Black Friday for the Black Mexican

First thing's first. Happy belated thanksgiving, Dank-Gamers. I'm sure you all said a word about being thankful for this truly amazing blog. Enough of that.

OK, so Ron Artest has come back strong in the past couple of weeks in the Ochocinco-Artest craziest athlete battle. Both have certainly been entertaining this season, but Chad's newfound maturity (not sure they'd call it that for any other players) has left him seeming a little sane.

So even if Ron Ron is looking to have a leg up in the competetion, I want to know how his "Black Friday" went.

Chad bought tons of stuff, according to his twitter account. He hit up Best Buy, Target, and even tweeted that he was going to fall asleep in Value City Furniture.

As a bonus, he took a picture of him trying on his new $5.00 Snuggie (that's right - The Blanket You Can Wear!) And yes, he apparently was still in the store when he first put it on.


No word yet on if he'll turn into a lazy, slobbering, obese loser like the 10% of Americans that already own Snuggies. But he probably will when all that McDonald's catches up to him.

B Jennings 55 point game

Brandon Jennings going off for 55 was incredible. If you
haven't seen it, you should watch it here, there's three parts: (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUa7wf3cavg ). As the Bucks announcers
rightly point out, He played the two man game with Bogut to
perfection. Bogut was hitting tough screens, Jennings doesn't need
much space, good combo. Towards the end of the game he was taking
tougher shots when Bogut got into foul trouble, but it didn't matter
because he was still draining 3 pointers with a hand in his face (7/8
on the night).

I think Brandon Jennings is proof that college is not that
great for preparing players to be professionals. Playing in a real pro
league with a coach who would not let him have the keys to the offense
has helped his maturity. A college coach would have let him play his
game more, but he wouldn't have learned as much about how to play as
part of a team.

Despite that, his relationship with Scott Skiles will certainly
be strained as a scoring point guard. I do think his defense looked
pretty good at times, especially with the way he was playing the zone,
which will certainly help his cause with a defense coach like Scott
Skiles. You watch his footwork in the zone, at the 1:57 mark of the
second part of the you tube replay, and he played the ball well,
forced Ellis into a tough shot and picks up the defensive rebound; I'm
sure Scott Skiles was proud. Defensive rebounding is an indicator of
good defense and he is averaging 4.3 rebounds a game with 3.5 of
those on the defensive end. I don't think he would be doing that
without a coach like Scott Skiles to harp on him and he may not have
been as prepared to receive that without his experience with
Lottomatica Roma.

At first I thought Jennings looked like the next Iverson, but
his shooting percentage as a rookie is higher (though 12 games is a
small sample compared to the 76 on record for Iverson's rookie year).
Looking at his game, he's got some Rondo-like qualities. His
rebounding is very good for a point guard, much like Rondo. Rondo is
really efficient with his turnovers always being low, but Jennings is
more of a scorer, which will always lead to higher turnovers. I think
it bodes well for Jennings that there is no easy comparison, he will
make his own name.

Artest continues to distance himself from Ochocinco

Just when I thought Ron Ron had finally started to settle down, he went and tossed Trevor Ariza's shoe during a game. And now, he recently appeared on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show... in his undies. Ok, so they're pretty big, unrevealing shorts so it's not all that crazy, but still. Ochocinco looked pretty dapper when he did his Top Diez List on David Letterman. It's also worth noting that Ron has "Jimmy Kimmel Live" shaved into the back of his head. Also, he likes drum rolls and loves Hersheys.

Click here for part 2, when Ron discusses walking in on Kobe taking a shower, who's skin apparently emits steam.

Cincinnati - We always need more Johnsons!

2005 was a great year for the Bengals. I'm not talking about winning their division. I'm not even talking about going to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.

I'm talking about the world's most fantastic collection of Johnsons!

Wide receiver Chad Johnson and running back Rudi Johnson were the star skill players of the offense. Rudi ran behind fullback Jeremi Johnson, and Chad practiced running short routes against linebacker Landon Johnson. It was a great time for Johnsons. It was a great time for Cincinnati.

2006 almost saw more of the same. The team even added backup QB Doug Johnson, increasing the number of Johnsons to five. But the magic was no longer there, and by the end of the season the team appeared impotent.

The Bengals bottomed out in 2008. Landon Johnson had left in free agency, Rudi was banished to the wastelands of Detroit, Jeremi was too fat, Doug disappeared or something, and Chad infamously changed his last name to Ochocinco. Needless to say, the team only won 4 games. Things had to change. Cincinnati needed more Johnsons.

Enter the 2009 Cincinnati Bengals. Jeremi regained his physique and rejoined the team. The Bengals signed defensive tackle "Tank" Johnson in free agency. And the team drafted defensive end Michael Johnson (nickname: Giraffe). Things were looking up, and the team went 7-2 to start the season.

But there was a problem. Coach Marvin Lewis and owner Mike Brown knew from 2005 that the magic number of Johnsons was four. They scanned the NFL far and wide for weeks, but could not find a suitable Johnson. Until last week.

Running back Larry Johnson finally pissed off Kansas City enough following his "fags" rant that they cut him from the team. Apparently in Kansas City, multiple accounts of violence against women is less offensive than saying fags a few times in a press conference, but that's another post. The point is, Larry Johnson was perfect for Cincinnati.

The team debuted their four Johnson attack this week in Oakland. The results were less than stellar, but the Johnsons looked OK. Actually, they looked pretty bad, with Jeremi losing a fumble, and Tank and Michael registering zero sacks. But only time will tell if this collection of Johnsons is as powerful as the 2005 variety. The experiment will be exciting.

So welcome to Cincinnati, Larry Johnson. Please stay away from our nightclubs and women.

Playoff Stretch Preview

I meant to post this before this weekend's crop of games, but oh well:

That's right folks. It's time to start talking about the NFL playoff picture. I've drawn up a neat little chart of how I think the post season will shake down, right up to the Saints-Bengals superbowl!
Seeding is really important to any sports postseason, and the NFL is no exception. I see the current top seeds of both conferences staying put. It's very hard to imagine the undefeated Saints and Colts not capturing the top spots. A one-loss Vikings team looks to have a lock on the second spot in the NFC, while a 7-2 Bengals should coast through the remaining easy schedule to nail down the number two spot in the AFC. Even after an unexpected Raiders loss, I still think the Bengals will win nearly all of their remaining games. These four teams will be rewarded with a first round bye.

In the AFC East, it's pretty clear that the Patriots will run away with the division. The race was even in the AFC West, but the Broncos are on a serious decline after an unthinkable 6-0 start, and the Chargers have slowly but surely gained momentum and taken control of the division.

The wild card spots are quite interesting in the AFC, however, with at least 5 teams in hot contention for the last two playoff spots. I've kept the Ravens and Steelers out of the playoff picture because they have two meetings left this season. So they'll probably beat each other out of the race, while a "little-engine-that-could" Dolphins team that has lost three of its starters but has gotten better, and a pretty good Texans team will sneak in. The Broncos and possibly the Jaguars will join the Steelers and Ravens as teams just barely missing the post-season in the AFC.

In the NFC, the Cardinals have practically already won the West notwithstanding an extreme last season comeback by the initially dominant 49ers. The East is usually the Division to beat in the NFC, but this year the top three teams look wobbly. I see Philly bouncing back to win the division, the Cowboys season crashing late, and the Giants reemerging with a late season playoff berth in the 6th spot. The Falcons possibly have the easiest path to a wildcard in the NFC, and I think they'll get the 5th spot over the Giants.

Outside of the Bengals and Saints taking it all the way to the Superbowl, the Chargers will win a few January games, as will the Eagles. The only other wins I forecast are divisional round victories by the Patriots and Giants.

So there you have it, Dank-Game.

Until this looks ridiculous in 3 weeks and I redo it.

What is beef?

Beef is when your crew starts shit with a 68-year-old sportscaster backstage on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show. According to the Los Angeles Times, 50 Cent's entourage was hostile towards Marv Albert, who was in town for the Lakers/Bulls game, as he arrived at the show.

"As Albert arrived, with an entourage of one, TNT public relations specialist Jeff Pomeroy, there was a sudden scuffle when a multitude of 50 Cent protectors seemed unfamiliar with Albert. There was shouting ("It's Marv Albert," yelled a Kimmel show guard, a pronouncement that seemed to have no effect on the 50 Cent phalanx.) There were obscenities. A fist or two flying. A 'Don't you put your hands on me' pronouncement.

And finally Albert made it to his waiting room, relatively unruffled but slightly puzzled. 'Did you see that?' Albert said. 'I thought they were kidding, but then I realized they weren't.'"

It's about time 50 Cent got past beefing with lightweights like Ja Rule, but I don't think 50 and his crew know quite what they're up against. Marv comes with it realer than real. He doesn't beef to make it on some documentary, he beefs for blood. Look out for the release of the fifth installment of the Beef documentary series, in which Marv Albert and his entourage of one bring the pain to 50 Cent and his entire wanksta crew. Word has it that Beef V will also include the legendary beef between LeBron/Jay-Z and DeShawn Stevenson/Soulja Boy.

Miami of Ohio Heat

The Heat have finally come back down to earth after an unexpected 6-1 start, but first I want to address something else: that dick Teenage Mustache spreading lies about me. In his recent Thunder vs. Heat Dank Game Showdown post, 'Stache claims that as a child I thought the Miami Heat were a local team based in Oxford, which is widely known as Miami of Ohio. While it was meant to be fun and games, more people than I'm comfortable with have taken 'Stache's silly joke seriously. So let me clear the air and make it known that I have always been aware that the Miami Heat were based in Miami, FL. I'm sure 'Stache is off in Newark, OH (pronounced "Nurk") cackling with satisfaction as he reads this. Now, back to the Miami of Ohio Hea... I mean... the Miami Heat... of Florida. I swear, I've known all along.

The Heat have dropped two straight back-to-back games, which seemed due to happen at some point. In the Dank Game Showdown between the Heat and Thunder, Oklahoma City's height was just too much for the Heat. Thabo Sefolosha has been gaining a reputation as a lockdown defender, and he looked the part guarding Dwyane Wade who couldn't seem to get a good look at the basket. Sefolosha's length pestered Wade, as Thabo kept Wade in check and at one point stripped the ball from him as he was driving which led to an easy fastbreak dunk. Another matchup in which height gave OKC the advantage was 6'9" Kevin Durant against 6'6" Quentin Richardson. I thought that coach Spoelstra should've utilized 6'9" Dorell Wright against Durant, who's played some good perimeter defense when given the chance. Dorell guarded LeBron better than anyone else on the Heat. With the young point guard showdown, Russell Westbrook picked up where he left off last season in murdering Mario Chalmers. Westbrook more or less finished the Heat off halfway through the 4th after hitting a deep three to put the Thunder up 87-72. The only bright spot was that Daequan Cook found his three-point stroke in the fourth quarter, almost making it a game. But of course, it was too little too late.

I only watched the second half of last night's game against the Hawks, so I don't have much insight on this one. With Udonis Haslem out and Beasley finding himself on the bench due to foul trouble, Shavlik Randolph (pictured above) played a lot more than I would've liked. By the way, I mainly just used that image because Shav (which I can only assume he likes to be called) has that certain white bread look that you can't find outside of Oxford's campus. Anyhow, Shav had yet to play a game this season and he looked pretty shook out there. Again, coach Spoelstra went with a lineup at the beginning of the fourth that made no sense to me. For some reason he saw it fit to throw Shav, Carlos Arroyo, Daequan Cook, James Jones, and Joel Anthony on the floor together. The Hawks' lead would go from 7 to 12 in a matter of minutes with this group. By the time Spoelstra put a real lineup on the floor, the Heat looked like they had already accepted a loss. This team really needs to get it together, as the past few games they haven't played with any urgency.

Also, I knew I would regret not putting the Hawks in the playoffs. Wishful thinking, I guess.

rambo rapes scotland

18-year old aaron ramsey, after creating the first two goals, scores a third for wales in a friendly against scotland. watch him break mcmanus' ankles with an artful move, before man united's douchebag enforcer darren fletcher unsuccessfully tries his hand, giving what could have been a penalty in the process. love this shit.



shit like this keeps my mind off the senseless injury to robin van persie, and the official waving of the white flag by the new orleans hornets franchise. fuck...

Where there's Thunder, there's Heat

It's on!  Slim's McFavorite team (the Miami Heat) vs. yours truly's favored Oklahoma City Thunder.  Tomorrow night, baby!

Some background:

Slim started Dank Game back in July of 2009 to fill the large void in opinionated sports writing on the internet.  Suffering from a lack of charisma, Dank Game turned to Cincinnati wunderkind Teenage Mustache (actual name). 

For the most part, a decision was reached that Slim would continue to focus on the NBA, while America's real pro sport was covered by the 'Stache.  We even got some dick from Columbus to cover English football (you know, soccer), just to round out our coverage.  Naturally, baseball was considered non essential.

However, football season will end (hopefully after the Bengals win the Superbowl for the first time), and the 'Stache needs to keep this good thing going.  Without a Cincinnati team to root for (until we bring the Royals back), Mustache scanned the league for a team worthy of his fandom.  Not surprisingly, his heart landed in Oklahoma City.

Slim meanwhile has been rooting for the Heat since boyhood.  Mistaking Miami, FL for Miami of Ohio (and thus thinking it was a local team), Slim nevertheless stuck with his choice after discovering his initial mistake.  He was rewarded with a Miami NBA championship, thanks almost entirely to the addition of Shaquille O'Neal to the team.

Flash forward to Tuesday, Nov. 16th - the first Thunder-Heat showdown since Dank Game was launched.  Bragging rights will be established, fun will be had, I will be working :(

OK, so it's not a perfect night.  But once the Thunder have secured victory, it won't matter.  Game on.

No, make that Dank-Game on!

Ron Artest wins by any means necessary

The only problem is the Lakers didn't win. Early in the Lakers game against the Rockets, former Laker Trevor Ariza's shoe fell of during a scramble for a rebound. As Ariza attempted to grab his shoe, Ron Ron grabbed his shoe and tossed it out of bounds. To add insult to injury, after the Lakers secured the ball on a miss by Luis Scola, Artest nailed a three. During the replay at the end of the video, you can see Ariza's reaction. I'm guessing he said something along the lines of, "Are you fucking serious?"

Who Dey! WHO DEY! Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals!

It's time to print the playoff tickets! At 7-2, and with four extremely easy games on tap, it's nearly impossible to imagine anything but a playoff berth for the tigers of 2009.

What (besides a healthy Carson Palmer) is the difference between the 2008 and 2009 Bengals? I'm gonna say the pass rush. Cincinnati had zero sacks against the Steelers last season. This year, I don't have the exact count, but it is closer to five or six. And many of them came at crucial moments.

Despite multiple red zone trips by Pittsburgh, Cincinnati held the Steelers to mere field goals. After an unexpected Bernard Scott kickoff return for a touchdown, 4 FGs weren't going to cut it.

Although he missed a 51 yard field goal (which apparently would have been the longest ever at Heinz Field), Shayne Graham quickly remembered "Where-da-party"s at, making four clutch field goals. Brandon Johnson filled in admirably for the injured Keith Rivers, knocking down a key 3rd down pass. And Fanene, filling in for Antwan Odom, had two sacks. Plenty more accolades can and will be given, but in the meantime let's just rest assured that the 2009 Cincinnati Bengals are winners.

Nothing feels better than beating the Steelers. Except beating the Steelers twice!

Making up for missed time

I know, I've fallen off pretty hard from posting on Dank Game, so I'm just going to post a couple videos of Dwyane Wade being sweet from the past week.

First off, we have Dwyane absolutely decimating Anderson Varejao. Being from Ohio, a lot of people question why I'm a Miami Heat fan and not a Cavs fan. This dunk more or less sums up why. Anderson Varejao is a total punk, and Dwyane Wade is totally sweet. Plus, if I became a Cavs fan, I'd be shamelessly jumping on the LeBron bandwagon. I must admit, I am jealous of Cleveland actually having an arena that fans show up to, but as my colleague Teen Mustache pointed out to me, people in Cleveland have nothing better to do than go support the Cavs.

Lastly, we have Dwyane's game winning three-pointer from tonight against the Nets. Despite missing Jermaine O'Neal and losing Mario Chalmers four minutes into the game with a strained right shoulder, the Heat looked pretty pathetic against the still winless Nets. I love watching D-Wade hit game winning shots, but I'd much rather see the Heat come out and win in convincing fashion. Especially since the Nets were missing several players, including two of their best players in Devin Harris and Courtney Lee. Still, that was one of Dwyane's best clutch shots. From the moment of the release, I just had that feeling it was going to sink.

Ochocinco Updates

It's been too long since Dank Game checked in on 85. I take the blame. Chad did plenty of noteworthy things in the last several weeks, but there was never any one totally brilliant moment, forcing me to drop everything and let the world know. Or likely remind them, as I don't think Dank-Game has yet become anyone's first-stop shop for Bengals info. Perhaps in time.

On to the point: The most outrageous of Ochocinco's recent prank was trying to "bribe" the replay official. With a $1.00 bill.

Baltimore had challenged Ochocinco's catch, as it appeared he had stepped out of bounds. To keep his catch ruled a catch, he attempted to hand the official the dollar. I'd explain the whole thing to you in more detail, but this kid does a pretty good job:

And here is some recorded-off-TV-screen replay of it. Sorry, I could not find a better Youtube video of the actual incidence:

Chad was fined $20,000 for the "bribe." I think it was pretty clearly a joke but either way, Ocho is undeterred. On his Twitter page, he challenged, "child wait till you see what I do in Pittsburgh, remember I set aside fine fund before the season started, I'm just starting!!!"

Ochocinco also sent a care package of deodorant to the Raven's defense, since they were probably sweating the thought of covering him. No word on whether this was effective, as Ray Lewis was nowhere to be found after the game

According to ProFootballTalk, Chad also wanted to send mustard to the Steelers, presumably because they play at Heinz (ketchup) field. Marvin Lewis said no, but given Chad's recent tweet, he'll find something else ridiculous to do.

Perfect weekend?

In my half-drunken stupor that was an awesome weekend of Cincinnati football, I forgot to check in on my beloved Thunder.

And that's too bad, because they destroyed the Magic. You know, the guys that won the NBA Eastern Conference. Well, the Thunder beat them by almost 30 points.

So let's review:

Bearcats win!
Bengals win!
Ravens lose!
Brown are on bye (this is the closest they may come to another win all year)
Thunder win big!

Now, if Pittsburgh loses tonight, this may have been the greatest regular season sports weekend of my life

I wonder how many times I could type "Who Dey" before I've used too many characters for a title

Who fuckin' dey!

Who now remains that says this isn't a great team?

They just swept division rival Baltimore. That's right, the Ravens. You remember, they played in the AFC Championship game last season. Against Superbowl champion Pittsburgh. Who the Bengals also beat this season. And who they play again next Sunday.

At any rate, Cincinnati is on pace for a 12-4 season at the midway point. No 12-4 team has ever missed the playoffs. And Cincinnati has 4 very easy games left on their schedule (at Oakland, vs. Cleveland, vs. Detroit, vs. Kansas City), which suggests an easy path to at least a 10-6 record.

To say I'm thrilled with Cincinnati this season is an understatement. This team is going to win a lot more games than they lose. They aren't putting up top of the league stats, but I'm starting to think that's a good thing. This team wins without one player having to put up a top 5 performance.

Oh, except Cedric Benson. I cannot explain the success he's had with the Bengals. Hopefully he won't be in the Pro Bowl because he's preparing for the Superbowl!

Don't be surprised if the following Bengals (in order) make the Pro Bowl either:
Leon Hall (CB)
Carson Palmer (QB)
Jonathan Joseph (CB)
Dhani Jones (MLB) - as an alternate perhaps

Final thought - The Bengals never came close to scoring in the second half, but they still won by ten. They forced Joe Flacco to two of the worst performances of his career. This team may not put up numbers, but they win games.

I'm looking forward to the Saints-Bengals Superbowl!

Straight Cash Homey

Straight Cash Homey Dot Net is a blog that posts submitted photos of people in public wearing awful and/or obscure sports jerseys. I've been wanting to get a photo on this blog for a while, but whenever I've come across a terrible jersey I've just narrowly missed getting a photo of it. Recently, I finally got a quality shot of one. As you can see, it's a Toni Kukoc Milwaukee Bucks jersey and it made it on to Straight Cash Homey today. This is quite an accomplishment for me.

Big Baby to the NFL

According to ProFootballTalk.com, Glen "Big Baby" Davis has a serious itch to play NFL football some day. Specifically, after he becomes a super star in the NBA. I could continue to regurgitate information from Mike Florio's post, but his trademark wit was clearly on when he wrote his article, so why don't you just read that instead.

In the meantime, I've made this ridiculous Photoshop art for you to marvel at.

Slim, does this count as an NBA or NFL post?

OKC Thunder have the best . . .

You'll all be pleased to hear that the word to close the headline sentence is "mascot."

Yes, Oklahoma City Thunder mascot Rumble the Bison received an award Tuesday for NBA Mascot of the Year. Yes, the one pictured to the left.

The trophy was presented during the first quarter of their OT loss to the Lakers. The Utah Jazz Bear accepted the invitation to present the award. Video can be seen here.

So even though the Thunder's inaugural season may not have gone as smoothly as we would have liked it to, they are perfect in one area:

They have won NBA Mascot of the Year every year of their existence.

This was 'Staches first NBA post. How am I doing?

Converse SBs

Like my fellow Dank Game sneaker colleague Sean, I have lost any ambition of posting the flyest new shit in the sneaker world. In fact, I never really had that ambition in the first place. I just like to post stuff that I think is sweet. One thing that I think is pretty sweet is Converse's recent skateboarding shoes. I'm no skateboarder, so I can't comment on how they perform on the half-pipe, but I can comment on how dope they look. And let me tell you, these shoes look pretty fucking dope. Unfortunately, I can't find any information about when or where these will be released. Any help with this would be appreciated.

This is the Converse SB Revere Mid from the Converse Red Suede Series. I'm really feeling the simple design and red suede with navy trim. Check out Nice Kicks for more photos of the Converse Red Suede Series.

This is the second pair from the Red Suede Series, which are obviously Chuck Taylors. I've always liked when Chucks use the material of the shoe for the toe rather than extending the rubber sole. Check the link above for more photos of these shoes.

This is the Converse CTS Mid Navy Blue Waxed Canvas. Another nice looking Chuck Taylor. I'm definitely feeling the look of the waxed canvas. Check out Nice Kicks for more photos.

Heat split back-to-back

The Miami Heat are now 4-1, which is an encouraging start for a team many observers had missing the playoffs. They should be 5-0 if it weren't for an awful 4th quarter in which they only scored 15 points. Michael Beasley was largely absent in the past two games during the final quarter, as coach Erik Spoelstra seems to still lack confidence in Beasley when the games matter most. While it is understandable with Haslem playing strong down the stretch in the previous game against the Bulls, you can't help but wonder if Michael's offense could've helped them win the game.

Speaking of Spoelstra, sometimes his rotations are truly mystifying. At the beginning of the fourth quarter against the Suns, Spoelstra had a lineup of Carlos Arroyo, Dorell Wright, James Jones, Joel Anthony, and I think Quentin Richardson. That just isn't going to work. Maybe if J.O. were on the floor, Spoelstra might explain that he is spacing the floor with shooters, but Joel Anthony was playing center, who doesn't even come close to demanding a double team. Hell, Anthony can more or less be left open on offense. That's not how you close games as a coach.

The Heat started out strong against the Wizards last night, ending the first quarter up 31-17. While the Heat's defense has looked strong, this good start can also be credited to turnovers by the Wizards. Dwyane Wade carried most of the offensive load early in the game and the Heat also had to rely on Wade to close out the game, which is a growing concern. Wade finished with 40 points, going 14 of 26 from the floor.

Michael Beasley and Jermaine O'Neal have got to step up their offense and rebounding if the team wants to be considered even marginal contenders. O'Neal finished with 4 points and 7 boards, while Beasley had just 10 points and 4 boards. The Heat forced the Wizards to 37% shooting, but they also gave up 13 offensive rebounds.

Quentin Richardson continues to be a big addition for the Heat, especially in these last two games. His defense has been great throughout the season, but he's finally starting to find his outside shot going 5-7 from deep against the Wiz. He's also provided great hustle on both ends of the court.

Another glaring problem for the Heat that has come to light in the past two games is the point guard position. Chalmers has provided some quality offensive play, but he just couldn't handle guarding Steve Nash and Gilbert Arenas who both had big games. Carlos Arroyo couldn't even stay on the floor against the Wizards as Arenas quickly forced him into foul trouble.

Despite all of the Heat's problems, they've shot well as a team, played overall good team defense, and they're off to a 4-1 start. I'm hoping that Daequan Cook can come back soon from his shoulder injury, as he was a key factor to the Heat's success in the first half of last season. I'm also wondering what the status is on Jamaal Magloire who's yet to play after serving a two game suspension due to an altercation in the preseason with Pistons rookie Jonas Jerebko. Magloire has proved to be a serviceable center in limited minutes.

Week 8 NFL Observations

Another week in the NFL, and we know a little more about what to expect from here on out. Several teams who looked like post season locks a few weeks ago have fallen off, while others continue to dominate. And their are a handful of teams that just might be able to claw their way into the playoffs after a slow start. There's a lot of exciting football left this season.

No one is more exciting than the New Orleans Saints. Their Monday night game contained probably more errors than they've made all seasons against a good Falcons team. I have to think that this team would be nearly impossible to beat in a playoff situation, and as they'll likely have home field advantage throughout the playoffs that goes double.

The Colts are less exciting, but that's probably just because they win 12+ games every season. Regardless, Indianapolis is the only other undefeated team in the NFL, and they will look to make it deep into the playoffs for the first time since their Superbowl win. The Patriots, who have really hit their stride midseason, are still on both teams' schedules. Get excited.

Two long-shot teams that will be interesting to watch for the rest of the season are the Miami Dolphins and the Houston Texans. After losing their starting quarterback for the season, Miami swept a Jets team that started the season 3-0. The Texans have shaken off a poor start to emerge with a 5-3 record, and an excellent shot at the franchises first ever post season berth.

Elsewhere, it will likely be a photo finish between two inconsistent teams in the NFC-West - the Cardinals and 49ers. The AFC-North, NFC-East, and NFC-North each have three teams above .500, and only the NFC-North has a clear leader thus far.

Next week I will re-evaluate my playoff picks for the midseason mark (although two teams will have played 9 of their games. Don't blame me, I don't do the scheduling for the NFL). I imagine I'll take the Titans and Panthers out of the hunt! Reluctantly, I may have to add Pittsburgh.

jay emmanuel-thomas: manchild

arsenal youngster jay emmanuel-thomas, who is gaining experience on loan to blackpool this season, scored a retarded goal this weekend. dude can play pretty much all positions on the pitch, from centreback to striker. here (at :35 seconds), he dribbles past several doncaster defenders and easily slots one home. can't wait until he sees some arsenal first team action.

31/10/09
Uploaded by theseasider. - Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.

as a bonus, the series of two successive goals scored by footballing heroes robin van persie and cesc fabregas against the scum this weekend, separated at the restart by only twelve seconds. i wish i had not been so immensely hung over at fellow dank-gamers' slim and 'stache's apartment whilst watching this. shouts to the blue jay diner for clearing up said hangover.



i would also like to put notorious homosexual rajon rondo on serious blast-mode. how the fuck are you gonna say chris paul only has those stats cuz he has the ball in his hands all the time? does devin brown have anything to show for the time he is on the court? if cp had your fucking roster around him, he'd be averaging 20 plus assists per game. fuck outta here with that shit. rajon rondo?... c'mon son!

New Balance 996/ Puma Clyde

I've decided at this point that I'm not even going to pretend to keep up with the sneaker scene. So expect to see some possibly outdated posts from now on. Some recent favorites:



Normally I don't get too jazzed about New Balances (all the really nice joints are far too expensive) this is a really nice release. It's not a 500 series and it's not that expensive (zappos.com has them for $109.90).

via NiceKicks

Also, these Clydes are dope as hell. I'm pretty glad Puma's taking a break from doing really stupid shoes (even if they're for a good cause). I don't know when or if they're being released in the US.

via Kenlu

Best play of the season thus far? (Dank Game's 100th Post!)

Unfortunately my NBA League Pass Broadband wouldn't load last night, so I was unable to watch the Heat remain undefeated at 3-0 after beating the Bulls 95-87. Thanks to youtube, I was at least able to watch what was arguably the best play of the season thus far. Wade single handedly cuts through the entire Bulls' defense, hardly even being touched on his way to the hoop. Notice that it only takes him one dribble from the three-point line to get to the rim. Words really can't do this move justice.

Dank Game has officially reached 100 posts. Thanks to everyone who's contributed and anyone who's ever read or is still reading.

Heat end Conseco Fieldhouse drought

The Heat were finally able to end their streak of 14 regular season losses at Conseco Fieldhouse (two of which I attended last season) with a 96-83 victory against the Pacers. The win was also Dwyane Wade's first win in Indiana, after losing his first 11 visits. Pretty much everyone on the Heat contributed, except for Daequan Cook who had an off shooting night. J.O. continues to impress after another big game against his former team. He put up the same numbers he did against the Knicks with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Dwyane Wade made scoring 32 points look easy, getting buckets by hitting jumpers, posting up, and getting to the line. While Quentin Richardson has been relatively quiet on offense in his first two games with the Heat, his defense on All-Star Danny Granger was encouraging. I forgot to mention in my post about the Knicks game that Udonis Haslem has finally lost his starting power forward spot to Michael Beasley, and thus far he's continued to produce. At some point Beasley's talent had to trump Haslem's productive yet limited game. You got to love Udonis for being such a dedicated player and coming off the bench with no complaints and a consistent effort. Then again, he is in a contract year. Speaking of Haslem, he had the play of the game making a poster out of Solomon Jones. The 2-0 start is definitely encouraging, but the Heat has yet to face any real competition and I can't help but wonder if O'Neal can continue to produce like he has these first two games.


Here's the aforementioned Haslem dunk on Solomon Jones. Pretty nasty.