FAMOUS RAP STARS

Famous rap stars.  On this web site??  Yes, it's time for something new.  It's time for out of the box thinking.  Why, do you ask?  Actually, today is the anniversary of Tupac Shakur's death in 1996.  He died following a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.  Police never solved the murder.  Investigators considered  The Notorious B.I.G. a suspect, however he was also killed in a drive-by shooting six months later in Los Angeles.

Shakur belonged to Death Row Records and heavily influenced the East-Coast vs West-Coast hip-hop rivalry among rappers.  While controversial, Shakur also enjoyed mainstream success.  In fact, his song "California Love" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 list.

So, today on Wiki-Pete-ia, we will attempt to do Famous Rap Stars trivia on the Shemon and Sheppard Show on ESPN Southwest Florida.  Admittedly, this could go sideways fast.  If you are lucky caller number 9, perhaps you can dazzle us with your rap-game knowledge.  If not, here are the questions and answers below.  Good luck, yo!

Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books. And it's a good thing I waited until the Monday night game to finalize my NFL Power Rankings. An MRI has confirmed that Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles and is done for the season. The Chiefs, Bills, and Vikings were all playoff teams that started 2023 with a loss. Possibly the most depressing result (on the field) was the performance by the Giants on a national platform. Here's a little teaser- the Giants fall big time in my rankings this week. The Bengals and Bears lost divisional home games against teams that have owned them in recent history. Bengals fans are fine. The same can not be said for Bears fans. Rodgers is gone, then Jordan Love goes out and does that. All of these teams take a step back in this week's NFL Power Rankings.

But for all of the bad, there was plenty of good. Starting with the Florida teams. Tampa Bay's win at the Vikings might have been the upset of the weekend. Baker looks serviceable, and the defense is still good. The Jaguars won for the first time in Indianapolis since 2017. Even though the Colts hung around, the Jags separated late. And the Miami Dolphins look like the best team in the league offensively coming out of their road win against the Chargers. The Cowboys, 49ers, and Rams all have impressive wins on their resume after week 1. How far will they rise in this week's NFL Power Rankings.

Offensively the Cardinals left a lot to be desired. Defensively the Cards showed some fight. Sometimes that crossed the line, but you love to see a team that is clearly tanking show some heart on the field.

That's a tough result against the Packers. Not only are the Packers still significantly better than the Bears, but Justin Fields and the offense looked awful. They can not beat the Packers no matter who the quarterback is.

I thought Anthony Richardson looked good in his first start. But just because he can run doesn't mean that he should run. Or at least not as much as on Sunday. It's too bad the rest of the roster stinks around him.

A pretty solid first game for CJ Stroud with the Texans at Baltimore. Baltimore is a difficult place to play for opposing quarterbacks. Things will get easier for Stroud this weekend at home against the Colts.

It's always difficult to open up on the road, et alone a road divisional game. Bryce threw 2 picks in the loss, but was without his top receiving option. The country will get to see Bryce Young this week as they are on Monday Night Football hosting the Saints.

The Falcons are my lowest ranked team to win this week. The rushing attack looked great with rookie Bijan Robinson and second year back Tyler Allgeier rushing for 129 combined yards, 26 receiving yards, and 3 total touchdowns. Still want to see more from the passing game.

Ryan Tannehill with 3 interceptions in the loss to New Orleans. The offense couldn't muster any touchdowns in the game and had to settle for 5 field goals. Tennessee host the high-flying Chargers this week.

I think Ron Rivera put it perfectly after their win over Arizona saying he was happy to get the win, but we have to play better. It was a win, and that's all a team can do in week 1. But moving forward the offense will need to be better. Starting this week at Denver.

That was the worst performance of week 1. The Giants are still waiting to put their first points of the season on the score board. But at least they got Daniel Jones' deal done...

I was never buying into the Kenny Pickett hype. You should sell you stock if you did buy. The offense could only gain 239 yards on the day, and Pickett threw 2 picks. The Steelers now have a huge divisional game at home on Monday night against the Browns.

The Saints did what the Saints do- win at home. It was not the prettiest offensive performance, but they got the win. Next up is a divisional road game at Carolina on Monday night.

I am shocked this team didn't play better against the Rams. Seattle ran just 13 plays in the second half for -7 yards and only possessed the ball for 5:04 in the half while being outscored 16-0.

The Ravens got the win over Houston in their first game, but didn't look spectacular in the process. Four starters left the game with injuries including running back JK Dobbins who tore his Achilles. Baltimore travels to face a Bengals team coming off an embarrassing loss.

So Sean Payton isn't the savior for the Broncos offense. Or at least not yet. Losing to the Raiders is not great. They'll look to bounce back against Washington at home this weekend.

Maybe it shouldn't be, but the Raiders surprised the hell out of me with a 1-point road victory. 1-0 in the division with a trip to Buffalo on deck.

They fought back against a good Eagles team, but some questionable coaching decisions in the 4th quarter cost them ultimately. Mac Jones was the 3rd best QB in the building behind Jalen Hurts and Tom Brady.

Jordan Love looked good in their win at Chicago. But what Packers QB hasn't looked great against the Bears in the last 30 years? Another road test for Love and the Packers this week at Atlanta.

What the hell was that Minnesota? After winning all those close games last year it makes sense losing a close one to start 2023. Tough spot this week for the Vikings on the road in Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Really nice win for the Bucs and Baker in his first game with the team. The expectations in Tampa preseason might have been selling this team short. They get the Bears at home this weekend as they try to start 2-0.

The Aaron Rodgers injury changes the trajectory of the season for the Jets. But credit to the team for sticking together and fighting back for a big divisional home win against the Buffalo Bills. Let's see what they do a quarterback for the rest of the season.

Another team with a "what the hell was that" performance. I guess it should be expected at this point as the Browns own the Bengals. The Bengals have the home opener this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Browns always look good on paper. On Sunday they looked great on the field. With 1 divisional win under their belts, they look to make it 2 on Monday night at Pittsburgh.

This was one of the bigger surprises of the weekend. Going into Seattle is not an easy thing to do. Most people wrote the Rams off at the beginning of the year. But maybe Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay can find a little more magic.

This team has felt on the edge of greatness for the last few seasons, but when will they break through? Losing to Zach Wilson and the jets is not a great start for the Bills. They'll look to bounce back at home against the Raiders this weekend.

The Jags got their first win in Indy since 2017. Calvin Ridley is going to unlick this offense and make it elite. Get on the Jags bandwagon before it's too late.

This team did not look the same without Travis Kelce. They will once again look elite on offense once he returns. And Chris Jones coming back will improve the defense, that looked fine against the Lions.

It was such a crazy weekend that it's easy to forget the Lions went into Arrowhead and walked out with a win against Patrick Mahomes. Rebuilding? Not in Detroit! This team is for real.

40-0!!! How bout them Cowboys?!?!?! Dallas dominated all 3 phases of the game against the Giants on Sunday night. They're at home this week against Zach Wilson (presumably) and the Jets.

Tough loss for the Chargers against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. But the offense looked great against a talented Dolphins defense. This is a loaded roster and will be in the mix all season with the best AFC teams.

Jalen Hurts looked rusty in the Eagles won at New England. But it doesn't change my opinion that the roster is loaded and will be a threat to return to the Super Bowl at the end of the year.

Tua... WOW! Tyreek... WOW! Defense... EW! The Dolphins looked great on offense against the Chargers. Tua and Tyreek are on pace to rewrite the record book. The defense needs to improve, and fast. Tough spot this week at New England on Sunday Night Football.

San Francisco dominated all three phases of the game in Pittsburgh. It does scare me how much they are using Christian McCaffrey. But as long as he's playing like he is at the moment, this is the best team in the National Football League.