New Rap Sucks

If I'm on my iPod I only do Lil' Wayne. Anything by Lil' Wayne is my pre-game stuff. - Brandon Rush.

Oh boy. I am an old school hip hop head. I love KRS One and BDP. I love A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, and Eric B and Rakim. The real stuff. Classic tracks like "I Got it Made" by Special Ed; "I Gotta Have it" by ED O.G. and Da Bulldogs; My Mind's Playin' Tricks on me by the Geto Boys; The Gas Face by 3rd Bass. But there is nothing worse than reading Brandon Rush's quote about listening the that absolute garbage spewed out by new rappers like Lil Wayne and such. It's a disgrace to the real MC's who paved the way to make Hip Hop more mainstream, yet these pioneers made no money and made great music. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne, T-Pain, and Soulja Boy make "hits" and are celebrities while putting out unlistenable crap.

Sorry, just wanted to go off on a little bit of a tangent there.

Back to why I started this, Kansas' tilt with Eastern Washington tonight. I know, Eastern Washington. Cupcake city. Hey, the Hawks just won at USC Sunday, a team that took Memphis to OT last night and features the great OJ Mayo. The previous Sunday, it was a hard fought W ove Arizona, who promptly went out and beat #6 Texas A&M their next time out.

A couple of pieces to read on the Jayhawks nationally:

Jay Bilas, ESPN - Kansas struggling, relatively: Bill Self's Jayhawks are unbeaten and will be a Final Four-caliber team, but they are not Final Four good yet. However, this team can and will get better throughout the season. Because of injury and some new roles, Kansas has struggled to score efficiently and easily. Yet the Jayhawks have done what it takes to win, which is a really good sign. Against Arizona, Kansas turned the ball over, missed openings and missed open shot opportunities. Against USC, the Jayhawks turned the ball over like they were getting a commission for them, missed open shots (37.9 percent shooting from the field and 4-of-17 from 3-point range), and still won a quality road game. Kansas is doing this with Darrell Arthur moving into a more dominant role, Brandon Rush coming back from knee surgery, and their best pure player -- Sherron Collins -- on the shelf with a stress fracture in his foot. When Collins and Rush are back at full strength by the start of conference play, Kansas will start to take off. By March, the Jayhawks will be as good as anyone.

Luke Winn, SI.com - Q&A with Brandon Rush. A highlight:

LW: Had you already packed up your college stuff to move out of Lawrence? You had declared for the draft the month before, and it seemed like a lock that you would stay in.

BR: I didn't have any of my stuff packed. I was really going to wait and see how the draft stuff worked out anyway.

LW: You declared for the NBA Draft out of high school in 2005, then pulled out, and now you're in your third year of college. Honestly, back to '05, where did you expect to be in '07?

BR: I was expecting to be in the NBA. But it didn't happen that way. I stayed an extra year at Kansas, then I got hurt this summer, and that changed some things. It's been a good experience. I'd had a lot of ups and downs in my life, but I've learned a lot just by being at a school like Kansas.

Tom Keegan, Lawrence Journal-World - D-Jack Having a Blast:

“I’m loving it right now,” Jackson said before Tuesday’s practice. “I’m loving every minute of it. My mind is clear. My mom is doing great. My brother and sister are in school. I’m out here having fun with my teammates and trying to learn every day from all the coaches helping me out.”

He must wish it could last forever.

“Sometimes I wish it will last, but I know life goes on,” Jackson said. “When my time comes for me to go on and make a new life on my own, I’m going to be ready for it.”