Had Enough of the NFL Lockout Drama? Here's the Even More Dramatic NBA Lockout!

About a decade ago, in a sports league not so different from this one...

NBA LOCKOUT
Episode I: Departing Heroes

It was a time of great change. The Bulls Wars had just ended, the great hero Michael Jordan had decided that he was done saving the sports world from the clutches of the evil ones known as Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and the Portland Trail Blazers. It was a time of great change and uncertainty as none was sure who would lead the NBA to prosperity. In the time of the NBA's greatest triumph, the evil one known as David the Stern, NBA commissioner, reared its ugly head.

David the Stern had once been a mere messenger for the commissioner's office, working as a lawman, but when the previous commissioner decided that the heroes of the galaxy deserved no rights, David demonstrated his incredibly lawyer powers by utterly losing his case in a landslide victory for the players. Because of his total ineptitude as a lawyer, it was obvious that he should be given a promotion and become the assistant commissioner. Shortly after, the commissioner, Larry of Brien, died a tragic death, long overdue. David the Stern became the new "leader" and proceeded to do all he could to ruin everyone's lives.

This time, David the Stern decided that the heroes should be paid less money and the ones paying the heroes deserved more money and that more heroes should be allowed, despite an already excessive amount. The heroes decided they would not agree to this, waging a strike, and thus, the Lockout began. Many moons later, the Lockout finally ended, but not without casualties. 32 battles needed to be cancelled, never to be made up. Legions of heroes who had no business in a battle of champions fought due to the missing 32. In the end, a new legion of heroes was crowned, the Spurs of San Antonio, led by David, son of Robin.

Peace seemed to return to the NBA, but that peace was only short-lived....


Yes, the NBA lockout has officially begun, for the 2nd time in 12 years. Is this really going to happen every time a CBA expires in the NBA? The NBA and NBPA are so far apart on the issues that we may realistically lose an entire season of basketball because the NBA owners want a hard salary cap instead of a soft salary cap. The way things work now, every dollar paid over the salary cap is doubled and comes out of the owner's pocket. Because of this, very wealthy owners can afford to pay over the salary cap and assemble super-teams like the Miami Heat. Miami's ease of recruiting talent and making it to the NBA Finals in just 1 season seriously scared the owners of every other team, knowing that-that was possible in any franchise with a rich owner unafraid of spending money, like with the Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, Mavericks, and Wizards.

The players want to maintain a soft salary cap because under the hard salary cap rule, the owners would end up making more money and taking salaries away from players. For veteran players, this isn't really a big deal, but for people barely entering the NBA and bench players, this can have serious repercussions. Even though we all hear about how many millions of dollars Kobe, LeBron, and the rest make, bench players and newbies don't make that much money if they don't have an endorsement deal with anyone.

Let the battles begin, because by the end of this thing, David Stern is very likely to no longer be commissioner.

HOSTILE TAKEOVER PART II!

The McCourt vs Selig drama just never seems to end! MLB commissioner Bud Selig demonstrated earlier this week that he apparently has the power to halt divorces, by blocking Fox Sports and the Dodgers entering a new TV deal, a deal that would have settled the McCourt divorce. Frank McCourt was not thrilled with this news, taking immediate action to have the LA Dodgers declare chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Dodgers were then revealed to owe millions of dollars, from $22 million to Manny Ramirez (who doesn't even play baseball anymore), to the company that makes Dodger Dogs, to even poor Vin Scully who is owed more than $150,000, yet continues to go to work everyday working play-by-play.

By the Dodgers filing for bankruptcy, Bud Selig has now claimed that he has full authority to take over the team, not just financial operations, and sell it to the highest bidder if need. This opens the door who a whole slew of investors who know that the Dodgers, despite being a sub-par team currently, have tons of potential being one of the oldest teams in American sports.

Currently, most people (meaning ESPN, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, and Yahoo! Sports) have been advocating Mark Cuban purchase the Dodgers, turning the franchise around the way he did the Dallas Mavericks. This idea is actually pretty popular, slowly gaining traction and even got Cuban an appearance on TMZ to discuss the pros and cons of buying the Dodgers. One thing that was not mentioned is that many speculators believe that if the Dodgers do go for sale to the highest bidder, the winning bid could be in the range of $1 billion+, making it the most valuable sports club in the entire world.

I, for one, welcome our new billion dollar overlords. The Dodgers haven't done shit in decades and are continuous playoff chokers, while the cross-town rival Angels have won a World Series in the past 10 years (which the Dodgers haven't even come close to) and arch-rival San Francisco Giants won the World Series last year for the first time since before color television. Dodger Stadium is also a giant piece of crap these days, in serious need of an LA style face lift. The stadium isn't secure, something that fans are well aware of since the Opening Day beating of Giants fan Brian Stow.

Leland Ye is a Moron

Leland Ye, author of the violent video games law that was just struck down today is officially a moron. In a prepared statement, Ye made his opinion known:

"As a result of their decision, Wal-Mart and the video game industry will continue to make billions of dollars at the expense of our kids' mental health and the safety of our community. It is simply wrong that the video game industry can be allowed to put their profit margins over the rights of parents and the well-being of children." -Leland Ye (D), California

Ye is a child psychologist, which is where he got his ideas that video games are destructive to the mental health of children. Unfortunately for Ye, study after study has proven that video games are not as harmful as previously thought, typically generating an adrenaline rush that only lasts for 10-15 minutes, similar to having just watched an action movie or participating in sports. Despite all that, the reason the law was struck down had nothing to do with children's mental health, it had to do with how over-restrictive the law was.

Ye truly believes that the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Entertainment Software Association because it's all about how much money Wal-Mart will make. Ye needs to take a lesson in economics. For every new video game sold, the retailer makes about $2. Video game consoles make retailers about $5. Are either of those profitable? Not on your life. In reality, the majority of profit by retailers goes to video game accessories (not counting controllers) which generally have no MSRP. If any retailer truly makes money on selling games, it's Gamestop which is the king of used video game sales.

As far as the "safety of our community" line, it sounds like Ye belongs back in the mid 90s when there was intense debate about whether or not Mortal Kombat made children more violent or if Castle Wolfenstein played a role in the Columbine shootings. These days, we know that video games have no correlation to violent behavior, but do have correlation to neglectful behavior, especially in the case of Starcraft among South Koreans.

Ye left with one more little quote that really boggles the mind.

"While we did not win today, I am certain that this eight year legislative and legal battle has raised the consciousness of this issue for many parents and grandparents... and has forced the video game industry to do a better job at appropriately rating these games."

What. The. Fuck. Is he talking about? I'm going to go grab a copy of the game in my library with the most explicit content. Just a sec.




OK, I found Grand Theft Auto IV & Episodes From Liberty City. On the cover, there is a big ugly label that has a big fat M and above it, it says MATURE 17+. On the back, it says why it was given an M rating. The back has an even bigger label to accommodate the reasons for the rating:

Blood and Gore
Intense Violence
Nudity
Strong Language
Strong Sexual Content
Use of Drugs and Alcohol

I really don't understand Ye's last comment. That very appropriately summarizes every single explicit thing in GTA IV. How can you "appropriately" rate games better than that? Does Ye want the box to say in big fat letters "You can kill anyone you want"?

I've never been a big fan of most child psychologists, most arguing that new media is almost always to blame on bad behavior, but Ye's comments are just unbelievably ignorant and just wants to look good in his district so that he can get re-elected or make a push for national office. This defeat isn't going to look good on his part, wasting tax payer dollars on a law that was only in effect for a few months and eventually having the whole thing struck down by the Supreme Court.

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down California Violent Video Games Law

The Supreme Court ruled this morning, 7-2, to strike down the California law authored by Leland Ye and signed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005 to ban the sale of "violent" video games to minors. The law was halted from being enacted in 2010 when a federal judge deemed it unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court wanted to take a closer look at the case. The court even said the existing ESRB rating system is adequate enough and an effective means for parents to control the games their children play. Judge Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority the following:

"As a means of assisting concerned parents it (the law) is seriously overinclusive because it abridges the First Amendment rights of young people whose parents (and aunts and uncles) think violent video games are a harmless pastime." -Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia

Stephen Breyer and Clarence Thomas dissented, Breyer writing for the dissent:

"The First Amendment does not disable government from helping parents make such a choice here -- a choice not to have their children buy extremely violent, interactive games," -Supreme Court Justice, Stephen Breyer

But the other justices disagreed very much so with Breyer and Thomas, Scalia noting that the law reminded him of the numerous attempts by governments to ban comic books, movies, television, music lyrics, Grimm's Fairy Tales, and Snow White for their violent content. Clarence Thomas was much more blunt in his opinion of the First Amendment, sure to incite anger amongst all minors:

"The freedom of speech as originally understood, does not include a right to speak to minors, without going through the minors' parents or guardians," -Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas

I don't know where the fuck Thomas pulled that logic out. Minors have no right to free speech? YOUR OWN SUPREME COURT DISAGREES WITH THAT. As "originally understood'? Here is the text of the First Amendment:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." -Amendment I, U.S. Constitution

Note that in the line about free speech, there isn't even a mention of the word "people." In fact, the only distinction the Constitution ever makes about age is the required age to run for congress and president, and the voting age (which has been frequently amended).

This news doesn't just affect minors, it affects adults who get carded for buying a fucking video game at places like Best Buy. Seriously, when I buy an M-rated game at Best Buy, I get carded because "it's store policy". Well fuck their store policy, the Supreme Court says my non-existing 5 year old son can buy Duke Nukem Forever if he chooses.

You Know What I Hate? Fucking Nitpickers.

This is Benzaie. He is French. He works for Channel Awesome (so you know right off the bat he's an idiot). A while back, Channel Awesome contributor TheSpoonyOne made a video bitching about how terrible The Legend of Zelda; The Wind Waker was. His main complaint was the art style, mostly complaining that Nintendo didn't make this game with more realistic graphics but keep the gameplay the same. Many shared this opinion, excited that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was going to be appeasing the fans who liked Wind Waker's gameplay, but hated the art.

But then assholes like Benzaie came along, completely unpleaseable. Twilight Princess' goal was to combine the best of Ocarina of Time with the best of Wind Waker, creating the perfect swan song for the Gamecube. Unfortunately, the game was delayed to the point that it also came out for the Wii, but it was still an awesome game. It's not the greatest Zelda game at all, but it is one of the better ones. Benzaie made a list of the "top 5 reasons why Twilight Princess sucks," implying that is in fact a bad game. In reality, it's actually a "top 2". Here are his top 2?:

1. Poor Game & Level Design Choices
1. Hates the skateboard(?); claiming that it is rarely used. He was probably referring to the Spinner.
2. Thinks the Double Clawshot was a lazy inclusion and that two clawshots is stupid.
3. Hates that the Magical Armor depletes rupees when used and costs so much money to get. Claims the Fierce Deity's Mask was better.
4. Thinks the Iron Boots were only used in one dungeon and complains that the mayor of Ordon gives it to you.
5. Claims the Gale Boomerang was not used at all after the first dungeon.
6. Hates that Wolf Link doesn't play very differently from Link (what?).
7. Hates the Howling Stones, Hawk Leafs, and Horse Grass.
8. Nitpicks that the songs that play when you slash an enemy in Wind Waker have been removed.
9. Thinks he was ripped-off by Nintendo for purchasing the Wii to play Twilight Princess.
2. Story & World
1. "Zero risk" of art direction and looks "exactly" like OoT.
2. Thinks Wind Waker was much more creative with it's art style, noticeably disagreeing with Spoony.
3. Complains about the forgettable Resistance characters.
4. Complains that the map is too similar to Ocarina of Time (what?).
5. Complains that Yeto's house, the Snowpeak Ruins, is a dungeon.
6. Disappointed by the Ooccoo being the Sky people.
7. Complains that Twilight Princess "doesn't follow the Zelda timeline"
8. Hated the ending with Midna destroying the Mirror of Twilight
9. Claims the game can be completed in less than 12 hours very easily.
10. Claims that you have to do the same things twice as Wolf Link and Link, mostly complaining about the Sacred Grove.
11. Complains about the bosses' difficulty, claiming they can be beaten in "seconds".
12. Thinks that Twilight Princess is more of an unofficial remake of Ocarina of Time.
13. Claims Zelda is its own genre and default every Zelda game is decent because no other game has copied its style
14. Expects Skyward Sword to have a double boomerang.

Now obviously, that's one of the worst organized Top 2's I've ever seen. It's entirely made up of nitpicking, which I will now debunk!

1. The Spinner is used quite extensively in the dungeon you get it, even used as the primary weapon against the boss. It is also used frequently in the City in the Sky and used to get several heart pieces around Hyrule.
2. The Double Clawshot turns you in Spider-Link! It's the closest Link gets to flying in Twilight Princess, which is why the 2nd clawshot is in the City in the Sky, which Benzaie keeps calling the "Sky Temple." Benzaie extensively complains that the Ooccoo considered the clawshot somehow important, but the City in the Sky is not a temple, it is a City that was once obviously occupied by people Link's size. It's made very obvious that the double clawshot is how people got around at one point.
3. The Magical Armor is actually very easy to get provided that you deliver hot springwater to Castle Town before donating the 2nd set of rupees to Malo Mart. There's no magic in the game, so how else could Link fuel his magic armor? In Wind Waker, the magic armor depleted your magic, so the only thing that could be depleted in Twilight Princess is your huge rupee collection. The Fierce Deity's Mask is only available at the very end of Majora's Mask, your prize for getting every mask, but the Magical Armor can be obtained very early.
4. The iron boots are used in two dungeons extensively, one more than Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker. Complaining that "your neighbor" gives them to you is pure nitpicking.
5. The Gale Boomerang is used infrequently, but it is still used every so often.
6. Wolf Link runs faster than Link, but he deliberately plays the same as Link so that one doesn't need to learn two different control schemes.
7. The songs played are in reference to Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker, but they don't play a major part in the game. The only Howling Stone even required is the one to learn the Ending Blow.
8. He admits that he's nitpicking about the fighting songs and I do agree with him that they were fun in Wind Waker, but that was a much more cartoony game where you expect random sound effects while fighting.. It just wouldn't make much sense in Twilight Princess.
9. Nintendo made very clear that the Wii version of Twilight Princess had only limited functionality with the Wii, only able to incorporate the fishing game with true Wii controls. Nintendo never said the Wii version was any better, just that it would play a little bit differently than the Gamecube version due to being mirrored and having more on-screen items equipped.
10. TP has a much darker design than OoT and claiming it looks exactly the same is incredibly ignorant.
11. I actually agree with this point, but TP's point was to make a much darker game.
12. I agree with this one too. None of them are that memorable other than Rusl, who you meet at the beginning of the game.
13. The map is similar to OoT on purpose. By that logic, he should be complaining that OoT's map is too similar to A Link to the Past's map.
14. Snowpeak Ruins is definitely a dungeon that screams "wtf?" but what about Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly? What about Beneath the Well (which was originally a house)? What about THE MOON?
15. There were hints everywhere that the Ooccoo were the Sky people, but the number of artifacts dealing with the Sky people imply that the Ooccoo didn't always look like face-chickens or may not even be the real Sky people if Skyward Sword is hinting at anything.
16. The Zelda Timeline is FAN-MADE. Nintendo has never confirmed that the timeline is real, only stating that a game comes before or after Ocarina of Time.
17. Benzaie needs better English, because it was stated numerous times why the Mirror had to be destroyed.
18. 12 hours on a first run is really stretching it. On a 2nd playthrough, one could probably complete the game in 12 hours while skipping a lot of heart pieces, but completing the game quickly most involves save-warping.
19. The only thing you do twice is the Sacred Grove, but you actually follow a different path. The Twilight areas are mostly to familiarize you with the new area since they are very large zones.
20. Some bosses are easier than others, but none can be completed in less than a minute.
21. If TP is a remake of OoT, then OoT is a remake of LttP, which is a remake of the original Zelda.
22. Apparently, Benzaie has never heard of Okami.
23. The double boomerang was already obtainable! It was Zora Link's ranged attack in Majora's Mask!

At the end of the video Benzaie even admits that he's going to get Skyward Sword even though he hates motion controls. Troll video or endless nitpicking? You decide.

The Top 3 NBA Free Agents, as Picked by Fox Sports (and why I agree)

According to Fox Sports, these are the top 3 Free Agents for the 2011 off-season: 1. Nene, 2. Tyson Chandler, and 3. Marc Gasol. Not only do I agree with them being in the top three, but I agree with their placement. Let's start at the bottom.

Marc Gasol was originally drafted by the Lakers, but had his draft rights traded to the Grizzlies as part of the deal that sent Pau Gasol to L.A.. Marc Gasol, at least until this season, never played at a level to make people think Memphis' trade was a great thing, filled with conspiracies that Jerry West was somehow behind the trade, despite not being affiliated with the Lakers or Grizzlies for many months at that point. But in the 2010-11 season and especially the 2011 playoffs, Marc Gasol performed far better than his older brother and helped lead his team to a stunning upset against the San Antonio Spurs. Coupled with the draft picks Memphis received in exchange for Pau and the cash value to hire free agents, the Grizzlies walked away with a very good deal in the long run. But now, Gasol's future in Memphis is uncertain as he is now a restricted free agent.

Although teams do have to pay more money than Memphis to grab him, the Grizzlies aren't exactly a huge money-making operation right now. If Gasol stays in Memphis with Zach Randolph and returning star Shane Battier, the Grizzlies could possibly become a powerhouse in the Western Conference. But there are going to be very tempting offers from teams with deep pockets, most notably the New York Knicks who desperately need a center that Amar'e Stoudemire cannot fill with his less than stellar reputation as a power forward who doesn't average a double-double.

Tyson Chandler was once viewed as finished after a serious toe injury that his own doctor admitted would never be fully repaired. The New Orleans Hornets thought this, which is why they shipped him off to Charlotte, who then traded him to Dallas. Surprisingly enough, Chandler was a huge key in the Mavericks winning the NBA championship, but the Mavericks have a giant elephant in the room: Tyson Chandler is an unrestricted free agent and can go where he pleases. He's in incredibly high demand, not just because of how surprisingly awesome he still is, but because he can choose to work anywhere he wants for as much or as little money as he pleases. Chandler could even choose to play for the team that drafted him, the Clippers, a team that has a lot of future potential, but missing an effective center. Marc Cuban has very deep pockets, but can he really win Tyson Chandler over and convince him to stay in Dallas?

Nene has been the starting center for the Denver Nuggets for much of the Carmelo Anthony era. With Anthony gone and a rapidly declining team led by the controversial Kenyon Martin, Nene doesn't have a lot of reasons to stay in Denver. Nene possesses something even more dangerous that being an unrestricted free agent: he has an early termination option. If a new agreement on his contract cannot be met, Nene will more than likely terminate his contract and seek employment elsewhere. With the new CBA as the elephant in the room, it seems highly unlikely that Denver will ever be able to keep him. As much as Tyson Chandler will be in demand, there's still a good chance he will remain a Maverick. There's little to no chance Nene will remain a Nugget.

More Man of Steel Casting News

Christopher Meloni of Law & Order: SVU fame has been cast as "a general". Nobody was very clear on what that means at all, but he will be shooting scenes with Superman in them, so he is apparently playing a major character, possibly helping Superman fight against Zod. Julia Ormond of Benjamin Button was also announced to have won the role of Lara Lor-Van, Superman's biological mother. Thus far, I haven't seen a single bad actor cast thus far in the movie, and David S. Goyer is writing the script. Could Man of Steel be shooting for the Oscar that The Dark Knight wasn't nominated for? Things are certainly starting to look that way, but we'll just have to see how many more big announcements in casting will be made, like who will play Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and if Lex Luthor will make an appearance.

Mexico Mounts Epic Comeback Against the U.S. to Win Gold Cup; Tim Howard Blasts CONCACAF

At the start of the match, it looked like the U.S was going to pull off a stunning upset. They scored 2 very early goals from Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan, looking like the dominant team for most of the 1st half. Mexico was not out, however, making an incredible comeback to win the game 4-2. Mexico exploited the U.S.'s biggest weakness, a very weak defensive back that goalkeeper Tim Howard has been critical of since the last World Cup. The final goal by Giovanni Dos Santos was a clear-cut example of this, pressuring Tim Howard who had absolutely no aid whatsoever even with 6 defenders at his side.

The match never got particularly heated, other than Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez losing his cool late in the game, and it was clearly a friendly game. What did stand out was how overwhelming the support in the stadium was for Mexico. Generally, U.S. vs Mexico matches in the U.S. are divided 50-50 and have examples of people using the split-jersey, sewing two different jerseys together. This time, U.S. support was very low compared to the overwhelmingly Mexican crowd, many of which included visitors from Tijuana.

Perhaps feeding off the crowd, the Cup Presentation Ceremony was conducted almost exclusively in Spanish by Univision reporter Fernando Fiore. This didn't sit very well with Tim Howard, commenting that it was a "fucking disgrace" to conduct the ceremony entirely in Spanish on U.S. soil because he said, "You can bet your ass if we were in Mexico City it wouldn’t all be in English." CONCACAF was not available for comment, but Howard's comments are only one part of the controversy that the Gold Cup has had.

There are multiple allegations that Mexico had more than 5 players caught with banned substances in their drug tests, possibly the entire team, but CONCACAF kept the team in the tournament because they were the defending champions and it was likely that the final match would be between the U.S. and Mexico. I find it personally puzzling why Mexico was allowed at all to stay in the tournament with so many players caught, especially the goalkeeper. CONCACAF is probably the most controversial continental division in FIFA, especially now with Jack Warner resigning due to ethics violations and corruption charges.

I personally have to agree with Tim Howard. Generally, international announcements are conducted in 2 languages, the host country's language, and English. In the case of the host country using English, but the winning team is not an English speaking-country, the announcements will also be made in that country's language. Long story short, the ceremony should have been conducted in both English and Spanish, not overwhelmingly Spanish. Fernando Fiore is usually a good reporter and has fun on-air tweeting with Chad Ochocinco, but he really dropped the ball here. I understand CONCACAF picking Fiore to make the announcements since he's an unbiased observer who speaks fluent English (Fiore is from Argentina), but allowing him to continue doing the whole ceremony in Spanish is really mind-boggling.

With Mexico's win over the U.S., they will represent CONCACAF in the Confederations Cup in 2013 after the U.S represented in 2009. The Confederations Cup is considered by most to be a dress-rehearsal of sorts, since it always takes place in the next World Cup's host country one year prior to the World Cup. The Confederations Cup winner is generally viewed to be the favorite going into the World Cup because of the nature of difficulty in getting there; one must be the best team in the continental division to even qualify, and then the team must beat the other best national teams in the world. In the 2009 Confederations Cup, however, the final match was between the U.S. and Brazil, Brazil winning 3-2. In the 2010 World Cup, the U.S. was eliminated in the Round of 16 and Brazil was eliminated in the Quarter-Finals.

I'm not that terribly upset the U.S. lost, since Mexico won anyway and if this drug scandal ends up being more serious, or even if it's all cleared, both of my teams made it anyway.

Fraud at the Draft!

Tanguy Ngombo was selected 57th by the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. Two problems, however. For starters, Tanguy declared himself eligible for the draft with a slightly different name, Targuy. Although it may be the work of a typo, at this point it's unknown. But that's not the biggest problem. The Timberwolves drafted the Qatari under the belief that he was 21 years old. In reality, Ngombo is 26 and not eligible to be drafted. Yes, the Timberwolves drafted someone last night who cannot be drafted, wasting a draft pick due to NBA and Timberwolves negligence.

I want to see if the NBA reimburses the Wolves somehow, but the prospect of Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams both being in Wolves jerseys next season might be reason enough for management to not really care.

NBA Draft 2011 Concludes, Full of Future Bench Players

Kyrie Irving was selected 1st by the Cleveland Cavaliers, much to nobody's surprise. Derrick Williams was selected 2nd by the Minnesota Timberwolves, again to nobody's surprise. Then things immediately got weird. Enes Kanter of Turkey was selected 3rd by the Utah Jazz, Tristan Thompson was selected 4th by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Jonas Valanciunas of Lithuania was selected 5th by the Toronto Raptors. Of the ESPN Hype Machine players, Brandon Knight was selected 8th by the Pistons, Kemba Walker was picked 9th by the Bobcats, Jimmer Fredette was picked 10th by the Bucks, and the Marcus twins were picked 13th and 14th by the Suns and Rockets. Fredette was later traded in a 3-team deal to the Sacramento Kings, which sent several Bobcats players to the Bucks, including the nefarious Stephen Jackson.

On my own team's draft day, it was pretty below average. The Lakers made the best they could with their first two draft picks, picking Darius Morris 41st and Andrew Goudelouk 46th. At this point, both are expected to be bench players as Mike Brown re-evaluates the team, but Morris could potentially be the starting point guard some day if his defense improves. The Lakers other 2 draft picks are vintage Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss however, picking Chukwudiebere Maduabum 56th and Ater Majok 58th. C.M. will be sent to the Denver Nuggets, probably in exchange for cash (UPDATE: He was traded in exchange for a future 2nd Round Draft Pick), while Majok will more than likely only see playing time in training camp and in the preseason. There were actually plenty of players left in the draft with plenty of future bench player talent, notably Isaiah Thomas who was picked dead-last, and other players who went undrafted, like Ben Hansborough.

This draft in general was pretty shitty, seeing only 2 notable trades, George Hill of the Spurs sent to the Pacers and Rudy Fernandez going to the Dallas Mavericks. If any big trades are going to happen later, they're probably going to be sign and trades as players are getting ready for an intense legal battle against the NBA with the impending lockout.

UPDATE: Here is the full list of Draft Day Trades Made:

Blazers-Nuggets-Mavericks Trade

• Blazers get Raymond Felton from Denver; rights to Targuy Ngombo, the 57th Pick, from Dallas
• Nuggets get Andre Miller from Portland; rights to Jordan Hamilton, the 26th Pick, from Dallas; Future 2nd Round Draft Pick (2013 or 2014) from Portland
• Mavericks get Rudy Fernandez from Portland; rights to Petteri Koponen, the 30th Pick in the 2007 Draft originally from Philadelphia 

Bobcats-Bucks-Kings Trade

• Bobcats get rights to Bismarck Biyombo, the 7th Pick, from Sacramento; Corey Maggette from Milwaukee
• Bucks get rights to Tobias Harris, the 19th Pick from Charlotte; Stephen Jackson from Charlotte; Shaun Livingston from Charlotte; Beno Udrih from Sacramento
• Kings get rights to Jimmer Fredette, the 10th Pick from Milwaukee; John Salmons from Milwaukee

Rockets-Timberwolves-Bulls Trade

• Rockets get Jonny Flynn from Minnesota; rights to Donatas Motiejunas, the 20th Pick, from Minnesota; Re-Acquisition of the 38th Pick, used to select Chandler Parsons
• Timberwolves get Brad Miller from Houston; rights to Nikola Mirotic, the 23rd Pick from Houston; rights to Norris Cole, the 28th Pick from Chicago; 2013 1st Round Draft Pick
• Bulls get rights to Nikola Mirotic from Minnesota

Pacers-Spurs Trade

• Pacers get George Hill from San Antonio, 2005 2nd round Pick Erazem Lorbek
• Spurs get rights to Kawhi Leonard, the 15th Pick; rights to Davis Bertans, the 42nd Pick

Nets-Celtics Trade

• Nets get rights to Marshon Brooks, the 25th Pick
• Celtics get rights to JaJuan Johnson, the 27th Pick; 2014 2nd Round Pick

Knicks-Hornets Trade

• Knicks get rights to Josh Harrellson, the 45th Pick
• Hornets get Financial Considerations, believed to be between $700,000-$750,000

Timberwolves-Heat Trade

• Heat get rights to Norris Cole from Minnesota
• Timberwolves get rights to Bojan Bogdanovic, the 31st Pick; Future 2nd Round Pick; Cash Considerations

Warriors-Bobcats Trade

• Warriors get rights to Jeremy Tyler, the 39th Pick
• Bobcats get Cash Considerations

Magic-Cavaliers Trade

• Magic get rights to Justin Harper, the 32nd Pick
• Cavaliers get 2 Future 2nd Round Picks

Nuggets-Lakers Trade

• Nuggets get rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum, the 56th Pick
• Lakers get a Future 2nd Round Pick

In all, not many significant trades were made, but a lot of people are talking about Rudy Fernandez going to Dallas, Jimmer Fredette going to Sacramento, and the Knicks buying a very low draft pick for more than 700k. Fernandez strengthens an already strong team, making the Mavericks strong contenders for next year. Fredette to the Kings delivers some much-need star power and hope that fans will come to see the great potential the team has. The Knicks' purchase of the 45th pick is really mind-boggling. Draft picks being sold is not a new thing, but such a low pick being sold for such a large amount really makes little to no sense.


John Hollinger of ESPN, known mostly for his Hollinger Power Rankings, determined by a series of formulas that make no sense in basketball, therefore giving bias to teams ESPN loves to cover, has said that the Kings trade to get John Salmons and Jimmer in exchange for Beno Udrih make no sense. I personally have always though Hollinger was an idiot, but for him to say that getting right of Udrih in exchange for a known sure thing in Salmons and the star-power of Fredette is down right retarded.

I Don't Know What the Fuck the Lakers Management are Doing Anymore

This offseason for the Lakers has certainly been a wild one already. The NBA Draft is only a few hours away, but the Lakers are looking to deal to get a high draft pick amid rumors that the Suns and Spurs were interested in the same strategy. There were initial rumors that the Lakers were looking to trade Pau Gasol to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for both the #2 draft pick and Kevin Love, but Lakers management later shot down the rumors saying that both Gasol and Bynum were off-limits. Saying Bynum was off-limits greatly discouraged me because that was a sign that Jim Buss is so obsessed with Andrew Bynum that he'd rather keep him than get Dwight Howard.

Next, the Lakers were actively pursuing trading Lamar Odom to get that #2 pick, but the Wolves said no. Trading the reigning 6th man of the year? What in the fuck is wrong with the Lakers? You don't trade a key part of your team to get fresh blood; the new champion Dallas Mavericks proved that, rejecting offers to trade Dirk and Terry and bringing back Jason Kidd. Thankfully the Wolves said no, because I don't think one rookie could bring the Lakers back to championship form. The Lakers need to dump Derek Fisher, every backup center, and get a solid perimeter shooter and a new starting point guard.

Outside of the players, the Lakers also made the questionable decision of hiring Mike Brown, former coach of the Cavaliers, long viewed as a being a coach who did nothing but the strategy of "Let LeBron Do What He Wants." That strategy worked in the regular season, but Brown has yet to prove he can coach a team in the postseason where he always fell short. Many expected either Brian Shaw or Rick Adelman to be the next Lakers coach, so the decision to hire Brown is downright confusing, especially since management decided not to get Kobe's input.

Lastly, it seems even broadcast announcers have not been spared the madness of Jim Buss' impending takeover from his father. Joel Meyers chose not stay as the Lakers TV play-by-play announcer amid displeasure that the Lakers worked harder to keep Stu Lantz and tried to push Spero Dedes to become the next TV play-by-play announcer. Things got so bad that Meyers and Lantz were not speaking to each other outside of games. After Meyer's departure, most thought that Dedes was going to become the next TV play-by-play announcer after having been the radio play-by-play announcer. But Dedes chose to broadcast Knicks games instead, returning home to his family, and opting for a looser schedule where he can continue to broadcast NFL games, something the Lakers weren't willing to do. Because of that, the new play-by-play announcers have already been announced: Bill MacDonald for TV and John Ireland for radio. Yes, JOHN IRELAND for radio.

Billy Mac is OK, he proved his credentials broadcasting Kobe's 81 point game and his numerous pre-game interviews with Phil Jackson. I wish someone better had been hired, but Mac is fine in the interim. As far as John Ireland, I hear enough of him on Mason & Ireland giving his idiotic opinions like "Derek Fisher shouldn't be traded and will come through when he needs to" and "I will walk home from Cleveland if the Lakers lose" and of course "Jim Buss is not destroying the Lakers." I'm going to say it outright, I hate John Ireland. He thinks the Lakers management can do no wrong and it's obvious Jim Buss wants him to eventually be the next TV play-by-play announcer despite him having zero play-by-play skills or a friendly personality.

What more can the Lakers do to fuck up? I guess we'll find out tonight at the Draft!

Ultimate Spider-Man is Going to Die

Yes, you read that correctly. Marvel Comics has confirmed that in the final issue of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, Peter Parker will die at the hands of the Green Goblin. In normal comics world, this isn't a big deal. In fact, Peter Parker has already died before... even though he came back to life 3 pages later with new superpowers. But in the Ultimate universe, death is permanent. Magneto and Wolverine have both been dead for some time, an example of just how momentous death can be in the Ultimate universe. While Peter Parker will be perma-banned from the Ultimate universe, Marvel has said this isn't the end of the saga of Ultimate Spider-Man, and someone (that Marvel isn't revealing) will be inspired by Parker's death just how Peter was fueled by Uncle Ben's death.

I, for one, welcome this major change. The Ultimate universe has been better written for some time now, making Joe Quesadilla's decisions look even dumber. If you want to break up Peter and Mary-Jane, at least make it believable and not literally saying A WIZARD DID IT. I'm keeping my eye on what new hero will take Peter's place, especially since Ben Reilly is not Peter's clone in this universe. The only clone he has is Jessica Drew (yes, a female clone), but she's not that popular due to her status of being a worse-written version of X-23, despite her being created first.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Remaking a Classic

Remaking video games is always a touchy subject. Ever since Square started the trend by porting Final Fantasy V and VI to the PS1, then later fully remaking the graphics of the first two Final Fantasies, other companies have followed suit and partaken in what has been criticized as just plugging away games that already exist without adding many new features. The Game Boy Advance was a huge offender of this, porting over Super Nintendo games that were now playable on the GBA, the first handheld system capable of truly reproducing graphics similar to the SNES. When the DS was launched with Super Mario 64 DS, a remake of Super Mario 64, some debated how long it  would take for Nintendo to port The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to the DS. It never came, Nintendo preferring to wait for their next handheld, the 3DS.

The wait was well-worth it, because although on the surface Ocarina has been re-done with improved graphics and not much else, it does boast 2 integral differences: a vastly improved frame rate and a 3D environment. The game also takes advantage of the 3DS' motion sensor, allowing you to aim and view in first person by simply moving the 3DS around. I thought this was going to be a stupid gimmick, but I was really impressed by how accurate it was. Clearly, this game was made with LOVE.

Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Presentation: 9.5/10
Replay Value: 10/10

Average Score:      9.88/10

 

How could I give this game a less than perfect score (Even though it's damn close)? The one incredibly minor flaw that this game has is that when the original Ocarina was released, the game itself was ground-breaking. We'd never seen anything like it and was proof positive that old 2D classics could be translated to 3 dimensions. This game takes a 3-dimensional game and literally springs to the real 3rd dimension, but there's been plenty of Zelda clones in the past 12 years or so. This game does nothing to mess with the formula of the original, and that's a good thing. But this game is not the ground-breaking game that I played as a 10 year old. Simply put, this version is missing an X-Factor (or is it Z-Factor?) of being a game that you need to play.

Even the bonus features of re-fighting bosses, the Boss Rush Challenge, and the Mirror Master Quest aren't enough to say that Ocarina of Time 3D will be the Game of the Year. It's just a little to easy to say, "We're remaking the greatest video game ever made for the 3DS, you can worship us as gods now." Nintendo says they will make another game like this one based on Ocarina 3D's success, so I think it's without a doubt that Majora's Mask will be heading to the 3DS soon enough.

Before I close this review, I have to share something incredibly interesting from this morning when I picked up my copy. Two of the people waiting for Gamestop to open this morning weren't even born when the original game came out. And despite that, they were fans of the original and were just as excited as I was to replay their favorite game on the 3DS. I've heard tales of kids these days hating older games and being graphics obsessed (and admittedly even when I was a kid), but those 2 kids brought a gleam to my eye, knowing that the future gamer is safe.

inFAMOUS 2 - Sucker Punch Defies Expectations

Sucker Punch, mostly known for developing the Sly Cooper series, made a surprise hit in inFAMOUS a few years ago. By sheer coincidence, a very similar game named Prototype came out the same month. Many people confused the two when they were released, but in due time people learned to like inFAMOUS much better than Prototype, despite the games being very similar in concept and execution.

inFAMOUS 2 continues the story of Cole MacGrath, now knowing about his destined battle with the Beast. I was very pleased to see Sucker Punch reward players for playing the first game, giving the all-powerful Blast Shard Locator, increasing your starting karma based on what path you previously chose, and extra XP to start with. inFAMOUS 2 also starts you off with nearly every power you got in the original, but the most powerful abilities are taken from you in the beginning sequence of the game in a logical manner.

This sequel addresses every problem of the original, even going so far to give you an achievement for scaling a chain-linked fence, Sucker Punch fully aware that it was ridiculous that Cole could scale extremely tall buildings, but not fences. The El Train from Empire City is gone, replaced by an electric trolley in New Marais, allowing Cole to ride the rails without fear of getting hit by an oncoming train. Quests are no longer repetitive, featuring much more variety this time. There's also plenty of spur-of-the-moment karma incidents now, allowing you to stop a mugging, kick the crap out of a statue mime, etc.

Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Presentation: 10/10
Replay Value: 9/10

Average Score:      9.5/10

inFAMOUS 2 fixes every problem of the original, and even includes some unexpected new powers. Although the box advertises Cole can now use fire and ice powers, you need to go through the story a bit to get them. Until then, you can enjoy destroying environments more creatively, evolving your lightning powers to new levels and even switching up your powers to personal preference and when the situation arises, something I've never seen in a video game. The graphics are much less gritty than the original and it's nice to see closeups of characters faces now. Cole's voice much better suits him now, a believably neutral voice, rather than his old SUPER GRAVELY voice that made it obvious Sucker Punch wants you to play as a bad guy.

Speaking of playing the bad guy, previously the only incentive to play evil was to get a different ending and get the other spectrum of powers and trophies, since being evil meant civilians and the bad guys would attack you and you could not get the easy XP of healing civilians. This time, if you complete the game as good and evil, you can start a 3rd playthrough with the good and evil powers. There's no real advantage to it, but it's fun to be able to heal civilians and then later get experience points for killing them.

The story has much better pacing and is much more clear in why certain events happen, unlike the last game where the character of Sasha just disappeared after defeating her, despite her being alive, and other story pacing issues the first game had. Cole also has more humor written in his dialogue, allowing you to care more about him rather than being almost a strict player avatar.

I would ordinarily say here that I'm looking forward to inFAMOUS 3, but the ending of 2 apparently closes every single loose end to the point that a sequel starring Cole MacGrath cannot happen. I'm sure Sucker Punch will find a way to make a 3rd game in their newest IP, especially with the exposure Cole MacGrath will be getting in Street Fighter X Tekken overseas.

The Dark Knight Rises Features a Returning Cast Member from Batman Begins, Man of Steel's Jor-El Cast

HitFix is reporting that Liam Neeson will be reprising his role of Ra's al Ghul from Batman Begins in The Dark Knight Rises. It was previously reported that Josh Pence will play a young Ra's al Ghul in flashback sequences, starting rumors that the Demon's Head would arise from the ashes of his train crash to battle Batman once again. Gary Oldman has already said in interviews that Rises would bring Batman's story "full-circle," and now we know that-that means Ra's al Ghul will reappear. At this point, it's looking likely that Nolan's version of Bane will be working with the League of Shadows and while he is more than likely the main villain, he is ultimately working for someone even bigger.

This news is fantastic, even for a movie that was already well-anticipated. If I know Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, I have a feeling that they will find a way to connect the Joker to Ra's al Ghul as well, bringing the trilogy full-circle. While not a member of the League of Shadows, it could be possible that the Joker was hired like the Scarecrow and the Joker's job was to create as much chaos as possible so that Gotham would destroy itself. The League's mission after all, is to destroy Gotham City so that its decadence cannot spread. It could not be a coincidence that the Joker kept conveniently having plan after plan up his sleeve after claiming to never make plans.


On the other side of the DC spectrum, Man of Steel has more casting news. Russell Crowe has been cast in the role of Jor-El, Superman's father. The cast of Man of Steel is looking fantastic as well, full of talented actors. Currently, the cast looks as so:

• Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El
• Amy Adams as Lois Lane
• Diane Lane as Martha Kent
• Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent
• Michael Shannon as General Dru-Zod
• Antje Tarue as Faora Hu-Ul
• Russell Crowe as Jor-El

Michael Shannon is an Oscar nominated actor for his role in Revolutionary Road and currently appears on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Antje Traue is new to Hollywood, having starred in German films the last 10 years. Her first English-language film was Pandorum, the 2009 sci-fi thriller starring Dennis Quaid.

The Dark Knight Rises will be released July 20, 2012. Man of Steel begins filming August 2011 and has a tentative release date of Christmas 2012.

Green Lantern is Getting Really Bad Reviews

Green Lantern will be released in theaters this Friday, but the moratorium DC Comics put up on early reviews has just expired today. When reviews are not allowed to be printed until less than a week before the premiere, that's usually a big hint that the product is not very good and the creators admit it. This is not a new tactic in movies and is becoming a more common practice in video games. "Early" reviews of Green Lantern have not been very kind, especially considering the director, Martin Campbell, director of Goldeneye, The Mask of Zorro, and Casino Royale, the lead actor, Ryan Reynolds, known for a being a comic book fan and estrogen bait even for guys, and creative support from Geoff Johns, writer of the acclaimed Green Lantern: Secret Origin, which the film is heavily based on. Here are some snippets taken from Rotten Tomatoes:

"Campbell's ADD style privileges spectacle over story -- so much so that the film never rewards the viewer for even trying to keep track of what is going on." - Karina Longworth, Village Voice

"It's a frustrating, deeply flawed film rife with missed story opportunities and squandered potential." - Jim Vejvoda, IGN

"Fails on so many levels, both as a movie and as a comics adaptation, that it's easily one of the bigger disappointments of the summer." - Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net

"Disappointing superhero movie that delivers a couple of decent set pieces but is ultimately let down by a laughably poor script, some extremely dodgy editing, a lack of humour and a non-committal performance from Ryan Reynolds." - Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

And ultimately, the one review that was so brutally honest, I felt sad reading it, but I somehow knew this one was the most accurate:

"The ring may not make mistakes when it chooses a new Green Lantern, but plenty of mistakes were made in bringing Green Lantern to the screen, and in the end, I have a feeling this is our one and only trip to Oa" - Drew McWeeny, HitFix

So once again, it appears that a fan favorite comic book character with a rich backstory receives a poor live-action film adaptation, joining the likes of Daredevil, Elektra, Ghost Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Judge Dredd, The Losers, The Punisher, and The Spirit.

I normally do not pay for films that are poorly received, especially movies I was looking forward to seeing, but I won't truly believe the film is as awful as the critics have said until I see this green mess for myself. Stay tuned for my review this weekend.

The Wii U Has A Lot of Fans and Looks Almost Identical to the Wii U

Two Wii U posts in the same day? Although we've seen what the Wii U looks like from the front, these are the first photos available to the public of what the Wii U's ports look like and even showing off the new fans the Wii U has, hinting that the Wii U will use a much stronger processor than previously thought.

First up are the ports of the Wii U. From behind, the Wii U looks very similar to the Wii, with the obvious change being the addition of an HDMI port and what looks like a new port on the right side that doesn't appear to be a USB port. There's still a port for the Sensor Bar, indicating that the Wii U controller will utilize the same pointer controls that the Wii Remote uses.

On the side, one can see plenty of vents, far more than the Wii had. Looking at this side view, it's become apparent that the Wii U will not stand on it's side like every console since the PS2, returning to the way consoles used to stand. This isn't much of a detraction, since the Wii U is pretty small, about the same size as the Wii.

This is probably going to be the last news about the Wii U until the Tokyo Game Show, so see you in September with more news then!

The Wii U's Graphics Card Has Been Revealed and Yes, It Has Better Graphics Than the Xbox 360 or PS3

The Nintendo Wii U has been outed as featuring a last-gen Radeon graphics card. Now upon first thought, you'd think that means the graphics will suck. Keep in mind, the 360 and PS3 are running on 5 year old hardware and continue to produce impressive visuals. The Wii U's GPU may be last-gen, but it's also more powerful than the 360 or PS3. For starters, the 360 is well known at this point to be a souped up version of the ATI X1900, which can barely run DirectX 9. The new, "custom-built" GPU, now thought to be a modified ATI R770, can run DirectX 10.1, which will make the Wii U the most powerful console graphically on its release.

It's obviously not as powerful as current-gen PC GPUs, but those things are gigantically huge, like my Nvidia GTS 450 which barely fits into my case (and recently crapped out). Picking an older GPU makes sense, since developers know exactly what to expect from the Wii U's graphic capabilities. Will the Wii U run Crysis on its max PC settings? Probably not, but when new 3rd party games are being developed next year, you can expect the Wii U to be the new console of choice for development with the other consoles receiving inferior ports.

Of course, the Wii U is not going to be sold until after March 31, 2012, so there's still a possibility that the Wii U could choose to use an even more powerful GPU between then and now. I was speaking with my friend Martin the other day and we were discussing what the Wii U will truly be capable of graphically. Nintendo has a history of showing tech demos and then later showcasing what their console is truly capable of. This was the Nintendo Ultra's tech demo, before it was called the Nintendo 64:

Pictured are Shadow, Locke Cole, and Terra Branford of Final Fantasy VI, rendered as if they were on the N64. Of course, we know now that the N64 was capable of much better graphics, even running some PS1 games on a cartridge despite containing less memory than a disc. Now what about the Gamecube demo? Back when it was called the "Dolphin," Nintendo ran a tech demo that looked like this:

Of course now we know that the Gamecube is possible of much better graphics, especially with its swan song, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

When the Wii was revealed, it was widely known that the Wii would have graphics that were slightly better or on par with the original Xbox, meaning that they were going to be a slight improvement over the Gamecube. This was not a secret and some people were turned off by the Wii because Nintendo chose not compete with the Xbox 360 or PS3 graphically, instead focusing on gameplay and marketing the system to people who would not normally play video games.

With the Wii U, we got another infamous tech demo, showing a possibility of what the Wii U could run. In the tech demo, they once again used Link to showcase what a Wii U Zelda game might look like.

This is of course, just preliminary and theoretical. While we all know that the Wii U will have Mario, Zelda, and Super Smash Bros., we can only fantasize over what they will look like. Mario will probably remain cartoony, but the Zelda franchise has two distinct art styles: realistic and cel-shaded. Will we see another Wind Waker or Skyward Sword hit the Wii U? Or will we see another Twilight Princess? Only time will tell, but until then rest assured that while Microsoft and Sony seem to want to hold onto their older machines, Nintendo is going to go right ahead and sell great games with great graphics.

Dwight Howard Will Become a Free Agent in 2012

I could write an article about how LeBron choked yet again when it mattered and how the Mavericks had a much stronger desire to win the NBA championship. I could write about how LeBron continues to be an arrogant son of a bitch who continues to fail to grasp the concept of karma. I could write about how Mark Cuban and some Mavericks players are taking cheap, classless shots at the Heat players and fans in the wake of their defeat. I could also write about how there's a strong possibility of an NBA lockout next season.

Instead I'm going to write about the 2nd biggest NBA story of the day: Dwight Howard has declined a contract extension with the Orlando Magic and will officially be a free agent at the end of the 2011-12 season. Howard was very clear why he did not sign the extension, saying, "I want to win a championship. I think the owners have to really know that. That's been my goal and my mission since I've been in the NBA -- to win a championship. I don't have side goals or agendas. My main goal is to win a championship. I want to have 14 other guys who feel the same way."

That's pretty heavy. By that statement, you might imply that Howard means that he wants some trades to happen because he's not happy with the Magic roster. Just in case that was vague for you, Howard said this, "Sometimes guys are there whole-heartedly and then sometimes I've had teammates allow people getting in their ears and things like that effect the way that they play and approach the game." So yeah, Dwight Howard is now holding the Magic ransom. Either they build a championship caliber team full of guys who want to win, or he's leaving.

Seeing how Otis Smith runs things in Orlando, I seriously doubt any trade he makes could satisfy Howard. The Magic had a team that made it to the NBA Finals only 2 years ago and this year they were beaten in the first round. That's a clear sign that Otis Smith is an awful general manager and should not be allowed anywhere near players.

To Dwight: Don't even bother holding the Magic ransom, just accept to a sign-and-trade with the team you really want to play for! Or if Kobe comes knocking at your doorstep saying he wants you to play for him because he's tired of whiny Bynum, don't be like Raja Bell. Look how well he's doing now after declining Kobe's offer!

Superman Family Gets Its Post-Reboot Preview

With the news of the Bat-Family's fate semi-revealed, the next big question became, "What's going to happen to Superman and who's going to write it?"

Action Comics #1 will be written by none other than Grant Morrison, the acclaimed writer of All-Star Superman. If there were any doubts that this reboot is not being carefully looked at, this might as well have quashed them. Morrison knows Superman better than any writer out there and if his work on All-Star is any indication, we're going to get a Superman reboot worthy of the gods. As long as he sticks to what he does best, Morrison has the potential to create a legendary comic book.

Superman #1 will be written by George Perez, the writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths and probably the greatest written stories of the Wonder Woman comic during the 90s. While Action Comics #1 will serve as a reboot story, Superman #1 shows the present and how things have changed post-reboot. Notably, Superman's costume has changed and closely resembles the costume Wizard chose to be a costume for Superman should they ever change it. Hopefully Perez still has it in him, because it's going to be tough to follow in the shoes of Morrison.

This is where things start to worry me. Supergirl #1 will be written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson, writers of Smallville and Superman/Batman. This comic is described as "Supergirl’s got the unpredictable behavior of a teenager, the same powers as Superman and none of his affection for the people of Earth." That statement really worries me because what made Supergirl's most recent take so good was that she arrives on Earth suddenly getting superpowers without the time it took Clark Kent to learn his. Kara isn't sure what she is; she's used to having no superpowers and would love to fit in with humans, but she's a Kryptonian thrust into battle simply because of what planet she's from and who her cousin is.

"None of the affection for the people of Earth" is a horrible way to describe Supergirl. I'm already going to be cancelling this one from my pull-file.

Finally, Superboy #1 is described as, "They thought he was just a failed experiment, grown from a combination of Kryptonian and human DNA. But when the scope of his stunning powers was revealed, he became a deadly weapon." This is actually similar to Superboy's origin in Reign of the Supermen combined with the later knowledge that he is a hybrid of Superman and Lex Luthor. I'm not digging the Tron inspired outfit, nor the implications on the cover that Superboy is a robot. I was never a fan of Superboy anyway, so I won't be picking this up. Superboy #1 will be written by Scott Lobdell, known mostly for writing Uncanny X-Men in the 90s and the new writer of Red Hood and the Outlaws and Teen Titans. Lobdell is the first announced writer to be working triple duty.

The Four Games I Got Free From PSN's "Welcome Back"

Four games, one Enrique. PSN has been back up for a while now and I'm not even close to beating any of them, so bear with me on the "Story" aspect of my ratings. These are all quick reviews, not like my in-depth reviews I usually do.

Infamous (or as it says on the cover, inFAMOUS) is a game developed by Sucker Punch, mostly known for making the Spyro and Sly Cooper games. Infamous is a huge departure for the developer known for making cartoonish games, deciding to make a game about a man named Cole McGrath who accidentally receives lightning superpowers. With his new powers, Cole can decide to become a hero or a villain. Infamous was a financial and critical success and just this week a sequel, Infamous 2, was released (I will also review that, give me time to finish the first game).

Infamous deliberately plays like a Sly Cooper game mixing some elements of a sandbox game, creating a game where you can easily scale buildings with your superpowers and either aid or maim the city. The story's not half bad, though it is told like a comic book. The development of superpowers also ties into your alignment, causing a power to either quickly diffuse the situation, or wreak havoc on everyone in the vicinity, including civilians. At this point, I regret not playing Infamous when it was new, because I'm sure I would have tons of fun with a superhero version of Mass Effect.

Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Presentation: 9/10
Replay Value: 8/10

Average Score:      8.25/10

I was pleasantly surprised by Infamous and I look forward to playing the sequel.

Super Stardust HD is an enhanced remake of the Amiga classic, Super Stardust, which is a sequel to Stardust. I've played the demo for SSHD previously, considering a purchase before I eventually purchased Tetris instead. I chose SSHD as my 2nd PS3 game because it's the only one offered in 3D. The game is pretty addicting and the 3D effects are out of this world. Difficulty can spike at times, but usually only at the fault of the player not destroying all asteroids as quickly as possible.

SSHD also boasts local co-op, allowing two people to play split-screen action. I haven't given co-op a chance yet since I have yet to encounter anyone with enough balls to play with me.

Gameplay: 10/10

Presentation: 10/10

Replay Value: 8/10

Average Score:      9.3/10

This shit is just unbelievably addicting and is what PSN offers to counter Geometry Wars being exclusive to Xbox Live. It can get frustrating sometimes when you can't progress past a certain point.

When it came to the PSP games, I downloaded the two games that took up the least amount of memory since I don't really desire to play Little Big Planet PSP or ModNation Racers.

My first pick was for Killzone Liberation, the sequel the Killzone, which was not that critically well-received. Note that this was way before Killzone 2 solidified the Killzone series as PS3 exclusive FPS one could look forward to playing. Because of the poor reception of the original Killzone, Liberation didn't do so well.

I'm beginning to question people's pre-conceived notions, including mine. This game is not a 1st-person shooter, choosing instead to have a top view not unlike Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. The game has a pretty steep learning curve, teaching you several things in the first level, expecting you to remember all of them. Despite that, the game plays remarkably well and has good story pacing. The game also goes online via Ad-Hoc, although that isn't a problem with a PS3 and Ad-Hoc Party.

Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Presentation: 8/10
Replay Value: 7/10

Average Score:      8/10

I could have been kinder towards the Presentation score, especially considering this game came out 2 years before Dissidia: Final Fantasy, but we all know at this point what the PSP is truly capable of. Nevertheless, the gameplay is really good and is well-worth getting from "Welcome Back," especially considering it's only 500MB.

My other choice for a free PSP game was Pursuit Force, a game that came out in North America in March, 2005. This game is just plain ancient and barely qualifies as being a PSP game graphically. This game was clearly made on a budget and it is a game from the PSP's infancy.

Despite all that, this game is surprisingly awesome in several ways, mostly hilariously awesome ways. The entire game is a send-up of Hollywood police thrillers, making you into a cop of EXTREME JUSTICE (which is hilariously enough the subtitle to the sequel) who kills criminals indiscriminately. The bad guys you go after range from mafia to Rambo-like gangs with more and more ludicrous gangs coming after you as the game progresses.

Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Presentation: 5/10
Replay Value: 7/10

Average Score:      7/10

This game is hilariously self-aware of how silly it is and it makes no apologies for it. The game has awful graphics by today's standards set by Dissidia, but it doesn't stop the game from being fun. This is one game I definitely never expected to play.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights

Bruce Timm, legendary animator, has long wanted to do another Green Lantern animated movie, especially after hearing that Warner Bros. had green-lit (pardon the pun) a Green Lantern movie. The plan was simple: a Green Lantern version of Batman: Gotham Knight. This movie is similar to that concept, but this time it's an anthology movie with an overarching story in the background.

The Green Lantern home world of Oa is under attack by Krona, being from the anti-matter universe, not seen since the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Hal Jordan, the first human Green Lantern of Sector 2814, tells stories about different Green Lanterns to the newest GL, Arisia Rrab of Sector 2815, while preparing for the battle against Krona.

There are 5 stories told about Green Lanterns past and present: Avra, Kilowog, Laira Omoto, Mogo, and Abin Sur. Avra is actually a new character conceived for this film, the first time an origin story for the original Green Lantern has ever been stated. The rest of the characters' stories are all based on exisiting comics. Kilowog's story depicts him shortly after receiving his power ring, showing how he became the tough drill instructor we all know today. Laira's story is a slight modification of her actual origin story from the comics, erasing any mentions of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, showing why she is such a tough cookie and the pain one potentially has to go through as a Green Lantern. Mogo's story is a humorous story taking the entire story to show who the hell Mogo is, specifically designed for people who don't know who Mogo is. Abin Sur's story is included mainly to show what kind of person Abin Sur was and to introduce the character Atrocitus, a future Red Lantern.

After all 5 stories are told, the Green Lantern Corps. then fight against Krona, defeating him using an idea coined by Arisia. Arisia is celebrated as the newest hero to appear in the Book of Oa, the ongoing chronicle of the Universe. Of course, some questions do remain for Green Lantern fans.

More or less everyone knows that Sinestro becomes a villain (what a surprise with that name, right?) and starts the Sinestro Corps., the first organization of Yellow Lanterns. There is reference to that in the movie, but the film plays Sinestro straight up as a good guy who has no hints of ever becoming the main antagonist of the Green Lanterns. A previously lesser known Lantern, Laira, also becomes a villain later on when she becomes a Red Lantern, and most recently a Black Lantern during the events of Blackest Night. Laira isn't exactly the most popular Green Lantern, especially considering she's only existed since 1993 and has never previously been mentioned outside the comics. She isn't given a credited role in the live-action film to be released next week, so why was Laira given a story and not say, Tomar-Re, who has a rather large role in the film?

DC has to be up to something.

The First Lantern: 4 giant swords out of 5
Kilowog: 5 poozers out of 5
Laira: 4 halberds out of 5
Mogo Doesn't Socialize: 5 Unrelenting Bolphungas out of 5
Abin Sur: 3 psychic villains out of 5
Emerald Knights: 3 Nathan Fillions out of 5
Average Score: 4 planets juggled out of 5

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights does a great job as a film for both old and new fans of Green Lantern. The actual Emerald Knights story is pretty boring and Hal Jordan doesn't get to do much of anything and Abin Sur's story is pretty bland too since all it does is tell new fans that SINESTRO IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED. Even a complete moron can tell just from his name that Sinestro is well, sinister. Avra's story is pretty cool, but the one flaw is that the story has the worst animation and character concepts seemingly designed by a 9-year-old. Kilowog and Mogo's stories really stand out and I would give Mogo's a 6/5 if I could, if only because it's a direct translation of Alan Moore's short story. Laira's story is also pretty good, but it's too action heavy and doesn't foreshadow at all that Laira is very unstable and will eventually become a Red Lantern.

Despite the small flaws, overall Emerald Knights is really awesome and should please both new and old fans.

Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan will be released next Friday and you can bet I'll be going to a midnight show.

More Wii U Titles Revealed, Zelda Skyward Sword Gets A Lot More Information

Pikmin 3 has been revealed to be in development for the Wii U, alongside "5 titles at launch" from Ubisoft, who are once again throwing support for Nintendo, being one of the 3rd party developers to have launch titles for the Wii. Ubisoft has stated that most or all of them, which includes Killer Freaks From Outer Space, will be geared towards hardcore gamers. The Wii U has also been revealed to have some good news and bad news: Good news being that Friend Codes will be gone, in favor of game profiles similar to Xbox Live, PSN, and Steam. Bad news being that the Wii U will not be backwards compatible with the Gamecube, the home of the last great killer app, Super Smash Bros. Melee, despite the Wii being backwards compatible. I think there could be a possibility that Wii U will feature a Virtual Console that includes Gamecube games to make up for the lack of backwards compatibility. In somewhat interesting news, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that the Wii U will be packaged with only one Wii U controller. Some have speculated that this means only one Wii U controller can be hooked up at a time (it has already been confirmed that 4 Wii remotes will continue to be able to be hooked up to the Wii U), while others have said that Nintendo is taking the concept of "You" very seriously, promoting the Wii U as a console that is much more single-player friendly.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is rapidly approaching its release date of Holiday 2011, so Nintendo has been throwing so much information at us that it can get confusing. Previously, all that was known was that Skyward Sword would take place even before Ocarina of Time, Link is from a floating land known as Skyloft, and the first teaser image of the game featured a character who can become the Skyward Sword, at some point in the game to transform into the Master Sword. Since then, some more info has been revealed, namely the weapons Link can use, the concept of Skyward Sword being an origin story for the Master Sword, and how Skyward Sword would be the triumph of Wii Motion Plus.

With E3, even more information has been revealed, including Zelda's relationship with Link (childhood friends), the antagonist (Ghirahim, ruler of Hyrule), transportation (Giant birds), and the name of the blue spirit who transforms into the Skyward Sword (Phi). Link will once again traverse dual dimensions, just like A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess. This time, Link will traverse the Siren Realm, a world where he cannot use his sword, relying on other weapons in fear of enemies who can kill him in one hit.

Skyward Sword's gameplay has also improved significantly since the its first appearance at last year's E3 where Shigeru Miyamoto haphazardly played through the game, probably the first time the game had ever been played by him. Movements are much more fluid and enemies have better programming, making the game precision and strategy based, but nothing too impossible. Most bipedal enemies carry a weapon and will block attacks and spiders have already been revealed to require an upward slash and then a stab into their weak spot.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword looks to be the Wii's swan song and is shaping up to be a very good game, ready for release Holiday 2011.

Wii U Specs Revealed, Four Exclusive Titles Already on the Way

Meet the Wii U and the Wii U Controller. Because the Wii U will not be released until "after March 31, 2011," the Wii U and Controller are still prototypes and are subject to change. Nintendo was initially very secretive about what the Wii U can do, only saying very casually that it has high-definition graphics, instead choosing to concentrate on what the controller can do. Since yesterday, lots of new details have arisen, likely a ploy by Nintendo to restore confidence in its shareholders since this morning their stock fell by 5%.

These specifications are subject to change:

Processors:

• CPU: IBM Power-based multi-core 45 nm microprocessor
• GPU: Custom-designed AMD Radeon HD GPU

Size

• Approximately 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long

Storage:

• Internal flash memory expandable via SD memory card slot and USB slots (4) using a USB hard disk drive
• Slot-loading disc drive compatible with 12-cm 25 GB capacity "proprietary high-density optical discs" and 12-cm Wii optical discs

Controller:

• Built-in accelerometer, gyroscope, speakers, front-facing camera, microphone and a 6.2 inch touchscreen
• Two Circle Pads and one Digital Pad
• Select, Start, Home and Power Buttons
• A/B/X/Y front buttons, L/R bumper buttons and ZL/ZR trigger buttons
• Controller will not be sold separately, There will only be one Wii U controller per console.

Video:

• 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i output
• Compatible with HDMI, component, D-Terminal (Japan only), RGB-SCART (EU only), S-video and composite cables

Audio

• AV Multi Out port. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI

Obviously, the specifications of graphics are still left unknown, likely because Nintendo is waiting until the last minute to use the highest quality graphics card available that will fit into the Wii U and be readily mass-produced. It is very likely and rumored that the Wii U will feature more impressive visuals than either the Xbox 360 or PS3.


In the world of what games will actually hit the Wii U, there are a handful of games already confirmed to be on the Wii U: Batman: Arkham City, Ninja Gaiden III: Razor's Edge, Darksiders II, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online, Aliens: Colonial Marines, a Tekken game, and an Assassin's Creed game, previously thought to be a port of Revelations. As far as exclusive games go, four have been announced so far: LEGO City Stories (assuming to be a LEGO version of the Grand Theft Auto series) , New Super Mario Bros. Mii, Super Smash Bros., and just announced today from Ubisoft, Killer Freaks From Outer Space.

KFFOS is the only Wii U exclusive with video footage so far, so take a look!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, E3 2011: Debut Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Tim Drake's Post-Reboot Fate Revealed

This is the cover to Teen Titans #1. Tim Drake will continue to be Red Robin, sporting a costume that seems to be a hybrid of his last Robin outfit and his underweb Red Robin outfit, thankfully removing the hood that everyone hated. Kon-El returns as Superboy, wearing probably the worst costume I've ever seen. Wonder Girl returns, but it seems to not be Cassie Sandsmark. Kid Flash also returns, but based on the logo and red hair, this Kid Flash looks to be Wally West rather than Bart Allen. The other 2 characters are total unknowns at this point.

It's nice to see Tim Drake team up with Superboy again, but I hope the new costumes don't conflict with good story-telling, especially Superboy's awful "tape a piece of paper to my shirt" costume.

Update: DC has confirmed that Kid Flash is Bart Allen. Wally West's fate is currently unknown.

Nintendo Raises More Questions, Has an Incredibly Vague E3 Presser

Not going to post the Bingo card because Nintendo only scored one space, the touchscreen controllers.

Nintendo announced the name and some capabilities of Project Café, now named Wii U. Nintendo began the show to say that while the Wii U is part of the focus of the show, it will not be ready until 2012. They were pretty clear in this message, not revealing any games exclusive for Wii U and not even revealing what the Wii U looks like, just the controller which looks like an iPad with a Wii Classic Controller attached to it.

Nintendo addressed some of the lineup questions on 3DS, saying that 5 key franchises (Mario, Starfox, Kid Icarus, Mario Kart, Luigi's Mansion) would all be hitting store shelves before the end 2011, more or less straight out saying that they're counting on lots of 3DS systems as Christmas presents, but they're going to have to compete with the PS Vita. It's pretty obvious now why Nintendo decided to release the 3DS so early; Sony's Vita was also going to be ready this year and if both handhelds were to be released in close proximity, it might cause the same situation as the Wii and PS3 launches, except in reverse since at this point, the PS Vita is looking like the better handheld. Nintendo assured that all the big marquee titles will be available this year.

With the Wii U, a complete reversal of the PS Vita was unveiled: Start playing a game on your Wii U and you can continue playing on your Wii U controller. It is not a portable system, it simply allows you to play on something other than a television (it's assumed you need to be a certain distance from the console). The Wii U doesn't abandon motion controls, taking them to a new level, and even supports all Wii previous peripherals. The graphics were a hot-issue among analysts, with rumors that the Wii U could outdo the Xbox 360 and PS3. Those rumors were not put to rest or confirmed, just statements from 3rd part developers that certain marquee titles were going to hit Wii U, including Batman: Arkham City and Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

The Wii U controller also functions similarly to a DS second screen, displaying info that one would normally find on a DS; maps, playbooks, inventory, etc.

The word that describes Nintendo's press conference is vague. No hard dates were given, the closest being Star Fox 64 3D being released in September 2011. Although Nintendo was once again making their press conference targeted towards hardcore gamers, it was somewhat confusing to not even hear a rough estimate of when the Wii U would be in our homes. There was one surprise announcement, that a new Super Smash Bros. is in development for both 3DS and Wii U. As far as if 3DS and Wii U will have a symbiotic relationship like PS3 and PSV, that's still unknown.

Although nothing we expected happened at Nintendo's presser, it was still a very intriguing conference. I would love to give a grade to Nintendo's conference, but so much of it has a wait-and-see attitude. They did have a great presser, but they also didn't answer old questions and brought up new ones. If I really had to give a grade to Nintendo's conference, I'd have to give it a solid B. They did impress, but they could have at least revealed the specs and what the Wii U looks like. I was also somewhat disappointed to not hear an announcement (yet) of a 25th anniversary Zelda game.


At the end of the day, Sony won this year's E3, showing off an always impressive lineup of games and the capabilities of the PS Vita are incredible. Microsoft is the clear loser, choosing to focus on Kinect and 3rd party games that will be available on every other console (including Wii U). While Nintendo started motion control gaming, Microsoft has decided to bastardize it, ruining all the things that made us love the Wii. On the first party/exclusive issue, Microsoft had no announcements regarding Gears of War 3 and flat out denied that it would be controllable with Kinect, a serious mistake. The Kinect functionality of Mass Effect 3 was less than impressive and really showcased that Bioware could care less about Kinect and Microsoft has totally lost its identity as a gaming company.

At next year's E3, Sony needs to do nothing but showcase why the PS3 is still great, how well PS Vita is doing, and what games we can expect for both. Nintendo can't wait for E3 next year, they're going to have to make all their announcements at the Tokyo Game Show. Microsoft is in deep water now, having two horrific E3 press conferences in a row, without ever having a serious presence at TGS or internationally at all. Microsoft needs to announce a handheld system or a new console. It was quite clear at this year's E3 that simply announcing Halo 4 is not good enough, especially when you're busy trying to capture the casual gamer market and alienating hardcore gamers who are turning to PS3.