It has been one heck of a 2008 and I must say, I have been very blessed this year. Two highlights of my year had me move from IBM (where I spent 4 years) to Hewlett-Packard where I am very happy and finally not all stressed out And I was engaged to the love of my life and will be getting married on January 25, 2009 Here’s to an even better 2009 to all of us! Happy New Year!

I have to say, it’s a pure joy to be able to watch the NBA every single day now, thanks to BTV! And this season has been “simply amazing” to watch. There have been quite a number of surprises and disappointments in the current 2008-2009 NBA season and this is the first part of my year-end review of the teams that are surpassing everyone’s expectations and the teams that have been total disasters. These are the Top 5 teams and 5 most disappointing teams of the league in the first half.

TOP 5:

1. LOS ANGELES LAKERS (25-5) – it was a toss-up but Kobe’s squad had their revenge against the Celtics on Christmas day by defeating them by 9 at home. It was the same day Phil Jackson notched his 1000th win and became the fastest coach to do so surpassing Pat Riley. The Lakers are 16-1 at home and are definitely the most balanced squad in the league. And with Jordan Farmar being out until late February due to surgery, the Lakers still haven’t missed a beat.

2. BOSTON CELTICS (28-5) – they were off to a historic, franchise-best 27-2 slate which is the BEST start in NBA history for a team with only 2 losses. In that streak, they are currently 17-1 at home, had a 19-game winning streak, and had KG surpass David Robinson for 27th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Unfortunately, December was a terrible month for them as they ended their West Coast year end trip with a 1-3 slate starting with that Christmas loss to the Lakers on the road, and followed it up with a terrible loss to the hapless Warriors who were without 2 of their main guns. And then they ended the year losing to a Roy-less Blazer squad to close out their record at 28-5. They’re still the team to beat as you can’t put down the Big 3. But losing Posey is going to be quite glaring in the playoffs and it looks like a rough road ahead  if they go up against the Magic or the Cavs in the early rounds.

3. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (26-5) – King James has a little helper named Mo Williams now, and the Cavs look rock solid. They lead the league in point differential at more than 12.5 points a game, and they are tops in points allowed which is a testament to their defensive mindset They are also the only team in the league with a perfect 16-0 slate at home and will challenge the Celtics in this year’s playoffs and have a very good chance at toppling them this time around.

4. ORLANDO MAGIC (24-7) – whoever doubted that the Magic would be one of the elite teams in the league this year are now hush hush. Dwight Howard has been an absolute monster posting career numbers yet again this year. He leads the league in rebounds (13.8 a game) and blocks (3.7 a game) coupled with 19.8 points a game and shoots 54.7% from the field. You put him alongside 2 of the best 3 point shooters in the league in Rashard Lewis (leads the league with 90 makes) and Hedo Turkoglu (with 50 makes) and their much improved court general in Jameer Nelson (who also has 47 threes made) makes this Magic squad a team to be reckoned with. I’m 100% sure no one wants to play this team in the playoffs this year and rightfully so.

5. NEW ORLEANS HORNETS (19-9) – with the best point guard in the league running this team, the Hornets are off to a solid start. Chris Paul leads the league in assists (11.5 a game) and steals (2.93 a game) and now holds the NBA record for consecutive games with a steal at 108!  With the demotion of Mo Pete (finally) and the rise of Rasual Butler and with their key acquisition this year in James Posey from the Celtics, the Hornets look to improve on their playoff performance last year and get to the Finals. And with this lineup, that is a very distinct possibility.

Next: Can These 5 Teams Get Any Worse?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone! Here’s a selection of 30 hi-res movie and TV posters I’ve gathered across the past few years. It’s a real pain to find decent ones that are of very good quality but here are a few of them for you guys to enjoy.

I have a ton more of these but I won’t post them all here because it’s going to wipe out my size allotment but if you guys want some posters in particular, feel free to send me a note and if I have it, I can send it straight over to you. Have fun!

Related Links:
Hi-Res Movie and TV Posters Part II

The Prison Break Season 4 Finale called “The Sunshine State” was released a few days ago and it surprisingly ends on a rather intriguing note. I expected a dull ending just like the last season but this seems quite interesting and as a fan, it’s a really good sign because I’m actually hoping that this isn’t the end of this series, when a few episodes ago I wanted it to die a natural series death and end decently.

The treatment given to Michael was apparently a success but he also had to go through some doctor who seems to know his mother and tells him that she is alive! Michael does not believe him but is very confused after all the things that were said to him and shown to him. The question is what the purpose and intent of this doctor really is and as usual, there is an underlying purpose to his prodding. Lincoln is back with a different team to try and find the guy who took Scylla… and they do. In the same instance that they find the guy, everything goes wrong again and shots are fired, and guess who is shot… finally! The end of the episode has Lincoln getting a call from the phone of the guy who stole Scylla back from them and it turns out that the person calling the shots is his mother. Nice twist for next season, if there is one!

Download Links:
Prison Break Season 4 Episode 16 HDTV (350MB)
Prison Break Season 4 Episode 16 720p (1.12GB)

The latest episode of Prison Break has Michael finally “Going Under” as he succumbs to his illness. But Lincoln is forced to work for the same Company he tried so hard to bring down as “payment” for Michael’s treatment. There is definitely an underlying family matter connected to all this and it is very curious what role their father played in the Company. What’s even more intriguing is that we all think “Scylla” is the Company’s evil box of secrets, but it could be the total opposite and actually be something for the greater good…

The question of what “Scylla” actually is has never really been talked about but in this episode we get a better understanding of what it might actually be. Sucre finally breaks and decides to quit in the pursuit of Scylla while Agent Lang is forced to bring his good friend Mahone in. Her friendship is tested in the worst situation possible and has to shoot Mahone before he escapes. And lastly, the actual buyer gets a hold of Scylla and runs off with it while shooting Don Self. Much deserved. This 15th episode is pretty decent with quite a few question marks and makes the last episode of this year a must-watch.

Download Links:
Prison Break Season 4 Episode 15 HDTV (350MB)
Prison Break Season 4 Episode 15 720p (1.12GB)

This is a tad bit late but here is the 11th episode of House. This is a little pre-Christmas episode called “Joy to the World,” where the team tries to diagnose a bullied young girl who mysteriously collapses at her school’s Christmas jingle presentation. The story revolves around a “fat” girl who is able to hide her secrets because of that fact and she feels that no one seems to care. But there is a pretty good message being sent across to young kids who are in this situation today and I’m pretty sure this kind of dilemma is pretty rampant especially in the US. Not a very happy ending though, which is how it should be because reality IS that way.

Meanwhile, House gets a special gift that he seems to be very familiar with, while Wilson’s role seems to have diminished very significantly even if he still is in the show. Here’s a hope to see more Wilson-centric episodes soon, the funnies with him and House are missed sorely. And lastly, Thirteen tries to convince a Huntington’s patient who left to come back because Foreman was turning into House already. Foreman is confronted by Thirteen and that’s where everything goes ick. There’s just something that looks really wrong with the Foreman-Thirteen lip locking and it is very bothersome, he he, but that’s how they are driving the storyline. Not a very good episode for me, so I hope the next one (Christmas episode?)  is much better and there’s no more Foreman-Thirteen kissing scenes. Blech!

Download Links:
House Season 5 Episode 11 HDTV (350MB)
House Season 5 Episode 11 720p (1.12GB)