers mode, and mod it to your heart's content (see precentral.net)

2) Hack for the ability to force roaming. On most Winmo phones, the application files and files which control the entire phone can easily be accessed using the "file explorer," Entire communities exist (ppcgeeks, xda-developers.com) which write programs (most for free!) that you can use to mod or edit the functions of your phone simply using a usb cable or text message download. For instance, Sprint since last year has taken away the user's ability to force the phone to roam on another network, even if Sprint service is available. This seems fine until you realize that the phone will fight for sprint service even if you cannot complete a call before switching over to another network. This is a real pain, as a lot of the time if you are in the boonies you will be stuck with a phone with unusable sprint service. A .cab file was made which restored the ability to force roam, all one had to do is put it on the phone and open it, and voila! Under network settings, force roaming is an option. In my opinion, the locked down nature of the Iphone and other verizon smartphones is the reason I will never switch carrier. Sprint is known for not locking down attributes and abilities of phones, such as file transfer by bluetooth and GPS.

3) Video capabilities. Why this wasn't implemented at launch i will never know!

I have also discovered that the Pre lacks the ability to zoom in before taking a picture, something the Touch Pro does.

4 )Improved battery life

The Touch Pro has pretty bad battery life, so I will let this one slide; I would probably get the extended 2600 mah battery anyway.

5) Louder ringtones and customizability options. I have read that the ringtones on the Pre aren't as loud as expected, to the point where some people can't hear their phone ring. As a former Nextel customer, this is a sin. At the very least, the phone manufacterer can ensure that the phone makes itself heard in everyday life situations. Also, I would like the ability to customize a ringtone to a contact's incoming text message.

6) More space. I understand that it only comes with 8GB of space (7GB usable) and no room for a memory card, like the Iphone. This is crazy. In 2009, people want the ability to add disk space. My 2008 Touch Pro allows MicroSD cards up to 32GB! Don't charge me extra to have built in space and not give me the ability to add to it. I do have a feeling that later generations of this phone will have more space, like the Iphone.

Now, don't get me wrong. Most of the things on this list i am sure can be done by OTA updates, which would be great. It's a sexy looking phone with a revolutionary OS, wonderful touch screen and processor abilities, and lots of buzz. An actual Iphone competitor. However, unless I can get it for less then retail, I probably won't be making the jump from my trusty touch pro anytime soon.

Here is a side by side comparison between the HTC Touch Pro and the Palm Pre (via phonescoop.com):

Compare Phones

Phone	HTC Touch Pro (CDMA)	Palm Pre (CDMA)
Current U.S. Carriers	Alltel Sprint U.S. Cellular Verizon Wireless	Sprint
Global Availability	Released	Released
Avg. User Rating	3.9 User Reviews	3.92 User Reviews
Add Phone	Remove	Remove
Specifications
Modes	CDMA 850 CDMA 1900	CDMA 850 CDMA 1900
Weight	5.3 oz (150g)	4.76 oz (135g)
Dimensions	4.01" x 2" x 0.71" (102 x 51 x 18 mm)	3.9" x 2.3" x 0.67" (99 x 58 x 17 mm)
Form Factor	Slide	Slide
Antenna	Internal	Internal
Battery Life	Talk: 3.8 hr Standby: ?	Talk: ? Standby: ?
Display	LCD (Color TFT/TFD) 480 x 640 pixels 2.8" Colors: 262,144 (18-bit)	LCD (Color TFT/TFD) 320 x 480 pixels 3.1" Colors: 16.7 million (24-bit)
Platform / OS	Windows Mobile Professional (Pocket PC)	(proprietary)
Memory	328 MB	8 GB
Phone Book Capacity	shared memory	shared memory
	HTC Touch Pro (CDMA)	Palm Pre (CDMA)
Features
GPS / Location	Yes	Yes
Accessibility
Adjustable Text Size	Yes	-
Digital TTY/TDD	Yes	Yes
Hearing Aid Compatible	-	Yes M4 (very compatible)
Multiple Languages	Yes	Yes
Alerts
Polyphonic Ringtones	Yes	Yes
Vibrate	Yes	Yes
Connectivity
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
PC Sync	Yes	-
USB	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	Yes	Yes
Contacts
Multiple Numbers per Name	Yes	Yes
Picture ID	Yes	Yes
Ringer ID	Yes	Yes
Voice Dialing	Yes Speaker-independent (automatic)	-
Customization
Custom Graphics	Yes	Yes
Custom Ringtones	Yes	Yes
Real-Music Ringers	Yes	Yes
Data & Network
Data-Capable	Yes	Yes
Flight Mode	Yes	Yes
Packet Data	Yes 1xEV-DO rA	Yes 1xEV-DO rA
WAP / Web Browser	Yes	Yes
Input
Predictive Text Entry	Yes	-
Side Keys	Yes	Yes
Text Keyboard	Yes QWERTY	Yes QWERTY
Touch Screen	Yes Finger	Yes Finger
Memory
Memory Card Slot	Yes microSD (TransFlash)	-
Messaging
Email Client	Yes	Yes
MMS	Yes *	Yes
Text Messaging	Yes	Yes
Text Messaging Templates	Yes	-
Music
Headphone Jack (3.5mm)	-	Yes
Music Player	Yes	Yes
Photo & Video
Camera	Yes 3+ megapixel	Yes 3+ megapixel
Streaming Video	Yes	Yes
TV Output	Yes	-
Video Capture	Yes	-
Productivity
Alarm	Yes	Yes
Calculator	Yes	Yes
Calendar	Yes	Yes
To-Do List	Yes	Yes
Voice Memo	Yes	-
Software
Games	Yes	Yes
Voice
Speaker Phone	Yes	Yes
	* Some versions only
	HTC Touch Pro (CDMA)	Palm Pre (CDMA)

Buzzwords episode 2: "CHRISTian"

In retrospect, this should have probably been the first word I chose, or Jesus, God, or sin. There might not be another word in the English language which is open to such interpretation. There are, I believe, some bedrock assumptions one can make about the term "Christian" though. I would think if you were explaining the term to someone who had never heard it, you would start by describing it as a word connected with the religion Christianity, and that you would call someone who is a Christian, ideally, a follower of Jesus Christ. After that though? You would be able to find a 1000 different interpretations of what it means. What day of worship, what constitutes right and wrong under the system, even who one worships!

From Wikipedia:

A 2007 survey in the United States identified the following five typical American categories:^[8]

• Active Christians: Committed to attending church, Bible reading, and sharing their faith that salvation comes through Jesus Christ. They also accept leadership positions in their church.^[8]
• Professing Christians: Are also committed to "accepting Christ as Savior and Lord" as the key to being a Christian, but focus on personal relationships with God and Jesus more than on church, Bible reading or sharing faith.^[8]
• Liturgical Christians: High level of spiritual activity, mainly expressed by attending and recognizing the authority of the church, and by serving in it or in the community.^[8]
• Private Christians: Believe in God and in doing good things, but not within a church context. In the American survey, this was the largest and youngest segment.^[8]
• Cultural Christians: Do not view Jesus as essential to salvation. They are the least likely to align their beliefs or practices with biblical teachings or to attend church. They favor a universality theology that sees many ways to God.^[8]

So which type of Christian do you see yourself as? And what are some attributes you feel one can recognize a Christian by?

New Gatorade commercial commemorating Michael Jordan's HOF entry

Buzzwords episode 1: "Context"

Today's word: Context

Im not making this long and drawn out, because i'm actually looking more for some feedback from you all, the readers. For those of you who are of faith (or are an Athiest with an opinion) how should we as believers deal with context in the reading/interpretation/application of Scripture? For instance, the Bible claims that women should never Pastor men, etc. though those of us who are more progressive find the reasoning to be a little archaic and not applicable.Paul, in 1 Tim. 2:12, states, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man" (NIV) Many denominations still use this as a reason to subjugate Women, including my own, the Seventh Day Adventist church. Paul also makes claims that Christians should eat unclean meats under certain circumstances, etc.1 Corinthians 10:23-26 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, ²⁶for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." I find it interesting that a large percentage of the Levitical Law is overlooked and quietly brushed aside by us, the "modern" Christian, yet certain Scriptures which perfectly meet our agendas/built in beliefs are held out as bedrock Principals that must never change. Unique to my faith is a lady named Ellen White who many believe was a Prophetess sent to the Church in the last days. Her numerous writings are sometimes used to serve whatever purpose, good or bad, that the reader so chooses. One in particular is the attending of the Movie theater, namely, that a good Christian should avoid it. "Among the most dangerous resorts for pleasure is the theater." (Messages to Young People, p. 380) "To those who plead for these diversions, we answer, We cannot indulge in them in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. The blessing of God would not be invoked upon the hour spent at the theater or in the dance. No Christian would wish to meet death in such a place. No one would wish to be found there when Christ shall come." (Messages to Young People, p. 398) Now anyone who actually takes the time to look into history even for 10 minutes will see that her (EG White's) guidelines were directly predicated on how bad and immoral a place the movie houses of the late 1800s and early 1900s were. One could find smoking, drinking, abuse of narcotics, and prostitution on a regular basis, not the theaters we have today, where you can attend a G rated movie and not even see an Ad for illicit behavior of any kind. Now for the progressives in the faith, this is a no brainer as to how to proceed in these days when it comes to watching movies. Considering anything you can see in the movies and worse can be found on your home computer or tv, coupled with the notable changes to the environment inside a movie theater compared to Mrs. White's day, one can make the statement that the principle of what mrs. White states, "guarding the avenues of your mind" and not the literal "don't go to movie theaters" should be applied here. Yet a sizable amount of believers in the SDA faith choose to stick to Mrs. White's literal instructions. So my question again: how do we as believers deal with context in the Bible, and specifically for those who read and follow extra-Biblical sources, how do you deal with context? Or a more telling question, DO you deal with context? Or are you a literal reader and believer of the Scriptures? PLEASE comment and further this discussion, I am extremely interested to here what you think.

Who is the Greatest Dunker in the World?

It's been a little while since I have posted anything, so let me get some housekeeping out of the way. RIP Michael Jackson. I will do a post on that later on down the road a bit dealing with his effect and some of my favorite images from him. In the meantime, I was watching some youtube vids of some great dunkers and how many people claim to be" the greatest dunker in the world." A mythical title to be sure, but what would be the requirements for this? Physically able to do dunks no one else can? Doing things in the air unfathomable to the mere mortal. Having the craziest dunks (like jumping over a car?). Let me know who you think is best! For your approval, I submit some of youtube's finest dunking vids:

Kadour Ziani of Slam Nation

James White

Slam Nation vs. And 1

Jameel Pugh

Air Up There (Team Flight Brothers)

Dwight Howard dunk Practice

Vince Carter

And just for good measure:

What is immediately clear to me is that the best dunkers no longer reside in the NBA, and I am not sure they ever did. While some of these guys

aren't even very good Basketball Players, they certainly are special when they get above the rim.

It's almost officially summer!! Watch the vid and celebrate. lol

Summer might be my favorite season. For many it has already started, but officially it starts June 21. In celebration of the oncoming heat and beautiful women, I humbly submit for your approval the single biggest Summer anthem of my lifetime:

LOL the end of the MVPuppet Ad campaign for this season...

NBA Finals Wrap up- He finally did it.

Well, it's over. Lakers win #15, Phil wins #10, and Kobe Wins #4. Can't say I am surprised, the Lakers had the better team and Orlando was a team living and dying by the jumper in their first finals since Shaq was relevant in Orlando. As I watched the celebrations, I couldn't help thinking that Kobe Bryant finally got the monkey off his back of winning without Shaq. What's left for a Kobe hater to talk about? (Except his Jordan-like mannerisms, arrogance, fakeness.) I stopped long ago trying to criticize him for his game, because dude can flat out play basketball. Others kept criticizing him about making teammates better, etc. Well, what now? What are we going to pick on now? I honestly think the Lakers are going to repeat next year, and may very well, barring injury and losses to free agency, win again after that. What happens if/when Kobe gets to 6? Will we have to put him next to, or above Jordan. Is he now getting to the point of taking the crown of the best player in NBA history. These are the thoughts I mulled during the commercial break after the final buzzer. Perplexed, I turned to Twitter (@slaihingpg3blog) and posted the following question:

Quick question, help me out. Im doing a final blog wrap up, does this ring make u view Kobe or his career any differently? hurry and answer!

Some responses:

trniii@slaihingPG3BLOG differently? No. He's a great talent, but not epic like Jordan.

masterluke103@slaihingPG3BLOG Nope. He's s

till a snitch, an adulterer, and a terrible rapper in my eyes.

BlackMambaSwag@slaihingPG3BLOG yea, a lil bit, just for the haters though, he just as good a player either way.

ehammond84@slaihingPG3BLOG no

It would seem now, that Kobe is not only fighting the slightly uphill battle to get to Jordan numbers of rings, but also has the task of getting the respect he deserves from the basketball viewing public. People have long memories, and during this series it didn't take much Laker's success for the Colorado jokes and rape comments to come out. For whatever reason, people choose to hate on Kobe Bryant. It's something enjoyable, something that makes the world seem right. I doubt there is anything Kobe Bryant could ever do now to receive the love that Michael Jordan received (still receives!). And I think that's ok. Because as my co-blogger said, part of Jordan's greatness was seeing the struggle, the uphill fight to get to the top. Losing against the Pistons and Celtics all those years. Kobe Bryant came in as an undeveloped rookie and within 3 years was winning Championships (Thanks Shaq!). Where was his struggle early in his career? A p

layoff game against Utah with 3 airballs? Please. I mean real struggle. Getting swept year in and year out and taunted struggle. Michael Jordan's personal story and journey he took to get there could never be replicated by anyone, including Italian-speaking-son-of -an- NBA- player Kobe. And that's why most Jordan fans scoff at the notion that Kobe is better. Because we saw Jordan fight and claw his way, and know that Kobe hasn't seen that type of adversity. While his off court escapade in Colorado was a big deal, it was all over and settled within a year. We knew that in a fantasy matchup, the personal stores and motivation Jordan would call upon against anyone who ever lived would not be matched by any opponent. He simply worked harder.The past 7 seasons post Shaq has been the first time we have seen Kobe struggle since he got into the league, and it has been refreshing. Watching him walk away under a sea of green confetti last year and seeing him have to deal with questioning afterward is one of the highlights of any Kobe Bryant hater's memory (sidenote: Lebron, you can't run from the press after a loss. They will find you). However, after seeing the events of these finals (lower rated then last year) any true basketball fan/Kobe/Lakers Hater must ask themselves three questions: 1) Did Kobe really learn anything and buy into the team concept? 2) Will the Lakers be able to keep it together through a big free agent offseason to repeat? and 3) Now that this is over, when is the Mixtape Tour

starting? (Answer: They are having one, just not under the same name!)

Have a good summer NBA fans, and try to find something to fill your time until the preseason in October.

I can't even type this, I'm so mad at the Magic.

After seeing the incredibly dumb coaching job last night from Stan Van Gundy, I am so mad I am going to let other people talk for me. Here are some user comments from ESPN and Slam online concerning the loss last night to the Lakers and SVG's decision to bench Starter Rafer Alston in favor of a maybe 80% Jameer Nelson.

From ESPN:

"SVG should of never left Nelson in the whole 4th quarter. You stick with the point guard that got you to the finals and that has played well for you. SVG is the pinnacle of bad coaching during important games."

"I said after game 1 and also last night that SVG was gonna cost the Magic this series from overplaying Jameer Nelson. D. Fisher cannot guard Rafer Alston. Skip to my Lou has him whenever he wants him like a prison b*tch. SVG said in his interview Nelson wasn't hurting the team, but in the final 5 of regulation, the Magic had no ball movement because Nelson was not doing what Alston had done which is create open looks by dribble penetration. Then the Magic put on that unnecessary full court pressure to leave Fisher open for a 3 when all they had to do was guard against a 3 and give a layup away. Dumb....hate seeing teams choke games away, but makes me sick to my stomach to watch a coach choke also."

"I'm not sure who to blame more... Nelson or Van Gundy. I'm sure in the timeout they had to say give up anything but an uncontested 3 and that's what Nelson does. Why was he in the game though? Alston can be streaky but he was hitting shots tonight and is always active on D. If he is in that play, Fisher passes... if he is in earlier they probably would have had the game in hand. I was completely baffled during the game and promised to never question Stan again if they can win this way... but it turned out to be as foolish as it seemed."

"The look Nelson gave the bench after Fisher tied it with a 3 was classic? It was almost like he was looking at Van Gundy and saying.. "see coach, I warned you I'm not 100%"

Fisher was off all night because Skip to my Lou was ballin' and Fisher was tired from chasing him around.. plus he is taller then Nelson which makes shots harder..

SVG is an #### for playing a guy who didn't get them to the finals...

this smells of favoritism.. Nelson must have a few years left on his contract or pictures of SVG in drag cause there is no other way he should be on the court."

From SLAM:

"This was bizarre."

• "The craziest was how obvious it was. This was not a case of second-guessing. Me and many other commenters spent the bulk of the 4th quarter and OT last night asking where Skip—who had been giving Fisher fits—was."

• "t seems like shaq was right. Stan is the master of manic. The Magic are going to lose this series because of bad coaching."

"Street Ballers don’t get respect and it’s sad, I grew up with Skip and to see him come this far despite what he has been through is enough for me. Stan will reap his coaching plans but I will say this “you must have confidence in your players”. Phil Jackson went with Fisher the whole series and he was stinking it up! But look where confidence got him."

"SVG is a literal idiot for not playing alston late. playing a guard who has been out for MONTHS is questionable especially when you choose him over a guard that BROUGHT you to the finals."

Check out this ESPN clip!

Good clip talking about Rafer Alston (Skip to my Lou) and his journey to the NBA Finals.

The most important game in Magic History.

This is IT.

If the Magic can't take game 2, this series is over.

Really. It's true. If they allow the Lakers to come to Orlando up 2-0, they can kiss the ring goodbye. LA would just have to win once in 3 games in Orlando, and once in 2 games in LA to take the ring. Easy enough. Orlando? They would have to take all 3 games in Orlando and one game in LA, or 2 out of 3 in orlando and BOTH in LA. Not happening. They need this one. Desperately.

Some random thoughts about last night:

I like the "California Love" intro for the game, nice to see someone with a pulse is putting these intros together. They will never be as good as NBA on NBC was for me, but they are improving in my opinion (ABC).

Anyone know how much a courtside seat in LA is going for?

I got a number of texts after the camera showed that scowl on Kobe's face after bumping into Ariza celebrating a play along the lines of "Uh oh, Kobe has his Colorado face on!" When does that joke get old and played out? Just asking.

Dwight Howard does not have the weapons necessary to make him a threat at all times during a game. He has to add a jumper of some kind, as well as better passing or we are watching his ceiling. Patrick Ewing should be working on this with him this summer, I hope. Seeing as he has already improved his free throw shooting 15%, something Shaq nor Wilt could ever do, tells me he should be able to add more facets to the game. He will need it if the HOF is his goal.

Orlando finally had a bad shooting game. And it cost them the game. Because of their offense completely relying on shooting 3's, they will face the same issues whenver they are not reggie miller-like from beyond the arc, which, sadly, will happen more times then not according to the law of averages. This LA team is going to close out quickly on their shooters and make the shots as tough as possible.

Skip Alston had a bad game. Ditto for Howard and Turk. These guys need to pick it up, they are key components on what Orlando tries to do during games and need to get their teammates involved.

I was greatly amused that Nike was able to recover quickly enough to put out a Lebron commercial with Lil Dez (the kid) making fun of the situation. I wonder if Nike had a contingency plan if Kobe lost to Denver?

I'm throwing a NBA Finals game 2 Viewing Party this Sunday. Suggestions for decor would be greatly appreciated.

Show Me Somethin’!

I’m not a Kobe fan. It’s easy to figure out if you’re not.

• Did you celebrate more than usual when the ’06 Miami Heat won the championship (even if you were a Mavericks fan)?
• Did you laugh to the point of breathlessness when Shaq offered Kobe a taste test in a freestyle last summer?
• Did your reaction to the Celtics winning the Finals last year in any way resemble Kevin Garnett’s?
• Have you in any sports argument brought up Kobe’s total Finals MVP trophies?
• Have you in ANY sports argument called Kobe a name that he was not exactly “convicted” of in Denver a few years back?
  

If you answered yes to…really, any of those…welcome. We share a common bond.

It’s really easy not to like Kobe. His father was an NBA player, he speaks four languages, he’s extremely rich, his wife is gorgeous, he plays basketball for a living (!!), and he has been extremely successful in just about everything he has touched over the last decade.

But none of that is why it’s easy to not like him. The reason you (or I) find it easy is because…all those things seem to make him come off as much more entitled than the average NBA player.

Think about it. We love Michael Jordan, not just for the 6 rings, the MVPs, the scoring titles, the success—but for the losing years, the 7 seasons of Celtics/Pistons beat downs, the retirement(s), the flu game. We love him because we saw what he had to fight through, and with the mounting challenge of each obstacle he seemed to raise his game even further, and reached each one of his goals.

Kobe came straight out of high school into the league, seemingly entitled to the core, and whether it’s true that he demanded to be a Laker or not, something happened, and he got there. Then he paired with the most dominant big man (ever?) of his generation and found himself in 4 NBA Finals in 5 years, with 3 rings for his efforts. All that came to an end, and a 26-year-old Kobe Bryant was still so immature and ego-driven that he feuded with Shaq over control of the team, eventually forcing the Lakers’ front office to make a choice between the two, and taking the side of their younger, flashier superstar.

Since that moment, Kobe has been trapped in an involuntarily cathartic journey. He has paid/is paying the price for his wishes of basketball autonomy. Losing, bad teammates, a book written by his coach, and the success of the Miami Heat put his early success in perspective, and the feeling of entitlement that seemed prevalent in his demeanor and play seemingly gave way to a by-any-means-necessary hunger for winning his elusive fourth ring.

Last season, as we saw him fall to the Celtics, I believe we were seeing some of the last big chunks of his unflappable confidence armor being chipped away. Kobe came into this season—remember, bad pinkie and all—with a drive to get right back to the top of the West, and the league. This season their team has overcome injuries, crappy guard play, and the self-inflicted sugar overdoses of Lamar Odom to climb through the West and over the bar of expectations we all had for them (something Orlando can also say, but Cleveland can’t).

And now we’re here—Lakers-Magic, seven-game series for it all. Every team I’ve rooted for this season and playoffs is gone, and the two teams I honestly had NO desire to see win a championship remain.

And to be honest…I’m at a crossroads of sorts. For the first time in my life, I just might…be watching a game for KOBE.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s a stark difference between rooting for a player and watching for a player, and it’s been a tough compromise for me to even reach the latter.

But at this point, the drama is done. The young, brash, unflappable Kobe Bryant has been replaced with a balder, more Triangle-loving version of himself. And as much as his “act,” the tongue wagging and bizarro attempts at being like or better than Jordan, seem to have eased up (though I still contest that Kobe has been trying to manufacture a “Flu Game” for the last 6 seasons), so has my utter hatred and disgust for everything he is as a basketball player.

I…respect…Kob(coughing uncontrollably)

(BLECH!!!!!!) That was hard to say!

Maybe if I add something negative at the end it’ll help.

I respect Kobe Bryant, even though his First-Team All-Defense could not be more overrated.

There it goes!


So now that I…respect…him (cough)…here’s how I feel about this series:

Kobe, show me somethin’. SHOW me somethin’. Show ME somethin’. Show me SOMETHIN’.

I don’t love you, I don’t hate you. I don’t like the Lakers, and I don’t really care for the Magic. Right now, I want to see what YOU can do. Your team is young, talented, and finally healthy. You are, albeit tired, at the top of your game on every level, just finishing off the Nuggets with 35 and TEN assists, the most LeBron-like numbers you’ve probably ever put up in your playoff career.

I’m not gonna hold all the fake Jordan crap you’ve pulled against you. I’m not gonna hold your years bickering with Shaq against you either (heck, I think we all know it wasn’t all your fault back then by now anyway). I’m completely wiping the slate clean and giving a great player a chance to write his own legacy. No comparisons to other people, and there’s no disregarding the hardware you pick up from this series. This is the big one.

Realizing that a) I’m nobody important, and b) Kobe will NEVER read this article, I just had to express what’s going on in my head about this series. As a non-Kobe fan, I realize more now than ever that many great players were either overlooked or overhyped in their time. And even as many have overhyped him as a basketball deity, I don’t want to mirror their ridiculousness by disregarding his abilities and his importance as a player.

Instead, I’ll be watching this series to see a legacy cemented. In this series we will find out if Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, or if he is simply one of the greatest scorers. It’s that critical.

Kobe, let’s see it.

Game 4 Roundup: Orlando is for real, muppets be damned.

Orlando is the better team. That's it. If you haven't realized it by now, if you haven't seen that in every game Cleveland has little to no answer for their 3 point shooting, Dwight's interior presence, and their defensive intensity on everyone not named Lebron, then I don't have much to say to you. Remember that the Cavs, if not for a miraculous shot by King James, would be home RIGHT NOW. The series would be over. If Cleveland wants to do anything with this series, they will have to take it one game at a time, and support their leader. We have seen this time and time again as NBA fans. One man does not a championship win. Michael didn't win a thing before Pippen and Grant go there. Kobe WON'T win another ring until Gasol and his supporting cast play better. Ditto for Lebron. Sadly, Mo Williams is not Scottie Pippen, and this series has illustrated that painfully. Even with his increased output last night (18 points), he had NO POINTS in the 4th Quarter or OT. Maybe he will keep himself from being baited into making silly statements to the media next time.

On top of that, Orlando hit 44.7% of their 3's (17-38), had more assists and blocks, and hit exactly 50% of the shots they took. Even with Cleveland outrebounding them, making less turnovers, and doubling the amount of steals Orlando had (5), Orlando was able to pull this out due to some clutch free throw shooting by Dwight and some good defense/non-calls on Lebron's drives to the basket.

I predict that Cleveland wins game 5 at home off of favorable calls and pure emotion. Lebron's supporting cast comes through for the first time this series (good bench production, finally!) and Lebron puts in another monster game to push it back to Orlando. As good as Orlando is, their emotions sometimes gets the best of them, especially on the road when calls aren't as likely to be in their favor. They can't expect their bench to perform like that away from Amway arena. Skip (Rafer Alston) won't have 26 points on 10-14 shooting in Cleveland, and Pietrus won't outscore the entire Cleveland bench. I also think that Dwight will probably get his 7th technical at some point. Though when I look at the replays of his 6th, I strongly feel he wasn't taunting, but simply celebrating a big play. Hopefully the League rescinds that one. Either way, I am excited at the thought that if Cleveland comes back and somehow wins this thing, Lebron will continue to create and increase his legend. Orlando wins? Then Dwight Howard moves from being a very good big man into the best big man in the league. My prediction: Orlando in 6 and the end of a very expensive Nike marketing campaign.

I LOVE this game.

Before the League took a stance against Hip Hop music used in Promos and at the All Star Game. Yes, Kanye, what you are currently doing is not Hip Hop.

Slam Online comment

Following this play:

Someone made this comment:

Anton Posted: May.23 at 6:04 pm

“Samuel said to all the people, ‘You see him whom Yahweh has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?’ All the people shouted, and said, ” Long live the king!”
Samuel 10:24