one day it'll take, and they'll start to make shirts that fit right.

BREAKING:  Chris Paul is tired of this shit.

--First, the pressing sports news of all our lifetimes:  Chris Paul possibly (but not really) getting traded from New Orleans.  I was going to address this in a separate post, but I had serious doubts that Paul was going to be moved before the start (or end) of next season -- he's simply too valuable, and of all the teams on his supposed wish list, only the Lakers could really send anything back worth the Hornet FO's while.  It could still happen, and I'd understand Paul's reasons for leaving; it is unlikely that he'll be in championship contention in NOLA, the team should have told him about trading Tyson Chandler and firing Byron Scott, and he does play for one of the worst owners in the NBA.

That said, these are problems with fairly clear remedies if Paul's willing to look long-term.  And it goes without saying that the front office can't trade Paul; he's one of the only draws for a team that's hemorrhaging money.  It's highly likely that a Paul-less Hornets organization folds within the next few years.  Again, I understand where Paul's coming from.  The only aspect of this that I really hate is LeBron's obvious influence, even if it's only the influence of the precedent the Heat set.  It's entirely possible that I'll write a Comic Sans-laced tirade if Paul does leave (and be mocked by Chili's accordingly), but for the moment, at least, I can feign objectivity.

 --Which begs the question:  what sort of fan does that make me?  Am I more reasonable (or empathetic) for seeing things Paul's way, or just detached?  John Morgan, proprietor of the excellent Field Gulls Seahawks blog, made a list of typical Seattle sports fans, which I think apply just about anywhere.  I know I've got plenty of Nerd in me, to go along with a little Loyalist.  That said, I have an existential dread of finding out that I'm actually a Frasier.

--To take things in a pretty different direction, I spent a lot of the last three weeks watching the first two seasons of Dexter on Netflix.  Take Michael C. Hall and his excellent voiceover out of the equation, and you've got a substandard police procedural.  With Hall, though -- and the great character development you see for Dexter (and seemingly nobody else) -- the show becomes one of the most consistently entertaining on television.  Did I mention that I like Michael C. Hall?  Because I do.  He's really funny, and scary.  Everyone else I could pretty much take or leave, especially Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's annoying younger sister; in addition to whiny lines, her character comes equipped with crippling self-doubt, and the show seemingly takes great pains to justify it.

--I know I reference the Onion's AV Club a lot on this here blog (a classic Frasier move), but I feel compelled to share two of the funniest things I've read in the past month:  Scott Tobias's indignant, disgusted review of Cats and Dogs:  The Revenge of Kitty Galore (to quote the review's firstie, there's really nothing like a Tobias F), and Sean O'Neal's surreal take on the state of Kenny G's gradual ascension to the position of Intergalactic Space Emperor.  I've come to really enjoy O'Neal's contributions to the AV Club, by the way; his headlines alone are comedy gold.  At the very least, they're uncut comedy China White.

--I suddenly have a powerful urge to attend a Swedish police academy.

--I saw Inception again yesterday, and I'll try to have a review up pretty soon.  Also on the docket:  reviews of The National's High Violet, The Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy, and Interpol's Turn on the Bright Lights.

--Finally, I was discussing the Redskins with a friend of mine on Facebook, and it occurred to me that I could do team previews for the upcoming football season on (at least) the Saints, Colts, Redskins, Chiefs, and LSU Tigers (who, by the way, had the best recruiting photo of the year last year and are in contention this year).  Would anyone be interested in me doing one (or any) of those?

--Thanks for reading.