I have been blogging on and off here for over three years now. The hottest topic that leaps from my mind to these pages is that of college players getting paid. Title IX aside, I have stated and rehashed over again that college players should share in the bounty that the NCAA, along with its member schools. reap from the talents of college students. Many of these athletes would not even be at these institutes of higher learning if it were not for their athletic talents. Now comes an alternative to collegiate pimping. If a player lacks the ability to pass the SAT score required to play college ball, he can get a passport and get a cool half a million dollars playing Euro ball.

Egad!

I am not devaluing a college education, but lets get real. A college education is of value only to the person who actually values it. I totally value mine, primarily because through my college degree I have been able to make a decent living for myself and my family. However, to my sons, who are a part of this entitlement era, the degree means very little to them. (granted they are in their early teens) Rocking the latest pair of Vans, wearing cool clothes, having the most technologically advanced cell phone means more to my 14 year old son than a diploma of any kind at this point. As much as I try to harp on the value of education, he says, yeah whatever, and is texting his friends while dutifully listening to my lectures.

Because society has determined the value to be entertained is greater than the value of a doctor, or a teacher, many kids today are honing their singing, acting, rapping, dancing, hustling or athletic skills in the hopes of that one big pay day. And what if they fall short and have no back up plan? Please! Kids today all believe that they will do three things, 1) Be young forever, 2) Never get caught doing their dirt, 3) They will automatically succeed.

As a result, I propose that if a kid doesn’t want a college education, don’t make him or her go! Free that seat up for someone who really wants it. Personally, I’m beginning to grow weary of my tax dollars. which help fund the public universities, going on scholarships for athletes who will not stay past the first year, or get in trouble with the law, but are tolerated because they are athletes.

Judging from the possibilities Brandon Jennings is presently contemplating, it seems that an education is the last thing on his mind. And before people waive the flag of “cultural bias” regarding test scores, I can pretty well believe he was not particularly stellar in his regular school work. I’m not saying he should be a genius to go to college, but I have seen more smarter students told they can not even get a whiff of a four year college unless they sharpen up their skills in a JUCO. To be even more succinct, if Brandon Jennings does not want to go to school and wants to become a professional athlete, who are we to stop him?

Many people will say he is missing out on a college scholarship maybe worth $50K, depending on the school. But again, value is in the eye of the beholder. If his family is in a hardship, or even if he decided he just flat out didn’t want no part of colleges reaping benefits from his talents, why should we be mad at him? Why should he not get paid residuals from the jerseys the colleges sell? If he goes pro, at least he will get a benefit from his name on the back of the jersey, unlike college, who possess the elitist attitude that its all about the name on the front. While colleges have been enriched greatly by using the large pool of student athletic talent, the loyal college fans turn on the athlete for being greedy and selfish after he decides he wants out before his freshman season is completed, or even started. But who is really being greedy and selfish here? After the kid plays ball and his eligibility runs out, college fan will root on the next young player at good old Whatsamatter U. Do they care if the student, now former, athlete gets his degree? What if he is close to attaining his degree, will the school extend his scholarship so that he can graduate after his playing eligibility runs out? C’mon, how many people actually get their degree in 4 years? Add the pressure of the athlete missing valuable class time because he plays games on Big Monday and Super Wednesday nights on the road as late as 9pm local time, its pretty hard to complete a rigorous 4 year curriculum on time.

I believe that a young athlete should weigh all his options, and that to college or to sit should not be the only options. If he is good enough to make a Euro team, and the Euros will allow him to do a one year and done contract, more power to him. Its his life and his decision. The NBA and their secret partners in crime, the NCAA have profited on the backs of these athletes for far too long. I know my viewpoint is unpopular, but I believe that in America, a person has the right to use one's talents legally to try to attain a quality of life one desires. I also believe that one should have options. And finally, if a athlete doesn’t want to go to college, that person should move out of the way because there are some people who want the college experience, and the jock should not be taking a deserving seat away from one who does.

Finally, college fans should understand, the school exists for the enrichment and education of students, not particularly for the entertainment of fans.

Don Imus is protected by the first amendment in regard to freedom of speech. But as a radio personality, while he is supposed to uphold the public trust of decency to a degree,  it  seems that every time he insults black people, he gets a mini vacation , then a fat raise. I’m not going to waste too much time stating the obvious. Imus is a bigoted #### who should have been off the air long ago. He is of the ilk that i####uy is young, athletic and is in trouble with the law, he is black.

I don’t listen to Imus, and if people are really outraged, instead of screaming with Al Sharpton and making general noise, do what really hurts media talking heads who talk much gibberish and the execs who enable them.

Don’t listen

Boycott or just don’t use or employ his sponsors.

Imus is getting lots of buzz because people are talking about him. The old saying in PR is that good or bad publicity is better than no publicity, because if no one is talking about you, they don’t give a damn about you. I don’t give a damn about Don Imus. Its time for America to stop giving a damn about him also.

End of my comments regarding this irrelevant man.

Please be advised, barring new and totally relevant evidence, this will be my last post and comments on Spy Gate.

Last week, I asked a simple question.

What should the commissioner have done in the best interest of the game?

Thank you to all those who provided me with comments. While I found the comments diverse, and entertaining, No one really had a solution. There was a lot of blame thrown on the media and their tepid reporting regarding the incident. Many indictments of Commissioner Goddell were brought forth, especially in regard to his disposal of the tapes. (I agree that was not too bright) I actually believed that Goddell out-thought himself, because he must have believed the media was going to try to get a court order to get the tapes, such as when the media uses the freedom of information act. (I’m no lawyer, but seeing that the NFL is a private entity, I don’t think they would have been made to hand over the tapes.)

Many believed that Arlen Specter should be paying more attention to our economic-war problem than worrying about teams (basically his Eagles) that got jobbed. While others critiqued the Coaches, the teams and the league, no one really gave up solutions, except for a few. So after further review, here are my takes. .

Of course this is if the league finds new and relevant evidence. But I believe this is what should have happened from jump street.

1) The Patriots should have been fined the winning purse of the Super Bowl game if there was taping leading up to the championship game or playoffs.

2) A home game in the following regular season should have been taken from the Patriots, but the game would not be at a neutral site.

My solutions are very economically oriented because it affects them where it hurts the most, the bank account. Placing asterisks on records are a waste of a character. What joy would any  fan take in celebrating a championship that was given to them via disqualification instead of being earned? And how can you look in the history books and say that during a certain season the world champion was "vacant." We can’t turn back the hands of time, but what we can do is make the punishment so painful that they won’t try to do it again.

The one thing I agree with is that this topic is old and that  people like me won’t let it go away. People like me until now.

I have now said my peace.

I have watched and read and heard story after story about Spygate and the way Commissioner Goddell has handled this situation. The NFL wishes dearly that this story would go away. The NFL should be reminded that all wishes don’t come true, as there are people in hell wishing for a refreshing cold drink.

As an aside, I wish that the talking media heads, along with their partners the ink stained wretches, would stop adding the word "gate" after every scandal that comes up. For the young people who read these blogs; the "gate" is in reference to the Watergate Building Complex in Washington DC, where in 1972, men broke into the Democratic National Committee’s office to gather information in order to secure a successful re-election for President Nixon. This scandal, named after said building, led to the birth of the tabloid type press we have today, as the tenacious reporting of the scandal inevitably forced the resignation of President Nixon. So if you didn’t know, now you know.

Back to the lecture at hand; after all this scrutiny, opining and down right mean criticism, I have not heard from anyone a reasonable solution to this problem or basically what the Commissioner should have done "in the best interest of the game".

Patriot Fan I’m sure has a much different solution than say Jet Fan or Steeler Fan or even Ram Fan. However, as I desire the tone of my posts to be of intelligent, rational and practical discourse, I want to know what you all think should be the solution to this problem. This solution should be one of practicality and what makes sense for EVERYONE involved. So lets not make it partisan. Lets see if your solution is much better than the plan of action Commissioner Goddell has taken.

To be honest, I have not come up with a solution myself. However, I would very much like to see what should be the most logical way to make this huge elephant in the room at least have a dark place to sit as a new NFL season is fast approaching.

What do you think?

Commissioner Goddell has made headlines with his tougher personal conduct policy, which goes after teams acting as enablers for their bad boy players. While fans and media both celebrate what is perceived as another step in erasing the thug culture in the NFL, a news item slipped right under the radar. I believe this statement should have been just as newsworthy. The Associated Press reports that Commissioner Goddell will work with the teams in an effort to curb rowdy fan behavior.

A pause as I jump for Joy!

I have attended many a professional football game both in my hometown of Detroit, and my present home in Arizona. Every week you can count on fights, drunken and disorderly fans disrupting the game, people screaming profanities in front of kids who are trying to enjoy the game, and from what I learned, in a few select cities, we have witnessed young ladies removing their tops and making their impromptu audition for the next Girls Gone Wild video.

Many fans spend hours at the water cooler, on talk radio, and listening to the righteous media talking heads all chronicle the exploits of Chris Henry, Pacman Jones, and on and on. I was at a football game a few years ago when Leonard Little was playing in a game, where a fan started screaming at him for his well chronicled DWI and subsequent manslaughter conviction. The screaming fan was totally wasted. I’m pretty sure Mr. Stupid drove home drunk , but because he is Joe Fan, in his mind, he is such a better person than Leonard Little. (For the record, I am NOT excusing Leonard Little, and it is my view that anyone driving under the influence is just as low, regardless if that person kills someone or not.)

Lots of football fans drive home intoxicated. They start drinking as early as 10am and don’t complete their drinking until well after the game is over. Even if teams cut off beer sales by the end of the 3rd quarter, the drinker is more than hammered as he has been ingesting a steady diet of alcohol for over 5 hours by this point in time.

Fan behavior is out of control because people believe when they purchase an expensive ticket, they can act any way they want. Who cares if their behavior is offensive, obnoxious, and possibly even dangerous to themselves or others? They play big money for the ticket; as a result they have certain inalienable rights to act a fool as they damn well please. These will be the same people that will criticize Vince Young as photos of the quarterback, shirtless with a cold one in his hand, are appearing on the internet . Vince Young is having a good time just like football fan is. He was at a party during the off season, not on company time, and enjoying life. Surely you don’t think that he should be studying football 24-7? Let me see the hands of those who work 24-7, Saturday through Sunday-Monday. I didn’t really think I’d find any.

It is very disingenuous and hypocritical for fans to always bag on athletes for enjoying their hard earned spoils. (Side note; NFL players are paid due to market value. They also pay with their bodies in ways we can’t imagine. Just watch the Hall of Fame Ceremonies and see some of the HOF’s try to walk around or do something simple like lift their grand children.) Fans always want to believe that players should be like those on the Madden Video Game. They don’t smoke, drink, or even talk, and if they are not injured they always play, make plays, and are all perfect citizens.

No one is perfect. No player nor fan is without sin. One can read some of the messages on the blogs to know that fans do behave badly. If an NFL player was quoted as saying some of the things I have read on these blogs, they would be skewered and severed from the league. Players have a responsibility to their employer to honor their agreements and to follow the code of conduct, and obey the law. Most importantly, players and fans alike, have a moral responsibility to themselves. I do agree that athletes have been enabled for far too long. But at the same time, we cannot criticize with gusto the inappropriate, boorish, bad behavior of athletes, while fans by the hundreds are being arrested at football games weekly for exhibiting the same thug traits as the players we berate.

As a final thought, we all know this is really about players envy. Deep down inside, we all look at these gifted athletes acting wild and we are mad. We all believe that if we were in the same position as the players, we would honor the true letter of our contracts, do exactly as we are told, not go to strip clubs; nor would we be chasing every skirt that allows us to catch ‘em. Truth be told, many fans are hatin’ because they wish they could do what these athletes do. The difference is that fans are getting intoxicated by drinking Schlitz while angry at the players’ cash flow and entitlements. The Players are getting intoxicated by drinking Cristal, and are mad because angry drunk fan will approach them at a bar, pick a fight, and in a split second the player must decide if he should defend himself like we all would; or will he throw the punch that will land him in trouble with the league and will get the so called victim 15 minutes of fame and a check after the lawsuit.

Let the hating begin.

In this past week, we learned:

Arguably the greatest pitcher of all time was being accused of cheating by using performance enhancing drugs.

Arguably one of the cleanest basketball programs in decades is now grilling its coach for the same allegations which placed his former employer on probation, in addition to himself as he forfeited a huge bonus as a punishment.

Arguably the greatest coach of our generation was accused of inappropriately video taping the opposing teams plays, which could have provided a much needed edge in competing for championships.

Money and fame. At the end of the day, this is what its about. If you aint cheating, you aint trying. Isn’t that what many talking media heads said and others thought? Isn’t that the mantra of the past decade?

I have friends who are not sports fans. In fact they hate everything about sports. They detest the sick money that passes from the hands of taxpayers who build modern Roman Coliseums for the billionaires to manage and reap the benefits, by allowing their millionaire employees to display their talents, natural or otherwise. The hater-aid bars are loaded with people who see that in a terrible economy, the worst run sports franchise in the NFL will make a profit. The non sports fan wags his finger in defiance in the attempt to make the sports fan take part ownership in the new era of “win by any all means necessary - right here and right now, if you aint cheating you aint trying, and inject that chemical in my butt so I can play; wait, you say instead you can rub flaxseed oil on me?”

America loves winners, and will pay any price to become part of one.

But America also loves celebrity and entertainment. So, this essay is dedicated to all those who giggle with glee as sport fans are calling talk radio asking “Say it aint so?” The difference between non sport fan and us sports fans is that there are more of them than there are of us. But they are no better than us.

The non sports fan loves seeing that folks are using drugs to get over in sports. I guess we can simply ignore that many of today’s singers, in some cases, the ones who have their “own labels”, used drug money to start their labels. Many recording artists used studios paid for with the proceeds from Pookie’s last high. Meanwhile, many entertainers could not walk on the stage without that “lil blow in the back room”. And lets not forget the other entertainers who used their natural assets, some which were enhanced after logging on to getabargainboobjob.com.

While athletes will get jealous when another player makes more cash or gets more awards, we also have those entertainers who exhibit bad behavior when they don’t win a video award. And of course the entertainers and athletes bounce from party to party, ingesting many adult libations and artificial stimuli in their never ending quest to be greater, or at least more noticed than the star-starlet on the left.

What the difference between the athlete and the entertainer? They both exceed their own boundaries, are worshipped better than God, paid more money then they probably can ever dream of, and spend just as recklessly. Many say there is a difference. I say, the only difference is that entertainers want to be athletes, and athletes want to be entertainers. The end is that they are the same person. They are rich, powerful, above the law, and give us haters something to talk about. After all, would you be reading this and I be writing this if they were all model citizens? And I admit I’m hating. I would love to spend a day being interviewed by the hottie reporterette, getting paid big paper to play a kids game, and to walk in a club and be able to say to the top shelf ladies; “I want you, I want you, but I really want her, so Ill have all yall.” And be able to take them all home and have them demonstrate their pole dancing technique while I simulate rain drops by tossing $100 dollar bills in the air from my duffel bag.

Sooner or later, while we are all tying to decipher who is responsible, we all must raise our hands as accessories to the fact. An actor cannot command $20 million a movie if he did not sell tickets based on just his name at the box office. A pitcher could not command $20 million for 5 months of work if we did not sell out stadiums. We will never change our priorities. We are addicted to winning and celebrity too much. What challenges my senses is when the goody-do-gooders start dogging out the people who get caught doing all these bad things. These so called watchdogs, guardians of the good, will step to a microphone near you and with staunch righteousness, say those resounding words;

“We are doing this to send a message to our children.”

Whatever.

What we really should honestly say is; you are a cheater only if you get caught.

So boys and girls, don’t get caught!

The other day, I heard a media guy complain about an athlete. (What else is new). His latest complaint was about athletes who thank God after they win a game or do something extraordinary. I’m not a religious zealot. I do not believe in forcing my faith on anyone else, so I am a little understanding of his point. I don’t believe that God cares who wins or loses an athletic event. If there are believers on both teams, is God going to actually favor one believer over another? Will God provide one team with a championship because said team has the largest number of believers? Personally, I think God’s attention is best suited in places other than a sporting event.

What I would rather hear the athlete say is; “I want to thank God, my Savior, for blessing me with the ability and opportunity to compete here today.” Then the athlete can speak about what he, not God, did to lead the team to success. God is not hitting that home run or making the catch or hitting the clutch jumper. God provides the talents and skills to those who are blessed with such. It is the athlete that actually uses the talents for the athletic, and financial benefit.

However, I also have a bone to pick with media guy. Media guy whines more than sports fans. Media guys complain about the food they eat at the stadium, the cost of the food (if they have to pay for it), the poor seats they have in the press box, and the bad parking spots they have. They even complain about you fans and why you don’t show up at the games, or how you don’t make noise like some other venues. The latest media guy rant was how he hated to hear an athlete praise God after a game. This is same media guy who will rant if said athlete does not give an interview. You cannot complain about not getting an interview, and then when he gives you one, you cant complain about what comes out of his mouth during said interview. If you know an athlete is a member of the God squad, you know what he is going to say during the interview. If you don’t want to hear it, DON’T INTERVIEW HIM!!! Or better yet, turn the channel if you don’t like it.

As the athlete did something spectacular , he earned the interview time. As such, within reason, he has now earned the right to profess his faith in between talking about the game. If this is offensive to you, media guy, then pass him by and interview the water boy. Also media guy, let me also tell you that you should be thanking God for the opportunity to whine as you do. Also be advised, in the Press Box, you get the food either for free or at a nominal rate, while we pay $4.00 for just a soda. You talk about bad press row seats? I’m sure dude in the nose bleeds would love to trade with you. Let me also remind you that he paid $20.00 for parking and his space is a 1/2 mile from the stadium. Your press parking is probably inside the stadium, or at worst, right outside gate 2.  And finally, how dare you complain about fan attendance and décor. Media guy gets in FREE, sits in decent seats, and has the audacity to tell paying patrons how to act.

Maybe if Media guy comes off his high horse, he may understand the plight of the fan better. On the other hand, I think Media guy needs God to bless him with a dose of humility.

Before I begin, I must warn you this blog is about a subject that most people are uncomfortable discussing; race. If you are uncomfortable for what ever reason, please move on to the “safe” blogs. But if you want to learn and share knowledge, then let me proceed.

Scoop Jackson, formerly Editor at Large of Slam Magazine, now presently working for ESPN, wrote a very scathing article about the lack of minority writers and editors in the media. Please feel free to review his column on Page 2 of espn.com. This article was brought to my attention by watching a recent episode of “Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith”.

Upon reading this essay, I have a more clearer picture of why black athletes hate the media, why I , as a black male, disagree with 2/3rds of what the media experts say and write about, and why you the reader may not have a full understanding of the plight of the urban athlete.

Scoop Jackson cites a study by the AP’s Norman Chad which shows that there are only FOUR black sports editors in this country, and that blacks comprise 1.3% of the working media. Lets take into account that this is the group that covers sporting events where the participants are at least 65% black.

Where is the representation?

Many white writers cannot necessarily relate with the urban athlete’s experience. Meaning they do not understand why Reggie Bush is trying to make a serious payday, or why Allen Iverson does not abandon his boys in the hood, although his boys put him in very awkward situations when they use his car to run afoul of the law. I’m not saying that black writers condone such behavior, but many of them understand the genesis of this behavior.

I don’t want to get off into a social studies lecture, but I want to get this off my chest. Frankly, I want to know where are the talented black talk show hosts, and writers. Why is it that for a black person to become an analyst on the air waves, the prerequisite must be that he/she needed to be an athlete first? What’s wrong with hiring a brother who went to school to become a journalist, and worked his butt off in college radio, or the university newspaper? And by the time the brother gets a whiff of the press room, he had to toil in obscurity like Scoop Jackson did for over 10 years, while white guys hit the national spotlight before they hit the ripe age of 30?

I agree with Scoop’s take that while this is not necessarily racism, it does seem that editors hire people they are more comfortable with. And if 98.5% of the bosses of newspapers are white……..

I think that there is a strong need for more minority reporters, editors and talk show hosts; not just people who are freshly retired athletes. With the inclusion of the “minority” point of view, we the fans will get a a different perspective and possibly a more balanced view of the events that happen in the sporting world. Again, I’m not saying that black media types will excuse boorish behavior by black athletes, nor will they go out of the way to make white athletes look bad. If you have read my posts, I am quick to get on the case of any athlete who is abusing the fans trust. However, I think that when you read the opinions of people who are not of the “majority”, we can all be enriched by their insight, whether we agree with it or not.

In conclusion, its good sometimes for all of us to have dialogue like this. Because at the end of the day, we can all come to an understanding that no matter what race you are, our blood is all red, and we have the same basic interests. We just take different streets.

After listening to the media talking heads, and reading the works of the ink stained wretches, its time to provide a realistic take into the Reggie Bush situation..

Reggie Bush would have been the number one pick in the draft if not for the fear of the Houston Texans. The Texans had invested big money into David Carr, and breaking the bank for two guys who play the same exact position did not make any sense. So by taking Mario Williams, the Texans saved a lot of money. The Saints, seeing some really good fortune, decided to take Reggie Bush.

People (i.e. the media and a few alleged football know it alls) are upset because Reggie Bush is not only holding out, but he is demanding he be paid as though he was the number one pick. I hear wonk after wonk grabbing their collective mics saying in one unified voice, “you are not the number one pick, deal with it.”

No I will not deal with it and neither should Reggie Bush. We all know that the only possible scenario which should have moved Reggie Bush out of the number 1 spot should have been Houston drafting Texas native Vince Young. Scenario did not happen, therefore, the Saints should not be doubly blessed by not only getting Bush and by paying a lower price for a man that will provide great value to their franchise.

What up with this guilt trip people are placing on Reggie Bush? I have people tell me with a straight face that Mr. Bush’s contract demands in a city that almost lost everything is obscene. What is obscene is that the NFL as an entire league gave less money to help in the hurricane relief than some individual citizens. How hypocritical! Its not like the NFL is letting the good citizens of New Orleans attend Saints games at a discount. So why ask Reggie Bush to lower his contract demands?

Football players do not have guaranteed contracts, and the window of opportunity for a player to make large guaranteed money is not as high as right now. Reggie, you go make that money. Get what you can get while you can get it. Now for all you people who want to talk about Reggie”fleecing the Saints”, lets not forget the owner of the Saints is the wealthy Tom Benson. Mr. Benson, who gets government welfare by keeping his team in New Orleans (the team gets a subsidy from the State of Louisiana to remain in the state), is going to be a more richer man if Reggie Bush plays for the Saints. Already, Reggie’s Saints jersey is one of the top sellers, and he will be putting a lot of people in those seats. Trust me, Mr. Benson is not going to cut prices nor give a lot of that money back to the city.

This is business. This has nothing to do with the city of New Orleans or its citizens. And the fact that people are using hurricane Katrina as a fulcrum for their argument against Reggie Bush is pathetic. If the Saints cant sign him, they are showing their true colors. 1) They will continue to show a weak commitment to winning, and, 2) They really do want to move the team out of New Orleans, by giving the citizens fuel to run them out of town.

Reggie, go get paid! And Tom Benson, if you cant sign him, trade him. But stop being cheap. If history is the best teacher, I think Tom Benson is hoping he can get Reggie’s agent to give him a punk deal like he got for Ricky Williams back in the day. Fat chance homeboy. Get your check book ready, or a set of ear plugs to shield you from angry fans. Its your call Mr. Benson.