UPDATE: Not-So-Golden Warriors

It seems as though my early predictions are a little off. But let's move past that and discuss the terrible state of my beloved team.

Love him or hate him, the man we used to call our leader, has been shipped off across country. That's right. Captain Jack... Stack Jack... Whatever you want to call him. Stephen Jackson has been traded to the Charlotte Bobcats (we love dealing players to Charlotte, don't we??). In a trade that went through yesterday, we sent Jackson and Acie Law to the Bobcats in exchange for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. And guess what? The odds of Raja Bell ever suiting up in a Ws uniform are slim to none because he has decided to get surgery on his wrist. At least we have his expiring contract, right? Wrong. Sure, it's a good thing to have. But let's be honest, who's gonna want to sign with this troubled team next summer, even with a max contract?

Definitely neither of these guys.

Tonight, we squared off against King James and the Cavs with 7 healthy players. How? Let's move in reverse: No Raja Bell (explained above), No Kelenna Azubuike (Out for the season from knee surgery), No CJ Watson (Swine Flu!!!), No Andris Biedrins (Back/Groin injury), No Rony Turiaf (Knee injury), and No Brandan Wright (Out for the season from shoulder surgery).

Given the circumstances, perhaps Nellie will now be forced to give our young rookie, Stephen Curry, a little more playing time. Along with Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow, these 3 should see a big jump in minutes this season and are most likely the key to any future the Dubs may have. But who knows what could happen with Nellie running the show. You'd think Corey Maggette might have gotten the nod to start tonight. But Radmanovic started instead. Does Don Nelson hate us? Maybe. He sure doesn't mind getting rid of young, athletic players too; as it could soon be Monta Ellis' turn to leave the Bay Area as a result of a poor relationship with the coach.

Why does this 69-yr old man have so much pull within this organization? Yes, the classy fellow pictured below. Why why why why whyyyyy?!?!?

The look he gives pretty much sums up where this organization has been the last 2 years and how it will be as long as he's around. All that being said, I remain true my team. I bleed Warrior blue. And unfortunately, with all the bad news this season, I can't stop the bleeding.

UPDATE 11/18/09: Well, when you're wrong, you're wrong. Raja Bell suited up tonight. Yay???

Don't You Hate It When...

Don't you hate it when...

1. You're lying in bed and you need to take a piss. But you don't want to get up because you're too comfortable so instead you just piss yourself and it's all warm and nice at first but then it starts to feel cold, damp, and uncomfortable hold it in. Yeah, I hate that.

it in. Yeah, I hate that.

2. People add an 's' to the end of a word that's already plural without the 's'. They are the Orlando Magic, not the Orlando MagicS. I can't wait for Dwyane Wade to lead the Miami Heat (Heat with a 't', not a 'ts') and my fantasy basketball team to numerous victories.

3. You are talking on the phone and refer to the other person as "Sir" only to hear a response like "I'm a woman". I guess I don't hate this so much as I find it very awkward. Less awkward for me, but more awkward for him... or her?

Seriously though?

4. You're at the gym and some guy on the bench has 5 sets of dumbbells next to him. So you ask him if he's using the 40-lb ones, and he says yes. How about those 35s? And he says yes. Awesome, I hope you drop that 55-pounder on that douche-bag face of yours, you asshole.

5. You hit that PERFECT drive on that long Par 5! Then you realize that you're playing Tiger Woods 10 on XBOX360.

What can I say? Life is never perfect. You gotta roll with the fact that you will never be as good as virtual Tiger Woods (or the real Tiger Woods for that matter). There are assholes everywhere (Even at the gym! Could you believe that?!?). Not all women sound like women. Some people forget simple grammar. And taking a piss isn't always as easy as it sounds.

At least the rest of the game of life isn't so bad, right? Riiiiiiight.

Warriors Basketball Begins

It's that time of the year again. The best time of the year. And no, I'm not talking about the holidays. Basketball season is just around the corner. And I'm ready to give you my 2 cents on my beloved Golden State Warriors.

The NBA Pre-Season started today and the Dubs opened it up with a solid win over the Clippers, minus their #1 Draft Pick, Blake Griffin. So what does that mean? Absolutely nothing. We all know preseason games amount to about as much as pennies found on the streets. But the preseason does give us fans a look at how players have worked in the offseason and what problems they might need to address before the regular season starts. However, with this Warriors team, it's pretty obvious that such problems exist beyond the court.

The Warriors' front office is the worst in the NBA. As evident by Baron Davis' departure, letting go of Chris Mullin, and ultimately leading to our "star" players also wanting out of the Bay Area. And who could really blame them?

Don Nelson's small ball was fun and exciting when we had a legitimate point guard running the show. But now that that point guard is no longer here, there's no way the Warriors can survive this league under Nellie's run ' n ' gun ' n ' no defense. We need a coach who can discipline our players on both sides of the ball, the way Mike Singletary has done with the San Francisco 49ers (GO NINERS!).

The Warriors have talent, but lack leadership and a solid foundation. Here's a couple things we need:

1. New Ownership - Chris Cohan needs to sell the team. Preferably someone who will get rid of Robert Rowell (Warriors team president who rejected the offer to Baron Davis) and Don Nelson.

2. A group of players who are willing - I love Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis to death, but if they want to leave, then we should find a way to move them and get some quality players in return. We don't need to waste their time and we certainly don't want that from them.

My predictions for the upcoming season:

1. If the team stands as it is today, the Warriors are going to finish 1st in the West!!! ... I mean 2nd... or 5th... no wait, maybe they'll cling on to that 8th spot. Wouldn't that be nice??? Well, it probably won't happen. But my heart will always be in the position of making the playoffs. They are most likely looking at finishing 10th in the Western Conference, at best. Realistically, they could drop as low as 12th.

2. If Stephen Curry gets playing time, I believe he will get Rookie of the Year. Have you seen this kid shoot the ball? He's lights out, so I wouldn't bet against him.

3. Anthony Randolph will average a double double.

4. Stephen Jackson will receive technical fouls every 4 games until he is traded.

5. Rony Turiaf will continue playing with great enthusiasm for 82 games... even if we lose all 82 games.

So, we may not have a lot to look forward to. But who knows what could happen?!? I still believe it will be a great NBA season. And the Golden State Warriors always offer entertainment.

LET'S GO DUBS!!!

So You Wanna Get In Shape?

So you say you want to get in shape. You even buy yourself a 24-hour Fitness gym membership and frequent your local fitness center a few times a week. But you can't seem to see the results you want to have. Well, let me fill you all in on a little secret. The gym isn't a magical transforming pod that changes fat into muscle. This, by the way, is a complete myth. Fat and muscle are two completely different tissues and neither can turn into the other.

My advice:

1. Write down your goals. Are you trying to gain weight or lose it? How much do you want to gain or lose? Are you trying to build strength? Speed? Conditioning? Endurance? These are all important questions to ask yourself when trying to figure out your workout goals. Once you figure this out, you can figure out what you need to do to accomplish these goals.

2. Research. Find out specifically what things you can do to achieve your goals. What exercises do you need to build bigger arms and/or decrease that wonderful back fat? Figure it out. I suggest subscribing to Men's/Women's Health magazine. There's a lot of good information in there on exercise and food.

3. Be committed. It takes more than just getting that gym membership. Yes, you actually have to go. Crazy idea, isn't it? I believe that physically getting in shape isn't the hard part. The hard part is actually making yourself do what you need to do. Making yourself go to the gym. Pushing yourself to run that extra mile. Be committed and stay committed. You will see results.

4. Drink a lot of water and eat right. This is a long and complicated tip and could be another blog post in itself, so I'm just gonna throw out a bunch of other tips for you (don't question the logic and just do it!): Drink cold water when you first wake up in the morning. No more sodas for you, buddy. Have a daily multi-vitamin. Start cooking for yourself. Protein before and after workouts (in fact, you should probably be having about 1 gram of protein per pound of your weight each day). Eat more often, but in smaller portions (you never want to feel full or hungry). Carbs are not entirely evil (you need these for energy). For dessert, have a sliced apple, not a slice of apple pie. Listen to mama and eat your veggies. Only eat Breyer's ice cream, if any at all. Drink milk. Get enough fiber in your diet.

5. Avoid the bad foods. This is as simple as it sounds. I know it can be hard for many to avoid those fast food places, but this is essentially a part of being committed (see #3). Keep in mind that bad foods are also found in grocery stores, so remember to do your research on this too! I'm not saying avoid all the In-N-Outs, MickeyD's, Taco Bells, and KFCs forever. Or to completely eliminate bacon, sausages, and ice cream. In fact, if you are committed enough to your workout routines, then you could even have a cheat meal where you can eat whatever you want. Think of this as a nice way to treat yourself after a committed week of exercise. Yes, a whole week. You don't want to have a cheat meal every other day. That wouldn't be a cheat meal... that would just be unhealthy.

Like I said, that gym membership won't utilize itself and transform you. You gotta put in the work. If you do all of the things I mentioned, and still don't see results that you want, I can probably conclude that you are lying to yourself and this most likely has something to do with #3. Get back on track and STAY COMMITTED. In a few months, people will notice changes. Good luck!

I'm Not Ashamed To Say I Listen To Taylor Swift...

Over the past two days, it seems that the only thing people are talking about -- when I say "talking" I really mean Facebook updating and/or Tweeting -- is what happened at the 2009 MTV VMAs. Oh, you haven't heard about it? Now, you have; so I don't need to discuss the details of what happened. On to my rants and what I believe to be are facts:

1. What Kanye West did to Taylor Swift was awful. Period.

2. This doesn't change a thing in terms of Kanye's fans. Because let's face it, all of us already knew that Mr. West isn't exactly a stand-up guy or the model citizen for the world... yet many still listen to his music and buy his albums (myself included).

3. What this did change: Who remembers who won this female VMA in 2008? I sure don't (granted I haven't actually watched this show since maybe my junior year in high school). I'll take it a step further: can you tell me who won the grammy award for female artist in 2008? If you remember this without google-ing it, then kudos to you! But if you're like me and the rest of us, you either don't remember or don't care. But from now on, everyone will at least be thinking: "Taylor Swift won the VMA in 2009! Remember?!? That was the year Kanye interrupted her on stage!"

4. What's worse? a) Kobe Bryant cheating on his wife and arguably raping that girl in Colorado b) Chris Brown putting his hands on Rihanna OR c) Kanye upstaging Taylor Swift? -- There's a long, long list of people who are good at what they do but are bad at being decent people. Yet many support these individuals no matter what, because of their individual talents. People make mistakes, we forgive them, and we move on - (although I haven't quite forgiven Chris Brown and I still hate the Lakers so I tend to call Kobe a rapist).

I'm not defending what Mr. West did to Ms. Swift. There's no justification for it. He admits it himself. But what I am saying is that it's time to move on, people. Because no matter how many times you want to call him a "Douche" (this is ALL OVER Facebook - there's even a poll!), he's still gonna be making music and many will still be listening (myself included).

Til next time...

p.s. I'm gonna rock out to my Taylor Swift album now... don't judge me!

first post...

Welcome everyone to the life and times of me... or something of that nature. I decided to start a blog but I haven't quite decided on a main topic to talk about. So for now, it shall consist of my opinions and thoughts on everything. That's right... everything. Sports? Yes. Food? Of course. TV shows and movies? Sure, why not. Unicorns and other mythological creatures? You betcha!

The possibilities are endless, my friends. That's the beauty of it all: I can write whatever I want in my own blog. If you really, really don't like what I have to say... why don't you blog about it. Otherwise, hope you all enjoy my thoughts in words.

Ciao.