Nike World Cup 2010 Commercial

I know i've been putting a lot of videos up here lately but i can't help that i keep seeing all this inspiring stuff. This is the new Nike commercial for the upcoming World Cup. You gotta love it, its so wonderful, yes it is.

Colt .88

GQ is really delivering this year, but im not referring to fashion in the least bit. I read another article that blew my socks off, about former great Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison. The article chronicles the timeline and peruses the details surrounding a North Philly murder that seems to have Harrison's vestige all over it.

Ardent and even some loosely involved sports fans will recall Marvin Harrison as a very quiet and robotic individual, never said much to the media, and now we know to include his teammates among the shunned. A small excerpt reads "...through all this, his teammates claimed they didn't know him in the slightest. "He's like Batman," linebacker Cato June told Sports Illustrated." By most accounts he was a very tidy man and kept things in order as one should. But back in home in North Philly things got sloppy quite fast between Harrison and local drug dealers and childhood rivals. I won't divulge the story but its a fascinating lesson for some and a melancholy reminder for others of how ones upbringing and environment can haunt them. Unfortunate upbringings can be sticky webs to get out of and this is the epitome of that.

Click here to read Dirtiest Player by Jason Fagone

Game Brain

This is an article published in the October issue of GQ Magazine that i found captivating. Its a bit longer than most web articles but i was so engrossed i didn't even notice. You can read the article here to be well informed as you continue reading what will ensue.

The NFL has been very reluctant to succumb to novel research that suggest their players are at an extremely high risk of dementia and other related problems that can affect players immediately after their playing days. Including their insidious attempts to have scientific articles removed from publications. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry that has thrived for so long on the insatiable appetite of fans to see the violent collisions and incredible velocity that they can't or won't attempt to do themselves. The NFL works like insurance companies when it comes to distributing money to former players for disability. They give the most egregiously disabled retirees the minimum amount of money, when in fact they deserved the maximum. All in all, the subtext reads "we are worried about our profits and not the players". Putting money into cures would seem advantageous but that hasn't been the strategy. It looks like strides are being made but the NFL has put this off for so long they may end up with a larger fight then they intended initially. This should be interesting to follow.

Props to Common for putting this up on his blog, thinkcommon.com/blog (that's how i found it)

Flying without Wings and a Prayer

Mike Vick was signed Thursday. Im typing Sunday. Generally im not a knee-jerk reaction type of guy. I have gathered my thoughts along with others to compose what i think is an interesting dichotomy of America. Those that loathe Vick, and those that enamor him. I think this topic has uncovered more about cultural differences and principles than any discussion has in a while.

Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagels 8/13/09, the announcement was made as a Philadelphia Eagles preseason game was simultaneously taking place. As this transpires i hear reports that some fans decided to leave the game in a fruitless preseason protest. There was one lady who was crying and stated that she has to now give up her season tickets. I've seen facebook status' that wished the worst of occurrences to Vick and all sorts of venomous outrage. As i observed and quelled my own statements i realized an interesting point; this is not about written laws its about moral codes.

In society we are technically governed by laws and unwritten moral codes/laws. There have been plenty of athletes to break the "Law", but none so viciously ostracized. He has served his sentence but yet the public arena looks to brutally bury him, however not everyone. From what i have observed there is generally a culture/race line that is drawn separating the furious from the forgiving. Generally in the European-American circle dogs are obviously more revered than in the African-American circle, so although it was a felony one sector really has no quarrels while the other sector boils over with rage. So although this was a crime committed i think it is paramount to understand that the community that Vick has been apart of virtually his entire life generally did not hold this behavior in contempt, even though it is against the law. As a matter of fact there were others football players who spoke when the actions were first uncovered and felt this was no big deal. Before a stone is thrown at my laptop, please understand that i think the actions were foolish. However there are things people do everyday that are illegal but morally it elicits very little outcry or concern, such as smoking/selling weed. See i've known quite a few popular weed sellers and no one makes a stink. Im sure that is how his dog-fighting ring worked, his background and those he was involved with saw no fuss to make, thus he was not persuaded to change.

The amount of lamenting against Vick is uncanny to anything i've witnessed in sports. But on the other hand why are African-Americans so laissez-faire about dogs? I hate to become a historian but one school of thought builds from the idea that African-Americans were often chased down by dogs of slave masters so the connotation of "dogs" isn't a pleasant one. And on the reverse side of that one can make a case that this is why European-Americans have embraced them so; they really have taken this personal, but it is so unclear why. People continued to root for Dallas when they signed Pacman Jones and people also rooted for the Ravens when Ray Lewis had the murder trial. These two were never convicted but the people hated Vick before he was convicted.

I hold the idea that everyone deserves a chance to be forgiven. Sometimes it takes someone like that to reach other people. What will you ever get out of forever banning him from the NFL, that benefits society none! We have all made some mistakes, some more public than others but it bothers me to see so much vile commentary tossed around like everyone is perfect. He paid his dues and i think we need to move on and continue to make this world better, not continue to try to hold people down. Besides he's playing football, not running for Mayor, where his character needs to be tried and true. I don't think people realize how much hate tears down the world. Look at what Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished by reciprocating love, he could have easily looked to kill everyone that had hung, tortured, and abused his people, but he chose love and learning instead and accomplished wayyyy more. Apparently we have given him a holiday and don't even know what for. Although i can understand some not liking this gentleman, but this is bigger for some people, and this hate has to stop.

Black Olympics?

I'm a little uneasy about the idea that i have to post this video in order for the people to know what the heck i am talking about. So here it is, professional athlete Martellus Bennett decides to make a video with his brother, displaying the "Black Olympics". If you haven't clicked it i would advise you do so before you read my commentary, otherwise you are reading a fictional recap of an imagined event.

Why would he feel the need to share this ignorance with the world. To be honest I can actually see how he and his boy/brother could think this is funny. However, to elongate those stereotypes with no respectable regard for your race and the walls that you build before them is egregiously irresponsible. And as life ensues we wonder why people look at us a certain way.

I think people of particular races have to understand that when you reinforce certain stereotypes then essentially you are giving a green light to all or at minimum most stereotypes of your particular category. How do people and races unfamiliar with the reality discern what stereotypes hold true and which do not, they just get a glance of MB doing the "Black Olympics" and they say "oohhh that stuff they say about black folks must be true". I'm not saying that this something that needs to be debated with legislation but, I think someone does need to sit down with him and explain a couple of things so he can be enlightened. What he thinks is funny may only be just that to a very small sub set of people.

I think the world has expanded too fast without a rule book. All these new media outlets and platforms offer people more digital horsepower than they are capable of operating safely. With traditional methods of communication such as magazines and tv we've always had guidelines but now there is no code of ethics or unwritten/written rules. You can find not just one or two pieces but a smorgasbord of turbid material on the web.

They Shootin, aww Made You Look

I am a little tardy to the dialogue on this one but hear me out. Recently New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress shot himself in a night club with an unregistered handgun, was taken to a hospital (admitted under an alias), turned himself into the police, and now is facing a potential 3 1/2 year sentence. This blatant description would sway most to put this man into the "fool" box, but upon further review I don't think he is as idiotic and brazen as it appears.

I've submitted accounts of athletes being violently injured amidst off-duty activities before on this blog and every coin has two sides. One side has seen many athletes suffer fatal and devastating fortunes due to their inability to protect themselves, such as Javon Walker beaten unconscious in Vegas, Sean Taylor murdered in his home, and Richard Collier left paralyzed from 13 gun shots. The other side of the coin is sensible enough to suggest that with the Scrooge McDuck bags that these guys are bringing home perhaps they can afford a bit of security, a bodyguard or two. Let me expound upon the facts before i delve any further; Burress has registered the gun before in the state of Florida but his license actually expired in May. This is essentially a futile point in the court of law because New York does not give any credence to permits from other states, but in the court of intent it certainly harbors valor.

With everyone having the right to bear arms that nullifies the egregious idea of having a gun. Also since he has previously registered there is not malicious attempt to hide his gun. Don't get it twisted though, he should still have to deal with the consequences just probably not the maximum which seems a bit excessive. Sometimes laws are flawed in their construction, i think everyone essentially has the right to protect themselves the best way they see fit. They just have to deal with the consequences. For instance in Michigan which is a "castle law" state (with modifications) you can't shoot an individual who breaks into your home solely on that occurrence, your life technically has to be in a measure of jeopardy. Most citizens would agree that blasting shells into the intruder isn't to unreasonable, right? Add all these things up with the idea that Plax is a more attractive target for most goons than the average man, and trust me he is, you have rationale for carrying a gun. I think if you want to attack something it should be his mindset, the constant leery situations that he puts himself in. Also whether or not it is worth it, but just because someone has more money doesn't mean they have more wisdom.

I think I rest my case your honor...

Millen is chased out of the Lions Den

The Detroit Lions have unseated longtime president and GM Matt Millen. Sports enthusiast are aware that this was part of the vestige from William Ford Jr.'s comments on (i think) Monday. Millen has held the position since 2001, however to the disdain of many fans for the last few years. At this junction it is unclear if Millen begrudgingly left or if his term was truncated by father Ford. Nonetheless three weeks into the 2008-2009 NFL season he is gone (or exiled). The Lions are a NFL worst 31-84 across Millen's tenure.

I will state this disclaimer first: I do not follow the Lions like most people in Detroit, however i follow every team if that makes sense. I cannot say with 100% certainty that Millen was the exact cause of the downtrodden franchise. Some of his moves are obviously bad but i don't know if they were that egregious. For instance, Lions have had, i believe, four coaches in his tenure (Marinelli, Mornhinweg, Mariucci, Jauron), none of them were bad coaches though. Apparently Millen has an affinity for the letter M, but i digress, Marinelli who is currently seated as head coach came from a relatively prosperous team in Tampa Bay who won the Superbowl in 03. The pillar of that team was its defense, especially the defensive line (Sapp, Simien-Rice, McFarland) and guess what Marinelli was the defensive line coach. Mariucci, took the 49ers to multiple playoff appearances, albeit never reaching the Superbowl. The height of his success was the NFC Championship game. Jauron was mildly successful with the Chicago Bears, even though i think he only took them to the playoffs once in a short stint, but he really doesn't count because he was just a temporary replacement. Mornhinweg was supposed to be from this transcendent line of NFL coaching glory, the Mike Holmgren lineage, so i can't really fault him for trying that out either. Now Mornhinweg is the Offensive coordinator at Philly, and us football fans know their offense gets busy! So with the coaches i don't see any deplorable decisions but i have never worked for an NFL franchise and don't know the undercurrent of the business.

Im not in the Detroit Lions War Room on draft day when they select their draft picks but the common notion is that he is largely responsible for those too, so i will go with that theory. The first blunder was Joey Harrington, who was highly successful in college at Oregon, led them to a Fiesta Bowl win (which is pretty impressive) and Pac-10 champs, the boy looked good. I won't go through every draft pick, because most of them are solid, but the two draft picks that people harp on are Charles Rogers and Mike Williams. Anyone who watched Michigan St. football has to lay off Millen on this pick, Charles was easily one of the best college receivers of his decade. He won the Fred Biletnikoff award for the best receiver in the NATION that year, he broke MSU's record for touchdowns in a career and receiving yards in a game with 270. In fact the Lions would have been silly to pass on him. Mike Williams was a beast at USC as well, in fact i remember vividly calling my dad while i was at work and he was in the car with uncle Roy and i was excited for the Lions because they just drafted Mike Williams. As a freshman Williams set a Pac-10 freshman record with 14 touchdowns and 1,265 yards (18 years old). The next year he had 16 touchdowns, they only played 13 games, and he amassed 1,314 yards. The only thing incredulous about him was that he had to sit out of football that one year because he tried to follow Maurice Clarett who challenged the NFL's rule to be eligible for the draft (3 years removed from high school or age 21) who lost that decision. Both receivers are currently unemployed, i actually feel bad for them for being selected by the Lions. The rest of the draft selections are typical for what they are.

However personally i think the franchise is just cursed. Matter of fact look it up, THE CURSE OF BOBBY LAYNE. I understand that there is no excuse for the futility the organization has displayed, especially in proportion to the fan support. But honestly, i don't think it was Millen's fault, whom ever was in his position was going to have to succumb to the curse. Or maybe he was part of the curse. I also understand that as a business you have to what you can to save face with your customers (or the fans), because if you lose the fan base then you will lose out as well, simple business concept, i think. However the curse should be over after this season, so perhaps the Lions will begin to turn it around.

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This saturday is the beginning of the college football season, and with my passion exuding out of my skin i think its time to peruse the college football landscape. I told Hump i would be unbiased so i'll try to leave my LSU affections out of this. Here are some focal points before we kick off.

The Big 12 might be the most explosive conference this year. Look at the offenses, Texas still has Colt McCoy, Texas Tech still has Graham Harrell and the best receiver in the land Mike Crabtree, Oklahoma-still got it, even Mizzou brings back Chase Daniels, and Coach's son Cody Hawkins wasn't too bad slanging the rock at Colorado either. But that begs the question are these guys going to play any defense in that conference, and we also know how important it is to have a running game regardless of how good you throw the pill. The team i see closes to the pin is Texas, with new defense coordinator Will Muschamp from Auburn they're going to get more out of their defenders than they have in the past, i guarantee it and im sure they have a running game. Im sure Oklahoma is going to shoot themselves in the foot once again, i just know it. Side note: Nebraska has LSU's former defensive coordinator Bo Pelini and that should help them a little bit. But watch out for Crabtree and the gang, they remind me of Pitt in 03-04 when Fitzgerald was there but with a better quarterback.

Watch the evolution of the Big Ten and enjoy it. Much has been made of R.Rodriguez going to Michigan and bringing that wide open offense in his suitcase. Although much of the offense is gone the majority of the defense is returning and i really like that corner Donovan Warren. Progress is a slow process and we'll see what happens in Ann Arbor, they need some big wins because they've only had about one in the last five years. Illinois and Ron Zook were successful last season bringing more than "3 yards and a cloud of dust" and Ohio State is still the headliner of the conference and they used some of that spread offense pretty effectively. Chris Wells is a problem! And the receiving core has another year under their belt so the team should be even better than they were last year. So teams are starting to open it up in the Big 11. I really like where the Spartans are headed, coach Dantonio has the Spartans on the cusp of some good things, they just have to learn how to finish games and if they can do that then they should be able to make some real noise in the Big Ten. Wisconsin will continue to hang around and probably pull one of the top 3 spots in the conference once again.

The Pac-10 SHOULD be a rout, USC shouldn't lose to another Stanford and actually the defense on that team might be better than the offense with Ray Maualuga and Cary Harris holdin it down. Pete Carroll makes the best adjustments so they should be able navigate the Pac-10 but the trick is getting past Ohio State Sep.13, that should be the game of the year by the way. Oregon will not be as effective but im sure they have some talent cause they can get recruits off their jerseys alone. The only sleeper i see is Arizona State with Rudy Carpenter at the helm throwing to Mike Jones who had 10 touchdowns last year. Bottom line: the Pac-10 really isn't deep at all.

(Hump, Sutton, KT, and Finney don't judge me) The most uncertain conference will probably be the SEC. Everyone has fallen in love with Georgia and Knowshon Moreno, but they are going to have to try to clip the Gators in back to back years and they also have to travel to LSU and Auburn, and don't forget Tenn got them last year as well. This will be a good race even up to the last week. I think everyone needs to focus on Florida in this conference, with Tebow, Harvin, Rainey, and Moody they have multiple playmakers. The trick is whether that defense line can beef up and get stronger and not get blown off the ball against heavy rushing teams (but the defense line is quick).Im not sure they are quite flying under the radar but they certainly aren't getting all the attention. LSU has a huge question mark at quarterback after kicking Perrilloux off the team, Les Miles is creative and will come up with ways to use his playmakers but that's if the quarterback can get them the ball. And do not be misled by the absence of Dorsey, the defense is still ferocious and efficient (TRUST ME on this one, please). As much as it pains me to say this watch out for Ala...Ala... hold on... watch out for Alabama. Saban is a very efficient coach and will get a lot out of his team whether they have talent or not and but i think they just might e.g. Julio Jones.

The Big East is going to be fun but it won't be much suspense, Rutgers won't be as good without Ray Rice and Louisville really can't be taken seriously. Head of the class should be West Virginia with Pat White and Steve Slaton's replacement, Noel Divine. But im amazed at how quickly South Florida's program is rising and churning out athletes because they play FAST and DE George Selvie gets busy. And im not looking for UConn at all, sorry.

The ACC is the home of my cousin team the Clemson Tigers who i beg and implore to take the next step and win this conference, they have been ringing the doorbell long enough its time to bust in. They have dual RB's James Davis and C.J. Spiller with a decent quarterback in Cullen Harper, oh and don't forget wideout AK 80 (Aaron Kelly). The defense is solid when they want to be with Hamlin and Clemons anchoring the secondary. If they don't win im sure Tommy Bowden is outta there. Miami can't be the U yet especially when you have to suspend 7 players for the opener. FSU might get back on track but i just don't believe in Drew Weatherford under center, but i know papa Bowden can coach. Virginia Tech might have something to say especially if they use sophomore QB Tyrod Taylor along with their main stay starter Sean Glennon.

Sorry no C-USA or MAC talk. But the season is going to be unpredictable again. Now that all the TV exposure for everybody has spread out the recruiting battles, the talent is all over the place once again. I say USC and Texas will probably end the season in a 05-06 rematch for the national championship game. My heisman prediction is that it will land with a certain running back in the state of Ohio. Now that i am through being objective i can say LSU is the best team in the land until somebody takes the title from us, the Bayou Bengals are back and we'll make it exciting for everybody once again, so tune in on Saturdays usually on CBS at around 2:30 or 5:30.

This ain't Football!

There is certainly an excess of downtime in the summer for the sports media as is indicated by the ubiquitous coverage of Brett Favre. The sports population is so inundated with irrelevant and occasionally bogus facts about Brett Favre by the media behemoth ESPN that it is extremely transparent their infatuation has turned into obsession. In their anxiety to report anything, ESPN reported for multiple days that Brett used a company issued cell phone to call another team, well that was incorrect. When I speak of the media here I am referring to ESPN (ESPN2 or ESPN Radio basically all of its subsidiaries). They have talked about this approximately every week day in the month of July.

Where is the discernment? All of this stuff is not newsworthy. We get reports like there is a charter plane booked to leave Hattiesburg, MS therefore Brett might be heading to Green Bay. We get things like Brett SIGNED his letter of reinstatement, now keep in mind it hasn't been processed or sent in to the league office at all, he just put his john hancock on a piece of paper. They told us an approximate time his plane should land in Green Bay-for what!? Let me know when something really happens. This is pretty much a reality show and the Plushredsofa constituents know how i feel about reality shows. ESPN2 show First Take has deemed this a soap opera (appropriately) and has leterally taken the time to show pictures of actors who they would cast to play differnt roles in this story. They really have to find more topics. What ever happened to no news is good news?

Imus, I missed it

Don Imus is back in the news and once again he is sliding down the racial slope. A co-host was speaking about Adam "Pacman" Jones (who we have put on the sofa before) and remarking about how many times Jones has been arrested, Imus inquired " what color is he?", the gentlemen responded and told him he was black. Imus remarked "Well, there you go, now we know".

Later Imus explained his statements and claimed his assertion was that black men are targeted and are more frequently pestered. He also said that he definitely knew the guy was black, and the idea was to make a sarcastic point. This is a stance that is a bit dicey, however being the optimist that i am i say maybe he was. Given Imus' track record it does not sound logical that he is indeed logical, however after crawling out of the Rutgers oven, why would you go stand next to that heat again? Sometimes life is just about decisions and by making good ones you keep yourself in control and don't even allow people to take it that far without a substantial stretch, but maybe he doesn't mind.

Sit still, because i am about to give you reasonable cause to disregard Imus' logic. He stated "What people should be outraged about is they arrest blacks for no reason," he said. "There's no reason to arrest this kid six times, maybe he did something once, but I mean everybody does something once." If he had any reasonable knowledge of Jones, he would know that this man has been arrested legitimately each time. Racial profiling doesn't happen at four in the morning outside of a strip club, post shooting. Also racial profiling doesn't happen riding around in a ridiculous colored Lamborghini with no tags and nor does it happen after a woman alleges you struck her at a different strip club than mentioned before (see As it Continues to Rain...). Therefore with this evidence it appears Imus doesn't even have his rebuttal straight because he's not being profiled, he was just being ignorant. All I have to say is Imus needs to be handed the notes on whatever he talks about because clearly he hasn't read up. And by the way, his B.O.D. is gone, benefit of the doubt that is.

But he is a shock jock and they dish out this kind of fodder all over the nation, so before people pile up on Imus we need to realize that he is not alone in his efforts. People on radio frequently talk out the side of their neck and in essence, that's just what they do. Maybe people should be more accountable in general and these happenings would diminish. So chalk Imus up as a clown along with the other Howard Sterns of the world.

What you nervous about?

I was just reminded of this so it is slightly past due, but not really. The NFL draft just passed and during the time leading up to the draft plenty of players are interviewed and participate in national television appearances. Most of the potential players that are publicized are relatively sure-fire 1st round pics and maybe an early 2nd rounder.

I am confused as to why the players always talk about how nervous they are and things of that nature. How can you be nervous when you are CERTAINLY going to be selected on the first day of the draft. One of the reoccuring questions is "what if you slip back from maybe a 5th pick to like a 20th pick". I don't think it matters if you slip back 15 slots because you are still getting an opportunity to live out your dream. Approaching situations humbly is usually the way to go. These players just need to be grateful that they are in this situation and not be worried about where they are selected, just as long as you are selected. When selected you are going to be making exponentially more money than you were prior to, so why sweat it?

The main thing is you have to work hard in order to retain your position anyway, there have been some high draft selections that did not bloom and were bounced from the league within maybe three years, and on the contrary you can be selected in the late rounds and forge a path and nice career for yourself.

I guess the guys feel how they feel but i find it rather awkward for the fortunate to be worrying about matters so trivial. ( I had to use my LSU guy as the picture, time to get busy Dorsey)

As it continues to rain....

Is it possible to be banned from strip clubs because if there is such a restriction it needs to be imposed on Adam "Pacman" Jones. And you have to be pretty bad to be banned from a place like that. He has returned from vacation back home to the newspapers once again, this time for allegedly striking a woman at a "shake joint". Now if you can recall he has already been suspended from the NFL for 1 year stemming from multiple law violations, which he has now served. One of his more famous escapedes includes a shooting at a Las Vegas strip club during the NBA's All Star weekend in 2007. If you have time you can look up his remarkable track record.

This makes me want to pull my hair out and wax my legs. Here is a man with an opportunity that many men would give up all they have to be in his shoes, but he just does not get it. What is the mentality of Pacman Jones. He had a job in the NFL living his dream and making a yacht load of money (he had a good contract because he was a stand out player) only to jepordize it time after time. If he is not reinstated in the NFL he only has himself to blame. In America, the land of opportunity some people have more options than others, Pacman does not come from the most positve or affluent of backgrounds and you would think that he would appreciate where he is now, but obviously he does not. I've heard the rhetoric that says a grown man can go where he choses and i am also familiar with the antithesis urging athletes to stay out of places like nightclubs and i understand both sides, you can choose your own preference. The problem is the decision making. If you have worked extremely hard your whole life to get your dream job why would you do something to put that at risk. Initially it was no problem to be in various night spots because no problems had occured and nobody knew what you were doing and nobody cared as long as you came to work. But now you have had problems in these places along with others and you are on probation because of it. Is it then too much to ask to stay out of the strip club while you are on probation. Is it that difficult to refrain at least until you get your job back. Sometimes people need to think about the what-if's and whether its worth it or not. You could easily go and nothing could happen but you could also go and something could precipitate (that was a joke because he is famous for "making it rain"), and in the aftermath you are left to wonder, "dang was it really worth it"? However here is the kicker, HE STRUCK THE WOMAN (allegedly)! So he brought it upon himself. There are also safety reasons to stay out of places like that especially with the recent deaths and shootings of other athletes. Another point that has to be made is that he has enough money to bring whatever strippers he wants to his own abode without the other folks. But maybe then he can't show off to other people how much money has, if that is the mindset, I don't know im just saying. There are other ways to do this if you MUST see strippers. People need to think of consequences when they are doing whatever it is they choose to do and ask themselves is it worth it. There were times I wouldn't park at my friends apartment complex due to the fact that i might get towed, though it was highly unlikely. I would rather walk the extra steps than worry about my car and pay the massive amount of money should they happen to tow it. Why park there when i can alleviate that problem squarely.

So basically all i want to know is, IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?