Coldplay in Four Minutes or Less

After a nice visit from one Ms. Jessica Jane King as she swung through Atlanta earlier this afternoon, here are some ramblings...

* The eventual trades of Andruw Jones and Al Harrington are going to be the most important trades in Atlanta professional sports for at least the next 5-10 years. The Harrington trade has been talked about since the beginning of last season since Billy King, the Hawks' GM, has decided that he should only draft 6'8" forwards. Trading Al is going to be what makes or breaks the franchise (and Billy King's job) because the Hawks have turned into a laughingstock and need to get their act together. The building of a core group of players that could become successful (Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Josh Childress, and Zaza Pachulia... I'm pretending Shelden Williams doesn't exist) is culminating with the sign-and-trade of Harrington, if it ever gets done.

Also, don't get me started on the Braves and Andruw Jones. No matter how offended Andruw Jones might be because of all the trade talk, the writing's on the wall. With Scott Boras as his agent and the Braves deciding to run their team on the cheap, there's no way the Braves can keep Andruw past next season. It makes sense to trade him. However, if you're going to trade Andruw and get rid of his salaray, what about Hampton's awful contract, Chipper, Smoltz, and Tim Hudson? How can the Braves really rebuild if they don't totally break down the franchise and start over a la the Marlins?

* One more Hawks note, it'll be the last of this entry, I promise. In the new ESPN the Magazine, Bill Simmons says the NBA should merge the Sonics and Hawks into one team, move them to Nevada, and call them the Las Vegas Dice. You know, I really wouldn't have a problem with that.

* I've been watching Psych, a new show on USA. It's a pretty entertaining show, mainly for the chemistry between the two co-stars, Zach Braff Lite and Charlie from West Wing. The hot female detective (don't worry, it's just her IMDb page) doesn't hurt either, especially when it overshadows the flimsy plots. The funniest part of the show is during the credits when ZBL and Charlie sing some random song, including "Electric Avenue" and "Man in the Mirror". They're posted on the show's USA webpage.

* Stringer Bell on HBO's The Wire is probably the coolest character on TV next to Tony Soprano, surpassing Jack Bauer because Jack is too ridiculous to take seriously anymore. I feel sorry for all those Chinese people on that boat in the new 24 season.

* There are a couple of blatant U2 guitar ripoffs on the radio right now. The funniest part about it is that each mimics a different Edge era. The first is the plain awful "The Adventure" by Angels & Airwaves, the new band from one of the Blink-182 guys (the guitar player). The U2 era? The Joshua Tree, specifically "Where The Streets Have No Name". The second is the very good "Is It Any Wonder?" by Keane. Keane sound like Coldplay if Chris Martin could write a song under 4 minutes. The U2 era in this one? Achtung Baby, and a combo of "Zoo Station", "Even Better Than The Real Thing", and "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?". "Somewhere Only We Know" shot up my most played list on my old itunes (The hard drive crashed in February. Luckily, I only lost a page of IS.), and now "Is It Any Wonder?" is moving up my new one in record time.