Don Imus is once again under fire for alleged racial remarks regarding African-Americans. There has been and will continue to be much scrutiny for whatever Mr. Imus says publicly for the remainder of his career. Having said that, I heard the entire dialogue concerning comments regarding Adam "PacMan" Jones. There was not one bit of racism in the conversation concerning Jones or any other Black male or female. There was immediate response from the usual alleged black activists who continue to select anyone with skin color other than black for targets. As long as the Adam "PacMan" Jones types are allowed to be considered "role models" for ANY COMMUNITY, much less the black community, there will never be an opportunity to have any type of meaningful, open dialogue concerning race relations in America. The time has not only come, but it has been here for quite awhile, to stop the now ridiculous references to anything said being RACIST. Listening to "rap music" is still one of the major issues not being taken on by the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons of the black community. NBA, college and even high school basketball games play rap with offensive words being bleeped out. It is quite odd to see players, coaches and patrons rocking to the rhythym of the beats. When the dasy comes that EVERYONE is held accountable...that's when progress will be made. Until then, if you are white, better be careful what you say and who you say it to and about. Ask the Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman if she is now choosing her words more carefully. Her reference when asked how to beat Tiger Woods was "Take him out in a back alley and #### him" was not meant in a racially conveyd manner but Ms. Tilghman was suspended for 2 weeks after the outcry from the black activists. Where were these same black acivists when boxer Bernard Hopkins said to English boxer Joe Calzaghe "I'll never let a white boy beat me"? Had Calzaghe said "I'll never let a black boy beat me" there would've been HELL TO PAY. Such are the times we live in and as long as black people continue to appear to be "thin-skinned" about some things said by non-blacks, and "so what?" about things that non-blacks could/should be "thin-skinned" about the double standard regarding race will continue to fester. Try this: Anything you don't like about a television personality, CHANGE THE CHANNEL. Anything you don'y like about a radio talk show or it's host, CHANGE THE CHANNEL. The one good thing about modern technology is that we all really do have a choice in what we see and listen to. Take advantage of this option and maybe your life can be a little more satisfying. The days of the racist white man are numbered. The days of the angfry black man should follow suit.   

The New Orleans Hornets are experiencing just how physical the NBA playoffs are and will continue to be. The shot to David West by Robert Horry is something Coach Byron Scott said was to be expected. West has a sore back and that would be the target of SOMEONE in the Spurs defensive scheme. Horry, he of the table slam administered to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in last years' play, was the prime candidate for this dirty work. Mind you I didn't say dirty play, I said dirty work. The Hornets have yet displayed who their "enforcer" is. When that person unveils himself, whether this season or next, the league had better prepare itself for the next dynasty. Returning to New Orleans with an obviously hampered David West does not bode well for the home team. Last night, when West left the game, the Spurs began trapping guard Chris Paul immediately, virtually neutralizing his effectiveness. The Hornets seemd to be caught totally off guard by this tactic and the Spurs proceeded to blow the game wide open. The 7th and final game of this series is Monday night in New Orleans. This game will be physical and the refs will determine the extent of that physicality early in the game. The Hornets would be wise to attack the basket early and often. Expecting the hard and even flagrant foul from the Spurs should be anticipated. Keeping their cool under all circumstances is paramount. Remember last year when the play-off saavy Spurs lured the Suns into a suspension riddled deciding game? Expect the same Monday night. If the Hornets have a relatively healthy David West and can keep their heads straight, attack the basket and play a full 48 minutes..."The New Kids on the Block" can move onto the Western Conference Championship Game. Otherwise look for the San Antonio Spurs to meet the Detroit Pistons in the 2008 NBA Finals. Yes, I am predicting the winner of Monday nights game between the Spurs and Hornets to represent the Western Conference in the finals. The Detroit Pistons are by far the best team in the East and maybe the best this season, PERIOD. That conversation will continue in a couple of weeks.

Just 35 short days age, I advised all that the Denver Nuggets are (and have been) a no better than last place team and a 1st round exiteer in the NBA playoffs.

George Karl has been relegated to looking like the organ-grinder who has lost his ####.

After Saturday night (4/26) the ever consumate "team player" Carmelo Anthony said, "My coaches and teammates quit on me".

O-U-C-H!!!

Weren't these the same guys who battled thru 82 games and fought with him hard enough to secure the final Western Conference plaoff spot?

Apparently, Carmelo Anthony has decided that because his jump-shot is not falling, everyone else has quit.

Following this 'Melo stupid statement was none other than Allen Iverson who defiantly said, "I have never sat on the bench and watched something like that" in reference to the Saturday night debacle.

Well, guess what, fellas? Anyone, and I mean, anyone who has watched or played the game of basketball knows what being a selfish, self-centered ball hog is.  That picture in the dictionary is of none other than Allen Iverson along Carmelo Anthony.

Even Reggie "I ain't never taken a bad shot" Miller was critical of  'Melo in saying, "Carmelo Anthony seems to have glue on his hands" referring to his seemingly inability to pass the ball.

Miller was even more harsh on the duo of Iverson and Anthony by saying, "Until Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson decide to play just a little bit of defense, this Denver Nugget team will never advance past the first round of the playoffs".

WOW!!!

The truth not only hurts but BURNS!!

Fred "Mad Dog" Carter of the NBA Network went even further in saying that 'Melo needs to immediately apologize to his Nugget teammates and fans for his childish outburst.

I'm still of the belief that Carmelo is one of those players who will always have the talent to be a great basketball player, but his selfish ME, ME and more ME attitude will eventually be the straw breaking the back of his own career.

WOW!!

"My teammates and coaches quit on me"...what TEAM player would ever publicly say such a nonsensical thing? 

Saying such a thing should divide that locker room so wide that any Princess Cruise Liner could make a u-turn in the middle of it.   

Carmelo Anthony has been caught at the Denver International Airport with marijuana that "belongs to a friend of mine", suckered punched a New York Knick basketball player and after a recent game, was found driving down I-25 flashing his headlights and weaving to the point where he was arrested by the Denver Police Department.

His (at this point commonplace) public apology for these prior incidents was rendered mute by "throwing his team under the bus" with the stupid comments following the Laker beat-down.

George Karl and Doug Moe sitting on the bench and seemingly close to either death or just not giving a damn is truly hard to figure.  Moe was notorious for publicly berrating his players and Karl had always been a stickler about good, tough defense.

But he comes to Denver and calmly says the same thing after every game. "My guys played hard. The other team played with more intensity than us. We play great defense in spots, but we need to learn how to play with that fire for the whole 48 minutes".  

DUH!!

Isn't it HIS job to ignite that fire he talks about? Shouldn't his assistant coaches be doing something to help the head coach ignite that flame? Maybe they all are just too comfortable in having some of the "best seats in the house" during NBA games.

Regardless, the Denver Nuggets are currently in a VERY bad place.

Allen Iverson is again showing some of the character flaws that forced the Philadelphia 76'ers to get rid of the cancer in their locker room. He is probably un-tradeable with the contract he has and may have to be outright released.

Carmelo Anthony has too many character flaws to remain a "poster boy" of the NBA . There is obviously no one who can tell him anything. Ask former coach Michael Cooper, who tried to instill a meager defense philosophy in 'Melo and was promptly run out of town. He may have trade value and should be offered as just that...trade bait.

The next incident with the Denver Nuggets will be the ever cancerous Kenyon Martin putting in his "two cents worth" following the next Denver loss.  That will make the cycle complete Ironically, Martin was expected to explode at some point during the season and has been remarkably well behaved.

That will end very soon as the table has been set.

Former Nugget cast-offs are faring pretty well in this years NBA playoffs.

James Posey, Reggie Evans and Andre' Miller escaped the Denver cancer disease and have been playing excellent TEAM basketball making positive contributions for their teams.

It is hard for me to watch my own home professional basketball team look like a selfish bunch of YMCA league "wannabe and never was" players, but that's where we are.

Things really have gotten worse...

Stick a fork in the Denver Nuggets...THEY ARE DONE!

 

The Denver Nuggets are ready and willing to run and run and run. The problem is that every other NBA team is prepared to do the same with just a touch of defense added. 

The Allen Iverson/Carmelo Anthony train is easily derailed when Anthony (6'9" and 240 lbs) refuses to put forth any defensive effort and Iverson (6'0" and 175 lbs) refuses to be substituted for.

There is obvious blame in the non-chalant cavalier attitude of coach George Karl who seemingly is content to sit and watch the game while offering little or no leadership from the bench.

The Denver fans are typical in that when winning, the Nuggets are one of the best teams in the NBA, and when losing, they should be run out of town. It 's very hard to see why owner Stan Kroenke is allowing such an eratic effort to be put forth by both the players and their coach. Allen Iverson is a sure fire hall-of-famer who looks as if he's going to kep putting up the numbers that he's known for. 

Allowing Iverson to stay on the floor for 40+ minutes every night is unbelievable when you see him walking minute after minute with coach Karl looking the other way. Iverson has said publicly that he will never sit the bench and apparently Karl has no intention of discussing some type of compromise with the highly paid star.

Chucky Atkins (recently returning from injuries) has proven himself to be more than adequate at the point while JR Smith is a young, talented shooting guard. Iverson has relegated both to being unable to get into any consistent rhythm.

The cries in Denver of "wish we were in the East" is silly as we all should understand the power shifts are cyclical. The East is dominating for a few years and then the West. The problem for the Denver Nuggets is that the shift of power will have to come from within before there can be any talk of becoming a force to reckoned with.

Allen Iverson needs to be rested and Carmelo Anthony needs to rebound and play defense. If George Karl is (as some suggest) not the man for the job, fire him now and get a coach in that has the strong personality to handle them both.

Larry Brown is presently sending out messages that he's interested in a return to coaching. Would he take the Denver job with not 1 but 2 flammable stars to deal with? Probably not, but the Denver Nuggets need that type of coach to get things straight.

Presently, the best the Denver Nuggets (and their fans) can hope for is a shot at the last Western Conference playoff spot and the usual first round exit that everyone is becoming unbelievably accustomed to. 

 

I think everyone acknowledges that this is the "steroid era". Having said that, what more can any athlete do than "come clean" and apologize? The ones who are truly de####able are the ones that continue to lie (and probably) still cheat! Anyone who admits publicly that he/she is guilty of using any form of performance enhancing drug should be allowed to continue their career. Of course, there will always be scrutiny involved and they must be prepared for this.

Tonight in Madison Square Garden, New York there will be two of the greatest fighters of this generation doing battle before a sold-out crowd of avid fight fans.

Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Roy Jones, Jr. will attempt to rekindle that old flame, that was once a towering inferno, for the benefit of their supportive pugilistic fans.

The problem is that these two great warriors are 5 years total without having stepped into the ring. This is like Barry Sanders playing one final game (now) for the Detroit Lions and being paid for it simply because the Lions have no running game.

The last several "big-time" fights have paired combatants that were well passed their time, but the availability of a nice pay check has fueled this unbelievable "Senior Citizen Parade".

There actually seems to be some attraction for the "gluttons for punishment " who buy pay-per-view attractions at an alarming rate.

Prices of $54.99, $34.99 and $49.99 a shot are apparently not worthy of an eye blink to the fan who needs his "entertainment fix" regardless who or what is taking their money. I wonder if, and I'm serious, we are soon to see more TOUR EVENTS (as in golf) that feature "old-timers" in other various sports?

Would there be enough support to see NBA legends LARRY BIRD, MAGIC JOHNSON, ISIAH THOMAS, MICHEAL JORDAN, CHARLES BARKELEY and others play for millions of dollars to entertain us?

Would NFL legends MIKE DITKA, TOM JACKSON, EMMITT SMITH, MICHAEL IRVIN, TROY AIKMAN, WILLIAM (REFRIGERATOR) PERRY, JOE MONTANA, JOHN ELWAY and others get on the gravy train?

It's hard to blame any athlete past his pime or not, who would turn down the opportunity to make a few dollars and bring back some old memories at the same time. Surely a few sane men would reject this very good chance at being seriously injured, but in all probability the vast majority would relish the idea!

I'm not saying this is right or wrong, I'm just saying at what price comes our need for good clean entertainment ?

The fuel for this fire comes from YOU and ME. 

 

 

Funny how when you "run your mouth" and the team sucks, you feel UNAPPRECIATED. Chad Johnson is a helluva receiver, but the constant references to me, me and more me have really gotten old. They were funny while his team was in contention, but now his self-centered, self-promoting and arrogant rant has shown him for what he truly is. Another over-priced, selfish pro athlete who just doesn't get it.   

I am a 54 year old Black American who is a big fan of the Golf Channel.

Kelly Tilghman has always been a favorite of mine because of her professionalism and Knowledge of the sport of golf.

Her ill advised coments were just that...ill advised!

I'm sure she wasn't thinking there would be such an uproar and wishes she hadn't made the comment, but to insinuate that she is racist? RIDICULOUS!! 

The Reverand Al Sharpton is just doing what he does...make what should not be controversial, controversial!!

Good luck to Ms. Tilghman and I cannot wait for her return to the Golf Channel.

It is too bad...THAT MICHAEL VICK IS BEING PERPETRATED AS THE ONLY DOG-FIGHTING FINANCIER IN AMERICA!! He's done something that needs to be addressed, but prison? HBO did a limited search for dog-fighting enterprises and was able to come up with one with very little effort. Doesn't it seem odd (to even the most serious Vick hater) that only the "big named guy" is being portrayed as the "ring leader" in the world of dog-fighting?  

  

It's just too bad that the Baltimore Ravens decide that playing hard for this game (what about the other 11) meant that all penalties against them should be disregarded.

If they played like that every game, then they would be 11-1 and not 4-8.

The New England Patriots have been playing hard every single game and you can see that when it comes down to the "nitty-gritty", they are calm and collected.

The same thing with the Philadelphia Eagles, and I'm sure with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If I'm a fan of the Eagles or the Ravens, I'm asking "why don't you guys give that effort every single time out?"