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May 31
All the talk and hype about a Lebron-Kobe showdown is OVER and my darkhorse pick to get to the Finals detroyed Lebron’s Cavs this morning in very convincing fashion. Superman scored 40 points and went 12-16 from the line to trounce the Cavs and Lebron had his worst game this post-season. The “Magic upset” paved way to a very intriguing Finals match-up against the highly-touted Lakers in Staples next Thursday.
The Cavs were so favored in the Conference Finals series, they actually had majority of the NBA analysts saying they’d sweep the Magic. Give me a break. If you’re a Magic fan like I am, you know that it would be impossible for them to have done so. The world now knows how good this Magic team is and how much better this match-up is between them and the Lakers is compared to the Cavs.
(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs (4) Orlando Magic
Let’s break this Final series down. In the regular season, the Magic beat the Lakers 2-0, 1 at home and 1 on the road. Does that record matter in the Finals? Unlike the Cavs series where the Magic had a better head-to-head record that also mattered this post-season, this one against the Lakers does not. In both games, Jameer Nelson scored a total of 55 points and burned the Lakers. He’s gone now and Rafer Alston isn’t going to be even close. Next, Trevor Ariza was an afterthought back then but now he’s a certified starter and is the X-factor for the Lakers winning the series altogether.
And with those two changes, it made the regular season record irrelevant. The Lakers became a much better team. They got stronger in defense with Ariza starting and he has also shown a ton of potential on the offensive end. Goodbye Vladimir Radmanovic. The Magic, on the other hand, lost a lot of scoring in the point but had Courtney Lee grow up right before our eyes and more importantly have Pietrus emerge as their X-factor in both ends also. So who DOES have the better team? Let’s break it down.
Next: Lakers vs Magic Player Match-ups
May 20
Prison Break has always found a way to survive from one season to the next (except for the 1st one) going circles around practically the same problems over and over again. You’d think that it’s the end but it actually isn’t. But this time, it’s for real, and this series has breathed its last gasp, but it surprisingly ended in a pretty good way. The season finale for Season 4 is also the curtain closer for the very successful hit TV series. The last push for Michael Scofield and his team to retrieve Scylla is finally coming to an end. I won’t put any spoilers up but a lot of people will be surprised how the story ended.
As a fan who loved this show from the start, I am surprised how they were able to end it as well as they did, but was a little disappointed at how abrupt some of the things happened for Scofield’s team. It’s like they rushed it for a happy (or sad) ending. That probably didn’t make any sense to those who haven’t watched the last 2 episodes but once you do, you’ll totally get what I mean. Nonetheless, cheers to the end of a pretty decent series, at least the last episode was worth watching. The free download for the FINAL 2 episodes can be found below in HDTV and 720p options.
Download Links:
Prison Break Season 4 Episode 21 HDTV (350MB)
Prison Break Season 4 Episode 21 720p (1.12GB)
Prison Break Season 4 Episode 22 HDTV (349MB)
Prison Break Season 4 Episode 22 720p (1.12GB)
May 20
Star Trek’s latest success in the big screen did not only rely on great directing and casting but on the soundtrack as well. And again, JJ Abrams has collaborated with his long time partner Michael Giacchino who has his own personal attachment to the film as he was a big fan of the series and the original music. You’d think a score like this would be done pretty simply since it is Star Trek but they utilized a 107-piece orchestra and a 40-person choir! Imagine that.
The partnership between the two isn’t new as it has spanned through the music in Lost, the Fringe, and Mission Impossible III. Now with this latest score breathing new life into a cult classic that looks unbelievably fresh and new, a sequel would inevitably follow. But the OST is definitely more dramatic but still very loyal to the original sound it started with. You can download the entire OST below either from NewTorrents or Hotfile. Have a good one!
Tracks:
1. Star Trek – 1:03
2. Nailin the Kelvin – 2:09
3. Labor of Love – 2:51
4. Hella Bar Talk – 1:55
5. Enterprising Young Men – 2:39
6. Nero Sighted – 3:23
7. Nice to Meld You – 3:13
8. Run and Shoot Offense – 2:04
9. Does it Still McFly? – 2:03
10. Nero Death Experience – 5:38
11. Nero Fiddles, Narada Burns – 2:34
12. Back From Black – 0:59
13. That New Cat Smell – 4:46
14. To Boldly Go – 0:26
15. End Credits – 9:11
Artist: Michael Giacchino, Tim Simonec
Title: Star Trek OST
Time: 00:45:26
Size: 61.78MB
Website: Star Trek Soundtracks
Torrent: New Torrents , Hotfile
May 18
The stage is finally set for the 2009 NBA Playoffs and it’s going to be a great match-up for the Conference Finals! The top seeds were both expected to move on and they did, while my darkhorse picks for both East and West moved forward too. The West saw the Lakers needing 7 games to down the Rockets who were without Yao for the last 3 games and will face the peaking Nuggets led by the very reliable Chauncey Billups. Denver proved to be too much for the Mavs on both offense and defense as they were very dominant in closing out that series.
On the Eastern front, Lebron James was unstoppable again and his Cavs swept the Hawks and made them look terrible every game. While the Magic finally snapped the Game 7 leprechaun magic that hounded all teams spanning from last year with a blowout win at Boston today setting up a great match-up against the Cavs!
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (3) Orlando Magic
The leprechauns are finally gone and their Game 7 streak of wins (32-0 all-time) is OVER. Sure, KG was out, but that’s how it is in the playoffs! They just didn’t have enough bigs to cover Dwight Howard as the Magic proved that having the defensive player of the year anchor your D beside unbelievably accurate shooters on the wings would be a daunting task to overcome. And the Celtics found that out an hour ago.
The Cavs… what CAN you say about them? Lebron is un-guardable and has made it his mission to get to the Finals and win it all this year. It seems like they can do it, but they need to run through 2 more very tough teams and the Magic will be their first real test. Forget about the Pistons and Hawks as those teams stood no chance against them. Lebron is 1-2 this season against Dwight’s Magic and this series will be quite entertaining as it pits the unstoppable force against the immovable object!
This is going to be a great series but I reckon the advantage is to the Magic. The only reason I’m re-thinking it is because the Cavs are so dominant at home all season and don’t look to back down on that record anytime soon especially in the playoffs. But the Magic are proving to be legit this season and really don’t care where they play as evidenced by their Game 7 thrashing of the Celtics on the road today. The key for the Magic to win is how well Rashard and Hedo play because Dwight is a constant and no one from the Cavs side can actually guard those 2 shooters. And when Turkoglu plays as well as he did today, good things will happen for the Magic as it opens up everything for them. I don’t see how Dwight gets in foul trouble against Z or Varejao as they aren’t really scorers and that gives him more room to play help D, unless Lebron finds a way to bait him. And boy are the Magic TOUGH down low and can play great D outside too.
The keys to the Cavs winning this series are two-fold. Lebron has to play consistenly well but distribute the ball enough to get his teammates confidence up. In the 3 games they played against the Magic this season, only Lebron has shown any sort of will to win while his team has played terrible except for Mo in 2 of the 3 games. They need Z and Delonte to step it up otherwise they will have a very difficult time facing this hyped up Magic squad. I’m going with the darkhorse for this series but it will be very interesting to see how the first game goes. Can’t wait! Magic by an inch in Game 7!
PICK: Magic in 7.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs (2) Denver Nuggets
The Lakers finally got past the pesky Rockets today with a Game 7 win at home, as it should be, but were pretty disappointing in this series. Even without Yao, Houston was still able to pull off 2 wins to bring it to a decider. In any case, what matters is that the Lakers got there and will be tested by a very versatile Nuggets team.
I love the Nuggets this season but like them even more in the playoffs as everything has come full circle at the right time. JR Smith is finally growing up and George Karl finally has confidence in him. Chris Andersen has been special and is having the best year of his career. Both are vital playing off the bench to spell the starters and they lose NOTHING when they come in and that’s a rarity these days on any elite team. You add their new skipper in Chauncey Billups to the mix and you have got a complete team that can actually win it all this season. The Lakers are going to have a very difficult time playing these Nuggets even if they are up 3-1 this season against them as that team in the regular season is light years away from the one it is now. You have 2 bigs in the middle in K-Mart and Nene, with Birdman off the bench, then Melo who has been scoring at will in these playoffs and Smith off the bench will for sure give the Lakers headaches each and every single game.
Kobe’s crew finally did their homework and destroyed the Rockets in Game 7. There is a lot to fix though as the series showed a lot of weak parts in the Lakers game. Bynum definitely needs to play well against the Nuggets otherwise Pau is going to have his hands full with all the banging he’s going to get from the big men of Denver. The key to the Lakers winning this series is how well Odom and Ariza play and how well their team plays D against this offensive juggernaut. I’m sure Kobe relishes this match-up against Melo and I see Kobe having a better advantage but they will probably cancel each other out. So it’s going to be how the other guys play but the Lakers won’t win this series if Bynum plays nonchalantly and if Odom doesn’t aggressively push the ball.
Let’s see how Kobe and Ariza play D against Melo and company but for sure it’s going to be another great series to watch! And as much as I love the Nuggets, I think Kobe has one up over Melo after playing together in that Olympic team and he may just have enough to keep the Lakers afloat to the Finals. I won’t be surprised if the Nuggets pull an upset in Game 7 though!
PICK: Lakers in 7.
May 16
 The much-anticipated sequel to Da Vinci Code was finally shown yesterday and it was pretty darn good . Considering the fact that many of the fans and readers of Dan Brown’s two books were utterly disappointed by the Da Vinci Code, this one was going to try and live up to all the hype surrounding it. And in my opinion, the movie showed a different side of the Church and drew the line between science and religion pretty well. I really enjoyed the movie and was still trying to figure out who the traitor was until the end!
The story begins with the death of the Pope and also showed in parallel the Hadron Collider and how scientists were able to successfully put anti-matter in a container. But those same scientists were murdered, except for one, and the anti-matter stolen by an unknown entity. Robert Langdon, who was never able to finish his second book because the Church rejected his petition to enter the most secretive vault in the world. He is sought after to help in the investigation of what officials have discovered as the probable resurgence of the Church’s oldest and biggest threat, the Illuminati.
What follows is a non-stop ride of twists and turns and a hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs and deserted cathedrals. The movie is truly riveting and keeps you at the edge of your seat. When it was discovered that the Pope was murdered, it turned the entire Vatican upside down and led to a battle of wills within the Church. Everyone now knows there is a traitor within and that the Illuminati has managed to secretly infiltrate the Vatican. The problem was they had no idea who it was.
There was also the problem with the Illuminati bomb which was hidden where no one except Robert Langdon could find but only if he could figure out the clues in time. Each hour 1 of the 4 kidnapped cardinals, who are the would-be successors of the Pope, would be executed in line with the four elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, until midnight when the Illuminati bomb destroys the entire fabric of the Catholic Church’s existence. And the race for time begins for Robert Langdon.
It wasn’t an all-star cast but it definitely got the job done and I loved it. Tom Hanks played Robert Langdon unbelievably well while Ewan McGregor played his role as the Camerlengo to a tee. The other stars like Stellan Skarsgard who played Commander Richter and Armin Mueller-Stahl who played Cardinal Strauss were also very very good. I’m unsure as to why this was given terrible ratings by both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, but you have got to go see Angels & Demons as it definitely is not as bad as the critics say. I’d say it’s one of the best movies so far this year. Below is also a special on the movie for download and it’s around 175MB.
Personal Rating (out of 10): 8.9/10
IMDb User Rating (out of 10): 7.1/10
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Duration: 138 minutes
Links: Official Site, IMDB
Feature: Angels & Demons Special
May 12
 WOW. Talk about Donald Trump making terrible decisions this season, his latest one definitely takes the cake. In what was called a battle between good and evil, yet again, just like the finale last season, between a cowboy (Trace Adkins) and the devil (Piers Morgan), this time it was going to be a battle between Hitler (Annie Duke) and whatever you want to call Joan Rivers. And sadly, the more undeserving won and became the 2nd Celebrity Apprentice.
I have been a big fan of this show for a long time, but this season was quite sub-par, with the exception of the 2 episodes mentioned in the previous blog entry. The decisions made in the boardroom were quite bad and without basis sometimes (firing Chloe, keeping Clint) and it’s really quite disappointing. And that last one, when Trump decided to declare Joan Rivers as the winner, was not only a shocker to me, but also quite unfair, especially to Annie Duke.
I think it can be agreed that Annie Duke played the game unbelievably well. She outclassed every single person there was and it wasn’t even a contest. She was right when she said she brought in the most money for charity, which was really the true concept of making it a Celebrity Edition. She also rose up to all the challenges she was faced with especially that last one where she and Brandie totally killed Clint Black and Joan’s team in their own forte. And definitely, she worked the hardest and was the most consistent every single episode. Sure, she was bossy, and irritating at times, but she got the job done, just like Piers did last year. What was the difference? Well, apparently Donald Trump likes Joan Rivers more, and that’s about all there is to it.
Why doesn’t Joan Rivers deserve to win? First, because she took things too personally and started attacking Annie Duke in so many vile despicable ways it’s hard to even imagine how she got to the end. Second, because she’s a sore loser, just like her daughter who went berserk when she got fired. And lastly, because she was completely outworked and outwitted by a very gritty Annie Duke. So why did she win? Because Donald Trump liked her, and since she was 70+ years old, her effort should earn her the title. I didn’t know there was such a category in winning this contest, but apparently there is. Well, sure she won 3 out of the 5 challenges in the last task. But note that Annie Duke brought in $460k to Rivers’ $150k too, like it’s a SMALL difference. Again, it is SO inconsistent of Donald Trump, as he declared Piers as the winner last year because of what he did throughout the duration of the season, not just on ONE task, irregardless of whether it was a tie last year, which it was also clearly not. They just totally missed it this year. Tsk.
If you ask me, the decision is preposterous and is an insult to how hard Annie Duke worked all season. There is no question who the Celebrity Apprentice for Season 8 is, and it definitely isn’t anyone with Rivers as a last name. You can download the sad ending to this season below, he he. Enjoy to all the Joan/Melissa Rivers fans… booo from all the Annie Duke fans!
Download Links:
The Apprentice Season 8 Finale Part 1 (700MB)
The Apprentice Season 8 Finale Part 2 (550MB)
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