I Hate That People Can't Say BAD POLICE

So last week I witnessed the NY Police Union Boss give an impassioned speech about fairness, stereotypes, and benefit of the doubt. He, from a position of power, was pleading for civility for his people. He said this…

“We’ve been left out of the conversation”

“We’ve been victimized”

“Stop treating us like animals and thugs”

THE IRONY WAS NOT LOST ON ME.

Black Americans (from a position of less power) for centuries have spoken passionately about fairness, stereotypes, and benefit of the doubt and for the most part its fell on deaf ears. We have endured the heat of ridicule for generations, and police can't stand the spotlight on them for 3 weeks. Let me take that back...because it hasn't really been a spotlight...it’s been more of mini-flashlight.

Every company, sports team, organization, and high profile black person rushed to put out well- crafted statements in the aftermath of the George Floyd public murder at the hands of four police. I read many of these statement and couldn't help but notice that the words BAD POLICE were absent from many of them. These statements were replete with words like Systemic Racism, Inequality, Prejudice, Injustice; all accurate but not precise enough. They sound strong but are vague enough so as not to back one in a corner, or make one choose sides.

There is a reason why you don't hear the phrase BAD POLICE it’s because everyone needs police, and everyone is afraid to piss-off police. Think about it... No large sporting event, concert, convention can happen without the cooperation and assistance of police. No neighborhood can be or remain safe without police cooperation.  We need police...and so no one dare ruffle the feathers of law enforcement. High profile black people especially can't go too far and say what they really want to for fear of repercussions. This is why what the University of Minnesota did was HUGE.  In their statement soon after the Floyd MURDER, the university wrote that they would no longer employ Minneapolis Police at their campus events.  This is power… this is leverage.  If other universities, organizations, and sports leagues would make this stand it would shine a larger light on BAD POLICE and would give law enforcement incentive to root out their BAD POLICE. 

Let's just call a spade a spade...

Police are the largest gang in the world, and for the most part their activities go unchecked.

There is a reason why BAD POLICE are rarely charged, prosecuted, or found guilty of crime... it’s because they work hand in hand with prosecutors. Prosecutors know that if they go hard at police they won't have cooperation on their cases. If they prosecute a bad police then all of the cases that police worked become tainted. The system is FUCKED and doesn't have an adequate amount of checks and balances. In fact there are NO checks, and nothing is balanced.

Police in America started mostly as slave catchers in the South.  The dirty secrets is that police by design are to create a boundary between whites and non-whites.  They have been legitimized and called a neutral 3^rd party in disputes but we all know what the real deal is.  And when blacks learned the law and knew exactly what the 4^th amendment, and probable cause were… here comes Terry v Ohio to lower the standard for police inquiry.  Now furtive behavior was deemed criminal and reasonable suspicion (subjectivity) replaced probable cause (objectivity).  And in America guess who looks reasonably suspicious…BLACK PEOPLE.  It’s straight out of MINORITY REPORT.  And so in 1968 probable caused devolved into “I don’t like the way you look.”  Can you believe it? I don’t like the way you look is NOW the foundation of our current criminal justice system. DISGUSTING, and it’s been all downhill ever since.

As a country we have no accurate data for police shootings. Think about it... we have data to show how many pizzas, hot wings, and Doritos were consumed on Superbowl Sunday but can't tell you how man human being were wounded or killed by law enforcement last year.

Only the biggest baddest gang in the world would willfully kill a person in broad day light with cameras pointing right at them. But wait...you'd think with all the bad press lately police would lay low, but NO, they have been emboldened. They think it's their god given right to fuck people up and how dare you infringe on their ability to do so. In Atlanta this weekend a man was killed by police when all the police had to do was give him a ride home, take his keys, have him get an uber, or have him get a loved one to retrieve him. The murder happened in front of several witnesses. I've watched the video, over and over, and still can’t figure out how this minor incident escalated so quickly. The loss of a life was TOTALLY UNNECESSARY.

I often hear the misuse of the phrase “one bad apple” when it comes to Bad Police. First and foremost it's obviously not ONLY ONE. In Minnesota 3 BAD POLICE murdered a prone victim and the 4^th stood by and let it happen. Also the completion of the “one bad apple” proverb states clearly “spoils the entire barrel.” Right now the barrel is spoiled and we have no effective mechanism to police the police. Do you think for one minute those Bad Police in Minnesota flipped and became murders overnight? Don't be a fool. They've been this way their entire lives. Can you imagine the injustice a lifetime BAD POLICE can do?...can you imagine how many lives a BAD POLICE can poison on a daily basis? I knew all bets were off when they cracked open that 75 year old white man in Buffalo.

BAD POLICE MUST GO!!!

Notice I didn't say all police, because I am firmly against the movement to defund police.

WE NEED REFORM

 

The reform needs to be as follows....

 

1.      All Police must wear body camera.

2.      Creation of special ADR unit within Police Department to handle non-violent incidents.

3.      Local elected official must have the authority to terminate police immediately.

4.      Creation of FBI Database to track complaints and reprimands of police.

5.      Creation of FBI Database for every occurrence of physical or lethal force used by police.

6.      Creation of Special Prosecutor in every jurisdiction with sole purpose of reviewing police conduct having the authority to recommend termination and criminal charges.

7.      Removal of Qualified and Sovereign Immunity for Police

8.      Re-establish probable cause as the baseline for police interaction with citizens.

 

The NY Police Union Boss in his discourse really wanted to let the public know how difficult it was to be police in this current climate. He expressed this with very little self-awareness. Black American have been screaming about inadequate treatment since the birth of this nation. Now you see how it feels. Doesn't feel good does it? Sucks doesn't it? You won't get your reputation back until you do the right thing and root out ALL BAD POLICE. GOOD POLICE know who the bad police are, but at some point we can no longer call you GOOD if you continue to lend a blind eye to what the worst among you continue to do.

 

 

I Hate that Dwyane Wade is retiring

My favorite color is GREEN.

My favorite movie is PULP FICTION.
My favorite rapper is BIGGIE
My favorite GOT character is LITTLEFINGER

 

The act of choosing a favorite says far more about the chooser than what is being chose. 
 

I shared these only for perspective.  A person’s favorite thing isn’t necessarily universally acclaimed the best or most outstanding.  If someone said RED, TITANIC, TUPAC, and JON SNOW their choices are just as valid because the business of choosing a favorite is very personal…very intimate. 

Basketball is a special game because it can be played most anywhere.  You can put a hoop in your backyard and play by yourself, 1 on 1, 3 on 3, 5 on 5.  You can’t say that for baseball or football.  With basketball it’s easier to imagine yourself as your favorite player.  If you see a great play on TV you can go outside and try it immediately.  Basketball is unique in this regard.  Basketball also has a level of creativity that the other sports can’t reach.  The continuity of play the movement of the players is beautiful to behold. 

My favorite basketball player for the last 16 years has been Dwyane Wade. He has not been the best or most accomplished player over this span but he’s been at the top of my list unchallenged. He is my personal avatar for how’d I play the game. 

The psychology of a favorite is simple.  One looks internally to find a connection then chooses a favorite.

Dwyane Wade is first and foremost a WINNER.  Everyone in the NBA is a PLAYER but not all players are WINNERS.  He played with reckless abandon. He put his body on the line to WIN. 

Dwyane Wade is a PLAYMAKER.  He was a combo guard before it was branded.  He played the pick and roll to perfection.  He was playing CHESS out there and he owned the middle of the board like no other.

Dwyane Wade is CLUTCH.  In his prime…he was the most clutch player in the league.  He took over 4^th quarters during winning time.

Dwyane Wade is a CHAMPION.  The moment was never too big for him.  He never choked.  He led his team to a Championship in his 3^rd season as a pro and was Finals MVP.

Wade’s basketball instincts and IQ are off the charts.  I remember watching him during March Madness in 2003.  He had no fear going into that elite 8 against Kentucky.  He was the best player on the floor.  He played the hardest and he was the smartest.  Kentucky had no chance that day.

Since his rookie season in 2003 no players PEAK has exceeded his.  I’ll put his 2006 NBA Finals performance against anyone not named Jordan.   His 2008-2009 regular season was VINTAGE.  30.2ppg, 7.5 ast, 5.0 rebs, 2.2 stl, 1.3 blk, 49% shooting percentage on a team that averaged 98.3 points per game. 

Wade is a complete basketball player.  He’s defense was 1^st rate.  In fact the picture at the top of this post is my favorite DWade Moment.  In the 2011 Finals when his all NBA teammate was melting down, Wade stepped up.  Tyson Chandler slipped the pick and roll, received a pocket pass and had an easy finish in front of him.  Wade, 9 inches shorter, had help defense responsibility.  He could have conceded the dunk and moved on to the next play, but it’s winning time and DWade is a winner.  He met Chandler at the rim and turned back the 7 footer.  Watching it in real time was incredible.  That play embodied WINNER/PLAYMAKER/CLUTCH/CHAMPION. 

Dwyane Wade is retiring at the end of this season.  If you watched him play this year you know he still has a lot in the tank.  I love that he is retiring as a player that can still determine outcomes in crunch time.  I will miss his GAME. 

Miami will always be WADE COUNTY in my book. 

I’ve loved basketball for 40+ years now.  I’ve only had 3 favorite players.  Dr. J, Charles Barkley, and DWade.  I look forward to choosing another soon.  I’m scouting Giannis now.  I like what I see so far.

 

 

 

 

I Hate that this is STILL the GREATEST Halloween spoof ever written

Tuesday, July 30, 2002Updated: May 31, 2:13 PM ET


One killer SportsCentury

---

    By Bill SimmonsPage 2 columnist What would happen if ESPN Classic's "SportsCentury and Beyond" series tackled the subject of a truly indomitable and unstoppable force like Michael Myers? The Sports Guy dares to imagine ...

NARRATOR: "Welcome to 'SportsCentury and Beyond: The Serial Killers.' I'm your host, Chris Fowler. On Halloween night in 1963, 6-year-old Michael Myers inexplicably stabbed his older sister to death, then spent 15 years in a sanitarium without uttering a single word. On the day Myers turned 21, the state of Illinois attempted to transfer him to a maximum security hospital, but Myers thwarted their plans."

	Forget his MPK and KRF stats. Michael Myers was Hollywood's greatest serial killer ever.

Bob Ryan (Boston Globe): "Night before Halloween, 1978. The state of Illinois sends two people in a stationwagon to pick up Myers -- his middle-aged doctor and a female nurse. There's problem No. 1. They arrive in a torrential downpour, then find all the wackos wandering around outside the hospital. There's problem No. 2. Doctor Loomis jumps out of the car, leaving the nurse alone in the car. There's problem No. 3. It's almost like they wanted this ... this maniac to escape!"

Marion Johnson (the nurse): "I just remember waiting in the car, then feeling someone jump on top ... everything after that was a blur. Myers broke the window, I jumped out of the car, and he drove off."

Jim Nantz (CBS Sports): "What a moment!"

Tony Kornheiser (Washington Post): "So Michael's doctor sprints over and watches the car drive off, and he's just screaming, 'The evil is gone! The evil is gone!!!!' He knew. I mean, out of anyone, this guy knew what Michael Myers was capable of."

Dr. Sam Loomis (Myers' doctor, 1963-1978): "When I met Michael in '63, I was told there was nothing left -- no reason, no conscience, no understanding, not even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this 6-year-old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes, the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him and then another seven years trying to keep him locked up, because I realized what was living behind that boy's head was purely and simply evil. When he escaped ... um, that was a little upsetting."

NARRATOR: "So on his 21st birthday, the night before Halloween, Michael Myers was headed back home to Haddonfield, Illinois. The town would never be the same."

(Break for commercial)

NARRATOR: "Michael Audrey Myers was born Oct. 30, 1957. Growing up in Haddonfield, his family never could have imagined where his life was headed."

Geoff Gallo (author of Myers' biography, "He Came Home"): "That's the amazing thing about this -- he was a happy kid. There wasn't a single sign that this kid was remotely abnormal. But something snapped."

NARRATOR: "On Halloween night in '63, Myers was trick-or-treating in a clown outfit, waiting for his sister's boyfriend to leave their house. When the boyfriend left, Myers walked upstairs and stabbed his sister 12 times, eventually winding up in the Illinois State Hospital in Smith's Grove."

Bob Costas (NBC Sports): "Nobody knew why he did it. He didn't speak for 15 years. Not a single word. Nothing. Amazing."

Frank Gifford (ABC Sports): "For so many years, Michael Myers, so many questions, so much silence ..."

Larry Merchant (HBO Sports): "Michael's parents left Haddonfield ... they tried to sell the house, but nobody wanted it. It was a real-life haunted house. Kids were terrified of the place. It reminds me of something Jersey Joe Walcott said to Ezzard Charles before their first fight in 1953: 'When people say a house is haunted, it usually is.' And that's why I like syrup, especially if the waffles are crispy."

	Dr. Loomis was the first to spot the evil lurking inside Michael Myers.

NARRATOR: "Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis worked desperately behind the scenes to get Myers transferred to a maximum security hospital, telling anyone and everyone that Myers was the most dangerous patient he had ever observed."

Bob Ryan: "If you're looking for people to blame for the massacre in '78, there they are, right there! Dr. Loomis told them how dangerous this kid was, and they basically laughed at him! It was an absolute disgrace with a capital 'D.' "

Dan Dierdorf (CBS Sports): "I'm not so sure that that wasn't the biggest miscalculation of judgment in history."

NARRATOR: "When Myers escaped from Smith's Grove on Oct. 30, 1978, he stole Dr. Loomis' car and drove 150 miles to Haddonfield, stopping along the way to murder an innocent truck driver and steal the man's clothes."

Dr. Loomis: "The following morning, one of the other doctors told me that Michael couldn't have gotten very far because he couldn't drive a car. I remember saying, 'He was doing very well last night!' I knew he was heading to Haddonfield. I knew it."

Mike Lupica (New York Daily News): "Look, if there's a tragic figure in all this, it's Dr. Loomis. I mean , here's a guy who devoted 15 years of his life to keeping Michael Myers locked up, and Myers escapes, and they still wouldn't listen to him."

Chris Rock (comedian): "The thing that always amazed me was Michael driving the damn car. Kid's locked up for 15 years, doesn't say a word to nobody, he's catatonic ... now all the sudden, he's Dale Earnhardt Jr.? What'd they have, Driver's Ed at the Smith's Grove Sanitarium? And how'd he know which way to go? Kid can't speak and he can't read ... now he's following highway signs?"

Geoff Gallo: "I think Michael put a tremendous amount of thought into his escape. Remember, he had been thinking about it for 15 straight years. He probably visualized every moment, like a great athlete before a big game."

Dennis Miller (comedian): "In my opinion, that's what separated Myers from every other Hollywood serial killer. He could drive a car, cut phone lines, find his way around town ... he was like McGyver crossed with Ted Bundy. This guy was a killing machine. That's all he was about. The last time I saw someone this one-dimensional, I was playing charades with Bob Saget."

NARRATOR: "The following morning, Dr. Loomis drove down to Haddonfield to warn local police about Myers. Hesitant to scare local residents, Haddonfield sheriff Lee Brackett and his crew staged a low-key search for the escaped maniac. Little did the Sheriff know that, within hours, his life would never be the same."

(Break for commercial)

NARRATOR: "When he arrived in Haddonfield, Michael Myers spent the night at his old house, then drove down to the local cemetary to steal his sister's gravestone. After that, he became smitten by a high school senior named Laurie Strode, following Laurie and her friends around for most of the day."

Laurie Strode: "He was wearing a white mask and a gas station attendant's suit, driving a green stationwagon that said 'FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY' on the doors, and he followed us everywhere we went. We didn't think much of it at the time."

	Laurie Strode was haunted by Myers well into the 21st century.

Stuart Scott (ESPN): "Myers spends the next few hours following these phat girls around, even when two of them head off to babysit. Didn't kill 'em right away. Could have killed 'em. But he didn't kill 'em. Not yet. He had stupid patience. He was like a cat toying with a mouse. Holla."

Charlie Pierce (Esquire Magazine): "There's Laurie babysitting in one house, and her friend Annie is babysitting in the house across the street. Plus, two friends are coming over. Michael Myers couldn't have planned this any better. It was like an all-you-can-kill buffet."

NARRATOR: "Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis and Sheriff Brackett were waiting for him at Myers' old house, encouraged by the sight of a fresh dog carcass in the living room."

Sheriff Brackett: "Loomis was convinced that Myers killed the dog. I said to Loomis, 'No man would do that.' And Loomis looked at me and said, This isn't a man.' To be honest, Dr. Loomis freaked me out. I didn't like him very much."

Dr. Loomis: "I had watched Michael Myers for 15 years, watched him sitting in a room, staring at a wall, not seeing the wall, looking past the wall, looking toward this night, inhumanly patient, waiting for some secret, silent alarm to trigger him off. I remember telling Brackett, 'Death has come to your small town, Sheriff.' He still didn't believe me."

NARRATOR: "Ironically, Brackett's daughter, Annie, became the first casualty of the night. As she hopped in her car to see her boyfriend, Myers lunged from the backseat, strangling her and slitting her throat. As he was bringing the body inside, Annie's friends, Linda and Bob, arrived at the house."

Jim Nantz: "Next stop: Murderville!"

Hubie Brown (TNT): "OK, you're Michael Myers. You have a tremendous amount of upside for a serial killer, but you have to understand, you've been locked up for the past 15 years. You just killed somebody, so you're a little worked up. Now you're in an empty house with a dead body, and two kids arrive that are all over each other. You end up watching them having sex in the guest room. You feel a little left out, you're a 21-year-old virgin, your hormones are running wild, and you're a homicidal maniac to boot. You're telling me that you aren't absolutely itching to kill these two kids?"

Dan Dierdorf (CBS Sports): "Bob heads downstairs to get beers. Myers lunges out of a closet, picks Bob up by the throat, then rams the knife in his chest so hard that Bob remains hanging on the door. Ho-ho-ho-ho! You think this kid wasn't strong? I'm tellin' ya, this kid was some kind of strong!"

NARRATOR: "Myers returned upstairs to see Linda, wearing a sheet over his head and pretending he was a ghost. Linda mistakenly believed it was Bob playing a joke."

Chris Rock: "Michael wanted to get some! Get down with your bad self, Michael!"

Bill Simmons (ESPN.com): "This was probably my favorite Myers sequence, starting with him staring at Bob's dead body -- tilting his head back and forth -- followed by him pretending that he was a ghost. I mean, can you name another Hollywood serial killer that toyed with his victims like this? Myers rates very high on the Unintentional Comedy Scale. I will not argue about this. Good times. You couldn't make this stuff up. By the way, I'm drunk again."

Tim McCarver (ABC Sports): "So Myers strangles Linda ... while she's talking on the phone ... to her friend, Laurie. And that ... was a BIG ... mistake. When Hollywood serial killers ... get caught... 73 percent of the time ... it happens ... because they screwed up ... and that number increases ... to 91 percent ... if they're killing people in a suburban setting."

NARRATOR: "Disturbed by the strange phone call, Laurie decided to head across the street to check on her friends. Her life would never be the same."

(Break for commercial)

NARRATOR: "Laurie Strode walked across the street and found her three friends brutally butchered on the second floor. In a chilling twist, Myers laid Annie's body on a bed, with his sister's headstone sitting behind her head."

Jim Nantz: "In the words of Elton John, it was a funeral for a friend!"

Frank Deford (HBO Sports): "Before Laurie has time to digest this, this, this, this, this, this horrifying scene, Myers emerges from nowhere and stabs her shoulder. Poor Laurie goes hurtling down a staircase, somehow limps out of the house, then limps back to where she was babysitting. The only thing that saved her -- the only thing, the only thing -- was that Myers refused to run after her. "

Bill Walton (ESPN): "That's a terrible job by Michael Myers! That's terrrrrrrrrrrrible!"

Bob Ryan: "Hey, Michael hated to run. Hated it, hated it, hated it. Maybe he didn't like getting all sweaty in that mask."

Bud Collins (NBC Sports): "That might have been the one thing that kept him from being the greatest serial killer in Hollywood history -- much like Jason Voorhees, he never ran after anybody. It's almost like he was afraid to look uncool. Rod Laver was the same way."

Chris Rock: "The next sequence was my personal favorite. Michael attacks Laurie in the house, she stabs him with a knitting needle, then she leaves the knife next to him. Jeez, why don't she just give him mouth-to-mouth? She goes upstairs, he follows her, she stabs him in the eye with a wire hanger, she sticks a knife into his stomach ... then she leaves the knife next to him again! What's wrong with this woman? It's like they were playing footsie! I'm like, '(Expletive), get out of the (expletive) house!"

NARRATOR: "When Myers regrouped and attacked Laurie yet again, Dr. Loomis miraculously arrived, tipped off by screaming in the neighborhood."

John Madden (ABC Sports): "Loomis shoots him once in the neck, boom. He shoots him five more times in the chest. Boom! Myers falls backwards off a balcony, dropping 15 feet onto his back. Splack! And Loomis was celebrating and thinking, 'This is what it's all about, right here.' "

Dr. Loomis: "I ran out to the balcony ... and the body was gone. I shot him six times! I shot him six times!"

Laurie Strode: "I asked him if that was the BoogeyMan, and Dr. Loomis answered, 'As a matter of fact, it was.' You don't forget things like that."

NARRATOR: "Michael Myers had vanished once again. And his life would never be the same. "

(Break for commercial)

NARRATOR: "After his coming-out party in 'Halloween 1,' Michael Myers never really recaptured the glory of those first 24 hours back in Haddonfield."

	Despite numerous sequels, Myers was never able to recapture the brilliance of the first "Halloween" movie.

Christine Brennan (USA Today): "It got a little silly after that. In the sequel, we find out that Laurie was really his younger sister. Then in No. 4 and No. 5, he's trying to kill his niece. In No. 6, he's trying to kill his niece's daughter. Then in No. 7, he's trying to kill his sister again. The one thing that's clear is that Michael Myers was a misogynist."

Larry Merchant: "I once asked Sugar Ray Robinson why he kept fighting, and Sugar Ray looked around, and his voice dropped, and he whispered, 'We all need to eat.' And then he ordered the home fries of life."

Mike Lupica: "I mean, here's a guy who made seven movies and established himself as the greatest Hollywood serial killer of all-time, yet people only talk about Michael's first movie. You never hear people talk about the sequel, or the underrated fourth movie. That has to gnaw away at him. There's no question."

Geoff Gallo: "Those next two decades were very, very tough for Michael. He was shot at least 40 times, he was stabbed countless times, he was shot in both eyes, he nearly drowned, he was set on fire twice, and he kept bouncing back. He even developed a pretty severe drinking problem after he was left out of 'Halloween 3.' And yet nobody ever talks about that stuff. Everyone just wants to talk about 'Halloween 1.' "

Rob Neyer (ESPN.com): "I always thought 'Halloween 1' was his worst movie. He only killed five people in that one ... in a 93-minute movie, that gives him a MPK (minutes-per-kill) ratio of just 18.6, and three of his five victims were in the same house, which gave him a terrible KRF (killing range factor). Only Nicholson in 'The Shining' was worse. The best Myers movie was 'Halloween 2' -- he killed 12 people and had a 7.4 MPK. Only Jason Voorhees has topped that."

Bob Ryan: "Please, please, please! I am here, to tell you right now, that Michael Myers's best movie was 'Halloween 1.' End of discussion, thanks for coming. Anyone who disagrees with that premise is simply and utterly insane."

Bill Simmons: "The franchise should have ended after 'Halloween 1,' with nobody knowing what happened to Myers. Hollywood just got greedy after that -- even his mask wasn't as good after the first one. Regardless, he's still the greatest serial killer in Hollywood history. Nobody else comes close. Jason, Freddie Krueger, Chuckie, the 'Scream' movies ... none of them would have happened if Myers hadn't opened the door in the late-'70s. He was the Jackie Robinson of horror movies. Case closed."

Larry King (CNN): "When you look up great serial killers in the dictionary, you get a picture of Michael Myers."

Frank Gifford: "For so many years, Michael Myers, so many murders, so many memories ..."

Magic Johnson: "People tell me there's gonna be another Michael Myers. There will nev-ah, ev-ah, ev-ah be another Michael Myers."

NARRATOR: "So what does the future bring for Michael Myers? Recently, he appeared in 'Halloween 8,' where he killed a group of reality-TV actors who were spending the night in his house. Longtime Myers followers compared it to watching Willie Mays stumble around the outfield in the '73 World Series, but the movie earned a healthy $30 million and counting at the box office, almost ensuring another sequel.

"Michael Myers might have escaped nearly 24 years ago, but you get the feeling that it will be much longer before we escape him. For SportsCentury, I'm Chris Fowler."

I hate the Pro Football Hall of Fame Voters

 

 

By ALL football metrics Terrell Owen is a 1^st Ballot HALL OF FAMER (full stop).

Sports and by extension football is one of the last remaining meritocracies. Terrell Owens is a top 3 wide receiver of all time, and the fact that he had to wait 3 years to get into the Hall of Fame is asinine, and can only be reasoned as a heavy handed attempt to teach some dumb life lesson. Which begs the question...is that how voters should use this “privilege” and, if so, how do they pick and choose when to use it?

No human let alone football player is flawless. The halls of “Football Heaven” are littered with imperfect humans that ran afoul of law and human decency. It's funny because to my recollection TO has never crossed either boundary. His worst transgression is being brutally honest. So in essence his transparency is/was seen as a football flaw. The hypocrisy of it all is these same voters (sport writers) who overlooked TO in his first 2 years of eligibility were all too happy to run to his locker after a game for a quote to support their own careers.

The arguments against TO is that he never won anything, was a malcontent, threw his QB's under the proverbial bus (bad teammate), and was a ME first player (bad person).

The argument for TO is he's football famous/infamous and was a helluva player.

“I love me some me”

“They hate to love me”

“Get your popcorn ready”

Basking in the Star

The Pom-poms

Sit-ups in the Driveway

The Sharpie

Look…Terrell Owens was inevitably going into the Hall of Fame...my argument is that his career should have been crowned with the honor of 1^st ballot status, setting him apart in the pantheon of NFL greats. Recent history suggest he's 1^st ballot material. Since 2015 the Hall has tapped 7 players as NFL royalty...

Junior Seau

(Never won anything, Not top 3 at his position). Often accused of freelancing on the field and not doing what coaches instructed him to do.

 Brett Favre

(Not top 3 at his position). Married and caught sending dick picks to women during his short stint as a Jet.

 Jason Taylor

(Never won anything, Not top 3 at his position).

LaDanian Tomlinson

(Never won anything, Not top 3 at his position). Sat out AFC championship game with knee injury (didn't need surgery to fix) when his teammate Philip Rivers played that same game with a torn ACL

 Ray Lewis

(Bad Person) Complicit in murder of Atlanta man during Superbowl week 2000.

 Brian Urlacher

(Never won anything, Not top 3 at his position)

Randy Moss

(Never won anything) Has confessed to taking off plays.

You can't tell me Terrell Owens is not in the class of these 7 players. In fact I could reasonably argue he would be 2^nd on this list behind Ray Lewis. His contemporary Randy Moss has somehow made people forget about his worst football transgressions. He slipped in the 1998 draft due to character issues. He's been arrested. He basically said he plays when he wants to. He slept walked through the Oakland years, and as a football player he wasn't a fan of going over the middle. Think about it...how many of his highlights are between the hashes. In 2010 the NFL voted Moss the 65^th greatest players of all time…at the time he had 99 fewer receptions, and 800 fewer yards than Terrell Owens who was not on the list.

The Hall of Fame should be ashamed of itself. Recently they've made the excuse that there was a backlog of WR's but they never say that about other positions...and so great players like Michael Irvin, Cris Carter, Tim Brown, Marvin Harrison, Tory Holt, have to wait. This makes no sense. WR's play the most dependent position in football, they also have to share opportunities with TE's and RB's. There are 5 pass catchers on every play. For a WR's to distinguish himself and dominate is rare, and should be rewarded. The backlog argument doesn't hold water in the case of Terrell Owen because the HOF didn't even enshrine a WR in 2017. In 2016 they chose Marvin Harrison over TO (questionable), but why couldn't they have gone in at the same time, and move Kevin Greene to 2017. What was the rush for Kevin Greene?

The other empty argument is that the NFL has become a passing league and WR's numbers are inflated, but if that is the case wouldn't that adjust QB's HOF benchmarks. Recently Warren Moon, Favre, and Kurt Warner have had stress-free candidacies. And I bet you dimes to donuts, Big Ben, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady are going to have NO BACKLOG 5 years after they retire.

Terrell Owens was voted to the HOF in 2018...in his 3^rd year of eligibility. He chose not to attend the ceremony in Canton this weekend. He will celebrate with his friends and family at his alma mater in Chattanooga TN. His critics are roasting him for his decision. They can't believe he'd make this decision during the biggest day of his career. Funny...the top draft pick in 2018 decided to not attend the NFL draft on the biggest day of his career and the media hasn't displayed any outrage. Joe Thomas did the same thing in 2007 and no one said boo shit.

Hall of Fame voters have made this thing person, and it should be about football only. They chose to put Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens in the same class when they could have easily put TO in 2016 or 2017. They did this because they wanted to make TO share the spotlight with his chief rival thinking he is the lesser of the two (questionable/debatable).

But the most egregious thing the HOF did, and in my opinion the reason why TO told them to kick rocks is they had the temerity, the audacity, the unmitigated gaul, to put another TERRELL in the hall before him. There is no way Terrell Davis is a HOFer. No disrespect. The fact that they put Davis in in 2017, and had room for No Wide Receiver was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I don't blame TO. It's the ultimate disrespect.

There are some bad people in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You have to be a little off to play such a violent sport. We can't expect these people to be perfect. Terrell Owen was a great football player. He dominated at the highest level, he went over the middle, he played hard. The Hall of Fame voters should put the greatest weight on football, and not personality. They are playing god/parent when they shouldn't. Because of personal animus TO was not given his football crown, and the financial benefits that come with it. I implore the writers to just do their job, and leave parenting and teaching lessons to other that are better qualified.

 

 

 

I hate being called a LeBron HATER

 

 

I hate being painted into a corner.  Choosing a GOAT is not a binary effort.  You can enjoy and even compare great players without loving your choice and hating the rest.  I actually hated my #1 basketball player of all-time.  He destroyed my favorite team and player annually.  I didn’t acquiesce to his greatness until after his 14^th season when he was done, and he showed total mastery of the game, himself, and the opponent. 

I'm writing this in May 2018...LeBron James has vanquished the Victor Oladipo led Pacers, and the DeMar Derozen led Raptors in the NBA playoffs. If you're reading this 20-30 years from now and need context these teams are considered part of the leagues JV division. The league changed the All-Star game format because the EAST is JV. The best 4 team in 2018 are the Warrior, Rockets, Pelicans, and Jazz. Don't get me wrong... what LeBron is doing this season is amazing. He is finally playing (in year 15) the way we have wanted him to play his entire career, and he's giving us MOMENTS albeit against sub-par competition. Beating the EAST when you by far had the best roster for 7 consecutive years is not greatness

I hate the dichotomy surrounding LeBron's greatness. No doubt he is a top 5 player in NBA history. He's done enough and won enough to earn that. At that level when you're judging the greats of the greats you're splitting hairs but to be called THE GOAT you have to separate yourself. LeBron has had several chances to separate himself and he's come up short

LeBron James is the most physically gifted basketball player of all-time.  I find none that dispute this.  So given this acknowledgment we expect more from him.  High expectation are a blessing and a curse.  When you are called KING JAMES the fandom expects jewelry and lots of it.  A king rides high and conquers.  Does the subsequent resume below conjure KINGSHIP?

It's disappointing that LeBron having the best record in the NBA from 2008-2010 never met Kobe in the finals. Kobe did his part but LeBron lost to the Celtics, Magic, and Celtics in consecutive years, and never gave the world what we truly wanted. It wouldn't be that much of a transgression but he teased us by getting to the finals in 2007. So this felt like one step forward and then two steps back. He knew he couldn't get past Boston so he created a super team in Miami. The Heat destroyed the East in the 2011 playoffs. LeBron played great in the playoffs and was 4 wins away from the mountain top. It was all right there for him and he melted down.

I watched that team closely because Dwyane Wade was my favorite players at the time, and I thought he was the Alpha on that team and a mentally stronger player that LeBron at the time. The Heat basically gave away game 2 at home. They had to travel to Dallas for a pivotal game 3 in which Wade took over and secured the win. After the game both Wade and LeBron were in the press conference and Wade said something that change the remainder of the series. He said “it's up to those of us that have been here before to lead.” LeBron James fell apart after that, in game 4 he had 8 points on 3 of 11 shooting. My theory. He couldn't live with the narrative of winning and he not being the MVP. He sabotaged 2011 during winning time. Imagine the Heat winning...Wade being named MVP which would have happened, and LeBron still claiming to be the best in the world. His ego couldn't take that so he ruined 2011 for no good reason.

LeBron won the next year …but think about it. Each of his championships have an asterisk. 2012 was strike shortened season, 2013 was the Spurs gagging and then Ray Allen bailing them out, 2016 was stupid Draymond. In 2017 LeBron had a chance to beat the Warrior w/KD and lost 4-1. No big deal...they should have lost but LeBron made 2 rookie mistakes in game 3 that could have changed the trajectory of the series. Cavs were up 2 with the ball and he should have took the ball to the hole, got fouled, hit 2 free throws, and iced the game. What he did instead was drive and kick for the corner three that missed. The Warrior rebounded got the ball to KD who pulled up for 3 right in LeBron’s face and drained it. During winning time you can't let KD get to his spot for the lead... you have to run him off the line… you can't give up a 3 in that spot.

One might say why so much scrutiny... I would say if you want to be the best you have to do SOMETHING great. You have to push it forward. My #4 player of all time won a High School Championship, and College Championship, and an NBA Championship in a 4 year span. My #3 players of all time won 11 championships in 13 NBA seasons. My #2 players is the all-time scoring leader who won 6 MVP's. My #1 player 3-peated twice, won 5 MVP's, 6 Finals MVP’s. My #5 play will score 40K points and have 10K rebounds and assists, win 4 MVP's  and get to the Eastern Conference finals every year. There is nothing wrong with being #5. No shame in it at all. 

LeBron will own all the numbers when he’s done.  His sustained greatness over time will be unparalleled.  He’s in year 15 and still going strong.  He reminds me of Peyton Manning, He’s more artist than killer.  High-end competition is weird... you have to have/invent disdain for your opponent (ask Isiah Thomas)…you have to want to win, and want the other person to lose.  Championships are a zero sum game.  Only one winner and the rest are all losers.  Killers thrive in this environment…artist don’t.

Imagine LeBron won that Dallas series and didn’t quit on Miami in 2014 when he realized Cleveland had the #1 pick in the draft.  A 4-peat changes history. Imagine he won 4 in South Beach went back home lost in the 2015 Finals where he dominated without Kyrie and Love, and then won his 5^th title in 2016.  Winning a championship in Cleveland would have iced the cake. He would already be recognized as the GOAT it would be irrefutable.  All of this was within his reach but outside of his grasp.  He couldn’t do it.  He was right there. The attainable became unattainable.  He’s an all-time great but he’s not the greatest. 

The thing my top 4 players have in common. They never had to say they were the best. They never ran their best player away from the team. They never changed teams for fear of not winning a championship. They never sabotaged a championship run. They never sought to control their narrative…they just played ball.

Last year I was listening to an interview of LeBron, in which he was asked a question about Tim Duncan who had just retired. LeBron gave all the requisite compliments and then said “Duncan has one of his (LeBron’s) rings.” Which is odd because he couldn't be talking about 2007 when he got swept by Duncan... so he must be talking about 2014 when he lost in 5 games. How does someone have your ring when you weren't even close to beating him? In fact in REALITY you (LeBron) have one of Duncan's rings.

I'm pissed now. So my new #5 player won 5 Championships, 3 Finals MVP's, and is considered the best power forward of all time. LeBron you’ve been vanquished to #6.

The funny thing is...deep down we wanted LeBron to catch the GOAT.  How cool would it have been to see back to back Goats in our lifetime?  But the mantle of GOAT is serious business, and it can't...nay... won't be given to someone that has shown this much mental frailty in the biggest moments. 

I hate Equality

 

 

Equality is a myth, and the quest for it is unattainable. This is true because there is no standard ruler to measure equality. Equality is in the eye of the beholder, and just like beauty is very subjective.

 “All men are created equal” is prose...it's poetry...it's a fiction. Each person is born into a unique set of circumstances and that by definition is unequal. Equality is a mission statement not a bottom line.

We often confuse ourselves unnecessarily with equality, when we should really concentrate on the pursuit of happiness. Equality is a “them” thing, while happiness is a “me” thing. We can't control them but we can always control me.

Think about it.  As adults when we have a serious decision to make, and we're talking to a friend or associate about it.  We often use the qualifier "all things being equal..." We do this because no two opportunities or consequences can be the same/EQUAL.  If they were the same then there would only be ONE and consequently no decision to be made.

 

Inequality is standard...so why do we bristle at it so much? It's because we wrestle with the word “fairness” way too often. For some reason we're taught as children that fairness is good, and that treating people fairly is proper. Then we're thrust into a world that is replete with unfairness, and it's a total shock to the system. We believe children are innocents so we speak to them in very innocent vanilla terms. We give them utopian ideas that are useless in a dystopian world. We set them up for failure.

 

Nowhere is this failure more obviously than in American race relations. Equal is a math term so no wonder numbers are constantly being used to prove inequality. The most prevelent data point is wages where blacks make less than whites on average, but no one tells you that asians make more that whites because that will skew the narrative. The 2 major functions of wage is education, and entreprenuership, but those aren't sexy topics. So we argue about equality of wages without discussing the root cause of it. Think about it..It's never going to be the SAME for everyone. If everyone made the same wage would there still be inequality? Why yes...of course...because there is no such thing as EQUALITY.

People can't be equal because we all are one of one. We fight for something that is impossible to obtain, and in many cases we make the good the enemy of the (unachievable) perfect. Think about it. Do you think all white people are treated equally? Think about it. In your home you have siblings that are better and worse than you, and more importantly your parents treat you all differently on an individual basis...so why would you expect more from a country, than your very own family?

Think about it. Most of the inequality/injustice that creates true outrage is within law enforcement. Over the last 10 years, save the Trayvon Martin shooting (quasi-law enforcement), and the Church Massacre in Charleston, all the inequality that America has had a visceral reaction to has been due to law enforcement. Truths are muddied during law enforcement encounters because law enforcement usually doesn't show up in places without invitation from citizens. Interpersonal disagreements that require law enforcements intervention never end well.  

Not sure about you, but as a person that has assimilated... my run-ins with law enforcement are few and far between. I don't put myself in situations that law enforcement has to decide my fate. I understand that law enforcement is primative so I strive to avoid sub-optimal encounters.

Listen. I live in America. I know that in America people have differing perspectives about everything including race. I know it's often a harder life for people of color.  As a black man I'm keenly aware of that but I also understand that in 2018 I'm free in America. I can wake up in the morning, and leave the home I've bought, get in the car I've bought, drive to the bank and withdraw money from my account, and drive anywhere I want to in this country with NO obstacle. Could I encounter neanderthal jerks on my journey?...of course. But I live in a country where it's not illegal to be that. And I'm okay with that. Just don't interrupt my ability to do commerce and pursue legal happiness and you can be whatever you choose to be.

 I'm okay with being treated unfairly... it's unavoidable.  I draw the line at being treated illegally.  .

 

I hate protesting the protester

 

 It's the age old question...if 300 white supremacists buy tiki torches and decide to march on Charlottesville do they make a sound...if the media doesn't show up?

Back in August the media serving as promoter made sure all wolf tickets were sold for the “Thrill in Charlottesville.”  They made sure this event would be standing room only...making it must see TV.

Why would the media do this? Hummmm. They did it because race sells. And quasi-news organizations like FOX, MSNBC, and CNN are slaves to ratings and advertisers. Is 300 powerless people meeting in a land of 300 million news...especially when 538 powerful people meet regularly and CSPAN's ratings stay in the toilet?

The media announced the fight, sold all the tickets, and then for weeks hyped it. Don King couldn't have done it any better.

Let's strip away all the hyperbole to examine what was really at play here. Charlottesville was doing the right thing by removing a public statue of Robert E. Lee the general of a treasonous group of confederates that fought in opposition to America for the sole purpose of extending the rule of slavery. 300 people disagreed with the statues removal and legally obtained a permit to protest. The 300 people just so happen to think that white people are the "superior race" and are being treated unfairly in 2017 America.

How is this a big deal? How does this rise to national news relevance? What if the 300 people were vegans (because many vegans think they are better than us carnivores), and treated unfairly because they have to live in a declining world where the food industry is putting our climate in peril. If the protesting group were vegan is this a blip on the news radar, and more importantly do hundreds of people show up to protest the protesters?

Think about it. When has protesting the protesters ever worked? In America we have the right to protest and assemble peacefully? The people showing up to protest the protest are the bully. I know you don't want to hear it but it's true. When you work to suppress freedom of expression, and freedom of speech you chip away at the constitution.

Think about it. In the 60's when blacks were peacefully protesting and angry whites showed up to suppress freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Who was the bully?

The constitution has to work for everyone or it works for no one.

Freedom unfortunately means that some will choose to be idiots because they have a right to do so. Those that find it distasteful have the right to ignore them.  Protesting the protester only muddies the water.  When you seek to suppress their freedom you give them what they want. 

Imagine a world where 300 stupid, ignorant, worthless people meet, and no cameras show up, and no one shows up in opposition, and no one dies a senseless death...A world where people go about their business on a lazy Saturday, and do things constructive and meaningful. A world where the media doesn't show pictures of people we don't care about... A world where we refuse to be puppets... A world where we ignore ignorance...A world where we concentrate on us instead of what we think others feel about us. A world where all the time protested could be used to teach, build, and mentor. OH WHAT A WORLD THIS COULD BE!!!