My dude Matisyahu has always had some ill merch, but this is the illest. The Matisyahu Fitted Cap. Click the link to cop it. You can even get it autographed by the man himself.
Speaking of things that are fit for a king, check out this meal that Max B prepared for us down in Baltimore before our performance with Matisyahu at Ram’s Head live. I call this “Cooking with Max Bent”…
And since we have no footage of Max and Matis’ amazing performance at Ram’s Head (don’t worry I’m working on getting a hold of it), check out this classic clip of them beatboxing live at The Thirsty Turtle in White Plains back in 2006…
Wait, this just in. Check out Matis’ tour digs, also fit for a king, in this edition of “Pimp My RV”, co-starring Nosson Zand, a young rapper from Boston touring with Matis who Max and I performed with (kid is nice and real cool too)…
I’ve always had a very intimate relationship with the New York Yankees. It started when I moved to New York from Oakland and my favorite baseball player Ricky Henderson followed me. That was a good sign. I could root for the Yankees with all my heart knowing that my favorite player was now down with them too. I was really into baseball as a kid, as was my older cousin Chris. We would go to Spring Training every March and check out the team (see my Spring Training post from this past summer), and of course we would go to a handful of games every season at Yankee Stadium. Because of our family connects to the Yanks, my Dad would get my name up on the scoreboard for my birthday, which wasn’t so easy to do back in the day. Those were the years for me, when it was Randolph, Mattingly, Winfield, Henderson, and the rest of the crew. They didn’t win championships but they were a great squad. Remember bat day? Check the pic below from my 4th grade birthday party trip to Yankee Stadium…
Now that Yankee Stadium is closed, I would like to pay tribute to the many memories I have of it. I’ve been to the stadium with my family and friends as both a kid and an adult, I’ve taken groups of kids from White Plains on field trips to games, I’ve worked as an intern for MSG as a high school senior and handed stats to Al Trautwig in the press box (I also got to go on the field, in the dugout, and in the locker room), and I’ve sat in all the sections of the stadium from the bleachers to the mezzanine boxes behind the plate where they give you the fish nets to catch foul balls. I even sat in the “Billy Crystal” seats right next to the Yankees dugout where you can basically touch the players while they’re in the batters box. But one game stands out as the best Yankee game I’ve ever been too, and the best seats I’ve ever had at Yankee Stadium.
It was May 27th, 1991, two days after my 13th birthday, and the Yanks were playing the Red Sox, easily the biggest rivalry in sports. Both my cousin Chris and I brought a crew of friends to the game, and together we all took over a nice section of seats about five rows behind the Red Sox dugout, which was sick because you could see right into the Yankees dugout. It was an eventful game and a beautiful spring New York day, but what made it so crazy was Mel Hall blasting a three run home run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to win the game 6-5 (check the pic above). We all went nuts. It was probably the happiest I had ever been at that point in my life. Check it out…
I was searching online for information from that game, and I came across a Red Sox fan blog that had a story about it simply called the MEL HALL GAME. Even Red Sox fans had a great time that day at Yankee Stadium! Check it out, it has the lineups and the game summary along with a cute story about being Red Sox fans in New York…
Well I’m sure we won’t call the new stadium next door The House That Ruth Built, but we will be able to take the Metro North train there from White Plains. And I’m pretty sure that lunatic fans like the one above will still be in the stands rooting for the Bronx Bombers. See you next season…oh, and Yankee Stadium, we will never forget you, thanks for the memories…
The New York Knicks have had a tough time winning ballgames the past few years. It seems like forever since they were an actual threat to other teams in the NBA. Tommy Dee, who covers the beat for SNY-TV’s theknicksblog.com, called a time out to tell us here at Westcheddar what to expect from our beloved Knickerbockers this season. Check it out…
IP: Ok, Tommy Dee, how bad are the Knicks going to be this year? It’s been miserable trying to root for them lately. Any hope?
TD: This year? I would say no, but stranger things have happened. If they make the playoffs they lose a first round pick, and there are some solid point guards to be had in next year’s lottery in Ricky Rubio, who played on Spain’s Olympic team, and Brandon Jennings. Knick fans should hope for a competitive season without making the playoffs. Somewhere around 33 to 35 wins.
IP: How’s this new coach Mike D’Antoni? Seems like he could do a good job.
TD: D’Antoni is an innovator, offensively, he’s a proven winner, despite falling short in Phoenix. He was cheated two years ago against the Spurs by referee Tim Donaghy. I love the combination of GM Donnie Walsh’s old school mentality, with D’Antoni’s new-school style. When you combine his knowledge of the European game with the fact he hung with the Olympic team loaded with 2010 free agents, there’s no doubt he’s the right guy for the job. Their up-tempo style will be fun to watch.
IP: Who do you see as the go-to guy on this Knicks team? Who’s going to lead us to victory?
TD: Victory? Well there won’t be many of them, but they are going to lean heavily on Jamal Crawford, who’s been improving year-to-year, to step his game up to an All-Star level. Not sure what to expect from Eddy Curry or Zach Randolph, but I’d expect nice years from David Lee, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler, and rookie Danilo Gallinari.
IP: Did we pick up anyone good in the draft? As far as I know, we didn’t.
TD: We did in Gallinari, who was very impressive as a young buck in Europe’s top elite league. This kid is good and fits D’Antoni’s system to a tee. There are questions about his back, but I think he’ll be healthy heading into the year. Give this kid some time and he’ll take this city by storm.
IP: What about the rest of the league? Is it going to be Lakers vs. Celtics again in the finals? Is Lebron ready to win a championship?
TD: Not sure if Lebron has the horses to win it all, but you can bet he’ll bring it. He was awesome in the Olympics. The Rockets have improved with Ron Artest, but I’d say Kobe and the Celts would have to be the leaders going in.
IP: If you could bring any of the big superstars in the league to New York, who would you want?
TD: Lebron, of course. He’s Magic and Jordan rolled into one. He’s amazing. I was really impressed with Dwayne Wade this summer, but he has a history of injuries. They are the top two free agents in 2010. I’d take Chris Bosh from Toronto in a heartbeat, but for me it’s Bron Bron and Wade then Bosh.
IP: Ok, let’s look back in Knicks history for a second. Give me your all-time Knicks starting line up position by position.
TD: Dude, what a great question. I go back to around 1984, I’m not one of those guys who pretends he saw players never saw, so players that I saw I’d go with are:
C- Patrick Ewing
PF- Charles Oakley
SF- Bernard King
SG- Allan Houston
PG- Derek Harper
…with Camby and Spree off the bench…Can I do that?
IP: Of course. You know Sprewell is my favorite player of all time. What about top five moments in Knicks history? Is the John Starks Dunk on that list? That was my birthday you know.
TD: Again, that I’ve seen…
1. John Starks Dunk
2. Larry Johnson’s 4 point play
3. Allan Houston’s runner against the Heat
4. Patrick Ewing’s tip against the Pacers in 1994
5. This is a little known one, Chris Childs tried to dunk on Alonzo Mourning in the playoffs (maybe 97 or 98?), he missed and hit the back rim, but if it went down it would have stopped time.
IP: I remember that Childs play, it was crazy! You’re a big time golf guy too. Are there any NBA players out there that are known for their golf game? I know MJ loves the links, but are there any current players that are nice?
TD: Not Charles Barkley. MJ brings it as does Jason Kidd, but my money’s on Allan Houston, he shot 83 when I played with him.
IP: How good is Tiger Woods? Greatest of all time?
TD: Jack Nicklaus has GOAT status until Tiger gets to 19 majors.
IP: You also help out coaching Stepinac hoops here in Westchester. How are they looking this year? Can they beat White Plains?
TD: I give some time there, yeah. When I was at Stepinac playing, basketball was a privilege that had to be earned. Coach Tim Philip has done a great job of bringing respect back to the program. This year they’ll be young, but fun to watch. The kids are working really hard so we’ll see. They’ll be okay. As far as White Plains, I’d love to see that but apparently the Tigers don’t have room on their schedule this year.
IP: Are you a big fantasy basketball guy? Any sleeper fantasy players this year to recommend to the bball nerds out there?
TD: Take Wade, dude is ready to dominate in every category again. Lean towards guys that are good at a bunch of things like rebounds, steals, assists as well as points.
IP: You’re also a guy with a lot of Irish Pride in his blood. Who’s your favorite Irish basketball player in history?
TD: Uh, Shaquille O’Neal?
IP: Ha! Ok, for my final question, draw out the play for this situation. The Knicks are down 1 point at the end of the 4th quarter, you’ve got the ball at half court, 15 seconds on the clock with no time outs left. You’re the coach. What do you do?
TD: High screen/roll on the strong side with Crawford using David Lee and a shooter in the right corner. Crawford attacks the block as Lee rolls, if he has Lee throw the lob, if he doesn’t try to get fouled or make the corner’s man help then kick to the corner for a wide open jumper.
My cousin Christopher Isenberg, writer and creator of the brand NOMAS NYC, recently did a feature story for the New York Times Sunday Style Magazine on Sean Avery, a former New York Rangers ice hockey player with a passion for fashion (he’s playing for the Dallas Stars this season). Check out the link below…
My boy Sancheeze, a true reggae soldier (word to the lion from zion tattooed on his back), put me on to these guys Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad a couple months ago. They are from Rochester, New York, aka Rocheddar, and are basically an all white reggae band with dumb flavor. I have never seen them live, but they seem to always be on tour, and their studio album, SLOW DOWN (pictured below) is dope. It’s sounds like the title, very laidback, and their lead vocalist has a great voice reminiscent of the late Sublime singer Bradley Nowell. They will be performing August 24th, 2008 with Matisyahu at the CMAC Reggae Fest on their home turf, which by the way is also home to Ogden Avenue legend John Halas who plays shooting guard for the 2008 PBL Champion Rochester Razorsharks. Check out my favorite track off the album which, no coincidence, is the first song of theirs that Sancheeze ever played for me. BOOYAKASHA!!!!
Band of Horses is responsible for arguably my favorite song in the history of recorded music. I’m not the biggest fan of their first album EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME (though it made me like them), but I dig their second album CEASE TO BEGIN alot, and when I say alot I mean it’s got a few good songs on it, which is more than I can say for most albums nowadays.
Detlef Schrempf, my vote for best song on the album (and of all eternity), is so beautiful that no matter how many times I listen to it, I never get sick of it. I’ve definitely listened to it more than any other song in the past year. I think I’m going to dance with my mother to it at my upcoming wedding FRIENDS HONOR. Still I was wondering why it was named after a former Supersonics forward. Is it the band’s Seattle roots? Not sure. I checked out one of my new favorite websites, songmeanings.net, in my attempt to figure out why they would name such a beautiful song after such an ugly, NBA whiteboy (see picture below). Here is what I found out…
Here’s a couple more gems not found on either of their two official SUBPOP releases. The first is a slow version of my favorite song from their first album, “Wicked Gil”, the video below is of them performing it live in Seattle. The second is from the O.C. television show soundtrack, called “The End’s Not Near”.
Band of Horses Live at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, 2006.
Filter magazine did a dope cover story on Band of Horses last fall when they’re album dropped, sort of a road log of the west coast wing of their tour. Of course, I’ve got the issue tucked away in my collection, but you can check it out online here.
My first and only cousin Christopher Isenberg, my elder of five years and childhood idol, is the brain behind No Mas NYC, a brand of clothing, art, and writing that focuses on the fallen sports hero and much much more in the wide world of competitive athletics. His t-shirts are genius. His designs are crisp and colorful. He basically has cornered the urban boutique market with his brand so successfully that him teaming up with Puma to create No Mas sneakers seems like small potatoes at this point. Here’s some of my favorites from the No Mas collection…
The 1st ever No Mas NYC t-shirt…
For all the brothers…
Out of all my No Mas t-shirts, I’ve worn this one the most…
Though I love the t-shirts, my favorite product No Mas ever released was its Frank 151 magazine sports issue. Chris put the whole thing together, and it features great articles on classic sports video games, a baseball card battle between my cousin and legendary photographer Ricky Powell, a history of recreational drug use in sports, and a story written by my uncle Steve about New York’s former Mayor Lindsey’s relationship with the NY Mets. Check it out…
White Plains Firefighters model No Mas t-shirts (and Dirty Jax too) during a hilarious fashion show at the Thirsty Turtle before a summer 2007 No Mas league member Stan Ipcus performance…
Westcheddar 