JUNE, 2006 is a great time for sports. We have the NBA Finals and the World Cup. I'm picking and hoping for the Miami Heat to win the NBA Finals. Brazil are the favourites to win the World Cup. I watched Brazil play New Zealand in a friendly match last weekend and I can tell you that they are going to be tough to beat. I should mention at this point the World Cup Rules for wives, girlfriends, honeys, etc. that have been floating around cyberspace. Ladies, please adhere to these rules as this will be good for your relationship with the men in your lives. Basically, the rules say leave men alone during the month that is the World Cup. Don't ask us for anything or to do anything for the duration of the World Cup and definitely not during games. In addition to the international sports news, the Bermuda National Cricket Team is doing well over in the UK and now Guernsey. More on all of this after the Top 20.

Holding at the top of the hits is Cheri Dennis with her monster R&B/hip hop hit I Love You. This song has a sweet melody and a punchy beat. Soaring to number two is Enough Crying, the latest from Mary J. Blige, featuring Brook-lyn. Climbing to number three is Gimmie That by Chris Brown. Soaring to number four is It's Going Down by Yung Joc, a relatively new player in the business.

Falling to number five is What You Know by T.I., a hot hip hop track.

Temperature by Sean Paul falls to number six. This banging riddim has been used on no less than 10 other dancehall tracks this year. Up to number seven is last week's essential new joint, When You're Mad by Ne-Yo. This one is all over the radio. Up to number eight is Why You Wanna by T.I, one of the hottest names in the rap game these days.

Down to number nine is 4 Minutes, a beautiful slow joint by Avant. Falling to number 10 is Poppin' My Collar by Three 6 Mafia.

New at number 11 is Clockwork by Juelz Santana. This is the kind of song which has a different kind of beat and vibe. You thing that it isn't that great; then later you find yourself singing it. It's been all over the radio and it is quite catchy.

Now this week's essential new joint. New at number 12 is Hum Hum, a controversial dancehall anthem by Beenie Man. The beat of this track, as with most songs that make you dance, is what makes this song so special. The controversy surrounds the lyrical content, which is kind of raunchy, to the extent that it isn't played much in Jamaica.

Joining this elite list at number 13 is Ms New Booty by Bubby Sparxx featuring the Ying Yang Twins. The videos to some of these hip hop joints are so sinful and suggestive that they make good men think naughty thoughts. But, that just might be the objective. In retrospect, its probably the work of the devil, putting temptation in our way. Get behind us Satin.

Now some older tracks that are heading out. Descending to number 14 is Lean Wit It, Rock WitIt by Dem Franchize Boyz featuring L'il Peanut and Charlay. Tripping to number 15 is Best Friend by Olivia and 50 Cent.

Now some soca. Improving to number 16 is Roll It by Allison Hinds featuring Machelle Montano. Up to number 17 is Park It by Explainer, which tells a funny story. Moving on up to number 18 is Max it Up by Destra, which has loads of energy and is good for any party.

Jumping up to number 19 is Don't Stop, another soca hit, but this one is by Shurwayne Winchester.

New at number 20 is Dime Piece by Nick Cannon. This track uses a smple from New Edition's hit single from the early '90s entitled Poison (remember that one, old fogeys?)

Now back to this week's word — sports in June.

I'll confess here that I am a closet sports anchor for ESPN. Perhaps I'll try that in my next career, but here goes. I apologise to those readers who do not like sports, but read this anyway so that you can be informed about what is going on in the world of sports. Ladies who read this will impress the men in their lives with their knowledge, gained from reading DJ LT's contribution this week! I promise the honeys that if they recite some of what is written in these lines, your man will be totally impressed and we all know that its good to impress your significant other.

For the basketball enthusiasts, two first-timers will be in the NBA Finals; the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. I'd like to see the Miami Heat win it all. I'm glad they beat the Pistons and the marketing student in me felt all along that having Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade in the finals would make for better media ratings than having the balanced scoring and primarily defensively focused Detroit Pistons. Shaq and Wade are Superstars. Some people are surprised that Miami beat Detroit, but not me. Those people forgot that the main reason Detroit beat Miami in last year's Eastern Conference Finals was because Shaq and Wade were not 100 percent fit; they were more like 65 percent of where they are now. Also, Wade is a year older, wiser and more mature. This year he takes over games in the fourth quarter like few other players in the NBA. He got game.

Congrats to Avery Johnson, coach of the Dallas Mavericks. I'm not playing the race card, but you have to be happy for Johnson, one of the few black Head Coaches in the NBA, who won coach of the year honours this season and has led his team to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Anybody who watches professional sports knows that they just don't hire black coaches that often. Instead they recycle the same good old boys who don't get it done with team after team, yet still get hired year after year, when qualified minority (black, Latin, whatever or from wherever) coaches seldom get an opportunity to show that they can coach.

My message (and I know they are not reading or listening) to owners of professional sports franchises is that all you have to do is look at what Jose Guillen and the Chicago White Sox did last year (they won the World Series); look at what Avery Johnson has done with the Dallas Mavericks this year; look at how Marvin Lewis has turned around the perennial losers that were the Cincinatti Bengals; look at what Romeo Crennel did with the New England Patriots and what he is now doing with the Cleveland Browns; and you will see many good reasons to give minority coaches a chance.

Now to World Cup. I'll confess that unlike most Bermudians, Brazil is not my team (although whenever they are playing anybody that I don't support, I root for them simply because they play the most attractive football). I have supported Argentina for 30 years and recently France since DJ LT speaks French (not just another washed up DJ!). However, while I will be supporting my two teams, in that order, I saw Brazil play New Zealand last weekend and they are easily on paper the best team in the tournament and obviously favoured to win. Brazil are, however vulnerable at the back, as always. They are too good, too confident and believe that even their defenders are more skilful than their opponents best players (often they are right). However, while New Zealand are just not in their class, teams like Argentina, France, Germany (the home team) or England (on a good day) could surprise Brazil, score against the run of play and beat them. The way to beat Brazil is to play a physical game (they don't like this style of play), to absorb their pressure, pack the middle and send them wide, and try to score on counterattacks, since their defenders like to attack. Also, Brazil's goalkeepers never impress me. That said, they will probably win the World Cup and I'm sure they'll at least be in the semi-final. However, I must write a bit about Ronadinho.

Even if you don't like sports or football, you must watch this man play. I've seen his highlights, tricks, freekicks and goals; but you must see this man pass a football during a game. He is without question the best player in the world! He passes a ball over a distance of 60 or 70 meters, without even looking, and his precision is such that even at that distance, the recipient never has to break stride, change direction or reach for the ball. The ball just seems to land in the right spot so that the recipient can do something positive with it, like score, shoot at goal or cause some type of havoc in the opponents' defence. I counted last Sunday and 8 out of 10 passes are like this. His first touch is perfect, he seldom gets dispossessed and every time he has the ball at his feet, you know that something exciting is going to happen. He is very rare, special and fans will be talking about his performances for years to come.

I'm not sure what's going on with my teams Argentina and France. Argentina vs. Brazil would be a great final if it could happen. France seem as if they are happy with having won it all in 1998 and they really disappointed me in 2002. England always choke at the World Cup. Will this be the year they put it all together? Who knows! If I were a betting man (which I am not), history would prevent me from betting on England. However, they always get a lot of media coverage, even when they are playing badly. They did, however, thrash the Reggae Boys from Jamaica 6-0 last week; so we'll have to wait and see.

Its good to see Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup. They have been playing good football for years and I'm happy for them. Maybe when Shaun Goater returns to Bermuda, he, Kyle Lightbourne, David Bascome and all of Bermuda's current and recent professional footballers can come together and put together a programme that puts Bermuda on the map for football, as has happened with cricket.

Speaking of cricket, the Bermuda National Cricket Team did fairly well in Guernsey and some of the young players are starting to impress. Delyonne Borden did well earlier this week to score 71 at the top of the order followed by a brisk 40. Bermuda has needed that kind of innings from an opener for some time. I wrote a few months ago that he might not have been ready, but his latest run of form is encouraging. He has batted better than his St. David's buddy (probably also his cousin) O.J. Pitcher, who has enormous potential but hasn't produced at the top level. I have nothing but praise for Gus Logie; you have to like his move to put George O'Brien, an opening bowler, at the top of the order, to shake things up. You have to keep the players guessing and not let them rest on their laurels. O'Brien rewarded the coach by smashing a quick 30, giving Bermuda a good start and putting us in position to win. Kudos to both George and Gus. I think that if Bermuda plays to their full potential, if we get our best team on the field, and if we have just a bit of luck, we could actually advance past the first round of the World Cup of Cricket in 2007. However, there is a lot of work to be done and better results to be generated before this can happen.

All in all, June, and in fact the entire summer of 2006, will be a fun summer for all sports enthusiasts.

Yours in sport — and peace ...