CELTIC PRIDE

Celtics to sweep the Lakers. You heard it here first.

THE COOLEST DAD IN THE WORLD - YANNICK NOAH

That's Yannick on the right, with his white (of course) wife and son Joakim Noah
This is the coolest dad thing ever. After his son, Chicago Bulls rookie forward Joakim Noah, was arrested for drinking in public and having marijuana in his pocket, he had this to say about all the media fuss...

(From ESPN)

PARIS - Yannick Noah is perplexed by "all that fuss" surrounding the arrest of his basketball player son, who was charged with marijuana possession and having an open container of alcohol.

Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah was arrested Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., after an officer spotted him on a sidewalk holding a plastic cup. Police said that during a search at the station officers found marijuana in his pocket.

"I don't understand all that fuss for just drinking a beer on the street," Yannick Noah said Tuesday at the French Open.

The elder Noah won the title at Roland Garros in 1983. He created a sensation a few years before when he told a magazine writer he smoked marijuana.

Joakim Noah was released after signing a notice to appear before a judge - standard procedure for such offenses. He could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for the marijuana charge.

"I talk to him every day on the phone," said Yannick Noah, who was at Roland Garros on Tuesday for the dedication of a walkway named after him. "He'll soon come over to France to see me."

Joakim Noah led Florida to consecutive NCAA titles before being picked ninth by the Bulls in the NBA draft last year.

Yannick, you're my new favourite ex-tennis player. Sorry Wally Maseur!

THE MESSAGE

Along with Made You Look and the Ain't Hard to Tell remix, The Message is one of my favourite Nas tracks. Scratch that, it's one of my favourite tracks period. In fact, I like this s--t so much that if you don't like it, I'm not sure if we can be friends. Sorry. And on an unrelated note, how dumb are Clay Bennett and the rest of the Sonics ownership group?

I

This track bugs me out. I was going through the billions of Lil Wayne tracks out there for the Lil Wayne night at XO tonight and this one seems to be super-new, but the beat sounds like some Jurassic 5 s--t! The track is called I, that's right "I" as in yourself. Take a listen to it and I'll see you at XO tonight!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER WALLACE

Happy birthday Biggie Smalls a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G. a.k.a. Frank White a.k.a. Big Poppa.

I LIKE TO F--K

Real talk, I'm only throwing this track on here so I can run a picture of Tila Tequila. It's called I Like to F--k by Hot Rod, Tila Tequila and B.Dozier and it might be the most explicit track I've ever heard - and this is coming from someone who owns every 2 Live Crew and Akinyele recording ever released, and compiled two CDs called XXX Hip Hop.

XO PODCAST - 21-05-08

In keeping with the theme of the Lil Wayne night at XO this Saturday, the theme of this week’s XO podcast is Lil Wayne and friends! It’s all Lil Wayne tracks or tracks he has a guest verse/hook on. As always, get yourself on the guestlist by emailing here!

21-05-08 PODCAST TRACKLISTING

1. Lollipop remix – Lil Wayne feat. Kanye West.
2. Make it Rain – Fat Joe feat. Lil Wayne
3. Project Bitch – Cash Money Millionaires
4. Gettin’ It – Cool Kids feat Lil Wayne
5. Way of Life – Lil Wayne feat. Baby & TQ
6. Don’t Trip – Trina feat. Lil Wayne
7. King Kong remix – Jibbs feat. Lil Wayne, Yo Gotti & Chingy
8. You - Lloyd feat. Lil Wayne
9. Make That Money – Chingy feat. Lil Wayne
10. I’m a Dboy – Lil Wayne feat. Birdman
11. Stunting Like My Daddy – Birdman feat. Lil Wayne
12. I Need a Hot Girl – Hot Boyz

IT'S THE GUY WHO'S WILLING TO DIE WHO'S GONNA WIN

After Andrew Dice Clay and Chris Tucker, Al Pacino is probably my next favourite actor. Seeing as though Foxtel has been repeating Any Given Sunday over and over recently, I thought I'd share with you one of my biggest chill moments in movie history from that movie - Pacino's speech to his team, who had been somewhat torn apart by clashing personalities, before they hit the field for a must-win game. Goosebumps...

I don’t know what to say, really. Three minutes 'til the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to today. Now either we heal as a team or we’re gonna crumble, inch by inch, play by play, 'til we’re finished.

We’re in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me. And, we can stay here - get the shit kicked out of us - or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell one inch at a time.

Now, I can’t do it for you. I’m too old. I look around. I see these young faces, and I think - I mean - I made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I, uh, I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me. And lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know, when you get old in life things get taken from you. I mean that's... part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life’s this game of inches. So is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small - I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it.

The inches we need are everywhere around us.

They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the fuckin' difference between winning and losing! Between livin' and dyin'!

I’ll tell you this: In any fight, it’s the guy who’s willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willin' to fight and die for that inch. Because that’s what livin' is! The six inches in front of your face!

Now I can’t make you do it. You got to look at the guy next to you. Look into his eyes! Now I think you’re gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you. You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows, when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for him!

That’s a team, gentleman!

And, either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.

That’s football guys.

That's all it is.

Now, what are you gonna do?

THIS WEEK AT XO - LIL WAYNE NIGHT

OK, this is the kind of night that XO is famous for. No guests (big shoutout to Tikelz for his set last Saturday though, one of his best!), no silly promotions, no lame club gimmicks, just a cool-ass night. This Saturday we're focusing on everything Lil Wayne, so you know this night is going to be ridiculously ridiculous. I've already got this message from one of XO's favourite females (Eunice a.k.a. fake Tera) about this Saturday - "u bastard' u no this will make me come out' and iv been trying to lay low" - so make sure you're there as well! As always, email here for guestlist, and look for a very, very special XO podcast this Wednesday!

THE LAST CLASSIC ALBUM

Before "George Bush doesn't care about black people", the wacky shades and collabos with Jeezy and Weezy, Kanye West was a relatively unknown producer who no one wanted to sign as a solo artist - not even the label he eventually signed with, Rocafella. His debut album, The College Dropout, is the last classic album in my eyes, it was so good I ended up buying five copies of it to give to my friends who weren't into hip-hop. It's funny now to see Kanye develop into this super-ego guy (he's always had an ego, but he's now known as one of the cockiest - and justifiably so - guys in music). I remember DJing at his afterparty at Home Nightclub a few years ago, I asked the promoter before the gig if there was any music policy or tracks I should/shouldn't play, was told to just "do your thing". Literally two minutes before I jumped on I get a message delivered to me in the DJ booth that Kanye wanted to only hear his own music - luckily I had a crate packed with just Kanye tracks and tracks he had produced (this was pre-Serato, so it wasn't like I could just search for "Kanye" on my laptop). Weirdest thing was even thought it was the official Kanye afterparty, none of his lesser-known tracks really got a response from the crowd. They got a reaction from Kanye though, so that was all good!

Check out these two tracks from The College Dropout, my personal favourite Family Business and the remix to Kanye's first single, Through the Wire. He recorded the album version of Through the Wire literally through wire - his jaw was wired shut after a serious car accident, which is something I can relate to 100 per cent - I can also relate to dropping out of college, something I ended up doing after one year of pure boredom. Hmm, maybe I'm more like Kanye West than Ben Affleck...

FAMILY BUSINESS


THROUGH THE WIRE REMIX

STARWATCH - NATHAN JAWAI

XO is generally the spot for most NBL players when they're in town, but it's cool when you get a legit potential NBA future first round draft pick coming down to hang out. Nathan Jawai was cool as hell - we had a quick chat about the draft and my prediction that he'll go anywhere between 24-30, guessing that once teams see his combination of size and speed that he'll rocket up the charts - and his presence also ensured I was only the second tallest person in the club for once. If you're trying to judge his height, I'm 6'6" in shoes.

I can't wait for the "THIS WEEK AT XO" post that I'll be putting up later today or tomorrow, as Big Kev (R.I.P.) would say, "I'M EXCITED!".

GOLDEN

Nope, not a post about R.Kelly's bedroom activities. This is my favourite track to listen to while I cruise through the streets of Dukes in GTA IV, looking at scandalous hoes, running over cops and busting caps - Golden by Jill Scott. Smoothed out R&B on VIBE 98.8!

EVA IS A HORNETS FAN?

It's not quite as good as what this Jazz fan did to Kobe Bryant, but it's still kinda creative.

OFFICIAL REMIX - LOLLIPOP

OK, this is the remix everyone has been waiting for - the official remix of Lil Wayne's club smash Lollipop, featuring Kanye West. Listen for it at XO this Saturday night and on next week's XO podcast! FUN FACT: Some Aussie DJs didn't even know the original of this track existed until a week or two ago. Oh dear! Dope, dope, dope track and great remix.

XO PODCAST - 14-05-08

New and improved XO podcast! Twelve tracks instead of 10, including the brand new/old Swing remix by Savage and Soulja Boy! And a special bonus mix by this week's guest DJ at XO, DJ Tikelz (scroll down to the end of this post to find the Tikelz mix). Make sure you don't miss out on Tikelz set at XO, he's on right after me this Saturday night. Email here to get on the free guestlist!

14-05-08 PODCAST TRACKLISTING

1. Bay - Nelly
2. Out Here Grindin' - DJ Khaled feat. Akon, Rick Ross, Plies, Lil Boosie, Trick Daddy, Ace Hood & Lil Wayne
3. Swing (remix) - Savage feat. Soulja Boy
4. Juk'n - JT Money
5. I'm Toe Up - Problem feat. Felli Fel, DJ Quik, Kurupt, Terrace Martin & Snoop Dogg
6. Damn I'm Cold - Bun B feat. Lil Wayne
7. Biggest Freak - Nicki Minaj
8. The Business - Yung Berg
9. I Fuck Yo Girl - Hot Dollar
10. My New Style - Kia Shine
11. Hi Hater - Maino
12. Stepped on my Js - Nelly feat. JD & Ciara

And below is the DJ Tikelz mix! Gotdamn his s--t is cleanly mixed.


DJ Carl Alley, MC Uncle Abe, DJ Tikelz and me back in the Gas days! Ah the memories...

OH MY GOODNESS

LeBron James finally broke free of the Boston Celtics defence in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series and look what happened. Damn KG!

Oh and check this out, LeBron and Paul Pierce get tangled up and fall into the crowd, and who tries to get in between the two almost-push-and-shoving players? Gloria James, LeBron's mum! And check out LeBron's "sit your ass down" reaction to his own mum, the day after Mother's Day. Not cool Bron-Bron.

ANDREW GAZE INTERVIEW

After digging up my Big Boi interview from the archives, here's an interview I did with Australia's number one basketball superstar, Andrew Gaze. I did this one for New Idea while Drewy was on Dancing with the Stars a couple of years ago. I'd like to think this is the number one website where you can find all the information you need on Atlanta rappers, Australian basketballers and Dancing with the Stars. FUN FACT: I actually went to Gas Nightclub with Gaze, Luc Longley and some other members of the 2000 Sydney Olympics Australian basketball team back in 2000, and for one brief moment I wasn't the whitest or the tallest dude in the club. Ricky Grace got me that drunk that I ended up losing my tape recorder though, not sure what was said on the tape but it might be for the best that it's been vaporised.

What was your first thought when you were approached to do Dancing with the Stars?
A bit surprised actually. I didn’t really know too much about dancing as such. I thought it was a real honour to be asked, but initially I didn’t give it too much consideration because I didn’t think it would be something that I’d be very good at.

What did the wife and kids think?
Based on my initial reaction, my wife Melinda thought there wasn’t a snowflake’s chance in hell that I’d get involved – we didn’t think too much of it. My kids were real keen for me to get involved. It was something a bit different for them, they were pretty excited about it all.

Have they been helping you out? Any constructive criticism?
I think so. Deep down I’m sure they’re pretty supportive. My two eldest, Megan and Courtney, are big Carlton fans, so in actual fact they’re pretty keen on Kouta (Anthony Koutoufides) as well [laughs]. Their loyalties are somewhat divided, but I’m sure they hope their old man does alright.
I’ve known Kouta for years though, it’s been a lot of fun to have him on board, we try to have a lot of fun on the show. Also, I do a radio show with Tamsyn Lewis here in Melbourne and I’ve known her for many years, so it makes it a bit easier when you know you’ve got friends going through it at the same time.

You’re still very involved with the Melbourne Tigers, any of your ex-teammates had anything to say?
[laughs] I don’t think they had a lot of confidence in my ability to dance. We got Lanard Copeland on board to help me – some of the fellas who saw me in the early days said I was lacking a bit of rhythm and we needed to bring in an expert. Now, I think they’re a little bit surprised with how it’s gone and they’re actually quite encouraging.

Did Lanard help or hinder the cause?
I think he helped [laughs]. He made an impression, that’s for sure. He got involved and lightened the session up a bit. A slightly less technical approach, but still a very entertaining way to go about it.

Any tips from your mum or dad?
My mum was vehemently opposed to me coming on the program initially. She came around and demanded I don’t go on her favourite show, ruin her favourite show and embarrass the family. She was not all that supportive early on. But once she came to a few practice sessions and saw what was going on, she loves it now – she’s probably my biggest fan. She figures that I’m not ruining her show and that’s the main thing for her.

As an ex-athlete, have you found the dancing to be strenuous exercise?
Oh, most definitely. In different types of ways compared to basketball though – the muscle groups you’re using in your legs, the positions you have to get into, the endurance, all those types of things. I guess also, for someone like me who’s never danced a day in his life, just the sheer amount of time you have to put in to learn the routines and the fundamentals of what’s involved. It certainly is very demanding. I don’t know if my partner Linda (DeNicola) or the professionals would consider what we’re doing all that demanding, simply because it’s a few pegs below what they’re normally accustomed to, but I’m sure it’s a physical strain on everyone involved.

Have you have any dancing related injuries?
My pride and ego perhaps [laughs]. Not physically, no. You have your aches and pains though – your knees and ankles start to ache, but because of what I’ve put my body though for the last 40-odd years, that’s going to be there if I’m dancing, playing golf, walking the dog... it’s just the nature of where my body’s at.

Are there any dances coming up that you’re looking forward to learning?
As I explained to Linda, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We’re treating every dance as if it’s our last, because we know we could be gone at any stage. We focus on two dances at a time. Next Tuesday we have the tango, then after that we have the Pasa Doble, so while we focus on the tango, we learn the basic steps to the Pasa Doble – is that even how you say it? I don’t even know if I’m saying it right. I honestly don’t even know what lies ahead, I haven’t looked that far down the track – confidence is not of a premium.

You should be fairly confident – you’re one of the favourites.
That is fool’s gold. I think when you see the way some of the other contestants dance… I’d love to go all the way and I’m doing my very best to do that, but I think the reality of skill eventually kicks in, and I know my dancing is fairly limited.

Who do you think are the favourites?
I think Chris Hemsworth is, he moves great. He hasn’t scored too well on his first two dances, but I’ve seen him backstage and his body movement is fantastic. He’s been a bit strapped for time with his preparation, but you can tell he’s got some unbelievable body movement, and that combined with his popularity – he’s a heart-throb to millions – is a pretty good combination. Also, Arianne has been fantastic. Watching her dance, if you didn’t know Camelo, her partner, was the professional dancer, you’d struggle to know which one was the pro and which one was the celebrity. And probably the one who sticks out the most in terms of making a lot of improvement and is dancing really well, is Tamsyn.
I think you can throw a blanket over the rest of us. We all have our good days and our bad days. We try and keep up with the rest, but I think those three stick out.

If you do happen to win, where would it rank on your career achievements?
It would be an extraordinary achievement [laughs]. I couldn’t even comprehend it. It’s so unbelievable that I’m even dancing. I say to people that I’ve never danced a day in my life, and they’ll say: “Oh, you’ve been on the disco dancefloor” – but in all honesty, I haven’t even done too much of that at all. Not looking that far ahead though, my most immediate goal was not to be the first eliminated, so we got through that and it’s all a bonus from here.

Does the wardrobe department have trouble finding outfits and shoes for you?
[laughs] We have had a fair bit of trouble – they had to get in a shoe maker to specially make my shoes. With the shirts and the pants, we can’t just go off the rack. The wardrobe has been amazing in terms of designing the requests made by each couple. Linda does all my requests, I have no idea what I’m wearing – I just try to keep it pretty conservative. I’m certainly not going to be getting my gear off around Chris and Kouta!

During your basketball career you were known for having a good relationship with the refs, do you have the same good relationship with the DWTS judges?
I think so, I have no complaints. Scores have been good, there’s been some constructive criticism in there – they’ve been good to me. Overall, I think everyone’s pretty happy. Most of us are new to it all, so we take it as good advice and try to follow the instructions they give. It can be a bit discouraging, but for me it’s been great, I’m just trying to take on board what they say.

And this is what the finished product looked like in New Idea...

FOR THE KOBE HATERS...

Sorry JR and Dre, but this picture is just too funny...

XO PODCAST - 07-05-08

CRAZY XO podcast this week, it's one of my favourites. Plus for the first time there's two white guys (and an NBA baller!) in the "XO PODCAST" banner! Remember, XO @ HUNTER BAR is the only club where you'll hear the music from the XO podcast, every Saturday night. Enough words, let's get into the podcast!

07-05-08 PODCAST TRACKLISTING

1. Turn it Around - Luke feat. Q & Young Dro
2. Miami - Yo Gotti feat. Rick Ross
3. Da Lou Swag - Mr Magic feat. Hurricane Chris
4. iDance - Soulja Boy
5. I Like it a Lot - Bubba Sparxxx
6. See Me in Da Club - Jim Jones feat. M.O.E. Betta
7. It Takes a Nation - Ice Cube
8. NBA LeBron James freestyle - Jay-Z
9. You Don't Really Know - Jackie Chain
10. Put On - Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West

(Some people were having trouble with the podcast player because Clickcaster can be an unreliable POS - you can download the podcast here or listen to it through the regular music player below.)

THIS WEEK AT XO - DJ NAIKI

Wore the Sixers jersey one week too late...
I'm going to need help at XO this Saturday night - DJ Carl Alley is out of town so come and meet me by the bar or otherwise I'll be drinking alone! We've got DJ Naiki on this Saturday, and every night this Japanese pimp is on is always HUGE.

New XO podcast coming up in the next few hours - this one is a classic IMHO.

99 VOODOO CHILDREN

Torn between posting about my love for Grand Theft Auto IV (you know you've been playing it too much when your first thought when you wake up is "I've gotta call Little Jacob to see if he has any jobs for me to do") and my intense, emo-like hate for some other stuff happening right now that I may or may not throw out there later on today/this week, I'm instead going to cool my heels with some Jay-Z and Jimi Hendrix - check out this ridiculous mashup, 99 Voodoo Children. 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky!

POSSIBLE SITE DELAYS - GTAIV

If I'm not posting as much over the next couple of days, you can blame Grand Theft Auto IV. It's pure gaming crack. There's a good chance I won't emerge from my apartment until I have to go work on Saturday night.