Monthly Archives: February 2009

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Hot Mess In The The Land of the Rising Suns

Not that this any of my business… after all everybody knows that I am a long standing member of the Lakers organization.  But I have to stick up for Terry Porter since he was fired by Western Conference foe Phoenix Suns on Monday.

It’s not that I am crazy about Porter as a coach.  I don’t know one way or the other if he is a good one or not.  I do know that he was hired to do a job and was not able to see that job through. 

The Suns in recent years have been a 50 plus win team consistently.   Under coach Mike D’Antoni, they ran up the score and ran teams out of the building on the regular.  The team was not successful in the playoffs however, though they did make it to the conference finals before falling to the Spurs who would go on to win the championship.

The team hired former NBA player Steve Kerr to the GM’s position to make the personnel changes that would take the team over the top.  Kerr eventually got rid of three core players,  Boris Diaw, Sean Marion, and Raja Bell.  They brought in guys like Shaquille O’Neal, and Grant Hill.  They also strung D’Antoni along at the end of the year not saying whether they wanted him to continue to coach until he finally signed on to coach the Knicks.  Kerr and D’Antoni didn’t see eye to eye as the new GM wanted to slow the offense down and route everything around the aging Shaq.

They bring in Porter t0 coach these players in Kerr’s vision of slow defensive mode.  This becomes problematic because for one the team was used to running.  Not to mention their point guard is Steve Nash, a two time MVP who can’t check me if I was playing.  Nash, one of the best point guards in recent history has all of his strengths on the offensive side with a dead on jump shot and an array of passes that bolstered the stats of guys like Amare Stoudemire.  Stoudemire got a lot of easy dunks and looked like a superstar with Nash, which got him paid.  Porter changed the system and slowed things down as he was told. 

Still  the “experiment” has not been an early success as the Suns are a lowly 28-23 at the All Star Break 13.5 games behind the Lakers.  It’s tough for a team to adjust that fast to a new system and a new group of core players.  The Western Conference is also a great conference with the Lakers and Spurs being the cream of the crop.  The Suns obviously got anxious with the slow start.  So they make even more changes.  And who get’s the ax?  Porter. 

Porter?  Let me get this straight; It was Kerr who moved D’Antoni.  It was Kerr who moved Marion, Diaw, and Bell.  It was Kerr who brought in O’Neal who is playing quite well but has not played on the tail end of back to back games in order to rest The Big Cactus.  It was Kerr who hired Porter and has only given him half a season to work with this roster – It’s Kerr who is in the midst of shopping around the Suns’ biggest ticket item Stoudemire.  Kerr has dismantled the whole foundation of the organization and barely gave the changes a chance to work before he offs Porter and names Alvin Gentry as interim coach.  And what is coach Gentry’s direction for the team?  To run the ball and play at the old fast pace.  What?  You mean the same thing D’Antoni did when he was coach and had the players to do just that.  

Steve Kerr, a very good NBA player and one of the best clutch shooters ever created this mess… and yet other guys are being shown their walking papers in the midst of the debacle.  From what I see, this is another example of good/great players who are not good executives.  Everybody can’t be a Jerry West or a Chris Mullin who put together a pretty decent squad in Golden State.  Some guys are like Michael Jordan and Isaiah Thomas instead.  They become organization killers!  They make choices and the choices fail, then they blame the very people they chose in the first place for failing.

Terry got a raw deal.  But hey, that’s their business.  My team is doing just fine.

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The College of Contentment – Allistar Begg

I get email notices from this minister everyday.   This is one I will share. 

For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
— Philippians 4:11

These words show us that contentment is not a natural propensity of
man. Weeds grow easily. Covetousness, discontent, and murmuring are as
natural to man as thorns are to the soil. We do not need to sow
thistles and brambles; they come up naturally enough, because they are
indigenous to earth. And so we do not need to teach men to complain;
they complain fast enough without any education.

But the precious things of the earth must be cultivated. In order to
have wheat, we must plow and sow; if we want flowers, there must be
the garden, and all the gardener’s care.

Now, contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have
it, it must be cultivated; it will not grow in us by nature. It is the
new nature alone that can produce it, and even then we must be
specially careful and watchful that we maintain and cultivate the
grace that God has sown in us. Paul says, “I have learned . . . to be
content,” as much as to say he did not know how at one time. It cost
him some pains to discover that great truth. No doubt he sometimes
thought he had learned, and then broke down. And when at last he had
attained to it and could say, “I have learned in whatsoever situation
I am to be content,” he was an old, gray-headed man, upon the borders
of the grave–a poor prisoner shut up in Nero’s dungeon at Rome.

We might well be willing to endure Paul’s infirmities and share the
cold dungeon with him, if we also might by some means attain to his
good stature. Do not indulge the notion that you can be contented with
learning or learn without discipline. It is not a power that may be
exercised naturally but a science to be acquired gradually. We know
this from experience. Christian, hush that murmur, even though it is
natural, and continue as a diligent pupil in the College of
Contentment.

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Fleetwood Mac, Maze, Old Bands & The Economy

I was driving to work and noticed the sign on bus station poster – Fleetwood Mac coming to town.  Fleetwood is one of my favorite bands from back in the day and Stevie Nicks has one of the most beautiful and haunting voices I’ve ever heard.  I listen to them often and seeing that sign brought to my attention once again how many of the old school bands are still out here touring.  

In the last couple years we’ve had The Police, The Eagles, and The Stones.  None of these cats have any new hits.  They just tour doing the old ones.  That to me is not a bad thing.  It says more about the quality of music of the day. 

Maze featuring Frankie Beverly will be in The Lou this Friday with Teena Marie and Keith Sweat as a matter of fact.  I wanted to go to see Lady-T but I got some other priorities right now and that prevents me from upping the $65 for a ducket. 

Speaking of Sweat, how in the hell is Sweat still touring?  Is that a women over the age of 35 thing?  I mean, “Make It Last Forever”was a great album… but that was his first well over 20 years ago.  He’s produced some good stuff too but do people really want to see this dude croon?  He’s still Steve Arrington just like Aaron Hall was Charlie Wilson.  He was just a more successful at a solo career being Steve Arrington than Steve Arrington was in his solo career.   (Just a touch of love… a little bit)  I’m just saying.

I have seen Frankie though I think like 4 times in my life.  You can never see them too much cause the music is so good and the band is so tight.  They don’t cheat you as they play EVERY song with none of that medley BS to get by.  Oh no, when you see Frankie you don’t go to a concert, you have a party and come out of it feeling GREAT!  Only cool ass audiences go to Frankie concerts too.  Old dudes in brims and velvet suit jackets and stuff.  But unlike other St. Louis audiences, (stuck up acting like they are too good to get down) Frankie/Maze followers know whats up and they come to reminisce and rock the house.

Back to the old bands:  It shows too that us old heads are hungry for some of the nostalgia of the music we used to sing and dance to back in the day.  Have you seen the prices of these shows.  The Stones were starting at $250 a pop.  The Police were like $160.  The Eagles were $175.  I mean DAMN!  I just can’t get down like that.  I read that the Police set was tight though… and they did the hits. 

 

The best days for me was when I worked at the old Keil Auditorium and had access to many bands and singers.  I saw Salt and Pepa before anyone knew who the heck they were.  I thought it was a duo guy group till they came out on stage.  They were just that new.  I mean look, they came with Heavy D and the Too Live Crew if that tells ya anything. 

Has Earth Wind and Fire ever stopped touring?

Free concerts rock!  And the ones I will remember most are Kiss, Hank Williams Jr. (truly a country ass pimp) REO Speedwagon, Poison, and Al Green passing out those roses. 

No concert blew my socks off though the way Bon Jovi did when they came for the “Slippery When Wet”tour.  I mean look – first off I didn’t know who those guys even were.  But there was a buzz all around the city.  So I’m thinking, “Who is Bon Jovi and why did they sell out in 45 minutes?”  Before the show all of these young scantly clad girls – yes I said girls and women were dressed in lace and pajamas.  I was like, “What the hell?”

But yo!  No joke when them dudes hit the stage it was ON!  John was riding on this tightrope 100 feet above the stage playing his guitar, and they rocked the MF house.  I have never, and I mean EVER seen a band play and rock that hard for an entire 2 1/2 hour show.  Prince will do it, but I’m talking about the whole band!  They played like their lives depended on it.  “Dead or Alive, Livin On A Prayer, they hit them all.  The encore… “Runaway!”  That’s when I was like, “Oh that’s them? ” Cause I already knew that song before, just hadn’t heard of Bon Jovi.  I ain’t forgot since.

Sade… great artist – tight band with the same core dudes she’s always had.  It shows too.

Oh I got to share one of the most disappointing concerts I’ve ever been too as well.  The Isley Brothers!  Now look, just for the sake of hits no one does it better!  4 plus decades of stone cold jams.  Will always be one of my favorite groups!  But I got them late in the game and they came out and started out with a few hits… You know they did “Voyage To Atlantis,”and Ernie was all over it.  They did old school and took us back for about 30 min… a bunch of medleys though.  Then Ron went and changed clothes, got into his Mr. Biggs thing with the cane and the girls dancing around him like he was Max Julien from The Mack.  Then they did Contagious and all of that R. Kelly in the closet bull crap!  It was sooooooooo tired!  Finished up with a couple other old school hits and something from the then new album and walked off the stage.  I was PISSED!  I mean it was a ‘C’ at best.  Ernie was great, Ron took our money with a ski mask.   I said to myself, “Never again!”  If we were in Los Angeles or New York this never would have happened.  They figured, “St. Louis, what the hell just do whatever and get the doe.”  He should have paid them taxes with that money.  But that’s another story.

 What are some of your favorite, more memorable or fogettable concerts, artist or bands?

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Valentines Day… Romance or Rip Off

What do ya’ll think?  Here is one man’s opinion, Roland Martin from CNN.

Commentary: Don’t be my Valentine

Roland S. Martin says he doesn't buy all the hype associated with Valentine's Day.

By Roland Martin
CNN Contributor

Editor’s note: A nationally syndicated columnist, Roland S. Martin is the author of “Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith” and “Speak, Brother! A Black Man’s View of America.” Visit his Web site for more information.

(CNN) — With retailers hurting and the U.S. president trying to encourage Americans to spend money to restore consumer confidence, what I’m about to say may seem like treason. But here goes: Please boycott Valentine’s Day and all that is associated with this horrendous “holiday.”

For several years I have ripped into Valentine’s Day. Not because I’m against love and relationships, but mainly because the holiday is such a farce.

First of all, Valentine’s Day is not built around a religious event like Christmas or Easter; nor does it have any special meaning to the nation such as Memorial Day or Veterans Day.

It is nothing more than a commercial holiday created by rabid retailers who needed a major shopping day between Christmas and Easter in order to give people a reason to spend money.

Now folks, I love my wife. She is truly an awesome woman who is smart, talented, fine, and, did I say fine? But do I really need a special day to show my affection for her?

I’ve long maintained that if I sent my flowers at other times during the year, why do I have to fall victim to peer pressure and send her some roses that have quadrupled in price leading up to February 14?

Why should I be inundated with mailings, e-mails and commercials to show her that I love her by buying jewelry or clothing? If we went shopping in June or September or last month, can I get some kind of waiver or “Get out of Valentine’s Day” card?

As for this silly flower thing, it’s even got to the point that any flowers can’t do. Some years ago I planned on sending a woman some flowers that weren’t roses, and the (female) co-workers were aghast. They felt that nothing mattered except roses.

First of all, I didn’t have a lot of dough and felt a nice bouquet was sufficient, but they were appalled. So I told them to go to hell and I’ll do what I want. I guess for them, the thought really doesn’t matter.

Then there are the women on the job who measure the love of their men based on those flowers. You know how some folks are. If there are flowers on the desk of 10 other women, and one woman doesn’t have anything, folks get to talking and whispering as if something is wrong in her relationship.

I’ve learned that even if you get the biggest-ever rose bouquet — the relationship might be crumbling and you just refuse to admit it.

And Valentine’s Day really isn’t even a two-way street. Men are utterly irrelevant except to serve as pawns in this commercial game, emptying their wallets in order to satisfy their lovers or those around them. Oh yea, retailers know the con game.

Most of these guys are hapless saps who have ignored their wives or girlfriends all year, so they buy the flowers and candy, and set a reservation at one of the city’s most expensive restaurants, all to say, “Honey, I love you.”

Ladies, and men, stop it! It’s time to say enough is enough with Valentine’s Day.

What do I want? How about men and women loving, caring and sharing the other 364 days a year? February 14 isn’t the only time to send flowers to your woman (ladies, we wouldn’t mind getting a surprise delivery as well!). How about dropping her a flower arrangement on May 14? And on that card you need to write, “Just because…”

Instead of men and women spicing up their sex life on February 14, make the effort to satisfy your mate the rest of the year.

If last Valentine’s Day was the last time you took your significant other out to a really nice restaurant, you deserve to be in trouble.

Are you planning to treat your man or woman to a wonderful day at the spa this Saturday? Well, I’m sure he or she would thoroughly enjoy the same in June or July.

It’s time that we all take stock of our relationships and learn that we are to be loving and fulfilled 365 days a year, and not reduce our affection to flowers, candy, jewelry, clothes and a meal on one day a year.

The people who plan their lives around Valentine’s are like those who spend more time planning their wedding day rather than planning their marriage. The day is nice and wonderful, but what makes it last is what you do on the “non-special” days.

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Love Passage, By Gabbi

dad-gab

Making her blogging debut… this is my youngest daughter, my baby, Gabbi!   She wrote a piece on her interpretation on 1 Corinthians 13. 

Love Passage

Love will stand in line and wait it’s turn.  It doesn’t always want what others have and it doesn’t brag about what it does have. 

Love is polite even when the other person is rude.  It doesn’t always have to be first.

Love doesn’t get angry over the small things, and it doesn’t remember one thing after another to be hurt.

Love isn’t happy when someone else fails but is happy with the truth. 

If I am very smart, almost a genius, if I can figure out the hardest math problems, but don’t love others I am nothing.

Love never gives up. 

Preaching will stop someday.  So will speeches.  Knowledge will come to an end. 

Today we only know part of what there is to know.  We can preach and speak only with a small part of understanding.

But when perfection comes then what is imperfect will go away.

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Congratulations Pat Summitt

Kudos to my favorite college basketball coach who won her 1000th game last night against the University of Georgia.  She is the only coach Tennessee has ever had, and her career has been nothing but stellar.  I’ve read both her books and she is truly an inspiration to many.

The best thing about Summitt’s program is that she has a 100% graduation rate with her players.  100%! in over 30 years of coaching!

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ShamWow’s, Snuggies and Other Goofy Commercials

I was going through fellow blogger Aunt Jemimah’s Revenge’s page and it made me think of  an older blog I wrote about late night television commercials.  There are some new players on the block now.  Let’s chat about it.

I remember back in the day when the old K-Tel and other companies would push any and everything imaginable to the viewers.   For the magical figure of $19.99 plus shipping and handling, you could get just about everything from a Chia Pet (chi chi chi Chia) to a classical record collection of top 40 hits.  My favorite line would be the one where they were selling the soul music hits and one guys says to another, “Man can I borrow your music?”  Then the other guys says, “Uh uhh my brother.  You have to get your OWN.” 

 

 Today’s acts are no less formidable.  You have ShamWow which can suck up the Mississippi River if you throw a couple rolls into it.  I love the way the guy says, “Its made in Germany so you know it’s good.”  And also the way he chastises the camera man by saying, “Cameraman you getting all of this?  Stay with me now!”  

 Isn’t it cool too how they give you the price of say, $59.99 but then drop it to $19.99?   Then they back it up with, “But wait!  If you call within the next 20 minutes, we’ll throw in another set of ShamWow’s for free!”

That’s standard language for any of these commercials and their offers.  ” But wait!”

Then there’s the Snuggie.  I almost fell off the couch the first time I saw this one.  Apparently someone thought to put sleeves on a blanket.  To see these people doing their casual acts of lounging around the house with this bright red or blue thing is hilarious.  No self respecting man in my opinion would be caught dead in one of these things unless he was a star or an extra in a George Lucas movie.

       

*Snuggie man, may the force be with you!

 You got to love Jay Kordich with his monster eyebrows selling that juicer.  Plus the old man is built like a bull and has all those  girls around.  I actually love juicers and it’s time for me to invest in another one. 

 

 Now my MAIN MAN is none other than Matthew Lesko.  This dude is relentless in selling his book on how to get the government to fund all of your research and ideas.  Anybody who can dress up like The Joker’s Revenge and go on and on and on  is alright with me.  

 

 The only thing I can compare some of these commercials to are some TV preachers when they ask for dollars.  That’s another story.

But I have my own idea to sell.  You see when I sleep, I like to keep my feet warm and I don’t like to sleep in socks.  Sometimes the bottom of the comforter has that cold air seeping at the bottom.  What I do as soon as I get under the covers is is lift the covers with my feet and fold the top sheet and comforter under my feet.  This creates that warm and soft feeling while keeping the cold air out.  I call it “The Cushion.”  I’m thinking to myself, “Why should I do all of that feet folding every night.  I may as well just sew an extra foot pocket at the bottom of the comforter so people can just slide their feet in at night.  I can market the thing for $49.99.  But wait!” 

Operators are standing by….

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Good Reading/Listening

There are times when I have conversations with my sons about life, or certain mysteries or share wisdom from observations I’ve gathered over my years.  I communicate in a way that they can understand and relate it back to their journey so that they can have a reference and a light towards the path they will chose.  There are times when after listening to me explain a thing to them they say something like, “Wow daddy.  I know what your talking about and I have always thought of it or wondered it but couldn’t explain it.  You hit it on the head.  Now it makes sense to me.”  It is at those times when I know my sons really look up to me for having a certain amount of wisdom.  They find me totally relatable and relevant, even necessary. 

This is the exact same feeling I get when I listen to the words of Sidney Poitier.  In his first book, “The Measure of a Man,” he talked about not only his life which is fascinating to say the least, but also his beliefs and how he’s come to realize the mysteries, the pleasures, the heartaches, the lessons of life.  This is a truly wise man who has a lot to share.

This sharing continues with his second book,  “Life Beyond Measure, Letters To My Great-Granddaughter.”  In it he writes a series of letters to his great-granddaughter telling the story of his life and the lessons he’s learned – indeed the lessons he is still learning and those questions he may never be able to answer.

This book is not about his movies nor his career though he mentioned it very briefly at times in some form or context.  Instead, Poitier takes a critical look at his life and honestly shares the greatest faults, pains, failures, triumphs and treasures from a man who couldn’t read when he came to America from Cat Island, Bahamas.  In a kaleidoscope of subject matters such as family, faith, traditions, fear, doubt, desperation, god, addictions, science, technology etc.,  Poitier deeply examines the issues of life and does not tell his great-granddaughter what to do, but instead gives her a window to forsee what her journey may be like – and gives her the freedom to decide for herself how she will view each of these subject matters.

I don’t want to say too much about this book.  It’s difficult to put my words together in a way to give justice to what I am receiving in my spirit as I listed to every word.  I will say that I am truly enriched and there has been an illumination on things deep in my soul that were hidden, or dismissed because I couldn’t dig them all out by myself.  Now I am able to at least tap upon a little.  Additionally,  my own level of sense of honor and integrity have increased since I started the book.  There are already things I do differently, certain standards I don’t allow myself to accept, little foxes if you will that I am weeding out – things that only I know about.  What a role model.  I am so thankful that he shared with all of us what he’s shared with his family. 

I suggest this book as well as his first to anyone on the learning path. 

As much as I love to read the words on the printed page, hearing Poitier speak in his own words, with his majestic teaching voice full of compassion and adventure gives the experience that much more.