Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Download: T.I. "No Matter What"



This is a motivational track from T.I., who is currently on house arrest for a felony weapons charge(s). Just dropped yesterday.

Zshare DL

Stalkerazzi: Mariah Carey



Play More Pots - Erik Lindgren

In tournaments, I play lots of hands. I'll put my money in with all kinds of connected cards, especially when in position. I might limp, I might min-raise or raise a little more than the minimum, depending on the circumstances. I'm looking to keep my table off balance so they don't know where I'm coming from.

My overall goal is to pick up a lot of small pots without a lot of resistance. I might raise in position and hope for a call from one of the blinds. If I raise pre-flop with something like 6-7, I might miss the flop entirely, but the raise puts me in control of the hand. On the flop, I'll likely bet if checked to, even if I miss. That small bet on the flop will usually win me a small, but helpful pot.

Of course, sometimes it won't work out. I'll bet and get check-raised on occasions. But that's okay, because I actually don't lose much in the hands that I have to surrender. Overall, I get to gradually add to my chip stack by chopping at small pot after small pot.

The other major advantage to my style is that, occasionally, I will hit a flop hard. If I do happen to flop a straight, it's difficult for other players to put me on something like 5-7 or 6-8. If one of my opponents also gets a piece of the flop, I'll get paid off in a big way.

By adding to my stack early, I have a real advantage over players who play a cautious, tight game. The extra chips that I accumulate allow me to survive some tough spots. So, if I happen to get involved in a race with A-K or a pair of Tens, I can withstand a loss. An opponent who's playing tight will likely be on the rail after losing a single race.

New players often ask me how they can learn to play more pots. I always suggest that they drop down significantly in stakes and practice. If you're playing $2-$4 no-limit, drop down to $.50-$1 - a level where some losses won't hurt you.

Once you're at that table, try to play eight hands out of 10. Play everything but 2-8 or 3-9 - hands that are entirely unconnected. When you get yourself involved with this kind of frequency, you'll have to concentrate more on your opponents than on your own cards. You'll have to be on the lookout for opportunities to take down pots with well-timed stabs. You'll also learn how to proceed in situations where you flop a good, but dangerous hand.

By dropping down and playing a lot of hands, you're going to learn a lot about poker. You're also going to have a lot of fun. Lord knows, playing 50% of the hands is a whole lot more entertaining than sitting around waiting for Aces.

If you look at the success that Gavin Smith, Daniel Negreanu and myself have had over the last couple of years, you'll see that being active can be an excellent way to score big in tournaments. It takes practice to play this style, but it can lead to great results and be a lot of fun.

From Full Tilt Pros

Video of the Day: Busta Rhymes "We Made it (ft. Linkin Park)"

Tail Report: Alicia Keys





Here is Ms. Keys before she goes on David Letterman.

Nike Air Force 1 Low Daiske Matsuzaka



The "Daiske" Nike Air Force 1 Low is available now in the Far East.

Daily Dunk: Eric Hobby

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Tail Report: Hulk and Brooke Hogan

This is very questionable activity by the Hulk himself, lathering his (attractive) daughter down with sun tan lotion. This is the same guy that had a GPS device installed in her car so that he could track her on her date. Hmm...




This is how you lead

Peyton giving it to his center, Jeff Saturday.



Thanks to withleather.com

Daily Dunk: NBA Fan

Nike Terminator Quickstrike







Releasing next month.

Taking hits like a man

You've probably already seen this, but it's worth another look.



You know what I noticed when I watched this? Stevenson commits the flagrant foul via the right hook to the side of King James' noggin and then falls on his ass from the impact. King James on the other hand is unfazed from the blow and lands on his feet. No Boy-King this. This is the real deal. I wonder when Deshawn Stevenson will learn his lesson. He took your best shot and is still standing. Forget about being Soulja Boy to his Jay-Z, you're more like Milli Vanilli to his Tupac.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Pay that hoe!

*Disclaimer: I am not using "hoe" as a derogatory term. She really is a hoe.*



Apparently the prositute that cost the NY Governor his job and pretty much his life, is suing "Girls Gone Wild" because they plan to release footage of her flashing for the cameras. Maybe she thinks it's morallay wrong for them to expose such girls. However, she will join you for a night of sex for $2k. Joe Francis' quote is a classic:

"But I think it's ironic that she charged Gov. Spitzer $2,000 for sex and she wants to charge me 10 million for taking some naked pictures of her," Francis told CNN. "I feel like I'm getting a raw deal."

Download: Crooked I "Lollipop Freestyle"



Download Link

Thanks to dubcnn.com

When vacationing in Jamaica...

Don't forget to hang out with the locals.



I think she got more than she was hoping for.

It's not easy being stupid



University of Buffalo guard Andy Robinson was having trouble completing one of his papers. So instead of getting help from one of the free tutors that the University pays to help the student athletes, he placed this ad on facebook under his name:

"I am paying anybody who have read the book 'there are no children here' by Alex Kotlowitz $30-40 which in some classes you have to read at UB (even more money if you have to read the book a little more!!) to write a 3-4 page paper, on a couple of questions which was assigned."

You sir, are a moron.

Source

Playing Hollinger's Game

One of the great things about John Hollinger's analyses is that they're not predicated on opinion. There are quantifiable variables in his conclusions. Tangible premises. Corporeal facts. They're about observing what has already happened to determine what might happen in the future. It's statistics, not opinion which is good because everyone knows what opinions have in common with assholes; they often stink. I will now proceed to use Hollinger's own statistical analysis against him.

In his latest ESPN article, Hollinger explains that he believed that the wiser choice for the Suns in game 1 would have been for them to foul Ginobili at the end of the game rather than allowing him to kick it out to Duncan for the game-tying 3. I dispute this claim using the same premises as Hollinger's "Hack-a-Ben" theory and his "expected points return" concept from earlier in the article.

Now disregarding the possibility that Ginobili would have shot the ball while being fouled, which he is more than capable of, and would have been awarded an and-1, the expected points return from fouling Ginobili would have worked out like this:

He's approx. an 89% free-throw shooter so the expected return on his first shot is:
0.889 x 1 = 0.889

Since there was practically no time left on the clock I'm assuming that he would have intentionally missed the second free throw.

The Spurs had 12 of the total 44 rebounds that came off the Suns hoop which equates to them rebounding approx 27.3% of their missed shots. Since they were also shooting 50.5% from the field for the game, the expected point return is:
0.273 x 0.505 x 2 = 0.276

Therefore, the expected point return total is:
0.889 + 0.276 = 1.165

Since Duncan had not shot a 3-pointer the entire season I am using his career numbers for 3-pt shooting, which is 19%. Therefore, the expected point return total on Tim Duncan shooting a 3-pt shot is:
0.19 x 3 = 0.57

So, as you can see, the expected point return total for letting Duncan shoot the three was just a little over half the expected point total for fouling Ginobili and that is without taking into account the possibility that Ginobili would have attempted and made a shot on being fouled. This confirms that in this particular instance, intuition, tradition and the mathematician can all happily concur that the Suns did the right thing. The fates had other ideas though.

This all goes to show that in sports, as in life, the best you can ever do is play the percentages. It's the safest bet, but it isn't perfect, not by a long-shot. It's also usually less fun than doing the crazy thing.

On a lighter note, can you imagine playing pick-up ball with Hollinger and his calculator? That's probably a completely unique experience.

Daily Dunk: Some Guy You Never Heard Of

Shout out to HoopTV, which does an excellent job of tracking down sick dunks. God knows where they scraped up this one, but this is textbook "with my nuts all in your mouf" dunking.

Friday, April 25, 2008

South American Bikini Fight

I leave you with this for the weekend. Props to withleather for coming up with this gem. I can't understand one word but I've watched it three times anyways.

Download: Keith Murray "Intellectual Violence"



01. Otis (Intro) 01:05
02. Run For Ya Life 02:49
03. Talk Dat Shit 02:33
04. U Ain't No Gangsta (Skit) 00:24
05. U Ain't No Gangsta 02:38
06. Hey Ladies 02:22
07. 2 Niggaz 01:54
08. Def Squad 03:53
09. Pen Life 03:42
10. Got Our Own Thang 02:52
11. WDEF Radio 00:38
12. I'll Go Crazy 04:07
13. Kill Em' (Skit) 00:10
14. What Is Trouble 03:46
15. Excitement (Skit) 00:09
16. Blokka Blokka 03:54
17. Stalker (Skit) 00:18
18. Rat Hunters 04:36
19. Anger 03:58
20. Don't Hate Me Cause I'm Beautiful 04:28


Rapidshare Download

Tail Report: ASU Cheerleaders







Source: thedirty.com

Video of the Day: Sir Mix-A-Lot "Posse on Broadway"

Shout out to the 206

Tail Report: Esther Baxter

Vid h*e

Air Jordan XX3 Ray Allen PE




Thanks to kixandthecity

Daily Dunk: Dominique Wilkins Top 10

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Movie Trailer: "Deal"

Somehow this movie snuck up on me and it's coming out tomorrow. Basically it looks like some kid is a natural at poker and takes his act to Vegas as an amateur, where Burt Reynolds aka the poker legend starts staking him in the biggest games and tournaments. Doesn't look bad and it appears to be a continuation of "Rounders" after Mikey went to Vegas. The wack part looks like the prodigy kid's relationship with Shannon Elizabeth, who apparently turns out to be a hooker. Lol. Mikey would never fall for a hooker. His reads are too good for that.

Mesh Pack Nike Air Force 1 Mid





Available now.

pics via kixandthecity.com

Dream Team Discussion

With all the hoopla this year about the Western Conference race(s) and the amazing MVP resumes, I think we could finally put together a team that rivals the original Dream Team. Obviously you can never compare any team to a squad that featured Jordan, Magic, Bird, Stockton, Barkley and others, but let's consider the squad we could put together right now, if everyone showed up:

Starters
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Lebron James
PF: Tim Duncan
C: Dwight Howard

Reserves:
PG: Deron Williams, Gilbert Arenas
SG: Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson
SF: Carmelo Anthony, Caron Butler, Paul Pierce
PF: Amare Stoudemire, Kevin Garnett
C: Tyson Chandler

Thoughts? I even left D. Wade off there due to his lack of effort this season (I could be wrong, maybe he really was injured).

Here's the "Top 10" Dream Team 1 moments, which consist mainly of Clyde the Glide, Air Jordan, and Scottie Pippen.

Stalkerazzi: Mariah Carey

Leaving Mr. Chow's:




Daily Dunk: Michael Jordan

Download: The Roots "Rising Down"



1 "The Pow Wow (Intro)"
2 "Rising Down (Hum Drum)" (featuring Mos Def, Styles P & Dice Raw)
3 "Get Busy" (featuring Dice Raw, Peedi Peedi & DJ Jazzy Jeff)
4 "@ 15"
5 "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)" (featuring Tuba Gooding Jr.)
6 "Becoming Unwritten"
7 "Criminal" (featuring Truck North & Saigon)
8 "I Will Not Apologize" (featuring Porn, Dice Raw, & Talib Kweli)
9 "I Can’t Help It" (featuring Malik B & Porn)
10 "Singing Man" (featuring Porn & Truck North)
11 "Up There (Unwritten)" (featuring Mercedes Martinez)
12 "Lost Desire" (featuring Malik B & Talib Kweli)
13 "The Show" (featuring Common)
14 "Rising Up" (featuring Wale & Chrisette Michelle)
15 "Live at WPFW, 1994" (Hidden Track)

Zshare Download

"Took him out his shoes!"

While some people still debate whether or not the "Kobe jumping an Aston Martin" commercial is real, Kenny Smith and the TNT crew debuted their new spot for Kenny's shoes last night during the playoffs.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Daily Dunk: Scottie Pippen

I know I'm a Bulls homer, but we all hate Ewing, right? This dunk is just downright vicious, and Scottie tops it off with a T for going over and letting Spike Lee know that he's really short.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

I scream, she screams, we all scream for...



Go to any Baskin Robbins on April 30th between 5pm and 10pm and mention "Crookedstraight.com" to receive a scoop of ice cream for just $0.31. What a deal.

Dirk you breezy

You know those times when a coach or team leader (i.e. Kobe all the time) will go after the ref and draw a technical just to get the team fired up? In game 1 against the Hornets, Dirk managed to do the exact opposite.



And lol @ Michael Cooper's comments.

Patrik Anonius talking shit to Doyle



Looks like there is going to be some serious gambling going on this summer. This is from Patrik Antonius' blog.

I was enjoying my first few days back in Vegas when all of a sudden I received a ton of phone calls and emails all asking me about a golf match with Doyle Brunson. I had no idea what they were talking about until I read Doyle's blog, and saw he challenged me to a $100,000 per hole golf match. First of all, when the hell did Doyle Brunson start writing a blog, is it even legal for a man that old to blog? Pretty amazing for a guy that was around before TV's and telephones. And second, what is the gambling world coming to when a 108 year old man can challenge a young man in the prime of his life to a $100,000 a hole golf match.

Video of the Day: Keak Da Sneak ft. Prodigy and Alchemist "That Go (Remix)"

Keak and Prodigy are two of my favs. If they could have thrown Devin or someone on the third verse it'd be a five star track. Never heard Alchemist rap before and wouldn't mind if I never do again but he does deserve to do his thing since he's produced half a thousand classics in the last ten years.

Air Jordan Fusion 5 Low White Red Is it the Shoes

Is it me or are these Fusions getting worse and worse? Yuck.


Paging Dr. Stevenson

Alright DeShawn. I know you're not a member of Mensa, but even you should know where to draw the line. It's one thing to say Lebron is overrated. I mean, despite the fact that he's averaged 30, 8 and 7 for the season, is the possible MVP and is a shoe-in for first team All-NBA, All-World and All-Universe, while your season highs were 33, 7 and 7 and you're the 4th best player on a 3-man team that finished 14th in the league, you're still entitled to your opinion. It's a free country. But then you had to go and do this.



There are just some things you should never do. High on that list is going into the house of the best basketball player of his generation and possibly the best ever and disrespecting him to his face when your team is down 1-0 in the series and 16 in the game. Some people call that ballsy. I call it stupidity. Despite the fact that you've posted your credit card number and offered a 10k reward to anyone who can hook you up with Lindsay Lohan on your myspace page and gotten this tattoo, you've just outdone yourself. Congratulations on ensuring that you will never make the NBA finals as long as King James is in the same conference as you.

Daily Dunk Retrospective: Larry Nance

Larry always seems to be forgotten when people talk about the great NBA dunkers, maybe because a 6'10 cat dunking isn't as impressive. But he possessed estraordinary grace for his size, and if you aren't even slightly amazed at seeing a man jump high enough to get his bicep on level with the rim, then I feel sorry for you.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Tail Report: Cassie in the see-thru



Air Yeezy

These are the Nikes designed by Kanye and the shoes he's wearing on his glow in the dark tour.

Now I get it

Ever since they traded for A.I., the Denver Nuggets have perplexed me. This year they have two of the top five scorers in the league (Melo, A.I.), they have a good low-post presence in Cambe with a a solid partner in crime in Kenyon Martin and they have Kleiza and J.R. Smith to fill the holes.

So I always wondered, how do they suck so bad? Iverson was once known for his quick defense and Camby has led the league in rebounding and blocks.

Well I finally discovered why they suck so bad after watching this clip of the coaching staff:

Download: Nas "Be A N**ger Too"



This is supposedly his first single from his upcoming album. Controversial? Much. I like the message.

Zshare download.

Daily Dunk: Kobe Bryant

I don't like this sonofabeeyotch, but you can't ignore the illness. Word to the Carl's Jr. X-Mo. (Mmmmm ... Carl's Jr. ...)

Monday Morning Stalkerazzi

Yesterday was 420 and Reggie and his love were at Lucky Strike. Doesn't look like they smoked though.


For some reason I forgot to go to this party with Christina.



Alicia doin' her thing.