Hey, Sports Fans

Some funny shit over at THE SPORTS HERNIA, to which my friend M. Noonan is contributor.

Frankie Muniz in coma after drawing charge in NBA Entertainers League

By: M. Noonan

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- NBA Entertainment League play ended in tragedy at the Staples Center on Thursday night when TV's Frankie Muniz ended up in a coma after trying to draw a charge against rapper/actor Ice Cube.

Muniz, the 35-year-old star of "Malcolm in the Middle," stepped into the lane as Cube drove full speed toward the goal. Cube ran through Muniz, sending the frail actor flying backward onto the hardwood and instantly shattering his ribs, said teammate Joel Steinberg, who apparently produces some show on the WB. (keep reading)

Compton Rapper The Game On Board For DJ Skee's First Annual Envy Expo

Compton rapper Game will take to the stage for the first time in Los Angeles in nearly a year at the first annual Envy Expo.The event, a partnership between DJ Skee, Next Level Media and Hype Marketing, will take place July 8 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and feature exclusive product showcases along with entertainment.More than 100 exclusive vehicles will be displayed, including a $1.2 million dollar Bugatti, customized and celebrity owned Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces and Bentleys.Legendary artist Mister Cartoon will be on hand for his first public showcase with the Mister Cartoon, SA Studios, and Joker Brand Inc. booth.The booth, which will feature rare lowriders and old school vehicles, will showcase artwork and murals from Mister Cartoon himself as well as a gallery from world-renowned photographer Estevan Oriol.Ballin will present a VIP jewelry expo showcasing high-end and exclusive jewelry from some of today’s biggest artists at the Expo, which will also highlight an electronics expo and woman’s expo.While the electronics expo will boast new and unreleased electronics, the woman’s expo will include high end female-oriented items such as customized phones by Krystali of London.Multi-million dollar boats, celebrity meet and greets and Playboy models will be featured as well as the most expensive pair of Nike shoes ever sold on eBay. The shoes, which sold for more than $33,000, will be displayed in the Air Macks Crew shoe showcase, courtesy of Ben Baller, DJ AM, and DJ Homicide.The Envy Expo will also pair with Baron Davis and Paul Pierce's annual Midsummer Night's Dream Weekend for a slam dunk contest. Participants will be judged by NBA athletes and some of the West Coast’s biggest street ball players benefiting the All Star Charity Weekend.The fun will continue July 9 with A Midsummer Night Celebrity Dream Game. That event will be held at the Staples Center.Pre-sold Expo tickets are $25 and can be purchased at EnvyExpo.com and DJSKEE.com. Event tickets will also be sold at the door for $30.Tickets for A Midsummer Night Celebrity Dream Game are available at Ticketmaster.

Steve Lopez fine article

I don't think I'd change a whole lot," he said, although he might beef up coverage of the fine arts.

Steve Lopez seems a bit more personable when covering things such as the newspaper racket of which he is a part of. I like articles like this.

This time it is about corporate greed and the slicing up of the LA Times.

I start with the quote above because what Eli Broad is saying is common sense. If you want to sell papers you need to know your audience. And the Audience in Los Angeles is the Arts , whether it be fine arts or not , it is all about the Arts.

I remember after the defeat of Mayor James K Hahn people said it was the corruption and the scandal with the pay for play etc.... the simplest answer was the first place James Hahn cut in the budget was the Arts. Los Angeles being the media capital of the world and by media I am also including all types of Art , was a rather stupid thing to do and this is why I think James Hahn lost to Villaraigosa.

So to save the Times , yes more coverage of the arts , from just simple things like childrens plays in schools to the big media events such as the concerts at the Staples Center would , I think , bring their readership up.

Why , if we live in the artisitc capital of the world is the LA Times so out of date ? I mean, even the stories by Steve Lopez on Nathaniel Ayers were, about art, music , and ecstacy of the soul, and these articles were not found in the entertainemnt section of the paper. Bring them to the mainstream , sell your paper to Los Angeles through art.

I believe Eli Broad has a point , more coverage of the Arts and , in my opinion, balanced with everyday events would help improve readership. I think that is what is missing. Journalists are so caught up with the big prizes and trying to make stories for those prizes, and the paper suffers because there is not a broad readership for these so called human interest Stories, that have such a narrow audience and are geared towards the prize givers , not the subscribers.

Now ,the Future stories on Eli Broad sound fascinating , he is a long time local Los Angeles hero and person and Angelino and has changed the course of the city over the years , and the stories will be cool , to see how much money he has spent on philanthropy ; it will make me jealous .

To be able to give , and give , and give , and also give jobs and create them , well , that makes me jealous.

But I still have a problem with the LA Times and their lack of credibility. They need to improve the standards of their journalists and get the journalists from the local communities.

I wonder.

Curbed LA "Housing Market Guru - Gets Everything Wrong, Wrong ...

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2005/12/end_of_year_tho.php

In what I can only fervently pray was merely a partially successful attempt at humor - normally reliable LA Curbed recently printed the LA equivalent of announcing they had just bought the Brooklyn Bridge by quoting someone called their 'housing guru'.

And I assume this was meant to be a humorous hoax since if there is anything that wasn't pretty much dead wrong in this report - I have yet to figure it out:

"Lofts, lofts, lofts... Starting downtown, but sort of always happening in Venice, this trend exploded and expanded to Hollywood/West Hollywood which leads to some crucial questions and concerns.

Well, if by "always" in "lofts" he means artist's studios in storefronts and some warehouses and factory buildings, well, yeah - they were in Venice since the 1950's but downtown also had them since at least the 1950's. And almost of the first real artists lofts - AIR's - Artists-In-Residence buildings - were primarily downtown. And they were/are quite different than the lofts that are now being built downtown.

And as for the number major loft/condo conversions that have so far "exploded" or opened in Hollywood or West Hollywood - the number that comes to mind to me is - zero. Just a few new apartment buildings called lofts have so far opened in this 'explosion'.

It FELT (to me and my group of peers at least) that the downtown loft boom was driven more by - its the last place I can afford to buy since I missed out on getting a house and lofts are cooler than condos - than a real desire to LIVE downtown. Thus, money/economic reality, not the intrinsic quality of life of downtown drove sales.

Uh, totally dead, 100% - wrong.

I mean totally, completely... 0% true.

The downtown loft boom was 100% fueled by the desire to live downtown since 100% of all lofts in the first few years were rentals - and not condos. And since there was nothing for sale for the first few years, people then came and continue to come downtown because they want to live downtown.

In fact, not long ago one-half of ALL new residential units being permitted in the entire City of Los Angeles were in Downtown LA - and every one single of those units leased simply because they were downtown before the first condo even opened. I might add that since I moved here before the first loft opened (PTG, i.e. - Pre-Tom Gilmore) and met many of the people in each of the buildings as they moved, I know this from first hand knowledge.

Now as for moving here because prices were cheaper once the condos started opening - when the first buildings opened the fastest selling units were those at the top of the market the more expensive the unit, the faster it sold. In fact, I can not recall even one person saying they bought here in the early days of the conversions because it was cheaper than they could buy elsewhere. Some undoubtedly felt that way - but it was never a driving force in the market which this source would know if they had actually lived here during that time.

Many did additionally buy because they felt it was a good investment, however, which is different than they buying because it was the only place they could afford to buy.

Which means, now that lofts can cost $700,000 downtown, do I still want to go? Downtown does not have an Abbott Kinney (established) or a Hollywood Blvd/Sunset (getting established) as a draw. Four businessman places to eat, two hipster bars and the Standard do not a draw make. Now that I can buy lofts in Hollywood for the same price (and there were not even any to buy at any price, really before) do I want to go downtown?

First, there are downtown lofts in the $300,000's, $400,000's, $500,000's and the $600,000's. Sure they can cost 700,000 or two million, but most are priced well below $700,000. And while I still hear from people all over the city saying they want to move Downtown because of what is happening here, I have never heard anyone say they want to move to Hollywood because of its unique lifestyle. Some may, of course, but I have never heard anyone say that.

Now I have heard people say they are looking at condos are looking at condos in Hollywood for a variety of reasons - like because it is close to work and other practical reasons - but the idea of Hollywood as a major destination for buyers because of the unique cultural qualities of the neighborhood simply does not exist anywhere near degree that feeling exists about Downtown.

Now as for the Abbott Kinney and the 'Four businessman places to eat, two hipster bars and the Standard do not a draw make' remark, I used to live in Venice and I would walk to Abbott Kinney - and it has shots and restaurants - and that is pretty much what you can walk to. And Hollywood also has shops and restaurants and films theaters, scattered over many miles.

But Downtown I can - or soon will - walk to the Central Library, Little Tokyo and its theaters and museums, Chinatown and its new Arts District, the Original Arts District with its galleries and theaters, the galleries at SCI-Arc, the six - yes, SIX - new theaters that will be opening just on Main Street (St. Vibiana's Cathedral, the Linda Lea, the free standing theater that will be part of the new Police Headquarters, the Historic Merced Theater, the new Theater at County's new Mexican-American Cultural Center and the Regent Theater), the four theaters that will be re-open just on Broadway by the end of this year (the Orpheum, the Los Angeles, the Palace and the Million Dollar - with many more to come), the Fashion District, Disney Hall, the Music Center, Staples Center, the RedCat Theater and Gallery, the Wells Fargo Museum of the West, concerts at the Colburn School's Zipper Auditorium, free outdoor concerts and film screenings at California Plaza, the free Zocalo lectures, free outdoor concerts and film screenings in Pershing Square, countless shows and expositions of every kind at the Convention Center, Santee Alley, winter ice skating at Pershing Square, parties by the outdoor pool of Hotel Figueroa and the rooftop pool of the Standard, free outdoor Shakespeare at the Cathedral every summer, St. Vincent's Court, the Bradbury Building, the four theaters of the Los Angeles Theater Center on Spring Street, MOCA - both buildings of the Museum of Contemporary Art and the events at its theater, the Japanese American Cultural Center, the Chinese Museum, the new Democracy Center and Museum, Exposition Park and its many museums, the re-opened theater at the Embassy Auditorium, the eventually to re-open theaters at the old Variety Arts Building, the multiple farmer's markets, The Mayan theater/club, the Japanese American Museum, the soon to be relocated into 20,000 feet space Neon Museum, the hopefully about to be announced move back downtown Architecture and Design Museum, the upcoming Grammy's Theater and museum, USC (and its libraries, museums and concert halls), Gallery Row and its non-profit arts spaces, the Smell all ages night club, the multiple museums around the historic Plaza, the new Mexican-American Museum and Cultural Center across from the Plaza, the new Transportation Museum, private screening rooms and arts spaces, the Flower District, the Fashion School and its museum, and hundreds other unique attractions that can only be found in the heart of a major international city - plus new attractions that are being every single week.

Four businessman places to eat, two hipster bars and the Standard do not a draw make?

I don't think so.

Lastly...

And, the biggest risk of all, there is no shortage of space downtown to convert, so they have to be VERY careful with the supply/demand mix. Unlike Malibu or the Hollywood Hills where they simply - just really can't make much more housing, there are millions of feet of rental/commercial/residential rentals to turn into condos.

OK - this is where it clear that besides knowing zero about downtown - this expert knows even less about real estate. First he says says that Downtown can't compete with Hollywood because it lacks Hollywood's urban attractions - and then he says Downtown has a problem because it can build more condos than Malibu or the Hollywood Hills - which are essentially single family neighborhoods .

Bizarre!

First, as far as the idea there are unlimited millions of feet to turn into housing downtown and that that is a problem - again, whoever this person is clearly has no knowledge about LA, real estate - or, more far importantly - urbanism.

To begin with, the supply of pre-war office buildings that can be bought and converted to condos is already close to zero.

Almost all of them have been already converted, are in processes of being converted or are owned by people who are going to convert them. Only handful of pre-war buildings are left for anyone new to the party to buy and convert.

This is why so many new condos are under construction; the supply of existing buildings is simply not able to supply the demand. Plus so many of the post-War II buildings are now being converted, that office rents are starting to rise and many Class A buildings are nearly 100%occupied.

Even the old Transamerica 32 story Tower which was going to convert - is now 100% leased as offices and is going to remain an office building and its shorter neighbor has been sold to the city also for office space. And several other office buildings that had been proposed to be converted - are now signing long term leases as office buildings.

The market has already taken care of the mix; the conversion cycle is rapidly coming to an end and by the end of the decade, it will be over.

And again, it is clear this is a person with no real world experience in how a major city operates. Only in a place where there is the kind of population concentration that exists in Paris, New York or London can a great international level urban center develop. And only Downtown has the building opportunities and the transportation infrastructure to create that kind of unique, world class urban center with hundreds of unique attractions within easy walking distance of each other.

And that is why I left Malibu and came here and why most of us came here, and not Hollywood or any other part of the city.

Downtown is where the 21st Century is going to happen and we want to be apart of it.

Help the LA Clippers fight heart disease

The Clippers are looking to help "clip" the spread of heart disease. Nearly half of the population will suffer from a heart attack or stroke in his or her lifetime. Close to 100 million American adults have high cholesterol, which is a leading risk factor for heart disease. That's 5,527 times the number of people it takes to fill the STAPLES Center, and more than five times the number of people that live in California.

The Clippers encourage you to stop by the Healthy Heart booth at STAPLES Center, pick up a rally towel and learn something about your heart.
Click here for more details, or call toll free at
1-800-859-5005 to learn more information about Healthy Heart.

What Would Frank Gehry Do?

A big yawn has greeted the news that Marriott and Ritz Carlton will build a combination hotel/condo across from the Staples Center.

According to an article in Los Angeles Business, “Marriott Hotel Services will be the operator of the 876-room Los Angeles Marriott Marquis which will house the Los Angeles Convention Center, while Marriott International's (NYSE: MAR) subsidary Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. will run the 124-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Los Angeles, which will be located on top of Marriott Marquis.”

The illustrations recall the dullest corporate styles of the 1960’s, like something along New York’s Avenue of the Americas or our own Century City. How could they propose something that banal in 2006? Is Donald Trump on the Ritz Carlton board of directors?

Perhaps the hotel suits have not heard of a man named Frank Gehry. He has shown that a building must look like a piece of couture. It should flow with sensual abandon, caressing the steel structure as a silk nightgown caresses a woman’s body. It must be nipped and tucked and hemmed and taken in various places. The façade must never be rendered in right angles. It must bend and weave, whirl and gyrate so that the materials seem to be a living, breathing protoplasm.

What would Mr. Gehry do with the rigidly dull Ritz Carlton/Marriott project? Why he would put the Gehry stamp on it! It would have to be diaphanous, visionary, ethereal.

If he walked into the hotel chain headquarters and got his hands on the blueprints….

He would rip the façade of right angles right off and shake it out and when he sewed it back onto the building it would be so beautiful that it could walk down the red carpet at a Hollywood premiere.

CLIPS MIGHT JUST HALF A CHANCE

A great second half of defense made up for a historically awful first half and allowed the Clips to make the third-biggest comeback in their history and hold on to defeat the Denver Nuggets, 111-109, last night at Staples Center. With the win, the Clips move 3.5 games ahead of the Nuggets, take the season series, 3-1, and will likely hold home court if the teams meet in the first round.

In the first half, the Nuggets drove, drilled and dunked their way to the best-shooting first half in recorded NBA history, hitting 81.6% on 31 field goals off 26 assists. They scored 38 and 39 points in the first two quarters against absolutely no resistance whatsoever from the Clippers.

But after Coach Dunleavy chewed the team a new [butt]hole at halftime (a far less exciting activity since Marko Jaric left town), the Clips applied the clamps, holding the Nuggets to 16 points in each of the final two frames. Shaun Livingston and Quinton Ross led the way, Q finally frustrating Carmelo Anthony into throwing the ball into the stands with 1:11 to play and the game still up for grabs. The resulting free throws -- misses by Dunleavy's handpicked replacement, Reggie Evans, and a technical FT by Sam Cassell -- provided the razor-thin margin of victory.

Both teams had chances to win in the closing moments, but by hanging on through the frantic finish, the Clips earned the most important win of their remaining schedule. Given the disparity between their schedules, the Clips and Memphis should exchange seedings within the week (keep in mind that the Grizz haven't won in Denver in forever and want no part of the Nugz). I'm fairly confident that the Clips can stave off the Lakers and avoid dropping to the 7 spot.

If they play their cards right -- doing just enough to avoid the perception of tanking games while giving their key veterans ample rest down the stretch -- they should be well positioned to give a good account of themselves in round one. If nothing else, they're now in the Nuggets' heads. As Michael Eaves reported, he asked them whom they wished to face in the first round, and to a man, the Nuggets answered, "We don't want to play the Clippers." Nice!

-----------------

POSTSCRIPT: Tonight's game in Phoenix was a variation on the theme of second-half defense. Against the Suns, the Clips actually erased an 11-point lead before halftime, leading 59-55 at the break en route to an unlikely 119-105 victory in the absence of floor leader Cassell.

Livingston and Ross were the story again tonight. Shaun finished three rebounds shy of a triple-double at 12-7-13 in 36 great, growth-enhancing minutes. Q Ross held Livy's Canadian counterpart, Steve Nash, in check with just nine points and five assists. Elton Brand returned to first-half form with a monster 34-15 double-double. Corey Maggette had a 23-10 double-double and just two turnovers in 28 minutes, while Chris Kaman and Vladimir Radmanovic both fell a board shy at 11-9 and Ross and Cuttino Mobley contributed 12 points apiece. The Clips clicked on all cylinders, connecting on 54.8% FGs (55.6% 3FGs), outrebounding the Suns, 52-37, and only turning the ball over 12 times.

That's the good news. Now, the bad news: These two unexpected wins will make it a bit harder to drop inconspicuously to the 6 spot. They're now 1.5 up on Memphis with two weeks to play. They've got to start losing some ballgames. Fortunately, Friday night brings just what the doctor ordered: a visit to Staples from the Sacramento Kings, whose ownership of the Clippers extends three seasons without a loss. Knowing what they need, I might even stick around for the second half of that one.

Click on Clipper Talk and join the discussion. -- Jordan