Amar'e Stoudemire: An Open Letter To NYC

When Amar'e Stoudemire signed with New York last summer it was the first step toward what the team hoped would be championship contention.

Carmelo Anthony soon followed, and the team now has the start of a core which may be able to take them all the way.

Stoudemire boldly stated, "The Knicks are back."

And New York made the playoffs and brought true excitement to the Garden for the first time in years.

Balling to the Beastie Boys and "An Open Letter to NYC," take a look at Stoudemire's highlights from his first season in New York.

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I Tried: LeBron, Bone And Akon

Fasten your seat belts!

This is what I'm talking about, baby!

This is how you make a mix!

Take a hit song which relates to the person you're making the mix for and go from there.

The song is "I Tried" by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (From Cleveland) and Akon.

It really makes you feel for LeBron James and his struggle to win a championship.

The second song (with a few bad words) is "Till I'm Gone" by Tinie Tempah and Wiz Khalifa, which basically vows that James will "be back one day."

Hot stuff.

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Highlights: Kobe, Music By Lil Wayne

When the best rapper in the game makes a song about the best basketball player in the game and someone makes a cool highlight reel out of it, you almost have to show it.*

At least, that's my thinking anyway.

The song is "Kobe Bryant" by Lil Wayne, and the game is Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Have fun and enjoy!

*Note: Calling Bryant and Wayne the best is not my personal opinion but me expressing what many people believe. I'm more old school in hip hop and find it impossible to rank the best NBA players individually.

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Dirk, Maino And T-Pain: All The Above

It's cool when a man and a song come together.

And this mix featuring Dirk Nowitzki and "All the Above" by Maino and T-Pain is just that occasion.

For anyone who has suffered and fought long and hard to get through it, this song by Maino is the perfect anthem for them.

Of course, the same would apply to Jason Kidd and some guys on Miami.

But Nowitzki beat them to the punch.

This is another video to get you ready for the NBA Finals.

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Invincible: Miami, Tinie Tempah And Kelly Rowland

These are some videos to get you ready for the NBA Finals.

The first features some highlights from Miami's season and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh coming together.

The second is from Miami's first-round series against Philadelphia, with "Invincible" by Tinie Tempah and Kelly Rowland.

It's a beautiful song and a beautiful film.

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Linkin Park, Kevin Durant And Russell Westbrook

Here are some highlights of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook from the season which just ended for Oklahoma City.

"Leave Out All the Rest" by Linkin Park is the song.

And I've been waiting to post this reel of Westbrook for a few days now, with "All Black Everything" by Lupe Fiasco used as the instrumental.

For some perspective on Oklahoma City, it would be instructive to read this article by JA Adande and pay particular attention to the "Age of Champions" chart he provides.

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Kanye West And Boston's Big Four

Boston Celtics fans can send thank yous to my inbox.

It took me 10 days to find this! But it was worth it.

I tried searching for Paul Pierce, then Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and finally Ray Allen. I even tried searching for the team but couldn't come up with anything of note for either individual or the team.

I stumbled across this video on a Ray Allen search. It's nine minutes long but worth every second.

The first song is "My Time" by Fabolous and Jeremih. The second is "All of the Lights" by Kanye West and Rihanna.
Nice.

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Coming Home: 'Melo, Diddy And Dirty Money

This is it!

Some things just grow on you.

I saw this video a few days ago and wasn't crazy about it. But after surfing the net for several days I ran back across it and was blown away.

The song is "Coming Home" by Diddy and Dirty Money.

And the basketball is Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks.

It was made before the playoffs, so Anthony's big games against Boston aren't on there.

But never have a song and a situation been so perfect for each other.

And the way it is all put together is a sight to behold.

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Carmelo And Jay-Z: Empire State Of Mind

You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a good highlight reel.

And for some reason, some players don't have anything out there while others have enough for themselves and five other guys.

Carmelo Anthony has quite a few, but they don't measure up in one way or another, so I'm still waiting for that perfect one.

You would think that with all of the filmmakers in New York that something more would be out there, but there isn't.

This is something to hold you over until that knockout mix comes.

It's a Carmelo Anthony reel to "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.

It's a little short (under two minutes). That's my only problem with it.

The song has explicit lyrics.

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Encore: Jay-Z, Monta Ellis And Stephen Curry

Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry were fortunate enough to have mixes of them made to two different Jay-Z songs.

The Curry mix is to "Numb/Encore" with Linkin Park.

And the Ellis mix is to "Run This Town" with Rihanna, Kanye West and Drake.

The Ellis mix is missing some plays.

But I guess when you make a highlight play every other game there are bound to be some things left off. These videos can only be so long.

As far as Curry's, missing some plays but there isn't a complaint in the world.

It's about perfect.

I'm still looking for a Monta Ellis one as good as that.

"Numb/Encore" contains explicit lyrics.

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Winner: Kevin Durant, Jamie Foxx, JT And TI

I'm searching for a good reel of Kevin Durant for this season and can't find one.

But I was able to find a nice one from just before the season started. It has footage from Team USA included.

The song is "Winner" by Jamie Foxx, Justin Timberlake and TI.

This may have to do until after the playoffs because it would be best to have Durant's playoff performances included on whatever highlights I come up with.

Oklahoma City is tied 1-1 with Dallas right now, so there is no telling how long they will be playing.

But I'll keep looking and will provide the newest one when I run across it.

The song contains a few explicit lyrics.

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Classic: Dwyane Wade and Lupe Fiasco

I posted some Derrick Rose highlights with Kanye West this morning.

But since Dwyane Wade is from Chicago too and is also playing in the playoffs, and there are other Chicago musicians around with hit songs, I thought it only fair to find something showcasing Dwyane Wade.

And I was very fortunate to come up with a nearly flawless video of Wade's 2010-11 season with music by Chicago's own Lupe Fiasco, "The Show Goes On."

It has almost everything from Wade's season that you would expect.

And what would a good Dwyane Wade highlight reel be without his famous, "This is my house!" antics?

The footage I found of Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose the past couple days inspired me to start HBIQ Cinema and HBIQ Legends Cinema.

Some highlight reels go beyond being just highlights and turn into total entertainment experiences.

So I'll use the HBIQ Cinema label for them and use HBIQ Cinema as a place where you can go to watch them and just be entertained for as long as you wish.

HBIQ Legends Cinema is for players no longer in the NBA like Michael Jordan.

But be warned: In what has to be some sort of internet record, the Michael Jordan highlights I linked to just last month have already been removed; so you might want to watch these as quickly as possible before they disappear forever.

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Power: Derrick Rose and Kanye West

No two men should have all this power.

Since Derrick Rose and Kanye West are both from Chicago, I thought it would be cool to find some Rose highlights with some West music.

And I so happened to find a really good one.

It starts kind of slow, but if you wait 50 seconds it will be worth your while.

For those of you who can't get enough Derrick Rose, here is a story Steve Aschburner wrote about him last month.

He tracks Rose's roots all the way back to elementary school and Murray Park, where Rose used to play basketball growing up, and follows him to high school and college and the NBA.

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My Time: Blake Griffin, Maino, T-Pain And Fabolous

Now that the season is over and a little time has passed, highlight reels are starting coming out.

And you'll be hard pressed to find one better than this one featuring Blake Griffin.

The music is a mix of "All of the Above" by Maino and T-Pain and "My Time" by Fabolous and Jeremih.

And it shouldn't be missed!

I didn't write about Blake Griffin much during the season because in August I wrote that he was all-world, and the NBA had never before seen a power forward like him.

What else is there to say after that?

I mean, how many different ways can you say Blake Griffin is awesome?

Someone needs to come up with a list of a bunch of different words you can use to describe Griffin in new and exciting ways.

Not to toot my own horn, but I nail a bunch of these player evaluations and usually do so long before anyone else.

But I always go back to what John Thompson said about Allen Iverson. He said he knew Iverson was good, but he had no idea Iverson was that good!

And that's what almost always happens to me with these guys.

Even though I sometimes go way over the top in praise of them, they usually end up being even better than I thought.

And that is certainly the case with Blake Griffin.

I was extremely high on him, but never in my wildest dreams did I think he would turn out to be as sensational as he was last year. He literally took the world by storm and set off a movement which may know no bounds.

He was just that unbelievable.

Not only did he make the Clippers relevant, he helped make the NBA relevant again.

And that is saying a ton.

So enjoy the music and the clips of the all-world power forward who not only did the impossible on the court but off the court as well.

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