Black History

Black History month should be used remind us all of the many contributions Black Americans have made in the States and abroad. In the sports arena once given a chance, many Black Americans have proven, “if you can do it, I can do it.” We all know that Jackie Robinson was the 1^st black player in Major League Baseball; however that’s where most of us stop. There were many firsts in the sports world so let’s name a few.

Before there could be a Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan or Lebron James, it first had to be Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Nat Clifton. In 1950 these three men were the first black players to be drafted, signed and play in the NBA . All of them struggled at times because of the racism. They were spit on, and couldn’t always sleep and eat at the same hotels as their teammates. They all had successful NBA careers but Lloyd went even further by also becoming the first black Detroit Piston head coach in 1971. Bill Russell had already become the first black head coach when he was a player-coach of the 1966 Boston Celtics. Bill Russell was also consistently thought of as one of the great basketball minds in the NBA. This was shown by him having not only won 9 NBA Finals as a player but also two more as a player-coach. A feat that has never and will never be duplicated.

Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the 1^st black players in the AFL (NFL). They were followed by many more black players who began to dominate the league. What quickly ensued was a NFL team imposed “Blackout.” George Preston Marshall (Boston Braves/Washington Redskins) led the blackout which was the refusal to have black players on the team. All other teams followed and blacks weren’t allowed back until after World War II in 1946.

Althea Gibson was the first black person to compete in the world tennis tour. “She was the one to break "color barrier" and so sometimes she is referred as "the Jackie Robinson" of tennis.” Gibson was also the first black person to win a title at Wimbledon and the U.S Open. Althea Gibson was honored with the highest honor for a female athlete, Associated Press Female Athlete of the year. That same year she took retirement from tennis in 1958. She was a true trailblazer and athlete and took her talents to Golf and became the first black women to play on the LPGA Tour.

Robert Johnson founder of Black Entertainment Television became the first black owner of a NBA franchise. This was very significant and shows how important being a FIRST really is. He created a legacy; he eventually sold a stake of the team to NBA great Michael Jordan who eventually bought the majority stake from Johnson last year. This created the momentum needed and now Sean Carter (Jay-Z) and Cornell Hayes (Nelly) are also minority owners of the New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Bobcats.

Consequently being the first creates a road map for all of us to follow to ensure success. The few athletes fore mentioned have given us all reasons to dream and examples of accomplishment. These trailblazers have done this to show all of us, “Yes We Can.” So during this month of Black History think of the past and allow it to fuel your future.

Shannon

When helping young men become Winners isn’t good enough…..

The “U” was created because of guys like him. The “U” broke on the national scene because of guys like him. The “U” brought talents like Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Sean Taylor, Willis McGhee, Jeremy Shockey and Clinton Portis because of him. Now the “U” has turned the page on an era, a period, and a time. Randy Shannon has been fired and the effects of this will be shown at The University of Miami the next twenty years. When Randy Shannon took over as head coach of the Hurricanes, they were thought of as a bunch of thugs around college football circles. It was hard to argue that point because players were constantly having off the field issues, not graduating, and even two players were killed. "We have suffered disappointments and tragedy off and on the field," Shalala said in a statement. "We can and will do better for our student-athletes and our community. We need a new start." Randy Shannon gave the Hurricanes that new start. He cleaned up the program and made Miami an academic program to be reckoned with in the highly academically regarded Atlantic Coast Conference. His players graduated and went on to be successful young men. Shannon was a disciplinarian and his players benefitted greatly because it kept them out of trouble off the field problems. "Randy Shannon is Miami," university president Donna Shalala famously said when he was hired. Indeed he was, having grew up in Miami’s inner city amongst the drugs and violence of the Scarface period. Shannon used football as a way to stay out of the drug lifestyle that engulfed most of the people around him and his neighborhood. Through football he was able to get an education and make a living through coaching. Shannon coached at Miami and was a huge reason why Miami was able to lock down what is garnered as the most fertile area of college football recruiting. Miami’s image may have been cleaned but during the process they lost their swagger. Shannon only went 28-22 without any conference or National titles. Now that Randy Shannon has been dismissed; Miami and new coach Al Golden are bailing water in a sinking ship. Miami is ranked 49^th in recruiting according to scout.com. This is blasphemous to a program that is use to being in the top ten in recruiting, or at the worst, top twenty-five. Randy Shannon was able to easily walk into the homes of parents in his old neighborhoods and high schools and immediately gain their trust. Shannon was one of those student athletes, and a success story himself. He also gave ex-Hurricanes a chance to come back and obtain their degrees. Miami has lost the ability to do this through its head coach. This can be seen through their 49^th place in recruiting, which spells out the loss of the most decorated recruiting area in college football. This was the key to the “U” winning ways. Howard Schnellenberger(credited with jump starting Miami football program) built Hurricane football by recruiting the area that now belongs to Florida and Florida State. What Randy Shannon measure to the University of Miami shouldn’t have been counted through wins and losses alone, but the weight of that decision will affect them for the next twenty years unless they can get another Shannon look alike back at the head.

Heisman

“At its inception, the Heisman trophy was supposed to go to the best overall player in college football regardless of their position or rather or not their team was playing for a national title.” But we all know that isn’t the case. Somewhere the Heisman has lost its way. Was it when Jerry Rice finished 9^th in voting behind winner Doug Flutie. Or how about the multi positioned, most electrifying Deion Sanders finishing 8^th behind Barry Sanders. It just had to be when Gino Toretta beat out both Marshall Fualk and Garrison Hearst. The Heisman has been a joke for far too long as we pretend every year the voters got it right. This year the Heisman may go to Kellen Moore or Andrew Luck. Luck will be a prototypical NFL drop back QB, More on the other hand is a sympathetic pick by many because of Boise States alleged misfortunes of being a small guy playing in an automatic BCS bids world. Heck, why isn’t Denard Robinson in the Heisman race anymore. That’s a different conversation. Whether Cam Newton had lost 1 game or 2, it still wouldn’t change the fact that he’s the best player in college football. Cam Newton is 6’5 and 250 pounds of GROWN MAN. He looks as if he’s playing a video game while he’s playing. If he needs a first down he breaks a couple of tackles and gets it. If he needs a touchdown, he throws it down the field and nails it. Newton’s numbers are off the chart. He’s top ten in every offensive category except passing yards. Auburn is a five win team at best without Cam Newton being on the field. To hear voters publicly state they won’t vote for Cam Newton but will still vote for the Heisman is disgusting. At least he’s the best player on his team. The same voters voted for Matt Leinhart , when he might have been the 8^th best player on the USC roster. Cam Newton has been exceptional. For you Heisman voter’s, he’s shown Roger Staubach type accuracy, Archie Griffin like vision, Earl Campbell’s bruising power, Charlie Wards leadership, and yes by evidenced in the comeback victories over Clemson, South Carolina and especially Alabama he possesses Tim Tebows undeniable will to win. The Heisman has lost its luster under a regime of cynical agenda driven voters. In order for kids to start growing up dreaming to win the Heisman trophy again, voters need to go back to the Heisman’s intentions. Reward the best overall player in college football.

It's over now

The Super Bowl is over, and what do I do now. Let’s be honest right from the start, you weren’t a Green Bay fan anyway, you are really a Miami fan who’s afraid to admit it until draft day. At which point you’ll be disappointed again because they didn’t get a QB. Well, basketball is in full swing so the Magic fans should be excited. Of course excitement will only last until playoff time when being a four or five seed will get them sent home in the first round by a dangerous Atlanta team. Stick with winners; join Kobe and the Lakers as they win again. Well there is Tennis going on, but the Williams sisters won’t play two tournaments in a row. Their schedules are two filled with award shows, after parties and fashion gigs. Tennis just isn’t the same without these two blessed ladies on the court. Roger Federer has lost his #1 spot to Roger Nadel, and let’s face it we all want the dominate player to lose until he does and then we realize how cool his dominance really was and wish he had never lost. Wait a minute, the PGA tour is alive and well and Tiger’s back. But, ever since he was “punked” on all those news outlets he isn’t the same. What’s that? You say all that really happened? Reportedly, his now ex-wife has gotten a divorce settlement that’s in the range of $100-$500 million. Who in their right mind can “play” anything thing after owing that much money. Sorry fans, Tiger won’t be playing well until these endorsements payoff this huge bill he owes. Baseball, America’s past time is getting ready to go into spring training. Yes, the season just ended last week and were almost in baseball season again. The sad thing is I’ll have to find a new team finally. The Yankees reign as champs has finally come to an end. Track and Field has just started it’s indoor season and this is always fun. Fans can watch the whole meet on TV start to finish in less than an hour because the long distance races are shorter indoors. It’s never fun coming back from multiple commercials still watching the same event. Also, can’t wait for the Gay-Bolt rematch. Tyson Gay beat Usain Bolt in the summer of 2010 and sparks will fly every time these two enter a track. Without boxing being any good anymore, we must all turn to the new gladiator sport, The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The UFC puts fighters in the ring with different fighting styles, whoever quits (taps out) or gets knocked out first, loses. Don’t worry this is year round with no off-season. After watching all this, football should be back with mini camps and training camps and life will be normal again. Then we can all yell in unison , the thing that joins us together as football fans, “Get from in front of my TV.”

The Dream Comes with a Cost

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Dream was a vision of fair rules and fair play, refereed by executives of our peers. Statistics show our society considers sports to be the most nonracially biased sector of our country. If that's the case, Black Colleges have a lot of work to do. Once upon a time all of the Black movers and shakers, athletes and the sorts came from Historical Black Colleges and Universities or HBCU's. MLK didn't call for complete abandonment of his beloved Morehouse to opt instead for Harvard; he just wanted blacks to have Harvard as an option. For athletes, this story falls along the same line. Black athletes are courted from an early age by these huge predominately white colleges who speak about their educational achievements along with their state of the art campuses ,technological advances, dorms and of course athletic facilities. Many of us, after reading the last sentence, will just sit back in our chair and say, "of course they have that stuff. They have the money from the state or federal government and we get pennies." HBCU's receive monies as well, but what's not disclosed to the public is how many of predominately white Universities fundraise. When these schools need a new building, arena, weight room, track, sports complex, they fundraise. Heck, these schools begin to fundraise with new graduates about a month after graduation. How much do you give to your HBCU yearly? Schools have realized that football is king and in order to make huge profits, your schools football program must gain alumni and fan support. The easiest way for your football program to make money is to win, and then join a conference. The Big 10 made 22 million dollars per school last year because of their new Big10 television network. HBCU's football programs lack the support to consistently fill stadiums. For instance, FAMU now has to play Grambling and not Tennessee St in Atlanta due to TSU alumni and fans non commitment to their University. Also, Bethune Cookman Univeristy WIldcats went undefeated until the end of the season, yet couldn't completely sell out a game all year. ESPN has been more than courteous by placing HBCU football on tv even though these games haven't sold out. They're taking a loss, because these games are paid for by advertisers who sponsor games and buy commercial spots. Advertisers look for games with higher ratings to ensure high viewership.

Now at the same time, many black athletes are completely ignored by HBCU's. After speaking with many athletes and even looking on recruiting sites. The top athletes aren't even being offered scholarships by HBCU's. Coaches frankly feel that they have no chance in landing these athletes. Why? Facilities, TV contracts, these reasons can be addressed by HBCU alumni and fans. Start supporting your schools and quit saying the "U" or some other school has your favorite college team. MLK said, "In another dimension, an equally striking change is altering the Negro campuses. Not long ago the Negro collegian imitated the white collegian. In attire, in athletics, in social life, imitation was rule. He imitated with such energy that Gunnar Myrdal described the ambitious Negro as an "exaggerated American." Today the imitation has ceased. The Negro collegian now initiates." MLK has called on HBCU's to be leaders, to set trends and be innovators. No area can be neglected, not even in the sports realm. When we look to the number of opportunities given to Black coaches in professional and college ranks, you shouldn't complain. Almost 100% of the coaches at HBCU's are Black. Make the University programs better and more talented coaches will be discovered.      Now many black athletes are completely ignored by HBCU's.

It’s A New Season

It's a new season. We have to play our best game of the year. It's us against the world. These are the mantras that begin to resonate through the locker-room. It's playoff time and every game is either bbq or mildew. The first things teams do is to become familiar with their personnel. Players want to know what their opponents' strengths and weaknesses are, and how they use them. Then coaches begin to lay out a game plan that will cause the opposition to have the most problems. They'll put more coverage in the back end to force a throwing team to run the ball more. Coaches will also put in a lot of deep balls and screens in their offense to counteract a defense that makes a living blitzing. Once game plans are implemented, the team breaks into groups by positions. At this time position coaches begin to teach the game plan through film study and players get to see what happens to their opponents when other teams have done the same things against them. After time has expired on film study practice begins. Players then move to the practice field and start to meld all of the information that's been giving to them together with their own unique style and abilities. Practices become very intense and much sharper. Leaders inspect all of the verbal and non-verbal language to ensure complete player focus. Coaches reframe from being on the attack because they never want to squash the confidence or create any doubt on the team. Once practice is over the team goes back to meeting rooms and begins to correct practice and breakdown more game film of their opponent. After film study is over most teams players leave the facility and go home. The teams with good leadership don't go home at this point. They usually stay and order dinner at the team facility or they go over one of their teammate's house to delve deeper into the game plan and their opponent. These teams realize they moniker, "you're only as strong as your weakest link." They understand that no matter how good they play, there's always another teammate that needs extra assistance. After the week comes to an end it's now time to strap on the pads and get to business. The teams begin to feed off of momentum and belief. The teams that remain constant under pressure will be the teams that will continue to advance to the Super Bowl. You will hear their players continue to make comments like, "we believed in ourselves," we knew we would make the play to win", and of course the old, "it took all three phases and our belief in each other to win this games.

Bowl 11’

Let's be honest, no one cares about most of these bowl games. Think about it, the only games that are pre-determined are the BCS games. After those, every other game is chosen by the bowls themselves. So, let's evaluate the games that we'll be sitting down in front of the TV begging for some man time to watch.

Oregon vs Auburn…Two words for this game, Cam Newton! He's dynamic, he's versatile, and he's a winner. After Cam, there's Nick Farley and no one else. Auburn can't stop the run or the pass. They haven't stopped anyone with their defense all year unless you would like to count Louisiana –Monroe and Chattanooga who still put up 24pts. Fear the Duck. Oregon features an offense that runs each play in 23 seconds. This is as fast as the two minute offense teams run near the end of a half or game. Oregon is finding this much success on an offense run by their backup QB. Yep, Darren Thomas was Jeremiah Masoli's backup before the season started. All Thomas has done is become the 3^rd best player in the Pac 10 behind his teammate LaMichael James and Andrew Luck. James is lightning in a bottle but runs tougher and harder than he looks. Oregon will win, but if Auburn spot's the Duck 24 pts like they did Bama, this will be a blowout.

Bama vs. Michigan ST will be a tough fought game predicated on the big play. Who will make or miss them is the question. Bama has already lost to their rivals and will be looking to regain a swagger that seems to be leaving. Michigan State is trying to prove that this season wasn't a fluke. Cousins will lead a pass happy offense who has found nine receivers over a 100 yards. Bama features a Heisman winner and future All-Pros. But maybe, just maybe Bama has turned into Mike Tyson when Holyfield beat him. Maybe the plans have been drawn to Bama. Nick Saban will be prepared as ever to win but it probably time for Nick to stop turning athletes into safties and wideouts and allow them to play QB. Michigan St will win this game because no one is afraid of Alabama any more….roll tide.

Ohio St vs Arkansas… Okay, I got a free Buckeye tattoo as well but I still charged them for my autograph. Tattoo-Gate or the NCAA finding out that several Ohio State players trading autographs for tattoos has led to a 2011 five game suspension. None of this will have any effect on this bowl game. As a matter of fact, this game will have a higher viewership rating than the national championship game. This game will come down to balance. Arkansas has a high powered offense behind the big arm of Ryan Mallet. The Razorbacks defense has shown the ability to give up the big play. Ryan Mallet has made huge mistakes in their biggest games of the year. The Buckeyes are solid on offense, defense and special teams. Because of this, the Buckeyes will be victorious and finish ranked #3 in the country after this game.

 

Wisconsin vs. TCU… TCU has another chance to add to their undefeated season. The Badgers are ready to prove they aren't just the red headed step child to the usual Big 10 powerhouses. The Horn Frogs feature a high octane offense that can score with the best of them. Their defense is solid and dedicated to rushing the passer and stopping the run. The Badger offense will run, run, pass, and then run some more. Defensively, the Badgers are strong and feature NFL prospects at half of their starters. This will be a close game but Wisconsin will win.

And, the rest of them.. LSU vs Texas A&M… Name three players for either team in this game. Still waiting….. Now you see why this game isn't important. A&M wins.

UCONN vs. Oklahoma seems like a second round matchup in the NCAA tourney. It's not, it's football and that means the Sooners will put up a basketball score on the Huskies.

Stanford vs. VaTech should have been a huge game. The problem is that none believes the Pac 10 is any good. Stanford will blowout VaTech but it will go unnoticed because the Hookies also lost to James Madison.

 

 

It's Now or Never

The NFL regular season is winding down and the New Year is almost here. No not the welcoming of 2011, instead Happy New NFL playoffs. Unlike our New Year ’s Eve plans, the NFL playoffs are yet to be determined. With only two games left in the season, teams are still fighting for playoff berth and positioning. Last year the heavy frontrunners had already been decided, the Saints and Colts shut it down and played all backups to ensure the health of their starters. This year , The only clear cut #1 seed is the Atlanta Falcons. Matt Ryan, Roddy Roddy White, Michael Turner and the crew have been solid. They’ve won games the old-fashioned way, good defense, good special teams and great offense. In the AFC the Steeler’s and New England will have a photo finish to capture their #1 seed. Regardless, both will get a buy and due to both teams playing outside in the elements, home field advantage throughout shouldn’t make that big of a difference. The Pats have won games with Tom Brady’s arm and a renewed spirit of takeaways displayed by a young defense. Pittsburgh on the other hand, has won games the same way they always have. Great D, Great D, and more Great D! Regardless of the late fall by the J-E-T-S, their early season success has ensured them of a playoff spot. Go Chargers go, may as well be the chant because they’re doing it again. They are making a late December push that will not only allow them to win a very weak division, but it will also secure them a slot in the playoffs. Baltimore has some work ahead of them. They have to get QB Joe Flacco up to speed about the urgency of now. He is the only thing that stands between them and a second Superbowl ring. The Ravens will show up in the playoffs. The only question is, will Flacco be joining them. The Indianapolis Colts “aint what they used to be…aint what they used to be…aint what they used to be.” They still have Peyton Manning and because of this and a furious pass rush, they’ll be in the playoffs. The Saints will earn a buy in week one, and seem to be getting into Superbowl form. The Packers will win the division, thanks to a late year skid by the Bears due to three or four more interceptions thrown by Jay Cutler. The Giants are playing well at the right time but there, league leading turnover problem will be their demise in round one. Philly and Mike Vick are very dangerous and will create plenty of problems for their opposition’s defense. But Eagles also have their own defensive issues and will probably end up winning one game and then losing because of it. The Rams are back! Just kidding, they are back in the playoffs, even though they’re in the worst division in football.

Urban did the right thing.

Coaching has long been a stressful job. Coaching has always been filled with the ideology that says, out work your opponents. In coaching,
that language means spend more hours in the office than your opponents and your coworkers. The idea that working long means working hard in the coaching ranks has been going on for years. Many have given this credit to long time NFL coaches George Allen and Sid Gillman who believed, "Every time you win, you're reborn; when you lose, you die a little." Like everything else in the NFL, this attitude filtered down to the college ranks. As college coaching salaries continue to increase, the time dedicated to these jobs multiplies. College coaches have a little more added pressure; they have to recruit talented players without paying them… College coaches first job is recruiting. If you can't recruit, you will find it hard being a collegiate coach. Collegiate players in any sport will tell you they each had a coach on their staff that couldn't coach. They always wondered how in the world he/she was able to have their job only to find out that most of their best players came to the University as a result of that particular coach. While coaches are game planning for an opponent, they're recruiting. When a coach is on a game trip, they're recruiting. When coaches are on vacation, they're recruiting. Coaches are always recruiting! Due to this 24 hour recruiting cycle, coaches families suffer. Some have even said, people who coach don't like they're families. Urban Meyer is trying to give the coaching profession a better name by giving up millions in order to be a better husband and father. Many believe that the 30 arrest during his tenure, or the fact that he can see looming disaster in the Gator program up ahead as factors in his resignation. But, you have to respect a man who believes that his family is much more important than winning another sears crystal football. I've had the opportunity to play with several coaches kids and a lot of times they are in the same position as kids from single parent households. They weren't able to see their dads in the stadium. They even found it hard at times to get help from them in the same sport they were coaching.
Coaches and their own personal health has suffered as a result of the job. Coaches have fainted during and after games and also have had heart attacks. The price paid by coaches families can be high. Coaches have dealt with suicides and seen kids going to prison right before their eyes and never knew what had happened. Urban Meyer doesn't want to fall into this statistic and would much rather be called dad right now. The hours that take coaches away from the home can sometimes blind them to the most important coaching job in their life, coaching their family.

Who watches the Heisman anyway?

“At its inception, the Heisman trophy was supposed to go to the best overall player in college football regardless of their position or rather or not their team was playing for a national title.” But we all know that isn’t the case. Somewhere the Heisman has lost its way. Was it when Jerry Rice finished 9^th in voting behind winner Doug Flutie. Or how about the multi positioned, most electrifying Deion Sanders finishing 8^th behind Barry Sanders. It just had to be when Gino Toretta beat out both Marshall Fualk and Garrison Hearst. The Heisman has been a joke for far too long as we pretend every year the voters got it right. This year the Heisman may go to Kellen Moore or Andrew Luck. Luck will be a prototypical NFL drop back QB, More on the other hand is a sympathetic pick by many because of Boise States alleged misfortunes of being a small guy playing in an automatic BCS bids world. Heck, why isn’t Denard Robinson in the Heisman race anymore. That’s a different conversation. Whether Cam Newton had lost 1 game or 2, it still wouldn’t change the fact that he’s the best player in college football. Cam Newton is 6’5 and 250 pounds of GROWN MAN. He looks as if he’s playing a video game while he’s playing. If he needs a first down he breaks a couple of tackles and gets it. If he needs a touchdown, he throws it down the field and nails it. Newton’s numbers are off the chart. He’s top ten in every offensive category except passing yards. Auburn is a five win team at best without Cam Newton being on the field. To hear voters publicly state they won’t vote for Cam Newton but will still vote for the Heisman is disgusting. At least he’s the best player on his team. The same voters voted for Matt Leinhart , when he might have been the 8^th best player on the USC roster. Cam Newton has been exceptional. For you Heisman voter’s, he’s shown Roger Staubach type accuracy, Archie Griffin like vision, Earl Campbell’s bruising power, Charlie Wards leadership, and yes by evidenced in the comeback victories over Clemson, South Carolina and especially Alabama he possesses Tim Tebows undeniable will to win. The Heisman has lost its luster under a regime of cynical agenda driven voters. In order for kids to start growing up dreaming to win the Heisman trophy again, voters need to go back to the Heisman’s intentions. Reward the best overall player in college football.