GOOD MORNING
Who's the best team in New York? We'll have to wait until the playoffs to find out, as Joe Johnson's game-winner gave BK a season split with the NY Knicks.
Wasnt quiet when Kanye tore it down last month! RT @krishumphries: Big game tonight!The Garden got really quiet on the way out!#Brooklyn
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) January 22, 2013
The Chicago Bulls took down the LA Lakers last night and coach Tom Thibodeau announced that Derrick Rose is “very close” to participating in full-contact drills.
After the game, Mike D'Antoni announced that Pau Gasol would be coming off the bench in what appears to be a permanent move. Trade rumors: Ready, set, go.
J.J. Barea was hit up for his second flopping foul, which will cost the guard $5,000.
Wes Welker's wife, Anna, apologized for her Ray Lewis Facebook comments.
Might we see a passing of the torch in Australia? 19-year old American Sloane Stephens is set to take on Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Seattle may see NBA basketball again by the fall, but small hurdles remain to complete the deal.
Jordan Crawford hits a ridiculous game-winner for the Wiz, who are now 5-2 in their last seven games.
Nene gets absolutely crushed by Blazers rookie Damian Lillard.
FLASHING LIGHTS
Chris Brown became the latest victim of “swatting” yesterday, when a SWAT team showed up at his house following a prank phone call. We've gotta get these kids some new pranks or hobbies or… something.
There is a Kanye West Wing tumblr. My apologies for not bringing it to light sooner.
SPIN takes a look at President Obama's hip-hop moments.
Common reveals the Cruel Winter album is more of a rumor and discusses what producers he is interested in working with on his upcoming solo project.
D'Angelo announced his album is “99 percent” done. Don't get too excited, though: In December, 2011, he announced the album was “97 percent” done.
Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q hit up Miami a few weeks back. Video has finally emerged.
DID YOU REALIZE?
President Obama's inaugural address set the standard for progressives and laid out a vision for upcoming generations. The speech and his plan were called: “ambitious” (USAT), “aggressive” (WSJ), and “urgent” (NYT). The KC Star said Obama was calling for a “new liberal era” and the Seattle Post tracks firsts for the inauguration.
The World Economic Forum determined the world needs to spend an additional $700 billion to properly curb climate change. Naturally, the governments are arguing over who should pay for it. $700 billion from the whole world? That's chump change. Get it done.
It likely won't. Progress for environmental issues has been “painfully slow” according to the NYTimes, who also says the standards set, that will likely not be met, are arbitrary and convenient.
A man is suing the state of Georgia for not allowing his personal license plate GAYGUY.
According to a new study, graduation rates are the highest they've been since 1976. The rise has been attributed to the poor economic climate which requires higher levels of education. You can cut school funding but you can't cut down the American way.
In the wake of school shootings, we now have bulletproof whiteboards.
EVERYTHING I AM
Frank Bruni delves into gay rights and how far they've come under President Obama, including monumental progress made in President Obama's speech, who surprisingly included “Stonewall” in his inaugural address among other major civil rights moments in US history.
Seneca Falls is a New York town where, in 1848, the women’s suffrage movement gathered momentum. Selma is an Alabama city where, in 1965, marchers amassed, blood was shed and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood his ground against the unconscionable oppression of black Americans.
And Stonewall? This was the surprise inclusion, separating Obama’s oratory and presidency from his predecessors’ diction and deeds. It alludes to a gay bar in Manhattan that, in 1969, was raided by police, who subjected patrons to a bullying they knew too well. After the raid came riots, and after the riots came a more determined quest by L.G.B.T. Americans for the dignity they had long been denied.
GOTTA HAVE IT
You thought Ab-Soul was done for the day? Nah. Here he is rapping about women with JMSN.
