For your reading enjoyment.

http://outkickthecoverage.com/inside-the-mind-of-the-lady-who-will-win-your-bracket-pool.php

Okay, so after some “your last post was depressing” comments, I came into this one feeling like I could do something more positive and good feeling-ee… but (uh, rah) then I turned the television on. I’ve gotta work with what I’ve got, man…

Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, is filing for divorce, after over 10 years of blissful (well, not exactly) nuptials. I know, personally, I’ve heard of someone ending their marriage and the feelings varying from total disbelief to it-took-this-long reactions. This L.A. Lakers’ superstar isn’t a stranger to marital troubles, but 10 years in his arena is like a lifetime. Vanessa and Kobe have two daughters and I’ve found that children sometimes tend to be that false foundational glue that keeps marriages together for as long as they actually manage to be kept together.

Ending any relationship, a lengthy one at that, has to be difficult just from the simple fact of impending change that no one can avoid. I’m not an authority on how others live… I just say everything happens as it should and remember to live. All of life stuff falls under those two things.

[Merry Christmas!!... LOL! Here's to more positive posts. Crack up.]

I heard about this some time ago, but you know how I am when it comes to writing and sharing information… I feel like its not always about breaking news, but its about appropriate timing. Anyway, I know the holidays can conjure up many feelings, and some that aren’t always of cheer and good tidings of great joy. Whatever the feeling… and relatively speaking… its good to know that you’re not alone with having adverse feelings.

NBA Hall of Famer, Jerry West (he’s also actually the NBA symbol), has suffered from depression since childhood. That seemingly sounds crazy, right? All the fame and notoriety and yet still, such a human emotion. With this depression came low self esteem and the feeling of just not measuring up. West chalks these feelings and state of mind up to the abusive upbringing he suffered by the hand of his father.

I would go to bed feeling like I didn’t even want to live. – Excerpt from HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

This abuse was shared among his other siblings and as West relives horrible moments, he still, even after his father’s death, wondered if his father would be proud of him. With 14 seasons with the L.A. Lakers, West also found a way to incapsulate his depression while on the court by carrying the overwhelming fear of failure. Obviously, his frame of mind followed him into his personal life with family and friends…

You should really look deeper into his story because its an interestingly sad one… But, he survived. And you know, it is really actually a common story, but you just never think about a well-known superstar, who displayed such poise and grace, being plagued with such mental afflictions. You just never know and I guess that’s the point, right?…

So, obviously I could use this space to talk about the latest in professional sports’ lockouts, where the NBA is now the newest group containing billionaires and millionaires (and some newly drafted prospects that have virtually no money at all) fighting over millions and billions. And there is possibly some comedic value associated with NBA.com (a site dedicated to, well, the NBA) having no reference of the individual NBA teams (Good times!)… And we now know, from this site, that there can be no practices, no mentionings of practices, and no pro ball player saying words that begin with p-r-a-c (Thanks for that.)… But no, what I think is more news worthy and of more value in terms of space is the admission by veteran actor, Charlie Sheen, that he used steroids during the 1989 baseball movie, Major League, where he played Ricky Vaughn. Seriously, when you compare the two, there’s really no comparison, right?…

And while there were many quotes from Sheen, on this story, that would satisfy a litany of ills, I thought the following would offer just the right amount of  ”huh?” for your day.:

“Let’s just say that I was enhancing my performance a little bit. It was the only time I ever did steroids,” Sheen told Sports Illustrated. “I did them for like six or eight weeks. You can print this… my fastball went from 79 to like 85.”

A buddy of mine (a.k.a. Young Boy) passed this off to me (on the humble) and I had to share the love… Not a pro sport thing, but really something worth sharing.

Summer time, asphalt, grudges, and idol time are almost always toxic ingredients for drama, fights, jail-house calls to Momma, and gunned down corner kids laying in gutters. I’m happy about the “almost” concept… Specifically, the possibilities within these same conditions that allow for dramatically different results.

There is a basketball court with 12-foot fences surrounding it and is one of the few places where the neighborhood’s 2,729 residents can escape the harsh realities of life. Nike donated $50,000 for the court to be done up (redone, that is). And back in the day, “The Farm”, as it’s called (Barry Farm Dwellings, in southwest Washington), was a tobacco plantation before it became a community for freed slaves.

Read this fascinating story on how the “almost concept” can be the norm…

Thanks, Young Boy!

Why am I writing about LeBron James again? One way or the other I find myself being drained by the news surrounded around him, but this takes the proverbial cake (lemon, if I have my choice).:

“Absolutely not, because at the end of the day, all the people that were rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day, they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today,” James said. “They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that.”

Now, I know this quote has resounded around the world as millions witnessed (that was funny) the Dallas Mavericks river dance on the throats of the Miami Heat for the 2011 NBA Championship, but there are so many things to address here. I like to parallel the sport stories to that of every day life and I feel the range of human emotion and reaction involved around this Dallas win does just that (The numbered bullets were successful last time, so let’s try that again.).:

1. I hope with this statement that those who were stupefied by a ridiculous comparison between Michael Jordan and James will now come to their collective senses as even the Majestic Jordan never stooped so low as to rub people’s socio-economic situation in their faces… Oh and yes, after the 7th season, doesn’t have a ring.
   1. Let’s chat about this a little bit… Even if he was just talking to or about his haters or the media, the whole world heard this crass statement and may have taken it personally. The thing is, there are marginal people out there who just jumped the fence to now being a LeBron hater because of his snobbish comments (Thanks, I’m a billionaire and you’re not. Thanks for that.).
2. He [James] drains me… period… And his hairline has a remarkable resemblance to Paul Pierce’s hairline (Random? Yes, but true.).
3. I actually feel like he or some family member must have been threatened or something because he was not King James during the entire series… He was extremely inconsistent, lazy, disengaged, and all around just average.
4. There is no secret that Kobe Bryant is my fave. And one thing I love about him, which is very Jordanesque`, is that every game he shows up to play. He puts it all on the table, night in and night out. Why is it that James displayed such cry-baby-like tendencies, was a sore loser, and could ever think of being just average when the game required greatness?
   1. Dwyane Wade, during this entire stretch, displayed crazy maturity and poise. I think I have to give Marquette (his college) the credit for that. I think the training there prepared him for such moments. This is something James never experienced. Even being the high-school champion, it cannot groom you in the art of manhood and sportsmanship. I believe it’s something James will need to learn in order to be a champion in the League.
5. Savannah Brinson, James’ fiancee`, is being accused of having an affair with Washington Wizards’ Rashard Lewis and this turn of events is also apparently the reason for James sub-par play on the court.
   1. Okay, first off, I thought you had to be married in order to have an affair. Having a lot of children by someone doesn’t count.
   2. The fact that she has a lot of children by him counts… (cha-ching!).
   3. I want to know why Brinson and James’ mother like these NBA stars so much… There are other professional sports, you know?
6. Why was Chris Bosh crying so hard?
7. And my new fave quote, “The ring is the thing… and everything else is just statistics.”

Did I leave anything out??

My sports sporadics don’t necessarily line up with the latest headlines… I don’t seem to flow that way. These are just my thoughts surrounded around some countries within the world of sports, recent or not.

1. LeBron James is not better than Michael Jordan. And until he wins something, which is the point of this game called professional basketball, the NBA, he will never be as good. He will simply be another awesome player who never won a ring… Like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, “the ring is the thing… and everything else is just statistics” (In context, he actually said this in reference to #2 [with Bill Russell having 11 championship rings], but it fits quite nicely here, too.).

2. Why is Scottie Pippen trippin’ (I’d usually ask why a person is on crack, but that can be considered defamation of character here.)? Did his PR person tell him he needed to do something to bring attention to himself? Who is he anyway to even open his mouth, ever? I can’t even think of a parallel to make this make sense [Did I mention Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said the ring is the thing? And Scottie can think Jordan for this honor.].

3. Mike Brown? Really? The end…

4. Why do colleges pick and choose integrity? Jim Tressel tenders his resignation to Ohio State? But, there has been recent press around the fact that “maybe” these college athletes should get some type of stipend above room, board, tuition, and such (People are so dramatic. Drained.)…

5. FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association [a.k.a. soccer]) can now join the other elite professional sports with [opened to the public] scandals, lies, betrayal, bribery, isolation, embarrassment, and denial. Good times…

6. After the first NBA Finals game, Dirk Nowitzki is who we thought he was…

7. I went to Dallas this past weekend. Is there any other sport/team there outside of football?… There was no shortage of Cowboys memorabilia, symbols, or random stars that weren’t isolated to the Lone Star State. It was a crack up… It definitely shows who brings in the money (Or, who has the most money at least).

8. Roger Federer is a man god…

9. Did you know Kim Kardastian’s fiance`, Kris Humphries, plays for the New Jersey Nets?… I didn’t either (Yes I did. It was just funnier to say I didn’t. Love is grand!).

10. “The ring is the thing… and everything else is just statistics,” is my new single-sentence argument.

It’s a crack up to me ’cause every time I attempt to bring a story from another sports arena, some NBA star grabs my attention. And for me, its a must tell…

We all remember Allen Iverson, right?… Well, probably not, but he was a prolific point/shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers for many years, giving up his body night in and night out (Uh, ask your significant other to translate that for you.). He then went all Rambo after he was past his prime and asked to come off the bench, which lead him to now being a star (once again) for the Turkish Basketball League. Iverson isn’t primarily known for his charity work, which he’s done a great deal of, or for giving back and re-building black (African-American… for the PC side of you) communities, which he’s also contributed to for many years. Rather, he dons the stamp of celebrity approval for being a bad boy, say-what’s-on-his-mind type of fellow… It appears that hasn’t changed.

Born to a single, 15-year-old, Iverson has known some hardships, but I’m not one for excusing ridiculousness because of childhood woes. I believe we’ve all, relative to our situations, have experienced one hardship or another. Anywho… Iverson’s Lamborghini was pulled over by an Atlanta officer who noticed the vehicle changing lanes without signaling (Yes, a bit extra, I know, but stay with the story.), and after some time this once NBA All Star became irate because he couldn’t leave his vehicle (He was the passenger.) to eat (Wow!).

Okay, let’s forget the expired tags (Don’t even ask…) since 2009 and the 20 minutes, apparently, that Iverson needed to explain who he was to the officer… Let’s focus on the fact the he said to another human being (1) ”Do you know who I am” and (2) ”Take the car. I have 10 more.” And I like this one best, him telling the officer (3) “I make more money than you will in 10 years.” What, in the name of all that’s holy (I just got that weird mother-wouldn’t-like-that-phrasing feeling.)?… Who does that? This once MVP deemed it necessary to berate an officer for doing his job? Of course, later, he apologized (Whatever.). He’s lost so many cool points. How do you explain to your kid or younger sibling that this is inappropriate behavior when the world says, verbally and in action, that it’s okay… You get a pass since you entertain us. Even as a realist, a small piece of me (a little circle on my ankle) believe people have to be better than this.

So… former NBA star with the Chicago Bulls, Jalen Rose, was arrested recently on drunk driving charges.

When I heard this story earlier this week, I was shocked. As a pretty good analyst on ESPN (not sure if he still has his job), Rose just didn’t give off the impression that he would make such an idiotic decision. I guess that statement should be qualified since, for most sports analysts (or people in general), you really don’t necessarily get any impression other than what one wants portrayed, personality wise, on air (Of course, there are a few [who shall remain nameless] I wonder if they take a swig or two before going live.).

Once I got beyond the shock, I actually became a little itchy with the entire thing in that a little over a week ago, my mother was involved in an automobile accident with a drunk driver hitting her. Thankfully, outside of a totaled vehicle, a few burns (from the deplored airbag), bumps, and bruises, my mom will be okay. But, the thought still crosses my mind that it could have been so much different and therein lies the source of my itchness…

For me, the driver who hit my mom could’ve been “x” person (Rose, Spoonge Bob, Gaddafi) for all I cared. The point was that you made a decision, which is truly yours to make… and that’s drinking (and even getting tore down if you choose). But, then you made a second decision that took away the choice for someone else. That’s a problem for me. So, while you all know I’m one for redemption and grace being applied equally,  I totally don’t get the  general arrogance and complete irrelevance for human life. I’m hoping–simply–that Rose chooses better next time.