2016 Mid-Yead Wrap Up and Awards

OK it's the dog days of summer, which means it's time for my mid year award list of stupidity in sports, pop culture, and entertainment. Beyonce' is back and Kanye and Kobe both managed to stay off this list.

Repeats:

Big business award: Beyonce'. First of all, Bey is one of the best marketing geniuses of our time. Her techniques should be taught in business schools and boardrooms everywhere. That being said, why in the world would you charge that much for anyone to attend one of your concerts? Even during tax season, that's a lot to ask. Maybe it's because she knows the fans will pay that price, and doesn't care if it's a six figure bank executive, or a single welfare mom.

Troubled athlete: Johnny Manziel. I mean, who didn't see this coming. Overprivileged, overhyped QB who was bound to spontaneously combust. He's like Doug Flutie merged with Stephen Garcia and Tommy Chong.

Unnecessary sporting event: The Pro Bowl. Who watches or even cares anymore, besides Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders?

Sore loser: Cam Newton. He still may be the best QB in the NFL talentwise, but he can't handle losing. C'mon Cam, you must be more classy than that after a huge loss.

Racist award: The SAEs (I have another award for police and activists so wait). You guys are awful far as your treatment towards anyone of color. Why haven't y'all been shut down yet?

Unjust award (see?): The police, U.S. Justice system, the media and our government. America is becoming an embarrassment thanks to all of you determined to keep us divided as citizens and distracted from other issues.

Social media faux pas: Status update games. They are getting wilder and more ridiculous. They seem to only end when something tragic occurs or it's a major holiday.

Crooked sport: The NBA. You guys are so desperate for ratings and to topple the NFL, you make a circus yearly out of the playoffs, the draft lottery and the draft.

Disloyalty award: bandwagoner fans. Once upon a time, you picked a team and stuck with them.  Now folks go with whomever is winning. I honestly saw this start in the 90s with the Bulls and Cowboys and is getting much worse.

Crybaby athlete: Lebron James. Well I guess now ole Bron Bron not only controls the Cavaliers, he controls the NBA. One phone call and he decides the series and brings a championship back to Cleveland for the first time in 52 years.

Can't Get Right Award: Jon Jones. Personally I think you are overrated as a fighter and Cormier would have finally beat you in 200. Don't worry, Bellator awaits in two years or less.

Newbies:

Crooked politician: Hillary Clinton. When everyone thought it was Bill or Trump, it is also you Hill. It's getting harder to trust anyone in public office.

Coon award: Stacey Dash. You have embarrassed yourself. You simply cannot go again an entire race of people like that, especially your own.

Fashion faux pas: the man bun. Why, why?

Blatant disrespect award: The Oscars. You bring back Chris Rock to host, which is good. But no minority nominees at all? Really?

Violent athlete: Lesean McCoy. C'mon dude, I thought you were trying to get paid and establish your career. You have proven that one must conquer their inner demons and watch who they hang with.

Unreliable teammate: D'Angelo Russell. Dude don't you know that what goes on in the locker room, stays in the locker room? Swaggy P, you were almost as bad as you don't blab your business. But Russell was awful.

Questionable athlete: Laranby Tunsil. It just goes to show you in this era of technology nothing you do is hidden and eventually what is done in the dark comes to light.

Dirty program (could be Ole Miss next): Baylor and Art Briles. You guys got good fast, and now your coach is gone. Who's next?

Retail rant: Lowes. The way in which you treat customers is deplorable. I hope Home Depot crushes you guys. 

Moron rapper: Joe Budden. Hip hop artists will learn one day to stop going after Drake. 

Athlete with aggression: Draymond Green. Now Dray I admire your style of play. However, you must control it, and your anger, before you cost your team multiple championships and yourself freedom as a citizen.

OK that's it for now. Moral of this post: people do not learn from the past.

What has happened to the NBA?

The NBA suffered through a rough patch in the post-Jordan era that ended around 1998. Ten years ago, a draft filled with superstars brought the league's excitement and ratings back up. This class included Miami's Big 3 of James, Wade, and Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, and Tayshaun Prince. Another big three formed in Boston in the summer of 2007, soldifying the league's revival and assuring that the Western Conference wasn't going to dominate.

Then Miami formed their big 3 and recently won their second straight championship.  Before that, the one and done rule came into effect, meaning you had to go to college for at least one year before going to the pros.

Yes this all sounds exciting but this year is where things started getting stale and predictable. The Heat have been title or bust for three years now. The league needed ratings, people in the front office needed to get paid. All of this happened, especially thanks to Miami playing two back to back seven game series. David Stern is laughing his way to the bank. He had to create a good matchup, the team built for a dynasty, and a classic powerhouse in the Spurs. A matchup made in Heaven.

Yes the NBA is a business. However, knowing how the end result is going to be is hardly worth tuning in for. 

It seems David Stern feeds off of dynasties and fair weather fans, as I mentioned in a previous blog. It was the Bulls in the 90s, the Lakers and the Spurs for a little while, and now the Miami Heat.

The NBA has gained such power and control rapper Jay-Z used halftime of Game 5 to announce his new album release "Magna Carta Holy Grail."

The one and done rule is to blame as well. Players aren't staying in school long enough, ruining college basketball. The NFL and MLB are also driven by money, but at least they require a student athlete to stay in school for three years. The NBA controls basketball at basically every level, from fanbase to styles and fads, and even gameplay and strategy.

It's all about the money, from GMs, coaches and players alike. They are all paid well for their efforts, and can't seem to get enough money.

The players definitely deserve their salaries, that was part of the agreement made during last season's lockout. However, the fans invest good money and time in watching games, tickets, and team merchandise. They deserve competitive, exciting ball.

I'm sure many would like to see different challengers win more, like the Thunder, Clippers, Grizzlies and Pacers are doing. However, love or hate LeBron, but seeing him and the Heat (or any team) continue to win and dominate is quite boring after a while.

Pretty soon fans will wake up and realize this. Then David Stern and company will need another plan to effectively market the league and make it more competitive.

Realistically, the NBA may never be the same again. It may get worse as ownership and players get greedier for money and accolades. It's always good to hope though.

Fair Weather Fans

They are everywhere, and are well known. Often these types of sports fans are called bandwagoners, as they root for the team that's winning at the time, rather than pick a team and stick with them through wins and losses. This, readers, is also a fair weather fan.

The most common fair weather fans currently root for the Miami Heat since LeBron joined with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, and they have been dominant since. These fans may suddenly be into NASCAR now that Danica Patrick is making a splash. They are fans of which team or players are on top right now.

Throughout the years, I have seen fair weather Cowboys, Yankees, Tar Heels, Saints, Patriots, Bulls, and even Spurs fans. They are more of a fan of fads and trends moreso than even winning or the actual team itself.

Speaking of the Miami Heat, they actually won their first NBA title in 2006. However, I can count on my hand the number of Heat fans I knew before LeBron James became a member. Now they seem to be everywhere, especially among the youth. It reminds me of the 90s when it seemed like everyone was a Bulls fan because of Michael Jordan. Now I don't see as many Bulls fans, although they are winning.

The wins and notoriety are what attracts these fickle fans. But again, it's more than that. They like the teams and players they like because of the novelty and trends attached to them. Suddenly, Heat and 49ers hats and gear look cool. Everyone is glued to the set whenever these teams are playing. Also, when they play within driving distance, you make sure you have good tickets for that game.

I noticed that while there are lots of Carolina Panthers fans, the fanbase grew threefold when Cam Newton was drafted and performed so well. The GMs knew Cam would boost ticket and merchandise sales for a fledging franchise, plus he may help them win. Many owners grasp this concept of putting together the hottest coaches and players together for financial reasons. The salary cap in certain sports makes it more of a challenge, but the managers have to make money. This starts with putting butts in the stadium seats.

Therefore, the fair weather fans are good for business. However, when that team is going through a rough patch, they find the next best team out there and abandon the other teams.

I'm proud to say I'm a true diehard sports fan, and will not jump ship just because my squad isn't winning. It's fans like me that keep the teams trying and help pull them out of their slumps. Loyalty is important, and teams and players can sometimes tell who's been down with them from day one, and who's a fly by night fan. It's really not that hard.

The NBA Lockout: Views from the man of random intelligence

It is officially Thanksgiving, and there is lots to be thankful for. However, during the down times, one of the escapes we look to, the NBA, is currently not on. Unfortunately, it may not be on until February, if at all this season. 

Personally, I believe if an agreement is not made by the middle of the January, perhaps the entire season should be lost. At that point, the most games you would get would be 40/team, and millions in revenue and ads would already be lost. Plus there would be much more risk for injury due to lack of conditioning and being around your teammates. Look how many injuries have occurred in the NFL this year due to their lockout. They only lost 1 preseason game,  but they lost out on the proper conditioning and coaching that keeps players in better shape. Plus this is professional basketball. Many players are already talking about going overseas to play ball. The NBA is in trouble indeed.

It is definitely a sad state of affairs. The NBA is at a peak moment of excitement, unseen since the 90s when Michael Jordan's Bulls dominated the decade.  Since then, the Western Conference with Kobe Bryant's Lakers, The Dallas Mavs, Spurs, have been on the forefront. The past few seasons, teams such as the Celtics, Heat, Bulls, Magic, and even the Miami Heat with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, have made the league balanced and much more exciting.  Now we may miss out on that because of greed. Greed, plain and simple, by owners and players alike. 

David Stern has performed an admirable job of building the NBA's image into a clean, competitive one. But now he may have to build from scratch.  For those reading this that don't fully understand the lockout, here it is in a nutshell. It is the millionaires (players) versus the billionaires ( owners) .  Thus far, both sides are greedy and can't reach middle ground on an equal share of team revenue. Something will have to give. But when?

Chris Rock made a joke in the 90s about being rich and being wealthy. Shaq, Kobe, and those are rich. But those billionaire owners such as Mark Cuban of the defending champion Dallas Mavericks are wealthy billionaires. And they write the lucrative checks to these pro players. 

What both sides fail to realize is that even more money is being lost by continuing to postpone games. We're approaching the time where the much anticipated Christmas Day matchups are coming, and the All-Star game in February. The Christmas matchups obviously will not occur unless an agreement is met soon, and the All-Star game could be as late as April, just like in 1998-99, also a lockout season.

Now I will still watch the NBA, play fantasy basketball and be a fan even with a reduced schedule.  But I honestly look forward to 2012, when the NBA starts slowly returning to the fine, exciting league it once was. 

Happy Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for all that read my posts!

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THE YEAR-END COWBELL LIST FOR THE 2ND HALF OF 2010!!

- Antoine Dodson, WTH???
- Alvin Green. C'mon man, stop trying to run already, and just get a regular job. Somewhere, anywhere!
- Nikki Haley. South Carolina, how in the world did she get voted in? Makes me wanna move to North Carolina with the quickness.
- Lady Gaga (and that meat dress). She just keeps getting stranger and stranger.
- Blockbuster. Y'all in trouble, Redbox and Netflix are eating your lunch. Y'all better get it together in 2011!
- Alltel in Gaffney, great service, signal, but refusing to merge with Verizon. What are y'all going to do when they get the iPhone, the new Droid, and 4G coverage?
- Brett Favre (again). Dang man you keep messing up and causing trouble. Just go back to Kiln, MS already and enjoy your retirement.
- Dallas Cowboys, y'all always seem to underachieve. Thing is, this is a pretty good team this year, y'all just lack effort and consistency.
- Carolina Panthers. Y'all just need to cut everyone and start from scratch
- Drake. Dang man you're all over the radio, every frikkin hour. Plus you sold out. You're a much better rapper and artist than you're showing. Young Money is making you a borderline coon.
- Award shows. They're waaay too many, especially country music shows. There's, what, like 6 of them alone/year?
- Health insurance. It's just rising waaay too high, and gets to where you can't even afford medication now. C'mon healthcare reform, take effect!
- The Shake weight. I'm sure it gets some results, but really? You can't take that seriously as an effective way to sculpt your arms.
- Phaedra Parks (of #RHOA). Seriously, did you think anyone was going to believe that you were full-term pregnant at 7 months? Why don't you just admit that your baby was conceived a couple of months before marriage?
- Minnesota Vikings. Y'all are just a halfway house and a hot mess right now. Y'all seem like the Raiders at the moment.
- Cam Newton. C'mon dude, how can you risk your college and pro career like that? Have you not learned from Marcus Dupree, the SMU debacle, and most recently Reggie Bush? You had a second chance already at Division I college football. SMH!
- Dr. Laura, you should have known better. Once again, a person that failed to learn from recent history.
- Lebron James (and "The Decision"). Maan talk about narcissist! All that aside, I'm glad you're going somewhere where you have a decent shot at a championship ring.
- Dan Gilbert. You acted like a scorned lover and an all-around crybaby over the Lebron situation. Granted, he left the Cavs high and dry. But you weren't making any moves to try and cover your behind in case he left.
- Waka Flocka Flames: c'mon man, stop rapping, just stop talking period. Go to Sylvan!
- Bishop Eddie Long. Another example of a corrupt, crooked minister, smh again
That's all folks! I enjoyed blogging this year, and wait and see what I have for 2011. Until then, Happy New Year!

Hateration defined

Hateration, I'm definitely not a fan of it. It falls right there with jealously, and just being evil. One should not hate when someone is excelling and doing their best. Unfortunately, that's when we usually know when we're doing things right, when we have haters.

Let me describe the difference between hating and just disliking something (or expressing dislike). Hateration is basically when you don't like something or someone for no good reason or when you're simply jealous. Dislike is just what it states, showing your true feelings in a sincere matter and your matter of preference.

This blog comes about from various places, one with the impending start of the NFL season. I cannot, and I mean I CANNOT STAND the frikkin Dallas Cowboys. Half of my family are Cowboys fans, and many of my friends. I HATE them (but I don't hate on what they've accomplished in the professional football realm). I also dislike the Duke Blue Devils in college basketball, the LA Lakers in the NBA, and the NY Yankees in the MLB (please don't win #28).

For fans of any or ALL four teams, here's why I don't like these teams. The Dallas Cowboys are simply annoying, arrogant, and a bunch of troublemakers (historically) with a false sense of entitlement. They believe that since they won 3 Super Bowls in the 90s, 5 in all, and because they were dubbed "America's Team" by a film producer at NFL Films, that everyone should like them too. OK granted I love my Packers for many reasons. I don't feel I'm better or worse than you if you don't like them, it's a matter of preference. I feel similarly about the LA Lakers. They have won 16 NBA championships, have dominated two decades (and our on their way to dominating a 3rd). And arrogance they have in Kobe Bryant. Read my blog about Kobe + Lebron doesn't equal Jordan for more about him. Granted, I did like Magic, Kareem and Worthy (not just because he was a Tarheel). The Lakers style of play just isn't my own, too finesse, and not enough rough and tumble play. Black folk believe just because they're one of the first NBA teams with a predominately black roster to win so many championships that you should automatically be a fan. That burns me right there because I root for who I want to root for, NOT who someone tells me to root for. You have to choose your OWN team, that's what being a fan is about.

Now far as the Duke Blue Devils, the root of my dislike is more natural. Being a UNC Tarheel fan, that is our biggest rivals (and one of the biggest sports rivalries in the country). But beyond that, it's because Duke basketball just can't compare to UNC basketball overall. We've been doing it big for over 60 years, and have 5 national championships, numerous ACC titles, and several big-name NBA players (Jordan and Worthy to name a couple) to boast of. Duke is getting there, but still has a ways to go. They have 4 championships, only about 3 decades worth of consistent, dominating success, and their players are typically perennial busts or journeymen in the NBA. Carlos Boozer, Grant Hill, and a couple of others are relevant, but are NOT in the same company with Jordan and those. Coach K is a great coach also, but he does not employ the system that allows many of his players to excel at the next level. If you're truly a well-rounded college basketball coach, you should be able to do both.

The New York Yankees are a different kind of hate. Teams seem often intimidated by the Yankees for no good reason. They have been dominant, but the whole pinstripe persona and the fact that their players are often clean-shaven prima donnas annoys me. Also, their players are extremely over-paid. The late George Steinbrunner thought he could buy a dynasty. He bought a few championships, but no dynasty yet. His acquistion of A-Rod has only gotten the Yanks one World Series title to date. That's another sign of arrogance, that just because you have money that you can buy anything, including wins and championships. These things must be earned the old-fashioned way. At times many teams, including the Yanks, have forgotten about this.

If you notice, many of this is off of personal preference. If we don't like the same things, that's fine. I don't want to be persecuted for my thoughts and feelings, though. This is America, we have free speech rights, and that's all I'm doing is expressing these rights. This is NOT hateraton. At times I may pick around and say "BOOOOO!!" when folks mentions these teams or things I cannot stand. That is NOT hateration, though so please do not confuse.

With that said, let's get on with the NFL season. Gooo Packers and booo Cowboys!

Baseball: Still American's pasttime

Before I begin this blog (on a rare Saturday night), I have a few things to get off my chest. First, I'm blogging tonight instead of Sunday due to the fact that I'm resting up for the final night of my weekend long birthday celebration. Therefore, I didn't want to be blogging on my birthday night. Second, I appreciate and welcome you guy's feedbacks. Keep it coming as it makes me a better blogger. I welcome the positive as well as the negative comments. I want to continue my overall writing skills and believe it or not, you guys are a major part of that.

With that said, on with the blog, which begins with an age-old song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-gsdLSSQ0

Remember when this was one of the many anthems of the summer? Going out to the ball park? Enjoying cotton candy, franks, and getting those huge pointy-fingers! Wearing your caps and visors to ward off sunburn? That's all part of the game of baseball, America's past-time.

Lately in the sporting world, baseball has taken a backseat. It has for years in the rural, inner-city, and urban communities, where the focus is football, basketball, and not many other sports. After the NBA Finals and NBA Draft, the dog days of summer are considered just a hiatus until training camp begins for the NFL and college football. Right now in sports, the main storylines have been Lebron James leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to attempt to win his first championship with the Miami Heat and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Even with the Homerun Derby and the MLB All-Star Game upcoming this week, the "boys of summer" aren't getting much respect lately.

Baseball is considered by some to be a game with "not enough action" and where there isn't many athletes anymore. Back in yesteryear, many pro baseball players except for some like the famed Babe Ruth were in excellent shape, played pretty much every game in the regular season and playoffs, and could run the bases well. Now you have as many CC Sabbathia's as you do Chone Figgins and Ichiro's. It seems the major headliners in the MLB lately are anybody from the defending champion New York Yankees, their rival Boston Red Sox, and Stephen Strasburg, the newest minor-league pitching sensation (whom my beloved Atlanta Braves took it to on June 29). Beyond that, baseball hasn't received much attention lately, although it is still considered the third-most popular sport in America.

Many Americans no longer play major league baseball anymore also. Many Latinos and East Asian players fill MLB rosters. And very few black athletes (outside of guys like the retired and controversial Barry Bonds and Torri Hunter) play as well. Therefore, you lose a broad fan-base as well. I won't even go into how summer vacation can hurt attendance at ball games.

Another deterrant in the MLB quandry is the LOOONG regular season. Each team plays 169 regular season games between April and September, with the playoffs being in October. If you're a pro baseball player, you basically have a game at least 5 games out of each week during each month. Those can get taxing to even watch, let alone play.

However, here are some of the positives of pro baseball. One is the thrill of seeing a homerun go across the park. Guys such as Barry Bonds (the current record holder) A-Rod, Ryan Howard, and Prince Fielder are extremely exciting because they bang lots of homeruns each season. However, the sport received a black eye when Jose Canseco of the famed "Bash Brothers" of the late 1980s wrote his best-selling book "Juiced". He exposed several baseball players, himself included, for using steroids such as HGH. This eventually led to a widespread investigation and stricter testing of the entire MLB. They have since found steroids of some form in A-Rod and Manny Rodriquez's systems. But none of this cases are more popular than Barry Bonds. Although it has yet to be confirmed whether or not the current leader for most homers in a career was juicing, there is much suspicion. However, until he is proven guilty, he should be left alone, let the record stand, and let the homers continue.

Also, the famed no-hitter gets plenty of attention during a MLB game. It is considered a "jinx" if one talks about the pitcher possibly earning a no-hitter about the 3rd inning. Not many no-hitters occur during a 169-game season, so when one is about to take place, EVERYONE is paying attention. Furthermore, everyone except the opposing team and fans wants to see it occur.

The game of baseball is an extremely stat and record-driven sport. I honestly had stopped watching a lot of baseball, especially since my Braves had started a downward spiral. That is, until I started playing fantasy baseball in 2008. I was then forced to pay attention to every game, statistic, and player, even on the minor leagues. It made the sport more exciting and I was a true fan again (at least of every team but the Yankees, although I've owned at least one Yankee player since I began).

Baseball, like many things in life, is what you make of it. It, also like many sports, is much better in person. I attended the Braves game in June 2001 with two of my friends when Cal Ripken Jr. was making his farewell tour. It was an exciting one, especially when EVERY camera in the stands at Turner Field were flashing whenever Cal got up to bat. I only wish there was an MLB franchise closer than Atlanta. I've been to a Charlotte Knights minor-league game. While it was fun, I would rather see my Braves, or any other MLB team (the Yanks included) play.

So I encourage you to give the sport another look if you're not already doing so. Watch some Baseball Tonight on ESPN. Read the baseball section of the sports page. Tune into the MLB channel if you have DirecTV. And finally, try watching a complete 9-inning game. There can be more than meets the eye!

Now don't get me wrong here, football and basketball are still my favorite sports, and I look forward to watching some action on the gridiron. However, until (and when) football starts, baseball will do, as it is my third-love in the sporting world. After all, it is summertime, and baseball is still American's past-time.

It's now time to go set my lineups for tomorrow in my MLB fantasy leagues. But remember that the MLB players are dubbed "the boys of summer" for a reason. Hard to beat that with a Louisville slugger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqYBGcv41M8