No Kobe Points

Rickety Rocket was my favorite cartoon
After marriage the honeymoon
I'll be damn gag me with a spoon
Who loves Popeye? Alice the goon...

COLORADO SPORTS:
The Nuggets put together two of their grittiest victories of the season the last two nights. Wednesday they overcame a near quarter of no field goals to beat a very solid OKC team on the road, and tonight they let a big lead slip away to the Kobe-less Lakers before d'ing up late to pick up another 'W'. Anytime you win back-to-backs in the NBA (especially versus the caliber of teams they beat) it is a tremendous feat. (Props to JR Smith for becoming the Nugs' alltime 3pt leader, breaking the mark set by Michael Adams. Old schoolers fondly remember Michael Adams, his disgusting looking shot put jumper, his near single handily beating the Celtics in the Garden in 88. He arguably was the NBAs best small player of the late 1980s.) But the last two nights also provided two of the funniest moments of the year: Ron Artest getting rejected by the rim at the Pepsi Center. I'd like to see the iron credited with a block in the box score. Wednesday saw Carmelo sprawled prone on the floor while play went on like Wil E Coyote falling off a cliff or like he was trying to make Oklahoma snow men.

HIP HOP:
Every year a melodic, introspective, way under-the-radar Hip Hop release catches my ear, and in the first part of '10 that is Luke's The Dopeness. Inspired in part by the movie The Wackness, (a must see for any Hip Hopper who came up in the early 90s; the audio snippets from the film are some of the best) Luke weaves a tale of trying to figure out young adulthood. For us beyond that age, it is a great grounding tale of yesteryear. And for those still living in that age or still trying to figure it out, it speaks loudly. Beats are smooth, nothing hardcore, with some catchy hooks and nice lyrics abound. CHECK IT.

BEER:
AC Golden Brewing, part of Coors but not really part of Coors, has released their new micro selection Colorado Native Lager. I had a chance to sample a couple bottles (got the last sixer at the store, perhaps the "natives were restless?" Heh? Heh? No? Sorry.) The taste is crisp, a decent beer, definitely a hoppy taste. The ingredients are 99.8% from the Box State, with only Jake Plummer's ball sweat providing the remaining .2%. Intersesting marketing ploy also comes with the beer, as a picture and text message of the bottle and the beer will "talk" to you. Hmm. I've had beers "talk" to me for years now, but only after about 12 or more. Slushy Gutter, indeed.