Not again.

Sean Taylor, safety for the Washington Redskins, a man I never knew, died yesterday. When the horrific news got to me, shock gave way quickly to an all too familiar emotion – despair. And one relentless thought.

Dammit, not again.

You reach for words, and profanities come to mind. Some days, nothing is as eloquent.


Another player from “The U” (of Miami) dies young.

Again.

Another senseless homicide of a young black man. A daughter left fatherless.

Again.

“I never ever ran from the Ku Klux Klan
I shouldn’t have to run from a black man,
‘Cause that’s sel####estruction…”

- Kool Moe Dee, “Self Destruction” (1988)

It is a statistical fact that the leading cause of death for black men ages 15-24 is homicide. It is also a fact that the killer is likely to be another black male.

I am a black male. I know the numbers too well. As Jemele Hill points out, we are SIX times more likely to be killed than a white male in the same age bracket.

Like a sick, twisted, Indiana Jones movie, growing up as a young black man seems to involve avoiding death traps on a regular basis, except that all too often, if it isn’t the big, huge boulder (gang-life) running you down, or the poison-tipped darts (drugs), or a broken education system (over 65% of all black college students are female), it is the guns. There are even more reasons and factors, but that is a discussion for another day.

Worst of all, your friends – yes, your friends can drag you down.

“Friends” who are jealous of your success, or demand that you keep it real by being involved in their foolishness. The road to hell is an 8-lane highway paved with best intentions of proving that you haven’t forgotten your homies.

After all of that, institutional racism – in all it’s forms - doesn’t have to pick off many men.

I can’t pass judgment on what happened Sunday night in the Taylor home. And you know something? It’s really immaterial.

Sean Taylor was 24, and had by all accounts had truly turned his life around from a rocky start, which makes this all even more painful. Sadly, he probably should have moved out of Miami, as there is a fairly good case that can be made that he knew his assailant.

Already, much has been made about Taylor’s past somehow still catching up to him, but it really doesn’t matter. Ask the late Broncos cornerback Darrant Williams who had the misfortune of getting killed by a bullet meant for someone else. Case still unsolved.

Ask the Timberwolves’ Antoine Walker, or the Knicks Eddie Curry. Both men were the victim of savage home invasions, like the one that killed Sean Taylor. Neither man has been in any trouble whatsoever with the law.

Neither story got more than a brief mention when it happened. Somehow, I have to believe that if Brett Favre was the victim of a home invasion, if Deanna Favre had a gun shoved in her face and terrorized, the story would have rated slightly more press no?

Clearly, judging by the overkill of the Michael Vick scandal, we know what would have happened if, heaven forbid, that Curry and Walker were holding guns, rather than facing one.

Our media has a much easier time (and makes more money) envisioning black men as perps rather than victims of violent crime.

We live in a society that is increasingly violent. We also live in a society where even wealth and success guarantees no real escape for some unless they are willing to make real changes in associates and even geography. Perhaps if Taylor had made his full-time home in D.C. instead of near his old haunts in Miami, life would have been different. It is tragic that that would even have to be an option. But it is fact.

The deepest feeling I have today is pain. I feel his loss the same way I felt the fall of Maurice Clarett. The same way I may feel when I hear about the senseless loss of a young brother locally. We can't afford to lose any black men. It is hard enough already.

It is the reason why I have contempt for writers and talking heads that wallow in barely concealed schadenfreude when a Vick or Clarett blow their chances to escape their environments.

Yes, I know it is good business, low hanging fruit, and easy copy, but there is a bigger story and far bigger issues.

It is far, far too personal for me. Today, yet another young black man lies dead at 24.

A father, a soon-to-be husband.

A friend and a teammate.

Another luminous life, a world of potential snuffed out too soon.
Again.

Damn.

OK, listen up people: The prohibitive favorite to win the NFL MVP plays for the New England Patriots.

His name should be Randy Moss.

Yes, Randy Moss.

Yes, I know, I know. Tom Brady is allegedly playing at an “elevated level” (love those cliché’s that seems to proliferate among announcers). Brady is on a pace to shatter the NFL record for completion percentage (74%), rating (134.0!), and touchdown passes. In fact, if Brady maintains his pace of 60 TD passes, it will rank with the home run record or Wilt's 50 pomts a game - stupefying and next to unbreakable.

Toss in the relentless John Madden man-crush on Tom Terrific (transferred from Brett Favre) that has been copied by every damn announcer (and you thought Favregasms were bad), and Brady looks like a lock.

Except that it would be wrong.

Go beyond the raw numbers, as impressive as they are for Randy: 66 catches for 1,052 yards and 16 touchdowns, a pace that will threaten the single season yardage record, and obliterate Jerry Rice’s TD record of 22 TD catches in a season. It is even beyond the freakish combination of 4.3 speed, the greatest ball skills in NFL history, and his superb hands that have terrorized every secondary he has faced.

Moss is the only receiver in football that can actually out run a Cover Two. Just ask his former coach Dennis Green as he says here.

"Teams might be in a two-deep [zone, with safeties splitting the back half of the field] but I always said Randy would run through the two-deep. To stop Randy Moss, you needed a deep two-deep."

The normal rules don’t apply to Randy Moss, because even when he’s covered, he’s dangerous, and a bad ball is still catchable.

Not since Bob Hayes frightened the NFL into developing zone defenses has any receiver impacted the league to this magnitude. And the lengths defenses go to contain him open the field for the entire Pats offense.

I know, you still want the MVP to go to Brady. After all, if Troy Aikman says it, it must be true, right? And a receiver is only as good as his quarterback after all.

Ok, try this on:

Exhibit A: Pats at Miami: These two TD catches against the Dolphins. Who else could come down with these balls? Does Brady even throw this pass before this season?

Exhibit B: Pats v. Colts. Colts lead 20-10, Brady is struggling. Brady tosses one deep, Moss beats the Cover Two for a momentum-changing 55 yard play. Pats score soon after to cut it to three, and then score again to preserve their undefeated season.

Exhibit C: These numbers: 92.6, 63.8, and 7.9.

Those are Tom Brady’s previous career highs in passer rating, completion percentage and yards per attempt.

This year those numbers are 134.0, 74.0, and 9.1

Coincidence?

The Pats are on a pace to destroy the season record for points set by the 1998 Vikings led by… Randy Moss.

More coincidence? Come on; say it is, I dare you.

Yes, Brady has Wes Welker, who is having a career season of his own. But Brady has had a Welker in the past – Troy Brown. Nice receiver, but neither he nor Donte Stallworth (2007’s Deion Branch) give cornerbacks and defensive coordinators night sweats.

And Tom Terrific has never had a year like this with Brown and Branch.

As to why Moss is not getting enough love from the press, well, he isn’t loved. Some of that he’s brought on himself. He didn’t cover himself in glory last year in Oakland, but frankly, that was not a professionally run franchise last year. Sorry, but I can’t drop all of the blame at Moss’ feet.

Besides that, many of the same people voting for the MVP love Brady and trashed the trade (including Pats Cheerleader Peter King). It may be too much to ask humbled Moss critics to see the light.

First, they’d have to wipe the egg off their faces.

1. I believe that I will spend the rest of my natural life kicking myself for not drafting Adrian Peterson in the 2nd round like I considered. Me, the Super Genius, like Wile E. Coyote figured that Ned Flanders, uh I mean head coach Brad Childress would be married to the dreaded Chester Taylor/Peterson time-share, and I chose the legendary Tatum Bell instead.

(Insert the Florida Evans, "Damn! Damn! Damn!" right here.) Mind you, this was AFTER I told everyone that A-Pete had Canton potential.

   

2. While I’m on the subject, I also believe that A-Pete just moved into the Top 3for MVP consideration.

3. I believe that Randy Moss should be ranked higher in the MVP voting than Tom Brady. Yeah, I said it.

Two plays sum it up for me – those two ridiculous TDs against the Dolphins. Don't listen to Ron Jaworski's babble about Brady's placement of the ball - he threw it up into double coverage, and Moss hauls it in. No other human being can make that catch. Randy Moss did it twice. Then on Sunday Moss beats Indy's vaunted Cover Two (designed to stop the deep ball) for a momentum-changing 55 yard pass.

 

4. I believe I found common ground with Jason Whitlock. Randy Moss is the most physically gifted wideout - EVER. Jerry Rice, Cris Carter, and Fred Bilitenkoff had better hands. Bob Hayes may be faster. Steve Largent ran beautiful routes. But none of them combined 4.28 speed, the 6-4 height, the vertical and the  ability to adjust to the pass in midflight.

 

5. I believe that Jason Whitlock needs to end the Chad Johnson madness. Chad’s endzone celebrations have nothing to do with the Bengals inability to stop the run. Ocho Cinco’s Hall Of Fame jackets have nothing to do with Odell Thurman’s unwillingness to obey the law.

 

I had a huge problem with the silly gold teeth (since removed), to all but call Chad an Uncle Tom (“Mr. Bojangles”? Come on Jason…) is hitting low. Yeah, I know that being The Black Scold is good business – especially with an organization as conservative as Fox, and it is sometimes necessary. But I despise hypocricy, and Keyshawn Johnson attempting to condemn The Chad – well, Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle. It is NOT ok because Keyshawn is in the media. Shame on you Jason.

 

6. I believe that no good quarterback has every possesed the hideous body language that Peyton Manning displays in clutch siutations.

I’m sorry, but when the pressure is on, he looks like Rex Grossman on caffine overload looking for a fix. No one who is so allegedly cerebral as Manning should be as frenetic. When the Colts started that last drive, and Manning dropped back, his body language screamed “Gottathrowitfast gottathrowitfast”…and those two fumbles while being sacked? Grossman-esque.

 

7. I believe that we can expect more media heads to experience multiple Farvegams in the second half of the season. Brett Favre is experiencing a renaissance because he’s shown consistently better judgement than I have seen from him in a few years.

Simply put, for the first time in years, coach Mike McCarthy has gotten Brett to limit his boneheaded throws that are always ALWAYS glossed over by the media (i.e. “Favre-gasms”) with “Brett is a gunslinger”, “Brett sure is having fun…”

 

By the way, why wasn’t the game stopped when Brett threw his record-breaking 277th pick? 

 

8. I believe that the San Diego Chargers lost their first November game in four years on Sunday, and it won't be the last. Marty has got to chuckling.

 

9. I believe that Hines Ward is a man's man. He blew up Ed Reed and Tom Scott in the SAME GAME? Tell me the last time you saw a 190 pound receiver drop a couple of All-Pro head-hunters in the same CAREER, much less the same game?

 

10. I believe that Brian Billick has lived off his offensive genius rep for at least five years too long. Blame Randy Moss. Remember, Billick was the offensive coordinator for the record-setting Vikings with the rookie Randy Moss catching 17 TDs, and the team scoring a record 556 points, which may go down in flames to this year's Pats squad.

 

Since The Offensive Guru moved to B-more, the Ravens have ranked 26th, 21st, 31st, and 24th in yardage the last four seasons. They've never been higher than 14th in the Billick era in any offensive category except once.

    

Bonus belief: Sebastian Janikowski just missed a would be NFL record 64 yard FG, hitting the upright on a bomb that would have been good from at least 70 yards. And unlike Jason Elam's kick, the stadium in Oakland actually sits BELOW sea level. 

Yet, when or if  the record gets broken, I believe there is something about Tom Demsey’s record-setting kick in 1970 – perhaps it was the posts on the goal line (which meant that Dempsey launched it from his own 37 yard line), the old-school kicking style, or the NFL Films shot from the side…it will always be number one in my book.

Until the next time friends...

I 'm not here to bury Michael Vick. He's done that to himself.

And too many people are getting a kick out of doing it.

This morning, I was listening to WFAN in New York, and the noted writer John Feinstein was on with the hosts. and at some point he noted that "in technical terms, Mike Vick is SCREWED!"

And then he and the hosts laughed. Heartily.

Must be nice to see the black boy go down in flames huh?

For the last two weeks, the drumbeat to ban Vick for life has reached proportions that should have been reserved for Ted Bundy and sexually deviant Catholic priests. Last week, I double-checked all of the stories on Vick to confirm that their wasn't some human bodies found on that Virgina property Vick owned.

Listening to the hue and cry from all of these "animal lovers", it is easy to conclude that if 3,000 pitbulls had died from the insurgencyand IEDs, the US would have been out of Iraq by now, and Dubya would be facing impeachment.

Cleary, it isn't enough for some people that he has trashed his reputation, will lose close to 80 (yes, EIGHTY) million dollars from the Atlanta Falcons, not even counting the endorsement money that he'll never see.

It isn't even enough that he will serve more jail time than Scooter Libby, Karl Rove, or Martha Stewart.

Or that the QB AKA Ron Mexco will do more jail time than those two friends of Ray Lewis who knifed two men to death in Atlanta on Super Bowl week five years ago.

It isn't enough for many people that Vick will do more time (and have a longer NFL suspension) than Leonard Little, who committed vehicular manslaughter.

It isn't close to enough for many that Vick will suffer more than even Robert Blake, who all but put an ad on Craig's List and eBay begging someone, ANYONE to wack his wife.

No, this #### mob (which is showing more passion about animals than their fellow man in most cases - not that is anything new) will not be happy with anything but the utter destruction of Michael Vick. Man, it is good to know I live in such an enlightened society.

We get upset about cruelty to animals - and rightly so. What happened was horrible. What Vick has done to his life is terrible. I take no pleasure in either dog fighting or in what has happened to Number Seven, but it seems that many in the media (not coincidently mostly white members) seem to.

It is the ugly, only partly hidden part of the racial divide that kicks in here. Dan LeBatard wrote a brilliant piece displaying it. "...the black athlete with...demons usually isn't permitted the kind of embrace that rehabbng white 'characters' often receive. Can you name a black equivalent to John Daly?" 

GIven that climate, there is always a desire to not just criticize, or condemn, but to demonize and destroy wrong-doing knuckleheads who happen to be black. And God forbid you actually have the gall to show any human kindness to the demon. Donovan McNabb said he would support his friend Michael Vick - and got ripped for it.

Why?

Deion Sanders made several valid points in explaining Vick's mindset while not condoning is actions - and what did he get for it? The NFL Network telling Prime Time, please kindly check your First Amendment rights at the door.

Isn't there something wrong with that?

Being as guilty as Vick appears to be seems to help matters immensely in the minds of some folks. All you have to do is look at how the name of O.J. Simpson has been invoked -repeatly - a full decade after the so-called Trial Of The Century in the hopes that Vick "doesn't get off". 

Oh, and somebody call me the next time a white celebrity gets linked with O.J.

Therein lies the difference between black and white fans here. Many whites - in and out of the media - seem to take a sort of perverse glee in The Fall Of Vick, just listen to the hysterical screams for a lifetime ban. You listen to many a black fan, media figure, and the disappointment (as opposed to vitrol) and hurt is tinged with a hope of redemption some day. There is no doubting that Michael Vick brought this on himself, whether he "merely" bankrolled Bad Newz Kennels (and left his "friends" to do the heavy lifting), or particpated in the execution of the dogs. Getting too much too soon, being coddled way too much can have that effect. But unlike Mike Tyson, Vick seems (and that is a big word) to have it in him to fix his life. What he does with what remains of his NFL career is a distant priority at this time.

These times will truly test him. People he thought were his friends have, are, and will abandon him. Celebrity is truly proving fleeting as self-righteous moral outrage has made PETA appear nearly mainstream. (Scary isn’t it?)  Media people who supported him are forced to condemn him. You can only imagine what those with an axe to grind are saying. Actually, you don't have to imagine. They are screaming the loudest and most piously of all.

Clearly, a lifetime ban on Vick for his transgressions (and don't even try to use gambling as the wedge issue - Vick didn't bet on football, much less his own team) in light of everything else he has and will lose, is nothing more than overkill. Even a two year suspension rates that way. For all of the strained comparisons to Pacman Jones, Jones is likely to be back in a year despite his transgressions against human beings.

One can only hope that Rodger Goddell doesn't take the David Stern path of The Big Grandstand Punishment, but it does play well with some.

Overall, I do not hold a lot sympathy for Vick’s predicament (even though I suspect given his background, he had no idea that dog fighting would be viewed this way).

What I do have is compassion for the young man. That he can rise and redeem and learn from this. And hopefully, so will some of us.

Book-browsing the other day, I came across the latest issue of Rolling Stone, their 40th Anniversary issue. Interesting in that it had 20 interviews with various VIPs and their recollections of 1967, The Summer Of Love.

Jimmy Carter, Patti Smith, George McGovern, Jane Fonda, Michael Moore, Paul McCartney...

... and not a single person of color.

Not a one.

Now, I know, it's Rolling Stone. Dedicated to keeping rock and roll alive, music that if you believe some is mostly white: The Beatles, Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Stones, Chicago, Led Zep, The Doors...you get the idea. Never mind the fact that R&R orgins are rooted in rhythm and blues, or the Chuck Berrys, Otis Reddings, Little Richards who helped shape the genre.

And I have no problem giving props where they are due - I have and play music from all of the above in my collection. But RS has always seemed to accept its roots with reluctance, preferring the "rock" in "rock and roll" - and that is not my reality.

Speaking of reality, quick: What were the two defining issues of 1967 - if not the decade? If you chose anything other than Civil Rights and Vietnam, kindly go back into hibernation.

And the faces of civil rights were...King, Ralph Abernathy, Stokley Carmichael, Huey Newton, Andy Young, Fannie Lou Hamer, and so on. (Notice a trend?) The most hated man in 1967 America?

Muhammad Ali, of course, refused induction ("I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong") and  unjustly stripped of his title that June at the peak of his serious, serious game. 

And Rolling Stone decided that out of 20 interviews they couldn't have ONE interview of an Ali, Andrew Young, Smokey Robinson or Carlos Santana? Was Bill Russell or Jim Brown busy? How about a close associate of the late, great, Ceasar Chavez? 

What, all of their phones were disconnected?

Rolling Stone blew it. By design. 

Then again, whitewashing history is so... 1967...

And that's why that issue stayed on the rack, unbought.

----------------

In other news, the Spurs Robert Horry was ready and willing to compare his Spurs to the great teams of the 1980's.

   

"We would beat them," he boasted.

"No disrespect to the guys back in the 80's and the 70's, but the guys now are so much better than those guys," Horry said. "I don't care what they say. If you look at old films, guys only went right. They turned and kept it in their right hand. Look at the things LeBron (James) can do, Tim (Duncan) can do, Tony (Parker) can do, Manu (Ginobili) can do. Little (Daniel) Gibson over there. There's no way you can compare those guys. We watched what they did and expanded on that."

OK Big Shot Bob, are you telling me that everyone in today's NBA can go left? Please! You've been in the league since Mikan, and the next time I see you post twice in a row will be the first. I'll be the first to say that this league has more athletes than ever. I'll also say that basketball skills are still in shorter supply league-wide than common sense in the Paris Hilton household.

While I'm on this subject, Tim Duncan would have to play center, assuming that we use the 06-07 Spurs in this comparison. Honestly, does anyone really believe that Fabrico "Little Fabio" Oberto would last against Robert Parish, Kareem, or Moses Malone? I'm disqualfiying him on his hair alone. Nah, Timmy D, you're going to have to man up and be what you are - a center.

Now onto the comparison:

1985 Lakers vs 07 Spurs:

Backcourt: Magic v. Tony Parker. Parker would probably draw Bryon Scott, I suspect Magic would guard the offensively challenged Bruce Bowen or the solid, but aged Michael Finley. Scott would not only slow down Parker somewhat, but unlike Eric Snow, Bryon had a deadeye out to three point range. And who guards Magic? Ginobili would get posted more than a Gabrille Union pin-up. Bowen couldn't stop LeBron from posting - do you think he'd do better with Magic? Edge: Lakers, but not a huge one.

               

Frontcourt: Big Game vs Big Shot. James Worthy , A.C. Green and Kurt Rambis vs Bruce Bowen, Horry, and Oberto. I suspect that Bowen would start by guarding Magic, hence Horry would get the PT on James. For stretches, Horry would hold his own - after all, Worthy is the forefather of Horry - a tall (Worthy goes 6-9 to Horry's 6-10), "long" explosive 3 on the wing.

Alas, Horry may have been "The New", it doesn't mean he's "The Improved". Worthy is far more offensive-minded and can score inside or out, depending on the situation. A young Horry would have made this a really interesting confrontation with his defense and length. But over 7 games, if the series goes that long, Horry gets ground down, forcing Bowen or Finley to deal with number 42. A.C. Green/Rambis and Elston/Oberto would be a standstill.

But the special matchup would be The Hair of Oberto vs The Jehri Curl of Green. A.C.'s grease would give him a small edge inside, where he'd be harder to grab, but it would be hell on his shooting touch.

Edge: Lakers, Worthy being the difference.

Center: Kareem vs Duncan/Oberto/Elston - Possibly the two most fundamentally sound big men to ever play square off. The Skyhook v. The Bank Shot. The Old Stone Face versus... The Younger Stone Face. Duncan would get the edge running the floor on the 40-year-old "Cap", but the skyhook is money - and I'm talking Euros (have you seen the dollar lately?). Kareem basically took most of the regular season off from rebounding, but stepped it up in the playoffs. Duncan's D would make life difficult for Jabbar, and Elston would #### to make life painful and slow The Old Man down. I suspect Horry would even take a turn here. But Duncan isn't used to guarding prolific post men. He usually left the dirty work of guarding Shaq to Robinson or Malik Rose until the 4th period. He won't have that luxury against this team.

Edge: Draw.

The Bench: Spurs bring the 6th man of the year in Ginobili. Brent Barry would drop in some threes. Horry would be the swing man playing the 3-4-5 slots. But the Lakers would bring Michael Cooper, the Bruce Bowen of the 80s (minus the cheap shots) to lock down Parker or G-Nose (more likely), and to match Barry or Bowen on 3's. Mychal Thompson and Kurt Rambis would provide more scoring than Elson or Oberto, and could guard Duncan credibly. Thompson and Kareem at the 4 and 5 have a clear edge on any Duncan combo that the Spurs could throw out.

Edge: Lakers, slight.

Overall, I actually like the 85 Lakers more, with a younger Kareem, but their bench wasn't quite as deep (Silk Wilkes was getting up there in age, as was Bob McAdoo), and no A.C. Green.

And I'd like the Spurs to take a couple of games on guts, Parker, and a big game from Manu supporting Duncan. But the Lakers' superior depth and running game and Magic would be too much over the course of seven games. The Spurs would have to slow the tempo, and the great secret of the Showtime Lakers was that they could play it either way, much to the chagrin of the Spurs.

The Verdict: Lakers in 6.

Marvin Lewis, coach of the Bengals was on the 4-Letter Sports Network, and made an honest mistake...of being honest.

When asked if the Bengals were profiled by the Cincinnati police, Lewis had the temerity to point out - politely - that getting written up and publicized for not turning on your blinker is a bit extreme.

Whoops.

Of course, human nature is such that once you have a reputation for trouble, such as the Bengals do, you are going to have walk a straighter line. Everything, no matter how minor, gets magnified. Lewis basically said as much. Of course, in the minor furor afterwards, this was ignored.

 

 

The unspoken undercurrent here is the low reputation that the Queen City Police Department has in the local black community. Since 1995, the police have shot 22 black men, 13 of them fatally. While some of those incidents were justified, others were - to put it nicely - questionable. Any talk of racial profiling has to take that into account

 

The Bengals have justly been ripped for their indiscretions in the past, and should be held to a high standard, both by their management, fans, and the NFL. None of that ever justifies profiling based on status, race, or profession.

 

Lewis offered a clarification/apology the next day. As someone who has been on the wrong end of a racial profile (not in Ohio), I’m sorry he did so. Too often, speaking truth is usually followed by a backpedal worthy of Champ Bailey.

 

Kudos to Marvin for making the attempt. I just wish he had stuck to his convictions.

The G-Report is back, and The G is ticked.

Update from Dallas: Stu Jackson, NBA watchdog against acts of random violence (mostly because no sane team will let him coach), suspends Jason Terry for a half punch thrown while on his back in a pileup that a TV camera half-caught. Jason felt that getting his head pushed into the floor by Michael Finley demanded action. Of course, Finley got a pass. 

              

But Kobe Bryant gets a pass for belting Raja Bell twice in the head with an elbow. Reggie Evans get his hand under Chris Kaman's shorts and checks him for possible genital deformities. He gets a fine.

Got to love Stu's logic, "Certainly one clear difference is in the case of Reggie Evans we didn't have a clear view exactly what happened," Stu Jackson, the NBA vice president who handles such punishments, said Thursday. "We understand he reached underneath the player, but you couldn't see the end result. It's really an apple and an orange."

First Stu, it's more like apples and er, walnuts. Secondly, no one had a clear view, but the Spurs found a camera with the right angle and rushed it to the league in record time. Thirdly, when even Greg Popavich looked guilty at this Xmas present, just maybe you and Comissioner Stern (rumor has it Stu's mouth only moves when The David's hand is in his back) should take a good hard look at this "policy".

When training as a referee, I was always told one thing: don’t decide the outcome of games if you can avoid it. Let the players decide the game. Now league officials have taken on that role. I think our leaders in Washington have proven that the whole ‘resolute’ thing has not worked, so show some flexibility. I admit I’m rooting for Dallas tonight.

And if Phoenix can win a Game 6 without Raja Bell - on the road no less - don't think that Dallas will fold.

I think Antonio McDyess is still sitting on the Piston bench in deep shock.

It won’t be too long until I see a headline titled “BUSTED!” with Rasheed Wallace’s mug on it.

I’m not going to lie – I saw this as a 5 game series for the Pistons. Of course, so did Rasheed Wallace. Three games later, the Cavs have a chance to close at home in what would be the biggest playoff upset…ever? The only thing that comes close would be the Rockets taking down the Lakers in the dearly departed mini-series back in 1981.

LeBron James has been all that – as expected. The unexpected was Donyell Marshall dropping 14 and 13 in Game 5.

What was unexpected was the poise of the Cavs, who rallied and took a valuable life lesson from the loss of Larry Hughes who lost his younger brother last week. Said James, "We're all grown men, and this is just basketball," James said. "It's not life and death, and it's not like they're the big bad wolf and we're the three little pigs. We all lace our shoes up the same way."

Much props goes to LeBron for staying true to himself. He dished for the winning basket last nigh, a sweet feed to Drew Gooden after LBJ drew three men to him. You know damn well if Gooden blows the bunny layup, how many haters would be ripping James for not taking the big shot?

(Aside: the win takes Eric Snow off the hook for the unbelievably brain dead pass he threw with 5 seconds left, expecting to run out the clock. Lindsey Hunter ran it down and got the Pistons one more chance with 1.9 seconds remaining. What in the name of Fred Brown and Brett Favre was he thinking?)

And most unexpected? The loss of poise from the Pistons. Why wasn’t Tayshawn Prince dropping the glove on LeBron (or at least trying to slow him) from the opening tip? What was Chauncey Billups thinking when he committed a 6^th foul on a

breakaway with a minute remaining? Why did Flip Saunders have Rasheed Wallace on the bench and Ben Wallace on the floor in an offensive situation on the Pistons last two possessions, and why why WHY was Prince taking the big shot with 6 seconds remaining when Rip Hamilton and McDyess (who was red hot in the 4^th period) ready and waiting?

Unreal.

Flip Saunders got out of the first round once in eight years in Minnesota. If the Pistons blow a 2-0 lead, home court, and lose to an inferior Cavs squad…well, Larry Brown might want to take that buyout after all and head West…

   

Speaking of coaches under the gun, what in the hell was Mike Dunleavy thinking in Games 1-5?

Game 1 – Suns win, go on crucial run with Elton Brand on the bench (while racking up career-high numbers) taking a breather.  Shawn Livingston is on the floor while Sam Cassell is riding pine. Sam is more clutch than Indiana Jones in The Temple Of Doom – AND HE'S RIDING PINE?! Livingston commits a pair of pressure turnovers.

Game 3 – Cassell spends all but 35 seconds of the 4^th period on the bench. Livingston runs out of gas and big plays. SEE GAME 1! I'M TIRED OF REPEATING MYSELF! Suns pull out a late win.

Game 5 – Clips rally from 19 down to win in OT. Sam I Am actually is on the court at the end, but Livingston throws away a crucial inbounds pass (I’ve lost track of the number of pressure TOs Shawn has complied in the series). For some reason unknown to anyone but himself, Mike D. brings in Daniel Ewing, who hasn’t played since gas was under 2.50 a gallon. Even though the Clips had a foul to give, Ewing doesn’t foul, and Raja Bell nails a 3 with 1.9 seconds left to force OT.

All through the series, in pressure situations, I look in Dunleavy’s eyes and see a little Peyton Manning. 

Twice in Portland, he was good enough to coach his team to the Finals, only to get seriously outcoached by Chuck Daly and Phil Jackson. There are worse guys to fall to, but you wonder if he’s learned anything?

 Sam Cassell has two more rings than his coach. His entire career, he takes the big shots, he MAKES the big shots. If you've seen that “Major League 2” celebration of his, you know he has, um...cajones grande? 

Repeat afterme: EVERY crunch time possession should go through Sam and Elton Brand.

Every damn possession.

In three different games - all Clipper losses - Cassell and/or Brand have been out of the mix. And that’s on the coach. Period.

I believe that one day, Shawn Livingston will be an All-Star. Today, the Clips are Sam Cassell’s team. In Cleveland, LeBron is going to see the ball every time down the stretch. Number 13 will have it in his hands for the Suns. Imagine Kobe NOT committing an assault on the court if he was bypassed for a big shot. Get the pattern?

Game 6 – Nothing unexpected here. The Suns are, as they say down South, “tie-ed”, as in “Lawd, my feet is tie-ed from walking all day. The Suns are the best conditioned team in the league, but a hard 7 game series with the Lakers, a short bench, and now another way with the Clippers, and is it any wonder that shots are going flat?

On to the G-Report.

Phoenix Suns - BUY!

• Steve Nash (98/105/Buy!) – The last few games have the Nash haters coming out of the woodwork. The guy has dead legs, as does almost everyone in the Suns top 7 except for Tim Thomas. Not playing until Monday might give his legs the juice they need.
• Tim Thomas (70/75/Buy!) – Watched the game last night at The Grand Lux in The Beverly Center. Good viewing (and not just of the game). Good food. Made a new friend. Homeboy (a Philly native) had the best line of the night, “Who stopped feeding Tim the Ny-Quil? He never balled like that in Philly!” I’m inclined to give him the bennie on Game 6. Look for him to man up on Brand in Game 7 and do something that 17 previous teams and 30 former coaches have never seen before – deliver.
• Boris Diaw (85/85/Buy) – Not a great game, but the Suns point center still came up with 14, 9 and 7 dimes. Better yet were the two sick up-and-under moves on Kaman and Elton Brand straight out of the Kevin McHale low post Handbook. Daym. He’ll have to play much better to get the Suns out of Game 7 with a win.
• Leandro Barbosa (90/87/Buy) – He’s 6’3”, but did you know that he has a 7 foot wingspan. No wonder he’s so dangerous in traffic.
• Brian Grant (0/2/DUMP!) – This is a series that was SCREAMING for his talents. Tell me that Grant could not have ####ed on a body or two down low. Either he really set off D’Antoni, Marcus Allen-Al Davis style (unlikely), or this great undersized warrior is truly done. Which is sad.
• Mike D’Antoni (95/100/Hold) – Game Six was a throwaway, as far as I’m concerned. Bad news was that this game stayed close. A blowout could have gotten him to clear the bench. He’s made the counter-adjustments whenever needed. Expect the same on Monday.

Clippers (Buy with caution)

• Chris Kaman (70/80/Hold) – One day, I’m just waiting for Geico to run a commercial that states “Our insurance is so easy, even a Kaman can use it.” I am a marketing genius.
• Sam Cassell (90/90/Buy) – The Alien lives for Game 7’s. Last time he was in one, versus the Lakers in 2004, Sam was too hurt to be a real factor and the Lakers buried the T-Wolves. He’ll be ready…
• Corey Maggette (90/85/Buy!) – 25 and 8 ballboards, while missing only one shot. That was the X-factor that the Suns had no answer for. That was the Corey we were expecting in the playoffs!
• Shawn Livingston (60/55/Hold) – Just one turnover in 19 minutes last night. Can’t see that happening again. Not wishing ill on the Stick Man, just wondering how Game 7 will affect him...
• Elton Brand (100/100/Buy!) – He went to Duke, but I like him anyhow. Game 7 will give this hammer the due he’s been denied for too long. If you lived on the West Coast, you knew how good he was. Now the rest of the US knows…
• Quinton Ross (60/40/Hold) – One shot told you all you needed to know about Ross last night. Last play of the first half, Ross catches a pass with his hands all wrong, between his legs, hoists the ball up and shoots in one motion. ####. No hating on Ross, but brotherman had pixie dust on him last night. Buy his lockdown defense, sell on his offense.

And now for the really fun part of the G-report:

Scottie Pippen (5/20/SELL!) – Talk about guzzling hater-ade. Last night, he ripped Nash, saying that he’s been “exposed” in the playoffs.

Look, I didn’t vote Nash for MVP, my vote went to LeBron. Kobe and Nash were fighting for runner-up. Kobe got plain shafted by some writers. But to sit around here and say in effect that Nash is overrated and getting “exposed”, well, that is textbook hating from Scottie. The Suns have played every other day for almost a month. The wonder is that the team has kept their legs this long. It’s amazing how Greg Anthony and Pippen come out the woodwork after a Suns loss. If the Suns make it to a Game 7, will it be another fluke?

Detroit Pistons (Hold)

• Chauncey Billups (80/90/Buy) – The single worst mistake he made was his 6^th foul in Game 5. He’s the man who has to steady his team at Crunch Time. He’s the man who takes – and makes – the big shots.
• Ben Wallace (70/85/Buy!) – heard a rumor that Shaq saw Ben’s 0-7 ‘performance’ from the line the other night, and offered him some advice for end of game situations. “Be seated”.
• Flip Saunders (70/85/Hold) – He’s taking heat. He deserves it. But the players were tired of Larry getting all the love. Now it’s time to step up and prove the naysayers wrong. But Flip, why did Tayshawn take the last shot?
• Tayshawn Prince (65/75/Hold) – I like most of his game, but why again, why in the hell was he taking the last shot?  And why wasn’t he locking down LeBron from the getgo?

Cleveland (Buy!)

• LeBron James (100/100/Buy!) – I may not think he’s perfect yet, but judging by that 4-step travel before the game-winner against the Clippers, the refs have already anointed him the next Jordan. Just what the NBA needs, another overprotected superstar.
• Zydrunas Ilgauskas (65/55/But – with caution.) I’ve seen Z-Man in a slasher flick, damned if I can remember which one. It took five games for Z to remember he actually made an All-Star team.
• Anderson Varejao (70/50/BUY!) – Sideshow Bob hair, and a Master’s degree from the Vlade Divac school of flopping. What is there not to like?
• Damon Jones (20/20/Hold) – I’d rate him a 40, except for the wardrobe.
• Larry Hughes (70/40/Buy!) – He’s supposed to return for Game 6. I expect an inspired player that his teammates will feed off.
• Coach Mike Brown (60/50/Buy) – OK. He looks strangely like Smart Brother from “Undercover Brother. The last three games, he’s been coaching like it. But can he teach his team to close the deal?

   

The G-Report looks at his plasma screen crystal ball:

Mavs upset the Spurs tonight. Josh Howard and Devin Harris will rise up in a big way. Why do I think Mark Cuban is going to hand out 20,000 "Remember The Terry" Towels with "31" emblazoned on them? Because I would?

I love Mike Finley, and I hear he's a nice guy and class act. But he'd better make a quick exit out of Dallas, win or lose tonight.

Pistons survive in a close one tonight to force Game 7.

I'm ghost...see ya in 40 hours.

 

Recently, a close family member who is a proud parent of three once told me, “You know what my goal is as a parent? To make sure that I haven’t screwed up my children so much that they can not undo the damage.”

I used to think that that kind of thinking was a case of setting the bar a bit low – until I looked in the mirror. Far too much of a man’s life can be wasted getting out of one’s own way.

Earl Woods was "called home" (as my kinfolk call it), the other day at age 74. Most obituaries will list him as the father of Tiger Woods, the original architect of the most dominant sports cultural force of Generation X. Oh and the kid turned out to be a decent golfer.

 

Much has been made through the years about Earl Woods' tendency for bombast. After all, he is supposed to have said that Tiger would one day be bigger than Gandhi. Not enough has been made of the fact that he first and foremost was Tiger’s father – and from all accounts a very good one. I don’t pretend to know either the father or son, and Kirby Puckett and Barry Bonds are recent cautionary tales in how not to judge books by their covers. But having a few years under my belt as a father’s son, I’ll take my chances with the subject.

For almost 30 years Tiger and Earl have been in the public consciousness on some level. If Michael Jackson’s special gift was magic with a 3 wood, you get the idea. A toddler Tiger was nailing shots on the Mike Douglas Show (if you're under 35, Mike Douglas was a prime time Jay Leno). A golf prodigy before he could speak, it always seemed as if Tiger's ascension to PGA champion was merely a matter of when, not if.

If you believe that, you not only trivialize the son, you dishonor the father.

Every time you see a prodigy - and we all know of some incredibly precocious kid; be it a musical prodigy, the class bookworm, or the 10 year old with the fastball in the mid-80s - you usually have a parent who is a driving force.

Driving force. Countless parents force The Drive. Or they instead become the driver, rather than the guide, attempting to live their dreams through the child. In wanting so much for their progeny, parents often choke the joy out of the gift. Playing (or studying) becomes a duty, a task. All too often, the parents forget that they have a child, not an adult in training. The only thing more predictable than the parent is the result.

Burnout. Resentment. Underachievement.

And in the tragic case of Michael Jackson, aberrant behavior.

What separates Tiger Woods (or the Williams sisters) from Todd Marinovich, Andrea Jaeger, Mary Pierce, or (to a lesser extent) Jennifer Capriati?  What about the thousands of less famous children with endless promise derailed?

Earl Woods passed his deep passion for the game to the son; his other gift was passing on the joy. As driven as Tiger is to win, to joy of the competition shines through equally. Both come from within. Let Earl explain it, “It was never a question of me forcing Tiger to play golf. Everything came from him. We transcended the father-son thing when he was five. We became best friends, equals. The normal way of things is that the father is always in command. That wasn't the case with us because when we went to a golf tournament I would be the father until we signed in, then Tiger took over as the father...and then as we were checking out of the hotel or going to the airport, our roles were reversed back again. I became the father again.

'I tried to interest him in other sports. I introduced him to baseball - he was a natural switch hitter - and he said no thanks, it interferes with my golf… he went to high school I convinced him to try out for the cross-country team. Within two weeks he was the number two man on the team. He quit after a year because it interfered with his golf…He chose golf on his own. I never pushed him.”

Real pushy dad eh?

Perhaps it came from prior experience. Earl Woods had three children from a previous marriage, and he admits that Tiger was a second chance to make up for whatever shortcomings he had the first time around.

For all of the occasional bombast of Richard Williams, what is the worst thing that Serena and Venus can be accused of? Having interests outside of tennis such as being multilingual and wanting to develop alternative careers.

Imagine that. Twenty-somethings that want to have a rounded life. All parents should be so cursed. 

I think of Todd Marinovich. His dad, Marv, used to feed him vitamins. Started him on a stretching program when he was a toddler. Supposedly, Todd never touched a processed sugar until his senior year in high school. I remember thinking Todd was like a kid who had to live in one of those plastic bubbles. Fine inside the bubble - Dead Man Walking when he left it and encountered a germ. When Todd got to USC, he left The Bubble. Life was the germ, and his passion for the game was gone soon after. The crash of his career was as predictable as it was tragic.

I think we can begrudge Tiger’s not becoming the Muhammad Ali of this era. It would be nice if he did, but that gig isn’t for everyone. Like Excalibur, it’s a sword that is not meant for the strongest or richest, but for the Chosen One. We mortals don’t always get to make that choice for ourselves. We may have to settle for a Tiger Woods who appears to be a grounded, balanced man, and great athlete.

For all of the jokes we all have made (myself included) about the "Cablasian" label that Tiger slapped on himself, he hasn't gone out a gotten a nose job or skin lightener. Not even Vijay Singh would accuse him of living in a hyperbaric chamber. It’s safe to say that Tiger Woods won’t be on Dr. Phil trying to sort out his ambivalent relationship with his father. In short, nothing you hear or see on Eldrick Woods makes you feel that he is anything but a reasonably rational, balanced multi-millionaire. That speaks more to Earl Woods than 10 Majors won.

Earl Woods, rest in peace. You did all right.

 

This is why I don’t waste my time screwing around with mock drafts.

The Houston Texans signed Mario Williams in advance of the NFL draft last night, setting themselves up to be the most savvy or stupid team of the modern draft era. In doing so, they passed up Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, the most explosive player in college football in the last 20 years whose incredible speed and moves had scouts comparing him to Marshall Faulk and Gale Sayers. Heady company to be sure.

You have to give the Texans credit for testicular fortitude though. Either Super Mario had better be the second coming of Reggie White or Deacon Jones – or Reggie B. had better fall horribly flat on his face. That is almost the only way you can justify this pick, right?

The case for Williams: You had the 31^st ranked defense in the NFL. You’re switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4. There is a DE available whom scouts are comparing to Julius Peppers. Mario Williams fits the bill. He’s a wrecking crew that can almost immediately push your D into the Top half of the league. Moreover, he’ll play every down, you aren’t sure that Reggie Bush can. After all, you have David Carr, a solid QB who has played behind awful offensive lines. You signed a Pro Bowl wideout in Eric Moulds, who would go nicely with Andre Johnson, who seemed as affected by the general malaise as Carr. Do remember that Domanick Davis is a 1,100 yard back behind this sorry excuse for an O-line line. Give him a better offensive scheme, which coach Gary Kubiak should provide and what can he do then? Who needs to pay big bucks for a back that can't carry the ball 20 times a game, who isn't even on the field on short yardage?

       

The case for Bush: Back in 1983, the Houston Rockets had the 1^st and 3^rd pick in the NBA draft. The first pick was a no-brainer, Ralph Sampson of Virginia. With the 3^rd, the Rockets felt the pressure – tons of it - to take a hometown boy from University of Houston, Clyde Drexler. Bill Fitch had other ideas. A defensive minded small forward from Louisville caught his eye nice fella named Rodney McCray. And the Rockets drafted Rodney Mac. And he was a solid, hardworking forward for over a decade in the NBA.

Alas, Rodney was no Clyde. Drexler finally wound up with Houston in 1995, just in time to help them win their second consecutive title. But imagine a Houston team with Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde, and a healthy Ralph in the second half of the 1980s. Bling bling baby. 

The Texans drafted Rodney McCray in cleats.They went safe. Why take Michael Jordan when you have Clyde already? Except that Domanick Davis isn't that good.

Hey, I know Reggie Bush carried the ball 20 times just twice in a game his career. I know he goes 200 pounds. I know he doesn’t move the pile.

No, what Reggie Bush does is that he moves the ball. In huge chunks at a pop. I’ve heard wonderful things about Mario Williams, but no one – I mean no-body has claimed that this guy reminded them of Bruce Smith. Or Deacon Jones. When is the last time that a college player was ranked this high and compared to ####le Sayers, and did not deliver? Exactly.

Overall, this works for both men. New Orleans with the second pick has the ability to trade out to a team that could use Bush (and the list is longer than one might think), and that team is likely to have a solid offensive line. The worst thing for Reggie is to play for a bad team and a bad line that will give him few creases. Bush in a Raider, Eagle, or Bronco uniform? Think Tony Dorsett with the Cowboys. Would he have had as much success had he started his career in Seattle or Tampa Bay? And remember, Dallas had their Domanick Davis, a nice solid running back named Robert Newhouse.

Of course, things get really interesting if New Orleans takes him, especially given that they have a gimpy Deuce McAllister and holes elsewhere. More than anything, Reggie needs to be with a coach who has offensive imagination. Is that present in Nawlins? Sean Payton does have experience with Tiki Barber (a similar style back) in New York. But if you buy the hype, Bush is a level beyond Tiki.

And if you think today is strange, what happens if the Saints pass on Reggie for D’Brickashaw Ferguson? Or take Matt Leinart? Even though the Jets have issues elsewhere, can they pass on Bush? If they do, will the Titans deviate from drafting Vince Young or Matt Leinart? Hard to believe, but possible. Expect one other player to free fall out of the Top 10.

All because the Texans went safe. Good luck.

I'll admit that I did not see much of Mario Williams. However, I saw a ton of Reggie Bush. If Pete Carroll played him at wide receiver, he'd been All-American. He has the fluid moves of Gale Sayers, and no one - NO ONE hit him flush. He takes kicks back to the house.

Every time Reggie carries the ball, it was like Gale himself said once, "18 inches - that's all I need". Get Reggie to the second level, and you might as well get the extra point team up. If Mario racks up 11-15 sacks a year, and Reggie winds up being Blair Thomas, then the Texans win big.

Now, who REALLY believes that?

February is here.

Black History Month.

Yes, THAT month.

This is for Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Martians; our history is yours. Join us in celebration and reflection.

This is the American history we all should have learned.

Be glad that for 28 days, you can get an idea of just how much you’ve missed out on.