Thoughts while watching game 5

So the Suns are out to a quick start, which is very exciting. i for one feel terribly for them and their fans, as well as for fans of the NBA in general, for the way the league has dealt with disciplinary actions surrounding Robert Horry's horrible cheap shot on Steve Nash in the waning moments of game 4. To me, nothing could make for a better story than for an undermanned Phoenix Suns team to win at home and have a possible clinching game in San Antonio when Stoudemire and Diaw come back. Right now it looks good. i'd love for this to go to seven games, but i'm just not happy with the way San Antonio plays. They play dirty, they flop, and they whine more than any team in the entire league. If i could give out an award to the biggest whiner, there is no doubt that Tim Duncan would win it. i don't know if it's just my perception, but i don't ever remember him doing that earlier in his career, even as late as the 2005 championship. Either way, i just don't think they deserve to win the series from an ethical standpoint, and though that certinaly has nothing to do with anything, it's the way i feel. Which brings me to my first link. Bill Simmons wrote an excellent pieceregarding the way the league dealt with the suspensions, which most likely any one who is reading this has already seen, but i'd love to point it out anyway. Bill Simmons

The second one is a problem that i've noticed for a few years and was actually just mentioning to my dad about two weeks ago, but that i haven't seen any journalist cover until now. One of my favorite columnists, Scoop Jackson, has tackled the tough task of exposing Roger Clemens for what he is. And while people who know me will undoubtedly think that this somehow has anything to do with my allegiance to the Red Sox, it actually has nothing to do with it. i actually am just disgusted with the way he thinks he can just start playing whenever he wants for absurd amounts of money. i think he disrespects his teammates, the fans, and the game. Scoop says it better than i ever could; Roger Clemens holds the game hostage. i hope everyone reads this too: Scoop Jackson

At this point, the Suns are up 28-15 and Pat Burke is in the game. Pat Burke is in the freaking game!!! In the 2nd quarter! This says something. Not only is Amere gone, but Boris Diaw, the guy who would have replaced him is gone. Something isn't right. i still think, nevertheless that Phoenix is going to win this game.

That special feeling...

Not last Sunday, but the one before, there was an interesting piece in the New York Times Arts section about reunited bands and how the live concert is now a big deal, whereas the release of an album is no longer a monumental event. This is, for the most part true, and i think it's really sad. i used to look forward to buying an album on the day it came out, especially if it was an album by a band i really loved. i don't really get it - to me, paying 15 bucks for the new Bright Eyes on the day it arrives in all it's freshly packaged glory is always going to be way more exciting than paying $150 to see the Police play songs they wrote more than 20 years ago. Maybe that's because i'm younger, but i don't get it and i don't think i ever will. If i want a band to reunite, it's because i want them to make new music, and i want it to be really good (Mission of Burma, thank you). This got me thinking, so i went through my iTunes and came up with a list of albums i bought the day they came out. It's long, and i won't bore you with all the details, but i will give some highlights. A lot of it is embarrassing emo stuff, like Blink-182's self-titled album (which i still like), but let's have a look:
Islands' "Return to the Sea" and Wolf Parade's "Apologies to the Queen Mary" are examples of albums i bought without ever having heard the band - though i was a devout Unicorns lover in my pre-Islands days. The list goes back to Weezer's "Pinkerton," still probably my favorite album of all time. The month of April 1999 was particularly good as it brought me Fountains of Wayne's "Utopia Parkway," the Rentals' "Seven More Minutes" and Ben Folds Five's "Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner" all as day-of purchases at the old Record Express in West Hartford (RIP). Lots of Saddle Creek stuff, from Rilo Kiley's "More Adventurous" to The Faint's "Wet From Birth" to the Good Life's "Album of the Year." Those are all bands i would still buy the day they came out. Some serious mistakes: Thursday's "A City By the Light Divided" and Jimmy Eat World's "Futures," two of the worst albums ever. But i did buy their previous albums on the day of release too, and i still enjoy those quite a bit. Who has the most day-of purchases in my album collection? Looks like Bright Eyes with 4 and Weezer (4) and followed up by the New Amsterdams (3) and Matt Sharp/The Rentals (3). Kind of interesting. What are some of your best or most embarrassing release day purchases?