Life in the Clique
 
Last night I caught the second episode of the new HBO series Entourage. I first read about this show a few weeks ago, and was immediately intrigued by the premise: a look at Hollywood stardom through the eyes of a hotshot It Boy and his posse. You all know that I have a sweet spot for the entertainment industry (observing it, commenting on it, but NOT living it, mind you), and I knew HBO would go the whole nine yards in terms of realism.
 
Last week's premiere set the table quite well, introducing us to Vince, the brooding-yet-carefree actor who's just getting started down the path to stardom. Along for the ride are three of his boys from Queens, the chubby oaf, the half-brother who's a wanna-be actor and the real star of the show, Eric, the best friend who also serves as Vince's overwhelmed manager. None of the guys ever expected to be there, and that small amount of humility makes these characters, who could easily have been obnoxious and unrelatable, somewhat endearing.
 
In Sunday's second episode, Entourage really hit its stride. The show works well because it has the right mix of voyeurism (we get to see the guys party at Jessica Alba's house and make out with a squadron of hot starlets) and naivete (Eric is completely in-over-his-head as a Hollywood manager). Watching the show you feel a little jealous, because you know that this world actually does exist for a select few Hollywood stars, but at the same time you see how ludicrious that existence is. The three highlights of the Entourage so far:
 
1. The always enjoyable Jeremy Piven was cast as Vince's agent. It's always evident that real-life actors take a particular glee in playing Hollywood agents.
 
2. Vince is offered $4 million for a movie called Matterhorn (which is described as Die Hard at Disneyland), and everyone keeps a straight face. 
 
3. There's an unironic cameo from David Faustino, better known as Bud Bundy from "Married With Children."
 
 
Clearly, I have picked a good time to start subscribing to HBO again.

 
NBA Glory Days
 
It's been a week since the Shaq trade so it's about time I weigh in (after all, there really hasn't been anything written about this in the mainstream media, right?). Well, since you asked...
 
I was really relieved when the trade went through, as I was of the thinking that Shaq's trade demand was just the Diesel blowing off some exhaust. If the trade had to go down, I thought Dallas was the only option, and when the Mavs fell through I didn't think Shaq would be going anywhere. I figured Jerry Buss would come to his senses, invite Shaq to a fancy dinner and kiss his feet until he had won forgiveness. As Tony Kornheiser said repeatedly, why would you trade Shaq when he is under contract?
 
Well, thank goodness for Pat Riley. This trade was just a great moment for the league. With Shaq and Kobe broken up, you now have the top 15 players in the leage on 15 different teams. It's gonna be like the NFL, where almost every team enters the season with optimism, and you have no idea who'll win it all. Plus, with Shaq, the Pistons and the still-ascending LeBron James (just wait until he dominates the Olympics next month) the East will now be as compelling as the West.
 
As for Kobe, I can't believe that there was so much speculation about whether he would bolt for the Clippers. Why on Earth would he betray the team who catered to his every need and leave for a moribund franchise... that's paying him $30 million less? It was way too much ado about absolutely nothing.
 
The funny thing about the Shaq-Kobe aftermath is that everyone seems to be writing off the Lakers. Stephen A. Smith was yowling the other day that the Lakers would be lucky to make the playoffs next year. But people are forgetting two things:
 
1. Kobe is capable of putting a team on his back and dominating when the game is on the line.
 
2. Rudy Tomjanovich is a damn good coach.
 
I just don't see the Lakers falling apart in one season. After all, you only have to win 45 games to get into the playoffs and I don't see eight teams finishing ahead of them. In fact, I expect the Lakers to make the second round, before they run into a team with a dominant frontcourt. Whatever happens, it's gonna be a fun, fun season to watch.
 
 
 
 

 
The Ping's Got That Thing

I watched today's All-Star home run derby, and there's no arguing that Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman put on an awesome display. However, I was rather disappointed by the weak output from some of the other sluggers. Three lousy homers from Ortiz and Blalock? Just four from the big lumberjack Jim Thome? I know hitting homers is hard, but in a derby environment (where you get to handpick a guy to toss you 80mph meatballs, unlimited pitches, plus ten "outs") shouldn't the best home run hitters on the planet be able to hit at least five out of the park?

I say it's time we go for broke: bring on the aluminum bats. Sure it bastardizes the sport, but the home run derby isn't real baseball anyways. Why not give the fans the most spectacular show possible? It's an artificial event, so there's nothing wrong with using artificial equipment to increase the homer output. Who wouldn't want to see Barry Bonds launching 600 foot bombs out of the stadium? As a bonus, that irresistible ping sound would be a nice homage to the college game, which is an overlooked part of the baseball world. Besides, metal bats are still better than corked ones, right Sosa?

 
Music Musings

Since I’ve been writing about the NBA pretty much exclusively for the past two months, I think it’s about time to mix things up. Why don’t I offer up a batch of random thoughts about our old friend, the music industry:

• I think it’s safe to say that when it’s all said and done, Usher’s “Confessions, Pt. 2” will be remembered as the song of the 2004 summer. I really like the song, but given the lyrical content, it’s pretty awkward when that song comes on at a party or in a club.

• When I first heard the song “Float On” a few weeks ago, I thought to myself: “Wow, Franz Ferdinand has yet another song out. But it’s weird how this new one sounds exactly their last one, ‘Take Me Out.’” What I didn’t realize at the time was that “Float On” isn’t by Franz Ferdinand, it’s by Modest Mouse. Why would two new bands release debut singles at the same time that sound so identical? Even the videos for the two songs look similar.

• Everyone blames Janet Jackson’s poor record sales on backlash from the Super Bowl incident. But the reason her new song didn’t catch on is because she’s pulled a Mariah and started doing the whole breathless cooing thing instead of actually singing.

* Launch and MTV.com are a godsend for music video fans like myself. You can watch whatever video you want on demand, and since MTV is now about 4% music, these online sites are the only place to go.

* I had to chuckle when I read that the entire 2004 Lollapalooza tour had been cancelled due to low ticket sales. With the Flaming Lips, Morrissey and Sonic Youth as your headliners, is it any surprise that they had trouble attracting any fans under the age of 45?

* I’ve had it up to here with the Bay Area hip hop stations. Their playlists are months behind what’s playing in New York. It’s ridiculous that I haven’t heard KMEL or KYLD play the new Nelly or Mase songs even though they’ve been out for weeks on the east coast.

* Speaking of Mase, what a hilarious surprise to hear that he’s decided to come back after five years as a minister. Now we know why Puffy fired Da Band from his Bad Boy label- he knew that with Mase waiting in the wings, he still had a way to tap into the youth hip-hop market.

* Mase’s comeback only makes me more certain that Jay-Z isn’t staying retired. For whatever reason, rappers just don’t hang it up, no matter how old they get. LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys and even Public Enemy still release records. Once Shawn Carter realizes that his Rocafella brand isn’t nearly as valuable without Jay-Z songs on the radio, he’ll be back in the studio, rapping about how he has to “return to the game to reclaim his throne.”

 
Dick Vitale's Prayers Are Answered

I must admit that I was a little suprised today when I heard that Mike Krzyzewski turned down the Lakers job to stay at Duke. I thought that Coach K would have pulled a Mike Montgomery and said "I've done all that I can during my two decades in the college game, so lemme take this fat contract and try working at the highest level of my profession." Well, it turns out that not even the most glamorous job in the league could lure Coach K from his cushy life in Durham. I think the move makes sense for him from the standpoint of job security. He has a lifetime contract at Duke (although coaching contracts are pretty meritless these days) and he'll continue to be treated like a god as long as he stays there. If he were to go to LA, he would be opting into a life of dire uncertainty, as all NBA coaches are on the hot seat as soon as they get hired. Hell, not even Phil Jackson could last more than five seasons on a championship-caliber team before he was forced out. Coach K would've been out of a job within four years, which would leave him unemployed at a still-young 61 years old. And from there, his only move would be to pull a Pitino and try to get back in the college game. He would wind up trying to resurrect some second-tier program like St. John's, desperate to recapture his past glory. Coach K looked at this scenario and wised up quickly.

SI's Phil Taylor makes the very interesting argument that this whole story was prolonged by Coach K for his own selfish reasons. After all, Krzyzewski is the only person who gained from this whole mess:

"...Each speculative story [raised] his profile even more, not to mention his public speaking fees and his endorsement possibilities. It wouldn't be surprising if he parlayed the Lakers' interest into a few more perks from the Duke administration. Stretching things out was a great career move. All in all, Coach K played this situation out as masterfully as any game he's ever coached."