Roaches (Arian Foster goes out like a sucka)

How quickly boyz forget and turn their backs on what's REAL!

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Every experiment, by multitudes or by individuals, that has a sensual and selfish aim, will fail. Bryant H. McGill, the famous author, stood up and shouted, “The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places. Then Richard Whately, the English theologian, got boyz attention when he said, “A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor’s.”

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster was selfish and jumped out of the birthday cake this week by telling boyz that he got paid at Tennessee in an interview for a documentary called “Schooled: The Price of College Sports.” This dun goes on to say that he’s not afraid of the NCAA and hopes that his revelations about being paid as a college athlete will change rules about amateurism.

"I just feel strong about the injustice that the NCAA has been doing for years," Foster said Friday. "That's why I said what I said. I'm not trying to throw anybody under the bus. ... I feel like I shouldn't have to run from the NCAA anymore. They're like these big bullies. I'm not scared of them."

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! I completely agree that the NCAA are some gangstas and they're pimpin’ these kids. However, Arian Foster is a sucka because he never once thought about how what he just revealed will affect the duns currently at Tennessee! They’re already on probation through Aug. 23, 2015 bruh. He’s only being reckless because he’s got bread and he’s not in Knoxville looking in those cats faces while he's throwing them under the bus. That’s a selfish punk move right there playboy.

Is the NCAA pimpin’ boyz? Absolutely! Are they gonna change the rules because Arian Foster admitted that he got bread while at Tennessee? Absolutely not! Are they gonna start looking into the activities at Tennessee more closely as a result of this fool being reckless? Absolutely! Will they find some dun that isn’t paid like Foster is that played within the 4 year window of the statute of limitations that will tell it all? Absolutely!

If he felt as strongly about the NCAA 5 years ago then he should have said something then. But technically all activities outside of the 4 year window are untouchable by the NCAA. Technically! However, Foster already has his bread so he’s not even thinking about the duns that took benefits right alongside of him that didn’t go the league or didn’t graduate or both that would be more than willing to talk for a few thousand dollars.

Duns like Sports Illustrated and Deadspin have proven to us that they’re willing to publish any dirt they can find as long as it sells ads space. So what’s going to happen is that they’ll find some cat that was an underclassman when Foster was a senior in 2008 that was still there within the 4 year window and pay him to talk. Depending upon a cat’s situation the more he’ll be willing to snitch just like those fools did that threw Oklahoma State into traffic a few weeks ago.

Boyz have to think first before just jumping out of the cake. All Foster was thinking about was that the NCAA can’t do anything to him so he doesn’t care. That’s called being selfish playa! It’s some duns down there right now trying to graduate, make it to the league or both and he just put the radar squarely on their backs. Why? Because he doesn’t care about the next man! He was talking to be cocky and wanted to throw it in the NCAA’s face because he’s got his bread and took some on the way up and it ain’t nothing they can do about it. Stop me when I start lyin’!

Hey Arian! If you’re so concerned about cats not eating at Tennessee call all of your boyz in the league that went there too and start sending bread to the current players. That’s if it means something to you playboy because screamin’ on a documentary just shut the building down on any cat gettin’ side money for a while. Any boosters that were paying have scattered like roaches when the lights come up in the projects! Pass the collection plate because I’m preachin’!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreportFacebook: www.facebook.com/TheJayGravesReport
Instagram: JayGravesReport
The quote under the caption isn’t real but its REAL talk!

 

Legal Shake Down! (NCAA's Pimpin' is Easy)

"Student-Athletes are gettin' pimped & nobody seems to care!"

In the world of inter-collegiate athletics the stakes couldn’t be any higher, literally. Major colleges and universities are making money like professional sports franchises. In March of 2007, Sports Illustrated did a cover story entitled, “The Program, Big Wins, Big Money, Big Spirit”.

It examined how big schools like Ohio State, which happened to be on the cover of that issue, and several other big time institutions are making in excess of $100 million per year, primarily with their football and basketball programs. There are a few exceptions to that rule like the Universities of Tennessee and Connecticut because of their  successful women’s basketball programs. Not only are they generating revenue through ticket sales. They are selling ancillary products in the on-campus bookstore's as well, like jerseys and T-shirts.

Now the NCAA says that it’s legal to sell them because the student-athlete’s name isn’t on the back of it. So their defense is that they aren’t selling the kids likeness. I wonder how many #2 jerseys were sold in Ohio before Terrell Pryor showed up in Columbus or for that matter how many Jared Sullinger #0 jerseys are walking around as we speak? Now my problem  isn't with schools making money it's with how they're distributing it.

I just believe that the students-athletes that play revenue producing sports should see some of  that bread in the form of a monthly stipend of let’s say $300 to $400 or more. If you're on the track,volleyball, softball, soccer, lacrosse teams etc. you don't qualify because you aren't contributing to the bottom line. Those sports are literally costing the school money because nobody goes to those games. Keep in mind that they still have to travel all over the country for games, those coaches still have to recruit and the athletes still need training facilities etc. for be competitive. Now oobviously there are some unique programs out there like I mentioned earlier but for the most part the football & basketball programs are supporting all of those other sports completely.

 I also believe that a percentage of all jersey sales should go directly to the student-athlete when he or she either graduates or leaves school early for any reason. Lets keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Some student-athletes have no intention of graduating from college when they enroll. A prime example would be players like Kentucky's Anthony Davis who will be the NBA's 1st pick on Thursday night. He was only in school because the NBA told him that he had to show up for a year. The Wildcats made a fortune in jersey sales because of him. not to mention all of that TV and NCAA Tournament bread they're still counting.  It's not fair to the kid or his family even if he is about to be a millionaire in two days.

Think about Jared Sullinger who's draft status fell as I explained in the Hot Joint "Red Flagged" because of a bulging disc in his back. He should have come out a year earlier like I said but he stayed a year too long. By staying he allowed Ohio State to make another years worth of revenue off of his jersey sales not to mention the continued booster support because they were winning.  They made more money and he lost money. Wheredeydodatat?

 Sure, he got drafted but he got less money relative to what he could have gotten had he come out a year earlier. Also think about the kids that were standout players that have graduated and were never drafted but their jersey's were sold for four years. Don't even get me started on the video games that depict the players likeness that they don't get a dime in royalties for. EA Sports is killin' 'em!!! That's why 6 more current players have joined the federal anti-trust NCAA against the NCAA that alleges the NCAA, EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Co., the nation's leading trademark and licensing firm, violated antitrust laws.

I can hear some clown in the background now, “They’re on scholarship are you kidding me? It’s a free education!” Well is it? Sounds more like a job to me bruh. The other students don’t have to manage the load of going to class and practice. Most importantly, the student-athlete is making the university rich. It isn't the students tuition that builds all of the fine structures on campus. It's money generated from the athletic departments that allows the schools to flourish. Tuition simply pays the bills. When was the last time 100,000 people paid $78 per ticket and $20 to park to see a kid take a Chemistry test bruh? Have you ever seen the schools Rhodes Scholar's button down and pocket protector sold in the bookstore?

Let’s look at what a full athletic scholarship really is. It pays for tuition, books, room and board. Sounds like enough, right? Wrong. What happens when the student-athlete needs clothes because he's gained 30 lbs from being on training table and in the weight program.  Who's going to buy him a pair of shoes, toiletries or something as simple as a pizza on a Saturday or Sunday evening when the cafeteria is closed. The average student can go get a work study job etc.

 Ball players can’t because it’s an NCAA violation for him or her(UT or UConn women's hoops) to work during the school year. Even if they could work, when would they find the time? I can hear you saying, “that’s when they should call their parents”. Well, not everyone has that luxury bruh. Everybody didn't grow up with parents that can reach into their pockets and send money. Big Momma is barely making it with the other 4 kids left at the crib.

 Many times the parents think that the university is taking good care of their child. After all, the coaches did tell them that they would look after their baby boy or girl during the recruitment process didn't they? I realize that the coaches do as much as they can for these kids but their hands are tied to some degree by the NCAA. So now what?

Well, that’s when the “hundred dollar hand shake” comes into play. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the term it’s when a big time booster or alumni of the university shakes a players hand after the game and the kid walks away with a folded bill or bills. Now I’m not saying that by paying the athlete we will stop the illegal exchange of money all together.

 However, I do believe that we would see a decline in kids getting involved with agents or shady boosters because very few of these kids are looking to get suspended from the team or forfeit games as a result of it. They have simply gone into survival mode and many of them feel like they are being taken advantage of. So I'm cool with the kid getting money if everybody else is too!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @  me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheJayGravesReport
The quote under the caption is REAL today!

Certified Pimp!

"Who? Yeah I know the NCAA! They got a strong pimp hand!"

Malcolm X once said, “I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.” Albert Einstein broke us off with, “In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.” Aristotle kept it real by saying, “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.”

Aristotle must have been a college athlete back in his day playing in the Coliseum. Boyz were making a fortune broadcasting his games on Caesar’s Television Network because he hit the nail on the head when he said that joint. For years the NCAA has been pimpin’ college athletes especially those playing major college football and men’s basketball.

On Tuesday a federal judge dismissed a motion by the NCAA to prevent football and men’s basketball players from legally pursuing a cut of live broadcasts revenues. Since 2009 more than a dozen law firms have spent more than $20 million dollars pursuing this law suit which has a hearing set for June 20th. This would be huge if they could win it and this latest ruling definitely helps their case.

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Boyz have been getting pimped for years by the NCAA in the name of education! I can hear some clown in the background now, “They’re on scholarship are you kidding me? It’s a free education!” Well is it? Sounds more like a job to me bruh. The other students don’t have to manage the load of going to class, practice and playing games. Most importantly, the student-athlete is making the universities and all of its sponsors’ rich beyond measure playboy.

How much did he say?

Let’s take a look at the NCAA Tournament alone. The 68-team tournament will bring in roughly $771 million for the NCAA this year -- with the vast majority of that coming from broadcast rights payments from CBS. That money basically funds the entire operation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and is the financial lifeblood of many smaller schools' athletic departments. Advertisers pay CBS about $100,000 for a 30-second spot in round one and up to $1.2 million in the finals and you’re telling me that a boy can’t get any of that bread?

In 2011 it was announced that the NCAA had reached a new 14-year, $11 billion deal with CBS Sports and Time Warner-owned Turner Sports for the rights to broadcast the NCAA Tournament from 2011–2024. We haven’t even mentioned all of the bread that every one from the schools, TV deals and the host cities are about to make off of the College Football Final 4 starting in 2014 playa!  So these boyz have completely taken advantage of the student athlete by giving them what they call a free education that is essentially an absorbed cost to the university.

It doesn’t cost a dime to stick some cat into a class that’s already being taught and then make a fortune off of him with ticket, jersey, video game and TV rights. In my famous G.I. lingo, “Tell that to somebody who you KNOW don’t KNOW, cuz I KNOW!”  I was born at night not last night!

How bout paying boyz what you owe 'em then allow them to pay you tuition out of that. If you don't wanna give it to them while they're in school I'm cool with that. Pay duns on the way out whether they graduate or not. Then subtract the tuition out of it but don't tell me they're gettin' over because they're on scholarship! It's like you telling them to pay attention to your left hand and going through their pockets with your right.

I’m just glad to see someone is finally jamming the NCAA up for pimpin’ in broad day light! These boyz have been riding around with the Bishop Don Juan lime green suit with the gators to match, jumpin’ out of the lime green clean’74 Coupe De Ville with Trues and Vogues and vanity plates that say, "Certified Pimp!" for way too long! Stop me when I start lyin'!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Straight Gangsta

"Play Like A Gangsta Today"

Growing up in the hood has its advantages and being able to understand how gangsta’s operate is one of them. Understanding how to politic the system can be the difference between being able to walk home safety and not. My high school was the ocean that fed into two lakes of street gangs, GD Folks and One Way. Now in order to keep your shoes, hats and lunch money you had to either be affiliated or smart enough know all of the lieutenants that made sure that boyz looked out for you. Now these cats ran the streets but it still didn’t change the fact that many of them ended up dead at very young ages or in jail for the rest of their lives. It looked cool on the surface but at the end of the day they still lost.

Even in the world of college football we run into that same gangsta hangin' around the band room taking advantage of boyz that can’t defend themselves. Notre Dame showed up in the ACC with a do rag on, the flat bib cocked strong to the left with a blue and gold bandanna hangin’ out of it’s left back pocket. They checked everybody in the room and said, “We’re in this joint with all sports but football but we’ll play 5 games a year in the ACC on our terms. We’ll let you boyz host a home game from us once every 6 years and that’s how it’s doing down so you can tell ya momma that or not!”

 It was like the cat that used to walk in and just take some young punks lunch money or better yet, he would let him stand in line for it and then take his lunch and his hat as he went to sit down. Am I mad at Notre Dame for punking the ACC? Absolutely not! Does Notre Dame have the power to do just what they did? Absolutely! They are still a very popular brand in the world of college football because of it's alumni base. They’ve got so much pull that they essentially told their wife to be cool with the fact that they’ve got a girlfriend and as a matter of fact, they want them to go shopping together to build a deeper bond.

These duns are doing what Big Momma called back in the day, shackin’! I want to look like I’m in a conference but I want to keep my options open. So I’m not going to commit all the way. However, I want to come through and hang out with my women as I see fit. Straight Gangsta do you hear me bruh? And I’m not mad at them because they've got the power to do it.

Unfortunately, the life of a gangsta always ends tragically. They completely punk’d the ACC and got what they wanted but it still doesn’t change the fact that they’ll fire Brian Kelly in another year or so because he can’t win at the level that they expect him to. Notre Dame’s goal is to go to BCS Bowls and win National Championships. You need horses to do that. As I explained years ago in the Hot Joint "The Most Delusional Program In Sports" they’re administration still thinks that it’s 1945 and it’s still a premiere football program and it not! Especially not to 18 year old All-American recruits. The best kids in the country no longer want to play at Notre Dame bruh!

They haven’t won a title since 1988 and there isn’t a kid playing football right now that was even alive to see it. Secondly, when coaches pull up the top 150 players in the country, state schools that are powerhouses like USC, Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State etc can talk to all 150 of them. ND can only talk to 30 of them because of  it's academic standards and they'll be lucky to sign 1 or 2 of them. Where as, USC will sign 15 or 20 per year. The Trojans have already gotten commitments from 12 of the top 150 for 2013 and it's still early.

 I remember a couple years ago when Florida was rollin’ they sighed 13 of the top 50 players in the country. ND can’t beat schools like that because they simply have better players. So they can gangsta boyz all day but they’ll continue to flounder around and fire coaches because of the lack of success on the field. If they don't lower the standards they've got to be cool with going 8-4 annually! However, Notre Dame is so delusional they think that they can win titles in today's BCS era and it won't happen because you've got to basically run the table and at best have one loss in order to do it. That ain't gonna happen in South Bend!

They’re going to take 5 “L’s” this year starting this weekend with #10 Michigan State because they’ve got opponents scheduled that just have better players from top to bottom than they do. Not only are they going to East Lansing Saturday they’ve got Miami in Chicago, #5 Oklahoma in Norman, #17 Michigan at home and #2 USC in LA. Now after that carnage Brian Kelly will either get fired or be on the hot seat because ND just doesn’t get it! You can’t be a football powerhouse and an academic powerhouse at the same time! Duke can do it because they only have to sign 3 guys per year on average. In football you're signing 25 per year. You're not going to find 25 All-Americans with the grades that WANT to go to Notre Dame all at the same time! They simply can’t occupy the same space. It’s impossible. You can’t ever be a gangsta and win!  Just ask some of the cats that I grew up with. That’s if they’re still breathing pimpin'.

Holla At Ya Boy!

Jay Graves

Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport   

"The Legal Shake Down"

"Student-Athletes are gettin' pimped & nobody seems to care!"

In the world of inter-collegiate athletics the stakes couldn’t be any higher, literally. Major colleges and universities are making money like professional sports franchises. In March of 2007, Sports Illustrated did a cover story entitled, “The Program, Big Wins, Big Money, Big Spirit”. It examined how big schools like Ohio State, which happened to be on the cover of that issue, and several other big time institutions are making in excess of $100 million per year, primarily with their football and basketball programs. There are a few exceptions to that rule like the Universities of Tennessee and Connecticut because of their  successful women’s basketball programs. Not only are they generating revenue through ticket sales. They are selling ancillary products in the on-campus bookstore's as well, like jerseys and T-shirts.

Now the NCAA says that it’s legal to sell them because the student-athlete’s name isn’t on the back of it. So their defense is that they aren’t selling the kids likeness. I wonder how many #2 jerseys were sold in Ohio before Terrell Pryor showed up in Columbus or for that matter how many Jared Sullinger #0 jerseys are walking around as we speak? Now my problem  isn't with schools making money it's with how they're distributing it.

I just believe that the students-athletes that play revenue producing sports should see some of  that bread in the form of a monthly stipend of let’s say $300 to $400 or more. If you're on the track,volleyball, softball, soccer, lacrosse teams etc. you don't qualify because you aren't contributing to the bottom line. Those sports are literally costing the school money because nobody goes to those games. Keep in mind that they still have to travel all over the country for games, those coaches still have to recruit and the athletes still need training facilities etc. for be competitive. Now oobviously there are some unique programs out there like I mentioned earlier but for the most part the football & basketball programs are supporting all of those other sports completely.

 I also believe that a percentage of all jersey sales should go directly to the student-athlete when he or she either graduates or leaves school early for any reason. Lets keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Some student-athletes have no intention of graduating from college when they enroll. A prime example would be players like Kentucky's Anthony Davis who will be the NBA's 1st pick on Thursday night. He was only in school because the NBA told him that he had to show up for a year. The Wildcats made a fortune in jersey sales because of him. not to mention all of that TV and NCAA Tournament bread they're still counting.  It's not fair to the kid or his family even if he is about to be a millionaire in two days.

Think about Jared Sullinger who's draft status has fallen as I explained in the Hot Joint "Red Flagged" because of a bulging disc in his back. He should have come out last year like I've always said but  he stayed a year too long. By staying he allowed Ohio State to make another years worth of revenue off of his jersey sales not to mention the continued booster support because they were winning.  They made more money and he lost money. Who does that? Sure, he'll get drafted but he's going to probably go in the 2nd round for peanuts relative to what he could have gotten had he come out last year.  Also think about the  kids that were standout players that have graduated and were never drafted but their jersey's were sold for four years. Don't even get me started on the video games that depict the players likeness that they don't get a dime in royalties for. EA Sports is killin' 'em!!!

I can hear some clown in the background now, “They’re on scholarship are you kidding me? It’s a free education!” Well is it? Sounds more like a job to me bruh. The other students don’t have to manage the load of going to class and practice. Most importantly, the student-athlete is making the university rich. It isn't the students tuition that builds all of the fine structures on campus. It's money generated from the athletic departments that allows the schools to flourish. Tuition simply pays the bills. When was the last time 100,000 people paid $78 per ticket and $20 to park to see a kid take a Chemistry test bruh? Have you ever seen the schools Rhodes Scholar's button down and pocket protector sold in the bookstore?

Let’s look at what a full athletic scholarship really is. It pays for tuition, books, room and board. Sounds like enough, right? Wrong. What happens when the student-athlete needs clothes because he's gained 30 lbs from being on training table and in the weight program.  Who's going to buy him a pair of shoes, toiletries or something as simple as a pizza on a Saturday or Sunday evening when the cafeteria is closed. The average student can go get a work study job etc. Ball players can’t because it’s an NCAA violation for him or her(UT or UConn women's hoops) to work during the school year. Even if they could work, when would they find the time? I can hear you saying, “that’s when they should call their parents”. Well, not everyone has that luxury bruh. Everybody didn't grow up with parents that can reach into their pockets and send money. Big Momma is barely making it with the other 4 kids left at the crib.

 Many times the parents think that the university is taking good care of their child. After all, the coaches did tell them that they would look after their baby boy or girl during the recruitment process didn't they? I realize that the coaches do as much as they can for these kids but their hands are tied to some degree by the NCAA. So now what?

Well, that’s when the “hundred dollar hand shake” comes into play. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the term it’s when a big time booster or alumni of the university shakes a players hand after the game and the kid walks away with a folded bill or bills. Now I’m not saying that by paying the athlete we will stop the illegal exchange of money all together. However, I do believe that we would see a decline in kids getting involved with agents or shady boosters because very few of these kids are looking to get suspended from the team or forfeit games as a result of it. They have simply gone into survival mode and many of them feel like they are being taken advantage of. So I'm cool with the kid getting money if everybody else is too!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

The All New "Geto Boys"

In Stores Now the 2011 remix of "My Minds Playin' Tricks On Me!"

Whenever a school is busted for rules infractions the NCAA loves to come in and vacate wins. Just recently the Ohio State Buckeyes were forced to check in wins from last season as well as the Miami Hurricanes. USC had to give up wins because of the Reggie Bush debacle too. The most famous vacation of wins was probably the University of Michigan's Fab Five run. The NCAA came in, took down the Final Four banners and vacated all of the wins from that era years after they were gone.

On last Saturday Big East referee's completely blew a call during the Toledo/Syracuse ball game that eventually cost Toledo the ballgame. Video shows that Syracuse missed a late extra point but the officials ruled it good. Replay officials allowed it to stand. Toledo then kicked a tying field goal to force overtime, but the Orange came back with a field goal to win 33-30.

If the call had never been blown Toledo would have won the game on what was the tying field goal. After the ball game officials admitted that the call was wrong. However, the call hasn't and won't be reversed giving the Rockets the victory. Mid-American commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said Monday that NCAA rules say there's no route to reverse the outcome once the game is declared over. Toledo athletic director Mike O'Brien asked the Mid-American Conference to call for the Big East Conference to give Toledo the victory after a Big East official admitted that replay officials made a mistake.

Where is Chris Carter, Tom Jackson, Mike Ditka and KeyShawn when you need them! C'Mon Man!!!! Don't tell a bunch of college kids that have played their hearts out that you can't make a wrong right! If you have the power to go back years after Chris Weber is in the NBA and jack Michigan's Final Four banners surely you can swoop up one win from Syracuse that really won't make or break their season and it's the right thing to do.

I mean, right is right bruh! If the call hadn't been blown the game would have been over once Toledo kicks the late field goal. So by making the call right Toledo deserves to win. Now the NCAA is always hollering integrity, sportsmanship and all that crap. Let's show the boys from Ohio what it looks like in motion. I can't tell my kids to be honest and forthright then find somebody's wallet and put it in my pocket. How can the NCAA say there is no route to reverse the outcome once the game is declared over when they've been doing it for years?

They’ve come in like the Geto Boys playing, "My Minds Playin’ Tricks On Me" taking wins and telling me that I didn't see what I just saw for years. On Saturday they just turned the music up louder, blind folded me and pointed in the opposite direction while we drove past the joint. What? It blows my mind that they always find ways to make the rules work for them but never use the rules to for work the student-athlete!

The MAC ought to sue the Big East for the win and hold the NCAA accountable. I'll tell you this, if the Toledo players would have come out of the locker room after the game and accepted a hundred dollar handshake from a booster. They would figure out how to reverse the outcome of the game! No doubt about it! Don't just use your power to punish the kids but also use it to empower and encourage them as well. That's like me punishing my own kids for everything they do wrong and never encouraging them for making the honor roll or for just learning how to tell the truth.

If I never let them know that I'm in their corner they won't ever be loyal to me or my word. So when they get out into the streets with their friends and are faced with having to making the right decision they won’t hesitate to do the right thing because they know that I've got their backs. If I don't, they'll role with the crew, take the wrong path and eventually get their wins vacated. Listen up NCAA, if you're going to be the disciplinarian you've got to be the cheer leader too.


Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.

Pimpin' Ain't Easy?

"We gonna win with or without you playa!"

The streets can be very unforgiving and extremely dangerous. Growing up in the hood teaches you one very important lesson. If you don't have your ghetto instincts on when you leave the house in the morning someone at some point during the course of the day is going to take advantage of you. Count on it! The streets look for the most naive and vulnerable and eat them daily.

With age comes wisdom and I've learned that there is a place that is much worse than the hood. It's the world of college athletics. It will chew you up, spit you out and leave you laying in the streets. At least the hood will take your shoes or cheat you out of your money at the neighborhood candy store and let you walk home crying. However, these college boys will leave you in a dumpster to bleed out.

This past week Ohio State tried not to look like the stone gangster that they truely are by announcing that former Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor could not have played at any time during the 2011 season. Which initially he was only suspended only for the first five games. That’s significant because in order for Pryor to be eligible for the NFL's supplemental draft he would've had to be suspended for the entire season. Now the NFL is waning on a decision as to whether they'll allow him to be eligible for that draft.

Along with that announcement they've banned the kid from any contact with the athletic department for the next five years. Are you kidding me? The Buckeyes essentially gave him house money and told him that he could have access to the penthouse as long has he could give them what they wanted and that was Big Ten championships!

Now who gave him access to the cars, money and extra benefits? Who allowed him to be the Prima Donna around town and eat for free everywhere he went? Who was it that lured him into the dark alley by telling him that he could have the world if he would just put on the scarlet and grey? Who set in motion the atmosphere that allowed him to drive 8 different cars in a three year period? The pimp in the scarlet and grey zoot suit that's who!

Pryor can't produce another Big Ten title in which he lead the Buckeyes to in each of his three years as the Ohio State quarterback so now he's worthless to them. They can't sell the #2 jersey or his likeness in the bookstores and mall's anymore so they’ve decided to cut him off at the knees and keep him away from the program all together.

That's a pimp move if I’ve ever seen one. If you can't work for me I'll don't want to see you at all. In the ghetto you’re conditioned to some degree to be able to spot a hustler a mile away because you grew up with them and you were taught the game at like 6 years old. Your older siblings gave you the information raw so that you wouldn’t lose your lunch money or new sneakers at school.

However, when it comes to these college boys, kids from the hood don’t typically see the pimp sitting in their living rooms sweet talking their parents. In the corporate world we’re taught that when you’re giving an important speech to envision your audience in their underwear. I would suggest that kids from now on envision all would be coaches and administrators as the neighborhood hustler so that their instincts will automatically kick in. Pimpin’ ain’t easy but Ohio State makes it look elementary!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter: @jaygravesreport

"Gangsta's Paradise"

"Just picked up Casey now were on our way to Columbus!"

All summer long we've seen people running away from Columbus as if there was a pandemic at the Horse Shoe. Most, if not all, of their best recruits have all but told the Buckeyes that they'll be going somewhere else play. They've even lost a couple to the dreaded school to the north that plays around in a "Big House" with the funny looking helmets.

It's been a ruff eight months for the scarlet and grey ever since the whole tattoo scandal came to light. Jim Tressel was fired or should I say was politely asked to leave and Terrell Pryor essentially had the same conversation with the athletic department before he left town. Poor Ohio State, the ship is going down fast without a life boat or is it?

The Buckeyes must have hired the same defense team as Casey Anthony because NCAA investigators said they found no evidence that Ohio State failed to properly monitor its football program or any evidence of a lack of institutional control, according to a letter sent to the university and released Friday. What?

"Considering the institution's rules education and monitoring efforts, the enforcement staff did not believe a failure to monitor charge was appropriate in this case," the NCAA said in the letter sent Thursday.

Now don't get me wrong, I completely know how the game is played in the college football world. So I wasn't trippin' off of anything the Ohio State players were accused of. Nor did I have a problem with Jim Tressel trying to handle the tattoo situation internally. The smoke bomb just blew up in his face and it could've happened to any big time program in America.

However, once Pandora's box was opened the skeletons ran wild. I mean, you can't let them walk and hit LSU with a one year probation for the recruitment of a junior college player and completely blast USC as a result of the Reggie Bush debacle.

The NCAA accepted LSU's self-imposed reduction of two scholarships during the 2010-11 academic year, as well as a 10 percent reduction in official visits and reductions in recruiting calls. LSU already had begun reducing official visits during 2010-11, but the NCAA expanded the punishment to include 2011-12.

The Trojan's were hit with 10 scholarship reductions per year, bowl game and national title bans for three years when nobody admitted to anything. Pete Carroll just broke and went to the NFL once he smelled blood in the water. Tressel admitted that he knew about everything and it was obvious that no one else in the athletic department was blind so they had to see Pryor pushing whips(cars) all over the yard(campus).

The NCAA basically caught the Buckeyes driving the get away car wearing the victims watch, with the gun on the seat, the body in the back seat and simply pulled them over to check for expired tags and let them go. Are you kidding me? Man the folks at LSU and especially USC should be on fire this morning. All Ohio State will probably get is the self-imposed sanctions of having to forfeit the games from last year and the Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas. 

Man I just saw the white bronco flying down the street on two wheels with O.J., Casey and Berry the Buckeye smoking and drinking bumpin' DJ Khalid's "All I Do Is Win." If that's all they're going to get hit with then, guess what? Those recruits that jumped off of the ship last month and de-committed, are still in the water holding on to the life preserver just waiting to be picked up.

It's business as usual in Columbus and the children playing in the "Big House" up north just called 911 to report the abduction of kids that they thought were coming over to play!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter: @jaygravesreport
Information from the Associated Press as used in this article.

Hustler's Code!

"Let us handle the street business"



One of the first things that is taught to every hustler is to never write anything down. It would always amaze me that guys running numbers, selling drugs or just plain running game in the street always kept everything upstairs. They never owned a pencil or carried a piece of paper. That way if they ever got caught there was never any proof of any wrong doing. 

Well, the University of Oregon should've taken a page out of the hustlers hand book if they were in fact going to get into the hustler's lane. They have been under NCAA investigation for the past few months for allegedly paying a Texas based scouting service run by Willie Lyles to help lure players to Eugene.

 Now Lyles just admitted to Yahoo! Sports he was paid by Oregon for scouting reports and he just so happened to get a few star recruits to sign with the Ducks. Lache Seastrunk, an unbelievable running back prospect, is the player at the center of the controversy as well as former running back and Doak Walker winner LaMichael James.

Lyles, who already provided his testimony to the NCAA, allegedly served as an agent for the players, and in the process, Oregon and head coach Chip Kelly supposedly had to piece together shotty evidence to try to show that the payment of $25,000 for the “scouting service” was legit.

You can always tell when some one has veered into a lane that they're not accustomed to driving in. The Oregon coaching staff immediately broke the most important rule of the hustler’s code! Don't write anything down. Kelly actually sent Lyles a hand-written note about this guy putting everything together to get players to visit Oregon. Kelly's assistants also sent off thank you notes to Lyles for a job well done.  The Golden ticket was the check!  I guess they never heard Randy Moss say, Straight Cash Homie". Now I don't know if the Duck's coaching staff skipped the class on "How not to sink the ship 101" or just enjoyed the rush of it all. Either way they're as I always like to say, "hit". 

See the older hustlers in the hood would always try to protect the guys from getting into the game when they  knew a kid was way out of his league. They'd always cut the new wanna be hustler off before he'd get started by telling him that he's not built for this. Just cut your losses and get out of the game before you get popped (arrested) or killed out here.

That's what the old hustlers in the college football world should've told Oregon! "Hey man you ain't built for this. Let us handle the the streets. Just be content with winning 8 or 9 games and going to a good bowl game every year. Don't try to get the best players in the country and try to compete for a national championship! That's way over your head, you ain’t built for that."

However, Oregon didn't seek advice from the old hustler's in the game and now essentially the feds (NCAA) is sitting down the street in a green van. The hustlers can see it but they can't help them. They've just got to sit and watch the whole thing play out as the Duck's get popped! 

Holla At Ya Boy!

Jay Graves

Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Direct Hit!

The Infamous Horse Shoe

Ohio State is like the kid that gets into trouble at 4pm and his dad doesn't get off until 10pm. He can't do anything but sit on the side of the bed and wait it out! He knows he's going to get tore up but doesn't know how bad. Is dad going to be understanding or is he going to just go nuts about it?
That's what the Buckeyes are doing right now. They've been busted and the NCAA hasn't given their decision yet on what the sanctions will be but they know it's going to be ugly. Most importantly their recruits know it and they're running like roaches when the lights come on. The Buckeyes are losing top recruits it seems daily!

Interim head coach Luke Fickell has his hands full and probably wishes that he could stick his head in the sand until this nightmare is over. He wanted the keys to the Bentley but Tressel totaled the joint and hadn't renewed the insurance on it. So he's got to drive it around with a bent axle at least until November.


He recently lost his prized recruit, St. Edward (Lakewood, OH) offensive tackle Kyle Kalis. According to Scout.com Ohio recruiting analyst Bill Greene, "(Kalis) is a legit 6-foot-5, better than 300-pounder, and he's a guy who plays with attitude." "He's a house out there. He's a very good football player and a very good right tackle prospect." Ouch that really hurts!



This is some B#*&%!

With Kalis jumping ship there will be more looking to play somewhere else as well. These top recruits are looking for a program that has stability and Ohio State just doesn't offer that at this point. "That stability has been their strength at Ohio State," Greene said. "And for as good as Luke Fickell is as a recruiter, there's nothing he can do about it right now.

"Fickell is out there fighting these battles with a squirt gun. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out."

Well... I can tell you how it's going to play out, bad! Real bad! A kid that is a 5 star recruit with any sense wouldn't go anywhere near the Horse Shoe for the near future. Kids on that level want to compete for national titles and go to bowl games and the Buckeyes definitely won't be doing that. Their talent alone entitles them of that. When you're one of the best players in America you don't have to settle for playing somewhere that is unstable. That's what a kid does with very little options.

So what your going to start seeing is kids coming to Ohio State that in the past never would have gotten a recruiting visit to Columbus. The kid that would have gone to Purdue, Illinois or Indiana will now get offered by the Buckeyes because the top guys are going back to Ann Arbor or now Nebraska. Hey don't get mad it me I'm just the guy setting in front of the neighborhood store watching the whole thing go down but when the police comes I didn't see a thing!

I'm not involved, I've just seen my share of these movies and I don't need to sit through the entire film to tell you how it's going to end. The Buckeyes are "hit" and it is what it is! Now they won't get the death penalty or anything like that but they won't date the finest girl in school again for about four years.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Violation Of Hood Protocol

"Witness Protection"

One of the first rules of survival that is taught in the ghetto is to mind your own business. If it doesn't have anything to do with you stay out of it. The moment you get involved in something that doesn't pertain to you, you put bull’s-eye on your back. That rule is taught even before you enter kindergarten. My mother laid that one out to me real easy like, "Mind your own business because tattling will get you hurt and know body wants to be around a tattle tale". That was the clean version of the rule!

So if that's the first rule of survival why would Terrelle Pryor's former friend go to ESPN's "Outside the Lines" and tell them that his boy made thousands of dollars autographing memorabilia in 2009-10. He said that it occurred a minimum of 35 to 40 times, netting Pryor anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 that year, which is a violation of NCAA rules.

The source spoke to ESPN under the condition that his face not be aired on TV and that his name not be published. Why of course! However, everybody on campus and anyone affiliated with Pryor knows exactly who the guy is. That was real smart. Now he's just ruined his life and will probably have to transfer schools as well if he's even in school. We call that going into witness protection.

People that didn't grow up in the hood don't understand that rule and thinks that it doesn't make sense. So let me break it down for you. People see things that are illegal everyday. However, they have to live there regardless of the crimes committed around them. So if you get involved the authorities can't and won't protect you from the very group of individuals that may be guilty of the crime. Even if the guy gets caught and put in jail he has family and friends that will come looking for you and your family.

So if you can't move your entire family out of harms way, you keep your mouth closed. The NCAA and Ohio State had already opened Pandora’s box and was bound to find all the bones of this tragic situation any way. Why put your self in harms way for a couple of bucks and you didn't even get famous because you had to hide your face?

No way that kid can go to class today! He's probably already gotten "ran up on" and had to packed his bags for telling something that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

I've said from the beginning that his first mistake was going to Ohio State! I wrote an article back in January entitled “Terrelle Pryor’s Biggest Mistake” about how he should have done to Michigan because the spread offense was made for his skill set. Going to Ohio State didn't prepare him any better and didn't increase his draft status.

Playing for Michigan under Rich Rodriguez wouldn't have prepared him to play quarterback in the NFL either. However, he would have put up big numbers and possibly have won the Heisman trophy and therefore commanded a first round draft slot just like Tim Tebow who‘s clearly not an NFL quarterback. However, the big numbers got him drafted in the first round. The 1st rule of the Hustler's handbook is to sign the contract before they realize you can't play. JaMarcus Russell was the first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft and couldn't play a lick because he was lazy. He signed a contract worth $61 million with $32 million guaranteed. Being ready to play in the NFL isn't important but being ready to get paid in the NFL is.

The tragedy of it all is that Pryor got pimped as I talked about in Straight Pimpin’ and got nothing out of the deal. He's leaving school without a degree to pursue a pro career where? Even if he'd gotten drafted a couple months ago at best he would have been a 3rd round pick. That draft position pays nothing in the grand scheme of NFL contracts and long term living. As a free agent he gets no guarantee's at all. It's starting to look like Marcus Dupree or Maurice Clarett all over again. Sad situation to have the rare genetics that only come around every 20 years or so and not be able to take advantage of them.

Holla At Ya Boy!

Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

"My Minds Playing Tricks On Me"

"This didn't happen, you just thought it did!"

In January of 2005 I watched USC beat the brakes off of my Oklahoma Sooners 55-19 to win the Orange Bowl and the 2004 national title. I wasn't imagining things or having a nightmare, it actually happened! Now the BCS and the NCAA is stripping that title from the Trojans and is telling me that I didn't see what I saw.

You can't erase history. Just put the school on probation and keep it moving. You can't tell people that something didn't happen when it did. Taking the championship trophy out of the football facility and taking the banner down doesn't erase the memory of it.

I remember when the NCAA stripped all of the wins and the Final Four from the Fab Five. I thought that it was the dumbest thing that I've ever heard of. You can't tell me that Chris Weber and Co. didn't change the game of basketball and it's flare. So to act like they didn't exist is stupid. Furthermore, it was several years later before the Chris Weber scandal even surfaced. So to punish the school is unfair if they weren't aware of the violations at the time.

I saw what I saw and I'm sticking with my story. Did Reggie Bush run all over the Sooners? Yes! Did having improper benefits help him to make us look silly? No! Did he break the rules? Yes! But to have the school vacate the wins is way over the top. Are they going to go pick up all of the players national title rings and memorabilia as well?

I completely understand what the intent of the ruling is because Bush has since been ruled an ineligible player. However, at the time the school didn't know that. So why punish USC if they didn't know that he and his parents were receiving improper benefits at the time. Taking his Heisman was in my opinion, appropriate and justified. However, to go back seven years later to take away the title is excessive.

Not only did the BCS ruling vacate the results of the 2005 Orange Bowl, the national title game for 2004, it also vacated the Trojans participation in the 2006 Rose Bowl, in which USC lost to Texas, 41-38, in the championship game. So does the official record show Texas playing themselves for the title?  Silly right?

So what I need to happen before we even kick off the 2011 season is for all ineligible guys to raise their hands so that you don't waste my time. We’ll just let you play in the NFL this season that way we can act like it didn't happen because it really won't.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Caught Up!

Tressel out as Ohio State head man!

Jim Tressel, who guided Ohio State to its first national title in 34 years, resigned Monday amid NCAA violations from a tattoo-parlor scandal that sullied the image of one of the country's top football programs.
"After meeting with university officials, we agreed that it is in the best interest of Ohio State that I resign as head football coach," Tressel said in a statement released by the university. "The appreciation that [wife] Ellen and I have for the Buckeye Nation is immeasurable." Luke Fickell will be the coach for the 2011 season. He already had been selected to be the interim head coach while Tressel served a five-game suspension.

Like I've said since the beginning of this entire fiasco, it could easily have been any big time program in the country. My only problem with Tressel was that he made the Tatt 5 promise to come back to school and serve out the 5 game suspension. I thought that it was completely bogus of him to do that because that decision should've been up to those kids and their parents to make.

Now he resigns and it’s too late for them to declare for the NFL draft or be drafted because it was last month. Parenting and parental guidance is so important because there is no way that Jim Tressel would've made that decision for my child. That decision would've been completely up to my kid and I to make.

Once the news broke of the tattoo scandal just before the Sugar Bowl you knew that it was only going to get worse because the NCAA wasn't going to let it go. So why make those kids stay in school? They were all draftable players. Even Terrell Pryor who many scouts said wasn't ready to play quarterback in the NFL. Some said that he would be a 3rd or 4th round pick or would probably have to play tight end.

Well... that's better than standing on the sideline at Ohio State for 5 games while serving a suspension. He can't get better standing around for nearly half of the season. That didn't make any since to agree to do. I wrote an article entitled "All Crapped Out" back in March that explained in detail why I had no problem with Tressel not telling the NCAA or the universities compliance office about the tattoo situation.

As a big time college football coach he's gotten hundreds of calls or emails in the middle of the night about some player doing something that he's not supposed to be doing. Do you realize how many times players get into trouble on campus that could result into suspensions or NCAA violations? If he called the NCAA every time he got an email or call about a player. He wouldn't have a anyone to suit up on Saturdays.
Guys get arrested for things that the rest of the world never even finds out about because the arresting officer happens to be a friend of the program or a former player and just brings the kid to the coaches house. It happens all of the time. The coaches have promised these parents that they are going to look out for these kids so they handle a lot of things internally.

If your 5 year old kid went to the store with you and you find out once you've gotten home that he stole something. Would you call the police and have him arrested or would you handle it internally? I'm quite sure you'd handle it internally. When you're driving 20mph over the speed limit today on the expressway are you going to pick up the phone and call 911 on yourself and tell them that you're reckless driving and ask them to come pick you up? Probably not!

If not, why do you think Tressel should've called the NCAA on his players or the program? Everything that was happening under his watch was happening when he got there. I wrote an article entitled "Pump Ya Brakes"  in March as well, that explains how this could easily have been any program in the country under investigation because they all cook with the same ingredients, 18 to 22 year olds and rich boosters that want to win at all costs. You can’t escape it. So before you pile on Ohio State understand that this is a common occurrence in college athletics and don't be so naive to believe that it's only happening at Ohio State.

Straight Pimpin'

"It's All About the Benjamins Baby!"

Who's pimpin' who, the NCAA, the Schools or the Athletes? Well... it depends on who's got a strategy for success and working it. We know that the NCAA and the schools have an agenda in place for being successful but I don't think many of the athletes have the same vision. My word to any student-athlete is, "Pimp the school while they're pimpin' you". You'll still come up short by comparison but you won't get taken advantage of completely. Well.. what does that mean?

 Check out the game that's being played during the NCAA Tournament. The 68-team tournament will bring in roughly $771 million for the NCAA this year -- with the vast majority of that coming from broadcast rights payments from CBS. That money basically funds the entire operation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and is the financial lifeblood of many smaller schools' athletic departments. Advertisers pay CBS about $100,000 for a 30-second spot in round one and up to $1.2 million in the finals.

Just last year it was announced that the NCAA had reached a new 14-year, $11 billion deal with CBS Sports and Time Warner-owned Turner Sports for the rights to broadcast the NCAA Tournament from 2011–2024. So the NCAA is getting it's money no doubt about it.

The schools are making money on the tournament as well. Each round that a school makes is a huge pay off for the university. The NCAA pays the schools in credits that could be worth more than $1 million dollars if a school makes it to the finals. The schools have to divide that money up with the other schools in the conference. So it's to the conferences advantage to get as many members into the tournament as possible then everyone wins.

What does that mean to the student-athlete? It simply means if you're going to spend 4 or 5 years at the university, there is no reason why you shouldn't walk out of there without a degree. If you're one of the elite athletes that are fortunate enough to play only one or two years and go to the NBA, then you've done your pimpin' and good for you. You've used the exposure that the NCAA has given you to interview for a professional job that will pay 10's of millions of dollars from day one; not to mention the endorsements that could potentially come with it.

A real pimp hat!

Now if you're the kid that's just an average player on the roster, you need to make sure that you get your pimpin' on too. You need to use all of the resources available to you to network with the coaches, faculty and administrators at the university to put yourself in a position to be successful when this is all over. Instead of looking for the hundred dollar handshake after the game, talk up on an internship for the summer and a job after graduation. There is no excuse for singing the sad song, "They used me to make all of that money and I didn't graduate". The key word there is "I".

When the coaches showed up at your house you knew that they and the university could care less if you graduated or not. They wanted you to come play for them so they would win games(which means a larger contract), sale tickets, merchandise and increase student enrollment . Yes, you as an athlete play a significant roll in increasing student enrollment every time you and your teammates win.

If you don't believe me call the admissions department at both Butler and VCU in the morning and see how long you're put on hold. Winning translates into increased interest in the university. Also the alumnus write more checks as a result of  the schools athletic success.

So I'll ask you again Who's Pimpin' Who? The NCAA, the schools or the Athlete? I hope after our conversation all three are actively involved but most importantly, the student-athlete.

Holla At Ya Boy
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport