Jay-Z performing in Texas. Brings out Bun B.
Everyone loves to talk of this animosity between Jay-Z and Bun B. smh
Enjoy. R.I.P Pimp C
Interview with Mr. Carter
Enjoy. R.I.P Pimp C
Interview with Mr. Carter
Android Apps...
There are two in my household now and I know of at least four of my followers who have them SO, I will put up some Apps for it that I think people might want to use.
Here is the link to some of the rest..No, I didn't write these...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2356307,00.asp
ShopSavvy 3.5.5
http://www.biggu.com/
The best of the several comparison-shopping applications for Android, ShopSavvy lets you take a picture of a bar code on a product box with the phone's camera, and then churns out prices for the product from various retailers along with reviews from online shopping sites.
Pandora Radio 1.1.2
http://www.pandora.com/
The Weather Channel 2.1.5
http://www.weather.com/
(Nods head to all of you who are probably not used to seeing
...the site like this.) For those of you who are like 'What the hell is he talking about NOW?', I pulled the feed that sends blog posts to Facebook.
If you came over from Facebook, again my apologies for having to pull the feed there. I was debating doing so for awhile now. This will work out better though if you just come STRAIGHT here to begin with. I must tell you though, many of my posts were actually not 'pulled' straight to Facebook for a majority of reasons. Two of which were content and at my own personal barometer of what I wanted to show up in my timeline. I say that to say that the site is 'balls out'. I don't hold back here so some things you missed you are gonna see. Whether you decide to keep come visiting is your decision, not mine. If you decide to stay, welcome! If you do not, thanks for coming and see you when I see you.
If you came over from Facebook, again my apologies for having to pull the feed there. I was debating doing so for awhile now. This will work out better though if you just come STRAIGHT here to begin with. I must tell you though, many of my posts were actually not 'pulled' straight to Facebook for a majority of reasons. Two of which were content and at my own personal barometer of what I wanted to show up in my timeline. I say that to say that the site is 'balls out'. I don't hold back here so some things you missed you are gonna see. Whether you decide to keep come visiting is your decision, not mine. If you decide to stay, welcome! If you do not, thanks for coming and see you when I see you.
Breaking news! Trina has female parts...Someone leaked the pics..
There is no 'full disclosure' in this video. A few stills but I am assuming they have 'more' which is why they are demanding money. I tell you, fools are desperate. I am sure some of you out there would do the same thing to her though so I am probably not preaching to the choir. Just like these people though, when that Karma train comes whistling back down the track, I don't wanna hear no bitching. It knows no names and hears no claims.
I mean, I can't act like seeing her this way is not something that I would not want. Just not like this. I hate that it had to happen like this. I don't blame her though if she did not pay and that is why they got leaked. (Waits for the 'She leaked them herself' brigade to fall through..) Riddle me this 'She leaked them herself' brigade? If she did, why did she include a pic of her with cleanser on her face? To make it look more authentic? lol smh. I tell you, you conspiracy theorists out there don't believe anything but yet won't call into question the authenticity of the motives of the mofos destroying your VERY NEIGHBORHOODS with crime and the like or question yourself as to why you keep ending up in questionable situations. As you were though...
Here is the video. It is NOT SAFE FOR WORK/stick in the mud spouses/or for your children to see so no opening this in wide open spaces aight?
More on the Laws...(In case you DON'T know ) & new Meek Mill ft. Big Kountry & Young Dro)
Just a little footage.
I told you the boy Meek was about to do it big too. More is coming from that lil video that I put up and this track.
Link
Laws + DJ Khalil + J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League in LA from Laws on Vimeo.
I told you the boy Meek was about to do it big too. More is coming from that lil video that I put up and this track.
Link
More Natalie Nunn.....video
I am learning more and more about her. Own show? Hadn't gotten to watch the first one beyond the one where they were scrapping yet. (Heard a lot about it though) Interesting.
Prayers out to Chile and those in the path of the tsunami..
Here is a (for now as I don't know how long it will be up) ustream from there and a peak at someone who is in Hawaii now. Maybe if you are savvy enough, you can follow the trail and find others doing the same. Later on, I will try to check back and find some more links like this..
The country is home to the world's largest earthquake recorded EVER at 9.5 so they do have some idea of how to handle the situation. Still and all, they need help and prayer. As a result of this earthquake, basically any piece of land in the Pacific is in danger. Hawaii included. Hence the Hawaii link below.
Sidenote: I hear a lot of you talking about the 'U.S' doing its part/when are they going to do 'its part' or the infamous 'when is the U.S. going to 'take responsibility/notice/whatever. There is a book out there that kinda predicted this...#justsayin' I don't wanna come off all 'the sky is falling'ish but lets slow down on the finger pointing. It was written. Also, if you REALLY feel that way about your country, Mexico and Canada are right there. Go ahead and take that walk homie. I am a lil tired of the cookie cutter comments about all of this somehow being 'our fault'. Last I checked, we didn't 'create fault lines. Yes, we have POLLUTED THE EARTH. We aren't the only ones doing it. Stop acting like that....
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tv-de-chile
Live Videos by Ustream
Hawaii live stream..
Free TV Show from Ustream
The country is home to the world's largest earthquake recorded EVER at 9.5 so they do have some idea of how to handle the situation. Still and all, they need help and prayer. As a result of this earthquake, basically any piece of land in the Pacific is in danger. Hawaii included. Hence the Hawaii link below.
Sidenote: I hear a lot of you talking about the 'U.S' doing its part/when are they going to do 'its part' or the infamous 'when is the U.S. going to 'take responsibility/notice/whatever. There is a book out there that kinda predicted this...#justsayin' I don't wanna come off all 'the sky is falling'ish but lets slow down on the finger pointing. It was written. Also, if you REALLY feel that way about your country, Mexico and Canada are right there. Go ahead and take that walk homie. I am a lil tired of the cookie cutter comments about all of this somehow being 'our fault'. Last I checked, we didn't 'create fault lines. Yes, we have POLLUTED THE EARTH. We aren't the only ones doing it. Stop acting like that....
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tv-de-chile
Live Videos by Ustream
Hawaii live stream..
Free TV Show from Ustream
Two ways (three) to look at this. Kanye's Blog Picture..
One could take the 'he is disrespecting her' approach things. You know the whole 'If he cared about her he wouldn't 'let' the World see her like that....' or the whole 'He is pimpin' her out take.
Then there is my way of looking at it. Thanks 'Ye. She is grown. You are grown. It isn't my business other than to enjoy it for what it is. Not my business why. The end. (At least for me.)
Link to his blog here...http://www.kanyewest.com/
Can-Am Spyder RS Roadster
Owwww! I know some people who would give up their side jawn for this. (Damm, did I type that out? My bad. Fuck it. It stays. Deal with it.)
Anyhow..Go HERE FOR DETAILS....They have a pretty dope site...
So which running back is San Diego going to pick in the Draft? Sproles cleared for Free Agency.
Another 'shocker' considering his contract. (Sarcasm people) I just wonder who is actually gonna pay Darren anywhere near the money he stood to make next year? I won't say no one will but I can't think of anyone who 'needs' to. Texans maybe? Seattle? I dunno. Any suggestions? I mean, ultimately we WILL find out who so it is not life or death or nothing like that.
I wonder who is going to trade with them for Cromartie? Decisions..decisions...decisions out there in San Diego.
Link
For the second time in a week, a major turnover has affected the San Diego's backfield.
AFC West blog
Williamson ESPN.com's Bill Williamson writes about all things AFC West in his division blog.
• Blog network: NFL Nation
In the same week the Chargers decided to release running back LaDainian Tomlinson, they also opted not to tender running back Darren Sproles, freeing him to leave the team in free agency without any compensation, said a source close to the situation.
Had the Chargers wanted to retain Sproles' rights, they would have had to tender him with an offer of nearly $7.3 million for the coming season by March 4. But San Diego deemed that price too high, giving its running back the chance to test free agency. San Diego still would like to re-sign him, and it could, but it will face competition from other teams.
Now San Diego's backfield is expected to take on a significantly different look next season, whether or not Sproles returns.
Tomlinson will not be back and there is a decent chance Sproles will not be, either. San Diego is expected to look to free agency, trades and the draft in an effort to rebuild its backfield. Free agent running backs such as Minnesota's Chester Taylor and Pittsburgh's Willie Parker would have to view San Diego's offense as appealing.
Declining to tender Sproles is one of many significant issues facing the Chargers this offseason. San Diego still must figure out a way to keep free-agent wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd, decide what it wants to do with linebacker Shawne Merriman, and find a trade partner for cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
I wonder who is going to trade with them for Cromartie? Decisions..decisions...decisions out there in San Diego.
Link
For the second time in a week, a major turnover has affected the San Diego's backfield.
AFC West blog
Williamson ESPN.com's Bill Williamson writes about all things AFC West in his division blog.
• Blog network: NFL Nation
In the same week the Chargers decided to release running back LaDainian Tomlinson, they also opted not to tender running back Darren Sproles, freeing him to leave the team in free agency without any compensation, said a source close to the situation.
Had the Chargers wanted to retain Sproles' rights, they would have had to tender him with an offer of nearly $7.3 million for the coming season by March 4. But San Diego deemed that price too high, giving its running back the chance to test free agency. San Diego still would like to re-sign him, and it could, but it will face competition from other teams.
Now San Diego's backfield is expected to take on a significantly different look next season, whether or not Sproles returns.
Tomlinson will not be back and there is a decent chance Sproles will not be, either. San Diego is expected to look to free agency, trades and the draft in an effort to rebuild its backfield. Free agent running backs such as Minnesota's Chester Taylor and Pittsburgh's Willie Parker would have to view San Diego's offense as appealing.
Declining to tender Sproles is one of many significant issues facing the Chargers this offseason. San Diego still must figure out a way to keep free-agent wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd, decide what it wants to do with linebacker Shawne Merriman, and find a trade partner for cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
Social Secretary Desiree' Rogers steps down....Interesting timing
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/26/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6247186.shtml
CBS News has confirmed that White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers plans to step down next month.
Rogers told the Chicago Sun-Times, which first reported the story, that she plans "to explore opportunities in the corporate world." Her possible resignation had been the subject of rumors for months.
A former corporate executive, Rogers took criticism for her role in Tareq and Michaele Salahi and Carlos Allen's unauthorized entry into a state dinner amid reports that the White House did not have staff at security checkpoints. The White House turned down the House Homeland Security Committee when it requested she testify about her role in the incident.
The Chicago native and longtime friend of the Obamas has been working to make the White House more of a "people's house" and has presided over 330 events in her time there, according to Sun-Times.
She said she "completed that work," telling the newspaper that "our office has been able to lay the foundation for what will be known as the 'people's house' and it has already taken shape."
You may remember her from this incident...
CBS News has confirmed that White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers plans to step down next month.
Rogers told the Chicago Sun-Times, which first reported the story, that she plans "to explore opportunities in the corporate world." Her possible resignation had been the subject of rumors for months.
A former corporate executive, Rogers took criticism for her role in Tareq and Michaele Salahi and Carlos Allen's unauthorized entry into a state dinner amid reports that the White House did not have staff at security checkpoints. The White House turned down the House Homeland Security Committee when it requested she testify about her role in the incident.
The Chicago native and longtime friend of the Obamas has been working to make the White House more of a "people's house" and has presided over 330 events in her time there, according to Sun-Times.
She said she "completed that work," telling the newspaper that "our office has been able to lay the foundation for what will be known as the 'people's house' and it has already taken shape."
You may remember her from this incident...
Twitter Person of the Week (Pt 2/3) KMBReferee aka Mr. Ref
Now this cat from North Carolina is very INTERESTING. I must warn you (I really don't shouldn't have to but I will) that he has his own mind and political views. Which I actually enjoy 'cause they make me think. We are on the TOTAL opposite side of things in that regard but I again, I enjoy it. Smart ass hell and savvy to boot. Get at my boy. We are on the same side of things on just about everything else. I think you will enjoy the follow so follow him.
Follow him here.
Follow him here.
Twitter 2 X Chromosome of the Week (Part 1-3) appl3s
A HUGE AI FAN. I mean HUGE. Funny person. Parent. Might just as soon tell you off than be your friend if you are not respectful so tread lightly. Very personable though and will tweet back.
Follow her.
Oh you thought I was joking about the AI thing huh?
Follow her.
Oh you thought I was joking about the AI thing huh?
I just hit 1000 posts! Time to celebrate. (Part 1-3) Twitter Person of the Week-
Funny, humorous, fellow NBA2k10 player and all around fun follow. Tweets real tweets so if you are looking for fluff and marketing, you need not follow him. Get at my boy.
http://twitter.com/striggity
Follow his blog here! You think my shit is funny? He is a riot. For real. http://www.tmikwid.com/
A post that got caught up 'in the wash'. Shouts to Music Nerdery for reminding me. Donwill mixtape!
See, I knew I was missing something. I had to go back and find where I started this post at thanks to my gal E & 2dopeboyz. (See how I did that? I can admit I don't 'know'/find EVERYTHING. Not enough hours in the day to do that...Try it sometimes. It is called HUMILITY. I will wait for your favorite rapper to use it so you can misuse the word.)
Donwill of Tanya Morgan
Enjoy it! Link second link if first one is down
You KNOW I'm your father Luke.- Jon Stewart on Barack Obama sonning Eric Cantor-VA
No, sorry, I am not an Eric Cantor fan. Sue me. Around the seven minute mark....
"Let me first start off by saying John, the campaign is over..."- Barack Obama to John McCain
Yeah, he was sonning cats yesterday.
Jon Stewart breaks down the Health Care Summit. If you don't wanna watch all six hours, just watch the highlights...
Again, if you can spend your time watching mindless bullshit but wanna complain about how shit is, then you can take the time to watch this. Here is the video of the Summit. Yes, I am talking to you if you think I am. Since you think you know every thing. Stop relying on your favorite rapper/actor/sports figures/entertainers for your point of view. Get your own. Or are you gonna wait for Nas/MC Underground to tell you how you should feel?
Part 2 of the Summit in case you missed it...
"Let me first start off by saying John, the campaign is over..."- Barack Obama to John McCain
Yeah, he was sonning cats yesterday.
Jon Stewart breaks down the Health Care Summit. If you don't wanna watch all six hours, just watch the highlights...
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Bipartisan Health Care Reform Summit 2010 | ||||
| ||||
Again, if you can spend your time watching mindless bullshit but wanna complain about how shit is, then you can take the time to watch this. Here is the video of the Summit. Yes, I am talking to you if you think I am. Since you think you know every thing. Stop relying on your favorite rapper/actor/sports figures/entertainers for your point of view. Get your own. Or are you gonna wait for Nas/MC Underground to tell you how you should feel?
Part 2 of the Summit in case you missed it...
Congrats to Shyne. Now stay outta trouble.
What? You thought I was just gonna say it like he didn't actually 'do something' to go to jail for? You don't know me then. Whether Puff put him to it, paid him to do it or he felt pressured the bottom line is this. He did it. He pulled the trigger. He has HOWEVER, served his time (and then some) so he does deserve a chance to redeem himself. He paid his debt. For that, I can move on from it. I know a lot of you don't feel that way though which is why, thankfully, you don't run shit. It would be anarchy if so. Anyway. Enjoy.
2011 Porsche Cayenne pics and a hybrid too.
One of my favorite cars is due for an revamping.
The standard Cayenne is powered by a new 300-hp V6 with an eight-speed automatic transmission, while Cayenne S models get the same 4.8-liter V8 with power upped to 400-hp. Acceleration in the Cayenne S should be drastically improved thanks to an overall curb weight that has been reduced by 400 lbs. As for the Turbo, it makes 500-hp from a twin-turbo version of the 4.8-liter V8.
Also bowing for 2011 is a new Cayenne S Hybrid – the brand’s first production hybrid model. Like the pre-production model tested recently, it gets a 3.o-liter V6 engine that supercharged and mated to a 47-hp electric motor for a total of 380-hp and 427 ft-lbs of torque. Porsche claims the Cayenne S Hybrid can travel up to 40 mph on just electric power and can cruise on pure electric power at speeds of up to 97 mph.
Thanks to new technology and significantly reduced curb weights, all Cayenne models get improvements in fuel economy. Porsche hasn’t released fuel economy stats for the Hybrid Cayenne yet though.
The overall size of the new Cayenne has increased from the first-gen model, with a wheelbase that has been extended by 1.6-inches and a 1.9-inch longer overall length. Inside there’s plenty of Panamera-inspired updates.
The standard Cayenne is powered by a new 300-hp V6 with an eight-speed automatic transmission, while Cayenne S models get the same 4.8-liter V8 with power upped to 400-hp. Acceleration in the Cayenne S should be drastically improved thanks to an overall curb weight that has been reduced by 400 lbs. As for the Turbo, it makes 500-hp from a twin-turbo version of the 4.8-liter V8.
Also bowing for 2011 is a new Cayenne S Hybrid – the brand’s first production hybrid model. Like the pre-production model tested recently, it gets a 3.o-liter V6 engine that supercharged and mated to a 47-hp electric motor for a total of 380-hp and 427 ft-lbs of torque. Porsche claims the Cayenne S Hybrid can travel up to 40 mph on just electric power and can cruise on pure electric power at speeds of up to 97 mph.
Thanks to new technology and significantly reduced curb weights, all Cayenne models get improvements in fuel economy. Porsche hasn’t released fuel economy stats for the Hybrid Cayenne yet though.
The overall size of the new Cayenne has increased from the first-gen model, with a wheelbase that has been extended by 1.6-inches and a 1.9-inch longer overall length. Inside there’s plenty of Panamera-inspired updates.
I understand there are laws but I am not mad at the Canadian Women's Hockey team.
We BETTER not be cheerleading the uproar either @ Team USA. That would reek of 'sore loser'. Let them have their moment. The committee will see about the celebration.
(Sits back and watches people get upset over basically nothing)
Again, the law breaking part I can see them looking into but I am not 'mad' about it? Evidently, I am in the minority. They won the gold. In their country. They are gonna celebrate a little bit. Canadians like to party last time I checked. This should be of no surprise.
(Sits back and watches people get upset over basically nothing)
Again, the law breaking part I can see them looking into but I am not 'mad' about it? Evidently, I am in the minority. They won the gold. In their country. They are gonna celebrate a little bit. Canadians like to party last time I checked. This should be of no surprise.
Natalie Nunn...Late pass me if you want. I don't watch her show so...
Lets get this outta the way. I see her chin. I think that makes her more endearing/real. Not mad about it. She looks better than some of the mud ducks...You know what? Nevermind. I assume if you do know who she is that you know she played soccer at USC. Below is a head shot from a team photo and her playing soccer. Enjoy.
Jason Whitlock on the Hannah Storm/Tony Kornheiser
I am not exactly a fan of Jason's but this is at least entertaining.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/inside-the-storm-brewing-in-bristol
Updated Feb 25, 2010 2:58 PM ET
Truth is, female sports broadcasters and writers should rally around suspended ESPN PTI gabber Tony Kornheiser.
What's all this about?
ESPN commentator Tony Kornheiser made some controversial remarks about a recent outfit worn by colleague Hannah Storm. Full story...
At the root of his crude humor about Hannah Storm’s SportsCenter attire was a courageous defense of Chris McKendry, Linda Cohn, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya, Sage Steele, Shelley Smith, Lisa Salters, Rachel Nichols, Holly Rowe and all the other female broadcasters/reporters who do magnificent work on the Worldwide Leader without masquerading as Tiger bait.
No doubt, Kornheiser’s Storm blast wasn’t calculated or even intended to be heard by his bosses at ESPN. And if not for the blog, Thebiglead.com, listening to and reporting two days after the broadcast of Kornheiser’s spontaneous radio riff about Storm’s wardrobe, Kornheiser’s two-week ESPN suspension would’ve never happened.
Sometimes people do the right thing by accident. Sometimes our inability to control our instincts gives us a level of courage we don’t normally have. Kornheiser has never been short on savvy or backbone. Intentionally or unintentionally, he slammed a worthy target.
The outfit that caused the whole storm to begin with.
“Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today,” Kornheiser said on his Washington, D.C., radio show last week. “She’s got on red go-go boots and a Catholic school plaid skirt way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now. She’s got on her typically very, very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body. I know she’s very good, and I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won’t. But Hannah Storm, come on now. Stop. What are you doing? She’s what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point.”
The Caulfield analogy basically implies that the 47-year-old Storm went on air looking like a cross between a hooker and a stripper.
Why did she? Only Storm knows for sure, but I’ll speculate.
A. She’s still outraged about learning she’s the lone, moderately attractive white woman in North America not propositioned by Tiger Woods.
B. Thought it was Take Your Granddaughter’s Clothes To Work Day.
C. Had a post-work brainstorming session scheduled with Bristol ladies man Hammerin’ Hank Goldberg.
D. All of the above.
Whatever the cause, Hannah Montana Storm’s hey-look-at-me costumes are potentially problematic for ESPN. The network does an amazing, commendable and often-overlooked job of employing a diverse and talented on-air workforce. It’s a potpourri reflective of the sports world it covers.
CONTACT JASON WHITLOCK
If you have a question or comment for Jason, submit it below and he may just respond.
Subject: Comment/Question: Name: Email Address: Hometown:
Storm, in her area of expertise, is as talented as anyone at the network. However, she should not be allowed to audition for Erin Andrews’ Sideline Barbie job while sitting/standing in the anchor chair.
It’s not fair to McKendry, Cohn, Steele, Dana Jacobson and all the rest. It infringes on their brand. The anchor chair is for broadcasters -- male and female -- who want to be taken seriously and judged solely on their clever delivery and ability to ask pertinent questions.
ESPN has always done a marvelous job of identifying and presenting credible female anchors.
This past Sunday, Storm took things a step further, going Johnny Gill on The Sports Reporters -- slipping on a tiny red dress, high heels, bare legs that dangled out of TV sets across America and making men and women say “My, my, my.”
I watched the whole show hoping for a Sharon Stone-"Basic Instinct" moment.
Do I think ESPN was wrong for suspending Kornheiser?
Heck no.
Kornheiser, one of ESPN’s most visible employees, basically called a female co-worker a hooker and a stripper. Gloria Allred is making a living these days demanding apologies for porn stars and extorting the men who rubbed them the wrong way. A smart ESPN lawyer recognized that if the network took no action against Kornheiser, the company was vulnerable to charges that Storm and other female employees work in a sexually hostile environment.
It doesn’t matter that Storm was allegedly satisfied with Kornheiser’s public and private apologies. ESPN executives have to concern themselves with future hypothetical situations involving Storm and every other female employee. ESPN, especially given its well-earned reputation as a giant male frat house, has to position itself as progressive on female workplace issues.
Furthermore, the network is sort of consistent in policing its employees from doing anything publicly that damages a fellow employee. I ran into this problem when I worked for the network. I couldn’t contain my disdain for Mike Lupica’s phony, arrogant shtick or Scoop Jackson’s ghetto posturing. I shared my views knowing full well it would likely end my relationship with ESPN.
Kornheiser is in a power position. As the co-host of ESPN’s best show, he shared his views on Storm realizing it might lead to a short, unpaid vacation. Kornheiser is no victim. He’s a 61-year-old, outspoken rebel who is always going to occasionally clash with management. It’s who he is. It’s what he does. It’s why he’s popular.
The suspension will ultimately prove to be good for Kornheiser’s brand and ESPN’s.
The network is part of the establishment. Too many of its talking heads don’t have the freedom to say what they really think for fear of getting sideways with a newsmaker ESPN might soon need.
Kornheiser’s fearlessness gives the illusion that ESPN is reluctantly tolerant of the truth.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/inside-the-storm-brewing-in-bristol
Updated Feb 25, 2010 2:58 PM ET
Truth is, female sports broadcasters and writers should rally around suspended ESPN PTI gabber Tony Kornheiser.
What's all this about?
ESPN commentator Tony Kornheiser made some controversial remarks about a recent outfit worn by colleague Hannah Storm. Full story...
At the root of his crude humor about Hannah Storm’s SportsCenter attire was a courageous defense of Chris McKendry, Linda Cohn, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya, Sage Steele, Shelley Smith, Lisa Salters, Rachel Nichols, Holly Rowe and all the other female broadcasters/reporters who do magnificent work on the Worldwide Leader without masquerading as Tiger bait.
No doubt, Kornheiser’s Storm blast wasn’t calculated or even intended to be heard by his bosses at ESPN. And if not for the blog, Thebiglead.com, listening to and reporting two days after the broadcast of Kornheiser’s spontaneous radio riff about Storm’s wardrobe, Kornheiser’s two-week ESPN suspension would’ve never happened.
Sometimes people do the right thing by accident. Sometimes our inability to control our instincts gives us a level of courage we don’t normally have. Kornheiser has never been short on savvy or backbone. Intentionally or unintentionally, he slammed a worthy target.
The outfit that caused the whole storm to begin with.
“Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today,” Kornheiser said on his Washington, D.C., radio show last week. “She’s got on red go-go boots and a Catholic school plaid skirt way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now. She’s got on her typically very, very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body. I know she’s very good, and I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won’t. But Hannah Storm, come on now. Stop. What are you doing? She’s what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point.”
The Caulfield analogy basically implies that the 47-year-old Storm went on air looking like a cross between a hooker and a stripper.
Why did she? Only Storm knows for sure, but I’ll speculate.
A. She’s still outraged about learning she’s the lone, moderately attractive white woman in North America not propositioned by Tiger Woods.
B. Thought it was Take Your Granddaughter’s Clothes To Work Day.
C. Had a post-work brainstorming session scheduled with Bristol ladies man Hammerin’ Hank Goldberg.
D. All of the above.
Whatever the cause, Hannah Montana Storm’s hey-look-at-me costumes are potentially problematic for ESPN. The network does an amazing, commendable and often-overlooked job of employing a diverse and talented on-air workforce. It’s a potpourri reflective of the sports world it covers.
CONTACT JASON WHITLOCK
If you have a question or comment for Jason, submit it below and he may just respond.
Subject: Comment/Question: Name: Email Address: Hometown:
Storm, in her area of expertise, is as talented as anyone at the network. However, she should not be allowed to audition for Erin Andrews’ Sideline Barbie job while sitting/standing in the anchor chair.
It’s not fair to McKendry, Cohn, Steele, Dana Jacobson and all the rest. It infringes on their brand. The anchor chair is for broadcasters -- male and female -- who want to be taken seriously and judged solely on their clever delivery and ability to ask pertinent questions.
ESPN has always done a marvelous job of identifying and presenting credible female anchors.
This past Sunday, Storm took things a step further, going Johnny Gill on The Sports Reporters -- slipping on a tiny red dress, high heels, bare legs that dangled out of TV sets across America and making men and women say “My, my, my.”
I watched the whole show hoping for a Sharon Stone-"Basic Instinct" moment.
Do I think ESPN was wrong for suspending Kornheiser?
Heck no.
Kornheiser, one of ESPN’s most visible employees, basically called a female co-worker a hooker and a stripper. Gloria Allred is making a living these days demanding apologies for porn stars and extorting the men who rubbed them the wrong way. A smart ESPN lawyer recognized that if the network took no action against Kornheiser, the company was vulnerable to charges that Storm and other female employees work in a sexually hostile environment.
It doesn’t matter that Storm was allegedly satisfied with Kornheiser’s public and private apologies. ESPN executives have to concern themselves with future hypothetical situations involving Storm and every other female employee. ESPN, especially given its well-earned reputation as a giant male frat house, has to position itself as progressive on female workplace issues.
Furthermore, the network is sort of consistent in policing its employees from doing anything publicly that damages a fellow employee. I ran into this problem when I worked for the network. I couldn’t contain my disdain for Mike Lupica’s phony, arrogant shtick or Scoop Jackson’s ghetto posturing. I shared my views knowing full well it would likely end my relationship with ESPN.
Kornheiser is in a power position. As the co-host of ESPN’s best show, he shared his views on Storm realizing it might lead to a short, unpaid vacation. Kornheiser is no victim. He’s a 61-year-old, outspoken rebel who is always going to occasionally clash with management. It’s who he is. It’s what he does. It’s why he’s popular.
The suspension will ultimately prove to be good for Kornheiser’s brand and ESPN’s.
The network is part of the establishment. Too many of its talking heads don’t have the freedom to say what they really think for fear of getting sideways with a newsmaker ESPN might soon need.
Kornheiser’s fearlessness gives the illusion that ESPN is reluctantly tolerant of the truth.
If you think the health summit was not worth the watch.
You are wrong.....I will post up the whole thing (Doubt you will watch it but you will watch them bullshit shows you watch for 6 hours straight though. I digress.)I won't go as far as the caption of the video but he made the point that many of us are making. @ income.
This is going to dominate the news for a minute so you might want to bone up on it so you can discuss it.
Jon Stewart killing 'em again....smh.
This is going to dominate the news for a minute so you might want to bone up on it so you can discuss it.
Jon Stewart killing 'em again....smh.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Summit's Eve | ||||
| ||||
If they are in the studio together, you can bet they aren't just shooting the shit...
Jay-Z and the Neptunes. Wonder who is going to get the track? Will be listening out for it...
Keisha Knight Pulliam (Rudy Huxtable) on Chelsea Lately.
I think we all know Rudy is grown now though...If you don't know, now you know baby- Notorious B.I.G.
Kevin relaxed and Manu got 'em...Vince makes 86 foot shot SITTING DOWN??
Among other things..
I mean I am guessing Rasheed has seen Bill Walker dunk a time a two..@ the beginning of this highlight...
Vince Carter must be feeling REALLY good back home in Florida.....86 foot shot..
I mean I am guessing Rasheed has seen Bill Walker dunk a time a two..@ the beginning of this highlight...
Vince Carter must be feeling REALLY good back home in Florida.....86 foot shot..
Update on little girl found at the gas station..
They have identified her...and found a suspect.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100225/NEWS01/100225029/N.J.-man-charged-with-kidnapping-girl-abandoned-in-Del.
A 25-year-old Edison, N.J., man has been charged with kidnapping and endangering his 20-month-old daughter, who was abandoned at a Newark gas station Sunday, according to the Middlesex County, N.J., Prosecutor Office.
Earlier: Police learn name of girl abandoned in Delaware
Dwayne Jackson was charged today in Middlesex County, N.J., and is being held there on $750,000 bail.
Newark police have a warrant for Jackson's arrest, charging him with first-degree reckless endangering for locking the girl in the bathroom of the Shell service station at 804 S. College Ave.
The child was identified as Jackson’s daughter after her photograph was published in The News Journal and elsewhere, according to Jim O'Neill, spokesman for Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. The child, who had been living with her mother in North Brunswick, N.J., remains in Delaware with her foster family.
Officials did not release the girl’s name. The identity of her mother also was withheld due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, they said.
O’Neill’s statement did not say if the mother was the victim of an apparent homicide whose body was found burning Monday in Ramapo, N.Y. Police there linked the girl to the victim but did not offer details.
The young woman’s charred corpse was found just before 5:38 a.m. by two newspaper carriers in the parking lot of Manny Weldler Town Park off West Maple Avenue. Ramapo Detective Lt. Brad Weidel said investigators don’t have a positive identification on the woman. When asked about the link to the child found in Delaware, Weidel said information on that would come from the Middlesex County, N.J., prosecutor's office.
Ramapo is about 66 miles from New Brunswick, N.J., seat of Middlesex County. Newark, Del., is about 100 miles from New Brunswick.
If the child found in Newark is connected to the woman found in Ramapo, the case has similarities to the Rosario DiGirolamo case, where a screaming child was found in the Christiana Hospital parking lot in June 2007. A note identified the boy as "John Vincent."
Authorities later learned the boy's actual name was was Michael DiGirolamo — the son of 25-year-old Amy Giordano of Hightstown, N.J. Her dismembered body was found in a pond in Staten Island, N.Y., in March 2008. Rosario DiGirolamo was charged in New Jersey with killing Giordano, his mistress. He is awaiting trial.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100225/NEWS01/100225029/N.J.-man-charged-with-kidnapping-girl-abandoned-in-Del.
A 25-year-old Edison, N.J., man has been charged with kidnapping and endangering his 20-month-old daughter, who was abandoned at a Newark gas station Sunday, according to the Middlesex County, N.J., Prosecutor Office.
Earlier: Police learn name of girl abandoned in Delaware
Dwayne Jackson was charged today in Middlesex County, N.J., and is being held there on $750,000 bail.
Newark police have a warrant for Jackson's arrest, charging him with first-degree reckless endangering for locking the girl in the bathroom of the Shell service station at 804 S. College Ave.
The child was identified as Jackson’s daughter after her photograph was published in The News Journal and elsewhere, according to Jim O'Neill, spokesman for Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. The child, who had been living with her mother in North Brunswick, N.J., remains in Delaware with her foster family.
Officials did not release the girl’s name. The identity of her mother also was withheld due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, they said.
O’Neill’s statement did not say if the mother was the victim of an apparent homicide whose body was found burning Monday in Ramapo, N.Y. Police there linked the girl to the victim but did not offer details.
The young woman’s charred corpse was found just before 5:38 a.m. by two newspaper carriers in the parking lot of Manny Weldler Town Park off West Maple Avenue. Ramapo Detective Lt. Brad Weidel said investigators don’t have a positive identification on the woman. When asked about the link to the child found in Delaware, Weidel said information on that would come from the Middlesex County, N.J., prosecutor's office.
Ramapo is about 66 miles from New Brunswick, N.J., seat of Middlesex County. Newark, Del., is about 100 miles from New Brunswick.
If the child found in Newark is connected to the woman found in Ramapo, the case has similarities to the Rosario DiGirolamo case, where a screaming child was found in the Christiana Hospital parking lot in June 2007. A note identified the boy as "John Vincent."
Authorities later learned the boy's actual name was was Michael DiGirolamo — the son of 25-year-old Amy Giordano of Hightstown, N.J. Her dismembered body was found in a pond in Staten Island, N.Y., in March 2008. Rosario DiGirolamo was charged in New Jersey with killing Giordano, his mistress. He is awaiting trial.
Laws & Don Cannon- 4:57 7& Don Cannon & Curren$y
If you fool with the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League then....
Link..
01. Illumination (Produced by Benjamin Plant)
02. Number One (feat. Jay Rock) (Produced by S-type)
03. Murder (Produced by by TN2 Productions)
04. This is Me (Produced by L.A. The Craftzman & Feb 9)
05. Wall to Wall (Produced. by Benjamin Plant)
06. Want It All (Produced by Feb 9)
07. Vintage Futuristic 2 (featuring Funkghost) (Produced by M-Phazes)
08. Flashback (Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
09. Shining (Produced by 9th Wonder)
10. My Chick (feat. Dion Primo) (Produced by Benjamin Plant)
11. Hold You Down (Produced by DJ Khalil)
12. Hustle (feat. Mason Caine) (Produced by L.A. The Craftzman & Feb 9)
13. Colors (I Don’t Care) (feat. Calvin Harris) (Produced by Calvin Harris)
14. So Nice (feat. Jason Caesar) (Produced by S1 and Caleb for S.K.P.) (Co-produced by Apple Juice Kid)
15. We Like It (Produced by Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E.)
16. Rock and Roll Survival (Produced by Cruiser)
17. Run Away (Prod. by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
Late on this on as far as posting but not on listening.
01. Jordan 3’s
02. SMASH On O’Leary
03. Reset
04. Bout It
05. Fat Raps (feat. Chip Tha Ripper & Big Sean)
06. Racing Stripes (feat. Dom Kennedy)
07. 17.5 Cannons
08. The Candy Lady’s Crib…
09. Yet Another Story…
10. I Don’t Fucks With Them (feat. Nipsey Hussle & Wiz Khalifa)
11. Monte Carlo Music
12. Real Muh Fuggin Jets
13. Lemon Kush
14. 187 On A Beat
15. Damier Doobies
16. Mazaltov
17. Invincible Jets
18. Count My Money (High Talk)
19. Audio Dope
20. Life Under The Scope
21. Stay Up
22. Vision…
Link:
Link..
01. Illumination (Produced by Benjamin Plant)
02. Number One (feat. Jay Rock) (Produced by S-type)
03. Murder (Produced by by TN2 Productions)
04. This is Me (Produced by L.A. The Craftzman & Feb 9)
05. Wall to Wall (Produced. by Benjamin Plant)
06. Want It All (Produced by Feb 9)
07. Vintage Futuristic 2 (featuring Funkghost) (Produced by M-Phazes)
08. Flashback (Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
09. Shining (Produced by 9th Wonder)
10. My Chick (feat. Dion Primo) (Produced by Benjamin Plant)
11. Hold You Down (Produced by DJ Khalil)
12. Hustle (feat. Mason Caine) (Produced by L.A. The Craftzman & Feb 9)
13. Colors (I Don’t Care) (feat. Calvin Harris) (Produced by Calvin Harris)
14. So Nice (feat. Jason Caesar) (Produced by S1 and Caleb for S.K.P.) (Co-produced by Apple Juice Kid)
15. We Like It (Produced by Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E.)
16. Rock and Roll Survival (Produced by Cruiser)
17. Run Away (Prod. by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
Late on this on as far as posting but not on listening.
01. Jordan 3’s
02. SMASH On O’Leary
03. Reset
04. Bout It
05. Fat Raps (feat. Chip Tha Ripper & Big Sean)
06. Racing Stripes (feat. Dom Kennedy)
07. 17.5 Cannons
08. The Candy Lady’s Crib…
09. Yet Another Story…
10. I Don’t Fucks With Them (feat. Nipsey Hussle & Wiz Khalifa)
11. Monte Carlo Music
12. Real Muh Fuggin Jets
13. Lemon Kush
14. 187 On A Beat
15. Damier Doobies
16. Mazaltov
17. Invincible Jets
18. Count My Money (High Talk)
19. Audio Dope
20. Life Under The Scope
21. Stay Up
22. Vision…
Link:
Oh this is getting better and better. Old man who beat up dude
and the black dude who got beat up interviewed..
What video you ask? This one... http://thewarehous.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-didnt-find-thisbtw-so-i-cant-take.html
Oh boy.
What video you ask? This one... http://thewarehous.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-didnt-find-thisbtw-so-i-cant-take.html
Oh boy.
Tavis and Al..On Barack....
I may come back and comment. The audio speaks for itself though I think. Not much for me to really 'say'...Listen and enjoy.
Marsha Ambrosius- Storm
New FREE music from Marsha..
If you like that, then go get the whole thing...Yours Sincerely
01 Intro
02 Let Me Go
03 Put It On f. Angelique
04 She Don’t Matter
05 This Love f. Glenn Lewis
06 Storm
07 Glass
08 Take Care
http://limelinx.com/files/f4fa6b7e96e56638fa4332cee46068c8
Enjoy.
If you like that, then go get the whole thing...Yours Sincerely
01 Intro
02 Let Me Go
03 Put It On f. Angelique
04 She Don’t Matter
05 This Love f. Glenn Lewis
06 Storm
07 Glass
08 Take Care
http://limelinx.com/files/f4fa6b7e96e56638fa4332cee46068c8
Enjoy.
It is on the news but as a Dad, I am BEGGING YOU..
If you know this little girl or her parents, PLEASE CALL POLICE.
Right off of 95 down there by University of Delaware. Somebody knows SOMETHING. It was done on purpose in some capacity I believe. I fear for her parents but more importantly for her and her well being. If you know anything, you should call. Seriously.
She is with State right now...Contact info here..http://kids.delaware.gov/fs/fs.shtml
Right off of 95 down there by University of Delaware. Somebody knows SOMETHING. It was done on purpose in some capacity I believe. I fear for her parents but more importantly for her and her well being. If you know anything, you should call. Seriously.
She is with State right now...Contact info here..http://kids.delaware.gov/fs/fs.shtml
I know there are some UPSET people in the 'stepping world' this morning..
Seems like a certain persuasion one a corporate sponsored step show. I know black morning radio shows are poppin' with this topic this morning. Traditionally, this is an event dominated by ethnic groups from HBCUs. Ironically enough, they were said to be taught to step by the AKAs so........Oh, don't worry your pretty head about me being mad. I am not "Greek" so this matters not to me. Yes, I know the tradition as to why 'stepping' is prominent too so miss me with that. I went to the shows and enjoyed them at school. I am just not that invested to be 'mad' about this. Sorry.
For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com
Myron Rolle- The motivation for me...is them telling me what I can not be..
One of my personal theme songs and it seems to be one of his too. I am liking this kid more and more by the minute. Mike (Tomlin), please tell me this kid is on the radar. I hear a lot of you being critical of football players calling them all stupid. This kid is not the norm but he certainly dispels that theory. I have no doubt he will make someone's team and do well.
Here is a piece of the article. Link here:
OXFORD, England -- Oxford at first light is an ode to potential. The purple sky throws shadows off churches and their saw-blade spires, bringing definition to the gap-toothed smiles of crenellated walls. The ghosts come out in the dream of early morning. Twelve saints and seven British prime ministers walked these streets. So did Bill Clinton and John Donne, Sir Thomas More and Kris Kristofferson, plus the guy who invented the World Wide Web.
Myron Rolle talks about what it means to be a Rhodes scholar.
That little list? It always happens. People construct a roster of famous yet diverse alumni when describing Oxford -- the quirky sum even more fantastic than the successful parts -- implying that greatness comes with the diploma. But a shadow lurks near those collections of names. Oxford University is full of students who will one day change the world, yes, but it is also full of those who have the gifts to change it and will fail. In the hope of morning, though, let your focus fall on Clinton and Donne, More and Kristofferson and now, as the dreamy purple light burns off, as busses chug and belch down the ancient streets and another week of reality begins, Myron Rolle.
Rolle bounds down Banbury Road, long strides chewing up sidewalk, hurrying to his next lecture. Today's topic is "Pain and the Brain." He settles into a seat in the back of the room, the only student whose biceps strain against the fabric of his shirt. Around him, fellow Rhodes scholars open laptops, notebooks or leather-bound Moleskine journals. The professor, a world-renowned researcher, begins speaking, about Pavlov and the curious case of Phineas Gage. The students take notes furiously.
Rolle takes a few notes, too, but mostly he stares at the professor. The motors and gears in his head are spinning. This is how it's always been for him. His mind rarely stops computing; when his brother McKinley is throwing all the possible routes in random order during their regular morning football workout, Rolle just knows if they missed a 2, or maybe a 7. Today, he's focused on the man standing at the front of the room. What about this doctor? Where did he start? How did he immerse himself in the brain? When, and why, did pain come to interest him? Did he watch helplessly as someone he loved struggled against a devastating mental illness? Was it a wife? A child? What drove him to this very place at this very moment?
Suddenly, his focus shifts.
What about me? How did I get here?
Myron, who doesn't fail
A lifetime of unqualified successes, that's how.
Whatever he does, he does it well and, to the immense frustration of others, with ease and grace. He's an All-American safety. He can play saxophone and sing. He was the lead in his high school's production of "Fiddler on the Roof." He graduated from Florida State as an exercise science major in less than three years with a 3.75 GPA. He shadows doctors, dreaming of medical school. He says "please" and "thank you." He researches stem cells. He starts anti-obesity programs that the U.S. Department of Interior adopts, aimed at helping Native American children make smart choices about fitness and health. He raises money for hospitals. Myron Rolle, it can safely be assumed, not only eats vegetables, he likes them. Life hangs comfortably from his shoulders like a fine suit.
Myron Rolle
AP Photo/Rob Carr
On Nov. 22, 2008, Rolle entered the Maryland game late in the first half after spending part of the day in Alabama for his Rhodes interview.
So, it's no surprise that during the 2008 football season he was named a finalist for a Rhodes scholarship, the most prestigious academic award given. Only, the deciding interview was scheduled for the day of a game at Maryland -- and the interview was in Alabama. No problem. SuperMyron would simply go to Birmingham, answer the committee's questions and still make it to the game by halftime. He might just leap a tall building while he was at it and keep right on going until he landed at midfield.
Nothing thrown at him by the interviewers shook him. He spoke with passion, threw in a joke or two and, at the end, stood there with a smile on his face. One of the judges winked at him. No need to drag out the suspense.
Another success. Rolle was chosen -- he soon would announce he was skipping his senior season to go to Oxford -- and minutes later he boarded a private jet, shadowed by reporters from both Sports Illustrated and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Halfway to Maryland, a crowd waiting to cheer his run out of the tunnel in garnet and gold, he put in his earphones and scrolled through his iPod.
What could provide the appropriate soundtrack for this kind of life?
Rolle chose two songs.
One was Ice Cube's "It was a Good Day."
But even that didn't seem to do his run of blessings justice.
The other one came closer, Frank Sinatra singing:
When I was 21
It was a very good year
TUESDAY
Tucked into a narrow alley off High Street, St. Edmund Hall breathes students in and out of the long stone tunnel that opens into the main quadrangle, as the college has done for 800 years. Young men and women mill around the lush grass of the quad, in the shadow of the sundial and the well, and at night, they drink beer and smoke in the cemetery out back. Rolle, who doesn't have time for the graveyard bull sessions, stops by to check his mail. Two unfamiliar envelopes poke out of his slot.
The first one is from Ohio. He tears into the envelope and finds a note: I read about you in The Times and I thought you might be interested in this article from the New Yorker.
It's a recent piece by Malcolm Gladwell, and it offers and backs up the theory that professional football is a lot like dogfighting and is, ultimately, a sport that cannot be played without doing serious damage to the brain. This is, obviously, a conundrum for Rolle: He wants to be a pro football player and a neurosurgeon. Don't successful careers in each of these preclude the other? Of all the obstacles facing Rolle, including the luck and work and genetic blessings required to be one of the 32 chosen to be a Rhodes scholar and one of the 32 chosen to be a first-round pick, perhaps none is greater than this: People in each world don't believe anyone could possibly be passionate about the other. He's always asked: Which do you like more? Draft gurus question his commitment. His defensive coordinator at Florida State, Mickey Andrews, told Rolle that he was spending too much time on school and not enough time on football. Even Oxford University assigned him to St. Edmund Hall, known here as the jock college.
The other letter is from a London teacher.
I heard you this morning on Radio 4. Never have I heard a young man so articulate, forward thinking and inspirational. All I could think about listening to you was: I have to get him to speak at my school. I'm a teacher in London at an inner city school where I do lots of work around raising black achievement. To hear you speak about the importance of education and hearing about your life decisions -- putting off the NFL for Oxford, wanting to be a neurosurgeon, money not being your main goal in life -- it would all mean so much to the kids at my school.
Rolle considers his mail. Two letters, two totally different problems; if other people's myopia is an obstacle, then the exact opposite is, too. He is trying to stay on course in a vast sea of possibilities, and everywhere he goes, he is confronted by people lining up to tell him what he means and what he could be and, most confining of all, what he should be.
He is a vessel for other people's dreams.
Myron, who knows what others expect
Q: What do you struggle with most?
A: I have not had tragic incidences in my life that have rocked my personal being. The thing that really has been my biggest enemy in this world has been pressure. And people. People who I love. People who look at me differently. The pressure is tough, man. I'm not gonna lie. It's the hardest part. Easily.
Myron, whose dreams keep growing
Here are the three things to know about Rolle as he reads that second letter:
1. The Monday after he won the Rhodes scholarship, his cell phone rang. Jesse Jackson. At first, Rolle thought it was a joke. But no, it was actually Jesse Jackson, and he wanted to tell Rolle this: "If Dr. King were alive today, he'd be proud of you."
Myron Rolle
Chris Floyd for ESPN The Magazine
Myron Rolle skipped his senior season at Florida State to attend Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship.
2. While Rolle was in D.C. for the inauguration, Princeton professor and African-American leader Cornel West spotted him on the street and bowed. Literally bowed down and said this: "You are the future of black America."
Everywhere he's been, for as long as he can remember, he's been singled out for future greatness, by strangers and family alike. When he was in high school, riding on the New Jersey Turnpike with his dad, he asked one day, "What would it be like to be normal?" He's thought about that a lot.
And this, too: What is enough for those who see so much in him? He opens his e-mail and there's a recruiting pitch from the Harvard Business School. His dad wants him to make a perfect score on the Wonderlic given at the NFL combine. Jesse Jackson wants him to be a leader for an entire generation. Florida State told him on his recruiting visit that he could be a Rhodes scholar … and now he is. Mickey Andrews wants him to react, and his professors want him to think. He deals, on a daily basis, with the crushing weight of having this much potential. He worries about losing himself. He never stops thinking about what other people want for him, and how it's easy to become a mosaic of their expectations instead of staying true to his own. "The danger is that you lose a sense of identity," he says, "you lose a sense of who you are. If you continue to try to navigate through constructs that are set up by other people, by other people's thoughts of who you are and who you should be, you will never be personally at peace."
So he understands he shouldn't spend his life pleasing other people. But what does he want?
This brings us to …
3. A year ago, Rolle spoke at the College of the Bahamas. His family comes from the nation, and he alone among his five brothers was born in the United States (his mom traveled to Houston so he could be an American citizen). He was chosen before birth.
One of his many dreams is to open a medical clinic in his hometown of Exuma, and so, after the speech, the Bahamian politicians crowded around him. Be the prodigal son, they told him. Come back and be president one day. Be prime minister. When he returned to Tallahassee, he was online one night in his room and saw a photo tagged on Facebook of himself and the current president of the Bahamas. A lot of things ran through his head: People want me to come back and save their country? I don't know if that's in my plan. I never thought of politics. This isn't me.
Sitting there in the dark, he finally began to understand: There is no enough.
All he can do is stay focused on his dreams: NFL, medical school, then a life as a groundbreaking neurosurgeon and head of a foundation that brings medical care to those without.
You know, simple stuff.
Myron, who has set the bar high
Q: Has anyone ever said to you: "Myron, if you want to go to the NFL and have a long career and retire and live off investments, that's OK … it's your life"?
A: No.
He explains: "It's always, 'What's next?' I think people align themselves with my way of thinking when they're talking to me. They try to create new avenues for me to pursue, so if you want to be a doctor and you have interest in human rights and philanthropy and social equality of medicine and disease, why don't you think about being surgeon general? Then you could have a political impact, with a stronger influence and a bigger platform. I'm that person. 'What's next? What's next?'"
WEDNESDAY
There are mornings when none of it seems strange. The Iffley Road Sports Complex opens early, and a crowd of scholars who are also athletes wait outside. The sweatshirts and gym shorts place the toned men and women: rowers from Harvard, swimmers from Oxford, lacrosse players from Navy and, soon, one safety from Florida State University. Why does a man have to choose? Roger Bannister, who ran the first sub-4-minute mile on a track some 20 or so yards from this crowd, was also a doctor. Bill Bradley was a senator and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Myron Rolle
Chris Floyd for ESPN The Magazine
Myron and McKinley, right, have a regular morning football workout.
The Rolle brothers park their car -- a Peugeot, a tiny European subcompact -- and, instead of joining the crowd, they head to the rugby pitch and the tiny dungeon of a gym beneath it. Most days, they work out here, alone. When they do use the bigger facilities, the other students gawk at the weight and the reps -- especially the female student-athletes. Rolle and his brother have a code for noticing a young thing sneaking a peek; one will say, with a sly grin: "Mama, there go that man."
This morning, McKinley opens up the binder containing speed guru Tom Shaw's workout and starts counting the reps, converting pounds into kilos. Rolle does leg presses, McKinley a step ahead preparing the next station, the small room echoing with the iPod mix. Except, in place of celebratory anthems, songs about how great today, or this year or his entire life has been, there's a steady stream of rap songs about people being doubted. Rolle sings along -- except when the rappers curse. He skips those words.
Claustrophobic cinderblock walls crowd them. A small window, the spires and castles of the town insignificant through the glass, lets in the only natural light. Rolle comes into focus when he's grinding in the weight room. Outside, the sun is fully up. A song called "Watch Dis" blares through the small speaker. He could lose a step this year, lose some ineffable part of his game that he'll never get back. He knows he risked something coming over here. Knows he still needs to convince people how much football means, and they can't come here, to this room, and see. Rolle lies down on a mat, his feet on a big green medicine ball, his brother taking notes from a nearby weight bench, the Rolle boys, a long, long way from home, counting out crunches in a dungeon, chasing something like that first purple light.
Outside, the chill has come, and, when lifting is finished, Rolle walks onto the wet field under changing leaves, the rugby pitch lined at both ends by a row of tall evergreen trees. They're working on increasing the fluidity of his hips, just one of the many questions about his game. Was he overrated out of high school? Is he too stiff? Does he think too much? Why just one interception in three years? Can he just react and make plays?
McKinley says they got the official e-mail today from the NFL: Myron is invited and will attend the combine. "It was nice to get that confirmation," McKinley says. "He's stronger. Faster. He'll open some eyes."
He urges on his brother through the final rep of the final drill. "Last one," he says. "Last one. Finish strong. First round, baby."
Rolle's face is a portrait of focus. He digs into the field, his cleats kicking up tiny sparks of mud.
Myron, who feels the doubt
The car is cranked, exhaust rising behind them. McKinley is at the wheel, Rolle in the passenger seat. They are ready to go, but Rolle tells his brother not to put it in drive. Not yet. They need the soundtrack first. He punches a button on the CD player, moving through the new Jay-Z album. There's one song he needs to hear right now, three months until February's NFL combine. It's not about good anythings.
"Don't move until we get that track," he says.
"No. 14?" McKinley asks.
"There you go," Rolle says.
As the bass fires up, McKinley pulls back on Iffley Road, headed toward town. The hook comes and Rolle sings along:
"The motivation for me … is them telling me what I could not be.
"Oh, well.
"I'm so ambitious."
Here is a piece of the article. Link here:
OXFORD, England -- Oxford at first light is an ode to potential. The purple sky throws shadows off churches and their saw-blade spires, bringing definition to the gap-toothed smiles of crenellated walls. The ghosts come out in the dream of early morning. Twelve saints and seven British prime ministers walked these streets. So did Bill Clinton and John Donne, Sir Thomas More and Kris Kristofferson, plus the guy who invented the World Wide Web.
Myron Rolle talks about what it means to be a Rhodes scholar.
That little list? It always happens. People construct a roster of famous yet diverse alumni when describing Oxford -- the quirky sum even more fantastic than the successful parts -- implying that greatness comes with the diploma. But a shadow lurks near those collections of names. Oxford University is full of students who will one day change the world, yes, but it is also full of those who have the gifts to change it and will fail. In the hope of morning, though, let your focus fall on Clinton and Donne, More and Kristofferson and now, as the dreamy purple light burns off, as busses chug and belch down the ancient streets and another week of reality begins, Myron Rolle.
Rolle bounds down Banbury Road, long strides chewing up sidewalk, hurrying to his next lecture. Today's topic is "Pain and the Brain." He settles into a seat in the back of the room, the only student whose biceps strain against the fabric of his shirt. Around him, fellow Rhodes scholars open laptops, notebooks or leather-bound Moleskine journals. The professor, a world-renowned researcher, begins speaking, about Pavlov and the curious case of Phineas Gage. The students take notes furiously.
Rolle takes a few notes, too, but mostly he stares at the professor. The motors and gears in his head are spinning. This is how it's always been for him. His mind rarely stops computing; when his brother McKinley is throwing all the possible routes in random order during their regular morning football workout, Rolle just knows if they missed a 2, or maybe a 7. Today, he's focused on the man standing at the front of the room. What about this doctor? Where did he start? How did he immerse himself in the brain? When, and why, did pain come to interest him? Did he watch helplessly as someone he loved struggled against a devastating mental illness? Was it a wife? A child? What drove him to this very place at this very moment?
Suddenly, his focus shifts.
What about me? How did I get here?
Myron, who doesn't fail
A lifetime of unqualified successes, that's how.
Whatever he does, he does it well and, to the immense frustration of others, with ease and grace. He's an All-American safety. He can play saxophone and sing. He was the lead in his high school's production of "Fiddler on the Roof." He graduated from Florida State as an exercise science major in less than three years with a 3.75 GPA. He shadows doctors, dreaming of medical school. He says "please" and "thank you." He researches stem cells. He starts anti-obesity programs that the U.S. Department of Interior adopts, aimed at helping Native American children make smart choices about fitness and health. He raises money for hospitals. Myron Rolle, it can safely be assumed, not only eats vegetables, he likes them. Life hangs comfortably from his shoulders like a fine suit.
Myron Rolle
AP Photo/Rob Carr
On Nov. 22, 2008, Rolle entered the Maryland game late in the first half after spending part of the day in Alabama for his Rhodes interview.
So, it's no surprise that during the 2008 football season he was named a finalist for a Rhodes scholarship, the most prestigious academic award given. Only, the deciding interview was scheduled for the day of a game at Maryland -- and the interview was in Alabama. No problem. SuperMyron would simply go to Birmingham, answer the committee's questions and still make it to the game by halftime. He might just leap a tall building while he was at it and keep right on going until he landed at midfield.
Nothing thrown at him by the interviewers shook him. He spoke with passion, threw in a joke or two and, at the end, stood there with a smile on his face. One of the judges winked at him. No need to drag out the suspense.
Another success. Rolle was chosen -- he soon would announce he was skipping his senior season to go to Oxford -- and minutes later he boarded a private jet, shadowed by reporters from both Sports Illustrated and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Halfway to Maryland, a crowd waiting to cheer his run out of the tunnel in garnet and gold, he put in his earphones and scrolled through his iPod.
What could provide the appropriate soundtrack for this kind of life?
Rolle chose two songs.
One was Ice Cube's "It was a Good Day."
But even that didn't seem to do his run of blessings justice.
The other one came closer, Frank Sinatra singing:
When I was 21
It was a very good year
TUESDAY
Tucked into a narrow alley off High Street, St. Edmund Hall breathes students in and out of the long stone tunnel that opens into the main quadrangle, as the college has done for 800 years. Young men and women mill around the lush grass of the quad, in the shadow of the sundial and the well, and at night, they drink beer and smoke in the cemetery out back. Rolle, who doesn't have time for the graveyard bull sessions, stops by to check his mail. Two unfamiliar envelopes poke out of his slot.
The first one is from Ohio. He tears into the envelope and finds a note: I read about you in The Times and I thought you might be interested in this article from the New Yorker.
It's a recent piece by Malcolm Gladwell, and it offers and backs up the theory that professional football is a lot like dogfighting and is, ultimately, a sport that cannot be played without doing serious damage to the brain. This is, obviously, a conundrum for Rolle: He wants to be a pro football player and a neurosurgeon. Don't successful careers in each of these preclude the other? Of all the obstacles facing Rolle, including the luck and work and genetic blessings required to be one of the 32 chosen to be a Rhodes scholar and one of the 32 chosen to be a first-round pick, perhaps none is greater than this: People in each world don't believe anyone could possibly be passionate about the other. He's always asked: Which do you like more? Draft gurus question his commitment. His defensive coordinator at Florida State, Mickey Andrews, told Rolle that he was spending too much time on school and not enough time on football. Even Oxford University assigned him to St. Edmund Hall, known here as the jock college.
The other letter is from a London teacher.
I heard you this morning on Radio 4. Never have I heard a young man so articulate, forward thinking and inspirational. All I could think about listening to you was: I have to get him to speak at my school. I'm a teacher in London at an inner city school where I do lots of work around raising black achievement. To hear you speak about the importance of education and hearing about your life decisions -- putting off the NFL for Oxford, wanting to be a neurosurgeon, money not being your main goal in life -- it would all mean so much to the kids at my school.
Rolle considers his mail. Two letters, two totally different problems; if other people's myopia is an obstacle, then the exact opposite is, too. He is trying to stay on course in a vast sea of possibilities, and everywhere he goes, he is confronted by people lining up to tell him what he means and what he could be and, most confining of all, what he should be.
He is a vessel for other people's dreams.
Myron, who knows what others expect
Q: What do you struggle with most?
A: I have not had tragic incidences in my life that have rocked my personal being. The thing that really has been my biggest enemy in this world has been pressure. And people. People who I love. People who look at me differently. The pressure is tough, man. I'm not gonna lie. It's the hardest part. Easily.
Myron, whose dreams keep growing
Here are the three things to know about Rolle as he reads that second letter:
1. The Monday after he won the Rhodes scholarship, his cell phone rang. Jesse Jackson. At first, Rolle thought it was a joke. But no, it was actually Jesse Jackson, and he wanted to tell Rolle this: "If Dr. King were alive today, he'd be proud of you."
Myron Rolle
Chris Floyd for ESPN The Magazine
Myron Rolle skipped his senior season at Florida State to attend Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship.
2. While Rolle was in D.C. for the inauguration, Princeton professor and African-American leader Cornel West spotted him on the street and bowed. Literally bowed down and said this: "You are the future of black America."
Everywhere he's been, for as long as he can remember, he's been singled out for future greatness, by strangers and family alike. When he was in high school, riding on the New Jersey Turnpike with his dad, he asked one day, "What would it be like to be normal?" He's thought about that a lot.
And this, too: What is enough for those who see so much in him? He opens his e-mail and there's a recruiting pitch from the Harvard Business School. His dad wants him to make a perfect score on the Wonderlic given at the NFL combine. Jesse Jackson wants him to be a leader for an entire generation. Florida State told him on his recruiting visit that he could be a Rhodes scholar … and now he is. Mickey Andrews wants him to react, and his professors want him to think. He deals, on a daily basis, with the crushing weight of having this much potential. He worries about losing himself. He never stops thinking about what other people want for him, and how it's easy to become a mosaic of their expectations instead of staying true to his own. "The danger is that you lose a sense of identity," he says, "you lose a sense of who you are. If you continue to try to navigate through constructs that are set up by other people, by other people's thoughts of who you are and who you should be, you will never be personally at peace."
So he understands he shouldn't spend his life pleasing other people. But what does he want?
This brings us to …
3. A year ago, Rolle spoke at the College of the Bahamas. His family comes from the nation, and he alone among his five brothers was born in the United States (his mom traveled to Houston so he could be an American citizen). He was chosen before birth.
One of his many dreams is to open a medical clinic in his hometown of Exuma, and so, after the speech, the Bahamian politicians crowded around him. Be the prodigal son, they told him. Come back and be president one day. Be prime minister. When he returned to Tallahassee, he was online one night in his room and saw a photo tagged on Facebook of himself and the current president of the Bahamas. A lot of things ran through his head: People want me to come back and save their country? I don't know if that's in my plan. I never thought of politics. This isn't me.
Sitting there in the dark, he finally began to understand: There is no enough.
All he can do is stay focused on his dreams: NFL, medical school, then a life as a groundbreaking neurosurgeon and head of a foundation that brings medical care to those without.
You know, simple stuff.
Myron, who has set the bar high
Q: Has anyone ever said to you: "Myron, if you want to go to the NFL and have a long career and retire and live off investments, that's OK … it's your life"?
A: No.
He explains: "It's always, 'What's next?' I think people align themselves with my way of thinking when they're talking to me. They try to create new avenues for me to pursue, so if you want to be a doctor and you have interest in human rights and philanthropy and social equality of medicine and disease, why don't you think about being surgeon general? Then you could have a political impact, with a stronger influence and a bigger platform. I'm that person. 'What's next? What's next?'"
WEDNESDAY
There are mornings when none of it seems strange. The Iffley Road Sports Complex opens early, and a crowd of scholars who are also athletes wait outside. The sweatshirts and gym shorts place the toned men and women: rowers from Harvard, swimmers from Oxford, lacrosse players from Navy and, soon, one safety from Florida State University. Why does a man have to choose? Roger Bannister, who ran the first sub-4-minute mile on a track some 20 or so yards from this crowd, was also a doctor. Bill Bradley was a senator and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Myron Rolle
Chris Floyd for ESPN The Magazine
Myron and McKinley, right, have a regular morning football workout.
The Rolle brothers park their car -- a Peugeot, a tiny European subcompact -- and, instead of joining the crowd, they head to the rugby pitch and the tiny dungeon of a gym beneath it. Most days, they work out here, alone. When they do use the bigger facilities, the other students gawk at the weight and the reps -- especially the female student-athletes. Rolle and his brother have a code for noticing a young thing sneaking a peek; one will say, with a sly grin: "Mama, there go that man."
This morning, McKinley opens up the binder containing speed guru Tom Shaw's workout and starts counting the reps, converting pounds into kilos. Rolle does leg presses, McKinley a step ahead preparing the next station, the small room echoing with the iPod mix. Except, in place of celebratory anthems, songs about how great today, or this year or his entire life has been, there's a steady stream of rap songs about people being doubted. Rolle sings along -- except when the rappers curse. He skips those words.
Claustrophobic cinderblock walls crowd them. A small window, the spires and castles of the town insignificant through the glass, lets in the only natural light. Rolle comes into focus when he's grinding in the weight room. Outside, the sun is fully up. A song called "Watch Dis" blares through the small speaker. He could lose a step this year, lose some ineffable part of his game that he'll never get back. He knows he risked something coming over here. Knows he still needs to convince people how much football means, and they can't come here, to this room, and see. Rolle lies down on a mat, his feet on a big green medicine ball, his brother taking notes from a nearby weight bench, the Rolle boys, a long, long way from home, counting out crunches in a dungeon, chasing something like that first purple light.
Outside, the chill has come, and, when lifting is finished, Rolle walks onto the wet field under changing leaves, the rugby pitch lined at both ends by a row of tall evergreen trees. They're working on increasing the fluidity of his hips, just one of the many questions about his game. Was he overrated out of high school? Is he too stiff? Does he think too much? Why just one interception in three years? Can he just react and make plays?
McKinley says they got the official e-mail today from the NFL: Myron is invited and will attend the combine. "It was nice to get that confirmation," McKinley says. "He's stronger. Faster. He'll open some eyes."
He urges on his brother through the final rep of the final drill. "Last one," he says. "Last one. Finish strong. First round, baby."
Rolle's face is a portrait of focus. He digs into the field, his cleats kicking up tiny sparks of mud.
Myron, who feels the doubt
The car is cranked, exhaust rising behind them. McKinley is at the wheel, Rolle in the passenger seat. They are ready to go, but Rolle tells his brother not to put it in drive. Not yet. They need the soundtrack first. He punches a button on the CD player, moving through the new Jay-Z album. There's one song he needs to hear right now, three months until February's NFL combine. It's not about good anythings.
"Don't move until we get that track," he says.
"No. 14?" McKinley asks.
"There you go," Rolle says.
As the bass fires up, McKinley pulls back on Iffley Road, headed toward town. The hook comes and Rolle sings along:
"The motivation for me … is them telling me what I could not be.
"Oh, well.
"I'm so ambitious."
