connoisseur series500

Four minutes left in the third quarter and Dallas is all over S.A. The Spurs are playing crappy ball. Looks like the Mavs can pull this one out. Wow, Great! You know, Jim, anything can happen in a seventh game; and maybe Dirk will be back. Odds would be against the Mavs winning game seven, but you never know.... Won't be online to report till the end of the game, but things look great for the Mavs at this stage.

I haven't had a beer since around 1985. I just stopped drinking alcohol as it was making me feel crappy. I could try one again, I suppose, but these weight-building potables are best avoided. Loved Moosehead beer in my day, though I was more of a Molson-Man.

Dallas maintains its lead at halftime. Still playing inspired ball... Opens second half with a modest flurry. Hmm, where's game seven at? San Antonio? Damn, dream ends!

Cool! Another chess player on the board. Takes a lifetime to learn the Sicilian. Since I am an e4 player as white, I have to face the Sicilian from the other side as well. I can play a couple of variations as black, such as Richter-Rauzer and the hyper-accelerated dragon. I am in the process of putting in more time into the study of Sicilian setups from both sides. Why do I play the Sicilian? To me, black basically equalizes right off the bat. My style favors dynamic openings and my mentality is that if I start off one move behind when black then I want some dynamism. I want pressure on white and I want avenues for counterplay. This is the key to the opening. If black equalizes after the middlegame then he goes into the endgame usually with an advantage. Both sides hang on a razor's edge. Need strong nerves. That's the nature of the opening. I remember beating a sicilian dragon in a tournament last December after wild fireworks on both sides, and I got up from the table shaking in an uncontrollable fashion. You need strong nerves and I wondered why I do this sort of thing to myself. My favorite defence to d4 openings is the Benoni--again another aggressive and dynamic opening. These type of openings are close to being unsound, but they are not quite unsound Again I try to select an opening repertoire which suits my style. This may sound obvious to people, but I find that most club players do not follow this in practice. BTW, are you USCF rated? Just curious.

As I write this, the game is late in the first quarter and the Mavs are playing inspired ball. Could it be possible... Nah! We'd all like to see them upset S.A., but reality has a way of kicking in. No matter what the Mavs have a lot to be proud about.

I made a rare post over at AAJ to say that I appreciate Xricci's management of the board. I mentioned that I primarily hang around here because my friends are here. Nothing to do with how he manages his board.

DUDE! If WE had .... !!! So so so true! Man it would be frightening to behold. Jim, you need the drafting talents of the Detroit Pistons management. What's with them and their ability to find people like ? They drafted Rodman, Theo Ratliff, and Big Ben. These guys are the types that build championships. If I were the scouting staff on any team, I would pay a spy to go in with one of those micro-cameras and have them photograph all the Detroit scouting reports. Speaking of which...interesting to see who they take with the second pick. I'd go for Camelo myself, but they've probably already discovered another potential

They're done, Noj. You know what happens after an NBA team wins a championship? They tend to win one or two more. Must be something about confidence. I wouldn't want to get in the way of S.A. or the Nets if they win. Lakers need a team; not just two superstars. They need someone like....

I agree, don't give up. Still, I think the joy for the Mavs should be the vision of what can be next year. They've got a young team and they made huge strides this year. I think S.A. was very pissed about letting that last game go. They will come out with fire. Of course, Bradley is out as well. There goes all the big guys in the middle. Main thing is that the Lakers are out.

Actually, Catesta, the funniest line was this one: "Students and workers in the neighborhood said objects are often tossed from the school's windows."

Dream on, Jim. With or without Dirk, Dallas is done. Still, they've got a lot to build on for next year. They're a very exciting high scoring team.

I only listen to jazz.

I no longer post at AAJ and I only check out the "offering/looking for" section as there are more posters over there to offer things. Seems like the crowd is younger over there than here as well. Some seem quite immature judging by their postings. Deep's posts are truly funny though. Wish he would post over here as well. Has anyone ever invited him?

Wow Rooster! I'm approaching 500 and I think I've got too much already (at least my wife thinks so.) Of course, I'm still buying, but addictions take time to play themselves out with me.

Another good session which took place around the Mizell period, but did not involve him is FANCY FREE. It's a good session. BTW, "Steppin into Tomorrow" is the only Mizell produced cd I've got. I probably won't explore any of the others, but I'll keep this one. I find Byrd's trumpet sounds a lot like the popular Herb Albert. I guess overproduction makes all the trumpets sound alike.

My vote is for the Spurs. The Nets are sweeping everybody but their road is a lot easier. The best teams are in the west.

FS/FT John Hicks, MUSIC IN THE KEY OF CLARK. Trio session playing the music of Sonny Clark. 2002 cd. $9 plus another $2 for postage in the US.

Sicilian Sveshnikov; quite popular these days with the likes of Kramnik, Leko, Shirov, employing it to good effect.

You're right, Ed. Took me a long time to look up all those favorites. Too much work! Hey Rooster, how about setting up another poll. I've er, temporarily run out of ideas.

Want to ask everyone first of all, if they can stand any of Donald Byrd's sessions produced by Larry Mizell. Secondly, if you do like some of them, which might be your favorites. I bought STEPPIN INTO TOMORROW recently and it doesn't sound bad at all. In fact, I kinda like it. It's even got a disco tune on there, but it's not that bad. I had KOFI and ETHIOPIAN NIGHTS once but traded them in at a music shop as I didn't like them. Perhaps I should have given them another chance. What do you guys think?

After checking out Rooster's list, I'd say my favorites are: Burrell, BLUE LIGHTS Hutcherson, PATTERNS I like the saucy chicks in: Byrd, STREET LADY Donaldson, PRETTY THINGS Mclean, BOUT SOUL And I love the grooving ladies of: Patton, LET EM ROLL Turrentine, EASY WALKER And I really like Patton, ACCENT ON THE BLUES.

For me, it's not the board; it's the people. Wherever you guys go, I will go. I cannot imagine any board developing the perfect dynamic that we have here.

Of late: Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock on "Adam's Apple." All five songs on Patton, GOT A GOOD THING GOIN. Man, does this cd groove!

One just ended on ebay for $20+. I think that's around the going rate. Check out Dusty Grove; they might have one available.

Count me as another who suffered from sensory overload when listening to Art Tatum. I bought one of the Piano Genius cds and instantly felt overwhelmed as he ran his fingers across the keys in these endless runs. On a more personal note: Art Tatum came from Toledo, Ohio, where I live. His house was on City Park Drive, I believe, which is now a pretty bad part of town. Cannot remember if the house has been preserved in any way. I think I did hear something about it being marked and preserved, but I don't know for sure. Most Toledoans would have no idea who Art Tatum was. It's a shame. The city does try to remind folks about Art Tatum from time to time, but in the end they all focus on Eminem or whoever. That's life.