Same Teams, Different Stakes: Why Picking a Side in the NBA Finals Is Harder Than Last Year

After achieving another historical feat by becoming the first team in NBA history to be the No. 1 seed with the league MVP but be down 3-1 in a playoff series to come back and win the series, the Golden State Warriors might just change some analysts and odds makers' minds about their rematch with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals.  A lot of people including myself wrote off the defending champions' chances of accomplishing such a tall order, and we just assumed that the Oklahoma City Thunder would win the series and the Cavs would have a little easier path to the crown because most people didn't give OKC a chance against LeBron & Co.  However, living up to their namesake, the Warriors manifested an unprecedented amount of resolve, persistence and tenacity.  Although Steph Curry is my favorite player in the NBA right now and has been for the past three years, it's still hard to pick against King James as I have been a fan of his overall game, instant impact on any team for which he plays and being one of the most unselfish superstars that the game of basketball has ever seen since his high school days.  So as we prepare for what should be another thrilling matchup between the Warriors and the Cavs, allow me to explain how this year's NBA Finals is a little harder to pick than last year...

Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: Tuesday Night at the Movies, #4 Friday

The story of Friday making this list begins with the hiatus between posts in this part of the "Rave & Favorite Five" series, which also begins with the movie that it replaced.  Ever since my mother took me and my brother to see it in the spring of 1990, I have been a huge fan of House Party.  Between the fashion, the music, the dances, the rhymes, the slang and even the comedy, I thought it was one of the best movies at capturing the height of the New Jack Swing era of R&B and hip-hop culture.  However, as I attempted to write my post about it as the original No. 4 spot holder, I wasn't feeling what I was writing because I kept battling myself over whether House Party should be on my list or Friday--another movie that I went with my mother and brother to see as well as another one of my "brothers".  In figuring out my dilemma, one of my dear, dear friends posed a simple question: "Which movie do you think is more complete between the two?"  Once I sat and thought about it, the choice became simple and my trepidation was resolved: I couldn't have a "Rave & Favorite Five" about movies without Friday.  I actually thought about bumping out Blade Runner for House Party, but Blade Runner is just way too epic to get axed.  Now that the backstory is complete, it's time for the main event: five things that make Friday the sureshot...

RANDOM THOUGHT ALERTS!!! (Vol. 1, No. 2)

After a successful first entry in the "RANDOM THOUGHT ALERTS!!!" series, I thought that it would be a few weeks before I'd have another set of randomness for your enjoyment.  However, I underestimated myself as I not only came up with four more in a short amount of time, but I also have a few already on standby for next Tuesday.  Speaking of four more, the reason why I decided to post a picture of one of my favorite rappers of all time, The Notorious B.I.G., is because I thought about his line from "Last Day": "Nine-hundred and ninety-six grams, you need four mo'."  Yeah...that's how my beautiful mind works, so all forty something of you who decided to view last week's batch of madness signed up for this.  Hence, you must now commit to it and subject yourselves to even more shenanigans because the party's just beginning...

In Heavy Rotation (May 2016)

So let me tell y'all a "what had happened was" story about this month's "In Heavy Rotation".  My "Against the Grain Pick of the Month" was supposed to be Aesop Rock's The Impossible Kid, but it just didn't come together the way that I wanted.  It's not that I didn't listen to it or enjoy the album.  However, whereas I can listen to most albums and pick out my favorite three songs and a few notables, I couldn't quite do that this time around.  I had every intention to listen at least one more time to get a better feel, but I never got around to it because May has been a month for lack of more specific words.  Maybe it was just that good that I couldn't limit my "review" to just a few picks, but at any rate, I'd definitely recommend the listen and purchase.  Also, the first pick mentioned in this post could've almost been O.T. Genasis' Rhythm & Bricks or Desiigner's Panda mixtapes, but there just weren't enough standout songs on either project other than "Cut It" and "Panda", respectively.  Long story short, although there are only four picks instead of five, they all bump.  Now that I've explained myself, let's get to the real reasons why you're here...