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Yet more lists. Deep thanks to everyone who contributed. Hope everyone has been into them so far! They are winding down.

Jay Schroeder

Jay played quarterback for the L.A. Raiders and the Washington Redskins, but his rooting interest these days is in the high-tech field (he laid out the Google phone last week on here) and various money markets. Makes sense: Schroeder lost his job to a scab, and then that scab won the Super Bowl! That is some miserable shit. He is still young at heart though, and his money long like the B.G.:

The 10 Best-Performing Stocks of the Decade:

10. JDSU -98.3%
Here’s one for the Ottawa heads, so they don’t feel so bad about any missed opportunity to become a millionaire on the backs of JDS Uniphase. This company makes telecommunication equipment and when things were good and bubbly, this stock was trading at a (split-adjusted price) of over $1,000 a share in 2000. After a reverse 8:1 split, it’s now at $7. So I’m starting my top 10 stocks of the decade, with probably one of the worst.

9. MON 595%
Monsanto makes Round Up. The weed-killer spray with the Wild West music and a bullwhip sound effect in the background of their commercials. But they also make genetically-altered seeds for corn and soybeans and shit the world eats. The seeds are so good that governments like Brazil are worried their farmers are going to get hooked on them. You know, try this for free, come back and see me if you like it. Cook it, cut it, measure it, bag it. Up almost 600% on the decade.

8. CHK 886%
Chesapeake is in the gas business. The kind where a guy would come to your school with a scratch-and-sniff card that smelled really bad and told you to call 911 if you ever smelled it. What if elementary school kids took to calling 911 every time they went by some dude who stunk? Would be a funny world. Anyway, too bad for Chesapeake that the decade didn’t end in the middle of 2008, because they would probably be the hands-down winner.

7. COP 114%
Conoco-Philips owns 76 gas stations. They are also one of the world’s largest oil and natural gas companies. When I was going to put this list together, I figured I would be putting in Exxon-Mobil, but Conoco beat them out. Not a bad accomplishment for the decade to say you beat out the big dog in your game. One-hundred-and-fourteen percent isn’t that great compared to the other names on the list, but in a world run by oil, I figured I would give a shoot to these dudes.

6. MO 276%
Speaking of getting your customers hooked on your product. It’s time for Altria, a.k.a. Phillip Morris, aka Marlboro. Not really much else to say. At the beginning of the decade this company also had Kraft Foods, Miller Beer, and was a worldwide tobacco company. They sold Miller to some South Africans, spun off Kraft to its own stock, and did the same with its international tobacco business. So the 276% return is very understated, since you would (presumably) also be the owner of Kraft(KFT) and Phillip Morris International (PM), plus be receiving huge dividends from these southern gentlemen. Could probably make the case for this stock to be closer to No. 1, but hey, it’s my list.

5. FCX 343%
Freeport-McMoRan is a mining company, mining two metals. Copper and Gold. Gold sells for roughly 19.9 trillion times as much as copper per ounce. But FCX kills it on copper. It’s a really detailed explanation as to why and all of that, but just think the next time you read about an abandoned house having its pipes stolen, FCX will probably benefit. There are probably other mining companies that have had a better decade than FCX, but FCX is the big dog. What lies ahead for this company in the next decade? China needs pipes and gold at an all-time highs.

4. AMZN (475% nine years after their bubble burst in Dec. 2000)
I am going to cheat a little bit on Amazon. They have had an incredible decade, and even bought Zappos.com recently. But the problem with their 10-year performance is that they were still riding the dot com bubble at the beginning of 2000, so their performance is really only 40%. But if you cut off about a year or so, and start from December of 2000, you get a whopping 475%. That’s much better. The company is on a murdering streak lately, just straight up killing it with sales. I can’t say I see any reason for it to slow down. They sell EVERY thing at this point, and also have people selling to people like eBay, but it’s a much better experience with Amazon. For those wondering, eBay sucks and is not on this list. 20% returns over ten years, GTFO. The only thing worth anything at eBay now is PayPal and bidhardcore.com.

3. GOOG (IPO Aug, 2004) 453%
Google wasn’t even a public stock at the beginning of the decade, but from their IPO they are up 453%. Not much really to say, they have ads on the Internet in better ways and places than anyone had previously thought of before. Everything was banner ads and skyscrapers, and Google came along with little text boxes and killed it. Now they’ve got their hands in every cookie jar and we will have to see what the future holds. Personally, I’m not a big fan of a business reading all my email, contacts, documents, phone calls, voicemails … well you get the picture.

2. AAPL 686%
Apple actually got a late start on the decade. From 2000 to 2004 was almost completely flat. In fact, it was down about 25% from the peak of 2000. But that’s when the iPod really hit its stride, going huge with the Mini. Then the Nano. Then the iPhone. Then the iPod Touch. 2004 is also when 10.4 (Tiger) was released for the Mac, which was a big improvement. Then 2005 came the announcement that Macs were switching to Intel processors. And the money just came rolling in.

1. POT 1274%
The No. 1 spot on the list is a [weed] #shootout. The symbol POT actually has nothing to do with [weed], but I like to shoot when I can. It is also a Canadian company, much like number 10 on the list, JDS Uniphase. But POT has had a much better decade than its brother to the east. These Saskatchewan boys lay out the fertilizer like nobody’s business. Fertilizer is hot these days, what with people considered about feeding the world and shit. No pun intended. Much like Chesapeake, POT’s peak was actually back in 2008, when it was up 2356% from the beginning of the decade. This stock is a real humdinger. And you will probably never buy anything from them, unless you are a farmer. And I don’t mean on facebook. I looked on their web site and they are hiring. So if you know a lot about nitrogen or fertilizer in general, you may want to apply. I see good things in their future.

Esoteric

“Esoteric” runs Sportsangle.com and helped us save Christmas this year. A lifelong Knicks, Mets, and Dolphins fan, he is a proud Duke graduate, and supporter of its basketball program. Rumor is he was almost tabbed to be a graduate assistant. Outside of the Internet, he’s a bit like Forrest Gump (his words): “I run a lot, I’m decent at ping-pong and I often find myself meeting a lot of random ‘famous’ people.” A devotee of Nas, the man also owns a Saint Vincent Saint Mary LeBron football jersey, and a Pedro Expos jersey. Respect:

This is in no particular order. Most of them are athletes, but not all of them. Also, I have pictures with most of these people, but I don’t like anyone to know what I look like, so you won’t see any here.

Top 16 Athletes/Celebrities I Ran Into this Decade:

1. Ron Artest, 2000
The media tells you he’s a total lunatic all the time. I talked to him for a few minutes in the locker room of a Bulls-Nets game in Jersey, and he comes off like Mr. Rogers. Nicest dude ever.

2. Chris Jericho, 2008
The greatest wrestler ever. I met him randomly at the TGI Friday’s in my town following a local WWE event.

3. Lawrence Taylor, 2009
This happened this past Sunday, when he happened to stroll into a Houlihan’s I often frequent. When I shook his hand, he famously told me, “I’m not here for that.” Respect.

4. Gheorghe Muresan, 2000
I met him in the locker room after a Nets game. I couldn’t resist taking a hilarious picture with him where I come up to about his waist. (I’m 5-foot-7) I’ve covered a pretty decent amount of sports events and have never taken a picture with an athlete while doing so — except for Muresan, and…

5. Arturo Gatti, 2001
My favorite boxer. After his second fight with Micky Ward, I took a picture with him as he was leaving the arena to go get his broken hand fixed at the hospital. I think he only stopped because I was wearing a Gatti jacket.

6. Mike Krzyzewski, 2000
I guess not that random, since I went to Duke. But what is random is that I’ve been in his house, watched his television and driven his car.

7. Elton Brand, 2000
I used to eat pizza with him at Duke, which isn’t random. College students eat pizza together. Random part: The year after he left — and won Rookie of the Year — I went to ESPN Zone in Times Square to watch the 2000 NBA Draft. Out of nowhere, Elton walks in with a buddy. He recognized a couple of us, and came over to ask us who the Bulls had taken. When we told him it was Marcus Fizer, he asked us, “Why’d they pick him? We play the same position!” Our thoughts exactly.

Also: Not this decade, but sat courtside under a basket for a Bulls-Hornets preseason game in Chapel Hill before Elton’s rookie year. Elton somehow saw me and threw me a bounce pass a la Oakley to Spike. I was so surprised, it damn near hit me in the face. Luckily, I caught it and threw it back.

8. Chris Duhon, 2006
Another guy I knew at college, but the random part came when he was playing for the Bulls. After a Duke-Gonzaga game, a bunch of us went to a bar across the street from MSG. Duhon came in, vaguely remembered a couple of us, and bought us all Jager-bomb shots. I did one.

9. Brevin Knight, 2000
I used to go to the WWF Cafe in Times Square for Monday Night Raw all the time back when it existed. One night, I looked up and noticed Brevin Knight sitting next to me at the table. That’s about it.

10. Matthew Lillard, 2004
After an overnight shift at my job, I went to the NBA Store to cop a LeBron Team USA jersey — the Bronze Medal version — and ran right into the guy from “Scream.” The Ben Affleck to Freddy Prinze’s Matt Damon. All I could think to say to him in my sleep-deprived state was, “I enjoy your work.” I must have looked like a crack fiend; he seemed mortified. I decided it’d be best if I staggered off.

11. Gisele, 2008
I go to a lot of haunted houses in October. While next on line to enter Blood Manor in the City, a beautiful Amazonian woman walks right by me. While I attempted to pick my jaw off the floor, the guy taking tickets told me it was Tom Brady’s betrothed. For once, I didn’t feel like a total loser at one of those things.

12. The evil coach from The Karate Kid, 2007
I don’t know his real name, but I was at a horror/sci-fi convention and John Kreese almost ran straight into my neighbor while making a beeline to the bar. Kreese would have been plowed; my neighbor’s a pretty big guy.

13. Darryl Strawberry, 2003
I’m Jewish, and incredibly, I apparently converted to born-again Christianity to meet my favorite all-time baseball player. It’s a long story. Ask me sometime.

14. The guy who played Roger Dorn, 2009
I actually know his real name, but come on, he’s Roger Dorn from “Major League.” No great story here. I just thought it was awesome to meet Dorn.

15. The Iron Sheik, 2009
A few friends and I went to meet the Sheik at that horror/sci-fi convention. (I’m not sure why Sheik was there since he fit into neither category.) My friend Rob (pictured here) went up and mentioned the name of B.Brian Blair, sending Sheik into fits of rage. He then asked us to get him a beer. We were about to — I mean, why not? — but Nikolai Volkoff told us not to.

16. Dikembe Mutombo, 2000
After a Nets-Hawks game. I had the opportunity to interview either Dikembe or J.R. Rider: An impossible decision. I opted for Dikembe, talked to him for about five minutes and understood two words: “FILL SHOES.” I’m not sure what he was attempting to say, but I had asked him something about Patrick Ewing. Spent the entire interview attempting not to have one of his elbows break my nose.

Top 10 Coolest Athletes of the Decade:

10. Tom Brady
Plenty of haters out there, but he’s the man. Who wouldn’t want his life? Won three Super Bowls and married this. To top it all off, he hit the links with Vinnie Chase on Entourage.

9. Chris Webber/Jason Williams
Early ‘00s Kings were the most fun team in sports. Every kid on the playground wanted to play like White Chocolate. And Webber produced Nas’ “Blunt Ashes” and “Surviving the Times.”

8. Arturo Gatti
If you’ve ever been to one of his fights, you know Gatti’s the man. Four-time Ring Magazine “Fight of the Year” winner. Rest in peace, champ.

7. Antoine Walker
Here for one reason — infamous answer to question about why he shoots so many threes: “Because they don’t have fours.”

6. Ichiro
Sweet player. But besides that, another super-quotable athlete. He unleashed this gem in August:

Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me. I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.

5. Steve Nash
I remember back in ‘05, the Mavs decided to play him to pass. And he scored 48 in one game, and then 39 to eliminate them. Gangsta. Lives in N.Y. in offseason, rides a skateboard to the gym. And he’s hilarious.

4. Mike Piazza
Won first game after 9/11. Beasties claimed to be “Clutch like Piazza.” Married a Playboy Playmate — which was actually somehow a step down after previously dating Playmate of the Millennium. Outside sports, he has appeared on “Married … With Children,” among other ventures.

3. Charles Oakley
Said stuff like, “If it ain’t broke, don’t break it.” Used to wear sweet purple suits. Probably still does. Once was beaten to the lane by Bo Outlaw and responded by breaking his nose. Randomly worked out with some kid at U of Buffalo, ended up buying him dinner. Does a cooking show called “Oakley Cafe.” It’s the greatest cooking show in history.

2. Barry Bonds
The greatest hitter ever. The game looked the other way, then turned on him, and he didn’t really care. Unapologetically broke Hank Aaron’s record (on the eve of my birthday). Iconic Kanye West song seals the deal.

1. LeBron James
Was The Man at 18. Turned 25 today, scored 48 to celebrate. Friends with Jay-Z, which all of us would like to be. Before all is said and done, could be the G.O.A.T. (Apologies to Mike, but when LeBron starts winning rings, he may not stop.)

Top 10 Least Coolest Athletes:

10. David Eckstein
Do you really have to sprint to first base after drawing a walk? Really?

9. Derek Jeter
I respect his work ethic, and like Brady, his life is awesome. But he’s just so lame, so safe, so sanitized. I’m sick of hearing about him being “the new DiMaggio.” The next thing he has in common with The Great DiMaggio will be the first thing.

8. Brett Favre
He’s just having fun out there. He’s such a gunslinger. Like a kid in a playground.

7. Lennox Lewis
“Beat” Vitali Klitschko when they stopped their fight for Klitschko’s cut. Vitali was up on every scorecard. Lennox claimed he had no more challenges and bolted, effectively killing the heavyweight division. He now bores us all with banal commentary.

6. Michael Phelps/Tiger Woods
Both traded off their squeaky clean image, then proved to be complete hypocrites. Sick of hearing how much Phelps eats. Hey Phelps, try taking on Kobayashi. As for Tiger, cheated on this. Nas labeled him an Uncle Tom in a great song. He plays golf.

5. Tyler Hansbrough
A master of horrible flops and uncalled travels. Stayed at UNC until he was 23 1/2 to win a national title. I once got in an argument with him about some regulation when he was in high school. I was correct. This actually happened.

4. The Spurs
All of them. Horry gets a slight pass for Nas’ shout-out. The team assumes Duncan’s vibe, and he’s boring as hell and whines like there’s no tomorrow, though I have to admit his sneakers are sensational. Popovich tanked a season to get Duncan and has coasted on that ever since. Ginobili flops more than a Jason Biggs movie. (For that matter, so does Horry.) Parker and Eva: horrible. Plus, he’s French.

3. Reggie Miller
Speaking of flopping, Miller looked like a hooked fish on the deck of a boat. A strong wind would blow him over, and he’d get a whistle. Nobody ever tuned into a game saying, “Man, I can’t wait to watch Reggie hurl himself to the ground tonight!”

2. Isiah Thomas
Obviously, he’s not an athlete anymore, but we’ll count him on the grounds that he attempted to ruin one of the most historic franchises in sports history. Imparted for the Knicks horrible and high-priced players like Jerome James and Eddy Curry. Most notably, harassed women. I don’t endorse that. Now coaching Florida International. They’re 4-11.

1. Alex Rodriguez
Is there anyone who likes this guy for anything other than irony? A complete phony, and a fitting choice for the lamest sports figure of the decade.

Casey Watson

Watson, who has been referred to in these pages as “Black Arm,” is a dogg. A youth counselor in Oakland, he also plays guitar in No Tolerance and Look Back and Laugh, and sings for Never Healed. He also did or does duty in Yaphet Kotto, The Anasazi, and Mindless Mutant, and contributes to a blog. Watson played high school baseball against Pat Burrell, and is reigning champion of the Lockin Out Fantasy Football League. I’m not sure why Casey is a Yankees fan, but he’s so chill with it that it doesn’t bother me:

Some favorite moments of the 2000′s
1. Two New York Yankees World Series Championships
2. Cold World — Ice Grillz 7″
3. Fucked Up — No Pasaran/Baiting the Public/Generation 7″s
4. Never Healed/Ceremony euro tour 2008
5. KUK/FTL/BBB/LOC/TKO
6. Yaphet Kotto Japan tour 2002
7. The Wire
8. Friday Night Lights television series
9. Game Seven, Golden State Warriors vs Dallas Mavericks @ Oracle Arena, Oakland 2007
10. My dog Radar

2009 Top 10
1. New York Yankees World Series Championship
2. Cro-Mags live @ Thee Parkside, San Francisco
3. Four soccer league championships (Tyneside FC, FC St Pauli), two softball league championships (The Seamen)
4. “The Hangover”
5. Judge cover set @ Gilman St., Berkeley
6. B.J. Penn annihilating Diego Sanchez @ UFC 107. Dan Henderson croaking Michael Bisping @ UFC 100
7. LOC MOB
8. Karen O and the Kids — Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack
9. UFC 104 with DFJ
10. Getting engaged

Peter Lynch

Bio withheld by request:

1. BEST WEB SITE: Fire Joe Morgan.
With its editors now writing for TV’s excellent “Parks and Recreation,” firejoemorgan.com was something every intelligent/asshole fan wept tears of joy over. Not really about firing the guy from the Big Red Machine, more about pushing sports journalism forward, making columnists accountable (or at least feel bad) for their time-honored yet irrelevant and illogical thought streams, mostly just pointing out that good players need to be rewarded by beingwritten about for being good, and bad players shouldn’t be subjects of articles on why they should be MVP. Despite the most basic layout ever, no one cared, as the writing spoke for itself. Sadly, the site wrapped things up in 2008.

2. BEST CONCERT: Jay-Z’s Fade to Black concert at Madison Square Garden (2003)
I had heard about this, even tried to get tickets, yet couldn’t pull it together. So instead I’m left to be completely outstanded by the astonishing performance via DVD. I still can’t get my shoe out of my leg.

3. BEST BAND: The Hot Snakes.
Easily the best punk or punk-related band of the decade: I mean it’s guys from Drive Like Jehu & RFTC playing Wipers-inspired punk’n'roll. I’ve only ever regretted missing two shows this decade under the reason of not having anyone to go with. Both of them were Hot Snakes gigs. But I sacked it up and went alone twice, meaning I’m pissed I didn’t get to see them four times. Sir Richard Froberg’s voice (or howl) is one of the best and most urgent I’ve ever heard.

4. BEST ANNUAL EVENT: Posi Numbers fest.
Where else can you mosh next to Morgado, with Jeff Perlin on the mic, or dodge Timmy No Justice’s fists as he is coming at you in a $200 polo shirt while a skinhead stomps on stage? On the same day? It was the main stage, every band that played probably had one of their best sets ever there, it was where everyone across the world could meet: grievances were aired, beefs enacted upon and squashed, girls were banged and laughed at, as was I. There was humiliation, laughter, drug use, gambling, and many rooms to buy stuff. I saw Underdog in a dome then after I went and got in a hot tub. Best day of the year? You bet your ass it was.

7. BEST TV SHOW: Chappelle’s Show.
Absolutely the greatest fucking TV show ever, Dave perhaps left us a little too early. But when you give the world, “She looks like she wears underwear with dickholes in them,” not to mention the Rick James and Prince anecdotes, you can do what you want.

8. BEST RECORD: Deerhunter — Cryptograms (2007)
The first time I listened to this record I paused it on Track 3, because I felt like my brain was melting out of my ears. I took a breath, debated quitting, but went for it anyway. I did not stop listening for about two years. Recorded as two halves, the first one written in a midst of a nervous breakdown and jumps all over the place from ambient to Krautrock to ignorant suicide-style punk to white noise to experimental to dance and then more white noise. The second half brings you back to earth with semi-regular song structures and probably the best futuristic shoegaze ever made. If your girl does drugs, you’re probably fucking with “Strange Lights” playing in the background pretty often. More punk sounding and coherent (barely) and accessible than Animal Collective, yet it’s the heavy drug vibe that does the scaring away. The singer has Marfans and is 6’4, 105 lb., and is an engaging frontman, so they are no disappointment live. Deerhunter changed up styles for their following LP, Microcastle, but those of us who were there knew what happened in 2007.

9. BEST CELEBRITY:Paris Hilton.
Never has someone with so little¹ accomplished so much with it.

10. BEST CANT WAIT FOR: 2010.
Funnily enough. The iPhone comes in a close second.

Nick Racicot

Nick, who sings for Final Word, is a pillar in Montreal. The only name on the lease at Apt. X, he once traded away his Chung King for something in the neighborhood of $50. This was in 1992, so there is no need to give him any grief: “No one respected that shit back then except Euros and those Mouthpiece guys.” Nick has joints for days, and an unparalleled tape collection. Lots of awesome Merauder sets. Nick is currently wrapping up an MBA, holding it down in Ottawa, and the city is better for it:

Decade
1. 2000: No Warning (Demo), Cold as Life (Born to Land Hard — RIP Big Dawg), Death Threat (Peace & Security — peace to C.J.), Madball (Hold it Down — peace to M.H.), 100 Demons (“In the Eyes of the Lord”), Stigmata (Do Unto Others — peace to Troycore), Hatebreed (Perseverance Demo)
2. No Warning’s Ill Blood setting the tone post 2002 (peace to retro NYHC)
3. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (peace to Leon)
4. The Internet = connecting the dots (peace to Google/Wiki/early eBay/Niketalk (Sam, I see you)/Myspace/FB…)
4. The Internet = alpha omega of vultures and tourists (peace to an era when barriers to entry were higher)
5. Real HC (peace to MTLxHC, Size Em Up, Wiltse/Town of HC, N.W., Walk All Night 03-04, Posifests, Terror/Promise fam’, Madball, Posifests, Lockin Out, Rev/Mullet/QCHC, Death Threat, T.U.I., Hatebreed still killing it (no peace to haters), Stop and Think (no peace to sleeping on bands) and all the true heads/bands/labels)
6. Apt. X (peace to Ben D., Sam, Shane, carbs, L.P., Ben T., Mani, Math, Fred, Frank, Benny B., Moes, fake poutine/fake vegan gravy, the couch, rent control, Seinfeld tapes, the computer in my room)
7. Gear (peace to Nike 00-06 (infrared 90s, 01 IIIs, atmos maxes, co.jp dunks/forces, curry air max 1s, neon 95s, retro footscapes, Stussy huarache light, spiridons, urawas, I see you), the old school (R(R)L, RW, TNF, SI, Arcx, Levis, Barbour, Carhartt) and the new breed (Vis., E.G., W+H, early NDG)
8. “Superbad”/”City of God”/”There Will be Blood”/”Anchorman”/”No Country for Old Men”/”The Departed”/”Mullholand Drive”/”Old School”/”Road Trip” (also peace to “The Office”, HBO, Showcase, Sasha Baron, “30 Rock”, “Arrested Development”)
9. Peace to cells, texts and iPods.
10. Open source everything changing the game

Worst trends: Canadian rock, and the 9/11 paradigm shift (got to say peace to Obama for the glimmer of hope in there), reality TV, and the 2000 bug

2009
1.Trapped Under Ice: Secrets of the World, best LP (peace to the most original and heaviest of the ’00s and Reaper Records)
2. Plus/Minus: Demo (peace to Lifers Montreal)
3. Bad Seed: Split w/War Hungry, S/T (peace to breakdowns with no build-ups)
4. Dead and Dying: New tracks (peace to bail bonds)
5. Pegasus: S/T (peace to the dopest singing)
6. Fire & Ice: Gods & Devils (peace to the dopest intro)
7. Power Trip: Armegeddon Blues (peace to crossover)
8. Iron Age: The Sleeping Eye (peace to the most classic riffs)
9. Maximum Penalty: Life & Times (peace to an old NYHC band finally putting out something good)
10. The Icemen: S/T (peace to writing Cro-Mags songs before them – Spoiler, I see you)

Worst trends: Dirtycore taking over, “gearman’s” (quoting Sam) faux obsession with authenticity and other general acts of posing

Chris Casali

Casali, a charter member of Hows Your Edge, is now some of the brains behind The Collection Space. He has one of the greatest NYHC and S.E. tee collection on the east coast, and is a man of taste. A native New Englander, Chris recently bought a tight-ass house. I bet he just sold off some Skiz longsleeve doubles to pay the man:

Top 10 of 2009:

GEAR: T.A.D. Gear (www.tadgear.com)
I happened upon this brand while searching out Acronym products on Superfuture. T.A.D. make and sell technical clothing and accessories for the type of dude who is working in Afghanistan on a “private contract” and may or may not be in the military. The brand’s jackets, pants, sweatshirts, etc., have more hidden pockets, zippers and reinforcements than you could possibly know what to do with. They strive to make a quality product and it shows. To sum up, this stuff is built to last the apocalypse, and is a steal for the $$. (Check out the Force 10 Spartan Pants)

TOYS : COARSETOYS (www.coarsetoys.com)
‘Roided out bunny rabbits? Shirtless stoic skater dudes with shark helmets? These guys were on top of the vinyl game in 2009. Overthought and brilliant packaging makes it an event to open the boxes. BOXES. Shipping, outer, inner, foam packaging, pillows, etc. Vinyl is a personal choice, surely, and this stuff just talks to me. I can’t wait to see what’s next from these guys.

AUTO: Porsche Panamera(http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/panamera/)
It might be because I am getting old, but I LOVE a large four-door sedan. Sign me up for the longest mamma-jamma you carry. Audi A8L, BMW 760Li, Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG, etc. My ideal situation would be to have an Audi A8L AND a Porsche 911T living happily in my garage. Well, Porsche, you took the dream out of me. I know true Porsche enthusiasts shudder at the thought of a four-door, and especially an SUV, carrying their beloved nameplate. Can you really argue with an all-wheel drive, 500 horsepower luxo-barge that well, still drives like a Porsche? Not I, friends, not I.

HARDCORE: The Rival Mob — Raw Life
I admittedly am not on the cutting edge of hardcore. I am not quiet stuck in the past, but I am always a little behind. I try to go to at least one show a year at this point in my life. Not slagging on gigging, but I like staying at home and being in non-sweaty situations. I did see a band this year that punched me in the face. THE RIVAL MOB. Great name. Sure, I had listened before, but seeing them live made me go back and re-listen. They speak on the anger that I usually never vocalize. RAW LIFE. Oh and a D.B.N.O. cover? Fuck.

METAL: Baroness — Blue Album
This album hit me right. I know it’s been subject to some negativity, but I like the fact that the record is believably emotional one second, and completely detached the next. It would be very easy for this album to go off-track, but there is an impending sense of seriousness that keeps pushing it forward. Snatch it up and give it a listen, and be sure to make it all the way through before you cast judgment.

HIP-HOP: Clipse — Road to Till the Casket Drops
O.K., so maybe I am an asshole, but I am indeed choosing the mixtape INSTEAD of the freshly released album Till The Casket Drops. I know the mixtape features old beats and old guest appearances, hell, it even came out last year, but it’s cocky to the point of making you feel like you could roll around your city like a Teflon Don. The album is really strong as well, but I have not spent enough time with it for it to supplant its own mixtape. The guest spot by Cam is strong and the Kane verses will get you smiling. I’ll let you know if I change my mind. Check with me in 2010.

SPORTS: Bill Belichick‘s 4th-and-2
If you follow football and live in New England, you have undoubtedly stopped listening to the barrage of discussions pertaining to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on 4th-and-2 from his 28 facing the Colts. I must admit that at first I was extremely critical of the call, even being quoted, “FACE IT, HE MADE A MISTAKE. HE FUCKED UP!” (The caps represent me yelling at my father). While taking a self-imposed break from sports radio for a week, I was able to come to peace with the situation. First off, Coach Belichick is more of a man that I could ever be. He made the tough call that very few thought was right, and it did not work. Had it worked, he would have been the genius who could do no wrong. Would he do it again? YES, HE WOULD. My coach, he of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick, was trying, IS ALWAYS trying, to win the game. Top 10 material. The forward progress spot is in my Bottom 10, but that’s another story…

ELECTRONICS: Android
I didn’t think that we would see a true competitor for the Apple iPhone for a few more years, but 2009 was the year of the DROID. Google has stepped up to the plate and has fired the opening shots in the war that is going to ensue in the smartphone market. The open source Android operating system is set up to stand in stark contrast to the locked-in nature of Apple products. The coming year should be interesting as Sony Ericsson and MANY others will be pushing out Android-equipped devices, INCLUDING Google themselves in early 2010. Consumers love choices, and that’s what we should see going forward in the smartphone market.

RECORD LABEL: Trash King (http://www.myspace.com/503714938)
It might take (James) Ritter three months to send me a package (it always comes), but when homey decides to do something like start a record label, he can get it down with a quickness. Foil-printed tapes, and a third-person marketing strategy is clever. All I want out of this label is an official America’s Youth release. “The Straightest Edge” may be one of my favorite songs of all times. Did I mention that they need to start pumping out shirts? “Where low quality and high prices meet.” Trash King should be a label to look out for in 2010. “USE MY MIND, USE MY HEAD …”

HOROLOGICAL: IWC father and son watch set
Playing off of the romantic notion that a father must pass down a treasured timepiece to his son, International Watch Company has released a father and son watch set in 2009. Identical-looking timepieces, bar the size and case material. In fact, the catalog states, ” The inner circle on the back cover is reserved for an engraving of the lucky recipient’s name – not only a stylish dedication but also a safeguard against mix-ups.” I would think that a dad spending $40k on a watch set would know which watch was larger AND platinum, but never underestimate stupidity. Regardless of price, I applaud the father and son watch set, and hopefully will be able to share something along these lines with my daughter someday.

Craig Arms

Craig hails from Mass., and according to CC, he lives in a luxury barn. Craig is something of a gearman, but not in the abovementioned sense of the word (see Nick’s list). Rather, Craig is a musician who plays choice rigs. He is bassist for Mind Eraser and guitarist for Rampage, and singer for Waste Management. He is waiting for a Rickenbacker to arrive in the mail, and has a super-rare Ampeg bass head, the name of which slips my grasp, on top of a nice collection of pedals. Along with Nick P, Craig is also part of an elite sub-spectrum of white people who have a beard, but don’t. Oh yeah, he also invented the New Scene:

10 things that I thought were cool in 2009:

1. Boston Strangler — Live in Cambridge, and in Holyoke
2. Wasted Time — Live at No Way Fest, Richmond, Va.
3. Midnight — Live at AS220, Providence, R.I.
4. Chaos En Tejas — Judgement & Cro-Mags sets especially
5. Hatred Surge — Deconstruct LP
6. Rival Mob — Raw Life LP
7. No Tolerance — Demo 7”
8. Heaven and Hell — Live in Boston
9. Omegas, Mad Men, Urban Blight, Bad Choice — Live at Rancho Relaxo, Toronto
10. Sex/Vid, Mind Eraser, Failures, Iron Age — Live at Death By Audio, N.Y.C.

10 things that I thought were cool during the last decade:

1. Think I Care — s/t 7”
2. Infest — No Man’s Slave LP
3. Down But Not Out — Live
4. Warhead — Live at Tokyo EarthDom
5. Out Cold — Just in general
6. FYA — Live @ The Berwick
7. Fucked Up — singles up to Generation
8. Annihilation Time — II LP
9. Cold Sweat — Live in Boston and Providence
10. Inmates — LP and live at the White Orchid, Toronto

Wayne Buckley

Wayne is a graduate student in paleoclimatology and paleoceanography at the University of South Carolina. A Virginia Beach native, Wayne moved to Boston for his undergraduate degree, and while there, he ate a tuna melt every day at the BU cafeteria and amassed a breathtaking collection of expensive sneakers. Wayne ran the bridge for Sweet Ink while A.J. was on  tour in Europe, and indeed acquired the bulwark of his collection off takes from a couple of good homestands. He now has fewer than 20 pairs of shoes, of which 10 are footscape wovens. He is anticipating a move to Brooklyn in the near future (though not near enough):

The Time and The Place:

I haven’t always made the best decisions when it comes to maximizing the level of excitement or fun in my life. I’ve been guilty of repeatedly skipping nights out on the town in favor of the warm glow of a computer screen or even ignoring a phone call from a friend on his way to a big party. Hell, I even pulled a Barrow on some of the more memorable² shows of the decade.³ But when it came to choosing a collegiate path that maximized my fun as a student, I nailed it. You’d have a hard time convincing me, or anyone in my circle of friends living in the big city lights⁴ of Boston in the early-to-mid 2000s, that there was a better place to be. Nightly shelling outside of Fenway, windfalls of cash, Mental Crew featuring Derek Scace “The Glory Years,” all my friends decked out in Arcteryx gear like uniforms, Sunset sessions, the 2004 World Series Parade, etc. etc. The good times seemed endless. The limelight on Boston sports teams during this period was a significant factor in the fun. As a hawker, the greater the drama, win or lose, the more money we all saw. This meant $500 jackets were no longer window shopping⁵ material and the newest, most limited sneakers were no longer overpriced nor unattainable.

Of course there are always those who come before us. I am no pioneer in the sneaker game and never claimed to be. I just know that I’ll never be able to shake the awe of seeing Jay Bil rocking one of his pairs of Heinekens⁶ at an otherwise forgettable Connecticut show during the fall of 2003. It was precisely this moment that I fell in love with the Nike SB Dunk. For a short time this decade, in my opinion, there was no better shoe — and no better monthly revision of said shoe — than what was going on with the SB Dunk. Once the brand became more popular, expanded their scope and began pushing several varying types of SBs⁷ the product suffered, both aesthetically and in terms of quality. But I’ll be damned if there wasn’t a more dramatic neck breaker than a citizen passing you on Commonwealth Avenue wearing a recently Un-DSed pair of Supreme Highs.

Top Five Best Nike SBs of the Decade:

Honorable Mention: Paul Brown Dunk Highs
I had two chances to purchase these shoes. The first was from Spungie at Concepts in Cambridge. He had his personal pair on display at the store, and after I inquired about them, he agreed to sell them to me for $200 after he got off work (as he wasn’t allowed to sell them during work hours). I agreed to come back after Concepts closed for the night, and A.J. agreed to bum around Harvard Square for a few hours to wait for the meetup. Once the time came, we pulled in front of the store to a scene of about 20 dudes, all of whom looked exactly like Spungie, and only one black dude. As I approached, I heard one of the Spungies say, “Oh, here he come now. You ready for a shoe auction, Playboy?” Now I’ve got my $200 dollars in my hand, all of which I had taken out of the ATM (probably all I had in the bank,⁸ for that matter) and was slightly confused. I now find out Spungie (the actual Spungie) had agreed to sell the shoes to me, as well as this black dude, and that a live auction would decide the owner. It was over before it began: the black dude said he’d pay $250, and I walked back dejectedly to A.J.’s Jeep, with my cash in hand.

My second opportunity to purchase these came on a day I ventured over to Ding’s then-place at 36 Cherokee. Ding was about to go on a trip and needed spending cash. I had emailed him prior to coming over and he said he had some shit he was trying to get rid of. My mind-set was in, “Oh, sick! Deal city!” mode, but when I walked into his room and asked about the Paul Browns, he told he wanted $600 for them. I said I couldn’t pay that, and he said that was cool. I ended leaving with a complimentary Sneaker Jack issue that he gave me for coming over. It ended up getting good use in about four bathrooms before being disposed of. I never did come to own a pair of the Paul Browns, though.

5. Futura Nightshades
It was a tough call between the nocturnal tones of the Futura and the understated gold and black combination of the Takashi, a Nick P staple, no less. But this is, after all, my list and I’m a sucker for muted shades, which Futura delivered with this colorway: a tumbled leather midnight blue, a suede grey, and a mesh black. Let it be known that myself and Boogie were the only two members of Mental Crew to own these works of art. And let it be known as well, that Boogie wore them better than I ever could dream.

4. Orange Supreme Highs
It was a warm evening at 8 Carmel Street in the summer of 2005. The regular crew was killing time, shooting the breeze, waiting for the sixth inning, before heading down to Fenway. Standhard made his way into A.J. and I’s room and started perusing the wall of Nike shoeboxes stacked along the wall. He mentioned that 9.5 was his size and grabbed two boxes at random. He opened both, and saw Blue Supreme Highs in one and Orange Supreme Highs in the other. He jokingly took off his Air Max 1s and slipped a Blue Supreme on his left foot and an Orange Supreme on his right. He then picked up a Black and White Sidekick One and pretended to pose for a picture. Unfortunately, no one had a camera. I had not worn either shoe up until that point, and neither has been worn since.

3. True Reds
It was somewhere in the Pacific, probably somewhat northeast of the Tuamotus and southwest of the Marquesas when my True Reds received their death knell. It was early morning aboard the Robert C. Seamans during a routine Neuston net tow and I was assigned to handle the net. The net tow was a daily chore: the ship extending a net in the water and moving along at 1 kt, collecting all the biomass on the water’s surface. At the end of this particular tow, there was a fairly large amount of biomass entrained in the net. As I hauled the net back to the ship and lifted it out of the water, my grip failed me, and the net and all its contents came deposited onto my True Reds. They went from their glorious bright suede red and brighter red leather to a shade of deep purple and brown. I took a moment to collect myself before cleaning up my legs, my shoes, and the lab deck. I ended up exchanging the soiled shoes for a brand new pair of Pink and Yellow Bapestas in a transaction with a girl from Marblehead, Mass. I’ve never worn the Bapes, and they certainly don’t hold a candle to even a ruined pair of True Reds.

2. Heinekens
Classic green, black, white, and that little fucking red star. Local Virginia legend has it that a man of Turkish descent came into the only surf and skate shop in the area carrying Heineys on their release day and bought all 50 pairs at $90 a pop. I was able to secure my pair after stumbling upon a mislisted⁹ eBay auction for the then-expensive, but now bargain bin price of $215. To this day, I’ve only worn them once, in 2004 to check my mail. I’m still waiting for a good reason to rock them but have yet to find one. I’m taking suggestions.

1. White Supreme Lows
The Holy Grail of SBs, in my opinion. I think even Woj may back these, but he probably prefers the AF1 prototype. (And who can blame him?) I thought about knocking these down a spot because Monster Joe bought a trashed pair for $400, but I actually never saw him wear them in person so they are still sanctified in my mind. I think Concepts had a pair of these in 6.5 for a hot minute, but most likely it was the more common black pair. It’s wholly possible that these only existed in trashed form as that’s the only way I’ve seen them. Elephant print before elephant print became leopard print. A distinguished forefather to all the SBs that were to come after it.

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