Chiraq. Oh,The Irony

I've been to Chicago a couple of times. I can't say I really like it. The weather sucks. People are generally fat and not very pleasant. I hate the Chicago Bulls. So why am I taking the time to write this article? Because I'm American. As in I have an American passport and live within its borders like everyone else, even in Chicago.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Having just watched Spike Lee's new film "Chiraq," I decided I'd make a point of actually investigating what's making Chicago the epicenter of American gun violence. The movie is hilarious. It's a complete parody of a grim situation, which perfectly suits my sadistic sense of humor. In the film, Spike Lee rewrites the Greek play "Lysistrata" in modern day Chicago, suggesting that somehow women can use a pussy strike to convince the men in their lives to stop committing acts of violence.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          While the film is entertaining, it offers no realistic solution to violence. Sadly, many people in Chicago and elsewhere in America have become trigger happy before losing their virginity. Kids appear to be living a real life fantasy that plays itself out in violent and destructive ways right in their own backyards. The same type of nihilistic destruction has spread to other places in America, and around the world. Chiraq would seem like the perfect nickname for this hotbed of glorified violence, right? Not exactly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Besides being involved militarily, most Americans know very little about Iraq, other than the fact that its been a war-zone now for a couple of decades. I would guess that there aren't a whole lot of kids in Chicago, for instance, who speak Arabic. There may be an abundance of people in America who cannot point to Iraq on a map. The nickname Chiraq for an American city perfectly sums up just how ignorant America has become. Before the United States got involved in the region's political affairs, Iraq was apparently a beautiful country. Not to say it didn't have some political turmoil, but it wasn't that bad. By earning a nickname like Chiraq due to violence, Chicago has highlighted the fact that military intervention has made a once beautiful country the most dangerous place on earth. Now, Chicago, once a great destination for working class Americans, is now being torn apart by violence, ethnic segregation, and a lack of opportunity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Due to the mass exportation of jobs overseas, kids are forced to either go through the rigors of the educational system, or somehow pursue the American dream with very little resources. Many kids have seen parents and siblings locked away for life for first -time drug offenses, a pattern that clearly points to the prison system's profit of holding as many people in jail as possible. But it's not just the prison system that cashes in on crime. It's also the NRA. Every time a firearm is purchased, they make more money. Military contractors profit from arming civilian military personnel at bases where wars are being plotted. They also profit every time a bomb is dropped on countries like Syria or Iraq, places people here unfortunately are very unfamiliar with.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The mass consumerism among American youth has been glorified in mainstream rap music. Sadly, every article of clothing kids, adults, and college students alike are wearing is made elsewhere. All of our products being sold in retail stores are made in other countries in slave-like conditions. Our cars, our computers, our cellphones, all made cheap overseas and sold for high prices here. If people were smart they'd realize that people are cashing in on their very existence, and the more they spend on clothes, weapons, cars, jewelry, the more money is poured into the pockets of people who will never offer hope to the average American.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             In Iraq, people can be ignorant, but they know enough to know that the United States is not involved in the region for diplomacy. America is politically involved in the Middle East because of natural resources. The more countries in the Middle East are aligned withh the United States and Israel, the more countries will use the American dollar to turn on their electricity and hot water. As American resentment builds, groups like ISIS are formed to make a counter-profit on a highly impoverished and vulnerable population.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Now, the American media is using music as a way to further blind the population from their own demise. American ignorance has allowed Iraq to sound really bad, but Chiraq sounds just plain awful.

The Gun: Weapon of Mass Oppression

First of all, let me start off by saying that I hate the mainstream media, and that I usually try to ignore most news stories altogether, but since my main man Charles Barkley is getting involved in the discussion, I figured I should weigh in.
I completely disagree with Sir Charles. I think the officer should have been indicted, and that the only difference between this shooting and any other shooting in America is that racial profiling was an issue, as well as the fact that cops, specifically those of the white variety, get preferential treatment in the judicial system. There's no denying that, and if you do then you're living under a rock.
Unfortunately, the protest of this specific case, while understandable, isn't going to solve much in terms of the root of the problem, and that is the tolerance of guns in America. Ending racial profiling is something that would take a complete overhaul of the contemporary American culture, because so many people do it on a subconscious level. It's been woven into peoples' mentalities through music and entertainment, that blacks and latinos are more likely to commit crimes, both violent and petty, than whites.
Americans of all ethnic backgrounds are trigger happy. Sadly, there may be more guns in this country than people. We, as civilians have tolerated, even glorified, gun violence through the same music and entertainment that wrongfully frames blacks and latinos as thugs and criminals, thus building a culture that accepts it as a way of life. We can't, as civilians, expect the police to not be trigger happy when we are trigger happy ourselves. After all, cops are only given firearms, because they are policing people who may also possess firearms.
In order to do laundry, you need a machine. In this case, the mentally ill people who shoot up a school, the ex-soldier with PTSD that shoots up a military base, the kid that shoots another kid from a rival clique or gang, and the dumb, racist cop that shoots an unarmed black kid, all have one thing in common, and that is that they have the tool with which to carry out these violent transgressions, a firearm.
If we disarm ourselves, there would be no reason for cops to be armed either, none of these forms of mental instability would lead to tragedy, and we wouldn't even get to the point of having to deal with a prejudiced judicial system in the first place. The problem is that we always deviate from trying to ban guns altogether by focusing on some other aspect of crimes like what the motivation was, or who the shooter was as a person. We do this, because lobbying with the NRA to ban guns altogether is such an uphill climb, as they make so much money on our collective fear of each other.
Guns are the archaic tool that continue to oppress all of us, an advent of a revolutionary war that's already been won centuries ago. Shut down the NRA, and all of us will be free.

Knicks End Skid: Early Season Report

http://www.nba.com/games/20141116/DENNYK/gameinfo.html

The New York Knicks finally ended a seven-game losing streak with a win against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Despite an abysmal 3-8 start, the Knicks are remarkably doing a lot of things well. The triangle offense features free-flowing ball movement that gets the Knicks great open looks from three-point range. They're shooting just over 39% from downtown on the year, and about 45% total from the field. The main problem on offense hasn't been the execution of the triangle offense, but their lack of a trips to the foul line. They're only averaging about 17 free throw attempts per game. This number has to go up, as it did against Denver on Sunday, where they took 27 foul shots, a season-high. If they can get keep earning trips to the foul line, their offensive woes should subside shortly.


On the defensive end, the Knicks have done some things very well. They're averaging 3.5 blocks and 6 steals per game. They must close out on shooters better, however. They're currently allowing their opponents to shoot 42% from downtown. Prior to the Denver game that percentage was over 50. Opponents are also shooting 45% from the field, so while the Knicks are shooting the ball relatively well, they're also letting other teams get way too many open looks at the basket. Part of the problem on defense stems from the inexperienced play of Shane Larkin, who has a tendency to allow too much penetration into the paint, forcing wing players to collapse towards the middle. Larkin must do a better job of moving his feet, and not gambling, so that players guarding shooters don't have to collapse on penetrating point guards on the other team.


If the Knicks can fix these minor glitches during their upcoming games, we may very well see them ascending the Eastern Conference standings sooner rather than later.

Bulls Down 2-0, But Chicago Faces Bigger Problems

Sometimes sports can be an escape from often grim realities that surround us on a daily basis, but in Chicago the nightmare of gun violence has disturbingly frequent. Over Easter weekend, the Bulls started their playoff series against the Washington Wizards, one which they now trail two games to none. On the same weekend, there were over 40 shootings, mostly on the city's South side. The epidemic of gun violence in America has been particularly harsh in Chicago. In 2012, there were 503 homicides, and although that number dropped to 415 in 2013, the city continues to struggle with gang-related violence.

Chicago has always been a tough town. It was home of some of the most infamous mobsters in American history, including the likes of Al Capone. The current Bulls team represents the city's toughness in many regards. Their star guard, Chicago native Derrick Rose, remains sidelined due to injury. Meanwhile, the consistent hustle of center Joakim Noah continued to inspire the rest of the team to will their way to the fourth seed in the playoffs. Every player on Chicago plays solid defense. Head coach Tom Thibodeau demands nothing less. The challenge for the Bulls all season has been scoring, and it appears that they may be outmatched athletically by a younger, faster Washington team.

Nevertheless, the Bulls should continue to be a presence in the Eastern conference for years to come, and with the possibility of Carmelo Anthony joining the team this summer, there is reason to be optimistic for hoops heads in the Windy City. In the mean time, Chicago address the problem of violence in the city, because whether the Bulls win or not, people are still losing lives.
And that's much more unacceptable than lousy offense.

Washington Wizards at Verizon Center: Recent Photos

Rajon Rondo listening to some tunes

Otto Porter lines up a corner three

Kelly Olynyk tries to convert a layup over Andre Miller

Joakim Noah goes in for a layup

Kemba Walker drives to the bucket

Gary Neal tries to loft a shot over Nene

Wizards Hit New York Right Where it Counts

It's Friday night in Washington, DC. I'm cruising around the H Street corridor looking for a bar to watch the Knicks play the Wizards. Not a club, not a lounge, a bar. One with plenty of bar space and preferably a couple of other basketball fans that I could watch the game with. The first watering hole I entered was a spot called The H Street Country Club, a place best known for its indoor miniature golf course. No luck. Not only was no one in the building watching the game, the game wasn't even on. Instead, they were showing a random baseball game. I couldn't even tell you who was playing, and Denver versus Memphis. Needless to say, I left the premises. Next, I went into a bar across the street that had plenty of televisions showing the game, but zero bar space. The place was actually a lounge playing incredibly sappy soft r&b tunes. Again, no basketball junkies to be found. I was headed back to my place, and tried one more spot. Again, the game was on a television, but the smooth jazz playing just wasn't the type of vibe that I was looking for on this occasion. This was a big game, especially for the Knicks, and I wanted to feel its magnitude in some way that these places weren't giving me.

The Wizards had already clinched a playoff spot on Wednesday night. Of course, nobody seemed to notice in D.C. Meanwhile, in New York, with all the other sports teams struggling, with the exception of the Brooklyn Nets, the Knicks were fighting to stay alive in the playoff hunt. New York City, a basketball town, was counting on the Knicks to win this game and stay stay alive.

By the time, I returned to my place, tucked away in the shadows behind the RFK stadium parking lot, it was already the third quarter. The Knicks were up by a slim margin. It remained close throughout the contest, and appeared as though it would be J.R. Smith's 32 points that would send the Knicks to victory, but the game came down to a big shot by Bradley Beal with 22.9 seconds left to put the Wizards up 90-89. Carmelo Anthony struggled mightily, only scoring 10 points on 5-14 shooting from the field. On the final possession, Anthony lost the handle on the ball while trying to penetrate. Smith had a decent look at the basket from long-range, but the shot went off the side of the iron. Madison Square Garden, the center of the basketball universe, was stunned once again into a comatose state. The Wizards had rolled into New York and dealt a crushing blow to the Knicks' playoff chances, and an even more crushing blow to the city of New York, a town so desperate for an NBA title. It was a deflating loss for New York, but a gritty win by Washington in a playoff atmosphere. If only people in D.C. actually cared.

Washington Wizards vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Anderson Varejao in traffic

Kyrie Irving meets Marcin Gortat at the rim

John Wall and Jarrett Jack chase after the loose ball

Jarrett Jack comes away with the loose ball

Washington Wizards Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Jarrett Jack attacks the rim

Kyrie Irving and John Wall chase after the ball

Add caption

Matthew Dellavedova and Anderson Varejao work the pick and roll

Kyrie Irving pulls up for the jumper

Players box out for a rebound

Tristan Thompson with the jam over Nene

Kyrie Irving loses control of the ball

Kyrie Irving drives to the basket on two defenders

Jarrett Jack dribbles around the Wizards defense

Wizards Opening Night: Hot Shots

Michael Carter-Williams goes head-to-head with John Wall

Evan Turner stares down the Wizards defense

John Wall and Trevor Ariza battle for a loose ball with Michael Carter-Williams

With MSG Renovation Complete, All The Mystique Is Gone

In December of 2006, I was visiting friends in New York City, and found myself standing outside Madison Square Garden. It occurred to me that the Knicks would play the Charlotte Bobcats in about an hour. With ten ice cold blocks still separating me from my friends, who were camped out at a bar near Times Square, I decided to attend the Knicks game alone. My ticket was ten dollars, which was less than a movie ticket I had paid for a week earlier. I sat in the 400 level, the "green seats," as Knicks fans knew them, and saw what turned out to be the game of the season. After two overtimes, David Lee tipped the ball in off of a Jamal Crawford inbound pass with 0.1 seconds remaining, proving that it was indeed possible to score a basket, and win a game, with less than 0.3 seconds on the game clock. The Knicks only won 33 games that season, but this was definitely the most dramatic win of the season.

I only went to two more Knicks games after that, one in 2007 and one in 2008. I haven't been back to The Garden to see a basketball game following the acquisitions of Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, so I was not in the building to see the progress of the recently completed billions of dollars worth of renovations, that delivered, among other things, a brand new jumbo-tron that illuminates center court, but seems to vacuum the heart and soul out of the "world's most famous arena."

As part of the renovations, MSG transformed the color of the seats from burgundy and teal to a more subdued navy blue, altering the structure of the seating sections to a more generic bowl shape. Even the players' tunnel was victim to renovation. The new tunnel features a lounge and a see through walk-way, so fans sitting close enough can watch their favorite stars emerge from the locker room, and take center court. In order to construct this amenity for court-side viewers, MSG had to gut the most famed center-court players tunnel, the same one that Willis Reed hobbled out of for game 7 of the 1970 NBA finals.

Even the beautiful Chase bridges, concession walkways that nearly graze the building's spiral ceiling come at a cost. Now fans sitting in the 400 level, what once was the very same "green seats" where I would so often sit, has an obstructed view of the new massive jumbo-tron. Instead fans in the upper levels get a view of their own personal flat screen TV's in every section, that are hung from the back wall of the new bridges that now separate them from the rest of the arena.

The Garden looks shiny and new, but it may not make the Knicks a better team. The Knicks won both their championships, and made all their finals appearances before these massive renovations took place. Now that those days are clearly long-forgotten, its up to the players on the floor to determine weather or not the arena in its current state will be immortalized forever, or will just be a reminder to how much money was spent on erasing its past.

Porter 'Pretty Bummed Out' To Be Drafted by the Wizards

Washington Wizards first-round draft pick Otto Porter was less than pleased to be selected by the team representing the city he played his collegiate ball in at Georgetown. The Sikeston, MO native averaged 16.2 points and 7.5 boards in his last season with the Hoyas, and said he "hoped he had been selected by a team that plays in a warmer climate, like Miami or Los Angeles." Unfortunately, neither of those two teams had a first-round draft pick, which reduced Porter's preferred destinations to Orlando and Phoenix. "I mean, I spent the last two seasons playing in D.C.," Porter told ESPN. "This city is boring, and to make matters worse, the team is boring. When was the last time the Wizards won the championship? 1978?"

A dismayed Porter addresses the media after being selected by the lowly Wizards (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Indeed, Porter's guess is not inaccurate. The last time the Wizards won a title was 1978 when they were still cool enough to be called the Bullets. Thanks to years of lousy management, botched trades, and stupid draft picks like NBA lowlife Kwame Brown, the Wizards have managed to keep themselves as far from the championship as any other consistently sorry team in the NBA. Porter, though only a rookie, figures to play a prominent role next season in helping the Wizards do what everyone expects them to, which is compete for the top pick in next year's NBA draft. "I know this team really sucked before I got here," said a grinning Porter. "And if I have anything to with it, I'll make sure they suck even more when my guaranteed rookie contract is up in three years."

Leslie Could Be Knicks Next Jeremy Lin

He may not have the same cultural impact as the Taiwanese-American Harvard grad who reignited the Garden's flame in the lockout-shortened 2012 season, but the most recent Knicks summer league pickup, C.J. Leslie, could make teams that passed over him in last week's NBA Draft very sorry they missed him.

C.J. Leslie with averaged 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds last season with N.C. State (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

At 6'9", Leslie is a remarkable athlete with a 7'3" wingspan. Though his game is still unpolished, he has developed a post game, making him a formidable opponent both on the inside and outside. His length and quickness for his size suggests that he could become a solid defender in the future. Leslie was heralded as a top 25 pick going into the draft, but his stock dropped, because teams felt that he lacked the assertiveness to become a contributor at the next level. Still, the former McDonald's All-American is a talented player that should have been drafted. The Knicks made a low-risk move by adding him to the summer league team, one which could pay great dividends if Leslie turns into the player that we thought he would be coming out of high school.

Full 2-Round Mock Draft

2013 NBA Mock Draft

1		Alex Len, C, Maryland Cleveland Cavaliers	31		Bojan Dubljevic, PF, Valencia Basket (Spain) Cleveland Cavaliers from Orlando Magic
2		Nerlens Noel, C, Kentucky Orlando Magic	32		Richard Howell, PF, North Carolina State Oklahoma City Thunder from Charlotte Bobcats via OKC, BOS and HOU
3		Otto Porter, SF, Georgetown Washington Wizards	33		Trevor Mbakwe, F, Minnesota Cleveland Cavaliers
4		Ben McLemore, SG, Kansas Charlotte Bobcats	34		Mike Muscala, FC, Bucknell Houston Rockets from Phoenix Suns
5		Anthony Bennett, PF, UNLV Phoenix Suns	35		Nemanja Nedovic, PG, Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) Philadelphia Sixers from New Orleans Hornets
6		Trey Burke, PG, Michigan New Orleans Pelicans	36		Brandon Paul, G, Illinois Sacramento Kings
7		Michael Carter-Williams, SG, Syracuse Sacramento Kings	37		Augusto Cesar Lima, PF, Unicaja Malaga (Spain) Washington Wizards
8		Victor Oladipo, G, Indiana Detroit Pistons	38		Nate Wolters, G, South Dakota State Detroit Pistons
9		C.J. McCollum, G, Lehigh Minnesota Timberwolves	39		Jackie Carmichael, F, Illinois State Portland Trail Blazers from Minnesota Timberwolves via CLE and BOS
10		Cody Zeller, PF, Indiana Portland Trail Blazers	40		Elijah Johnson, G, Kansas Portland Trail Blazers
11		Shabazz Muhammad, SF, UCLA Philadelphia Sixers	41		Deshaun Thomas, F, Ohio State Memphis Grizzlies from Toronto Raptors
12		Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, Georgia Oklahoma City Thunder from Toronto Raptors via Houston	42		Oleksandr Lypovyy, PG, BC Donetsk (Ukraine) Philadelphia Sixers
13		Dennis Schroeder, PG, New Yorker Phantoms (Germany) Dallas Mavericks	43		Rodney Williams, Jr., F, Minnesota Milwaukee Bucks
14		Sergey Karasev, SF, Triumph Lyubertsy (Russia) Utah Jazz	44		B.J. Young, PG, Arkansas Dallas Mavericks
15		Steven Adams, PF, Pittsburgh Milwaukee Bucks	45		Erick Green, G, Virginia Tech Portland Trail Blazers from Boston Celtics
16		Tony Mitchell, PF, North Texas Boston Celtics	46		Michael Snaer, SG, Florida State Utah Jazz
17		Rudy Gobert, C, Cholet Basket (France) Atlanta Hawks	47		Phil Pressey, PG, Missouri Atlanta Hawks
18		Jamaal Franklin, G, San Diego State Atlanta Hawks from Houston Rockets via Brooklyn	48		Myck Kabongo, PG, Texas Los Angeles Lakers
19		Archie Goodwin, SG, Kentucky Cleveland Cavaliers from L.A. Lakers	49		Tony Snell, G, New Mexico Chicago Bulls
20		Reggie Bullock, SG, North Carolina Chicago Bulls	50		Solomon Hill, SF, Arizona Atlanta Hawks from Houston Rockets
21		Shane Larkin, PG, Miami (FL) Utah Jazz from Golden State Warriors via Brooklyn	51		Isaiah Canaan, G, Murray State Orlando Magic from Golden State Warriors via NYK and DEN
22		Ricky Ledo, SG, Providence Brooklyn Nets	52		Lourn Abdoulaye, PF, STB Le Havre (France) Minnesota Timberwolves from Brooklyn Nets via MIN and NOH
23		Mason Plumlee, F, Duke Indiana Pacers	53		Jordan Aboudou, SF, Chalon-Sur-Saone (France) Indiana Pacers
24		Jeff Withey, C, Kansas New York Knicks	54		Dewayne Dedmon, PF, USC Washington Wizards from New York Knicks
25		Allen Crabbe, SG, California Los Angeles Clippers	55		Robert Covington, F, Tennessee State Memphis Grizzlies
26		Kelly Olynyk, F, Gonzaga Minnesota Timberwolves from Memphis Grizzlies via Houston	56		C.J. Aiken, F, Saint Joseph's Detroit Pistons from Los Angeles Clippers
27		Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Filathlitikos Div II Greece (Greece) Denver Nuggets	57		Amath M'Baye, F, Oklahoma Phoenix Suns from Denver Nuggets via LAL
28		Alex Abrines, GF, FC Barcelona Regal (Spain) San Antonio Spurs	58		Livio Jean-Charles, SF, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne (France) San Antonio Spurs
29		Gorgui Dieng, C, Louisville Oklahoma City Thunder	59		Dejan Musli, C, KK Partizan (Serbia) Minnesota Timberwolves from Oklahoma City Thunder
30		C.J. Leslie, PF, North Carolina State Phoenix Suns from Miami Heat via L.A. Lakers & Cleveland	60		Arsalan Kazemi, F, Oregon