Terrell Owens Returns to Humble Beginnings

Terrell Owens has trended at the top of the media charts for the most part of the last decade. He is one of the most controversial and highlighted sports figures in the last thirty years. It’s not rare for an athlete to be so successful in his field of play yet receive a lot of negative coverage. But it is not often that the media tends to focus, nitpick, and investigate an athlete so much that he becomes the driving force of ratings.

Terrell is no stranger to success on the football field. He is currently second all time to Jerry Rice in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and he is sixth all time in receptions. For fifteen NFL seasons he has seen six Pro Bowls, 5 All Pro Selections and averaged 71 receptions and close to 1,100 yards a season.

Owens has always been known for his hard work. His body is a work of ebony majesty. People have rarely criticized his work ethic, but that’s where any praise, respect or acknowledgment stops, and on to the ambiguity of perception, opinion and criticism we go.

I've been wanting to dive into this topic for a long time because so much can be learned from Terrell's career. So I guess I'll start by answering what separates me from many of the sports journalist and media talking heads.

I myself was a collegiate and professional athlete. Having played cornerback and earning All League honors, I finished my career in college with 17 interceptions. Upon leaving college, I played for the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL with teammates such as Doug Flutie, Jeff Garcia and an outstanding but unknown wide receiver here in the States named Allen Pitts. I might add, my college quarterback was Anthony Cavillo, the all time quarterback passing leader in any league. After an injury cut my pro career short, I reconfigured my goals and transitioned into the corporate world. I spent the last 10 years + working as an Engineer for Intel Corporation. Although I found what this world defines success in my field I felt compelled to write a book and how-to program called, Don’t Stop the Swagger, which focuses on preparing the mind, body and soul for peak performance. After completing the book I felt as though I had a little left in the tank and at 35 years of age I started racing motocross. I was so passionate about the sport that I said I was going to put the Don’t Stop the Swagger Program to the test and see how far I could go. Well, four years later I raced my first professional race in Washougal, Washington at the Motocross Outdoor Championship. I followed that up with select Supercross races in 2010 & 2011. So my point is that I certainly have the basis and the background to write this article.

So back to Mr. Owens.

This guy is one of the most decorated NFL players ever. For most receivers, two or three seasons at Terrell Owens' yearly average garner them respect for their entire careers. But looking at Terrell’s career, many acknowledge his football greatness but get distracted by the fans scrutiny of behaviors that are common to many athletes. Terrell has never been convicted of a crime such as a DUI, domestic incident or other troublesome issues that pro athletes and other non-NFL type seem to commit on a regular basis.

Ray Lewis was charged with murder, spent significant time in jail during the trial and was eventually acquitted, even though it was proven that he had a very good relationship with the trigger man. Regardless of this fact, the media will still praise Ray Lewis, talk about his character as a point of reference and show respect for him regardless of the life and death situation he was ultimately involved in.

Then you can go further into athletes like Michael Vick, convicted, as we all know, of murdering dogs. And the NFL and ESPN media which drives sports news has continually spun his story for the positive during Vick's comeback. It seems even worse for Vick because his actions seemed to be a conscious institutionalized type of behavior. And yet people like Tony Dungy are more critical of T.O. than Vick. To even compare the two is ridiculous. Tony almost played the role of enforcer for NBC, convicting Terrell on national television.

What makes it so bad about Terrell is the fact that so-called credible people have attempted to put an exclamation point on the ESPN built T.O. bias. As a New York Daily News Staff writer stated, “Long ago, the media constructed a double standard for Dungy. An NBC NFL analyst, whether it's a player such as Terrell Owens or a coach such as Rex Ryan, Dungy is free to make comments even on things he did not personally hear. They are media made easy targets - a fat loudmouth coach who hasn't won a thing and an egotistical player make excellent, easy targets, right?"

The thing about this is all the while Tony became a mentor and advocate for Vick, advocating for Goodell to reinstate Vick while he was still quite critical of Terrell Owens.

After a game in which Terrell Owens was dissatisfied in a loss to the New Orleans Saints, Tony Dungy disapproved of the way Owens carried himself in his post game news conference after failing to catch a single pass in a home loss to the New Orleans Saints. Who really knows what Terrell said, but can it be any worse that the thousands of post game interviews we’ve seen from players?

"You really don't want that," Dungy said of Owens' snide demeanor. "But I think you know that's what you get with Terrell Owens. When things aren't going well, you're going to get stuff like that. That's hard to coach."

When Tony makes a comment he is untouchable; what he says is gold. That’s what made his comments about Terrell so detrimental.

Then Rodney Harrison chimed in on Terrell Owens: "He's just a clown, a straight up clown. He's more concerned with individual stats as opposed to the team's success. Just a clown."

Owens responded by ridiculing Harrison's four-game suspension in 2007 for violating the performance-enhancing substances policy. I might add the Rodney Harrison was considered one of the dirtiest and most often penalized players for violent and unnecessary hits.

You take the lessor of the two: an institutionalized sociopath type of killing behavior, or a black man that’s a loudmouth. From the sound of it, I guess Tony would take the dog killer. Now, I’m not going after Vick, because I believe in redemption as well as letting people move on from their past. But you cannot ignore the obvious nonsense in the sports media and "King Tony" in this situation.

I really don’t like the fact that I’m criticizing Tony Dungy because I do like him and honor his beliefs. But it makes you wonder about the terms "media" and "credibility", and should those two ever go in the same sentence? Rodney Harrison is suspect also, based on his NFL history. Maybe in all those Bible studies Dungy forgot to read about the prophet Jeremiah who was so bold with his words that he compared people to a donkey's rear end. Sounds a lot like Terrell criticizing Tony Romo after a Cowboys game.

You would think Terrell might have resentment. But the funny thing is in all this criticism and back lash Terrell advocated for Michael Vick, petitioning the league not to suspend him further after the he finished his prison sentence. “I think he's done the time for what he's done. I don't think it's really fair for him to be suspended four more games," Owens said, referring to reports that the NFL is considering to further punishing Vick. "It's almost like kicking a dead horse in the ground. ...The guy's already suffered so much. And to add a four-game suspension on a two-year prison sentence, that's ridiculous."

You have to think again who this guy Terrell Owens is. Outspoken, yeah probably, but I’d say he is probably more intelligent than most of his counterparts. When you listen to post game interviews, Terrell can be quite articulate about what the defense is doing and very aware of the media. In contrast, listening to a Tony Romo interview can at times sound like 8 year after a Pop Warner game. Of course, the argument can be made that it is more about control and Terrell being a guy that demands respect. I can understand Terrell in many ways coming from a football background where the possible collegiate drop out football player was referred to as a “good kid” while the intellectual well-rounded athletes were always a problem. The football industry loves control, and especially loves the dumb jock.

As Terrell Owens moves to the last few years of his football career and beyond it will not be intellect or his physical prowess that define his success but the attributes deep inside him that he has pulled from subconsciously all his life. Those that I described in my eBook, Don’t Stop the Swagger. One of these qualities will be his ability to ignore the criticism and learn from his past. Another will be to find ways to consistently challenge himself. Most often experience is the best teacher and I assume Terrell has a lot to pull from.

For everything that is said about Terrell Eldorado Owens, the guy is always prepared to play, and after 16 years is statistically the second best receiver ever, with Randy Moss right there with him.

When you look at the past transgression of other players, they seem enormous compared to Terrell Owens' deeds. So it makes you wonder what happened. Is it as simple as "Big Black Voice equates to Big Stick knocking you over the head"? Or is it a simple sports media running the trending topic into the ground. Or as Terrell said, "beating that horse that's been dead a long time."

You can look at Terrell’s sideline altercations, which are many, but hey, Kevin Green put physical hands on his coach, Kevin Steele, and receives little to no attention for doing so. Why is this? That’s a question for you to answer. We all know how the media would handle this if Terrell committed the same offense.

Most recently, Terrell Owens signed a $500,000 player/ownership deal with the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. Some might look at this as a step down. But as Owens said, "I don't see this as beneath me. I come from humble beginnings and I know what it takes. I don't think about what the critics think and what I'm doing and why I'm doing it."

Just the right attitude; seizing opportunity when the door presents itself.

Moving forward, Terrell will need to learn from the past but continue to have those characteristics that have propelled him to success. Don’t stop the swagger, T.O., and continue to pursue life with that same passion and work ethic that made you one of the greatest. Sometimes the loudest mouth gets the harshest criticism but still has the last word.

Tiger Woods met Dave Chappelle and Decided He was Cablasian

I have to say, a lot of Tiger Woods' past success was due to his inner circle. The most important and forgotten figure in that circle was his father, Earl Woods. Few people make an impression on a young boy as much as his dad. This is certainly the case with Tiger. He owes his Dad for his focus, the foundation of his world-class swing, his determination and that killer instinct. Earl's biggest contribution, though, may have been that swagger - his belief that there was nothing his son couldn't accomplish, provided he put in the work. And as we've seen, Tiger isn't afraid to put in the effort. But with Tiger losing his father, this has caused a kink in his golf game.

I recently wrote a book called Don’t Stop The Swagger: Preparing the Mind Body and Soul for Peak Performance, that identifies unique characteristics that Peak Performers possess. But I think beyond those characteristics of mental toughness and pushing through, a peak performer must also have a knowledge of self. All people who want to perform at a high level in any arena must have a physical body that that is healthy, clean of toxins, and able to heal. Additionally, they need the mental characteristics mentioned above. But more importantly they need the complete mind, body and soul element, specifically the inner strength to persevere through adversity when intellect and physical ability have run dry.

When looking at Tiger, you can see he struggles a bit with his circle, but he does have a few people worth mentioning. The second and now only real person in his inner circle is his mother, Tida Woods. Tiger has often joked that his mom was the disciplinarian when he was growing up. But Earl's principles couldn't have entirely been passed down to Tiger without Tida's loving support and loyalty to Tiger and his father. Someone once said that a mother's love is instinctual, unconditional and forever. I say a mother's love is neither perfect nor imperfect, it's simply always there. You need look no further than the nearest fairway at most tournaments. As most fathers know, it is extremely difficult to cultivate and equip a child to be successful in life without the mother's support. Especially important is the ability to trust that the mother honors the relationship the father has with that child.

Given that his father has passed, Tiger is left with his mother’s love and limited experience living on this earth as a man. The rest of what came out of Tiger's inner circle comes down to an ex wife with a 100 million dollar divorce and shared custody of two beautiful daughters, a nasty public separation with a caddy who always seems to take personal, public and disrespectful shots at Tiger.

It started when his former caddy, Steve Williams, took jabs at Tiger when his new golf partner Adam Scott won the WGC Invitational over Tiger. Tiger reacted with little or no response at all. But Williams comments really hit the ceiling when he gave a speech at the Annual Caddie Awards dinner and very proudly and defiantly stated his goal following Adam Scott's victory in the Bridgestone Invitational at Akron. He said, "My aim was to shove it right up that black ass hole." Tiger again gave little response and even came to the defense of Steve Williams, saying that Mr. Williams is “In no way a racist.”

The funny thing that is forgotten is, given Tiger’s statements in the past, he doesn’t even categorize himself as black. Appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997, Woods acknowledged that it bothered him when people called him an African-American. “It does,” he said. “Growing up, I came up with this name. I’m a Cablasian.”

It reminds me of the Dave Chappelle skit where Chappelle portrays a character called Clayton Bigsby, a black skinned white supremacist. In one skit Clayton swears at a black person and yells, "Woogie Boogie, Blacky!" This makes you wonder if Woods and Williams had their own repertoire of black jokes shared among themselves.

Regardless of how Tiger or others categorizes him, or what people say about him, as a person in this world you must have the ability to ignore the critics - whoever they are. And your response must be one of positive action. Focus on your task with an unwavering knowledge of self.

Quite possibly something was lost after the death of Tiger's father and he doesn’t exactly know who he is anymore. Maybe his father was the closest thing to giving him the foundation of that inner self.

The next in his so-called inner circle of paid loyalists is Hank Haney, who is now coming out with a book focusing on the life and success of Tiger Woods. The rest of his circle consists of BUTCH HARMON, MARK O’MEARA, JOHN COOK, and specifically MICHAEL JORDAN and CHARLES BARKLEY, who never really handled success quite as well as they are given credit for. Many believe those two benefited from a time when the internet was almost non-existent, Twitter was still an idea and Facebook's creator was just a baby. Tiger's media scrutiny is exponential compared to the Jordan era. This seemed to hold true as Tiger was exposed in the Thanksgiving Car Crash fiasco and Charles practically begged Tiger to call him on national TV.

Excluding Tigers deceased father and loving mother he is left with a circle of people he either pays or entertains. If the past few years of divorce, caddy jokes and swing issues have not taught him a little about his circle, I don’t know what will. There is an old proverb that states, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Another proverb can be translated, "Wealth creates many friends; but the poor is hated by his by his neighbor."

The point is that the Tiger circle is a result of his wealth and not a result of him uniting with people because they relate on cultural similarities, cultural experiences, social backgrounds, religious beliefs or possibly race. I'm not sure how to find other Cablasians, but maybe Tiger has better insight. So as we know, Tiger has many friends available but finding a brother born through adversity might be more difficult. Unless, that is, he's willing to pay for it.

When it comes down to it, after you've tapped all the intellect and physical ability available to you, the only thing left is that fire inside. The key to Tiger's new walk to golf success probably won't be found in a healed knee, a reinvented golf swing, or more time spent on the treadmill, but somewhere deep inside his mind, body and soul.

Kobe Overcomes NBA Mid-Life Crisis with Mental Toughness

Kobe Bryant passed Shaquille O’Neal on the NBA's all time scoring list. You wonder, what drives Kobe? He has five championships, multiple finals MVP's, scoring titles, respect of his peers and is now well-regarded by the media after years of what seemed to be ignorance to what he was doing.
Kobe is not immune to life's troubles. The well covered Colorado trial and his current divorce are enough to stop most men in their tracks, yet the Black Mamba keeps on coming.

I wrote a book a while back called Don’t Stop the Swagger. In this book I talked about certain qualities that peak performers have and how to develop them. After reading this news I realized that Kobe Bryant, with all the intangibles and physical ability he has, possesses three of these characteristics that are really his most significant gifts. The first is Kobe has the ability to ignore the detractors. Second, he is always able to push through difficult circumstances. And third, like his predecessor Michael Jordan, he always finds news ways to challenge himself.

With the deteriorating job market, quarter-life crisis on the rise, and not to mention the continued housing crisis, folks are feeling the pain. And they've got to find ways to push through the adversity. Most people turn to sports as a way of escaping their problems. But when you think about it, Kobe might be dealing with some type of NBA mid-life crisis of his own. Yet he seems to find a way.

Kobe appears to use whatever pain or criticism he is dealing with to stir an inner fire that forces him to keep pushing himself. Following the 2010-2011 season, Kobe had many questions - his ailing knee, Hall of Fame Coach Phil Jackson leaving, and then the Chris Paul trade fiasco that left them without a replacement for Lamar Odom. If things couldn’t get any worse, his wife of over 10 years, Vanessa Bryant, filed for divorce.

Coming into the season, stars didn’t seem to be aligning for Kobe. But after looking at the mid season standings and stats, Kobe Bryant is the leading scorer in the NBA, his team is 6^th in the Western conference after a tough first half, and Kobe just passed Shaquille O’Neal for 5^th on the NBA’s all-time list.

People living in poverty feel the effects of lacking food, and even the rich have restless days and nights. The pain we experience may be self inflicted, the result of bad decisions or something out of our control. Dealing with the pain is certain; pushing through the difficult circumstance is optional. Pushing through the adversity doesn’t mean avoiding the tragedy - it means not allowing the pain to become a tragedy within us.

I’m not trying to compare Kobe Bryant's trouble with the ups and downs of the normal person's day to day life. But just maybe each of us has our own trials, and an equal amount of perseverance that we need to channel.

Whether you dislike Kobe, appreciate his NBA ability, or hold some type of grudge towards him for whatever reason, we could all learn something from Kobe in this day in age when everyone seems to be fed up. Even if you don’t care for basketball, his ability to handle adversity, ignore the naysayers and find a challenge is something that we can all acknowledge and appreciate.

As I always say, “Don’t Stop the Swagger!"

Brazilian Street Kid Publishes Inspirational Book with Help from American Professional Athlete

Brazilian Street Kid Publishes Inspirational Book with Help from American Professional Athlete

The Olympics of Amateur Motocross

If you don't know much about Motocross, you might not have heard about the National Amateur Championships that have taken place at Loretta Lynn's Ranch every summer for the past 28 years. But for those of you who know Motocross, you know how huge this event is. It's like the Olympics for Amateur MX riders.

Every spring, thousands of racers from across the country begin the process of regional qualifiers, striving for a top 10 finish in the initial qualifiers, and then a top 5 finish in the final qualifier that will grant them entrance into the prestigious Loretta Lynn Championships. The qualifiers are typically packed with the region's top riders who attempt to qualify in a number of different classes with the goal of making it into at least one class, but preferably the two classes that are allowed for the 3-moto format of the Championships.

In my second year of racing (and second year attempting to qualify), I made it into two of the three classes I raced in the qualifiers, and additionally qualified as an alternate for a third class. So we began our preparations for the 2,250 mile journey from Sacramento, California to Hurricane Mills, TN.

We do things a little different than the average motocrosser. Or at least what appears to us to be the "average" motocrosser nowadays. At most of the events we attend - even the local races - we get up extra early on race day only to pull up in our Toyota Tacoma truck (which is loaded to the max with 1 bike, all my MX gear, folding chairs, tent cover and picnic supplies), and search through the plethora of RV's and toy haulers for a decent spot to set up camp for the day.

There are pros and cons to doing it our way - the obvious con is driving at the wee hours of the morning before a race, or having to use port-a-potties and hand sanitizers all day long. The pro, on the other hand, we notice when we quickly pack up and head down the highway at a comfortable speed, passing and waving at all the heavily loaded RV's and toy haulers (typically packed with 2+ bikes, MX and camping gear). Not to mention the savings on gas and absence of extra RV costs. There's something to be said for simplicity.

However, since we don't own an RV or toy hauler, we had to consider how to make this cross country trip that ends in a place called "Hurricane Mills" - a campground located an hour outside of Nashville without much else near by. Fortunately, some friends who live close by were driving their rig and had spare room to haul my bike and gear. So we had the benefit of flying into Nashville, renting an RV and camping right there on-site at Loretta's Ranch.

Now, coming from a crossover athlete's standpoint, this is what sets motocross apart from the rest of the athletic world. In my football days, the team flew to away games, stayed in fairly nice hotels, reviewed strategy over meals, watched film, had a small preparation practice on the game field and got a good night's sleep. Come game day our gear was cleaned and prepped and we were ready to play without much effort in the "getting there" process.

But for motocross, the "getting there" process is half the battle. And since a huge segment of the motocross population has seen fit to buy huge motor homes and toy hauling rigs, utility ATV's, pit bikes, two (or more) racing bikes per rider, and home school their kids so they can add travel days with ease, the ante's been seriously upped for the "average" motocross athlete to get a sporting chance at success. In addition to the "getting there" costs, most people add at a minimum a few thousand dollars in bike modifications to an already brand new bike.

As much as I love this sport, I often wonder how it can grow when the financial standard is so high. And the rules and requirements to win at the national level are foggy at best. Most stock classes don't seem to be "stock" at all - but more accurately how fast can you make your bike go while still looking "stock". The entry fees, along with gate fees, hook up fees and transponder fees would drain most responsible citizens' bank accounts. Responsible being a family with life insurance, health insurance, contributes 10-15% of their income toward retirement, pays the mortgage on time and stashes a little away in an emergency savings. The costs are magnified further when the amateur national schedule contains 6-8 races, consuming at least 8 weeks, not including drive time. That's 8 weeks of vacation per year at minimum. Nevertheless, most folks are simply thinking about the next race and rarely give much thought to the cost until it hits them.

I guess my point is that money shouldn't be a determining factor for success in athletics. Success in athletics should be dependent upon one's talent, work ethic, dedication and desire. But in motocross finances can play a large part in success.

Despite the challenges and road blocks, I, like many others, still choose to line up every weekend and twist the throttle.

This has never been a particularly cost effective sport. So with increased gas prices and the current economic climate, one might expect to see only a select few die-hards making the trek to an event like this, plus those fortunate to live in a closer radius of proximity to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

Not so. We rolled in on Sunday morning (the day before Monday's practice day) into what appeared to be an endless sea of motor homes, parked back to back, side to side, like a huge transportable city assembled and dissembled in less than two weeks. Riders came from almost every state and even a few different countries. Someone told us there were about 1,000 less RV's this year than last, which baffled us as to how another 1,000 RV's could fit into such a setup.

I felt like a kid in a candy shop. Every vendor associated with motor sports was there. And they each had their own attractions - from rock climbing to movies to nightly concerts, fashion and talent shows - adding even more excitement to the week.

But on to the main reason for the event... motocross.

We walked the track twice on Sunday, sweating bullets in the 95 degree heat and 85% humidity, plotting strategy, riding style and bike logistics. This track was one of the best I've seen, technically challenging with lots of sand that would disappear by race day and the threat of surprise thunder storms to make it even more rough and rutted.

Monday I started my week off with two 20-minute practices. I figured my experience playing college football at places like Oklahoma, Baylor and Louisiana State University would prepare me for the heat and humidity. But I must say, by the time I put on my gear and helmet I was "pleasantly" surprised to feel the heat and humidity rise another 10%! Monday's practice was HOT. Some didn't hesitate to pull right off the track. But I decided to stay out there and "get 'er done" - since I needed as much track time as I could get. Practice went great. My lap times were competitive and once I acclimated to the heat, I was able to get comfortable on the track.

Tuesday, on the other hand, was crazy! It started off with clear blue skies and 90 degree weather. Then during my first moto out came the clouds and in a period of 2 minutes we were racing under thunder storms. I had to take off my goggles to see. Needless to say, I finished the race and felt OK about how I rode. At least I could use it to build on. I was scheduled for another race that day, but the rain came down so hard it flooded a portion of the track, so quite a few motos had to be postponed while they re-routed the track.

My rain delayed moto started at 7:30am Wednesday morning and the track was still muddy. Extremely muddy. Again, my goggles were of no use and I finished the race without them. But it was a step up from the day before and I was still happy with how I rode.

My second set of motos ran on Thursday without rain. I was able to find a flow and I ran my fastest lap time so far. I finished both races in respectable positions. At this point I was really looking forward to my last two motos the next day.

Friday was the big day. I finally felt comfortable with the weather and track conditions. I was excited to see what I could do. On the first lap I ran my fastest lap time of the week, improving by over 13 seconds. That's almost unheard of. The track maintenance crew watered the track before my moto, however and I hi a slick spot going around a corner jump. It threw me about 10 feet in the air and off the track. I ended up screwing myself up real good. My entire body hurt but I refused to stay off the track. An incomplete race (or DNF) can destroy your overall results, so I got back on the track and gutted it out.

After the race I went to the onsite medical facility where they took some X-rays of my wrists and shoulder. I was impressed by the fact that at any other event, you'd have to go off site, wait your turn and pay a sum just to be seen by a doctor, let alone get an X-ray. But here, the friendly volunteers from Florida's Jacksonville Orthopedic Services provided their medical expertise free of charge (apparently the owner is an avid MX rider and fan himself). It was comforting to have peace of mind that nothing was broken... great! But I still had a race just two hours away.

I did not plan on racing after that fall, but I decided to do so because, again, I did not want a DNF. So I showed up at my 6:00pm race and gutted t out. My wife would write crazy messages on the pit board like, "Don't Quit!", "Almost There!" and "Keep Going!" I kept waiting to read one that said "Last Lap!" - but she never wrote that one.

Anyway, finished the week 33rd out of 42 riders in my first class. Come to find out, that class consisted of a lot of pro riders, which felt good to know I could hold my own with them. In my other class I finished 34 out of 44. It was respectable and something to build on.

I plan on qualifying next year, returning to Loretta's and winning! But my goal is to compete in the Canadian Pro Nationals, which would make me the first athlete to reach the professional level in both football and motocross.

I figure if I'm gonna write it, I might as well live it... Don't Stop the Swagger!

Barry Cheated, But What’s Really Going On? (Why I Hate Barry, Part II)

Last Thursday, on November 15, Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. I must say, my first thought was, isn’t this over and done with? How many other names have surfaced and faded since the BALCO fiasco?

Now Bonds could go to prison facing five years for perjury and ten years for obstruction of justice. This indictment follows a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes. The same doggone day Barry was indicted, Greg Anderson, his personal trainer, was ordered released after spending most of the past year in prison for refusing to testify against his longtime friend.

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, "the president is very disappointed to hear this. As this case is now in the criminal justice system, we will refrain from any further specific comments about it. But clearly this is a sad day for baseball."

WOW! A White House spokesman feels the Barry Bonds BALCO fiasco is important enough to comment on! This is really amazing, given all the important issues facing the U.S. and world today, that a Whitehouse official would find the time to comment about Barry.

I truly believe that the one thing BIG Brother wants is an unconscious, thoughtless, uninformed public. They (the media) seem to have an agenda to keep us distracted by irrelevant news, divided by racial issues and confused by religious inconsistencies that never provide us with an example needed to unite people of diverse backgrounds.

If we as people stay dazed by irrelevant news, like Barry Bonds or Paris Hilton, divided by racially biased media reporting that creates fear and anger and results in division, we will never see the real issues and enemies facing our country. The powerful elite, which is bipartisan, oppresses regardless of race. Its one goal is to keep the masses preoccupied with nonsense while more civil liberties are taken and more power is assumed by the elite.

Barry Bonds is irrelevant, and I am sure the Justice Department feels the same way. But nevertheless they decided to use your taxpayer money to bring down one individual who incites the right negative emotions (anger, jealousy, resentment) after four years of investigations. Basically, Barry’s the perfect distraction.

We, the people, have a few Issues affecting our country that need to be addressed. So since a White House spokesman found it so important to make a statement about Barry, I figured we, the people, should come up with a few questions and/or statements of our own.

Iraq War: Over three trillion dollars is missing from the U.S. budget, all as a result of the D.O.D. (Department of Defense). How many people could we educate and motivate with that chump change? Is the media willing to do its job and hold our officials and representatives accountable? And let’s talk about the 80 percent Army desertion increase since the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. Is the media willing to ask the government to address the growing sentiment against the war by our own troops? Whether you’re for or against the war, these questions need to be answered.
Blackwater Worldwide – The definition of a mercenary is a person or party who takes part in an armed conflict (war) for the desire of private gain, be it monetarily, politically or otherwise. Backwater Worldwide is a private military firm formed by former Navy Seal, Erik Prince, that has close to 40,000 privately trained mercenaries, some U.S. citizens and others foreign nationals, at its disposal. Blackwater Worldwide is under contract right now with the U.S. Department of Defense. Blackwater has recently come under investigation by the FBI for smuggling weapons into Iraq and firing on unarmed Iraqi civilians. An anonymous U.S. military official was quoted as saying that Blackwater's guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. The U.S. D.O.D. has paid some fifteen billion dollars to companies such as these. This is big business. Will the media do its job as the constitution instructs us to and ask the questions that need to be asked? We, the people, want to know.

North American Union – This is a plan that will ultimately undermine the U.S. constitution and our civil liberties. Basically, this includes uniting Mexico, Canada and the U.S. to what would be called the North American Union. This includes a highway from Mexico through Texas to Canada, one currency, and modern day slavery – just say CHEAP LABOR, which is the Mexican people. Lou Dobbs of CNN is the only mainstream media person that seems to be concerned. Oh, and one last thing, the removal of our Constitution, which is what makes America the land of opportunity. Will the media do its job? We, the people, want to know.

Katrina Survivors – Still a mess… need I say more? Who will be the voice? We, the people, need a voice.

These are just a few issues I know of that our more important than Mr. Bonds, who I seem to grow more impatient with as he is just one of the many media topics they use to keep us distracted and uniformed.

Regardless of our background, we must come together in love to save the impoverished, cultivate the youth and fight against the evil that seeks to destroy us.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing” – Anonymous
Until next time, don’t stop the swagger!

KOBE TRADE: AGAINST THE RULES

Kobe’s trade is against the rules. It’s against the secret code of athletic competition. If Kobe is to be compared to high caliber athletes such as Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Roger Federers and other NBA greats, a Kobe trade is against the rules.

Is Kobe one of the greatest? Yes. Does Kobe’s athletic ability justify being compared to the all time greats? Yes.

See, most sane people don’t have a problem with Kobe Bryant’s athletic ability – well, at least anyone with any type of integrity. It’s these types of things that give reason for people to call him selfish, arrogant, aloof and many other negative tag words. Everyone knows I like Kobe, and I, too, can be called somewhat of a spin-doctor by intellectualizing, explaining and/or defending some of Kobe ’s situations and character traits.

Just don’t call me Sean Hannity. But this TRADE is WRONG. KOBE IS WRONG! Kobe demanding a trade is like Charles Barkley joining the Celtics during the great years (85-89) to win an NBA championship. It goes against the competitive rules.

You see, when you’re the guy, the leader, the numero uno, you have to take your licks. You have to do everything within your power to make your ship better. You have to fight the battle with the soldiers you went in the hole with, not jump ship when you find out you MIGHT NOT WIN and join the other team because you think they MAY WIN!

Kobe is playing for the best franchise in the NBA, period. Playing in front of loyal fans that understand the media pressure, playing for a team and city that has enough room for a super size star such as Kobe.

This all started because someone within the Laker organization told the media that Kobe was the reason Shaq was left unsigned and traded to Miami. Mistake number 1. Don’t throw your number #1 guy under the “buss” and expect him to be happy about it. Even if people already thought this, it was a bad move. Kobe may have issues with the Lakers because they allowed him to be the scapegoat when Shaq ended up in Miami.

Anyone with any sense knows Kobe Bryant does not write the checks, and a millionaire like Kobe just doesn’t tell a billionaire such as Dr. Buss what to do with his money. If anything, I would say the Lakers possibly told Kobe many people were going to blame him for Shaq leaving, so take this one for us. After going through the whole Denver mess, Kobe possibly felt a sense of loyalty and decided that it wasn’t too much to ask.

But now a trade… you gotta be kidding me! This is like coming to local basketball court on a team of five guys and after losing the first two games you ditch the guys you came with for the winning team. You just don’t do that, unless you want to be left at the court and ride home by yourself.

If Kobe is traded, I’ll finally root against him. Please don’t make me do it! But if Kobe is traded, as Dave Chappelle would say, “don’t make me do it, but I will.”