Monthly Archives: December 2008

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cmac on sports – pre holiday rants

I grew up a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and as such hated the Dallas Cowboys. (Especially during the 80’s)  But I came to appreciate the 90s version with the likes of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Jay Novacheck, Nate Newton etc.  A lot that love came for Irvin in particular because of my love for the U.  (University of Miami) That was my college team during the glory days.

Anyway – since then I always felt it was good for the league if the Cowboys were good.  And I haven’t liked or disliked them.  But I have to admit that since Terrell Owens, (T.O.)  is about to implode another team, I have come to root against Dallas. 

I was glad when Baltimore beat that ass the other night.  Now if the Eagles can do the same, I won’t have to suffer this child during the playoffs.

Some of this is Dallas’ fault too.  Not just owner Jerry Jones who totally empowers this ridiculous behavior, but guys like Tony Romo the quarterback who won’t tell it like it is – that T.O. is whinny lil BEEaach who throws teammates under the bus during tough times!  They continue to cover for this fool and it just feeds the monster. 

Jason Garrett the offensive coordinator allowed a clandestine meeting to be held with Owens, and fellow receivers Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams, where Owens accused Romo and his boy TE Jason Witten of plotting to keep him from getting catches.  This in spite of the fact that Owens leads the team in catches and touchdowns.

Former players Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders have never publicly called Owens out on his continuous team destroying tactics from calling Jeff Garcia gay when he played for the 49ers.  Nor for throwing Donovan McNabb totally under the bus, starting a fight with Hugh Douglas – prompting the Eagles to send him home and be relegated to drive way push-ups for cameras while agent Drew Rosenhaus postured for this pathetic cancer of a teammate.

Next came the sleeping pills incident. (he took too many of them obviously in a fit of depression) Instead of dealing with whats wrong with the cat, they all covered it up and glossed it over.  An example is in the aftermath of Pill Gate, his publicist said, Terrell has 25 million reasons to live.” 

Earlier this year I knew for sure that T.O. was a selfish jerk when I saw him yelling at an assistant coach after a Dallas victory over Green Bay.  It was a great win for the Cowboys, but Owens only had a few insignificant catches while other guys shined during a prime time nationally televised game.  That told me this would be business as usual for T.O.

GO EAGLES!  Please remove this dude from my sports page to begin the 09! 

Boston Bustin Out on L-7

Kevin Garnett Picture

I got to give it up to the boys from Beantown.  For any team to win a world title, only to come out and win 26 of their first 28 games including 18 straight!  Talk about NOT resting on your accomplishments.  This reminds me of the Bulls teams who won championships and managed to chase 70 wins the next couple years.  Kevin Garnett is a beast.. making plays and making teammates cry on the bench.  (Side note, I honestly think Garnett has this image of Hall of Famer Bill Russell looking at him evaluating his effort every night.  He wants to please Russell like a kid wants to please his father.  Garnett wants to live up to Russell’s standard.  I think this is fueling his intensity even more to never let up.)  Back to the rant…..

Paul “The Truth” Pierce ain’t lied yet, Ray is Ray – and Rajon Rondo looks like Tiny Archibald.  If he continues to play the way he is, pencil these cats in the Finals in June.  I got nothing but mad respect for the Celtics and the way they go about their business!

Can’t sleep on the Cavaliers though.  Damn does LeBron James ball now or what?  I haven’t been able to see ESPN’s First Take over the last few months but Skip Bayless may as well get up off of his nutsack cause dude is putting up MVP numbers.  I hear Bron Bron is up to 274 pounds of 100% man now – and by FAR he is the fastest most athletic cat in an NBA full of fast and athletic cats.  The Cavs are just waxing fools and Bron is putting on a rock concert not seen since dare I say…… MJ?  It will be interesting to see how well the team does after the new year and specifically how they fare after the All Star Break.  This is where we always separate the men from the boys in terms of who is seriously going to contend.  Will Lebron’s legs give out on him?  Remember he did spend the summer in Beijing winning gold.  Only time will tell – but I am a believer.

Derek Fisher, Anthony Johnson

Uhhhh which brings me to my boys the Los Angeles Lakers.  They won last night in Memphis thanks to Kobe.  My boy Blue drove his son down yesterday to see the Lake Show down 55 south, and will call me later for the details.  They have one more game on the 4 games in 5 days road trip tonight against CP3 and the Hornets before that Christmas Day match-up against the above mentioned Beast of the East.  They lost last Friday against the Heat and then followed that up with another uninspired performance against the Orlando Magic.  All and all we are probably playing like the worst 22-5 team in the history of the NBA.  I don’t have to talk about how bad the D is…  I will let Lamar Odom speak for himself. 

“It’s just like when we used to play against Phoenix two seasons ago.  “We always felt like, ‘Oh, we’re going to get back in the game. They are playing an offensive style of basketball.’  I think that’s how teams right now might be looking at us.  We’re not making it hard enough for teams, as far as around the basket, as far as our defense. At the beginning of the year, maybe the first seven or eight or 10 games, we had teams that quit.  It was like, ‘This is too hard. We know we can’t stop them.  And they’re making it hard for us on defense.’  Now, I feel like teams feel like we’re going to let them back in the game.”

Translation… Get the house in order fellas or you will be the Dallas Mavericks come playoff time.   

New Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia during his introductory press conference.

In the “Don’t hate the playa” category, I got to send love to CC Sabathia the pitcher who inked a 7 year 161 million deal to don the pinstripes.  I remember when we used to say that the CC stands for “Captain Cheeseburger” because of his weight.  Now it stands for Cha Ching!  The Yankees initially offered CC a 6 year deal worth 140 million, and it sat on the table for a month cause he really wanted to play on the West Coast – preferably for the Dodgers.  Team LA wasn’t even close, and Artie Moreno the Angels owner had his eyes on Mark Teixeira. (The Yankees signed Teixeira for 8 years 180 mil today – Maybe CC needs to have his deal re-worked!)  The Yankees then added another year with an even 23 million per.  (9 million signing bonus)  And please, spare me the economy talk.  Any one of us would take it if we could throw the rock like him and someone offered it to us.  I ain’t mad at you brother!

The Story of the Year!

This is the story that has me the most hyped for 2008.  No, its not Michael Phelps and his 8 gold medals.  That’s nothing compared to the feat the Gridiron Gang from Motown is about to pull off.  A PERFECT SEASON…. in reverse.  That’s right for the first time in NFL history a team is flirting with backwards perfection:  an 0-16 season.  Detroit is a tough town… the Pistons have rings, and Tigers have had their ups and downs but were in the World Series a few years ago.  The Red Wings dominate!  Now the Lions are about to make their mark.  Just one more tank job against the Packers this Sunday and its a done deal.

Memo to Lions Players:  Anybody can go 1-15.  That’s not what you’re after.  Finish the job.  I know you are not the worst team in football cause if you were playing the Rams you would smash them.  But still, this is no time for semantics and nitpicking.  Man down.  Roll over.  Make history! Quit for godsakes!  Remember what Kevin Garnett said after he finished his season….. “Anything is possibleeeeeeeeeeeee.

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Notorious B.I.G. Film In Theaters 01.16.09

 

 

 

 

 

So what do you all think?  Will this movie be “notorious” for substance or hype?

With a cast like Angela Bassett, (Voletta Wallace, Biggie’s Mom) Derek Luke (Puffy) and Anthony Mackie (Tupac) I would hope so.  Hopefully it won’t be just a big music video – and it will really tap in on some substance.  It will be interesting to see how they portray Pac with Diddy and Wallace being in on the production.

Perhaps a coming out party for Jamal Woolard (The Notorious B.I.G.)

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Hello Winter!

Casino Queen riverfront camera

 

The Hawk is out!

See that ice on the Mississippi?

I mean it’s colder than a mo fo!

Just cold for no freagging reason at all.

Christians are calling themselves the “Frozen Chosen.”

Icecicles are covering up!

The Polar Bears at the zoo are drinking coco.

Jack Frost ain’t nipping at anyone’s nose.  He’s spanking that ass!

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Unreported Crimes Against Humanity! Or Racism Run Amok!

Edna Glover holds a portrait of her son, whose remains were found behind a police station. CHANDRA MCCORMICK AND KEITH CALHOUN

For those who don’t believe racism still exist, and in its most wicked and deadly forms, check out the stories posted from the magazine “The Nation”. 

African-Americans were shot on sight with one of the white shooters comparing shooting black people to “pheasant hunting.”  The police were non responders and the media ignored it. 

One exert from AC Thompson the reporter:

“Over the course of an eighteen-month investigation, I tracked down figures on all sides of the gunfire, speaking with the shooters of Algiers Point, gunshot survivors and those who witnessed the bloodshed. I interviewed police officers, forensic pathologists, firefighters, historians, medical doctors and private citizens, and studied more than 800 autopsies and piles of state death records. What emerged was a disturbing picture of New Orleans in the days after the storm, when the city fractured along racial fault lines as its government collapsed.

Herrington, Collins and Alexander’s experience fits into a broader pattern of violence in which, evidence indicates, at least eleven people were shot. In each case the targets were African-American men, while the shooters, it appears, were all white.”

Some talk about the media being so biased, but these things were never reported.  Instead all they talked about were “looters” and other crimes that black people did.  I still find it fascinating how when white people were in the water trying to survive it was said they, “found” items such as water and food.  Black people “looted” these same items.

Anyway – these stories are incredible and one should take the time to read both of them.

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Rwandan Genocide Mastermind Gets Life

Like a lot of you I saw Hotel Rwanda.  I also had the pleasure of meeting the main character Paul Rusesabagina a few years ago.  When I read his book earlier this year, “An Ordinary Man,” it prompted me to read other books about the Rwandan genocide.   Though each of them viewed the tragedy from different angles, including one from the killers themselves, none proved favorable to Col. Theoneste Bagosora.  Though its been more than a dozen years, one of the masterminds of the genocide has been sentenced to life in prison. 

 

*Pictured: Former Rwandan Army Col. Theoneste Bagosora, right, arrived with his co-defendant Col. Anatole Nsengiyumva at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on Thursday in Arusha, Tanzania. (Getty Images)

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Preach Preacher! Obama Chooses Right “Man of God”

Obama's inaugural choice ignites outrage

I hear liberals are in an outrage that President elect Obama chose Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration next month.  Supposedly the most vocal resistance is coming from the gay rights movement.  On the heels of the gay marriage ban in California as well as a few other states, they aren’t too keen on the idea of an evangelical Christian praying the president into office. 

I have a message for my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters on this one.  “Stand down and pick another battle!”  Its is silly and short-sighted to raise hell over this one.  For one, Rick Warren isn’t being appointed to any office here.  He is a minister and author.  He is not going to set forth any policies that affect the gay and lesbian communities.  If you do some research on him, you will find that he is one of the most forthright, honest and fair ministers in the country.  Warren is no James Dobson or Pat Robertson.  Billy Graham, (the traditional presidential preacher)  walked away after the election became official cause he didn’t want to deal with a black man.  Warren was the only minister who could pull off a presidential form the way he did.  He allowed each man to speak on his faith and not offer an opinion on who he thought was “morally right.”

Does Warren believe in gay marriage?  No.  But everyone who does not agree with you is NOT necessarily your enemy.  Faith as well as the precepts that support that faith are a personal issue and he has a right to his beliefs as you do yours.  Again if you read his works and listen to his messages, you won’t find a person preaching today who is less judgmental than Mr. Warren.  He’s been on the forefront of using his influence for AIDS prevention and awareness, holding an AIDS Summit at his church, with none of the slandering or gay blaming of other ministers.  Who was speaking against Warren as he reached out to Obama for support of that program?  People like Dobson and Robertson who are notoriously anti gay.  Additionally, he is a guy who will listen and dialogue with the gay community.  If one is willing to listen, you never know what could come of it.

I did a post on Rick Warren earlier this year when he was on Meet The Press with Tim Russert.   In the midst of evangelical leaders vying for position to bring more of the divide and hate tactics to the campaign, Warren’s words were so bright and encouraging, I could see the glow in Russert’s face to have a minister of the gospel speak with such love and perspective.  As a man who grew up in the church, loving its virtues and hating its hypocritical and judgmental ways, I felt good about Warren’s message, and even more so his presentation.  This guy has it together.  Of course you should fight on for what you believe in.  However, Warren is the wrong target!

**As an added feature, I am posting the participants of proceedings on January 20th.  You will also notice that Rev. Joseph Lowery (a pro gay rights minister) is also speaking and giving the benidiction.  Obama said this morning that the fact that Lowery and Warren do have some differences of opinions reflect why he chose them both as a reflection of our nation.  Thats a good thing.  What do you think would have happened with a McCain administration?

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Straight Talk about Black Coaches, College Football and the Institutional Fortitude of Pimps and Ho’s

Flying under the radar in the world of sports is yet another downturn in the realm of college football concerning black coaches. (or a lack thereof) This has been an ongoing things for decades, and it seemed as if its getting worse not better.  There are four African-American coaches out of 119 programs in college football. 

The University of Auburn hired a loser to coach their football team after the unceremonious firing of Tommy Tuberville.  (A proven winner who is white) They interviewed Buffalo coach Turner Gill, an African-American who is one of the most accomplished and respected young head coaches in the country.  He took a program that had never had a winning record in Division I and led them to their first MAC championship.  They also smashed previously undefeated and top 25 team Ball State.  This year they will participate in their first bowl appearance in the school’s history. 

And yet after interviewing Gill, Auburn hired former team assistant Gene Chizik, who ran an abysmal program at Iowa State over the last two seasons. His teams have won only 5 games in two years.  Iowa State lost 10 of it’s 12 games this year.  Obviously there won’t be any bowls games for the Cyclones – not even a knife, spoon or a fork game.  But he got the job as the team refused to hire a black coach, similar to SEC rival Alabama who refused to hire their former player and previous assistant Sylvester Croom.  Instead they hired David Shula who didn’t last very long at all.

Hell I still hate Notre Dame for firing Ty Willingham before his contract was up in South Bend! (the only coach in any sport in school history to be fired before the end of his contract)  Since then they hired Charlie Weiss and after having a record similar to Willingham’s gave him a ridiculous extension.  Now they are stuck with a guy who loses to Navy, and fell to an 8 loss team (Syracuse) for the first time in school history.  The program is at an all time low.     

 Turner Gill*Buffalo Coach Turner Gill

With the Auburn debacle,  NBA Hall of Fame member turned TNT analyst and Auburn alum Charles Barkley lashed out at his school for hiring Chezik over Gill.  He called out the institution for being racist.  Barkley was previously on a search committee for the basketball program at Auburn.  Of all the coaches they interviewed, some black, they hired Jeff Lebo, a white coach who was the only one out of the group not to take a team to the NCAA tournament.  Gill and Barkley talked about the Auburn job.  And according to Barkley, Gill was concerned about being a token interview and that perhaps the school or its supporters would not like the fact that he has a white wife.  Barkley advised Gill to go full speed ahead and pursue this position in spite of his concerns.  We know what happened. 

Now here is my response to this madnes… first I say screw these jobs.  If they don’t want to have a diverse plan and hire qualified black coaches then let them hire unqualified white ones and waddle in mediocrity.  This is not to say white coaches are incompetent – my point is that a white one can be incompetent and still get the job – and yet none of the anti-affirmative action honks say a word about it.  Black coaches can turn whack programs around and still be overlooked.  Let face it, most of the time black coaches have to turn programs around, because as Charles said, normally they get the shitty jobs nobody else wants in the first place. 

Second I ask the question – if an institution does not believe an African-American is good enough to coach their team and lead their program, why are parents sending black athletes to these  schools?   We need to educate these young men about why the civil rights issue is still relevant.  Just as Bear Bryant learned the valuable lessons of Sam “Bam” Cunningham turning his Crimson Tide defense truly crimson, and Adolph Rupp learned when he lost to an all black Texas Western team, in this time when the nation is at it’s peak in terms of qualified diversified candidates, racism will under-mind the advancement of your institution.   We should reject black assistant coaches who come from traditionally white institutions who don’t hire blacks in prominent positions.  Tell them it’s not acceptable to come to our homes and eat our greens and cornbread telling us why our sons, the prized recruit should don their campuses.  F that! There are other programs that can help “Willie” get an education and a possible chance at the NFL.  Jerry Rice, arguably a top 5 pro football player in the history of the sport attended Mississippi Valley State.  Walter Payton attended Jackson St.  I can name many players that didn’t come out of major conferences.  If you are good the pros will find you regardless of what ESPN says.

* Charles Barkley

Third – this suject caused me to think of an exert in the book, “The Ice Opinion,” Who Gives A Fuck! by Ice-T.  He talked about how he’s learned in this life that people are either “Pimp or Ho’s!” –  And that you are either the pimp or the ho in any given situation.  Think about it.  It’s so true!  This is why I don’t trip when I hear that Reggie Bush’s momma lived in a upscale home in San Diego via an agent, when Bush attended USC.  I remember back in the day when all the guys on the University of Illinois basketball team had Chevy Blazers.  The Governor of Illinois wasn’t the one who invented pay for play.  That’s been going on for decades and will continue.  Most kids are going to be ho’s when it comes to the college system.  Sure they can get the college experience, a degree that may or not help them when they get in the job market.  (Research the stats on how blacks with degrees are passed over for white with a high school diploma, and sometimes even a criminal record.)  Barkley said it best when it came to the qualifications of the coaching candidates in the Auburn job, “You can say it’s not about race, but you can’t compare the two résumés and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst résumé.”  Still the colleges are gonna make money from the television networks.  The networks are getting over from the advertisers.  They both come out ahead by billions over the expense for their investment in the student athletes.

Every kid needs to know where he fits in.  If you are good enough to play college ball but not the pros, then study, play, have fun, get that degree and move on.  If you are good enough to get a little something on the side, do that too.  Just understand most institutions and coaches are going to throw you under the bus if you get caught.   So your game needs to be tight.   The coach can promise you the world, then leave at the next opportunity to further his own career ambitions.  Just ask the kids at Iowa State who feel betrayed by Chizik’s bolting.  If a kid signs at a school because he has grown fond of the coach, (and most kids do) the coach can leave and the kid can’t unless he gives up a year of eligibility.  There is a double standard and it has to be understood.  Generally speaking, very few of us are not ho’s at times in our lives.  If you want to feed your family, sometimes you have to “give up the booty.”  But damn, at least learn the ways of the pimp so you can flip the script and operate as a pimp, thereby using your ho experiences as a way to advance your cause… not just be a ho for ho sake!

Learn how to navigate your situation.  Network, advance, move forward.  Lend your talents and receive your just rewards.  Start with learning to give value to those who value your contributions like these universities.  If you are unqualified to coach the team, tell them you are unqualified to run the ball.  (Or get one helluva pay out in return)  That’s all I am saying.  Stop waiting and begging these southern racist institutions to be righteous, and take your talents where you are valued.  If enough of us do it, believe me it will make a difference.  Ho’s just talk about the game and complain about it.  The PIMPS learns the game and then masters it by leveraging his influence to his benefit.

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Things I Hope Black Youth Learn from the Obama Presidency

Sen. Barack Obama will take a break from campaigning so he can visit his ailing grandmother.

Things I hope will inspire black youth regarding an Obama’s presidency: 

 

1. It’ts cool to be smart.  (I don’t want to ever again hear that to be smart is to “act white.” We come from a history of brilliant people!)

 

2. You can be both smart and cool at the same time.  (Look at the picture above!  Tell me who looks cooler than this cat?)  Plus he balls too like many of us.  The point is he balances his ball and his business!)

3. You can keep a calm demeanor when your haters come at you.  (Notice he didn’t say anything about Hillary, Palin, or McCain “disrespecting” him in the campaign. Even as some of his opponent’s supporters were calling for his life, < remember when Hillary went with the assisination comment earlier this year> he still kept his cool. )

4. Who you choose as a life partner is a vital decision, and he is all about home.  (For a man, women can either be king makers or dream killers.  Michelle is a real winner and she’s obviously his backbone.  Speaking of home, want to know what the Pres. Elect did the morning after the election?  He took his girls to school.  He understands his role as a father!  He even read books to his younger daughter consistently, even if he meant doing it from the campaign trail over the phone.)

5. You may or may not ever be president, but you can make something of yourself if you set goals and work towards them without quitting!  (There is a difference between reasons and excuses. Reasons may be stumbling blocks or circumstancs that cause delays.  But they can be oversome with the right game plan, hard work and perseverance. Excuses are just that.  They are the beginning of a lifetime of failure and demise.)

 

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Money, Moral Conflicts, & The Blessing of Personal Integrity

 $20 dollar bill

Ok, so I worked my ASS off this past week officiating middle and high school basketball games.  It’s been a marathon ride to say the least.  Since the first of December I have done 42 games.  Yes I said 42 which includes 18 over the past weekend.  Depending on the school, or the tournament the pay can vary.  But steady work is always good regardless especially in these economic times.  As an official, I am basically an independent contractor.  To get games, people have to recognize you for being consistently good and diligent in your duties.  (Not to mention the politics at times.)  I am still getting to know people though my name and reputation are getting out there. 

I found myself having a dillemma when I received my final pay for the games over the weekend.  The tournament director overpaid me by $20.   That’s easy to understand considering it was  a terribly long weekend for him.  Not only did he organize and direct the games, he also coached his own set of kids who made it to the finals.  He was trying to be in 10 places at the same time.  Well he paid me my dividens as we made small talk about the tournament.  He then thanked me and went about his business of putting up chairs and heading the cleaning crew.  Inwardly it seemed as if he may have gave me slightly more than he was supposed to.  I folded they money and slid it in my jacket pocket and walked away.

Once I got to the car, I counted the money to make sure.  YEP he gave me an extra $20.  What was I to do now?  Immediately I went evangelical stereotypical greedy excuse making Christian and said to myself, “Gee what a blessing!  Shoot I can use that extra money.  I’ll consider it a tip for all of my efforts!”

Then my conscious is like, “Negro please.  That ain’t no blessing.  The man made a mistake.  Give him that money back.”

I’m pacing in front my car, knowing what the right thing to do was, but trying to convince myself why I shouldn’t do it.  It didn’t work.

This is what came into my spirit.

“If you believe in the universal laws of fundamental right and wrong, karma and goodness, then you understand the blessing that was already before you as you were able to work these and many other games in the first place.  Your body is healthy, car is running, got a roof over your head and people like the job you do.  Are you willing to sell your personal integrity for $20?” 

The answer was a very easy one.  “Hell no!

With that I walked back into the gym and sought the director out.  He was paying some other officials and when I got his attention, I whispered into his ear, “Here, you paid me over by $20.”  A happy yet exhausted man’s eyes lit up.  He chuckled at me as if I were some kinda wierdo and handed the money back to me with these words.  “Merry Christmas.”

Surprised I said, “Ahh man thanks!”  I walked out the gym with the extra loot, thinking about how it would suffice as gas money.  But I admit that the money itself paled in comparison to that which I gained that cannot be paid for, my self respect.