and if you ask me he’s one of the best bloggers anywhere, period.

a reporter is supposed to go places that most people cant go and tell the readers what went down.

a blogger reports and gives his take.

schill had floor seats at the lakers/celts game. seats he called “ridiculous”. basically they were on the lakers bench. he saw everything, but best of all he heard everything.

and then he wrote it down. for yr ass.

on trashtalking

One thing I did learn was that in addition to not having one ounce of athletic ability, being white, and having no vertical, and only being able to dribble right handed, I couldn’t play in the NBA because about 43 times last night I heard things being said that would have made me swing at someone. These guys talk MAJOR trash on the floor, and the great part is that most of the times I’ve seen it the guy on the receiving end usually doesn’t respond much, if at all, and just plays the game, schooling the guy who feels like he needs to talk to make his game better.

on the ref who t’ed up garnett

KGs first quarter Technical. I heard EVERY word of his exchange with the ref. It’s nice to know that they share the same problems some players do with MLB umpires. He was giving a technical because he said the F word, period. He did NOT call the ref a name, he was bitching about a non-call and said “C’mon, what the F am I supposed to do” and got the T. Now I watch both Pierce, and I think Allen, talking to this ref and he shoots back to Paul this little tidbit. “I can’t let him talk to me that way.”

What? Dude, your an NBA official, not the stinking Pope. Not one person in the arena paid 1 cent of their ticket to see you, ref the game and shut your pie hole. These guys are playing for a world championship, they are as amped up as you expect the best players in the world to be, they are grown men, there’s going to be some PG-13 language, and you are giving a T to a guy for dropping an F bomb? Stupid.

on the refs regarding their calls

Every SINGLE play up and down the floor has MULTIPLE fouls being committed by multiple players. These guys are in close, every play. They are beating the crap out of each other, and the refs see it. That makes me think that the game is called and paced exactly how the refs want it to be. I wondered aloud, a few times, how in the hell calls weren’t being made against the Celts on a ton of plays in the paint where there was some serious pugilism being committed. There were a ton of ‘non-calls’ in my incredibly amateur opinion.

on kobe:

This one stunned me a little bit. Who doesn’t know Kobe Bryant right? I only know what I have heard, starting awhile back with the entire Shaq debacle. I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other on or about him other than to know that people feel he might be one of the 4-5 greatest players to ever lace it up. What I do know is what I got to see up close and hear, was unexpected. From the first tip until about 4 minutes left in the game I saw and heard this guy bitch at his teammates. Every TO he came to the bench pissed, and a few of them he went to other guys and yelled about something they weren’t doing, or something they did wrong. No dialog about “hey let’s go, let’s get after it” or whatever. He spent the better part of 3.5 quarters pissed off and ranting at the non-execution or lack of, of his team. Then when they made what almost was a historic run in the 4th, during a TO, he got down on the floor and basically said ‘Let’s f’ing go, right now, right here” or something to that affect. I am not making this observation in a good or bad way, I have no idea how the guys in the NBA play or do things like this, but I thought it was a fascinating bit of insight for me to watch someone in another sport who is in the position of a team leader and how he interacted with his team and teammates. Watching the other 11 guys, every time out it was high fives and “Hey nice work, let’s get after it” or something to that affect. He walked off the floor, obligatory skin contact on the high five, and sat on the bench stone faced or pissed off, the whole game. Just weird to see another sport and how it all works. I would assume that’s his style and how he plays and what works for him because when I saw the leader board for scoring in the post season his name sat up top at 31+ a game, can’t argue with that. But as a fan I was watching the whole thing, Kobe, his teammates and then the after effects of conversations. He’d yell at someone, make a point, or send a message, turn and walk away, and more than once the person on the other end would roll eyes or give a ‘whatever dude’ look.

thats how you blog, sportsfans.

read the whole thing here as well as reactions to the game and the blog here at the Lakers Blog. h/t tomdog

she has class, she has style, shes educated, she comes from a great family, shes pretty much straightedge, she helps the poor, shes smart enough to buy her stock options, shes beautiful, shes sexy, shes well behaved, she appreciates good grammar

and yet somehow she invites

me

to visit her at her parents home.

christine rene has clearly fallen from the heavens for the sole purpose of healing the sick and tending to the needy. her heart is as big as [joke redacted] and her soul is the standard by which purity is judged.

ive known her since the last century and i dont know one person who has ever had a bad thing to say about her. it’s eerie.

i want to be with her forever on principle alone.

i dug through her dirty drawers this weekend and she said what are you doing and i said looking for skidmarks because im sure they could cure cancer. sadly all there was was glitter. and rainbows.

today is chris’s 24th birthday. she showed me hundreds of photos last night from her two and a half years in uganda. she knew everyones name and everyones stories. she showed me how people sing and dance at funerals, at graduations, when the queen comes, when the president comes, and when hospital wings open.

she showed me this one video where people sang but not really. there was no joy in their tune. i said, why arent they singing like they just did at that one dudes funeral?

she said that was my last day. they were singing to me.

they were crushed.

even in africa the people know how special this woman is. and today we celebrate her birth.

and im sure she feels like its the cruelest curse

she can fly off to the dark continent for forever
she can sneer or smile
doesnt matter
my heart breakdances just being around her.
its kinda sick, really

and now im about to fly back home.

but im reacquainting chris to american culture

example one: the mashup

led snoopalin

but we celebrated it here in oregon today

chris’s sister and two nephews came down from eugene. we had a delicious brunch

and then the cake came!

and then the gifts!

after the gifts we played baseball in the front yard after taking a walk around the river in the back yard. the following pics are either on chris’s family’s property or 100 yards north or south of their land.

love this place

hes 29.

besides being a great blogger, anti is a fantastic photographer, and one of the finest video directors of all time.

his “a film” series will be pieced together and screened in the future and gain him an oscar. just wait.

when i was at LAist anti was one of the first people i wanted to work with. i was thrilled when he accepted, and im totally stoked that he is still the Subculture Editor.

anti as you might know is engaged to the lovely big tanky and i couldnt be more excited for both of them to repopulate this earth with groovy cool kids just like them.

happy birthday bro, thanks for keeping it real, and showing us all how it is supposed to be.

photo of anti with la times editor russ stanton via anti’s buzznet

so here are the answers

Will Campbell demands: Fess up T, did you try to bring a broom to the stadium with you again?

I would have loved to bring the broom to the first game of the series, but the point of the broom is to bring it at the end of the series as you have just swept your opponent. if the Dodgers make it to the playoffs, i will gladly bring it to that series when the Cubs come to town.

4rilla remembers: Funny you mention brooms, because in last week’ Ask Tony the busblog predicted a 4 game sweep of The Celtics. After game one we know that will no longer be the case. So with one game in hand can I have a new prediction on the series? And is LA Times sportwriter Bill Plaschike serrious when he wrote that Paul Pierce “faked” his leg injury last night?

Clearly i am not a psychic, plus, the Lakers like to play with their food before they eat it.

kali asks: what’s your take on instant replay as pertains to baseball?

the only reason people argue against the instant replay is because they say that it would make the game too long. personally i dont know what they are rushing home to do. blog? baseball could be 4 hours long and i would be happy. infact many times when you go to a game you tailgate first and then drink after. so why rush the game? wouldnt you rahter it be accurate? so im all in favor of longer, more accurate games.

Chris Carnaghi questions: CHANGE ! seems to be a word we will be hearing a lot for the next few months. Do you really think that ANY new administration can affect change? Think about the mountain of not just one but many issues that lie ahead. The office of the President has nothing to do with the economy. IMO Our quality of life is directly proportionate to how much we are getting laid, and if we consistantly stay inspired, and of course if the bills are getting paid. So getting paid and getting laid. Not when the wars will end. Your take Reverend?

obama was one of (if not The) most liberal senators in congress. meanwhile this administration was the epitome of neo-con. therefore if barry wins then it will be pretty hard *not* to invoke a good deal of change with a democratic congress. plus if you believe the polls

Aaron wonders: is this week’s Ask Tony supposed to be questions phrased for yes or no answers? is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays start the most surprising thing in baseball so far? do you still hate the American League?

the american league is a travesty to the word baseball. it would be better off be called Baseball Lite or QuasiBall. when there are two outs in the bottom of the 8th in a 0-0 game and your pitcher is up, in BASEBALL you are forced to make a managerial decision. do you leave him in because hes throwing a shutout, or do you pinch hit for him because every run counts? thats the game we love. thats the game we played as kids. tampa bay does whatever they do in a world that slightly resembles baseball but it better suited for folks in skirts. so let them perform well minus the all star play of their centerfielder.

Sharp (aka Azreal Darkskies) queries: Before you were legal drinking age, all of those decades ago, where did you go to get your drink on? Did you ever do spoken word for audiences?

the place was called Wrigley Field. the beer was called Old Style. back then there were hardly ever any sell outs. so they gladly sold to the kids or anyone else who showed up to see the cubs lose. spoken word is for chumps, and henry rollins. so yes. but only during college.

seechittahrun asks: WHat do you think are the chances that McCain will be the next pres.?

im no conspiracy theorists, but the voting machine controversy is an interesting one that makes me think anyone has a chance. even ron paul.

zona zonders: Toss Ron Paul and Hillary out and tell us who you think the VEEP should be and who it’s gonna be. (if it’s two different answers)

romney and that governor in virgina would be the ones i would bet on if i was a betting man.

anti axes: what controlled substances have you ever tried out?

i went to college in whats known as a “party town”. so i tried pretty much everything. including lite beers.

keir admits: Well, I still hate the American League. good archivist? My question is: do you still have your Daily Nexus writings and tearsheets all stashed away like a

even though the college i went to was in a party town, the paper was extremely well organized. they gave all the editors bound editions of all the Nexus papers for that year. they even put our name on the cover of the bound product. i think Jeff Whalen of Tsar has one year of my bound edition. but i prefer not to look back. only look forward.

Jennie, just like many, ask: When are you going back to Canada? I hear it misses you.

as much as i would like to go back to Canada, i really dont see it in my calendar until like new years. i miss it too.

Dan wonders: What do you think of Noam Chomsky?

i think he has a funny name.

Krista kuestions: hi tony, PC or mac? xo

i used a mac at buzznet. got 13 million hits off that little powerbook in just 8 months. but when i was let go i gladly handed that thing back. im not sold on the cult of mac. i love my iphone, i believe in OSX, and some of my best friends use macs, but im a pc dude. im writing you right now on an IBM thinkpad which was brought to me by a cub fan who sent it to me a week after i was fired. its done me very well. thank you Urban Hayseed.

we’re off to see the new Adam Sandler movie, but keep asking questions, cuz i will answer them tonight.

in the meantime, if you wanna see our publisher sing the Star Spangled Banner, just click here

but before you ask, here are some answers:

yes i love you
yes i went to the cubs game last night and it was awesome
yes i almost got into a fight with a gangmember there who tried to make me sit down
yes it was in the bottom of the ninth with the cubs up and thats when you stand IN AMERICA
yes i was drunk, yes i woulda beat his ass and kissed his pregnant wife
yes she had writing on her belly saying go dodgers or some shit
yes their little son had black makeup on his face to resemble a beard and moustache for some reason
yes our publisher david hiller sang the national anthem to kick off the game
yes it was pretty damn good
yes i took video and yes it will be up on one of the LA Times blogs very soon, today
yes it will either be on the Dodger blog or the local blog LA Now because
no we dont have a singing blog
yes im on my way to the airport to see chris in oregon
yes i have a housesitter so no more requests please
yes i think the cubs are gonna go all the way
yes i noticed that there were no Laker updates at Dodger stadium during or after the game
yes i think thats pretty lame.
k… go!

and it was a pretty great interview

even though he has been #1 for years on radio, and recently he got 8 million people to pay to listen to him on satellite, im not sure people give him the respect he deserves as an interviewer.

he asks far tougher questions than pretty much anyone outside of 60 minutes, and 60 minutes doesnt even ask celebs some of the things he asked rosie the other day.

the interview was scheduled to last 10 minutes but ended up going 45 minutes because over the last years both howard and rosie have warmed to each other.

listen to the whole interview here on On the Stern Show