Syracuse Defeats UCONN in Ridiculous 6 OT Thriller (UNREAL)

I am so pissed at myself for not watching the Syracuse vs. UCONN game last night.  I was tired as hell and went to bed at like 10 PM like a wuss and forgot to click over to ESPN for the Big East Tournament before I fell asleep.  Man, was that a mistake.  The game went to 6 Overtimes (!!!) and had to have been one of the best college games in recent memory (at least based on the highlights).Check out the ESPN SportsCenter video highlights above or you can watch a full replay tonight on ESPN Classic or at ESPN360.com. 

That was definitely a sick game and hopefully a sign of more things to come as the NCAA Tournament rapidly approaches.  I have been watching Syracuse over the past few weeks and they are hitting their stride at the perfect time.  They might lose tonight because they are so drained from last night's ridiculous game but look out for them in the tournament.  I have a funny feeling they could make it to the Elite 8 and surprise some higher ranked teams if they match up against them along the way.

UCONN on the other hand is starting to look like a high ranked team that will flame out early.  I could be completely wrong but I think they will be a flop in the tourney.  They have lost a few games in the past weeks and are starting to look like they are no longer a true #1 seed, in my opinion.  With their star player Jerome Dyson out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, they are slowly starting to unravel.  They may still end up getting the #1 seed from the tourney committee but it should probably be Louisville if they win the Big East Tournament.  I would be on the lookout for Louisville as well.  Those dudes are looking great lately and could easily end up in the Final Four if everything falls into place.  I can't wait to start filling out the brackets on Monday morning!!!    

Apple Releases iTunes 8.1 and iTunes DJ Feature (COOL)

Apple released iTunes 8.1 last night with some much needed performance updates and a few extra features.  It used to take iTunes forever to load, especially if you had a large library of songs.  I have about 80 GB of music and movies on my MacBook and it probably took a good 30-45 seconds to get going.  That doesn't seem like a lot but it is an eternity when you just want to start playing some music.  It was painful.  I haven't downloaded the new version yet but based on comments I've seen in other articles, people are seeing a shift from 30-40 seconds to as little as 7 seconds to load now with iTunes 8.1.  That is a HUGE improvement.

The other interesting update was the addition of the iTunes DJ feature which was formerly named Party Shuffle (which SUCKED).  iTunes DJ allows guests to request songs with the Remote app using their iPhone or iPod Touch.  The Remote app allows them to find your iTunes library through WiFi.  Once they are connected, they can search your library of songs and pick which song to play next or add to the queue.  If there are enough people with either device, they can also vote a song up or down in the queue.  This will keep wack song selections to a minimum if the rest of your party has a clue about good music. 

I'm not sure how much I like the idea of this feature since I am a DJ myself and would prefer to control the music and mix at my own parties but of course I do have the option to just shut it off. It's a control thing but also a trust factor since most people have TERRIBLE tastes in music but a lot of non-DJ's will probably like this addition.  It will help lazy people and/or nerds with no clue about music step their party up a bit and it will also bring a fun factor that might have been lacking at their lame wine and cheese party.  

You will need to allow guests to access to your WiFi so you may need to remove your password for a night.  It should be worth it though since it will be a really cool addition to the party and can get everyone talking about music which can be fun and scary all at the same time.  Just pray that you don't have any Phish or Dead Head Freaks in the crowd or they will go on and on about some 40 minute jam session bootleg they downloaded from some dude in Germany.  Freakin' hippies!  

For parties/BBQ's where it's just a chill atmosphere and I don't feel like putting together a huge playlist or have time to pre-mix tracks, this will be perfect.  A lot of my friends are lame and still don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch so it may not always work but it still could be cool if I just allowed people to select songs by using my iPhone.  That way I can relax and drink some beers and not worry about the music so much.  That always stresses me out, even when I'm not at my own house.  I can't stand crappy music at a party.  This could defintiely be a way for me to fix that problem at wack parties now!  FINALLY!  Let's just hope they have a few decent songs in their iTunes library.  Wack music libraries cannot be fixed by this update, unfortunately.  

Random Ish - City Council Farts, The Rock Obama, Buzzer Beaters...

I didn't have much time to put up a post with any real thought or substance today so I figured I would throw up a bunch of random videos I've seen in the past week to keep you entertained.  Enjoy!

Fart Interrupts City Council Meeting (FUNNY!)

 

Busty Heart Breaks Things with her Breasts on America's Got Talent (BOMBS!)

The Rock Obama from SNL (SEMI-AMUSING)

 

INSANE 90 ft Buzzer Beater Dayton Christian High School (ONLY END OF 3RD QUARTER)

 

Ridiculous Buzzer Beater to Win Wisconsin High School Game (SICK ENDING)

Dwayne Wade Scores 48 Pts. and Hits Game Winning Three vs. Bulls

Damn son!  D-Wade is on another level right now.  Dude had 48 points and 12 assists last night against the Bulls and was running the court like he was playing with middle schoolers.  To top it all off, he stole the ball with 2 seconds left in Overtime and ran down the court to nail a buzzer beating 3 pointer to win the game.  That is just ridiculous!

He is officially in the MVP conversation now even though he probably should have been considered all season long considering that he has kept the crappy Heat respectable all season long.  He has been averaging 37 points per game over the past 9 games and has been carrying the team on his back like a Monster.  You are witnessing some craziness right now with the elite play of Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwaye Wade this season.  Pay attention because we may never experience anything like this again. 

Lil Kim's First Appearance on Dancing With the Stars (DECENT)

No, I do not watch this awful excuse for a TV show. OK, I take that back.  I do watch a little bit of the first episode of the season once in awhile when the pre-wife demands to watch it. I like to at least check out the hot chicks they have on the show for the season and see how they look in those slutty little dresses.  That gets old after about 5 minutes though and then I start to fall asleep from being so bored. Other than that, Dancing with the Stars is a complete waste of time and will make you dumber and fruitier for watching it.

The reason why I am posting something about this awful show is the fact that it's somewhat Hip Hop related with Lil Kim being a contestant on the show this season. She actually looked decent (dancing at least) and much better than I expected considering she was the first contestant to perform. She even gave a shout out to all her girls at the Federal Detention Center. Classy.

I have to ask WTF happened to her face though? She doesn't even come close to resembling the foul mouth little diva that Biggie used to get with back in the day. She even talks like a white girl from the valley now. What happened to the Brooklyn accent? If he was still around today, I don't think he would be feeling her new look at all.  He would have told her to beat it a long time ago.

Check the transformation. It's sad, scary, gross and creepy all at the same time. At least her body is lookin' fly from all of that plastic surgery:

Rick Ross ft. John Legend - "Magnificent" (Official Video)

Say what you like about Rick Ross but through all of the madness over the past year, the big dude just keeps on making good ass music.  I love this new track "Magnificent" with John Legend.  This is going to be a great track to pump in the ride with the windows down once the spring and summer weather finally hits.  It's just a chill ass song to ride and vibe to.   The video is pretty dope too.

His lame beef with 50 Cent never seems to end and he still keeps catching heat for being a correctional officer in the past (not a cop like everyone makes it out to be) but he just keeps on pushing on.  Based on all of the other tracks I've heard from his new album "Deeper Than Rap" (dropping April 21), this one is going to be a banger.  BOSS!!!

The Roots are the House Band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon?!?! (SICK)

You read that right!  The Roots are now the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon! I can't believe I forgot to write a post about this back when I heard about this in November.  I was skeptical about the new version of Late Night because I don't really think Jimmy Fallon is very funny but it's starting to look and sound like it has some potential.  The fact that I can see The Roots perform (even for just a few minutes) every night definitely intrigues me.  I might need to check this show out soon if I can actually stay awake that late. 

This is one of the more interesting things to happen in Hip Hop in the past 6 months to a year, in my opinion.  I think this is huge because it gives you an idea of where the music industry is headed or at least let's us know that artists are worried about their future revenues and record sales.  Artists need to get creative if they are going to have any longevity in this game and this is a perfect example.  The fact that The Roots, who are one of the best live acts in Hip Hip and make a ton of money touring, are willing to forgo all of the potential revenue on the road for a consistent "corporate" gig should give you an idea of how bad it's getting for even established artists in the music industry.

They would rather see consistent money then be on the road all year long and I really can't blame them.  That's gotta be a tough way to make a living regardless of how glamorous it seems.  Record sales are WAY down and it's getting harder and harder to get any kind of marketing budget from the record labels to push your next project.  By playing on Late Night, The Roots get a chance to be seen by millions of people each night and can reach an even bigger potential audience than just touring all year long.  Plus they get to stay at home (or at least in NY) for months at a time as compared to being at home just weeks every couple of months when on the road.  It's crazy how well this could work out for them both in their revenue and quality of life.  

I bet they will see a jump in their record sales of past albums at least in the short term and could even see an increase over the long term if they stay on the show.  Even though they are one of the better known (aka ONLY) "bands" in Hip Hop, they are still considered underground and they could use every bit of marketing that they can get.  Plus I heard that syndication money is ridiculous!!!  If the show goes that long, they could see some serious paper in the future without doing any work at all.  You can't beat that!

Here are a few articles and posts that I found about how the idea came about and how it's going with the new gig.  It sounds like they are busting their asses writing new material constantly and having to work all week but they seem to like it so far:

Jimmy Fallon's House Band The Roots
The Roots On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Spot Inspection 
The Roots on becoming Jimmy Fallon's house band: 'This enabled us to survive'
News: The Roots Discuss "Jimmy Fallon" House Band Gig, "It's Going To Be A Major Challenge"

Above is a video of a recent Ludacris performance on the show.  Luda was nasty as always and Black Thought did a great job of being hype man while The Roots crushed it on the beats.  Below are a few funny clips from the show as well.  The first is shit quality but it's another look at The Roots getting down while Cameron Diaz and Jimmy Fallon do a dance off.  This was actually way funnier than I expected.

This is a clip of Jimmy Fallon playing Serena Williams in a game of Beer Pong.  Classic!  Serena would F#%K up anyone on set too.  She is looking DIESEL these days.  Jesus.