Here's what I found out this week:  There's a lot of hate around.  When John Amaechi made his announcement, I was expecting to hear NBA players say that they didn't care about his sexual orientation, but apparently a lot do.  LeBron James said a teammate isn't trustworthy if he's gay and doesn't tell his teammates.  Troy Hudson is ok with it but is worried about the showers. Ray Allen is worried about getting hit on.  And of course Tim Hardaway flat out "hates gay people." Last time I checked, making the NBA had to do with one thing: being a good basketball player.  It's sad how homophobic so many players in the league are.  There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about homosexuality.  One thing that isn't a misconception: people are unwilling to change their view of it.  If someone thinks homosexuality is a choice, nothing anyone says or does will change their mind.  Sounds pretty ignorant to me.  Being a heterosexual, the mindset of a homosexual is foreign to me and will be something I will never fully understand.  But I'm firm in the belief that if a homosexual says it's not a choice, then I'm going to go ahead and believe him/her.  I'm not in that person's shoes. I don't know what it's like to feel that way.    

And it seems so strange that in a league that is predominantly made up of the most discriminated segment of American society, players are so quick to discriminate against a person based on his sexual orientation.  I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that every Black player who had not-so-positive things to say about a having a gay teammate has also felt discrimination in their life.  I bet they felt how dehumanizing and ignorant discrimination is and wondered, "Why are people so close-minded?"  If you've felt the nastiness of prejudice, why dish it out to someone else?  

I wasn't sure how I felt about Amaechi's coming out at first.  It seemed a bit like a way to make money through book sales.  But, over the past week, I know that there is a greater good he is serving.  The dialogue that has been opened up has been immensely important to the advancement of our society through understanding different parts of society. What I would love to see now is for an active superstar to come out.  Like what if Kobe Bryant were gay?  What would his teammates say?  What would other NBA guys say?  Are they going to call him untrustworthy? With Amaechi's revelation, the ball has begun to start rolling.  And it's not just about homsexuality. It's about understanding that people in our world are different.  These discussions will hopefully help people understand differences and not fear them.  We'll see how far the ball goes. 

Best Damn staffer Bernie was among the select group of BDSSP-ers who DID NOT travel to South Beach for the Best Damn Super Bowl Bash. With Miami blogs all over the internet, here's Bernie's firsthand account of his living vicariously through his co-workers ...

One of the favorite and most-used phrases in the BDSSP office is "must be nice" and there were plenty of times to say it this week. As I sit in the control room watching the feed of what's going on in Miami, all I can think is "must be nice."

BDSSP producers directing Hooters girls in bikinis on the Hooters yacht.

Must be nice

BDSSP producers running an obstacle course finished with a slip 'n slide.

Must be nice

BDSSP producers catching balls from Joe Montana while jumping in a pool

Must be nice

BDSSP producers directing Irene Marie models as they pose for various shots

Must be nice

BDSSP producers picking beautiful women in bikinis to be in camera shots by the pool.

Must be nice

Then there's the stuff going on that we can't see on camera.

BDSSP producers going to parties with easy access at night.

Must be nice

BDSSP producers hanging out at Cavs/Heat game.

Must be nice

BDSSP producers chatting it up with everyone from John Elway to Emmitt Smith to Donovan McNabb.

Must be nice

OK, I'll admit, that's a lot of complaining on my part. I'm known to be a bit of a whiner. But getting up at 4:40 a.m. on the West Coast, especially when you're watching your co-workers yucking it up ... But hey, at least we got free breakfast this morning. SCORE! 

Pretty fun week here at Best Damn.  Jerry Rice, Joe Theismann, Dwight Freeney, Stacy Keibler.  First hand testimonial of Keibler from a producer: "She came in without makeup and looked stunning."  Another fine product of Baltimore. 

Speaking of Keibler and Baltimore, the former WWE Diva is a co owner of the ABA's Hollywood Fame with former Oriole Brady Anderson and Ravens QB Kyle Boller.  They might as well move that franchise to B-more. 

More of the week that was....

294 more players pass up their Pro Bowl selection.  At this rate He Hate Me will be named as an alternate.  It's funny how so many NFL'ers have no interest in playing in the Pro Bowl.  Free trip to Hawaii, being named as one of the league's best players, and yet so many veterans avoid it like the plague.  It doesn't really happen like that in other leagues.  I know Pedro Martinez doesn't like the All Star game, but for the most part, guys relish the opportunity to play in it.

Al Davis hires a 31-year old Lane Kiffin to be the new Raiders head coach.  How long before he passes out from the old guy smell?

The NHL All Star game happened.  Who knew?  I think it's a sad reflection on me that 95% of my hockey knowledge is derived from NHL 93 and NHL 94 for the Sega Genesis.  I just can't get into hockey even with an HD TV. 

Roger Federer is clearly the best tennis player on the planet, but there's a discussion going around the office of who's the best athlete in the ATP.  I think he would finish 3rd or 4th in an obstacle course competition among men's tennis players behind Nadal, Monfils and Fabrice Santoro.  What am I basing the Santoro guess on? Nothing, but he's fun to watch.

That is all.  See you next week.

Why is it that after a great weekend of NFL games, that created some great story lines heading into Super Bowl XLI, the one thing I hear on sports radio Monday morning is Reggie Bush pointing at Brian Urlacher, somersaulting into the endzone and dancing?  What a big non-story. 

Bush got caught up in the emotion of making a huge play in the NFC Championship on the road against the conference's toughest defense.  He outran an entire team and juked Danieal Manning out of his cleats.   A player is allowed to show some emotion after a potential momentum-turning play in the Conference Championship.   And altough the point back was showing up the Bears, I considered it more gamesmanship than anything else.  And everyone loves to say, "Barry Sanders would never do that" blah blah blah.  Not everyone is Barry Sanders.  Everyone reacts differently to different situations.  I challenge any competitive person to act completely rationally in that situation.  I wish more people could grasp the idea of "heat of the moment." 

And besides he apologized for his actions, not that he needed to. 

I just think it's a little sad that some media members try to make this a story when we saw a weekend where: Peyton Manning reached the championship, 2 black coaches make the Super Bowl, the Bears return to the Super Bowl, Tom Brady failed in a comeback attempt... you get the point.

First, apologies for not updating a blog in forever. I've been busy with the MySpace stuff so hopefully we'll have both sites as a place to turn to for BDSSP fans. 

Since we don't have a studio show this week, let's take a look at what's been going on:

A.I. Traded

Philly's going to miss him, but I think they were ready to let him go.  I truly believe we could go another 40 years and never see another basketball player like Iverson.  How can someone so diminutive in size be able to score the way he does in the NBA?  I know he doesn't practice so he's just a freak of nature. 

Speaking of small guys...

Nate Robinson is my hero

I am in the minority when I think these NBA brawls are hilarious, but they just crack me up.  I love how in the middle of the skirmish is 5'-nothing Nate Robinson.  In very few circumstances would a man throw down with someone half his size, but Nate got JR Smith so incensed that Smith tackled the littlest guy on the floor into the stands.  Then, Nate went charging after Carmelo Anthony, Melo flinches then runs away.  Which brings me to Melo

Melo Loses street cred

Man, did Melo look like wholly un-tough.  He sucker punches Mardy Collins, which in this type of situation, isn't the most dispicable thing in the world.  What gets me is that he back peddled faster than Deion Sanders covering Jerry Rice, then he totally cowered to Nate Robnison's flinch.  Any street cred Melo had for being in the Stop Snitching DVD is out the window.  I think if he didn't run away, he would've only been suspended 10 games.  But seriously, it's really a shame how this is going to hurt Melo's image.  He donated $4.5 million to Syracuse University and Baltimore rec centers.  $4.5 MILLION.  He seems like a good kid who's going to be paying for this mistake for the near future. 

Smoking Hot Girl

Did anyone else notice the smoking hot girl sitting behind Isiah Thomas? They showed a lot of her when Isiah was seen saying to Carmelo to not go into the paint.  I love when they replay Isiah on the sideline, because she is niiiiiiiiiiice.

T.O. Spitting

What a joke. What a huge joke.  What makes me so furious about this whole Deangelo Hall spitting incident isn't that he willingly admitted to it after the game then changed his stance a few days later.  What makes me angry goes back to the book T.O. released this year.  If you haven't read it, he makes a huge deal about his childhood and how a bully spit in his mouth and totally took away his self-respect.  That's definitely a big deal, no question, it can be devastating to a child.  But if it's such a traumatic thing, then why do that to another person as a grown man?  If it's something so awful that it drives you to be a great athlete, then why go to that level to get back at someone?  I don't know him as a person, but man has he shown himself to be immature time and time again.

Ok, that's it for the ranting.  Have a happy holidays everyone!