The longer you live, the more you understand the mindset of preceding generations, the old-timers who complain that young’uns nowadays lack proper knowledge and respect for the past.
Kids laugh and sneer at grainy highlights from the 1950s, unconvinced that a Hall of Famer such as George Mikan could really play. But like their nut-hugging short-shorts, Mikan and his peers emblemize a period that’s incompatible with modern basketball.
The LeBron Age is in its latter stages and we’re a generation removed from the Jordanic Era. The current obsession with three-point baskets ties directly to Stephen Curry, hoops’ greatest descendant from a lineage of deadeye shooters. Virtually everyone now wants to pull up behind the arc, including 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama. Widely projected to be the consensus top draft pick and next great player, Wembanyama continues the evolution of fluid big men who can shoot from deep.
That’s not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, though he has held the NBA scoring record for 38 years. Anyone who watched him knows why: He was unstoppable.
I’m finally moving on! Just this
week my proposal was passed along to the next step and I’m so excited. Because there’s
movement!
But if I’m going forward now, that
means I’ve done so all along. No one reaches a goal without moving.
So why do we think we’re standing
still when we’re not? I think it’s because some gains are invisible to our naked
eye. And the world tells us that movement toward a big goal, i.e., success, is
big, bright, loud, and obvious.
However, movement is often quiet
and goes unnoticed.
For me it’s been years of researching, thinking, processing, writing, revising, praying, and restarting. And I’ve been moving all along.
The upcoming Super Bowl features two Black starting quarterbacks for the first time, and don’t let anyone fool you.
Hell yes, that’s a big effing deal. We’re popping bottles from now until kickoff.
Raise a glass to all the collegiate Black quarterbacks who, not long ago, were switched to halfback, receiver or defensive back in the NFL; Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson might’ve suffered the same the racist practice in 2018 if he had allowed it. Toss one back for Eldridge Dickey, who in 1968 became the first Black QB selected in the first round. He ultimately was moved to receiver and never got a shot under center.
That was a familiar tale, as Marlin Briscoe could attest. He was drafted the same year as Dickey and became the first Black starting QB in the modern era. But after five starts as a rookie, he played receiver for the rest his career — including back-to-back Super Bowl wins with Miami.
Let’s also toast Warren Moon, the G.O.A.T. among over six dozen Black QBs who’ve played in the Canadian Football League since 1958. Moon balled out a Los Angeles prep star but not a single major college recruited him at his position. He opted to set records in junior college and then transfer to the University of Washington — where he became Pac-8 Player of the Year and Rose Bowl MVP. Yet still he went undrafted. Undeterred, he headed north to dominate, winning five rings in six seasons. He finally returned stateside to prove racism is stupid; he’s the only player in both the CFL and NFL Halls of Fame.
Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery if you’re the subject being copied.
But it raises serious questions about the imitators who sadly try being someone or something they’re not.
Bethune-Cookman isn’t Jackson State and Ed Reed isn’t Deion Sanders. While they share similar characteristics — two HBCUs and two Hall of Fame football players — they’re both one-of-a-kind, each with their own distinct blend of strengths and weaknesses.
Jackson State generated tidal waves of publicity when it hired Sanders as football coach in 2020. Coach Prime kept the flood coming as he snared the nation’s top recruit and other highly rated players who would have never considered HBCUs previously. The national attention was undeniable, though not guaranteed to last after Sanders left for a bigger job last December.
Shortly thereafter, Bethune-Cookman announced that Reed was coming aboard as its football coach. He made a different kind of splash this week: Expletive-filled rants that drowned the school in negativity.
Posting on social media is about showing life and progress and joy and everything that’s going well. But as we know, life doesn’t always go the way we want. What we post is usually just part of the story.
We don’t post the other parts.
Well, here I am in YEAR FIVE! of this doctoral journey, still grinding and posting less. Until now.
If I can share the ups, I can share the downs, too, because my journey is MY journey. I know it’s not very original, but it’s true and something I must keep learning and telling myself repeatedly.
My journey is designed just for me
with all its twists, turns, setbacks, false starts, and victories. Yes, for
those still paying attention, I remain on the journey. And while I’m closer
than ever – how many times have I said that? LOL – it’s still a journey. Much
longer than I expected, but filled with so many lessons.
As I continue pushing forward,
here’s the other part:
STAND UP FOR YOURSELF
This can be tough if you hate conflict and you pride yourself on being diplomatic. But guess what? If you don’t stand up for yourself, no one will unless you’re 5 years old.
GROWING HURTS
I’m Iearning to manage my disappointments, expectations, and embarrassment at how long this is taking.
I’M NOT IN CONTROL
Not a whole lot to say here. The evidence speaks for itself.
THE DEGREE IS NOT THE ULTIMATE REWARD
I can’t wait to be done and it’s going to feel amazing. But I understand that the degree is a tool for me to fulfill my purpose in life.
LIFE GOES ON
The journey takes a lot of time and sacrifice. But stopping your life to earn a doctorate is no way to live. If I don’t keep living and loving, the degree won’t matter much in the end.
Thanks for reading. I’ll keep you posted – sooner rather than later.
The reaction to “Monday Night Football’s” chilling incident — Buffalo Bills safety Demar Hamlin nearly dying on the field — is similar to our nation’s response after a nightmarish mass shooting.
There’s an outpouring of “thoughts and prayers.” There’s a renewed debate on violence and its vice grip on America. But such events soon fade in our memory while leaders do nothing.
Then it’s back to business as usual until another occurrence restarts the cycle. And we all know another one is coming.
Hamlin’s situation was different in two respects. We’ve never seen a player require defibrillator paddles and 10 minutes of CPR after a play. The fear in our worst-case scenario typically involves thoughts of paralysis, as we anxiously await the movement of an arm and leg. We breathe sighs of relief if he can offer a thumbs up while being carted off the field.
That’s the other unique aspect from Monday night when an ambulance finally drove Hamlin to the hospital: Play never resumed.
NFL records suggest the postponement was unprecedented. Several games have included traumatic and tragic injuries that caused lengthy delays before players returned to action. In 1971, Detroit Lions wide receiver Chuck Hayes suffered a heart attack and died on the field, the NFL’s only fatality. Detroit and Chicago continued to play. The show always goes on, next man up. Until Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and nearly died.
I’m a firm believer in thoughts and prayers, which the NFL freely offers its injured players.
Here in the United States, we were slow to truly comprehend the scope and stature of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the international superstar famously known as Pelé.
It’s really no one’s fault. We’re just not wired like the rest of the world, where soccer reigns supreme and unrivaled as the most popular sport. America simply doesn’t follow “futbol” with the passion found elsewhere on the globe; we reserve that level of fervent affection for football.
Pelé, who died Thursday at age 82, was the planet’s most famous athlete long before coming to New York in 1975 to resuscitate a floundering pro league. He had already won three World Cup titles (still a record) with Brazil — the first in 1958 as a teen prodigy. He had already scored more than 1,200 goals with Santos, the Brazilian club team that toured like rock stars throughout the ‘60s. He had already been retired for a year — three if you count hanging ‘em up with the national team.
Not that I’ve watched loads of
soccer in this lifetime, but Sunday’s World Cup final between Argentina and
France was the most exciting match ever!
Don’t take it from this casual observer
of the planet’s most popular sport. Numerous experts and devotees say this game
was the greatest
of all time, a back-and-forth rollercoaster of emotions that ended in a
penalty-kick shootout. You didn’t have to be an aficionado expert (especially
on what constitutes being offsides) to enjoy the high-stakes drama that
captivates the world every four years.
Lionel Messi scored twice for
Argentina to capture the lone trophy that his remarkable career lacked. But Kylian
Mbappè (four goals) stole
the show for France, which won the 2018 World Cup and finished second this
year with a lineup full of brothers. The French squad could almost pass as Team
Wakanda.
“Today, football continues to tell
its story, as always in an enthralling way,” Brazilian legend Pelè posted on Instagram.
“… What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport.” He
also congratulated Morocco for reaching the final four, adding “it’s great to
see Africa shine.”
The Mother Continent shone brightly over here, too.
Brittney Griner will be home for
Christmas, the best gift imaginable for her wife and loved ones.
Griner’s release from a Russian penal
colony was high on many wish lists, including fans who are upset that WNBA
players earn tens of millions less than their NBA brethren. The pay gulf is a
major part of Griner’s 10-month ordeal that ended Dec. 8 and brought the issue
to light.
WHY WAS SHE DETAINED?
Officially, authorities accused
her of carrying vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil as she entered the
country on Feb 17. Her lawyers said Griner has
a prescription, to help her with pain, but inadvertently brought the
substance into the country with other belongings packed in her luggage. Griner
pleaded guilty during her trail in July.
Unofficially, her celebrity as an international
basketball star could’ve played a role. Griner is an eight-time WNBA all-star
who has won two Olympic gold medals. Standing 6-foot-9 with long dreads and
well-tatted arms, she’s among the world’s most recognizable women athletes, making
her attractive
as a bargaining chip if that was the Russians’ goal.
Few basketball coaches can rival “Coach K” in wild success and immense popularity. Before he retired last season, Mike Krzyzewski led Duke University to five national titles and led Team USA to three Olympic gold medals. But his most impressive work off the court might be a passionate video he released in June 2020.
“Black lives matter,” he begins, pausing between each word and then following with a dare to the hesitant: “Say it. Can’t you say it?
“ … Do we not see the problem, the disease, the plague that has been with our country for four centuries? Do we not see systemic racism and social injustice? … It’s manifested in so many ways: criminal justice; the killings we’ve seen and haven’t seen; the denial of economic opportunities for our Black community; educational opportunities; health care.”
He’s preaching to the choir over here, but the message is appreciated.
It’s posted on the home page of Coaches vs. Racism, which launched around the time Coach K implored America to quit being so racist. The national nonprofit is hosting its second annual HBCU Roundball Classic in Houston this week, continuing to raise awareness of the obvious.
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