The Malice at the Palace is the infamous brawl that took place at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004 between players from the Indiana Pacers, players from the Detroit Pistons and Pistons fans. Netflix made a documentary about the melee by the same name. I enjoyed the film. I think NBA fans and students of human psychology will like it. Malice at the Palace is fairly short. It gets to the point and doesn’t waste time so it’s not a big investment if you don’t care for it.
I remember the night of the Malice at the Palace otherwise known as the Basketbrawl but I still learned some new things. The film about the history making fight has interviews from the players, fans and police involved in the incident. It was pretty interesting hearing the perspective of fans, some of whom were arrested and one left the Palace on a stretcher and law enforcement.
My impression of the Basketbrawl is that everyone over thought it and got too emotional about the incident. The only difference between the Malice at the Palace and other sports fights is the fan involvement. It’s not rare for baseball to have a bench clearing brawl after a pitcher intentionally hits a batter with a ball. Hockey is notorious for fights. I think we’ve all heard the joke that they watched a fight on TV and a hockey game broke out. Pro sports is pretty much a celebration of toxic masculinity anyway and I thought that’s why we all watched.
There was a lot of media focus surrounding The Malice at the Palace. The media talked about if for weeks and the players were vilified and labeled as thugs. The NBA is made up of mostly Black players. In the early 2000s many of them were tattooed with braided hair. The public thought of them as thugs anyway so the Basketbrawl fit the narrative that already existed in the minds of many.
The fight happened at the beginning of the season. Key players were suspended for nearly half the season. The Pacers players that were interviewed thought the punishment was too harsh. I agree. The movie pointed out that the Pacers had a great team that year and had a great chance to go to the NBA Finals and winning.
The Pacers players lament a missed once in a lifetime opportunity. We’ll never know if the Pacers would have made it to the ’05 Finals and become NBA Champions. At the end of the season the championship hopeful Pacers team was disbanded. Ron Artest went to the Lakers and Reggie Miller retired.
It has long been my observation that the NBA favors large market teams and cheats smaller market ones. I’ve noticed bad officiating in The Playoffs over the years in favor of teams with larger markets and bankable stars. The 2004 NBA Finals Champions were the Detroit Pistons who essentially were a bunch of midwestern unknowns that beat the LA Lakers during Lakers era. I suspect that the commissioner at the time, David Stern didn’t want a different group of midwestern, small market players having a Cinderella season. That is my theory for the harsh punishments for the fight aside from publicly flogging Black men for American audiences.
Check out The Malice at the Palace if you’re an NBA fan, someone who enjoys drama or if you’re nostalgic about the early 2000s. I think you’ll enjoy it. If you don’t at least it’s short and fast paced.
During the COVID 19 Lockdown I read the biography A Father First, How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball by retired NBA star Dwyane Wade. The book was published in 2012. It tells the story of Dwyane’s life while focussing on his relationship with his boys. He is the father of two sons and he also raised his nephew who needed a home.
For the most part I enjoyed A Father First. The book is a bit slow moving in parts but it was interesting and touching at other times. I am an NBA fan and I followed Dwyane’s career for year but I didn’t know much about him personally. Dwyane lived with his three sisters, two of which were from his mother’s previous relationships, his mom and his dad. He was the baby of the family.
Wade stated that his family was far from wealthy but when his parents were together his life had stability and the family had what they needed even thought their lives were modest. His parents, Dwyane and Jolinda, divorced when Wade was a young boy. His mother admitted that the split was due to her controlling ways. Everything changed for Dwyane and his sisters after the break up.
Dwyane didn’t see his father often. His two older sister went to live with friends or other relatives. Dwyane and his younger sister remained with his mother who developed a serious drug habit. She had abusive relationships with men after her divorce. His mother’s boyfriends were involved with drug trafficking and Chicago PD raided his home. Young Dwyane Wade often went hungry. His childhood trials made him decide as a young boy that if he became a father that he would be devoted, responsible and loyal.
Dwyane’s grandmother was the matriarch of his large extended family. Dwyane had a lot of respect for his grandmother and she was always available to offer help. He and his sister didn’t always seek her help because they didn’t want anyone to know about their mother’s struggle.
Wade went to live with his father, stepmother and brothers when he was in upper elementary school and his life improved. His sister who he was closest with was not taken in by the dad. His father and stepmother had another baby, a girl. While living with his dad sports became a big part of Dwyane’s life. His dad was his first coach and his brothers were his competitors.
He had a growth spurt in high school and it got the attention of coaches and recruiters. Dwyane later went to Marquette University. While he was a student he married his high school sweetheart and became a first time father. He and his wife had a rocky marriage and later a terribly dramatic divorce after being drafted into the NBA by the Miami Heat and having another baby.
Jolinda had a religious epiphany while she was a fugitive of the law. She turned herself in to serve her time. While she was in prison she became free of her drug habit and studied her Bible. She started a storefront church once she was a free woman and her son later bought her a church with his NBA fortune. The other details of the book were about his college and NBA career. I skimmed through those pages because neither were very interesting to me.
I would recommend the book if you’re an NBA fan. The book can be a bit dry but it kind of mirrors Dwyane’s personality. He’s never come across as very dramatic or talkative. Jolinda’s story is inspiring even though I resented her for the way her children suffered due to her shortcoming. Dwyane’s decision to be a committed family man at a young age is also inspirational. It’s a good read if you have the time.
Like much of the United States and possibly the world I am on lockdown because of COVID – 19. I have two jobs and both have shut down for the last five weeks due to government orders to prevent the spread of the plague. This has given me a lot of time to catch up on reading. I checked out the biography Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant shortly after the NBA star died and I didn’t get around to beginning the book until the quarantine in March.
I am an NBA fan but Kobe was never my guy. He didn’t play for my team which is the Detroit Pistons. I have chanted BEAT LA in my living room many, many times. Most of that energy was directed towards Kobe. When Kobe died on January 26 I was shocked and saddened. Even though I’ve never been a Kobe fan I respect his success and I appreciate what he did for the game for twenty years.
This biography is very well written, well researched and detail oriented. This book is essentially an NBA history that focused on the late 90s to the mid 2010s. There are accounts of injuries, trades, games and series. The book is a little less than six hundred pages so it is a long and at times dry read.
I enjoy NBA but the minutiae of this book was a bit much for me. I was disappointed that the author only devoted a paragraph or two to the 2004 Laker loss to the Detroit Pistons. I was looking forward to reliving that in print but the author glossed over that glorious event. But overall I enjoyed the book because it cleared up some of the folklore surrounding Kobe’s relationship with Vanessa, his mother and father and Shaquille O’Neal. And yes, the rape trial was discussed.
This book reinforced all of my previous notions about Kobe Bryant. He was an aloof man and fierce competitor. Kobe Bryant was not a nice guy. He didn’t really get along with anyone once he became a star. But that wasn’t important to him. Winning was. He was meticulous in everything he did and was a diligent worker. Kobe had no patience for people around him that didn’t live up to his standards and people were easily discarded.
Kobe also didn’t like to share the spotlight with others. He didn’t want to share the spotlight with Shaquille O’Neal or Phil Jackson. LA wasn’t big enough for all of them. He never wanted it to be said that he needed them in order to be successful. Kobe was a lot like a 1980s night time soap opera villain that was motivated by a single goal and he didn’t let anything get in his way. Even though Kobe wasn’t warm and fuzzy I did like him more after reading this book. I respect the man’s drive and passion.
I also disliked him more after reading this book. By all accounts Kobe was a prick and so is his wife. He stabbed Shaquille O’Neal in the back more than once. He threw his coach Phil Jackson under the bus. He turned his back on his parents and siblings and cut them off financially before marrying his wife Vanessa and buying a beautiful new home for her mother who was in financial straits before her daughter married the NBA star. No one really seemed to get along with Kobe. As an NBA fan I kind of already knew that.
I did learn some new details about Kobe’s life but there wasn’t a lot of new information for me in this book. It’s fun to relive some of the NBA history that was written about in this book. I enjoyed the dirt that the book shared on Kobe’s personal entanglements. The author did a good job of giving us a backstage look at NBA life. I would recommend the book if you’re an NBA fan. You will enjoy it and it might make up for the NBA Playoffs being postponed.
I watched the three part documentary Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez which is about the late New England Patriots tight end and convicted murderer (well kind of) Aaron Hernandez. Aaron Hernandez is an interesting person to say the least. His story is almost Shakespearean. I remember Aaron Hernandez’s football career very well and I’ve seen several pieces about him in the media before watching the Netflix documentary. But Killer Inside offered some new information.
Family dynamics are interesting and Aaron’s family was full of complicated relationships. Aaron grew up a male dominant household. His father is Puerto Rican and seems to be very traditional. Aaron looked up to his father and was devastated by his death. He had a very close relationship with an older female cousin who loved Aaron like he was her own son. She was a mother of two children dying of cancer and served a prison sentence instead of testifying against Aaron.
The female cousin was married at one time and her husband left her for Aaron’s mother after Aaron’s father died. Aaron had animosity and resentment towards his mother because of her new significant other who sat next to her during Aaron’s trial. Aaron had a male lover who was featured in the documentary. Aaron also had a faithful fiance who was the mother of his daughter. Her support for Aaron never wavered.
I think it’s telling that Aaron allowed his cousin and fiance to suffer for him. He seems to be very self centered and without a conscious. We’ll never know if his sociopathic behavior is the result of nurture, CTE or celebrity privilege. The film implied that Aaron was driven to homicidal madness due to having to hide his same sex attraction while being immersed in the hyper masculine culture of sports.
Aaron was convicted of killing a man named Odin Lloyd in cold blood. Odin Lloyd was his fiancee’s sister’s significant other. Aaron appealed his sentence and later hanged himself while incarcerated and awaiting for the chance to appeal.
A Massachusetts law states that if a person dies while on trial there will be no conviction on the record books. Therefore, Aaron Hernandez is not a convicted murderer. He was also accused of killing two other men in Boston but was not convicted.
Aaron Hernandez was a brain damaged, bisexual, homicidal street thug, a football star who was a part of a sports dynasty with the undying loyalty of two women, a contemptuous relationship with his own mother and a father of a young girl who committed suicide at age twenty seven. His suicide may have outsmarted the Massachusetts legal justice system. Aaron Hernandez was not a sympathetic character but he was nonetheless compelling. Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez was an interesting film even if you already know quite a bit about the man.
Summer 2019 is behind us and you know what, I didn’t do a darn thing. I didn’t visit one beach, pool or amusement park this year. My “Hot Girl Summer” consisted of going to work, going to church going to brunch a few times. All of my adventures and drama came from reading. That’s a good and bad thing at the same time. Ice could have been covering the ground and it would not have made much of a difference to me. I’m going to share and review what I read this summer.
My first review is “Darkness to Light” by Lamar Odom.
This was a good read. I think you’ll enjoy it if you’re an NBA fan or a person that enjoys celebrity gossip. I enjoy both. This story is about the life of NBA champion Lamar Odom. The book begins with the Lamar’s parents’ star crossed love story. Then we learn about his experiences as a basketball phenom. He wrote about his college days and his early years in the NBA. That lead into his prime years in LA, his marriage into a reality TV family, his decline and then the day he ODed in a whorehouse in Nevada and near death experience.
Lamar is mild mannered and non assuming. In interviews he came across as having a passive personality. I felt like he was being bullied by some of the female entertainment journalists that interviewed him while he was promoting this book. But man, Lamar has had a wild, glamorous and fabulous life. The man has been to parties where Prince and Whitney Houston were in attendance. He’s been to Hollywood movie premiers and he’s been in an NBA champion victory parade, twice.
This book made a few impressions on me. First of all, Lamar Odom is a lucky duck. He was a drug abuser for years and dodged punishment for his habit. He was a high functioning drug addict who didn’t suffer repercussions professionally and managed to have a wildly successful career.
His personal relationships were what paid the price for his addictions. He lost the relationship he had with his high school sweetheart and mother of his two children. His relationship with Taraji Henson was destroyed. And he famously divorced Khloe Kardashian. Lamar suffered the loss of his mother to cancer while he was a young boy and he continues to struggle with her death. But drug and sex is what ruined his romances and marriage.
Secondly, this book taught me that pro athletes are basically raised by recruiters and coaches. The influence and place that these men have in the lives of young athletes is significant. As a sports fan there are certain things that make sense to me now as an observer. (I’ll keep those things to myself) Coaches and recruiters play a father like role to up and coming young men. In Lamar’s story they looked out for his interests but they also viewed him as a product to be protected so their motivations were not purely altruistic.
I also learned that Kris Jenner is a huge B word. This woman is willing sell her own children out for fame and a payday. That Kardashian/Jenners are opportunistic and take their family business very seriously. The business is more important than the family. Perhaps you all already figured that out but I am a little slow and naïve. I’ve honestly always admired Kris Jenner but I’m sure a lot of people admire Judas for a while too. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil things for you.
NBA fans will get a kick out of Lamar’s behind the scenes stories. He drops names throughout this book quite a bit. Of course he mentions Kobe. He grew up with Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace. He had a terrible relationship with Mark Cuban while he was in Dallas and Phil Jackson was a hero to him. I wish the booked focused on his NBA career more.
If you are interested in NBA, Hollywood glamour, the Kardashians, overcoming addictions or near death experiences. You might enjoy “Darkness to Light”. There’s something in it for just about everyone. I certainly enjoyed the book.
Today I will discuss some pertinent White people news. No, this is not about Trump nor any of his flunkies in Congress. No, this isn’t about unemployment in rural America. This is about two of the best looking White people on the planet: Christian McCaffrey and Olive Culpo. I will be discussing and analyzing their budding relationship or perhaps showmance. This piece is being fueled by irrational jealousy and a distrust of mainstream and social media.
First, let me tell you a bit about my relationship with Christian McCaffrey that exists in my mind. He’s the star running back for Brown America’s Team, the Carolina Panthers. He was my man Cam’s right hand last season. The first time I ever saw him was in a Playoff during Christian’s rookie season against the Saints.
I turned to the game just as Christian was trucking it across the field on his way to the end zone for a Panther’s touchdown. I was stunned. I had never seen a White man move that way. And I still haven’t forgotten it. I refer to Christian as Barry Sanders Jr. In an instant I was struck with an old lady crush. I could easily have a child this man’s age. Easily.
Christian McCaffrey seems to be a very nice person. He helped save an old man’s life last year while he was hiking with his brothers. He has no tattoos, he seems to love the Lord and he is a renaissance man. He’s an amateur musician and has a classic taste in clothing. His fashion sense has a hint of an edge at times. I will credit that to spending a lot of time around Cam Newton. His dad is a Superbowl Champ that played for the Denver Broncos. Christian McCaffrey is a dream boat.
Side note: What’s going on with the Carolina Panthers? They are fine as hell. They don’t even look like a real football team. It’s like they are a movie about a football team. Cam is one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen. Luke Keuchly is a looker. Christian is gorgeous and carries himself with sophistication at a young age. Coach Rivera gives all kinds of mature, sexy Latin vibes. It’s like they were cast by a Hollywood agent.
For the last month or so there have been rumors in the White gossip media outlets about Christian and Olivia dating. It all started when they started following each other on IG and he liked one of her pictures. Someone please explain to me whose job it is to monitor which celebrity unfollows who and likes what. What a job. After that gossip media news outlets said that “sources” say that the attractive pair was spending time together and enjoying each other’s company.
I have been through phases when I watched TMZ religiously and I pored over grocery store gossip magazines like US Weekly. After a while I came to the conclusion that it is all baloney. The celebrities themselves are the “sources” that vague articles cite in articles. And I’m sure that they tip off TMZ crews on when they are going to dinner at a trendy LA eatery with a new, high profile companion. TMZ stakes out in a very small area in LA. So people that hang out in that area are trying to be seen.
I question a lot of these so called celebrity relationships because a lot of the speculation is based on one meeting or dinner date. Imagine having someone write about you every time you had a good time on a dance floor with someone or each time you went out to dinner or a movie with a new friend. One flirtation or evening out does not make a relationship.
But I think the gossip media outlets and the celebrities take advantage of it all and give people something to talk about. Showmances seem like an easy and mutually beneficial way to get your name out to the public. I suspect that a lot of the Kardashian relationships and some of the marriages have been showmances. I have watched reports on TMZ of some of the Kardashian so called romantic relationships. I’ve seen these women supposedly caught by surprise by the paparazzi out on a date or making a red carpet appearance and they had ZERO chemistry with the man in their company.
It was like two strangers just happened to be walking side by side on a busy sidewalk. Or they were out with an employee or business associate. But they wanted us to buy that we were witnessing the beginning of a hot new romance. I’m sorry but I kind of suspect the same thing might be going on with Christian and Olivia.
These pictures prove that they’ve met but that’s about it. Are these really the best image this photographer could have produced? I don’t see any chemistry. I would make a better paparazzi than this person. That is if there was really anything to photograph. And they’re not that famous. I know them because I follow sports and pageants. I don’t think that these two have the kind of clout to be recognized overseas and draw much attention. It wouldn’t be that hard to surreptitiously stalk and photograph them.
Who knows this could be a sweet new romance. It could also be someone holding their drunk friend’s hand so they don’t get lost. That’s sweet too. We don’t really know what’s going on here and neither of them are saying anything. They are Vaguebooking.
Olivia’s friend made an IG story about her time in Mexico with Olivia and Christian. I’ve never heard of her nor her male companion. So how exactly did TMZ and the other gossip peddlers find this so fast? They were tipped off that’s how.
Once again we saw no chemistry or spark whatsoever. You know how social media works. Some people get a tiny bit of a boyfriend or girlfriend and then they make dozens of posts about their new soul mate and everything they do together. This isn’t happening here at all. Or they don’t post about their love life at all and suddenly announce that they are now married. Neither is happening here so I think they are just looking for attention which surprises me from Christian. He doesn’t seem thirst like that. Her yes, him no.
It will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Olivia seems like a nice enough lady. And I loved her Miss Universe dress more than any other contest winner I can remember.
But this woman is media trained and I believe that she is driven and calculating. Evidently she posts a bunch of stuff about going to band camp when she was a kid and getting made fun of for her eyebrows. Girl, bye! Even if it’s true.
She’s dated many well known men in the past. A man that plays for the Detroit Lions had a breakdown on IG over his break up with her a few months ago. And in between his breakdown and the beginning the Christian rumors that she probably started it was said that she dated a famous DJ. This girl is something else.
Anyway I wish them the best. And by that I mean that I hope Christian will be OK regardless of how this pans out. I won’t say that I hope this is real because it’s here nor there to me aside from them both being very nice looking people. I just think the things people do for notoriety and attention are very interesting.
I don’t understand feminism. Are they asking for equality or chivalry? You can’t have both. You can not ask the world to ignore all of the differences between men and women and then be asked to be treated with kid gloves because you are a woman. There are two examples of women being asked to be treated with kid gloves in the modern feminist world.
Bella Thorne recently went on a tearful rant against Whoopi Goldberg because Whoopi suggested that she not take nude pictures of herself and store them in a cloud. Bella took nude pictures of herself to send to her boyfriend. Once she discovered that her information had been hacked and the nudes were stolen she decided to release the photo herself. The incident was discussed on “The View” and Whoopi told her to protect herself by not taking nudes.
Bella then takes to Instagram to tell Whoopi that she should be ashamed of herself for telling Bella that there are consequences for actions and she can’t naively do whatever she wants and expect everyone in the world to be honorable. Watch.
Bella’s IG post had a feminist under tone to it. She felt that Whoopi should be ashamed because of how young women will be affected by her comments. Feminism tells women to be bold and adventurous enough to take nude photos to transmit and store electronically but if your security is breached you should make yourself out to be a victim. I would imagine that if you’re bold enough to take nudes in 2019 you’re probably no shrinking violet.
There is always the possibility of the file being stolen from Bella or the boyfriend. And if Bella breaks up with the boyfriend he could share the picture with God knows who. I kind of figured that people that sent nudes in 2019 didn’t really care where the photos ended up. There are dozens and dozens of cautionary tales out there about the consequences of nudes ending up in the wrong hands. Whoopi was just giving Bella some pretty sound advice. Make the man wait until you are together again and when you’re apart he’ll have sweet memories.
I want to start by saying I can’t stand Lavar Ball. I don’t know why we even know who he is because all he is is a stage parent and it doesn’t even seem to me that his boys are setting the NBA on fire. But for some reason the sports media eats him up. I don’t get it. Lavar was being interviewed on ESPN by a sports journalist by the name of Molly Qerim. She said that she wanted to switch gears in the conversation and Lavar said he would switch gears with her any day. Ms. Qerim thought that the comment had sexual undertones. Watch.
Good grief what a prude. I don’t know how someone equates this with sexual harassment. If you’re not familiar with Lavar Ball he’s not shy, he likes the spotlight and he speaks his mind. He probably does have a flirtatious personality but I don’t think that a cutesy flirtatious remark necessarily equals harassment or an unbearable work environment. Is Molly saying that she was afraid for her safety because of that remark? If so she should stay home and be a housewife.
Lavar has been banned from ESPN. I honestly don’t care because he shouldn’t have been on there so much anyway. But I don’t think he should have been banned for this. He should have been banned because he isn’t employed by the NBA and is one of these new kind of celebrities that is famous for absolutely no reason.
I had never heard of Molly Qerim before this but she has undoubtedly been influenced by the Me Too movement. Why else would she be so sensitive to that remark? She was in no danger because she and Lavar were not even in the same room.
Let’s be honest sports fans. Most of those women of the sports shows are ornaments and there is no way that they don’t know that. The women fit a very narrow beauty standard and most of them don’t say much. They are there to look pretty and facilitate conversations between men. They are similar to Price is Right models.
Their presence is sexist and demeaning to women because we all know that there are women that know a lot about sports but they may be bigger than a size 4. My mom could do a good job as an anchor on ESPN because she is pretty darn knowledgeable when it comes to sports and she analyzes games pretty well. But she is seventy three with two artificial hips and a bad back. She’s not eye candy for the mostly male audience which is the true job of women on sports channels.
I want to give an honorable mention to Josina Anderson who is smart as a whip and knows what she is talking about. And the red head that comes on the NBA show isn’t bad either and she’s quite likeable. I think her name is Samantha. And we can’t forget the OG Hannah Storm.
So these women that work on these sports channels benefit from sexism and they don’t mind playing into it for a paycheck but the minute a man that is known to be a smart alek makes a cheeky remark they make a complaint with HR and act as if they have been damaged. It makes no sense to me. Toughen up girls. And if Molly thought Lavar’s remark was disrespectful she should have spoke up for herself in the moment. That seems like the action of an empowered person as opposed to asking someone else to stand up for you because you are such a delicate and meek flower.
Anyway, I just wish feminism would make up it’s mind about it’s identity. Do you want protection and chivalry or are you as tough as any man? You can’t claim both identities and claim to be a coherent adult. Feminists are delusional.
Amendment:
I forgot about the Cuba Gooding Jr. incident. The Cuba Gooding Jr. groping incident is easy to forget about because it was a bunch of nonsense. There is a boring and confusing video which confirms that the allegations of groping were a bunch of nonsense. Watch.
After I watched this video for the first time my initial reaction was “What the heck did I just watch?”, because I didn’t see anything happen other than a bunch of people socializing and flirting at a bar. Cuba put his hand on her knee during the video but I don’t know the nature of their relationship so I don’t know that that was an inappropriate touch. The woman claimed that her breasts were groped but I didn’t see that happen. Perhaps he brushed her chest with his hand but I didn’t see that either.
I could understand how a woman from the Jane Austen era could be very offended and upset if she was transplanted into a happy hour in an urban setting and a man brushed against her breasts even accidentally. Those women had expectations of men and upheld feminine standards. Women could have that kind of society if that’s what they wanted because women set the standards and make the rules. But women have decided that they want to be thought of as independent women that are completely in charge of their bodies and sexuality and can speak up for themselves.
But evidently they can’t. None of the situations in this post are about rape. The Cuba Gooding incident isn’t even about sexual assault because he has been arrested, released with no charges filed. Bella Thorne wasn’t as angry with the person that stole her images as she was Whoopi Goldberg who gave her opinion on a matter that Bella made public. All of these women claimed to be victims after they were simply criticized, made uncomfortable or perhaps a man brushed against her. And now they want people arrested and kicked off TV and such because they felt dishonored.
Oh but wait, I thought that women didn’t want their femininity honored. Obviously they do but there is give and take. A lot of modern women just want to take. That’s what feminists want. I’ve answered my own question.
It’s the most – wonderful time of the yeeeeeaaaarrr…… Just kidding it’s not that great but it is pretty exciting. Ladies and gentleman it’s time for the 2019 NBA Playoffs, starring my hometown team and favorite sports franchise ever the Detroit Pistons!
I’m pretty excited that the Pistons made it to the Playoffs this year. I’ve been checking their standings for the last month or so hopeful that they would get to the post season. I rarely watch NBA anymore because I don’t have time most evenings and the NBA only broadcasts about eight teams repeatedly. My Pistons are not one of those teams. So I’m thrilled to get to take in some basketball that I actually care about.
In the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs my Pistons are playing the #1 Milwaukee Bucks. Under different circumstances I would be cheering for the Bucks. I don’t recall them having a lot of success over the years and I like to support small market Midwestern teams. If I was a betting woman I would always bet on the long shot and the sleeper teams. But the Bucks are playing my Pistons so I of course want them to lose so my boys can make it to the next round.
The Golden State Warriors are playing the LA Clippers in the first round in the Western Conference. I would love to see the Warriors lose. They are a great team, Steph Curry is a good, Christan family man. I really do like them but I’m sick of them. I don’t like dynasty teams of any kind. And national NBA broadcasts are pretty much the Steph Curry Show.
I hope the Rockets win their first round so they can defeat the Warriors in the second round. Realistically the Warriors will probably get to the second round. If they get to the Finals again this could turn into another snooze fest just like the Superbowl LIII. We get sick of watching the same teams every year. I mean I would watch because Golden State vs. anyone in the East could be a compelling match up.
There are some exciting teams in the East. Toronto and Philadelphia have been fighting to become dominant. Indiana has been pretty solid and respectable the last few years. And it will be interesting to see what Orlando and the Nets can accomplish in the Playoffs. I hadn’t thought of the Orlando Magic in years.
My adopted team is the Oklahoma City Thunder. I can see some of their games locally on cable. Love the one you’re with right! I also think that Russell Westbrook is fantastic. He is a heck of a player and he seems to be a great family man. Some say that he has an attitude but I think that he’s assertive and has leadership skills. He also doesn’t tolerate people disrespecting him or treating him in a condescending way. You see, the way American society is set up that will get a Black man labeled as having an attitude. I would love to see the Thunder do well.
In order for the Thunder to do well they will have to get past the Trailblazers. I’m a 90s NBA fan so the Trailblazers bring back fond fantastic NBA action. The Blazers were always in the 90s pro basketball mix. The current star of the team is Damian Lillard who seems like a quality human being. But I’m still hoping OKC takes them out.
Anyway, best luck to all the teams in the 2019 Playoffs especially the Detroit Pistons that kind of need it. There’s nothing in the world like a good basketball game. I’m look forward to getting enthralled in the matches and sad once it’s all over.
Tristan Thompson is back at it! He’s making headlines again. It’s not for playing basketball. The Cavaliers are 13 – 46 and in the fourteenth place out of fifteen teams in the east. He’s back in the gossip news for cheating on his baby mama Khloe Kardashian with her sisters ex room mate Jordyn Woods.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m completely in favor of loyalty, fidelity and long lasting, loving relationships between men and women. But this isn’t that. There is no evidence that this is a respectful relationship at all. It all just looks like a big confusing mess from the beginning.
The internet says that Khloe began seeing Tristan while his other baby mama was pregnant with his other child. Shortly thereafter Khloe got pregnant with her daughter. The internet says he cheated during Khloe’s pregnancy as well. After their daughter True was born there was some Kris Jenner manufactured drama on social media. Tristan was the villain, Khloe was the victim and the bystanders discussed what Khloe should do next.
Just like in old soap operas Khloe did exactly what she shouldn’t do. She pursued a romantic future and family life with a notorious philanderer. I don’t know what Khloe expected from this. I’m certainly not surprised that Tristan cheated on her.
I haven’t heard any declarations of love from Tristan to Khloe. I haven’t heard of an engagement between the two. Nor have I heard about an elopement. Tristan Thompson is a single, successful man that can do as he pleases. He’s nobody’s husband.
You see this is what happens when boundaries and lines are blurred. You get confusion and hurt feelings. People get taken advantage of in gray, undefined areas. Gray undefined terms and conditions are like smoke bombs that are intended to cause confusion and make it harder to see clearly. It’s kind of like when the Joker throws smoke bombs in “Batman”.
Romantic partners that aren’t your spouse don’t owe you anything. Hopefully they care about you enough to protect your feelings but you are taking your chances. You aren’t entitled to loyalty and devotion from a person to whom you have not married. You also don’t owe it to anyone. Tristan doesn’t owe any of his baby mamas a thing. If they really wanted Tristan for the long haul they would require marriage. If he was not interested in that type of a commitment they would know that they are barking up the wrong tree and they need to pursue other relationships.
These vaguely defined relationships aren’t doing anyone any favors. Men and women seem to be unhappy with each other and both sides get used and taken advantage of. Women get taken advantage of for sex and other favors. Men get taken advantage of for financial reasons or are pressured to marry because of the child they probably didn’t want.
There are no real winners. There is a purpose behind marriage and we should honor it. If you choose to take the new aged approach to relationships you will probably end up suffering in some regard whether you are a man or woman. Don’t expect old fashioned results with new aged behavior.
I have been a sports fan for a long time. I have loved it and pro sports has brought a lot of enjoyment into my life. I admire the athleticism and grace of the athletes. As I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to admire youth more and more and pro sports is a celebration and display of the blessing of youth, strength, good health and a competitive spirit. I’ve looked up to pro athletes for years and they’ve been heroes to me.
But it’s not only important to have a strong body and have physical gifts. You also need to have a strong mind, spirit and sense of self. I’m not sure that most pro athletes have that. Recently the significant other of a man that plays for the San Die…I mean LA Chargers posted a video of herself, her baby daddy Jaheel Addae, some other Black NFL players and their non Black significant others at dinner making a toast to light skinned babies.
There is something creepy and sinister about a blonde haired, blue eyed woman making a toast to eugenics and promoting social engineering. It was like we were getting an inside look at a Hitler youth meeting that Black men were allowed to join due to their annual earnings after taking a pledge of allegiance to White supremacy and it’s standards of beauty.
I am a dark skinned, Black woman that is forty four years old, never married and without children. A lot of people are going to belittle what I am saying and write it off as jealousy and bitterness. That’s usually what happens when dark skinned Black women try to speak out against being belittled as women or question European features being put on a pedestal. But I am not jealous nor am I bitter. But I am questioning if I should invest in an institution that is made of men that devalues Black people and run by people that seem to be using it as a vehicle to assert White standards of feminine beauty.
I feel the need to say that I am not against inter racial dating, marriage or mixed race children. The United States is an ethnically diverse country and friendships and romantic relationships are bound to happen in this day and age. Great. The strange thing is the way that these relationships get glorified and glamorized at the same time that Black women with two Black parents are often put down and degraded.
I’m not really surprised by the toast that was made and broadcast over Snapchat because I’ve always known that light skin, so called good hair and White features have been esteemed among Blacks for centuries. I just never knew how much it was valued and how much Black women that look Black were vilified until social media became such a presence. I’ve come to see what so many people really think.
I also think it’s very strange that this woman posted that video on Snapchat. I think it was very bold and it seems hard to believe that she and her baby daddy wouldn’t know that the toast would rub some people the wrong way. This came after a Chicago Bears player proposed to his White, fair haired girlfriend and then old tweets of hers became public. She made some rude remarks about race and she said that she loves to see Black men with White women and Black women with White men because she knows they will have cute children. This type of thinking has always made my flesh crawl.
The player that verbally made the toast didn’t say cheers to the lovely ladies in our company or cheers to true love and happiness or prosperous families. He said cheers to being light skinned, the closest thing to White we’re ever going to get. That’s it. They were celebrating being welcomed into White society and leaving Blackness behind.
Visualize White football players taping a similar toast. Everyone would question if they were a part of the Alt Right. These young Black men are pretty much a part of the Alt Right whether they realize it or not.
If you think a person with one White parent and one Black parent is more attractive than a person with two Black parents then you probably think a person with two White parents is superior to everyone. That is racism in a nutshell folks. And the NFL has been feeding us images of men of African descent putting fair hair White women on a pedestal for decades now.
As time goes on I think that fewer things are organic and most things in the media, even social media are intentional and put in front of the public in order to manipulate the masses. That’s especially true when you’re talking about a money making juggernaut such as the NFL.
It’s not hard to see that the NFL uses their space in American culture to promote certain agendas. It’s also clear that they pander to a White audience. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to think that they would want to reach out to White women in a way so they feel as if they have a place in the NFL. This may seem far out to some of you but when I look at the media and other sources of information and apply some objective and critical thought it’s amazing to me how White people affirm themselves.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Europeans do not tolerate not being the center of, well everything. Even if something markets itself as a Black organization or event they end up putting a White or at least the Whitest, non Black American face to it that they can find. If the majority of Black ball players were married to wholesome Black women and created wholesome Black families I have a feeling some White people may resent the NFL and see it as a vehicle for Black prosperity. White people have a history of destroying anything that brings about Black affluence. If you don’t believe me search Rosewood, Florida, Black Wall Street or even labor unions.
I’m not even angry at the young men that made that toast to light skinned kids on Snapchat or the Bears player that proposed to the borderline racist woman on the field after winning a game that sent them to the Playoffs. I’m really just embarrassed for them. They are brawn and no brains, heart or pride. They are puppets desperately trying to gain acceptance from mainstream culture. It’s very sad to watch.
It’s like when you see someone doing something to make themselves look foolish and every knows they are being foolish except them and it’s hard to look them in the eye. The kindest thing to do is to look away and act like you don’t see what’s going on. That’s what I may have to do with the NFL which is sad because we have had some great times and I thought I would always be a fan. I’ve stood by the NFL through a lot but this is a bit too much to bear.
