A star not realized...

It wasn't supposed to happen this way. The number that we should all have associated with him should have been 25. But due to a tragic set of circumstances and just the unfairness of life, the number he will forever be associated with is 669. The 'he'in question is Ben Wilson and he was the 669th person to be murdered in Chicago in 1984.

"Who was Ben Wilson?" some of you non-basketball afficianoados may ask yourself. He was a 6'8 dynamo. He could dribble, he could pass, he could shoot, he rebound, to put it bluntly there was literally nothing that the kid could not do. And unfortunately it also meant that he was not immune to the violence in which plagued his community then and continues to do so today. And what was the trangression that set off a chain of events that continues to affect people today? "Excuse me." That's what Ben said to two young men when walking with his girlfriend that caused the confrontation that ended his life.

His is a story filled with what-ifs and questions to God asking why he was seemingly struck down in the prime of his life. A player who had yet to come close to the zenith of his abilities. The impact he could have had on the college and pro games could have altered the course of basketball history. Had he gone to Illinois as expected he would have teamed with future NBA all-stars Nick Anderson and Kendall Gill. Hell, they may have even beat the Michigan squad which eventually won the National title the year he would have been a senior. But instead the world will never know.

But there has been one positive to come out of this. Whether it's fair or not, Benji Wilson is used as a cautionary tale for every young man growing up in the city. Whether it's your fault or not, you can be taken away. I'll end with this classy commercial that says what we all feel when we hear stories like this; "shoot over brothers, not at them."

I have to say something...

Sometimes I tend to only think, focus or write about things that interest or more importantly focus on me. I am going to step out of my own little bubble here for a second and give my opinion on the whole Prop 8 situation. I know many people who claim it's immoral, it's downright wrong to be a homosexual. I personally don't believe it's a choice. Why would someone choose to put themself in a group of people who constantly have to fight for the opportunity to be able to celebrate their love to another human being through marriage. Why would someone choose to be a member of a group that is unfairly persecuted? For shits and giggles? Ridiculous. And what's even more ridiculous to me is that the state of California now only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman. So, let me get this straight, Gary Coleman can potentially be your governor, but two people of the same sex can't be in love and get married? All over the news I see people using religion as the basis for their decision to say no, and I am not going to question their religion. But I will ask this, what do you think is worse, two women or two men who love each other and have dedicated themselves to each other by getting married or two single people who hate each other and are in it just for money or some other ridiculous reason?

And to all those who rail so hard against gay marriage I have another question...why? In a world where some of our most popular tv shows are the Bachelor and the Bachelorette, where even Flava Flava gets multiple shots at finding love, is this the worst thing in the world. How will this affect you? Maybe I am being a bit naive, maybe I'm a little ignorant but I fail to see how gays getting married is the end of society.

I'm going to end this with a quote from a person who knows something about being denied basic civil rights, Mrs. Coretta scott King.
"Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing, and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages."

Things I learned From Sports This Weekend

1. Image is everything.
When you see Terrell Owens the first thing you think of is well there is another selfish me first player. When you look at Michael Phelps, the majority of Americans see someone who they want their children to be like, a nice young man basically. Yet Phelps has photos of him smoking out of a bong and has a DUI in the past. T.O. doesn't even have a ticket. Just saying maybe he's not the real jerk.

2. Kurt Warner is a hall of famer.
Against the vaunted Steelers defense he threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns in a game where they had little to no running game. He has more touchdown passes than Joe Namath(Hall of famer), Troy Aikman(Hall of famer) and not to mention the fact that the man is straight up clutch. The end, period.

3. Larry Fitzgerald should be enshrined in the hall of fame while he is still playing.
Jiminy Christmas, if he stays healthy is it out of the realm of possibility that he could leave the game as the greatest offensive player of all time.


4. Andrew Bynum...oh boy.
Talk about bad luck, this guy finally seems to be getting a little life in the post and again like last year, injury. That is really a bad sign for the Lakers.

5. Kobe Bryant is ridiculous.
61 points? Are you serious? While Lebron is the future, don't forget if your life was on the line and you needed one man to tske the shot, it's Kobe. The man is an assasin. End of story.

An Open Letter to Evan Rachel Wood

Dear Evan Rachel Wood,
Hi, big fan ever since I saw you in the very disturbing and frightening realistic look into the lives of the young children today in Thirteen. Very riveting, in all honesty I feel that you could be one of the finest actresses of your generation. You are also one of the prettiest young ladies out there as well. Which is why it pains me to say this, I think you are making a horrible mistake. Allow me to clarify, if the rumors are true you were seen making out with one Mickey Rourke. This wouldn't be nearly as disturbing if your former beau was none other than Marilyn Manson. Now since Rourke is a former boxer we shall do a tale of the tape.


Awesome


Ahhhhh! Who's next, this guy...

It's a trap!

Look, I'm just saying, you're a beautiful young lady. There is no need for you to be hooking up with dudes whose face look like leather stretched over someone's knee...and then stitched up to hell. How about a handsome gentleman of leisure of the chocolate variety?

I await your call.

A little bit of truth

While yesterday was a great day, let me go ahead and say to the many who believe the line "now black men have no excuses." Was there an excuse before? I didn't need to see someone who looked like me to want to work hard and try and pursue a dream. If you look to others to push you to do something there's a problem with that line of thinking. I grew up in Mississippi where the only thing I was told for the most part is that your best shot at success will come from glory on the athletic fields. I didn't believe it then, and while yesterday was inspiring, possibly the most inspiring thing I have ever seen, it doesn't make me go "well, now I can finally come up with a dream." I had goals before Obama was president and I will after his term (terms?) have passed. Maybe it's just me, but I think if we hold ourselves, and in this case our young men apparently since we (meaning men) are the ills of society to some people, we will have more young men ascending to heights never before reached. When I was a kid, my mom and older sisters never looked at me and said go work on your jumper, although maybe they should have then I wouldn't embarrass teammates due to an inefficient jumper, but I digress. They implored me to do what I loved, and while I have yet to achieve the level of success I dream of, the dream is there and I strive toward it regardless of who the commander in chief happens to be.

Maybe this whole rant doesn't make any sense but the time to stop making excuses and change the hand you were dealt was a long time ago. And if some of us are just realizing that, I am truly a little saddened during this happy time.



I am the Chocolate Puma and I approve this message.

Rahm F#@$%^*@ Emanuel

Please let his first press conference as Chief of Staff be this awesome.

A letter to Bobby Rush

Dear Bobby,

First let me begin this by saying I am a long time admirer of yours. You have done so much good work for the people of Illinois especially the African Americans. You helped pioneer the Free Medical Clinic which developed the first mass sickle cell testing program. You helped start the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers. He was even a member of SNCC, the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee during the late 60s. Basically you have devoted your adult life to the advancement of African Americans.

But this time, you're wrong.

Your shameless playing of the race card in the nomination of Roland Burris for Barack Obama's senate seat is just flat out disappointing. This is not about Roland Burris' race. This is about the man who appointed Roland Burris. There is no way that any person who has been accused of attempting to sell the senate seat that Mr. Burris has been appointed to should have the right to make that appointment. No one is questioning the credentials of Burris, their questioning the moral authority of the "honorable" Gov. Blagoevich.

Do I agree that we need African Americans in the senate? Yes. Do I think they need to be appointed or elected with the full faith of the people? Yes. In this case anyone Blago appointed was doomed to be seen as tainted. And that's not a black and white issue, that just is what it is.