Resolution

Seeing that 2006 is now bygone and 2007 is upon us, I would like to propose a list of New Years Resolutions for a select few. 2006 left us many heroes, villains, and stories but the start of 2007 opens many new avenues to explore. Here is my list:

1. Michigan Football
11-2. That is how Michigan finished its 2006. Following a five loss season with a dominating road win over Notre Dame, starting the season 11-0 with the number two ranking, and an appearance in the Rose Bowl, many teams would be happy. But, unlike so many other 11-2 seasons, the consecutive losses to that other team and to USC to end the season left many of us feeling in a word- empty. In retrospect, 2006 was another year of what ifs. My resolution for the Michigan Football team is to finish what you all came to Michigan to do and to do that they have to be nasty and not believe that they are entitled to being nasty because of the letter on their helmets.

2. Isiah Thomas
Calling the 2006 version of the New York Knicks a disappointment would be doing the word disappointment an injustice. Never have I yearned for the days of being disappointed by the Knicks' inability to get past the Chicago Bulls or Houston Rockets more than I do today. Patrick Ewing's greatness is enhanced with each Knicks loss of today. Even though the Knicks of old did not ever win it all, they gave off an effort and intensity in each performance. Isiah's Knicks do not. Something - whatever it is - is lost by today's Knicks so my resolution for Isiah is to put your ego in check, start those who will compete whomever they may be and base your decisions on who can help you win and not who gets paid the most, or has the largest name recognition. This means that David Lee is better than Jared Jefferies. This means that Ronaldo Balkman cannot shoot.

3. Alex Rodriguez
They say that the great ones leave their mark in the brightest lights. There is no brighter stage than Yankee Stadium deep into October and there is nobody who wants a curtain call more than Alex Rodriguez. They also say that hard work will be rewarded, which normally holds true, but with somebody as talented and naturally gifted as Alex Rodriguez, putting more effort into baseball is not the answer. I am not proposing that he slack off; far from it. My New Year's Resolution for Arod is to relax, and to stop inhibiting your natural gift for hitting a ball with a bat by over thinking or doubting your talent. New York has a thing for forgetting the past.

4. Hip-Hop
Nas declared at the end of 2006 that "Hip hop is Dead" but I have to politely disagree with him. Hip-hop is not dead, but it is on its last legs as a creative artform. More than anything, the state of hip-hop is reflective of its acceptance into mainstream society. As rap has become more acceptable and popular, it has followed the path that rock and roll and rhythm and blues has before it. Too much of popular music, and hip-hop sounds the same. You would think that people can only do the Laffy Taffy, Walk it Out, or let their Chains Hang Low so many times before it gets old. Please prove me wrong. Music like society is an imitation society and follows the mantra, if it's not broken, don't fix it. My resolution for Hip-Hop artists, producers, and record companies is to rediscover some of the creativity and uniqueness that makes great music great.

5. Television networks
With the increasing number of channels available to television viewers, you would think that there would be an increase in quality television. There is. But, the quality television is too often in the form of reruns of classic shows. I am by no means a television elitist. I love Flavor of Love, the Real World, and Deal or No Deal but I do want some substance occasionally. The number of quality new shows has declined overall and my resolution for the networks is to make a show that viewers can watch, enjoy, and talk about. Every show should allow a viewer to tune in mid season and enjoy. If watching every episode is required to enjoy a show, then networks should offer On-Demand to its viewers like HBO does. But, 24 sucks if you catch only bits and pieces of it and it kind of sucks even if you catch all 24 hours of it. The TV networks are not all to blame however, as the greatest show of my lifetime, HBO's the Wire, gets little fanfare and viewership despite critical acclaim. If we want to watch good television, we have to actually watch the good television so that the networks will continue to make good television.

Fugazzis

Since no brawl can go without a catchy and rhyming catchphrase as exampled by such classics as "Rumble in the Jungle" and "Malice at the Palace", I would like to propose "Melee Where the Knicks Play" as the newest entry onto that list. The New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets got into an on the court scuffle as Marty Collins flagrantly fouled J.R. Smith after the game was well at hand. Throw in a coaching controversy between George Karl and Isiah Thomas, and the plot thickens. What ensued was a brawl in which all ten players on the court got ejected including NBA darling and former Syracuse star, Carmelo Anthony. Although I normally cheer for all former Big East players, the fact that Carmelo Anthony committed a punch and run has forever cemented my declaration that Carmelo Anthony is a Fugazzi.

Fugazzi: Someone that copies or fronts. A hipster. Someone that bites. Someone that claims to be original when you know their whole style is a reenactment. Superficial.

This term was popularized by none other than former Knick and current Clipper Tim Thomas in reference to Kenyon Martin.

Inspired by Carmelo here are my top 5 Fugazzis of the month.

1. Carmelo Anthony
















I don't care if Melo appeared in the Stop Snitching Video and hails from Baltimore, he is still a certified Fugazzi. He decided to punch Marty Collins after everything had already settled down and proceeded to back off to moon walk back to the locker room to avoid confrontation for his actions. Let's make an analogy:
Nate Robinson : Heart
Carmelo Anthony: Appendix

2. K Fed













Kevin Federline of Britney Spears fame gives the term Fugazzi a bad name with his rap album "Playing with Fire" which Preston Jones of Slant Magazine echoed, "Federline can only rap about weed, his bank account, his wife, fighting anyone who looks at him sideways, and partying 'til three days from now—roughly in that order.... An oh-so-tiny sliver of myself kind of wanted Playing With Fire to be less aggressively shitty than it is, if only so the restless, rapacious media would ease off this tattered target of its ire—unfortunately, this disc is just as disposable and dumb as you'd expect."

3. Rap Beef















First of all Ving Rhames needs to find something else to narrate as I'm sure there is another Mission Impossible on the horizon. Rap beefs have all pretty much become inconsequential. What has happened to the days of Biggie and Pac, Jay-Z and Nas, Eminem and Ja Rule and to an extent even 50 and the Game. You know it has gone too far when Lil Flip starts having beef with Lil Scrappy who in turn has beef with Lil Boosie.

4. Urban Meyer

















Urban Meyer is a fugazzi because he is asking the media to wait one more minute so that he can continually bitch and moan to the media. His whining has not gone ignored as Lloyd Carr who said, "I think it’s going to be a great controversy, I don’t care who gets selected...because I just think that based on some of the comments the Florida coach has made in the last two weeks — campaigning strenuously for a berth in the championship game — and making some statements about Michigan that I think were inappropriate, I just don't know." Urban Meyer decided to act like he was promoting his team when in reality he was promoting his 200k in bonuses for making it to the national championship game.

5. Michael Richards












I mean even if minorities were never seen on Seinfeld, Michael Richards managed to spark debate about race relations by unleashing his now infamous tirade at the Laugh Factory. I guess it's not really fitting for him to be on a fugazzi list because he never really convinced anybody he was a successful comedian in the first place. Oh well.

-ydollar