Wednesday, December 26, 2018

2K Needs To Be Stopped

How The Grinch Stole Christmas: 2K Edition

Every person in the 2k community likes locker codes a lot.

But the Devs of 2k do not.

To be honest the devs (developers) just don't care about the community. There's no evidence of them caring. No evidence at all.

For the uninitiated, I will let you in on what has gone down.

S/o to the people responding to the 2k My Team Account on Twitter and the people of the 2K Reddit 

Yesterday there was a locker code released that gave users a Pink Diamond LeBron. Here's what his card from NBA 2K18 looked like for reference:


Now 2k players across the land whether a fan of LeBron or those who hate him for one reason or another will add him to their lineup. Or at least they would have. About an hour after releasing the card users went to their lineups to find their PD LeBron gone from the lineup.

Because 2k is the way they are this was of course done without an explanation.

We have officially reached a breaking point with 2k. By we I mean many things: everyone who has played 2k, everyone who loves playing basketball games, everyone who has spent money on 2k through micro-transactions whether it's for your park player, your my team or both, and people who want to be apart of a gaming community that isn't toxic.

2k continues to show how toxic they are.

Things just haven't improved throughout the years in many modes of the game.

To name just a few:

The Online Leagues just started working correctly, but those haven't been touched in years.

The parks are the same as they have been.

The delayers are still out there.

2k is focused on making money above all else. Who wants to play 2k on an iPad?

Now let's look at the issues with taking away the PD LeBron:

People used consumables to enhance their LeBron. What this means is players would add but aren't limited to adding:
  • Unlimited diamond contract (would always be available), unlimited diamond shoe (to make stats better, very possibly a three point shoe) various badges the LeBron may not of had.
The players that were lucky enough to get LeBron that had the foresight to add these things to their card are now without whatever they added to their PD LeBron. As a My Team player myself I can say when i know I'm going to use a card for a while I add things that I know I am going to want as soon as I can. 


The much bigger issue to me is just taking away the card like he never existed. 

Well, 2k, he did, and still does exist. Removing him now doesn't change that and it's not going to change that.

For all the players who did get PD LeBron. There's a pretty good chance that those are the players who would play the crap out of 2k regardless. That's just my guess, but my thinking is that if those players went out of their way to get PD LeBron than odds are they are going to play the game a lot anyway.

I say this because these are the players who will spend their (possibly hard earned) money and buy packs every time there's a new diamond/new promo out. That would be the group of players I wouldn't want to isolate if I am 2k. Especially if 2k is in the making money business, which we all know they are. That's where the bread is buttered.

A gamer can buy a good My Team. Spend enough on packs and your team will be good. Even with crappy pack luck they can put together a very good team. Some rubies are decent, but they aren't comparable to their diamond, pink diamond and galaxy opal counterparts. Theoretically, it's possible to grind on My Team through challenges, luck on locker codes, sniping on the auction house, etc. That seems to be a model that isn't quite as popular.

A gamer can buy vc to upgrade their My Player, but unless they spend hours upon hours grinding for badges they can only get so good and will only want to play park so much.

They did this on Christmas

I'm not going to sit here and say we deserve a free player on Christmas just because, but 2k, it was Christmas. Being in the same sentence as the Grinch isn't a place to aspire to.

Another issue is the 2k support/ social media help is nonexistent

Try filling out a support tickets. No, go ahead. See what happens.

It will be the same message everyone else who fills out a support ticket gets.

Not only will it not be worth anyone's time to send it in, but they don't even take the time to read the whole ticket. Skip those clicks on the keyboard.

Take a look at their official Twitter account

Yes, I too follow it to stay update on the new cards that are coming soon.

But if it wasn't for that the account would be 100% useless.

They hardly respond to comments/concerns/issues.

For those that play or played Fortnite, they had the Infinity Blade come out and about a day later they walked it back, essentially and said, "yeah our bad."

On the flip side we never get that from 2k. Today when 2k had a chance to apologize or explain or say anything. They let the world know that there's a new Diamond Kyrie Irving, Diamond Paul George, Diamond Bradley Beal and Amethyst Luka Doncic.

No mention of the PD LeBron. No mention of messing up.

They will even troll every now and then. It's honestly sad.

And above all else. I'm not surprised at all.

This is what 2k does.

They took the trophy for top virtual basketball game somewhere between 2009-2011. 2k9 is when they took the lead in my eyes.

Since then they have had a virtual monopoly on the basketball video game.

NBA Live hasn't been able to truly fight back even though it has improved from what it was. 2k even bought the NBA playground game before they could drop a sequel, which was an arcade game in the same vein as NBA Jam.

I can't say to stop playing the game. It's the best game around and I do enjoy playing basketball games even with all the issues. There are people that need to play the game whether it's for fun, or it's what they do for a living.

But to the people who can make their voices heard.

You know who you are.

The YouTubers, the streamers, to the content creators who play or have played 2k throughout their careers as a content creator. You are the people who I believe have the best chance at making something happen. 

It may be a long shot, but it's the only shot we have of saving this virtual basketball game.

Some of you have already made your thoughts known. Some of you have been banned for one reason or another and started a movement there.

This is different. This isn't against one person. This is against every single player in the 2k community, and we can't allow 2k to do this over and over and over.

Enough is enough. Let your voices be heard. Speak for all the people who don't have the platform(s) you do and help make the game fun again!

From someone who just wants 2k to be fun again

- Lance Morris

Friday, June 22, 2018

2018 NBA Draft, Draft Diary: Volume Two


The world has had just enough time to decompress from the NBA Finals and get ready for the NBA Draft. Granted that's because the Warriors swept the Cavs. Nonetheless, it should be a fun night! It'll be a different crew covering the draft than in years past, but it was kind of like that for the NFL Draft as well. The 2017 draft was deeper than this years crop of talent. Yes, Donovan Mitchell slipped to the thirteenth pick. Markelle Fultz went first and we didn't get to see much out of him. Jayson Tatum looks like a future all-star. Lonzo Ball had moments. Josh Jackson was in Phoenix. Yeah I forgot about him to be honest. He averaged 13 points per game and shot 26% from three. I wouldn't call that awe-inspiring. Enough about last year; let's get into this draft!

 7:00 - Welcome into the 2018 NBA Draft, Draft Diary: Volume Two!

7:15 - Lots of Luka Doncic. I mean that felt like a bit much when we know he isn't going first.

7:19 - I do believe Doncic will be at the very least an above average player. If I had to bet on who would be the best player in the class I would bet on him. He dominated the Euro League at 19. The Euro League is the second best league in the world. As great as the coverage of him has been it's fair to say another member of the family made a great first impression to the world:


C/o - Sportsdaily.com



Andre Iguodala was a fan as well.

7:23 - I like the crew of Rece Davis, Chauncey Billups, Jay Bilas, with Woj and Bobby Marks standing by with all the trades and moves that will go down. Maria Taylor was great with college football. It's nice to her get a role with the NBA Draft.

7:25 - I think I will go out on a limb and say most fans watching know who's there for the draft. The big introduction charade isn't necessary.

7:27 - BETTER BE THE NEXT MAGIC POINT GUARD, TRAE YOUNG

7:32 - Adam Silver finally out to kick things off. Took long enough.

7:34 - Suns are on the clock. Let's get rolling!

7:39 - DeAndre Ayton goes first to the Suns. Everybody in the arena is shocked. Actually it was the exact opposite of this:



From a pure looks standpoint there's little doubt why Ayton is the top pick. You look at him for a couple seconds and you know he's a future top NBA pick. His one season at Arizona had just a tad bit of controversy. His defense just wasn't there and that was one of the things that held back Arizona. They let Buffalo put 80 something on them and knock them out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament. And Buffalo was sure to not let him forget.

7:43 - Marvin Bagley III goes second to the Kings. Marvin, I want to apologize. The only player that made it out of there alive was Boogie. Okay, Isaiah Thomas as done alright too aside from ruining the Cavs locker room. They ruined Ben McLemore. They ruined Jimmer (maybe not their fault but still). I mean just stop it. Bagley will average around 20 and 10 by year three and be just fine. I go in on Sacramento every year, but as a non partisan fan thank you for not taking Doncic. He deserves better. Sorry, Marvin, once again:




7:46 - Trade rumors are floating around 👀

7:49 - Luka Doncic goes third to the Hawks but is really going to the Mavericks. Love, love, love this spot for him. Basketball wise it's great. Once upon a time they developed another foreign player who turned out pretty well. I don't really know how him and Dennis Smith Jr. will fit together but when you can get a player like Doncic you roll with the talent and figure the rest out later:




7:55 - Jaren Jackson Jr. goes fourth to the Grizzles. Fine pick for the Grizzles. I'm glad they stayed put and didn't ruin this pick to try and get out of the Chandler Parsons contract. Don't get me wrong. It's an awful contract. You can ruin a top five pick to get out of a bad deal. What's Parsons' best moment with the team? Probably something he said on Instagram.

Jackson is a fine player, but I don't know how Izzo couldn't get more out of that team. They had two lottery picks and were projected to be more than they ever showed. He didn't give Jackson that many minutes either. Maybe it was to make sure he was always fresh or maybe there was something else there. Either way I think he'll be a solid player. No more, no less.

7:59 - Trae Young goes fifth to the Mavericks but really to the Hawks. The Hawks will get the Mavs first rounder next season:




8:00 - Expletive, expletive, expletive.

8:01 - Young is one of, if not, the riskiest picks near the top of the draft. He could be a Steph Curry kind of player when he's on. When he's off he looks closer to a Curry with a different first name and I'm not talking about Dell. There's a reason he was able to light up college basketball especially in the first part of the season. He shot the ball from territory known as 'Curry range'. He showed more as a passer than I remember Steph doing in college. The knock on Steph was that he was between a point guard and a shooting guard who'd have trouble on defense. Well we know Young will struggle on defense and he's a little smaller than Curry is. Young is 6'1. You need him to be a dynamic offensive player, and a threat to shoot whenever he crosses half court because on defense there's few positives to look at.

8:02 - More expletives. I wanted him. The Magic haven't had a point guard that was halfway decent since Jameer Nelson.

8:03 - *Realizes how long ago that was gets irrationally upset.*

8:04 - Mohamed Bamba goes sixth to the Magic aka Jay Bilas' wet dream. 7 foot 9 wingspan. Okay now I'm okay, I think. I really, really wanted Young, but I said before that he was my second choice as a Magic fan. It's an interesting fit because now the front court should be Jonathan Isaacs, Aaron Gordon (resign him no matter what. He's a restricted free agent) and now Bamba. They still have too many centers with Nik Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo. Who cares? With Young off the board it's absolutely the right pick. And if he can do this in games with any kind of regularity sky is the limit:



8:08 - I love how happy he is. I mean everyone who gets drafted is gonna be happy but it's still nice to see.

8:09 - Foot Locker commercial with Trae Young, LiAngelo Ball, and LaVar Ball. I love it. It's not the first Foot Locker commercial featuring a member of the ball family:



8:10 - You guys miss LaVar Ball yet? Say what you will about him but the guy is the walking embodiment of entertainment:



8:11 - Is Gelo gonna get picked? Did you get your pair of Gucci glasses? He did.

8:12 - Wendell Carter Jr goes seventh to the Bulls. I was a bit surprised they didn't go for Michael Porter Jr. there were plenty of rumors connecting them. It should be interesting to put him next to Lauri Markkanen since he's not so great on the defensive side but spaces the floor on offense.

8:16 - I am very intrigued to see what the Cavs do to see if they pick a compliment for LeBron if he comes back, or if they just get the best guy they can. It could be both but interesting either way.

8:18 - Collin Sexton goes eighth to the Cavs. Either way they needed a point guard. He had one of the most memorable moments in college basketball this past season:



Let's see how he adapts to the league.

8:24 - Kevin Knox goes ninth to the Knicks. He isn't great yet, but he will at the least be a solid player. He's still 18 and has a lot of room to improve.

8:25 - Wingspan, people, wingspan. Bilas has no regard for human life.

8:26 - Did I make that joke last year. Ah, who cares? It has to be done.

Knicks fans are chanting, "We want Porter." Shut up, Knicks fans. You don't know what you want. The best picks you've ever had besides Patrick Ewing you've booed. And how about that jacket?!?!



8:30 - Mikal Bridges goes tenth to the 76ers. Doesn't get much better than that. Local guy who won a couple titles at Villanova. He will eventually be a much better version of Robert Covington. Oh and his mom works for the 76ers already. That's pretty cool.

8:37 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander goes eleventh to the Hornets. Interesting move that could signal the Hornets moving Kemba Walker. Heck he could be moved before the night is over.

8:39 - Back-to-back Clipper picks coming up. I would make a joke that they'll screw this up but having the logo in your front office was proven to make a difference at his previous spots

8:40 - Looks like a trade in the works that will negate what I just said. SGA will be going to the Clippers and the Hornets are going to get the twelfth pick and future picks for SGA.

8:43 - Bilas makes a Von Trapp family joke that like 12 percent of the audience will get:



Miles Bridges goes twelve to the Clippers but will be heading to the Hornets. I watched him play against the Buckeyes a couple times and I was always scared of what he could do. He was a tough cover. He probably would've still been a lottery pick last year too.

8:47 - Kid Ink music playing them into commercials. I liked him before it was cool to like him.

8:50 - Jerome Robinson from Boston College is pick thirteen to the Clippers. He kind of made Boston College relevant this season, which isn't easy to do. Should be at least a decent scorer.

8:53 - Michael Porter Jr. still out there and ESPN is making sure you know that.

8:56 - The hell is going on with their audio?

8:58 - Aaron Holiday looks just like Jrue Holiday. Yeah they're brothers but damn:


C/o New York Post

Michael Porter Jr. off the board as the final lottery pick at fourteen to the Nuggets. He is a risk because of the injury issues he had at Missouri. He was one of the top players coming out of high school, and if he can get and stay healthy we will look back and ask, "How the hell was he available at fourteen?!" The Nuggets have been on the outside looking in the last couple seasons. Might as well go for a player that could be a huge difference maker.

9:06 - Troy Brown Jr from Oregon goes fifteen to the Wizards. How about Oregon starting to consistently get guys in the league? I mean this guy won a title:



I think they're getting Bol Bol (Manute Bol's son) next year too. That should be fun to see.

9:12 - Ayton is on the ESPN set talking with the guys, and he really wants to play with Aaron Holiday. Will he get his wish? Oh, and Joel Embiid is lighting him up on Twitter. I didn't expect anything less. #TrustTheProcess



9:14 - Zhaire Smith from Texas Tech is the sixteenth pick to the Suns, but there's a trade and now Mikal Bridges is going to be heading to the Suns. That story was cool for about 44 minutes.

9:18 - I can't get over that Mikal Bridges won't get to play in Philly. They made a perfect pick. Both on and off the court and then they decided, nah, let's get a worse version and hope we can make him better. I personally blame Jerry Colangelo.

9:21 - Donte DiVincenzo goes seventeenth to the Bucks, or white Donte as Bomani Jones likes to call him. He introduced himself to the country by going off in the National Championship game. to the tune of 31 against Michigan. He has the shooting. He has the athletic ability. Good pick for the Bucks. That's the kind of talent they needed to add to give them more space on offense.




9:26 - Kawhi Leonard drama breakdown!!!

9:27 - Let's go live to Kawhi Leonard talking about his situation:

"......"

What? He isn't saying anything?
Oh, he's never said anything? Huh. Interesting...

9:28 - Lonnie Walker IV goes to the Spurs at the eighteenth pick. Since he's going to the Spurs we all just assume he will be good now. Oh and he already failed a drug test. At least according to Jalen and Jacoby:



And this has to be one of the best pictures from last night:




9:35 - Kevin Huerter from Maryland goes to the Hawks at nineteen. He was alright from what I saw of him. Nothing all that great.

9:42 - Josh Okogie goes twenty to the Timberwolves from Georgia Tech. Shocker that the T-Wolves wanted a defensive guy. Never change, Tibbs.

9:45- Woj is a savage by the way:




The NBA and the networks agreed to not tweet out picks before Adam Silver gets to the podium to announce the picks. As you can see from the screen grabs of the tweets, Woj had to get creative with how he worded his tweets.

9:47 - Grayson Allen goes the Jazz at pick twenty-one. Everybody loves Grayson Allen. Don't trip:




9:51 - Chandler Hutchison from Boise State will be heading to the Bulls as the twenty-second pick. Can't say I watched too much Boise State basketball this year. Chauncey compared him to Kyle Kuzma. If the Bulls are getting that they would be more than thrilled.

9:58 - Aaron Holiday goes to the Pacers at pick number twenty-three. Third Holiday brother in the NBA. LaVar can't be more envious right now, right?



Yeah we'll see about that, LaVar. 

10:05 - Anfernee Simons goes to the Trail Blazers at pick twenty-four. He didn't play in college once the vampire stuff. I mean once the Rick Pitino stuff happened at Louisville. Did you guys know that Pitino thought Donovan Mitchell needed another year at school? Hahahaha.

10:12 - Mo Wagner goes to the Lakers at pick number twenty-five. He went to Michigan and was the biggest reason they made it to the National Title game. The game he played against Sister Jean, Loyola-Chicago, really stood out to me. He got it done on both ends of the floor. He's a really good shooter. A really underrated defender. He's a great stretch five for the way basketball is played today:




10:16 - I, again, don't understand what Philly was thinking with that trade. Oh you saved a little money to get LeBron. They really getting LeBron? At some point why don't you try and actually get better? Sam Hinkie isn't running the show anymore. Don't try and mimic that strategy, Brett Brown.

10:19 - Landry Shamet from Wichita State goes at pick twenty-six. Did I miss something? He's a point guard. You have Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz and T.J. McConnell. I guess if he can be a good shooter it kind of makes sense. Philly is coming away one of the biggest losers of this draft in my eyes.

10:27 - Robert Williams goes to the Celtics at pick twenty-seven. Here we go again with the Celtics drafting well. Surprised he slipped this far. I think that has more to do with the way the league is moving than with Williams himself. Defensive guy. Big shot blocker. Fits a need for the Celtics. They'll get him to improve on offense over time. He won't be asked to do much on that end of the floor because his defense will get him minutes.

10:29 - Rece that rendition of, "Warriors, come out and play." was super cringy:



10:33 -  Jacob Evans from Cincy goes to the Warriors at pick twenty-eight. They might've swept the Cavs in the finals but their bench still wasn't all that great. Nice addition. The rich get richer.

10:36 - The guys roast Bobby Marks for the Brooklyn and Boston trade. He was apart of the Nets front office when they made that deal.

10:42 - Dzanan Musa goes twenty-ninth from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Can't say I know much about this guy either. Looks comfortable finishing around the rim with both hands:



10:45- Omari Spellman from Villanova goes to the Hawks to close out the first round. Third Nova player selected. Lots of Duke and Nova talent in this draft.

Hopefully Keita Bates-Diop gets picked soon. He dealt with multiple issues in college and helped lead the Buckeyes to a top ten ranking at one point. (He went to the Timberwolves)




The draft has come to a close! Man the second round goes so damn quick. I can't say I'm a fan of immediate draft grades and all that even though they happen every year, but let's just say who I think had the best and worst nights perception wise:

Best - Atlanta Hawks

Came away Young along with Huerter from Maryland and got some more future second round picks for their high second round pick.

Worst - Philadelphia 76ers

Example on why it's good to have a GM heading into the draft that has done it before.

Best - Phoenix Suns

Getting Ayton at one was great, but getting Mikal Bridges from Philly and they just swapped picks this year. They gave away a 2021 first round pick that I don't think will end up being a great pick (it is an unprotected first rounder though, which doesn't really happen often now). They also picked up a point guard from France and a guard from Colorado in the second round.

Worst - Knicks fans

I get life is hard with kazoo boy as your owner: 



Get over yourselves.

Best - Dallas Mavericks

Drafted the player I think will be the best player in this draft when it's all said and done. And stole Jalen Brunson in the second round.

Worst - Orlando Magic

I liked the Bamba pick. I really did but...

THEY DIDN'T TAKE A POINT GUARD. THEIR POINT GUARDS ARE CURRENTLY TRASH BAG (DJ AUGUSTIN) AND SHELVIN MACK. GEE, THOSE ARE SOME REALLY GOOD POINT GUARDS.

IT'S A POINT GUARD LEAGUE AND WE'RE BRINGING AUGUSTIN AND MACK TO THE TABLE. THAT'S ABSOLUTELY ABYSMAL.

I'm done before I just rip the team to shreds. Let's see if they answer this:



As of now I have not.

Thanks for reading!

Thursday, May 31, 2018

My top Kanye West songs from each album including ye and Kids See Ghosts

Save your stick to sports tweets. I love me some Kanye West. This is about his music. Not his tweets. I'll get to that never.



Here are my top songs from each of his albums:

College Dropout (2004)


Honorable Mentions - 

School Spirit 

"Oh, you graduated?"
"No, I decided I was finished."

Slow Jamz

"She said she want some Marvin Gaye, some Luther Vandross. 
A little Anita will definitely set this party off right."

3. Through The Wire

"Somebody order pancakes; I just sip the sizzurp."

2. Jesus Walks

"The only thing I pray is that my feet don't fail me now.

1. All Falls Down

"Couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis"

As great as All Falls Down is as a song; hearing it as a poem is pretty cool too:



Late Registration (2005)


Honorable Mention - Gold Digger featuring Jamie Foxx

"I don't care what none of y'all say, I still love her."

3. Hey Mama

"I wanna scream so loud for you 'cause I'm so proud of you."

2. We Major

"You thinking we local? Come on homie, we major."

1. Heard 'Em Say 

"Nothing's ever promised tomorrow today."

Simmer down, Mort. Kanye is allowed to use 'em if he wants to.


Graduation (2007)

Honorable Mention - 

Good Morning 

"This is my dissertation. Homie this sh*t is basic. Welcome to Graduation, good morning."

3B. Flashing Lights

"She don't believe in shooting stars, but she believe in shoes and cars."

3A. Can't Tell Me Nothing

"I told God I'll be back in a second. Man it's so hard not to act reckless."

2. Stronger

"Man I've been waiting all night now. That's how long I've been on ya."

1. Good Life

"I go for mine. I gots ta shine."




I think you could put these in any order. The best songs on Graduation are so strong. 
See what I did there?

808s & Heartbreak (2008)


Honorable Mentions - 

Say You Will 

"Hey, hey, hey, don't say you will. Unless you will."

See You In My Nightmares

"Okay, I'm back up on my grind."

3. Amazing

"It's amazing. I'm the reason. Everybody fired up this evening."

2. Welcome To Heartbreak

"I had to leave before they even cut the cake. Welcome to heartbreak."

1. Heartless

"How could you be so heartless?"

The go-to song whenever talking about the 808s album as a whole.  Kanye's dip into autotune was a beautiful mask for the pain he was feeling. Too bad it's painfully used by other artists today. Yet another way Kanye broke the mold.


My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)



Honorable Mentions - 

Dark Fantasy

"Too many Urkels on your team that's why your wins low."

Monster

"I'm gon need to see your hands at the concert."

3. Gorgeous

"She told the director she tryna get in a school. He said take them glasses off and get in the pool."

2. Runaway

"Baby I got a plan. Runaway as fast as you can."

1. All Of The Lights

"Extra bright I want y'all to see this. Turn up the lights in here baby. You know what I need. 
Want you to see everything. Want you to see all of the lights."

The strongest of Kanye's albums. I didn't even mention Power or So Appalled which had the famous line of Jay-Z quoting The Dark Knight


Watch the Throne (2011)


Honorable Mentions - 

Made In America 

"Sweet baby Jesus. We made it in America."

Murder to Excellence

"Paper read, Murder, black on black murder."

3. Ni**as in Paris

"What she order, fish filet?"

2. No Church in the Wild

"What's a mob to a king?
What's a king to a God?
What's a God to a non-believer?
Who don't believe in, anything."

1. Otis

"Sophisticated ignorance, write my curses in cursive."

Not the best thing that either Kanye or Jay-Z has made, but there's a lot of good stuff on this collab.

Yeezus (2013)


Honorable Mention - 

Hold My Liquor 

"I can't handle no liquor, but these bi*ches can't handle me."

Bound 2

"We made to Thanksgiving. So, ay, maybe we can make it to Christmas."

3. Send It Up

"She said, Can you get my friend in the club?" 
"I said, can you get my Benz in the club!?"
"If not, treat your friend like my Benz. Park they a** outside till the evening end."

2. Blood On The Leaves

"I just need to clear my mind now. It's been racing since the summertime." 

1. New Slaves


"I'm bout to air sh*t out. Now what the f*ck they gon say now."

Kanye's aggressive response to MBDTF and WTT is hit or miss with a lot of Kanye fans. I don't think I would go this far, but it is the best song on the album:


The Life Of Pablo (2016)



Honorable Mentions - 

No More Parties in LA

"When did I become A list? I wasn't even on a list."

Highlights

"Tell my momma that, tell my momma that I only only want my whole life to only be highlights."

3. Ultralight Beam

"This is a God dream. This is a God dream."

2. 30 Hours

"Now I'm 90, 90 miles like Matt Barnes just to whoop a ni**a a**."

1. Famous

"I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bi*ch famous. I made that bi*ch famous."

He took the most time he ever had between albums since MBDTF. I think it was a couple songs too long but was all and all a pretty good album. 

Bonus: My Top Kanye Guest Verses

Honorable Mentions - 

Swagger Like Us

"Cause I slaved my whole life. Now I'm the master."

Knock You Down

"Tell me now can you make it past your Caspers?"

Erase Me

"Monica Lewinsky on the dress and take ya to the cleaners."

5 - Forever - Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem

"You would think I ran the world like Michelle's Husband."

4 - Smuckers - Tyler The Creator, Kanye West, Lil Wayne

"They say I'm crazy but that's the best thing going for me. You can't lynch Marshawn if Tom Brady throwing to me."

3 - Run This Town - Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye West

"What you think I rap for? To push a f*cking RAV4?!"

2 - Put On - Young Jeezy and Kanye West

"I got the money and the fame, and that don't mean sh*t. I got the Jesus on the chain and that don't mean sh*t."

1 - Clique

"So I just meditate at the home in Pompey. About how I could build a new Rome in one day."

This guest spot was unequivocally the best guest verse he's done. He just spits for a good minute and a half and takes over the song without question.

Ye (2018)


Honorable Mention - 

All Mine

"All these thots on Christian Mingle. Almost what got Tristan single."

3 - I Thought About Killing You

"See, if I was trying to relate it to more people. I'd probably say I'm struggling with loving myself. But that's not the case here. I love myself way more than I love you."


2 - Ghost Town 

"I've been tryin' to make you love me. But everything I try just takes you further from me."

1 - Yikes

"Sh*t could get "Menacin', frightenin', find help, sometimes, I scare myself, myself."

Is his new album the best album he's ever done? No. I wasn't born yesterday.

The lyrics as a whole aren't exactly awe inspiring. The production is exactly what the world has come to expect from Kanye. It's beautiful. Even if you don't love I Thought About Killing You the lead in to it gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. All Mine has some traces of good word play. Ghost Town sounds like a song we could've heard from Kanye and Cudi at any point over the last handful of years. It gives me the hope that Kids See Ghosts (which may be streaming at any moment, it's 9:36 on 6/8) will be incredible. Like Ye, if nothing else it will be magically produced and we could have the best Cudi album since Indicud and even that was not the level of either of the Man on the Moon albums.

Kids See Ghosts (2018)



Honorable Mention - 

Freeee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2)

"Nothing hurts me anymore. Guess what baby? I feel freeee."

3 - Reborn 

"Ain't no stress on me, Lord, I'm movin' forward."

2 - Feel the love

"I could still the love."

1 - 4th Dimension 

"Bought an alligator, I ain't talkin' Lacoste."

As you could guess this album was beautifully produced. It's incredible when you consider the individual battles both Kanye and Kid Cudi have gone through over the last handful of years. Just with some of the lyrics I highlighted it's easy to see where they originate from. It's quite the mix of their styles, but it still sounds more like a Cudi album than a Kanye albums. And that is completely by design. 

Ghost Town from ye was originally supposed to be on this album. You can tell how it would've fit and still been different had it been on Kids See Ghosts. Freeee serves as a continuation of the song anyway. 

Kanye showed just how far back he was digging when looking for samples. The feature and sample from Louis Prima is beautiful. He took bits from a song that was popular before WWII, and found a way to use it in 2018. It also puts the late Prima in territory all to himself

I really enjoyed the album even though the tone is far different than past Cudi albums.

Thanks for reading!

Friday, April 27, 2018

2018 NFL Draft Live Draft Diary of Round One

(Quick Note if you've never read a piece like this. I started writing this at around 7:35 the night of the draft and it should be published at some point on Friday. It is my live reaction while watching the 2018 NFL Draft on ESPN I hope you enjoy!)

(Extra Note, I somehow didn't check Twitter in case there were spoilers. Kudos to me!)

It is finally time. The draft is moments away from kicking off. I am a Browns fan and I'm not ready for my heart to get broken, again, at all. Oh, it's gonna be a long night. Are you ready? I'm not sure I am.

7:40 - Potential picks are being introduced. Josh Jackson, the cornerback from Iowa looks like he has the best dressed award locked up.

7:41 - How big is Jerry's world? My gosh.

7:55 - John Dorsey better know who he's taking.

7:57 - ESPN knows there's other players besides the quarterbacks, right? Trey Wingo, the draft hasn't even opened yet. Don't you tell me that the wait is over.

7:58 - I would like Josh Rosen a lot more if he didn't have two concussions last season at UCLA.

7:59 - Don't tell me to buckle up, and you most certainly won't call me buttercup. Your excitement sounds fake. I'm tired of him.

8:00 - I'm excited to hear Kirk Herbstreet on the draft with Jon Gruden gone to coach the Raiders.

8:01 - Mel Kiper Jr. is locked in. I don't know what is more impressive: the fact that he's never taken a bathroom break in all his years of covering the draft? Or that his hair hasn't moved an inch in all his years of covering the draft.

8:04 - Now Playing

8:05 - Oh, great, Roger Goodell... Is there a more hated commissioner? Sure seems like every commish is hated besides Adam Silver. Gary Betman is a joke and Rob Manfred had the worst interview in the history of commissioners.

8:07 - Boo birds out in full force.

The Browns are officially on the clock.

8:08 - Please talk shit about all of the past QB's, Wingo. What an easy target.

8:09 - I like Kiper's tie choice. Sharp.

8:10 - Nerves officially setting in. Don't mess it up. Please.

8:11 - Herbstreet likes Baker Mayfield. Not all that surprising when you consider how much he has seen of him in college. The Johnny Manziel comparisons are a joke by the way.

8:14 - Very happy to see Chris Mortensen on the coverage with all that he has went through.

8:15 - The pick is in. It feels like it will be Mayfield. Just my gut feeling.

8:16 - The feeling in my legs is going away.

8:17 - It's Mayfield. Wow.

8:18 - I was going to talk myself into whoever they ended up taking, but I was prepared for it to be Darnold. I watched him dominate an Ohio State Buckeye team early on in the college football season. There's no getting around how great he was in college. He won the Heisman last season. Heck, the man started as a walk-on. Hopefully he is the one to break the Browns cycle of awful quarterbacks...

8:21 - LET'S GO BROWNS! BAKER MF'ING MAYFIELD


8:22 - The New York Giants take Saquon Barkley with the second pick. Dave Gettleman may think he invented football but getting Barkley is a no brainer. The best running back to come out in a good while and the last few years are full of awesome running backs going in the first round.



Herbstreet called him the best back he's seen come out since Adrian Peterson. That sounds about right. People forget since he's washed now, but it was incredible watching him for some of those seasons with the Vikings.

8:24 - The New York Jets on the clock. Prior to today it sure felt like the Jets would be a landing spot for Mayfield. They have to get a QB. Where do they go now?

8:27 - Reminding the Jets that they could've had Dan Marino. Cold.

8:28 - I'm sick of Wingo.

The Jets take Darnold at three. The man everyone thought was going number one from the start of the college football season up until Mayfield's name was called. Damn, he has quite the family bloodline. The only one I knew about somehow was someone in his family being one of the original Marlboro men. I'm curious to see if the Jets can develop him. Funny how the last two quarterbacks the Jets take in the first round have both been USC guys. Remember this?


8:31 - The Browns are back on the clock. It feels like they take Bradley Chubb.

8:33 - Overall I am a fan of the coverage so far by ESPN. I hope they can stick with this group going forward. Wingo makes me miss this guy:



8:34 - Wingo, I identify Sal Pal more with the Eagles than the Jets. Get better at your job.

8:36 - The Browns take Denzel Ward at four! Let's go!!!! Ohio State is the real DBU with what they've been doing with defensive backs the last handful of years. Ward was so much fun in college. He tested well at the combine if you are in to that kind of thing. Ward isn't the biggest guy but most times he will be the fastest guy. Can't wait to see him in a Browns uniform.

8:41 - The Denver Broncos have their pick in. Who knows what they will do. I don't really know. I don't think they go QB. I also didn't think the Browns would take Ward.

8:43 - The Broncos take Chubb the defensive end out of N.C. State. Broke a bunch of Mario Williams records and he went number one overall. Pass rushers are such a key piece in the NFL with it becoming such a passing league. Best pass rusher by all accounts. Good pick for the Broncos.

8:45 - The Indanapolis* Colts already have their pick in. That didn't take long.

8:47 - The Colts take Quenton Nelson out of Notre Dame at six. The Fighting Irish offensive line was so good last year. Nelson was incredible. You have to be an incredible guard to go in the top ten of the draft. Go watch his tape and you'll see in about ten seconds why he's so good. Plus the Colts have had bad offensive lines since Peyton Manning had to have four neck surguries* behind them.

8:51 - The Tampa Bay Bucs take the pick to the Buffalo Bills. A quarterback named Josh is about to go off the board.

8:52 - Do i get a Mayfield jersey or a Ward jersey first?

8:53 - Two second round picks to go up to seven to get your quarterback? Not too high of a price tag at all.

8:54 - Wingo redeemed himself by making fun of Nathan Peterman.

8:55 - The Bills take Josh Allen, the quarterback from Wyoming after trading up to seven. Arm strength is probably the least of Allen's questions. I don't care about the tweets that came out earlier today. I chalk that more up to being a dumb, young kid than being a bad person. You have to look at those accuracy numbers and sound the alarm. At no level did he complete passes at a high rate. Pretty important as a quarterback, IMO.

8:57 - Billeve, huh?



8:59 - You guys got the joke in the last line about Josh Allen, right? Just checking.

9:00 - The Chicago Bears take Roquan Smith the linebacker from Georgia at number eight. No doubt the best linebacker in the draft. Jack of all trades and master of a couple. Good pick for the Monsters of the Midway.


9:03 - I've liked all the picks thus far. Well aside from Josh Allen. I don't think that he will be good. Stats matter, kind of, Wyoming.




9:05 -  The San Francisco 49ers take Mike McGlinchey another lineman from Notre Dame. I already told you how good the Notre Dame line was last year. He'll be a right tackle of the Niners for years to come. Maybe a tad early to take him but if you get a solid to pro bowl kind of guy then who cares?


9:08 - The Arizona Cardinals trade up to ten to presummably take a quarterback. Now we're starting to get some movement, and it's always about the quarterback.

9:09 - Shameless plug there for Golic & Wingo. Like there wasn't a billion ads for them before they started. Has anyone watched Greeny's show, Get Up, yet?

9:11 - The Cardinals haven't take a quarterback in the first three rounds since Matt Leinart? Damn, I'm getting old.

9:13 - The Cardinals take Josh Rosen after trading up to ten. I think he would've been the first overall pick if there weren't injury issues. It is all about the injury concerns with Rosen. I like how smart he is. I like how confident he is, but if he gets another concussion. Maybe he starts to wonder if he wants to keep playing football? I couldn't blame him.



9:14 - He likes Elon Musk?

9:18 - The Miami Dolphins Minkah Fitzpatrick is the pick at eleven. I am very surprised he slipped so far. Early in the process he was in the discussion to go to the Browns at four and maybe even higher than that. That versatility is the key for him. He was a safety and was a corner at times too.

9:21 - The Bucs back on the clock after trading back from seven. I get the feeling they go Derwin James from Florida State.

9:24 - The Bucs take Vita Vea from Washington. His full name is a mouthful. A giant defensive tackle. That is quite the defensive tackle combo putting him next to Gerald McCoy. Vea can play the one or the three and heck can play defensive end at times if you really want him to go outside a bit. The Bucs needed a defensive player without a doubt but I thought they would take James because that secondary was, well, really bad.

9:28 - Someone has to trade up if they want to get Lamar Jackson. He can't fall forever.

9:29 - Damn right that's on you, Wingo. (He thought the Washington Professional Football team traded to the 13th pick when that's what they already had.)

9:31 - Washington takes Da'Ron Payne at thirteen. Once again they go with a defensive tackle from Alabama in the first round. Sure seems like most of the Alabama defensive players pan out. Offensive players... Not so certain.

9:32 - Saint trade up to the fourteen spot!!!! This has to be Lamar Jackson.

9:40 - The New Orleans Saints go up to fourteen to get, wait what? They take Marcus Davenport, pass rusher from UTSA. Wow. They have to be extremely high on him to give up next years first round pick. I 100% thought they were going up to get Jackson. I'm more shocked at this pick than the Browns taking Mayfield.

9:45 - The Raiders about to announce their selection of Kolton Miller, offensive lineman from UCLA at the fifteen pick. Not quite the player McGlinchey but he's six foot nine. That's a big boy.

9:46 - The Buffalo Bills trade up to sixteen. Second time they are trading up. Okay I see you Orchard Park!

9:48 - Maybe Lamar Jackson will fall forever

9:50 - They grab Tremaine Edmunds the linebacker from Virginia Tech. I thought he might go closer to ten. He's sooooo young. Not even twenty years old yet.

9:53 - Cue the Bon Jovi



9:56 - Wingo, you don't give out fines. These guys do.

9:57 - The LA Chargers take Derwin James from Florida State. Perfect pick for the Chargers. Offense is pretty set. Defense just needs some fine tuning. I can't believe he feel so far.

9:59 - The Packers trade up to the 18th pick. They have to be coming back up for a skill guy.

10:04 - Jaire Alexander from Louisville the pick for the Packers. They traded away Damarious Randall in the off-season and needed to get a replacement from him and Alexander was electric for the Cardinals.

10:13 - The Dallas Cowboys take Leighton Vander Esch the linebacker from Boise State. One of my favorite guys in the draft after reading up on him. Eight man football. Eight man football. I thought I was from a small town. So happy for him. Another guy that started as a walk-on. How about that?!



10:19 - It would be nice if I could hear Louis Redick at some point. That is kind of an issue.

10:20 - The Detroit Lions take Frank Ragnow a center from Arkansas. I thought they'd get a good running back for the first time since Barry Sanders. Well at least a decent one. Patricia, you laminated playsheet with a pencil fraud. For those that read my mock draft, which was way more funny than it was accurate.

10:22 - Live reaction from my good friend, Phil Holtz. He happens to be a Lions Fan...


(Extra Update) He calmed down a bit on Friday Afternoon:


10:25 - The Cincinnati Bengals make a good pick grabbing Billy Price from Ohio State. Dude was awesome for the Buckeyes. O-H!

10:31 - The Titans grab Rashaan Evans, linebacker from Alabama. Bama guys all over the damn place.

10:36 - Tomorrow morning is going to come waaaaaaay too early.

(Update: it did come too early. Damn you, NFL Draft!)

10:37 - Wingo just said #SmallSample. Someone come get their mans.


10:39 - The New England Patriots take Isaiah Wynn from Georgia. Big shocker. A pick from them that makes sense. THEY ALWAYS MAKE SENSE.

10:45 - The Panthers finally get a wide out off the board and take DJ Moore from Maryland. Odds are you guys probably probably threw him a pass or two last season. All of their quarterbacks went down, and the guy still put up good numbers. And watch this play:



10:53 -  The Ravens take Hayden Hurst the tight end from South Carolina. Pretty upset he is going to be in my division for the future. I don't care that he is older than almost every other pick. He isn't this old:


10:58 - Calvin Ridley the pick for the Atlanta Falcons at pick twenty-six. Two Bama wideouts for the Falcons. That could be somewhat unfair.



11:05 - The Seahawks take Rashaad Penny from San Diego State. Uhhhh, No Sony Michel or Darrius Guice?


11:07 - How the hell is Lamar Jackson still available?

11:12 - The Steelers about to make their pick. It's great to see Ryan Shazier walk out there. Even if he's struggling a bit to walk. That hit he took didn't even look like anything out of the ordinary:



Unbelievable. Everybody choking up right now.

Terrell Edmunds from Virginia Tech goes to them at pick twenty-eight. You may recognize his name. His brother is was pick number sixteen. I wonder how many brothers have gone in the first round. There can't be any that have each gone in the first in the same draft. I know the Manning brothers each went number one. The Watt brothers each went in the first. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

11:17 - ESPN confirms it's the first time ever that brothers have gone in the same draft in the first round.

11:18 -  The Jaguars take Taven Bryan the defensive tackle from Florida at pick number twenty-nine.

11:22 -  The Vikings take one of my other favorite corners, Mike Hughes from National Championship winner, UCF.



He had some issues in college but the talent is there without any doubt.

11:28 - Patriots fans with Tom Brady Jerseys grab their jersey and say, "five more years." You know how old Tom Brady is, right?

11:29 -  The Patriots take Sony Michel at thirty-one. First time they've taken a running back that high in like ten years.

11:33 -  The Ravens traded with the Eagles to get the last pick of the first round, AND TAKE LAMAR JACKSON!



SHIT!! NOW HE'S IN THE BROWNS DIVISION!!!! I'M OUT ON THAT!


Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read this!

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2017 NBA Draft, Draft Diary: Volume One