Does Anyone Watch The Simpsons Anymore?

After 23 seasons, the multi-billion dollar series that is The Simpsons is facing cancellation after the talent and 20th Century Fox have yet to agree on a contract settlement. The new contract, would require the voice actors to receive a 45% pay cut from their current $500K/episode-- talk about roughing it.

As we near the potential end of an era, the question I pose to you is-- does anybody care?

For years, The Simpsons has dominated the Sunday night Prime-Time slot on Fox and I have always wondered why. Call me bias, but I've really never been a fan of the show. Sure, I watched the occasional episode back in the day because it was the only "somewhat" vulgar cartoon on television, but that all ended when South Park and Family Guy hit the scene.

In attempt to remove all prior dispositions of the show, I tuned into Fox to watch the new Halloween Episode last night and, as expected, I found myself disappointed. Although the episode did prove to be more relevant than I had anticipated -- making references to Dexter & I'll give them Avatar even though that craze is well past its prime --  it portrayed relatively the same slap-happy humor I'd seen ten years ago and struggled to get a chuckle out of me.

Audiences today require a greater level of entertainment than the typical "D'OH!" jokes that have forever immortalized The Simpsons. The trend in comedy has definitely shifted toward the dry, educated approach, a style of which appears to be out of The Simpsons scope.

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Putting my personal opinion of The Simpsons aside for a moment, you cannot help but have a degree of respect for a show that has reigned on Prime-Time TV for longer than many of us have been alive. The characters are among the most recognized in television history and the show has acquired a fan base that is second-to-none. With that said, The Simpsons is undeniably past its prime and is beginning to seem like the veteran employee that everyone just wishes would retire. For this reason, I would like to direct my Final Fraze at the Board of Executives over at 20th Century Fox:
Show your most successful franchise some respect, pay the actors, give the fans one more season and pull the plug. #DoItRight

What do you guys think:
Is it time to pull the plug on the Simpsons? Or, more importantly, does anyone really care?

The Roots - "Make My"- feat. Big K.R.I.T.

New track by The Roots -- "Make My"- feat. Big K.R.I.T. -- (s/o to Lax_Brah for the find)

#QuestLoveSwag

What do you guys think?

The White Mamba Unleashed In Italy: Brian Scalabrine

Brian Scalabrine, a.k.a "The White Mamba," a.k.a "The Ginga Ninja," a.k.a "Michael Rapaport," has been tearing it up overseas.

Before the lockout, the Red-Headed Monster's role with the Chicago Bulls was best served as a fan attraction and for getting Noah a hot pretzel during time-outs. Of course, there was the constant hope that Derrick Rose would completely take over the game, allowing for Scalabrine to get 2-3 minutes of PT at the end of the 4th Quarter-- #FingersCrossed.

Anytime Scalabrine steps foot on the court, the crowd absolutely erupts. You'd think MJ had come back to reenact "The Shot" of the 1989 NBA Finals. But no, it's the 6'9, 235lb lug that is Brian Scalabrine-- gotta love'm.

As the NBA lockout proceeds, many players have sought to pursue their talents overseas.
JR Smith for example, was recently signed by a team in China and guaranteed he would score a triple-double... in every single game. I know the altitude change from Denver to Beijing won't have too much of an effect on your ups, but I still think you're setting the bar a bit high there JR.

Focusing back to the Italian Scallion, since Scalabrine signed his one-year contract with Benetton Treviso back in September, he has been taking over the court like marinara on angel hair. He's currently Benetton's second-leading scorer, racking up 18pts, 3 boards and a steal in his 34 minutes of play against Avellino last weekend. Check out Scalabrine's dominant performance below:

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Scalabrine's effort overseas is a valient one, yet only a further recognition of how superior American basketball is to the rest of the world. It's great to see him succeeding against elite international teams, but I'd much rather have his enthusiasm right back on the Bulls bench where he belongs. Although an entertaining read, this story ultimately ties in to the overlying problem that is the NBA lockout. If the NBPA and the owners cannot decide on a settlement soon, I'm afraid we will be seeing players of a much great caliber traveling overseas and I think we can all agree that we would not want that to happen. #ENDTHELOCKOUT!

Creative Acts of Vandalism

 
While I was indulging in a delicious sub at Cheeba Hut this past weekend, I took notice that the soda fountain had some unusual, yet relatively creative images depicted on the ice and ice tea dispenser's-- rapper's "Ice Cube" and "Ice-T" (as seen above).

Now before we get out of hand here, in no way am I condoning acts of vandalism. But, as long as it happens, I suppose the most creative acts shouldn't go unrecognized. So I searched the web and found a few more creative ways others vandalized perfectly well meaning signs. #Enjoy.

The man.

Probably skipped grade school.

Ha.

Wonder how big the computer is?

This actually makes sense.

Solution.

Props to www.happyplace.com for the bonus signs.

Find any other great signs of your own? Toss them up on the blog or the Facebook page-- I'd love to see them.

Jordan: Love the Game

Check out the new Jordan commercial released October 24, on YouTube. The spot features D-Wade, CP3 and Melo in their travels to continue to play the game they love during the NBA lockout. Really just makes you thirsty for some hoops. #SwaggAir

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END THE LOCKOUT!

Iowa Goes Hard.

So I just returned from a lovely little visit in Iowa City and I confess myself utterly exhausted. My voice is gone, my phone is dinked and I have gyro stains on my jeans in a rather inconvenient place-- great gyro though.

Now we Jayhawks party as hard as any, but in a much different way. We have the ability to go out and get Mass faced on @$$ street Friday night, wake up when we wake up and begin the long hike that is Gameday. We don't care about the game -- unless it's basketball -- and it's almost a given that we will end up at The Wheel by the end of the night.

One thing you will never catch us doing however, is waking up at the crack of dawn to begin tailgating. As we learned this weekend, the loyal students of Iowa wake up at 6 a.m. and begin brushing their teeth with booz-- #Ke$haStatus. After Smirnoff "icing" our poor and innocent friend Gordy 4 times in a 20 minute span, we got in a quick grub sesh' and were at his Fraternity's tailgate by 7:30 a.m.-- FML. We were immediately were handed beers to shotgun, and then again, and then again. We were buzzin' by 9 a.m., feelin' great by 10:30 and were fist pumping so hard by 11 that I may have thrown my shoulder out-- #HahaNoButSeriously.

Then we hit the bars.

You know that point of the night when you come home for the "After Party Fiasco" typically around 2 a.m.? Iowa gets to that point around noon-- Definitely not as is tradition. But, as is tradition, we took over the bar like champions, started a dance circle and found a kid who had one too many to entertain ourselves with.

After the game, the students return to their respective homes to partake in the "Mid-Day Nap Sesh." They sleep from roughly 3:00-9:00 p.m., wake up, quick rinse and then it's back to the bars. Now for those of you who know me personally, you know that I am simply physically incapable of taking a nap-- maybe 4-5 times a year tops. So I grabbed a slice and was fortunate to have a friend to call to keep me company while my friends and the rest of the University hibernated until the evening-- #ShoutOut to Andi Ricciardi.

By this time, my voice was completely gone. Yet, and again for those of you who know me, know that another thing I am incapable of is shutting my mouth, so getting it back for the evening was a lost cause. With that in mind however, why was it that my voice magically disappeared at Iowa? And why was it that all of us were more tired than a typical Gameday in Lawrence? I am going to credit this one to what I like to call "Party Endurance."

Party Endurance  is one's ability to party at high levels for an extended period of time. As college kids, we all have a different tolerance and level of Party Endurance. But as any good physical trainer would tell you, endurance depends on the way you train.

Let's say, for example, that you are power-lifter. You can lift incredible amounts of weight and are a brute force when it comes to physical strength. One day, you decide you have too much bulk and want to incorporate some cardio into your routine. The next morning, you wake up early and go on a 6-mile run. Because you are inexperienced in cardiovascular training and your body is not used to this type of exercise, the next day you are an absolute wreck. Your legs feel like jelly, your @$$ hurts and you literally do not have the strength to get yourself off the couch. That too can be applied to partying. Think about anytime you or a friend has visited a school, the visitor is almost always either (a) the most inebrieated person at the bar or (b) KO'd the next day.

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Although Iowa undeniably goes HARD, I have to give a lot of the credit on this one to the "Party Endurance" X-factor. Forget football games, we Jayhawks are not made to get up at 6 a.m. at anytime of the week. We do however have the ability to wake up around 10 a.m. and truck until 2 in the morning. With that said, I challenge all of you Hawkeyes out there to take a trip down to the Dirty Bird of Lawrence and we'll see how you hold up without a "mid-day nap-time." All and all, I had an absolute blast this weekend so I want to send a special thanks to all of my friends at Iowa for showing us an unreal time and I hope you'll take me up on my challenge in the near future. #MadRespect, -bfw

P.S. If anyone finds my voice, please send it to the following Address:

Brian Frazier Wright
Unit C. 1001 Mississippi
Lawrence, KS
66044

Hip Hop Matters

Check out our boy Matt Easton's new track: "Hip Hop Matters" (Ft. Brian Lockwood). The kid just dropped the track last night off his new mixtape The Rhetorical Tradition. Hook it up with some clicks! #Enjoy

You can download this song at: www.highlife1138.com

What do you think about the track? Post your opinions.

Shows I Wish Were On HBO P2

If you recall my previous post in which I stated  I "might" watch Pan-Am if it were on HBO, well I've decided to push further on that topic and list two other shows that I think would just absolutely rock if they were aired on HBO. So here goes:

1. Blue Mountain State

Throw Friday Night Lights and Greek in a blender and toss in an endless supply of drop-dead gorgeous co-eds to top it off and you've got the alcoholic protein shake that is Blue Mountain State. BMS stars a sarcastic and unmotivated QB, his mascot best friend and a loud, obnoxious Linebacker who defines the meaning of a "bro." The show outlines the college life of drunken nights, slayin' slimmies and some good old fashioned American Football. Unlike the last season of Entourage, if BMS were on HBO, you would see that nice 'N" for Nudity in the content warning before every show.

2. Franklin and Bash

I know what you're thinking- the show with all those annoying commercials last Spring, really? To be honest, I was wearing the same shoes. I hated on Franklin and Bash as much as any before it made its debut this summer. But, as I felt it only fair that I give the show a chance, I am happy to admit that I was dead wrong. F&B stars Zach Morris and the dude from Road Trip as two young lawyers working their way up in the legal world. After a long day of politics, the two friends return to their California beach club home where it seems like there is a hot tub full of women waiting for them every night-- but hey, could you expect anything less from Zach Morris? To the outside eye, the show comes off as a bit phony, but I can assure you that the comedy is great and it applies directly to our demographic.

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Now after reading this post, it might come off as if the only reason I wish these shows could be on HBO would be for the nudity and the mature content that cable television simply cannot offer-- #yep.

What do you guys think? What other shows would be better served on HBO?
Post you comments below and let me know!

Marvel's The Avengers [OFFICIAL TRAILER]

After what seemed like years of waiting for all of the set up movies to be released and sitting through all of the credits to watch a 10 second clip of a "hint' for the next movie, Marvel's The Avengers official trailer has finally been released.

If you go through the track of the heroes, to be honest, I think the individual movies came up a bit short. With the exception of Iron Man, which was led to success by Robert Downey Junior, all of the movies just seemed a bit corny. Captain America was overrated, I skipped out on Thor and Ed Norton did what he could with a poorly written The Incredible Hulk.

Just by watching the trailer, it is clear that RDJ will be the ringleader of the cast. He absolutely dominates the screen and his wit is unmatched by any actor today. Samuel L. Jackson will finally get his screen time, rather than the 2 minute cameos he received in each of the other movies, so it will be fun to watch him run around and scream at things-- #AsIsTradition. And we can't forget about the ever-so-sexy Scarlett Jo, who's curves make Fergie's humps look like plains. Scarlett Jo will be continuing her roll as the @$$-kicking, tight-leather wearing Black Widow-- should be fun to watch her... act?

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Scarlett Jo's everything aside, The Avengers has all the tools to be a pretty good flick. A rockstar in RDJ and a relatively solid supporting cast to go around him should be able to elevate the movie above the C+ to B- rate of which the others floated around. Let's just hope Director Joss Whedon has the tools to bring this Marvel-Masterpiece to life on the big screen.

The Avengers is set to be released May 4, 2012. #GetchaPopcornReady

Guess He Was Right.

Julius Campbell would have had a field day. #damn

Battle Of The Blowouts

Today is a big day in the world of college football. Michigan travels into East Lansing to take on the highly efficient Michigan State Defense, Wisconsin is hosting the Indiana Hoosiers and, of course, Oklahoma will be cleaning it's cleats with our beloved Jayhawks.

With the exception of the rivalry game up in Michigan, Oklahoma and Wisconsin should pretty much roll through their opponents today. Wisconsin has literally destroyed every team in its path since the start of the season and has an offensive line that is bigger in size than any professional team-- no joke. Oklahoma on the other hand has Heisman Trophy candidate Landry Jones and a swarm of sharks on Defense.

On the other side of the ball we have the vicious Hoosi--- I'll just stop there. And then there's the good ole' Jayhawks. Now before you write them off, Kansas has the number 1 most points allowed in the NCAA the season. So in the battle of the blowouts, they have as good a chance as any to have 100 points put up against them-- #Winning.

As the games kick off, my question to you is: Which game will be the biggest blowout?
Oklahoma v. Kansas [or] Wisconsin v. Indiana

Post your opinion below and let the debate begin. Happy Gameday!

Chael Sonnen, STFU.

Before I start, let me first ask: Do you know who Chael Sonnen is? No? How about Anderson Silva? The second name probably rings a louder bell.

Let’s do a quick run-through of the first guy:

Chael Sonnen is the MMA fighter who beat the lights out of Brian Stann at UFC 136. Chael Sonnen is also credited to have the biggest mouth in UFC history. Finally, Chael Sonnen is the guy who told current Middle-Weight Champion, Anderson Silva, that “He Sucks” to his face during a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

But that’s not half of it. Here’s Sonnen’s full comment:

“Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck. Super Bowl weekend … the biggest rematch in the history of the sport. I’m calling you out, Silva, but we’re upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I’ll leave the UFC forever.” 

 Take it easy there Macho Man.

 Think he seems a bit bitter after his loss to Silva at UFC 117? And to be honest, he has a right to be. Despite his loudmouth mentality, Sonnen can actually back it up. In their first meeting, Sonnen absolutely dominated Silva before getting caught in a triangle choke late in the last round. But hey, $h!t happens—just ask Victor Ortiz—#TooSoon?

One thing you have to say about Sonnen is that he is if anything, a tremendous promoter. Toss an afro on his head and hand him a cigar and you'd have the white Don King of the UFC. I know that I will 100% be tuning in for that fight. With that said, I will also 100% be rooting for Anderson Silva to cut off his air supply for a second and final time.

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There is no denying that Sonnen’s rant will do wonders for this fight. And I’m sure that Dana White is literally kissing his feet right now for all the revenue Sonnen will generate. With that said, as I have grown up in a life surrounded by the martial arts, if there is one thing any good sensai or coach preaches, it is to respect your opponents—I guess Sonnen missed that lecture. It's great to be confident and a little trash talk never does any harm, but Chael, dude, who do you think you are—Vince McMahon? This is not the WWE “brotherrrr,” if it were, you surely would have gotten you’re @$$ DDT'ed threw a table by now, but who knows, at this rate, maybe you will. #FingersCrossed

What do you guys think, Will Chael Sonnen get his revenge on Anderson Silva or will he lose and be gone from the UFC forever?

Step up to the scale and weigh in the on topic below:

There's Something About Tebow

It’s official. The Tim Tebow era has begun in Denver. As we close in on his first official start of the 2011-12 season, I can’t help but wonder what it is about this guy that we have all come to love or hate.

Before Tim Tebow had played a down for the Broncos, his jersey was among the most purchased in the NFL. I’ll even personally admit that at times I secretly wished he would just rip off his current blue and orange uniform to reveal that he would be returning to his blue and orange of old for one final season. But that era is over. Now, Tim Tebow has the opportunity to win over the hearts of the sports-world as a Denver Bronco, and I for one, am rooting for him.

John Fox’s decision to start Tebow might seem odd to some, as he had previously listed the quarterback at the third and even fourth spot on the depth chart, yet as the 1-4 Broncos were down a typical 13 points at half, behind a 6-for-13 Kyle Orton, the switch was made and the Pony’s from Denver galloped onto the field led by a Gator from Florida to start the second half—sucks to be Brady Quinn—#AtLeastYourGirlfriendsHot.

As is tradition, number 15 created a spark in the Bronco offense. It took him a couple of downs to channel his inner Tebow, but once he found it, he took over the game as if he were right back in Gainesville with Urban Meyer.

After charging the end-zone for a rushing touchdown, Tebow continued to rally his troops when he threw a screen pass to Knowshon Moreno –who had literally been a “Know-Show” until then – for a 28 yard score, which, if not for Brandon Lloyd dropping the two-point conversion, would have brought the Broncos within a Field Goal of tying the game. Lloyd later redeemed himself however, after hauling in an acrobatic, one-handed snag on the sideline, setting up a nearly completed Hail Mary pass to end the game. Of course, the Chargers did not scheme to be playing against Tebow, so it will be interesting to see what he can do when teams get a book on him.

There’s no denying that Tebow is an unconventional Quarterback, his fundamentals are nonexistent and he just looks out of place standing in the pocket. Take the last play of the game for example: The Chargers D spun Timmy T around like a dog chasing its tale, forcing him to roll out the wrong way, juke out half the defensive line and avoid a sack, all before hauling up a Hail Mary pass that was nearly completed—which was a questionable Pass Interference, but no official is going to call that.

If you were to walk by Mile High Stadium at end of the game, you would have thought the Broncos had pulled off a miraculous victory. And in a way they had. Even in a defeat, the crowd boomed as the stadium radiated with cheers for Tebow so loud you would have believed you were outside The Swamp.

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To most, the final play looked like an absolute train-wreck. To me, it was vintage Tim Tebow. When in his career at Florida or during his short tenure with the Broncos has he ever done anything pretty? Let’s be clear, not now, nor will Tim Tebow ever be a Tom Brady esque quarterback—to mention Tom Brady’s name in this content alone would be an absolute fallacy. It would appear that even Tebow's head coach, John Fox, does not believe in him, as he made his half-hearted announcement that Tebow would be the starter earlier this week. Yet, even though his arm drops to his ankles on his release and he will undoubtedly make plays that make will make you smack your head, one thing Tim Tebow knows how to do is inspire. If he could rally his dead horse Broncos to almost a remarkable comeback win against a powerhouse Charger team with just two Quarters, I can’t wait to see what he can do with four. Whether you’re a believer or not, the clock has finally started ticking, and, on October 23, Tebow Time will finally strike.


What do you guys think: Will Tim Tebow be successful as a starter in the NFL?
Post your comments below.

Cactuses That Look Like Other Things

So rather than designating my time wisely during my trip in the beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona, I decided to set out on a journey to search for the most interesting shaped Cacti I could find. So mainly, different depictions of the male genitalia. #Enjoy.

Smiley Face Cactus (actually found it like that)

"Oh Face" Cactus

Cactimus Prime

Does anyone else see Reagan?

How about now?

Morning Glory

Danny Woodhead

The Shaqtus

AUTO-PILOT

Opening Fraze will be put on Auto-Pilot until I return from vacation in Arizona. Be on the lookout for new posts starting Wednesday, October 12. Thanks to everyone for reading, trying my best to Keep it Kurrent and always Keepin' it Fresh. #BeGood, -bfw

What the Hell is a Zombie Walk?

I was halfway through writing a post to explain that the Fraze will be put on autopilot until I return from Arizona on the 12^th, when my roommate walks in and tells to me that the Lawrence “Zombie Walk” was to take place tonight on Mass Street. After a couple WTF’s and literally LMFAO, I went straight to YouTube to find out what we were actually dealing with here. This is what I found:

 That’s right. People actually dress up like zombies and slow-walk down the street. How I made it to senior year and have never heard about this is beyond me, all I know is you’re going to have one frustrated blogger if I’m trying to get my grub on at Chipotle and a crowd of zombie’s are standing in my way.
 

Now I don’t want to hate on an annual event that I’m sure the Lawrence Locals get up for, but dressing up like a zombie and harassing the day-walkers is just not my cup of tea—call me crazy. Sure I might stop by to check it out, maybe bring a paintball gun to pick zombie’s off like Woody Harrelson in “Zombieland,” but that can only keep one entertained for so long.

What’s the deal with this whole zombie breakout anyways? First it was vampires, then werewolves and now this? What the h-e-double hockey sticks is wrong with our demographic? Since when did we decide that getting bit by a half-dead guy wearing SPF 3000 was sexy?—#GettaTan. Personally, I think it’s about time someone throw’s Rob Pattinson in the sun so we can all move on from this nonsense, but hey, that’s just one guys opinion.

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From what I understand, the Zombie Walk is a Lawrence tradition. If you watched the video, you’d see that parents even turn their children into little blood-suckers for the evening, so, at the end of the day, I guess you can classify this one as an excuse for college kids to get a little silly and for the locals to have some good old-fashioned family fun—and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I Don't Have ADD, You're Just Boring Me.

Okay, maybe I’m not the best one to be writing this specific post, as anyone who knows me knows that I get a little silly off the pills—but hey, that’s what they’re for, right?

Before I lose my train of thought, let’s get back to the purpose of this post.

As college students, our job is to go to class, create relationships and to learn the important things that will transfer into our professional careers. All of these roles are important, yet for right now, my focal point will be on the learning aspect.

If you were to speak to any upper-classman or alum, what would be the one bit of advice they would leave you with as to how to be successful in college? To do your homework? —Sure. To meet with your professors? —Why not. To study hard? —Maybe the night before a test.

The main thing we hear is to go to class.

Class is where all the material is provided and where the professors hopefully teach us enough about the readings so we do not have to skim through the text before an exam. But unfortunately, that is not always the case. Sometimes professors are not enthusiastic or often do not have as good of a hold on the English language as you would prefer, making an hour-and-a-half class seem like it’s a week—I’ve got 3 of them this semester.

So what do we do? Either stop going or just sit there on Facebook, twitter or attempt to make Fantasy Football trades with the one kid in the league that isn’t all there—every league has one.  With that said, are we entirely blame for this? I don’t think so.

Every year, parents shell-out ridiculous amounts of cash to ensure their kids receive a good college education, but how can they expect us to learn if a) the professor is out-dated and takes 30 minutes to take attendance or b) we can’t understand a word s/he is saying?

Here’s an example for you—what is the translation of this word: “orso”

If you guessed: “also” then you would be one of the 100 confused students in an undisclosed class of mine.

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My point here is not to complain about poor professors because there are so many terrific ones whom have undoubtedly made an impact on our lives. My point is however to alleviate some of the blame from the student. Although at the end of the day it is on us to mold our own futures, it doesn’t hurt having a good professor around to give us the proper tools to sculpt them.

The NBA Lockout: In A Perfect World

Today marks the 96th day of the NBA lockout. A day that will probably end in the same position that it began-- with little progress towards an agreement between the owners and the NBPA. As the calendar continuers to flip and players begin signing contracts overseas, we are beginning to see an answer to the question of whether or not we will see professional basketball this year.

With this continued disagreement from both sides, I have decided to take a page out of Mike Greenberg's book, and, just as he paints his picture of a perfect world if he were the MLB Commissioner, I too will paint my perfect world for how to deal with the NBA lockout. So here goes:

In a perfect world, the NBA would allow teams to lend the newly drafted rookies to their respective universities for one more season.

Now, I know what you're thinking: you're crazy, it would never work and the only reason you're proposing this is so the Morris Twins and Josh Selby could return to Kansas-- and my only response to that would be you're absolutely right. But seeing that you've read into it this far already, bare with me for a second.

Allowing the newly drafted rookies to return to their previous universities would prove to be beneficial for a number of reasons. First, players who had forgone their senior year would have the opportunity to receive a college degree-- not that many of them would use them, but some may. Second, the rookies would have the opportunity to continue to advance their fundamental skills at a competitive level, rather than traveling around in what are basically just pick-up leagues. Next, because of the lockout, many of these rookies have yet to receive that big paycheck and are currently facing financial issues and allowing them to return to school would eliminate these issues.

Now for a plan as outrageous as such to work -- and it never would due to contract issues, pay for play, NCAA rules, scholarships, sponsorships, Halloween costumes and for whatever other reason you can think of -- there would need to be an endless/strict set of guidelines. So here's a few:

-NBA teams would lend the newly drafted rookies to their respectable universities for the duration of the lockout, or until they have run out of college eligibility.

-If the lockout were to end mid-NCAA season, players would be required to finish the season with their school, before reporting back to their NBA team.

-Rookies would not be on scholarship, moreover on a contracted loan from their drafted teams of which would cover the fees of living/tuition-- think of it like a non-paid internship.

-Other than the fees that would typically be covered by a scholarship, Rookies would not receive any additional benefits from their NBA teams/sponsors, as they would be required to abide by all NCAA rules and regulations.

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This plan would create absolute haywire. There's no way around it. Even if it were a conceivable solution to the rookie situation in the lockout, there would need to be an overwhelming list of rules and more litigation than owner, school or player would be willing to sign up for. Then again, in a perfect world, maybe they would. #DareToDream

I'd Watch Pan Am If It Were On HBO... maybe.

ABC's new hit show Pan Am has all the intrigue and scandal of Frank Abignale's life in the sky, portrayed by Leo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can. Yet, rather than strictly following the celebrity life of which Pan Am pilots surely lived in 1963, this show brings focus on the star-struck life of the young, beautiful women who were lucky enough to call themselves Pan Am flight-attendants.

Now as I have not actually watched the show, I cannot provide you with a review. But let's just take a quick look at the background.

In 1963, the opportunity for a young women to become a Pan Am flight-attendant was second to none. They were all beautiful, classy, sophisticated and beautiful-- did I mention beautiful? With that said, these women would only be groupies when compared to the Rock-star lifestyle of which the Pan Am pilots lived. Men wanted to be them and women wanted to be with them, so you can forget Austin Powers, Pan Am pilots were your true "International Men of Mystery."

So, considering the stellar background, why am I still hesitant to pack a carry-on and hop aboard the Pan Am bandwagon? Well, it's simple: Cable TV.

Airing Pan Am on cable TV limits its ability to provide the audience -- more so male, than female -- with the small, yet necessary qualities to make it a more appealing show. These people lived a life of luxury, glamor and romance, to say the least, and that is the life that I would like to see-- uncensored.

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Call me a typical guy, but hey, if one of those drop-dead flight attendants is receiving her initiation into the "mile-high club," I want to see it! Don't just give us a sneak peak and fade to commercial. That's like leaving the divide open just long enough for coach passengers to watch as those sitting first-class are served cookies, only to slam it shut before anyone takes a bite-- #ThatAintRight. But it's more than just the absence of nudity, with proper writing and different targeting, this show could have had entourage potential [tell me that Pilot in the picture above doesn't have Vinny Chase swag]. Instead, Pan Am appears to have taken off in the Sex In the City direction, and that is a flight that I simply cannot board.