According to this article , free music actually enourages increased sales, which runs contrary to what the music industry has been telling. But then again, the music industry isn't exactly something you can trust. After all, they have overcharged consumers for years, no matter what the format was (vinyl LP,  8-track, audio cassette, CD, MP3). You can argue two wrongs don't make a right, but also keep in mind, while the labels have been engaging in this sort of practice, the artist, whose the reason consumers want to buy the album in the first place are paid a mere pittance for the time they invested to create their music. Sure, the labels have to make a profit and earn income, just like everyone else, but what the major labels goes beyond that. While paying nothing for music that is commercially produced might stretching the boundaries of what is fair, so is overcharging consumers. The fact of the matter is people were making bootleg copies of legally distributed music for years, the format has changed, but people haven't. The artists, make the vast majority of their income  in many cases from touring, merchandise sales and other revenue streams, not album sales.

Posted by paulbanik at 3:13 AM CDT

Updated: Sunday, 20 July 2008 2:37 AM CDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Mood:  irritated

UFC, being the most recognized MMA promotion, has decided to run a big UFC card, to run against Affliction, which is better known for their MMA clothing than MMA PPVs. This will be the first time Affliction will try their luck. Why the UFC has chosen to do this, unless they view the Affliction card as a threat to their organization's popularity or perhaps they fear some of the people watching the Affliction card may prefer the Affliction brand to the UFC brand and worrying about fans defecting to the new rival, is the only explanation I can think of.  Competition is a good thing, not a bad one. You can see the detriment to society when a monopoly, oligarchy or some other non-competitive environment exists. There is no incentive to improve, or offer even a decent standard, because you're the only player in the market, or you're conspiring with your other competitors to maintain an uncompetitive market. This especially doesn't make sense, since UFC is the current benchmark in this sport, while Affliction is a newcomer. This really isn't the first time this has happened, where one competitor runs directly opposite another competitor. In 1987, Vince Kennedy McMahon, or Vince Jr. introduced the Survivor Series, to operate against his main competitor (the National Wrestling Alliance, and later World Championship Wrestling) to compete against Starrcade on Thanksgiving night. He didn't stop there however. He forced operators to choose between his event and Starrcade, by stating that any operator who didn't choose him would miss out on the biggest wrestling PPV of them all his, Wrestlemania franchise. Needless to say, the tactic worked, and Jim Crockett Jr. and Starrcade were chosen only by a few cable operators.  Vince did this in 1988 when he ran his first Royal Rumble on free TV against Jim Crockett Jr's Bunkhouse Stampede. WCW, which basically was the largest and most important territory in the National Wrestling Alliance, which can be described as a powerful coalition of regional wrestling promoters, returned the favor in 1995, when they introduced Monday Nitro to run against Monday Night Raw.  There was also a smaller battle between WWE/WWF's SmackDown! and WCW's Thunder on Thursday nights, but that battle paled in comparison to the Monday Night Wars, which actually helped both companies. Since MMA is still growing in popularity, it's hard to see if this benefit or hurt the sport, with UFC, the established powerhouse, going against a relative unknown.

Posted by paulbanik at 7:14 AM CDT

Updated: Sunday, 20 July 2008 2:37 AM CDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

This has been the first time in 21 years the Celtics and Lakers have met in the NBA Finals. I know it seems odd for the two most successful teams in NBA history to go that long without meeting in the Finals. It has been 22 years since the Celtics have won the title.
   It should be an interesting matchup because the Celtics Big 3 (Garnett, Pierce and Allen) should matchup fairly well against the Lakers Big 3 (Bryant, Gasol and Odom), even though the Lakers have the edge in terms of youth. If this is a long and gruelling series, you have to probably favor the Lakers, even though I want to see a Celtics victory. The Lakers' drought has only been since 2002 when Shaq, Kobe and company hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy completing a 3 peat.  I don't think it will be a short series, and ultimately the series could come down to depth. I feel the Lakers have a deeper bench and that could be the difference in this series. Another factor is the Lakers have been handling their opponents relatively easier in the previous rounds than the Celtics. The Lakers are the more well-rested team of the two teams in the NBA Finals, and that could play a factor in the outcome of which team wins. I expect the series to go at least 6 games, and I'm making the Celtics a slight favorite right now to win the Finals.

Posted by paulbanik at 1:15 AM CDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Mood:  on fire

I haven't really paid much attention to the Stanley Cup Finals this year, because of work commitments during the week and on the weekend I'm usually doing something else. However, perhaps I should change that, because the Penguins winning Game 5 in Detroit has made this a series once again. If the Penguins can win Game 6 on their home ice, which is well within the realm of possibility, we could have yet another Game 7.
   Pittsburgh's improvement over a couple of seasons has been amazing. Last season they made the playoffs after missing the playoffs, and lost in the first round to Ottawa, who lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007 to Anaheim. This season they defeated Ottawa in the first round and are playing the best team in the NHL over the past 15 years. Whether Pittsburgh wins or loses the Cup this season is irrelevant.  At the rate they're improving, it's only a matter of time before this team has the potential to win multiple Stanley Cups. It is a classic matchup between Detroit's experience and Pittsburgh's youth. It has been a fairly entertaining series after Detroit won the first two games fairly handily, since the next 3 games were close games.

Posted by paulbanik at 1:06 AM CDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Mood:  not sure

I know at this stage, Reggie Miller joining the Celtics is just speculation, but since the Celtics have very little beyond their big 3 (Garnett, Pierce and Allen), adding Miller to their roster would make sense from this standpoint. He is one of the best pure shooters in NBA history, and can create his own shot. He doesn't have to play huge minutes to be effective. He can make a major contribution playing fewer minutes than he did in the past, a la Robert Horry. 

Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller reacts to making a late fourth quarter shot in a Friday, May 13, 2005 photo in Indianapolis.The Boston Celtics have spoken with future Hall of Famer Reggie Miller about coming out of retirement to help the once-proud franchise in its push for an unprecedented 17th NBA title.
(AP Photo/John Harrel, filel)

However, unlike Horry, Miller wasn't just an excellent role player, but a superstar in his own right when he played. I will be interested to see how this pans out. In a league that is infatuated with dunks, and  showmanship, it would be nice to see a guy who can shoot the ball like Miller can. It will be also great for Celtics fans to see him suit for them, as opposed to against them. The  man is simply one of the greatest clutch shooters in NBA history. 

Posted by paulbanik at 12:41 AM CDT

Updated: Saturday, 23 February 2008 1:47 AM CST

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Mood:  sad

EL SEGUNDO, CA - JULY 20: General Manager, Mitch Kupchak, of the Los Angeles Lakers presents Derek Fisher #2 his Lakers jersey after announcing his return to the Lakers in a press conference on July 20, 2007 at Toyota Training Center in El Segundo, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Wendi Kaminski/NBAE via Getty Images)
NBAE/Getty Images

I know that the  Derek Fisher signing with the Lakers was last month, but  I wanted to comment on it now. Derek Fisher is a major upgrade for the Lakers at point guard, replacing Smush Parker, and helping to mentor Jordan Farmar. The Utah Jazz on the other hand, who reached the 2007 Western Conference Finals have to be disappointed, since he was a major contributor to their success. He would have helped Deron Williams, who is turning into a pretty good player already, and the other young Utah guards, like Dee Brown, get better quicker. I understand why he did it, for his daughter, and I wish him the best. There are some people who think Shaq and Kobe won those 3 peat titles by themselves. Of course, Shaq and Kobe know that role players like Fisher,  Rick Fox,  Robert Horry and Devean George played integral roles in helping the Lakers win those championships, as well as the coaching staff led by Phil Jackson,  and Tex Winter. 

Posted by paulbanik at 12:30 AM CDT

Updated: Sunday, 20 July 2008 2:53 AM CDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Barry Bonds, who tied the MLB record for most career homeruns, will eventually surpass Hank Aaron, but he won't hold the record as long as Aaron, especially with the way Alex Rodriguez is tearing it up.  August  4, 2007 won't be only remembered as the day Bonds tied Hammerin' Hank's long standing record, but it will be remembered as the day that A-Rod became the youngest player in MLB history to hit 500 homeruns, and also was the third quickest in terms of the number of at bats. Mark McGwire and Babe Ruth are the only players to have reached that mark quicker.

Posted by paulbanik at 2:21 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 6 August 2007 12:39 AM CDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | View Comments (1) | Permalink

                 
The New England Patriots, who felt they were a deep threat away from getting to the Super Bowl,  addressed that problem, by adding talented, but also troubled wide receiver Randy Moss, acquired from the Oakland Raiders in a draft day trade, where the Oakland Raiders received a fourth round pick, the 110th overall pick in the      2007 NFL Draft, which is a rather cheap price to pay, considering what the Patriots are receiving in return. Randy Moss, talentwise, is among the top 3 receivers in the league, the others being Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys and Marvin Harrison of the Indianapolis Colts.  The question is his attitude at times, and his penchant for getting into trouble. If he can avoid the controversy, Brady to Moss could be the most potent combination in football since Montana to Rice, or more recently, Manning to Harrison. I would rather have him than Terrell Owens though, since Moss seems less of a primadonna than Owens is. Randy Moss showed signs of this by willing to restructure his contract in order to get traded to the Patriots. If he can keep his head on straight, the Patriots have proven that they are still in the mix among the teams that are contending for the Super Bowl. Randy Moss will have to buy into the Patriots' team concept, and forget about his individual stats, or his stay in Massachusetts could be a very short. The Patriots acheived their success with a focus on the team, and not individuals. That's why I think Terrell Owens would be a poor fit for the Patriots, but Marvin Harrison would be a great fit, if either wide receiver chose to leave their teams, and wanted to join the Patriots.

Posted by paulbanik at 12:39 PM CDT

Updated: Friday, 3 August 2007 2:24 PM CDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | View Comments (2) | Permalink