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Scattered Joker Cards. |
With Peyton
Manning on the shelf for a fairly lengthy period of time, I just could not
bring myself to write about the NFL. It was just far too depressing to watch my
beloved Colts play in what looked like a WWE handicap match against the WWE
World Heavyweight Champion and UFC champion all the while writing about it.
But at some
point, something has to give right? Instead of making it a full-fledged NFL post,
I instead decided to give the best of both worlds and hook you guys up with my Scattered Thoughts. But first, a quick
public service announcement…..
Competitiveness
is a funny thing; people try to outshine one another in every aspect of life
but it never dawned on me that such would be the case in writing. To my
surprise, writing isn’t unlike rapping and sports; in that once the established
stars feel threatened, they are not above taking shots at you to knock you down
a few pegs.
I guess it
just never occurred to me that I might matter to some guys at the top….on with
the Thoughts.
SPORTS: NFL
32. Indianapolis Colts (0-4)
Let’s get
them out of the way right?
31. St. Louis Rams (0-4)
So much for
everyone picking Sam Bradford and the Rams to win the NFC West. And to think, a
few weeks back I was in Vegas and could have hopped on that bandwagon but
thought better of it.
30.
Miami Dolphins (0-4)
I’m
surprised LeBron James hasn’t been blamed yet for the Dolphins record. I guess
fans will probably wait for the last quarter of the season….
29. Minnesota Vikings (0-4)
It seems the
Vikes were in fact better off with Favre at the helm huh?
28. Kansas City (1-3)
How long
before Todd Haley ends up in a fight with one of his players? There’s just
something about him that seems to rub players the wrong way and we keep seeing
it on Sundays. Mind you, ever notice how he only seems to chew out offensive
players and not defensive ones? Wisely picking his battles….
27. Jacksonville (1-3)
These guys
are still in the NFL? Then again I should talk, they have a better record than
Indianapolis.
26. Arizona Cardinals (1-3)
For everyone
saying that Philadelphia should have considered keeping Kolb in the city of
brotherly love, the Eagles and Cardinals both have the same record. So would he
really have helped?
25. Seattle Seahawks (1-3)
You mean to
tell me Seattle let Hasselbeck walk away so they could sign Tarvaris Jackson?
24. Denver Broncos (1-3)
Things not
looking so good in Denver.
23. Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
The first
win in the Andy Dalton era ladies and gentlemen!
22. Carolina Panthers (1-3)
The Panthers
might have a losing record, but other than the Eagles, they might just be the
most exciting losing team in the league.
21. Philadelphia Eagles (1-3)
I’m not sure
why the media keeps making a big deal out of every Philly loss. They are the
best one-win team in the NFL, which has to count for something right? Dreat
Team indeed…
20. Cleveland Browns (2-2)
Peyton
Hillis annoys me. Know why? Instead of the Madden Curse leading to him missing
time due to injury, my PS3 keeps freezing every time I reach Week 13 in my
Madden season. So yes, even in Madden, my Colts can’t make the playoffs.
19. Atlanta Falcons (2-2)
We expected
more out of this team but it seems that they just might be overrated.
18. Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
17. NY Jets (2-2)
Romo played
brilliantly early against Detroit and then essentially gave the game away to
the Lions. Mark Sanchez on the other hand felt as though Romo was getting too
much attention and thus pitched a stinker against the Ravens.
16. Oakland Raiders (2-2)
Who knew
Asomugha would join a stacked team and watch his former team (Oakland) win more
games through four weeks than his new one?
15. Chicago Bears (2-2)
Devin Hester
now stands alone in history with 11 punt returns for touchdowns. He is bar none
the best punt returner the league has ever seen.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
If Big Ben
is going to finish up this season, he is going to have to start to get rid of
the ball quicker with that banged up offensive line. But the real issue in
Pittsburgh, what’s up with the defense?
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
Could they
win the South?
12. San Diego Chargers (3-1)
The Chargers
under Norv Turner have historically underperformed early in the season. Given
their current record now, one wonders if they will finish with perhaps one of
the top seeds in the AFC given their ability to usually finish up the regular season
strong.
11. San Francisco 49ers (3-1)
After a big
win in Philadelphia, perhaps we should start paying more attention to the
Niners.
10. Washington Redskins (3-1)
The question
might have once seemed ridiculous, but now one can only wonder: Tony Romo or
Rex Grossman?
9. Tennessee Titans (3-1)
Chris
Johnson is officially back and you have to figure that the Houston Texans are
at least somewhat concerned that they will have someone to fight for the
division crown.
8. NY Giants (3-1)
Leading the
toughest division in football right now.
7. Houston Texans (3-1)
How does
Houston handle prosperity after being mediocre for so many years?
6. New England Patriots (3-1)
Oddly
enough, the Patriots win big on the road and still fly under the radar because
of the Lions and Packers. Just remember, in recent years New England has not
properly handled playing with the target on their backs. With them now not
garnering much publicity, I’d keep an eye out on them.
5. Buffalo Bills (3-1)
Just a bump
in the road in Cincinnati or a sign of things to come?
4. New Orleans Saints (3-1)
Their
defense needs to play better but that offense can sure cover up a lot of
mistakes.
3. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
The Ravens
defense did one hell of a job against the Jets and then their ground game
showed up late in the third quarter to help them put away the game.
2. Detroit Lions (4-0)
MEGATRON!!! *Transformer
sound and jet flies away*
1. Green Bay Packers (4-0)
Still
rocking the belt.
RELATIONSHIPS: DATING
The Ex
Last week,
one of my friends mentioned to me that he had started talking to this lady and
that she seemed to be a keeper at first glance. She was pretty and appealed to
him physically. The one issue he faced with her is that she seemed to be stuck
on her ex-boyfriend.
Granted,
these things happen fairly frequently and thus at times it comes down to simply
toughing it out for a few days or possibly a few weeks while the woman in
question gets it out of her system (if you are willing to wait). But then he
mentioned how he had complimented her at one point and she replied: “I know
right? Why wouldn’t he want to be with me?!?”
And that’s
when I told him, GET OUT! It’s one thing to be hung up on your former lover and
having trouble moving on, but the impression I got from my friend was this lady
wasn’t even trying to move on. Instead, she was trying to understand why this
man had turned her away and could not get past that. And thus my advice was
that he cut his losses now before he become involved in a love triangle.
The Changes
A phenomenon
seems to have taken over the world. Women now seem to expect men to basically
change the core of whom they are for the sake of pleasing them. It would seem
that specifically women who have recently had their hearts broken by their
one-time lover have made the executive decision that there are things they will
not stand by; which is fine, those are called standards. However, where things
get complicated is that when these women meet a man that seems to fit most of
their criteria, they take a particular interest in him but set out to change
some of the characteristics they do not like.
For instance,
if he is not a hugger, she will force him to hug, if he does not like to
purchase flowers or go to the movies; well his refusal to acquiesce to such
demands will become a matter of national security with the lady in question.
Remember
when you were an early teenager and would watch early Saturday morning teen
shows and they would always preach to remain yourself and to never try to be
someone else because people should appreciate you for who you are? That message
seems to have been lost on certain women when dealing with men. Approach with
caution!
MUSIC
Hip Hop
Power Rankings: Top 3
3. Joe Budden
Jump Off
Joey has no shame. He puts his feelings as well as his life on full display and
has us live his life through his songs. In his new mixtape Mood Muzik 4.5, Joe touches on issues like the loss of Aspen (his
unborn daughter) and finally getting closure from breaking things off with his
most recent girlfriend as he raps about their fights and her suspect behavior
with a known NFL running back on No Ordinary
Love Pt. 3.
Joey just
keeps doing his thing and we are all better for it.
2. J. Cole
Cole came to
Montreal last month and literally killed the show by performing hit tracks such
as Who Dat, Can’t Get Enough and Farewell
to name a few. The Carolina rapper had me reeled in then and there but then he
took it even further and dropped his LP The
Sideline Story.
The album is
titled in a way for you to think that it’s everything that is on the side in
his life but it’s actually the opposite. Cole’s album is the window with open
blinds into his life.
The Jay-Z
protégé raps about the path he had to take to reach his goals in A Dolla and a Dream III, the
quintessential rags to riches story that focuses on his being poor.
No Hip Hop
album would could termed as such without a radio friendly single in which the
rapper boasts about his skills in the bedroom and The Sideline Story is no
exception, as the Carolina rapper spits game on Can’t Get Enough with Trey Songz on the hook. Here’s a quick verse:
“Won’t brag
but the boy been blessed man,
Let you play
with the stick
Ovechkin…”
But
ultimately, the album hits hard and hits home because Cole shares with us a
piece of who he is and why he is the man he is today. He gets deep and
introspective on Lost Ones when he
acts out a conversation he had with a girlfriend when he was younger and faced
with the prospect of raising a child with her in poverty. Essentially they are
discussing the possibility of an abortion and Cole tells her (and us) that he
isn’t too proud to say that he cries sometimes about it; it may not seem like
much, but he sends a powerful message in the song.
And finally
on Breakdown, the rap star explains
the sadness he felt when his father left him when he was younger and how his
mother and brother had to take care of one another. There may be some
resentment on his part, but Cole squashes the notion when he states that he
just spent some time by his father for the first time in a long time and that
all of it rendered him extremely emotional.
There are
more tracks to listen to and appreciate on The
Sideline Story and I would invite you to do so. Between the production, the
lyrics and the radio friendly songs, this album is clearly a must-have for Hip
Hop enthusiasts.
1. Eminem
The beats,
the lyrics, the words, the word play and the content that Marshall handles in
his songs just elevate him above everybody else in the game.
ShynePhone Rotation
DJ Khaled
ft. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil’ Wayne – I’m On One
Joe Budden –
No Ordinary Love pt. 3
Royce Da 5’9
- Vagina
Jay-Z & Kanye
West – Otis
Crooked I –
Fast Car Freestyle
DMX – Sucka
for Love
R. Kelly –
Ex-girlfriend
Sean Kingston
ft Nicki Minaj – Letting Go (Dutty Love)
Gyptian –
Beautiful Lady
Rock City
ft. Gyptian – Hold Yuh Remix
Wayne
Marshall ft. Mavado – My Heart
Mohombi ft.
Nicki Minaj & Gyptian – Hold Yuh Remix
Royce Da 5’9
ft. Travis Barker – Legendary
Drake –
Trust Issues
Black Rob –
Get Involved
Royce Da 5’9
– Second Place
YC – Racks
Lil’ Wayne
ft. Drake & Rick Ross – She Will
Drake – Club
Paradise
Questions or
comments? Feel free to leave them in the comments section or you can contact me
by email at Shyne@SBGorillas.com.You can also find
me on Twitter with the handle name @ShyneIV.