Why Do We Care?

What's going on, good people? It's good to be back and I'm glad you could join me. I'm feeling good about the NFL being back. Glad the lockout got worked out before any games were missed or worse.

Enough small talk. Let's get into the topic.

I've never been one to pay to much attention to the private lives of celebrities. I basically see what any other passer by sees while standing in the line at the grocery store. I hear what gets announced on television while I'm watching shows I like to watch. I know there's a lot of stuff out there about different people and you can get all in the business of celebrities. The question is why do we even care? Are our lives that uninteresting that we have to spend time reading and entertaining ourselves with other people's lives?

It's safe to say that women, compared to men, pay much more attention to celebrity life than men. I'm not trying to generalize, but as a writer, people watching and listening is what I do. I hear women having conversations about celebrities and what's going on with them way more than I do men. But men do it too!

The media obviously drives this whole celebrity life industry. We watch, read, and listen to what they put out. But if there was no demand for it, then they probably wouldn't do it. For some reason it's interesting to us to know who's sleeping with, dating, marrying, divorcing, cheating on who. Is it because our lives are so "normal" that we are bored to the point of nosiness? Is it because we wish we could live the lives of the people we pay attention to on television? Is it because we simply don't make an effort to fill our lives up with things that make our own lives interesting?

It's an interesting commentary to say that we downplay the potential of our own lives and fill the voids we leave with the smoke and mirrors of celebrities and their lives. We forget that they are just people like ourselves. Many of them wish they could just sit back and live their lives without everybody being in their business. With all the different kinds of media outlets it's very easy to get wrapped up into the lives of celebrities. Should we find a better way to entertain ourselves?

Thanks for joining me once again. Until next time, keep it 100.

Overseas vs. NBA

Here I am again, people. I wasn't going to touch on this subject in my blog, but since I've had to talk about it so much in my normal everyday life I figured I might as well blog about it. So let's get into it.

Recently some NBA players have come out and said they'd play overseas while the lockout is going on. New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams is apparently going to play in Turkey until the lockout is over. The first thing I'll say is this is a bad move and he's getting bad advice from his agent. I played in Turkey and let me tell you from personal experience, living and playing professional basketball in Turkey is a long way from the NBA.

I don't care what country it is or how much money an overseas team is promising a player. Under no circumstances should a player who's getting or is going to get GUARANTEED NBA MONEY play overseas. The risks of injury, safety, and dishonor of the contact are to high. Take it from someone who's been on both sides and knows the difference. Guys who have never played overseas don't know what it's like. The luxuries the NBA offers it's players far exceed what's provided in an overseas contract.

The biggest thing that players have to consider is actually getting the money that's promised in the contract. It's common practice for overseas teams to stiff players if the player or the team don't perform to the level management thinks they should. It's not like the NBA where once the contract is signed the player is getting his money as long as he doesn't do anything to breach the contract himself. NBA players need to do their homework and research before they start jumping at what they think is easy money. Trust me when I tell you there's nothing easy about it.

I could go on and on about the pitfalls of playing overseas. My experiences give me a unique perspective on the business of basketball and the people involved. The truest thing I can say is that no matter what the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is it is still going to pay and provide a better life and lifestyle than any overseas deal. So established NBA players need to stay put, wait it out, and be thankful when it's time for them to go back to work. If you are a player that may or may not make an NBA team this year going overseas is a good move because you don't want to be out of work.

I could go a lot deeper, but this is a blog, not a book.

Thanks for joining me. Feel free to post your comments. Until next time, keep it 100.

PULL YOUR DAMN PANTS UP!

Welcome back to The Big B Spot where "The Real" speaks volumes. Once again I'm happy to be back in the blog game. Let's get right into it.

I'm sure many of you heard about the college football player who was arrested in an airport for sagging his pants. When I saw the news report I couldn't do anything but shake my head. Is it that serious? I went into deep thought, after the news report, and debated on whether I'd address it here at The Big B Spot. After some deep thought I decided I wasn't going to attack or criticize this young man. Instead addressing the issue as a whole seems more appropriate.

Without getting into the history of the sag too much I can say that it originated in prison as a way for inmates to identify themselves as "available" for courting. Another theory is that inmates aren't allowed to have belts so their pants sag because they have nothing to hold them up. There are probably more theories, but it doesn't matter. The bottom line is the sag is something that comes from prison culture and shouldn't be imitated. What sense does it make to walk around showing you butt and underwear?

As someone who has worked with a lot of youth I know saggy pants to be very prevalent in our communities. It has crossed all color lines so it can't be said that only certain races of kids are sagging. It has also crossed economic divides. You can go to the suburbs and see those kids sagging as well as kids in the inner city.

The question that has to be answered it why is sagging so "cool". I've had encounters with kids that will fight you to the tooth and nail over being told to pull their pants up. I'm sure that those of us that have experience with working with youth know exactly where I'm coming from. It's like you are taking something very dear to them from them so they defend it with veracity.

A feeling just came over me. The more I write about it the less I understand why it exists. Many people who have anti-hip-hop sentiments will say it's the hip-hop culture and the rappers. I say to those people go and learn something about REAL HIP-HOP and them come back and tell me you feel the same way. What you see in the media and mainstream is not hip-hop. It's nothing more than exploitation of kids who don't have enough guidance in their homes.

I will say thug culture has plenty to do with it. It makes perfect sense since the sag's origins are from prison life. It's fair to say that the sensationalism of thug and hoodlum life has had a direct impact on the way today's youth express themselves through the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, and the kinds of shows they watch on television. So all you Hip-Hop haters can blame corporate America for commercializing thug, hoodlum, and prison culture.

I only have one thing to say to the grown man and women (YES THERE ARE WOMEN THAT SAG TOO). PULL YOUR DAMN PANTS UP! I think that says enough.

I could go on and on about this subject, but I have to give the people an opportunity to weigh in and express their thoughts on the matter. Here at The BIG B SPOT we welcome all commentary.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to read my blog. Please post your comments. Until next time, keep it 100.

The Return. It's good to be back.

It's been a long time, people. No need to ask where I've been or what I've been doing. We'll just say that I've been in the lab getting the science on things. I didn't want to come back until I was ready to give the people what they need. I realized after many months away in the lab that all the people want is "The Real". So that's what I'm going to give them. Let's get into it.

Now that it's had time to simmer for a bit, it's time I addressed the Lebron James fiasco. I remember when I was telling everyone that would listen that he would bolt Cleveland to join D-Wade in Miami. All I'll say is there's a reason I was right and I was right for a reason. I don't blame you all for believing a guy such as Lebron, but if you would have stepped back from the situation and looked honestly at what was going on you would have seen it coming. But enough of that because he's in Miami now and we have a whole other issue to touch on.

With all his talent and ability some might say Lebron has a chance to become the greatest basketball player of all-time. Yes we are talking about better than Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and whomever else we like to bring up in those kinds of discussions. I hope this trip to the Finals has put all that to rest once and for all. What people don't understand is that Lebron, at this point, doesn't have the fire and "it" that gets a team over the hump and wins championships. There's a long list of great players that have had the same problem. When Lebron and his Cleveland Cavaliers were swept in the Finals by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007 there were many that felt Lebron played poorly because it was his first Finals and he didn't have any help. I'll give him a pass because those are considerable factors even though I still consider it a bit lame.

Now what excuse does he have? He can't say he didn't have help. He had plenty in Wade and Bosh compared to what he had in Cleveland. It was hi second Finals appearance so that excuse is out. Truth is he has no excuse. At this point in his career Lebron is missing the killer instinct to go out and win championships. I can't tell you how many shots and opportunities he passed up in these most recent Finals because he didn't have the stones to take it upon himself to will his team to victory. He left it up to D-Wade. Go figure!

I'm going to cut Mr. James a little slack because it is a team game. No one man can win a championship by himself. Although, it 2006 D-Wade did exactly that when his Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. For those of you who maybe have forgotten or didn't watch the 2006 Finals go check the stats and YouTube the games. D-Wade, as single handed as you can in basketball, won a championship. It is and always will be, arguable, the all-time greatest Finals series performance ever.

For now Lebron fans are going to have to have to face the fact that "The Chosen One" is merely a stat stuffer who doesn't have the heart, courage, and gall it takes to win on the biggest stage there is in basketball. It's not his fault. He just doesn't have it. The question is will he ever get it. Or will he ever have to get it? If the Miami Heat can add a solid point guard and a decent big man to their roster Lebron might not have to change anything. If that becomes the case it will put to rest all the greatest of all-time conversations and debates because he won't be better than Jordan or Kobe. He will be a guy that teamed up with another guy who does have "it" and got carried to the promise land.

I know it hurts Lebron fans but if you are honest with yourself you'll see that, right now, King James is King Scarecrow.

Well people it's been fun. Feel free to comment or write me about other topics you'd like for me to get into. I welcome all suggestions.

Until next time, keep it 100.