411mania.com ? Music ? 411 Music's Friday News Bootleg 02.20.04 If you don't read this column every Friday, then you don't know what you're missing.

Tough time to be associated with the football program at Colorado or to be a former Utah Ute in the NBA. Speaking of the NBA, my fantasy team is back on the playoff bubble. Injuries killed me, but adding Donyell Marshall and the fact that Steve Blake plays good minutes when the Wizards get killed (almost every night) has helped.

NBA All-Star game thoughts:
- why were NBA guys playing in the celebrity game?
- will Outkast be performing at every major event until next fall?
- why does Christina Aguilera oversing every song when she is on tv?
- props to Nelly Furtado for singing the Canadian anthem as it is intended with the stanza in French. Never usually here this outside of the NHL
- who cares about the game and defense?
- someone needs to get Charles Barkley, Bill Walton and Tony Kornheiser a show together and do it now.

Oh yeah the Yankees got A-Rod and sure it isn't great for baseball's competitive balance, but the Red Sox need to shut up. Was it good for baseball that Bud Selig made sure the Red Sox went to his good friend John Henry instead of the Dolan family? Was it good for baseball that Jeff Loria was given the Marlins after doing nothing for Montreal? Is it good for baseball to have teams that spend no money at all?

Today I bid adieu to my 95 Sentra. The Green Machine served me pretty well for almost 9 years. You never forget your 1st anything, so farewell good friend and time to get some Spreewells on my new Altima.