Wow! ... That was crazy! ... I caught it on replay because I got home late, this was a great fight ... Kelly Pavlik is a true warrior, he earned even more of my respect ... After getting knocked down in the second round, he still comes back to TKO Jermain Taylor, to capture the WBC, WBO middleweight championships ... He proved Emanuel Steward, Taylor's Trainer, is a complete idiot ... Over the past few weeks, Steward's been talking a lot of trash calling Pavlik "overrated" and simply a "white boxer" nothing more ... Steward should stick to commentary, because he hasn't done Taylor any good ... But I have to give Jermain Taylor his due, he came out looking for the knockout, he almost had it, I've ripped him before but he now has my respect, the Jermain Taylor that came out in the first 6 rounds is the Taylor that I've been wanting to see ... This has to be a candidate for fight of the year, I'm glad because this also created some excitement in the middleweight division ... I guess I'm 1/6 in predicting this fall's boxing matchups so far, I had the winner right, but boy I didn't see the knockout coming ... This is a great start to a great fall line-up scheduled ... So what's next for Pavlik? ... I definitely want to see a re-match with Taylor ... Then, maybe a big money fight with, another one of my favourite fighters, Winky Wright ... Another possibility is IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham ... Maybe move up to super middleweight, to challenge the winner of Calzaghe-Kessler ... Whatever matchup is next, Kelly Pavlik has definitely arrived ...
...
Last night I kicked it old school style with my boy shivers (aka showgen) ... Hooters, Alexander Keith's and chicken wings, definitely a throwback to '02 ... hangin' with shivers is always jokes ...
One,
- J -
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Loonie Watch and related
2nd entry of the day, but this is deserving ... I just fell in love with our dollar ... closing at 1.0052 cents U.S. ... take that America! LOL ...
I was listening to the FAN590 this afternoon Prime Time Sports with Bob McCowan ... He had an interesting topic in his roundtable discussion ... They were discussing the effects of the soaring dollar on our Canadian sports franchises ... The NHL teams are making a profit from increase in the Loonie because they pay in Canadian Dollars ... Another interesting note was about the failed NBA Grizzlies franchise in Vancouver, a former team official recently stated that had the dollar been this strong back then, the team would not have relocated to Memphis ... So does this mean we could see a return of the Grizzlies? maybe MLB's Expos to Montreal? ... My guess is no, but I'd like to see another ball team back in Vancouver (because on a personal note, I'm considering moving there for work or study) ... Another possible consequence of this rising dollar is moving Toronto closer to acquiring an NFL franchise, it would definitely help in alleviating the franchise fees ... oh, the possibilities.
One,
- J -
I was listening to the FAN590 this afternoon Prime Time Sports with Bob McCowan ... He had an interesting topic in his roundtable discussion ... They were discussing the effects of the soaring dollar on our Canadian sports franchises ... The NHL teams are making a profit from increase in the Loonie because they pay in Canadian Dollars ... Another interesting note was about the failed NBA Grizzlies franchise in Vancouver, a former team official recently stated that had the dollar been this strong back then, the team would not have relocated to Memphis ... So does this mean we could see a return of the Grizzlies? maybe MLB's Expos to Montreal? ... My guess is no, but I'd like to see another ball team back in Vancouver (because on a personal note, I'm considering moving there for work or study) ... Another possible consequence of this rising dollar is moving Toronto closer to acquiring an NFL franchise, it would definitely help in alleviating the franchise fees ... oh, the possibilities.
One,
- J -
J-Smooth's Toronto Raptors Preview
As promised ... Let me run down the roster ...
Chris Bosh - I like him as a player and as a person off the court ... The one question for me, is how much better can he get? ... There's a couple things that I'd like to see more of ... First, I'd like to see him use his quickness a lot more ... He's a lot quicker than most of the power forwards in the league ... One thing that I noticed about Bosh last season, was that he sometimes became content with shooting the jumper, he needs to mix it up a bit more ... Second, I'd like to see Bosh add some back-to-the-basket moves to his repetoire, I understand he's more of a finesse player, but if he added some post moves like the jump hook, he'd be virtually unguardable in a 1-on-1 matchup ... But regardless, he'll be a 20-10 guy and an NBA All-Star for years to come, so it's hard to complain ...
T.J. Ford - Those who know me, already know he's my favourite player on the team (next to Bosh and Kapono) ... But looking at things objectively, there are parts of his game that I think he can improve on ... First, is the decision making, at times it seems as though he's already made up his mind on what he's going to do, whether it be scoring or distributing the ball ... He really needs to just take what the defense gives him ... Second, for some reason, he seemed to have some trouble finishing around the basket (layups) ... But overall, those two things will come with experience ... there were stretches last season when Ford was absolutely dominant ... If he keeps working hard and can get more playing time, I'm certain he'll be top 3 (if not the leader) in the league in assists and down the road an NBA All-Star ...
Andrea Bargnani - I won't deny that he's a great shooter and he'll probably develop into a consistent scorer down the road, but I really don't see these Dirk Nowitzki comparisons that he's being branded with ... He'll be a solid player, but just not what people around Toronto are expecting him to be ...
Jason Kapono - I liked this acquisition ... Every team needs one of these players, a cold-blooded shooter that can hit those "dagger" shots towards the end of the game ... People have been ripping this signing because of the contract, but Matt Carroll received an even bigger contract, if you're asking yourself "who?", then my point exactly ... Furthermore, Morris Peterson received essentially the same contract from the New Orleans Hornets ... The difference is, Kapono produced last year, Mo didn't ...
The "Glue" Guys: Anthony Parker was a solid contributor last season, but he's not getting any younger, I expect around the same point totals from him this season ... Jorge Garbajosa, I think it was a selfish move on his part to play for Spain in the FIBA tournament this summer, before he got medical clearance from the Raptors, now there's talk about him requiring another surgery, my question is then why did he play in the first place? His first responsibility is to the team that's paying his salary, like Parker, I expect the same numbers from him this season ... Rasho Nesterovic, despite all his athletic deficiencies, I actually liked what he brought to the team last season, he battled under the basket for rebounds and even scored here-and-there, given the Raptors' weakness in rebounding, hopefully he gets a few minutes this year ...
The "New" Guys: Maceo Baston, not much I can say about him, except I hear that he's athletic and a rebounder, I guess we'll just have to wait and see ... Carlos Delfino, the problem I have with him is his attitude, the guy complained about his role with the former World Champion Detroit Pistons, which led to his dismissal from the team after the 2004-05 season by former Coach Larry Brown, but hey, if you're playing behind Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince on the NBA Champions, as The Rock says "Know your role and shut your mouth!" ... Jamario Moon, is another guy, I've never heard of, apparently he's an athletic freak, well if that's true, he'll add a dimension to the team that I feel it's lacking ...
The Rest: I don't expect much (if anything) from Juan Dixon, Luke Jackson, Kris Humphries, Joey Graham or Darrick Martin ... But if any of them can find a way to contribute, all the better for the Raptors ...
I'm probably forgetting about someone, but they're probably not worth typing about ...
Overall, I'm expecting the Raptors to repeat as Atlantic Division Champions and make it to at least the second round in this year's playoffs ... I'm looking forward to the season ...
One,
- J -
Chris Bosh - I like him as a player and as a person off the court ... The one question for me, is how much better can he get? ... There's a couple things that I'd like to see more of ... First, I'd like to see him use his quickness a lot more ... He's a lot quicker than most of the power forwards in the league ... One thing that I noticed about Bosh last season, was that he sometimes became content with shooting the jumper, he needs to mix it up a bit more ... Second, I'd like to see Bosh add some back-to-the-basket moves to his repetoire, I understand he's more of a finesse player, but if he added some post moves like the jump hook, he'd be virtually unguardable in a 1-on-1 matchup ... But regardless, he'll be a 20-10 guy and an NBA All-Star for years to come, so it's hard to complain ...
T.J. Ford - Those who know me, already know he's my favourite player on the team (next to Bosh and Kapono) ... But looking at things objectively, there are parts of his game that I think he can improve on ... First, is the decision making, at times it seems as though he's already made up his mind on what he's going to do, whether it be scoring or distributing the ball ... He really needs to just take what the defense gives him ... Second, for some reason, he seemed to have some trouble finishing around the basket (layups) ... But overall, those two things will come with experience ... there were stretches last season when Ford was absolutely dominant ... If he keeps working hard and can get more playing time, I'm certain he'll be top 3 (if not the leader) in the league in assists and down the road an NBA All-Star ...
Andrea Bargnani - I won't deny that he's a great shooter and he'll probably develop into a consistent scorer down the road, but I really don't see these Dirk Nowitzki comparisons that he's being branded with ... He'll be a solid player, but just not what people around Toronto are expecting him to be ...
Jason Kapono - I liked this acquisition ... Every team needs one of these players, a cold-blooded shooter that can hit those "dagger" shots towards the end of the game ... People have been ripping this signing because of the contract, but Matt Carroll received an even bigger contract, if you're asking yourself "who?", then my point exactly ... Furthermore, Morris Peterson received essentially the same contract from the New Orleans Hornets ... The difference is, Kapono produced last year, Mo didn't ...
The "Glue" Guys: Anthony Parker was a solid contributor last season, but he's not getting any younger, I expect around the same point totals from him this season ... Jorge Garbajosa, I think it was a selfish move on his part to play for Spain in the FIBA tournament this summer, before he got medical clearance from the Raptors, now there's talk about him requiring another surgery, my question is then why did he play in the first place? His first responsibility is to the team that's paying his salary, like Parker, I expect the same numbers from him this season ... Rasho Nesterovic, despite all his athletic deficiencies, I actually liked what he brought to the team last season, he battled under the basket for rebounds and even scored here-and-there, given the Raptors' weakness in rebounding, hopefully he gets a few minutes this year ...
The "New" Guys: Maceo Baston, not much I can say about him, except I hear that he's athletic and a rebounder, I guess we'll just have to wait and see ... Carlos Delfino, the problem I have with him is his attitude, the guy complained about his role with the former World Champion Detroit Pistons, which led to his dismissal from the team after the 2004-05 season by former Coach Larry Brown, but hey, if you're playing behind Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince on the NBA Champions, as The Rock says "Know your role and shut your mouth!" ... Jamario Moon, is another guy, I've never heard of, apparently he's an athletic freak, well if that's true, he'll add a dimension to the team that I feel it's lacking ...
The Rest: I don't expect much (if anything) from Juan Dixon, Luke Jackson, Kris Humphries, Joey Graham or Darrick Martin ... But if any of them can find a way to contribute, all the better for the Raptors ...
I'm probably forgetting about someone, but they're probably not worth typing about ...
Overall, I'm expecting the Raptors to repeat as Atlantic Division Champions and make it to at least the second round in this year's playoffs ... I'm looking forward to the season ...
One,
- J -
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Dancing with the far-from-a-Star
So ... Floyd "Money" Mayweather is trading his boxing gloves for dance shoes ... What a p****, LOL ... Zab Judah said it a while back, so did Shane Mosley, "boxing doesn't mix with anything else" ... If you're a boxer, your only focus should be boxing period ... Before I get accused of hypocracy, I'll address the Manny Pacquiao extra-curricular activities, like running for Philippine Congress and his upcoming TV Show ... The difference between "PacMan" and "Pretty Boy" is that when Manny has an upcoming fight, his only focus is training ... Everyone from the Pacquiao camp thus far has indicated that Manny is ready for his fight with Marco Antonio Barrera and has even added the Right Hook to his arsenal ... Floyd on the other hand, should he advance further in the Dancing with the Stars competition, that would put him really close to his December 8th bout with Ricky Hatton ... I can see it now, Mayweather and all his fanboys will use the competition as their excuse, should Hatton pull off the upset ... All Mayweather is trying to do is make himself a household name and catch on with the mainstream ... There's no doubt that he's the most talented boxer on the planet, but he's definitely not getting over with the fans through boxing alone ... His attitude sucks up one way and down the other ... He's a fraud by dubbing himself "Money" Mayweather ... He's not a draw at all, the name Mayweather alone doesn't sell tickets or PPV's ... At his press conference with Hatton, the few in the crowd really didn't care about all the s*** that came out of his mouth ... "Money" Mayweather? sure ... he commands a lot of money, but is he worth spending it on? A resounding NO in my opinion ...
Other notes:
-Kelly Pavlik - Jermain Taylor this weekend!
If anyone wants to know ...
-I didn't make the intramural team, a long story, but to summarize, there was more politics on that squad than in Filipino leagues ...
One,
- J -
Other notes:
-Kelly Pavlik - Jermain Taylor this weekend!
If anyone wants to know ...
-I didn't make the intramural team, a long story, but to summarize, there was more politics on that squad than in Filipino leagues ...
One,
- J -
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Suicide Jump
There was a lot of stuff going on in Downtown Toronto today ... Traffic on the main streets was crazy, with the whole taxi protest thing going on ... There was one of those typical protests in front of Queen's Park, something about tuition fees, nice to see some things never change ... Lastly, there was a suicide jump at the Queen's Park TTC station, which had service halted and multiple fire trucks and ambulances at the scene ... Now let me throw it out, how desperate could someone be, that jumping in front of a subway train is what they see to be their only way out? ... I've had a lot of (expletive) happen to me in my life, I think most people would probably be surprised that I made it past those things, but stuff I don't care to divulge at this time, but never once did I consider taking my life ... No matter how bad things are around me, I still love life, there are too many things I'd miss ... Too many things I still would like to accomplish ... I spoke to a TTC employee, who informed me of the "jump", he told me it happens all the time ... sad, to say the least.
One,
- J -
One,
- J -
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Random Shots
On a personal note, this bloggin' thing is great, a great place to "sound off" ... kind of feelin' like Doogie Howser M.D. ... LOL
-Loonie Watch ... Canadian Dollar = 99.83 cents U.S. at closing today ... after par, I was hoping for a continuing increase, damn am I impatient, it's only been a few days ...
-Provincial Elections on the horizon ... I'm not afraid to admit my allegiance to the Liberal party, I've been a Liberal voter, federal or provincial, since I've been eligible ... with the Federal Liberals, I don't think former Prime Minister Paul Martin was given a fair shake at all ... he basically inherited a mess at the heels of the sponsorship scandal ... My opinion, politician's get away with illegal sh*t all the time, it was in that instance they were caught ... The Liberals really haven't done anything to mess up this country ... broken promises? of course, what political party in the history of Canada hasn't made them ... I think I've stated it before, that I admire the Cretien government taking the hardline stance with regards to the unjustified war in Iraq ... The way I view Canada's political picture: I would never vote for the Bloc Quebecois separatist party, the NDP is a good alternative, but their never going to win, thus it comes down to the Conservatives and Liberals ... Our current Prime Minister Stephen Harper (a Conservative) seems like an American kissa$$ ... but then again, the Conservative party has a long history of that, dating back to Brian Mulroney, he was buddy-buddy with George Bush Sr. ... The Liberals have always taken a hard-stance when dealing with the Americans, starting from Pierre Trudeau, in my opinion Canada's greatest Prime Minister ... The way I see it, all politicians lie, thus the basis of my vote is two-fold ... 1) it goes to the party whom I feel has the best representative as leader, 100% of the time, it is the Liberals ... 2) how I feel the leader will represent us when dealing with the world superpower countries ... Back to the upcoming Provincials, my vote stays the same ... On a personal note, I feel Ted Chudleigh the M.P.P. of Halton is worthless, called his office for a favour a few months back and had his secretary basically "filter" my call ... my issue had to deal with discrimination, I guess, Chudleigh's party condones it ...
-the article link relates to a major steroid bust ... I completely agree, that this is a growing problem which needs to be controlled, however athletes that use, are only hurting themselves ...
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2007/09/25/2007-09-25_new_yorkarea_drug_labs_part_of_major_ste.html
-France has deemed Iran's possession of nuclear weapons "unacceptable" ... Doesn't this fit the description of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" ... How come the United States hasn't imposed their will on and invaded countries like Iran or North Korea? ... I wonder why? ... Hypocracy at it's finest ...
-Did you all hear that the F.B.I. was investigating a supposed hit on ex-Mr. Spears (Kevin Federline) ... Why the hell would anyone need/want the guy dead ... he's a bum ... so what does that make Britney Spears for marrying him? ... Well she's got more to worry about these days with her hit-and-run charge ... What a way to go ... going from taking the American music industry by storm, to having a billion dollar career, then deciding to marry a complete bum, then incidents bordering on the "insane", now possible prison time ... people like Britney, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are all useless, but people eat up any kind of publicity they get ... that's enough press from me on them, never again ...
-What's the big deal with Halo 3? ... people have absolutely no lives and/or too much time on their hands ... lining up to buy a video game that's going to be in stores for months to follow ... just as insane as the people that lined up over night to see the Star Wars prequels back in the late 90's ... Video games are not like they used to be, then again, nothing is ... I miss games like Super Mario Brothers and Mike Tyson's Punch Out, in my opinion still the best video games to date ...
-A week and a bit to NYC, Pacquiao and Raptors ... yeah baby ...
-I take back what I said about Fox's Prison Break ... It's made the turn for the better with all these Latina cuties that are appearing on the show now ... LOL ...
-My boy Anthro is gettin' me to attend/join this Filipino "political" group ... They're doing a study/survey of the Filipino experience in Canada ... boy do I have opinions on this ... but that would unfortunately take at least a 20 page essay ...
-I got my ball tryout tonight, my first since 9th grade ... I'm plan to make it tough for the coach to cut me ...
-On tap for this weekend, Thursday night, chillin' with "Fam": Anthro, Black Prophet and possibly Octal ... Saturday night, checkin' in with my bredrin Showgen, it's been long overdue ...
Peace out y'all ...
One,
- J -
-Loonie Watch ... Canadian Dollar = 99.83 cents U.S. at closing today ... after par, I was hoping for a continuing increase, damn am I impatient, it's only been a few days ...
-Provincial Elections on the horizon ... I'm not afraid to admit my allegiance to the Liberal party, I've been a Liberal voter, federal or provincial, since I've been eligible ... with the Federal Liberals, I don't think former Prime Minister Paul Martin was given a fair shake at all ... he basically inherited a mess at the heels of the sponsorship scandal ... My opinion, politician's get away with illegal sh*t all the time, it was in that instance they were caught ... The Liberals really haven't done anything to mess up this country ... broken promises? of course, what political party in the history of Canada hasn't made them ... I think I've stated it before, that I admire the Cretien government taking the hardline stance with regards to the unjustified war in Iraq ... The way I view Canada's political picture: I would never vote for the Bloc Quebecois separatist party, the NDP is a good alternative, but their never going to win, thus it comes down to the Conservatives and Liberals ... Our current Prime Minister Stephen Harper (a Conservative) seems like an American kissa$$ ... but then again, the Conservative party has a long history of that, dating back to Brian Mulroney, he was buddy-buddy with George Bush Sr. ... The Liberals have always taken a hard-stance when dealing with the Americans, starting from Pierre Trudeau, in my opinion Canada's greatest Prime Minister ... The way I see it, all politicians lie, thus the basis of my vote is two-fold ... 1) it goes to the party whom I feel has the best representative as leader, 100% of the time, it is the Liberals ... 2) how I feel the leader will represent us when dealing with the world superpower countries ... Back to the upcoming Provincials, my vote stays the same ... On a personal note, I feel Ted Chudleigh the M.P.P. of Halton is worthless, called his office for a favour a few months back and had his secretary basically "filter" my call ... my issue had to deal with discrimination, I guess, Chudleigh's party condones it ...
-the article link relates to a major steroid bust ... I completely agree, that this is a growing problem which needs to be controlled, however athletes that use, are only hurting themselves ...
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2007/09/25/2007-09-25_new_yorkarea_drug_labs_part_of_major_ste.html
-France has deemed Iran's possession of nuclear weapons "unacceptable" ... Doesn't this fit the description of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" ... How come the United States hasn't imposed their will on and invaded countries like Iran or North Korea? ... I wonder why? ... Hypocracy at it's finest ...
-Did you all hear that the F.B.I. was investigating a supposed hit on ex-Mr. Spears (Kevin Federline) ... Why the hell would anyone need/want the guy dead ... he's a bum ... so what does that make Britney Spears for marrying him? ... Well she's got more to worry about these days with her hit-and-run charge ... What a way to go ... going from taking the American music industry by storm, to having a billion dollar career, then deciding to marry a complete bum, then incidents bordering on the "insane", now possible prison time ... people like Britney, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are all useless, but people eat up any kind of publicity they get ... that's enough press from me on them, never again ...
-What's the big deal with Halo 3? ... people have absolutely no lives and/or too much time on their hands ... lining up to buy a video game that's going to be in stores for months to follow ... just as insane as the people that lined up over night to see the Star Wars prequels back in the late 90's ... Video games are not like they used to be, then again, nothing is ... I miss games like Super Mario Brothers and Mike Tyson's Punch Out, in my opinion still the best video games to date ...
-A week and a bit to NYC, Pacquiao and Raptors ... yeah baby ...
-I take back what I said about Fox's Prison Break ... It's made the turn for the better with all these Latina cuties that are appearing on the show now ... LOL ...
-My boy Anthro is gettin' me to attend/join this Filipino "political" group ... They're doing a study/survey of the Filipino experience in Canada ... boy do I have opinions on this ... but that would unfortunately take at least a 20 page essay ...
-I got my ball tryout tonight, my first since 9th grade ... I'm plan to make it tough for the coach to cut me ...
-On tap for this weekend, Thursday night, chillin' with "Fam": Anthro, Black Prophet and possibly Octal ... Saturday night, checkin' in with my bredrin Showgen, it's been long overdue ...
Peace out y'all ...
One,
- J -
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Got Active Today
-Let me start this off, Canadian-American dollars at PAR ... yeah baby ... hope the Loonie keeps this up, over the short term anyways ... I'm not optimistic about the possible long term effects ... consumers are definitely going to look elsewhere on the market for cheaper products ... Reportedly our economy lost (and this is not an exact figure) $1.3B in the manufacturing sector alone in 2006, all due to the soaring dollar ... The even dollars should also spike the American economy, as Canadians should be flocking (myself included) to the States to buy products, maybe I shouldn't be adding to this ... I'm glad the Canadian economy is thriving right now, but based on other countries that have surpassed the United States in currency value, ie. China, Japan, it may end up costing us in the long run ... Maybe, in response to the rising Loonie, Canada will decide to slash prices ... I wish ...
-I got an early start to the morning ... I hit the driving range with my father ... My grandfather in the Philippines is currently not doing very well, so that serves as my daily reminder to make the most of and cherish the time I spend with my father, because as the saying goes "you never know" ... When my father was my age, his father (my grandfather) had already passed on, so I'm greatful that I've had him for this long ... He's the greatest man I've ever known and he'll always be a hero to me ... if this sounds sappy, I'm just speaking truth ...
-Anyways, back to golf ... That is one difficult game boy, in my opinion the most difficult sport in the world, it should say something if the greatest player in the world (Tiger Woods) hasn't even perfected it ... There's more that goes into golf these days, more than in the heyday of Jack Nicklaus ... The technology and equipment is far superior today ... Back to Tiger, he's really revolutionized this game ... not just because he's winning and dominating the PGA circuit, but he's changed how golfers approach the game as a whole ... Back in the day, no matter how unathletic a player was, he could still be a winner ... You can't do that anymore, Tiger's stressed the importance of training and conditioning his body as if he were playing any other athletic sport ... Even Michael Jordan, a close friend of Tiger, says that Woods "looks like a linebacker" when he's wearing a cut-off shirt ... Thus, you can't have a steady diet of steaks and cheeseburgers (ala John Daly) and succeed in the game ...
-I kill myself on how much I can veer from my original topic, LOL ... Back to the driving range ... My father was consistent as usual, probably because he plays once or twice a week ... As for me, it was all made worth it as I hit my greatest drive of my young golf career ... Long, Straight, Height, Distance, at least 300 yards, maybe more, the signs don't go that far ... then my dad, clowned me like he usually does, "One great drive out of that whole bucket" ... I shrugged it off and quick with my response, "That one drive alone was worth the six dollars" ... LOL ... the one thing I can say about this game, is you can't get better if you don't play on a regular basis ... I hope to make golfing a routine at some point in the next couple years ...
-This afternoon I kicked it with my boy Anthro at his crib in the old hometown (B-Town) ... yeah, B-Town stand up! LOL ... I've got this ball tryout on Tuesday night, so Anthro offered to get me prepped for it ... We got a chance to run some billiards (another one of my loves), no comment on the outcome, LOL, and even got in a couple rounds on the punching bag in Anthro's home gym ... I told him "remind me never to get into a fight with you" ... Finally, we got outside and ran some ball ... Brookfield Ballers reunite! ... We ran some full-court 3-on-3 with these highschoolers, we split two games ... Man, I hate losing ... Overall, I could get myself in serious shape if I ran with Anthro on a regular ...
-NYC trip is confirmed baby ... hopefully my aunt can get us over to her friend's place to catch the Pacquiao fight ...
I'm out, I've got a long night ahead ...
One,
-J-
-I got an early start to the morning ... I hit the driving range with my father ... My grandfather in the Philippines is currently not doing very well, so that serves as my daily reminder to make the most of and cherish the time I spend with my father, because as the saying goes "you never know" ... When my father was my age, his father (my grandfather) had already passed on, so I'm greatful that I've had him for this long ... He's the greatest man I've ever known and he'll always be a hero to me ... if this sounds sappy, I'm just speaking truth ...
-Anyways, back to golf ... That is one difficult game boy, in my opinion the most difficult sport in the world, it should say something if the greatest player in the world (Tiger Woods) hasn't even perfected it ... There's more that goes into golf these days, more than in the heyday of Jack Nicklaus ... The technology and equipment is far superior today ... Back to Tiger, he's really revolutionized this game ... not just because he's winning and dominating the PGA circuit, but he's changed how golfers approach the game as a whole ... Back in the day, no matter how unathletic a player was, he could still be a winner ... You can't do that anymore, Tiger's stressed the importance of training and conditioning his body as if he were playing any other athletic sport ... Even Michael Jordan, a close friend of Tiger, says that Woods "looks like a linebacker" when he's wearing a cut-off shirt ... Thus, you can't have a steady diet of steaks and cheeseburgers (ala John Daly) and succeed in the game ...
-I kill myself on how much I can veer from my original topic, LOL ... Back to the driving range ... My father was consistent as usual, probably because he plays once or twice a week ... As for me, it was all made worth it as I hit my greatest drive of my young golf career ... Long, Straight, Height, Distance, at least 300 yards, maybe more, the signs don't go that far ... then my dad, clowned me like he usually does, "One great drive out of that whole bucket" ... I shrugged it off and quick with my response, "That one drive alone was worth the six dollars" ... LOL ... the one thing I can say about this game, is you can't get better if you don't play on a regular basis ... I hope to make golfing a routine at some point in the next couple years ...
-This afternoon I kicked it with my boy Anthro at his crib in the old hometown (B-Town) ... yeah, B-Town stand up! LOL ... I've got this ball tryout on Tuesday night, so Anthro offered to get me prepped for it ... We got a chance to run some billiards (another one of my loves), no comment on the outcome, LOL, and even got in a couple rounds on the punching bag in Anthro's home gym ... I told him "remind me never to get into a fight with you" ... Finally, we got outside and ran some ball ... Brookfield Ballers reunite! ... We ran some full-court 3-on-3 with these highschoolers, we split two games ... Man, I hate losing ... Overall, I could get myself in serious shape if I ran with Anthro on a regular ...
-NYC trip is confirmed baby ... hopefully my aunt can get us over to her friend's place to catch the Pacquiao fight ...
I'm out, I've got a long night ahead ...
One,
-J-
Saturday, September 22, 2007
noteworthy things from today
-I was in downtown Toronto this morning around 10AM, I was walking past the Best Buy store by Dundas Square & Eaton Centre when this lady who works at the store stopped me to inform me of a video game competition that they have going on at Dundas Square today and tomorrow ... they are apparently giving away tons of prizes, including video game consoles on the hour ... I've already got a Playstation 2 and Playstation Portable to my credit, it would be nice to add a free Playstation 3 ... If I had time, or if I had no life, I'd probably still be down there now ... I'm not claiming to be a video game wizard, but there are games that nobody can touch me with ... In particular on the Playstation 2 console, NBA Live (any season), NBA Street (Volumes 1-3), Fight Night (Rounds 1-3) and any of the WWE games ... That's an open challenge to anyone ...
-I decided to pull out some of my old CD's and found Big Punisher's first two albums, Capital Punishment and Yeeeah Baby ... Pun was nice ... some, actually i digress, most of the artists in the game today don't even compare or come close ...
-I discovered we only have 2 fire trucks for my entire city ... Ughhhh, damn hick town ...
-I found out today that the family has already planned out the next 3 holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day ... The first one puts me in a HUGE dilemma because of my planned trip to NYC ... On one side I have, NYC, which I've already said is one of my fave cities in the world, on top of that I finally get to go on a trip this year, something that was denied to me this summer ... On the other side I have a family function, it's always great bein' around family, especially with my uncles and male cousins, a lot of bragging, trash talking, ahhh it gets crazy sometimes ... Ahhhh and the kareoke, gotta love filipinos and their kareoke ... Also my uncle said that he is ordering the Pacquiao fight ... the Raptors vs. Celtics is on that day as well ... Someone who's been starved for a fight and ball as much as I have would understand ... On top of that Thanksgiving Dinner, the family always prepares good food, my aunts prepare particular dishes just for me ... So it's NYC-Shopping-American Food Versus Pacquiao-Raptors-Thanksgiving Dinner ... Ahhhhh, what's a man to do? LOL ...
-As for tonight, I'm actually pretty beat up ... I think I'm going to catch up on America's Most Wanted and Cheaters ... LMFAO ...
"Until next time, take care of yourself, and each other" - Jerry Springer
One,
- J -
-I decided to pull out some of my old CD's and found Big Punisher's first two albums, Capital Punishment and Yeeeah Baby ... Pun was nice ... some, actually i digress, most of the artists in the game today don't even compare or come close ...
-I discovered we only have 2 fire trucks for my entire city ... Ughhhh, damn hick town ...
-I found out today that the family has already planned out the next 3 holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day ... The first one puts me in a HUGE dilemma because of my planned trip to NYC ... On one side I have, NYC, which I've already said is one of my fave cities in the world, on top of that I finally get to go on a trip this year, something that was denied to me this summer ... On the other side I have a family function, it's always great bein' around family, especially with my uncles and male cousins, a lot of bragging, trash talking, ahhh it gets crazy sometimes ... Ahhhh and the kareoke, gotta love filipinos and their kareoke ... Also my uncle said that he is ordering the Pacquiao fight ... the Raptors vs. Celtics is on that day as well ... Someone who's been starved for a fight and ball as much as I have would understand ... On top of that Thanksgiving Dinner, the family always prepares good food, my aunts prepare particular dishes just for me ... So it's NYC-Shopping-American Food Versus Pacquiao-Raptors-Thanksgiving Dinner ... Ahhhhh, what's a man to do? LOL ...
-As for tonight, I'm actually pretty beat up ... I think I'm going to catch up on America's Most Wanted and Cheaters ... LMFAO ...
"Until next time, take care of yourself, and each other" - Jerry Springer
One,
- J -
Thursday, September 20, 2007
What's up with J-Smooth
Blog time again ...
-I've got a loonie watch goin' on ... 99.42 cents U.S. at opening this morning ... good news for me, because of my tentative roadtrip to the States on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend ... I'm anxious to get back to New York City and New Jersey ... I'm definitely gettin' myself some KFC biscuits and White Castle sliders, I'll probably bring some home too, LOL ... they have this fastfood chain down in the NYC area, Nathans, the food is unhealthy, but it's good, cheese fries, wings, cheesesteaks, who could ask for more ...
-I'm reading this book right now, called Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, it's apparently a classic ... I actually don't mind it, there are these characters that are clearly messed up, but that's because they all grew up in a small rural town, somewhere in old England ... To me, it's about the characters' need/struggle for control over their surroundings and the people around them ... Some people I have spoken to, that have read the novel, talk about how bad some of these characters are ... I actually like reading about evil characters, because I think we all have an evil side in us, it's just that all of us "normal", "civilized" people don't let it all out ...
-Haven't had much time for anything lately ... Not even time for any women, damn the social life is slow ... I've seen a couple cuties this week that I'm sizing up, we'll see where that gets ... hopin' to hook up with some of my boys, Anthro and Showgen (who I haven't chilled with in ages), I'm dyin' to get out ...
-A quick shout out to my boy Black Prophet ... you home yet or what? ... dyin' to hear about any of the notables from your trip ...
All 4 Now ...
One,
- J -
-I've got a loonie watch goin' on ... 99.42 cents U.S. at opening this morning ... good news for me, because of my tentative roadtrip to the States on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend ... I'm anxious to get back to New York City and New Jersey ... I'm definitely gettin' myself some KFC biscuits and White Castle sliders, I'll probably bring some home too, LOL ... they have this fastfood chain down in the NYC area, Nathans, the food is unhealthy, but it's good, cheese fries, wings, cheesesteaks, who could ask for more ...
-I'm reading this book right now, called Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, it's apparently a classic ... I actually don't mind it, there are these characters that are clearly messed up, but that's because they all grew up in a small rural town, somewhere in old England ... To me, it's about the characters' need/struggle for control over their surroundings and the people around them ... Some people I have spoken to, that have read the novel, talk about how bad some of these characters are ... I actually like reading about evil characters, because I think we all have an evil side in us, it's just that all of us "normal", "civilized" people don't let it all out ...
-Haven't had much time for anything lately ... Not even time for any women, damn the social life is slow ... I've seen a couple cuties this week that I'm sizing up, we'll see where that gets ... hopin' to hook up with some of my boys, Anthro and Showgen (who I haven't chilled with in ages), I'm dyin' to get out ...
-A quick shout out to my boy Black Prophet ... you home yet or what? ... dyin' to hear about any of the notables from your trip ...
All 4 Now ...
One,
- J -
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
J-Smooth's NBA Preview/Predictions
Ball is back soon ... finally ... here's my take on the '07/'08 Season ...
Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division - Should Toronto stay healthy, there is no reason why they can't be around the 50-win mark ... remember, they had two bad stretches last season, eliminate those, they could've won 50 last year ... On a personal note, Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford will be the next great duo of this league ... also I'm probably the only one that likes the Jason Kapono signing, he's been my go-to guy in NBA Live the past 3 seasons, LOL ... Boston definitely has the best trio of players in the entire league (Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett) but not much of anything else, chemistry will definitely be an issue in the early season ... New Jersey got their act together towards the end of last season and will be in the mix for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with the Raptors and Celtics ... New York on paper is a better team with the addition of Zach Randolph, but that gives you two big men with similar skillsets clogging the lane ... Philadelphia's hopes are riding on Andre Iguodala, but he simply doesn't have enough talent around him ...
Central Division - Chicago is on the cusp of greatness, I see them in the NBA Finals, if not this year then the year after ... Detroit is not getting any younger, Re-signing Chauncey Billups was a must, but I don't think it works out for them in the long run, Detroit is still an Eastern Conference contender ... Cleveland, choked in last year's NBA Finals, I don't expect a return trip to the Finals this season ... Indiana and Milwaukee both suck ...
Southeast Division - Orlando made a good move on paper by acquiring versatile forward Rashard Lewis via free agency, but his deal coupled with the contract extension for Dwight Howard absolutely kill the Magic's cap situation, however they are a playoff team ... Washington, Agent 0, need I say more, Gilbert Arenas has to stay healthy though ... Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal won't be enough to get into the playoffs this season ... Atlanta, same story every year, tons of talent, no leadership ... Charlotte pulled off a major steal by acquiring Jason Richardson, he gives them the consistent scorer they need to compliment Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor, they are definitely a fringe playoff team ...
Western Conference:
Southwest Division - Dallas' weakness were definitely exploited in last year's playoffs, Devin Harris is simply not ready for prime time, they should still be in contention with Phoenix for top spot in the West ... Houston, I feel so bad for Tracy McGrady, hopefully this will be the season that he leads his team out of the first round ... You can never discount the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs ... New Orleans has a nice young point guard in Chris Paul, but he won't be enough to lead the Hornets to the playoffs in a deeply talented Western Conference ... I like Memphis' young talent in first round pick Mike Conley and Rudy Gay, but they are still years away ...
Northwest Division - Man, it sucks to be Portland, probably the most anticipated season in franchise history, but the number 1 pick in this year's draft, Greg Oden's debut will be delayed by a year as he is out for the season ... Seattle should have no complaints about Kevin Durant, I watched a few of his games last NCAA season, that is one talented kid ... Utah is definitely the favourite to win the division this season ... Denver is not too far behind ... Minnesota doesn't have a chance in hell ...
Pacific Division - Phoenix believes that the addition of Grant Hill will be the piece that puts them over the top in the Western Conference, Steve Nash isn't getting younger so they better get to the finals soon ... The Los Angeles Lakers stood their ground this summer and ignored Kobe Bryant's trade request, nobody in the world feels any sympathy for Kobe, everyone knew this would happen, he wanted to be the star, "the man", Shaquille O'Neal was shipped out after the 2004 season and Kobe is now realizing how tough it is to do things on his own, the Lakers meanwhile are a borderline playoff team ... Sacramento should seriously consider re-building, Mike Bibby showed some signs of aging last season, with career lows in a few categories ... I don't know what to make of the Los Angeles Clippers, but that is one of the age old questions in the NBA ... finally, Golden State, the highlight of last year's playoffs, I have no idea what they were thinking by giving up Jason Richardson, so Baron Davis definitely has his work cut out for him this season ...
Predictions:
Boston over Detroit in the Eastern Finals
Phoenix over San Antonio in the Western Finals
Phoenix over Boston in the NBA Finals
I'll have a Toronto Raptors preview/breakdown sometime in the next few weeks ...
One,
- J -
Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division - Should Toronto stay healthy, there is no reason why they can't be around the 50-win mark ... remember, they had two bad stretches last season, eliminate those, they could've won 50 last year ... On a personal note, Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford will be the next great duo of this league ... also I'm probably the only one that likes the Jason Kapono signing, he's been my go-to guy in NBA Live the past 3 seasons, LOL ... Boston definitely has the best trio of players in the entire league (Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett) but not much of anything else, chemistry will definitely be an issue in the early season ... New Jersey got their act together towards the end of last season and will be in the mix for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with the Raptors and Celtics ... New York on paper is a better team with the addition of Zach Randolph, but that gives you two big men with similar skillsets clogging the lane ... Philadelphia's hopes are riding on Andre Iguodala, but he simply doesn't have enough talent around him ...
Central Division - Chicago is on the cusp of greatness, I see them in the NBA Finals, if not this year then the year after ... Detroit is not getting any younger, Re-signing Chauncey Billups was a must, but I don't think it works out for them in the long run, Detroit is still an Eastern Conference contender ... Cleveland, choked in last year's NBA Finals, I don't expect a return trip to the Finals this season ... Indiana and Milwaukee both suck ...
Southeast Division - Orlando made a good move on paper by acquiring versatile forward Rashard Lewis via free agency, but his deal coupled with the contract extension for Dwight Howard absolutely kill the Magic's cap situation, however they are a playoff team ... Washington, Agent 0, need I say more, Gilbert Arenas has to stay healthy though ... Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal won't be enough to get into the playoffs this season ... Atlanta, same story every year, tons of talent, no leadership ... Charlotte pulled off a major steal by acquiring Jason Richardson, he gives them the consistent scorer they need to compliment Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor, they are definitely a fringe playoff team ...
Western Conference:
Southwest Division - Dallas' weakness were definitely exploited in last year's playoffs, Devin Harris is simply not ready for prime time, they should still be in contention with Phoenix for top spot in the West ... Houston, I feel so bad for Tracy McGrady, hopefully this will be the season that he leads his team out of the first round ... You can never discount the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs ... New Orleans has a nice young point guard in Chris Paul, but he won't be enough to lead the Hornets to the playoffs in a deeply talented Western Conference ... I like Memphis' young talent in first round pick Mike Conley and Rudy Gay, but they are still years away ...
Northwest Division - Man, it sucks to be Portland, probably the most anticipated season in franchise history, but the number 1 pick in this year's draft, Greg Oden's debut will be delayed by a year as he is out for the season ... Seattle should have no complaints about Kevin Durant, I watched a few of his games last NCAA season, that is one talented kid ... Utah is definitely the favourite to win the division this season ... Denver is not too far behind ... Minnesota doesn't have a chance in hell ...
Pacific Division - Phoenix believes that the addition of Grant Hill will be the piece that puts them over the top in the Western Conference, Steve Nash isn't getting younger so they better get to the finals soon ... The Los Angeles Lakers stood their ground this summer and ignored Kobe Bryant's trade request, nobody in the world feels any sympathy for Kobe, everyone knew this would happen, he wanted to be the star, "the man", Shaquille O'Neal was shipped out after the 2004 season and Kobe is now realizing how tough it is to do things on his own, the Lakers meanwhile are a borderline playoff team ... Sacramento should seriously consider re-building, Mike Bibby showed some signs of aging last season, with career lows in a few categories ... I don't know what to make of the Los Angeles Clippers, but that is one of the age old questions in the NBA ... finally, Golden State, the highlight of last year's playoffs, I have no idea what they were thinking by giving up Jason Richardson, so Baron Davis definitely has his work cut out for him this season ...
Predictions:
Boston over Detroit in the Eastern Finals
Phoenix over San Antonio in the Western Finals
Phoenix over Boston in the NBA Finals
I'll have a Toronto Raptors preview/breakdown sometime in the next few weeks ...
One,
- J -
Monday, September 17, 2007
Random Shots
What's up everyone?
-So many things to do, not enough hours in the day ...
-When I read this I laughed my @ss off ... I'll bet anyone this turns into a racial issue ...
http://www.torontosun.com/News/OtherNews/2007/09/17/4502796-sun.html
-Something that's annoyed me recently ... when people are so damn "wordy" when they answer a question, in order to sound more intelligent ... get to the damn point! ...
-So Spain lost in the FIBA Europe finals, LOL ... You suck Calderon!
-It's that time of the year for the Terry Fox run ... I just watched his movie a couple days ago, seemed like an amazing person, so driven, so passionate about his cause ... R.I.P. Terry
-Prison Break is back on tonight ... That show has seriously gone from good to horrible over the first two seasons ... it's just become more and more unrealistic ... But, LOL at all the women heartbroken over the "outing" of Wentworth Miller ...
One,
- J -
-So many things to do, not enough hours in the day ...
-When I read this I laughed my @ss off ... I'll bet anyone this turns into a racial issue ...
http://www.torontosun.com/News/OtherNews/2007/09/17/4502796-sun.html
-Something that's annoyed me recently ... when people are so damn "wordy" when they answer a question, in order to sound more intelligent ... get to the damn point! ...
-So Spain lost in the FIBA Europe finals, LOL ... You suck Calderon!
-It's that time of the year for the Terry Fox run ... I just watched his movie a couple days ago, seemed like an amazing person, so driven, so passionate about his cause ... R.I.P. Terry
-Prison Break is back on tonight ... That show has seriously gone from good to horrible over the first two seasons ... it's just become more and more unrealistic ... But, LOL at all the women heartbroken over the "outing" of Wentworth Miller ...
One,
- J -
Friday, September 14, 2007
Even more Random Shots
I'm just mentally and physically tired right now ...
A short entry today ...
More drama in the motherland ... With the life conviction of former Philippine President Joseph Estrada coming down a few days ago, some circles in the Philippines say that this should serve as a warning for current President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ... Some are suspecting Arroyo of accepting bribes, the same crimes Estrada was convicted for ... Just what the Philippines needs, another corrupt president ... I'm glad national hero Manny Pacquiao lost the past election, hopefully that keeps him out of politics, he'll probably pull the same S#%@ if he got elected ...
If I wasn't so damn busy, I'd be in the States this minute ... The Canadian dollar closed at 97.04 cents U.S. ... everything is dirt cheap right now ... Par, is not a question of if, simply a matter of when ... I hope these rates are similar for my trips to the States next summer ...
O.J. Simpson in trouble with the law again, accused of robbery ... LOL ... He claims that he was retrieving sports memorabilia that was stolen from him ... Despite popular opinion, I'm skeptical on whether he committed those murders back in the mid-90's ... I mean, how stupid can someone be? murder two people, then drop the evidence at the side of the house? ... If he wanted someone dead, with his financial means he had, he could've hired a hitman ... whatever ...
Three weeks to Pacquiao-Barrera 2 ...
That's all ...
One,
- J -
A short entry today ...
More drama in the motherland ... With the life conviction of former Philippine President Joseph Estrada coming down a few days ago, some circles in the Philippines say that this should serve as a warning for current President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ... Some are suspecting Arroyo of accepting bribes, the same crimes Estrada was convicted for ... Just what the Philippines needs, another corrupt president ... I'm glad national hero Manny Pacquiao lost the past election, hopefully that keeps him out of politics, he'll probably pull the same S#%@ if he got elected ...
If I wasn't so damn busy, I'd be in the States this minute ... The Canadian dollar closed at 97.04 cents U.S. ... everything is dirt cheap right now ... Par, is not a question of if, simply a matter of when ... I hope these rates are similar for my trips to the States next summer ...
O.J. Simpson in trouble with the law again, accused of robbery ... LOL ... He claims that he was retrieving sports memorabilia that was stolen from him ... Despite popular opinion, I'm skeptical on whether he committed those murders back in the mid-90's ... I mean, how stupid can someone be? murder two people, then drop the evidence at the side of the house? ... If he wanted someone dead, with his financial means he had, he could've hired a hitman ... whatever ...
Three weeks to Pacquiao-Barrera 2 ...
That's all ...
One,
- J -
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Random Shots
Here we go ...
- According to Yahoo! News U.S. President George Bush "plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by as many as 30,000 by next summer" ... Well, it's about time! ... The Americans are fighting a war that they simply can't win ... I for one was not a supporter of the Iraqi war to begin with and I applaud the Canadian Government's decision years back to stay out of it ... Back to wars they can't win, has the U.S. ever won a war where they decided to invade/occupy a country? ... let's see, Canada-1812, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq ... looks like 0/5 ...
- I was watching the news on some of the major American TV stations this morning, notably CNN, CBS and NBC ... Their coverage on September 11 was less than 5 minutes on each station ... I guess America has moved on, as they should, from those tragedies in New York City, Washington DC and Shanksville ... Now if President Bush can finally let it go, we can get all those troops back home with their families where they belong ...
- I actually read an article in MacLean's magazine a few months back on a defected American soldier who served in this current Iraqi war, he described how American troops would storm into homes of Iraqi citizens, remove the men from the houses and rape the women ... He also described how the soldiers would play "soccer" with the decapitated heads of killed Iraqis ... Disturbing to say the least ... this defected soldier hit the nail on the head when he stated that the Americans had "become the terrorist" ... This all has to stop ...
- I for one am anticipating the completion of construction on the Freedom Tower in Lower Manhattan, I've been to Ground Zero a few times, in New York City there is noise everywhere you go, but as soon as you get to the World Trade Center, there is this eerie silence ... I love New York, one of my favourite places in the world ...
- Over the past week and a half I've walked on Bloor Street in Toronto a few times and in front of the Intercontinental or Four Seasons hotel, I can't remember which one, there have been crowds of people gathered in front of the entrance ... I asked someone there, what everyone was doing, he said they were waiting for any celebrities coming in and out of the hotel, they're all here for the Toronto Film Festival ... Some people just have nothing better to do with their free time ...
- Word of warning to all of you users of Facebook ... According to USA Today in San Francisco "Social network Facebook will soon make the listings - the name and photo - of its 40 million active members available to anyone who searches the Internet on Google, Yahoo and Microsoft." ... so much for the privacy settings ...
- Sticking with the topic of social networking websites, here's an interesting read:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2426229.ece
- I was looking at some old pictures a couple days ago of my last visit to Vancouver, British Columbia ... brings back some good memories ... I miss those days ... It would be nice to have a chance to go back there ... a great city, cosmopolitan, probably as culturally diverse, maybe moreso than Toronto ... my boy Anthro says he met a girl there, I gotta check this out, LOL ... maybe next summer, it's supposedly great there in the summer ...
- Here is a rare comment on the music world from yours truly ... It's a rarity, because I'm sick of all the crap they're putting out these days ... Kanye West vs. 50 Cent ... Who gives a S#%@? I sure as hell don't ... I'm not a fan of Kanye, haven't paid any attention to him since he threw a school girl-type tantrum on Toronto's urban radio station Flow 93.5 ... 50, I partly blame for the current state of hip hop, or what's left of it ... I look forward to Busta Rhymes' new album Before Hell Freezes Over due out November 13 ... Busta, along with Nas are a couple of the very few that I still have respect for in the game ...
- Other album releases I'm looking forward to are: Alicia Keys - As I Am, due out the same day as Busta, the other album is from Usher which is also due out this year, but no confirmed release date as of yet ...
All for now ... hope you all enjoyed it.
One,
- J -
- According to Yahoo! News U.S. President George Bush "plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by as many as 30,000 by next summer" ... Well, it's about time! ... The Americans are fighting a war that they simply can't win ... I for one was not a supporter of the Iraqi war to begin with and I applaud the Canadian Government's decision years back to stay out of it ... Back to wars they can't win, has the U.S. ever won a war where they decided to invade/occupy a country? ... let's see, Canada-1812, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq ... looks like 0/5 ...
- I was watching the news on some of the major American TV stations this morning, notably CNN, CBS and NBC ... Their coverage on September 11 was less than 5 minutes on each station ... I guess America has moved on, as they should, from those tragedies in New York City, Washington DC and Shanksville ... Now if President Bush can finally let it go, we can get all those troops back home with their families where they belong ...
- I actually read an article in MacLean's magazine a few months back on a defected American soldier who served in this current Iraqi war, he described how American troops would storm into homes of Iraqi citizens, remove the men from the houses and rape the women ... He also described how the soldiers would play "soccer" with the decapitated heads of killed Iraqis ... Disturbing to say the least ... this defected soldier hit the nail on the head when he stated that the Americans had "become the terrorist" ... This all has to stop ...
- I for one am anticipating the completion of construction on the Freedom Tower in Lower Manhattan, I've been to Ground Zero a few times, in New York City there is noise everywhere you go, but as soon as you get to the World Trade Center, there is this eerie silence ... I love New York, one of my favourite places in the world ...
- Over the past week and a half I've walked on Bloor Street in Toronto a few times and in front of the Intercontinental or Four Seasons hotel, I can't remember which one, there have been crowds of people gathered in front of the entrance ... I asked someone there, what everyone was doing, he said they were waiting for any celebrities coming in and out of the hotel, they're all here for the Toronto Film Festival ... Some people just have nothing better to do with their free time ...
- Word of warning to all of you users of Facebook ... According to USA Today in San Francisco "Social network Facebook will soon make the listings - the name and photo - of its 40 million active members available to anyone who searches the Internet on Google, Yahoo and Microsoft." ... so much for the privacy settings ...
- Sticking with the topic of social networking websites, here's an interesting read:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2426229.ece
- I was looking at some old pictures a couple days ago of my last visit to Vancouver, British Columbia ... brings back some good memories ... I miss those days ... It would be nice to have a chance to go back there ... a great city, cosmopolitan, probably as culturally diverse, maybe moreso than Toronto ... my boy Anthro says he met a girl there, I gotta check this out, LOL ... maybe next summer, it's supposedly great there in the summer ...
- Here is a rare comment on the music world from yours truly ... It's a rarity, because I'm sick of all the crap they're putting out these days ... Kanye West vs. 50 Cent ... Who gives a S#%@? I sure as hell don't ... I'm not a fan of Kanye, haven't paid any attention to him since he threw a school girl-type tantrum on Toronto's urban radio station Flow 93.5 ... 50, I partly blame for the current state of hip hop, or what's left of it ... I look forward to Busta Rhymes' new album Before Hell Freezes Over due out November 13 ... Busta, along with Nas are a couple of the very few that I still have respect for in the game ...
- Other album releases I'm looking forward to are: Alicia Keys - As I Am, due out the same day as Busta, the other album is from Usher which is also due out this year, but no confirmed release date as of yet ...
All for now ... hope you all enjoyed it.
One,
- J -
Sunday, September 9, 2007
J-Smooth's Boxing Schedule Preview/Predictions
With the dog days of summer behind us, nobody is looking forward to the Fall more than me ... Some huge bouts have been signed for the upcoming months ... I am looking forward to four in particular and here is my take on each of them ...
Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlik - September 29th - Atlantic City, New Jersey
I have never been a huge fan of Jermain Taylor, because quite honestly, the guy is boring, he doesn't put on a show ... No bout is a more perfect example than his last fight with Corey Spinks ... Taylor didn't land any solid combinations and spent most of the night chasing Spinks around ... What made the night worse was that Taylor was outshined by his undercard ... Ironically it is the same man that he will be squaring off against in less than a months time, Kelly Pavlik who looked impressive in his 7th Round TKO of Edison Miranda ... If Taylor is to keep the respect of the boxing world, he needs to score a decisive victory over Pavlik ... I'm taking Pavlik by Unanimous Decision.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera - October 6th - Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada
I don't think anyone needs to ask me who's going to win this fight ... Neither is the same fighter from their last meeting four years ago ... While Pacquiao has elevated his status among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world (in some circles considered number one), Barrera's best years are clearly behind him ... Pacquiao's camp is claiming that he's added the right hook to his already deadly arsenal of punches ... Barrera is coming off a defeat at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez, who clearly is next in line to fight Pacquiao, should Pac-Man get by Marco as expected ... This fight is coming a couple years too late, if you ask me ... However, this rematch was made the number one priority by the new alliance of Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions ... Filipinos and Mexicans alike are sure to pack the Mandalay Bay, the atmosphere should be electric ... I'm seriously debating whether I should purchase this PPV, but there is no way I'm missing a Pacquiao fight ... Oh yeah, Pacquiao via Knockout in no more than 6 rounds.
Miguel Cotto vs. "Sugar" Shane Mosley - November 10th - Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Now this is the fight I'm most anticipating, as I'm a huge fan of both fighters and it's difficult for me to pick a winner ... I actually want to make the trip down to New York City to see the fight live at the Garden, but I won't be due to scheduling conflicts and a lack of funds, LOL ... Mosley's resume includes two victories over both "Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas, most recently defeating Luis Callazo ... Cotto is coming off the biggest victory of his career with his 11th Round Knockout of Zab Judah ... I'm expecting this Cotto-Mosley bout to be one of the fights of the year ... If Mosley wins, I expect a fight to be scheduled between he and Welterweight Champ Floyd Mayweather ... While a victory over Mosley would elevate Cotto's status, I still don't believe he's ready for a fight with Floyd ... A couple more big fights under his belt should have him ready to challenge Mayweather (De La Hoya, Antonio Margarito and Paul Williams) , but he has to get by Mosley first ... Smart money says Mosley takes this fight, but I look back at the Cotto-Judah bout, I haven't seen anyone hurt Zab like Cotto did, not even Mayweather ... My pick, and this is a tough one, I'll go with Cotto via Unanimous Decision.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton - December 8th - MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
I hate both of these guys, but that's what makes this a must-see fight for me ... Mayweather really boxed himself into a corner by taking this fight, because he has absolutely nothing to gain ... The entire world expects him to beat Hatton ... A loss means that he loses everything, his undefeated record, his title and the respect of the boxing world ... Hatton, on the other hand, talks a big game, but he's going to get his a$$ whoop ... Mayweather via Knockout
Other scheduled fights: Juan Diaz vs. Julio Diaz, my pick Juan via Knockout; A battle of undefeated fighters, Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler, I say Calzaghe via Unanimous Decision.
One,
- J -
Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlik - September 29th - Atlantic City, New Jersey
I have never been a huge fan of Jermain Taylor, because quite honestly, the guy is boring, he doesn't put on a show ... No bout is a more perfect example than his last fight with Corey Spinks ... Taylor didn't land any solid combinations and spent most of the night chasing Spinks around ... What made the night worse was that Taylor was outshined by his undercard ... Ironically it is the same man that he will be squaring off against in less than a months time, Kelly Pavlik who looked impressive in his 7th Round TKO of Edison Miranda ... If Taylor is to keep the respect of the boxing world, he needs to score a decisive victory over Pavlik ... I'm taking Pavlik by Unanimous Decision.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera - October 6th - Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada
I don't think anyone needs to ask me who's going to win this fight ... Neither is the same fighter from their last meeting four years ago ... While Pacquiao has elevated his status among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world (in some circles considered number one), Barrera's best years are clearly behind him ... Pacquiao's camp is claiming that he's added the right hook to his already deadly arsenal of punches ... Barrera is coming off a defeat at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez, who clearly is next in line to fight Pacquiao, should Pac-Man get by Marco as expected ... This fight is coming a couple years too late, if you ask me ... However, this rematch was made the number one priority by the new alliance of Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions ... Filipinos and Mexicans alike are sure to pack the Mandalay Bay, the atmosphere should be electric ... I'm seriously debating whether I should purchase this PPV, but there is no way I'm missing a Pacquiao fight ... Oh yeah, Pacquiao via Knockout in no more than 6 rounds.
Miguel Cotto vs. "Sugar" Shane Mosley - November 10th - Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Now this is the fight I'm most anticipating, as I'm a huge fan of both fighters and it's difficult for me to pick a winner ... I actually want to make the trip down to New York City to see the fight live at the Garden, but I won't be due to scheduling conflicts and a lack of funds, LOL ... Mosley's resume includes two victories over both "Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas, most recently defeating Luis Callazo ... Cotto is coming off the biggest victory of his career with his 11th Round Knockout of Zab Judah ... I'm expecting this Cotto-Mosley bout to be one of the fights of the year ... If Mosley wins, I expect a fight to be scheduled between he and Welterweight Champ Floyd Mayweather ... While a victory over Mosley would elevate Cotto's status, I still don't believe he's ready for a fight with Floyd ... A couple more big fights under his belt should have him ready to challenge Mayweather (De La Hoya, Antonio Margarito and Paul Williams) , but he has to get by Mosley first ... Smart money says Mosley takes this fight, but I look back at the Cotto-Judah bout, I haven't seen anyone hurt Zab like Cotto did, not even Mayweather ... My pick, and this is a tough one, I'll go with Cotto via Unanimous Decision.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton - December 8th - MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
I hate both of these guys, but that's what makes this a must-see fight for me ... Mayweather really boxed himself into a corner by taking this fight, because he has absolutely nothing to gain ... The entire world expects him to beat Hatton ... A loss means that he loses everything, his undefeated record, his title and the respect of the boxing world ... Hatton, on the other hand, talks a big game, but he's going to get his a$$ whoop ... Mayweather via Knockout
Other scheduled fights: Juan Diaz vs. Julio Diaz, my pick Juan via Knockout; A battle of undefeated fighters, Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler, I say Calzaghe via Unanimous Decision.
One,
- J -
Friday, September 7, 2007
Kobe in Manila
Last year Tracy McGrady, this year Kobe Bryant showed love to my native country of the Philippines ... here's a YouTube link to the press conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjksAc3WYaU
"Mabuhay" - Kobe Bryant, LOL
I think it's great that Kobe has taken time out of his busy summer to show love to the Philippines and promote the game ... Basketball has always been the most popular sport in the Philippines, today only rivaled by boxing ... Hopefully one day we'll see the first Filipino player in the NBA ... Problem is, 6-Foot Filipinos are a rarity, thus the position they would most likely have to play is the point guard, which is by far the toughest position in the NBA ... Another barrier has to be Red Horse, LOL, if you're Filipino, you know exactly what I'm talking about ... I haven't always been a fan of Kobe, but with the NBA now promoting prima donna youngsters such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, I sure appreciate Kobe a lot more ... That press conference was at a five-star hotel in Makati called Shangri-La, weird, I spent a night there about 9 months ago ... It's no secret that Kobe is unhappy about his situation on the Lakers and I know his first (and only) choice for possible teams to go to is the Chicago Bulls ... But hey, Kobe, Toronto is where it's at ... teaming Bryant with Chris Bosh and TJ Ford would keep the Raptors atop the East for years, ahhhh big dreams.
One,
- J -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjksAc3WYaU
"Mabuhay" - Kobe Bryant, LOL
I think it's great that Kobe has taken time out of his busy summer to show love to the Philippines and promote the game ... Basketball has always been the most popular sport in the Philippines, today only rivaled by boxing ... Hopefully one day we'll see the first Filipino player in the NBA ... Problem is, 6-Foot Filipinos are a rarity, thus the position they would most likely have to play is the point guard, which is by far the toughest position in the NBA ... Another barrier has to be Red Horse, LOL, if you're Filipino, you know exactly what I'm talking about ... I haven't always been a fan of Kobe, but with the NBA now promoting prima donna youngsters such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, I sure appreciate Kobe a lot more ... That press conference was at a five-star hotel in Makati called Shangri-La, weird, I spent a night there about 9 months ago ... It's no secret that Kobe is unhappy about his situation on the Lakers and I know his first (and only) choice for possible teams to go to is the Chicago Bulls ... But hey, Kobe, Toronto is where it's at ... teaming Bryant with Chris Bosh and TJ Ford would keep the Raptors atop the East for years, ahhhh big dreams.
One,
- J -
Thursday, September 6, 2007
September 11 - 6 Years Later
So much has happened since that day of tragedy, but to me the memories are still fresh ... It was one of those days that you'll always remember where you were and the circumstances ... It was the first day of school for me and classes weren't until 6PM later that afternoon, but I had woken up early for some reason that September morning ... I went downstairs to get a drink, then I said I'd go back to bed to rest up for school ... As soon as I laid down in my bed I turned on the radio to the FAN590 radio station to listen for any sports updates ... The host, the late Pat Marsden, then said (and this isn't an exact quote) "some idiot crashed a plane into one of the buildings of the World Trade Center" ... I immediately jumped out of bed to get to our television ... then I see one of the towers on fire ... It didn't even register in my mind that what I was watching was real ... What was scary was that I was in New York City 6 days before this happened ...
I had been to New York City before, but I was very young and didn't remember much, so this time my aunt took my sister and I around Manhattan to tour ... We went to all the familiar places: Times Square, 5th Avenue, Central Park, The Empire State Building, my personal faves: The NBA Store and WWF New York, finally The World Trade Center Twin Towers ... Standing at the foot of the towers, these buildings were gigantic, bigger than any of ours in Toronto, I wanted to take a picture and I remember it perfectly, I asked my aunt and sister, "what would happen if these buildings fell down?" ... Little did I realize the irony in my statement or how prophetic I had been ... My aunt responded, "that would be pretty bad" ...
Now fastforwarding to the morning of September 11 ... I remember turning on the television and switching over to ABC's broadcast of the events unfolding ... Then moments later I saw the second plane go in the other tower ... What a surreal moment to say the least ... I don't think I have to recap the rest, but when those towers collapsed, I just remember thinking, "now I know" ... I remember being glued to the television for the rest of the day before heading for school ... When class started, the professor said, "a lesson has been planned, but considering today's events it wouldn't seem right", so he dismissed the class ... When I arrived home, I was greeted by my father who embraced my sister and I ... For the rest of that night, my family and I'm sure many of you, watched the recaps of the day's events ...
I was reminded of these tragic events tonight after watching A&E's documentary on people who have developed illnesses and complications from working clean up at ground zero ... They are currently in court battles with the State of New York over financial compensation ... Very sad to say the least ...
At this point my prayers are with those who parished on that fateful day and to the families, with my hope that they have been able to move on with their lives and have found some sense of peace.
One,
- J -
I had been to New York City before, but I was very young and didn't remember much, so this time my aunt took my sister and I around Manhattan to tour ... We went to all the familiar places: Times Square, 5th Avenue, Central Park, The Empire State Building, my personal faves: The NBA Store and WWF New York, finally The World Trade Center Twin Towers ... Standing at the foot of the towers, these buildings were gigantic, bigger than any of ours in Toronto, I wanted to take a picture and I remember it perfectly, I asked my aunt and sister, "what would happen if these buildings fell down?" ... Little did I realize the irony in my statement or how prophetic I had been ... My aunt responded, "that would be pretty bad" ...
Now fastforwarding to the morning of September 11 ... I remember turning on the television and switching over to ABC's broadcast of the events unfolding ... Then moments later I saw the second plane go in the other tower ... What a surreal moment to say the least ... I don't think I have to recap the rest, but when those towers collapsed, I just remember thinking, "now I know" ... I remember being glued to the television for the rest of the day before heading for school ... When class started, the professor said, "a lesson has been planned, but considering today's events it wouldn't seem right", so he dismissed the class ... When I arrived home, I was greeted by my father who embraced my sister and I ... For the rest of that night, my family and I'm sure many of you, watched the recaps of the day's events ...
I was reminded of these tragic events tonight after watching A&E's documentary on people who have developed illnesses and complications from working clean up at ground zero ... They are currently in court battles with the State of New York over financial compensation ... Very sad to say the least ...
At this point my prayers are with those who parished on that fateful day and to the families, with my hope that they have been able to move on with their lives and have found some sense of peace.
One,
- J -
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Random Shots
A follow up to my take on the Chris Benoit incident ... In the last day or so new evidence has surfaced as the test results on Benoit's brain have been released ... A direct quote from ABC News:
"At the crime scene, police found anabolic steroids prompting many to suspect that "roid rage" had accounted for Benoit's behavior, which his family found out of character for the 40-year-old.
His family now believes that new test results on Benoit's brain explain his vicious actions.
The tests, conducted by Julian Bailes of the Sports Legacy Institute, show that Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient.
Bailes and his research team say that this damage was the result of a lifetime of chronic concussions and head trauma suffered while Benoit was in the wrestling ring."
While we'll never know 100% why Chris Benoit committed those crimes, this explanation makes a whole lot more sense ... What's done is done, but it is my opinion that the media was quick to assign blame in this case, without even having all the facts, it's irresponsible journalism if you ask me ...
Elsewhere ...
- Anyone out there have a PlayStation 3, I'd love to own one, but it's not practical at this point ... First off, no time to play it ... Second, I'd only be buying it only to play 3 or 4 games ... Lastly, $550 CDN is ridiculous to spend on a hobby ...
- I've been eating pretty healthy for the past 5 months, at this point right now I'm craving a Philly Chessesteak, biscuits from Amerian KFC, Tex-Mex food and White Castle ... The States definitely has better food than we have up here ...
- Another thing the States has is better sports fans ... Majority of the people up here are hockey fans, which I don't consider a sport by the way ... The remaining people who follow basketball up here would prefer to watch FIBA ball over NCAA college ball, WTF? ... boxing, is not even a relevant topic up here either, back in the 60's Toronto was able to draw Muhammad Ali to the Maple Leaf Gardens ... Last year, the PPV broadcast of Manny Pacquiao's fight against Erik Morales wasn't even shown live on Viewer's Choice ... just a couple of my beefs about living in Canada ...
- I was at Brantford's Casino this past weekend, I'm not usually a gambler, but when I do go my strategy is spend $20-40, win enough, take out the money I originally put in, then roll on the winnings ... The worst part of being at a Casino and winning early, especially when you're with a group of people, you're forced to wait, but there's nothing much to do in a Casino to kill time except gamble ... I can see how gambling gets people hooked ...
- Canadian Elections are not too far in the distant future ... The Liberals are promising another statutory holiday in February if elected ... Rejoice, one whole day ... I'd actually like to see 2 per month ... yeah right, that ain't happening ...
- With the summer over and done with, my head is already focused on next summer ... This summer proved uneventful ... with the exception of a close friend's wedding, I didn't really do much, I also didn't take any vacations ... having next summer in mind will give me something to look forward to ... I have two trips in mind that I'm definitely planning on taking ...
- As far as this fall goes, tentatively scheduled are a couple roadtrips with my boys, BlackProphet and Anthro ... I'm telling you, any time I go out with Anthro, there's always something he says or does that gets told in stories for years to come ... never a dull moment at all ...
Wow, that was a lot, but that's all for now ...
One,
- J -
"At the crime scene, police found anabolic steroids prompting many to suspect that "roid rage" had accounted for Benoit's behavior, which his family found out of character for the 40-year-old.
His family now believes that new test results on Benoit's brain explain his vicious actions.
The tests, conducted by Julian Bailes of the Sports Legacy Institute, show that Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient.
Bailes and his research team say that this damage was the result of a lifetime of chronic concussions and head trauma suffered while Benoit was in the wrestling ring."
While we'll never know 100% why Chris Benoit committed those crimes, this explanation makes a whole lot more sense ... What's done is done, but it is my opinion that the media was quick to assign blame in this case, without even having all the facts, it's irresponsible journalism if you ask me ...
Elsewhere ...
- Anyone out there have a PlayStation 3, I'd love to own one, but it's not practical at this point ... First off, no time to play it ... Second, I'd only be buying it only to play 3 or 4 games ... Lastly, $550 CDN is ridiculous to spend on a hobby ...
- I've been eating pretty healthy for the past 5 months, at this point right now I'm craving a Philly Chessesteak, biscuits from Amerian KFC, Tex-Mex food and White Castle ... The States definitely has better food than we have up here ...
- Another thing the States has is better sports fans ... Majority of the people up here are hockey fans, which I don't consider a sport by the way ... The remaining people who follow basketball up here would prefer to watch FIBA ball over NCAA college ball, WTF? ... boxing, is not even a relevant topic up here either, back in the 60's Toronto was able to draw Muhammad Ali to the Maple Leaf Gardens ... Last year, the PPV broadcast of Manny Pacquiao's fight against Erik Morales wasn't even shown live on Viewer's Choice ... just a couple of my beefs about living in Canada ...
- I was at Brantford's Casino this past weekend, I'm not usually a gambler, but when I do go my strategy is spend $20-40, win enough, take out the money I originally put in, then roll on the winnings ... The worst part of being at a Casino and winning early, especially when you're with a group of people, you're forced to wait, but there's nothing much to do in a Casino to kill time except gamble ... I can see how gambling gets people hooked ...
- Canadian Elections are not too far in the distant future ... The Liberals are promising another statutory holiday in February if elected ... Rejoice, one whole day ... I'd actually like to see 2 per month ... yeah right, that ain't happening ...
- With the summer over and done with, my head is already focused on next summer ... This summer proved uneventful ... with the exception of a close friend's wedding, I didn't really do much, I also didn't take any vacations ... having next summer in mind will give me something to look forward to ... I have two trips in mind that I'm definitely planning on taking ...
- As far as this fall goes, tentatively scheduled are a couple roadtrips with my boys, BlackProphet and Anthro ... I'm telling you, any time I go out with Anthro, there's always something he says or does that gets told in stories for years to come ... never a dull moment at all ...
Wow, that was a lot, but that's all for now ...
One,
- J -
Monday, September 3, 2007
Short Stories
Yesterday in Oakville, I was in a car with my dad headed into a parking lot ... some white guy in an Escalade, probably around my age, cuts right in front of us ... He was headed in the opposite direction, but he went through a stop sign and nearly hit us, we clearly had the right of way ... My dad was pissed and rolled down the window, he was like "what the f*%# is your problem, don't you know how to read a stop sign?" ... Then it happened, something which set me off right there, the idiot said "damn immigrants" ... I was like "oh hell no" ... Then that's when the hate took over and I was shouting my choice expletives, racial slurs and threats right back ... The guy took my words without a response and he was like "whatever" and he just drove off ... With the amount of anger that I was feeling at that moment, I was ready to kick the S$%@ out of that guy right in his front seat ... That is not the first time in my life that I've had a racial slur directed at me and it probably won't be the last ... I by no means want to typecast all white Canadians the same as that idiot, BUT I'm certain he's not the only one who has that mentality (and that's an understatement) ... I've never taken S$%@ from people that spit out racial slurs before and I don't plan on starting any time soon.
Today I was at a convienience store in Mississauga ... Nothing special ... But then I turn around and I see one of my cousins with his wife ... To make a long story short, my cousin and I haven't spoken a word to each other in about 4 years, there were/are issues in the family and he decided to pick sides, which left me no alternative but to stick with the other side ... It's funny, because when we were kids we were pretty close ... I was often over at his house, we'd play with toys, video games, watch WWF on TV ... Sure we made fun of each other, but what kids didn't ... The thing is I don't remember fighting with him over anything ... About 5-6 years ago, we even hung out and went out places ... But after the family issues surfaced, things just cut off ... Which brings us to today ... I was standing at the cashier's counter when I turned around and saw him, he was actually headed out the door ... But because of the layout of the store, there is no way he could've left the store without seeing me ... He didn't say a word ... In my head, I'm thinking "oh well" ... I've accepted a long time ago that we probably won't be a part of each other's lives anymore ... I mean, I didn't even know that his girlfriend (at the time) had a baby months after she was born ... I guess it goes to show that just because you share the same blood with someone, it doesn't make you family.
I guess my short stories, weren't that short after all, LOL
One,
- J -
Today I was at a convienience store in Mississauga ... Nothing special ... But then I turn around and I see one of my cousins with his wife ... To make a long story short, my cousin and I haven't spoken a word to each other in about 4 years, there were/are issues in the family and he decided to pick sides, which left me no alternative but to stick with the other side ... It's funny, because when we were kids we were pretty close ... I was often over at his house, we'd play with toys, video games, watch WWF on TV ... Sure we made fun of each other, but what kids didn't ... The thing is I don't remember fighting with him over anything ... About 5-6 years ago, we even hung out and went out places ... But after the family issues surfaced, things just cut off ... Which brings us to today ... I was standing at the cashier's counter when I turned around and saw him, he was actually headed out the door ... But because of the layout of the store, there is no way he could've left the store without seeing me ... He didn't say a word ... In my head, I'm thinking "oh well" ... I've accepted a long time ago that we probably won't be a part of each other's lives anymore ... I mean, I didn't even know that his girlfriend (at the time) had a baby months after she was born ... I guess it goes to show that just because you share the same blood with someone, it doesn't make you family.
I guess my short stories, weren't that short after all, LOL
One,
- J -
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