I Got the Life

Finally Building a Gaming Rig

2011-11-09T13:29:00.000-08:00

I've shied away from PC gaming for the past 8-10 years mainly because of the surge in console gaming and the ease and accessibility of it. Xbox has probably been the single biggest killer to the PC gaming industry, because it is essentially a decent speced computer at the time of build, and can last for years under minor updates to the software, hardware refreshes, and the ability for developers to get the most out of the system.

I've been wanting a home theater PC for quite some time, and I have since settled for a Roku 2. But, I still have the desire to have a PC that is capable of 1080p output, 5.1 (or higher) sound output, and the ability to store a lot of full movies/TV shows, stream content, and also play some new FPS games (because they are much better on PC), as well as the library of Steam games I have acquired over the past few years.

So, I ventured out to newegg.com and looked for parts.

Part	Price + Shipping
AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz Quad core processor	$124.99
ECS A885GM-A2 AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s ATX Motherboard	$79.99
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Memory	$39.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 ATX Mid-tower	$60.98
XCILIO GOODPOWER 500W PSU	$39.99
ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" LCD Monitor	$169.99
VisionTek 900357 Radeon HD 5670 2GB PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card	$83.97
Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard + Dell Laser Mouse	$62.97
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit	$99.99
Total:	$767.86

Just a few caveats: I wasn't looking to surpass $700 (all-inclusive) so I missed that mark by about $80. I am aiming for a middle-of-the-road rig, so the best $700 can buy. A few of the parts (GPU, memory) are budget-cutting choices, but I am hoping all the components will work together well. If you have any recommendations on my gaming PC venture, please comment below or hit me on Twitter (@kenosando) or Google+ (gplus.to/kenosando) or if you are old school, email me (kenosando@gmail.com)

Grid 10 - The New Tablet from fusionGarage A.K.A. TabCo

2011-08-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

So, TabCo appeared a few months back as a company aiming to change the tablet landscape. It appeared, as the writing in the sky suggested, that they were aiming to tackle Apple's iPad. Several other lucid videos appeared to take shots at Apple, so a lot of big talk needed to be backed up by a big product release.

The name fusionGarage has been outed now as the brand behind the pseudo-brand (TabCo was not a real company, and even had a fake CEO). Their first venture, the JooJoo (I laughed too) was not necessarily a tablet with a big splash, but given the fact fusionGarage was a small outfit in that day, we can overlook that into the tablet they unveiled today: the Grid10.

The Grid10 sports a 10.1", 4-way capacitive, TFT LCD screen with a 1366x768 display, driven by the Nvidia Tegra II and 512MB of RAM. The front-facing 1.3 MP camera is the only one on the device, and comes with WiFi and WiFi+3G models, and only storage option is 16 GB. HDMI out is supported with what appears to be a proprietary docking port for charging, USB, and HDMI. Bluetooth 2.1 and a microSD slot are also included. The device weighs in at just over 1.5 pounds (690g) and is powered by a 5,800 mAh battery, and included GPS, 3-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, and light sensor.

Based on "an android kernel", the Grid OS does away with "homescreens" and gives you one big span of a grid. Naturally, application shortcuts are arranged in the grid, and can be clustered together to form "folders" that are collapsible. There is also a grid map at the top-right corner (think of a SimCity-type overview) that allows you to quickly jump to the outer-reaches of your grid (and I now am convinced Tron had some influence, considering Tron: Legacy was a movie demoed).
The web browser is pretty nice; it essentially keeps your status bar (at the top) intact, and the browser consumes the rest of the screen. Gestures then bring up controls such as opening a new tab, switching to another tab (via a "wheel") and other wonderful browser things. One thing that stood out was the ability to split-screen browse, which looked to pop-up when you highlight text and choose an option from yet another wheel. The demonstration did show-off pinch-to-zoom in each split-screen, but no indication of Flash support (unless I missed it in a buffer).

Media looked so-so. Pictures were your basic photo gallery, swipe to your next picture, albums arranged like a rough stack of photos. Video player possessed the ability to show in-depth details and transitioning stills from the movie (in this case Tron: Legacy), and music was able to be controlled from a status bar tap (playback, volume).

A few weeks ago, when the N9 was announced from Nokia, TabCo "liked" via Facebook a post from Nokia about swiping, and it all made sense after we saw that the Grid10 is completely gesture-driven. Your basic swipe from this corner to do this, swipe with three fingers to do that is in play, and another thing that I saw missing (again, unless I missed it) was a multi-tasking option to show open applications. Music was playing in the background of one desktop call, but that was all I saw.

Bing search is the choice engine in the Grid10 because, according to fusionGarage CEO and founder Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan, "it is the best search technology out there", which is highly subjective, but their stance to go away from the Google approach with Android and make it truly their own.

Calendar and contacts are also built-in, and a notifications application called "Heartbeat", activated by two-finger swipe from the right. Also, it displays local deals ongoing in your area, as well as Facebook and Twitter, which are tightly woven throughout the OS.

Also featured was the Grid4, the smaller version of the Grid10, except it is a mobile phone. Not much attention was paid to that in comparison to the Grid10, but one feature shown off was the ability for the Grid OS to sync information (bookmarks, resume playback of videos, and more) between the two devices (be it through a cloud or locally, I am not sure). The Grid4 is a 4" display using the same technology as the Grid10, sporting a 800x480 resolution, driven by a Qualcomm MSM8255 and 512MB RAM. A 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash, capable of 720p video paired with a 0.3MP front facing supports the Grid OS built-in video calling feature. Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, and microSD are also present on the Grid4, and only has ports for micro USB, so no HDMI out for the Grid4.

If you live in the US, you can order the Grid10 today for $499 (WiFi-only) or $599 (WiFi+3G) with free shipping direct from fusionGarage.Accessories also available for purchase are a case, HDMI adapter, USB adapter, travel charger, and headphones, all maintaining the TabCo color scheme of black and red, and showing off a grid-shaped design.

cuteBox - Symbian^3 Dropbox Client

2011-08-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled across an article from Mobiletor.com about a Dropbox client for Symbian^3 devices developed in Qt. Yes, your dreams have come true. cuteBox, which is available in the Ovi Store, is a must-have for Symbian^3 users, as it is able to upload to and download from Dropbox, view photos on your Dropbox in full screen with Symbian's built-in photo viewer, open HTML documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and documents in their native applications.

Also, just like all the other Dropbox clients, you are able to copy the public links of files in your Public folder for sharing (sharing inside the application is limited to email and SMS). Also, bulk operations are available, such as copy, move, and delete, just in case you need something in a public folder, or to take it out of the public eye. Adding files does not take long at all. I was able to upload a high-res image from my N8 and copy the public link in less than 15 seconds.

The user interface is very fluid, all the buttons and menus are easy to use as well as easy to press. Transitions are very snappy and smooth, and scrolling through long lists of files is very easy. The upload menu is straight-forward, and none of the notifications that pop-up are intrusive of the main view. The application uses a mock-up of a status bar (with time, battery, and data connection indicator) but is not an interactive status bar.

One small quirk was backing out of a file info page. By selecting a file, it automatically retrieves it (which can be changed in the settings) and gives you a few options: open the file in an application, share the file via email or SMS, and copy the public link (if it is in the Public folder). There is no option to delete the file when viewing info on it. You have to back out by swiping left to right, and then selecting the bulk operation icon, selecting the file you want to delete, pressing delete, and confirming your delete. I like the ability to check multiple files, but when I want to copy, move, delete one file, that process takes just as long. Backing out a file view, again, is a swipe, so there is no "Back" button to get back to your file list view. You do have a home button to take you back to the top directory, but that only shows up in the file list view, not the file info view.

All in all, this was a much needed application for Symbian, and although I have only used it a few minutes, I find it very easy to use, functional, and from what I can tell, Genera Software spared no expense in creating a very good Dropbox client for Symbian.

Nokia: No N9 for USA, but Plenty of WP7

2011-08-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

So August 9 might not be as drastic of a day as February 11, but it was still not full of good news. Firstly, @engadget reported that someone from Nokia confirmed that the N9 was not going to be released in the United States (possibly all of North America). So I don't get thought of as spinning the story, here is the exact quote:

After the very positive reception to the launch of the Nokia N9, the product is now being rolled out in countries around the world. At this time we will not be making it available in the US. Nokia takes a market by market approach to product rollout, and each country makes its own decisions about which products to introduce from those available. Decisions are based on an assessment of existing and upcoming products that make up Nokia’s extensive product portfolio and the best way in which to address local market opportunities.

Now, my pal @mikemacias of Mobile Fanatics pointed out a few key phrases that indicates the N9 will eventually come stateside, just not under any carrier subsidy.

At this time we will not be making it available in the US

Meaning, it could very well come two, three, six, or twelve months after its initial release (looking to be slated for mid- to late-September in most Euro markets). However, just like three (E73 Mode, Astound, and Nuron for T-Mobile) of Nokia's previous 13 smartphones (E6, X7, E7, C5-03, C7/Astound, C6-01, X6, X5-01, E73, E5, C6, N8, and 5230 Nuron) released have been picked up by a US carrier, I don't find it surprising the N9 slipped through the radar of the US cellular carriers. However, I buy all my phones unlocked, dating back to my feature phone days with Nokia, to my first smartphone (E61) and now with my N8. I don't mind paying for unlocked, but I do mind paying for unlocked, overseas prices (rumors are the N9 will debut around 599 GBP!!) and the hassle with buying from overseas. I see it as Mike does now, I feel the N9 could make its way to the states eventually, and as an unlocked, unsubsidized device via Amazon.

Decisions are based on an assessment of existing and upcoming products ...

Another key phrase Mike pointed out, simply stating that Nokia is likely clearing the tables for a Windows Phone 7 device to be Nokia's sole phone entering the USA before the end of this year. It makes some sense, considering Nokia has often flooded the market before surrounding releases of flagship devices (N97 was surround with flurry of E-series devices, the N8 was surrounded by its lower-end cousins, the C6-01 and C7, not to mention budget devices like the E5, C3, and Touch-and-Type phones). So, by leaving a void, the US market could jump on Nokia's next big thing once it released, without the discernment of cluster and logjam with other Nokia devices looming.

The N9 is still a magnificent device, from the countless hands-on videos I have seen. I would love to develop for the MeeGo community and contribute to a platform that will be short-lived in the eyes of Nokia, just to have a sense of building a better gateway to the ecosystem for other users, but without an official release into the USA, I can't say the N9 will be a device I purchase unless the price is reasonable.

Nokia N9

2011-06-28T07:10:00.001-07:00

Nokia N9: A Turning Point

2011-06-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

On June 21, 2011 Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announced the first Nokia device to run on the mysterious MeeGo operating system. Before this announcement, there was only one device that ran a version of MeeGo - the N900, originally the company's Maemo 5 device, that in the eyes of many, is a powerful portable computer that just happens to have mobile phone functionality.

The issue with the timeline of the N900 to the N9 is that the N900 was released in early 2009. The N9 may not be released until Q4 in most markets, and availability outside of Europe is still uncertain. The N900 was suppose to be a stepping stone to a great ecosystem in Maemo. In the months following the N900 release, Maemo was merged with Moblin, forming MeeGo, which brought Nokia and Intel together - promising to say the least. Nokia lacked visibility in the regions between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean (North America) as a smartphone powerhouse, so having backing from a very respectable name (Intel) might have been all Nokia needed.

Then the house of cards fell. Nokia ousted a lot of officers, which led to others leaving, resigning, retiring, and I think it came at the right time to transition to new horizons, but the wrong time for the MeeGo platform to stand a chance. MeeGo was a big project that Nokia simply could not afford to keep as the platform of choice going forward. Considering Elop's background with Microsoft, I thought the choice to pair with Windows Phone 7 was very logical, and considering the growth of WP7 and name recognition in the North American market, I think it was the best choice.

Google. Apple. Two of the biggest companies in North America both have operating systems they back for mobile phones. Nokia, a Finnish company, does not give North America the confidence in a Nokia-built operating system, because they are thought of as a phone maker, not software. Internationally, Nokia is still the biggest phone (smart and feature) in terms of market share, and I think Nokia will continue to dominate the non-smartphone market because they have been doing it for so long. I think they have evolved their feature phones in a great way, and S40 is the best OS I've ever used in terms of ease of use paired with functionality.

Enter the N9. Elop called it a "market disruption device" that will likely see Nokia support fall off near the end of 2012 (and not because of December 12, 2012). Let me start off with the positives I see in the N9:

Great design - the curvature of the front and back combined with the unibody shell and simplistic lines reminds me that chrome, metal, etching, and over-use of logos are not necessary to produce a beautiful product. This may be what gets Nokia WP7 phones into the hands of the populous.
Functional and gorgeous user-interface - the idea of a "circular-based" user interface reminds me why I believe Nokia can still do a lot of work and it be spectacular. The circular icons add a sense of continuity and uniformity. The circular home screens are great because there are no "apps" to open or button-combinations to press to get to three items I personally use the most; applications I have, applications I am running, and events I want to be notified of. While having a button-less interface is new to me, it could possibly be a trend that other operating systems borrow.
Gigahertz and Gigabytes - Nokia has prided itself of being conservative with the under-the-hood specs. Although there are still nay-sayers who whine "these are last year specs" Nokia is still king of making the most of the least amount or processing power and memory capacity. Specs do nothing for me, because the Intel Core 2 Duo in my Lenovo laptop doesn't do squat if the operating system doesn't use it properly.
The best digital camera - yes, better than the stand-alone digital cameras because the N9 is my camera and phone. The Carl Zeiss line of lenses that Nokia has used are spectacular. The 12mp shooter on my N8 still amazes me to this day, because I can take respectable photographs that I feel proud to share on Twitter and Facebook. The 8mp shooter on the N9 with wide-angle lens and f/2.2 aperture is very good specs for a phone, and I imagine there will be very little difference in the N8 and N9 photographs.

Now, let me lash out against the decisions behind the N9, because although I am a Nokian for life, I have to express my concerns. Firstly, what took so long? I was close to getting a N900, although I am on AT&T, and I decided to wait until the next big Maemo device. Two and a half years later, it was announced. Also, there is not even a decision of the availability of the N9:

Although the likelihood of it not coming to the States is slim, the fact there is not a decision bothers me. I think Nokia's fence-straddling in the North American market has killed its branding. I can name one device that is currently being offered by Nokia to US carriers that was released in the past 6 months - the Astound (C7) on T-Mobile. One device. One. Guess how many Samsung has just on AT&T? Five. Two WP7, two Android, and one WinMo. Plus the plethora of feature phones. I just can't comprehend the lack of North American carrier support, not for the sake of myself, but for the sake of Nokia's North American market, which is essentially non-existent.

Nokia may be planning a full-on assault on North America with the WP7 devices to come, and I anticipate success, because Nokia (great phones) + Microsoft (hey, it's Microsoft!) is likely to equal success. I just wish Nokia had room for MeeGo to continue to be their baby.

Unless the forthcoming WP7 device from Nokia blows my mind, I don't see not buying the N9, granted it makes it to Nokia USA. If Nokia is going to abandon MeeGo, then I want to be a part of keeping the OS alive in being a developer and contributor. So, the Nokia N9 is a turning point in three ways:

It has geared up my motivation to become a mobile developer, be it application or operating system improvements, I want to coddle the heart of the beast as long as I am able.
Nokia has certainly turned away from its most loyal patrons by leaving the MeeGo ecosystem out on the doorstep and hopes someone adopts. Nokia is still dear to my heart, but they have mishandled the MeeGo development and it could damage the credibility of their brand to loyalists going forward.
Nokia is ready to take on WP7 full strength. They are ready to reclaim world dominance, by getting rid of the dead weight of Symbian (I still love you) and MeeGo, they are surely more streamlined to ride the WP7 train. The question is, how far will this train go?

Nokia can be compared to the rattled American car companies - the market is pulled out from under their feet by Toyota and Nissan (Apple and Android), the economy blows up in their face (turnover of officers) and the comeback plan to address the changing economy (drop Symbian, go WP7).

Will Nokia rally?

2011-04-05T20:08:00.001-07:00

My 2011 NCAA Men's Bracket

2011-03-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

The tournament expanding to 68 teams, and 4 "first-round" games is a little confusing, so I will try to break it down some:

There are 8 teams that play in the first-round. Texas-San Antonio v. Alabama State; Alabama-Birmingham v. Clemson; Southern California v. Virginia Commonwealth; North Carolina-Asheville v. Arkansas-Little Rock

Since I am not picking any of those teams to go on and win their second round game, which is the traditional first-round, field of 64, I will give you the third-round, field of 32 participants, then the Sweet 16, and so on.

In the East region, I have:

THIRD ROUND                 SWEET 16      ELITE 8 

Ohio State v. Villanova  -> Ohio State

                            v.         -> Ohio State

W Virginia v. Kentucky   -> Kentucky

                                          v.   -> Ohio State

Marquette  v. Syracuse   -> Syracuse

                            v.         -> Washington

Washington v. UNC        -> Washington

Southwest:

THIRD ROUND                 SWEET 16      ELITE 8 

Kansas     v. Illinois   -> Kansas

                            v.         -> Kansas

Vanderbilt v. Louisville -> Louisville

                                          v.   -> Kansas

Georgetown v. Purdue     -> Purdue

                            v.         -> Notre Dame

Texas A&M  v. Notre Dame -> Notre Dame

West:

THIRD ROUND                 SWEET 16      ELITE 8        

Duke       v. Tennessee  -> Duke

                            v.         -> Duke

Arizona    v. Texas      -> Texas

                                          v.   -> Duke

Missouri   v. UConn      -> UConn

                            v.         -> SDSU

Penn State v. SDSU       -> SDSU

Southeast:

THIRD ROUND                 SWEET 16      ELITE 8 

Pittburgh  v. ODU        -> Pitt

                            v.         -> Pitt

Utah St.   v. Wisconsin  -> Wisconsin

                                          v.   -> Pitt

Gonzaga    v. BYU        -> BYU

                            v.         -> BYU

UCLA       v. Florida    -> Florida

Final Four:

Ohio State                               Kansas

v          -> Ohio State v Kansas  <-         v

Duke                                 Pittsburgh

Champion: KANSAS

Link to the PDF version: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26821/bracket.pdf 

My Top 10 Reasons I Love Ubuntu

2011-03-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

The entire month of February, I went back to being a Windows user. I had a couple of reasons for switching back, the main reason was to have the ability to sync my phone with the music, pictures, etc. on my computer via Windows Media Player. Also, my build of Ubuntu was starting to act crazy, like not going into suspend mode, instability in some applications, among other things (I've attributed it to upgrading the distro on the fly instead of doing a clean install or downloading the update all at once first).

Going back to Windows was a painful process, and in my top 10 reasons I love Ubuntu, I will also explain the inconveniences I endured during my switch back to Windows. I don't plan on switching back again, for sure.

10) Native SSH/SFTP connection support

Windows does not support SSH/SFTP connectivity out of the box. PuTTY or some other SSH client is required. PuTTY is a decent application, but it lacks severely in comparison the gnome-terminal in Ubuntu. Copy/Paste is a hassle, key mappings are a pain to get correct (gnome-terminal does very well without configuration), and it really comes down to not having the Linux OS underneath, which enables so much more when using SSH (which I do 90% of work in with 4 Linux servers). PuTTY was good, but the Ubuntu terminal is the best I've ever used.

9) Support for multiple server connection types

WIndows Explorer does very well in opening WIndows shares, but that is where it ends. FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV is not supported out of the box, which means all your Linux servers must be setup with Samba shares in order for Windows clients to open Explorer to. Ubuntu, on the other hand, can handle not only SSH, FTP, and WebDAV, but Samba as well, right out of the box. Network locations can also be saved as bookmarks in Nautilus, so they act like a mapped drive, instead it is a mounted share, for ease in working out of a network directory.

8) Usability of command line

I do ok with a Windows command-line. I can do a few things, call a few processes, but I am in no way a power-user. But, I've quickly become a Linux power-user because the command line for Linux, in my opinion, are much easier to understand and get accustomed to than that of Windows. gnome-terminal make is easy to handle copy and pasting, the Linux OS seems more structured on the command-line side, and I feel I can write scripts much easier using a Linux terminal. I can't completely knock the Windows command line because I haven't used it as much at the degree of Linux, but I highly enjoy the Linux terminal experience.

7) Command-line utilities

This goes along with number 8, except Linux comes with so many useful command line utilities. My favorite, awk, is an advanced text-parsing scripting language that can be written in one line or 50. Other commands like locate, sdiff, sed, and a combination of multiple commands have allowed be to build very useful utilities for myself and others I work with.

6) Driver Support

Ubuntu is the only distro of Linux I have used on a personal and professional level, but the driver support from Ubuntu is amazing. A bluetooth dongle, wireless network card, and my smartphone, required drivers from Windows, and even then, they didn't work well. With Ubuntu. I have had no issues with any device, and everything seemed plug-and-play -- like it should be. Windows would turn my wireless radio off after a few minutes of using it, apparently because the driver was bad - the very driver that came with my laptop. Downloading an update did not work, and that is why I quickly went back to Ubuntu.

5) Customization

I love the ability to customize my user experience with Ubuntu. From how my command-line functions when I open it, to my desktop, where my icons are, what is displayed in my panels, and the amazing Compiz effects that add not only special effects, but increased usability. No other OS has given me the options I desire, and Ubuntu keeps adding to the long list of customizable options.

4) Workspaces

Not having workspaces with Windows killed me. Although I found third-party software that allowed me to have virtual desktop spaces, it was not the same experience, and likely was the cause of Windows crashing on me the few times it did. Workspaces have allowed me to be a quicker, more efficient worker, and they have saved me a lot of time scrounging for that minimized window in my task bar.

3) Window Management

WIndow management in Windows is aweful. How ironic. Although I wasn't using Windows 7, which is much better at window management, my productivity sunk when I wasn't able to drag a maximized window to another monitor, or scroll on a window that didn't have focus, or snap windows to the edge of the screen. On top of not having native support for workspaces, the workspaces application was a bummer to use when the windows management system was so bad.

2) Native Network Profile Support

This was one of the biggest pains in Windows - the lack of an intuitive network profile system. Lenovo's application allowed for profiles, but the application crashed so often, I had to uninstall it. I love having the ability in Ubuntu to define network connections, and the ease of doing so is one of the best features. At work, I need a fixed IP address, but at home, or most other places, I just need DHCP to give me one. The nm-applet for Ubuntu allows me to do so, and to easily switch profiles, without opening any windows.

1) Learning something new

Since a majority of my work involves a Linux server, I have learned a vast amount about the Linux OS just by having it and using it everyday. It has allowed me to write scripts and processes I would not have ever been able to do without Ubuntu as my primary OS, and it has allowed me to excel at my job. I continue to learn more and more each day.

Thanks Ubuntu!

Nokia + Microsoft: What Happens Next

2011-02-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

This morning's announcement came at a surprise to a lot of the Nokia community members I stay in touch with. A lot of the comments were Windows Phone 7 was not a platform Nokia could support, not their style, no parallel ecosystems, etc. etc. etc."

I was not a buyer in the conversation about Nokia going in with Android or WP7. However, I knew Symbian wouldn't last, regardless of my endless love for the platform since the S60v3 days on the E61. Nokia has done the best job of not adapting, or being late adapters in the smartphone platform, where the OS is king, and hardware is second (hence the millions of iPhone 4s sold after finding out about the antenna issue) and the number of Galaxy S phones being littered over the carriers with the GPS fiasco, yet they still have the support of the best selling smartphone platforms in the North American market. Symbian still holds a lead in the market share worldwide, yet they light at the end of that tunnel would come in a definite time-frame, and Stephen Elop refused to be caught with his proverbial pants around his ankles once the Symbian ship runs aground. Being a former exec at Microsoft, and the fact Android is as polluted a mobile platform as the Hudson River, and WP7 was a viable opportunity to bolster one another's trajectory. Granted, WP7 is a very young, and immature OS, but with MeeGo still in the R&D mill, which is based out of the most mature mobile device OS (Maemo), the odds are certainly against Nokia and Microsoft in the smartphone ecosystem, but there are several factors that weigh in favor of the partnership:

Microsoft's attraction to business - Businesses run on Microsoft, from the floor to the ceiling. Microsoft Exchange is an email server empire. The Microsoft Office suite of programs is second-to-none, and that comes from Mac users with the new Office for Mac 2010. Outlook calendars, tasks, and contacts are probably the most synced content on any smartphone, be it an iPhone, Android-based device, or Symbian-based device. The business of the decision is to provide a vessel to business customers through the world's most renown mobile phone company (and that's not tooting their whistle too loudly, it is a fact).
Microsoft's growing mobile entertainment division - Zune as a device hasn't been the best of successes, although we can simply blame the iPod and move on. The Zune, as a service, has reaped the most of benefits because every one of the 10+ million of Xbox 360 systems sold in the US have the Zune store built-in, regardless of Xbox Live subscription level. Music, Videos, and Movies are what drives the revenue outside the realm of the video game subspace of the system, and with WP7 being the flagship device for Xbox Live and Zune, Nokia will benefit from being absent in the States with their Ovi Music Store and the failure of N-Gage.
Nokia's worldwide brand - as the top selling cell phone based on worldwide sales in the past ... well forever, basically, Nokia brings the big name in cell phones WP7 needs to get their software out the doors and on the streets. Microsoft, being a U.S. based company, and much bigger in terms of software development resources, can cut down the cost of the OS, so Nokia can provide premium hardware at a competitive rate, even unlocked. Nokia can also continue being an international phone, being provided on several dozen European carriers subsidized, as well as the future possibilities of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon (sorry Sprint, Nokia says they want nothing to do with you).
Nokia's quality of hardware - The consensus from the current WP7 devices from HTC, Samsung, and Dell have been, well, not good. Lack of decent camera, poor speaker quality, and other media-related features are what is lacking with the current slate of the WP7 devices. The Dell Venue Pro, the most promising of WP7 devices, has failed to get out of the door before considered a flop. Nokia has a strong hardware development backing, and the Fins do it the best. Back to the early N-series devices, they have always had the best cameras, speakers, and overall build-quality. Even Nokia's low-end feature phones are superb quality, so low-end smartphones can and will be better than the current offerings.
Microsoft's empire in North America - Microsoft is a worldwide brand in computing, without question, but the empire is based in the states, where the reaches of Nokia's empire fails to tap into. It will be a huge bolster to get Nokia back into the states as a premier device, and the culprit before was the lack of embrace for the Symbian OS. In 6 years of the S60v3 Symbian software lifecycle, a total of 3 devices made it to the States (E61i and E71x for AT&T and the E73 for T-Mobile). Nearly every Nokia device was present on the Euro carriers during that time period. Nokia needs the backing of U.S. carriers to continue their success of yesteryear, and with WP7 now a common and marketable platform for smartphone OS, the U.S. carriers should be able to open their doors once again to Nokia devices.

With MeeGo still being one of Nokia's software platforms for their phones, which might be a more viable OS in the higher-level computing platforms, such as tablets, notebooks, and in-vehicle info-tainment systems. Symbian, set to be "harvested" sometime in 2012 will more than likely spell doom for a lot of Nokia loyalists. My hopes are since Symbian opened the doors of their source code, that the dedicated Symbian community will continue development, and Ovi becomes a Cononical-like service to the Symbian environment. Ovi Maps and Store, likely to be the only two Ovi services to survive the WP7 migration, will likely have limited support in future years, but as a loyal Symbian user, I intend to use my Nokia N8 until I find the next Nokia phone that is for me.

Long live Symbian.

2 more weeks ...

2011-01-19T20:22:00.001-08:00

National Champions

2011-01-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

First post of the new year will probably start off very one-sided, but I will dig deep into my soul to find the necessary line between objectiveness and subjectiveness. However, I tend to put my heart above my appearance as an objective writer. I will, in no way, disregard my beliefs just to make an audience listen. My blog is here for me to express my thoughts and opinions, and regardless of how many people may read it and agree or disagree with it, I am accomplishing what I've set myself out to do with this platform.

Auburn University. National Champions in college football. It was one of the greatest moments in my life of sports. I've been an Auburn fan since I was a little guy, and to finally see them win a championship is wonderful. However, it saddens me that the entire country doesn't feel the same way, as multiple sports writers went right to the computer to post their take on "how long will Auburn keep their championship" and to chronicle the current status of the Cecil Newton saga. Those writers get the readers, but that is what they are paid to do. I am not paid, and the only benefit I receive out of writing is a sense of accomplishment, that I was able to coherently express myself in the best way I can. I am not going to continue on using this post to bash the media that decides to write pessimistically on Auburn's amazing feat, but I will congratulate the team, as a whole, and who I saw that made impact plays throughout the game.

First of all, Cam Newton was not the best player in the game. He was the leader, and he kept the team in the game, but he never looked comfortable for extended amounts of time, and not because the offensive line was not blocking, but Oregon's defense did very well in taking away his running options when there was no receiver to get the ball to. Cam missed on a few plays, but one game doesn't tarnish his season as the nation's leading passer in efficiency. He connects on long balls, he connects when there is room, but there were a few he did miss on. NFL scouts, whether he had a perfect game or the game he ended up with, will account for the multiple times he led his team back into a game, namely the Georgia game, where he only threw the ball 17 times, and every one of those passes would have been caught on a normal day for his receivers. His two touchdowns to Philip Lutzenkirchen were two of the best touchdowns he threw all season - tight window, and a throw that could have been mistaken as a ballistic missile - on target and on a line. His game against Alabama and South Carolina, 30-48 (62%) 551 yards, 7 TD, and passer ratings greater than 200, along with 36 carries, 112 yards, and 3 TD, he accounted for 10 TDs and 663 yards in two of the biggest games of his career.

But, like I said, Cam Newton wasn't the best player on the field that night. Michael Dyer, the offensive MVP, with a bruising 143 yards on 22 carries, and nearly had the go-ahead TD with 0:10 on the clock. His run to setup the offense well in field goal range was the play of the game for sure.

The best player, whether the nation likes him or not, was Nick Fairley. He was the focus of the Oregon offense to keep him out of the backfield, but that didn't work. When one player gets singled out on defense, yet still impacts the game, not to mention leading the Auburn defense to hold the nation's leading rusher to under 50 yards and 3.8 yds/carry. Kirk Herbstreit mentioned him being as dominate as Ndomakong Suh, and he may very well be. Suh is also regarded as a dirty player, even still in the NFL, yet he is more than likely the Rookie of the Year for Defense in the NFL and will probably be the most dominate defensive lineman in years to come. I do think his discipline after a play will have to tighten up, and I imagine that the NFL would break him of the late hits and cheap shots, but Suh has been flagged and fined this year for his hits, although questionable calls. The NFL will crack down on him more than the NCAA did and hit him in the pocketbook - that combined with the rough nature of the NFL should change his habit of cheap hits after a play.

Auburn's National Title will always be under question, regardless if the NCAA does allow them to keep it. People will always speculate. The media will always find the dirty laundry, and that is their job, disgusting as it is. The facts that matter is Auburn won the game on the field, and just as USC won their game on the field, regardless of 1 ineligible player for 100. I am confident Auburn will not be found in the wrong with Cam Newton remaining eligible, because Auburn is where my heart as a sports fan lies.

War Eagle.

@danpatrick show's "Top 10 Things Cam Did Want to Say (but couldn't)"

2010-12-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

10. Cecil was going to be here tonight, but this is my Dave moment

9. Yes, I sleep with the Heisman, who knows how long they will let me keep it

8. Hey Dan Patrick, Oregon can't stop me OR contain me

7. Stop calling me "Fib" Newton; I really didn't know anything *wink wink*

6. I just found out the Ducks were going to give me $181,000.

5. There's a lot of things my parents do behind the scenes since I came out of my mother's womb

4. I am wearing Mississippi State tightie-whities right now

3. Anybody want me to sign something? My dad said I can get $20 a pop

2. I was going to be on Leno tonight, but Letterman opened up the checkbook a bit wider than Jay did.

1. I have 180,000 reasons to smile and a lot of time to spend it - what else am I going to do until January 10?

BCS Bowl Predictions

2010-12-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

BCS Bowls don't start for another 19 days, but what else are we going to do other than watch the St. Petersburg Bowl and 19 days of Brett Favre talk? Might as well throw down a BCS Bowl Prediction and see how I fare.

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin v TCU

Wisconsin has one of the most underrated running games around. Freshman James White filled in nicely at the end of the year for Junior John Clay, who combined for 1965 yards and 27 touchdowns, not to mention a decent defense, although TCU comes in with the highly ranked defense, yet virtually untested against the in comparison to Wisconsin's opponents in Michigan, Ohio State, and Iowa. This game will likely come down to whoever can outsmart the other's defense. Wisconsin will run the ball with their duo of Clay and White, control the clock and the line of scrimmage, and ultimately the TCU scoring by limiting their offensive plays. TCU will be able to keep it close because they are more of a passing team, but Wisconsin should win this one. Wisconsin 31 TCU 27

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma v Connecticut

I've already expressed my displeasure with the Huskies getting a BCS bowl bid by winning a very non-competitive (on the national scale) Big East conference, which is why TCU will be licking their chops come their inaugural Big East season. Oklahoma, although losing two games to slightly inferior football teams (Missouri and Texas A&M), their domination of both Oklahoma State and Nebraska, two very excellent offenses show their defense can show up. Their offense, as shown in their two losses, is hit or miss, although when they hit, they hit hard. Landry Jones is showing Sooner fans that he is their new Sam Bradford, but their loss of NFL talent is costing him. I can say I know nothing about UConn football, and if you lose to Temple, you won't win a BCS bowl game. Oklahoma 42 UConn 14

Sugar Bowl: Ohio State v Arkansas

Four years ago, Arkansas won 10 games in a row after getting blasted by USC the first game of the year. Mitch Mustain was the quarterback, Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis lined the star-studded backfield, and their defense was led by Jamaal Anderson and Chris Houston. They then finished the year losing to LSU, Florida in the SEC Championship, and Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Their head coach? Houston Nutt. This year's team has won 6 straight after losing to Auburn, including a blasting of South Carolina and roughing up of LSU. As the SEC's second-highest-ranked team in the BCS, they are honored with their first BCS bowl game ever. Ohio State doesn't fare well against SEC teams, especially ones with great defenses. Arkansas isn't a defensive power, but they have stood their ground, and Ryan Mallet, Knile Davis, Jarius Wright, and DJ Williams lead the nation's 3rd ranked passing offense into a home crowd in New Orleans and a monumental win for the Razorbacks. Arkansas 34 Ohio State 20

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech v Stanford

Aside from the two teams playing in the NCG and TCU, Virginia Tech is the hottest team right now, winning 11 straight and another ACC title. Their first two losses can be thrown out at this point, because they are a different team than the one that played Boise and James Madison. However, they are no longer playing a familiar ACC team - Stanford is the next hottest team, along with Wisconsin (who should be playing each other in the Rose Bowl...) and their quarterback Andrew Luck is the best in the country according to some, and will most likely be a top draft choice in April 2011. Stanford is a Virginia Tech killer, simply because their offense is consistent, and have seen much better offenses in the Pac-10 than the Hokies offer, and I predict another not-fun-to-watch game. Stanford 28 Virginia Tech 16

National Championsip: Auburn v Oregon

This will get its own write-up in the coming weeks!

Spurs poised for another title run

2010-12-10T21:28:00.001-08:00

After last season's disappointing ending, the Spurs were viewed as a ship sailed, with Duncan aging, the Jefferson deal not cashing in, and the fact that the Lakers have dominated the West three straight years, it is no wonder everyone overlooks the Spurs. But, the veteran team has compiled an 18-3 record and are the NBA's top team through the first quater. The Lakers, off to a less-than-stellar start after a second-straigh NBA title, look to be on a collision course with the Spurs, once again, to decide who wins the West. Although there is still a lot of basketball to be played, the Spurs rarely slump during the season and play at championship level when it matters most.

One Step Closer for a BCS Playoff

2010-12-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

With the recent word from the Big East that TCU will join the current 8-team league, and talks about another team, such as Central Florida or Villanova (who is a basketball Big East member), could help the Big East gain national power back after losing Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech to the ACC and West Virginia and Pitt's lackluster records as predicted Big East contenders. Also, we may be one step close to seeing all 6 BCS conferences achieve a championship game and near uniformity. This will eliminate co-champions, and allow for an avenue for a more fair regular season, where we can truly have a BCS playoff with 10 teams.

The top 5 teams are decided by the top two teams in the BCS, and the remaining conference champions, regardless of BCS ranking, but they must rank in the top 10 in order to qualify. Thus, Virginia Tech and UConn would not be in the BCS Playoffs and with good cause. Losing 4 games in the regular season doesn't warrant for a playoff berth. Although Virginia Tech only had 2 losses, this is a year a very good 1 and 2-loss teams such as Stanford, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Ohio State. Had Virginia Tech not lost to a FCS team, they'd be at least 5th because they are ACC champions.

So, if two conference champions are left out, the seeding would start from 3rd in the BCS and work down.

This year is more interesting because there were 3 Big 10 co-champions (which will be eliminated after a championship game) and one team (Stanford) ranked higher than three conference champions. Only BCS-conference champions will count for the top 6. Boise State and TCU, for instance would have to work to get into a high ranking to get a higher seed.

Here is the top 6 teams:

Auburn (BCS number 1)
Oregon (BCS number 2)
Wisconsin (theoretical Big 10 champ)
Oklahoma (Big 12 champ)
TCU (highest ranked non-BCS conference champion)
Stanford (highest ranked team remaining)

The final four teams would simply fall in according to ranking in the BCS:

Ohio State
Arkansas
Michigan State
Boise State

The first round matchups will be the BCS teams that didn't win a BCS-conference championship, or a "play-in" game:

Seed 8 v 9

Seed 7 v 10

These game locations will be based on the 8th and 9th ranked bowl games as it stands now (Cotton Bowl and Chick-fil-A Bowl).

The 7 v 10 would face 2nd seeded Oregon and 8 v 9 would face 1st seeded Auburn.

The second round matchups would be:

Seed 1 v 8/9
Seed 2 v 7/10
Seed 3 v 6
Seed 4 v 5

These matchups are based on the 4th-7th ranked bowl games, with the top two bowls (which are now BCS bowls) will rotate in and out over the years and will always host the one of the top 2 teams and based on location of the schools. Those bowls will be Outback Bowl (7), Capitol One (6), Rose Bowl/Fiesta Bowl (5), Orange Bowl/Sugar Bowl (4).

The semi-final round will be between the four remaining teams and be played at the two BCS bowls not played in the second round.

And finally the championship game, which rotates as well in the playoffs, will also be hosted at one of the four BCS bowl locations.

Here is a possibility of how this year's playoffs could align:

Arkansas (8) v Michigan State (9) @ Chick-fil-A Bowl - Arkansas wins
Ohio State (7) v Boise State (10) @ Cotton Bowl - Ohio State wins

Auburn (1) v Arkansas (8) @ Sugar Bowl - Auburn wins
Oregon (2) v Ohio State (7) @ Rose Bowl - Oregon wins
Wisconsin (3) v Stanford (6) @ Capitol One Bowl - Wisconsin wins
TCU (4) v Oklahoma (5) @ Outback Bowl - TCU wins

Auburn (1) v TCU (4) @ Orange Bowl - Auburn
Oregon (2) v Wisconsin (3) @ Fiesta Bowl - Oregon

Auburn (1) v Oregon (2) @ BCS NCG

The BCS May get the Big Game Right ...

2010-12-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

The days of the Bowl Championship Game have seen some timeless matchups that were not for a national championship. Boise State v Oklahoma (Fiesta), West Virginia v Georgia (Sugar), Penn State v Florida State (Orange), and Texas v Michigan (Rose) have been some recent matchups that either defined a new tradition (Boise State in BCS, West Virginia's 1st BCS bowl appearance a win over SEC power UGA, a Big 12 team in the Rose Bowl) or a clash of coaching legends (Paterno v Bowden), the undercard matches have often been of great magnitude at least for one game out of the the four. It is hard to say which game will go down as a classic BCS game this year, although Arkansas-Ohio State and Wisconsin-TCU look to be good matchups, I am very displeased with the way the BCS ended up this year.

I'll start with the Big East Champions, Connecticut. I understand the Big East is still considered a BCS conference, although the closest they came to a BCS championship berth with West Virginia in 2004-05 after a 11-0 start, losing to Pitt to end the season. Although they went on to win against Georgia, their lack of power since losing Virginia Tech and Miami (FL) to the ACC has hurt the prowess of the conference as a whole. Which is exactly why TCU is headed to the conference, because the defense they play can dominate the Big East and give them a BCS NCG berth with a season like the last two they've put together. UConn playing in a BCS game against Oklahoma is a slap in the face to three parties: 1) Oklahoma - they always seem to get stuck playing the statistically worse team eligible for a BCS game 2) The Fiesta Bowl - again they get a game that no one will watch, and could be highly one-sided 3) UConn - they will get the exposure and the payout, but the game will be over quickly and be very forgettable, although it is a BCS game.

The Rose Bowl, although many people will say it is a good matchup, is another big slap in the face against a team who could be a national champion: Stanford. Instead of playing in the Rose Bowl, they will travel across country to the Orange Bowl, probably the most insignificant of all the bowls, and face Virginia Tech, who hasn't played in a BCS bowl against a team with any depth since the 2004 Sugar Bowl against Auburn. They've benefited from the Orange Bowl tie-in with the ACC 3 of the last 4 years, and have gone 1-1. VT is a great ACC team, but their 9-14 record historically in bowl games doesn't fare well against the Cardinal from Stanford. It will be watched by a lot of Cardinal fans, but another forgettable game.

This is what should have happened, and although there was a stipulation that the Rose Bowl had to take TCU (which is odd, since they aren't from a BCS conference ...), here is what I wanted from the BCS matchups:

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin v Stanford - a classic Rose Bowl-style game, two I-formation teams that play it tough at the line of scrimmage, and would have attracted more fans from the state than TCU will, although the Rose Bowl is always a hot ticket, regardless of the teams.

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech v Michigan State - I don't agree with giving a team an automatic bid and barely sneaking in the Top 25 of the BCS standings, which means there are 24 teams that are better than UConn, and 14 won't be playing in a BCS bowl. I also know the rule of only two teams per conference, but when a third teams beats the Rose Bowl-bound team, I have to include them. Fairness is putting the best teams together, and not weighing them based on their conference. UConn doesn't deserve a New Year's Day (or later) bowl game (Rutgers, Louisville, and Temple beat them).

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma v TCU - Stanford belongs in the Rose Bowl - they've earned it. TCU doesn't belong in the Rose Bowl, but they've probably earned an at-large bid. Going against Oklahoma might not be the best of matchups, but thanks to the BCS, not every game is.

Sugar Bowl: Arkansas v Ohio State - nothing wrong with this matchup

I apologise in advance to UConn fans - I'd be excited to have a BCS bowl berth if I were you, regardless of whether you deserved it or not, so no hate against your school - there are just 14 teams that are ranked higher than you are and played tougher competition and didn't lose to Temple.

Pan seared chicken with chicken broccoli pasta

2010-12-05T10:27:00.001-08:00

My Chronicle of Nokia Phones - 2003-Present (UPDATE)

2010-12-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

2003 - Nokia 3595 on AT&T - Nokia My first phone I received for Christmas - it didn't last too long, because a shelf fell off the wall and landed on it - screen went dead

2004 - Nokia 6010 on T-Mobile - Bought it online for about $60, and the great thing was I got free WAP access through T-Mobile, so checking basketball scores during March Madness was great. Sold it back online for about $50 because T-Mobile had spotty coverage in my new hometown in Arkansas.

2005 - Nokia 6030 on AT&T - went over to my dad's plan and got this phone - sadly, another phone that didn't last long. Fell out of my pocket at a restaurant parking lot. Luckily the restaurant found it, but the screen was white. Barely made calls anymore. On to the next one ...

2006 - Nokia 3120 on AT&T - found this gem online and loved every bit of it. The best feature phone I've ever used. I am still not sure why I got rid of it, but I did.

2007 - Nokia 6030 on AT&T - Another great phone, one I kept the longest thus far. Keypad was very nice, and the loudest, clearest sounding cell phone I've ever had. Gave it to my girlfriend, who is now my wife, to replace the exact phone which she had.

2008 - Nokia E61 on AT&T - It was my time for a QWERTY keyboard on a phone. I was trying to decide between the Nokia E61 and the HTC Dash. Both had WiFi, both QWERTY, but only one had the Nokia emblem on it. The large screen, well-spaced keyboard, and great battery life was wonderful. Still the best screen I've seen on a non-touch smartphone.

2009 - Nokia E71 on AT&T - Love this phone. Even until this day, I still get the maximal usage out of Nokia's most popular smartphone to date. LED flash, 3G, WiFi, multi-tasking, Ovi Store, Exchange email, wireless printing, expandable storage, and the list goes on - the most high-tech phone I had used at the time.

2010 - Nokia 6350 on AT&T wireless - this is a phone I ordered with my new AT&T wireless service, so this is not a phone I have used before, and serves as a spare phone, but still a phone I have purchased and I do indeed still have this phone.

2010 - Nokia C3 on AT&T - Phone I bought for my wife. I am not sure if I can call this a feature phone, since it has WiFi and a slew of smartphone features, but still a solid phone for a very affordable price.

2010 - ???

I am still in limbo on what my next phone should be, although I am pretty confident that it will be a Nokia. Their current lineup and soon-to-be-released phones have definitely caught my eye, but I am not 100% on one device yet. But, I do have preferences:

Nokia N8 - 12 MP camera, largest sensor ever put inside a cellular phone, Xenon flash, 720p video recording, HDMI output with Dolby Digital sound, 3.5" capacitive touch screen with Gorilla Glass, AMOLED display, 5 different colors, 16GB on-board memory expandable to 48 GB via MicroSD, penta-band 3G radio, Bluetooth 3.0, USB on-the-go, free turn-by-turn navigation through Ovi Maps, and way too many others to list. Definitely number 1 on my list, but at $549.00 unlocked, it is a steep price.

Nokia C7 - 8 MP camera, dual LED flash, 720p video recording, 3.5" capacitive touch screen with Gorilla Glass, AMOLED display, 3 different colors, 8GB on-board memory expandable to 40GB via MicroSD, free turn-by-turn navigation through Ovi Maps, and although not as many hardware features, the software is the same, and the screen size as well. With a $449.00 unlocked price, this is more affordable, although missing out on such an amazing camera paired with HDMI out, this is slightly lower on my list.

Nokia E7 - Comparable to the N8, except a 4" display, slide-out screen reveals a keyboard, 8MP LED flash camera instead of 12MP Xenon. Also, the 16GB on-board memory is not expandable, and this device, although unreleased at this time, is scheduled to be more expensive than the N8. The screen and the keyboard are selling points, but without the expandable storage and with a steeper price, this is definitely lower on my list, but still a possibility.

UPDATED

2011 - Nokia N8 on AT&T - I made my decision near the end of February to purchase the N8 after I saw a deal on Newegg. Although the software feels dated more and more everyday, it is very capable of my needs, the camera is absolutely stunning, and the battery life is awesome. Customizations are endless, and although I still struggle with a software keyboard, this is still a stellar device.

BCS Playoffs - More Possible, Still Not Probable

2010-12-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

My thought on the BCS versus a playoff system was that the BCS is the perfect system given the current structure of the NCAA Football conferences - only three of the six conferences play an additional conference championship game and divisions. Those three conferences, the Big 10, the Pacific 10, and the Big East conferences are all adding one or more teams to their conference, and the Big 10 (plus 2) and the Pac 10 (plus 2) have already outlined their plan for divisions and conference championship games. The Big East (plus 1 at this point) hasn't finalised adding a second team to the current 8 team conference, although divisions and conference championships might not be in the mix until they get into 12+ teams. However, since the Big 12 is losing 2 teams to dip to 10 teams, they will likely reshuffle their divisions or do away with them altogether.

The biggest hurdle for the playoff system that everyone is envisioning is uniformity. The SEC plays 12 regular season games which includes 4 non-conference games, 5 division games, and 3 inter-division games. The Pac 10 also plays 12 regular season games, but 9 of them are conference games, 3 are non-conference. The Big 10, who has just 1 team than the Pac 10, has 12 regular season games, but 4 non-conference games, and 8 conference games, leaving out 2 conference opponents any given year a Big 10 team doesn't play. Now, with the additions in these two conferences, that will likely change, but We still have 6 conferences that aren't perfectly aligned. The Big East has 9 confirmed teams, Big 12 is down to 10, Pac 10 up to 12, Big 10 up to 12, and the SEC and ACC remain at 12. If the BCS wanted to implement their own playoff system, they would likely try to bribe the conferences to these guidlines:

Each conference must play the same number of conference opponents and non-conference opponents.
Each conference must play a conference championship held on the same weekend.
Each conference must have the same number of teams in each conference and divided into 2 divisions.
Each division team must play each other once during the year.
Each team in the conference must maintain a level of schedule integrity.

Let me elaborate on that last point. Every team in the country schedules 1-2 very small schools to play, either at the beginning of the year or for homecoming. Those higher tiered teams, or BCS teams, must be held accountable for playing a FCS team if they choose. So, if a team does schedule a FCS team, they must either even their schedule integrity out by scheduling a BCS conference team as a non-conference opponent, or forfeit a spot in the BCS playoffs if they qualify. For instance, Alabama played Georgia State this year, yet they played a Big 10 team in Penn State. That would be fine. But, Ole Miss played Jacksonville State, an FCS school. They did not play an out-of-conference BCS school, therefore their eligibility to be a BCS playoff team would be void. In maintaining a schedule integrity, schools are still allowed to play smaller schools in order to benefit both parties, but that game should not count towards a BCS playoff ranking unless it is paired with a competitive non-conference game with a BCS conference team.

Now, the BCS would probably not add that last stipulation, however, I feel that is the last thing the BCS would need in order to have playoffs. Now the 6 BCS conferences are aligning into 6, 10-12 team conferences, the possibility is higher. The probability, however, is not improving.

Twittersation: @kenosando and @j1two

2010-12-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

I've met a pretty cool cat via Twitter, J. Brown (@j1two), whom I've had the privilege to go back and forth on sports with recently, and I'd thought I'd chronicle the conversations.

On South Carolina's bowl outlook if they lose to Auburn:

J1two I'd cry foul if I was Spurrier and this really happened. RT @kenosando: SEC Bowl predictions: AUB BCS NCG, ARK Sugar, SCAR Chik-fil-a

kenosando @J1two They can get anything from the Chick-fil-a, Outback, or Cotton - they would finish 5th in SEC if they lose in SEC Champ

J1two @kenosando I hear ya but they still won their division of the conference... Got to account for something?!

kenosando @J1two not in the whole SEC picture - SEC West was 15-3 against the east, although SCAR won against bama, they were 1-2 against the West

J1two @kenosando Yeah but that's punishing S. Carolina for being in the East division. They can only play the teams who are on their schedule

kenosando @J1two S. Carolina was two of those 15 losses though - Aub, Ark, LSU, MSU, and Ala had combined 1 loss to the East

Briefly on the BCS:

J1two This is why I hate the bowl system. I hated since I was 9 #NoLie

kenosando @J1two I hate it too - Oklahoma went to the nat'l champ by not winning their conf. champ. game in '04 - pounded by USC

J1two Spoken like a true Auburn fan but they did get hosed RT @kenosando: I hate it too Oklahoma went to the nat'l champ ...

The 2004 Auburn Team and Jason Campbell:

kenosando @J1two lol - I think the '04 team was better than this team - stout defense, 4 players went in the first two rounds of draft

J1two @kenosando Yeah that would have been a great match up. I think it could of propelled Campbell higher in the draft also

kenosando @J1two Yeah, too bad the NFL hasn't been nice to him so far. Washington screwed him up with their disarray of an NFL franchise

J1two @kenosando The epitome of a career with no stability...

Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears:

kenosando @J1two let's hope Cutler doesn't fall victim to that - I want to see Chicago get to a SB with a good QB not just a DEF

J1two @kenosando Yeah. But being a Bears fan over the years if we have a decent offense its a plus. We just want stifling D's and a run game.

kenosando @J1two I agree, if the Colts had a Chicago Defense, they'd be better off, but in the age of QBs, you have to have a good 1, Cutler is

J1two @kenosando The ghosts of Rex Grossman lingers in our minds... #uhoh That's why we're optimistic but cautious.

kenosando @J1two For sure - at least he is more knowledgeable about Washington's 2-min offense ... allegedly

J1two @kenosando I know some Bears fans would want to go if they heard this but I think Rex would still be QB'ing if he had a good O coordinator.

J1two @kenosando He was/is polarizing in Chicago because everyone thought he was the QB of the future those first six games of '06 had us dreaming

kenosando @J1two He's prob the only QB who had a rating of 100+, 10, 137, and 36 in consecutive weeks - http://is.gd/hZXVk

Cam Newton's Eligibility and Future in Auburn:

J1two RT @kenosando: RT @WarBlogle: Cam Newton ruled eligible to play by NCAA. http://bit.ly/gdC4QZ

J1two What's up w/ the NCAA disciplining the school if Cam Newton doesn't talk to the media after the SECOND championship game?

kenosando @J1two and ESPN broke the story as if they tattled on Auburn - now Cam is eligible, maybe Auburn had a plan all along, and he will speak now

J1two @kenosando Do you think Cam is 1 and done? Or is he coming back?

kenosando @J1two I think he will be lobbied heavily to stay. If he can stay, then the staff will. Now the scandal is dead, he could stay

J1two @kenosando If they win the BCS title then he's gone. Done everything in 1 yr. 2 many headaches and slander to come back to w/out motivation.

kenosando @J1two I can see that happening for sure - I think to keep Malzahn on staff, he'll need a raise. Or just Cam

==================================================

I think CNN's "The Situation Room" is booking us soon for panel discussions. JRIB could hear about us, maybe a couple of Clone forum members upcoming.

Follow @J1two

Follow @kenosando

SEC Bowl Bids (projected) UPDATED

2010-11-29T13:22:00.000-08:00

According to the Wikipedia page on Automatic bowl bids to college bowl games:

#1 Bowl Championship Series. The winner of the SEC Championship Game gains an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, preferentially the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
#2 The Capital One Bowl must select the team with the best overall record among non-BCS playing SEC teams, or a team within one game of the best record.
#3-4 The Cotton Bowl Classic has first pick of remaining teams from the Western Division, and the Outback Bowl typically picks a remaining team from the Eastern Division.
#5 The Chick-fil-A Bowl selects after those two bowls.
#6 The Gator Bowl receives the sixth pick.
#7-8 The Music City Bowl and the Liberty Bowl work with the SEC office to determine the seventh and eighth picks.
#9 The BBVA Compass Bowl receives the ninth choice of SEC teams. In years where the SEC does not have nine bowl eligible teams, the BBVA Compass Bowl will select from the Sun Belt Conference instead.

If Auburn defeats South Carolina:

#1 Auburn - National Championship
#2 Arkansas - Sugar Bowl (they will select the top remaining SEC team in the BCS standings since Auburn is not available)
#3 LSU - Tied with Arkansas but lost head-to-head, and has to be picked by Capitol One Bowl according to the stipulation above.
#4 Alabama - Will be ranked above S. Carolina because of W-L - Cotton Bowl will jump all over Bama
#5 South Carolina - Outback bowl is a large possibility, since they have the next pick, and chooses typically out of the East
#6 Mississippi State - Chick-fil-A has the next pick, and MSU beat Florida head-to-head, and highest ranked available team
#7 Florida - Gator bowl will jump on them, but only because they don't have much of a choice left
#8 Georgia - Bulldogs beat the Wildcats and Vols head-to-head, and Music City and Liberty Bowls are both in Tennessee, but Liberty may get first pick and go for the Dogs.
#9 Tennesse - head-to-head winner over Kentucky puts the Vols in 9th place in the SEC, and the Music City Bowl will get a big fan turnout from the Vols.
#10 Kentucky - Compass Bowl

But, if Auburn loses:

#1 South Carolina - Sugar Bowl
#2 Auburn - Depending on the final BCS standings, they could rob the Big 10 or Pac 10 of an at-large bid in the Fiesta Bowl
#3 Arkansas - Arkansas would get hosed big time if Auburn loses, and would slip to the Capitol One Bowl
#4 LSU - Cotton Bowl
#5 Alabama - Chick-fil-a
#6 Mississippi State - Gator Bowl
#7 Florida - Outback Bowl
#8 Georgia - Liberty Bowl
#9 Tennessee - Music City Bowl
#10 Kentucky - Compass Bowl

A lot of people will be sad if Auburn loses, including Alabama, who would benefit most from playing in Dallas, likely against A&M. Arkansas would loses a lot of money playing in the Capitol One instead of the Sugar - LSU would probably travel better to the Cotton Bowl rather than the Capitol One, but to play in South Florida is huge for recruiting.

UPDATE:

I failed to mention Tennessee being bowl eligible, and into a bowl. The Compass bowl would get the 9th pick under normal circumstances two SEC teams do not get into BCS bowls, but since that is the case, the Compass would pick 8th (and select the 10th ranked SEC team, if eligible). I'd have to say Tennessee would be picked over Georgia and Kentucky for the Music City Bowl, putting Kentucky in the Compass Bowl.

The Thanksgiving Weekend in Review

2010-11-29T12:32:00.001-08:00

All times in central standard time, and approximations.

Thursday
1:00 PM - Wade Phillips sits down with family for Thanksgiving
3:20 PM - Wade watches the Cowboys on TV for the first time
4:00 PM - Wade turns off the TV and tries to call Jerry for his job back
4:20 PM - Wade leave 15 voice mails, 27 text messages, and sends 3 faxes in the first half to Jerry
5:55 PM - Wade gives up after the Cowboys rally from a 17-0 deficit to pull within 3 after 3 quarters
6:35 PM - Roy Williams gets stripped of the ball in the red zone, Wade turns the TV back off.
6:40 PM - Saints score with less than 2 minutes to play to regain the lead, Wade still hasn't reached Jerry.

Friday
1:20 PM - Cam Newton gets showered in Monopoly money from Alabama fans
1:40-2:30 PM - Auburn gets showered by Alabama on both sides of the ball
2:45 PM - Auburn gets to the locker room while they still can
3:00 PM - Auburn begins to return the favors
5:00 PM - Auburn comes back from 24-0 to win 28-27
6:00 PM - The desk of Nick Saban receives a phone call from the desk of Jerry Jones ...
9:30 PM - Auburn players arrive back in Auburn, Nick Saban lands in Dallas ...

Saturday
2:00 PM - LSU fans drink the last of their bourbon before finding their seats
2:30 PM - LSU fans finally find their seats
2:40 PM - LSU fans finally realize the game started
2:50 PM - Arkansas goes up 7-0, LSU fans search for their pocket flask
3:20 PM - Arkansas scores on the last play of the half, half the LSU fans leave for the liquor store
6:00 PM - LSU fumbles at their own goal line with under a minute left, Arkansas runs the clock out
6:45 PM - LSU fans wake up from their bourbon nap, scoreboard still lit.

Sunday
7:25 PM - Arkansas jumps into the top 10 in BCS standings at 7, Auburn jumps to number 1, Alabama and LSU proud their loss meant so much
7:26 PM - Arkansas fans start balancing their checkbooks to clear some cash for Sugar Bowl tickets
7:27 PM - LSU fans from yesterday's game are finally released from county for public intoxication.
7:30 PM - Rumors start swirling that Houston Nutt is leaving Ole Miss for Colorado
7:31 PM - Gus Malzahn speculated to replace Nutt Oxford.
8:00 PM - SEC comes back to reality, Nutt will stay at Ole Miss, Colorado is relieved.

NCAA Football Four Square: Part Three

2010-11-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

So the NCAA season doesn't exactly round out into four equal parts, much like the NFL season with 17 weeks. Regardless, after 9 weeks of games (roughly) we are at the end of the third quarter and entering the championship stretch for a lot more teams still in grasp than most would think.

I've normally broken down a couple upcoming week's games to look out for, but since we are in the "make or break" point in the season, I found it necessary to point out 5 games in the last month of the season we should keep our eyes on, because it will affect the BCS one way or another.

5) TCU at Utah - November 6

With the loser of this game absolutely out of the national championship picture and the winner is all but guaranteed a spot, I would say this week's game against Mountain West powers will be an intriguing matchup, regardless of the lack of TV coverage. Utah is currently ranked 5th, above one-loss Alabama, and TCU is at number 3. TCU is also 3rd in the computer rankings, while Utah is at 8th. Based on the history of two top-ten teams playing, the computers heavily weigh the winner (see Missouri over Oklahoma, who went from 6th to 2nd, and now at 4th after loss to Nebraska). Utah's win will be weighed much more heavily because TCU is not only more revered in the computers, but TCU is ranked 4th (or higher) in every human poll, including the two that count for the BCS - the Harris and USA Today polls. The winner is sure to be a lock in the top 3 of the BCS polls next week. TCU will win, and they will be very close to a 2nd rank overall in the BCS, since both Auburn and Oregon are playing very weak opponents this week. TCU 30 Utah 13

4) Oregon vs. Arizona - November 26

Arizona very well could make the trip to Eugene, OR with a 8-1 record (although they play at Stanford and host USC the next two weeks), but regardless of the record, Arizona could make for an interesting game against Oregon. If the Wildcats do come in with one loss, they will be playing for the Pac-10 championship, with Stanford losing to Oregon (and theoretically Arizona as well). The Wildcats have won over a very good Iowa team, and although the rest of their schedule is not as impressive, the next three weeks could help Arizona's chances in the BCS polls (currently 15th) or propel them to a Rose Bowl at the very least. Oregon's quest for a BCS title game berth will be propelled even further, likely ensuring their computer ranking doesn't fall back down to where it debuted at 8. The rest of their season should keep their ranking idle, as long as they keep winning. Arizona isn't a proven team in the Pac10 at this point, but coming in ranked in the BCS top 15 will keep Oregon's foundation solid. Oregon 44 Arizona 35

3) Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State - November 27

If Oklahoma and Oklahoma State enter their annual rivalry with equal records, like they do now, they will be playing for a Big 12 South title and a trip to the Big 12 Championship. That matchup in the Big 12 championship will likely be against a tough Nebraska team, ranked in the top 10 of the BCS at 7th currently. Oklahoma is ranked 8th with Oklahoma State 17th. If the Cowboys were able to out-dual the Sooners, a rematch with their only loss so far would bolster their standings in the BCS dramatically (see again Missouri over Oklahoma). If they win out, the could be sitting pretty at the end of the season, although there is likely no way for them to get in the BCS title game. Oklahoma, however, still has an outside chance, likely matching up against a highly ranked Nebraska team in December for the Big 12 title will surely put them in the top 5 as it stands today. Nebraska would benefit more from Oklahoma, who were beat my Mizzou and whom Nebraska handily beat. Their BCS title hunt seems more achievable than Oklahoma's.
Oklahoma 34 Oklahoma State 31

2) Oregon at Oregon State - December 4

Granted Oregon comes in still unbeaten (see number 4 above) and top-ranked, their Civil War game against the Beavers will be monumental in Corvalis, OR. Although Oregon State, granted they come in with just their one Pac10 loss (who also have USC and Stanford before Oregon) could be playing for a Rose Bowl berth. Regardless of their standings, Oregon State always plays a tough game against Oregon and the Ducks will have this one last hurdle before a BCS appearance. Oregon's improving computer standings will not likely dip anytime, although they may end the season ranked 2nd in the BCS, it is the closest thing to a stone-cold lock for a title game appearance for winning out as there is. Oregon 49 Oregon State 27

1) Auburn at Alabama - November 26

No game ranks any higher that this one. Just like 2006's Michigan-Ohio State game, who were ranked 2nd and 1st respectively, the winner is in the BCS title game, save for winning the SEC Championship game (and who knows who will play in that game from the East). Alabama, although has no love from the computers, should get plenty of it winning against the currently computer-top-ranked Tigers, plus the voters' love affair with the Tide would no doubt put them in the title game. If Auburn wins, and wins the SEC Championship game undefeated, there is little to no chance of keeping Auburn out of the title game twice in 6 years after an undefeated season (Auburn was also the only team in 2004 to finish the regular season undefeated and win the SEC title). Despite the lashing by the likes of Jesse Palmer and Will Ferrell, Auburn is just as capable of winning out as Alabama, if not more. Alabama has to travel to LSU, host an improving Mississippi State team, as well as Auburn. Auburn's only road game remaining is against Alabama.

As an Auburn fan, I don't have any doubt in my mind the Tigers are not capable of beating Alabama - I'm not expecting Alabama to win, like every TV, radio, and newspaper personality is. Alabama won on a last minute drive last year, and won the national championship. Alabama, and everyone in their right mind would agree, is not as good as they were last year. Auburn, and everyone in their right mind would agree even more, is better than they were last year. They may be more even now than they were at the middle of the season, but Auburn is improving every game. My prediction? Not so fast. I will have an Iron Bowl post when the time is right.

Quick Fire - Arkansas v Auburn

2010-10-15T15:27:00.001-07:00

I've gotten some heat from my prediction of the Arkansas-Auburn game. To set the record straight, I think Arkansas is an outstanding team. Their passing game is great, but I am very suspect of their rushing ability and a way to keep the Auburn offense off the field. Auburn's strength is their rush defense, so I can't imagine Arkansas having a redemption game on the ground. However, their passing ability plays to Auburn's weakness, so Chizik and defensive coordinator Ted Roof will have to come up with a gameplan to slow down the Razorback passing game.

Here is how I picture the 4th quarter going down, where Auburn has won most this year. Auburn will get/have the ball at the start of the 4th. They will milk the clock down with a 1-point lead (I am guessing 28-27). Auburn eats up 4-5 minutes, kicks a FG and puts it up to a 4-point lead, 31-27, with just under 10:00 left. Arkansas drives down the field, but can't get into FG range, punts, and Auburn gets the ball with 6-7 minutes left in the game. Arkansas needs a big stop. Auburn drives the length of the field, eats up all but a minute of the clock, scores a TD, put them up by 11. Arkansas claws their way down the field, but eventually runs out of time, heaves a hail mary from about 40 yards out with time winding down, incomplete, ball game.

GoogleCL - Google Command Line

2010-10-14T13:14:00.001-07:00

GoogleCL allows you to access Google services via the command line. GoogleCL is available as Debian package, Windows package, and source. Python 2.5 or greater is required. With GoogleCL, I am posting this blog entry. I can also add calendar entries, view current entries, upload to YouTube, and view Google Docs, amongst so much more. Head over to http://code.google.com/p/googlecl/ and download GoogleCL. Keep an ear out on my Twitter feed, @kenosando, and my blog, kenosando.blogspot.com for some scripts I plan on writing for various services.

NCAA Football Four Square: Part Two

2010-10-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

So, college football is at its halfway point - but the good news is there is still nearly two months left, but we all know bowl season is so spread out, and several weeks after the final regular season/conference championship games, we aren't really halfway as far as time goes, just in games.

Either way, we still have top 15 matchups in the SEC into week 7 of the college football season. Arkansas at Auburn highlights this weeks SEC matchup, and the only other top 25 matchup of two teams is the Big 10 clash of #18 Wisconsin and #1 Ohio State. I'll do my best to break down both, starting with the Badgers hosting the nation's top team, the Buckeyes.

Wisconsin has flew under the radar this year, and quite frankly the past few years, simply because they don't have the marquee player or coach to propel them into the spotlight. That is probably a great thing for Wisconsin. Although they come in with a loss against still-unbeaten and highly inspired Michigan State (#13 this week), they still have hopes to win Big 10 title and possibly a BCS Championship, although we can't say for sure they are inline with the crazy BCS system. It does hinge on how they fare with the Buckeyes, and a win would surely help their cause, just as South Carolina's redemption game against then #1 Alabama after a tough loss against Auburn two weeks prior. Wisconsin has some bruisers for running backs, both approaching 10 TDs, averaging 6.0+ yards per carry, and could very well control the tempo of the game. I expect some Ohio State players on the defensive side needed a substitute midway through some drives.

Wisconsin has a pretty good defense, ranking 3rd in the Big 10 behind Ohio State and Iowa in yards allowed per game. That comes against UNLV, San Jose State, Arizona State, Austin Peay, Michigan State, and Minnesota, and we can say the level of competition for Ohio State has been similiar, although their win over Miami (FL) was a good resume booster. Ohio State has done well against Indiana and Illinois, we will see how well each defense competes this weekend. I'd like to say Ohio State goes down, simply because we've seen a #1 team go down so often during the regular season in the past, but Ohio State finds ways to win, with Terrell Pryor, a great quarterback who has done nothing but get better, a great defense, a great coach, and simply because they are Ohio State - but not this week! Ohio State 23 Wisconsin 24 (not the lock of the year, sorry!)

Now, on to Arkansas-Auburn. Auburn comes in with a Heisman candidate, an undefeated record, and a #7 ranking. They've had close games in every game, save the cupcakes Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe, and we've only seen the defense dominate a few of their games overall, mainly the Mississippi State game. Cam Newton, Auburn's offensive lineman who plays quarterback, has been impressive. He has remained the second-highest rated passer in the country, simply because he doesn't throw that often, and when he does, the receivers go for touchdowns quite a bit. Nick Fairley, the Tigers' defensive tackle who actually plays defensive tackle, has been lighting up running backs, including Marcus Lattimore, who happened to stomp over the Tide last week. Although the defensive unit is suspect, there are plenty of play makers. The offense is where this team shines, especially running the ball. They have continually progressed on the offensive side of the ball so far this year, and as long as the defense can keep the big plays and long drives to a minimum, Arkansas can be beat.

Arkansas, nearly an opposite team, has been playing improved defense all year, yet their offense has sputtered, even with the conference's best quarterback, Ryan Mallet. However, his three INTs against Alabama doomed their chances, and he has yet to put together a perfect game, which is what a lot of analysts expected of him this year. Over the entire year, his numbers look great, but he can't allow for bad passes or turnovers against Auburn, because they can take the ball down the field at will, read the South Carolina game where two late USC turnovers led to an Auburn win. Auburn will have to play their best defense this year, regardless of how well the Arkansas offense plays, in order to keep their defense off the field and put it in the hands of Cam Newton and their squadron of running backs. This could get ugly late, depending on who's defense steps up. I am leaning towards the Tigers. Arkansas 27 Auburn 38

I've failed miserable of posting a rankings of these college teams, since I thought Texas was a #3 team, and they lost back-to-back. I'll just say Nebraska is a top 5 team, better than Oklahoma, TCU, Boise State, and possibly Oregon. TCU and Boise State will just have to run their tables and hope for the best when it comes to the rest of the top 10 teams.

There are 5 teams that could finish the season undefeated. Ohio State, Boise State, Texas Christian, Oregon, and Nebraska. Can we expect a 1-loss SEC champion to face one of these teams, or will the BCS actually pick two of the top 5 teams?

What if Michigan State and Ohio State both finish undefeated? Co-Big 10 champions playing in a BCS title game?

For the first time in three years, the SEC championship will not be between two undefeated teams, and may not even feature one undefeated team, nor a #1 or #2 team.

Nokia C3-00: First Impressions

2010-10-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

I recently ordered a Nokia C3-00 (slate) from Nokia USA for my wife. Since her Samsung Magnet took a swim, she has been using my old Nokia E61. She gets really great use out of it, especially with WiFi and the large screen and great keyboard. However, I felt it be necessary she gets an upgrade (although her Magnet was also an upgrade back in April, but I digress ...) since my eyes have been set on the Nokia N8 for nearly 6 months now.

Upon opening the box (I will get some pictures up in a full review - not a very exciting unboxing) I found a beautifully colored slate blue phone atop the box, and the underneath compartments housed the battery, Nokia's world-famous pin-connector charger, and a set of headphones, which are also for hands-free calling. I powered up the phone without a SIM card, and it asked if I wanted to continue since a SIM was not detected - very nice feature. I then had to manually set the date, time, timezone and daylight savings. Then, on to the home screen, which is setup rather nicely for a feature phone are three slots for "widgets" that can be customized however you'd like. Anything from application shortcuts, Facebook and Twitter status updater, Music and Radio player, Favorite contacts, and more built-in, as well as downloadable from the Ovi Store (which is built-in). I noticed immediately the shortcut keys for Bluetooth (Hold '*') and Silent/Normal profile (Hold '#') didn't work with this version of S40, but not a huge deal, and there are shortcuts that can handle that I found that the lower right button is both the control character and Normal/Silent profile toggle - the Symbol key is now a dedicated key left of the spacebar. The menus look very nice, and the notification screens have large, bold text that makes it easy to see, even on a small screen. The screen itself is nice and bright. I connected my wife's Facebook to the phone, connected to the wireless network at my office, did a Google search straight from the home screen, and was able to pick up a few radio stations via the FM radio built-in (headphones required to act as antenna as usual). The headphone jack is a 3.5mm size, so that is very surprising, considering Nokia's past with the 2.5mm or proprietary connectors, but in this day, it is hard to get away with not having 3.5mm. They keyboard is fantastic, and the keys are a bit longer than the E71's. The phone, although very light in weight, feels durable and well crafted. I sent a picture over Bluetooth from my laptop and it worked seamlessly. The camera takes decent pictures, but they wouldn't let me delete them? I haven't dug into the user guide yet, so I will page through that, and cook up a full review of this very slick feature phone.

NFL Four Square: Part I

2010-10-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

We're a quarter of the way through what has been an interesting NFL season thus far. Interesting the the sense that there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason this year, in comparison to previous years. We've have a multitude of unbeaten teams to this point in the past, but this year - one. That one is not the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, or Denver Broncos, all who were undefeated going into week 5. Just one team. Kansas City Chiefs. Although their bye was week 4, their 3-0 record is still the top of the league, but what about the team behind the record? They had a great outing on the opening Monday Night Football, physically man-handling a so far inconsistent San Diego Chargers team. They had a close win against the Browns, and a near perfect game against the 49ers, but these teams have a combined 3-9 record. The rest of the AFC East hasn't made too much noise, although Kyle Orton is leading the Broncos to an NFL best 339.5 passing yards per game, yet they have split their first two games, including an opening day loss to the Jaguars. Orton is on pace to be Denver's best quarterback in their history, statistically that is, not to mention a candidate for MVP, but there just isn't enough on either side of the ball to tip their scales when in a close game, although Denver managed a great win against Tennessee. Denver's complete lack of a rushing attack, aided by Knowshon Moreno's absence due to injury, has been an aid for the passing attack, but Kyle Orton cannot throw the ball 50 times every game and his team win. Peyton Manning proved he could last year with the league's worst rushing offense, but that was Peyton Manning - this is Kyle Orton. With the whirlwind of trades just going down this past week, we can safely assume that the new looks of the Seahawks with Marshawn Lynch and a familiar look with the Vikings with Randy Moss spells for potential disaster. Lest we forget, Lynch has had a few run-ins with the law, one of which resulted in a suspension last year. Add that to his lingering injuries, Seattle may or may not find a great rushing attack duo with Lynch and Justin Forsett - but only time can tell. Moss, on the other hand, may be a total disaster in Minnesota. Sure the Vikings are 100% behind the trade, but how much value will he add if Brett Favre can barely get the ball down field? Favre's main target this year has been tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, mainly because of the injury sustained to Sidney Rice, but he hasn't been able to get a vertical game going for his team, and although Randy Moss is a great talent, the ball still has to be thrown to him for him to be effective. He will more than likely be hit or miss, and you know that he will get the attention from defensive backs, leaving Shiancoe and whoever else dresses up as Viking wide outs to catch the bulk of the passes. At least Favre has some guy by the name of Adrian Peterson.

All ranting aside, let's run through the entire league, from top to bottom, as I see it:

1) Pittsburgh Steelers - I cannot deny the Steelers are back. Back to Super Bowl form. And that included the first four games without their Super Bowl quarterback. The defense has done quite well, and the offense has showed signs of life when needed. The Baltimore game aside, this team is near perfect on defense.

2) Baltimore Ravens - Had they not played so badly against Cincinatti, or if the referees not have officiated so badly, the Ravens would be 4-0. They, like the Steelers, are dominating on defense. The difference is, they have their quarterback, and a new wide receiver in Anquan Boldin, yet their offense has yet to take off, aside from the Pittsburgh game, where the offense drove down the field for the win. Pittsburg is still one up now with Big Ben coming back for their next game in Week 6.

3) Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons lost to the Steelers in overtime on an amazing scamper by Rashad Mendenhall. They have since dominated the Cardinals (not a hard task), squeezed by the 49ers, and edged out the Super Bowl Champs Saints. Not bad for a team in the shadow of the aforementioned New Orleans championship team.

4) New York Jets - Despite a lack-luster offensive showing in week 1, Rex Ryan has ignited the same fire he usually tends to in the defense straight into the spine of Mark Sanchez, Dustin Keller, and Ladanian Tomlinson, because, together, they have won 3 straight, all of which were division games, including a Sunday Night showdown in Miami, and a very respectable defeating of the Patriots. If they continue this pace all year, they will be very tough to beat, even out of the division.

5) New Orleans Saints - You can't deny the Saints are still a great team, although their offense hasn't put up the points and Drew Brees isn't tossing the ball over the heads of defenders as much. Their defense still shows some stiffness, but they have been involved in close games all year, including a last-second field goal to win against the lowly 49ers. They could very well break out and score 40+ for a few games in a row, so this team is dangerous still.

6) Indianapolis Colts - their defense is in shambles, good thing Manning is shooting for a fifth MVP award.
7) New England Patriots - looking good now, but the youth might take its toll.
T8) Houston Texans - their offense has been very productive, save for the Dallas game. With a consistent rushing attack, they're on the move up.
T8) Kansas City Chiefs - The impressive San Diego win coupled with a close win against the improving Cleveland and blowout of declining San Francisco, and we're 3-0 in KC.

10) Green Bay Packers - They gave up too much against Detroit, imploded against Chicago, and let up too early on the Eagles and Vick, but they have Aaron Rodgers.
11) Chicago Bears - they are going down fast, simply because we are not sure about their quarterback situation, even with Cutler playing.
12) Tampa Bay - Although they took a thumping against Charlie Batch and the Steelers, Josh Freeman is showing signs of life and they are off to a good start.
13) San Diego Chargers - Too up and down on both sides of the ball. The Kansas City loss on the opening MNF was the litmus test for this team thus far.
14) Denver Broncos - The leagues top passing team also gives up too much passing on the other side of the ball. Great win against the Titans however.
15) New York Giants - Despite a lackluster performance on offense against the Bears, their defensive domination was a turning point - they hope.
16) Miami Dolphins - Two straight divisional losses in prime time sends the Dolphins spiraling, but they still have the players to make a playoff push.
17) Washington Redskins - Great defense, yet no offensive tempo to be truly dangerous yet.
18) Philadelphia Eagles - With Vick and McCoy out, Kolb will have to make this offense run with the talent of wide receivers to make up for the lackluster defense.
19) Tennessee Titans - Still a tough defense to play against, but Kyle Orton picked them apart just enough for a win. Offense needs more Chris Johnson production.
20) Jacksonville Jaguars - Two blowout losses and two close wins, we can't really get a good feel of what this Jaguars team has to offer.
21) St. Louis Rams - I can't put them too much higher than this, simply because I am skeptical of the defense. Sure they did a number on Washington and Seattle, but both those teams have also been up and down ...
22) Seattle Seahawks - Speaking of up and down, opening with a division blowout against the 49ers and a great win against San Diego, the eggs they laid on offense against Denver and St. Louis can't go unnoticed.
23) Cincinnati Bengals - I completely forgot about the Bengals already. Sure, they beat the Ravens, but when you lose to the Browns, you become an afterthought, even with TO showing up.
24) Dallas Cowboys - Sure, you can say they are better than the Kansas City Chiefs, who are 3-0, but eventually you have to show up on Sunday's to get to the Super Bowl - the week off might hurt their rhythm.
25) Arizona Cardinals - A disaster waiting to happen on every level with this team
26) Minnesota Vikings - Peterson is all they have working for them at the .... wait a minute, is that Randy Moss in Minnesota? We'll see how this fares.
27) Cleveland Browns - The emergence of a rushing attack with Peyton Hillis is the only bright side on offense, although Seneca Wallace isn't losing games for them.
28) Oakland Raiders - A great showing for the Raiders against the Texans, although for some reason, Arian Foster had his way with their defense.
29) Detroit Lions - A would-have-been win against the Bears, an offensive explosion against the Eagles and Packers sandwiched by a typical game against the Vikes = 0-4.
30) San Francisco - They are so close, but so far. 0-4 is not the record of a division champ.
31) Carolina Panthers - Even with Clausen starting, the offense doesn't have anything to scare even East Carolina University.

... and then we have Buffalo.

Until next time!

parmesan garlic (left) & buffalo garlic (right) chicken flatbread

2010-10-01T18:20:00.001-07:00

Garlic Naan bread with Buffalo Wild Wings sauces and five cheese blend

A beautiful sunset for the drive home

2010-09-25T16:50:00.001-07:00

I'm at Bar Camp Jonesboro 2010

2010-09-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

Bar Camp Jonesboro is referred to as the ''un-conference'' conference, attendee-driven content networking extravaganza. Visit barcampjonesboro.com and check the Twitter hashtag #bcjonesboro

Testing out @pixelpipe - awesome stuff

2010-09-24T13:52:00.001-07:00

Screenshot from my E71 with ScreenSnap

NCAA Football Four Square: Part One

2010-09-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

In the past, I've posted a quarterly report during the NFL season, and the thought of an NCAA Football series never really crossed my mind until recently. I watch a great deal of college football, but I am left out the loop more times than not in comparison to the NFL, but I thought I would try to express the knowledge and opinion I have thus far.

It's hard to believe football season is already back, but thankfully it is. Now, we're a quarter of the way through the NCAA football regular season. Unless you are a fan of the Crimson Tide (consensus #1), you will agree that the ESPN+Alabama football love affair is old already. They've gone all-access with them, done plenty of GameDay commercials, and hail them as the team that can never be defeated.
As that nut case Lee Corso says: "Not so fast, my [insert some off-the-wall string of adjectives] friend." Alabama has to travel to Arkansas (#10 AP, #11 Coaches) this week. Granted, the last trip the Tide made to Fayetteville in 2008, it was a blow-out with first-year head coach Bobby Petrino at the helm of a 49-14 loss in front of 72,000+. However, this year Arkansas has a real deal quarterback, who could be the top quarterback in the draft in 2011. Ryan Mallet led Arkansas to the best offense in the SEC last year, and has proven to be unshakable under pressure with late drive at Athens, GA for the win last week. If Arkansas doesn't commit ill-advised penalties, and keeps the pressure on McElroy, Arkansas could pull out a win against the nation's top team.

On the other hand, Alabama will have to face their first real test of the season. Alabama has played San Jose State at home, Penn State at home, and at Duke (granted the fans thought there was a basketball game that day). Alabama will have to find out real quick how good the Arkansas offense can be, and make the proper adjustments before Arkansas jumps out to an early lead. Alabama will have a tough time this week, and it will play out one of two ways: Alabama wins it late, or they totally blow out Arkansas because of penalties and blown plays from the Razorbacks. I think Arkansas can keep it close, so my prediction is 23-20 Alabama.

Also on the slate is Oregon State (#24 AP) at Boise State (consensus #3). The Broncos have already been silenced by the embarrassing Virginia Tech loss to James Madison. Even is Boise handily beats the Beavers, it won't do much for their good, since this is at home. Boise will win, probably a little too easily. But, don't go writing them in the title game, please.

Florida (#9 AP, #8 Coaches), LSU(#15,#12), South Carolina (#12,#15), and Auburn (#17,#14) are the other four of the six total SEC teams in the Top 20. South Carolina travels to Auburn this weekend while LSU hosts West Virginia and Florida hosts Kentucky. Ohio State (#2) TCU (#4), Oregon (#5), Nebraska (#6), Texas (#7) and Oklahoma (#8) round out the top ten poll in the AP (Wisconsin is #10 in Coaches), all of which have relatively easy games this coming weekend, so the shuffle of the top 10 is probably not scheduled to happen this week, unless we see Boise and/or Alabama go down, which are the only real likely toss-ups.

So, who are the real top teams in the country in my opinion?

You have to start with Alabama at the top. Clearly the undefeated national champions of last year have earned that thus far, but they will have to win big in Fayetteville to keep the voters in their favor. A few voters may jump ship to number two, Ohio State, who haven't had the need to flex much of a muscle thus far. But with conference games at Illinois October 2, at Wisconsin October 16, and Minnesota October 30, they will have to prove their number 2 ranking in the next month. Their game against Iowa is also a road game, leading up to the Michigan game in Columbus.

Three through five is tough, because I am not really sure how good the polls' 3-5 ranked teams are. Oregon proved they can explode in a foreign arena (against Tennessee), but their offense hasn't had much friction with an opposing defense, and the Pac-10 might not give much more of a test then Tennessee did. I still have them in my top 5, right at 5 to be exact. TCU and Boise have done well for the past few years, but I can't see putting both of these teams in as two of the top 5, so Boise gets my nod at number 4, while I still feel Texas is a strong team, especially on the defensive side. Even though they have a young quarterback, I feel they have enough weapons to win the Big 12 again. That is, unless Nebraska, who I feel could easily crack the top 5 with a few more wins entering their matchup with Texas on October 16 in Lincoln.

And for the rest of the top 10:
     6. Nebraska
     7. TCU
     8. Oklahoma
     9. Florida
     10. Arkansas

Remember to stop by again in a couple weeks for NFL Four Square (week of October 4) and the second edition of NCAA Football Four Square (week of October 11).

Forge World: A Quick How To

2010-09-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Forge World is amazing in the new Halo:Reach game. It is one, large, massive chunk of beautiful landscape with multiple terrains, indoor and outdoor areas, beaches, cliffs, and so much more, it blows my mind the possibilities that come with it.

The new tools and layout of Forge are a tad difficult for someone who jumps right into it without much prior experience in Forge. I started by building a "Narrows II" map, with a bridge connecting two cliffside bases. I wanted some CTF, but I had troubles making it comply to the CTF gametype.

So, here is what I know thus far on making custom maps for objective-based games:

1) Labels. Label everything objective-based. In the Forge menu, select the game type you want to build with, so you will have the game-type labels at your disposal. Some of the labels, even still to me, are confusing, as there is no explanation with the labels in the Forge game, but some of them I figured out myself. Labels are in the Tool menu ('B' button) when you are hovering on an object, and then under 'Advanced'. For instance, a flag staff would be flag_return (that is the only way I could get the flag to show up). Capture plates I haven't been able to separate from flag staffs, where the flag starts and resets to. Anybody who was able to figure this out, please comment to share with others. Racing, another map type I have played with, has a 'race flag' label to use as checkpoints.

2) Spawn Sequence. Important with racing (not sure about rally, not a big fan of them). Those order your checkpoints, so you have an order in the race. Without a spawn sequence, all checkpoints spawn at once, and any checkpoint reached ends the race. This is also under the 'Advanced' menu with the Labels.

3) Spawn Points. Be sure you modify where your initial spawn points are. The Forge World starts with three of them in the top indoor room of the map, and be sure you delete all those. You can specify spawn points for any team, as well as initial spawn points. You will have to specify a "race_spawn" to start a race with a label on an initial spawn object. If you want a multi-purpose map, so you can use the same map for racing, CTF, Slayer, etc. you can use the next tip.

4) Gametype Item. You can specify, again in the 'Advanced' menu, if the selected item should be specific to the gametype you are editing it or not. You may not want an initial spawn in CTF to be the same as one in Slayer or Racing, so this allows one map to house multiple game types. I haven't messed with this option much, but I imagine this comes in handy.

5) Kill areas. Sometimes, you only want to use part of Forge World (as in CTF, where you don't want the flag carrier to disappear with the flag all the way across the map. Kill areas are "boundaries" you can specify with your map, giving the player 10 seconds to return to the battle field. A great aesthetic alternative to huge coliseum walls or windows, as to not block the gorgeous scenery. This can be adjusted to any length, width, and height you like, and can be a cylinder or box shape. Place these around the perimeter of your battlefield to make sure you don't lose one of your kids.

6) Banks. No, not banks that house money, but triangle-shaped embankments that offer a slight incline and have nice looks. Put these in bases where there are large ledges you'd rather not have to jump over, and these can be great for placing in a corner where you can slowly creep up the bank and peek over a wall that may be too tall for you to normally look over, to get a quick shot or two off on oncoming enemies. These banks are probably the single most important item in a great map, but it depends on how you use them and your map layout.

7) Imagination. It is very common for some people wanting to recreate classic Halo maps. But you could house the next great Halo map in your brain. Be as creative as possible - use the objects in many different ways - flip objects over and see more uses of them at different angles (the circular ramps are awesome flipped over). The new physics properties in Forge allow much. much more flexibility. So have fun!

Note: if you have found any more useful tips for creating maps for special or objective gametypes, let me know via Twitter or comment below!
Twitter: @kenosando

Nokia N8

2010-07-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

I am not one to worry too much about trends. I tend to define my own trends. I don't buy into the masses just because the masses say to do so. That being said, the iPhone hype is one thing I choose to not take a part of. I don't necessarily dislike Apple, neither am I a hater of Apple, because I'd much rather use their computer hardware than any other manufacturer. However, I don't necessarily buy into their mobile devices, mainly the iPhone. Just not what appeals to me.
I have been following Nokia handsets for a long time. I love their handsets, I love Symbian (call me an idiot, or crazy) but it is a very intuitive mobile operating system. The "aesthetics" aren't pretty like iOS 4 and some Android phones, but it runs like I feel it should.

The Nokia N8, due to release in October, is the most excited I have been over a phone since the last Nokia N-Series device, the N900. The N8's spec sheet is massive. Just to list a few, the N8 includes:

12 MP Carl-Zeiss camera with 720p video recording and Xenon flash
3.5" Capacitive OLED touch-screen
HDMI out with Dolby Digital Plus audio
Pentaband UMTS radio (in other words, practically worldwide 3G data)
ARM 11 680MHz along with dedicated 3D graphics accelerator
Bluetooth 3.0
802.11 b/g/n WiFi
Symbian^3 operating system

Nokia manages to stuff a huge camera sensor (1/1.83″ for those who know) this impressive mobile, along with 720p video capture. Anodized aluminum body gives it a high-quality feel that is resistive to scratches, and a now-standard front-facing camera for video calling.

One aspect I have found to be utterly amazing is the support for a Bluetooth keyboard ... and mouse. I found this on YouTube, and I must say, that add an entirely new aspect for this device. Also, according to the user manual, standard video out is supported with the 3.5mm jack, if an HDMI input is not within grasp. Couple that with the fact that the entire user interface gets exported to the external display, it is hard to imagine this device not being a workhorse for business travelers, whether it be viewing presentations, checking emails on a hotel television, or enjoying a movie in HD. With remote desktop capabilities, this can also be a mobile office access point, complete with the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Now, all this hype, I do have concerns, as a loyal S60 user for the past few years. The GUI is not a work of art, but I love it's functionality. Although my Nokia E71 is now over two years old, it performs very well, even with newer apps geared toward higher-specification mobiles. RAM management works fairly well with the E71, and since the platform is essentially the same for the N8, along with improved RAM and hopefully more efficient management, it should be a great device to multi-task with, even with a small battery by standards set forth by Apple, HTC, and Motorola.
I would love to see a US carrier pick up the N8, however. I feel the pre-order price of $549 is great, but with taxes, it would climb to over $600, and a carrier could lower that for more people to attain. I still think at $600 for a completely unlocked world phone, it is a great deal.
App availability is another cause for concern, although my tastes do not lie a lot with the apps Android and Apple have out. A few games already run on the Qt framework that are popular (Angry Birds, Doodle Jump) and there are utilities like JoikuSpot, PuTTY, and Shazaam are nice to have, and should be available for the N8 out of the box, along with Opera's Mobile 10 browser, which is much nicer than the current browser Nokia has for S^3 (MeeGo's browser will be the winner for mobiles).

I may get a lot more attention with the new N8, if I do indeed purchase it, since it is not an iPhone 4, or any of the 5.000 Android devices out right now, but I bet that there won't be much hype for the non-technically enhanced population, since you won't be seeing N8 commercials during Jersey Shore or Glee, but I don't let that affect my feelings towards a phone I know I want to buy with out adverts harassing me.

The N8 is poised to win - and hopefully in about a month, I will be able to review it in great detail, and hopefully win some followers in the process.

My Beef: ESPN

2010-07-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

Just read this interesting article concerning ESPN's "The Decision", which was a pure travesty concerning sports. I've been disgusted with the LeBron way ever since he said (and I paraphrase), "If I wanted, I could score every point." Now, he is under some of the heaviest scrutiny of his young career over his behind-the-back way of signing with the Miami Heat.

Can I blame the guy? Hardly, since we, as a society, have gone down the road of 24 hour coverage of everything from the Gulf Oil Spill to Lindsey Lohan's prison trip. I can say that mass media is not about newspapers and magazines anymore - they go out of date too fast in today's world. The world wide web has taken media to new heights, which is a shame for some mainstays in the printing press world - local Sunday papers hardly get late sports scores in, much less the latest word from Paris Hilton, Paris France, or the French Open.

That being said, I have to express my shame in ESPN these past several years. It's getting to the point, just like with the news outlets like CNN, Fox News, and CNBC, no one ever reports the news, there is always needless speculation, argument, and commentary from people who are deemed "qualified journalists". I feel like for every two stories ESPN "breaks", they bring in two "insiders", as if they really know anymore than the writer at the Associated Press who actually wrote the story that is regurgitated by ESPN. Don't get me wrong, I love to hear opinion and take part in commentary as much as any avid sports fan in the world, but when I turn on my television to the "Worldwide Leader in Sports", give me my sporting news, unabridged, the highlights to all the games, and move on. Often they spend an entire segment on one of the following topics:

1) Brett Favre
2) LeBron James
3) Boston/New York/Los Angeles sports
4) The NFL

The fact they begin their NFL Mock Draft special DURING the NCAA Tournament is ridiculous - the fact they don't air the tournament is no reason not to cover it 90% of the time. I love the NFL, but I want my basketball front and centre when its March/April.

Then comes LeBron James. When I found out that he asked ESPN for a full hour to make his decision was absurd, and I am not the only one. The commissioner of the NBA, David Stern, even said "this decision was ill-conceived, badly produced and poorly executed." He has become the black sheep of the NBA for the antics he has displayed - Kobe looks like a saint now, and he is the one building a legacy for himself with five championships now, and it looks as if LeBron is just building a posse for himself.

But, my real beef is still with ESPN. The fact that their own "in-house referee on journalistic matters" called the programme a "failure". I have no doubt it drew ratings ESPN benefited from, but their image as a legitimate news outlet has been tossed out of the window. The whole idea from the LeBron regime was to gain more publicity, get his name out there even more than before, but I fear their decision backfired, because of the newly found hate for James. ESPN could have said, "we are not putting together the staff and production for a television programme, but we will allow you to hold a press conference that we have exclusivity to" or something along those lines. The fact ESPN took this as an opportunity for themselves without foreseeing the effects it would have against both parties involved was selfish, short-sighted, and ill-advised. LeBron may claim himself to be a king, but to allow him to dictate a multi-billion dollar network is rubbish.

I still tune to ESPN nearly every morning, because I want to see scores, highlights, and breaking news before I leave for my job - but writers are always trying to be front and centre with their content, regardless of their bias, which is my main beef with the four-letter.

Tourney Simulator

2010-03-09T14:53:00.001-08:00

I created a tourney simulator a year ago that took a basic formula to determine the winner of each game.

The seeding for the individual team will determine how many randomly-generated "draws" it needs to have before they win. For instance, Team 1 is seeded 1, and Team 2 is seeded 16, therefore a randomly generated draw of either 0 for team 1 and 1 for team 2 would indicate a "win". Team 1 would need one win. Team 2 would need 16 to win the matchup. I did this simulation for all first-round matchups (8 games, 16 teams) 100, 1000, and 10,000 times:

1 v. 16

Team 1 -> 100 100.0%

Total Records: 100

2 v. 15

Team 1 -> 100 100.0%

Total Records: 100

3 v. 14

Team 1 -> 100 100.0%

Total Records: 100

4 v. 13

Team 1 -> 99 99.0%

Team 2 -> 1 1.0%

Total Records: 100

5 v. 12

Team 1 -> 93 93.0%

Team 2 -> 7 7.0%

Total Records: 100

6 v. 11

Team 1 -> 93 93.0%

Team 2 -> 7 7.0%

Total Records: 100

7 v. 10

Team 1 -> 73 73.0%

Team 2 -> 27 27.0%

Total Records: 100

8 v. 9

Team 1 -> 61 61.0%

Team 2 -> 39 39.0%

Total Records: 100

1 v. 16

Team 1 -> 1000 100.0%

Total Records: 1000

2 v. 15

Team 1 -> 999 99.9%

Team 2 -> 1 0.1%

Total Records: 1000

3 v. 14

Team 1 -> 995 99.5%

Team 2 -> 5 0.5%

Total Records: 1000

4 v. 13

Team 1 -> 991 99.1%

Team 2 -> 9 0.9%

Total Records: 1000

5 v. 12

Team 1 -> 961 96.1%

Team 2 -> 39 3.9%

Total Records: 1000

6 v. 11

Team 1 -> 896 89.6%

Team 2 -> 104 10.4%

Total Records: 1000

7 v. 10

Team 1 -> 773 77.3%

Team 2 -> 227 22.7%

Total Records: 1000

8 v. 9

Team 1 -> 578 57.8%

Team 2 -> 422 42.2%

Total Records: 1000

1 v. 16

Team 1 -> 10000 100.0%

Total Records: 10000

2 v. 15

Team 1 -> 9997 100.0%

Team 2 -> 3 0.0%

Total Records: 10000

3 v. 14

Team 1 -> 9974 99.7%

Team 2 -> 26 0.3%

Total Records: 10000

4 v. 13

Team 1 -> 9902 99.0%

Team 2 -> 98 1.0%

Total Records: 10000

5 v. 12

Team 1 -> 9600 96.0%

Team 2 -> 400 4.0%

Total Records: 10000

6 v. 11

Team 1 -> 8907 89.1%

Team 2 -> 1093 10.9%

Total Records: 10000

7 v. 10

Team 1 -> 7773 77.7%

Team 2 -> 2227 22.3%

Total Records: 10000

8 v. 9

Team 1 -> 6030 60.3%

Team 2 -> 3970 39.7%

Total Records: 10000

As you can see, not many underdogs winning. So I decided to come up with a historical formula based on these "facts" (via wikipedia):

The #1 seed has beaten the #16 seed all 100 times (100%).

The #2 seed has beaten the #15 seed 96 times (96%).

The #3 seed has beaten the #14 seed 85 times (85%).

The #4 seed has beaten the #13 seed 79 times (79%).

The #5 seed has beaten the #12 seed 66 times (66%).

The #6 seed has beaten the #11 seed 69 times (69%).

The #7 seed has beaten the #10 seed 61 times (61%).

The #8 seed has beaten the #9 seed 46 times (46%).

So, the #16 seed would have to overcome history and win 100% of the "draws". From there, the chances get a lot better for the underdog.

This didn't fare out as well as I thought. Only the 7-10 and 8-9 matchups had the underdogs winning at least one game, and the 9 seed was the only underdog to win the matchup. Maybe once the brackets are released, I can pull things like PPG, PA, and different splits to make it team-dependent.

iPad Madness

2010-01-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

Apple Inc. announced their newest mobile device, the iPad on Wednesday in the midst of hype and hysteria that this would be Apple's best device to date.

One problem. This device should have came first in the line of the iPhone devices. The latest iPhone and the iPad share the same OS, with the iPad getting a few updgrades to it's iTunes, and an iBook, Apple's version of the Kindle store. The iPad does everything the iPhone does, just with a bit more exaggeration, such as running Apps developed for the iPhone in full screen, thanks to "double pixel", which sounds like an aspect-ratio preserving stretch. They haven't improved one single point from the iPhone's lacking, yet downgraded most of the iPhone's key features such as:

Making a phone call
Taking a picture

The iPhone's early marketing appeal was to only require people to carry one device for everything - phone calls, emails, media player, PDA, etc. With the iPad, you still have to have an iPhone, which was suppose to eliminate the need to carry another device. Granted, most civilized people do not carry a netbook around with them as often as a phone, but Mr. Jobs, I am sure, had the intention for this device to be more prevalent than netbooks and e-readers.

Here is my beef with the idea. I understand the need to "simplify" the device to make it more acceptable for the masses to consume, not just people like myself or Mr. Jobs - geeks. However, somewhere down the line of Apple's philosophy of mobile devices, it included siphoning the money of the non-geeks. iPhone's require two-year agreements, $30/month data plans, and now the iPad comes along, gives out options, but you know that there will be more demand for a WiFi/3G model than the 3G-less model. At $529 - $829 for the totally wireless version, plus a $30 a month data usage charge (would anyone really buy the $15/month package with 250MB of usage?), you are looking at spending $1000 - $1500 over the next two years (according to Engadget calculation) for the iPad and anywhere between $1800 and $3200 for the iPhone.

Again, what was the iPad missing again?

Oh yes, phone functionality. And a camera. Not to mention the shortfalls the iPhone had in the first place:

No Flash support (HTML5 to the rescue?)
No true multi-tasking (shame since AT&T lets you "talk and surf the web at the same time")

And what I find lacking in this "magical" device:

No peripheral ports - everything is "adapter"-ed, ranging from your trusty USB adapter, to the SD reader.
No HD video out
Not a true e-book reader - reflective touchscreen, back-lit LCD screen, you will be staying inside to read a book or newspaper.
Added 3G support is $120 - like I said, siphoning the masses.

Point is, iPhone users are again left with blank stares. What good would this do a current iPhone user, whose population is "expanding, faster than the universe". iPad, with ALL the iPhones capabilities to date would have not been a good enough product, in my opinion, to lure me into wanting one.

Revolutionary? Magical?

No.

NFL's Final Four

2010-01-18T10:52:00.002-08:00

With another weekend of blowouts, this year's playoffs have been extremely one-sided. Take away the Chargers-Jets and Cardinals-Packers games, and its a pathetic post-season. However, I am not one to complain about football, especially playoff football. In fact, the ones who do the lashing of "this is terrible football" and "where are the dominate teams like the Steelers of the 70s, the Bears of the 80s and Niners of the 80s and 90s" are radiating bad vibes to what the game has become. Most times, the offense prevails heavily, as in the Saints over the Cardinals in the Divisional Round, or lack thereof as with the Cowboys and Ravens (who amassed an amazing two field goals between them), which speaks praises to what most consider the key to championships - defense.

The Vikings defense is only so deep, and they are not the Monsters of the Midway style defense. The meat of the team is in the trenches. Outside of the linemen, there are a few good players, but no Mike Singletary or Dan Duerson on this team, although you can argue Jared Allen is as close to any defensive player from the Bears Super Bowl team.

The Colts, not a defensive powerhouse, but did very well in stalling a vastly improved Baltimore offense this season, and forced Flacco to throw more than Cam Cameron hoped for. The lack of a disciplined defense killed the Ravens chances, and the offense was forced into 4 turnovers. The Colts do not have the defense to carry them if the offense is stymied by the Gang Green in the AFC Championship Game. Peyton Manning has to make plays on behalf of the defense, who could get ripped up by the Jets ground game.

As for the Saints, don't expect what was seen against Arizona. This will be a game very similar to that of the Saints game against the Jets early in the season. Well, maybe a few more touchdowns between the two teams, especially since its Brett Favre and not Sanchez, but this will not be shoot-out by any means. I don't know how well the Saints defense can hold up against a very talented group of skill players in Peterson, Rice, and Harvin. Brett Favre has been here plenty of times, and this New Orleans team ... not so much.

NY Jets (+7.5) @ Colts, and I'll take the over at 40

Vikings (+4) @ Saints, and I'll take the under at 52.5

avi2dvd - Shell Script

2009-10-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

I created a shell script that allows one to convert AVI files to DVD files and the option to burn them. It is definitely not where I want it right now, but I figured I would publish to the world as version 1.0 and see how much I can grow it. Here is my aspirations for future releases:

Allow support for custom directory paths for the DVD files to be stored (currently puts a DVD folder with files in the present working directory the script was ran from).
Allow for a plain text file input with the list of file names. Right now, they all have to be put in manually.
Allow for some minor authoring of the DVD, such as adding a menu, custom chapters, and more, which will depend on my knowledge of dvdauthor in the near future.
Allow option to create an ISO image of the DVD. Again, something I will have to learn.

There are a few bugs I haven't worked out yet, mainly because this program was needed for a friend of mine who needed strict DVD video discs of a bunch of AVI files I had.

File name cannot contain spaces. This has something to do with my parser I could easily tweak, but just haven't had time. It is a hassle, though, and once I get done with the conversion and burning of 26 avi files, I will begin work on version 2
The path which the DVD files are placed are merged by every succeeding run of the program, so that is just a feature I will have to add to allow custom paths, and/or auto-generated paths so separate runs are treated as separate project outputs.

If you have any feedback, feel free to email me at kenosando@gmail.com. Also, I encourage any tips and hints regarding my script. Thanks!

Link to the script

UPDATE: I did add a minor tweak - date logging into avi2dvd.log just to show how long the entire process takes

UPDATE2: I added support for custom DVD output path. Still working on handling spaces in file names.

Nokia N900

2009-09-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

I was initially excited about the Nokia N97, simply because it combined a touchscreen interface with a physical keyboard, and the fact it was Nokia. However, Nokia's S60 over Symbian OS is not up to speed with today's hardware, and the reviews I read complained about the stoneage GUI and overall environment with the N97.

Enter the N900. Historically, the N7xx and N8xx series have been strictly Internet tablets, WiFi capable only, and based on Maemo, a Linux-based mobile OS. The N900 has changed completely from its last sibling, the N810. It adds GSM and HSPA functionality, the latest version of Maemo (Maemo 5), and Xvid-quality video capturing, geo tagging of photos, which is powered by a Carl Zeiss lens and dual LED flash, and applets that enable you to share all of this via social networks, such as Facebook, flickr, and Twitter.

The announcement came a few weeks ago that the phone will be arriving in US retail stores around the 27 of September. I am hoping that an announcement comes before it is released for sale that the unit is capable of 850/1900 MHz 3G (it only runs 900/1700/2100 right now, which is only supported by T-Mobile in the US ... blah!). That alone is the only deal breaker for me at this point. The price is very reasonable for a powerful Internet tablet that just happens to be capable of making a phone call. The processor speed, memory, and built-in storage are all equal to or slightly greater than that of the iPhone 3G S, and with the capability to expand the memory via microSD, the flexibility of the Linux-based OS, and the fact that this device comes from the world's leader in the cell phone industry, the apparent $600 price tag is worth it.

Ready for New Phone!

2009-08-01T00:18:00.000-07:00

I have been totally excited since the E71 was released almost a year ago. I currently own the dinosaur that is the E61 and love everything about it. I do not need touchscreen, rich media, GPS, yadda yadda, I just want a phone that gives me flexibility with WiFi, email, word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, easy-installable apps, a way to play music, a full QWERTY keyboard that doesnt slide out from under the screen, and not WinMo. The E61 has been all that, but at almost 4 years old now (I have had it almost a year now), it is outdated considering the phones being offered, and I have my eyes set on the AT&T branded E71x by Nokia.

I have read a lot of reviews recently, some that were great, some that were not, yet a lot of the negative reviews seemed rather silly, or was contradicted by another review. For instance, one reviewer said syncing contacts to outlook wasn't possible because of AT&T firmware, yet another reviewer said it syncs contacts, just not groups. Another review was "SMS text threading, no time of text info, no call history for a particular number", which is rather odd, because my version of S60, a tenth of a version below, had text info and call history. SMS threading is available via a third-party. And this one: Very limited peripherals -- apparently no cases available; Nokia says only Nokia-brand Bluetooth devices will pair; sound through wired earbud only passable;
Hah, I highly doubt Nokia has a proprietary Bluetooth frequency, and there are millions of listings on ebay for cases. And whatever that last part is about, who knows...

This could go on, and I could pick apart lackluster reviews all day. I want to know specifics, because I pretty much know the ins and outs of Symbian S60, so the OS is nothing new to me, and with all the AT&T software installed, it may seem somewhat different. If anyone owns a E71 (or 71x) I have a few questions:

Keyboard - is it proficient for typing out 2-3 SMS texts or does it get very painful, or just something you get used to with a new phone?

Is the screen just too small to bear, or does that also get settled in?

Battery life - is it getting you through the day or are you constantly in need of an outlet? (just heard a few complaints, want to clear up)

The OS - if you have used a previous S60 phone (E61, 61i, 62) does it differ that much?

Third-party apps - what are some of the best ones you have installed?

Goodbye Desktops?

2009-06-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Just read the blog article post from Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/5301401) and I was wondering why in the world the desktop PC has vanished out of consumer home? After a few minutes to lament, I came up with a few conclusions and possibilities on my own. (Beyond the obvious laptop argument)

Home entertainment advancements. Now that every device has Netflix built-in, Slingbox, AT&T U-Verse and a bright future for IPTV, Blu-Ray, and all-in-one media centers, it is hard to compete if you are a desktop. The desktop was an entertainment hub because of the three 'I's: interaction, information, and Internets. Desktops could be and probably were likely used as a entertainment center before the modern-day advances in home theater, but now a desktop is likely an antique according to Moore's law standards. Now, from the comfort of one's loveseat or recliner, can rent a movie (Netflix, Apple TV, most digital cable and satellite carriers), watch home-movies (built-in memory card readers on most high-end HDTVs, YouTube-enabled sets), communicate (CES 2009 unveiled Internet-enabled TVs), and gaming consoles, the home entertainment market has surely done away with the need to gather around a small monitor in comparison.
Wireless. With the introduction of 802.11 standard, the desktop became threatened, and now with the introduction of 3G networks a few years back and continued bandwidth upgrades and a plethora of smartphone devices supporting such, the trend is to be ultra-portable. iPhone, Blackberry, and other high-end smartphones retrieve anything you would request out of a desktop to a phone. The iPhone has 32GB storage, plenty for about 5 movies and 600+ songs and the capability to make a phone call all the more solidifies its place as a desktop killer.
Other than the simple fact of the laptop, the actual technology inside the laptop has also caused decline in the desktop sales. Dual core processors are available for both a desktop and laptop, and comparable other specifications come about the same price tag, when you include a LCD monitor, keyboard, and mouse in the mix. It is amazing how much manufacterers have squeezed into a single laptop enclosure to make a complete computer, not a halvsie, and thus the fall of desktops.

It is no surprise that desktops have declined the past several years, simply because there is no way to improve them over laptops. Sure, the monitors can get bigger and cheaper, but nothing can compare to portability - anywhere computing is the wave of the future, and unfortunately, desktops cannot comply.

Reasons why Shaq will have more impact OFF the court

2009-06-24T23:52:00.001-07:00

1) He has led two of the all-around best players in the game (Kobe and Dwyane) to Finals victories. He has helped young and coming players succeed. Altough it took Kobe 7 years to get a ring without him, Shaq helped mature and grow Kobe. Dwyane has benefitted just as much, and with less time with Shaq. LeBron should be more mature after he faces Shaq in the locker room before and after games, because Shaq is a presence, and he can't be ignored.

2) Shaq cannot be the #2 guy anymore. He will be the muscle, the rebounder, the blocker, the everything-else-but-score-20-per guy. LeBron needs a guy like Manu is to Timmy and Tony - Tony is easily the first offensive option while Timmy is your defense, although his offense is still good. There has to be a sixth man on that team, or even a third man behind Lebron and Shaq that can be a threat both ways. Shaq will be #4 or 5 at the offensive end. LeBron will be 1,2, and 3.

3) Shaq will stay within 10 feet of the basket at all times. He cant shoot and will rely on good position underneath. He will have to show off impressive passing and court vision to lure a defender and watch for LeBron at the rim. LeBron cant make it to the rim when Shaq and his man is there, or should I say it may be slighty more difficult.

4) Shaq is old. But there should be improvements with this team.

Why the endtimes are near

2009-06-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Donte Stallworth. Here is one lucky guy. First he is faced with 15 years for manslaugter yet pays out enough of his money to the family of the victim to receive only 30 days in prison. That will hardly be prison time, he will be locked in a county facility with no hard time, and will probably be out a week early. All throughout the case, the DA and Stallworth's attorney praised Stallworth for his actions of responsibility and how he was man enough to call police and remain at the scene of the crime.

Congratulations for fufilling a responsibility of an American citizen. Thank goodness we have people like you.

America has become a nation that rewards responsibility. When I was a kid, I never got an paid to do what I was told around the house, it was the direct benefit of my actions that became my reward, alas cleaning my room gave me a ... clean room. Thus, citizens who take responsibility and do as they should do are rewarded with the simple fact that they did so. When you make a mistake, your responsibility as a moral person is to admit and face the consequences. The justice system of America, however, greatly rewarded a man who was not responsible when he made the decision to drive after drinking well over his fill, then struck and killed a pedestrian.

How many of you get rewarded for calling a cab? Is the government sending you a job-well-done check stating how responsible you were for not driving after a long night at the watering hole? No, you were rewarded by making it safely home, not getting a DUI, and not killing someone else.

Stallworth did the right thing after he did the wrong thing, but the right thing in this case was not an act of heroism. There are soldiers overseas serving our country, taking their responsibility to the point of heroism, yet there are still those who do not think to honor them, or even those who have fallen, Mr. Josh Howard, yet we allow a man who took the life of another through a far-from-manly decision and walk in and out of prison.

Responsibility should never be an option, which is why it is called responsibility. Responsible citizens should be recognized, but the great reward is the act in and of itself, and not the acclaimation one receives for such responsible acts.

Quick Thoughts

2009-05-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

Looks like the White Sox are really hurting to get Peavy. They just got blasted by the Twins 20-1. Peavy is looking to get a contract redone for more money before he ships out to the Windy City.

Yanks are on a roll, and it is about time, they are the most expensive lineup ever.

Lakers and Magic look forward to game 2s as they both clawed back for a game 1 win, but Orlando's win way more impresive against the best team in the NBA ... Orlando won't lose at home.

2009-05-16T20:42:00.001-07:00

Just a quick mobile post ... Been hearing A LOT of Lakers fans on FSR today, including the hosts (mainly Farnham) talk about the Lakers lackluster performance this series and how he says the Lakers will win by 20 in game 7. However, if the Lakers weren't buckled down before this to beat an under-man'ed team in the Rockets, especially after them coming to LA and beating them in game 1, then its not going to magically come around in game 7. And people are talking nonstop about this series, mainly because FSR is LA based, but the fact that they (Lakers) have not shown up in the last two games in Houston doesn't spell success just because they are in LA. The facts are Houston has played every game, and unfortunately have been bested in three of them, but have also come out on top in three as well. The Lakers have come to play in three of the games they did win, especially the 40 point win in LA, but the Rockets are going to LA with the right mindset already, while the Lakers return hoping being at home will bring that about.

That won't cut it.

NBA Playoff Thoughts

2009-05-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

The NBA has been waiting a long time for a playoff year such as this. Their poster child, LeBron James is MVP and part of the best team in the L, Kobe and the Lakers are right there with the Cavs, and there is a slew of young talent and not to mention a very, very intriguing first round, with two of the four first round playoff games going to Game 7s in the East and two others going to Game 6s. The West, however, seems to not have such luck, with only one series going to Game 6, the rest ended in 5.

The East has proved to be as deep as I predicted a few weeks back, and it could be very possible to see a team other than the Cavs in the Finals, although it may seems inevitable for King James to make it back to the Conference Finals, granted the Hawks are young for the most part and not much experience together. The Boston-Orlando series is officially the one to watch. After a monster lead at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, Boston fought back to as little as 3 points back, but Orlando did just enough to finish Boston on their home court. Dwight Howard is unstoppable, and I find it hard to believe that Garnett would have any affect on Howard down low. Howard is much stronger, and maybe not as long, but Garnett would be handled just as easily as Howard is handling Perkins and Davis down low.

The West's Lakers-Rockets series is also intriguing because the Rockets could not get one win against the Lakers, and they travel to L.A. and get a gritty, gutty win, in a game that was close the entire night, they were able to weather the Black Mamba in the 4th quarter and dismantle the rest of the team's offense to win. Yao, however, has to put up 25 plus points along with Artest's good defense and ball control to have a shot, but the Rocket's are defense-minded, which can enable them to either slow Kobe down, or make everyone else non-effective. Denver looks to be in the front seat against Dallas, because there is too much offense from Denver and little defense from Dallas, but expect there to be a lot of close, down-to-the-wire games.

Watching Cleveland on the court now against Atlanta, the Cavs are an extremely good team. LeBron was on the bench while they rattled off 19-9 run after tying the game at 17 with 4:30 left in the first. Atlanta has been scared to defend LeBron, and they allow him to step back and shoot, and he will murder this Hawks team if he is allowed that. Let him drive into help defense, and there are plenty of athletes on the Hawks to make a play on the ball and either force LeBron into a poor shot, or force it back out.

And what do you say some predictions for the 2nd Round:

Cleveland in 5 (3-0 at home, 1-1 on the road)
Orlando in 6 (2-1 at home, 2-1 on the road)

Denver in 5 (3-0 at home, 1-1 on the road)

L.A. in 7 (2-2 at home, 2-1 on the road)

Dwight Howard is the Beast of the East, and looks to knock off the defending champs, the Boston Celtics, in the second round.

Microsoft v. GNU/Linux

2009-05-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have been using a Linux-based OS now for nearly a year, and I can say that it has made life a tad easier in most aspects. However, there are the few cases where I need to switch back to Windows via dual-booting, and the reasons will only grow larger as trends change.

Microsoft and its Silverlight software is becoming rather large among online video streaming services (e.g. Netflix) and Adobe has also shifted all technologies with Flash Player to Windows (e.g. ABC's Full Episode Player does not support Linux). As more and more companies find that online video services are more than likely where all the big money can come in via sponsorship from advertisements or the fact the Microsoft will pay them to support their platform, Linux distros will have a hard time finding any mainstream attention because there is no breakthrough for the mainstream. Sure, developers and techies love the Linux kernel, and love its flexibility for a workstation, server, you name it, but that is where the spread stops if there is not support from these online media services.

I would love to see Linux grow, and mainly grow to consumers who want entertainment systems that have the ability to watch streaming high-definition via the web, but as long as Microsoft has the money to lead away potientals from supporting open-source, the open-source movement will not reach its heights.

Final Four a Tale of Four Teams

2009-03-31T21:26:00.000-07:00

he idea behind the NCAA Basketball tournament is what keeps people tuned in every single game for years and years, and its a very simple yet powerful idea - surprise factor. Movies try so very hard to have a plot-twist or climax that leaves people blown away, shocked, saddened, or frightened upon coming across it in a film, thus being a huge factor in what makes a movie a great movie. Yet, most times, a movie still needs good content surrounding the climax or plot-twist, or the movie will fail.

College basketball has a long and proud history, which serves as the content for its surprise factor or plot-twist. Every generation has had great memories of college tournament games, and the idea that there are millions upon trillions upon God knows how many possibilities we could see during a three week span of tournament play, people are attracted to it. The sole reason college basketball is so big come tournament time is that people want to see a genuine story of one team making it amongst a field of 64. Deep inside, we all want to see another George Mason. We want to see something that is unique and inspiring - because life elsewhere is not always so delivering.

Each of the four teams in this tournament have a story that is different than the other three. Each have had doubts they would make it this far, and some certainly more doubts that others. The stories are not always positive, but there is always inspiration to be found.

The University of Connecticut, by far the hottest team of the tournament in regards to media coverage and face time, has not exactly made their chapter of the story respectable this past week. Allegations suggest that the basketball program recruited a former player
, and the rest of the story is known by now. They also came into the tournament as the fourth number one seed, with few wondering if teams like Duke or Memphis would steal the top seed from them. Yet, they are back again, with another dominant big man and stout defense. Calhoun is possibly the best coach in the tournament this year, behind the likes of Roy Williams if anyone. The Huskies can win, and they have done well during this tournament, enough to make a naysayer second guess.

Villanova is the definite team of the tournament. After a surprising close match with American. They have blasted the likes of storied programs, UCLA and Duke, then upset the Pitt Panthers on a last second, Scottie Reynolds, hook-and-ladder type play, which ended with the go-ahead bucket with half a second left. Outside of UConn, they have been the most dominant team throughout the tourney, and Jay Wright has his team running and pushing harder than any team left. After Saturday's Elite 8 victory over Pitt, it is very hard to bet against the Wildcats of Villanova at this point.

Michigan State, another storied program dating back to Magic's run, has also impressed me, probably more than Villanova. They defeated the defending national champions and the top seeded team of the tournament, and looked great doing it. Tom Izzo, who I never had a hint of liking for, since my Big Ten favor is toward the Wolverines, has produced a great team when it wasn't expected to be. There is no Drew Neitzel or Maurice Ager, but they do have dominant big-man Goran Suton, who worked over Louisville in the Elite 8 win. MSU as a two-seed probably stands a better chance at UNC than Louisville would have had, granted that Lawson continues to heal and produce like he has. There is little talk, still, about this team, rather the focus has been on the success of Izzo during his tenure in East Lansing, and maybe a national championship will bring more face time for the Spartans.

Finally, North Carolina, the team that everyone predicts to win every year, because they are just that good every year. This year, they have reaped the benefits of Ty Lawson more than that of Tyler Hansbrough, but together, they have brought UNC to a second consecutive Final Four as a one-seed. Roy Williams is looking to bring another championship to Chapel Hill, and as strong a team they defeated in Oklahoma, it would be hard to count them out after making it to the Final Four, yet again. To defeat Michigan State would be a large task, and facing UConn or Villanova would be just as challenging - but the best coach in the country knows just what to do, I am assured.

East vs West

2009-03-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

The NBA regular season ends in a little more than a month, and there seems to be a shift of power and depth between the Eastern and Western conferences. Mathematically, there are absolutely no teams from the Eastern Conference eliminated as of yet, although the magic number for the Wizards lies at three. On the other hand, the playoff race realistically only extends out to the ninth place team, which is Phoenix, who is trailed by Golden State - by 13 games. Although the West has better records from one to eight (at this point, Philadelphia and Chicago are in with sub-.500 records), the East is far more competitive with their own. This does not mean that we will have a back-to-back champion in the Eastern Conference for the first time since the Bulls won three straight from 1995 - 1998. We have seen the Lakers take beatings from and deliver them to the East, as well as San Antonio, Utah, and Denver. LeBron was run out of L.A. and Boston has not repeated their magic against the Lakers in this regular season, so both sides seem to be even. The three best teams in the NBA consist of two Eastern Conference teams, however, with Boston and Cleveland. Lakers may be the best, but if they are outed in the Western Conference Playoffs, the Spurs, Nuggets and Jazz, all virtually out of reach of a number 1 seed, will likely be candidates to play in the Finals, against three likely teams that all look better than the rest of the West, the aformentioned Cavs and Celtics, and the Orlando Magic. The scenarios are many, but unless the Lakers do not find a way back to the Finals, it could be a beginning of the Eastern Empire rebuilding itself.

Scenario 1: Lakers vs any team in the East - more than likely will end in a Laker championship, considering the way they played against Boston and Cleveland, although they have dropped both games against Orlando, the loss of Jameer Nelson would help the Lakers if it came down to these two teams

Scenario 2: Lakers are ousted by the Spurs, Nuggets, or Jazz - The series between the Lakers and Spurs are split, with an upcoming game on March 12, and the Lakers have done well against the Spurs in the playoffs the past ten years, so hoping for such is a stretch. Same situation with the Jazz, although it has been quite some time since the Jazz and Lakers played in the postseason against each other since last year's meeting. The Jazz have had some success against the Lakers, although there is no Mail-man or Stockton. The Nuggets have become quite the team this year with Billups, and would need a big lift from players like J.R. Smith and Nene to even win a game, much less an entire series. Part two of the scenario, any of the top three teams of the East (ORL, BOS, or CLE) make it to the Finals, the East is sure to win, although a few matchups would be interesting (Timmy vs Dwight, Melo vs LeBron, Deron vs Rondo).

Scenario 3: The final scenario I would see possible is that the Lakers and the Big Three of the East (again, CLE, ORL, and BOS) are all out of the picture. That leaves nothing in the East, except the Hawks, at any chance of winning the Finals against the likes of San Antonio, Utah, Denver, or even Houston and Portland. The everyone-but-Lakers tier in the West is much better than the anyone-who-didn't-win-the-division tier in the East, but considering the one really good team in the West against three really good teams in the East, it seems probable that the East will win again.

iPhone 2.0 8GB and 16GB Prices

2008-06-09T12:03:00.001-07:00

from Engadget:
16GB model for $299 -- for that model we have a white one ...
8GB will sell for $199.

iPhone 2.0 Price

2008-06-09T11:51:00.001-07:00

8GB - $199

see the entire keynote coverage from Engadget

NBA Round 2: Do or Die

2008-05-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

The home team in the first round of the playoffs were 30-14, no thanks to the Celtics not winning in Atlanta. In the second round, home teams are 19-1, Orlando being the only team to lose at home to Detroit. Boston's home record is perfect: 7-0. Imperfect is their away record, at a playoff worst 0-5, which includes three losses to 8th seed, sub-.500 Atlanta in the first round and back to back losses in Cleveland. Detroit and Utah are the only teams still alive to have given up an first round home loss. With this year's wacky playoffs, its hard to tell who will crack the egg and win on the road. Boston is under the heaviest pressure cooker, being the #1 seed without a road win, after posting only 10 losses in 41 road games in the regular season. Losing the first 5 playoff games on the road is not a formula for a championship. Andrew Siciliano stated on Fox Sports Radio that the last team in the past 12 years to win a championship with the fewest road wins was the 2000 Los Angeles Lakers, who went 6-5 including the finals on the road. The Celtics have already met the loss total, and not even one game won on the road. Good luck, because there is obviously none to be had for the Celtics.

Three teams will require a victory on the road, on top of securing their own court, in order to move into the conference finals. The Spurs, who tonight play host to New Orleans, have been getting smeared in New Orleans, and will need to play with the same tenacity they play with in the first half on the road and their Spurs showing in San Antonio. Utah, who only lost one game on the road in the opening round against Houston, will need a game 7 win in LA, which never happens. Cleveland should be able to beat Boston at the Garden, as much as a flop they have been on the road, that should transition to a game 7 loss for Boston in Boston. Detroit won on the road, slamming the door to Orlando's bid to tie the series 2-2, and finished the job at home to win 4-1.

The Spurs are in the greatest trouble of being tossed. Their play has been shaky, and even with a big game 4 win in San Antonio, they will need double that to win in game 6 tonight against a Hornets team looking to let everyone know they are legit, too legit, for that matter, to quit.

But let's get real:
Hornets in 7
Lakers in 7
Cavaliers in 7

Remembering what LeBron did to Detroit last year, I can't see him not doing it again when it counted. Lakers will get edged in Utah, but will deliver their ever so mighty knock-out punch in game 7, barring any further injury to Kobe.

How does one retire from golf? Or at the age of 25?

2008-05-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, story broke that women's golf legend Annika Sorenstam was retiring from golf, at the age of 38. One can understand the time put into playing and training for golf, because the weekend casual player isn't on the PGA or LPGA tour last I saw, but how does one actually never play on tour again before they turn 80? Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Lee Travino may not be kicking it with these young guns on tour, but they never formally retired from the game. So, does Sorenstam go play croquet or badminton if golf was too much for her to play?

And Justin Henin retires from tennis, as the number one player in the world, at the age of 25. Tomorrow, Eli Manning will call it a career. You heard it here first.

Annika will retire golf for her family time. So, does this mean we won't see her at the local country club on Saturday mornings? My guess, she is going into rec league bowling.

Cell Phone Trends

2008-05-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Everyone remembers when the RAZR came out. Motorolla pimped that phone as much is it could, making sure everyone who saw the commercials knew this was the best cell phone you could buy. That was also the most expensive phone I have ever seen, with a $700 price tag (without contracts). Soon enough, the entire world was making sleek and slim flip phones with full color external displays, Bluetooth capabilities, etc. Then we had the first attempt at the ROKR, the first phone with iTunes. Combining music and mobile voice was revolutionary, considering most phones only had internal memory, which didn't amount to much. Then we see a rise is smart phones, although they have existed for quite sometime, it was much more of a reasonable price for an early Motorola Q or even the Nokia communicator series. With more and more smart phones emerging, it is quite safe to assume the industry is shifting to a PDA/smart phone based device base. With the release of Apple's iPhone last year, we are now seeing more and more touch screen phones (LG Venus, HTC Touch), as well as phones integrated with music services (Samsung SLM) and Wi-Fi built-in (Nokia N95).

With the setting of trends in the cell phone, I was curious to see where the trends started that have made today's phones multi-capable devices.

Back in 1992, there was this little device called Simon, developed by none other than IBM. It was not only the world's first "smartphone" but it also featured a touch screen, email, world clock, calculator, address book, notepad, and games, with included functionality of a pager, fax machine, PDA, and of course cell phone. Every smartphone today has these features, most have more, with video sharing, MMS, GPS, etc. Heck, most cell phones, not smartphones, have all of these features. Your simple $20 go phone has all or most of those features, save the touch screen. Although this was a little out of hand, in price, $899, and availability, release in 1994 in only in 190 U.S. cities in 15 states, this set the standard for what a smartphone should be - loaded with everything but the kitchen sink.

The Nokia Communicator line was the next huge step in smartphone, offering a QWERY keyboard, which is hidden behind t
he face of the phone, which flipped vertically along the phone to offer a screen and keyboard, while still preserving the generic numeric pad on the front of the phone, with usual call/drop buttons, menu and navigation buttons, with a small screen on the front as well. There are plenty of cell phones using the Communicator's design to this day, including the later versions of the Communicator, the LG enV, and U740 from Samsung, which offered a dual-flipping phone (pictured below):

The enV from LG

The U740 from Samsung

Most smartphones out today take some mold to the Simon or Communicator. AT&T/Cingular introduced their line of branded smartphones which combine a touch screen along with a slide-out keyboard, which few companies have used on standard mobiles, such as Motorola's new ROKR E6, which integrated iTunes in the original release of the ROKR.

Cellphones usually take one of three forms: candybar, clamshell, or slider. There have been a few who have tried to integrate a new style such as the "swivel", pictured below with the popular T-Mobile Sidekick 3, or a more proprietary form, such as the Nokia pictured below, which rotates.

Nokia 3250
T-Mobile Sidekick 3

What influence has the RAZR had? Well, they practically started the Slimmest Cell Phone War of the 21st Century. Also, the RAZR's unique keypad design, which they claim is laser etched, has branched over into the landline phones as well, with design of keypad and sleekness, compared to bulky cordless phones.

VTech DECT 6.0

Oh, and remember when it was a commodity to own a cell phone, kind of like it was to own a TV, two cars, satellite TV, etc.? Well, with the growing number of plans available for families to share, the entire family is mobilized, from the white collar father, the soccer mom, and the actual soccer

sons and daughters. I've seen 10 and 12 year olds with better phones than me! Thankfully, we still have age limits for drivers' licenses, else pre-teens could be seen on the streets with Blackberries AND Hummer H2s.

Astros Quarterly Report: I

2008-05-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

The Houston Astros can no longer blame their lack of bat for losing so much. After sweeping Milwaukee, LA, and taking 2 of 3 from Washington, they have pushed towards the top of the division, and put Berkman back into the spotlight as a NL MVP candidate. The pitching worries me, with Oswalt and Chacon are the only two starting pitchers with 100 games under their belt, and with Backe prone to injuries, this could be a concern. The team as a whole posts a 4.24 ERA, which is middle of the road in the MLB. The hitting is in the upper tier, with 192 runs scored, and 344 hits, 5th and 11th respectively. With only drawing 115 walks while striking out 223 times, I am hoping the rest of the order around Berkman can pull through. Only a game and half back from the division leading Cubs is good news, considering the hole they were in this time last year, and they are actually looking like a good team. We will soon know when the Cubs come to Minute Maid next Monday through Wednesday. The should go in winning the next two series, a four game against San Fran and a weekend in Arlington.

Current Record: 22 Wins, 17 Losses (1.5 games back in division; 0.5 games back in wild card)
Leading Hitter: Lance Berkman - .393 (2nd in NL and MLB); 13 HR (T-1st in NL and MLB); 38 RBI (1st in NL, 2nd in MLB)

Leading Pitcher: Roy Oswalt - 4 Wins, 3 Losses; 48 K, 15 BB, 5.05 ERA, 12 HR (T-Most in NL)

Key Series Wins: Florida (April 11-13); San Diego & Cincinnati (sweeps: April 21-24); Milwaukee (sweep: May 2-4); Los Angeles (sweep: May 9-11)

Streaks: Won 5 straight between May 2 and 7 - won 5 of 7 series after losing first 5 of 6 of season. 9-1 in May. 16-5 since April 20.

How To Capitalize on Wii's Success

2008-05-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

I recently became a prodigal son of the Big N - I took a several year hiatus due to the fact that Nintendo just wasn't cutting it for me. This came after buying a Nintendo DS, only to trade that, along with every bit of my Nintendo belongings in for a PSP. So with that, and an Xbox, I was happy. For years, I was enthralled with my Halo 2, Doom 3, Unreal Tournament, etc. Long story short, when the Wii came around, I found the Big N again. I have owned it almost a year now, and I am completely satisfied. However, as with all good things, they come to end. As Bob Dylan once sang, "the times, they are a-changin," (Ron Burgandy never heard that song :-) ), and the Wii could use some minor updates that can keep the train rolling. After exhaustive posts on the WiiChat forums, I have found some of the top complaints to be the same - storage.

If I were chairman of the development of the Wii, I would pose these options to my development team as challenges to overcome before the holiday season:

1)
a. Allow the Wii's internal storage to be expanded to the SD storage. By simply adding a cheap 512 SD card (under $10), the storage is doubled. As a programmer, not a hardware designer, I understand there could be some difficulties, but the software development of Nintendo can surely make this a reality.
b. This would in turn allow the Wii to load and save data directly to the expanded storage. I would love the option of being able to take game saves from one Wii to another, which is an option that has been a part of video gaming since the PlayStation in 1996 - why is this not an option now?

2)
a. Sell VC games preloaded on SD cards that can be sold in stores or bundled with Wii games. If loading a game save directly from the SD, loading a VC game should be as well.
b. Develop an adapter that will allow SD cards to work as GameCube memory cards. Since Nintendo does not offer first party cards, they should at least have a way to give customers a premium product that can be easily manufactured and sold.
c. Find a manufacturer to handle the GameCube controller manufacturing - again, since Nintendo doesn't have their first party controllers, and the few controllers left over are surplus and not manufactured in the past year or more. Get behind a wireless development of controller that will work seamlessly with the GameCube library. Many would want to use the classic controller with the GC games, which means the GC would have to get input from a Bluetooth signal, which would require the Wii to emulate the controls from the classic to the game, and would require more hardware. If Nintendo cannot offer a quality controller for the GC or support with the current controls, then I would be hard pressed to see why allowing GC playback would be necessary.

My main concern will continue to be the storage. Every week, I get an email stating the VC releases. If there will be more VC games added in the future, as well as additional Wii Ware applications, it would be a priority for my development team to find an answer for more storage.

Here is a current list of games I either own, rented, or played, along with a brief review:

Wii Play - *** out of 5
Only about four of the games are any fun to play, and two of those could be played on a regular basis. Good deal for the Wiimote!

Zelda: TP - ***** out of 5
One of the best games I have played in recent memory. I love the surplus of rupees! Just so hard to get a big enough wallet.

Madden 08 - ***1/2 out of 5
A good attempt using the motion controls, but definitely needs work with the online mode.

Mario Strikers Charged - **** out of 5
Only played the original once, but I love the idea. The level of difficulty is immense in the single player cup mode - online even more brutal. Nintendo does decent job with WFC online mode.

Super Mario Galaxy - ****1/2 out of 5
A beautiful Mario game! Graphics are amazing, "worlds" are neatly designed and crafted. It gets very repetitive after you actually defeat Bowser the final time, in search of all the stars.

Super Smash Brothers: Brawl - ***** out of 5
The best of the series by a mile. Characters are vast and well detailed, overall graphics not totally great, but good enough for sure. Stages are decent, love the option for Melee stages and build-a-stage.

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - *** out of 5
Not exactly what I expected from RE, although this was more of a shooting gallery game which had worlds from past RE games. Gorgeous graphics, but just a point-and-shooter.

The Bigs - ***1/2 out of 5
I love baseball games, and although this one is watered down, it has enough big catches, hits, collisions, and strike outs to last me for a while. Still can't run over the catcher though.

Mario Party 8 - **** out of 5
Not the best MP game of the series, but this is definitely fun. More board interactions, very intriguing game play aside from the mini-games give it more depth, but still has the pick-up and play attributes.

My Wish List:
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Mario Kart Wii
Alone in the Dark
Fire Emblem

NBA Playoffs: Locked and Loaded

2008-04-17T15:52:00.001-07:00

The NBA Playoffs are back again for its annual run - this year, in my opinion, can be some of the best NBA basketball we have seen in quite a while. While the Western Conference was separated by 7 games, from LA Lakers' 57 wins to Denver's 50, and the resurgence of the Celtics, winning an NBA best 66 games, marking the greatest turnaround from a season ago, where they held the worst record in the NBA. With the Pistons' 59 wins and Orlando's 52, there were 5 teams in the Eastern Conference with less than 50 wins, including three with .500 or worse records; Toronto, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. The 9th, 10th, and 11th place teams in the West would have made the playoffs if this were a top-16 team playoff team - rather than conference based. The parity is weird in the NBA, where there are two teams from the East in their own Echelon, while all eight of the Western conference playoff teams AND the last team out (Golden State) have better records than the fourth seeded Cleveland. Although the West, team for team, is far and beyond the best conference, they may not have a team strong enough to topple Boston, or Detroit for that matter, in the Finals, considering one of the East's top two teams are in the Finals. The defending Eastern Conference champions are looking ugly, even with the the additions of Delonte, Wally, and Big Ben, they just scrapped by Washington to have home court advantage in the first round. The East could be just as interesting as the West, in that the 4-5 and 3-6 matchups could easily go either way. As for Boston v Atlanta, it will be more intriguing than some may think. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson can cause trouble offensively for the Celts, although Boston touts the best D in the league. Detroit v Philly is also a peculiar matchup, considering the last time these two met in the playoffs, it was a 2003 2nd round matchup after Detroit pulled off a 3-1 comeback as a 1-seed to topple Orlando, then took Philly in 6. Although the Iverson-less Sixers are one of the two sub-.500 teams, they could exploit Detroit's post-season diseases they suffer from as of late. Running down the board for the rest of the East:

3 - Orlando
vs.
6 - Toronto

Toronto could have and should have taken great strides to contend for the Easter Conference crown, but they finished .500, which is more than enough for the East. Orlando has looked impressive in wins against Detroit and Boston all year, but the losses they suffer against the likes of New York, Memphis, and Charlotte are questionable, although the Magic rarely got outscored (+5.5 margin was 5th best in NBA). However, their biggest loss of the season came against Toronto (17 points), where Bosh dropped 40 points on Dwight Howard and Jose Calderon dished out 13 dimes. Dwight Howard? Oh nothing ... 37 and 15. Although that was the only loss of the season against Toronto out of three meetings, Van Gundy will have to press Howard into keeping Bosh out of the scoring lane and out-rebound Toronto, just as they did all season. If Orlando has Turkoglu, Nelson, Lewis and Howard putting up their averages, they would have 90-96 points each game, 40 boards and 20 assists. That is hard for an opposing offense to match. But Orlando has played very tight all season, although having some big wins, only winning or losing games by a few points. They allow 41.7 boards a game, while grabbing 42. They allow 99 points, and score 105. They allow more steals and assists per game as well. With Calderon and Park in the back court, the Raptors can get 7 steals a game. If Orlando gives them up, that is a potential 14 point turnaround, which the Magic cannot afford by the way they play close. Unless they can grind out with Bosh and win, they have to play fast and uptempo, get Dwight Howard in the 30's with at least 12 boards, and Rashard Lewis has to contribute, else the Magic will not have enough to keep up with Toronto. Magic should take this in 6, but we could see 7 depending on Lewis's and Bosh's perfomance.

4 - Cleveland
vs.
5 - Washington

It took quite a few tries for Chicago to get out of the first round, but they had brute strength against Miami's gimped up 5, they were able to sweep the defending champions in 2007. Washington has faced Cleveland in three straight years, and lost three straight series. Washington is in prime position to take their first playoff series win since the Cleveland curse. This season, Arenas was not the hibachi, sitting out with injury, and Caron Butler was out nearly as much as Arenas. That left the load on Antawn Jamison and a young team that managed their way through the East with a 5 seed. With Butler and Arenas back in time for the playoffs, we could see the Wizards take a fast lane pass against Cleveland for the first time. The main concerns, however, are the Cavs best player - a kid named LeBron James. The MVP-candidate has carried this team quite well, but LeBron will have to get some production from their other scorers.

The Western Conference is so evenly spread, the team who proves they can stand the test of the playoffs will either be strong enough to take down Detroit or Boston, or too fatigued. The West also has a player who has been to the playoffs every year he has played in the NBA - Robert Horry (92-08). And a player who has started in every playoff game he's played in for 14 straight years - Shaquille O'Neal (198 from 94-08). And... they play one another in the first round, as part of the Spurs v Suns matchup, also being the most intriguing. This could easily be the Suns winning, since there was just a single game between the two in the standings. There are no givens in the West, so I will have to take a brief look at the both.

1 - Los Angeles
vs.
8 - Denver Nuggets

Not many fans think the Nuggets are a NBA Championship-caliber team. However, they do bring quite a bit to the table - Allen Iverson, former scoring champion, NBA Finals appearance - Carmello Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby, who offer a great presence to the paint, Mello's ability to drive, shoot, and rebound, Martin's low post offense, and Camby's defense and rebounding, there should be no reason why they can dominate the boards against LA. LA, however, has the bodies to grab rebounds, including Kobe, Pau, Turiaf, and Bynum. Look to see how the Lakers handle AI, whether or not they put Kobe on him or Carmello. Either case, the defensive help will need to be solid behind the solid Bryant against AI and Mello. There should not be too much doubting the Lakers this year, and I see them moving on in 6.

2 - New Orleans
vs.
7 - Dallas

Chris Paul is the MVP - hands down. He has better numbers than either of Steve Nash's two MVP seasons, and has completely flipped the Hornets from a last-out 9 or 10 finisher to a legitimate championship team, and having the 2 seed in the West is testament. The Hornets, however, are inexperienced as a team. Peja is the playoff veteran, but with only two seasons in New Orleans, it will be hard to have him established as the leader, as he is not that type of player. Also, he hasn't had the best perfomances in the playoffs as of late, only getting 11 in his last appearance in Indiana. He has 20+ point playoff runs with Sacramento, but is known to miss big shots, i.e. game 7 of the Conference Finals in 2002. Dallas, however, has been an entire team meltdown in the past three playoff seasons, failing to win in Dallas after beating Phoenix in game 2 in the desert, eventually losing the series 4-2, giving up 4 consecutive wins to the Heat in the Finals of 06 and getting waxed in Oakland in 07 against the Warriors. Now, after two seasons as the top of the Western standings, they are unable to get anything higher than 7. Although New Orleans is a tough matchup, Dallas could pull the series win off, but another disappointing end is sure to appear. New Orleans in 5.

4 - Utah
vs.
5 - Houston

Rematch of last years first round matchup. Oh, and Utah was 4 and Houston was 5 then too. And Houston has home-court too. That proved to be a let-down, as they could not beat Utah at Salt Lake City. And considering Utah's league best 37-4 home record, don't count on winning in Utah. So, if Houston takes it back to Houston tied 3-3, they would be in the same position as they were last year - this year without Yao. Houston has a resurgence, thanks to a 22-game win-streak, second-longest in the history. Houston will need all the elements from that win streak - solid play from the PG position, T-mac putting up solid numbers on a consistent basis, and great defense from Landry, Battier, and Mutombo. Utah plays too consistent to let Houston win, but I see this at least going 6, Utah winning.

3 - San Antonio
vs.
6 - Phoenix

Phoenix is in trouble with this San Antonio squad. The Suns have the mindset they are the better team, and they are favored. The Spurs are defending NBA champions, and even with Shaquille O'Neal, I still don't see the Suns winning this series, which requires a road win in San Antonio, where the Spurs rarely lose. Short and sweet write-up, just like the series: Spurs in 5.

*Since the Comback Player and Coach were already announced before publication, I will simply declare the MVP and Defensive Player honors.

MVP: Chris Paul

- 37.6 minutes/game
- 48.8% FG
- 36.9% 3-point
- 85.1% FT
- 21.1 points/game
- 11.6 assists/game

Steve Nash averaged 15 pts/11 asts and 18/10 in his two MVP seasons. Scoring over 20 a game, over 4 for assist:turnover ratio, and leading league in assists with over 11 is my MVP vote-worthy. Kobe could get it though, the whole best player best team rationale. To me, there are a lot of writers, owners, whoever votes, that wants Kobe to win one at least. Paul will have his chances, but this is my vote.

DPY: Josh Smith

I would be voting for Camby here, since he was the block leader this season, but after seeing the interesting stat on the four letter network: "Most Blocks Before 22 Years of Age" - Josh Smith, which eclipses Shaq and Dwight Howard. He also averages 18 points and just under 9 rebounds a game. There will be a lot of votes for Camby, and he will probably win, but Smith is a beast, and after watching him against Boston in Game 4 and seeing his stats as a young man on a young team, I'd be hard pressed to vote against him.

Retirement, Madness, Racing, and the NBA

2008-03-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

A year ago, I went on an extensive rant on why March was the greatest month. My reasons were pretty simple; baseball starts, March Madness, NASCAR, golf, pre-NFL draft talk and trade, NBA playoff push ... and my birthday. This year is no different. With March just getting started, we have already seen enough excitement and stories to put any other month to shame. Compiling a list of those events would be too simple, and everyone would be bored with me, and actually read a real journalist's article, but let's take a look at how March has gone through just over three and half days in.

March 1

Days after Texas Tech suffered their worst loss in program history against bitter rival Texas A&M, the Red Raiders came back home and showed up the fifth-ranked, other bitter rival, Texas Longhorns, 83-80.
After a full day of free agency in the NFL, some signings weren't really signings at all. Sean Rodgers of the Detroit Lions was reported to be signing with Cincinatti, but that turned out to be false, and he ended up across state in Cleveland. After failing to resign record-breaking WR Randy Moss to a new contract, Moss attracted the front offices of a few teams, leaving "Patriot Nation" to wonder if Moss is looking for money or a ring.
After being bounced in their first game ever as the top-ranked basketball team in the nation, the men Volunteers of Tennessee move within one win of wrapping up the regular season conference championship with a big win against the Wildcats of Kentucky.

March 2

"Vegas is calling!" Carl Edwards owns the Pacific Time Zone this season, winning his second race in row with a win in Las Vegas following a short week, which he won on Monday afternoon in Fontana, CA. However, post-race inspection confirmed Edwards did not have his lid on the oil resevoir, which could result in a hefty points penalty.
The Suns dropped their second straight game, this time against sub-.500 Philadelphia - at home - 119-114, leaving the desert wondering when exactly the Shaq trade would pay off.
After a MVP-worthy season with the beer makers of Milwaukee, Prince Fielder is shown a lovely raise ... of $670,000. The second runner-up of the 2007 NL MVP honors, Fielder is quote "not happy about it at all." After all, he does have kids to feed!

March 3

After a weekend of free agency, the Pats wrap up Randy Moss to a 3 year/$27 million deal. Not getting a deal, however, is Falcons RB Warrick Dunn, who was cut Monday after five seasons with Atlanta. This came a day after the Falcons made a deal for Chargers RB Michael Turner, signing him up for a six-year deal.
Atlanta also lost leading receiver-er ... tight-end Alge Crumpler to Tennessee, while Big Ben inked a fat check Monday with the Steelers; 8 years/$102 million, with $36 million guartanteed, more than Brady, Manning, Palmer, and Romo got up front in their deals.
Texas Tech again makes the news in their third consecutive game, but this also not good, with the Red Raiders again rasing the mark of worst defeat in the program history after Kansas dropped 109, winning by 58. Coach Knight said "I feel like someone put a meat necklace around my neck and threw me into a lion's den," abou the loss.

March 4

The biggest news thus far: Brett Favre retires after 16 seasons in Green Bay, where he broke and recording nearly every passing record in the book.

With March Madness starting up ... well in March, its only proper to give a run-down of teams that are John McCain, teams that are Hilary and Obama, and teams that are Mit Romney in this year's bracket:

McCain (definite locks):

Tennesse, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Memphis, Texas, Purdue, Duke, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Butler, Xavier, Cornell (clinched with conference championship), Stanford, Mississippi State, Louisville, Conneticutt, Butler, Notre Dame, Clemson, Drake, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Indiana, Arkansas, UAB, Saint Mary's, Gonzaga

Hilary/Obama (could go either way):

USC, Kentucky, Kansas State, Texas A&M, VCU, WV, Mississippi, Davidson, UMass, Southern Illinois, Creighton, Syracuse, Ohio State, Florida, Villanova, Texas Tech, Maryland, Oregon

Romney (pack it up and go home):

Florida State, Oklahoma State, Cincinatti, Wake Forest, Arizona State, Georgia Tech

The NBA on the other hand has quite a bit of playing left before any teams can be penciled in. Considering how much the West has shifted in the past several weeks (New Orleans and Phoenix were at the top before the All-Star break, now its San Antonio and Los Angeles), there is definitely no guarantee. But, I like to be bold. Here are my seedings 70% into the season:

East:

Boston
Detroit
Orlando
Toronto
Cleveland
Washington
Philadelphia
New Jersey

West:

Los Angeles
San Antonio
New Orleans
Utah
Houston
Dallas
Phoenix
Golden State

BCS

2007-12-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

Everyone is fussing about the BCS system, how flawed it is, and using this year's polls as a huge reason why we need a playoff system.

I hear you all loud and clear.

However, NCAA Division I-A Football (and I refuse to call it by their proper FBS title) is not the National Football League, the Arena Football League, or even NCAA Division I-AA football. A playoff system would be much worse for D1 football than the BCS has seemingly been for fans over the past 10 years. Personally, I would love to see a playoff. I have done like every other college football fan out there and developed their own thesis on the college football playoff system they would love to see put into action. I have the perfect system for a football playoff that could put the forementioned organziations to shame.

But, Division 1-A Football is a totally different monster. There are literally dozens of schools that are driven by their football programs in D1-A. Do you think Notre Dame, Nebraska, Alabama, and Michigan enjoy their current slumps? These are storied schools who pride theirselves in being an alum, a student, or a fan of these programs. There is so much passion in D1-A football, its insane. Yet, in no way am I saying a D1-AA school isn't passionate - I am a student of a newcomer to the D-1 system, and football is a big deal for the University of Central Arkansas. However, there is not the same publicity, pressure, or presence in 1-AA as there is in 1-A. UCA finished 2nd in their conference in their first year, posted a 6-5 record, and no one is calling for Coach Clint Conque's head ... on the flip side, in 2006, the University of Arkansas Razorbacks finish first in the SEC with a 10-2 record, 7-1 SEC record, a valiant effort against the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game, and a sub-par perfomance against Wisconsin in the Capitol One Bowl, and everyone wants Houston Nutt gone. Of course, those are two difference scenarios, but you get the picture. D1-A schools expect more, and feel they deserve to be champions, and will roll over any one who can't deliver it. Houston Nutt resigned after this past season, took 3 million dollars, and went to a rival school, and everyone in Arkansas hates him for that.

Division 1-AA playoffs work because each school isn't driven by their athletics - Appalachian State, McNeese State, Northern Iowa, and Montana are at the top of the polls in D1-AA football, but in three of four years, they may be at the bottom. Fluxuations occure because of the rarity of talent that leaks down from D1-A football programs. Most football programs are not hit hard by missing the playoffs, simply because they are, more times than not, driven by academics, or some other avenue being a university. Playoffs work because football doesn't mean life of death for fans of their D1-AA schools. The players still show the same intesity, have the same heart, and play with the same purpose of being the best, but because they are left out of the elite won't turn the programs for a flip.

Turn the page to D1-A. How many teams, fans, or all the above are either A) unsatisfied with the two teams that are playing for the National Championship, or B) upset they were not selected to play in the National Championship game, or C) all the above.

Answer?

Oklahoma, USC, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. All runners-up to LSU and Ohio State for the National Championship. All but Ohio State and Kansas, one loss teams, shared the same number of losses with two. Five of those teams won their conference. Only two of the teams played head to head, LSU and Virginia Tech, which LSU took the victory. Hawaii posted the only flawless record of any team. Overall, a fairly even playing field. So how does one select two teams and two teams only to play for a championship? Before the BCS came along almost ten years ago now, there were too many agreements between the conferences and the bowls to truely match number one and number two. The BCS did away with the total tie-ins to certain bowls for conferences until the BCS Championship Game selection. The Rose Bowl still strives to match Pac-10 v. Big 10, the Orange Bowl also tries to match Big 12 v. Big East, and the Sugar Bowl with SEC v. ACC. However, there have been instances where this hasn't worked due the the National Championship bids taking the qualified teams. The BCS, not the conferences, determine the tie-ins, and make the deals between bowl sponsors and bowls, not just for the BCS Bowls, but the other useless bowls as well. The BCS selects eight teams to play in four bowl games on or after New Years, and another two to play in the national championship game. Essentially, each year, eight teams are left out, five of which are legitimate, being conference champions (of the BCS conferences), three are at-large. More times than not, one, if not more, team is left "high and dry," a team that easily could have played for a national championship, but was left out in favor of another team. The two most recent instances, 2003 and 2004, three teams were conference champions with equal records. Two played, one went to a BCS bowl, instead of THE BCS Game. In 2003, they took the easy way out (they being the AP) and crowned USC (who was left out, and won their BCS Bowl game against Michigan) and LSU national champions. In 2004-2005, Auburn was left out, won their bowl game, but settled for number two as they watched USC pound Oklahoma. No co-national championship this year. Flash to this year, 2007-2008, the number jumps from three to five conference champions (WV, Hawaii, VT, Oklahoma, and USC), four with equal records, and again, one who is undefeated.

Now, I know you are exhausted, but try to formulate a playoff format you think could work. If you come up empty, take this easy one into consideration: Ten team playoff system based off the BCS Bowl games, re-seeding the teams by their BCS ranking. They bracket would look like this:
(1) OSU
v.
(9) Hawaii

(3) VT
v.
(7) Kansas

(5) Georgia
v.
(6) USC

(4) Oklahoma
v.
(8) West Virginia

(2) LSU
v.
(10) Illinois

Take on the second round however you will, whether you allow the highest seed to have a bye, re-seed, and play on, etc. Let us consider the worst-case scenario - lowest seed wins every game. The second round would then look like this:

(7) Kansas
v.
(9) Hawaii

(8) West Virginia
v.
(10) Illinois

(6) USC

Now, we have a dandy here, eh? Kansas v. Hawaii? Mountaineers and Illini? USC gets bye? OSU, LSU one and done? How about Georgia, who snuk in, and lost? Would Tennessee have won? What about Florida? Auburn? Arkansas? Now, let's say the at-large teams (Georgia, Illinois) lose. Does Michigan, Tennesse, and Florida feel slighted even more? How does the world feel about giving OSU a number one seed to watch them get beat by ... Hawaii?

Fans would love to see upsets, but then again, what about the 109 teams that were left out? If they sit there and watch a one or two, or even three or four seed fall in the first round, what do you think other deserving programs want now? Expand the playoffs, we deserve to be in. Tennessee rolled Georgia in the regular season, and if the Dawgs get rolled by USC, how even of a matchup would Tennessee and USC could have been? Fans of football want to see a cinderella story unfold. People love March Madness, thirteen over four seeds, twelve over fives. George freaking Mason in the Final Four! Can football capture that same excitement? Unless it can expand to sixteen teams, no. Sixteen teams means four rounds, four additional games to the already busy college football season. Even ten teams equals three additional games, and cutting it back to eight would yield the same. Four teams is absurd, simply because two conference champions would be left out, and that would heighten the talk about who's conference is stronger, while leaving no hope for teams like Hawaii, Boise State, and TCU to make their case if they run their own tables.

If I have not yet convinced you that the BCS will have to do, my apologies. Most people thought communism would work and would not be convinced otherwise until the system blew up. Many people think of the BCS as communism. While it may not be the most desirable of systems, but its the best thing we have. Just like our "democracy".

Draft Thoughts Day 1

2007-04-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

If you were like me, you watched the entire 6 plus hour draft, breaking down each team's needs and predicting who would take who. Most of my predictions stood, such as Russell to the Raiders, Thomas to the Browns, Brown to the Cards, Meachem to the Saints, and Gonzales to the Colts. Others, like Gaines Adams going to Tampa Bay, were not of surprise, then Miami, passing on Brady Quinn, takes Ted Ginn, Jr. Ok, so maybe they didn't want Quinn, that's cool. But, first round pick on Ginn? They could have picked up Sidney Rice in the second and received a better pick at round one, such as Okoye, Willis, or Carriker. Instead, its Ginn, then they grab BYU quarterback John Beck, who is a much respected quarterback. Obviously, Miami was planning on getting Ginn, regardless if Quinn was available or not. The injury raises a big question on will he be ready to go 100% when the regular season rolls around. If he is sitting out most of the pre-season recovering from the injury, it will not be a good sign for the front office's decision. It's a big gamble, and for it to be a first round pick, it's almost a stupid gamble.

Detroit took yet another wide receiver in Calvin Johnson, but soon made room for him, trading Mike Williams and Josh McCown for a fourth round pick. This should work out for both teams, provided what happens with Randy Moss in Oakland. I feel that if Moss is traded, Williams will be called upon to be the #1 receiver for Russell. The Lions also released Charles Rodgers, yet another first round pick, leaving only Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson as the first round wide receivers. Roy Williams has proved to be a solid receiver for Jon Kitna, and with the selection of Stanton, the offense is shaping up really nicely for the Lions, and under Mike Martz, there is no limit to their improvement. Good draft day for both the Lions and Raiders.

Other good pickups include Patrick Willis to San Francisco, Jamaal Anderson and Chris Houston to Atlanta, and New England again acquiring a first round pick for next year, while picking up Brandon Merriweather. Pittsburgh looked to find a replacement for Joey Porter with Lawrence Timmons, Buffalo got a real nice deal, trading up to get Paul Poluszny.

A puzzling pick for me was the Eagles selecting Kevin Kolb with their first pick, meaning they are ready to move past the Donnovan Days, or do not expect Donnovan to be healthy this season, but either way, Kolb is going to have a starting spot very soon. One would wonder Donnovan's thoughts on this...

NBA Playoffs - Eastern Conference

2007-04-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

The NBA Playoffs are amongst us! Only one night remaining in the regular season, and the Western Conference needs this night to decide its eighth and final seed. The Eastern Conference, however, is already set. Here is what the playoff picture is looking like, and few comments from me to go along with it.

* denotes seeding is clinched

(1) Detroit Pistons *

(8) Orlando Magic

Its been a few years since the Magic have been to the playoffs, and their last visit wasn't so pleasant. Up 3-1 over the top-seeded Pistons, Tracey McGrady guaranteed the Magic were moving on. 3 games later, the Pistons were in the second round. Since then, its been a rough ride for Orlando, but they have finally landed back in the playoffs, even if its the 8-seed playing against Detroit. Dwight Howard has dominated down low this season against the Pistons, averaging 20 point and 16 boards in 4 games, all losses however. Orlando will need a lot more help if they are to dethrone the top seed. Orlando steals a game, but thats it. Detroit in 5.

(2) Chicago Bulls

(7) Washington Wizards

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs were in 2005. Chicago, without most of what makes up their roster today, could not withstand Arenas or Hughes, and Washington won in 6. This year, Chicago comes in much more favored, looking to lock up a 2-seed, going against a Wizards team without Arenas (injury) or Hughes (traded) this time. Caron Butler is a doubtful, which will take out the top two scoring threats. The Wizards will need far more support from their bench than they can account for, and Chicago should clean house. Chicago in 4.

(3) Toronto Raptors *

(6) New Jersey Nets

These aren't your typical Raptors. You won't see a Vince Carter on this roster. What you will see is an excellent roster that could go a good ways in the playoffs. TJ Ford and Anthony Parker make for a good backcourt duo, and Morris Peterson complements Parker as an exceptional 3-point shooter and can attack the basket. Chris Bosh is one the league's top forwards today, and Andrea Bargnani has lived up to his hype as a strong body down low. New Jersey does have the big three, Kidd, Jefferson, and Carter, but without a physical presence down low to stop Bosh, Barnani, and Nesterovich, it will be a tough series. New Jersey will play a good series, but it will be happy day in O' Canada! Toronto in 6.

(4) Miami Heat *

(5) Cleveland Cavaliers

If Cleveland does indeed finish as the fifth seed (Wednesday night's games will decide), you can almost count on Miami advancing; considering the season Miami has had, losing O'Neal, Wade, Coach Riley, Williams, and Kapono to injuries, they still managed to overcome in the second half and take the Southeast Division title for the third straight year. The Diesel is in full gear, and Wade is showing great signs of healing, the Heat will be a handful to handle, especially without a dominant defensive post player, such as Ben Wallace. LeBron will be the key if the Cavs look to take down the defending champs. He will need to score and get the whole floor involved, else Miami will make it look easy. Miami in 6.

In the case that both Cleveland and Chicago win in Wednesday night's games, Chicago would own the tie-breaker with more division wins (12-4) than Cleveland (9-6), thus securing the 2-seed. For Cleveland's sake, at least for the first round, they will need to win and Chicago to lose to get the 2-seed and face Washington, again. Either way, there is not a road to the conference finals that doesn't go through Miami for the Cavs.

Due tomorrow ... the Western Conference breakdowns and any revisions that need to be made in match-ups listed here.

March: Best Month. Period

2007-03-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

If someone came and asked you what your favorite month of the year is, what would be your response? December, July, or maybe May? If someone were to conduct a poll of 1,000 people, the majority may be one of those months. If that someone were to ask me not only what my favorite month is, but why, I would say March, and give the following reasons:

No other sporting event can top the NCAA Tournament
I love football, I love the Super Bowl, and I love watching baseball and basketball playoffs. However, the entire month of March revolves around the "Big Dance". The first week and a half are spent trying to make the last surge to get in, while the last three weeks are spent playing to be a champion. Unlike the Super Bowl, which may be the second greatest sporting event in my opinion, March Madness goes on everyday for two to three weeks, while only hype surrounding the Super Bowl spans that same time. Plus, it is the biggest fan fair available in sports, with millions of pools created to see who can pick the tournament winners the closest. Bracket-mania is a hellishly-fun 4 days leading up to the Big Dance, and just the NCAA Tournament alone makes the statement March is the year's best month.

Baseball Season Starts Up
Although the actual regular season doesn't begin until April, March is the best month to get baseball, aside from October. Spring training carries all the hype of 1) last year's World Series winner, and how they will fare 2) big name signings/trades 3) and steroids (only kidding about the latter). Not only is the weather as perfect as it can possibly be in March, it's a good reason to travel to the Sunshine State other than the beaches. Think of it like one of those appetizers you could be satisfied with as your entree.

The Peak of All Other Sports
Football gets prepped for the draft with the combines, free agency, and trades. NBA basketball fires up heading into the last stretch of the season, with bubble teams fighting for the few games needed to get into the playoffs, hockey also revving up for the playoffs, NASCAR season shifts into second and third gears, while tennis and golf begin their craze for the year. March represents the summit of all sports, and there is no better month than the beginning of spring, best weather next to September's (which happens to be the second best month, but we will wait until then).

St. Patrick's Day
You let me know of another occasion where rivers are dyed green, and we will argue.

My Birthday
Just because March birthdays are the best, along with September's.

The Top Three Stories that Bothered Me

2007-03-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

This past week has been wild in the world of sports. If you haven't been paying attention, I can't help you, but I can let you in on three stories that occurred the past few days that left an itch I can't scratch.

Juan Pablo Montoya Takes First Busch Series Victory in Mexico City

... but not without some criticism from his own teammate, Scott Pruett, whom Montoya collided with in the final laps of the Telcel-Motorola 200 in Mexico City. Pruett publicly expressed his disgust with his teammate's actions, calling his driving "lowdown, nasty, [and] dirty."

I have never raced in a circuit-format with high-powered cars, and I definitely do not understand the entire aspect of the sport, but from years of watching with my granddad as a kid, and having family who is into the sport, racing is not a cry-baby event. Pruett whined about being spun by his own teammate on national TV, and in my opinion, he was more at fault that Montoya. Pruett went high into the turn, and Montoya shot low. Pruett came down sharp on the curve, while Montoya already established his position deep in the turn, therefore swiping the nose of Montoya's car, and spinning backwards, while Montoya bounced back outside and off the track to avoid further contact. After watching the final 20 laps, as Montoya bounced from mid-way through the field to the top 5, I was certain he would take the victory. With 8 to go, Montoya was on a war path to take first from teammate Pruett. He had the fastest car on the track, and he knew how to handle it on the road course. Montoya was driving to win, Pruett was driving to win, and unfortunately for Pruett, he ended up being spun.

I don't know Pruett as a racer, because I don't watch too much NASCAR, but I am sure this will blow over in due time. They are both professionals and should handle this in that accordance.

But it gets worse ...

Artest Arrested on Charges of Domestic Violence; Excused from Sacramento

Boy, were my hopes in vain when the Kings acquired him last January. Initially, he served really well as the defensive muscle, improving the Kings defense noticeably and boosting them into the playoffs as an eight seed. This year, however, hasn't gone as well. The Kings are 5 games under .500, and Ron Artest has already been accused of animal mistreatment in early February, now he takes it out on a woman. After watching the news ticket on ESPN News last night, I was in total disgust. The Kings have become the outlaw team of the NBA. They are working on the title of the Cincinnati Bengals of basketball. Head coach Erick Musselman (I guess that's the right spelling for this Erick, could care less) has already been cited twice this season for driving while intoxicated, and now Artest has been arrested, posted 50 stacks for bail, and excused from any further participation with the Sacramento Kings basketball organization until further notice. Geoff Petrie, Kings GM, made the announcement of Artest's unofficial suspension (Kings publicist says its not a suspension, he is still being paid) after hearing the news of the hopeful hero of Sacramento. The entire organization is now in total disarray, and I feel that not only is their season over, they need a total reconstruction of the organization.

Henderson Suspended after Intentional Foul on Hansbrough

I have all the respect in the world for Coach K and all the incredible things he has done at Duke. But, as far as me liking the Duke organization (Maryland fan), it doesn't quite go as well. After I saw North Carolina's star big-man Tyler Hansbrough take a shot from Duke's Gerald Henderson, I found a bit more hate for Duke. You can say all you want that basketball is a contact sport, and collisions resulting in injuries occur, but that was not a collision. Henderson came down with an elbow on Hansbrough with intentions of making contact. He may have not wanted to break his nose, but that's what all accused gunmen say, "I didn't want to kill him." I played basketball long enough to know there is contact, and I personally had my way with elbows coming down on heads, but never have I been in the situation as Henderson was to come down that hard with his elbow, and to hit another player in the face is a whole other aspect. I think his suspension served him right, this is not a UFC match, its a basketball game. I respect Hansbrough for not holding any harsh feelings towards Henderson for the blow he took, and neither will I view Henderson any differently, but I am certain Henderson had every intention of striking Hansbrough on that play.

At the time of publishing this blog, I just watched the video of Kobe Bryant again flailing his arm after a shot, and again hitting an opposing player. This time he was called for the foul, and maybe this time he will learn his lesson. Basketball is a game of control, and Bryant doesn't appear to have much of it.

American Idol Performances - Week 1

2007-02-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

With this year only being the second full year I've watched American Idol, I can't judge on how the first four seasons were like, but I have a feeling they started out a little better than this one. The guys end of the performances were not so great, maybe two or three that were good, but nothing spectacular. I thought there was some great potiental too, Sonjaya was the biggest let down. You could tell he was about to piss his pants. Sundance really stunk up the place, and Chris Sligh got into it with Simon, and its only the first week! The few performances I did like were Blake Lewis and Phil Stacey. Blake did well with a tough song by Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know" and pulled out a good performance, but nothing spectacular. Phil started off really bland with Edwin McCain "I Could Not Ask For More" but really put together a nice vocal performance once the chorus and bridge came around. Other than that, they were all just OK. Jared Cotter attempted Brian McKnight, and didn't do terrible, but I think he has a rich, smooth voice, and if he continues to pick good songs, he could go far. My early favorite, Chris Sligh, did not really impress me that much. The song choice was fun to perform, but I don't think the overall performance was the best of the guys' group. My picks to go home this week will have to be Sundance Head and Chris Richardson.

The gals, on the other hand, totally rocked the house big time. Much more exciting performances overall from the ladies than that of the men. Stephanie Edwards got things started off on the right foot, and most of the remaining ladies followed. Definitely the best performance, and everyone can agree, was from Lakisha Jones. She let it all out, and I doubt there is anything she couldn't sing. Melinda Doolittle also did extremely well, proving attitude isn't the end all be all. A word of advice to the ladies; no Celine Dion PLEASE! Sappy, slow, and heart-wrenching songs do not appeal to a lot of your viewers. Especially me. Pick a song to have fun with and give energy through, not to just stand behind the mic and force out notes, which is what a few of the girls tried to do, even with upbeat songs. My favorite girl now is definitely Leslie Hunt. Not only does she have a unique attractiveness to her, she has a darn good voice, and "Natural Woman" fit real well. Unfortunately, two girls must leave the competition, and I am predicting that Haley Scarnato and Nicole Tranquillo will be those two. A couple of gorgeous ladies, but it didn't work for them on Wednesday.

Stay tuned after the results show where I will have my quick blurb on my reaction of the results and expectations for next week.

The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the SEC

2007-02-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

Saturday, February 17 2007. Most of the population of the southern states, from Florida to Arkansas will remember this date for a variety of reasons. If, however, you are outside the threshold of the great south, don't feel left out; I will walk through a Saturday that will make, break, or just flat out kill an athletic program.
Let's begin with ...

Frank Broyles to Retire at Arkansas
Basically, Broyles is gone. After a half-century at Arkansas in one form another, whether it had been coaching the late great Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys (no wonder they operate their programs identically ...), or hiring coaches such as Lou Holtz, Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Sutton, and Nolan Richardson as the athletic director. Despite Broyles' much famed success as a coach and an AD, he has been heavily criticized by the Arkansas fan base over the past few years over the lack of success with the football program, along with head football coach Houston Nutt. Following Arkansas' breakout performance in the 2006 season, winning ten consecutive games after falling to Southern California the first game of the season, the SEC West title, and a New Year's Day bowl game, the state of Arkansas still were not happy. The drama surrounding the departure of offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, and the probable departure of highly-recruited quarter back Mitch Mustain wasn't handled as expected from the board of trustees and the fan base. Rumors early in the week suggested Broyles had until Saturday to state his resignation or will be forced from the school by the board. Too many Arkansans, this is the greatest news since Nolan Richardson was fired (but we all see how well that decision fared). Broyles' retirement will take effect at the end of the 2007 calendar year.
Frank Broyles is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Broyles assistances while a head coach went on to win a combined 40 conference titles, 5 National Championships and 5 Super Bowls.

Number 1 Ranked Florida Tossed by Vanderbilt in Nashville
Florida came into Saturday's game a perfect 11-0 in Southeastern Conference play and riding the nation's longest win-streak at 17. Obviously, the team already penciled in win number 12 and add one to the win streak before stepping on the court. Florida played from behind the entire game, their biggest lead of only 5 points 5 minutes into the game. Florida's lack of support from its starting five, all of which who average double digits on the season, along with Vandy's outstanding guard play from Byars and Foster (24 points a piece) spelled out Florida's first SEC lost of the season, and on the road in a surprisingly tough arena to play in, especially carrying the number one ranking in the nation. A stat that really stuck out to me was this: Noah only played 21 minutes and scored 15. Reserve center played 22 minutes and scored a mere 2 points. That might have not been the key stat in their loss, but ... Florida will have to have much more bench support if they are to make another Final Four or even a National Championship run (Florida's bench:52 minutes, 13 points). That also lies upon the shoulders of the starters to stay out of foul trouble, which is what tagged Noah. Florida's season is long from over, of course. But, the loss today definately pointed out that this team is human. They can be stopped. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a power house team that has to do it (since the 2000 Finals loss, Florida did not make it to the Sweet 16 once until their title run in 2006). No jinx or anything, but, at the current pattern, it will be 2012 before Florida makes it past the Sweet 16 again.
Vanderbilt was the first team to celebrate a victory over Florida in 2007; the Gators last loss - December 17, 2006 against in-state rival Florida State.

If you didn't get a picture of how big of impact this Saturday was for most of the south-east, then there is no other way to paint it. For Arkansas fans, this either means the beginning of the end, or the beginning to a new Arkansas Razorbacks. This is essentially like losing Jerry Jones or George Steinbrenner; American icons in sporting ownerships. His accomplishments aside, a majority of the Razorback nation is relieved Broyles will be nothing but history to Arkansas in the year coming. That is, unless he dies first.

American Idol Returns!

2007-02-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

All I can say, "it's about time!" I think this will be yet another good and memorable year for Idol. I am not totally sure who my favorite is this year (last year, Taylor had me from "I was born on the river,"), but if I were forced, Chris Sligh would get my nod. Like Taylor, he doesn't quite have that look of being a great singer, but he is. I don't like to make premature predictions, so I will wait at least until next week before I figure out who will be in the top 6 on the guys' side. One thing I feel this season is lacking is a Chris Daughtry/Bo Bice type of singer. Most of the guys are more pop, jazz, or R&B sounding, but I will still stand by my comment on this being a memorable season.

As for the ladies, lots of great looking ones for sure, and again, as it was last year, I think there is more talent on the guys' side. But, you never know. I would like to see a girl comeback and get it. There isn't really ONE girl that stands out as far as singing. Looks, that's another story. Miss Jordin Sparks (my nominee for this season's Lisa Tucker, I mean they look JUST ALIKE!) is absolutely beautiful, not to mention she can belt it out. So, I guess she can be my fave at the moment. I am eager to hear all the girls sing, because I may be surprised at what I hear from some. Thank goodness we do not have another Pickler this season. That might have ruined it for me. Oh, and no Kevin Covais either! WOHOO, this could be a much better season for Idol after all.

Check out americanidol.com to see all the contestants' profiles and photos. Be sure to watch the guys perform on Tuesday and be ready to vote for you favorite. Check back each week prior to vote offs to get my insight on each performance and who I would send home and which girl I want to take home.

Ken

NFL Offseason Report

2007-02-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

The NFL Offseason has begun, and so far, has been filled with its share of activity.

The main story of the first week has been the firing of Coach Marty Schottenheimer from the San Deigo Chargers on Tuesday 13 February. This comes after an NFL best 14-2 record, yet a second-round dismissal from the playoffs, courtesy of the New England Patriots. Schottenheimer ends his 5-year tenure at San Deigo without a postseason win, adding to his infamous resume of being unsucessful in the playoffs. Schottenheimer will still receive $4 million from San Diego to not coach in 2007, which is probably likely, after Schottenheimer stating on ESPNews on Tuesday he is not sure if coaching still lies in his future.

Early speculation says that former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells is a possibility for the void, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, but John Clayton suggests that neither Parcells or USC coach Pete Caroll would be candidates because of GM A.J. Smith's unwillingness to hand over full control of the team.

Key coaching moves this off-season including the Dallas Cowboys' hiring of Wade Phillips, who was assistant to Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego, and Pittsburgh Steelers' decision on head coach Mike Tomlin, after each team lost Hall-of-Fame bound head coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Cowher. Lane Kiffin, Cam Cameron, Ken Whisenhunt, and Bobby Petrino will all make their head coaching debut in the NFL in 2007 after being hired to the Raiders, Dolphins, Cardinals, and Falcons respectively. Petrino and Cameron both have college head coaching experience, Petrino at Louisville and Cameron at Indiana. Kiffin, at age 31, became the youngest coach in the NFL since the NFL-AFL merger.

After the Colts won Super Bowl XLI, many doubters were finally assured that Peyton Manning had the "monkey" off his back. However, the question that also comes up is can Peyton do it again, much more, can the Colts do it again? The Colts have $200,000 (before Manning's restructured contract lends $8 million to the cap) in salary cap room, which doesn't leave a lot considering the number of valuable unrestricted free agents the Colts are dealing with this off-season, including Ricky Proehl, Terrance Wilkins, Rob Morris, Nick Harper, Dominic Rhodes, Rocky Boiman, James Mungro, Dan Klecko, Cato June, and Dwight Freeney. Rhodes, seeming to be the biggest loss if he decides to leave the Colts for a starring role elsewhere, has had mixed responses on whether he would rather stay and back up Joseph Addai, or leave for a starting position. The loss of June could also account for some valuable line backers the Colts have lost in previous years. Freeney, who received the franchise tag last year, will more than likely get tagged again. The Colts need to focus on how to keep Rhodes around, in case Addai is injured, he is a veteran who has proved he can carry the load of hand offs and be a starter, which is the main reason in a possible decision to leave.

With the combine just around the corner, there is sure to be more and more talk about who will get the number one draft pick. With Oakland holding the first pick, it would not be a surprise for them to draft Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson, since the Randy Moss situation might end up in a trade. If Oakland can get Aaron Brooks in a proven system, having Johnson would turn this team completely around, considering the monster of a defense that is already in place. If Johnson is the first pick, there would be no doubt that LSU QB JaMarcus Russell would go to Detroit, considering they haven't exactly had firm lock the starter. With the receivers in place, Detroit could turn into a good offensive team with Russell behind center. However, if Oakland decides to pass on Johnson and take Russell first pick, that would shape up my top five board:
1. Oakland - JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU
2. Detroit - Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin
3. Tampa Bay - Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech
4. Cleveland - Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame
5. Arizona - Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas