and the drama begins...

i knew the lakers would have drama in the off-season as a result of them losing the championship... i just didn't realize it would involve former laker, shaquille o'neal, taunting kobe bryant in a very awful rap as obtained by tmz.com and which i got from youtube below.


while shaq apparently issued a statement to espn saying that there was "no issue at all" and that he was just being a "funny freestyler," the rap was neither funny nor artistically good (um, just listen to it).

i am a laker fan but not necessarily a kobe fan. but, come on now. yeah it is true that kobe didn't win the championship for the lakers. after all, the lakers had 1 all star v. the celtics' 3. the lakers weren't even a contender for the championship until after the all star break and the lakers acquired pau gasol. so while it is true that kobe has yet to win a championship without shaq, it is more a function of kobe's supporting cast. shaq, on the other hand, has been fortunate to have won his championship rings with, first, kobe, and second, dwayne wade.

so to me, the freestyle sounded more like spite for the lakers' decision to trade shaq.

let the drama continue...

lakers shocker

no, really.

after bombing the nba finals, kobe bryant said:

"I'm comfortable with what we have," he said. "Whatever Mitch decides to do, he decides to do. It's more of a relaxing summer for me because I know we have an opportunity to win. It's exciting.

"We know we got close and came up a little bit short. I'm excited about the opportunity to get back next year if we're fortunate enough and have a different result."

. . .

"You're all trying to see if I'm going to do Mitch's job for him this summer," Bryant said, smiling. "I'm not. I leave it up to him. He's done a great job of building this team."

let's see how long that lasts given that trade talk rumblings have begun.

to be continued...

lakers' implosion

i didn't watch the game. i knew lakers would lose.

pretty embarrassing.

i'm fairly certain there will be another drama in the off-season about who needs to be traded or wants to be traded, etc., etc. question appears to be more about when will the drama start?

seems to me, someone got contained really well during the entire series....

tim russert

my condolences go out to tim russert's family.

on friday, he died of a heart attack.

his death has caused me to do a bit of reflection on my own life. according to the buffalo news:

Russert, the renowned NBC newsman and one-man Chamber of Commerce for his native Buffalo, was sitting at his desk Friday, recording voice-overs for the Sunday edition of “Meet the Press,” when he suddenly collapsed and died.

by all accounts, he seems to have loved his job.

and that is great.

but for me, if i had a choice, i do not want to die at work. the preference, of course, is to die peacefully and painlessly after a long, full life and after many many years of enjoying retirement. but, if that was not possible, then i would rather die while exploring the world and/or experiencing the many pleasures of life (my kind of pleasure, that is).

but alas, i have no vote in such things.

if you are reading this: go. do. life is short.

luc, what were you thinking?

today, per the la times, ucla forward luc richard mbah a moute (loooook ree-shard um-bah ah moo-tay) decided to keep his name in the nba draft. um, why?

i don't doubt that he will be a good player (not a superstar, but a good solid role player off the bench) in the nba. but, he could do so much more to develop his game. his injuries have prevented him from being the stand out that he was his freshman year. and he still has not improved his shot. yes, he is good on defense. but his sophomore and junior season showed he needs lotsa work on offense.

ah well. good luck, prince. hope you get drafted higher in the second round or better yet, towards the end of the first round.

lakers: a monumental collapse (or the big choke)

after sleeping on it, i still don't understand how the celtics could come back from being down 24 and never leading the game until the last few minutes of the 4th quarter to beating the lakers. so here are my theories:

1. kobe bryant couldn't score on his life. even when the lakers were up by a gazillion points, he only scored 3 points or some ridiculous number in the first half. he was just not having a good series. or perhaps, the trio of kg, paul pierce and ray allen just was no match for the trio of kobe, pau gasol and er, ooops, there's no one else...

2. my friend, b, says it's because phil jackson took a timeout in the 2nd quarter while they were on a run. b claims the lakers' shooting suffered shortly thereafter. i think it actually started suffering after the halftime break. don't know if the players got cold, got too confident or got too something... whatever it was, it definitely did them in.

3. i think it was b's fault cuz he kept on telling me in the first half that the lakers got it in the bag and he got overconfident. thus, jinxing the game. but then again, he could say that i did not believe by doubting that the lakers would win (with good reason!) and thus, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

4. or, it could be that i started detoxing on monday and was completely sober while watching the game in a bar and was surrounded by drunk people.

whatever it was, lakers had a monumental collapse. ugh!

more lists

saw the below on youtube via travbuddy.


i have a list of sorts -- but it was more like 10 things to do before i turn 40. i think i need to update it though. half are travel related and i am already halfway through my list. i am just hoping that i can step on african, australian and antarctican soil (or ice) before then. perhaps my #1 on that list is to make lots of money to finance my to do list....

it's a small world

this writer was talking about how his trip to myanmar made him more empathic to the cyclone victims. i agree. i felt the same way about the victims of the recent earthquake in peru.

i think that travel is definitely an addiction that can broaden the mind, the heart and the soul. i know that seeing/experiencing a different culture, way of doing things, religion, etc. helps me see things in my daily life in a different light.

ugh

lakers lost game 1 against the celtics in the best of 7.

that said, it is not good for any betting man. thank god i could care less about the la avengers or i'd be really really nervous right now. thanks, mayor villaraigosa!

spain driving rant

apparently, i am supposed to get an international driver's license to drive in spain. aaaaaaaaaargh! you think dmv will process it in time???

spain bus rant

so i am trying to book a bus from cadiz to fuengirola. i have the site. but i can't seem to book. ugh! it keeps on saying this:

"Lamentamos informarle que las fechas que ha seleccionado para el viaje salen del plazo temporal admitido por la empresa que ofrece los trayectos.
Por favor, intente nuevamente con fechas de viaje más próximas."

i can understand it. but, the website keeps on saying that no matter what date i plug in. argh! anyone out there who can help?!?!?!