“Pledge your Allegiance”

When it comes to sports, there is nothing that I can’t stand more than folks who ride the bandwagon. You know, those fans that will always go with the team that’s hot. The team with the most wins. In some cases, the team with the colors that matches their car or the walls in their bedroom growing up. I’m sorry; it just doesn’t work like that.

I’m not saying that you have to be a season ticket holder or for heavens sake be born or even live in that city, state, or country. You don’t even have to be an ALUMNUS to be a die hard fan of a sports team. What you do have to be is dedicated. Committed. Willing to do a dance, chest bump, hand clasp, pound…whatever it takes, during the good, the bad, and the ugly. The bottom line, you feel like you are a part of the team and through your support, you should be considered as such.

Here is where some people, including myself, struggle. Born and raised on the bayou (See blog titled Uptown), I grew up a huge New Orleans Saints, LSU, and Houston Astros fan. That will never change. But I’ve also lived in North Carolina for some time. It’s entrenched into your heads that once you enter UNC-Chapel Hill you bleed Carolina Blue. And I do, add the Heels to the list of my other teams.

But what is a man or woman to do when this happens…( click on blog title to read full article)

“ESPN officials contacted Hyman several months ago to see if he would be amenable to letting North Carolina out of the second game of its home-and-home deal with South Carolina so the Tar Heels and Louisiana State could meet in the Georgia Dome the opening weekend of the 2010 season."

Vs.

This is not a discussion of basketball. I moved to North Carolina to play basketball for UNC. I know give me a break, I was just a kid. And we all know what happen to LSU the last time we played them in the NCAA tournament.

But this is football. College football at that where the SEC has been making a mockery of the ACC for years. LSU football is like a UNC basketball in the state of Louisiana. You either hate them or you love them. And while the bayou is home, I bleed Carolina blue.

The question of who do I cheer for? I don’t know or care right now, the 2009 season hasn't even started. What I do know is I would love to be there if and when it did happen!

Wouldn't you?

Reach one…Teach one!

On my way to work I was moved by what I heard on the radio. Comedian DL Hughley, who has probably made a lot of people shed a tear or two through his jokes, was crying himself…uncontrollably. And for what? Because his 5th grade teacher a long time ago explained to him that one day, he will become something when no one else believed in him. Even his own mother.

Teachers are often times underappreciated for the work that they do, especially in the urban and underrepresented areas. Many are discouraged by the lack of resources and support in these environments and eventually choose not to return after a year or two. As reported by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, the high turnover rate of teachers leaving can result in students being taught by educators with very little experience.

My first thought to the above information is the idea of support and sustainability, which is critical to the education system. Support meaning there shouldn’t be a mass difference in the amount of resources from one school to another across any given county, city, or state as it relates to public education. Regardless if you are in the suburbs or the inner city, each child deserves an equal opportunity at receiving the best education possible.

Once those teachers who are babies to the profession (a few years out of college) see a support system in place, they are more likely to perform better and stay around longer.

Both educators and non-educators should take the time to reach out to young people. Like in the case of DL Hughley, all it takes is a few words of encouragement to make a difference.

Anyone Else Going Through Sport’s Withdrawal?

Don’t get me wrong, I like baseball, but I love basketball and football a whole lot more.

By the end of this week, all 32 NFL football teams will have opened training camp. A few weeks after that, college football will return. The Deadliest Catch and The First 48 won’t mean as much to me anymore.

One show that I did keep in heavy DVR rotation this summer was Spike TV’s 4th and Long. Did anybody else watch the show? Before getting to the actual football part, the show in itself was somewhat entertaining. Was it me or did Montrell Jones fail to use proper subject verb agreement about 95 percent of time he was on the show.

Other observations:

* Moses Washington complained way too much, probably should have been one of the first people cut.
* Michael Irvin look like still got that Bobby Brown crook on the side of his mouth. I will say though I thought he did a decent job hosting the show.
* The three players who made it to the finals deserved to be there.
* If Hawkins was 3 inches taller,______________(fill in the blank).

And the winner is…Jessie Holley.

JH is probably one of the most underrated wide receivers to come out of UNC-Chapel Hill. Don't make me go back to the years of Marcus Wall and Na Brown. The spin move on the 2nd episode basically set the tone of the show. When that happened, he eliminated all the DB’s from contention in my opinion. He wanted it more and it showed. I don’t think I ever heard him complain. Some of the other athletes should take notes.

Best of luck to all on that was on the show and more importantly, best of luck to JH in Dallas.

Vick Reinstated...sort of

Michael Vick is back...sort of. First things first, the NFL Commish has reinstated Vick allowing him to participate in training camp as well as pre-season games. What I don't agree with is him not being eligible for full reinstatement until week 6 of the NFL season. Hasn't he paid his debt to society? Don't get me started on Dante Stallworth?

The second part to this all is someone has to sign him. Where would you like to see Vick?

Huge Racial Gap in Marriage Rates Is Attributable, at Least in Part, to the Gender Gap in African-American Higher Education

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education produced an interesting article this past week on previous research they conducted regarding this idea that the gender gap in college degree attainment between black men and black women is also affecting the racial gap in marriage rates between blacks and whites. Click on title to read the article. Here are a few points raised in the article:

• By black women making up nearly two thirds of all African Americans earning a college degree from a four year college or university, it's becoming extremely difficult to find a mate with a similar level of education



• 43.8 percent of black women between the ages of 25 and 44 have never been married. Only 16 percent of white women in this age group have never married



• The huge gender gap in higher educational degree attainment undoubtedly is a major factor in the marriage rate gap between blacks and whites.

Another factor that contribute to the marriage gap that the JBHE did not mention is a increasingly growing number of women and a few men who would rather not work. With today's economy, that's becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore upon meeting somone regardless of their education or not, what's important a lot of the time is how do you support yourself versus what school did you graduate from.

I guess my point is while education is a factor, it's not the most important in determining the racial gap in marriages.

Please share other factors.

Part V – “Closer to my Dreams”

With the instant crowd pleaser “Best I Ever Had” and the slept on “Houstatlantavegas” still available from Drake’s latest mixtape “So far Gone,” I’ve decided to finish the five part blog with a song called “Closer to my Dreams” from one of his previous mix tapes called Comeback Season.

I’m firm believer that wishes and dreams do come true. But even wishes and dreams are nearly impossible without blessings. This record by Drake featuring a beautiful voice belonging to Andrina Mill helped me conceptualize a few points relating to this idea of with blessings, come dreams.

There are the blessings that are placed right in front us. They are meant to inspire, to motivate, and help you get one step closer to the bigger plan that’s in store for you.

However some blessings come when we least expect them to and sometimes we are not ready to meet them head on. What can be difficult and what many folk don’t realize is a substantial amount of time generally will pass before you can determine whether or not you’ve made a good decision to take advantage of that blessing. For instance, many of us are face with decisions to relocate, take another job, or even move to be closer to family, friends, or a love one.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve taken a step back of being where you want to be, but it doesn’t mean you have taken a step forward either.

Finally, some blessings are sometimes disguised and go unnoticed. You don’t have to always be in the right place at the right time. I disagree with Drake when he suggests that it’s hard to find a woman when you are talented and black. It depends. If you define your talent as singing and rapping, then you will miss out on finding that woman who will appreciate you for who you are versus the fact that you can sing/rap and you make a lot of money.

Ms. Mill sings in the chorus, “Sometimes it feels like I’ll never move on closer to my dreams.” Just maybe it’s because you keep missing out on your blessing.

You've been kicked by... You've been struck by... A Smooth Criminal

Shout out to my cousin in Louisiana for getting me this one…

This is crazy!

What's all the HYPE about?

John Starks dunk over Michael Jordan and nem was way worst than this one. Nike went through all of them hoops to hide this.

Blah, blah, blah...

Part IV - “Say What’s Real”

“Everybody talks and everybody listens but somehow the truth just always comes up missing.”

After listening to that line by Drake over and over, I’m still left wondering why the truth as Drake suggest continues to escape us.

No real life stories or personal ones for that matter to share about this blog as I frantically try and rap up this 5 part blog, but I do have just a few general thoughts about the “truth.”

One thought is that we already know the truth but too afraid to learn more about it because how damaging it could be both physically and mentally.

Secondly, maybe the partial truth is offered up and you are left to decipher it however you may. Be careful because if you are willing to accept the partial truth for what it is, there is no turning back.

Finally, maybe the truth was never there in the beginning. Everything that’s said and done is up for interpretation.

I’m thinking saying “what you feel” may get you a lot further in life these days versus saying what’s real. And if you are not ready to say what you feel (which is perfectly ok), maybe you shouldn’t say anything at all. At least I won’t hold it against you.

Part III – “Uptown”

It happens all the time. You meet someone for the first time and outside of learning their name, you find out where they’re from.

Well if you ask me, “I’m from New Orleans baby! “Uptown, you heard me!” The Crescent City, home of the French Quarter, the Riverwalk, and Bourbon Street where once the day turns into dark, the family atmosphere turns into a freak show…literally. “The City” is also home to the Black and Gold (New Orleans Saints). FYI…”I hate the Carolina Panthers!”

Uptown is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana on the East Bank of the Mississippi River encompassing a number of neighborhoods between the French Quarter and the Jefferson Parish line. http://www.facebook.com/uptownneworleans.

But if you really get to know me, you would find out that I was born and raised on the bayou. Lafourche Parish to be exact where a bayou forks just about all roads, the water on any given day may smell like a clogged toilet, but the fish, crabs, and crawdads have never tasted any better. The country living of North Carolina doesn’t compare because…ummm…well, because it just doesn't!

Drake raps right off the back on the track “Hardly home but always repping…” And if you ask any of my friends, they would probably tell you that no one reps the state of Louisiana more than me.

“It’s ok, it’s ok, it’s ok, it’s ok, it’s ok, it’s ok, you can run and tell my city it’s on!”

“What city”…you ask? For me, New Orleans baby!

REP your City!

She should have known better...

Thanks to Eddie Kane for putting me on to this one.



Thanks to Eddie Kane for putting me on to this one.

Another video that's in heavy rotation right now!

Part III coming soon.

Part II – “Successful”

“I want the money, money and the cars, cars and the clothes, the women, I suppose… I just want to be, I just want to be successful.”

Sadly enough in many communities across the country, success is defined by how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, and or the style/brand of clothes you wear. In those same communities, success has nothing to do with one’s education.

Drake raps that he’s the one to paint a bigger picture no HD, suggesting success for him will eventually mean earning the aforementioned things. But he’s never met Connie and Bonnie Sawyer. In fact, neither have I. But their story of family, faith, and education has given me new meaning to the word success. The Sawyers born nine children, all scholars who are all college educated or in college. And the education for all nine... it cost them practically nothing.

Read article here:
http://www.dailyadvance.com/features/nine-scholars-one-family-687071.html

So why do so many families fall short of achieving academic success? More specifically, how did 60% of eighth graders fail at a Chicago Middle School? Some believe the following was due to a poor education system. Others seem to think it’s due to an impoverished community where the resources are far few and in between.

Read article here: http://www.freshconservative.com/Fresh_Conservative/Fresh_Conservative/Entries/2009/6/17_60_Percent_of_Eight_Graders_Fail_At_Chicago_Middle_School.html

While on the surface as this article suggest the blame may seem to fall directly on the educators and the students, I personally believe it all starts at home. At home where parents are expected to provide a solid foundation of support and inspiration that suggest they care about their child’s future. A future that will not shine as bright without a college education, especially if you were born in the late 1980’s and beyond.

Some make it without education but they possess a commitment and determination that allow them to achieve success in different ways. They should be commended. Others don’t make it, but that doesn’t mean we give up on them.

Everyone has a chance to be successful, some more than others. I’m just not convinced that everyone understands what success is and what it takes to get it.

What does success mean to you?

"Sweat Tea...Gotta be Sweet"

Part II coming soon, I promise.



Thanks to KL for sending me this link. My friends and I have been bugging ever since we got a hold of this.

McDonald's should definitely think about making this a commercial.

Happy Friday!

Part I - "Lust for Life"

Drawing on some inspiration from former Villanova star John Celestand, I will give my best attempt to shed my thoughts on some recent happenings that has set the world on fire. After getting a tip from a colleague (shout out to DT) about John’s blog (Celevision), I’ve decided to feature up and coming artist Drake and some of his tracks and lyrics from his mixtape “So Far Gone” to put these current events in some type of perspective. John did a great job of taking MJ’s songs and lyrics and placing them in the context of the NBA Draft. Here is entry 1 of a 5 part blog.



Part I "Lust for Life"


Who are we to judge? So I'm not going to.

Arguably one of the best quarterbacks to be drafted from a Historically Black College or University was murdered. Some say he will be the last HBCU quarterback drafted in the first round. Something tells me that fact, along with him being a 4 time NFL pro bowler, former MVP, husband, and father will not be the reason why we remember Steve McNair.

His story, much like his death, can be described in my opinion with one word...unbelievable. But what makes his story, which is destined to be an Outside the Lines report years from now, different from anyone else's?

Lust, like death, is inevitable. As Drake raps over a smooth melody, his lyrics suggest that these days women make offers that men can't refuse. He also suggests that women don't know how to let go.

What's not suggested are the things men and women say to each other that put one in a position where they would even contemplate taking not only their life but someone else's.

It's too bad we will never know if their life was worth their lust.

Welcome to iTooDream...

You see the road that was paved for me wasn't paved, it was rocky, nor was it lined with fresh paint. At night, there weren't any reflectors to help keep me on the right side of the road. Of course there were shoulders, but none just high or low. Some warm, many cold yet I didn't care which one I placed my head on because like many others before me, my dream continues to live on. Welcome to iTooDream.blogspot.com.