'Not So Chocoalte In Chocolate City?'

Should RGIII own his 'blackness'?

I've never been a fan of ESPN's Rob Parker's opinions on First Take (recently suspended by ESPN for comments made about Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin, III), but as a young black journalist, have always appreciated his and Stephen A. Smith's presence on the show.  The main reason for this is because I am the type of person that owns my 'blackness'.  When I was younger, I'll admit, there were parts of me that wanted to distance myself from it (full disclosure, I am the son of Nigerian immigrants.  I was born and raised in America.  English is the only language I know and African-American culture is what I most identify with.  The complexities of growing up with this stigma is more than enough for healthy discourse at a later date).  I felt like being black and being a journalism major/ sports writer wasn't a good fit, and being that type of person that took a pro-black stance on most issues would be a detriment to my future writing career.  So when I see guys like Parker, Smith, Jason Whitlock, Billy Rhoden, etc. have prominent roles within the field yet maintaining their stance, it gives me hope that I can be Ses Nomishan aka Mr. AllDayEryDay and write about topics in a manner that I feel comfortable with rather than conforming to a certain protocol to 'appease the masses', as Stephen A. would say.  That said, I understand what Parker was trying to intimate when voicing his opinions/frustrations with Robert Griffin, III on First Take. 



Parker's controversial comments spark meaningful dialogue.

His narrative of RGIII allegedly being a 'cornball brother' or not 'down for the cause' came off as being simple-minded and derogatory at best.  Most critics of Parker's comments will ask what if anything does having 'dreadlocks' or a white girlfriend have anything to do with being black?  This type of sentiment exploit the problems with racial unity as it pertains to blacks much more than they do anything to solve them.  The real issue at hand (what Stephen A. later eluded to) is RGIII's continual distancing of himself as being looked at as 'black'.  It's something about today's athlete that Rhoden chronicles in his book Forty Million Dollar Slaves; the lack of a connection between the modern athlete and the black community and the social ramifications of that. 

What these major black athletes should realize is, whether they like it or not, is that the reason that they are there is because someone before them paved the way for them to be there, and in essence, they too pave the way for future black athletes that hope to reach the level they currently attain.  To come out and take pride in something when you are in a prominent position, you have the power to induce and strengthen the morale of those that share in that pride with you.  When it comes to minority races in particular--where predecessors have fought against discrimination and suffered from inequality-- seeming lack of pride or appreciation for one's predecessors is viewed as a giant slap in the face, or flat out Uncle Tommery.  Therefore, Parker was merely trying to illustrate for the outsider what RGIII's cumulative racial 'denials' amount to in the eyes of some blacks.  His speech was just flat wrong. 

Being a 'Carlton' or 'cornball' doesn't make a person 'whiter'.  You're still black.  You will always be viewed as black to the outsider no matter how un-intimidating or articulate you are.  So take a stand, black athlete.  Pay homage to those that came before you while simoultaneously playing a part in boosting the morale of a people that have for many years have had little to take pride in.

JORDAN vs. KOBE.

How were the LAKERS able to comeback against Mike Jordan's BOBCATS for the win last night?  MJ gave KOBE some key advice before the game...ADEDS S/O to Sam Higgins for the caption!

Clay Matthews doing the 'Val Venis'

It's an ACTUAL dance, called the "Val Venis"...Youtube it shawty!  #knowhatimtalkinbout?

2012 NFL Week 15 'BIG UPS' 12-17-12

Bryant gets major props for playing with a broken finger.

Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys (8-6) came from behind in the 4th quarter to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7) 27-24 in overtime, and create a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East.  Dallas has won three in a row, five out of the last six, and controls its own playoff destiny.  Wide receiver Dez Bryant did his part to keep the postseason hopes alive finishing with four receptions for 59 yards and 1 TD while playing with a broken left index finger.
Seattle Seahawks.
For the second straight week, the Seattle Seahawks (9-5) put a 50-spot on the board (58-0 vs. Arizona Cardinals the previous week) after drumming the Buffalo Bills (5-9) 50-17.  Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson rushed for 3 TDs and running back Marshawn Lynch collected his 8th 100-yard rushing game of the season (10 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD) and is averaging 11.5 yards per carry in his last two outings.

Von Miller leads the 2012 version of the Orange Crush.

Denver Broncos Defense.
The Denver Broncos (11-3) go on the road and earn their 9th straight win, 34-17 over the Baltimore Ravens (9-5), who have dropped three straight.  The defense came up with the key play, as defensive back Chris Harris broke the game open with a 98-yard pick-6 late in the second quarter that put the Broncos up 17-0 right before halftime.

LaMichael James & Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers.
The San Francisco 49ers (10-3-1) blew a 28-point 2nd half lead to the New England Patriots (10-4) but came up with big plays late in the 4th quarter to squeeze out a 41-34 victory.  After New England tied the game 31-31 on 28 unanswered points with under seven minutes to go in the 4th quarter, rookie running back LaMichael James returned the ensuing kickoff 62 yards, setting up a 38-yard TD jaunt by wide receiver Michael Crabtree who broke free after an intermediate pass from quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

BIGGEST UP
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings.

Not even 8-man fronts have denied A.D. from getting his.

Peterson made his case for league Comeback Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player even stronger Sunday as he busted up the St. Louis Rams for 212 yards and 1 TD, including his second 82-yard touchdown romp of the season.  A.D. has 1,812 yards rushing on the season including 1,313 in the last eight games, which is the most rushing yards in NFL history during an eight game span. With two games left in the season, Peterson is on pace to become only the seventh player in NFL history to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark and is in striking distance of Eric Dickerson's single-season NFL record 2,105 yards.  All this coming after Peterson blew out his knee less than 12 months ago.

'Rest So Hard David Stern Wanna Fine Me?'

Maybe Pop will learn now, a little courtesy goes a long way.

Gregg Popovich is a great basketball coach, and I respect his demeanor and the way he goes about teaching and motivating his players, but I can no longer consider myself a fan of his. On a night where his San Antonio Spurs were scheduled to face off against the defending champion Miami Heat in South Beach, Pop announced Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Danny Green were sent back to Texas and would not play in the game, because he wanted to "rest" them.  Granted, it was the fourth game in five days, (the three previous games of the road trip examined later in this post) for the Spurs, with all games played on the road, and the Heat game in particular coming on the second night of a back-to-back.  Despite all of that, my initial reaction was, 'It's November and you're resting players? That's nonsense!'

I know that strategizing for a possible Finals matchup with Miami was a possible reason for this, because you don't want to 'show' them anything they can get a book on.  But it's freaking November!  Should you not have any obligation to the league and it's fans that pay you/made you who you are today by putting the best quality basketball on the floor each night? How different is this than teams that tank?

People have defended Pop, saying, 'he always does this', but he's not the only coach in the league with key players that are older and, as far as i know, he's the only one that does this. If it were after February, it probably wouldn't have solicited a response from NBA commissioner David Stern, but "resting" players in November that people pay good money to see, for an NBA showcase game, comes off as a bit of a spiteful gesture to the leaugue and its fans.

$250,000?!?!?

Furthermore, the timing of when Popovich announced that those guys weren't gonna play is very suspicious.  The NBA schedule has been out for weeks now.  Pop knew that this was gonna be the fourth game in five days and his best players are old.  He had to know that announcing that he was sitting his best four players for a showcase NBA game, like half-an-hour before tip-off, would rub some people the wrong way.  (The league should implement a policy in which you must announce players' game time status in a timeley manner.  You have to do it in the NFL, why not in the NBA?)  Could've been done after the previous game in Orlando Wednesday night at the postgame presser.  Could've been done before shootaround on Thursday.  Common courtesy was so evidently void in the situation that Stern reacted in a way that most humans do when they feel disrespected:  he overreacted.

To fine a team for something that is an unwritten rule, and as substantially as 250k, comes off as a power trip move on Stern's part.  He definitely took Pop's move as an indirect shot at himself.

Look, it's not that I think Pop hasn't earned the respect in the league to be able to have carte-blanche when it comes to his team and do whatever he feels is in the best interest of his team.  Rather, I simply do not subscribe to this kind of childish/spiteful behavior.  I'm not naive enough to think that Pop's decision was purely strategy, and in no way was a sideways shot at Stern, the league, and the fans.

BONUS MATERIAL:  We already know that the Heat game was the fourth game in five days.  I got curious as to see what the previous three games were and what the minute distribution was between the players that were held out.  Here's what I dug up.

@ Orlando Magic, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7:00 PM EST: 110-89

Duncan: 27 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Parker: 29 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Ginobili: 23 minutes

Green: 31 minutes

No opponent, Tuesday, Nov. 27

@ Washington Wizards, Monday, Nov. 26, 7:00 PM EST: 118-92 (W)

Duncan: 23 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Parker: 22 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Ginobili: 20 minutes

Green: 17 minutes (DNP 4^th quarter)

Quotes from after the Wizards game: "What are you guys talking to him for? He played like half the game!" -- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich walking past Tony Parker, who was talking to reporters about the role Boris Diaw played in the win.

"It's just great to sit there in the fourth quarter, especially after the game we had last night," – Spurs center Tim Duncan talking about the double-overtime game the previous day against the Toronto Raptors.

@ Toronto Raptors, Sunday, Nov. 25, 1:00 PM EST: 111-106, 2OT (W)

Duncan: 41 minutes

Parker: 46 minutes

Ginobili: 36 minutes

Green: 48 minutes

'2012-13 NBA Season: 8 Most Underrated Players In The NBA'



Bledose could start on a lot of NBA teams.

Eric Bledsoe, G, Los Angeles Clippers
3rd year, Kentucky, 2010 - 1st round, 18th pick (Oklahoma City Thunder)
2012-13 stats: 15 games, 9.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg

Try being a young NBA guard competing with minutes behind the league's premier point guard in Chris Paul, former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, and former Sixth Man of the Year and scoring machine Jamal Crawford (leads team with 17.5 ppg) on the same roster as you. This is exactly what Bledsoe is faced with, and is only averaging around 18 minutes per game, but the boy sure knows how to make every minute count. His stats show that if he got more minutes, he would be one of the premier guards in the league. Besides shooting a sizzling 49.6-percent from the field, Bledsoe ranks 31st in scoring per 48 minutes (25.0) and seventh in steals per 48 minutes (3.28). You can also catch the kid on the nightly highlight reels, as he uses his freak athleticism to make plays above the rim.

Al-Farouq Aminu, F, New Orleans Hornets
3rd year, Wake Forest, 2010 - 1st round, 8th pick (Los Angeles Clippers)
2012-13 stats: 14 games, 10.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.8 spg

After being a spot starter for most of his previous two NBA seasons, Aminu is finally coming into his own with the Hornets in his role as starting small forward.  He started 14 of the last 17 games last year and has started all 14 games this year with steadily increasing results.  Aminu is shooting 49.6-percent from the field (career 40.2-percent entering season) in just shy of 32 minutes per game.  Defense and rebounding are the six-foot nine-inch swingman's best attributes.  Aminu pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds Nov. 7 vs. the Philadelphia Sixers and has recorded a steal in 13 of the 14 team games played so far this season.

Carl Landry, F, Golden State Warriors
6th year, Purdue, 2007 - 2nd round, 1st pick (Seattle SuperSonics)
2012-13 stats: 15 games, 14.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg

Landry has showed glimpses of double-double potential, as he averaged 18 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game after being traded from the Houston Rockets to the Sacramento Kings midway through the 2009-10 season. He'll never get the attention he deserves, because his game isn't very flashy, but his steady play will always earn him starters minutes.  Landry, who has never shot less than 49-percent from the field in his career, is currently hitting at a 58-percent clip.



Sessions is an underrated scoring threat.

Ramon Sessions, G, Charlotte Bobcats
6th year, Nevada-Reno, 2007 - 2nd round, 26th pick (Miami Heat)
2012-13 stats: 14 games, 16.5 ppg, (tied with Kemba Walker for team lead) 3.7 rpg, 4.3 apg

Sessions is off to a sizzling start in his first year in Charlotte, averaging a career-best 16.5 points per game (previous career high, 13.3ppg, 2010-11 with Cleveland Cavaliers) while coming off the bench. He's only shooting 20.6-percent from three-point range after shooting 45.2-percent last year, but there is no denying the impact he has had on the Bobcats turnaround from a dreadful 2011-12 season.



Reggie Evans, F, Brooklyn Nets
11th year, Iowa, Undrafted
2012-13 stats: 14 games, 3.0 ppg, 8.6 rpg

The 2012 version of Dennis Rodman?  Better known for flopping and poor free-throw shooting (which Rodman was also known for, by the way) Evans is turning into one of the most prolific rebounders in NBA history.  The 11-year veteran leads the NBA in rebounds per 48 minutes at 21.1 and is 8.6 rebounds per game average is tied with New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler for 19th in the NBA.  Evans averages 19.5 minutes per game, mainly due to him being an offensive liability, but his rebound average makes him the only player in the NBA in the top 50 rebounders that averages less than 23 mpg.

Wesley Matthews, G, Portland Trail Blazers
4th year, Marquette, Undrafted
2012-13 stats: 16.8 ppg, 2.4 apg, 2.1 spg

Matthews played in all 82 games as a rookie for the Utah Jazz (48 starts), all 82 games his first year with Portland (69 starts) and has not missed a single game to this point in his NBA career (245 games).  Not bad for a guy that no team selected in the 2009 NBA Draft after a successful career at Dwyane Wade's alma-mater.  Want more consistency?  He's shooting 44.5-percent from the field, just below his 44.8-percent career average entering the season and his steals per game average has increased by about 0.4 each year since he's been in the league (2.1 spg this year compared to 0.8 his rookie year, 1.2 his second year, and 1.6 last year).  Only inconsistency has come in free-throw shooting. Matthews has already missed 20 free-throws (39-59) after only missing 24 all last year (147-171).  His 2.4 assists per game is better than what he has done and should continue to increase with the offensive improvement of Nicolas Batum (career-high 17.9 ppg ) and a healthy LaMarcus Aldridge.


Conley is becoming a true floor general.

Mike Conley, Jr., G, Memphis Grizzlies
6th year, Ohio State, 2007 - 1st round, 4th pick (Memphis Grizzlies)
2012-13 stats: 12 games, 14.9 ppg, 6.4 apg, 2.2 spg

More known as a penetrator, defender, and distributor than a scoring point guard, Conley is finally starting to put together the type of season people expected him to after he and Greg Oden led the Buckeyes to a memorable NCAA tournament run a few years ago.  Through 12 games Conley has been dynamic for the Grizzlies, shooting 50-percent from the field, and 43.5-percent from three-point range.  Conley is ranked 10th in the NBA in adjusted field goal percentage, leads all NBA point guards in adjusted field goal percentage (57.8).   There's nothing to sniff at on the other side of the ball either, as his 2.2 steals per game ranks him 3rd in the NBA.

Goran Dragic, G, Phoenix Suns
5th year, Yugoslavia, 2008 - 2nd round, 15th pick (San Antonio Spurs)
2012-13 stats: 16 games, 15.8 ppg (leads team), 2.9 rpg, 6.8 apg , 2.1 spg

Dragic has proved to be one of the better point guards in the NBA both as a scorer and a passer. He's currently boosted his scoring average by four points per game (11.7 ppg last year with Houston Rockets) and ranks second amongst NBA point guards in adjusted field goal percentage (54.7). Goran is a magician with the rock that also distributes the ball efficiently, ranking 10th in the NBA amongst starting point guards in assist to turnover ratio (2.9).