not a game, not a game

i'm not a big sports memorabilia guy.  remember those sports illustrated posters from back in the day?  i used to have a couple hanging in my room; dwight gooden, walter payton, and magic johnson.  i collected a ton of baseball cards but, at some point, became disenchanted with sports fandom.  i'm a casual fan of cardinals baseball, vikings football, and cyclones basketball.  i quit throwing my money at all that collectable stuff.  the few sporty things on display in my office are a signed 5x7 picture of andy van slyke, a ric flair figurine, and a rookie card of my namesake.

i own a couple of jerseys that i never wear anymore.  i strutted around in them while i taught inner-city middle school music in the twin cities, in an effort to garner and retain any ounce of juice with the kids. i looked ridiculous, but i've still got 'em.  they represented two of my favorite ballers -  kevin garnett for the timberwolves and allen iverson for the 76ers.  both of these former mvps switched teams long ago.  k.g. won his ring with the celtics, and a.i. swam around the league before ending up broke and now playing for a team in turkey (with an eye on china).

the big ticket was stricken with the curse of the t-wolves. we could never put people around him that could get us over the hump.  on the other hand, a.i. was pure domination.  flashy, mouthy, irrepressible.  he was thrilling at georgetown, could score at will in the nba, and rose to elite heights, starting with this killer crossover on mj.



yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of allen's tirade on practice.  he was criticized for not going to shootarounds, and responded with the insinuation that the games were far more important.  i'm in the quartet workshop, a great band that plays original tunes and creative treatments of other stuff.  i like playing in this band for two reasons: 1) the players are great.  strong musicians, devoted to thinking outside of the box, and cool guys.  2) we rehearse.

i want to be involved with projects.  rehearsing strengthens interplay and trust, solidifies song choices, and quasi guarantees that the ensemble members are invested in the final product.  i prefer to play in a BAND.  most of the leaders in my field have working bands.  potter underground.  the bad plus.  keith's trio.  brad's trio. fellowship.  human feel. masada.  metheny.  charlie. dave.  don't get me wrong - i will continue to do pick-up gigs, because that's often the nature of this beast, yet i'm smitten with that feeling of rapport and inside joke-like understanding between musical minds.  in order to accomplish this, ya gotta practice as a group. individual work, although vital, is no substitute.

the art of the band is becoming extinct.  it's tough to find time to get together, space that will allow for it, and finding the right formula of players so that 100% of them are down with rehearsing.  i'd rather not get hung up on money and, instead, swing my energy towards a stronger and collaborative goal.  yes - it takes more time, is often a hassle, and may even prove to be less financially fruitful. however, that pot o' gold at the end is totally worth it.



this is where a.i. and i split up.  gotta go to practice.
for the record, iverson totally owns westbrook, paul pierce, and the mailman.  kd?  well that's another story...