The Free Agents

Thursday night at 12:01am the NBA Free Agency season begins. Finally. This free agent season has been discussed for at least 2 years and rightfully so. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Joe Johnson, Amar'e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer hit the market. (Other players are becoming free agents as well, but they aren't the headliners lol).

They've all said that the quest is to win (multiple) rings. If that is indeed the quest then some combination of (if not all 3) LBJ,Wade and Bosh should unite. They are no fools and have already had a "summit" to discuss the possibilities. If they did so with Wade in Miami it would be crazy and look like this. Bosh would have to cut his hair of course, but who wouldn't for a ring? Even though I don't like the idea of LeBron in Chicago, if he and Bosh joined that team they become championship contender as well and then maybe LeBron and Joakim Noah can dance together:



Of course everything centers around LeBron and where he'll go. Initially the speculation was New York Knicks or New Jersey Nets (soon to be Brooklyn). They both have plans to meet with him on Thursday night. The Knicks had bigger plans for wooing LeBron but had to cancel. Of late Miami and Chicago have become the front runners. Mark Cuban and Dallas have even made a push. Unfortunately for some we haven't heard much from Cleveland. They tried to woo Tom Izzo from Michigan State to try to keep LeBron, didn't workout. Now they're trying Byron Scott or Brian Shaw, both of whom were former players (and have rings) something LeBron has asked for. We'll see what happens.

I'm excited to see whatever does eventually happen. There are a lot of moves to be made. I hope some big things happen, and teams add pieces to push them over the top. Something needs to happen to prevent the #Fakers from a 3peat lol.

Ready for the World Cup?

Aight...its June 1st...exactly 10 days until the most anticipated sporting event in the past 4 years: The World Cup!!! The world's favorite game takes center stage in South Africa. I'm really excited, more than I've been for any event this year including the Gold Medal Game during the Winter Olympics . The last World Cup was so amazing, definitely opened my eyes to the wonderful game that is Futbol (the cup and all the Latin/South American boys I was counseling that summer lol.)There is something about the cup that brings out the best in all the teams. They aren't just playing for their countries its almost as if its a war and their country's survival depends on how they play. Futbol fans are easily the best in the world, the most passionate and crazy lol. Its going to be awesome. I'm so amped to see the best players in the world do their thing. Messi of Argentina, Rooney the Englishmen, Portugal's Ronaldo, Brazilians Kaka and Fabiano, Xavi, Iniesta and Torres of Spain and the Africans Drogba (Ivroy Coast) Essien of Ghana and Cameroon's Eto'o.

So what do I think will happen? Messi will play out of his mind and Argentina will win it. He's the best player in the world and unlike Ronaldo (#2) he has a better team and doesn't have Brazil in his group. Speaking of Brazil, I think they have a great shot to win it too. They always do, I mean they've won the most cups in history (5) for a reason. Will not having Ronaldinho hurt or help them? Spain is another team that I like. They were number 1 in the world for a long time last year, and were favored to win the Confederations Cup. They bring back most of that team and that bad taste of defeat which will inspire them this time in South Africa. The final team I like (which pains me to say) is England. Wanye Rooney! It hurts that they are in our group, but it will make a hell of a match (June 12th 1:30pm).

Even though I like all those teams, my allegiance is with the Yanks: Team USA! We shocked everyone last year with our appearance in the Confederation Cup final, a game we should have won (Extremely bad defense in the second half). We bring back most of the team and have a few additions. With Landon Donovon, Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore we have some great playmakers. Michael Bradley isn't to bad either. If Oguchi Onyewu is healthy he is one of the best defenders in the world. Tim Howard is an excellent goal keeper despite his age. This young kid Herculez Gomez might make a little noise too. (The Complete Roster)We looked good in our friendlies last week. We caught the jealo against the Czechs 4-2 but we did our thing with the real squad against Turkey 2-1. The game against England looms large (June 12th 1:30pm)but I think we can make some noise, we'll see.

You know whose so ready for the cup? Me! Are you?

Yo Side Of The Bed

New video for my favorite song...This joint is dope

Success = Pressure = ?

Last week we watched 3 premiere athletes crumble under pressure. Tiger Woods, Sidney Crosby, then of course LeBron James in game 5. He posted a triple double in game 6 but still had the apathetic/defeatist attitude of game 5 and his team was eliminated.

Its shocking that these guys weren't able to deliver under pressure. They're arguably the best at their respective sports, have built successful track records and have succeeded under pressure many times. Perhaps more shocking then them not succeeding was they way way they were vilified for it. Fans and media people consistently blasted them out, with LeBron getting the worst of it. A little uncalled for if you ask me. What people fail to realize/acknowledge is that there is a such thing as Too Much Pressure.

This was certainly the case for LeBron. He's been a phenom since age 13. Back then up to now he has dealt with Jordan comparisons (this doesn't help). He was drafted by his hometown team and expected to be the savior of a city with no championships since 1964 and several sports heartbreak since then. Then there's the media fueled duel with Kobe. This was the year, his 7th season (just like MJ,) he has the best team of his his career, a team many felt was the "best" in the league, the overwhelming favorite to win it all. The back to back MVPs Awards. His pending free agency. A lot of pressure.

Perhaps the most pressure causing thing for LeBron, as well as the other two, was their Success. Their success led to our expectations, adding more pressure. That's how its goes though. If you are successful at something people then expect you to continue to be successful at it. However its never enough to simply be successful. When your successful the exceptions become greater: greater success. The result of these greater expectations are sometimes greater success but always more pressure for the individual expected to perform. What happens if they don't?

We saw last week with these guys that failure under pressure is not taken lightly. As I mentioned earlier they were vilified by media and fans. This worries me, because in all actuality they are just athletes. Their successes or lack there of are not matters of life and death. If they were treated so badly how does that translate to us? I have career aspirations that will indirectly and in some case directly impact people's lives (or deaths). The same can be said for almost all of my friends. In addition to that pressure we also have to deal with several other levels. Were black. We may be the only ones from our families/communities to have gone to school. We are being counted on to make a difference, to change the world. That's a lot of pressure.

Is all funny because one of my favorite songs is "Pressure" by Lupe Fiasco (ft Jay-Z). The chorus talks about doing everything for someone else to take the pressure of of them. This is certainly how I live my life, which as you can read is problematic, but I do nonetheless. Another one of my favorite songs is "Success" by Jay-Z (ft Nas.) This song is all about the pressures that comes with certain levels of success. These two tracks (featuring 3 of my favorite artists) really help put this idea of Success = Pressure into perspective for me. Of course I plan to be successful despite the pressure, very successful in fact. As do all of my friends. My only worry is will it be enough? How much success is needed to eliminate pressure? The truth is that at some point there will be Too Much Pressure. So what do we do? What will go in the equation in place of the question mark: SUCCESS = PRESSURE = ?

Happy Mother's Day

This woman means the world to me, don't know where I'd be without her. Love you mom!

What I learned in Atlanta 4/30-5/3

1) I'm still a Flip Cup bawse

At my boy's bday shindig Friday night I jumped on the flip cup table and did my thing. I'm talking bout first flip everything. I even overcame my anxiety of starting the match off, I'm usually the one closing it out. All in all I reeled of 8 wins...killing the competition. In the process of re-affirming my flip cup supremacy I also re-learned:

2) Don't drink the red punch served in the red cup...

Everyone knows that the red punch from the red cup is lethal. It taste so good you just keep drinking it. Eventually it creeps up on you and fucks you up. I'm normally play flip cup wit brews, this time I didn't. And as you read 8 games...so we talking at least 5 full cups (they don't call me full cup lover for nothing). Add that to the 2 shots of patreezy, 4 brews and the 4 loko (which I shared) and it all equals #TheSuperDrunkJealous

3) Don't get caught slippin round a camera

Courtesy of @LePong-James who twitpic and wrote: #ifmytweetnamewas @fullcuplover I wound change it to @trashcanlover

















4) Jason Heyward is the truth

I went to the Braves on Sat 5/1 to see what this 20 year old phenom was about. He didn't disappoint. The youngster went 2-3 with an RBI on his 7th HR of the season (3rd in as many games). What was impressive about the kid was his patience. He had a walk in the game and routinely worked counts, only swinging at pitches he knew he could handle. His HR went to left center, very impressive for a left handed hitter. No wonder everyone had on Heyward T-shirts at the stadium...

5) Money has to much Money

Floyd "Money" Mayweather is one of the greatest boxers ever. His undefeated record speaks for itself. His greatness in the ring has helped him become one of the richest people in the world. He's too rich though. I came to this conclusion bc of 3 things.
First: In almost every scene of 24/7 Floyd is seen pulling out ridiculous stacks of hundred dollar bills out of a book bag.
Second: He wore Prada Roller skates on his date with Chili (I finally watch the show while in Atl).

Third: Saturday night. Instead of coming out to a recording of "For the Love of Money," the great O'Jays anthem, he had the O'Jays perform it live. And don't forget he wore a Mink and Gator ensemble.

6) Black Dynamite is a funny ass movie

If you have not seen this joint, find a way. It was so damn funny. Peep this clip:

Here are some of my favorite lines from the movie:

"Shhhh...Mommas... you gonna wake up the rest of the bitches."

"Bullhorn, can I get you anything?" "Yes, I would like a piece of that ass"

"Hey man, you sent her in here with them titties, what did you expect?"

7) There is nothing like Great Friends

When I started school I was looking to make life-long friends. My trip to Atlanta was a reminder of the great friends that I made during my time in school. I greeted my friends (guy and girl alike) with a great big hug. I hadn't talked to some of them in a long time but picked up conversation like nothing happened. We laughed, joked and argued about sports like we were still in college. When I needed a serious word they were there to deliver life altering conversations. Words can't really express the love and appreciation that I have for my friends. Thank you, you made my trip worthwhile, and continue to make my life worthwhile. Love you all.

Drafting The Franchise Player

I love the draft. Its the best way to make your team better. Fans and GMs alike know the importance of the draft. A good one can change the course of a franchise. A few good picks and your team can go from horrible to decent, decent to good, good to great. You could even find that special player who could be the one to help you bring home the ring. That in fact is the reason people draft to find the franchise player.

This of course is no easy task. There are so many prospects, many of whom look like they will be excellent players and perhaps even that franchise player. They've put together their highlight tapes. Trained for and performed admirably at the combine and/or their pro days. They've taken tests and went on interviews. They've put all this work in trying to solidify themselves as a number 1 pick. So how do you pick?

You have to do your due diligence. Understand your needs and conduct your research accordingly. Review the tape, a prospect's track record. That's the best way to see them in action, see how they have preformed in the past and see what they need to work on to get better. (Sometimes you yourself aren't able to view tape but make sure your scouts have). Look at their combine numbers to see their skill set. If you need to, bring them in for additional workouts and closer observations of their skill set. Notice how they've trained. This will give you and idea of their work ethic, which is so important to a player's and team's development.

Then of course there is the interview (hopefully a few). In my opinion the most important aspect of the draft process. Its the best way to see what kind of person your prospect is. You can ask questions about things you saw on tape or things you've heard from scouts and critics. Gauge their character. Find out as much as possible before determining if you want them on your team.

Good luck in your search for The Franchise Player.

The Most Beautiful Sound

Last weekend I saw one of the most beautiful things ever. I was riding the train uptown bopping out to my iPod and on the train steps a whole family. A mother, father, aunt, uncle, son, daughter and a little baby daughter in her stroller. The father was rolling the stroller so he came aboard first but he held the door to make sure his family got on. Seeing families in action always makes me smile, especially when the father is active. This family made me smile extra hard.Once the train started moving the father wanted to check on his baby girl in the stroller to make sure she was still sound asleep. He tried to look over the canopy of the stroller but couldn't. He even tried to look from the side, but that too didn't work. Finally he decided to ask for help and then it happened.

The father leaned over to his brother and began a series of signs. His brother focused on the signs, checked on the baby and sent a series of signs back to the father. Suddenly his eyes shifted to his wife as she too was conversing with him using another series of signs. Meanwhile the aunt was chatting with the son and daughter, signing away. This whole family was deaf. The communication was so beautiful. The way I was smiling and paying attention to the signed conversations you would have thought I too was deaf. I had to let them know so I typed up a little message on my blackberry memopad and showed it to the aunt. She smiled, signed thank you and signed my message (I hope) to the family. When it was my time to get off the train I smiled a giant smile and waved bye.

I took a year of American Sign Language in HS so a few (a tiny few) signs looked familiar but I certaintly had no clue what they were saying. Nevertheless I was amazed. During that year of ASL I was able to learn a little bit about deaf people and their culture. I gained a greater appreciation for my sense of hearing. I realized that it was my favorite sense and the one I would least want to give up/lose. When I was in the class I joked that not being able to hear the playstation sound when I turned it on would be devasting. Really though it would be not hearing my mother's voice that would cause me the most pain. God willing I'll never have to experience it. However if it where to happen, all I'd have to do would be to think of this family and I'd instantly be encouraged.

Lupe Fiasco's And He Gets The Girl

Better than the Scientifc Method

Have you ever had a "Did (s)he really say that?" moment. We've all been there. You're sitting with a group of friends talking about how great "Confessions" was. Out of nowhere someone says "it was cool but 'Raymond vs Raymond' is way better." Immediately you get the "What!?!" face. How could they say that? Trying to figure out how they came up with that argument is pointless, you've now reached a point where you must educate this person and deliver them back to reality. But how can you form an argument against someone in such disbelief of the truth?

In grade school we learned bout the Scientific Method:

Furthermore in college we learned all these "advanced" research methods which in actuality are just the Scientific Method on steroids (Sociology/Psychology Majors can feel me on this). Well the Scientific Method is cool and all but its not really practical for daily use. In the heat of the moment who has time to do research and conduct experiments? I don't, that's why I have my own method, the Lynn-Logue Method if you will. It goes as followed:

1) Listen to the argument
2) Think
3) Educate
4) Deliver the Facts
5) Leave no doubt

Hear the person out, skeptically listening for the error in their line of thought. Once you find it take time to think and formulate your counter argument and position. Think wisely about the best words to use to get your point across. Drop knowledge on them, state your argument. Make sure to supply undeniable facts so then when you’re done you’ve left no doubt. Here is what it should look like:



Try it sometime. It hasn’t been published or anything but I think it’s better than the Scientific Method. Let me know *Kanye voice*