NBA Finals So Far, and Moving Forward

This is the first time in almost a decade that the entire NBA Finals has captured my interest.  In past years, we've certainly seen some strong matchups, but maybe not since the days of MJ and the Bulls have I been this excited to watch each and every game of the NBA Finals that I can.  Except for the first half of game 3 (due to being on the road), I've been able to catch every moment of the games and all I can say so far is wow.  Keep bringing it on.

Here are five things I've noticed so far.

1. LeBron James is playing like the best player in the league.  After all of the criticism that has gone his way, there's very little for the critics to point at now.  LeBron understands that he's not a great shooter so he's been taking it to the whole, and there is no harder player to defend than the freight train that is LeBron coming into the lane.  LeBron also understands that despite Dwyane Wade's longer tenure in Miami, the Heat is LeBron's team and he needs to lead them to victory.  LeBron is dictating the game on the offensive end, and contributing on defense when he is called.

2. Russell Westbrook needs more time.  The Thunder may still win this series so I don't want to be rash, but Westbrook looks like he hasn't quite fully grasped his role in Oklahoma City yet.  He will never be the offensive player that Kevin Durant is because he will never be 6'9"-6'11" and have over a 7-foot wingspan.  Don't get me wrong: Westbrook is explosive and a great offensive player.  We've seen him do a good job for the majority of this series leading this team and dictating the offense.  Maybe coach Scott Brooks has told Westbrook that he should take the most shots each game, but it would seem more logical that the primary shooter should be the 3-time NBA scoring champion, Kevin Durant.  Either Westbrook needs more time to grow into his role on this team, or he needs to go.

3. Kevin Durant needs to stay out of foul trouble.  Desperately.  His presence on the floor alone, whether he's shooting the ball or not, changes the game dramatically.  He needs to be on the floor.

4. Chris Bosh is the second-most important player on the Heat.  Whether James or Wade is the most important, the other is third, because Bosh has proven how important his presence is by returning to the starting lineup.  Remember the days when Bosh played in Toronto and put up numbers like a superstar?  I think he's still capable of that, but he chooses to do what is required of him.  If I'm part of Miami Heat management, and I hate to say this, but Dwyane Wade has become more expendable than Chris Bosh.

5. Some of the role players for each team have stepped up and some have not.  Thus, they are cancelling each other out.  I really feel that the difference between each of the three games has simply come down to the big three players on each side.  Wade disappeared in game 1.  Durant found foul trouble in games 2 and 3.  Harden scored almost nothing in game 3.  Westbrook is hoarding the ball too much late in the game.  Miami's big three is more experienced and more consistent (so far), so OKC's three needs to grow up, and fast.

Moving forward, I think it's pretty simple: if Oklahoma City doesn't win tonight, they will not win the series, even if they can take it to seven games.  The Miami Heat are just too hungry to give up the title easily, and OKC is not showing enough determination to counteract that right now.  One of the beauties of this series, though, is that it has been impossible to predict.  All of the plays, even the ones in the first quarter, are making a difference.  It's exciting to see two athletic, stellar basketball teams going at it, and I'm excited for the series to continue tonight.

What the heck, man? Clembough

It's been awhile since I've dived into a WTHM entry, but it's also been that long since I've gone fishing around my favorite sites for some WTHM inspiration.  Also, I've used the acronym WTHM three times now to reinforce it as a thing.  To that, you might say... What the heck, man? (WTHM).

Anyway, let's get going.  This is going to be a fun one.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57452296-1/groupon-charges-$1000-to-name-your-baby-for-you/

Summary: The geniuses at Groupon have announced that as the "World's Foremost Authority in Baby Naming", they are making you an offer that you absolutely cannot refuse.  You can purchase the name "Clembough" for your child from Groupon for the measly sum of $1000.  Apparently, at least six buyers have already jumped on board.

Notable Facts/Ideas: Clembough is available as a name regardless of your future child's gender.  Also, there are no specific instructions on the pronunciation of "Clembough".

Opinion: I'm imagining that the name has some sort of trademark; otherwise, I can't imagine why we need to purchase the name at this point.  Will there be a Clembough Kim roaming the streets in the future?  I mean, probably, but only if they offer me like a 30% discount on the purchase.  Regardless, this is quite the campaign for Groupon, if only because they've already got six saps signed on to purchase the name.  Also, I'm really having trouble deciding on how I want to pronounce this name.  "Clem-bow"?  "Clem-baw"?  "Clem-bah"?  I guess it might depend on the gender of the child too.

All in all, this is certainly an occasion that marks the return of *deep breath* "What the heck, man?"

Amazing Game Trailers FTW: E3, Day 1 Highlights

I've been posting a lot less frequently lately, and I've been trying to figure out why.  Without classes to attend and homework to take care of, you'd think that I would have a lot more time to share some new information and some "What the heck, man?"s with you.  However, beyond the month of May having been busy, I have been diving back into video games again and thus, have "less" time to write.  Lately, I've been working on a couple of games: Dragon Age: Origins for the PC, and Gears of War 3 for the Xbox 360.  Comparing the two very different games has made me realize that as long as you're taking a game for what it is and getting what you expect out of it, they don't have to have high review ratings to be good games (though, both of these games have pretty high review scores).  Dragon Age is a deep and involved fantasy role-playing experience, and Gears of War is a shallow shooter with mild combat tactics.  Both are awesome.

E3, the annual game conference, is currently taking place, which means a lot of new information and a bunch of new pretty game trailers to watch.  I have a couple to share today from a couple of lesser-known properties, as well as a trailer from an established property, that will make you say wow.  I've been playing games for most of my life and I've been there through the incredible feats of gaming like Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy X, but these games look like they're taking it to the next level, and they still make me say wow.  To a degree, they also make me say "What the heck, man?", because the level of realism/awesomeness in video games these days is getting ridiculous.


The Last of Us



To think that this is gameplay is stunning.  It's not all about the graphics to me: the way that the player progresses, the conversations that the characters have as they move, the enemy reactions, and the brutality of the action all combine to create an absolutely beautiful trailer.  I almost want to get a Playstation 3 just to play this game.

Watch Dogs



A game with relatively little hype coming into E3 from the makers of Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs appears to be the game that finally properly puts you into the shoes of an information juggernaut.  This seems to want to function like a fusion of the show Person of Interest and the Bourne movie series.  If it can pull it off, this game will be the next big thing.

Assassin's Creed III



The giant in this small room, Assassin's Creed III promises to continue the tradition of acrobatics and action that has become a staple for the series.  I was personally a bit disappointed with the saturation of content in the latest Assassin's Creed game, as I felt that they tried to incorporate too many new ideas, culminating in a disjointed experience.  Not only does this game promise to return to its roots, but it's set in America, right around the time of the revolution from the British.  History professors, take note: there ought to be a lot of historical fact (and fiction, obviously) to be absorbed here.

And that is all for now.  I probably will not post after every day of E3 but who knows; if I'm as thoroughly impressed with the other days as I was with day one, you might be hearing from me a lot this week.  Enjoy!

My Personal Epitomes

Phew, it's been awhile since I've written.  The month of May has just been stacked with exams, events, and vacations; thus, I do apologize for not having written for the last little while, but I will certainly be back in full time-consistent (not a real phrase) force as the summer carries on.

I was thinking lately about defining moments.  No, not just those serious "graduation" or "marriage" moments, but the little things in life that contribute to make us who we are.  In particular, I became curious about how we form our opinions of movies, music, games, and sports.  As with many things, our opinions are influenced by those around us and what we see and hear.  However, we should also consider how our own personal experiences come into play.  For example, allow me to get the most obvious epitome out of the way: Anchorman is the epitome of comedy movies to me.  I've enjoyed the movie each time I've watched it, and seemingly, ever since it came out on DVD, I've had friends who are willing to quote the movie to death with me.

Let's look at the word "epitome" before we move on.  "Epitome", according to Google, is "a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type."  Thus, Anchorman is a perfect example of a "comedy movie" to me.  Now, that is not to say THE perfect example, which is why I stressed the importance of personal experiences earlier on.  We all have different opinions about what is the epitome of a "comedy movie", built by our own life experiences and influences.

So here it is: a list of some of my personal epitomes.  I don't expect everyone to agree with all of my picks, but at the least, I hope to get you reminiscing about some of your own personal epitomes as well.  Feel free to share with the gang in the comment section.

The Epitome of...

Pop song: "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys.  I'm not even going to pretend that this is the best pop song ever written, because it's not, but I grew up in the boy band/TRL generation and if there is one song that defines that era to me, it is "I Want It That Way".  A sappy love song with a laid-back pop beat, this was actually one of the few boy band songs that featured a vocal solo by every member of the band.  There were so many artists with similar sounds during that era and again, some of those other songs were even better than this one.  But when it comes to sounding like a pop song and selling like one too, this song was king.



Adventure Video Game: "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past" on Super Nintendo.  Though I did own one of the original Nintendos shipped straight from Japan, the Super Nintendo is the system that truly built me into a gamer.  There were a lot of great games on the system: Super Mario World, Street Fighter, and even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but A Link to the Past still sticks in my memory as the epitome of adventure games.  It was the first game that I played that truly let me be an explorer, searching the world for pendants and trapped maidens to help me conquer the evil lord Ganon in a quest to save the world.  There were epic battles, dramatic twists, and fun little sidequests here and there that, as an entire package, really defined the term "adventure" for me.

Also, it gave Japan this supremely ridiculous and awesome commercial.



Clutch Sports Moment:  Just watch.



For those of you who might not recognize this, this is Steve Kerr talking about his game-winning, championship-winning final shot against the Utah Jazz in game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals.  But he's not the person I'm trying to highlight here.  Michael Jordan making this play is the epitome of a clutch sports moment to me.  As Steve describes the huddle, the sense of it is there: they knew that John Stockton liked to come off of Steve Kerr to provide defensive help on Michael Jordan; thus, it was Jordan who initiated the conversation with Kerr, telling him to be ready.  All of the talk in basketball today is about having a guy who can take the final shot.  I certainly don't want to discredit anyone who is that guy, but the most important to me isn't taking the final shot: it's making the final play happen.  Michael Jordan defined that for me by drawing the double team (as he predicted) and passing to Steve Kerr (as Jordan predicted) for the wide-open jump shot.  This moment is the epitome of a clutch sports moment to me, as the legendary Michael Jordan made the absolute right play at the right time.

So there's just a few.  I may make another entry with some more epitomes but for now, chew on those, and chew on your own.  How do we compare?