A Few Questions

First question, is anybody really surprised that this lovely couple below me is getting divorced?

Second Question: Why is Dustin Diamond pissed about being called Screech all the time? If he wasn't on Saved by the Bell no one would know who he is. Get over it numb nuts.

Third question: How is this strung out drug fiend worth over 20 million dollars?

Ridiculous.

Muhammad Ali was/is/forever will be amazing

When people think of Muhammad Ali, they think of a cocky, brash athlete when he was in his prime. Now he is seen as the poster child for someone who stayed in the game too long. What people today fail to realize is, Ali was a man of character and conviction who should hold a spot as a national treasure. Why do I feel this way? Well, at the height of his career, a time when most would do anything, say anything, act any way to preserve their spot on top, he stood up for what he believed in. He refused to go to Vietnam, stating "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong, they never called me nigger." Not only was he striped of his title for his refusal to go to war, he was stripped of his license to box, and given a 10,000 dollar fine. He would not be swayed. A man in his prime, when many would allow their hubris and pride take over and do whatever it takes to maintain their legacy, stayed true to his beliefs. He was not going to be bullied into a war that he felt was unjust. It would be three years before he would fight again. During those years, Ali spoke out against the unjust war he felt was being fought in Vietnam, and went all over the country speaking wherever his voice would be heard. So when I think of Ali, I don't think of the man who won 56 professional fights, or the man who knocked people out at will, I think of a man with conviction. And that should be praised.

Bob Johnson is a Giant Douchebag.

The Clinton campaign is really beginning to annoy me. This so called campaign that they are running is flat out disgusting. Their latest tactic has been to get one of their biggest black supporters to attack Barack Obama...again. If you don't remember, in January Bob Johnson, the creator of BET, made a passive aggressive swipe at Obama's admitted experimentation with drugs which he tried to cover up and say he was referring to the community outreach work that Obama was active in during the beginning of his career. Now Bob Johnson has come out and said that he agreed with the racist and flat out wrong assertions of Geraldine Ferraro. He has been quoted as saying, "What I believe Geraldine Ferraro meant is that if you take a freshman senator from Illinois called `Jerry Smith' and he says I'm going to run for president, would he start off with 90 percent of the black vote?" Johnson said. "And the answer is, probably not... ."

Well Bob, when Obama announced that he was running for the presidency Hillary Clinton lead with 52% of the black vote, and the lead increased to 60% by March according to a CNN poll. Over the course of 2007, he worked hard and eventually took over the lead. It was not just handed to him. As a young black man, I find it insulting that a man of Johnson's position would say something this idiotic. In America, there is NO advantage to being a black man. And to say that the only reason that Obama is where he is because of his race just completely ignores all of the hard work that he has done academically, socially, and politically. No one is saying anything about Clinton doing as well as she has because she is a rich white woman and believe me that is much more of an advantage than being a black man.

When the topic of race has been brought up, it has not been the Obama campaign, it had been the Clinton camp. It says to me that the Clintons don't believe in this day and age, that a black man just can't possibly win an election on his own merit and skill. It has to be due to his race. And that my friend is the most insulting and disgusting thing of all. I am not saying vote for Obama because he is black, if you disagree with his beliefs and policies by all means vote for someone else. But if you don't vote for him, don't say because he is black. That is just as bad.

If Obama does not win the nomination, I don't know who I will vote for, but I can give you my personal guarantee that it won't be Hillary Clinton.

At this point I'd put Frankenberry in office before Hillary.

NCAA= The height of hypocrisy

The world of college athletics is a confusing one. The young men and women who participate in these are supposed to be the best examples of two worlds, academic and athletic. Instead what we see are a bunch of kids being pimped out so athletic directors, coaches, and the top brass at the NCAA get multi million dollar payouts.

Now I have heard all of the arguments against paying college athletes, such as, "they're receiving a free education." But are they? With the grueling schedule of a full season and then the post season, and if you factor in practices and team meetings, these kids barely have enough time to go to class, let alone find time to study.

Another argument against the free education people is the amount of money being made off of these kids. In basketball alone, the NCAA currently has an 11 year, six billion dollar contract with CBS, and this does not even factor in ticket sales, team apparel sales, and concession sales. If you want to say that all these kids deserve is $30,000 a year then you are insane. Billions of dollars are made off these kids hard work, image, and performance, yet they can't even get a job to have money in their pocket.

Even the coaches are guilty of exploiting these kids for their own personal gain. Take the case of Ray Ray Mcelrathbey. He was the young man who took legal custody of his little brother while a member of the Clemson University football team. The university had no problem parading him on national television making the university look good by association. LAst season he dealt with some injuries and then had his scholarship basically taken away. Like thanks for making us look good, we don't need you anymore. Some coaches make up to 3.4 million dollars a season, yet the main people responsible for that eat ramen every night because they can't afford anything else.

One of the grossest examples of exploitation is the case of the Fab Five. Not only did they sell alot of jerseys, pack arenas across the country, and basically usher in a new brash and in your face style of basketball to society, these guys came in as freshmen and flat out dominated their opponents. Yet because of the NCAA's rule that student athletes can't work, some of these teams took money from boosters. Not to buy cars, not to buy drugs, but to buy basic needs for survival such as winter coats. This was such a "vile" crime that they have been all but stricken from the record books.

I am willing to bet the NCAA won't be returning any of the money that they received from these young men's hard work.

For another example of exploitation of an athlete see this post by the good guys at gimme dat brew: http://gimmedatbrew.blogspot.com/2008/04/run-til-you-die.html

Hip Hop Saved My Life

Alright, the title is a bit of exaggeration, but hip hop has been a major factor in my life. I'm not talking about what you hear on the radio or the latest "jam" from T-Pain, no I mean true hip hop music. Music that inspires you, makes you think, or takes all your problems away, even if it is just for three or four minutes. I couldn't tell you what I learned in the fourth grade as just a chocolate cub, but I can tell you that once the Puma heard "Do You Want More" by the Roots and it changed my life. I had never heard anything that amazing and like a young kid I thought this was as good as it got. As I got older I listened to more and more from artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli and DJ- Hi-Tek(in fact I consider their Reflection Eternal album to be one of the greatest albums of all-time), Outkast, Eric B. and Rakim, and of course being from the south I listened to Outkast. When my family, teachers, and church have all tried to reach me, sometimes just listening to a track off of Reasonable Doubt can do the trick. When I am a little stifled creatively I put in Stankonia by Outkast and just watch the juices flow. I get a little tired of hearing people just bash what they hear on the radio and immediately assume that all hip hop is the same. I urge those people to try and find more creative artists to listen to. Real hip hop is able to move you, make you feel good, and makes you think. Believe me, it's a good listen.

Tiger Woods is my homeboy.

Earlier this year there was a bit of a controversy surrounding Tiger Woods and the Golf Channel lead anchor Kelly Tilghman. If you haven't heard about this here is just a snippet of what was said:

Nick Faldo: "The younger golfers are going to have to gang up to beat Tiger Woods."
Kelly Tilghman: "Yeah, lynch him in a back alley."

Now we can all agree that what Ms. Tilghman said was wrong, it was disgusting, and it was reprehensible. But what I found to be most interesting throughout this whole controversy was that people openly questioned the manner in which Tiger responded. Immediately after it was said Woods told the press that he was friends with Ms. Tilghman, they had discussed what was said, she had apologized and it was no longer an issue. This wasn't good enough for some members of the press. People such as Rob Parker, Al Sharpton and other African Americans in the press said that this was not good enough, that this was unacceptable for a person of color in Woods' position. Somehow because he was great at what he does, he automatically has to become a social activist. They spout this out over and over again to any audience that will listen as if Woods is some sort of Pacman Jones character. Here are just a few of the charities either started by or participated in by Woods:
*The Tiger Woods Foundation
* In the City Golf Clinics and Festivals
*The Tiger Woods Learning Center
*Tiger Jam
*Tiger Woods Challenge
*Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team

Boy that sounds like someone who instead of ripping him for something that he deems to be over, we should be applauding him for all the work he does in communities all over the United States. But the criticism only got worse when Golf Week Magazine decided to add fuel to the fire with this inflammatory cover:

Now, I am all about calling people out when they are in the wrong or when the situation calls for it. This situation is neither. Woods by all accounts is a man who contributes to society with charitable works, a decent man with a wife and child, and arguably the greatest golfer to ever swing a club. If you are going to try to make someone out to be a person who does not care, Woods is not the guy. Instead of saying we need people like Woods to be more outspoken, I think we just need more people like Woods.

Get off Matt Leinhart

To those who do not know, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinhart is now embroiled in a controversy. Now before we jump the gun and assume it's the tale of another spoiled athlete out and about in night clubs and strip clubs causing problems, Matt Leinhart was at home. Photos have been leaked to a gossip website that show Leinhart at his home partying with a bevy of beauties, doing beer bongs and chilling in the hot tub. Well, alert the FBI, a young rich man who is single and living the life of a starting quarterback in the NFL is throwing a celebrity filled party with alcohol and young women. Here are the "oh so bad" images courtesy of thedirty.com.


Look, this is another example of things being blown out of proportion. There were no underaged girls there, no one was held against their will here, this was a bunch of rich young people having a party. Hell, if people brought cameras to parties that the average 20 something attends you might see some of the same behavior exhibited in these photographs. Just because he makes millions for playing a game, doesn't mean he has to be perfect, he doesn't have to be a moral superstar, he just has to be human. And any human in that position, would be doing the same thing. Having a good time.