The NBA is getting out of control with all these prospective trades. I think it's great that the Lakers are finally breaking up, but I really hate the idea of Shaq going to Dallas for my boy Dirk. I can't imagine myself ever being a Lakers fan, even if they have Dirk, and no way am I ever rooting for a team with Shaq on it. And I'm also kinda mad at Houston for dropping Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley for Tracey McGrady. I really love the chemistry between Yao Ming and Franchise; they're one of my favorite pairings in the NBA, and they were just starting to gel. Somehow I doubt T-Mac is even going to notice Yao half the time.

The Lil Flip/T.I. beef is on! I'm pretty amped about this one. Trap Muzik is a much better album than U Gotta Feel Me, but if I had to pick a side here I'd pick Flip; he's just a better rapper. T.I. does this exaggerated drawl thing where he stretches his syllables all over the beat like he was a British dude making fun of American southern accents. Sometimes this works really well ("Rubberband Man"), and sometimes it's competely fucking annoying ("Look What I Got"). Flip's beats are wack maybe half the time, but he is a masterful MC; he sits right in the pocket of the beat and never loses his composure. He did kind of make himself an easy target by dressing like a leprechaun, though. And he's going to need to really come at T.I. hard instead of trying to ignore the whole situation the way he seems to be doing right now.

I'm kinda disappointed that the Lollapalooza tour is getting cancelled, even if it does mean that no way am I ever going to have to review a String Cheese Incident show. Now maybe we'll never know if TV on the Radio can rock huge arenas, although I'm pretty sure they can. And Le Tigre stands a much worse chance of launching a new pop-feminist revolution without that kind of exposure. And how are Wolf Eyes going to eat? The tour got cancelled because of poor advance ticket sales, but who the hell buys advance tickets? I think their big problem was the lack of a token mainstage hip-hop act. My suggestion: Lil Flip and T.I.! Onstage at the same time! Ticket sales would not be a problem anymore.

Or they could do the obvious thing and get Jay-Z, who seems desperate to pimp himself out to rock audiences lately. Showing up at alterna-radio festivals is pretty lame. Coming onstage with Phish is worse. I love Jay, but if he's going to tell everyone he's going into retirement, the least he could do is go on vacation. And take Kanye with him.

The new Def Jam Vendetta game is going to feature the following "hip-hop personalities": Henry Rollins, Carmen Electra, Danny Trejo, Jacob the Jewler, and Omar Epps. Huh? Less perpelexingly, it will also feature Freeway, Flava Flav, Elephant Man, David Banner, Bubba Sparxxx, and Lil Flip (but unfortunately no T.I.). I cannot wait to buy this game.