Song of the day: K'naan - 15 Minutes Away

All apologies about the video quality, gang, but I wanted to show something live and there wasn't exactly a lot to choose from. Anyway, you can hit up the studio version of 15 Minutes from his newest album Troubadour here.

The album could be the big break he needs, featuring heavyweights like Damian Marley and Mos Def, while pumping out a record that's heavy on issues and light on its feet at the same time.

K'naan's an interesting hombre. He grew up in Somalia during the Somali Civil war and his dad bailed to drive a cab in New York and send cash back to the rest of the family. As the story goes, K'naan and the rest of his family finally skipped Somalia in 1991 on the last plane out of the country to join his father in Harlem before they finally settled in Toronto.

All Somalis know that gangsterism isn't to brag about.The kids that I was growing up with in Rexdale would wear baggy track suit pants, and a little jacket from Zellers or something, and they'd walk into school, and all the cool kids would be like, 'Ah, man, look at these Somalis. Yo, you're a punk!' And the other kid won't say nothing, but that kid, probably, has killed fifteen people. -K'naan

So welcome to Toronto. That's where K'naan (meaning "traveller") started to learn english with the help of some Nas and Rakim albums. You can still hear some of that influence in his flow. By 10th grade, he ditched the books and hit the road for the luxurious life of the Open Mic rambler.

Needless to say, this guy knows what it's like to wonder where the next paycheck's coming from, but still brings a positive vibe that won't get out of your head.

Stick this on your iPod and go for a run. You'll come out of it a better person.

Some K'naan reads: K'naan at Coachella, K'naan on pirates and peace, NFL Drafts K'naan

Other tight tracks on Troubadour: Fire in Freetown, Fatima, Wavin' Flag, I Come Prepared (f. Marley), Bang Bang, (f. Adam Levine - dude from Maroon 5)

Playoff Pucks Bucks

I've been on a self-imposed sports wagering hiatus since football season ended. It's been good. Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to take a step forward.


But when I saw my New York Rangers team priced as serious underdogs against a frilly Capitals team, I drew a line in the sand and put some straight cash money to the cause.


Here's how I see the first round of the playoffs shaking down - no garbage stats, no cliches, no wasting your time. Just how you like it.

As some of you may already know, I've got a bit of a thing for the underdog. Cubs fan, Bears fan, Rudy fan. Wrote an Underdogs column for a crippled dog's age... so you know where I'm coming from. As always, smart-alec comments and your own bets are responsibly encouraged.


Note: American odds listed, meaning the favoured team will be set at maybe -110, for example. That means you have to risk 110 clams to win 100. If you bet a +200 underdog, a $100 bet would win you 200.


East


New York Rangers (+220) vs. Washington Capitals (-250)
Alex Ovechkin, Jose "Rogaine" Theodore, meet Sean Avery and the New York Raaaaangers penalty kill. Hide the women and children.
Verdict: Rangers in six


Montreal Canadiens (+260) vs. Boston Bruins (-310)
At this price, it's hard not to take a flier on the Habs, but I just don't think they're deep enough to deal with Chara and Co. Also, don't expect to see the bloodbath the media wants. Too much at stake.
Verdict: Bruins in six



Philadelphia Flyers (+125) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (-160)
Dollars to donuts, I'll take my chances with a nasty underdog team with six 20-goal guys this time of year.
Verdict: Flyguys in seven


Carolina Hurricanes (+120) vs. New Jersey Devils (-140)
These aren't your older brother's dirty Devils, kids. They still play tight D, but can put the puck away too. Figured Jersey would be favoured by a lot more here.
Verdict: Jersey in five

West


Detroit Red Wings (-550) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (+425)
Hey Columbus, pretty dandy goalie you got there. Thanks for coming out.
Verdict: Red Wings in five


St. Louis Blues (+220) vs. Vancouver Canucks (-260)

Nice run by the spunky Blues. Luongo will shut the door and Mats will show up.

Verdict: Van-City in five

Calgary Flames (+115 ) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (-135)

Blackhawks are one of my favorite teams to watch this year and I'm already dreaming ahead to the Winter Classic at Wrigley field. I think those young kids will be a lot better by then after the Flames learn 'em.

Verdict: Flamers in six

Anaheim Ducks (+210) vs. San Jose Sharks (-250)

You just knew the Ducks would squeak into the dance somehow and create the toughest matchup on the board. I'll take the Sharks but you might be better off flipping a rusty nickel.

Verdict: Sharks in seven

Get Linked

South Park grooves one high and tight on “genius” Kanye.
Here's some background behind the dis, courtesy of the New York Daily News.

YouTube's yanking tons of content about it, but you can get it straight from the horse's mouth at http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/224096.

This one also works...for now:South Park - Gay Fish

Check out Kanye’s reaction on his blog.

Some of the lowlights:

I JUST WANNA BE A DOPER PERSON WHICH STARTS WITH ME NOT ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE HOW DOPE I THINK I AM...I GOT A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF ME TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE I'M NOT ACTUALLY A HUGE DOUCHE BUT I'M UP FOR THE CHALLENGE...I'M SURE THERE'S GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THIS... THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S ME!

Ninja training goes horribly wrong

77-year-old woman dies trying to break up a frickin'sword fight(!)
What are the odds this all stemmed from the classic Bruce Lee vs. Jackie Chan debate at the dinner table?

UFC President Dana White goes loco

Pretty surprising to see a media-savvy guy like White to flip his lid like this on camera. Not exactly the image the UFC needs right now.

Smokin’ Joe Frazier, still an asshole eons after the Thrilla in Manila
"I'm sorry that he is the way he is, but I didn't have too much to do with it. It was the good man above,'' Frazier said (about Muhammad Ali dealing with Parkinson's).

"Maybe I did have a little to do with it, but God judges, you know what I'm saying? We don't have the power to judge that the man has above.'' http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/30155176/

Snoop Dogg TV. Fo’ sheezy. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/snoop-dogg-live

Rant Of The Day Award: Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Billy Bob Thornton

Huh? Pardon?

I was listening to this on Q during the drive home and barely had any idea what Thornton was going on about. Watching it here cranks the Awkward Meter off the charts.

*Trust me, you'd better take 10 minutes right now and watch the thing*

I love the look on his face around the 50-second mark, just before he drops the "I don't know what you're talking about" quip that kicks off his rantline. Seems pretty whacked to me. I won't say anything else to spill the beans, but it really heats up about six minutes in and uncomfortably pushes on until Jian Ghomeshi finally cues the music (which wasn't anything special, either, by the way).

Hey, if little Billy Bobby doesn't want to be known as a movie guy anymore, maybe he could just give back that Oscar he has tucked under his pillow? Hmmm?

Good on Ghomeshi for pushing through and giving back as much as he got in this no-win situation. Classic battle between a heckuva interviewer and a Class-A asshole.

Let's set an over/under on how long it'll take before Billy Boy issues some kind of save-some-face, B.S. apology?

I'll give it one business day. It's almost Easter, after all.

The Great Debate: Sean Avery

So let's just get this out of the way: Sean Avery's a jackass.

That's not the debate here. The real question is whether he's the best professional jackass the NHL's ever seen.

He's cut from the same mould of a long line of NHL agitators like Claude Lemieux, Esa Tikkanen, and Matthew Barnaby - guys who'd all backhand your grandmother and then slash your tires given half a chance.

But Avery's a new breed. He understands the marketing world outside of the NHL's dinosaur code of "just giving 110 percent." He's different and he knows it. He puts asses in seats because he's entertaining.

You wouldn't know it by Gary Bettman's snorefest press conferences or the NHL's viewership/attendence numbers outside of Canada, but the league actually is in the entertainment business.

So the 'sloppy seconds' comment was a little below the belt. Get over it. He's in the NHL to piss people off, to shake shit up.

Everybody lost their minds in last year's playoffs when he turned toward Martin Brodeur and waved his arms around like an idiot. The league then stepped in with the 'Avery Rule' the following day.

Now people are calling for his head again after he tapped Tim Thomas on the helmet during a TV timeout last weekend.

It's all getting a little foolish.

The guy's a pain in the ass doing his job on the ice the same way NHL agitators always have. The only difference is he's finding new ways to do the same job.

And if you look at the situation from a broader perspective, is he really that much different from Dennis Rodman or Terrell Owens?

By playing along with this sleezeball image he's created all he's ended up with is a spot on the New York Rangers' powerplay and a boat full of cash money while becoming one of the most recognizable names in hockey.

Not bad for a 5-foot-10, 195-pound sparkplug without a 20-goal season under his belt yet.

Not a bad life away from the rink either. I could do without the Barbie doll talk and women’s fashion isn’t exactly my area of expertise, but that’s his off-ice deal and it seems to work for him judging by a few of the lovelies on his naughty list (helllllo Elisha Cuthbert, hellllo Rachel Hunter).

Some guys go back to the farm and throw hay bales around in the offseason, while Avery sits in on fashion fittings with some of the spiciest ladies in the land. Personally, I could think of worse ways to spend my summer months.

What are the odds I'd have him on my team? 100 percent. What are the odds I'd trust him with my back turned or on dinner date with my little sister? Zero.

Just the way he'd want it, I reckon.

Talkin' Dylan: Not Dark Yet?

Shadows are fallin' and I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep and time is runnin' away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal
There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet but it's gettin' there.

I think I know how the crowd felt like when Bob Dylan first wearily waded his way though that opening of Not Dark Yet, on some stage back in the late ‘90s – nostalgic, with a bittersweet twang that hit you in the gut once you realized that even the best runs at the Blackjack table have to come up bust eventually.

That’s how I, a self-confessed, card-carrying Dylan junkie, felt after seeing the icon himself for the second time last spring, almost a full decade after I first witnessed him take the stage. That night it finally dawned on me: despite a 100-show per year habit still rolling along even after all these years, Dylan’s only getting closer to pulling the curtain on the live acts as the calendar flips along.

The thing is, experiencing a Dylan show is just like spending a solid week roaming the Big Apple or asking Tiger Woods for an autograph if you bumped into him at a 7-11 – you just ought to do it, given the opportunity.

My first Dylan show shook me up. At that time, for that one night anyway, he was at his toe-tapping, head-bobbing best on stage. His words cut deep. I felt honoured to be there, like I’d really witnessed something big.

The second time was probably almost as memorable, only for different reasons. That goosebump-filled aura was still there, the mix of young and old all gravitating to the same spot out of the same appreciation still kicking, but things had changed.

That night he spent the entire show perched behind a piano without a guitar within striking distance. His voice, once yearning, overflowing with emotion, is now raspy and rushed with age.

These days his classics from the old days like Forever Young, and Like a Rolling Stone are but skeletons of the songs they once were, leaving even the tie-dyed baby boomers scratching their heads until they’re finally able to catch a favourite verse cutting through unfamiliar tones and tempos.

Then again, Dylan’s never been one to stick with the status quo despite what his fans wanted from him. He’s always been full of surprises.

He swapped his acoustic for an electric axe and plugged in at Newport at the height of his hype back in ‘65, nearly kicking off a riot among Folk traditionalists. After that he spent time as a re-born Christian and wrote Country music. Rode his motorcycle, tried his hand at family life, caught an itch for the Blues, toured like a madman – constantly reinventing himself.

I guess that’s why I wasn’t surprised when he spent that entire show hunched behind a piano last spring; it was just that I first picked up a guitar listening to him pluck through those old classics, bent over that harmonica dangling from his neck with every word cutting through the cigarette smoke of Greenwich Village cafes. It made me realize that there was no going back to those days now, but eventually leaving me relieved that I was lucky enough to see him again, even if it was in a different light.

What are the odds we'll get one more epic album (his latest, 'Together Through Life' drops April 28) from the old guy... +250? It's hard to write him off after all he's been through.

Then again, sure it’s not dark yet for Dylan, but it’s getting there.