MLB Mid-Season Awards

The once blank stat sheets are now filled, the aroma of the fresh-cut grass has since been flushed out by the stomping and tearing of spiked cleats, and the sound of the perforated edges of brand new season tickets tearing is but a distant memory. The 2011 MLB season is halfway through and the lead actors of the show have already emerged. Here are my picks for the "So-Far Awards":

American League

Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda (SEA, SP)

I was tempted to go with the Angels' Mark Trumbo here because of the way the standings look as of now, but all things considered, I think Pineda has earned it. He has been able to match teammate and reigning Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez pitch-for-pitch and has benefited from the lack of pressure placed upon him. He is 8-6 through 18 starts with an 3.03 ERA and has the lowest H/9IP on the starting rotation (6.5) and leads the AL in K/9 (9.0).

Honorable mention: Mark Trumbo (LAA, 1B)

Cy Young: Justin Verlander (DET, SP)

This was a no-brainer pick for me. I'm sure you could make a case for C.C. Sabathia, the current leader in Wins, or Jered Weaver, the current ERA leader, but Verlander has outshined them both by a considerable amount. He is second in Wins (12) and ERA (2.15) and is first in each of the following categories: IP (151.0), Ks (147), WHIP (0.87). He has also thrown his second no-hitter and has come close to throwing another. I can guarantee you American League hitters have been having nightmares about Verlander.

Honorable mention: Jered Weaver (LAA, SP), C.C. Sabathia (NYY, SP)

MVP: Adrian Gonzalez (BOS, 1B)

This was a tough call for me. Gonzalez and Toronto's Jose Bautista are 1-2 in virtually every offensive statistic, but I've given Gonzo the edge based on the fact that the Red Sox are leading the division and the Blue Jays are 2 games under .500, 11 games back of the Sox, and are currently in 4th place in the AL East. I don't care how good of a season you're having; if your team is in the cellar of your division, you can't win the MVP. Gonzo is batting .354 with 17 HR, 77 RBI, and a 1.006 OPS.

Honorable mention: José Bautista (TOR, OF)

National League

Rookie of the Year: Freddie Freeman (ATL, 1B)

The 21-year-old phenom is off to a stellar start to his rookie season, for which many fans had set prior expectations. His bat bolsters the high-powered Atlanta offense and is a big reason why the Braves have been able to keep pace with the Philadelphia Phillies (currently sitting 3.5 games back). Freeman is batting .274 with 13 round-trippers, 43 RBI, and has a .347 OBP. Freddie and good pal Jason Heyward (also a 21-year-old) look to be a feared tandem for seasons to come.

Honorable mention: Danny Espinosa (WSH, 2B), Darwin Barney (CHC, 2B)

Cy Young: Jair Jurrjens (ATL, SP)

His name just as difficult to spell as it is to pronounce. And batters have found that he is equally difficult to hit. Jurrjens' microscopic 1.87 ERA (1st in NL), 12 wins (1st), and his consistency (.800 win percentage) have paced the Braves' starting rotation and earned him his first All-Star selection.

Honorable mention: Roy Halladay (PHI, SP)

MVP: Prince Fielder (MIL, 1B)

The Dodger fan in me begs to give the nod to Matt Kemp, but the realist knows that no cellar-dweller can produce the MVP, regardless of how ridiculously good his stats are. I'm giving Prince the edge over the New York Mets' Jose Reyes here, mainly because I don't see Reyes as an MVP-caliber guy. Fielder has knocked in a league-leading 72 runs to add to his 22 bombs and is only adding to his resumé, which will come into play this winter when he becomes a free agent. He has the Brew Crew sitting atop the NL  Central, tied with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Honorable mention: José Reyes (NYM, SS), Matt Kemp (LAD, OF)

Album Review: Finally Famous

After four years and three Finally Famous mixtapes, Big Sean and GOOD Music are able to put Finally Famous: The Album on shelves and into CD players. I've listened to the album all the way through, track-by-track, a total of three times. I've listened to select songs more frequently, but I feel you can only truly judge an album by listening to the entire thing in the order the artist intended. Oftentimes, there is no other way to hear the story of the album.

I've been a fan of Sean's since his second tape, Vol. 2: UKNOWBIGSEAN, dropped a couple years back and have since downloaded the rest of his material. I tried to review Finally Famous while keeping his prior works in mind. If you are a Big Sean fan and you know his style, you won't be let down by his debut. If you listen to the radio and you turn up the volume when "My Last" comes on, I'd just pay for the single song on iTunes and stick with that.

Sean doesn't stray too far from what has brought him success in the past: clever punchlines, timely guest features, and a great selection of beats that seamlessly fit his charismatic flow. He's never going to be much of a story-teller and the content of his songs may be limited, but this is his first album and he is still growing as an artist. 

I will say one thing though. Without the impeccable production from No I.D. (the album's producer), The Neptunes, Xaphoon Jones of Chiddy Bang, and Da Internz, this album is mediocre at best. Luckily, Sean got the beats and was able to do just enough with them to not completely waste them.

Album Awards

Best Verse: Verse 3, "Memories (Part II)" feat. John Legend

One of my favorite songs on the album, "Memories" showcases Sean's introspective side as he looks back on the beginning of his career and the people who supported him early on, including his mother, his grandmother, and Kanye West.

Remember the first time I was rhyming for Kan’

                                    Almost as nervous as the first time I rhymed for my mom
                                       Sold out the theater downtown, she said it was perfect
                                                               But I already dreamed it

                                                              So it felt like I rehearsed it

Roll Down the Windows, Turn Up the Volume: "Dance (A$$)"

The content of the song may be next-to-useless, but the slapping snares, booming bassline, and a catchy sample of MC Hammer's  "U Can't Touch This" make this one a certified banger. Twist the knob to the right and let it shake your speakers.

Best Guest Appearance: Chiddy Bang on "High"

Lupe Fiasco may have had the best verse of the entire album on "Wait for Me", but I enjoyed Chiddy Bang's showcase on "High" much more. The duo consisting of Chiddy and Xaphoon Jones were able to spin their style to mesh with Sean's and it just worked. Chiddy's verse was airtight and Xaphoon's production, although the softest beat on the album, can put you in a trance quite easily. In other news, Wiz Khalifa managed to not completely ruin the song.

Bottom Line: Big Sean's Finally Famous is not a classic in my opinion. Punchlines don't make classics. That being said, I think it's as solid as debut albums get nowadays and will definitely be the album of the summer. "My Last" and "Marvin & Chardonnay" are certified commercial smashes and the rest of the tracks will serve as suitable cruisin' tunes. Given Sean's relative lack of exposure, I think anything over 200,000 units moved in the first week can be viewed as a success. Numbers may not affect this album, but they definitely can affect his future work.

Final Rating (out of a possible 5):  1/2

It Takes Two (or more), Baby

Since LeBron left Cleveland for Miami, there has been a lot of talk about him not being able to "do it on his own" and that he needed to team up with other stars for a shot at a title. I think this argument is valid in the sense that I agree LeBron can not win a championship by himself. My argument is...who has? I picked apart the rosters of the past 30 NBA Championship teams (thanks to Basketball-Reference) and came to the conclusion that 27 out of the past 30 champions had at least two Hall of Famer/All Star/top tier players.

The three teams that won it all without two star players are the 1994 and 1995 Rockets, who rode the back of Hakeem Olajuwon during Michael Jordan's two-year hiatus, and the 2004 Pistons, who relied on one of the most suffocating defenses in NBA history.


1980 Lakers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson
1981 Celtics: Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale
1982 Lakers: Kareem, Magic, and Bob McAdoo
1983 76ers: Julius Erving and Moses Malone
1984 Celtics: Bird, Parish, McHale, and Dennis Johnson
1985 Lakers: Kareem, Magic, McAdoo, and James Worthy
1986 Celtics: Bird, Parish, McHale, and Bill Walton
1987 Lakers: Kareem, Magic, and Worthy
1988 Lakers: Kareem, Magic, and Worthy
1989 Pistons: Isiah Thomas, Adrian Dantley, Joe Dumars, and Dennis Rodman
1990 Pistons: Thomas, Dumars, and Rodman
1991 Bulls: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
1992 Bulls: Jordan and Pippen
1993 Bulls: Jordan and Pippen
1996 Bulls: Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman
1997 Bulls: Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and Parish (in his 20th NBA season)
1998 Bulls: Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman
1999 Spurs: Tim Duncan and David Robinson
2000 Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
2001 Lakers: Shaq and Kobe
2002 Lakers: Shaq and Kobe
2003 Spurs: Duncan, Robinson, and Tony Parker
2005 Spurs: Duncan, Parker, and Manu Ginobili
2006 Heat: O'Neal, Dwyane Wade, and Gary Payton
2007 Spurs: Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili
2008 Celtics: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo
2009 Lakers: Kobe and Pau Gasol
2010 Lakers: Kobe and Gasol

Just a little food for thought for ya.

P.S. How awesome is the Lakers-Celtics dominance? Wow.

Just Spell the Word!

So I wake up today and the first thing I turn on is the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I usually leave it on and watch it with my eyes glued in wonder at the brains on some of these kids. I mean, what 12 year old do you know can spell appoggiatura in front of a hall full of people and many more watching on television? I'm pretty sure I was collecting baseball cards and flicking boogers at that age.

Anyway, as I prepared to be amazed, I quickly grew annoyed.

Uh, can you repeat the word?
Can I have the definition?
What's the country of origin?
Can you use the word in a sentence?
Am I saying the word right?
Can you repeat the definition?
Are there any alternate pronunciations?
You said it was French, right?


Bro just spell the word! Are you kidding me right now? Might as well ask for the spelling of the damn word! If I was in charge of the Spelling Bee, I'd take those questions out of the rule book quicker than you can spell staphylococci.

You want the definition? Should have studied that beforehand, dude. Country of origin? Nope, sorry. Webster's dictionary has all that info for you. Want a sentence? Make one up yourself. Tough luck. What other test have you taken where you can just ask a load of questions to help your cause? Good luck in 8th grade, kid. That type of thing ain't gonna fly there.

Oh, well there's too many words to memorize blah blah blah. Cry me a river, bro. Sometimes winning takes a little luck. If you didn't study the word, you're just shit outta luck. Plain and simple.

Someone needs to take a stand and stick it to these nerds. Might as well be me.

Inside the Cyber Life of an NBA 2K11 Star

Like many gamers out there, I spend much of my gaming time playing NBA 2K11. The game really isn't worth playing if you don't play online so that's really the only aspect of the game I have delved into. Let me make one thing clear before I continue: I am not particularly skilled at this game. That being said, it's not uncommon for me to get absolutely demolished by some nerd that spends 22 hours a day on Xbox Live. However, I can hold my own if I catch rythym. (By the way, my Xbox gamertag is AyeCee16. Add me if you got it.)

I have what I like to call a gamer's conscience, meaning I feel guilty using any of the following teams: Heat, Lakers, Celtics, Bulls. If I had to put a percentage on it, I play against these teams probably around 95% of the time I play. They're just so unstoppable if you really know how to play the game. My team of choice is the Thunder. They have skilled players, but are still bad enough in some areas that I feel somewhat accomplished if I win.

My go-to guy is Kevin Durant and for good reason. He's a lanky, yet smooth, player with a deadly shot. He's rated a 91 in the game, which is right at he bottom of what is considered elite. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant are all rated 97, to put it in perspective. A 91-rated player should be able to dominate any game if given the right opportunities to do so, right? That's what I thought too, until just the other night.

So I sign in to Xbox Live, I pick the Thunder, set my roster, and get ready for tip-off. The rest of the 20 minute game can be summed up in three words: Pull. Flick. Clank. Those are the pulling of the right joystick, the flick of its release to shoot the ball, and the clank of the ball hitting the rim and bouncing seemingly further away from the basket with each and every shot.

The right joystick has never been and hopefully never will be as fruitless as it was on that night. Durant was ice cold, shooting 2-18 from the field, scoring only 10 points (he was 6-6 from the line). I was playing the Celtics and they are a fine defensive team in their own right, but I was finding KD some prime looks at the basket. Layups, mid-range jumpers, three pointers all falling by the wayside. The game ended, I lost by a considerable margin, and I immediately began to think about what went wrong.

I mean, how could a player SO good be SO bad in a video game? It's not like he has feelings, right? After a moment of self-blame, it came to me. Is it possible that Kevin Durant actually has a cyber life inside the game itself? I know it seems crazy, but hear me out. I bet his cyber girlfriend sent him a text message breakup right before the game, right? That has to be it. Or I know, him and Russell Westbrook got into a cyber tussle in the locker room before warmups. Yeah, that explains it.

Maybe he had a bad plate of cyber pasta. You know, cyber food poisoning. No way he could play through that. Ah, there were probably cyber trade rumors coming from management. What do I know? I don't deal with the brass of the organization, I'm just the puppeteer. He's probably upset with his cyber contract. I'm rated a freakin' 91! Pay me like a 91! He had to realize he's being underpaid sooner or later.

There's nothing to do in Oklahoma City other than drink and watch college football. He probably went on a bender the night before. Yeah there we go, a cyber hangover. Just went David Wells on 'em. That bastard probably threw the game! Someone made him a cyber offer he couldn't refuse and he was able to put a little extra cash in his pocket after bricking up the joint.

It has to be one of those reasons, right? It just has to. It couldn't be my fault. No way.

LeBron James: Your Favorite Player's Favorite Player

The most hated player in all of sports.


It's a title that may not be glamorous in any sense of the word, but it's a title that defines great players. Only a few other players came to mind when I thought about who would give King James a run for his money: Derek Jeter and A-Rod in MLB, Tom Brady, Big Ben, and Mike Vick in the NFL, Alex Ovechkin in the NHL, and Kobe Bryant in the NBA. All undoubtedly among the best in their respective sports. However, since July of last year, they all fail in comparison to the hate that LeBron has received after leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for South Beach.

I have been a fan of LeBron's since he was in high school. I did a book report on his biography in the 7th grade, I collected all his basketball rookie cards, I bought the jerseys, and I had the shoes. What was not to like? However, like virtually everyone else, I was disappointed in the way he went about signing with Miami. I had NO problem with him leaving however.

Think about it, apply it to your life down the road. You are the top employee in your company year-in and year-out, doing exactly what's asked of you (and more). However, despite your personal success, you are a part of a failing company, in which the executives are unable to surround you with worthy employees. Sure, it feels nice to be the shining star in an otherwise gloomy enterprise, but you want more. You want to be a part of something bigger. Who doesn't?


LeBron spent seven years in Cleveland. They had their chances to build around him and they failed to do so. He booked it for Miami because he couldn't stand having Delonte West and Anderson Varejao as his secondary scoring options. What I don't understand is how so many people can hate him SO much.

LeBron is a once-in-a-generation player. I know, I know. Every Kobe fan is contemplating clicking off the page now. And why do so many Laker fans have it out for him anyway? Because of the non-existent rivalry between Kobe and LBJ? LeBron's teams are 7-1 against Kobe and the Lake Show, if I'm not mistaken. And they've never played each other in a meaningful game, unless you think a Christmas Day game counts as meaningful. I think it stems from the fact that LeBron is the one who took the best-player-in-the-league torch from Mamba a few years back. I love Kobe as much as the next person, but LeBron is a completely different species of player. What other player in the history of the league has his combination of size, strength, speed, power, maturity, and overall basketball IQ? Nobody.

If you've been watching the playoffs this past month, you've seen that he's finally putting it all together when it counts. He's the most complete player in the league. Derrick Rose may have won the MVP, but 'Bron left no question about who runs the NBA. LeBron should have won the MVP simply because of how bad the Cavs were without him. They finished 19-63 this year, after a 61-21 finish last season with LeBron still wearing #23. That's a 42 game swing! When Jordan first retired in 1993, the Bulls went 57-25 in his last season (at the time). Without him in 1994, they finished 55-27 and lost in game 7 of the 2nd round of the playoffs. Think about it, people...

Whether you want to admit it or not, LeBron is going to get his ring(s), this year or the next. Or both. Why hate when you can just sit back and enjoy watching one of the all-time greats succeed? He has his work cut out for him with Dirk and the Mavs, but I'd like to see him hold that Larry O'Brien trophy sooner than later. Or both.

Rapid Reaction: My Thoughts on Osama's Death

Yesterday marked one of the most important events of the 21st century and, undoubtedly, of the War on Terror. My eyes have been glued to virtually everything concerning Osama bin Laden's killing, including the operations made to take him down and the wild reaction across the country. There are a few things I'd like to touch upon. They are just my personal thoughts and also my reactions to things I've read, heard on the news, or have read/heard amongst my peers on Facebook/Twitter or at school.

Obama is straight killing it right now.
First off, he's fresh off a NATO bombing strike that killed the son of corrupt Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. So Barack was feeling pretty good heading into the weekend of the Correspondent's Dinner in Washington DC. If you haven't seen the video of Barack's speech at the dinner, make YouTube your friend and watch the recap. He just might be the funniest president of all time. His delivery, his timing, and just his overall swagger behind the mic. Just killed it. He absolutely tortured Trump. I was embarrassed for The Donald, actually.

And for the grand finale, Barack finds and kills Public Enemy No. 1?! Everyone go ahead and mail in your 2012 ballots. It's in the bag. Book it. Done.

"This won't be the end of the war."
I'm sick of hearing this. Who said it was? Barack didn't come out and say Well guys, that's it. We won the war and now everyone can come home. Because we didn't. We killed the guy responsible for the most destructive act of terror on American soil in the 235-year history of the country. How could anyone make this out to be anything but a victory?

It's not a victory of the entire war, but it's a small victory within the war.

"It doesn't matter that he's dead. There are more terrorists."
Well no shit. Here's a quick history factoid:

In July of 1944, a man by the name of Claus von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate one of the world's most dangerous men of all time. He planted a bomb inside a briefcase and then had it placed inside a conference room. The attempted assassination failed and the man went on to torture and kill over 5,000 more people. This man was Adolf Hitler.

Think about it. Had von Stauffenberg succeeded, Hitler doesn't go on to kill thousands more and the world is a much better place much sooner.

You do realize 9/11 wasn't Osama's first involvement in American terrorism, right? What makes you think he was done? His death may have meant the prevention of a future (and possibly much more tragic) attack on American civilization.

So just because he's not the only terrorist, we should have just let him be? So let me get this straight. You think the police should just stop investigating and looking for murderers because there will always be another murderer out there. What kind of idiotic logic is that?

Sure, Osama wasn't the only terrorist. But he was the most dangerous and the most destructive.

Navy SEAL Team 6 is badass.
The men responsible for killing Osama just handled their business and have moved on. Anyone affiliated (or thought to be affiliated) with Team 6 claims "there is no Team 6". These are some of the world's most highly-trained soldiers and their humility is just the cherry on top. They've potentially got a $25 million reward coming their way and it's well deserved.

Osama was in a mansion.
Not much to say about this. Just wow. Like really bro? Way to be subtle.
I guess he figured he had done his time hiding in caves and deserts and hills and that it was just time to flaunt his shit in a mansion with one of his wives. Then she was used as a "human shield", according to CNN. Nice.

Obama has steel balls.
Imagine if this had failed? Not only could we have killed innocent civilian lives in Pakistan, Obama could have responsible for the deaths of the best soldiers in all the military. It took guts to call the shots on this operation and it took even more guts to take action. It could have gone terribly wrong for Barack. Luckily, it didn't.

Strange happenings.
A few eerie coincidences running along the death of bin Laden:

May 1, 1945: Adolf Hitler reported dead. 66 years to the day.

May 1, 1776: Adam Weishaupt founds the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. 235 years to the day.

May 1, 2003: President Bush makes his "Mission Accomplished" speech, announcing the end of American involvement in Iraq. Obviously, he was mistaken. 8 years to the day.

ESPN was broadcasting the Mets-Phillies game on Sunday Night Baseball. At the time the news was announced to the stadium, the game was in the 9th inning and the score was tied 1-1.   9-1-1