Top 200 Albums of The Decade (174-200ish)

ALBUMS I BOUGHT BECAUSE I THOUGHT I SHOULD THAT ENDED UP BEING PRETTY GREAT
174. Blitzen Trapper- Furr
A jazz drummer I know told me that one of his measures of great music is "could you play the melodies as jazz?" He said this whole album could be covered by The Bad Plus and would be righteous. I agree.
175. O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack
176. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton- Knives Don’t Have Your Back
177. Band of Horses- Cease To Begin
178. Queens of the stone age- Songs for the Deaf
The drumming! The stoner rock! The song "No One Knows"!
179. Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson- Rattlin' Bones
180. Eels- Souljacker
Fresh Feeling is one of the great songs out there. A rare exception to the "be careful using drum samples as they age crappily..." rule.
181. Wallflowers- Red Letter Deays
182. Ken Stringfellow- Touched/Soft Commands
183. Beta band- Hot Shots II
184. The Killers- Hot Fuss
185. At The Drive-In- Relationship of Command
186. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
187.Counting Crows- Hard Candy
Yeah, no one was saying I should buy this. But it's good and underrated. The background vocals and arrangements feel particularly retro and inspired.
188. Jay Farrar- Sebastopol/Terroir Blues
189.Madeline Peyroux- Careless Love
190. Fionn Regan- The End of History
191. Kanye West- The College Dropout
192. Kings of Leon- Only By The Night
Yes. I tried to resist, but Use Somebody and Sex On Fire? Those are good songs. Seriously.
193. Toronto Raptors

GUILTY PLEASURE OF THE DECADE
194. Taylor Swift
195. Madonna- Music

No, that's not 200 exactly. But with EASILY more than 5 fused albums (Sebastopol/Terroir Blues and Planatlanticism), we hit our mark. And, yes, we missed tons. Oh well. See you in 2020.

Top 200 Albums of The Decade (129-173)

129. Leona Naess- Thirteens
130. Spoon- Kill The Moonlight
131. The Weakerthans- Reconstruction Site
132. Sarah Harmer- All of Our Names
133. Elliott Smith- From A Basement On A Hill
That this is his last statement still really hurts. That it is a beautiful, harrowing, hazy statement helps, though. If you can dig up "Coast to Coast" and the previously unreleased track "Abused," you'll get a real and difficult view of Smith's late mindset.
134. Calexico- Garden Ruin
Some people criticized the band's swerve away from the usual southwestern mariachi rock. I liked it better.
135. Innocence Mission- We Walked In Song
136. Sigur Ros- Takk Takk
137. Red House Painters- Old Ramon
138. Low- Drums & Guns
Was Breaker the best song of the decade? It was certainly up there.
139. Richard Buckner- Dents & Shells
140. Bob Dylan- Modern Times
141. The Hold Steady- Separation Sunday
142. The Hives- Veni Vidi Vicious
143. Over The Rhine- Ohio
144. Hem- Eveningland/Rabbit Songs (another condensing job)
145. Foo Fighters- One By One
146. Neil Finn- One All
147. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Baby 81
148. Feist- Let It Die
149. New Pornographers- Challengers
150. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga…
151. The Cardigans- Super Extra Gravity
152. Freedy Johnston- Right Between The Promises
The previous decade was so amazing for Johnston that this great record somehow felt underwhelming.
153. Tom Waits- Alice
154. Band Of Annuals – Let Me Live
155. Ron Sexsmith- Retriever
156. The National- Alligator
157. Frou Frou- Details
Pre-OC Imogen Heap in a partnership that launched the Heap we know now.
158. Tegan & Sara- So Jealous
I know, I know, I know: it should be higher.
159. Cracker- Greenland
160. Erin McKeown- Grand
161. Grant Lee Phillips- Mobilize
I had tickets to see Grant Lee on this tour on 9/11. Obviously, he got stuck in Canada on a flightless day. But this album always brings back those doubt-ridden days. A lot better than Enrique Iglesias' "Hero" too.
162. Jenny Lewis- Acid Tongue
163. Patty Griffin- Impossible Dream
164. Dixie Chicks- Home/Taking The Long Way
I'd been guiltily listening for awhile, but the doc Shut Up And Sing finally pushed me over the edge.
165. Beck- Guero
166. Elvis Costello- When I Was Cruel
167. Neil Young- Prairie Wind
168. Kings of Leon- Youth & Young Manhood
169. Cat Power- The Greatest
170. Kathleen Edwards- Back To Me
171. Cracker- Forever
172. Kasey Chambers- Barricades & Brickwalls
173. Drive By Truckers- Dirty South/Blessing & A Curse

Top 200 Albums of The Decade (75-128)

53. Ryan Adams- (my own mix of Jacksonville/29/Cold Roses/Easy Tiger/Cardinology/Follow The Lights) again, taking some poetic license and creating greatness from the scattered moments of greatness. And, yes, I am fully aware that this is not in the spirit of "taking a work of art on its own merits." Sue me.

THE STILL TOO SOON TO TELL albums part1

77. Avett Brothers- I and love and you

78. Megafaun- Gather Form & Fly

79. Low Anthem- OMGCD

All three of these hit high notes for me this year, but I'm hesitant to pull a Pitchfork and laud them as the greatest thing since (enter hipster record of note here).

80. White Stripes- White Blood Cells (too low? probably)

81. Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins- Rabbit Fur Coat

82. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah- s/t

didn't age like I hoped it would, but still a great album

83. David Gray- White Ladder

84. Rufus Wainwright- Poses

85. Norah Jones- Come Away With Me

86. Spoon- Gimme Fiction

87. Gillian Welch- Soul Journey

88. Sigur Ros- agaetis bjyrtjsfsdfsdf

89. My Morning Jacket- Z

90. Joe Henry- Civilians

91. Josh Rouse- Nashville

92. Tom Waits- Orphans, Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards

93. M Ward- The Transfiguration Of Vincent

94. Beth Orton- Daybreaker

95. Jason Collett- Here’s To Being Here

I still love this record, but I may have overrated it in 08 for reasons unknown.

96. Ryan Adams- Gold

97. Jayhawks- Smile

98. Jay-Z/Danger Mouse- The Grey Album

Not a ton of more culturally relevant albums out there.

99. Damien Rice- O

100. Badly Drawn Boy- Hour Of The Bewilderbeast/About A Boy (liberties again.)

101. Regina Spektor- Begin To Hope

102. Ben Kweller- On My Way

103. White Stripes- Elephant

104. Travis- The Invisible Band

105. Aimee Mann- The Forgotten Arm

106. Mark Mothersbaugh- Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack

107. Sufjan Stevens- Illinoise

108. Sunfall Festival- Bang Bang Bang

109. Laura Gibson- If You Come To Greet Me

110. Dominic Moore Sings His Heart Out

111. Bob Dylan- Love & Theft

112. Wallflowers- Breach

113. Fleet Foxes- s/t

114. Retribution Gospel Choir- s/t

115. Josh Ritter- Hello, Starling

STILL TOO SOON TO KNOW albums part 2

4 more albums from 2009 that really hit me hard, but, again, I'm taking the safe route and letting time do what it does best: sift the pretenders out.

116. Fanfarlo- Resevoirs

117. David Rawlings Machine- Friend of a Friend

118. Sara Watkins- s/t

119. Sparklehorse- Dark Night of the Soul

120. Camera Obscura- My Maudlin Career

121. Ryan Adams- Love Is Hell pt1/2

122. Tim Easton- Break Your Mother’s Heart

123. Ben Folds- Rockin’ The Suburbs

124. Grant Lee Phillips- Virginia Creeper

125. Delgados- The Great Eastern

126. Ben Kweller- Ben Kweller

127. Shins- Chutes Too Narrow

128. Jayhawks- Rainy Day Music

Charlie T's Best of 09 | Albums

Here are my favorite albums of 2009, ranked in order, 1-10. I wanted to do a box score for every album, but my soul is not strong enough. Look for the Album Box Score to get a much needed re-birth next year. In the meantime, enjoy this list.

1 - AVETT BROTHERS - I And Love And You
This almost didn't make it as the top album until Kanye took me aside and said, "Fanfarlo is good, but the Avett Brothers had one of the best albums of all time." I really think this album has considerable staying power and timeless qualities.

2 - FANFARLO - Reservoir
This album made the hardest charge at the end of the year than any album this year...and that included some very stiff competition. Laura Gibson, The Swell Season, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Lots of great stuff. And like I said above, this album had all the makings of a number one, but I gave the nod to The Avetts.

3 - THAO AND THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN - Know Better Learn Faster
A strong follow up to a spectacular album last year. I still regret missing her shows every time she comes through town. Please consult with my important schedule next time...pls.

4 - DARK WAS THE NIGHT - Various Artists
The Dirty Projectors easily had my favorite song on this all-star compilation. The tune is great and it has lyrics written by David Byrne...in the 70's. Bon Iver had a monster song as well. Lets not forget great tracks by Arcade Fire, The Books, Feist and Ben Gibbard, The National, and My Brightest Diamond. Every time this double disc makes it back onto the player, there is another gem that begins to sparkle. Most recently, Yeasayer.

5 - HARLEM SHAKES - Technicolor Health
I rarely do this, but I bought this album based on the album art alone...and loved it from day one. The band had broken up by the time I heard it for the first time, which is a shame, but sometimes the best career move is death.

6 - MEGAFAUN - Gather, Form, and Fly
Like I mentioned in my live show list, this album would have been nowhere near my ears if it wasn't for seeing them live in Portland. Amazingly enough, the album does a good job of capturing the completeness of the live show.

7 - DIRTY PROJECTORS - Bitte Orca
Just when I think this album and its quirkiness has finally done me in, another part makes its way to the surface and gets me. Most recently, from the song Useful Chamber, the repetitive singing of "Bitte Orca, Orca Bitte" with a killer guitar lick mixed in.

8 - GRIZZLY BEAR - Veckatimest
I was talked into this album by the local record store owners. I really didn't want to get it, but they are so nice. The selling line was, "Its like a creepy Beach Boys album." It took about 5 times through but it finally caught on. I had tried in the past to get into their other stuff, and it failed miserably. I still can't get into Yellow House or Horn of Plenty, but Veckatimest is going to stay with me.

9 - THE SWELL SEASON - Strict Joy
This spot was reserved for Wilco (The Album) until about two weeks ago. The Swell Seasoners have unseated a end of year list staple for me. They managed to make an album almost as good as the Once Soundtrack, but they didn't remake the Once Soundtrack which now gives them a a wide open future. What they did is not easy to do by any means, which is why the landed on this list.

10 - BLACK JOE LEWIS AND THE HONEYBEARS - Tell 'Em What Your Name Is
Maybe what got me into this album was the extended time I spent in New Orleans this year. Maybe it was my deep love for James Brown and the shades of "the hardest working man in show biz" that is found all over this album. Maybe it was both. Either way, they are both great reasons to like such a quality album.

Top 200 Albums of The Decade (41-75)

41. John Prine- Fair & Square
Years and years into a stellar career and maybe his best album?
42. Great Lake Swimmers- Ongiara
43. Postal Service- Give Up… with apologies to Owl City
44. Bright Eyes- I’m Wide Awake, It's Morning
45. Radiohead- Hail To The Thief
46. Travis- The Man Who
47. Rhett Miller- The Instigator
I'm not an Old 97s fan, but this album rules. And Jon Brion only makes it better. Take a listen to Our Love or Terrible Vision and tell me its poptastic goodness doesn't get you.
48. Feist- The Reminder
Let's not forget that, before the Apple spot, this album was supersolid.
49. Ray Lamontagne- Trouble
50. Rachael Yamagata- Happenstance
Trouble and Happenstance will always be connected for me- two of the unofficial albums of my "courtship." Best of Leonard Cohen and A Ghost Is Born are in there too.
51. Nada Surf- Let Go
52. Radiohead- In Rainbows
53. Teddy Thompson- As a giant Teddy Thompson fan, I couldn't pick just one. Having seen him about a dozen times while living in NY (and once, oddly, opening for Elliott Smith in Salt Lake City), I think I've earned the right to mix/match (which you'll see more of, trust me) . Here's to all of Separate Ways/his self titled debut/Upfront & Down Low/Piece of What You Need/I’m Your Man/Brokeback Mountain soundtrack. This is one of those cases of "How Did I Rank This So Low?" The answer is: "impetuousness and low I.Q."
54. Frightened Rabbit- Midnight Organ Flight
55. Death Cab For Cutie- Plansatlanticism
Continuing my artistic license of fusing albums. I loved Transatlanticism when it came out but a) their live show on that tour wasn't exactly impressive and b) Plans has stuck with me and borne more repeat listens over time.
56. Caitlin Cary/Thad Cockrell- Begonias
57. Joe Henry- Scar
58. Felice Brothers- s/t
59. Coldplay- Parachutes
Before they were trotting around in Gay Sgt. Pepper knockoffs, there was some real nuance to Coldplay (hey, A Rush Of Blood To The Head is in my Top 10, so clearly I have an affinity).
60. Mark Kozelek- Rock N Roll Singer
61. Once soundtrack
62. My Morning Jacket- It Still Moves
63. Pedro the Lion- Achilles Heel
64. Lucinda Williams- Essence
65. Atherton- Skyline Motel
66. Dan Bern- New American Language
67. Fiona Apple- Extraordinary Machine
68. Clem Snide- Soft Spot
Eef Barzelay is one of the unique voices (both literarily and aurally) of our time and this is him at his best. "I saw you, doubting yourself in the mirror. But you look good to me." Simple moments captured through a distinctly Eefy lens.
69. Whiskeytown- Pneumonia
70. Interpol- Turn on the Bright Lights
71. Damien Jurado- Caught In the Trees
I have listened to this album a ton over the past 2 weeks and have to say that my Top 10 of 2008 assessment was spot on.
72. Radiohead- Amnesiac
73. The Hold Steady- Stay Positive
74. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- BRMC
75. Low- The Great Destroyer

Top 200 Albums of The Decade (11-40)

Continuing the list that is less definitive every time I look at it. (How's that for a vote of confidence?)

11. Wilco- A Ghost Is Born
12. Joe Henry- Tiny Voices
13. Elliott Smith- Figure 8
14. Gillian Welch- Time (The Revelator)
15. Aimee Mann- Bachelor #2
16. Cardigans- Long Gone Before Daylight
Some people think this band just has the hit. Those people are idiots. If you are an idiot, go pick up this album and get your mind all changed.
17. Broken Social Scene- You Forgot It People
18. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss- Raising Sand
19. Low- Things We Lost In The Fire
20. Jon Brion- Meaningless
This album/artist changed everything for me and I totally realize that this is personal bias with no objectivity whatsoever.

21. Patty Griffin- 1000 Kisses
Just for the fact that Long Ride Home is one of the best songs ever written. And the bridge on Chief.
22. Kathleen Edwards- Failer
23. Leona Naess- s/t
24. Johnny Cash- American Recordings (All, yes I'm lumping them. They are essentially the same in spirit and sometimes session. So I'm taking the liberty.)
25. Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
26. Doves- Last Broadcast
criminally underrated.
27. Flaming Lips- Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
It's hard to remember a time when this album didn't exist, before Wayne & Co. were singing Do You Realize and Yoshimi to the world.
28. Steve Earle- Transcendental Blues
Why is this album so low? Because I am not just a moron. I am a lazy moron who refuses to redo the list.
29. Sigur Ros- ( )
30. The Strokes- Is This It?
31. Fugazi- The Argument
32. Pete Yorn- musicforthemorningafter
33. The Weepies- Say I am You
34. Matthew Ryan vs The Silver State
This album would be higher if I didn't fear how recently it came out.
35. Iron & Wine- Our Endless Numbered Days
36. Josh Ritter- The Animal Years
37. Wilco- Sky Blue Sky
That's 3 for Wilco in the top 40. Kasey Casem would be proud.
38. New Pornographers- Electric Version
39. The Innocence Mission- Befriended
40. Arcade Fire- Neon Bible

Charlie T's Best of 09 | Live Shows

The live show is an essential part to the Year in Music. More often than not, the live show makes or breaks an albums inclusion on the Top Ten list of that year, and really good shows can influence decision making for years to come. For example, Andrew Bird and his latest album Noble Beast would have been nowhere near my radar if I hadn't seen an inspiring performance out of him last year. And Wilco's failure to tour anywhere accessible to me this year undoubtedly led to their first even exclusion from my year-end praise.

On the other side of the argument, a disappointing album will keep me away fro seeing an artist perform. Case in point, Great Lake Swimmers. Their latest effort didn't grab ahold of me like their previous album did leading to me not making the effort to attend their show on their way across the country. Attending that show may have renewed hope in Lost Channels, but it wasn't going to happen.

In a related note, after watching the Kings play a time or two on TV this season, I am starting to look forward to our unavoidable date with them in the lower bowl. Spike, having fallen under the same spell, has already purchased an Omar Casspi jersey in anticipation for that game and a subsequent playoff run.

Having spelled that out, here is a rundown of the best and most important shows of 2009 and included is some of their video performances that compliment the live show. Show are in some kind of an order, from first of the year to end of the year.

*Irrelevant to this years Top Ten list, but still a good show

Delta Spirit*

Laura Gibson

Laura Gibson - Where Have All Your Good Words Gone from playgrrround on Vimeo.

The Hold Steady*

Josh Ritter*

Bon Iver/Jenny Lewis - Poor Jonathan Rice. He has to play the Elvis Costello part and the Roy Orbison part in the same set. In a way this show has no bearing on the list, but at the same time it has so much bearing. Bon Iver contributed heavily to the Dark Was The Night compilation, songs that he played at this show and killed.



Dark Was The Night - I didn't see this show but these Vincent Moon videos are in some ways better than a live show.





Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Maybe it was the extended amount of time I spent in New Orleans or maybe its the cross between Chris Rock and James Brown, either way the music is great.



Shawn Smith* reissues don't count

Megafaun/Bowerbirds - This show was interesting because had I not attended, Bowerbirds could have made the top ten and Megafaun would have been nowhere on my radar, instead it was the other way around. There was something off putting from the Bowerbrids. Likewise, there was something incredibly amazing about Megafaun.



The Avett Brothers/Heartless Bastards - This show brought Heartless Bastards into the race and cemented the Avetts near the top. Anyone who has seen either band knows why.

Frightened Rabbit*

The Get Up Kids* re-issues don't count.

Over The Rhine*

Fanfarlo - Possibly show of the year and because of that, possibly album of the year. They started out with a recreation of their video for The Walls Are Coming Down, complete with an escape artist hanging overhead in a straight jacket and then nearly brought down the house at the end of the show with I'm A Pilot. That doesn't even include covering Low's It Was Just Like Christmas in the encore.

Top 200 Albums of The Decade (1-10)

'Tis the season to be listing. So we'll add ours to the pile. This one? THE BLACK CONVERSE'S BEST ALBUMS OF THE 00'S (since Charlie T consulted and wisely opted not to compile his own). Yes, this is supposed to be a hoops and music blog, even if we don't always do the greatest job showing it.

So...

200ish albums nominated in a manner so unscientific, so anti-methodical that it might actually be genius. Why is In Rainbows so low? I don't know. You're right: it should be higher. And what about this year's albums, why so low? Again, you're right, but I felt like they needed more time-testedness.

All in all, these are the albums that meant something to me/us this decade- a decade that saw me at two different colleges, in 4 big breakups, graduate, first big job, move to NYC, get married, move to UT, have a kid. Big stuff. Rather than elaborate on every single one, I've picked some at random to talk about and just listed the remainder. Surely this list will change tomorrow, maybe tonight. But I'll stand by it today.

So let's get to it. Ladies and gentlemen, "our" Top 10 of the 00's. (Notice how we don't make you rifle through a heap of albums before getting to the meat. Yeah, we rule. You can read the also-rans later on.)

10. The Hold Steady- Boys And Girls In America

We've never hid our love of The Hold Steady on TBC. And we ain't starting now.

This album was- poetically, considering the subject matter- my fist-pumping gateway drug.

9. Beck- Sea Change

Like I said, this decade saw 4 big heartbreaks. And this album was there for half of them.

The 1-2 combo of The Golden Age and Guess I'm Doing Fine still destroy me.

My favorite Beck album by a sampleslide. Or kitschslide. Or schtickslide. Whatever.

8. Sun Kil Moon- Ghosts of the Great Highway

Mark Kozelek's best record.

If you need more explanation than that, you need more Mark Kozelek in your life.

Particularly your ears.

Sad, mournful, nostalgic, gorgeous.

7. Ryan Adams- Heartbreaker

This album changed the way I listen to music forever. Most fans have spent a good deal of time wishing Ryan Adams would revisit this world. I spend that time just happy he ever did.

"Come Pick Me Up." Best Song of the Decade? Or Best Song Ever?

The album art, however, has always been baffling to me.

6. Coldplay- A Rush of Blood To The Head

Oh, Coldplay, we hardly knew thee.

5. Radiohead- Kid A

No Top 10 list is complete without it.

Understandably.

People think that In Rainbows was their groundbreaking move.

How about recording an amazing-but-not-particularly-radio-friendly follow-up to OK Computer?

It saved them from themselves. And gave us all an incredible record.

4. Arcade Fire- Funeral

All of these records are great,

but I think 20 years from now

this will be the one that was perhaps

the most game-changing.

Listen to Fanfarlo,

one of our favorite records of 09,

and tell me differently.

3. Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago

Too soon, you say?

That's funny. I was thinking, "too low."

2. The National- Boxer

Everything about this album works for me.

Smart lyrics and melodies, especially in light of the mumbliness.

Incredibly moving and layered arrangements.

And if it has a weak spot, well, it doesn't so stop pretending it does.

1. Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

T-Maq is Baq

When I saw that the Rockets had finally allowed Tracy McGrady to play last night, the knee jerk reaction was to revoke all of Daryl Morey's smart points. They guy is a basketball genius. Not the kind like Magic or Legend who who show their IQ on the hardwood, but the kind who seems to evaluate his team and his talent better than anyone and pull the right strings from behind the scenes. Inserting T-MAK back into the an aggressive and overachieving Rockets team seemed counterintuitive. Why put in a guy who is notoriously lazy, ruins the rhythm of any offensive team and plays no defense? Are you all of the sudden thinking the John Wall sweepstakes is worth it?

Then I came back to reality. This guy is smarter than that. I realized that there are two obvious scenarios. The first is that David Stern would rather McGrady get voted into the All-Star game as a starter rather than having to stuff the ballot box himself for Chris Paul or Deron Williams. The second scenario is that Morey is going to parade McGrady around the league in order to trick someone into trading for him.

Scenario 1
Currently the second leading vote getter as a guard in the Western Conference, t_maK making the All Star team would be almost as infamous as the 2002 MLB All Star game in terms of blunders. It would be even worse if he hadn't played a single game all year. So the Commish undoubtedly made a call to Morey's office and made a deal with him that was about as one-sided as a game between the Lakers and the Sparks. "Play McGrady." You don't question the Commish.

Scenario 2
Morey is trying to get his 1993 Corvette out of the shop and parade it around the neighborhood a little bit in order to get some sap in the midst of a mid-life crisis to offer him something, anything, for it. (The Corvettes of the late 80s and early 90's are by far the worst of any Corvette made. Every Corvette from that era all seems to be the same terrible maroon color. No car should ever be that color, but certainly never a muscle car. I like comparing McGrady to a crappy 90's "muscle car" because he is that era of muscle car. He is the NBA player people like who don't know anything about the NBA just like that Corvette is the car people get when they don't know anything about muscle cars. To them its a Corvette, or someone who scores a lot of points. Never mind the fact that he hasn't won a single thing in his career.) The timing is just right if you are going to parade him around the league, like bringing out the Corvette during the first warm day of the year with the top down. People get envious. Lets look at the teams/GMs coming up on the schedule between now and the trading deadline on February 18th. (note: all games mentioned are road games because that would all but guarantee that the other owner/GM will see him play)

Dallas - Cuban is always buying right?

New Jersey Nettes - His name is Tracy.

Cleveland - Just in case they want to add one more washed up All-Star or buy LeBron insurance

Charlotte - He would fit real well on top of the Scrap Heap

Memphis - Do I really need to spell this one out?

Miami - Rumors are building for this one, heaven help us. Dwyane might as well pack his bags now if the rumors continue.

Milwaukee - Last chance to see him before he is shipped out of town or back to the DL, could be the last time we ever see him in the NBA

There you have it. My guess it that both scenarios are true and that with any luck we can finally be rid of T-Maq for good. If you're listening Mr. Morey, it will be worth 50 TBC Smart Points.

Nettes v Jazz

Some storylines going into tonight's Jazz @ Nettes game:

The Road
The Jazz have to ask themselves: "Will this be more like Willie Nelson's road or Cormac McCarthy's road?" A pretty lousy road team lately, the Jazz will find out which way- Willie or Cormac- this trip's gonna go tonight. Atlanta/Charlotte*/Miami/Orlando. The teams only get tougher after the turnpike.

2 going on 3
The Jazz boosted the Kryptowolves from two to four W's. The Nettes are understandably rooting for a bump (some psychologists would say all women are, deep down, wishing for a bump) from the Jazz. And let's just say the Jazz should take all precautions to keep from making Jersey the babymama of another little L.

Lack of Estrogen
The Jazz are notably lacking in feminine (or even androgynous) names- Ronnie being as close as it gets. Some of the names could be morphed a bit, if that will help motivate the Nettes to get their claws out: Carla Boozer, Andrea Kirilenko, Geri Sloan (dare you to try that to his face)...



* A quick thank you to the Bobcats for adding to the Knicks' L column last night. A fruitcake is in the mail.