Kobe Bryant: The Great Facilitator?

Kobe Bryant is a Basketball genius, as stubborn as Jordan and Bird and as gifted as any player short of LeBron James. When I think of him as musically he reminds me of the Rock Icon Lenny Kravitz, accomplished, worldly, and more evolved than previous incarnations but forever haunted by whispers of “derivative”. But that is what genius is someone who can steal a little bit from everyone and uniquely brand it with their own panache. Lenny Kravitz’s first breakout Album was skewered by music snobs as a blatant rip off of the Beatles, and previously he’d shamelessly present himself as a newer model of that other brotha with a guitar –Prince. Both acts are Kravitz’s superior by far but Lenny in his own way found his voice and ultimately became Prince for those too young to know just how amazing Prince was. And his derivative past didn’t matter; besides we are all influenced by somebody. Kobe heard the “You think your MJ” loud and early in his career and now those of us who said it are “old heads” who get shouted down by his acolytes. And you know what? We gladly pipe down because over time we’ve learned to respect him and we’ll miss him when he’s gone. Now after 17 years of being like Mike Kobe is being forced to do something a little closer to home, something he probably never figured he’d have to do when the Lakers acquired Steve Nash.

Be Like Magic

And he can do it; he just never had to lead by forfeiting his value as a dangerous scorer to create offense for others. Injury and age may have made Nash a non-factor when it comes to breaking the defense down but he’s still the best shooter in league history if you leave him unattended. What will another scoring title do if you’re at the helm as the leader of one of the most embarrassing seasons in NBA history? With assists totals of 14, 14, and 11 in the last 3 games many of you may not believe a player who is synonymous with ball hogging can’t keep it up but I believe Kobe’s intent on not missing the play-offs is stronger. Remember he’s a winner and though he may want to win “his way” the passion to win by any means necessary is stronger, at 34 Kobe’s survival instinct is stronger than getting buckets. He also can see the trend of point guards dominating a less physical league so why not use his size and court vision to experience just how easily it came for Magic at 6’9. Magic is family, and like an old dad Kobe locked into to MJ at an early age (despite claiming Magic is his "idol") and for the most part he’s made himself Magic’s “yang” in the pantheon of Laker mythology- but now times are hard. When times are hard we tighten up our wallets, morals, work ethic and cling to what is fundamental about all things and Magic though flashy; is fundamental. That ball moves faster than any player ever will, just ask LeBron James, still a great passer despite being the fastest human in a league of athletic freaks. The Lakers have to move the ball and why not put it in the hands of the one guy who still scares the defense on a nightly basis? Dwight Howard may not be Superman until next year and Earl Clark can only get better in an offense that isn’t based on superstar touches: AKA watching Kobe shoot over double-teams.

The Lakers aren’t out of the wilderness yet so I don’t see how anyone could question whether he would flip the script back to something that clearly isn’t working. In fact, I’ll bet secretly he’s enjoying it because it only adds to the Kobe legend-even Wilt Chamberlain led the league in assists once just to show you he could. LeBron’s all around game is the standard in 2013; it’s no longer Kobe who was kind of a continuation of the Michael Jordan blueprint on getting the job done. And for those of you who don’t remember the 1980’s there were two guys who were in the finals every year who would routinely put up double digit assists, and there were no Sports Center segments done on the occurrence because it wasn’t a big deal. He's already claiming that if he'd focused on being the "big PG" he would have been the greatest of all time so be happy he's obsessed with dishing the rock. Don't be so quick to predict a return to gunning for Bryant, old dogs may not learn new tricks but rare breeds do-and "24" is a rare breed.

Let The Chickens Come Home to Roost on Pastor Ray Lewis

What’s the matter? The elephant that’s been in the room for 13 years decided to let you know he’s always been there? Did it take Wes Welkers wife to bring attention to it? Or is it invalid because if you lose you should just go somewhere and try to learn how to win. So you can rationalize anything. Ray Lewis is retiring and he’s come full circle, and it’s beautiful yet strange because that circle inevitably leads us back to the fact that he probably shouldn’t be among us. He was able to afford justice, afford the luxury of hiding a white suit covered in blood all those years ago and given these political times he now has cover. This aint about the brotha’s who are unfairly targeted and arrested nor the ones who end up getting overcharged for bullshit, it is about the ones we choose to galvanize behind because they can play a game and pay off families in civil courts. It’s about bringing the politically correct hammer down on anybody who raises an eyebrow with a Football player unabashedly associating God’s will with synthetic violence. No weapon used against me can prosper, but please don’t mention what happened back in the ATL back in the day-remember we got a Black President ya’ll.

He’s inspirational, he’s a leader, this Baltimore Ravens team wants to win the Super Bowl for him and if you question him you’re in the wrong. If he wears religion on his sleeve you should respect it because he just be the greatest Linebacker of All-time-unlike the white boy who can’t play a lick of Quarterback. I beg to differ, I may not agree with the forces that use Tim Tebow as a Right Wing lucky charm but damnit I respect how the young man “tries” to live his damned life. If he could be deliver the ball from the pocket he could get some of that Taylor Swift, maybe even dodge a few murky assault claims and we of the Sports Cathedral would demand you judge him as flesh and blood. Because that’s how much we love Football, and Ray Lewis plays it with a passion and accords it with the same theological context you do every Sunday when you send your woman and your children to services alone. Who are we to judge, or even ponder how the victims’ families might feel right now after watching two weeks of Ray Lewis being propped up by Sports media as deity.

Court cases with the assistance of elite attorneys can paint the same alternative realities as statistic geeks, and it don’t take a genius to figure out Ray did more than uphold the “Snitches get Stiches” code. Shit, CSI Atlanta had it been a series in 2000 would have cracked this case just before the last run of commercials. Fellow Athletes, black athletes snicker and talk in code on the radio about that fateful weekend in Atlanta-and still nobody has a problem sweeping 2 non-Football Playing lives under the rug. Black Sports media types raise their voices just enough to make their white counterparts back off, he’s done his time! and the Race Card is sitting right under my thigh. We tend to be able to unite behind Ray after the blood is long dried, and yet the media never came this strong to denounce the behavior. Not only am I not my brotha’s keeper, I don’t feel an obligation to keep him after he’s done some immoral shit like take a life. That is why I don’t listen to Farrakhan, I’m not the Brotha to look the other way while Malcolm is still in the ground-we must not be blind to our inhumanity towards one another and expect humane treatment from others. Black Writers tell us to pay attention and honor the verdict out of one side of their mouths and then emphasize that the “Streets talk” when it comes to other subjects-clearly they observe the code as well. How can anyone jeopardize their credibility defending Ray Lewis and then call for action on something as blatant as the lack of black coaches hired this offseason.

Ray Lewis is a big boy, he’s in the damned Super Bowl and he’s 13 years removed from having to play it when the case was Fresh-he don’t need protection. Joe Flacco’s Daddy just smashed him and called him “boring”; an example of the fact that the media has two whole weeks to get all up in ya business. The Harbaugh Family at some point will get tired and realize how stressful it will be to see one of their sons hurting due to what the other did to him. Ray Lewis is walking away from a stellar career and he’s been emotional and drawing attention to himself; why should anyone apologize for something he did to create his own narrative? Why should the same people who have no problem electrocuting a College kid with an imaginary girlfriend pump the breaks on an issue where people lost their lives? The Parents of Richard Loller and Jacinth Baker get the message loud and clear that Lewis’s mentorship and NFL Preacher shtick takes priority over their sons lives, these young men were obscured by Lewis’s largess the night he entered that club with his boys and the African American Sports media is asking you to make them invisible again.

BREAKING NEWS:

Sports Illustrated’s David Epstein and George Dohrmann report Ray Lewis used products provided by Sports with Alternatives to Steroids (the name says it all) that included tissue regeneration (can you say Kobe?) and a whole array of stuff you can’t buy at the GNC. The Company is owned by a former juice dealer and the product of choice is IGF-1, a banned substance that Lewis was implicated for using as far back as April 2011. The Deluxe program include substances like Deer antler and Holographic stickers from Jesus himself, and you best believe if the Ravens win Sunday “Brotha Ray” will cry like a Televangelist and tell you that God healed his torn triceps. But God is the problem, because Lewis and the NFL as defacto Religion is the reason many of us take a blind eye towards the extreme violence and inability of the league to even decide “how” to test for HGH. So those who love him will shed a tear and those who hate him will thank the Lord he’s gone and wait for the long-term CTE to set in-and even then Brotha Ray will forgive your stupid asses.

I say Amen to those who love Football, but shame on those who do not recognize Idolatry as a Sin.

Hoping Kelly Pavlik Stays "Ghost"

I’m what you call “painfully Midwestern”; due to my sensibilities, my affinity for shoveling snow and my awkward sometimes misplaced pragmatism. We’re somehow born sensible, this is why many of us in order to “be” something must get out of our comfort zones and either move east or west. Many of my friends are the kind of guy’s sitcom TV sells back to the nation, unpretentious and simple, proof that there is actually “the” kind of guy you want to have a beer with. One such guy, let’s call him Chad innocently asked me way back in 2005 if there were any “white guys who could fight” and without even considering the cultural context of the question (I’m Midwestern) blurted out “Kelly Pavlik” and chided him for not knowing the name. At 160 lbs. Pavlik burst on the scene looking like Tommy Hearns inside out, without the jab of course but crushing right hand power and an ability to fight through adversity when hurt. Maybe that’s the Youngstown in him, given the fact that my beloved Midwest is rusted over in many places I can understand the mettle -like I said I’ve got friends like him.

He may have ended Jermaine Taylors career the first night they met with the future on the line, and he may have ended his own “after” many of his fights through excess. There are many places whereby the local bar is the social epicenter and drinking is the great consolidator, places where sometimes 3 generations of family settle in for Saturday Afternoon Football and Saturday Night regrets. Pavlik remained in this setting throughout his career, remained uniquely “of” this setting and now after announcing his retirement will hopefully be “for” something healthy in his hometown. Being “for” Youngstown is a little more complicated than delivering that right hand in the closing rounds of high action bouts, it involves being proactive when it comes to being a role model so that the next generation can follow the footprints left. When reading Pavliks comments he seems to already be on the track to being healthy because he sounds like a mature man, someone much less addicted to the opiate of being a fighter.

Andre Wards shoulder injury was a Godsend in more ways than one, and it gave Pavlik time to consider the monotony of filling his time with the grind of lesser bouts. Thoughtful and more candid than most about the specter of longtime damage Pavlik articulated a desire to enjoy life at 55, an age where grotesquely a lot of fighters still ponder getting in the ring. Sometimes we forget the value of being a man, who as Clint Eastwood says in “Magnum Force” knows his limitations, and Pavlik knew his style was never built for longevity, it was built for the riches he earned in that brief window between 2007 and 2010. The advice Hopkins gave him after schooling him at 170 lbs. (2008) didn’t fall on deaf ears, it merely withered in the harsh reality of the old Cus D’Amato saying about square pegs never turning round. Pavlik was never going to be able to defend himself against the speed of Martinez nor the guile of Hopkins; and Andre Ward possessed both attributes in spades. Kelly assures us that he put his money away and I for one hope he isn’t lying, it’s bad enough that fighters go on too long but for all action guys like him it’s downright suicidal.

He was thinking of retiring before Ward was presented to him as the ultimate cash out, the fact that he wanted the fight was one last evidence that the kid was always a “big game hunter”. Considering Pavlik’s struggles with substance abuse I don’t feel like the shadows of Boxing’s “D League” is a place that inspires anything positive for him. I will always root for guys to step away from the ring before the ring sends them away, the latter is always a proposition that you have to live with, the kind that dwindles away at the faculties you don’t take for granted with age. Hopefully the Ghost won’t be a stranger, Boxing is in his blood and Cold turkey is the one thing that can drive him back to the sport in an unhealthy way. Maybe the kids of Youngstown who grew up just like him can benefit from his presence, from a great gym and guidance like the kind that helped him in his life. Maybe involvement in our broken amateur system could fill that void, and of course he would be valuable working with Boxers who deal with substance abuse issues.

           

The bottom line is Pavlik should be lauded for his frankness and ability to know himself, something he will need a lot as he deals with the issues that will always be nearby. We rarely applaud the fighter who walks away early and spares us the misappropriation of resources networks are forced to invest on men in their late 30’s and 40’s. Sanity prevailed, as well as the no nonsense virtues that make Midwesterners what they are, unassuming, down to earth and just plain “good folk”. If he comes back we’ll all shrug and say “That’s Boxing” but I for one don’t believe he’s coming back. He’s been a lot of things in his brief time in the spotlight but reliant on that spotlight isn’t one of them. Pavlik fought with heart but something in his personality knew there’s nothing more morbid than an all action fighter in his 30’s, something Ricky Hatton came back to learn firsthand. So Farewell to you Kelly Pavlik; Boxing welcomes another man leaving with his health and money intact and hopefully you won’t be the last.

Five Ways Robert Griffin Can Escape the Myth of ESPN’s Post Racial Stardom

It’s so easy to pile on Rob Parker right now; an ill-informed comment that makes white folks bitterly call Race Card is the gift that keeps on giving in the public forum. ESPN, in justifying their zero tolerance (for a certain “type” of voice) was in propaganda mode by ending their relationship with Parker and following the public sacrifice with an “Outside The Lines” piece (last Sunday) opining if Griffin is the first “Post Racial” sports star. Accurately Michael Wilbon reminded in the piece that there’s no such thing as “post racial” and anyone my age and older would have to remind the viewer there once were men named Ali and Jordan. There will always be race hatred, and only a few minorities who are successful enough to afford rare exemption. Propaganda is designed for the ignorant masses and the best propaganda is the kind that rings of truth, just disseminated with a slant to achieve a certain purpose. ESPN (Disney) is no shrinking violet in the political arena and I find it irresponsible when they elevate sports to a level of utopian frontier, while omitting the fact that Black Athletes excel in sports to escape manufactured poverty. While RG3 is a hero to young Blacks a higher % of them are unemployed despite college degrees and privatized prisons await the ones ensnared by a phony drug war emphasized by the criminalization of young black manhood. In the town RG3 plays in a President declares he isn’t the President of Black America while making sure to “settle accounts” with other parts of the coalition that won him the white house… twice.

Hip Hop-the second arena by which a Black Man can become “Post Racial” is vastly becoming a battlefield where actual criminal background can accelerate a rappers market value while white counterparts don’t have to “move weight” to go platinum. For the penthouse elite, the Rappers who achieve the highest level of status there is the chore of projecting dark, ominous, often occult symbolism to a nation of young black people already trapped in a dystopian reality. The Rappers have a unique credibility in a country where they could easily have been rendered invisible, the same goes for Football Players. ESPN is blessed with omnipotent credibility and if they want to blackball Parker or turn Griffin into a post racial icon the deed is practically done. I applaud Griffins parents for their service to our country and the “no excuses” way they raised Robert but to laugh dismissively about the unfortunate dichotomy black stars face is mirroring the indifference larger society has regarding the complexities of the hood. Race will always be a prevalent topic in Sports and unfortunately no amount of Griffins great Character or PC dogma will change that, and ESPN will never make a documentary strong enough to make the social disparity go away. When you make a piñata out of Rob Parker you may have done something that makes you feel better but the brotha’s in the barbershop are the ones who see the real side of America experienced by many despite the content of their character.

Robert Griffin is a delightful young man and talent and I applaud his lofty ideals but this injury is only the first adversity he has had to deal with in his new role as post racial superstar. In the years to come there are many different ways that he can struggle and only then will we find out just how the content of his character cannot move the needle. Remember, NFL fans skewered the President of the United States with racially insensitive barbs when he interrupted their right to watch black men colliding with one another and shortening their lives. Football fans can be a unique brand of delusional and they aren’t far from crying over their all black defense being robbed by an unfair call nor suggesting a free agent on said defense “go back to the ghetto” when he makes a dumb play. Race is always just beneath the green grass and the green money mostly white attendee’s pay for overpriced beer. If ESPN is so sure that the PC universe they create on their platform is a safe place for the likes of Griffin let us examine a few of the ways his conduct in coming years can wake up the ghost of George Preston Marshall.

#1 Underperform while making ill-advised mistakes

Luckily for Griffin he’s clearly more cerebral as a rookie than Michael Vick ever was, but injuries dictate this pistol/read option hybrid won’t be rolled out next year. This makes the emphasis on reading coverage’s more demanding and if he struggles in certain spots there will be an immediate attack on his intellect. Don’t think for one minute ignorant sports fans, you know the ones who called Obama racist names for interrupting their football wont “go there”. Griffin can easily go from being a great Quarterback of the future to merely being an “instinctual athlete” by the same ESPN talking heads who rave about him now. Rarely are white Quarterbacks outright labeled “stupid” but It won’t take long if Griffin throws a few “pick 6’s” of the kind that made Brett Favre and endearing “gunslinger”. He’ll be Black then, if he can’t bother with being black now how will he have the perspective to deal with veiled racism when it hits him in the face? Rob Parker won’t be there to kick around, and when the heat comes down every black personality at ESPN knows they better not come to his defense nor get into any “racial stuff”. Quarterback is the most mentally demanding position in the game and few black QB’s get credit for mastering this aspect of football, if things break down and Griffin isn’t able to make reads there will be low lives on Twitter suggesting that it’s because people like him “cant” read.

#2 Become Injury Prone while becoming a Financial Burden

The sports fan primate is not fully civilized, he actually yells at grown men for ruining his chance to win the enormous 200$ pot in his fantasy league. There is a lack of empathy and human connection between the guy on the field and the guy who believes his ticket gives him the right to decide if you should be there for the birth of a child. The fan is notorious for cheering a player’s injury and openly rooting for the maiming of a player they don’t feel is producing. In 2012 Bears fans would call Gayle Sayers “soft” and not even blink, just how “post racial” would RG3 be if he tore up the same knee in say week 4 of next year?. Would all of the right responses (he gives good “leader guy” talk) mean as much if fans had to deal with the fact that he just may be like that other black guy who can’t play a full season?, you know the one who used to dogfight?. What if RG3 earned a nice chunk of change the next couple of years standing next to Shanahan and shooting really cool Adidas “rehab” commercials?. What then would shield him from blue collar white guy who gets it in his head that “those guys” don’t work hard like he does pouring cement for cousin Cooters Construction Company? Once you become a financial burden people change and they cross lines they wouldn’t have crossed even when you were playing poorly. It’s worse when you’re a black QB who will be compared to what looks to be an incredibly durable Andrew Luck.

#3 Say anything remotely Critical about the Military or foreign Policy

Griffin is a Military brat and he has the MJ/Tiger/Jeter playbook to being lifeless and Apolitical but he does view himself as an inspirational figure. You can’t be inspirational without putting it on the line and saying some things that you strongly believe in against wide opposition. However he probably knows that saying anything about world affairs will not win him any friends and may set off a firestorm, and in DC FBI surveillance. When you’re rich and black benign is best because the minute you say anything provocative you’re reminded of how grateful you should be, by the IRS personally. It’s been that way since Ali and it won’t change anytime soon; the implication will always be shut up, play ball and be happy white folks like you. There’s a reason Jim Brown aint walking through that door folks, and it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with conditions being better for Black people. Remember Steeler Running Back Rashard Mendenhall’s 9/11 tweet? or the time he compared the NFL system to the Slave Trade?. Americans aren’t big on any kind of critical analysis that isn’t in the realm of what they want to believe about themselves and Black Athletes after Brown and Ali have learned it’s a lot more profitable to stick to the talking points. One little slip in this area will get RG3 in the kind of “shit storm” whereby the N word is certainly going to come his way, if it’s good enough for the other “post racial” guy in Washington DC its good enough for him.

#4 Cheat on his Wife

Tiger Woods played the post racial card all the way to the bank and when his ex-wife was done with him he made another trip, a 750 million Dollar withdrawal trip. Honestly I don’t believe white fans care about the Black Athlete with the gorgeous white wife because it reaffirms their ideals of what having the best America can offer “is”. But if you have that idealized white mate the last thing you want to do is disgrace her in a public way. Griffin seems like he’ll make a great husband and dad but if things go sideways he will learn about just how black he is. Black men of prominence disappoint black women all the time but when they tarnish non-black trophies their Q Rating goes way down; just ask Tiger how sullying the Nordic ideal went for him. Tiger Woods had no idea what Elin represented until the sponsors had him on the phone, his public downfall was unusual and emasculating when you consider Athletes are routinely unfaithful. “Post Racial” Money is different than normal money and your spouse does matter, just as much as it does for a politician. Cheat on Lashanda and your just another stud jock, cheat on Mindy or Becky and you’ve got yourself an issue with public perception. Cheat on Mindy or Beth and ancient stereotypes about black male sexuality come to the surface, I mean only some kind of animal could cheat on such a nice young girl right?

#5 make any concerted effort to identify with Black Children who look up to you

To be post racial you have to ignore the pride and identification people of your race place in you, trading away a certain intimacy you were born with in exchange for generalized more profitable love. Muhammad Ali identified with and tried to inspire Black children, but his love for humanity made him irresistible to all races of people. But the Champ was an outlier, the modern athlete inspires through foundations and causes, Lance Armstrong sold yellow wristbands but Ali talked freely about what Black children are facing. Ali would be a nightmare for a PR Firm today because they would be frustrated with his insistence on the “black stuff”. Black people who have a certain degree of mainstream appeal are encouraged to be an inspiration to all, but one word about the realistic disparity in the lives of black children and white children can get you labeled a racist. Washington DC is the perfect backdrop for this kind of misstep because if RG3 ventured beyond the guidelines of his handlers he would correctly see that children who look like him need him the most. And maybe this experience would stop all of this “content of character” talk; because there’s nothing like seeing the starkness of poverty up close to drag the privileged out of this mythical “Post Racial” America.

Papi Raps: Part 4

The Drafting of Cousins Aggravated RG3 Injury From 1/7/13 with 12/14/13 Update!!

Football coaches on the verge of getting fired are compromised and like any desperate man they’ll go into CMA Mode with little regard for the future. Listen to RG3’s press conference after having to leave a Play-off game due to injury yesterday, put the words on the screen and think real hard about every word the young man uttered. Despite being Rookie of the year and one of the most electrifying players in the NFL he spoke like a player who was clearly in a rush to show his teammates he’s the kind of leader they should get behind. Why would a Rookie, the future of the Redskins franchise speak like this after he’s shown everything we need to see this season?

Robert Griffith sat out one week with his injury and saw in Kirk Cousins (vs. the Browns) someone who was drafted with his fragility clearly in mind, and he responded irrationally. Kirk Cousins isn’t a backup, and Steve Fischer would still be coaching the Titans had he drafted a second starter just in case Vince Young turned out the way he knew he would. Let’s not all act like we were on the RG3 bandwagon “after” he kicked ass, the bottom line is he was not a mortal lock to do what he did because his style of Quarterbacking isn’t yet considered industry standard despite the excitement. RG3, once hurt bore the burden of all the whispers about mobile QB’s getting hurt and the fact that Mike Shanahan; now hailed for his handling of Griffith drafted an insurance policy. Had Griffith not been looking over his shoulder he’d have been satisfied with his performance and took the appropriate time to recover, and it may have cost Shannahan his job. Instead, we saw a Rookie recklessly trying to prove “this is my team”; just ask yourself how many times the #2 pick in last year’s draft said those words since he was injured? Did Andrew Luck reiterate 20 times the Colts were his team? Did “Little Muscle” Russell (a 3^rd Round Pick) have to emphasis this over and over despite actually being an underdog on the Seahawks depth chart?

Mike Shanahan is an RG3 guy NOW, but on draft day he was a Mike Shanahan guy and he didn’t care that Rex Grossman may have given the kid a mentor who is no threat to him when he’s injured. The kid is a warrior and he would have been trying to get back in yesterday’s game no matter who the backup is but having a decorated young stud who isn’t  tainted (as a back-up) can’t help the decision making process. Robert Griffith just came into the limelight as a Top Draft choice last year; he didn’t enjoy the 4 years of hype that Andrew Luck did nor the “can’t miss” draft assessment based on playing a traditional style. Drafting a game, future starter from a Big Conference was not a threat to Griffith when healthy but when vulnerable he went “Military” the last 3 weeks of the season and could have impacted the rest of his career in a negative way. Without Kirk Cousins RG3’s leadership qualities would have manifested in a different way, he would have thought about his future differently and been secure enough to know that future gutsy performances were forthcoming.

RG3 will say all the right things, I expect nothing less but this isn’t about him, its more about putting valuable assets in the right frame of mind. Football is already dangerous, especially when you’re a slender dual threat Quarterback just learning the pro game-why make it more dangerous? Jay Cutler was blasted a couple of years back for knowing what his body was telling him and he didn’t give a damn because he knew what he could do in the league. RG3 is an electrifying rookie in the NFL and he has historical perspective, he knows that Michael Vick, Vince Young, and Randall Cunningham were all once in the same place and none of them ended up where he wants to go. Mike Shanahan drafted a talented conventional quarterback because he wasn’t sure if Griffith was a meteor like Vick and he didn’t want to be vulnerable if he was. Now that it’s been proven RG3 is psychologically identical to his physical gifts it’s time for the Redskins to part with Cousins in favor of a high draft pick. Shanahan did his due diligence and looked out for himself and now it’s time to look out for Griffith by drafting a big-time target. Shanahan got away with destabilizing a young man that didn’t deserve the “competition” and he’ll be rewarded with an extension.

RG3 was not in his right mind yesterday and he was in no mood to let Kirk Cousins play reliever and nurse the 14 points he put up. If he were playing like crap due to injury and there was a non threatening veteran there to take the Skins home he would have had no problem stepping down. Mike Shanahan let him go so long because he felt guilty  about having another stud colt in the stable when it wasn't necessary, and now he'll have to accept some of the brunt of the senseless damage incurred after the first quarter. Hopefully this will be a lesson for him regarding this years draft, to cover the franchise QB's blindside instead of his own investment portfolio. 


 Update December 14th, 2013

After an awful year where the kid never looked the same Shannahan held the bizarre press conference benching him for the rest of the season. The leather faced true Redskin of a coach is going out on his shield and sticking it to the brotha he didn’t want in the first damned place one last time. Did RG3 get caught up in his rehab D-Rose style over the summer? Yes he did, but I contend he’s been freaked out and overly defensive about his job since draft day. Kirk Cousins is the ideal QB for Shannahan and like Jeff Fisher he wasn’t fond of the "spread em out" black QB that seems to be encroaching on the old boy viewpoint of how the game should be played.

Michael Irvin called it what it was, and as you can see I called it a year ago. Nobody knew that John Elway’s caddie was grousing behind the scenes about drafting this brotha but look for the scenario to happen a lot more in the future. Back in the day old boys like Shanahan didn’t have to worry about owners falling in love with African American QB’s and I’m sure a lot of coaches miss the days when these dudes would just go to Canada or the NBA. What RG3 is guilty of is common of QB’s but the way he was treated was beyond anything I’ve ever seen, that is until you look back at how Donovan McNabb was treated. Oh by the way he (#5) spoke up as well, and I’m sure he can intimately describe how Shannahan let him know in no uncertain terms he didn’t want to work with him.

The whole debacle can be described in one sentence.

Dear Robert,

Glad to see you’re in a sophomore slump, and since I’m getting canned I think I should let you know once and for all I didn’t like your black ass no damned way.

Sincerely,

Coach Mike

 

Rex Ryan: IGNORE THE INK AND RESPECT THE KINK!

Can we all agree here that the Rex Ryan “Mark Sanchez tattoo” controversy is a “New York story”; you know the product of a fan base that can only be described as a bit hysterical. The Jets have been a disaster this season but that debacle is the product of many (Rex included) and shouldn’t be cheapened with this overemphasis on a MARRIED man rocking a tat of his wife. He’ll meet the Piranha on Tuesday; and I would question the sanity and “Man Card” of any reporter that wasted 10 seconds to ask him about what the New York Post is calling Rex’s “Kinky Inky”. There’s plenty of time for Vinnie in Yonkers to get his pound of flesh on Rex’s mishandling of Tebow and the lack of weapons on offense but if Vinnie see’s anything wrong with a man digging his old lady then Vinnie is living in his mom’s basement. Yeah I know, sports is supposed to be serious and an escape for men but I don’t want to be anywhere that minimizes women and their singular ability to make us smile when the going gets tough. The man just had the worst season of his life, and he went on a short getaway with the only person who actually gives a shit about him-his wife. Fan love is not only transient, it ain't real, just ask Tom Coughlin about the fickle nature of “NY Love”, they try to fire him every other year and he won two Super Bowls!.

Fans don’t even care if a guy is an immoral scumbag if he wins so spare me with the righteous indignation about a tattoo and jersey number that seemed harmless 2 years ago, before New York decided Mark Sanchez was the Antichrist. I also find it funny how we as fans lose a lot in our own lives and yet only respect winning from our athletes and coaches, in my opinion Rex is a good coach coming off a bad season but a winning husband. The divorce rate is what it is because a lot of women married as long as Michelle Ryan (25 Years) don’t get the same treatment she enjoys; I’m sure there are MILLIONS of 50 year old women out there who wish their husbands still found them “hot”. How many buddies do YOU have married as long as Rex who still makes their wives the sole (don’t laugh) focus of all their sexual attention? Most successful men in society when they start making money make “strange ass” their first “perk” of advancement, and most of them enter into the Fetish community without their wives!. We can’t even expect this from Men we Vote for, men we allow to make decisions on what to do with our tax dollars, and if you turn from ESPN every now and then you’ll find they lose a whole lot more than Football games. Remember back in 2010 when Rex made the comment that he and Tom Brady were both married to Super Models and the whole press corps snickered? I’m sure many “fans” did too, you know the guy who didn’t notice his woman just walked by the TV wearing a lace camisole? Yeah that guy. The joke is actually on that guy, Rex knew he’d get a laugh because that’s his thing but if you were noticing he said it with a straight face-your woman would notice it, while you’re looking at Tom Brady’s unattainable wife. Suzy Favor Hamilton probably dealt with the same kind of stale, mind numbingly boring Sex life that a lot of “all work” cats dish out, just add some peripheral mental health issues and you have the making of a high end escort. Good women do bad things all the time; many do them because they’re husbands stopped paying attention-Rex is merely making sure Michelle does bad things with him. If we were paying attention to anything but the jersey Number we’d notice that the image of his wife was damned sexy; homage to her ass NOT his mediocre quarterback.

Men are supposed to be able to compartmentalize, to not let disappointment in one area spill over into another area but the New York Post seems to be devoid of this internal software. I can separate Rex Ryan’s role in this year’s collapse from his much reported sex life with his wife. In fact I think if he were as committed to being imaginative in his role as Jets Coach the way he is with his wife the Jets would be doing just fine. If he were a more Kinky Coach he’d have invented something productive to do with Tebow and found a 6’4 WR in the draft nobody ever heard of. Maybe his fetishism of defense is something he got from the old man, but I’m all for any man loving his own wife’s feet- I also think the guy who factors in the latter when assessing Ryan’s 4 year Coaching tenure is probably not somebody who can keep his own home fires lit.

Coaching an NFL Team is probably the most demanding in sports and many men handle the stress in many different ways. Markets like New York are competitive and demanding with a ravenous fan base that not only demand accountability but content- sometimes any old bullshit content. However, in our thirst to consume sports we can’t forfeit certain values that make us what the Mafia used to call “stand up guys”. Know when something is beneath you as a MAN, because sometimes when you have your fan hat on you venture into unbecoming area’s that obscure the fact that you’re someone’s Dad. If you have to be told this tattoo story isn’t something to ridicule in Rex Ryan, then you’re probably not a Cat who just “knows” and you’ll always have trouble with the ladies. Guys who “know” in New York probably blow this tattoo thing off and have more concern about who the new GM is going to be, the kind of guys who don’t wear jersey’s themselves…Past the age of 30.

Respect Rex Ryan’s Mack Game, but hold him accountable for upping his “Coach Game” in 2013-It’s as simple as that.

Rare,early Mike Tyson Documentary (1983)