28
If you are a basketball fan, Christmas was our day. there were FIVE GAMES on in one day. And for the most part, we were able to watch basketball from 9:00am until 9:30pm. And the only game that shouldn’t have been played being the Clippers against the Suns. The Clippers??? Who the hell wants to watch the Clippers? But I digress. the featured game of the day was the Los Angeles Lakers against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron against Kobe. Shaq back in Los Angeles. The two teams the league has been trying to wish into the finals. But it wasn’t the game that will be remembered by those who saw it. It is the fan revolt. Laker’s fans, used to getting BULLSHIT CALLS, especially at HOME, were mad because the refs let them play. And to show their displeasure, they threw the five-away foam fingers and some water bottles onto the floor . But what seems to have been missed in all of this is the FACT that the picture on the fingers is a GANG SIGN for Los Angeles!
I didn’t really look at the fingers as they were raining down from the stands. I was just GITTY that the Lakers were getting DEALT WITH, at HOME, on CHRISTMAS, for ALL THE WORLD TO SEE. It was a day later, after seeing the picture did I see the Gang Sign on the foam fingers. Here is a picture of the sign. The first picture is the original picture. The second picture turns to foam finger “right side up” so you can see EXACTLY what I am talking about. And here is the proof that this is an OLD SCHOOL gang sign for Los Angeles.
 |
 |
 |
| Link to shirt description |
I don’t know if this was a new promotion or what. What I do know, after working with at-risk gang members for over 5 years, is what the different gang signs mean. And that includes gang signs that are local, statewide, or national. And the the picture on the foam fingers passed out to thousands of fans, was indeed a gang sign!
I’d love to know what the thought process was in deciding to try and pass off a gang sign in a Los Angeles Lakers game promotion. And I would love to know which person, who surely didn’t create the hand sign themselves, decided to promote the Lakers as a gang. Either way, the past can’t be changed. And the fact remains, the Lakers got DEALT WITH on Christmas and the Promotion that had a gang sign on it went terrible wrong!
18
Over the weekend, two of sports greatest athletes were taken to task for their behavior. One, Serena Williams, was penalized twice at the end of a match for yelling at a lines woman for calling a foot fault. The other, Michael Jordan, used his forum at the Hall of Fame ceremony to “get back” at everyone who ever slighted him. While both of them may have acted badly, depending on how you look at it, it only Serena Williams that sports columnist Mike Whitlock chose to chastise. And usually I agree with things that “Whit” has to say. But on this one, you got it wrong Whit!
I’m going to start by saying this. I’m really not a Jordan fan, PERIOD! And while I give him much props for his accomplishments, how can you not, I never “pulled his jock.” I was a Magic Johnson fan. So his first three championships I didn’t really care about. I was pulling for the Lakers and the Suns for two of those rings. I didn’t even watch the final against the Blazers. The second three championships, I DID pull for the Bulls. But that wasn’t because of Mike. It was because of my man, DENNIS RODMAN!!! Yeah, me and “D-Rod” are riding for life. All except when he married Carmen Electra. What The Hell was that about D??? But I digress. The persona that he allowed to be scripted about himself wasn’t real. And I could tell it wasn’t real. He just seemed like a fake and a phony to me. And when the chips began to come out, sexual relations with groupies, gambling issues, and allegedly getting coaches fired – Doug Collins, and teammates cut, Craig Hodges, it just confirmed what I had always felt. That the whole “Air Jordan thing” was a farce. I only came to “like Mike” when he played with the Bullets. Yeah I called them the Bullets and not the Wizards because they are. The Bullets!!! And here’s why I began to “like Mike.”
The BULLETS were playing against the Chicago Bulls in D.C. and the “young guns” were talking mad trash to Mike including Ron Mercer. They went at him the WHOLE GAME. And it was back and forth. And the one play that I think epitomizes Jordan was this. As Mercer took the ball to the hoop, Mike pinned it against the glass, caught it, and turned around to Ron and told him “don’t talk trash.” That was the competitive fire that made Mike the COMPETITOR that he is! But his Hall of Fame speech, let the “REAL JORDAN” come back out!
Continue reading “You got it wrong Whit!” »
15
I’ll admit it. I don’t like Kobe Bryant, henceforth to be called BLOBE. He’s selfish and rarely thinks of anyone but himself. And even when he is doing something “nice“, it always looks like it’s being done for his benefit. Call me a hater, call me whatever makes you justify his bullshit. I don’t like him and never will. And his latest stunt proves my point.
Blobe is charging people $25.00 to visit his website. YUP! He’s charging people to visit his website. And this is the reduced price. It was $50.00. In an economy where for a lot of people, $25.00 much less $50.00 is money that they can’t afford to waste, he is charging a fee to see his site. And what do you get for your money? You get
1. An exclusive KB24 T-Shirt
2. Access to exclusive content including videos, audio and photos
3. Members-only access to exclusive contests.
4. Access to exclusive KB24 events
5. Access to member only message boards, blogs, social network.
6. Exclusive access to KB24 events (chat/blogs/live video/listening party, meet & greets etc).
Continue reading “Real Class Act” »
12
I recently read that Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, made a comment to on opposing players mother. Cuban either called Denver Nugget Kenyon Martin a “thug” or a “punk” to Kenyon’s mother’s face or he agreed with comments made my other Maverick fans. And as fans were calling Martin a “thug”, Mark said “that includes your son!” OH HELL NO!!!!
Let’s start from the beginning. First off, Cuban has been a pompous ass since he came into the league.No owner has been fined as much or as often than he has. And he has literally ran out on the court to “protect” his players. WFT???? That’s like having your mama come up to the school after you have just gotten beaten up! But I digress. He has spent oodles of money making the Mavs locker room a place you never want to leave. And spent just as much money on players to try and “buy a championship.” It hasn’t happened.
The last two seasons, his teams have gotten EMBARRASSED in the playoffs with most fingers pointing AT him for his “hands on” mentality. He has placed his hopes and dreams on a guy, Dirk Notwizki, who is like another Dallas athlete, Cowboys Tony Romo, a STAT STUFFER! Great for fantasy football but you aren’t going to hoist a trophy with either guy being your “number one.” His team has been labeled “soft” with no “heart.” The players staged a MUTINY, and threatened to walk, unless then Coach Avery Johnson, was fired. He has made silly trades, Jason Kidd for Devin Harris?, and wonders why he is no closer to winning a title. Every loss reflects badly on HIM personally. So frustration is setting in.
Continue reading “Ya Mama!” »
21
My first real “job” was at 16 years old. I was a softball umpire in the league that I once played in. And I remember realizing very early, that for sports officials, you NEVER HAVE A HOME GAME! And I also found out at an early age, remember, this was the early 80’s, that adults can be real assholes! Especially when it comes to sports. I was verbally abused, in front of their children, by people who should have known better. But I never let my “position of power” go to my head. I kept a cool head when chaos reigned supreme! And the fact that I was a large size person didn’t hurt any either!
I have always given officials the benefit of the doubt when I watch sports. I guess that is part of the “officiating fraternity” that I belong to. I know that most good officials don’t want to be the deciding factor of any sports event. And when we make a bad call, and I made a few myself, we feel almost as bad as the team that received the bad call. But we are people too. And we make mistakes. But as a fan, I have watched officials let that power go to their heads. And it seems like professional Basketball officials seem to be the worse culprits!
I was watching the Boston Celtic/Chicago Bulls game on Wednesday March 18, 2009, and thought the officiating was awful. Boston was getting served an “old fashion” case of “home cooking.” It seemed like every call went against them. And some calls weren’t even close. Boston coach Doc Rivers got one technical arguing a call. As a former official, and a former basketball and softball player, I know that sometimes coaches get “techs” to try and fire up their teams. But there are also times when they get techs because they feel their guys are getting screwed over by the refs. The first tech was definitely one of those “screwed over” techs. But the second tech, the one that got Doc thrown out of the game was chincy to say the least. Doc says that the ref goaded him into the tech by staring at him. The Doc walked away from the ref, Bill Kennedy, who continued to stare at him. When Doc responded to the stare by saying “what”, he was promptly “t’d up” and thrown out of the game. As I said before, I was watching the game and it seemed like the ref did indeed try and goad Doc into saying or doing something to get tossed from the game.
Continue reading “He stared at me!” »
07
First let me say this. I’ve been a Charles Barkley fan since his days at Auburn University. Having been overweight and playing basketball myself, I saw a lot of myself in how his game and weight played into how people treated him. And while I don’t always agree with everything he says, at least he is willing to say something. Far too many African American athletes “take the money and run” only to come back to the community when they get in trouble. And I guess his protestations about “not being a role model” is correct. Because I don’t want a role model who drives drunk putting innocent lives in jeopardy. That shit ain’t cool at all!!
On December 31, 2008 or January 1st, 2009, Barkley was arrested for Driving Under the Influence in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona. In the arrest photo, he is sweating so much it looks like he just got finished playing a basketball game. I’d hate to try and read his mind but it looks like he is either laughing, smirking, or seriously amused, at this situation. And his reason for running the stop sign that got him stopped in the first place? He was going to pick up, and did pick up, a women who was going to give him oral sex. According to Charles, this was a repeat performance that was the “best oral sex he has ever had!” Considering his alleged affair with Madonna, that is saying something!
Continue reading “Charles, Charles, Charles” »
01
Earlier this week, there was a sports media frenzy for an event that is two years away. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lebron James, faced a sports media horde that waited with baited breath for every word uttered by him. That he is currently under contract with his current team didn’t seem to matter. All everyone wanted to talk about was “when is Lebron coming to New York?”
Let me say this first. Since Mr. James has come onto the scene, I haven’t been impressed with anything he has done off of the court at all. He seems selfish and shallow to me. Nothing he has said or done has any substance to it. He laughed and joked about Stephon Marbury’s reasonably priced shoe line while he is charging people $150.00 and up for his shoes. I guess he forgot when his broke ass couldn’t afford to pay that kind of money for some shoes. Or was it that he didn’t have to pay for the shoes he wore at all! That they were “given” to him! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. He has done Public Service Announcements about the tragedy in Dafur Sudan, going so far as to say that he would speak about China’s role in the situation at the Olympics. But when the time came for him to speak up, he got “lock jaw.” Or should I say “BITCH JAW!” He has also publicly stated that he wants to be a billionaire. Again, “Me“, “Me“, “Me“, “I“, “I“, “I.” Now he is feeding a media that is waiting for him to come to New York. Did I forget to mention that he is still under contract with the Cavaliers??? For two more years!!
Sports commentator Charles Barkley come out after the New York game and said it was wrong for James to continue feeding the media monster at the expense of the city of Cleveland, his coaches and teammates, and the Cavalier fans. That it is disrecpectful to everyone involved. With which I agree As did fellow commentator, Kenny Smith. And according to an MSN Fox Sports poll, of the 94,003 votes taken as of this writing, the question “Who is wrong, Lebron or Charles”, by a 71% to 29% margin, LEBRON is said to be in the WRONG! There is nothing the media can do to fix that. While the media likes to “pick and choose” who is right and who is wrong, the fans know the difference. And Lebron’s response to Barkley’s comments. Are you ready? James said that Charles was “stupid.” Wow, what a thoughtful, INTELLIGENT, response that was. Lebron must have sat up all night coming up with that one! And he is supposed to be a role model! I wonder what was his SAT score, a seven! Stupid. That was the best he could come up with. Stupid. My god, what the hell has the world come to that a simpleton can command the sports world media stage and all he can come up with is “stupid!” Notice that he did EXPLAIN or JUSTIFY what was going on. He just said Charles was “stupid.” I guess 66,742 other people must be “stupid” also. Because we all agreed with Barkley.
I am old enough to remember the “Ted Stepien years” where the Cavaliers were the butt of every National Bitches Association joke. To the Cavaliers credit, they have tried to surround James with players to help him win a ring. But because the Cavs don’t fit into the ”I’m going to be a billionaire” plans of James, they are probably going to lose him to free agency in 2010. Because by listening to him last week, he is already telling the Cavs management, the city of Cleveland, his coaches and teammates, and the Cavs fans, “I’m leaving BITCHES … in two years, so get ready!!! WOW, what a CLASSY guy he is!
29
The New York CHICKS, as I like to call them, are the laughing stock of the National Bitches Association (NBA). Not because of their record. They created a situation where a player was mislead into thinking he was going to be given a fair shot, which seems not to have been the case. Star player Stephon Marbury has been suspended for one game for allegedly refusing to play in two recent games. Starbury’s teammate Quentin Richardson recently blasted Stephon saying he wasn’t his “teammate.” Maybe Quentin should go ask D’Antoni and Walsh, “massa, is we sick!”
When the Chicks hired D’Antoni, he was asked about coaching Marbury again. Mike told the New York press that everyone would have a clean slate. That was obviously all talk. From all reports, Stephon came into camp in shape and was saying and doing all the right things. Marbury played about 20 minutes a game in the preseason, averaging 8 points and 4 assists a game. When the season started, he was relegated to the bench being told that he doesn’t “fit into our plans.” During the season opener, a blowout, fans began to chant “Stephon, Stephon” which according to published reports pissed Mike off to the point he was heard cussing fans for doing so. I don’t recall Richardson coming to his “teammates” defense then, do you?
Now because of some bonehead trades and some unexpected injuries, the Chicks are left short handed and now want Marbury to play. When Stephon allegedly refused to play this brought out Starbury’s “teammate” Richardson to make his bullshit comment.
For whatever reason, Mike is being treated as some kind of “basketball genius.” He hasn’t won a damn thing yet he is getting props like he is the next Red Auerbach or something. The “run-and-gun” style of basketball that he plays is exciting during the regular season, but won’t win you a ring. Teams will take that away from you in the playoffs. If that style of play didn’t work with a much more talented Phoenix Suns team, what the hell makes you think it will work with a dysfunctional group like the New York Chicks?
Continue reading “Massa, is we sick!” »
06
Let me say this first. I am a sports junkie. I love basketball, football, tennis, and boxing. While I plan to pick up golf, I don’t consider it to be a sport. Sorry Tiger and Rosie Jones. I consider sports to be events where what your opponent does DIRECTLY affects what you do. As comedian “Honest John” said in one of his performances, “take the ball out of golf and it’s just walking!” But my favorite sport is basketball. Mens or Womens basketball, it doesn’t matter. I will talk, watch, and play this sport all day long. And since the NBA is the basketball league in America, that is what I watch. Having said that, I’m not happy about the racism that I see in the league nor do I consider the players to be role models in any way, shape, or form. I have always called the “NBA” the National Bitches Association with stern (lower caps on purpose) being the head BITCH. And now the Dallas Mavericks have taken being “bitches” to a whole new level!
In 2006, the Mavericks made it to the NBA finals losing to the Miam Heat in 6 games. This team was not expected to get to the finals. So to see them competing against a team, the Heat, that had the most dominate center in the league, Shaquille Oneal, was inspiring. Most people felt the Mavericks would be around for a while. That the coach, Avery Johnson, was the right fit for that team. A team that was known more for scoring finally had a coach that would preach and demand that his players defend. After getting to the finals, the Mavericks were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round the next season by the Golden State Warriors, even though the Mavericks had the league’s MVP in Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki’s game was shown to have major weaknesses that have yet to be fixed. Why would people think that a guy who is almost seven feet tall and shoots jumpshots is impressive? Common sense says that the closer you are to the basket the better. But the MVP got clowned and embarrassed by guys who backed into the playoffs. The following season, the Mavericks were knocked out of the playoffs again by a team they were expected to beat. This time, the blame was placed on the coach, Avery Johnson. He was fired in the off season after seven of the twelve players told the owner, Mark Cuban, that they either wanted to be traded or have Johnson fired. This is the same Avery Johnson who took a Mavericks team to their first and only NBA finals. I’m well aware of the fact that you can’t fire seven players. That when a change needs to be made, the coach is usually the first to go. But in this case, Cuban needed to take a look at the players. Looks like the Mavericks have seven guys who are a bunch of Candy Asses!
Continue reading “The Dallas Mavericks put the BITCH in the National Bitches Association” »
02
Shaqdeezy, Shaq-Fu-Snickens, the Diesel, the Big Aristotle, Superman. All the Same guy. Shaquille O’Neal. He’s had sooome summer hasn’t he? Let’s see. Where shall we begin!
First he all but guaranteed a championship to the Phoenix Suns only to be almost swept by the San Antonio Spurs. That really wasn’t going to happen, PERIOD. While Shaq may deliver a championship to the Suns in his second season there, he did with the Miami Heat; the Suns gave up the one guy who gave Tony Parker fits, Shawn Marion. Marion is long enough and quick enough to stay in front of Parker and if beaten, can recover quick enough to bother Parker’s shot. Or Shawn could stay in front of Ginobili and get a hand up on the jumper. So the idea of them winning this season was a joke at worse and a fallacy at best.
Second, he does the worse free style “rap” EVER. That was straight wack!! It was so bad that I could only watch half of the online video before stopping it. The rap mentioned former teammate Kobe Bryant; essentially saying that he was the reason for Shaq’s pending divorce. Because there was some offensive language in the “rap”, honorary badges given to him from cities in Arizona and Virginia were rescinded. Some of his early rap, “Biological Didn’t Bother” was right on time, but this “live performance” was awful. It was so bad that the next time I saw Shaq on the screen, I started laughing just thinking about it!
THEN, a rapper that is more famous after meeting Shaq than before, accuses him of “stalking and harassing” her. Because of the “alleged stalking”, she has been granted a Restraining Order against him. I can understand that it might not be easy for him to meet women because of who he is, but to have to stalk someone? WTF??
Continue reading “Shaq, What the hell is going on with you!!!” »