Why LeBron James will never be better than Michael Jordan

      I've never been the biggest LeBron fan. I'll admit that right from the start. It's not that I don't recognize his greatness.  Far from it.  But if I had to go back to the beginning,  there was always someone that I always rather watch play than him. When he first came out of high school,  I would get in arguments about how Carmelo and Dwyane Wade would have better careers.  I was wrong but so what.  Even now, as I acknowledge that he's the greatest player on the earth currently playing,  I'd still rather watch D. Rose or Durant play. But the argument I'm tired of having,  usually with younger dudes, about who is better: LeBron James or Michael Jordan?  In my mind it's not even a conversation we should be having.
       I remember reading in Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball, him paraphrasing Larry Bird and saying that the toughest battle for an athlete is the battle for our memories.  He says that no matter what,  eventually the game passes everyone by and people stop remembering how great you were simply because they haven't seen you in a while. That's why I feel like the only people who would argue that Bron is better than Mike are young guys who know Jordan from his gymshoes mostly, and only have seen his career highlights on YouTube.  Each and every time I argue with one of these young boys about it,  I end up screaming like a maniac, saying things like "Look lil dude, you have no idea what you're talking about.  Mike was the best to ever do it! Trust me, I was there I saw the whole thing! "
          I actually gave LeBron a big compliment a couple of years ago.  I was watching him bulldoze his way through the league and realized that he has hit that level of elite greatness.  The kind of greatness that you don't question or compare. The same way we don't argue about the greatness of Magic, or Bird, or Bill Russell,  we can't argue LeBron James greatness.  I said we do him a disservice by comparing him to other stars, rather than just appreciating him in his own right and acknowledging his place among the legends of the game.  I wanted to just leave it at that.  But since people want to make the Jordan comparison,  let me just breakdown real quick why there is no comparison.      I could point out the fact that LeBron has lost in 3 NBA finals,  while Jordan went 6 - 0, and never had to play a game 7. Or I could point out that LeBron feasts every night on a watered-down league where he has no physical equal,  where as Jordan played against the majority of the NBA'S 50 Greatest Players of all time and matched up against  an all star caliber shooting guard almost every night.  He is the reason several legends and Hall of Famers dont have rings. I could point out that LeBron has never had the greatest reputation for clutch play while you make a highlight video of only game winning shots by Jordan.  I could even break down how Jordan dominates LeBron in the shoe game and hasn't played in years.  All these would be too easy arguments to make.  So instead how about this: LeBron is kind of a douchebag. 
      I remember thinking that during his first stint in Cleveland where they were whooping the Bulls something awful,  and while standing on the sidelines LeBron James just started dancing.  I let it slide for a minute.  Then next thing I know he had launched into a full fledged choreographed routine with a teammate. He continued this brazenly nonchalant attitude until he and Joakim Noah exchanged words and had to be separated.  And I understood immediately why Noah was pissed. When you're dancing on the sidelines in the middle of a game,  it disrespects the game itself,  as well as your opponent.  I remember thinking Jordan would never act like that.  First off,  he respects the game too much.  And besides,  if he ever wanted to embarrass you, he did it with his play, not his sideline antics.
     From there I just noticed just a certain air of entitlement that LeBron has,  versus Jordan's legendary bloodthirstiness.  Not that I entirely blame LeBron.  If people tell you how great you are every day from age 15, you'd start to believe it too. Besides Mike, by all accounts is an asshole.  But that's the point.  Mike being a jerk never overshadowed his greatness on the court. Mike punched Steve Kerr in the face once, and because he's Michael freaking Jordan we let it slide by saying things like That Jordan is such a fiery competitor and Look how he motivated his teammates. I guess you can call dotting a team mate's eye, motivation.  But the point was at no point did Jordan's ways overshadow what he did on the court.  He was so great I believe he literally could've got away with murder.  One of the greatest sports highlights ever was him blatantly shoving Bryan Russell off him and draining the game winning jumper in the finals to win a 6th championship.  And as America, we all collectively instantly decided that we could ignore the obvious offensive foul. Mike always left you feeling like he may be an asshole but Man he's great.  LeBron always leaves you feeling like Man he's great but what a dickhead. 
     Whether he's dancing on the sidelines or jumping up in the middle of all star weekend claiming he's gonna do the dunk contest and conveniently forgetting he said it when the time comes,  he always does something that makes me overlook his greatness.  He took the easiest path to championship,  formed a super team with Wade and Bosh, and had his own tv special to announce it. Then when that super team lost half the finals it went to,  he goes back to Cleveland and forms another one.  Mike took dudes like Luc Longley and Randy Brown and won titles.  Now Bron is whining about how the season is too long and should be shorter.  Really?!? Mike would never say anything that soft. And that's why you'll never be him. And his sneakers are way fresher than yours.

Why the Chicago Bulls will never get rid of Kirk Hinrich

       Most people won't admit,  but serious sports fans know that there is a secret code when describing athletes.  For those that don't know,  take the opportunity to watch the NBA Draft.  Any draft. You will hear certain buzzwords that will translate into actually describing race. For most young black basketball players, you hear phrases like,  upside, tremendous athlete, great wingspan,  physical specimen.  If I close my eyes and listen to the analysis, 99% of the time I would correctly guess they were referring to a black player.       There also buzzwords used for white athletes too. They're usually described as smart, heady, all American type player,  coach on the floor,  hard working,  and my personal favorite,  he has all the intangibles.  I always take a little bit of offense to the buzzwords.  Black players never get credit for intelligent play or hard work.  White players get way too much credit. Over the last few years we have come up with advanced metrics to analyze players. Stats like true shooting percentage, plus/minus, and win shares are supposed to give you a clear picture of what exactly a player does contribute to the team and what he doesn't.  These stats are used to discredit a guy like Rudy Gay, who's athletic, can get you about 20 points a game, and just got finished playing for Team USA.  We can look at the stats and say, he scores, but he's not that efficient. So therefore he's not as good as it seems.             Which brings me to Kirk Hinrich.  On occasions where coaches and general managers need to justify a white guys place on the team, they throw out the numbers.  They say things like, "he does things that don't show up on the stat sheet", or "he is such a fiery competitor,  he just fights for everything out there". Phrases such as these have been used to describe Kirk Hinrich going into Bulls training camp this year.  

      Ever since we drafted the guy, I have been perplexed as to why coaches just seem to love him. His entire career he's been okay,  but never great.  He had maybe a season or two where he played above average.  But that was back in 2006 or 2007 or something like that.  He has clearly begun his decline,  and yet we keep resigning him. Understand that I am a lifelong basketball fan and I'm a die hard Bulls fan.  So I watch 82 games a season.  I'm not sure what Kirk brings to the team at this point. 
         He's lost a step when he didn't have a step to lose.  He's never been a ball handler who can break down a defense or wow you with his passing ability.  And he can't shoot.  I watched Kirk miss open 3 pointer after open 3 last year. In my opinion,  he is completely washed up and finished.  Anytime he plays over 20 minutes in a game,  he misses the next 3 games with a injury.  Some people will point to his defense but let me debunk that myth right now. 
     Can Hinrich play defense?  Yes. Is he a lock down defender capable of shutting down a team's high scoring guard? No. What he does on defense is this: He stays in front of you,  forces you to dribble towards other good defenders,  and gets a hand in your face when you shoot.  Good defense.  But night after night,  the guy he's guarding still gets about his average amount of points.  He just has to work a little bit harder for them.  A true lock down defender holds you to below your average. 
      So why do the Chicago Bulls bring him back year after year,  in lieu of someone like say D.J. Augustin who I could argue saved our season last year?  We will give up on athletic players in a heartbeat.  We will let guys go who are nowhere near as ineffective as Hinrich.  Year after year I watch the Bulls bring this guy back, with no clue of what he brings to the table other than being a "great locker room influence". I was discussing this very issue a couple of years ago when a friend of mine,  jokingly may have provided me with the answer.  We were discussing the fact that while we were at Bulls game,  it seemed as though white fans had a completely different view of Hinrich than we did. I threw out the question of why they support him so much.
     My friend puts on his quasi serious face and says the following: "White people love Kirk Hinrich.  When they look at him,  they see themselves in Kirk Hinrich.  John Paxson looks at Kirk and sees himself when he used to play. Like that's his son or something. " We had a good laugh about it and the phrase "White people see themselves in Kirk Hinrich" became something of a running joke.  Only over the years it got less and less funny.        

      The more I thought about it,  the more I think it's true.  A lot of the same descriptions people use on Hinrich,  like tough as nails,  and fiery competitor,  are the same way they talked about Paxson when he played.  Hinrich is beloved by white fans, generally speaking.  He is definitely beloved by the organization.  When we traded him away a few years ago,  I thought it was a good move. We had got most of the good basketball out of him, so let him decline on some other team. He promptly stunk up the court in Washington and Atlanta respectively. Then we brought him back two years later.  His first game back,  they stopped the player introductions to welcome him back with a video montage of his highlights.  I'm watching a highlight reel of layups and bounce passes and all that's going through my head is, "White people see themselves in Kirk Hinrich".
    I've made my peace with it,  as I do with the many things in the world that I can't control.  Kirk is going to retire a Chicago Bull. He's going to come out that last game,  thank us for the memories,  get his standing Caucasian ovation,  and ride off into the sunset.  Then we'll bring him back a year later for the jersey retirement ceremony like he was some franchise cornerstone.  We are going to watch as his number 12 jersey is raised to the rafters to sit next to guys like Jordan and Pippen.  Then he's going to either become associate vice-president of basketball operations or the coach or something and spend the rest of his days drafting guys just like him. This is going to happen. And when it does and you are asking yourself why, just remember,  it's because "White people see themselves in Kirk Hinrich. "

Why I'm on Donald Sterling's side but not Danny Ferry's

     I hate political correctness.  I always have.  I have never been a fan of the idea that we all should say and act and do the same things.  Because people have real thoughts and feelings and were we to live in a world where everyone said what was really on their minds, the majority of us would wind up offended by someone constantly.  I don't necessarily think that would be the worst thing in the world. In order to effect change,  we have to start with the truth.  We can't eliminate racism without first acknowledging and understanding the feelings of the racist. The same for homophobia,  domestic violence,  or any other of societies ills. You will never be able to change a person's actions until you can change a person's feelings.  And you won't be able to change a person's feelings until you give them the space to say what they feel and why. Only then can you begin a real dialogue and talk about it.
     Political correctness is a band aid for real problems.  We don't really address how people feel,  just so long as they don't say anything publicly that offends the masses sensibilities.  Which in the case of Donald Sterling's phone call and the latest scandal with Danny Ferry, offense was handed out in spades. However I feel vastly different about both incidents.  Both had race at the core of the issue.  Both had negative comments about people of African American and African ancestry.  So why do I have empathy for one and not the other?  Circumstances. 
       In the case of Sterling's comments,  his incendiary comments that he made to his girlfriend about him not wanting her to associate with black people and bring them to games was a hot topic.  In the face of public outrage, he was forced to give up his team and has become the new face of racism in this country.  So why do I defend him? Because he was being racist in the privacy of his own home and the conversation, which he thought was between him and his girlfriend,  became public knowledge.  I think if you wiretap anyone in this country and taped them without their knowledge, everyone would offend somebody at some point.  If you were to tape me at the crib,  most days, I would offend probably every group of people under the sun every day.  Hell even I say messed up things about black people sometimes.  But if we are going to live in this climate of fake political correctness,  you have to leave people a space to let their actual thoughts out. I understand that in public we all have to hold hands and sing Michael Jackson's Heal the World together.  But Donald Sterling was hating black people in the privacy of his own home.  As far as I'm concerned,  that's his right as an American.  And while I don't agree with the message,  I agree with his right to feel how he feels. 
     The other thing I understand was the dynamic of the conversation.  Sterling was trying to explain to his girlfriend how he expected her to conduct herself when she was mixing and mingling with his people.  He was explaining the way things work, when you get around the elite power brokers of the NBA and what their respective unwritten rules are. Turns out he may have been more accurate than we know.  Which brings me to Danny Ferry.  
     Initially I was on his side too.  When he first was outed for the email in which he made statements to the effect of the Atlanta Hawks aren't profitable because the majority of the crowd is black and they don't tend to buy season tickets.  Which is true.  We don't.  He went on to express that white people might tend to stay away from games because they may feel uncomfortable being around such a large group of black people.  Hey, I get it. I'm black and sometimes I don't want to be around large groups of black people.  I think people confuse being racial with being racist. 
     But then came the comments on Luol Deng. Ferry was quoted as saying that Luol has a lil African in him as a reference to the stereotypes of Africans who will sell you something only for you to find out later it was cheap knockoff crap. What I found disturbing wasn't the statement itself,  but more of the idea that he said it at work during a player evaluation meeting.  Ferry claims he merely was reading a scouting report someone else wrote. Which I find disturbing. What else I found to be disturbing was the snickering and chuckling heard in the background of the tape. This indicates to me that these type of comments and attitudes are more common place than we expect.  Which is what Sterling was telling his girlfriend. 
         I don't expect Sterling or Ferry to love all races equally.  That's just naive. But to voice those opinions in a work environment and not have those opinions immediately denounced is unprofessional and says a lot about the work environment. You can't come to work hating black people.  Leave that attitude at home...where it belongs.  

How Much Longer is the Jay Cutler Era Going to Last?

    As a Bears fan, I get it. I do. I'm well aware of my beloved franchise's horrendous history at the quarterback position. Every time the Bears played the Packers, back in the day, they would always throw up the graphic of how many starting quarterbacks the Bears had since the Packers got Brett Favre. And if you've ever seen this list, it was the saddest collection of losers you could possibly see. Legendary names like Henry Burris, or Moses Moreno, or Peter Tom Willis, occupy places in Bears lore. We had Jim Harbaugh when he was still in his, figuring things out stage. We had Brian Griese. Brian Griese. When guys like Jonathan Quinn or Chad Hutchinson are your starters for years, I can forgive the Cutler infatuation. Jay Cutler, who we traded a heap of draft picks for, and given a ton of money to since, was supposed to change all that. He was supposed to be our first elite quarterback in decades. And we have been waiting years for that to kick in. It won't. Because I have figured out what Jay Cutler is....the most talented garbage quarterback of all time.

       There is a lot of reasons why Bears quarterback can suck. The lack of certain tools can make life hard for them. Some guys are terrible due to poor mobility and footwork, or because they can only throw to one side of the field...like this guy.

(Rick Mirer)

Some guys suck because they depend too much on their mobility and never develop the proper quarterback skills to thrive at the position. Like this guy.

(Kordell Stewart)

Some quarterbacks have the arm, but not the accuracy. Some have the accuracy but not the arm. Like these two guys.

(Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton...I swear if you could put them together, you'd have one good quarterback. Or the most noodle armed, inaccurate passer ever.)

Some guys just flat out sucked and didn't have the goods to begin with. Like this loser.

(Cade McNown)

       But Cutler was supposed to be different. He had a rocket arm. He had the accuracy. Every year I hear an analyst tell me that Jay Cutler has all the tools to be an elite quarterback and this was going to be the year he finally puts it all together. Except it never happened. Instead I got treated to year after year of the same things: Cutler making throws off his back foot. Cutler throwing across his body to the other side of the field. Cutler throwing the ball up to a quadruple teamed Brandon Marshall.  Cutler making incredibly stupid decisions and throws which ultimately cost us the game. Cutler getting surly with the media when they ask about the blown games or terrible throws. Cutler two hand shoving his offensive lineman in the chest on national television. I've seen a whole lot of bad out of Jay Cutler and not much good. He's been to the Pro Bowl just once and that was while he was still  a Denver Bronco. He had one playoff win since he's been here. I'll say that again. He's had one playoff win since he's been here. What do we do? Give him a $100 plus million dollar extension. For what?!? Well I'm not drinking the Kool Aid anymore. He's gotta go. I know the Bears execs amd fan base probably are scared that if we get rid of him, who knows the next time we would get a halfway decent replacement. But he's still gotta go. This whole thing was a good effort by our front office to end years of qb ineptitude and finally get us a franchise signal caller. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out. Time for the next thing. Stop talking like this dude is one day going to develop into something. He's thirty one years old. Whatever he was supposed to develop into he did. He is what he is. And no amount of  hoping is going to change that. Jay Cutler isn't great. He's just the greatest garbage quarterback of all time. And nothing short of winning a Super Bowl is going to change my mind.

The Digital Jeezus guide to letting your boyfriend (or girlfriend) watch the game in peace

     Well, it's about to be football season once again.  Starting tomorrow girlfriends, wives, and significant others everywhere are going to be neglected by the NFL fan in their lives. Countless guys that I've talked to have already expressed their concern over being left alone to watch the game in peace.  Many dudes are in fear that their lady is going to barge in at the most critical part of the game and disrupt his gridiron utopia. But that's why Digital Jeezus is here to give you just a couple of simple rules to let everyone enjoy their Sundays. And Monday nights.  And occasionally Thursday evening.

Rule 1- Don't talk...ever.
              Please don't interrupt him with what you are sure is a riveting conversation,  because I can guarantee he doesn't care. About whatever you are talking about.  A lot of times wives and girlfriends find themselves jealous of a lot of things that take a guy's attention away from them.  But he's a good guy. Let him have this brief season to enjoy the game in peace.  We can go back to the world revolving around you on Tuesday morning.

Rule 2- For God's sake,  don't try to watch it with me.

     I got to tell you that there is nothing more annoying than when your girl plops down on the couch with you and attempts to watch the game with you.  (Some women are actually football fans, so this doesn't apply to them. Just the ones who have never seen a game a day in their lives. ) Don't sit down because you read some article in Maxim about taking an interest in the things he likes, and you chose football.  It gets really annoying when your team is in a tight game and your girl is asking questions like "So what is holding?" or "Why do they call it first down?" Trust me,  he's not going to appreciate you taking an interest.  He's going to be annoyed that you're interrupting his game time. Which brings me to rule number 3.

Rule 3- Find something to do with yourself!
        Instead of trying to insinuate yourself into his football time or getting jealous of the game,  find a better way to use your time.  Here's an idea.  Ladies, I'll let you in on a little secret.  We hate the stuff you watch on tv. The reality shows and romantic comedies you make us watch...suck. So instead of being mad that you can't spend time with us during the game,  go watch one of those shows that you swear to us is so good but in reality we would rather stab ourselves in the eyeball with a rusty spoon than watch. Trust me.  The odds of a guy cutting the game off and catching an attitude cause you watched Real Housewives of Englewood without him is slim to none. 

Rule 4- Go fix me a sandwich, sit down and shut up!

That sounded kind of sexist and chauvinistic.  Let me clean that up a little bit.  What better way to let a man know that he's appreciated than by letting him quietly enjoy his game, while you fix him a delicious snack, and follow it up by having a seat in the far corner of the room, making the least amount of noise possible.

So there you have it.  By following these simple rules,  everyone should have a great Sunday.  Go Bears.

*One quick note of self preservation.  The preceding comments are in no way indicative of the experience of watching the game with my girlfriend.  She is the pinnacle of class and femininity and her mere presence enhances the experience of any sporting event. These are just jokes.

The Chicago Sky Are In the WNBA Finals: Did you notice?

     Welcome back to another installment of Digital Jeezus.  Now, normally I'd like to have posts that are filled with pictures and videos and all types of cool stuff but due to technical issues with my desktop...and my laptop, I'm posting this from the app on my phone. While it's a great app, it has a couple of limitations.  So I'm going to switch from my original set of topics this week and flip it to some more light hearted topics this week. We will be back to the regularly scheduled program next weekend or whenever I get off of hold with Dell. Whichever comes first.
     Now on to more pressing business.  I know I wrote a articles a couple of weeks ago about how I never watch the WNBA, but since then the playoffs have started and I've actually made an effort to watch the games.  Ok, maybe not all the games but at least the Chicago Sky games.  Ok, maybe not the whole game,  but the majority of the second half of most games.  Ok, some of the games.  Look, the point is I've been watching.  And you want to know something?  I've been freaking entertained!
      Whether it was the 20 point 4th quarter comeback to get past Atlanta or the double overtime game against Indiana,  these ladies have been playing great basketball. More importantly,  they have been playing with a level of heart and determination that has to be admired if you are going to call yourself any type of sports fan. Elena Delle Donne is THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH.  THAT WOMAN HAS THE BLOOD OF A KILLER IN HER VEINS! Seriously I'm impressed. But the one thing I noticed was the lack of fanfare. 
     Normally,  when a Chicago team has post season success,  we completely submerse ourselves in the celebration.  Bulls win, there's a riot. The Bears go to the Super Bowl, the city shuts down. The Cubs win a playoff series and drunk fans damn near will burn Wrigley Field to the ground.  Hell, we even had a parade for those punk White Sox when they won the world series and I know for a fact that there were only 17 real Sox fans before 2005. And don't even get me started on the Blackhawks. Every time they win a title one of my friends who I know never watches hockey celebrates like he's been a die hard fan his whole life.
     But the lack of fanfare for these ladies is appalling. I urge every one in the city to give their support.  These ladies, win or lose,  are playing with the hearts of champions. And that should demand our respect. So invite your friends over, cut the game on, and support.  I guarantee you will enjoy it.  Hell buy a ticket, and go to the game.  Something tells me that they're not sold out yet.

Mike Tyson: Last Great Heavyweight Champion

     Maybe it's cause I was raised on Rocky movies, but I lately can't stand boxing. Every time one of those over-priced, over-hyped pay per view events comes around, I am completely underwhelmed. Watching Floyd Mayweather dance around while dodging (insert name of overmatched Latino boxer here), while ducking any fighter who has a chance of beating him, isn't my idea of a good time. I don't really enjoy watching a bunch of middle weights dance around playing patty cake with each other. However, these days you don't really have a choice. The heavy weight division sucks. So they don't promote it. It's full of 7'5 Russians with no hitting power. But back in the day, there were real heavy weights. In those days, a guy wasn't going to the club after a boxing match. He was going to the hospital. When I was growing up, I thought every fight looked like this.

      But as I grew up, I figured out shortly that real boxing matches don't go like that. Nobody was capable of delivering a vicious knockout that leaves somebody wobbly and dazed for hours, if not days. Nobody except one guy. Kid Dynamite. "Iron" Mike Tyson. Watching Tyson hit people was like watching a wreaking ball hit wet toilet tissue. If you never got to see him in his prime, you missed out. I'm not talking about just released from prison Mike Tyson. I'm not talking about Las Vegas nightclub entertainer Tyson either. I'm talking about the dude that used to walk to the arena wearing a cut up YMCA towel with a death stare that would scare the bejeezus out of the toughest dude you know. Tyson was my only childhood hero, that if I saw him in public, I wouldn't ask for an autograph. I would just put my head down and try to avoid making eye contact. The man was capable of violence that was next level in the eyes of guys that were themselves capable of violence. Not only would he destroy people but it was quick! Show up 2 minutes late for a Tyson fight, you probably missed the fight.

  Not to mention that he was the one of the best interviews ever. Between his uniquely high pitched voice, and  his penchant for using big words, he was entertaining. But what made him one of the greatest interviews was that Mike had absolutely, positively no filter. Here's to you champ. There will never be another like you.

The Plight of the Black Man-Child: Part 1- Lack of a Blueprint

       My father, most of the times says a lot of random gibberish that he likes to pass on as wisdom. Occasionally, however, he hits on something that is dead on accurate. He did this once when I was a kid, making a statement that I'm still in the process of understanding to this day. We were talking about growing up and I made a statement to the effect of, "...and when I turn twenty one, I'll be a grown man." And my dad, responds, "Maybe. But being 21 doesn't make you a grown man. There's a lot of thirty and forty year old children running around." He went on to explain that what makes you a grown man is the acceptance of responsibility, and accountability. That being first self sufficient, and then later being able to take care of and provide for your family is paramount to what being a man is. He stressed the importance of having principles, standing for something, and leaving a positive mark on your community and the world as a whole. And most of all, conducting yourself in a way that shows respect for your fellow human beings and demands that same respect from the world around you, is vital to your development as man. (Some heavy sh*t to drop on 8 year old)
      I think about this conversation from time to time, mostly when I see examples of what, by my dad's definition would be considered the man-child. Too many of our adult, and young adult males, devote too much of their time, energy, resources to pursuits that are considered childish and destructive. Too many of our young black men view being locked up as an accomplishment. Too many of our young soldiers feel that getting random hood chicks pregnant is an achievement. So many of our young men have their values so twisted that getting guns and moving weight, are seen as much more practical and attainable goals than getting a degree or starting a legitimate business. But the question remains, why? How did this mindset get so firmly entrenched in the Black community?

The Lack of the Blueprint

     It is inherently important to get guidance and instruction in life. If not, schools wouldn't have guidance counselors, or jobs wouldn't have training. For us all, we know what we know how to do because someone walked us through it.   When it comes to being husbands, fathers, and leaders so many of us have no idea where to begin. When it comes to creating, generating, and sustaining wealth, most of us don't have the first clue of where to begin. I'm not trying to make this into some all encompassing excuse. But the fact is, it's almost impossible to accomplish what you're trying to do without some preconceived template of what success is supposed to look like. Imagine if you were coming home with some IKEA furniture. You dump all the parts out the box Right when you are ready to put the furniture together, I walk up and snatch the instructions away from you. But you still have to put it together. It would be kind of difficult, if not impossible. You would sit there having all the pieces and tools you would need to accomplish your task but without an idea of what part does what or what piece goes where, it would take you a minute to even determine where to start. Without a defined blueprint, you wouldn't be able to chart your own progress. You would stare at the assembly of parts and screws and pegs, trying in vane to mold these random bits and pieces into something that vaguely resembles furniture. This is what our young men are trying to do with life. They got all the tools and bits and pieces that they need to get started but have no idea how to take all that and make some furniture.

  Why there's no blueprint
     At this point, we could harp on lack of fathers in the home as a primary reason. And I don't want to gloss over that like it's not important. If a young man doesn't have a role model on how to conduct themselves as an adult, then how can he be expected to know how to behave when the time comes? As men we have to be more present in the lives of our children, And when we are present, we must be more conscious of what example we are giving our children to follow. Short and sweet, Man up and be the righteous brother you were born to be. However, sisters, I'm not letting you off the hook either. Put more thought into the men who you bring around your children. If you absolutely insist on bringing these bum, thug, ignorant dudes into your life, at least be thoughtful enough not to bring them in front of your kids. And stop running your children's father out your life. There are too many instances of baby mama and mortal enemy being synonymous. Like it or not, you and your child's father are a team and should be working as a unit for the betterment of the child. And if you got a baby daddy that's not worth a damn, then it's your fault for giving that not worth a damn dude some p*ssy.
     I'll delve more into the destruction of our family unit on another occasion. I think that there is something more detrimental to black people developing a blue print to success, and that's the "I got mine" mentality. Maybe because we collectively have an ingrained poor self image. we associate our material success with self esteem. And too many times, when we achieve material success, we lord it over those who don't have it and use it to justify how great we are. But hardly ever, are those of us who achieve success, reach down to those below us and guide them to our level. We will put them down, We will look upon them with disdain. But how much effort do we put into building those same people up? In too many cases, the answer is little to none. We have this continued mentality of " I got mine. Good luck getting yours." I'll give you an example.
     I have a homeboy, that right now is fairly successful. Without dropping his name or what he does, I'll just say that he has a job in media. When he first got the job he has now, it came a little bit out of left field. Not that he had no experience in the industry, just that his concentration at the time leaned in other directions. At the time however, I had studied media arts in school, and had worked in the field before, albeit on a low level. So I inquired to this friend of mine, wondering how he accomplished so much in such a short time and is now working for a company that would be my dream to work for. He not so skillfully avoided my question and acted like I hadn't even asked it in the first place. I began to think to myself that dude just thinks that I may just want a hookup and maybe thought I wanted to come up off of his hard work without putting in any effort on my part. A hookup or recommendation would've been nice but that wasn't really what I was asking for. So I expressed to him that I wasn't trying to come up off his hard work/ I just wanted to know what route he took, so if possible I could do the same. He still didn't answer. I thought maybe he thinks I may come in there and drop his name while looking for employment and somehow jeopardize his new found position or embarrass him some way. I assured him that no one there actually ever had to know we even know each other. I reiterated that I wasn't looking for any help that would require any effort on his part. I just wanted the blueprint of how to make it happen. He still wouldn't tell me. He eventually just deaded the conversation.
     Now what his reason's were, I won't speculate on. It could've been one of the reasons above. Or it could have been that he felt that if I had the same level of success that he did, it would somehow diminish what he had accomplished because it would be a little less special. The why of it is irrelevant. What matters is that, he had the blueprint and years later I'm still struggling along try to figure it out. I still hear from dude, whenever he gets a raise or buys a house but as someone who would call themselves my friend, never gave me the information I needed to get. So if I can't get a friend of mine to sit down and give me some guidance, what can I expect of anyone else. Despite all his faults, he's a good dude, so I don't hold it against him. But what he did, going back to my Ikea example, was figure out how to put the furniture together. But when I walked in and dumped all the pieces out the box, and saw it didn't come with instructions, he didn't impart the know-how. He's sitting there with a completely assembled piece of furniture, having gone through the process of figuring out how to put it together. Yet he would rather watch me struggle try to assemble it, than save me the time of showing me how to put it together myself. If those of us with the instructions, don't show those of us who don't have the instructions, how do we ever build anything? So instead of having a whole dinette set or an entertainment center, all you end up with is one lil old funky chair. But if you taught us all how to build something, together we could build ourselves a house for the future.

Digital Jeezus presents: Best Chicago Bulls Dunks Vol. 1

 I know my last post was more on a serious note. So I figured why not lighten things up with a few clips of guys getting dunked on. At some point I will do the greatest dunks in NBA history but for right now I'd figure I'd keep it simple and just do the Chicago Bulls. Why? Cause that's my squad, that's why so lets get started.
(If you can't play these on your mobile device, I suggest you go find a desktop. These are worth watching.)

Scottie Pippen on Karl Malone

I know a lot of people try to disrespect Scottie Pippen by saying he was just Michael Jordan's side kick but plays like this prove Scottie was a star in his own right. Plus, I hated Karl Malone so why not?


Michael Jordan on Dikembe Mutombo

I think what made this great was the fact that Dikembe Mutumbo brought this on himself. You never, ever, ever, tell Michael Jordan that he's never made a highlight out of you. Because if he hasn't, it's just cause he forgot about you. But you don't remind him, stupid!

Michael Jordan on Alonzo Mourning

All I can say about this is, Damn Alonzo Mourning! How do you let Mike catch you twice in the same game?!?

Of course, any Bulls highlights wouldn't be complete without....

Tyrus Thomas on Rasual Butler

I know Tyrus Thomas turned out to be a bust for the Chicago Bulls, but dude was long and athletic as hell. Plays like this actually made me mad. Just when you were started thinking that there was absolutely no hope for dude, he would do something like this. And promptly go back to sucking for the next 30 games.

Tyrus Thomas on Jermaine O'neal

....and 30 games later. See what I mean? Dude was just frustrating.

I know some of you are like where's D. Rose. Fine. Here you go.

Derrick Rose on the Miami Heat

I know the caption says Joel Anthony. But I was watching this game. It seemed like he caught the entire Miami Heat team. Want some more Derrick Rose? Here's one of my all time favorites.

Derrick Rose on Goran Dragic

To this day I'm trying to figure out what in the hell made Dragic jump up there and try to challenge. I watched this happen live, and I knew Derrick was gonna throw the hammer down before he took off. And the Stacy King commentary in the background just makes it better.

Hmmm, how bout some more Scottie Pippen here.

Scottie Pippen on Charles Barkley

I guess this is one of those times that it helps to have a short memory, huh Chuck?

Scottie Pippen on Charles Smith

Scottie Pippen had so many great dunks, I had forgot about this one. I'm betting Charles Smith didn't.

Pip on Travis Best

This was just mean. I mean, Travis is like the height of a tall 8th grader.



Tyrus Thomas on Yao Ming

See what I mean. Dude was just frustrating! Why didn't you become a superstar? Why? (Oh yeah, poor work ethic)

Tyrus Thomas on Josh Smith

Man, F#$k you Tyrus Thomas! F*&k you. We could've had Lamarcus Aldridge.

Tyrus Thomas on Josh McRoberts

This makes me just wanna cry for dude's career. This is depressing me. More Jordan.

Michael Jordan on John Starks

How many of these did Starks catch from MJ?

And last but definitely not least, let's close with two of my all time favorite dunks ever!!!! I don't know which of em was the best, but they both involve Patrick Ewing.

Michael Jordan defecates on Patrick Ewing  

I don't really have to explain this one do I? Just watch and enjoy.

Scottie Pippen teabags Patrick Ewing

This...was just...filthy. Not only does he embarrass Ewing, he lets him know about it. And the rest of the Knicks players. And the coaching staff. And the referee. And Spike Lee.



Well that will do it for know. But Ill do another one of these later. Plus if you want me to put together a best of collection for your team, I'll except that challenge. Just leave it in the comment section.

Miss Me With The #Hashtag Revolution

      Normally on this blog, I try to keep everything basically lighthearted. But I gotta take a pause for the cause and address something. Ever since Trayvon Martin, I am usually quiet publicly on the subject of race relations. Honestly, this dates all the way back to Hurricane Katrina and the horrendous handling of that situation that led to the loss of countless lives. But as they say, those that ignore the lessons of history are doomed to repeat that self same history. Which brings me to the Mike Brown situation and the Ferguson "riots". I put riots in quotation marks because, anytime people of color tend to stand up and refuse to knuckle under to the system of oppression that subjugates them, it's categorized as a riot. As I watch this situation play itself out, I find myself consumed with the same thoughts I had after the Trayvon Martin murder and the George Zimmerman trial. What are those thoughts? Simply put: F*#k the Hashtag Revolution and the Hashtag Revolutionaries.

What's the Hashtag Revolution?

     When I refer to the hashtag revolution, what I am referring to is people who see injustice and oppression, consciously recognize that this injustice affects their people and community, and then limit their form of protest to social media. For those of you who are unclear what I mean, allow me to elaborate. When Trayvon Martin was killed and the Zimmerman trial began, I remember that I could not step outside my house without coming into contact with a Black person who went out their way to tell me how outraged they were. I thought to myself "America should be really careful with how they handle this." I thought in the face of all this outrage and public outcries for justice, if the system doesn't give us justice, then the people might go take it. Then at some point, someone came up with the idea of going on social media, and everyone changing their profile pic to themselves wearing a hoodie, symbolizing a form of silent protest and support for his family. Almost overnight, damn near everyone I know was rocking the hoodie profile pic. And I thought, wow, in the face of all this organized social media based protest, the legal system has no choice but to give us the justice we want.
     However, after the trial, and Zimmerman going free, I realized how wrong I was. There was no justice. There was no uprising or some form of further protest. Everyone seemed to take the attitude of, Hey, We tried to effect change with the profile pic and nothing happened. I waited to see what would happen in the wake of the Zimmerman trial. Surely this man couldn't go unpunished. If he did, what does that say about our justice system? But more that even that, what does it say about us if we allow it to happen? Last, time I saw Zimmerman, he was signing autographs at a promotional appearance. I'm going to let that sink in for a sec. He was signing....autographs.

   Now, Ferguson

      And now we have the situation in Ferguson. When the Mike Brown killing happened, and the social upheaval in Ferguson kicked off, all of a sudden my timeline was flooded with pictures of people on their knees with their hands in the air as a show of protest of the situation. Every Uncle Tom Attention Whore So Called Wannabe Black Leader came out the woodwork to put their two cents in and grab some of that good CNN shine. Including this guy.

Now understand this. I don't condone violence. This is not my way of saying Let's go get the guns, and start the revolution. What I am saying is this. Social Media is a tool. You can organize and kickstart a protest with it. But social media isn't the platform for revolution. Nobody is changing the real world through Facebook. You actually got to get out there and get your hands dirty. When America shows you that African American life has no value, and you protest by changing your profile pic, and everything remains status quo, what is the next move? What is the next form our revolution will take when lawmakers and politicians and politicians allow the Police Officers (Overseers) operate in our community with impunity and no reciprocity? What do we do when the myriad of Facebook posts amount to zero community change? Start posting on Twitter?

    Understand, police gunning down young black men in this country is not a new thing. The new part about it is it's happening in a digital age where the world is now a smaller place. Years ago, if something like this happened in Ferguson, you had to be in the same region as Ferguson to know what was going on when it happened. Now we live in an era where I can get real time updates from anywhere on the planet. But the racist policing of the African American community isn't a new idea. The gunning down of Black men isn't some new trending topic. This has been going on for a long long time. Don't believe me, ask Malcom X. And as you listen to the excerpt, think about how some of these same issues, and same problems still exist today and then ask yourself the question, what's your protest worth. I'm angry too, brothers and sisters. I'm outraged as well. I want to do something about it as well. Just miss me with the weak ass hashtag revolution.

One final thought:

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Why I Have A Hard Time Watching the WNBA

        I'm trying very hard to not write this in a way that sounds sexist. First off, understand, that I am probably in the 99th percentile of basketball fans on Earth. I will watch any game that I am either fortunate enough to catch live or is broadcast on TV. I don't care who is really playing, I'll watch. Whether it's the Public League 8th Grade City Semi-Finals or some random pick-up game, if there is a game going on it gets my undivided attention. I have this feeling regardless of whether it's men's or women's basketball. I mean this sincerely. It's due to my sports upbringing. I'm a proud graduate of Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. On top of it's many other achievements, Whitney Young has one of the premier women's basketball programs in not just the state, but the country. So early on I got to see some supremely talented female hoopers. I remember how dominant I thought Dominique Canty was. I remember watching Natasha Pointer, and Clarissa Flores routinely run 2 on 5 fastbreaks with ease, and when that got boring, take turns dismantling a teams half court defense.
      That's where my appreciation for the women's game began. From there, I really started paying attention. I actually became fans of particular players. I remember watching Ivory Latta at North Carolina and thinking she had nasty handles. I remember thinking Candace Wiggins had one of the best jumpshots I'd ever seen. I remember watching Candace Parker play and saying out loud, "Hold up. Is she playing point-center?" I remember that Olympic team when they had Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslie, and my homegirl Dawn Staley. Shortly after that, I remember the debut of the WNBA and honestly believing it was a good thing. I thought this will relieve my basketball addiction during the NBA off-season. Except for one thing...it didn't.

     I watched the first few games and never got into them. I wasn't sure why that was. I had been watching women's basketball for a while and up until that point, found myself fairly interested in the game. So why when there was finally a professional women's game, was I totally not interested. I remember one of my boys saying he could never get into the WNBA because there was something about knowing that every play was going to end with a layup, no matter what, that makes the game uninteresting. To be fair, he had a point. But it wasn't that for me. I was used to the difference in athleticism. Keep in my mind, I'm a basketball purist. I can appreciate the fundamentals of the game. (I still will insist to this day that Diana Taurasi is one of the game's best passers...ever). Yet every year, I say I will actually watch some games this season. Then I sit through a quarter and a half of a game and never cut it back on. I convinced myself it was simply because Chicago didn't have a team, and me being a hometown guy, I  needed something to root for. Then the Chicago Sky debuted and it didn't make a damn bit of difference to me.This was starting to bother me. I'll admit I am sexist when it comes to certain things. I'll probably never vote for a woman president. I tend to take female police officers (or most female authority figures for that matter) a little less seriously than their male counterparts. But basketball and rapping were two things where I did not have a gender bias. Yet I found all the WNBA games to be boring and mundane. Unless something like this happened.

Other than unsportsmanlike incidents like these, I found the games monotonous, low scoring, and boring. Yet occasionally I would still watch a woman's college game. So the problem had to be with the league itself.

       It wasn't until a year or two ago, when Brittany Griner, Elena Delle Donne, and (my newest crush) Skylar Diggins got drafted into the league that I realized what the problem was. These were three of the most dynamic women to hit the league at the same time in the WNBA's short history. This should have been the defining turning point for the league. The same way the NBA took off  from a marketing standpoint when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird came in, these three young ladies should have had a similar impact on their own league. Then the WNBA had a promo and were marketing Griner. Delle Donne, and Diggins as " The Three to See". And I remember thinking, " that's the dumbest, weakest, marketing tag-line I've ever heard. That's the best they could come up with?!?" And then it hit me. I could stomach the fact that the league isn't that athletic. I could deal with the low scoring and the excessive layups. I can get past the fact that some of these young ladies look a lil.....rough and tumble. I can tolerate the fact that they put ads on the uniforms now and they got these ladies looking like race car drivers. (The press conference pic of a player holding up a jersey loses a lil something when the jersey has the Boost Mobile logo on it.)  I could muscle through the boring commentators, analysts, and sideline reporters. But when you take all those things and combine them with horribly thought out marketing strategy, it becomes unbearable.
       See, what I understood was this: the WNBA has basically said to hell with me. Once I started paying attention to the ads and the marketing, I realized that the reason I felt no connection to this league, is because, to paraphrase the great Ice Cube, they either don't know, don't show, or don't give a damn about marketing to my demographic. If you understand anything about marketing and advertising, watching the average WNBA telecast you realize that there are two groups that they are marketing very hard to and ignoring everyone else. The two groups are women who like sports (not the biggest demographic but not as small as you may think) and the LBGT community (with an emphasis on the L). And they wonder why the league is not as economically viable as you hope,
       WNBA execs, allow me to give you a piece of advice. You can't have a successful sports league without marketing to one demographic especially: the male heterosexual sports fan. We are and will always be the biggest consumers in the sports world. Not to say don't market to other groups, but your league will never have the profitability that it should unless we feel included. We will buy the jerseys, the dvds, the tickets, and whatever else you can sell us if you can figure out how to make us passionate about the sport. And FYI, going to a Monistat 7 commercial every time out doesn't help your cause. I watched a game once and thought Why do they run a gazillion breast cancer awareness ads every two seconds. Because this sport isn't for me that's why. Throw me a freaking bone here! I'm not saying that the WNBA should only draft sexy women or come up with new tantalizing uniforms (some of these girls should stay covered). But give us something. Maybe only hire sexy female eye candy as sideline reporters. I'm sure we can find another way to utilize Rebecca Lobo, and her horse like teeth. I would suggest a dunk contest but considering how you only have three women in the whole league that can dunk with any kind of consistency, that may not work. Besides Brittney Griner would just win every year. I dont have all the answers. I'm not a marketing genius. I'm just a dude that loves every kind of basketball.  Except yours.

Why There Aren't More Black Baseball Players

    I was killing time on Bleacher Report the other day, when I noticed an article about the fight to save Black Baseball. Over the last couple of years, there has been a dramatic decline in the amount of African-American players in Major League Baseball. This phenomenon has mystified the powers that be. After Black players fought so hard to get in the league, which had a long history of racism, why would they abandon the prize guys like Jackie Robinson, and Pumpsie Green fought for. The Bleacher Report article goes super in depth into the history of the game, and what socio-economic factors play into the decline of available Black players. While it was a completely well researched and well written article, I felt it over-complicated what in my eyes is a pretty simple matter. When it comes down to it, I feel as though there are only about three or four reasons more young African-American athletes don't go into the sport. They are as follows.

BASEBALL IS BORING AS S&*T

Just kidding....or am I?

BASEBALL LOGISTICS IN THE HOOD ARE IMPOSSIBLE

     For the sake of argument, lets assume that most African American professional athlete's are originally from an inner city background. I could explain why this is true, but that would just take too long and would force me to digress from the topic. So, just for now, assume this is true. Now when a young kid from the inner city is first starting to get into sports and trying to figure out which ones they are good at, several practical issues steer the kid away from baseball. First off to play baseball you need space. A baseball game requires a good amount of open space to play. Without it, you end up with a lot of broken windows and pissed off neighbors. However, if you drive around the South Side of Chicago, you will notice a lack of public parks that have space for a baseball field, and have had proper upkeep. Not saying there aren't baseball fields, just it doesn't seem like the park district puts the resources into maintaining their upkeep as they used to. So without proper space, where are you supposed to play.
      But lets say hypothetically, that we got all the fields in the city in tip top shape, the amount of Black inner city players would increase only slightly. Here's why. If a young kid wakes up and decides that he wants to play a game of baseball, he immediately has a problem. One of the reasons that kids gravitate toward football and basketball in the cities, is that those games are adaptable. See, you NEED 18 people to play a baseball game. Football can be played in any combination of ways, (two-hand touch, tackle, flag) with easily adjusted rules to compensate lack of proper equipment, or proper amount of people.  Basketball also has the same flexibility. You can play it one on one, three on three,  a game of 21. You can play full or half court. Baseball however doesn't give you the same flexibility to alter the game. You need 18 guys to play an actual game. Have you ever tried to get 18 of your friends to do the same thing at the same time? It's impossible.
     The other advantage of Football and Basketball: the lack of need for equipment. What do you need to get up a quick football game? A football and some space. What do you need to start a basketball game? A ball and a hoop. Hell, growing up half the time we didnt even need the hoop, if we could find a milk crate. A few times we even went without the ball, using a balled up sheet a paper and a trash can. What do you need to play baseball? A bat. a couple of balls, some bases, mitts, and preferably gloves and helmets. The odds of you having all this equipment AND eighteen people willing to play? Slim to none.

LONG ROAD TO THE MAJORS

     For those of you that dont know there is a significant difference in the path of becoming a professional in Major League Baseball versus other sports. In Football for instance you are required to do a couple of years of college before you can go pro. In Basketball, you have to do at least one year of college. However, in baseball, you can either be drafted out of college or high school. So on the surface, from the athlete's perspective, this should be a good thing right? Why wouldn't a young athlete jump at a sport that allows you to a professional right away? The sooner you go pro, the sooner you get paid, right? Well the answer is not necessarily. See there is a gap of time between when you get drafted by professional baseball and when you start actually playing professional baseball.
     See. the reason football and basketball make you go to college first has nothing to do with getting these kids an education, though that's the excuse they give. The real reason that they send you to college first is because they use college sports as a developmental tool, so that when you turn pro, you're a more of a finished product. That way they can spend less time teaching you the game, and more time making money off you. The reason baseball can draft you out of high school is because you're not going to the pros right away. In fact, you're not going pro for quite a while. Before you can become a major league baseball player, you are going to spend years, toiling away in the minor league system. A player spends the first few years playing in small, obscure country towns, usually for very minimal play. Some guys spend their whole careers playing Single A, Double A, or Triple A baseball without ever sniffing the pros. That's a whole lot of work, for no guarantee. Considering most African American athletes' desire to get paid as soon as possible to financially help the load on their families, most dont have several years to wait for their hard work to pay off.

YOU GOTTA CHOOSE EARLY

    We live in an era of sports specialization. Gone are the days of multi-sport stars like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. In today's sports landscape, kids are forced to declare early. often when they start high school, what sport they are going to specialize and focus on. These days, in the era of sports science, teams come up with all kinds of specialized workout and weight training programs. Most are tailored to their particular sport. So a kid is forced to make a choice at a time in his life, when baseball is probably the sport he's played the least amount of time, and isnt wholly familiar with. Why would he pick baseball if he hasn't developed the necessary skills or love of the game at that point?
     I say all that to simply say this. The reason why there aren't more Black baseball players is simple. The solution however is not. This is a systematic issue, and won't be resolved unless it's looked at from a big-picture approach. Or else, the numbers of black baseball players will keep dwindling. So yeah, Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player. Question is, have we already seen the last?