I hate the reasons why people hate Ray Lewis

Full disclosure, I’m a Ray Lewis fan. I think he’s been the best and most influential football players over the last 15 years. In a league designed to showcase offense, he has been the standard bearer of defensive. He’s a throwback to old-school football. He is arguably the best LEADER in NFL history.

Let me be clear. I don’t have a problem with hate. I don’t have a problem hating NFL players, especially rivals that have hurt your heart by killing your favorite team year after year. Listen, as a Cowboys fan, I hate Eli Manning. If Eli Manning was the last piece of toilet paper in the world, I wouldn’t wipe my ass with him. THAT’S HATE!

I have SPORTS hate for Eli Manning, not PERSONAL hate. Many have personal hate for Ray Lewis.

I live in Atlanta now, and the people down here have personal hate for Lewis. Lewis was involved in a murder here in 2000. People actually believe he murdered someone and never was punished for it. This is what perplexes me about this, people actually think that Ray Lewis came to the Superbowl in Atlanta planning to murder someone at a night club in Buckhead. How preposterous is that?

Listen, I wasn't in the club that night, but I can tell you this much; the guy that got killed was looking for trouble. Average Joe's hate that pro athlete make so much money playing a sport for a living. Average Joe's  hate going to the club and seeing a pro athlete and his entourage flaunting their money and status.

The guy that got himself killed probably didn’t want to take a back seat to the pro athlete and he bowed-up. He didn’t know how to move on, and something very bad happened to him. This was basically a "body guards taking out a threat" or "suicide by cop" nothing more. Sure Ray Lewis destroyed evidence, and obstructed justice, but he didn’t commit murder. Also little known fact, the guys that did the murder were acquitted under reason of self defense.

Don’t hate Lewis for this.

Many in Atlanta point to this incident as the reason “last call” in Buckhead was moved from 4am to 2am. This is stupid logic because Ray Lewis didn’t change the law, he had no jurisdiction over the law. What happened was some overzealous politician over-reached looking to make a name for himself, using this incident as a way to advance his career.

Don’t hate Lewis for this.

Now to the complex hate. People hate Lewis because they think he’s overly religious. He’s too demonstrative with his belief. I admit Lewis can be a bit much to handle, but allow me to shed some light on this one for you. Lewis was damaged as a kid, like many other young black men are. He was abandoned by his dad and he grew up in terrible poverty. These roots often are attached to dysfunctional trees.

On that night in Atlanta, Lewis was traveling the wrong road. That murder presented a fork in that the road, and because he desired to do better, be better, project better; he chose the good path. However for this to  stick he needed a companion to ride with him. He needed to make these changes quickly because a franchise depended on it. He only had two choices to ride shotgun, they were religion or psychology. Psychology to gladiators looks weak.  So he chose religion like many young black men do. He saturated himself with religion. One year later, he led his team to the Lombardi. To him this validated his decision, causing him to go even deeper into his faith. He loved the faith, and he was a great leader so he transformed himself into a religious leader.

Please don't hate Ray Lewis for this.

Religion worked for him, so he chose to spread the faith to teammates. Every leader has a style. Lewis’ style was messiah. He led as a person who reached the “promised land” and wanted others to see and touch it for themselves.

Since 2000 you have not heard of Lewis having any legal incidents. His team, the Ravens, hasn’t been in the police blotters. No small feat because the Ravens play in Baltimore, and anyone that has been there or seen “The Wire” knows the landscape of Baltimore.

I ‘m begging all Lewis haters to sit down and watch the NFL Networks “A Football Life” then you will see the Lewis Impact.

Ray Lewis is great because of the impact he has on men. He told his team that 2013 was his “last ride,” and each person, to a man, played to their full potential. The Ravens were limping into the playoff and then they went on a “miraculous” run in the playoff. The only thing that changed was that their messiah was calling it quits.

In 2000 Ray Lewis won a championship for his team. In 2013 his team loved him enough that they won a championship for him. The Ravens won the first one on Lewis’ fuel, and the second they won on his fumes. This is what made Lewis great. He is equal parts physical and spiritual.

Ray Lewis is the greatest leader in NFL HISTORY.

I hate that Vatican City won’t be real with itself

Let me be clear I don’t have a problem with religion in general or Catholic ideology specifically.

Having said that.....

Vatican leadership will be meeting this week to choose a new standard bearer. The previous leader resigned because he didn’t have the physical strength to meet the rigors of the job. Some point to the many pedophilia scandals and more recently a male prostitution scandal in Vatican City as the reason.

I may be in the minority, but I really don’t see the group that headquarters at Vatican City as a religious group. I see them more as a socio-political group. A group that wields great power and influence in many countries. Their influence penetrates, democratic, socialist, and communist governments. The group’s global reach is un-paralleled. This group has the potential to do great and even greater good.

Unfortunately I can’t take the group seriously until they come to grips with their most obvious flaw. The group has no self awareness.

The group doesn’t acknowledge that people are BORN gay. It’s true. I know this because I was BORN straight. I was born being attracted to women. No one had to tell or coach me to like women. It came naturally; just like I arrived at being right handed naturally.

Sidebar.... My brother and I had a god brother that had "gay mannerisms" when he was 2 years old.  We lost touch with his family soon after.  17 years later we were invited to Thanksgiving Dinner and were told he would be there.  On our way over, we were talking about all the people we were looking forward to seeing, and then we both mentioned him, and thought aloud... "I bet you he's gay."....  "Not that there is anything wrong with it."  We just knew it though.  Lo and behold when we got to dinner he and his boyfriend were sitting next to each other holding hands being thankful for one another.

PEOPLE ARE BORN GAY!

Very few people choose gay. How many people do you think would have the strength and self loathing to choose to be gay knowing that they have to deal with the world's ridicule?

The group also doesn’t acknowledge that "gay BORN" people seek priesthood in their group because they are ashamed, and are desperate to become asexual. So they can avoid dealing with what they really are. Then they subsequently yield to their sexuality knowing that the group’s hierarchy will cover-up their “transgressions.”

And most importantly!

The group doesn’t acknowledge that people born with a penis have an intense desire to put said penis into other people’s holes.

So here’s hoping during the group's vote this week that they take a really good look in the mirror. And if they really want to do good, put a young reformer in leadership that will have the intestinal fortitude to fix what been left broken for so many years. THE MIRROR.

I hate exit questions at the cash register

Does this sound familiar? You need to restock your home, so you head over to the local Superstore to pick up a basket of items. You get there, and then stroll the aisles for your favorite products. You grab everything you need, and then you start chucking some things in that you really don’t need. You’re satisfied with your decisions and you head for the counter to check –out. You remove the items in your basket transferring them to the conveyor belt. The check-out person scans your items, your total appears on the LCD display, and then the check-out person asks you a question that’s some variation of this.

“Would you like to give a $1 to help fight Muscular Dystrophy?”

Really!

Let me tell you what I hear when that question is posed to me. “Hi asshole. I see you just spent $5 on Butterscotch Krempets, $10 on skin products (anti ASHY cream), and another $10 on pucks that you put in your toilet so that the water will be blue when you flush it. I should be asking you for $25 at this point, but because I know you’ll never give me that, would you please… pretty please, give me 1/25th of that to help fight this totally curable disease, that will probably never get cured because of assholes like you. “

Now... 

I always say NO, because instinctively it feels like a shakedown. These companies incent their employees based on how many $1’s they can collect during their respective shifts. I feel justified because I donate money annually to, The March of Dimes, The American Heart Association, St. Jude, and Sarcoidosis Research. I give time to The Atlanta Women and Children Shelter, Hagar House, and the Center for Family Resources.

So I’m covered right?

Problem is… I still feel a little uneasy because it’s only a $1. A $1 is like giving nothing. I refuse to give it only on principle nothing more.

Charitable people hate being asked for things.  It's funny because I could have just given my left testicle to cancer research 5 minutes before I entered Wal-mart and still would feel a little weird about not giving the $1 when being asked for it.

In the future I think I’m going to start saying NO, and then asking the clerk if he/she would like to give $1 to some fictitious charity group that I make up; like the “FreeBall Society.”

I hate that “Homeland” sucks now

Mature people will understand this. Remember the first time you had really great sex. It occurred when you obtained a significant amount of experience, causing your confidence to soar, eventually landing on a higher plateau. Everything started to slow down for you. Instincts, intuition, inhibitions were all heightened and set the stage for you to perform at your very best.

Without this maturity you don’t get the great performance. The maturity allows you to take your time, linger, concentrate, probe, pay attention; all vital in building to the satisfying denouement. Mature lovers understand that the journey colors and illuminates the view of the destination. Without the confidence during foreplay, without the smoothness when taking those curves, without the breathlessness of the slow- wind , sex can be empty, cold, and unsatisfying. All the pleasure spots can be touched on but you can be left yearning for more. Season 1 of Homeland understood this; Season 2 not so much.

Season 2 took us back to the days when we were just excited to have a girl like us. We were so giddy to be alone, with the lights out that we fumbled through everything. Season 2 of Homeland was awkward, rushed, incoherent, forced, un-planned, and ultimately not satisfying. Season 2 had no resemblance to Season 1. It was like aliens who never saw Season 1 were brought in to run the show.

Homeland was the best drama since The Sopranos, and The Wire. Season 2 did start off in fine Season 1 fashion but then it got greedy, went too far and became unrecognizable. The beautiful love making that I looked forward to every Sunday night, became the quickie that people have just so they can say they had sex, in a veiled attempt to prove something to themselves, and the omnipresent appointment calendar that they live by.

What I realized in hindsight is that the show runners got nervous and shot their wad too early. Then they panicked and ruined the best thing they had going for them. THE SLOW-WIND.

Season 2 basically had 4 seasons forced into 13 episodes. It went from tantric sex to full blown orgy, and never asked why?

Season 2 could have been the story of Carrie getting her job back at the CIA, followed by her trip to the Middle East, with the cliff-hanger being Carrie confronting Brody in the hotel.

Season 3 could have been the story of the CIA turning Brody; making him a triple agent, with the cliffhanger being Roya, and Brody in the Helicopter going to see Abu Nazir.

Season 4 could have been the story of Nazir breaking Brody again, with the cliffhanger of Quinn holding a gun on Brody in the Limo.

Season 5 could have been the Hunt for Nazir with the cliffhanger being the bombing of the CIA headquarters.

I still don't understand what the rush was.  It's Showtime, we didn't mind waiting.  It felt like a person eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner in one sitting to fulfill a 3 meal a day requirement, without understanding the ramification of such a foolish act.  You eat 3 meals.  You enjoy none, and your tummy is really starting to hurt.

The worst thing about all of this is that Homeland increased in popularity in Season 2, and this microwave generation, with very little attention span, loved Season 2. Many think Season 2 was superior to Season 1 which is pure poppycock. Here’s hoping Homeland goes back to its roots in Season 3; a psychological thriller that both thrills and makes us think.

I hate that I haven't written a blog post in 10 months!!!

Last fall I started an education journey that will have me "committed" for the next four years. As I was counting up the sacrifices this journey would require, one of the items I laid at the alter was my BLOG. At that time I felt like I had to streamline everything. Trim the fat.

I was trying to "make" time by cutting friends, activities, commutes, content. I love books, and chose not to read one for pleasure. I love women, and chose not to go on more than four dates since May. I love TV, and resolved myself to only record seven shows on Tivo. I was/am serious about this thing. So it seemed an afterthought to break up with my BLOG. My BLOG is fun, and selfish, I surely could part ways with it right?

If I'm giving up wine, women, and song; why not writing? Well, I really didn't know how much my BLOG meant to me, and how theraputic it was to vanquish some of these thoughts from the logical mind. Don't get me wrong, I was still keeping notes of all the things I hated. I'd jot down "hate doodles" from time to time, but it wasn't the same. I now realize I need the outlet. I've missed it. I haven't been the same without it. And of course the hate; the hate has been building up like dirty grease on the grill at your local Waffle House.

So today I start my spring break....which sounds weird because I'm 40 years old now. Bygones... I have 5 days of vacation. Pure unadulterated vacation, and I'm going to use this time to write. So in conjunction with buns, mai tai's, Cohiba's, golf, beach, poker, the Steve Jobs biography, "The Matrix", and "Real Husbands of Hollywood" (DONT ASK),  I'm gonna bang out 4 or 5 HATE Posts this week because Poppa needs his fix.

"IT BE CALLING ME" !!!!!

I hate that Chris Paul doesn't get his due as best PG Alive

Chris Paul doesn’t play point guard, Chris Paul is POINT GUARD. He wasn’t asked to play the position because of his size or athleticism, Chris Paul is Point Guard because of his DNA. He was born Point Guard. Even if he grew to be 6’10 he’d still be Point Guard. He is the best Point Guard in the NBA and it’s not even close.

Others have superior physical skills, but none compare to Paul as a floor general, and leader of men. We have fun looking at Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook and admire their high flying acts but when it comes to the seriousness of basketball, the wins and losses, the getting the most out of your teammates, there is no one comparable to Chris Paul. He is taller than every Point Guard in the league from his shoulders up. His ability to problem solve on the fly when 5 superior athletes are obstructing him from getting an 8 panel leather ball into an 18 inch rim is unparallel.

Chris Paul has great physical tools, but what makes him better is the way he thinks the game. Paul’s basketball IQ is off the charts. Many Point Guards play basketball checkers. They react, and they try to stay one step ahead. Paul plays basketball chess. And like the grandmasters before him, he sees the entire board. He knows all ten pieces on the court intimately. He sees the flow of the game, how the pieces move in unison, and how to exploit those moves. He doesn’t just love playing the game; Chris Paul is the game.

Chris Paul is a basketball savant. He learned everything that could be done on a basketball court and then he decided to do things that had never been done. The mark of higher intelligence is when you use your brain to figure out future problem. Great people ask themselves hypothetical question all the time. They don’t do it because they only enjoy thinking; they do it because they never want to be caught off guard. When you’re sleeping they're thinking. Paul is great because he plays basketball in the future.

Paul resurrected Tyson Chandler and David West in New Orleans. In playoff series where his teams were out-manned, playing against championship caliber teams, he found ways to steal games. His teams never look unprepared or overwhelmed. His teams may lose but it’s not because they beat themselves, it’s because the team that beats them is better.

The greatest compliment I ever heard in sports was when Bum Philips said of Don Shula “He's great because he can take his (team) and beat yours (team), and then take your team and beat his.” This quote personifies Chris Paul. Long before Chris Paul was ever a Clipper I bet you on vacation somewhere on some tropical island he thought about what it would be like to play with Blake Griffin, but he didn’t stop there. He also thought about how he could get the best out of Blake Griffin. That attitude is what makes Chris Paul the best POINT GUARD ALIVE, and for my money it’s not even close.

I hate Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning is the devil.

He is an arrogant, narcissistic, control freak, savant who has to dominate every situation he involves himself in. He’s the devil because he’s more subtle than any beast of the field. His public persona is polar opposite of who he is. He is considered a saint. Read anything written about him and you will undoubtedly find these words; hard working, perfectionist, leader, commander, genius. I submit that if you allow yourself to really think about Manning, and his career, you’ll come to the conclusion that he is a megalomaniac that probably wakes up every day, and wonders when someone will approach him, and tell him he’s not wearing any clothes.


Exhibit A – (Pride) The Manning Offense

The “Manning Offense” is ordinary. Manning’s teams have never ended the season ranked as the top-rated offense in the league. Never! Manning’s offense works in the regular season when his savant like focus helps him prepare more than his competitors. His regular season record is 141-67 (.678). However in the playoffs when teams are faced with sudden death elimination, and they prepare on a “manning” type level his record is 9-10 (.473).

Manning has a 2 to 1 TD to Interception ratio QBR 94.9 in the regular season, and a 3 to 2 ratio - QBR 88.4 in the playoffs. Many of the all time greats like Montana, Bradshaw, Brady, and Aikman dominate playoff games at a higher clip than the regular season. They seem to elevate their play in the biggest moments. Manning doesn't.


Exhibit B – (Gluttony) The MVP’s


Manning’s need to be most valuable has an OCD feel to it. Manning has won 4 NFL MVP awards. In 2011, a year in which he didn’t take a snap, many were clamoring that he should be named the MVP because his team played so poorly without him. Most years the MVP is awarded to the player that had the best season, but many media outlets, fans, and football experts wanted to give it to a guy that didn’t have a season. Why? Because Manning created a situation in Indianapolis where he became bigger than the team. The team was built to his specifications. He allowed people to call him the de-facto offensive coordinator. In the ultimate team sport he was much bigger than the team; which lead to a season where, in his absence, the Colts fell apart, and lost its first 13 games. Who would build a team like that? That’s why Jim Irsay took the first opportunity he got to correct the problem. Irsay is probably the only person to ever say "NO" to Manning.



Exhibit C – (Sloth) The Back-ups


Who are Jim Sorgi, and Curtis Painter? Why would a person that cared so much about his team not suggest to the player personnel people to enlist a quality back-up just in case there was an unforeseen injury situation? Manning cared more about having a weak clip board holder than having an adequate insurance plan for the Colts.
Manning signed with the Broncos today, and word on the street is Tebow has to go. Why? Why not keep him, and groom him under the “greatest QB of all time?” Answer…Manning doesn’t feel comfortable having anyone of value behind him.


Exhibit D – (Greed) Money


Peyton Manning never took a discount. Manning’s last three contracts broke the bank. He took the starting QB money and the Back-ups money as well. He makes more money off the field than any other NFL player. If he really cared about his team why wouldn’t he take a discount and surround himself with better players. Brady and Aikman both took less money to sustain their respective teams.

In July 2011 Manning signed a contract that would pay him $54 Million by March of 2012. I have yet to see anyone question this. Manning had just had neck surgery and was rehabbing. He had to know he would miss some time, and at best wouldn’t be 100% for the 2011 season, and still thought it fare to take $54 million over a 9 month period.


Exhibit E – (Lust) The Manchurian QB


The media loves Peyton Manning. He’s a family man. He’s hard working. He’s a philanthropist. He has a children’s hospital with his name on it for goodness sake. He can do no wrong. He wants to mind screw everyone, and make us all fall in love with him. Doesn’t this make you a little nervous?


Exhibit F – (Envy) The Good Son


Did anyone else think it was weird that during Eli’s big moment (Super Bowl week), Peyton was leaking information about his health and his desire to stay in Indianapolis? Why not let Eli have the week? There was still a month left before Peyton and the Colts had to make a decision. Peyton couldn’t help himself he had to make himself the story.



Exhibit G - (Wrath) Free Agency 2012


Manning could have retired. He’s had (4) neck surgeries. He’s a family man. He has more money than he could ever spend. Why come back and play this gladiator sport? His ego won’t let him leave. He has to exact revenge on the one or two people that doubt him. It’s funny because he’s coming back to “re-capture” a crown that he never had. He’s never been a great QB. Right now he’s not even a top 5 QB in the league. I’d take Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Eli, and Big Ben ahead of him. The NFL Network was calling him the most sought-after free agent of all time. How soon they forget Reggie White, and Deion Sanders. This week he chose Denver over San Francisco. One would think if it was all about winning he would have chose the 49ers. Better coach, better defense, better city, better chance of winning a Super Bowl. Manning chose the Broncos because they were weak, and they will allow him to run the team in his very mediocre way.


Exhibit H – The Steak Dinner


This is an example of Manning hurting the innocent. In 2002 I bet a friend of mine from Philadelphia (I lived in Washington DC at the time) a steak dinner at Morton's that Peyton Manning would never win a Super Bowl. He gladly accepted the bet. He thought he was getting the best of it. I had observed Manning play 4 years in the SEC and 4 professional seasons, and knew he didn’t have what it took to win the big one. He always folded under pressure. I was planning on collecting my steak dinner somewhere around the fall of 2013. Then something inexplicable happened. Manning sold his soul to the devil in 2006 and won the big game. I couldn’t believe it. In a satanic turn the likes of which we hadn’t seen since Johnny Favorite bedded Epiphany Proudfoot, Manning got his devilish paws on the Lombardi.

A closer look will show that the Angel of Darkness had his fingerprints all over this one. Manning had a “Slumdog Millionaire” run in the 2006 playoffs. He faced the Chiefs in game 1 of the playoffs; a team that backed into the post-seasons and was happy to lie down to the Colts. Next the Colts had to go to Baltimore and play maybe the worst #1 Seed in NFL history. The Raven’s QB Steve McNair was a shell of himself after a brutal regular season. Manning couldn’t score a TD that day, but beat the hapless Ravens 15-6. On the other side of the bracket the Patriots got totally outplayed by the Chargers but won, which allowed the Colts to host the AFC Championship game.

In that game New England jumped out to a 21-6 halftime lead. Manning was choking again in the big game. And then uncharacteristically the Patriots fell apart and allowed the Colts to gain momentum and steal a game that should have never been close. All three wins were fortuitous but this is how I know for sure that something freaky was happening that year, the Colts opposition in the Super Bowl (the Bears) was coached by Tony Dungy’s mentee Lovie Smith. And more importantly Smith's defensive scheme was the same scheme Dungy taught him, and the identical defense that Manning saw every day in practice. The demonic stars were all aligned that year. And due to the fact that I had moved to Atlanta by 2006 a steak dinner that would have cost me $300 dollars ended up costing me $1,000.

Everything is not as it seems with Peyton Manning. Isn't it the devils job to beguile the whole world. In biblical times he was a snake. In modern times he's a quaterback that wears #18.