PacMan goin’ out with a Bang

-before I get to my entry, first I must say that the human spirit is quite remarkable isn’t it? ... it’s been 2.5 months since my grandfather left (I’m stunned it’s already been that long) and 2 months since his funeral ... I’ve thought about him every day, but like they say, time heals all wounds ...

-in other unrelated ... I’m happy to announce that I’ve added to my existing rookie card collection, which already includes the likes of Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James ... I’ve managed to obtain rookie cards of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, my two fave players on my new adopted team The Portland Trailblazers ... I may look to add Greg Oden and Jerryd Bayless cards down the road, we shall see ...


-on to my entry ... Manny Pacquiao has been quoted in a recent article, actually mapping out his final three fights ... unless you’ve been living in a hole, the first is his upcoming bout with Oscar De La Hoya ... next, the heavily rumored fight with Ricky Hatton, a fight both fighters want ... and finally, wait for it, Floyd Mayweather Jr., a dream fight that every fight fan (myself included) wants, but never thought possible ... I guess that leaves that chump Juan Manuel Marquez and all his nuthugging fans out in the cold, LOL ... way to go PacMan, leave the game with fights that fans all over the world want to see ... breaking down the three bouts

Vs. Oscar De La Hoya: despite the decline in De La Hoya’s game, this is a very dangerous fight for Pacquiao ... PacMan is giving up a 4 inches in height and 15cm in reach ... his trainer Freddy Roach is doing the smart thing, by threatening to pull PacMan out of the fight if Oscar comes in only one pound over weight, that’s the smart thing to protect his fighter ... the thing which was most effective for Manny in his last fight, with David Diaz, was his jab ... but with De La Hoya’s significant reach advantage, that would almost negate Manny’s jab ... the only way I see Manny winning, is by using his superior footwork and hand speed, thus, stick and move ... but nonetheless, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Manny beats Oscar on points ... the way I see this playing out, a split decision win for Manny ... but if he somehow manages to KO Oscar, let’s just say the world is his at that point and it opens up the door for a Mayweather bout, but we’ll get to that ...

Vs. Ricky Hatton: Hatton is already challenging the winner of the PacMan/Golden Boy fight ... but with rumors of the Pacquiao fight being De La Hoya’s last, Ricky may end up fighting Manny regardless ... if Hatton looks any way he did against Juan Lazcano, this past May, I see Manny scoring a KO against Britain’s superstar ... but that being said, it’s not gonna be an easy fight by any stretch, as Hatton has one punch knockout power, so he’s still dangerous ... to be honest I’ve never been a fan of Ricky’s punch-and-clinch technique ... his lackluster performance against Lazcano, may be signs of decline, which I attribute to his first (and also KO) loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year ... it’s a mental hurdle I’ve noticed a lot of fighters go through after their first loss, some are never the same ... the way this goes down, it should be a brutal fight with a lot of action, but in the end, I see Manny’s speed and power eventually getting the better of Hatton, resulting in a KO victory in the championship (11th or 12th) rounds ...

Vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.: now I’ve been wanting to see this since 2006 after Manny KO’d Erik Morales ... but with the huge weight disparity, I never thought this fight would be made possible ... even now, a lot has to happen for this fight to be signed ... for one, Floyd has to agree to come out of “retirement” ... second, for Floyd to even consider fighting Pac Man, Manny must first get by De La Hoya and Hatton ... Manny needs to KO Oscar and do the same to Hatton in less than the 10 rounds it took Floyd to do so ... even if that happens, they’d need to agree on how to split the purse, I’m sure Floyd won’t agree to a 50/50 split right away ... another thing, if the aforementioned does happen in the Manny – Oscar/Hatton fights, would Floyd want to fight someone that’s a legit threat? ... well that’s the way it is with Floyd, so much red tape ... the pluses for Floyd to fight Manny are: 1) this fight would be the biggest bout in the past 5-10 years, it would be a huge draw in both PPV buys and at the gate and we all know how Floyd loves money; and 2) he gets a chance to improve his record to an even 40-0 ... I don’t know if Manny wins this one, sure he’s got the heart of a warrior, but despite how I feel about Mayweather his counter punching skills are the best I’ve seen since a prime Roy Jones Jr. ... however, if Pac Man pulls out the colossal upset by KO’ing Floyd, I would never let any Pacquiao-hater live that down ... but, for now, this “dream fight” remains a dream ...

-as for that chump Juan Manuel Marquez ... too bad, so sad ... If he comes out and says Manny’s ducking him (if Manny gets a chance at the above mentioned 3 fights) then he’s just delusional ... Marquez would do the exact same thing if he had the opportunity ... but he’s not in the same league as Oscar, Hatton or Floyd ... and on top of that he can’t draw flies, Golden Boy Promotions from what I’ve read lost millions in his last PPV fight with Joel Casamayor ... but knowing how much of a whiner Marquez is, if Manny gets by all three guys, he’d probably come out and say that he himself is the greatest of all time because he supposedly beat Manny two times ... Marquez is a joke ...

-as for Manny’s planned 3-fight farewell tour, any ONE of those three fights would outdraw the best MMA card possible (yeah, that’s right, put GSP, Silva, Penn and Lesnar on the same card, they wouldn’t even draw half) ... Boxing > MMA, by miles ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Mi Familia

-when there’s a non-Toronto D-Mac in town, it translates into time spent with mi familia ...

-my Uncle Shark (why “Shark”? ‘cause he’s a pool shark, best pool player I know) came up from Phoenix for the weekend ...

-with my fast food sobriety going on, I have been dying for some food ... with Uncle Shark arriving on Friday night my mother said to just order Swiss Chalet (which for me isn’t against the rules) ... Uncle Shark loves Swiss Chalet, ‘cause they don’t have it in the States ... what’s funny is that before arriving at my house, he stopped at Swiss Chalet on the way ... but that didn’t stop him from eating more of it at our house that night and for breakfast the next morning, LOL ... myself being starved for any kinda take out, had my fill as well ...

-Saturday afternoon to evening was spent at my aunt’s house in Mississauga for Tatsu and Carteron’s engagement party ... it was basically a get-to-know thing for both families involved ... all the notable GTA D-Mac’s were in the house: Uncle Rev, Giggs, Kekkle, Juddimac, etc. ...

-as always, and as expected there was a lot of family discussion, convos and joking around ... much of the discussion centered around the future plans of three D-Mac’s in particular: my sis, Tatsu and Juddimac ... my sis, obviously, because within the next few months, Romeo and herself will be moving to Cali ... Tatsu, surprisingly to a lesser extent, because of her wedding next year ... then the convo shifted to Juddimac and his girl (who was there too), about when/where they’d be getting married ... his reply “I’m waiting for J to go first” ... I quickly squashed that, “dude, don’t be getting me involved and calling out my name” ... LOL ... I can already see that when J-Smooth is set to tie the knot with the future Mrs., it’s gonna be a HUGE deal with mi familia ...

-Sunday, we went over to my Uncle Rev’s place in Woodbridge as Uncle Shark had yet to see Uncle Rev’s new house ... we spent the morning playing billiards and table tennis ... and this D-Mac mind you ... these things get f*ckin’ competitive ...

-this is more a message to my brother Zona, just ask your dad what happened in the first game of 8-Ball ... J-Smooth hits four straight shots to win the game (calling every shot), in stunning fashion ... my swag was high at that point ... then we get to 9-Ball, your dad scratched his shot on the 2 ball, leaving me with ball-in-hand and a clean 2-to-9 combo for the win ... but your dad took the low road, and said my sleeve touched another ball, while I was lining up, subsequently taking away my shot and giving him the combo for the win ... that’s right Zona, J-Smooth, “the young lion” took “the best in the game” to the limit, had him on the ropes on the verge of winning 2 straight and Uncle Shark had to resort to the cheapness and pull out all the stops ...

-table tennis was just as competitive and even more intense ... Zona, ask your dad about how he couldn’t handle my repertoire of serves and forehand smashes ... both him and Uncle Rev were just shaking their heads in disbelief ... I told them both “this is for you guys, Zona, Michael, Neil and all the generations to come”, LOL ... tell your dad to purchase a ping pong table in addition to the pool table for your Las Vegas home ... so when I’m down there next year we can add more chapters to these D-Mac competitions ... basketball, golf, billiards, table tennis, hell I’ll even start taking up poker ...

-but when it’s all set and done, I have no doubt that J-Smooth goes down as the best all-round athlete and fiercest competitor of the entire D-Mac ...

-a weekend which began with Swiss Chalet, ended with Swiss Chalet as Uncle Rev took us there for an early lunch Sunday, before Uncle Shark went home ... consider my need for “food” satisfied ...

-finally in some unrelated, I’m faced with a dilemma ... The Portland Trailblazers come to Toronto on December 7th and the Buffalo/Toronto Bills are playing on the same day ... which game to get tickets for? ... That’s gonna be one busy weekend, I’m telling you, ‘cause the night before on the 6th, is Manny Pacquiao’s big fight with Oscar De La Hoya ... nobody disturb me that weekend! ... but at this moment in time with: the Blazers up-and-coming, the Bills undefeated and PacMan on the verge of becoming an international icon, all is right with the world ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

J-Smooth Official Press Release

"Today, I officially announce my retirement from “The Game”. The first thing I want to say is that I feel extremely blessed to have been playing “The Game” for this long. My career began all the way back in 1995 and I can say that it’s been an eventful 13 years and within that time it’s allowed me to meet a lot of great people. There have been many moments through the years that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Through all the highlights and lowlights of my career, I can honestly say that I leave “The Game” with no regrets. There are many factors which led to my decision, but it really came down to a couple of main reasons. The first thing is that when I lose the sense of motivation, the sense of ‘to prove something’ as a “player”, it’s time for me to step away. Secondly, I feel like I’ve accomplished everything that I’ve wanted to throughout my career. There is nothing more that I feel can, nor needs to be accomplished at this point. Sure I’m going to miss playing and I truly love “The Game”, but I feel it’s time to move in a different direction in my life and do other things. “The Game” existed before J-Smooth and will continue on without him. Just know that I leave “The Game” at peace with all that I’ve accomplished and my place in its history. In closing, I am truly grateful for everything “The Game” has given me."

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Random Shots

A Young J-Smooth player anthem ... brings me back ...



-a report in People Magazine has come out revealing former American Idol finalist, Clay Aiken, is gay ... cue Simon Cowell “well there’s the surprise of the century” ...

-the Buffalo/Toronto Bills 3-0 Baby! ... first time since ‘92 ... yeah that’s right, this coming from a Bills fan that’s stuck with them through thick and thin ... hell, I can’t name 10 players on their current roster, but as long as they keep this up, I’ll be smiling from ear to ear ...

-school violence, gun violence ... seems to be running rampant ... Finland, Regina, Toronto streets ... where/when does it end? ... no matter how angry I get at something or someone, the thought never enters my mind of taking someone out ... but for some people it’s nothing and that disturbs me ...

-so there are growing fears of the market headed for a crash, ala the 1930’s ... they’ve been saying this for years now ... it has me slightly concerned because of some of my investments, but I’m not overly concerned yet ... it’s just nice to see the corporate suits having their panties in a bunch ...

-I read an article on two pilots, who previously worked for Hawaii Go Airlines, being fired for sleeping during in-flight landing procedures ... way to ease the concerns of those who have apprehensions about flying ... I don’t think this needs to be said, but I’ll say it anyways, pilots have the responsibility of the lives and ensuring the safety of all those on board, having complete disregard for this, in this case, makes those pilots no better than terrorists ...

-I hear HBO is coming to Canada ... but under the label, HBO Canada ... if that means a watered down, diluted version, thanks, but no thanks ... if it means the equivalent of ESPN Canada (TSN), why bother? ... damn CRTC c*ckblocking all the great channels ... hell, even the Philippines has it better than we do ...

-finally, congrats to my brother Zona, on his new home in Las Vegas ... that’s awesome, and that means no hotel expenses next time I’m down there ... I have to get in a southwest (Phx, LV, LA) trip before I leave ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

What's up J-Smooth?

-Been under the weather the past couple days ... in times like these, my diet consists solely of Neo Citran, Fisherman’s Friend, Orange Juice and Chicken Noodle soup ... the thing is that I felt the onset of my sickness on Friday night, probably the last thing I should’ve done was be out late on the weekend, which likely contributed to my current condition ... I don’t mind being sick, when I don’t have anything important to take care of, but at this time it’s really an inconvenience because there are a couple things I really need to focus on ...

-I was pretty tough with my album review on Usher a few months back, but his latest album Here I Stand is one of two CD’s that are currently playing in my car (the other being Daughtry) ... the following is probably my fave track on the album, called Something Special, the others being: His Mistakes, What’s a Man to Do and This Ain’t Sex ...

-I’ve figured out a way to maintain my interest in basketball for the next few months, God knows I need to, given how boring my life will be ... Yahoo Sports Fantasy Leagues ... it’s a great way to keep up with what’s going on around in the NBA ... as for my past success in them, I’m 50/50 ... the one thing I don’t like about them is being forced to pick players I absolutely hate, but having no choice because there is a category need, that has to be filled ... ie. I would never take Andrei Kirilenko on my squad in real life ... this year, and this may benefit my fellow league members, I will under no circumstances pick any Toronto Raptors ... hell, if I have the opportunity to grab Chris Bosh in the fourth round, I’ll be looking in another direction ...

-I’m declaring right now that my TEAM for the next 5 years will be the Portland Trailblazers ... just calling it now, before they achieve great things, and when you get those “know-it-alls” saying, “I called the Blazers from time” ... how could I not pick them? ... Brandon Roy is absolutely stellar ... LaMarcus Aldridge, and here’s another thing y’all can quote me on, will be a better power forward than Chris Bosh, and will probably be one of the two best 4 men in the league ... Greg Oden, believe it or not, I’m not sold on, but if he’s as good as advertised, look out ... then you have a pair of Arizona Wildcats on the squad, Jerryd Bayless and Channing Frye, that’s just a plus ... throw in a freakish athlete like Travis Outlaw, who was clutch for them last season, and you have a squad that’s fun to watch ... my only beefs with them are the two Spaniards, Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez ... from reports I’ve read, Rodriguez is already making a stink about having to play behind Bayless, my response, STFU ... and the media was making a big deal about Fernandez dunking over Dwight Howard this past summer in the Olympics ... for the record, he didn’t dunk on Howard, he got by him and dunked ... the same sh*t I heard when John Starks supposedly dunked on Michael Jordan ... (it was over Grant, BTW, MJ just got in the picture) ...

-rumor has it that my uncle from Phoenix will be down here this weekend for my cousin Tatsu’s engagement party ... hmmm, should be interesting ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Inside

-could it be possible to be any more bored than I am at this very moment ...

-my interest in sports is currently stagnated ... ball season hasn't started, but still, there are absolutely no TEAMS for me to root for ... only a few select players, but other than that, basketball has really become diluted ... my interest has waned so much that I can honestly say if I don't watch any NBA games this season or attend any games, I could live with it ... now the other sport, boxing, the Golden Boy-PacMan bout is still a ways away, with Cotto and Margarito not fighting until next year and Mosley fighting some scrub, there is nothing on the immediate horizon for me to look forward to ...

-how to cure this state of boredom? ... TV, but there are only two shows that I would watch at this point, and one of them is already ended (George Lopez Show) and while Masiela Lusha is a great reason to keep watching re-runs, the old episodes can only keep you entertained for so long (I call that the Fresh Prince/Saved By The Bell syndrome) ... Terminator is only on once a week and that's pretty much the only thing on TV I look forward to ... I tried watching the Smallville Season Premiere last night and I lost interest pretty quick, I’ve definitely outgrown that series ...

-OK, maybe something in the news, the papers, news broadcasts will pique my interest? ... nope, same-ol’-same-ol’ ... elections, violence, some skanky celeb gets into some trouble with the law and rounding out the news, the troops overseas ...

-how about my daily life? ... well, I’ve unfortunately fallen into a routine once again ... my love for Toronto, or what’s left of it, diminishes to microscopic levels ... updates on a couple things ... 1) this attempt at fast food sobriety is a lot tougher than I thought ... I guess I can look at it this way, only 346 days left ... 2) and for those who know what I’m talking about, it looks pretty much Game Over ... I will always hold the belief that someone f*cked me over, I don’t know who, but if I ever find out, I’ll just say that payback’s a b*tch ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

The Prodigal Daughter Returns

I’m feeling nostalgic, LOL ...



One of the Newman Alum M.I.A.’s has finally resurfaced ... a quick disclaimer, this is NOT at all a promo for Facebook, for you few remaining holdouts out there ... but it is Facebook, expect the unexpected ... between Ro, Proph, Oc and myself, every now and then the question would come up about whatever happened to this girl, Dare, who so happens to be an Ex of someone in The Fam (who shall remain nameless), LOL ... I hadn’t been searching for her at all and some “gurus” had already made the attempt, with no success ... well gotta hand it to Facebook, question answered, mystery solved ... I got what appeared to be a random “friend request”, and J-Smooth wanting to remain accessible to his fans, before declining I looked into it ... the profile picture and screenname didn’t register to me at all, but after looking close by previewing her profile, I was pleasantly surprised and in shock at the same time ... Dare’s goin’ by a new I.D., which explains why it would’ve been hard to track her ... after viewing her profile, I have to say that, boy do things change ... on the surface, a completely different person from the girl I first met way back when, however, I’m sure at the core, she’s still same-ol’-same-ol’ ... with the Newman Alum, I definitely liken it to WWE, simply because it was a mixed bag of characters ... you had your top “faces” (good guys) who had tons of fans, some which I didn’t understand why ... then there were the “mid-carders” who had their respect ... then there were (and I fit into this category) the “heels” (bad guys), who had tons of “heat” (beefs) against them ... who could forget the “jobbers” (losers/scrubs, that never won a match) ... rounding out the group were the “gimmick guys”, or freaks, that kept the show entertaining ... As Proph mentioned in one of his back entries, all us Newman guys were just clumped together, somewhat forcing us all to be friends ... but back in those days, on the surface I put on a show, but deep down, I didn’t really consider much, if any, of the Newman Alum to be friends ... I guess the same applied throughout the course of my life, you just don’t have too many true friends, that’s just the way the system is ... there are a lot of people you encounter, a lot of people you get to know, a lot of people you talk to ... but when it comes down to it, true friends are few and far between ... I just happened to luck out with guys like Ro, Proph and Oc, all of whom (and I’ve stated it numerous times) I consider to be Fam ... But with Newman Alum, there will always be that common ground and mutual respect, because we all did time together ... With Dare, I considered her a friend ... towards the end of our Newman tenure, she’s someone that I developed a great deal of respect for, because regardless of the general perception towards myself, from my perspective anyways, she didn’t buy into any of that garbage ... we kept in pretty good contact and stayed close going into high school, despite being at different schools ... hell, even tried to link up an eventual nemesis, Pete-Rick with her ... one of my fave high school memories was Proph and myself having to babysit Dare and Pete-Rick on their “first date”, LOL ... but eventually, like with a lot of people in my life, Dare and myself lost touch ... I later discovered, from someone, that she had started battling her own personal demons ... I remember feeling bad about it, wanting to help in some way, but at the same time not having any clue on how ... but fast-forwarding to today, it would definitely be nice to catch up and fill in the gaps of lost time with her ... Just when I thought I’d seen it all on Facebook, but then it catches me by surprise, inspires me to write a long*ss entry like this and perhaps results in welcoming the Prodigal Daughter back into the fold ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

What's up in the Boxing World?

haven't blogged in a while about my take at the state of the game ...

-Manny Pacquiao is booked with Oscar De La Hoya for a December 6th bout, which is sure to be a spectacle ... I've already given my prediction on that one ...

-PacMan currently holds the WBC Lightweight Championship ... so how about the rest of the division? ... this weekend provided much clarity to that ... Juan Manuel Marquez won The Ring's Lightweight crown, with his 11th Round KO of Joel Casamayor, so I guess he's now recognized as the "lineal" champion ... as for the other straps in the division, the other 3 (WBA, IBF, WBO) still belong to Nate Campbell, who retained his titles without even throwing a punch, his opponent Joan Guzman forfeited citing that he was medically incapable, what a punk! ... the story goes that he failed to make the weight pre-fight, Campbell said he'd still fight regardless, but then there were claims that Guzman was rushed to the hospital after coughing up blood, Guzman cancelled shortly afterward ... for those close to the situation, and from reports I've read, this all looks pretty sketchy ... if you're taking a fight seriously, there should be no reason why you can't make weight, I mean, Guzman was already moving up in weight to the 135 division (he was previously fighting at 130) ... there is talk that Guzman might be suspended for 1 year for his actions ... but that's OK, because that means that the Lightweight division now has three top dogs ... what would be logical is for Marquez and Campbell to square off and unify their straps with the winner going on to face Pacquiao for all the marbles ... but this is boxing, so in comes the politics and the B.S. ... Marquez is under Golden Boy Promotions who host their fights on HBO, Campbell is under Don King Promotions who usually host their fights on Showtime ... I'm not sure if GBP would do business with DKP, and even if they did, what network would they agree on? ... there is already talk that Marquez is lined up to face former Lightweight champ (who lost his titles to Campbell) Juan Diaz, who is also a GBP fighter ... while Campbell on the otherhand has an IBF mandatory fight ... ahhh boxing, when will the powers that be ever learn? ...

-I'd like to see PacMan against either Marquez or Campbell, both would be good fights ... but PacMan has only 3 fights left, or so he says ... De La Hoya in December, if Ricky Hatton gets by Paul Malignaggi in November a 2009 Pacquiao-Hatton fight is almost certain ... so that's two, and based on timing that means Pac will have to decide between Marquez or Campbell ... most fans want to see Marquez, but I say Campbell, unifying all four belts has only been done by one man, Bernard Hopkins, so that would be something special ...

elsewhere ...

-I'm disappointed that Antonio Margarito is not fighting again until 2009 at the earliest ... Top Rank Promoter, Bob Arum is already talking about a Miguel Cotto/Margarito rematch next summer, but holding build up fights before that ... Shane Mosley says he wants to fight Margarito, now that's a fight I want to see ... but again, the B.S. and politics ... Margarito's with Top Rank, Mosley's with GBP, and the working relationship between both promotions seems to be crumbling within the last few months, with both promotions throwing jabs at each other in the media ... a fight pitting any combination of Cotto, Margarito or Mosley would work for me, all have a high workrate and they always come to fight ...

-finally, there are talks of GBP partnering up with Affliction to host boxing and MMA on the same card ... I'm completely against the idea, boxing doesn't need to resort to that garbage, apparently Top Rank and HBO would agree ... but you know De La Hoya, where there's money to be made, that's where he'll be ...

speaking of boxing this was a great fight ...



Peace!

~J-Smooth~

J-Smooth on 9/11

Last year, I think that I typed an entry on my account of where I was on that fateful day ... this year, just some random thoughts, 7 years later ...

I woke up this morning, just like any other day ... and to be quite honest, I really didn't remember what day it was ... the exact same way I was on that day 7 years ago, just another normal day ... until I turned on the television this morning, I was completely oblivious ... the channel the TV happened to be on was CNN ... then came the reminder on exactly what day it was ... the day the world changed forever ... I don't know if that's a good or bad thing that I forgot what day it was ... I guess in one sense it's good that I've moved on, just like we all should ... but in another sense, I felt a little guilty about forgetting ... That day 7 years ago will always remain fresh in the back of my mind, one of those days that "you'll never forget where you were" ...

this morning, I just thought about how different a lot of things would be, had those tragic events not occurred ... just to name a few: the state of the U.S. economy, border regulations, oil prices ... It's sure easy to point fingers and turn to hate, but being a man of faith, I believe that tragedies like those occur so that man might learn ... but the question remains, has man really learned since that day? ...

Anyhow, I just want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my aunt in NYC ... in addition, my prayers are with those who were affected by the tragedies 7 years ago, God Bless! ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Random Shots

-I've actually typed up two entries on Word, but I'm not sure I'll actually post them ... maybe at a later time ... J-Smooth: The Lost Entries ... LOL ...

-Over the past 12 years, I've been living with a question ... Monday, when I was least expecting it, I finally got the answer ... Now that's vindication! ...

-feel like a "shooter"/sniper, eyes on the target from a distance to which I'm outta plain sight ... hand on the "weapon", but unable to "pull the trigger" ... all the while in my mind: a superstar's newest catchphrase, the advice of a guru and the perspective of a retired veteran ...

-what a 9-month period for Tom Brady, huh? ... under a minute to perfection, only to have it snatched away with one of the greatest clutch moments in sports history, to now having an entire season scrapped ... I think I'm the only one in the world outside New England that feels any kinda sympathy ...

-speaking of perfection ... Mr. Perfect's DVD comes out today ... my days and status as diehard wrestling fan are long behind me, now I consider myself more of a pro wrestling historian ... his promos, athleticism and technical wrestling skill, make Curt Hennig in my opinion the greatest wrestler to never hold the WWF (sorry WWE) World Heavyweight Championship ... others being "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Scott Hall (Razor Ramon) ... I definitely plan on watching this DVD ...

-The Toronto White (uh, I mean) Blue Jays are actually still in the wild card race? ... wow, who would've thunk it ...

-So Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya are signed and set to go at it on December 6th of this year ... Nice to see PacMan crack the mainstream ... predictions: obviously I'm picking Pacquiao, but I'm not sure we'll see a knockout ...

-Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the best show on TV today, PERIOD! ... the second season started last night and I was really impressed ... I know what my recorder will be doing on Monday nights ... I'll be the first to admit, it was Summer Glau that first caught my attention ... but what I love about the show, aside from the awesome visual effects, is that the actors: Lena Headey (Sarah), Thomas Dekker (John), Summer Glau (Cameron), Brian Austin Green (Derek Reese) and Richard T. Jones (Agent Ellison) are all so beliveable in their roles and are never "over the top"...

-so Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called an election for October 14 ... I caught that picture of him in The Toronto Star with that Asian baby ... he's not fooling me for one second ... I'll always be a Liberal voter ... the only thing good that's happened during Harper's tenure is the rise of the Canadian dollar ... but even that's had adverse effects on our economy ... plus I'd say that had more to do with our counterparts down South and Bush messing up ...

all for now

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Top 10's

The following track always gets me hyped ... Reggaeton Latino - Don Omar feat. N.O.R.E and Fat Joe ...



Let's get on with the entry ... a new installment to my site ... I'm thinking of doing these once, maybe twice, a month, but we'll see how it goes ... It's basically what it says in the title and it will be in countdown format ... it could be about anything, sports, pop topics, history or simply things I just observe, whatever, so anything is a target, LOL ... a cautionary note, this is all just my opinion ... so let's get on with it ... for the inaugural entry:

The Top 10 Fashion Don'ts:

10) non-matching - this is a minor thing, but is key ... to me it just looks odd when the shoes don't match color with the belt or the socks ... as for the socks/shoes combo, you could wear black sport socks for all I care, but don't wear white socks with black dress shoes, it just screams pedophile, LOL ... another thing is matching suit jackets with pants ... I understand the full suit is pricey, but just buy pants that match the jacket color ...

9) spandex/tights - women, please leave that ish in the 80's where it belongs ... and to you guys out there, I don't think this is something you have to be reminded of, LMFAO, there's only one exception and that's for pro wrestlers ...

8) winter/fall apparel in the summer months - now I mostly see kids, teens doing this ... I saw this dude in a bubble jacket yesterday ... I was thinkin' "dude is your summer wardrobe that busted?"

7) stockings with open toe shoes - nothing screams 80's working class woman more than this, why not wear the large rim eye glasses and big hair too ... speaking of hair ...

6) retro hair styles - I'm all for being an individual and doing your own thing ... but don't think being an individual means you can resurrect wackness ... some examples: women's poofy 80's hair, mullets, mushroom cuts, spike, rat tails and hair parts among others ... of note, every woman I've asked doesn't find men combing a part into their hair sexy ...

5) not dressing to the occasion - this is more common sense than anything else ... ie. not tucking your pants into your socks, especially going to a club, LMFAO, it looked wack even in high school ... I remember my friend's ex-girlfriend rockin' a mini-skirt and spaghetti-strap, backless top to a wedding, she would've blended in better at the red light district ... at another wedding, I remember a dude sportin' Timberland's with his suit, uhhh, no ...

4) Super tight jeans - for men, the brand notorious for this is parasuco ... these pants are meant to decieve guys into thinking women with frumpy derieres actually have them ... why guys would want to highlight thier *sses is beyond me ... and you women, fitted pants and denims are nice, yes ... but a word of advice "know thy self" ... squeezing is not attractive at all, believe me, men know and take notice ... if the results are "muffin top" as in the pic below, that should be your first indicator to size up ...


3) Low cut V-neck tops - for women fine, but for men ... well that's a waaay different story ... what makes it worse is when the guy wearing it doesn't have a muscle on him ... but regardless, chisled physique or not, you just don't do it ... what hetero man, in his sober state of mind looks himself in the mirror before he leaves home and says, "yeah, I'll just wear this" ...

2) Plaid shorts - or anything plaid for that matter ... It's a movement I'm telling you, a movement that seems to be gaining steam and has united all the races ... I could write an essay about my beefs with it, but in short, IT'S UGLY AS F*CK!!! ...

1) Just in case you didn't hear me the first time ... Plaid ... look at the pic below and tell me there's absolutely nothing wrong with it ...

all for now, I had a good laugh, hope you all did too ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

1 Year Commitment

I meant to post this old school track on my NYC post, but time constraints ... anyways here it is ... a classic for y'all to enjoy ... hey Prophet, gettin' that inspiration for a collabo?



while I was in New York City ... I don't know what brought this on, but I just came to a decision ... No recognized fast food chains for a time period of one year ... which includes: McDonalds, Burger King, Harveys, Taco Bell, KFC, Subway, Tim Horton's and Wendy's among others which don't come to mind at the moment ... why? you ask ... I really want to see what a difference this will make to my overall physical appearance ... I figure, I don't eat McDonalds or Burger King anyways ... Harvey's, seldom ... the rest, only every now and then ... But this would be tough if I was walking say around downtown Toronto and I was hungry looking for something to eat ... not much selection down there on the "healthy" side ... however there are some exceptions to this vow, of course ... Tim Horton's, I definitely will still be getting my coffee and Iced Capps on occasion ... another exception is sit down restaurants ... Swiss Chalet, East Side Marios, Casey's, Lone Star and (a shout to Fam) Korean BBQ ... I figure, I only go to a sit down restaurant once every two months anyways, if that ... finally, the other exceptions are Charley's Steakery at Square One and Sonny's in B-Town ... I rarely go to either, and I will be using those as my "rewards" for committing to this "program" ... the only things that would make this tough would be if I went to the Philippines (Jollibee, Greenwich) or New York City (White Castle, Nathan's, Roy Rogers) ... I made sure I hit up the NYC trifecta before I came to this decision ... but I don't anticipate going to either place anytime within the next 1 year period ... The only challenge I forsee is my expected trip to the Southwest U.S. (Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas) which I'm planning on next summer, there'll be much temptation down there (Carl's Jr., In and Out) ...

Of course all you nutrition buffs out there will also say that it's not only nutrition but exercise as well ... I'll admit over the past couple months, I haven't been working out as religously as I'd like, but that will come to a change ... I will be working out on a 2 days on, 1 day off program ... which equates to about 5 times a week ...

I'm considering all this to be my investment for next summer ... wish me luck ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

NYC 2008

What's up everyone?

it's your boy J-Smooth checkin' in from one of, if not my fave cities in the world, New York City!!! ... just a run down of what's been goin' on ...

-left on Friday night and drove overnight ... I did majority of the driving, but it wasn't too bad, because I was still fresh ... driving on the highway at night in the quiet is weird, because there's nothing to do, just moving and looking forward ... leaves a guy a lot of time to think about things ... quite honestly, majority of my thoughts centered around two things ...

-arrived at Woodbury Outlets about half an hour before opening ... didn't see much that really grabbed my attention, but I did pick up a few things at Ecko, dirt cheap!!! ...

-next it was off to my cousin's appartment in Upper Manhattan, 82nd Street & West Central Park ... I love her area because everything is so accessible ... on top of that it's not as loud as midtown, which is a high volume tourist area ...

-rested for about an hour before heading out to midtown for the afternoon ... my sis and Romeo wanted to take in a few sights, so myself being the NYC expert, I served as tour guide ...

-saw Times Square, Madison Square Garden and The World Trade Center ...

-I hadn't eaten anything since early that morning so the White Castle on 8th Street really hit the spot ...

-went to this store Century 21, which is a discount designer brand store at mad cheap prices ... the brands there are not really my cup of tea, but still copped a dress shirt nonetheless ...

-after that, I split up from my sis and Romeo for dinner ... they look to eat as healthy as possible ... I was thinkin' "this is NYC, I'm goin' to Nathan's" ...

-I met some crazy dude on the subway ... this is NYC afterall, and Romeo told me earlier "this city is full of characters", nothing couldn't be any more true ... quick description ... he was sportin' Jordan's with jean shorts, golf shirt and tatted up on his arms ... this guy was tellin' me about a scrap he got into with "some guy" and how he "cut him up" (meaning stabbed) ... then he was talking dirty about females who walked by ... he said the only reason why he was working this weekend was because his wife wants to buy something, whom he referred to as a "stupid b*tch" and he said when he got home he was going to give her a "beatdown" ... LMFAO ... no joke ... mind you I didn't initialize this convo ... I just went along with everything he was saying, he was obviously a psycho, didn't want to do anything to set him off and have him turn on me ... maybe after he said he beats his wife, maybe I should've said, "yeah, I just beat mine the other day" ... LOL ...

-we were planning to go out that night and hit up a club ... but considering that majority of the clubs were in Lower Manhattan, coupled with the fact that we were just spent after the overnight travelling and all day walking, we just called it a night ...

on to Sunday

-got an early start ... I went to brunch with my cousin at Rockerfeller Cafe in Rockerfeller Center ... I ordered a Steak and Eggs plate and an Iced Tea ... two things I forgot ... 1) American portions are HUGE and 2) Iced Tea in the States is really iced tea, actual tea and they put ice in it, NASTY! ... the steak and eggs were awesome, but the only drawback is that for the next couple hours, I felt 10X heavier ... next time I come to NYC I'm goin' back to that cafe ...

-we met up with my sis and Romeo afterwards (they went to the Apollo) ... we walked down 5th Avenue ...

-I took in my usual spots: NBA Store, Lids, LaCoste ... and some others: Nike, Apple ... my sis, Romeo and my cousin took in the bougie shops ... which reminds me, there are brands which I would NEVER consider rockin': Abercrombie, Hollister, Diesel, Parasuco ... my sis and Romeo said they would get me those brands for Christmas, LOL ... a full wardrobe, plaid pants and low cut V-neck top ...

-this is the first time I've been to NYC without getting something at the NBA Store ...

-the rest of that day was spent shopping, I only got myself a beer mug from the ESPN building along with a copy of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 1 on DVD ...

-this guy on the subway thought I was Latino and started speaking to me in Spanish ...

-went to dinner last night with mi Familia and along with my aunt from Brooklyn ...

-all in all my trip was time well spent ... as always ... I love NYC ... I'm gettin' ready to go, so I'll check in with you all again soon ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~