The Loneliest Winner - Chris 'Preach' Smith

The Lakers, yet again are in the Finals.

And once again, half the people you know are rooting for the
other team because of Kobe Bryant.

Despite the LeBron James love fest that blazes across your TV
screens and newspaper back pages, Kobe Bryant is the best
player in the NBA right now. Without question. Go ahead, name
another player on the Los Angeles Lakers that can carry the
team like he does. I'll wait. He's got four rings and could've
had two more if not for the Detroit Pistons and the Boston
Celtics more recently. He's an Olympic gold medal winner and
in his prime, looks to be almost as unstoppable as Michael
Jordan was. Despite all this however, Bryant strikes me as being
the loneliest winner out there. Even more than Tiger Woods, I'd
say.

Think about it...who do you see visibly with Kobe Bryant off the
court outside of his wife and daughters? No one. He doesn't
have a posse, or a childhood friend. The obvious answer is,
'That's 'cause Kobe's a punk-a## lame' but you have to get a
bit more involved than that. Kobe Bryant is one of those people,
let alone athletes, that has a one-track mind combined with a
good deal of arrogance. From early on, he's been told he's the
greatest, and using that along with a heavily dedicated work
ethic it enabled him to get into the NBA right out of high school.
He came into the league when the Hornets were still in Charlotte.
But Bryant's struggle is to find that line between supreme and
validated confidence and petulant arrogance. At first, cats in
the 'hood loved his swagger. As the years went on however, the
mood turned real quick. 2004 was the blast zone for Kobe...a
shocking loss to the Pistons led to the eventual breakup of the
duo he formed with Shaquille O'Neal. Then, Colorado. A moment
which saw him almost at the brink of losing everything. And to
make it worse, he flat-out tried to offer Shaq up to police in
order to get off. A grade-A punk move caught on videotape.

But Kobe has bounced back and seemingly hasn't shown himself
to be the worse for wear. He's got it all. A city that loves him no
matter what, endorsements, championships and enough dough
to buy part of Central America if he so chose. But when it is his
time to retire, when he has to leave basketball behind because
his body is getting too old, how will he handle it? Can someone
who has been a winner apart from others, too aloof for teammates
and other players alike handle just being...Kobe?

Time will tell.

Drake:Is He Too Far Gone? - Chris 'Preach' Smith

There hasn't been so much anticipation for a debut album in
hip-hop like there is for Drake's 'Thank Me Later' in quite
some time. There's as many people looking to see if this
album will be a smash success or a tremendous flop once
it drops on June 15th. Fate hasn't been too kind to stars
built up too quickly by the hype machine that runs the
popular side of hip-hop these days(paging Cassidy, Loon).
And it's something Drake should bear in mind for a few
reasons.

First off, he's a talented dude. It took me a while to fully
understand his skill set, but I see it as this: a good deal
of clever wordplay, a willingness for honesty combined
with a pinch of arrogance and decent singing chops. Put
all that together with his looks and you see why there
are some women doing the moist towlette dance when his
songs come on. But Drake has been prone to some setbacks
due to laziness. I mean, the man went on a radio station
and claimed to freestyle but was READING lyrics from a
BlackBerry. Not a good look especially when there's video
evidence. Plus, if you're going to be an earnest lyricist
who wants to grow, you can't get ethered on your own
track by a veteran so badly like Eminem did to him on
'Forever'. It's like he was LL Cool J and Em played the
role of Canibus back when '4,3,2,1' came out. The key
thing for Drake to do is grind, grind, grind. Even if you're
getting rave reviews, keep grinding away. Lil Wayne's in
the bin, so it's on him to keep Young Money fresh 'cause
truth be told, Nicki Minaj is watching her 15 minutes walk
on out the door. And who else on that roster is going to
move the crowd? Also, he's gotta improve his voice. The
near monotone can wear on the ears from time to time.

The second thing is, Drake is going to debut in a year that
is chock full of quality releases in music. A short list of that
includes Sade and Little Brother's last group album. If his
album falls short of the mark on a whole, history will make
that the low point to which all of the other albums will get
judged almost immediately a la Blender Magazine. It won't
only affect him, but it'll also give some people who like to
down Canadian hip-hop more ammunition. Because what
is being downplayed a lot is that Drake represents the new
vanguard of hip-hop in Canada now, more so than Kardinall
Offishall the veteran to a degree even though Kardi's been
on Akon's label for a minute. If he slips, expect a lot of pot
shots.

Last but not least, Drake's success relies on him staying humble. A
few cats look at him and immediately say, 'he's a rich boy.' Or 'this
dude is tryin' to be rap's Al B.Sure.' Granted, he's got a substantially
better background than others(he was raised in a wealthy part of
Toronto and his uncle played with Prince), he's a former child actor
but all of that doesn't mean a hill of beans in hip-hop. It's about
substance and character. You can't have your debut on the way and
have Lyor 'Tall Isreali' Cohen speaking on your decision-making being
suspect, no matter how coded the words. You start losing your grip
on things when you start believing what everyone tells you. I'm sure
it weighs on his mind, 'Fear' being the most obvious sign of that.
June 15th and it's aftermath will tell us is Drake is already too far
gone for hip hop at large to give a damn.

Sex and The City and the rest of us - Chris 'Preach' Smith

This Friday, we will all be subjected once again to the mania
that is 'Sex and The City' with the premiere of its sequel. And
once again, you will see long lines in front of movie theaters.
Now I've never watched any part of the HBO series longer than
a minute or two, but what I've heard and observed makes me
cringe.

For me, 'Sex and The City' always put women in a unfavorable
light. Someone once referred to the plot of the show as 'four
women who talk like four stereotypical gay men.' I mean, there
might be more to the show outside of shopping sprees, sexual
trysts and such, but I just don't see the point of another movie.
Especially since it seems to bring out the unhealthy sides of
some women out there. I've heard and seen women spend
their last dollar on Jimmy Choo high heels just because Carrie
had them. I've even had someone ask to borrow dollars from
me because they have no money until their next paycheck for
themselves or their son BUT they had enough to catch that
Nine West sale. You might even know a few ladies in the 'hood
on that Samantha tip, screwing everything except the lightbulbs.
SATC is entertainment, but it's not entirely harmless in what it
displays. And unfortunately, we've got susceptible minds out
there who mistake shopping sprees, sexual recklessness and
vapid ideas for feminism. Even the public is a little bit tired of
these women to a degree. I mean, seeing these women cavort
and drink in the desert is a bit much given the current hard
times with work and the economy. But that must be the key
I guess; SATC allows for an escape from all of that. Personally,
it isn't my glass of vodka. Incidentally, could someone give us
a carbon date on Kim Cattrall?

LBJ on Broadway - Chris 'Preach' Smith

Let the LeBron James Sweepstakes begin.

Ever since the Cleveland Cavaliers lost in Game 6 of the Eastern
Conference Semi-Finals, the biggest topic out of everyone's mouth
is, where is LeBron James going to play next season? And truth be
told, I'm getting a bit tired of hearing about it.

It wasn't so bad at the outset of the season. Even James took it upon
himself to vow not to talk about it during the regular season. But it
hasn't stopped him from teasing the general public. From rocking a
Yankee fitted cap at Jacobs Field to the way he ripped off the Cavaliers
jersey after the loss, LeBron has had some fun tweaking the media and
if he says that's not the case, he's about as believable as a Vatican
representative these days. LBJ has an ego; look at his post-game
press conference for the umpeenth time as confirmation. And he's
in a prime position for a handsome deal, maybe GNP money. There
are sources that claim a team from Moscow will give him 25 million
a year to play for them. The big issue I have is, can we please not
have LeBron dominate almost every sports conversation? I don't see
how a 'sighting' in midtown Manhattan even belongs on such a
blog as The Huffington Post. It obviously bothers Kobe Bryant, so
much that on his way to a possible 5th title, he drops 40 points in
last night's game against the Phoenix Suns. I don't need to hear a
LeBron James angle in a NASCAR SHOW. There's no need to go so
overboard in newspapers.

That being said, I'm not against him coming to play for the Knicks
if he chooses. James is a franchise player and would be a dynamic
change from the free agents we're used to getting. He's worked
with Mike 'Never met a defense I liked' D'antoni and would lure
other free agents to the Garden. We could even see Shaq in the
blue and orange, a good upgrade over Eddy Curry when Betty
White might have done better in the post. There are those folks
who will sit and say that they don't want LeBron on the squad due
to them feeling like he quit in the last series. And to those people
I say...the cheese has slid off of your cracker a minute ago. This
city deserves the chance to land someone who could possibly get
us back to the Finals, and maybe win the first championship for
the Knicks since men and women wore platforms. And other
cities have their appeal, but they don't fully compare. Chicago
would be the main competition, but remember Bulls fans, your
ownership is screwy. They almost ran Jordan out of town and
have fired two coaches in the past couple of years, one of which
got Milwaukee, MILWAUKEE to the playoffs this season. The Nets?
Look, I know they're going to Brooklyn...but he's not going to
want to play in Newark until they move especially when all they
have is Devin Harris and Robin Lopez. And Jay-Z as your boss is
hit or miss...ask Tierra Mari or The Roots.

Truth is, if LeBron wants all the pressure, if he wants to be the
best, he should come to NYC. Because we can filter BS like no
one's business around here. We will let you have it if you mess
about and we will treat you like a son of Olympus if you win a
title here. And if Scores is going to give you free lapdances for
life, the money saved could actually help balance the MTA's
budget. Wishful thinking on that last sentence. We've got a long,
long way to go until July 1st. For LeBron, it's even longer. That's
the only thing comforting me as I hear about him for the millionth
time on Sportscenter.

Heatstroke and Hatred - Chris "Preach" Smith

One wonders on this bright, clear morning...

Is it the intense heat of the desert that makes Jan Brewer and her
colleagues that damn crazy? Because the path that she and her
fellow state government members have taken reeks of utter madness.
Madness, you see is the only word I can conjure up in my mind over
and over again to describe the events of the past couple of weeks. And
Arizona is a desert state. But what sets it apart from say, New Mexico
and Nevada is that Arizona now has a governor who has signed two
bills into law that are inherently unconstitutional and smack of scornful
bigotry. SB 1070 and the new bill to eradicate ethnic studies from
schools in the state harken back to those same policies you'd find in
old Rhodesia and South Africa pre-1990's. Should we be expecting
a bill that will re-create Sun City next for birthers to reminisce about
the good old days with Pat Boone and Harvey Wallbangers?

Should we be that surprised at the Arizona government? This is after
all, the same state that refused to recognize Martin Luther King day
for YEARS until forced to concede because they wanted a Super Bowl.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a modern day Bull Connor who places his inmates
in pink scrub jumpsuits and outdoor tents, has glad-handed Neo-Nazis
and has been a staunch supporter of SB 1070. Arizona is the throne
seat of conservative politics, being the home state of the late Barry
Goldwater, whose views have left a legacy in Ronald Reagan and
Richard Nixon. And how do you think those two have affected the
United States and its citizens? And let's not forget that it's the home
state of everyone's 'Maverick' who flip flops more than a wrestler in
the WWE, John McCain. No, we shouldn't be too surprised but
I think we also can't be so appalled that we don't act as Americans
and object, protest and smack down Jan Brewer and her state's moves
towards bigotry.

The best bet to make Arizona give up this racist stance is to boycott.
Boycott EVERYTHING. A projection states that at the current rate of
businesses planning to not do business with Arizona, the state will
lose 90 million dollars over the next five years. Call it a happy
coincidence, but they even stand to lose their hockey team, the
Phoenix Coyotes. Even better is the fact that the city that LOST the
team in the first place, Winnipeg,Canada is making a strong push
to get it back. Put an insane amount of pressure on Bud Selig and
Major League Baseball to move their All Star Game from Phoenix
this summer or at least compel all players of Latino descent to bow
out of the weekend's festivities. And most importantly, support the
activists and groups who are fighting these bills there in any way
possible. It worked in 1993. It can happen again. If they won't
listen to the people, they'll pay attention to the growing red in
their ledgers and lint in their pockets. These laws piss on what it
means to be an American in a misguided, politically inept way.
In a time where we need to celebrate our diversity and how strong
it makes us, Jan Brewer and her cronies have made us look as
cheap and tawdry as a 'Jersey Shore' cast member. We need to
give them the biggest case of heatstroke the world has ever seen.