Ball OUt (Why OU's Eric Striker was WAY out of line in how he snapped on SAE)

"You right Jay! I gotta manage my emotions and keep ballin'!"

Albert Einstein once said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Thomas Paine gave it to us like this, “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.” Then the big homie, Henry Ford, broke it down so that it would forever be broken when he spit, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”

Well playas…it looks like the duns in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity at OU weren’t thinkin’ over the weekend when they got so cocky that they started chantin’ their racist frat hymn on a bus with a snitch on board. Yeah, I said frat hymn because that song wasn’t brand new. I pledged a frat playboy and there are certain joints that the frat has been singin’ for decades and that sounded like one of them. How do I know that? Because the practice of lynchin’ fell off decades ago and a dun between the ages of 18 and 22 years old wouldn’t know anything about that. Not enough to just throw it into a song he just made up on the bus on the ride home playa.

Boyz were singin’ that joint like it’s been around for many moons. The crazy thing about it is that they got put on blast by a cat that was on the freakin’ bus with them. The old school hustlas have always said, “Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer” you freakin’ idiots. I’m not shocked or upset by what these cats were sayin’ because racism is alive and well in this country. The only people that are shocked by this type of behavior are those that seem to keep stickin’ their heads in the sand tryin’ to convince themselves that it doesn’t exist. 

Ask the duns in Sanford, Fl. if it exists? Ask the folks in Ferguson, Mo. if it exists? Ask the homies in NYC if it exists? If you don't believe them just run up to Sony Pictures and read their executives emails playa! Holler at ole girl down in Florida that just got sentenced to 20 years for firin' a warnin' shot to keep her boyfriend from whoopin' her butt but George Zimmerman walks free after killin' a boy because of the  "Stand your ground" law. It's applies to him but to her. Or better yet, be a black student on a predominantly white college campus! Or just try bein' black in America playboy. You gotta be unconscious to think that it doesn't exist. So I'm not shocked or upset by their behavior.

However, I was more disappointed in OU linebacker Eric Striker, who is black, for the way he responded to this foolishness. Ole boy posted an 18 second profanity laced rant to SnapChat tellin’ these cats how he really felt about them. I’m not goin’ to quote him because it’s unnecessary. Let’s just say this playa, if he were my son I would be on my way to OU this mornin’ to dig in his butt. And that's the edited version! 

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! Everybody and their momma’s momma felt the same way Striker felt bruh! However, the true character of man is judged by how he responds durin’ a time of crisis. I know that you’re upset playboy but you are a team leader and an ambassador for the University of Oklahoma and Seffner, Florida. And most importantly, you’re on scholarship!! When a boy is payin’ for you to go to school you can’t jump out of the freakin’ birthday cake butt naked because you’re upset. You’ve got to handle things like a grown man! You’ve got to set the example because you’re the freakin’ man on campus. Not the fools at SAE! Let me tell you like the old timers once told me my brother. "The only difference between a human being and a wild animal is the ability to reason."

What if Bob Stoops and President David Boren had decided to dismiss you from the program for your rant too? Now you’d be on your way home lookin’ crazy. Why? because you couldn’t control your emotions. This is grown man business out here playa! Nobody ever said that it was gonna be easy. What happens 10 years from now when football is in the books for you and you're lookin' for a job and the dun interviewin' you pulls that tape up? Now what? You look like the angry Negro that they decide not to hire.  

Nobody knows those clowns at SAE but everybody knows you. So you gotta hold it down like a real G and be the example for all the young thunder cats comin’ up behind you. This ain’t new bruh. They’ve been treatin’ black folks crazy on predominantly white college campuses for years. It only takes a few knuckle heads but it happens. Why? Because when you have 20K or 30K white kids on a campus and many of them have never been around black folks before and their parents have never taught them to respect other cultures or ethnicities you’re bound to have a few that grew up with racist ideals. It’s gonna happen bruh! I’m quite sure you’ve been warned that it will and this isn’t the first time you’ve experienced blatant racism and it won't be the last.

When I was a student at both Purdue and Indiana University’s in the mid to late ‘80’s. Boyz used to scream the N-word out of the dorm windows at us while we walked to class. They would throw stuff at us out of car windows and holler the same word as they drove by. Notice that I said “drove by.” The only difference between now and then is that nobody had a cell phone to record that foolishness back then.

We could easily have reacted violently and gotten kicked out of school. However, by doin’ that we would have killed any opportunity of us becomin’ college graduates and corporate leaders both nationally and globally. It’s bigger than you playboy! Don’t let some low life cat that thinks that he’s better than you throw you off of your game. You’re on your way to the NFL in a year and he’ll still be hatin’ on you. So why waste your breath tellin’ him how you feel about him? Intelligent folks call that wasted energy.

Just this past weekend the nation celebrated the 50^th Anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” While folks were celebratin’ the efforts of those that put their lives on the line for black folks to have the right to vote in the state of Alabama, the Ku Klux Klan were passin’ out fliers in Selma while the celebration was goin’ on denouncin’ MLK and the movement.

Sometimes you gotta let ignorant folks be ignorant bruh! Boyz completely ignored them and kept it movin’. They didn’t get any press or love for their actions. That’s how you handle ignorance young brother. Everybody’s not racist so you have to learn how to work around those that are. The cats at SAE aren’t gonna be the only fools that you run into that hate you in this lifetime and you can’t go off every time you run into one.

Success is the best revenge! Not cursin’ boyz out, because all you do when you stoop down to talk to them is hurt your back. Just go to class, ball OUt and get to where you’re tryin’ to go. Stop me when I start lyin’!

Playas Thesaurus:   1) Spit: verb – to say
2) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc.
3) Dig: verb – to discipline harshly
4) G: noun – short for Gangsta which means like a stud, boss, the cat in charge
5) Young Thunder Cats: noun – young boyz that look like you that aspire to be just like you
Holla At Ya Boy!
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The caption under the photo isn’t real but its REAL talk!   

REAL Life (St. Vincent Sports Medicine & Football Performance teams with Peyton Manning Children's Hospital)

NFL hopefuls and the kids from Peyton Manning Children's Hospital

Zig Ziglar once said, “When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you’re making a commitment and a difference in that person’s life. Encouragement really does make a difference.” Barbara de Angelis gave it to us like this, “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” Then Stella McCartney shut the building down with, “Everyone can do simple things to make a difference, and every little bit really does count.”

Well playas…every little bit does count and on Saturday morning the duns over at St. Vincent Sports Medicine and Football Performance did more than that. They took an hour out of their busy schedule of NFL Combine Training with hopeful draftees and free agents to make a difference in the lives of kids from Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. The players took the kids through some of the same drills they are perfectin’ durin’ their trainin’! For one hour they put smiles on the faces of children that haven’t found much to smile about!

College Players take time out to do what really matters! 

 

Jimmy Graves on what it's all about!

This kid has skillz playboy!

It doesn't get any better than this!

 

Cincinnati's Nick Temple on what it means!

Auburn's Jeff Whitaker on givin' back!

 

“Make a difference about something other than yourself.” -Toni Morrison-

Playas Thesaurus:

1) Dun: noun-the person in question, dude, guy etc. 

Holla At Ya Boy!
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The caption under the photo isn’t real but its REAL talk!  

Land Mines (The REAL reason it's bigger than baseball for the brothers from Chicago)

"They don't see us bruh but we here and ballin'!"

Francis of Assissi, the ancient Italian Catholic friar and preacher, once said, “Start by doing the possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Robert Heinlein, the famous science fiction writer, broke it down like this, “Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done.” Then Audrey Hepburn spit some fire when she said, “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!”

Well playboy... the young Chi-town hustlas from the Jackie Robinson West Little League are doin’ what most people thought was virtually impossible. An all-black team from the south side of Chicago in the United States Championship game of the Little League World Series? You darn right! And that's the edited version.  How or why do I say that these young thunder cats are doin’ the impossible? Because this ain’t just about playin’ baseball playboy.

First of all, you’d be hard pressed to find black kids still playin’ the game that so many played from the Negro Leagues to Jackie Robinson bein’ called up to the Brooklyn Dodgers in April of 1947 to the duns like Hammerin’ Hank Aaron to Mr. October Reggie Jackson to Barry Bonds etc. Unfortunately, black kids aren’t playin’ the game anymore.

I know first-hand playa because I’ve got a senior in high that plays and he’s been normally the only one or two brothers on the team from the time he was 6. All the brothers are playin’ football and basketball bruh! Why? Because nobody’s watchin’ baseball. The girls don’t show up to the baseball games. They go to the football and basketball games. Let’s be honest. The brothers are playin’ the joints that they can get the most publicity playin’! We used to say back in the day, “No Pub No Play!”

So let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! Because these young cats from the Chi are ballin’ in the LLWS you’re gonna see more brothers in the battin’ cages this spring than we’ve seen in a long time. Therefore, you can say that ole Jackie has given the game of baseball a shot in the arm once again. Well…Jackie Robinson West Little League anyway. However, what the world sees is some young cats from Chicago just playin’ ball. What I see and those that grew up in the ghetto as well see are some soldiers.

Not only are these cats ballin’ out of control but they’ve been able to make it out of the war zone to be able to play. Boyz are dyin’ in the Chi like its Iraq every day and even more are bein’ shot. From January 1^st to August 21 more than 1258 people have been shot in the city limits. Durin’ this past July 4^th weekend alone 82 people were shot and 14 killed and these kids still went to practice and kept dreamin’ of playin’ in the LLWS. Wheredeydodatat?

See the duns playin’ in this joint that are growin’ up in the comforts of the suburbs have absolutely no excuses for not succeedin’! All they’ve had to do is get up, get three square meals and ride their bikes to practice.

While the young thunder cats from the Chi have to dodge the land mines that could at any moment end their lives. First boyz have to survive the night of gun fire in their neighborhoods by many times sleepin’ on the floor so that a stray bullet doesn’t come through the window or the wall.

Then they’ve got to try to get to school safely without gettin’ influenced by the GD Folks (Black Gangsta Disciples) to join the gang or better yet without gettin’ robbed of their lunch money, sneakers or both if they aren’t protected by the gang. Once at school they’ve got to deal with the foolishness of the day and then dodge the same land mines on the way back to the crib. And we haven’t even began to talk about makin’ it to practice in the evenin’ bruh. That’s a completely different and far more dangerous set of land mines to deal with!

So when I see duns like ESPN act so disrespectful towards these kids I’m outraged. On Tuesday night when they won their game against the all-white team from New England. ESPN decided to use the post-game footage to listen in on the head coach's losin’ pep talk to show them cryin’. I guess they wanted to pull at the heart strings of America by showin the all-white team in defeat instead of showin’ the all-black team in victory. I’m talkin’ but y’all ain’t listenin’.

Not only did ESPN ignore the Chicago winners that night but the next day every other major media outlet did the same. All everybody focused on was the pep talk of the losin’ team but the young soldiers from the Chi are still alive waitin’ for somebody to care that they’re still playin’.

Never once did they show the kids from the war zone celebratin’ their victory and they didn’t even have the decency to ask them a single question. But folks on the outside lookin’ in will say that I’m just makin’ things up. Pull the tape playboy I’ve got no reason to lie. I just understand what these cats had to go through just to show up in Williamsport. This ain’t about baseball playa, it’s about survival and in the process they’ve found success.

Now did ESPN diss them because of race? Not at all! It was just easier for the people in charge of the telecast that night to sympathize with the kids that looked like them. So they stayed with them instead of the kids that didn't look like them. Just like it was easier for black folks to sympathize with seein' an unarmed black kid layin' in the street uncovered for four hours after bein' shot in Ferguson and why so many white folks sympathized with the policeman that shot him without even knowin' the details. So I guess it is about race playa. What we've got to learn how to do is respect one other regardless of race whether we're watchin' the LLWS or real life. Then and only then will there be true value for your neighbor.

If all these kids had to do was worry about playin’ baseball they would be 10-run rulin’ everybody. Because when this LLWS is over they’ve got to go back to that same war zone that they came from and nobody outside of the hood will even care about them bruh. Stop me when I start lyin’! Chi-town baby!

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Momma Jokes (Why mothers need to look like mommas & not strippers atthe game)

"Dude...I didn't come to the game to see this!"

Thomas S. Monson once said, "Perhaps the surest test of an individual's integrity is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect." Dale Turner stood up and shouted, "It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them. To make a mistake is only an error in judgment but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character." Then Abraham Joshua Herschel knocked everybody's popcorn over when he said, "Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself."

Well playas...some of these mommas out here need to just say no before they show up to their freakin' kids games. These broads don't have an ounce of self-respect for themselves let alone their kids. One of my most read joints of all-time was a banger entitled, "Man Law" Why Grown Men Shouldn't Wear Jerseys Ever! It blasted grown men for dressin' like kids and lookin' like groupies in the process. I upset a lot of boyz with that joint but it was necessary! Now I've got to have a sit down with the ladies or should I just call them females because a lady would know better.

I'm tired of goin' to little league football, basketball and baseball games and even the high school joints too only to see all of the mother's underwear or more specifically their thongs. Every time I sit down some woman sits in front of me with a plumber’s crack that I don't find entertainin' at all. As a matter of fact, I find it to be outright disgustin' that a broad would show up to her son's game lookin' like a prostitute! That's real talk playboy.

Back in the day when somebody's momma came to see their kid play they were dressed like, well... somebody's momma. They were fully dressed and well respected in the hood. Now so many momma's are lookin' like they're on their way to work at the club and you know which one I‘m talkin' about. The Booty Hole!

Let's keep it real or all the way 100 which ever comes first! All you're doin' is forcin' your kid to fight at school. In case you didn't know, not only are the duns in the stands talkin' about you but your son’s teammates are too! They're ridin' him hard at school if they're anything like we were as kids. Oh yeah, they're tellin' him how much they like watchin' his momma shake it or tell yo momma to come through cause I got somethin' for her. So what does he do? Defend your honor or what little you’ve got left by squabbin' all day.

I heard a wise man tell his daughter once, "Whenever the meat is in the window it's usually for sale." That goes for mommas too. If you don't have any respect for yourself at least think about your son and what he has to goes through at school. Be a freak around adults only if you just can't help yourself baby girl.

Aren't you tired of gettin' calls from his school tellin' you that he's been in a fight again? Well it's all your fault. Could you imagine if back in the day Big Momma or Madea showin' up to the games with their bloomers half cocked in a boyz face? Wouldn't you have been embarrassed because all of your friends played the dozens for a livin'?

I know I talked about peoples momma's in my sleep, without any ammunition. I would just make up stuff about your momma on GP. Where I'm from "momma jokes" was a right of passage. Now mommas are comin' to games dressed like Nicki Manaj and Lil Kim? Not Lil' Kim that looks like a wild cat now but the Lil' Kim in her Junior Mafia days! The Lil' Kim in the leopard skin bikini with the full shot Lil' Kim bruh! In my Ochocinco voice, "Child  Please!"

For the sake of your kid’s education please put on some clothes before goin' to his game tonight! Otherwise, he's gonna be watchin' Sports Center or Sponge Bob tomorrow through one eye because he can't beat up everybody pimpin'. Stop me when I start lyin'!

Holler At Ya Boy!
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The caption under the photo is REAL today playboy!

Kickin' Rocks (Why Puff REALLY needs to tell some of Howard's students where they can go)

"Really?"

Every now and then I've got to write about something that isn't sports related that just burns me up. So here you go bruh:

Samuel Butler, the Victorian-era English author, once said, “The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance.” David Duchovny, the famous actor, gave it to us like this, “What makes me mad is arrogance, pretension, putting on airs.” Then my boy John C. Maxwell, the famous author, shut the building down with, “There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. ‘Good pride’ represents our dignity and self-respect. ‘Bad pride’ is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.”

Well some of the students at Howard University had the ‘Bad pride’ on full blast this week. These duns have the audacity to be upset that Sean “Puff Daddy/Diddy/Dirty Money” Combs, depending upon how old you are, will be delivering the commencement speech next month. Now these cats are upset because Puff didn’t graduate from Howard. Ole boy dropped out after a semester or so to pursue a career in the music industry.

Here’s the kicker though bruh, he’s worth more than $750 million! For you duns that don’t understand what that means that’s three quarters of a BILLION dollars from nothing!

When senior Shay Bell was asked by WJLA about it she responded with, “What we’ve been told is he didn’t graduate from Howard University.” She then goes on to say, “I’m not necessarily too thrilled about him being our commencement speaker, because I’m not sure what he’s going to tell me.” What? How are you besides some kid that went to class and passed the tests required of you? What have you accomplished that now Diddy can't tell you anything? Really?

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! With that type of arrogance there isn’t too much he can tell you baby girl. But if you’re willing to humble yourself and listen to him school you on the hustle of life, he can. They aren’t just giving $750 million dollars away out here playboy. If you were a business major at Howard, Puff knows more about that subject than all of the clowns that taught you for four years combined.

If you were a marketing major he knows more about that arena than your professors that have doctorates in that field. How do I know that? Because if they knew more than Puff they wouldn’t be teaching at Howard. They’d be working in the business world worth $750 million.

That dun can inspire you with his story of success and hustlin’ if you’re willing to listen to him. Because at this point you don’t know "anything" and that’s the edited version playa.

I already know the drill bruh! Boyz have been telling you that you’re something special because you’re about to graduate from college. Well they told me and all of my friends the same thing when we walked across the stage 24 years ago at Indiana University. Take that back, we didn’t walk across the stage because there were too many of us (7,770) so we just all stood up when they called our school. What they forgot to tell us was that there were millions of other cats walking across stages getting the same degrees on the same freakin' day looking for the same jobs that we were looking for too.

So yes baby girl, Puff can tell you more than you can ever imagine because that funky degree they’re about to hand you isn’t worth the paper that it’s written on without some hustle and ingenuity behind it. Diddy can tell you how to be resourceful and how you use what you’ve got to your advantage. He can explain to you how networks and partnerships make the world go round and what determination and drive REALLY looks like. You don’t know any of that right now. All you know is that somebody told you that they exist.

Going to class was the easy part! Now you’ve got to compete with millions of other cats that simply went to class too. Oh and not mention all of us that have been bangin' out here for years. We aren't just gonna let you get in the ride. You gotta somehow get in where you fit in.

The difference between a boy becoming successful and not is work ethic, not how smart you are or what type of degree you possess. I know a ton of smart cats that are getting destroyed out here by boyz that understand that the hustle is real and I’m not talking about the streets either bruh. I’m talking about Corporate America and Diddy is one of the duns running it.

Because of the arrogance of the students at Howard I wouldn’t be mad at Puff if he told them to kick rocks. There are hundreds of thousands of other students in this country that would be willing to listen to a highly successful businessman spit game to them.

On some real talk, the game that he's about to spit to these cats is worth the price of admission and he's about to give it to them for free. The hustlin' handbook specifically says in Rule 1 Section 1 Article 7, "THE GAME SHOULD BE SOLD AND NEVER TOLD!"

So how dare you fix your mouth to tell a boy that there’s nothing that he can tell you because he doesn’t have a degree. Bill Gates is telling you something every time you open your freakin’ computer! Mark Zukerberg said what’s up to you ten times today already when you checked your Facebook page! Steve Jobs, from the grave, is hollerin’ at you every time you pick up that darn IPhone and that’s the edited version. Will Smith is screamin’ at you every time you go to the freakin’ movies to see him. Pherrell is talking to you every time you turn on the radio telling you to be “Happy” that somebody thought enough of yo butt to even send you to school.

Now you wanna act like you’re too good for a boy to holler at and he’s already done what you’re trying to do? Some people don’t need a degree because they’ve got what the rest of us don’t have and that’s vision enough to create the future. And guess what playboy? Those of us with degrees end up working for them. Ain’t that a blip!

So I say put some other school on the map if the duns at Howard are turning their noses up at you Puff. Instead of hyping up Howard’s homecoming every year with crazy Diddy love and promotions go down to the SWAC and holler at my wife’s alma mater, Jackson State, because we’re there every year gettin’ it in.

If Howard wants to act like they're too good, holler at Grambling, Southern or Albany State! Go over to Delaware State, Central State, Kentucky State or any HBCU for that matter. I’m quite sure they’d like to hear from a cat that looks like them and talks like them that figured out how to make $750 million.

However, I bet the duns at Howard would listen to Mark Zukerberg or Bill Gates. Why? Because they don’t look like them. Self-hate is a beast ain’t it? Like my pastor Jeffery A. Johnson, Sr. always says, “You don’t have to say Amen just look Amen!”

Bad pride is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance and right now Howard is smelling like a locker room after a bad loss. Stop me when I start lyin’!

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Pumpin' the Brakes (Coach accused of bullying for scoring 91 points)

"What else do you want me to do if you're team is that bad bruh?"

Arthur Ashe once said, “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” Colin Powell gave it to boyz like this, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure. Then Confucius pushed all of the dominoes off of the table when he said, “Success depends upon previous preparation and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.”

Well… if the football players at Western Hills high school in Texas didn’t understand what ole Confucius and his boyz were spitting before last Friday they know now. They obviously didn’t prepare at all before showing up to play the No.1 team in Class 4A  in the state of Texas, Aledo High, on Friday night. They got their windows, doors, sun roof, tires and seats blown off in a 91-0 thrashing.

As a result of that thrashing some clown parent of the Western Hills team filed a bullying complaint against the Aledo coaching staff and not a neglect charge against the duns coaching the Western Hills team.

At first glance of the score you would think that ole boy ran up the score but that isn’t what happened at all. First of all, these duns are averaging nearly 70 points per game. In was 56-0 at the half! So the Aledo coaches spent the entire half time trying to figure out how not to put 100 of these boyz.

They played with a running clock the entire second half and played 2^nd and 3^rd team players the rest of the game. They only threw 10 passes the entire game. The starting running back touched the freakin’ ball 6 times all night and scored 4 touchdowns. Aledo rushed for 391 yards and scored 8 touchdowns.

They only ran 32 plays and 17 different players touched the freakin' ball. Do you realize how bad the 17th player was that touched the ball was on a high school team? That dun was on a walker, wearing bifocals, some Starberry corrective shoes and on oxygen bruh! And he was still stiff arming boyz!

Even the third team cat was gashing these duns. This is high school football bruh! Do you realize how bad the 3^rd team cat is on a high school team? This ain’t the Oregon Ducks or the Alabama Crimson Tide where the 3^rd team guy was still an All-American in high school! This is the guy that can barely find the holes in Swiss cheese that you can't stop.

The Western Hills coaching staff could have at any moment thrown in the towel and gotten on the freakin' bus and gone to the crib! As a matter of fact, they could've bounced at half time and saved everybody the trouble of watching that foolishness but they didn't. So who's the bully?

That's like getting into a cage with a wild animal with the door open and not having sense enough to get out. You decide on your own to keep wrestling with the bear even though he keeps calling a timeout for you to get out of the cage so he can go to sleep. Then when you finally decide to get out. You call the police and tell them that he car jacked you.

Ima keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! In today’s society everybody wants to blame somebody else for not handling their business. Nobody wants to parent or get in their kid’s butt like Big Momma and PaPa used to do. Instead of holding duns accountable for not preparing themselves for the moment. They want to slam the coaching staff and players that were prepared to play.

On some real talk, that’s life playboy! The real world isn’t going to pump the brakes on you if you’re not prepared. It’s gonna blow the doors off of you too. If you don’t go to class and don’t learn how to handle your business, you still have to compete against the people that did.

So if you’re stuck on fries as a grown man because you decided to skip class and smoke weed that's on you pimp. When all of your peers go off to school and get degrees of some sort or learn a trade and are now are getting’ this bread do you expect for them to pump the brakes because you didn't take the preparation seriously?

Getting blown out 91-0 was probably the best thing for every kid on that football team because what Aledo gave them was a life’s lesson. Did they really expect for the 3^rd team cat that never plays to go out there and take a knee when he got the rock? Did they expect a boy to fall down short of the goal line because they weren’t capable of tackling him?

To the parent that filed the complaint, I feel sorry for you and your child because you’ll be taking care of that dun for the rest of your life. If you don’t hold your kid accountable for not preparing to become the very best that he can be then you’ve failed him. And guess what? That’s on you and it will be your problem when he’s 30 years old and still laying on your couch blaming the world for getting ran over.

If he’s that bad at any sport or craft by the time he got to high school your advice to him should have been to find something else that you’re good at and do it. Don’t waste my time or money fooling around with this nor the coach’s time. That’s a real conversation that needs to happen in every household in America. Stop lying to these kids because when you do you end up sitting through a 91-0 blowout and blaming the world for embarrassing your kid. Your kid embarrassed himself and you should be charged with neglect for allowing it to happen! Stop me when I start lyin' playboy!

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

Inventory (Zimmerman Acquitted)

"We still ridin' with you playboy!" R.I.P Treyvon!

Charles Dickens once wrote, “In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice.” Desmond Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” Then Martin Luther King Jr. stood up and shouted, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

We live in a country where a boy can be sentenced to two years in prison for killing dogs and a cat can kill a 17 year old black man in cold blood and just walk away. Am I surprised that George Zimmerman was acquitted of 2^nd degree murder for the killing of Trayvon Martin? Not at all! Because I’ve lived long enough in this country to understand that the rules are completely different for us than they are for everybody else and that my life doesn’t have the perceived value as others in this country.

I’ve seen enough to know that the value of a black man’s life in America still isn’t as valuable as a white man’s. In the 1550’s and 1560’s we were first brought to this country as slaves to a place called Spanish Florida. It wasn’t until 1607 that we were brought to the British American colonies to a place called Virginia. At that moment we became the property of other human beings and we were valued as livestock and in many cases we weren’t even the most valuable of the animals that were inventoried.

A boy named Emmett Till was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman and no one was arrested, charged or convicted for his death. Then 3 black girls were murdered at Sunday school when a bomb was planted in the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963 and no one was arrested or charged at the time. I could tell you of all of the murdered black children all over this country that are of no importance to mainstream America but it wouldn’t matter.

Columbine and Sandy Hook happens every day in the ghetto but they happen in the streets instead of in the schools. They don't make Good Morning America or CNN pimpin'! They get swept under a floor board somewhere. Do you realize that more than 440 school age kids were shot in Chicago alone in 2012 and 60 of them died? The crazy thing about it, nobody blinked an eye. Why? Because of that inventory I spoke of earlier playboy.

When I was watching the Zimmerman acquittal play out on live TV with my 16 year old son and 10 year old daughter. I thought of Emmett Till, those 3 little girls at church praising the Lord, the millions of kids that have been murdered over the years that nobody seemed to care about and those slaves being sold on the auction block in Spanish Florida. I thought of all of them when my baby girl simply said, “I’m mad daddy.” What could I say but, “That’s just how it is Babygirl and it ain’t nothing we can do about it but to keep praying.”

I was happy to see many of our famous pro athletes at least voice an opinion about the situation. The most thought provoking joint came from Cincinnati Bengals linebacker James Harrison in a tweet, “Think I’ll go pick a fight and get my ass kicked then pull my gun and kill somebody and see if I can get away with it.” However, some of the Tweets were ignorant like the joints that came from the Giants receiver Victor Cruz and Falcons wide out Roddy White which I care not to put on my Hot Joint because it’ll only cool it off.

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! It’s a sad day for parents all over America and not just black parents. It’s a shame that we live in a country where we care more about our dogs than we do about our little black children's lives. We live in a place where a boy can accidentally shoot himself in his OWN leg and go to jail but can kill a black child and walk free.

See the naïve will scream that this case has nothing to do with race. However, is doesn't matter what color the person was that killed Treyvon. He could have been purple for all I care playboy. The fact of the matter is that in this country the life of a young black child is still inventory to most people. When they are still looked upon as livestock that can be replaced it has everything to do with race playa. Don't try to argue otherwise.

I'm cool with you just saying, "I really don't care because I don't have a dog in the fight" than you trying to tell me that it has nothing to do with race because you're insulting my intelligence when you do. Parents hold your children close and pray that God gives them grace and mercy every time they leave the crib. My prayers are with the Martin family today and I'll continue to stand with you because this could have easily been my child.

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

Success & Winning!

Michael Jordan once said, I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I have been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." Vince Lombardi gave it to us like this, "Winning isn't everything but wanting to is." Then Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked the door in and said, "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength!" Stop us when we start lyin' playboy!

Holla At Ya Boy!

Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheJayGravesReport

The Ole Man

"To all the real cats out there makin' it happen for their seeds!"

Pope John XXIII said, “It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.” Sigmund Freud gave it to us like this, “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” Then Bill Cosby leaned back in his chair and said, “Nothing I’ve ever done has given me more joys and rewards than being a father to my children.”

I can’t remember any of the things that my father bought me as a kid but I vividly remember all of the time that he spent with me. My fondest memories were being able to look up into the stands and see him walk into the stadium as we were warming up. My ole man never wanted to miss kick off home or away. If it were 20 degrees and snowing he was gonna be there, you could bet your last dollar on that bruh.

Once I saw him walk in the joint it was on and poppin’! I was ready to play. I couldn’t imagine growing up without the support of my dad or most importantly the fear of him. Growing up in Gary, In. was full of temptation and a boy could get into anything or get talked into anything if they weren’t careful. The threat of boyz gang bangin’ or gettin’ jumped because you weren’t affiliated was always real. Cats had choices to make and some ultimately made the wrong ones.

It was always easy for Ya Boy though! I was more afraid of what my ole man would do to me than what any cat in the street would or could do. So I took my chances in the streets, played ball and went to class because I knew that if nothing else my dad would protect me. The funny thing is, the streets protected me as I got older because they knew I always had somewhere to go and my ole man was a real dude that boyz respected! 

I remember when I was  5 years old some cat robbed my older brother John at gun point at the gas station and he was only 8. Well, we never saw the gun because he stuck it in his back under his shirt. It could have been his finger for all we knew.

My dad was sitting in the car as the whole thing was going down. John got back in the ride and never said word to him because he knew dad would have gotten out of the ride, talking crazy, pulled his gun and gotten killed or killed somebody out there because he didn’t play about his kids. The ole man went to his grave many years later never knowing about that incident because we loved him enough to protect him on that day even as little kids.

Just knowing that he always had our backs was good enough for us bruh! My goal as a father is to give my children the same love and protection as my dad gave to my 4 siblings and I. To never miss those moments that mean the most and to be respected and feared at the same time. See if they respect me they’ll value my opinion and if they fear me they’ll make the right decision even when they don’t agree with me.

So on this Father’s Day I’ll be at my 16 year old son’s baseball game with my family and as he walks up to the plate I hope that he’ll give me the same look that I gave my dad when I was his age. It’s the “Thanks for always being here dad and I’ll do my best because you care so much!” look.

Understand this playboy, if you’ve got seeds they’ll grow up whether you water and nurture them or not. However, if you ignore them they’ll grow up like weeds and choke out all that is good in the soil but if you water and nurture them they’ll become an asset to the lawn and boyz will slow down to admire your work.  Happy Father’s Day playas!

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

As A Man Thinks

"You gotta be willing to put in the work bruh!"

Colin Powell once said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Sam Ewing broke it down like this, “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all. Big Momma just kept it real by saying, “If you want it, it’s out there baby. You just gotta go find it and get it!”

As I get older I've come to realize that the only place that you NEED extraordinary skill and ability is in professional sports. Only the most talented people are able to play at the highest level. Now don't get me wrong, boyz have to put in work to stay at that level but to get there 90% of it is DNA playboy. Don’t get it twisted. These cats have always been either bigger, stronger, faster and sometimes all of the above, than the people they grew up playing against. However, when I look at what it takes to be successful in every other area of life skill level isn't as relevant.

You don't have to be highly skilled to be one of the best in your particular field. You just have to have more hustle. Have you ever just stepped back and watched the world move around you? Have you ever made the comment, "How did that guy get that job or promotion?” The key to success is diligence and favor playboy.

God constantly references diligence in his word and his favor over your life is what opens doors of opportunity. Of course that is always the case in pro sports too. However, those cats were blessed with the DNA and the favor. In the real world all you NEED is work ethic and favor.

I know people that don't have any talent at all that are Mid-level managers, CEO's, VP's, Principals, Supervisors etc. Many of these cats don't have great talent but they possess great work ethic. You can't fake it at the highest level of sports though. You either have it or you don't and coaches, GM's and player personnel people can see it in less than a minute. There's no masquerading skill in that world playa.

The great thing about real life is that 99% of us don't play pro sports so we have a greater opportunity to succeed. I'll take those numbers every time bruh. I'm glad that I don't have to possess more natural ability than my peers because I wouldn't be as successful today.

When I graduated from high school I was a functional illiterate. That’s means that I could read words but had no comprehension skills whatsoever bruh. I scored only 642 total points on the SAT out of a possible 1600. Remember, you got 200 points for puttin’ your name on the joint. My stats at the time said that I should've been riding the bench in life.

Instead, I've consistently been a leader both nationally and globally in the field of sales and marketing throughout my 23 years in Corporate America. I’ve been selling pharmaceuticals for the past 13 years and insulin in particular. I call on high volume internal medicine physicians and highly trained endocrinologists. In other words playboy, I communicate with highly intelligent people all day. It's not about your ability to do something it's about your willingness to succeed at doing something.

When I enrolled at Purdue University I took a placement exam like every freshman does. First of all, favor got me into the joint because you needed a minimum of 800 points on the SAT to get in. When the exam results came back they said that I wasn't qualified to be in college and that I was better suited to be a bus driver. That’s real talk! The only problem with that theory was that they had already made the mistake of admitting “Ya Boy” before I took the freaking exam.

Secondly, I didn't care what the test said about me or the guy giving it. I graduated from Indiana University five years later with a B.S. in Sports Science without still being able to read because I memorized everything boyz said and had folks explaining to me in the dorm what I was supposed to have read. It’s called hustlin’ playboy! I didn't have time to learn how to read and graduate from college at the same time.

The year after I graduated from college I found an African-American bookstore and bought books weekly and increased my comprehension skills Talent is important but work ethic supersedes it! Don't let other people put restrictions on your life because remember what I always say about 100% of boyz out here. Only 25% are real and 75% are haters.

 The key is being able to distinguish between the two and not listening to what they may have to say about what you're trying to accomplish. It's very hard sometimes to figure out who's real and who's a hater. So don't listen to anybody and you'll be fine. Your success will be determined by your ability to believe in what you can accomplish. My man Soloman said it best, "As a man thinks in his heart so is he" Proverbs 23:7.


Holler At Yak Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter:@jaygravesreport