Life In The DPC!

Freedom Williams, formerly of the C & C Music Factory, is now the majority owner of the Atlanta Crunk basketball team of the CBA.

I have no idea why I am including this on DPC.com. Maybe because it just seems like such an odd marriage that I can barely fathom the partnership of 90’s one hit wonder and a professional basketball team named after the blessed combo of being zooted on the chronic and being drunk.

KTVU’s Dennis Richmond is giving his final broadcast tonight. I have no idea why I am including this on my blog but I guess it would likely be because I used to watch the Ten O Clock News a lot when I was living in NorCal and he is a part of my childhood or at least he was the guy that delivered most of the bad news in my formative years.

The Chicago Bulls won the NBA draft lottery and will likely bring K-States Michael Beasley to the United Center. The University of Nevada’s former big man, JaVale McGee, left after his sophomore season for the chance to be a lottery pick and per ESPN’s Chad Ford he will plucked by the Washington Wizards at the 18th pick in the first round.

McGee is another wildcard. Long, athletic and skilled, he has huge upside and can fly up and down the court. But his thin frame and lack of position mean he’s a few years away from contributing. - Chad Ford

Any speculation at this stage is a crapshoot, except maybe Beasley and Derrick Rose going within the first two picks. But I do feel the need to throw in my two cents about McGee and his draft prospects. There is little doubt that McGee is a physically gifted player. His combination of height, wingspan and athletic ability makes most talent evaluator foam at the mouth unfortunately he has shown more promise than results. This is to be expected since he is a 20-year old that played sparingly in his freshman season and then went on to average 14.1 ppg and 7.3 rpg in his sophomore campaign at Nevada. But for each highlight reel worthy dunk or shot block there were just as many instances where McGee disappeared in games or punted balls in the stand. Okay, there was one punting incident.

As a Nevada alum I have an extreme bias with regards towards McGee’s decision to go pro and this is based on my selfish desires as a fan and how he could have dominated Lawlor Events Center for two more seasons. But alas I will wish McGee all the best because you go to college to mature and develop human capital and McGee has definitely developed into an elite talent in his field.

In an ideal world he would get drafted by the Golden State Warriors and become the perfect big man for Nellie Ball. You gotta think that any coach that can turn Matt Barnes into a scoring threat can do wonders for McGee.

Maybe relating Scarlett Johansson’s recent engagement announcement to an American tragedy as 9/11 is grand hyperbole but my world came crashing down around when I got word of this new nuptial announcement involving the basis of my fruitless Craigslist based search. Am I bummed out about this new? Well, yeah, of course I am but this is because I have no life beyond playing a lot of Mario Kart on the Wii. And yes, my better half has been quietly cheering on the news that Ms. Scarlett will now be Mrs. Scarlett.
With all of that pathetic rambling said, I can now focus on her latest endeavor as Tom Waits’ champion.Anywhere I Lay My Head is our kid’s first musical release, Lost In Translation karaoke work aside (which I cleverly included below), and my bias aside this still seems like an odd choice of musician to cover. Actually polar opposites would be the best cliche to describe the pairing of uber foxy Scarlett and the gruff, troubadour Waits. If I was a consulting party I would have leaned towards Scarlett partaking in a album of Fiona Apple tunes. Of course this combo would have destroyed mankind or at least a Life In The DPC.

Of course the sweet is never as sweet without the sour and Scarlett was #2 in Maxim’s latest Hot 100 issue. Second place is a moral victory at Life In The DPC. Especially with respect to the latest (bad for DPC)news involving America’s sweetheart.

Iron Man was worth the wait as I finally got the chance to check out Jon Favreu’s foray into the life of Tony Stark this past Friday. I had minimal doubt that the combination of Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terence Howard and Jeff Bridges would be successful because the latest influx of comic book based cinema have all used the formula of legit actors and directors to make movies that are both entertaining and surprisingly well made.

The first two X-Men flicks, with Bryan Singer at the helm, had a talented cast with Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, etc. and hold up quite well past their initial viewing. Batman Begins is another example of using a mainstream, heavy drama based director, Christopher Nolan, and legit actors like Christian Bale, Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman to tell a fantasy based flick.

Yes, I realize that the NFL Draft was on April 26th but I recently moved back to Phoenix and I am finally getting my affairs in order. With that said, here is The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of The 2008 NFL Draft. Also please keep in mind that I watched the NFL Draft at University of Phoenix Stadium, home of your Arizona Cardinals, at their Draft Party. I often thought that I should focus my attention on more pressing issues, like the Election, but I wasted my afternoon with my Cardinals brethren (A surprising amount, truth be told. I often thought I had no life but they were also holding an RC Plane show at the stadium too, so I feel a bit better about DPC. Not much but a little bit better)

The Good:

Atlanta Falcons: They’re doing their best to put the Michael Vick fiasco behind them and regain some of their fans back and the additions of Matt Ryan and Sam Baker are a good start. I am not overly sold on Matt Ryan but if I was a Falcons fan I’d be stoked by the simple fact that Joey Harrington isn’t my best quarterback option.

Oakland Raiders: They’re using the same template as the 2007 Minnesota Vikings (i.e. a lack of a passing game can be overshadowed by an abundance of talented running backs). I don’t think Darren McFadden will be as dominant as Adrian Peterson but he will definitely come up large. Al Davis also took a gamble on a pair of physically gifted wide receivers ( Chaz Schilens and Arman Shields) to maintain the perceived threat of the Vertical Stretch.

The Bad:

Any Quarterback that DPC thought would be good: Andre Woodson was once considered a top flight prospect and fell to the sixth round (NY Giants), John David Booty 5th round (Minnesota Vikings) and of course Colt Brennan (Washington in the sixth round). Brennan’s fall from grace wasn’t surprising due to his performance at the Cotton Bowl and showing under weight and dismally performing at the Senior Bowl. Woodson surprised me. Maybe because I thought he would be picked up by the third round after a productive career at Kentucky. Booty was hard to predict because he played in pro style offense but was considered to a second day pick, which he was, and just lacking in positive NFL qualities. I am not sure what he is lacking because he had a good career at USC, of course he wasn’t Carson Palmer or Matt Leinart, which likely explains a lot about his public perception.

The Ugly:

Chicago Bears: Mainly for avoiding that whole lack of a quarterback issue. I know it is getting redundant to harp on the Bears for their lack of a tip/top QB but one has to wonder if GM Jerry Angelo is risking his career with an abnormal infatuation with Rex Grossman? That and apparently drafting a running back, Matt Forte, has driven Cedric Benson off the deep end or at least off their roster. Which could be a blessing in disguise since the former first round draft pick has proven to be the anti-Walter Payton (or is that Bizarro Payton?)