DING DONG THE SPURS R DEAD

Congrats Kobe!!!!!!!!! You took out the godamn Spurs!...... Eva is sobbing today... Poor Tony... Poor Duncan.... it's a sad day in boringville.

How ill would it be to see Lakers/Celtics? I'd be hype for that match up. In the meantime.. Lets try to keep Kobe focused, I know what happened in China was terrible and maybe he wants to help out.. But what exactly is going on here?

Miami Scared to lose Wade to Knicks?

From The Miami Harold: "One Heat official expressed concern that Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni will try to ingratiate himself to Dwyane Wade (and LeBron James) as a U.S. Olympic assistant coach this summer in case the Knicks can clear cap space to pursue either as free agents in 2010."

I'm a big Wade fan, if he wasn't so injury prone this would be perfect for NY. He has a great attitude. 2010 can't come soon enough.

Inspiration - HUSHH

If you want to be inspired, look no further. Dia and Stat (HUSHH) are two MC's from Connecticut who i have been in touch with off and on through myspace for the past few years. I hope to work with them soon because every time I check out any of their material I get truly inspired, motivated and touched. This is what its all about right here. Check out these videos for their story.

Against All Odds


Against All Odds - Rough cut Trailer from Mark Covino on Vimeo.

ABC Video



That shit made me respect Method Man 100x more.. You can tell Meth is a down to earth good person, that shit is really refreshing.

FOX Video



Dia on the Keys.. WOW.. THIS IS CRAZY!!!!!!!!

Patrick Ewing Shoes - Coming Back?

United Front is bringing back the Patrick Ewing sneakers... Wow! Being that I am a Knicks fanatic I'm pretty happy about this. The only edition of these I actually owned were all black, with a tiny bit of white Trim and i can't find pictures of them anywhere.

When I used to play basketball at the SUNY Purchase gym (Practice site of the Knicks) I was playing horse with an unusually TALL 5th grader (Taller than me and I was in 7th grade). He noticed the Ewings I was wearing and said something like "those went out of business", which I found to be a strange comment from such a young kid lol. But come to find out minutes later that the freakishly tall kid I was playing with all this time just so happened to be:



P.S. I won the game of horse... Lets face it, even if i didn't id prolly still say i did!!!!!


Here are some pictures I did find of the old Ewings

Detroit/Boston tied 2-2

I am really finding it difficult to watch this Detroit/Boston series. Slow, boring, not very close games, too much mutual respect. Chauncey Billups and Kevin Garnett are practically best friends. And I just don't see much of that old playoff drama we are used to, in fact I haven't this whole year so far. What ever happened to RIVALRIES? What ever happened to two teams just simply HATING each other? What ever happened to WARS? That's what i want to see. Remember WARS like this?



It just doesn't happen like this anymore. Oh well. I just want to see the Spurs lose tonight!!! I think we are going to see a Celtics - Lakers finals. Does anyone else agree that it is a little shocking how Antonio McDyess was seemingly the only piston player who was motivated last night? He was basically the reason Detroit won and maybe its because he is the only starter that hasn't won a championship yet. But in the end I just don't think the Pistons want it as bad as these Celtics do. And I just think the Lakers are flat out better than San Antonio. We'll see though.

Danger Mouse on Charlie Rose

Don't know if anyone has seen this before but i found it very interesting. The first half is with Danger, the second is with The White Stripes




His story about meeting Cee-lo was real cool. I remember a few years ago when i was speaking with Cee-Lo and he was telling me about the project he was doing with Danger Mouse. He sounded really excited about it and little did I know he was explaining the beginning stages of Gnarls Barkley to me.

How about when Cee-Lo asked if he could use some of Dangers beats for his album, he replied "I don't do tracks, I do albums". Wow. That is inspiring, he took a huge risk right there that paid off big time. He could have gotten the "ok then fuck you!" but Cee-Lo is real down to earth and genuine, so he responded "ok lets do an album". How great is that?

Busta Rhymes - Don't Touch Me Remix f. Reek Da Villian Spliff Star, Lil Wayne, Nas, The Game, Big Daddy Kane

I really liked the original of this joint, the beat is crazy. Lil Wayne goes nuts on this and this is one of the more intriguing remix lineups since the ever so classic, historical and amazingly produced WHY REMIX :)

Check it out

Down With The Spurs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not lookin so hot for the defending champs. Man it's great to see somone just completely ABUSE Bruce Bowen. I can't stand that asshole. Prolly the dirtiest player in the last 10 years. Here's a little montage:



You see him jumpkick Wally? Wow. Anyway, Great to see Kobe manhandle this scum bag.

The lakers are lookin pretty good, if i had to place money on it I'd probably go with L.A. winning the championship. As long as its not the Spurs i'll be happy. LA vs. Boston in the finals would be pretty exciting, any other match up just doesn't enthuse me much.

Tonight is game 3 Boston now has to go on the road in Detroit. Has anyone else noticed the MUSIC the Boston arena has been playing? This is not Arena Music. Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith? Chumbawumba? In critical dramatic moments too. Who is the directer of music over there? They need to be fired. Looks like at least Mr. Wallace was enjoying it.



Sing it Sheed!

Hope everyone has a happy memorial day weekend and eats some good BBQ!

John Legend feat. Andre 3000 - Green Light

Two of my favorite artists, including my favorite artist(Andre 3000) teaming up on this one. This is just a snippet.. I really hope Andre has a verse on the full version, this shit is gunna blow up.

Miami trading #2 Pick? Baron Davis a Knick?

Lots of rumors today.

The Miami Herald is reporting that if Chicago takes Derrick Rose at #1 the Heat might look to trade the #2 pick if the right deal came along. ''I'm glad to hear that, because I'll be talking to him then,'' Knicks president Donnie Walsh said, when informed that Riley would explore trading the pick. Problem is the Knicks don't have much to offer. I was reading that the heat would be interested in trading down to select O.J. Mayo but problem is he most likely won't be available at #6. Plus who do we have of interest for the heat? David Lee? They already have Haslem. Unless they want Eddy Curry for some strange reason. I just don't see the knicks having the chips to offer Miami.

I've been hearin whipsers of Baron Davis wanting to come to NY, this is just bullshit imo. Hes trying to get the warriors to do a sign and trade but I think it would be foolish of the knicks to do so. Sounds like just a rumor to me, Walsh is not Isiah.



One Warrior who I would be very interested in is Monte Ellis. We could offer him the midlevel execption which is what we WASTED on Jeffries/Jerome James. This would be quite an upgrade. I say if you can get him for the midlevel do it, but hes not worth much more than that in a sign and trade. He would fit great in D'Antoni's fast break system and Newsday is reporting that is what Ellis finds attractive about potentially playing for New York.

Gear - Open Labs NeKo & MiKo

Producers, you may now begin to drool.

This is my dream machine, haven't copped one yet but its next in line on my wish list.

If you haven't heard of this yet, basically its the very first ALL IN ONE beat machine that truly IS all in ONE.

You can run any PC based software with this monster, that means it IS a computer... It doesn't emulate computer power like the MPC4000 with some bullshit operating system. You actually run windows with this bad boy. Not to mention it comes with HUGE sound libraries including tuns of basic hip-hop synths in entirety valued at over $50,000 if the keyboards were purchased individually. Here is a list of the sounds you would start out with(click here it for a sample):

- E-MU™ Proteus™ 2000
- E-MU™ Mo’Phatt™ (available on LX only)
- E-MU™ Modular System™
Hear it - ARP™ 2600™
Hear it - ARP™ Axxe™
Hear it - Roland™ JD800™
Hear it - Roland™ Jupiter 8™
Hear it - Roland™ JX-8P™
Hear it - Roland™ TB-303 Bass Line™
- Roland™ Juno 60™
Hear it - Moog™ Memorymoog™
Hear it - Mini™ Moog™
- Moog™ Taurus Pedals™
Hear it - Sequential Circuits™ Prophet 10™
Hear it - Sequential Circuits™ Prophet 600™
Hear it - Elka™ Rhapsody™
Hear it - Mellotron™ Mark II™
Hear it - Korg™ MS20™
Hear it - Solina™
Hear it - Oberheim™ OB™ & X™
Hear it - Hammond™ B3™
Hear it - Rhodes™ Electric Piano™
Hear it - Hohner™ Clavinet™
Hear it - Yamaha™ CP-70™
Hear it - Wurlitzer™ Electric Piano™

here is a basic overview of the Neko by Open Labs



there is also a portable version called the MIKO here are both pictured below



The Miko runs for around $3,500 and the Neko for $4,800

Check out Polo Da Don(Producer) speak about the Neko here



Timbaland also uses it

Draft Rumors and Updates

From ESPN Insider Chad Ford:

"On Wednesday I heard several interesting "promise" rumors. The first said that Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan has a promise in the Top 5 of the draft. The two sources who gave me the information were NBA front office sources in the lottery who said that Jordan's agent, Joel Bell, wouldn't schedule workouts with them. "

(Deandre Jordan & Anthony Randolph)

This would mean that either Jarryd Bayless or OJ Mayo would likely slide out of the top 5 and into the Knicks lap. Which would be huge. I'm not interested in Brook Lopez however so hopefully hes not the one slipping to the #6.


I've been reading up on Danilo Gallinari and he really sounds intriguing. That guy on NBA TV with the accent who seems to know everything about international basketball said he is going to definitely be better than Andrea Bargnani (2006 1st pick).


I also found a video on Anthony Randolph and WOW this kid really looks like he has star potential. I think he fills the Knicks need too look at the way he blocks shots, almost Marcus Camby like. Very athletic and only 18 years old.

Melodyne - Direct Note Access (Amazing)

A friend of mine recently put me onto this and I think it's going to change the way music is made forever. Basically, have you ever wanted to sample something but there's just one chord that you wish was different? Or how about just taking the vocals completely out of a song and just sampling the bassline. I think it's the most frequently asked question by amature beatmakers who are just starting to mess with the idea of sampling. "how can i take the vocals out of a song?". Of course, this is not only impossible.. but seemed like it would never be possible. Until Now.



Melodyne Direct Note Access allows you to literally CHANGE ANY note that is being played in a song, not only the pitch but the TIMING within the audio file as well. To put it simply, you can now edit an AUDIO FILE the same way you can edit a MIDI file. If your a producer or engineer you understand how mind blowing that is.


This really takes sampling to a whole nother level. It will be a HELL of a lot easier to get around clearing samples too because now you can totally rearrange the composition of a melody therefor making it your own. I believe there would still be some legal issues involved in using the master recording(the sounds) but if you change it enough people will never know.

Melodyne comes out Fall 2008 and I'm already lining up a stack of records that i have always wanted to be able to change if only I had magic powers (or now, Melodyne).

Knicks are Cursed!

So we actually dropped a slot and moved DOWN from 5th to 6th. What luck, I am seriously starting to feel like the Knicks are just cursed.

Of all teams the Chicago Bulls leapfrogged us to the #1 Pick... As if they haven't already screwed us in the draft enough times. Seeing Derrick Rose in a Red n White uniform will not be a pretty sight.

So who CAN we draft at #6? Mayo and Bayless will most likely be gone. These are the 3 guys I'm thinking:

Eric Gorden



A good shooter but seems a little slow to me for the NBA game, also wondering if he will get that jump shot off against taller opponents playing the SG position. I say at best hes Ben Gordon, at worst Eddie House.

DJ Augustine



He is a pass first point guard and kinda reminds me of Brevin Knight. Small but still effective in running a team. I'd really like to give this guy a serious look.

Danilo Gallinari

The foreign prospect from Italy could be the sleeper. He kinda reminds me of Toni Kukoc, his handle for his size looks really good... But he also looks a bit awkward on the floor sorta like Dirk but hey, Dirk won an MVP. He has a nice shot at 6'9" and I have also seen comparisons to Hedo Turkoglu. The Knicks could use some players who can knock down a shot so I expect them to give him a long hard look especially with Mike D'Antoni's Italian roots.

Anthony Randolph


I Can't find any videos on this guy and from what I've read hes really slipping under the radar for whatever reason. He's only 18 years old and has huge upside. He blocks shots and some scouts say he could possibly be as good as Chris Bosh some day. He's the hit or miss go for the home run type of pick I could really see Walsh making. I love the fact that he blocked over 2 shots per game in college if he could translate that into the pros that would be great for the Knicks.

Damn Spurs! On to the Lotto!

Yeah so the Champs came through.

Tell me Jannero Pargo didn't remind you of John Starks jackin up all those crazy shots... Some went in, more did not.

I was a little disappointed in Chris Paul, I thought he was really going to take the game over. I guess he ran out of gas. Oh well maybe next year.


ON TO THE LOTTO!!!!

I'm real hype... wearing my #2 Larry Johnson Jersey for good luck... Speaking of Good Luck I leave you with this ultimate moment in New York Knicks good luck

San Antonio vs. New Orleans GAME 7 Preview

If you like basketball, you are watching tonight.

If you don't like basketball... Maybe tonight is a good time to give it a chance.

The Hive will be buzzin' tonight and this is one of those games I really wish i could see in person. The energy will be out of control. I have become a GIANT Chris Paul fan and I never really enjoyed watching the Spurs boring style of play so i'll be rootin HARD for New Orleans.

Tipoff is 8:30 on TNT, as far as predictions... I think the Hornets will pull this out because they have been so good at home and their talent is really overwhelming. Chris Paul might be a little better than Tim Duncan at this point and the best player on the floor USUALLY wins in the end. But I'm going to have to agree with something I heard Jeff Van Gundy say on the radio the other day. "If I'm New Orleans I would not want this game coming down to the final minutes given the Spurs experience".

I see CP3 just going nuts and scoring 35+

hopefully Tony Parker will have an off night, maybe this guy will show up again to distract him! LOL

Cavs a perfect trading parnter for Knicks?

I was looking at some of Lebron James's comments after the game 7 loss against Boston and i found this quote:

"I think what we have is very good, but we need to continue to get better. We know that," James said. "If that means some personnel changes that need to happen, then so be it. The teams around us in the league are continuing to get better."

Now think about this. The Cavs could have as much as $27 Million in expiring contracts to work with this summer. Here are a list of their expiring players and contracts:

Player 2008/2009 Salary

Wally Szczerbiak $13 Million

Eric Snow $7.3 Million
Damon Jones $4.4 Million
Delonte West $2.7 Million

Lets analyze each of these players and what they mean to the cavs

Eric Snow was inactive and not even on the playoff roster so he is basically just a contract at this point. The Cavs actually expect him to retire this summer but maybe he would agree to a offseason trade to help the team.

Damon Jones barely played in the playoffs for the Cavs so he seems to be an afterthought.

Wally Szczerbiak was a starter but certainly did not earn his paycheck, he only averaged 10 ppg in the playoffs and shot a very low percentage for someone who is on the floor to be a shooter. You could argue he is one of the main reasons the Cavs were unable to advance and I'm sure most Cavs fans would have no problem letting him go.

The only player i see Cleveland wanting to hold on to is Delonte West, He seems to be a decent young player and they can probably resign him for a reasonable price at this point in his career.

With all that said... Why is this all so attractive to the Knicks?

Donnie Walsh has made it clear that we need to get under the cap for the summer of 2010 when the super talented class of 2003 become free agents. The only way to do this is to package some of our higher paid more talented players for expiring contracts. Most of our players are overpaid, but some of them are actually talented they just do not fit with our roster. Some of these guys could possibly help a team like Cleveland that already has its superstar in Lebron and needs a #2 option. For instance Zach Randolph is scheduled to make 14.6 million next year and is signed past the 2010 season so he hurts our chances at getting under the cap. He has fit in horribly here in New York but he is still a 20 point 10 rebound big man with a excellent post game. Imagine Lebron being able to throw the ball down low to Zach in the half court or run the pick and roll/pop with such a offensively capable big man. Not to mention being paired with Ben Wallace might help hide his defensive liabilities which are pretty glaring here in New York.

The main problem is, one of those players that New York has targeted just so happens to be LEBRON JAMES. Would Cleveland really want to make a move to HELP New York pry Lebron away from them? Probably not, but at the same time.. They want to keep Lebron happy and give him a shot at WINNING while he still IS a in Cleveland. A move like this might be a step in the right direction for both teams:


Zach Randolph (14.6 mil) + Quenten Richardson (8.8 Mil) = $23.4 mil total

for

Wally Szczerbiak (13 mil) + Eric Snow(7.3 Mil) + Damon Jones ($4.4 Mil) = $24.7 mil total


Its close but I believe that would work under the salary cap.

For New York, we get nearly 24.7 million in salary cap relief which is desperately needed but I'm sure Cleveland would have to throw in a few Lottery Picks to make this fair in terms of talent. The Knicks would have absolutely no use for the players they would be receiving, however in this case i see it as addition by subtraction. Losing Q Rich allows us to move Wilson Chandler to the starting 3 spot and finally get Balkman some consistent minutes. Losing Zach Randolph opens up the middle for Eddy Curry again and slides David Lee back into the starting position where he belongs.

For Cleveland they basically upgrade Wally Z with Q Rich who is a similar player but a better version of Wally especially on the defensive end. A great 3rd option for Lebron and can knock down the open 3. I already explained why Zach Randolph would fit but he still would have to learn to share the ball and sacrifice because 'Bron won't stand for any of this nonsense:




Even if this is not the exact trade that goes down, I think Cleveland is a team Donnie Walsh needs to be on the phone with this summer. They are a match in terms of what they need, what we need, what they have to offer and what we have to offer.. The trick is making it work. But that's why your here Donnie!!!! MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!

NBA Draft Lottery

My first real post will be on something that is heavy on my mind right now and if you are a Knicks fan it is probably on your mind too....

THE NBA DRAFT LOTTERY

We all know this is primarily a two-man draft with Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley being the only two "Sure Thing" prospects. But for the Knicks it's really only one man.

Derrick Rose.

With the new hiring of Mike D'Antoni it is an absolute must that the Knicks fall to the number one slot to pick up this guy. He is the pass first pure point guard every team dreams of and every Knick team since Mark Jackson has been without. With D'Antoni running the show, who better to take the reigns than Rose? not to mention we simply MUST get Starbury OUT of here. He has gone absolutely bonkers. Check out his interview during the press conference introducing Mike D'Antoni.



Tell me this guy isn't nuts!!!!!

"I'm runnin in the mountains.........."

Classic.

Anyways, The Knicks have a 7.6% chance of landing the top Pick. Not great but keep this in mind: Last year Portland managed to grab the top pick and they had only a 5.3% chance! The team with the worst record (Miami) Has a 25% chance just to give you some perspective.

If we land Beasley nobody will be crying, he was quite possibly the most productive college player EVER after just one season. Even better than Kevin Durrant last year who had scouts and fans alike drooling. The Blazers even considering selecting him over the 7 foot sure to be franchise player Greg Oden.

The chance at landing a Top 2 pick is 16%. Top 3 is 25%.

But is anyone worth taking past Rose and Beasley? My vote is for this guy:



Man, I know highlight videos don't always say it all.. But he looks pretty damn good! (or maybe its just the video editor...)

Point is however, simply put: WE NEED DERRICK ROSE

So fellow Knicks fans i beg you, break out all your lucky charms, do whatever rituals you have, bust out the Larry Johnson 4-point play for inspiration, meditate if you have to! But lets all cross our damn fingers that this Tuesday (8pm on ESPN) we will be seeing David Stern flip up our card last like he did on this historic night:



Also, here is something i think all Knicks fans should have as their Desktop Wallpaper until Tuesday


GO NY GO NY GO!!!!!!!!!!!

Introduction

HI IM ELITE!

Right now I'm leaving this blog open to a number of topics... But generally it will be focused on:

Music & Basketball.

In the future I may narrow it down but for now those are my 3 main interests so if any or all of those things interest you... Please feel free to join the fun.

If you don't know by now, My name is Elite. I am a Music Producer from Westchester, NY/Greenwich, CT. I have worked with Ruff Ryder Records since I was 17 years old and have produced for many established artists, television spots and major motion pictures.

Also...

I'm a HUGE Knicks fan. Probably the biggest you ever met in your life, and i love basketball in general. Been watchin the Knicks since 1993 when I was known as a Gym rat at the SUNY Purchase College Knicks Practice facilities. I would basically hang around shooting hoops until i could score an autograph or two. One time i even fished thru the garbage and found Pat Rileys game notes. Yeah I'm a bit obsessed.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Enjoy and please participate with comments!

-Elite