Talking Football in December

So this is my first blog on the NFL as a whole since May. I made my Predictions of the Patriots then, little did I know they would accomplish this in conjunction with THE PERFECT SEASON!

Let me begin with some notes on the Pats.
1) Every great team in history has some near misses, "shoulda losses" never matter, it is the "coulda wons" that kill ya.
2) People took the close games, and started to think that there is a formula that teams can follow to beat the Pats. Problem with that is: a) you need the personnel to employ the same formula, and 2) you have to consider that Billichek isn't winning Super Bowls allowing teams to shut his team down with the same strategy week after week. If you need an illustration of this see the 34-13 victory over the Steelers in Week 14.
3) This week the Giants have no chance to slow down the Pats. I will give you 1 reason 'Eli Manning.' The Giants defense may play relatively well, but Eli will be putting forth his best effort to give the game away every chance he gets (for the record I believe Eli is salvageable as a QB, but his weaknesses will be exploited in this game). All the talk about the team resting their starters will be put to rest by halftime as the Pats will have opened up 20+ point lead. All of the starters for both teams will be able to sit...
4) For some reason, I feel like the Pats are going to get tripped up during the Playoffs. There really is only 1 team that can do it and that is the Colts. The Colts are Custer's last stand against another feather in the cap for Bill and the Brady Bunch.
5) As all indications are the Jags will play and beat the Steelers, I am not sold on their ability to beat the Pats when they show up there in Round 2 of the Playoffs. They have the right formula, they play good defense, control time of possession, and don't make many turnovers on offense, but I just don't think they are good enough to close the Pats out... Look for this one to be a thriller.

For the rest..... Watching the Packers implode in cold weather, I think the Bears may have done them a favor. They may fare much better in a much warmer Texas climate if both the Cowboys and Packers make the NFC Championship. They will both have their hands full as I predict the Redskins, who will win this week against the Cowboys and go up to Seattle and pull the upset, will be a good match in the "anything can happen" series between the Cowboys and Redskins.

Wade Phillips may be smart to go up to DC and close the door on their playoff hopes so it doesn't come back to bite him (remember what happened to Avery and the Mavs against Golden State). Of course that means the Vikings or Saints would get in and go up to Seattle and most likely get rolled and send the Giants to Big D for Round 2. So pick your poison, there is no easy roads to the Super Bowl.....

So to sprinkle in a little homer in this blog post, I have to pick the Cowboys to slide there way in to the Super Bowl. Both playoff games are going to be unbelievable brutal for them, but if this team can come back healthy they are going to be hard to knock off at home (ironically both losses this season were at home). As for the Super Bowl winner, as I stated earlier there is only one team in the NFL that can beat the Pats, so if they make the Super Bowl they are going to win. If the Colts can squeeze by them by going up to Boston and winning (does that possibility sound as crazy to you as it does to me)? The Cowboys vs. Colts Super Bowl would be one for the ages. As I recall their meeting at Texas Stadium November 2006 in which the fans stood on their feet the entire game (Aggie style) because the game was just that exciting!! Read more!

Choose the Better Right

Using the sermon points of the the believer, the Bible, and the ballot box I have scored these principles with my own commentary to reach what I see as an obvious conclusion.

I. Participate in the Process

This election had the highest voter turnout of any election. I believe more Christians voted in this election than any election before. Christian pastors made an outcry to White Evangelicals to go out and vote Republicans and President Obama prevailed overwhelmingly. I believe many were like me and after truly evaluating Biblical principles and not divisive talking points and wedge issues came to an obvious conclusion.

Score: It is unfair to assume that because more people participated in the process that the winner of the election was the benefactor of this participation so we will call this one even.

II. Vote Biblical Values

a. The Sanctity of Human Life
If you read the context of this question it put a much larger context around this principle than the typical non-negotiable pro-life rhetoric. Candidates should be chosen based on who has the best chance to pursue the practical and proven policies which could dramatically reduce the number of abortions in America and therefore save precious unborn lives, rather than those who simply repeat the polarizing legal debates and "pro-choice" and "pro-life" mantras from either side. Republican candidates have received a free pass from upholding all other Biblical and Conservative principles by stamping Pro-life on their campaign poster.

Score: That being said I do believe that God’s Word is non-negotiable so I will ignore the other principles on the sanctity of human life and score this for McCain.

b. Justice For All
With more than 2,000 verses in the Bible about how we treat the poor and oppressed, candidates must convey what they will do to overcome the scandal of extreme global poverty and the shame of such unnecessary domestic poverty in the richest nation in the world. Such a central theme of the Bible simply cannot be ignored at election time, as too many Christians have done for years. Any solution to the economic crisis that simply bails out the rich, and even the middle class, but ignores those at the bottom should simply be unacceptable to people of faith.

Score: This one is not even competitive the candidates are on complete sides of this principle score this one for Obama.

c. Peace on Earth
From the biblical prophets to Jesus, there is at least, a biblical presumption against war. We must choose the candidates who will be least likely to lead us into more disastrous wars and find better ways to resolve the inevitable conflicts in the world. The candidate that best understands that our security depends upon other people's security (everyone having "their own”, so no one can make them afraid). I do not want a pacifist president, but we can insist on one who views military force only as a very last resort, when all other diplomatic and economic measures have failed, and never as a preferred or habitual response to conflict.

I would also regard God's fragile creation and choose the candidate who will likely be most faithful in our care of the environment. A candidate that will take on the growing threat of climate change, and show a strong commitment to the conversion of our economy and way of life to a cleaner, safer, and more renewable energy future. This could accomplish at the same time a key priority like reducing our Middle East oil dependence. In addition job creation and economic renewal from a new "green" economy built on more spiritual values of conservation, stewardship, sustainability, respect, responsibility, co-dependence, modesty, and even humility.

Score: Again this is not a competitive comparison Even if you don’t believe in global warming; McCain has pronounced himself as war-monger who is only rivaled by former Vice President Cheney in his desire to see the destruction of all conflicting nations. Score this one for Obama.

d. Moral Conviction
If you read the explanation of this principle this really needs know explanation. Healthy families are the foundation of our community life, and nothing is more important than how we are raising up the next generation. Only one candidate exemplifies and articulates strong family values. The White House should be used to speak of sexual restraint and integrity, marital fidelity, strong parenting, and putting family values over economic values.

Score: You have one candidate that divorced his wife after she was in a car wreck and began an affair with hispresent wife. In addition selected a running mate that had an illegitimate child (do the math child’s age minus years married), and raised a child that did the same thing. In the middle of all of the backlash made false claims that they would marry (which still has not happened) and the baby daddy (never thought you would hear this term applied to someone proposing to be in the White House) is contemplating posing in Playboy magazine and the proposed mother-in-law has been arrested for six felony drug counts. The moral valley actually goes much wider and deeper than the few items I have mentioned.

This would basically disqualify McCain from the position if there were NO other opponent, but there is… Obama is married and actually loves his first and only wife, he has 2 beautiful children and almost let’s no occasion pass when he is not speaking passionately about the important role of a strong father and mother and the strength of the American family as the backbone of all that is good in our great Nation. Throw in his running mate that lost his wife and raised his children as a single father commuting from DC to Delaware daily so that he could be with his family at home. Even if you absolutely hate Obama with every fabric of your being, you have no choice you have to score this one for Obama.

III. Choose the Better Right

Just reviewing the 4 basic Biblical principles above I amazed that anyone could come to any other conclusion than to vote for Barack Obama. Even if you disagree with my opinions if you listed it out every single component of each of these Biblical principles and actually evaluated the candidates positions based on facts (not rhetoric that you hear on MSNBC or Fox News) it is undeniable that the agenda being promoted by Obama lines up significantly more so than what is being promoted by McCain. I believe if a lot of liberals or progressives actually took time to evaluate the specifics of his views they would be a little more tentative about their support. The “Change” Obama speaks of is not just rhetoric to be more tolerant it is actually pursuing the teachings of the Bible not just cherry-picking them for political gain.

IV. Ask for Wisdom (Proverbs 29:2)

If you note in the scripture referenced it says that when the “evil rule the people groan.” The people have never groaned as loud as they did this November and throughout the campaign season. Obama won more so from the people’s displeasure with the Bush administration than he did on his own merit or anything that John McCain did or said. Only the wealthy thrived under Bush the rest of us are left to support the burdens of their prosperity.

V. Pray for our Leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Regardless if the candidate you supported prevailed as Christians we are called to pray for our leaders. I fault all of the so called Christians that failed to pray for President Bush as we watched him digress from the Christian and Conservative principles that he campaigned for to succumb to his ambition for economic gain and power. Let us not allow President Obama to lose his tenacity to pursue God’s agenda because Christians fail to support him with our prayers.

VI. God continues to Sit on the Throne (Daniel 12:20-21)

In verse 21 Daniel says God sets up Kings and disposes them. I truly feel that God allowed President Bush to lead this nation for two terms to prepare us for President Obama. Obama could have never succeeded under the mindset that Americans held at the turn of the century. God allowed us to see a disintegration of everything Americans believe before they could see beyond their fear and hatred and accept one that is truly capable of promoting God-centered qualities and equality. President Obama presents the best picture to both sides. To liberals he represents a purer representation of Biblical and moral principles that go beyond your personal faith, but just make plain sense to all men. To conservatives he stands as one that can actually articulate actionable items to achieve those moral and biblical standards not just use them as rhetoric to score political points.


In closing, to me this is such an obvious conclusion I cannot help but be disturbed by many Christians that have chose to disregard the teachings of the Bible and aggressively demonize President Obama. I have actually heard him ridiculed for statements that are specific principles and teachings from the Bible that all Christians supposedly use as instructions for our life. What is it that blinds you to the abhorrent symbol that McCain and Palin represent of morality, conservatism, and human decency. Is it really Obama’s stand on abortion (which is a topic for another day) that bothers you?

"God's Politics" will often turn our partisan politics upside down, transcend our ideological categories of Left and Right, and challenge the core values and priorities of our political culture. There is no easy jump from God's politics to either the Republicans or Democrats. God is neither. In any election, we face imperfect choices, but our choices should reflect the things we believe God cares about as people of faith. Therefore, people of faith, should be "values voters" but vote all our values not just a few that can be easily manipulated for the benefit of one party or another. Read more!

As I Always Expected

The Mitchell Report was released. As many have stated I am not sure if there is any value and identifying a list of players (most of which are inactive) as users of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). I really do not see that there is anything that can be done at this point. Maybe there will be some attempt to keep some of them out of the Baseball of Fame which I would say probably not a single person reading my blog will ever visit. At the end of the day the biggest surprise is the amount of money and time that was spent to produce much ado about nothing. There just might be a few more prevalent items that need some attention.

At the time there was no rule in MLB against the use of PEDs, or at least there was no formal testing policy. So to make matters worse none of the players identified ever tested positive for using PEDs, it is basically based on financial records and witnesses who attest to the purchase and in some cases subsequent use.

There were really no surprises, and most people don’t even believe the report uncovers a significant amount of the players that used PEDs because of the lack of support from MLB and the MPLBPA.

So really the point of this blog, is to throw stones at a few of the findings in light of the lynching that Barry Bonds receives for his alleged use of PEDs. Only 2 stones, the first of which:

The New York Yankees…. The report basically substantiated that the entire period of Yankees dominace in the 90’s and beginning of this century is completely tainted. It is actually easier to list the Yankees players that were not listed on the report. Every level of player, from their biggest stars, to guys that just passed through and made an impact for one season. This brings into question every bit of success the Yankees and their fans enjoyed. For all those that want to disregard all achievements made under the auspice of PEDs, the Yankees have made a mockery of themselves and MLB. I realize that the reason that so many players from New York were identified because of the source that provided the information was from the organization, but to me that further reflects the detestable nature of what they did. They cheated, and did not even have enough character in the organization not to disclose the information that has resulted in destroying the team’s image. In the case of Barry Bonds, Greg Anderson sat in jail for 15 months and never once disclosed any information on Bonds use of PEDs. Bonds is the one with the character flaws, but yet is able to gain this kind of loyalty??


The other stone goes to Roger Clemens. I admit I mainly dislike him because he is a Longhorn, but at this point he has to become enemy target #1. He is every bit of a decorated athlete as Bonds, and has achieved a number of records, and was certainly a Hall of Famer. They showed that in 1998, Clemens started the season 6-6, took some PEDs and preceeded to win his next 14 games ending the season 20-6. I will give Clemens credit this is not quite as staggering as Bonds 73 HR's having hit no more than 49 in any other seaon in his career. I would say in 2005 when playing for the Astros at the age of 43 being able to pitch 211 innings with a 1.87 ERA would be equally as questionable as 1998 for Clemens.

So for the next several weeks we'll all have to hear damage control from the accused players and agents, talking about how they took it one time while recovering from an injury, it was a bad decision, and they never ever used it again.... This is probably the most sickening part of the entire charade! Read more!

Awesome Wonder

My wife and I have a list of musical artists for which we have always said no matter what the cost (well within reason), and no matter where we may have to travel to see the concert we are going. We had 2 artists remaining on that list, and one of them is Stevie Wonder.

So you can imagine how excited we were when we heard he was on tour again, and that he was actually coming to Dallas and performing at the best venue (of its size) for a concert the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie. Maybe I am a homer, but this place was built to host a musical concert, this arena + your favorite musical artist makes for a memorable experience.

Before I discuss the concert I have to mention 1 thing. The day the tickets went on sale, I called my wife a little after 10:30 a.m. (tickets go on sale at 10). I asked her how good were the seats she was able to get? She said, oh my I completely forgot! How could this happen before we left for work this morning this was the last thing we discussed?? If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have been roasted!!! So I did what women claim to do, but we all know how it really gets done, if you need to get something done do it yourself. Surprisingly I was able to get good, but not great seats (look for a future blog on what I like to call the self-congratulator).

I consoled myself by thinking how close to the stage do I really need to be? It's not like Stevie is going to break it down and do the Souljah Boy (although he seemed like he would have if he could have, and he did dance a little). Also, surprisingly the video screens were on for this concert. You wouldn't think this was significant, but I have been to at least 10 concerts at this venue and recall the screens being on only once before. We weren't certain if they were on because the high cost of the tickets, or if it was because 50% of the audience was w-h-i-t-e??? In any event the video screens, plus my binoculars, and the fact that the seats really weren't too bad set the stage for a great concert.

OK, if you are still with me let me talk about how awesome Stevie Wonder's concert was. Too start this was the most people I had seen for any event I had every been to at this venue. Every seat was filled, and the crowd was pumped.... I mean so pumped that the crowd roared at the start of every song, one time they roared so loud, Stevie was like "Hold on ya'll let me sing the song!" Stevie went for 3 hours straight, no opening acts or nothing. I walked out of their dripping sweat sitting (and dancing) in the audience , I don't see how he does it!

Aside from the fact that at this point in life his body is shaped like a "pregnant penguin" (as stated by the woman sitting next to me) and his hairline is much closer to the back of his head than it is too the front, and that his daughter Aisha sang several songs, but is actually 1/3 the singer of his other back-up singer Kim Brewer this was about as hype of a concert as I have ever been too. You really can not appreciate how great he sings until you have seen it in person. I think he can sing in every key there is, and his voice never seemed to go weary.

As I recorded he sang the following songs, but frankly we were up and dancing so much I can't honestly tell you whether the order is correct or if I missed a song in there somehow:

1. Love's In Need of Love Today (with Aisha)
2. Too High
3. Visions
4. Living for the City
5. Master Blaster (Jammin')
6. Impromptu jamming with voice box
7. Higher Ground
8. Golden Lady
9. Ribbon in the Sky, Ribbon in the Sky Remix, Ribbon in the Sky Extended Version (with audience participation)
10. Overjoyed
11. You and I
12. Days of Wine and Roses
13. Send One Your Love
14. How Will I Know (with Aisha, and the only song from his most recent album that he played)
15. If You Really Love Me
16. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
17. Signed, Sealed & Delivered
18. Signed, Sealed & Delivered (countrified)
19. My Cherie Amour (with Stevie letting crowd sing first verse)
20. For Once in My Life
21. I Was Made to Love Her
22. Ain't Gonna Stand for It
23. Boogie on Reggae Woman
24. Sir Duke
25. I Wish
26. Do I Do
27. You Are the Sunshine of My Life
28. Superstition
29. I Just Called to Say I Love You

I probably missed a few. At the end of the night we could only come up with 1 popular song he did not sing, "Isn't She Lovely." Another friend reminded me today that he didn't sing, "I Never Dreamed You Leave in Summer." It's from the Poetic Justice soundtrack. I promise you, after 3 hours of non-stop rocking (because every song is "The Jam"), you were not wanting for more. You had more than you can handle and felt like you really didn't pay quite enough for the ticket considering the show he put on. Not to mention between all the great songs you got to see a whole lot of that great Stevie Wonder personality, sense of humor, and some good old preaching as only Stevie can do.

Every artist needs to sit in one of his tour stops, so that they can see how a concert is supposed to be done, the guy sitting behind me was from Detroit and said this was good as a Motown show back at home in the 70's! If you missed him, I encourage you to not even hesitate to make a fun trip to see him at one of his upcoming tour stops, I promise you it will be the highlight of your trip! Read more!

Wildfires in Southern California

I just wanted to make a very brief pre-emptive strike to the masses that will be clamoring in a few days on how much better the disaster response from the Bush Administration and the Federal government has been for California opposed to what happened in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina.

In California, the evacuees said they were pleased with the official response to their needs, the clean conditions, abundant food and water and even yoga, acupuncture and massage. Even animals were being accommodated, with evacuated horses put up at the county fairgrounds.

Just want to make a note that this response from the evacuees is prior to any federal assistance having even arrived on site. The response, which is far less than what is needed for response to the enormity of this disaster was all pre-planned and is being implemented through coordination among the State of California and the municpalities and agencies in the impacted area.

I like to Bush Bash with the rest of them, but this illustrates the importance of preparation activities and organized coordination at the State level to really make an impact for their own residents. By the time the feds come in the worse has generally already passed.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by this event, several of which are friends, family, and co-workers. I hope all states have put forth the same effort to coordinate disaster recovery in this manner. Read more!

Respectable as a Man

Not planning to use the blog for movie reviews, but for as much heat as I give Mr. Tyler Perry I have to give him KUDOS to his most recent movie "Why did I get Married?"

For those of you that know me, you know how much disdain I hold for Tyler Perry and the buffoonery displayed in the Ma' Dea movies and plays. I have a major issue with effectively a role model for young Black men to be running around stage in a dress acting like a complete fool. His entire identity as a man centered around his character as a woman, not for the brilliance that he obviously has as a gifted author and director.

I will not even elaborate on my thoughts on the quality of some of his previous stories (I'll just say I can't relate and I come from a pretty dysfunctional family), but the latest movie is one for the ages. When the wife asked me to go and see it, I was surprised as she shares my disdain for his previous work (more from the standpoint of she just doesn't find it funny). I couldn't believe she wanted to see it, and was completely in shock that she wanted me to go as well!!!

So when I said it was out of the question, I don't support Tyler Perry in any way; she told me he was not dressed up as a woman in this movie. I said, well that's good but it is still going to be silly. She said this one is better it is REAL and it has a very positive message and is a very entertaining story. I was like sure it does they all do, but the positive message is generally an "uncreative" cliche, or the characters in the movie make such a mockery of themselves that the positive message is lost in translation and becomes an afterthought. She told me that Janet Jackson and Jill Scott were in the movie, I said OK I'll give it a shot!

I must admit, when Mr. Perry decides to put on the clothes that he was ordained to wear by birth and not jump around like a blind rooster in a hen house it makes for a very entertaining and effective movie. The casting was very good for all of the characters (well maybe not Janet Jackson). The story line and issues covered in this movie were REAL. Not the "keeping it real" variety you get in many of his other stories.

Normally you mention a Tyler Perry movie to me and you have pretty much lost your privilege to discuss choices of entertainment with me, but in this case I'll go so far as to recommend this movie. This movie is the quality Black movie that we are always asking for, but can never seem to get. Mr. Perry has a contract to make several movies because they have all been wildly successful, and it seems as each story continues to get better. Mr. Perry has been given the right to call the shots on what he feels is a story is going to sell at the theatres. There is no question Mr. Perry is a brilliant and gifted author and director, and I certainly hope he continues to make the choices that are Respectable as a Man! Read more!

Collateral Damage

Not the name I would have chosen, but a friend of mine coined the phrase so I am going to roll with it, the Cowboys have been labeled "Team Body Bag." This refers to the size, strength, and speed of this team, and what they have done to the opposing team players as they have really been dominant the last 4 weeks. The offense has been averaging 35 points a game, and with an offensive line led by BIG Leonard Davis they have been laying the wood. The defense has chipped in a few as well. Here is the list, many of these guys were just knocked out during the game against the Cowboys and returned the following week. Some of these guys have yet to return, some may never return:

Osi Umenyiora
Brandon Jacobs (c'mon man this guy is bigger than every player on the Cowboys defense)
Eli Manning (he actually made a conscious decision not to come back into the game)
Zack Thomas
Rex Grossman (OK, didn't get hurt but they made him look so bad he was benched and still is)
Lance Briggs
Nathan Vasher
Tommie Harris
Rueben Brown
Issac Bruce (He actually guaranteed a victory)
Marc Bulger
Corey Chavous
Raonall Smith
Leonard Little
Adam Goldberg
Ben Watson
Sammy Morris
Tavaris Jackson

I'll try to re-post this every week with the latest collateral damage.... Read more!

Slow Down Young Feller

Cowboys are 4-0 so it is past time for me to drop some Cowboys talk on the blog. I hate to admit it, but I am drinking the Kool-Aid. This team is arguably the best team in the NFC right now. If we can continue to minimize our injuries, and if the guys that are injured keep returning to play this should keep going.

All seems to be good so far under Head Coach Wade Phillips, and even more impressively under Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett. Most fans around here are pretty much expecting to see this team get handed to "the anointed one" after a few fun-loving seasons under Wade. Hopefully we can keep Garrett around that long.

This offense is rolling over teams mercilessly like General Sherman, so much so my boy has been keeping a running list of collateral damage. The Barber-Jones tandem at running back has continued to be productive. People are arguing over who should be the starter since they have both played so well. No argument that MBIII has been better, but why change the formula that is working so well.

There are as always a couple of causes for concern. The first of which is the defense, after the Giants game to open the season it looked as if they were going to be a busted sieve. In the last 3 games they have seem to sure it up a lot better, so much so even Jacques Reeves seems to be gaining confidence filling in as a defensive back.

The other of course is the "elephant in the room" that you can't ignore and that is the combined 3-13 record of the teams the Cowboys have played this season. 2 of those teams have yet to win any games this season at all. You will hear a lot of homers make excuses, but I don't make excuses. Recent history surrounding this team requires for them to make believers out of people they have to go out and continue to win games.

The Showdown on October 14th against New England is about to rival the hype of a BCS Championship Game (I promise I am not looking past the game this week against Buffalo)..... Some would question, how much of a showdown this will be considering how unstoppable New England has been this season and in previous years in addition to the lackluster opposition the Cowboys have been rolling over. But considering how things looked during the off-season and up until the season began the fact that this has become "The Game" should be exciting for all Cowboys fans!!

All that being said this blog entry is really intended to talk about 1 player. Young Tony Romo! When they picked him up as a rookie free agent in 2002 I told my friends watch this kid he set all kind of passing records in I-AA while at Eastern Illinois. Having attended a I-AA school myself I have a strong appreciation for I-AA talent (Jerry Rice, Micheal Strahan, Steve McNair to name a few). Move forward 4 years by the time he had his first chance to play in a regular season game in the 2nd half against the Giants in Week 7 in 2006. I was thinking we have just threw away our entire season putting him in the game.

Move Forward 15 starts later and I am wondering what "The Coach" was thinking having this kid on the bench behind QB's already well past the twilight of their careers. In 15 games this kid has eclipsed the stats of just about any QB you can name over the same time period. He has passed for 30 and ran for 2 TD's. He has only thrown 16 INT's. He has thrown for 4100 yards and has a career passer rating of 99.8.

This season he has been virtually unstoppable, averaging at least 3 per week of what we like to call "pay me" plays. Plays so amazing that when he does it you can hear the money chips falling down all around him (referring to the fact he is about to get a new contract). My buddy showed up to the game in an All-White #9 Tony Romo jersey, and he told me that they come in All-Black as well. Now, I am not a jersey guy, but I am telling you I am digging this kid so strong I might have to get one!

To think a whole segment on the Cowboys and not one mention of "The Player." Read more!

May Never Happen Again

I had to mark this point in history where the AP Poll for Division 1-A football actual has the Top 5 correct. When I look at the top 5 today I have little argument that these are the 5 best teams in the Country. Arguable if the rank is exactly right, but no argument these are the five best.

1) USC - I have a feeling several years from now we are going to find out about all the shady stuff Pete Carroll did to get recruits. He will probably be on his way to the NFL by then.

2) LSU - Hands down in my opinion the best team in the country. Re-affirmed by the loyal fans on a brief stop at a gas station in Baton Rouge a few hours before the game against VT. They felt this was the best team ever..... They may be unfortunately they are in the SEC where anything is possible!

3) Florida - much like the basketball team. Until somebody beats them, they are the best team. Tebow has stepped in nicely at QB. They ran circles around Ohio St., and they are even faster this season. The SEC Championship this year might be the true National Championship game.

4) OU - I am in disbelief that they have found a good QB. They have not had one in quite a while. With all that talent and a good QB they will be dangerous. They present a serious problem for the BCS, as they will undoubtedly be undefeated. So if LSU or USC happens to lose a game they are in. Which is a shame because they aren't quite in the class with the Top 2.

5) West Virginia - I know you are laughing, but realize we are talking about a team with 2 Heisman Candidates in the backfield in Pat White and Steve Slaton, and they just added another one in Joel Devine. So now they have 3 players that are a threat to score on every play. Add in the coaching prowess of Rich Rodriguez having led them to back-to-back BCS Bowl wins! This is one of the Top 5 teams in the country...

The rest of the Top 25 is suspect, but I am just happy they got it right at the top for a change. Read more!

The That Just Ain't Right: Man-Law

I recently had the chance to attend the wedding of a long-time friend. At the wedding one of the other groomsmen just really seemed to be the life of the party if you know what I mean...

At the reception, my wife comes up to me and says to me you didn't tell me this man's ex-roommate was gay. Now let me explain to you my wife has a Gay-dar that is not available in stores, and probably illegal in most states (well at least in California and Massachusetts). I told her that I just met the man last night for the first time. As you can imagine that still didn't satisfy her as an answer to what to her seemed obvious.

So although I was pretty well convinced, why did the man have to put the icing on the cake. After coming off the dance floor from doing the god-awful Electric Slide he turns to me and asks. "Who is that guy over there that you have been talking to all night?" I was really speechless for a moment. In my entire life I don't think a man has ever asked me that before about another man.

So I was like, "Oh that's Big Baby we all used to work together. He is one of the guys that came up with me from Dallas." He got a little twinkle in his eye, and said, "OK, well I think I am going to go introduce myself to that brother." I tried to call out to him I didn't think that would be a good idea, but he was gone...

So after that experience I have to declare a MAN-LAW, "A guy should never ask another guy, who is that guy over there that you were talking to?" Read more!

How I Became a Pirate

I was talking to one of my co-workers a few weeks ago. She is the co-worker that has the big mouth and gives the dirt on everybody (me included). She mentioned to me that another co-worker had eye surgery that was specifically for people that did not qualify for Lasik. On top of that if you carry a certain insurance through our company they even pay for it.

So I went to talk to my co-worker that had done the procedure. She excitedly told me all about it. I mentioned to her that I had the same problem. That I went to the Clearview Eye Care Center and they told me that Lasik would do more damage to my eyes than good, and too absolutely not tell anyone ever perform Lasik on my eyes...

She then told me that Clearview is the same place that she got the procedure done. Are you kidding me? No Way! So I called the contact she gave me the next day to find out about the procedure, and the woman asked do you think you can come in today? Really? So I went to the battery of tests to see if I qualified. Unbelievable, did you ever know that you could get fatigued from an eye exam? I set an appointment for the next week for the 2nd round of tests and to find out if I qualified.

Did I mention that this woman was muy caliente.. and I didn't need vision correction to see that! Needless to say I was feeling very comfortable with the whole idea. So I qualified and they scheduled me to come in for the procedure 2 weeks later. Wow! I wasn't expecting this all to happen so fast. I needed to rush and get this procedure approved through the insurance. My co-worker had given me a contact, but initially I didn't use it, I figured that I would just go through the official process. When I called I the rep was Black (need I say more). So 10 days later after I had called and called at least 5 times I am frantically calling the contact she gave me to help me out.

This brother took over like a General. He took over and handled everything, and I mean everything and had all of the paperwork wrapped up by the next day, and was on vacation the day after that. I can't thank that brother enough, that is the type of service we should be giving each other!

So I go in the day of the surgery and I am so nervous I am sweating, and probably at a body temperature of 101. Having never had a surgery of any kind, I was nervous about the anesthesia, I was nervous at the thought that even though this man has been doing opthamology longer than I have been on Earth that he could have an off day and I could go from nearsighted to blind.

Things got worse, the nurse that was trying to insert an IV for me to get the anesthesia was having a hard time finding a vein in my hand. Yes, her having a hard time means I was in severe pain. She said I had thick skin, I told her that she just must not be used to seeing Black people as patients. I must have had quite a look on my face; because she got up and ran (literally not a figure of speech) to get the doctor to finish the job.

So after that was done, shortly after I am in he operating room. They are talking to me explaining the procedure, and the doctor comes in to give me the feel good juice. Thank you and good night! That is the last thing that I remember... They told me that I was talking and that I had something to drink and ate a cookie. I recall nothing!

So I come back the next morning for a post-op exam and I had 20/16 vision in my left eye. That is why I am a pirate, as I don't get the right eye done until November.

All because I took time to talk to the gossip girl at work... Maybe they aren't all that bad!! Read more!

I Must be Guilty

My wife has always labeled me as fanatical football fan, and with the Dallas Cowboys as my favorite team, an incorrigible fan.

I never really agreed to this, as Sunday is pretty much the only day I religiously watch fooball, and plus as an avid fan I compare myself to other fans I see and in my eyes I see a clear distinction.

This clarity took a huge blow last Christmas (I am writing this now as I am reminded of this as we enter football season, plus I had not set up the blog back then)! At the end of the day after I had sorted through all of my presents you would have thought I had recently been drafted by the Dallas Cowboys.

Here is a list of the gifts I received branded with the Dallas Cowboys:

A Santa Hat
A Fossil Watch
A Pajama bottom
A Baseball Cap
A Pullover Sweatshirt
A Blanket, throw or tapestry (whatver you want to call it)
A Mug (w/ shot glasses)
A Poster of the Cowboys Cheerleaders (which I didn't get to keep)
Playoff tickets in the mail (which i paid for myself and didn't get to use)
A Frog wearing a Cowboys Jersey that sings 50 Cents "In Da Club"

These gifts came from family, fellow fans, a couple of vendors I work with, even my brother's girlfriend chipped in. If you combine this with the fact that I am a Season Ticket Holder, attend 1 road game every year, I tivo every game, the folks at church tease me that they know I will not be there when the Cowboys play a home game, and that I just got back from visiting training camp in San Antonio. I probably would be found unaminously guilty in any court. Even the worst of trial lawyers could nail me on this charge..... Read more!

The Run-In

A few months ago my neighbor stopped by with his usual "me against the world" stories, and how he didn't care what anybody said about him. So I had to casually remind him that when he was recently verbally attacked by one of our other neighbors aggressively suggesting that he remove some of the "yard art" from his front yard that he moved most of it shortly thereafter.

So while we were conversing I took the opportunity to let him know I had an issue with him parking his cars in the street all the time. The guy has 4 or 5 cars that park at his house, and you will drive into the neighborhood at times and all of them would be parked on the street.

The guy immediately began catching an attitude. I found myself explaining to a man that owns a $350K home why it is not good for the neighborhood for him to park his cars in the street.

Since they were not in the street at the time, he first tried to play dumb like he did not know what I was talking about. I called him on that, and he began quoting the deed restrictions which only restrict daily overnight parking on the street. I explained to him that the essence of the rule is so that people don't leave cars parked in the street all of the time which although his move periodically and at night his cars are always parked in the street. So to me it's basically the same problem and he needs to park his 5 cars in the 7 available parking spaces on his property.

He mentions that he is unable to park any of his cars in his 3 car garage at this time. So I ask him that since he can't park his cars on his own property that he should park his cars on the street? He stated that it was public property, and I told him that the public is telling him that there is an issue with him parking his cars in the street.

Seeing he was not going to win this argument he began to get belligerent. He told me we were all picking on him, and that he was Sicilian and we didn't know who we were messin' with ("we" is in reference to the Board of the Homeowners Association of which I am am member and probably the lady that attacked him about the yard art). That we need to be worried about why the "GD" trees that are growing over the street sign and leave him alone.

Wow! Here I am talking to a 70 year old man, that is yelling at me in front of my house.

Let me briefly take you back 3 years ago, living in a different neighborhood, I knocked on my next door neighbor's door for the same reason. I asked him to move his car and to stop parking it in front of my house. Now let me explain, this was a brother that smokes weed, is never sober (always has a cup in his hand), owns a Rottweiler that we nicknamed Cujo, has a wife that also smokes weed and curses like a sailor, and a teenage son that also smokes weed and looks like the type of guy that takes Cujo to the local dog fighting spot every weekend.

All that being said which one do you think would be the worse run-in?

Erase all stereotypes; because my man was like no problem man, and came out and moved it immediately and never parked it there again. Never a tense moment, it was no big deal at all.

But the 70 year old white man, wants to talk to me like I am his grandson? So I simply told him that I speak to him 2-3 times a week and the trees had never been a problem until I told him to move his cars, and that I am telling him that I do not want him to park his cars in the street, and that it was time for him to go on back to his house.

He left and did the usual walk and talk, of which I pretty much ignored. He then called my next door neighbor who is the President of the Homeowners Association and complained about our confrontation. Ironically, most of the time I talk to this guy (the guy that parks his cars in the street) he is usually complaining about him (the president). I had previously told the president I was going to say something to this guy about the parking situation and he agreed, but on this phone call he folded like a lawn chair. Then had the nerve a few days later to try to shake my hand congratulating me for addressing the situation.

This brings me to the whole point of this blog entry (you probably thought it was to prove that I am right)... You can't tell a white man nothing! Especially when you look like me!! I talked to this guy all the time, but I tried to tell him not to do something and he catches an attitude. My neighbor agrees with me, but when he gets a call from his brethren he falls back in line and supports his fellow white man in doing whatever it is he wants to do.

He actually did stop parking his cars out there as much. It would only be 1 car from time to time. Until, my other neighbor got involved. The woman across the street from me (that is white and looks like she bites), also confronted him about the parking situation. I have not seen a car since.....

So after the white woman says something it's put to rest or otherwise stated after it stated to him by anyone that does not look like me! Read more!

It's the Spurs that make the horse go!

For those of you that know me well, when you read this you will be like I must be on the wrong blog; because I know D Brown is not talking NBA and it is not April. Really just an overall surprise I am talking NBA period.

I just happened to be inspired on my recent trip to SA, and seeing all of the spirit down there so I had to make a brief entry.

I pretty much hate the NBA, and of all the teams I hate the most in the NBA the Spurs are #2 on my list (Lakers are #1 of course). I have to show nothing but love to the Spurs fan though and their passion for those Spurs. They really put on a class act celebrating the most recent Championship (plus they showed love for my Cowboys too)!

I started thinking about this whole sentiment that goes on with the media and the fans that the Western Conference is dominant and the East Conference is irrelevant. To tell the truth this really all comes down to the Spurs. The Spurs are carrying the West! Yes the other teams in the West give the Spurs some decent competition, and yes the West dominates the East in the "regular" season.

When it comes to the Finals it's all about the Spurs, not the West. Since Jordan left the Bulls in 98. There have been 9 Championships, the Spurs have won 4, the Lakers (w/Shaq) won 3, the other 2 winners came from the East.

Now that the Lakers have traded Shaq and became irrelevant, it's only the Spurs. Honestly, who else is going to win a Championship form the West?

The Dallas Mavericks? Great team, but in the Finals up 2-0 playing a team they had beaten the last 6 times they played them, they proceeded to lose the next 4 games.... Do I even need to mention the meltdown against Golden State this season?

The Phoenix Suns? Really? They haven't played in a Finals since Charles Barkely was there in 93? Has a team playing the style of play Phoenix does ever won a Championship? I think they are a great team, but you can't honestly say they could win a Championship when they haven't even came close.

So who else? There isn't another team in the West that you can throw out there confidently. The Spurs swept Lebron James and the Cavs this season, they beat them so bad it was boring. In game 3, they actually tried to give Cleveland a chance to win the game, but they just couldn't play bad enough to give the game away.

So you would assume that the Mavs or the Suns could have smoked them too, they did in the regular season. Not so fast the Cavs style of ball plays to the weaknesses of both the Mavs and Suns. They play tough team defense, they penetrate the lane, and they have a "Superstar" (Lebron James) that gets all of the calls.....

Can't say they would have loss, but you are kidding yourself if you would put $100 on them to win. Believe me, I did and I lost! Read more!

Expanding March Madness

There have been suggestions to expand the tournament? Is it just me or are teams being left out a non-issue?

I have mixed emotions on this one.... I really hate that a lot of times the small conferences lose their best team in those meaningless conference tournaments. I kind of think the high seeds deserve the virtual bye they get by playing these teams. There has to be some reward for having an outstanding season so the regular season is not completely meaningless.

Including all of the conferences is a good PR move, you avoid the Boise St. situation (like you have in NCAA football), and the visibility over time can turn into some fairly well established programs see So. Ill, Creighton, Gonzaga, Butler, George Washington. 5 years ago we would have said they didn't belong....

Through the visibility in the tournament they were able to establish themselves. They never win as 16 seeds but as 15 and 14 seeds we have seen a few upsets, don't let one of them get the 12 seed!

All that being said, there is no argument you don't have the 64 best teams in the tournament, but none of the teams left out are likely to win it either.

If you are to expand the tournament, you should have 4 play in games that consist of the top eight bubble teams. These slots would 4 "at large bids." Teams who won their conference tournaments (i.e. FAMU vs. Niagra)should not be in "the play in game." The play in game (as it stands now) should consist of the top two bubble teams (i.e. Drexel vs. Syracuse). Read more!

The Discman

This is a real quick story on how I came to purchase my first MP3 player.

They opened up a new 24-Hour Fitness near my home. When you are using the fitness equipment there are always televisions, and headphone jacks on the fitness equipment (treadmills, stairmaster, etc.). At this particular location they had televisions, but they didn't have the headphone jacks for you to listen to the programming. After 45 minutes of cardio with no entertainment, I knew something had to give. In addition, at the club that I usually went to the programming was increasingly slanted towards the Lifetime Network persuasion.....

So I noticed that pretty much everybody at the gym had some type of media player, i-pod, mp-3, one of those walkmans on a arm-band they all had something. So I decided to take matters in my own hands and went home to search my house to find my own portable media device so that I can listen to my favorite music at the gym. When I got home the only device I could find was a CD Discman. I thought cool, I can take all my old CD's I can jam every day during my workout!

So my next day at the gym, I had my CD of the Lox (Money, Power, and Respect). The CD is hype I am thinking I will be so inspired I will do an hour of cardio easy and just be throwing up sets of 225 on the bench like nuthin..

OK, first problem. On the modern equipment there is no where to put a discman!!! I failed to notice that every one else had i-pods and little cute mp3 players they could comfortably slide in their pockets. Next, when I finally did find a way to get the discman situated on the treadmill it skipped so much it would not even play. I turned on the 10 seconed ESP (electronic shock protection, do you even remember what that is?) thinking that would solve the problem, it basically saved 10 seconds worth of the CD skipping at a time.

I literally messed with this thing for 15-20 minutes. People were walking by looking at me as if I had totally lost my mind... I must have looked like I had just got off a time machine and they couldn't figure out what era I was from and what that device I kept messing with was supposed to do. I think this is the vision they had in their head.


So after another 30 minutes on the treadmill, with absolutley no music at all. I proceeded to work out and as you can imagine I evidently had not thought about what I was going to do with the discman while going from station to station at the gym, before long I had to lug that bad boy to the locker room and store it in my gym bag.

Needless to say I invested in a mp3 player. I share this story as apreemptive strike, as my wife has had entrie groups of people doubling over clowing how "throwed off" I must have looked up there with that d-i-s-c-m-a-n... Read more!

Indifferent

Since pretty much every one that knows me, knows I am a HUGE fan of the Dallas Cowboys I have been asked at least 100 times what I thought about the Cowboys hiring Wade Phillips.

For the most part I am pretty much indifferent. My team has not won a playoff game in 10 years, and I am not sure how a coach that has never won a playoff game is supposed to change that fact. That being said I was more than ready to see the exit of the fatty fish. I do feel this team underachieved, but fans for probably every team feel that way about their team except for the Colts and maybe the Saints!

The thing that disturbed me the most about Parcells staying around for another year was the 2007 NFL Draft, and his uncanny ability to pick flops. Aside from Jason Witten, even the good draft picks could have been better. Compare Stephen Jackson to Julius Jones or Shawn Merrimam to Demarcus Ware. Not only did he grossly overestimate talent, but he was drafting talent that couldn't even make the team roster. Our 1st round pick last season did not even dress out on game day for half of the season, and this was not due to injury....

But enough on the Toxic Tuna. When asked about Wade, I stated my indifference but said I will have to look at the signs I see leading up to the season. The first of which of course would be the 2007 NFL Draft. I said at the end of the draft I was left saying huh? That would be the first strike against him.

Let's just say he has 2 strikes left. When they traded out of the 1st round and got the 3rd pick of the 2nd round, and a 1st round pick in 2008, I was very impressed (I promise not to participate in the what if we had drafted Brady Quinn talk 3 years from now). Then we traded back in to the 1st round to draft Anthony Spencer?? To quote Deion Sanders, do you even have this guy on your board??? I followed the proposed draft boards extensively and not once did I hear this guys name.

I even understand Wade's logic here. He looks at how this defense fell apart at the end of the season and the most logical explanation was the loss of Greg Ellis. So his priority was to minimize this vulnerability. This guy Spencer also appears to be quite a playmaker.

So what is my problem? To start I think we reached to get him, giving up a valuable 2nd pick in the 2nd round. The 3rd pick of the 2nd round is effectively a 1st round pick in a draft this deep with talent, and Spencer would have still been available. Secondly, this guy has the stats of being quite a playmaker, but I have to wonder that he may have piled up these stats against teams like Illinois and Northwestern as opposed to Michigan and Ohio St.

The remainder of the draft is even more disturbing. I am left wondering if Spencer may be the only draft pick that may ultimately make the team? I can't figure out the reluctance to draft on the first day and constantly trading to stockpile a bunch of late round picks. The worst of which is the spin they are trying to put on Isiah Stanback. An injured QB that we want to convert to a WR, in a draft where there were as many as 10+ WR's projected to be starters by the start of this season. I guess they are hoping to get the second coming of Patrick Crayton???

I just hope the 2008 Cowboys draft pick doesn't end up being a better pick than Cleveland's. Read more!

Doesn't Necessarily Bother Me...

I am mentiong this although it doesn't necessarily bother me. What do you do when you find out what you thought you understood about a person isn't exactly the case?

A couple of minor infractions, but misconceptions none the less. The first of which was a little over a year ago. Each year I bought a pair of 10-packs to go to the Mavericks games. I thought this was great as an avid Sports fan I was excited that there was a sporting event that my wife found entertaining as well. I didn't catch on to it from the constant mention that there was no point in watching the game until the 4th quarter. I would almost have to agree with that, particularly as it pertains to the NBA.

Then the following year, I called to review the games we should go to in the upcoming season, and to my surprise the repsonse was I don't care, I don't really like going anyhow. Huh??? So I am thinking what's wrong with the Mavs? At this time they had several seasons of 50+ wins, played tough into the 2nd round of the playoffs in the previous season, and had Avery Johnson as their new coach. This was an exciting team to watch. So I am like, what's the deal with the lack of interest? Her response, I was just going to the games because you liked it...... What?? Next time please, feel free to tell me you don't want to go before I spend the $500.

So no big deal, didn't necessarily bother me. The next time was a little more interesting. If you have seen my profile one of my favorite singers is Kenny Latimore. We have every CD he has made, including the duet albums with Chante Moore. We have seen him in concert twice, we even got married to his song "For You," needless to say I am a big fan.

So what makes a better Christmas gift than to buy the greatest hits and sneak it in the wife's CD player for the next time she hops in the ride. Set at the perfect volume, on the perfect song. So a few days later, no mention of the CD, so I ask what do you think of the Kenny Latimore CD? The response I don't know I don't really like his music??

OK, I am starting to see a disturbing trend. I am continually uncovering pleasures that I thought we shared, only to find out I was projecting my own desires on her. Makes me wonder what else it is that I love, that she could just assume do without....

Doesn't necessarily bother me, just thought I would write a blog about it? Read more!

Talking Football in May..

Had to make a quick entry based on my disappointment in every single NFL General Manager (GM)for being inept and essentially handing the Lombardi Trophy to the Patriots this season.

It really bothers me that the team that was a 1st down away from playing in their 4th Super Bowl in 6 years was able to upgrade their team so significantly. To start they got the #1 Free agent (FA) player on the market in Adalius Thomas. They were able to re-sign there own hottest player on the market. There used to be a day when free agents from one the league's best team was coveted..

They had a major concern at the wide receiver (WR) position, so they signed Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Kelly Campbell. Stallworth was at the top of the FA list for WR. Welker is a coveted player, and Campbell is a former 1st round draft pick from the University of Tennesee who has had limited playing time sitting behind 2 Pro Bowl WR's in Cincinati.

They also managed to have 2 1st round draft picks, to address there only outstanding need at Safety. The other they used to get a 2nd 1st round pick in 2008.

To cap it all off the icing on the cake. The Patriots get Randy Moss, at one time arguably the best WR in the game, with no reason to believe he will not be able to re-gain that status. They get him for a 4th round pick, which turned out to be John Bowie??? This is after the Raiders had already drafted 6 players in 4 rounds. Are you kidding me, not one NFL team could make a better offer than this? This is unbelievable? The Raiders were shopping Moss for a 1st round pick, but every NFL team stepped to the side and let the bull run right by........ Every NFL GM gets an F grade for this off-season. They will all get time to study to make a better grade next year while watching the Patriots in yet another Super Bowl! Read more!

B-O-N-D-S

Why is it that in their hearts every sports fan in the U.S. wishes they can be in the stadium when Bonds breaks the HR record, but won't admit it?

This is going to be the biggest sports moment of our era. He is the greatest hitter people my age have ever seen. He has nearly 3000 hits, is a career .299 average hitter, and he hits a HR every 13 at-bats (AB). That is amazing especially considering he is walked every 4 at-bats. Put those together and he is hitting a 1 HR every other game.

I had the opportunity to attend a San Francisco Giants game just recently. It was my birthday and I was in SF and I could think of no better way to celebrate than to go to AT&T Park and see Bonds play.

It was a great experience. To begin I was overwhelmed by the fan support. The game was a sellout on a Thursday over 41K fans, 80% of which had on Giants gear. To those of you Cardinals, Red Sox, Yankees fans this is no big deal, but for a guy coming from Texas this was awesome. I had to purchase tickets on a website where season ticket holders can sell their unused tickets.

I can definitely attest that the Bonds "hate" comes from outside of SF. When Bonds came up to bat he received a standing ovation. Are you kidding me they see this guy every day? His first AB he slaps a double off the center field wall for an RBI. The whole crowd sighed with disappointment. How many players can hit an RBI double and the home fans are disappointed??? We all truly believe that he is going to hit a HR every time he steps up to the plate (assuming he is pitched to).

He may not have the greatest personality. The steroids cloud may always follow him, but we can' forget that at the time most players were using. So whose to say he would not have hit more if the pitchers of that day were not using. He admitted using the cream and the clear, but he denies knowledge they were steroids. So he is lying, they can't substantiate this as a fact, and at the time MLB was not testing. He still holds to the fact that he has never tested positive for steroids......

The old-timers can put an asterisk by his name for the rest of their lives, but when I am siting in the room with a bunch of young kids talking about baseball. I will be telling them about Barry Bonds, the greatest hitter that I ever had a chance to see play the game of baseball. Read more!

Get a grip on life

I never cease to be surprised by my people. After spending a day overwhelmed and consumed by the media coverage of the VT massacre, and just really being speechless that such an atrocity took place. I have heard 2 comments from Black people that are really working my nerves.

The 1st was a Black broadcaster that chose to compare this incident to the Don Imus situation. Saying that these were just helpless students trying to pursue an education and were the victims of senseless attacks. You can see the parallel being murdered versus being called an offensive name? This one isn't even worth a response.

The 2nd was a large group of Black people that are enraged at Bush's plan to visit VT to show support for the victims of this tragedy. They say he never made an effort to visit the Katrina victims, and if this would have happened at a Black College he would not be going there to offer his consolation. They say how can he go there for a tragedy that affected 33 people when Hurricane Katrina affected thousands.

I open my impression of these statements with this statement "get a grip people, and recognize that the world does not revolve around you."

If you share the thoughts above, and you have a hard time understanding Bush's logic for not getting on the ground in Katrina just take a look at yourself because you are just alike. You decided this event has lesser importance based on the demographics of the people involved, if this event had happened at a Black College you would have no issue with his visit at all.

Lord knows I hate Bush as much as the next person, probably more than most, but I try to have an opinion of his administration that is based on the facts and not self-serving. So let me start with the assertion that the impact of the VT massacre is about 33 people?

Not only have the 32 victims and the shooter suffered this tragedy, but all of their family and friends share this loss. Not to mention the 25K students that attend this university and their family and friends, the alumni of this university and their family and friends, and the entire community of Blacksburg. So we are already at thousands.....but let's add on the rest of the population impacted by this event. This event represents 2 major concerns in American society: 1) the safety of our children while at school, 2) and the continuous gun violence that plagues this nation.

You add that and we are talking millions impacted. I fully support Bush's presence and support for the victims of this tragedy, and I do that as a human being and as an American not as a Black person.

I have been in a hurricane zone, I have witnessed flooding, I have driven by tornadoes, even floated around from place to place for a period of time w/o a place to call home, but if you gave me the choice to experience all that again vs. being in a building with some lunatic shooting and killing people all around me. I would go through it all again every day of my life rather than going through the experience of the victims of the VT massacre.

This message is not at all to downgrade the horrible tragedy experienced by the victims of Hurricane Katrina or to pacify the hatred I had for Bush at that time and still have now. It is an attempt to recognize that each tragedy stands on its own, you do not have to degrade one tragedy to have an appreciation for another.

When I decided to make this post I had planned to do a spill on how the disappointment and anger about Hurricane Katrina goes far beyond the Bush administration, although I did expect that he would assert himself as the President and provide all assistance he had within his power and restore order. He did not, he failed. I decided not to really go into that because at this moment I don't want to detract from the issue at hand.

Bush along with all of us, need to get a grip, step away from our selfishness and focus on supporting the victims of the tragedy. Read more!

Would one of us had said that....really???

A friend of mine brought to my attention he was surprised at my anger about the Imus controversy. He reminded me that I never get mad about these type of remarks. I didn't even get angry at Michael Richards (although I no longer watch Seinfeld re-runs). For goodness sake I listen to conservative talk radio on a regular basis.....

So it made me think, why did this incident make me so angry, and it dawned on me. I don't think one of us would have made this comment. Most Blacks that actually sat down to watch this game or those familiar with the story of Vivian Stringer and the Rutgers women's basketball team have nothing but a sense of pride for what they had accomplished and what they had been through as a team and as individuals. I believe that if Vivian Stringer walked into any congregation of Black people she would have received a standing ovation.

Then to hear Imus discard them like they were crackheads on the street, welfare mothers with 5 illegitimate children, or Celie from the Color Purple. It reaffirms for me exactly why White people can't use words they hear Black people say; because they do not understand the context. I think even the so-called rappers and comedians that keep being assaulted for their use of this offensive language would have showed this group of women nothing but love if they were speaking in a public forum. If they had watched that game they would most likely have been commenting on how "fine" Candace Parker looks.

I was at a baseball game last week, and it was Dollar Dog Night. So the lines at the concession stands were 30 minutes long. So my brother comes back with a stack of hot dogs and this White guy in front of us is like, "man, you must have been in line for a long time." My brother responded, "yeah I was in line for a minute." The guy says, "really, you must be a VIP or something." We all just laughed he obviously did not understand.

So I thought I would offer up the following qualifications for White people to be able to have a "free pass" to say the things that we say. If you want to say what we say you must do what we do.

If you meet all of these qualifications you can tell anyone you have earned your stripes:

1) You actually own a CD of 2 of the so-called rap music artists that use offensive language, and have listened to at least one of them within the last 6 months.

2) You have purchased and attended a concert of a Black Comedian.

3) You have visited an African American Art Museum.

4) You have read a book written by a Black author that you did not hear about on Oprah.

5) You have seen at least 3 Black movies in the past 5 years, not directed by Spike Lee, or one that you heard about on Oprah (look for a future blog on the power of Oprah).

6) You can drive to a "soul food" restaurant for dinner w/o looking up the address or calling someone to help you remember how to get there.

7) You have had Black people in your house that are not the parents of your children's friends.

8) You can pick up your cell phone right now and in your contact list is a Black person you can call and say hey man let's go out to the Bar tonight have a drink and watch the game (someone besides me).

9) You realize that for Black people Kwanzaa is a celebration of culture, not a replacement for Christmas.

10) You hate George Bush!

What the White people that meet these qualifications will realize is that if you have this type of identity and understanding of the Black race you would never make that statement! At some point you have to ask yourself why would I even want to say somethimg like that?

I will say this and close on the Imus situation (I promise)! This is not written to give Blacks a pass to use offensive language towards one another, this still needs to be condemned. It is just to illustrate that there is a perfectly rational reason why Whites should not share this freedom (what I said plus the fact you may lose your job, or get your butt kicked).

I will give credit where it is due, as I heard this controversy polarize this nation as a race issue, I realize that most Whites were outraged by this as well. I can't say that I patronize one single Black media outlet, yet I constantly heard this action being condemned on televison and radio.

Ultimately, Imus did not lose his job because a bunch of Black people were outraged, he lost it because the advertisers were pulling support from his show. So really his demise was a product of pressure from White people!

So you all get love for that....really!

Read more!

The NFL got it right this time...

The New NFL personal conduct policy and subsequent suspension of players Adam Jones and Chris Henry for violating this policy has created quite a stir. I am generally not a proponent of employer's imposing rules that dictate what employees can do in their own free time. For this case I make an exception to that belief.

When the rule being imposed is targeting conduct that is criminal I have to support the rule. Off the top let's be clear the point of this policy is not to kick players out of the league. This policy is to save the players from themselves. To save them from societal ills that perpetuate this activity. Based on the negative publicity this criminal activity brings to the league the NFL would hope never to have to enforce this policy.

The policy allows for due process so a player gets a chance to get legal representation and a chance to come in and explain why he beat up his girlfriend, or why one of the boys from his crew shot some guy in the head before a punishment is administered. Although I will argue that Jones and Henry were not given due process, but with 10+ criminal charges between them in less than 2 years I think they are actually far beyond what the NFL is trying to control. It has been reported that over 50 players have faced criminal charges in 2006. The NFL has already shown they will allow for some pretty reasonable discretion in administering punushment. Otherwise they would have suspended them all!

This policy has the support of the players themselves so what is left to debate? Let's face it, the guys that get in trouble always want to claim to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is said that if you are at some club at 3 a.m. in the morning the likelihood of getting "caught up" is higher. This is true to a point. Think about it though, these clubs are open 365 days/year and even at the worst of clubs i.e. "strip clubs," on most nights nothing happens. Guys go in and out and there are no issues. The difference is the element that decides to show up on a given day and all of a sudden trouble. These NFL players are that element they are not the victims... 95% of the players realize this and that is why they support the policy.

I'll end with a story. When I was in HS we had a guy that was a star football player and the anchor of our track team. About a week before the state championships in track he beat up this girl. He was not defending himself from her, he beat her up like she was a man. The track coach decided to suspend him from the championships. There was an unbeleivable outcry from the community, they felt the punishment didn't fit the crime, suspending him punished the whole team not just him. Even the girls parents supported allowing him to run in the meet. The principal rescinded the suspension, and the coach ended up quitting. This kid graduates, he was one of the top recruits in the nation and he goes to a big-time D-I program. He lasted 2 years! He could not stay out of trouble...

I tell this story to re-affirm that society perpetuates this complex in star athletes that as long as they are big-time they can pretty much do anything and get away with it. Somebody is going to cover for them, someone will look the other way, maybe get a slap on the wrist from time to time. I can't say for sure that serving the suspension would have changed his life, but by not serving I think it crippled him. He missed an important life lesson about being accountable for his actions. The NFL has decided to step in where society has failed! Read more!

U have got 2 b "freakin" kidding me

The Don Imus Situation:

Ironically when I first heard of this incident, the only part of the story I heard was that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson were calling for the resignation of Don Imus for making racist comments. My thought was here we go again tell them fake preachers to go away and stop trying to get yet another 15 minutes of fame.

It was almost a day later when I actually heard the statement, my whole body just stopped. I was listless I could not believe what I was hearing. I was enraged by this statement. I wanted to hear this in context as opposed to sound bytes (although I really didn't care about the context). Sidebar: Why do I have to go to youtube.com to get a news stories nowadays?

I had to stop and ask myself if I heard a Black radio host making these statements on his show would I have been so pissed. Probably not I would have thought it was funny, but hearing it from a White man made me feel terribly offended. I felt like he was talking about my wife, my mother, all of the Black women I love.

So this is what I surmise of this whole ordeal. This has helped to put in to perspective for me just how degrading we as Black people really are to each other. We need to challenge our own intelligence as a race. We can be much more creative than using remarks that we would feel would be inflammatory and offensive when we are trying to be humorous are communicate a thought. I need to vow to myself to no longer indulge in this hypocrisy. I can't continue to be enraged for someone saying or doing something I might say or do myself.

That being said, I can't change human nature. The fact is these comments stated by a Black person may very well be found comical, but when said by Don Imus I was ready to beat him over the head with a baseball bat. I know that, and he knows that when he said it, and chose to say it anyhow. He showed a blatant disregard for my feelings as a Black person. I can't blame Don Imus for being Don Imus, he should not have to apologize. The blame goes to any media outlet that continues to support him knowing that he has become an inflammatory figure to all Blacks. If the media decides that his value is bigger than the emotions of Black people, and if they decide his right to free speech is more important than being offensive to Black people then they should be held accountable.

I had never heard of Don Imus before this news report. I have never listened to his show and probably never would have or ever will. If he stays on the air I imagine his ratings will improve from White people who support him, or from people listening in for his next slip up. So terminating Don Imus is not just about Don Imus. It is about his remarks being inflammatory to a large sector of the American public which is served by the media. At some point the media has to be accountable for the service that they provide to the people of America. Read more!

You need a warm glass of shut the hell up!

Flying out of SFO back to DFW tonight. A couple of things happened that I had to post on the blog.

The first, the man that should be arrested for excessive talking. Especially to a woman that would prefer not to be bothered. Sitting behind me was this loud mouth that just would not quit. To make matters worse he had no concept of "inside voice." He was going on and on about everything that came to mind. At one point he was on some spill about coffee and going through all of the brands at the grocery store and what is good and bad. In a desperate attempt the woman was like, " I only drink coffee at Starbucks." Dude didn't even break stride, five minutes later he was talking about some problem he had on a flight 3 weeks ago. D-U-D-E, take the hint. She would have wrote a check on the spot for $250 for you to shut the HELL up!!! I would have put $20 on it myself. I really had a mind to get this guy told, and to save the poor woman, but my wife was there and discouraged this wholeheartedly. I looked back and the woman was a hot blond, so she probably had it coming..... Also, probably the reason my wife did not want me to help.

Unfortunately I could not focus on the excessive talker too long; because I had my own problem in my aisle. The woman next to me was suffering from s-t-a-n-k-m-o-u-t-h... She was an older lady and her breath smelled like old wet clothes in storage at a thrift store. I immediately went to the headphones. She was still stinging the nostrils. I pulled out the Sudoku as well. This did finally get her off of me, but she then decided to talk over me to my wife. this was worse, I immediately looked at my wife and demanded that she cease and desist this conversation. I still have a burning sensation in my nose right now! She was talking to this little girl in line waiting to use the restroom. She was leaned over all in the child's face talking, direct hit! Before long the little girl was crying.....

It's a simple request, in close proximity please be cognizant of the toxicity content level of your breath. If it is above the legal limit be reminded it is a crime punishable by spending your next flight sitting next to the excessive talker!!! Read more!

White People and Ron Washington

I am a big baseball fan. It is not uncommon to see me in Texas Rangers or Houston Astros gear. Since I am the type to talk to anybody I often end up talking baseball with someone. Generally white males (probably do a future blog on black people and baseball). One thing I noticed as they all "LOVE" Ron Washington.

They talk about how great a person he seems to be, and how refreshing it is for him to be so plain-spoken and focused on the basics. They feel that his future and the future of the Texas Rangers is very promising. They will then ask me on how I feel the Rangers will do this season. To their surprise I open by saying I think the Rangers are going to "suck. "

Ron Washington does appear to be a great guy, but he has been placed in a piss poor situation. He has an owner who has little concern about this team. He hired Sammy Sosa, Eric Gagne, and Kenny Lofton to sell tickets. It is unlikely any of them will offer much by way of talent at this point in their career. The owner has hired a young GM that seems to think that the way to compensate for making a bad trade deal, is to make one even worse the next time.....

3 of the 6 best hitters on this team from 2006 have signed with other teams as free agents. There is a question mark at every single position in the outfield. They say the starting pitching is strong when there are only 2 proven pitchers on the roster. 1 of those has only had 1 promising season, the rest of his career has been very inconsistent. The other 3 prospect pitchers have not looked promising in their previous outings. The bullpen is supposed to be strong when the anchor is a guy that has not played in 2 years, and the rest of the staff is largely made up of unproven players. So all of this hope is based on "potential." The Rangers don't have enough credibility to sell me on "potential" just look at the "DVDs."

So as much as I wanted to see Buck go away, I was not overly excited about bringing in Washington. For 2 reasons: 1) I feel he has been set up for failure, 2) as a fellow UTA alumnus I feel Trey Hillman would have been the better choice between his previous MLB and minor league experience and the great success he has had in the Japanese baseball league.

So don't assume because I am black I am automatically excited about having a black manager for the Rangers, and because your white don't feel like you have to pretend to be excited when you are talking to a black person about Ron Washington.... Read more!

Virgin Column

I have been told by a few friends that I need to get a blog. This comes from diatribes that i give on numerous topics through speeches, poetry, conversation, or e-mail. In some cases it's because they like to hear what I have to say or think, sometimes it's just because they are tired of listening or reading my e-mail.

So here is my shot at blogging. I plan to cover a number of topics completely unscheduled and spontaneous. I may post several in a day, I may not post for over a month. Some blogs will be short, some will be long.

I will discuss mainly various sports topics. In many cases local to Dallas. Of course not completely limited or dedicated to sports. I am liable to cover politics, race relations, marriage, music, movies, various current events.

Typically my style of presenting thoughts is empirical, but not to the point that I will let that override my gut feeling or reaction. I will stay true to what people do like about my thoughts, they are almost always objective. Even when I am biased on a topic I can generally present it objectively.

So I am sure you tired of reading, let me start blogging....... Read more!