So There Is This Other Team From New York.......

…that is creating much buzz around the world of basketball. They haven’t been a contender to make the NCAA tournament since 2000 and have not made any noise in college basketball since 2003. Their name is the St. John Red Storm.

Now when you think of basketball, you think of New York; Rucker Park and Madison Square Garden. It is a hoop star’s dream to make your name there. Now During my time the Knicks was okay with Ewing, Bernard King, Oakley, Big Mase and his many haircuts, John Starks, Reggie Miller taunting Spike Lee, Jordan, Lebron, Melo, and Wade going for 50, and the infamous John Starks rising on Jordan.

What people don’t remember is that while all this was going on. The St. John Redmen (AKA Red Storm) was the one of the beast of Big East with other teams like Georgetown, Villanova, UCONN, and Syracuse in the 80s and early 90s. The Red Storm has the 7th-most NCAA tournament appearances (27), two Wooden National Player of the Year Award Winners, 11 consensus All-Americans, 6 members of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, and has sent 59 players to the NBA Led by the one O.G’s of the “Sweater Committee,” Lou Carnesecca. The Redmen (name at that time) was a dominant force in the 80s led by one of the best playground basketball-turned NBA star in Mark Jackson and one the sharpest shooter in the NBA in Chris Mullin. It is also the alma mater of one of realist and craziest character of the NBA. This might help you out…….

Now the Red Storm has not been that team since 2003. Even Rutgers, who was always the laughing stock of the Big East was getting better player than they were. That was until Steve Lavin actually saw the Red Storm play in the Big East Tourney in 2010 and had a thought that most of the player from NYC were going to other programs such as Duke, UNC, Syracuse, Villanova, and UCONN where some of the NYC best high school players were leaving to become part of the their dynasty. He wanted to bring the NYC talents back home to play in the Mecca thus taking the job at St. John’s. This year’s Red Storm looks like the Old School Redmen, knocking off top 15 – caliber teams such as Notre Dame, Connecticut, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and the Mighty Duke Blue Devils. Now, the Red Storm is in the ranked polls for the first time since 2000 and they are not trying to stop. Could the Johnnies be marching back into the ranks of the NCAA Elite? Only time will tell and we will find out soon if the Johnnies are back.

….but for now, the climb is waiting for the Red Storm.

- Stay Hungry My Friends!!!

-SA

A (Post) Valentine's Day Moment with Air France

Happy Post Valentine's Day from the Ace. Yeah, I would have had this up on February 14 but, when I saw this, I had a laugh the whole day. This is for the guys that gave candies, flowers, and all the goodies and their Valentine did not like. Mickael Pietrus, aka "Air France", guard from the Phoenix Suns, is here to help you out for next year.

Here are Mickael Pietrus’ Top 10 Valentine’s Day tips as he posted on his twitter account:

1) Save money : Take her out during Happy hour everything Half Price

2) If you short on cash, don’t make a reservation, chances are the restaurant will already be booked.

3) Make sure you put the right name on the right card lol lol lol

4) if you have more than 1 valentine please make sure you check your phone in the bathroom

5) When your getting your Valentine day Gifts, make sure to purchase the same gift so you don’t forget what you gave who. Lol lol

6) Hey Fellas there will be a lot of beautiful women tomorrow night , please keep your eyes on YOURS lol lol lol

7) Put a note on the light switch saying “turn me on instead I will light you up ”

8) Have a plan B in case plan A goes South lol lol lol ( you know what I’m talking about ) lol

9) make sure to go to her house so you can leave when you choose lol lol (thinking about plan B)

10) If 1 tru 9 didn’t work please don’t feel bad, it didn’t work for me either… Happy Valentines day everyone!!! MP

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON LARRY BROWN SPORTS

I am not going to lie, Air France has a wild sense of humor. He is up there with Ron Artest and Charles Barkley in the NBA's wildest character.

...and If all else fails, Cee-Lo Green and Gwyneth Paltrow will take us out with a musical. Hit it and Cee-Lo and Gwyneth!!!!

The C.Y.N.I.C.A.L Side of: The Black- Eyed Peas

Like everybody was doing yesterday, I was watching the Super Bowl, loving the commercials (s/o to Em for his Chrysler commercial showing Detroit, it is much needed in this day in America), and eating lots of food. Unlike many of the Super Bowl fanatics, I just could not stand watching Bill O’Reilly given his no-spin zone to Barack Obama because Bill O’Reilly love going after people he know he can control and get away with it (try that with those protesters in Egypt then I will give you some type of credit.), nor did I watch the Super Bowl halftime show with the Black Eyed Peas because I have a disdain for people who sold out on hip-hop. Here is my gripe on “The Black-Eyed Peas.”

Me and my blogger brother in the N.C, Citizen Ojo, was having a nice conversation about this during the Chicago Bears- Seattle Seahawks NFC Divisional Playoff Game. Decades ago, I really thought that the Black-Eyed Peas were going to be the West Coast version of my favorite group “A Tribe Called Quest.” Not because the elements that was similar,(Will.I.Am being the next Q-Tip, Taboo and Apl.de.ap being the next Ali Muhammed and Phife Dog) but because they were different in their own way of race (one black, one Filipino, and one Hispanic). I remember the first album called Behind the Front due to their hit “Joints and Jam” with artist Kim Hill.

It is still to me a bonafide hip-hop classic in many cases. In 2000, they collab with singer Macy Gray on “Request Line”. It was a pretty nice song that it hit 2 on the Rap Single. Yes the same time the Hot Boyz (Juvenile, B.G., Turk, and some lil knucklehead name Lil Wayne) was blazing the whole U.S. The same year Bad Boy was at their peak. So the question to me from 2000 to 2001 what happen.

Well development at Interscope came. Dumped Kim Hill because she wasn’t black enough and got a singer that was not black at all to coincide with the Rainbow Coalition that was already happening. Fergie did so much up and down to this group. She gave them international appeal and killed the once coined “one of the last few rap crew in the game.” What happened is that they became more pop than hip-hop. Sometimes I really think the Black-Eyed Peas played a part of the “Who killed the hip-hop group?” theory. It was a big….and quick decision to either get back into hip-hop or go pop. Well, three double platinum LPs, a song (and parody thanks to Aaron MacGruder) for our nation’s president , and many tour around the world, we see where this group went.

Now I am sitting here thinking three things. “Was it worth it,” “Would I still think of Joints & Jam the same way I think of Imma Be,” “Are they the expanded version of A Tribe Called Quest?”

….Well I don’t know, but I tell you my friends. That playing College Football 2010 on PS3 was worth playing than the halftime show.

--Stay Chiefin My Friends

-SA.