An Eventful Day

Wow. There is so much to say about today, I really don't know where to start. First of all, I'll keep things short on the passing of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. They were spectacular entertainers, and one's who will be sorely missed. Farrah's battle with cancer was well documented and hopefully she is now in a better place. The death of "The King of Pop" is too very sad as his music helped to transform American pop music. Disappointingly, the media has turned his death into a second coming of a P.T. Barnum circus; I know fans around the world are mourning his death, but the coverage is exhaustive, tiring, repetitive, and unnecessary. I channel surfed past Nancy Grace (who gives Glenn Beck a serious run for his money as the most despicable newscaster on TV) on CNN tonight as she discussed Jackson's death. It has already been well documented he died of a heart attack, and even though the on-site reporter repeated that several times, she continued to ask questions about foul play with drugs and alcohol. That kind of reporting is downright disgusting, trying to capitalize on one man's death for better TV ratings. In any case, the media coverage is outlandishly extensive and little more needs to be said about Michael Jackson's death; his spirit will live on forever through his music.


Moving on, it was a big day for the NBA with big trades and a big draft. The day started with Shaquille O'Neal aka The Shaq Daddy aka the Shaqtus aka the Big Aristotle being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shaq and Lebron James on the same team will incite fear in locker rooms across the NBA. No doubt in my mind Shaq will win his fifth NBA championship in Cleveland. He just seems to be a perfect compliment to superstar players: Kobe in LA, Dwayne Wade in Miami, and now LBJ. And I know Kobe was criticized for not winning championships without Shaq until this year, but it will be different for Lebron now. Shaq is past his prime. He's not a role player, but he's not the superstar either, so it won't reflect negatively on Lebron when (not if) they win a championship. Funny I'm saying this with the Orlando Magic trading for Vince Carter today from the NJ Nets. The Magic will be a tough match again...Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson and possibly Hedo Turkoglu. That is a thorough, complete, and dominant starting 5. Maybe the best in the league. The Finals just ended 2 weeks ago and I'm already intrigued for 2009-2010.


As if that wasn't enough for the NBA, the draft was a big success today. The NBA puts on a respectable and commendable draft in Madison Square Garden. Even though I loathe David Stern, he does a great job with the draft. Combine that with solid ESPN coverage and the draft is really a success. Five minute rounds in a orderly, organized, and classy manner is the perfect set up compared to the helter-skelter, over-hyped, and 2-day event that is the NFL draft. And watching Jeff van Gundy, Jay Bilas, and Stuart Scott beats Chris Berman, Chris Mortensen, and Mel Kiper Jr. any day of the week. And congrats to Israeli guard Omri Casspi for being the first Israeli player drafted to the NBA. Unfortunately that's all I know about him, which is considerably more than NBA "analyst" and moron Fran Frischilla, who could only muster up "I hope they have good falafel in Sacramento!" followed by forced laughter and awkward silence. But yeah, congrats to the NBA for a job well done on a big day.


And for those interested, Astana announced their roster for the 2009 Tour de France, and as expected Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Andreas Kloden, and Levi Leipheimer all made the team, and all have a chance to win the tour. In his bio, Contador was listed as the team leader, but I have my doubts. Ill leave it there for now, it's been a long day.