Breaking the Hiatus

--Man, wish I did a Father's Day blog, but I didn't. Still, happy
belated Pops Day to all, and dang Tiger, I was really looking for a
MJ-in-96 end to the U.S. Open...but Phil Mickelson doing his best
Shooter McGavin impression was good enough for me. See you at the British, Eldrick!

Hey everybody,

Let's start from the top...

NBA FINALS...

Wow, D-Wade.

Whether you were rooting for the Heat (got dang all of you on that bandwagon that refused to break down) or the Mavericks (folks dealing in common logic that may/may not have believed that the series would go to seven games -- or thought that the series was a conspiracy), it was an incredible Finals for this gentleman from Marquette University.

Thing is, I always thought the kid had juice. Now don't get me wrong, I think LeBron's going to be the best from the '03 NBA draft class when it's all said and done, but lemme tell you this story first...

I was hanging out at Iceman's apartment (formerly in Northern Florida) watching my beloved Kentucky Wildcats basketball team play for a bid in the Final Four against, yeah, you guessed it, D-Wade's Marquette squad. Didn't need to know much about him at the time, seeing as how I figured that this punk kid was gonna take an early exit anyway. But the game went on, and he eliminated Big Blue en route to a triple-double. That's right, friends, D-Wade eliminated my beloved Wildcats that year.

Long story short, I've bet against this guy three times (against Kentucky, the Pistons series, and the Mavs series), and yep, burned me. Three times.

Anyway, fast forward to the present.

Heat down 2-0, Wade steps up, refs get a Miami fetish, Shaq gets fourth ring.

Did I miss anything? ;-)

Oh, sure I did. I still think the Mavs have the better team, and that team basketball just took a step back. Like I said, I just think that LeBron will win more championships than Wade...unless, as a funny co-worker of mine said, they both join the same team.

That, my friends, would either be truly sinister, or just another pick-up game on NBA Street Vol. 3. Who knows, really...

SHUG'S BLOG...

Here's the link:
http://shugaorspice.blogspot.com/2006/06/have-we-failed-you.html

And here's my response...well, part of it. Man, been so busy...
But never too busy to speak my mind.
Check this out...

Intelligent Woman

Intelligent woman
Nearby lover
Mother of my children
Speaking presently or in the
Nearby future
Tense
With questions of
'Have we failed you'
No.
How so?
What exactly your stat quo?
What exactly your role?
Intelligent woman
Nothing can paint such a picture
But scripture
And the absent deed
Of forgetting to read
Is our lone fault
Sorry if I speak Chinese
But I'm thinking and Dim Sum
Aren't you tired of this same beat
Banging on the same conun-drum?
Intelligent woman...
The one I sought after
Yes I will gladly provide you with laughter
And vice versa
I apologize on behalf of my brothers
Whom neglect you
Disrespect you
And misdirect you
Let me protect you
Treat you better
Knock the apple out of the hands
Of the one who wants to
Deceit you whether...
It is at the cost
Of pride, prejudice or being poisoned
Because I presume I will see you next lifetime
As chivalry
Alive and well
I'd just like to rendezvous
At Barnes and No-bles
Intelligent woman
Intelligence being relative
To your stage presence
Your kind essence
Whether you are an engineer, dear
Blessed with the knack to persevere, dear
Or if you are just great at listening, here
You are welcome...
To listen to this
Our present state of affairs
doesn't make you any less phenomenal
Just like the snowman
is really not that abominable
It's all in our minds
The pressure from this mental struggle
And how the world tries to put you in a crunch
But look what it's done for your abdominals
I know, it's kind of a stretch
But I have nothing but respect...
For my proverbial twin
My baby girl
Disregard things said by the media
Lady I still need ya
I miss my friend
Together we will unite to right this world
Again
...

The Good Doctor

...take care of yourselves now...

Good Times

Singer Janet Jackson and an unidentified companion watch Game 6 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals, Friday, June 2, 2006, in Miami. The Miami Heat beat the Detroit Pistons 95-78 to advance to the NBA Finals. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Hey everybody,

Maybe it was just me, but that cutline by the Associated Press made me laugh too much…maybe the AP just doesn't acknowledge rap moguls…who knows.

At least they knew Penny from Good Times, though…and discussion of this particular pic and cutline around deadline on Saturday night brought a little laughter to the newsroom…

Know what? I really haven't told you guys much about my folk in the newsroom, ha? Well, for one thing, I like working Saturday-Sunday because it's a lot looser, and the news crew is a lot more fun.

One of the guys that works Saturday is the guy I call G ... who I've also started play pick-up hoops with in an attempt to get back in shape. He's a cool cat; we have similar interests, he's in to sports, and like the writer of this blog, he's uber-competitive. I like meeting cats like that, because I always feel like people that have (tempered) pride in themselves will give their all in a situation.

J's a guy who left us about a month ago…and where G and I have similar interests, I feel like J and I were separated at birth. Like the same music, like the same football team, pretty much a spitting image of each other…guy just got married, so he decided to make some adjustments to accommodate his cherie amour. Good stuff.

V's a great person; sweet person, and was the one that actually started going off into song when she heard about the cutline…

Keeping your head above water
Making a way when you can…
Temporary layoffs
Good times
Easy credit rip-offs
Good times
Stratchin' and survivin'
Good times…

Jack's the new cat…the Kobe Bryant fan just touched down in the newsroom about 3 weeks ago, and he's cool enough…we trade a lot of jokes and mischief…just all around good times.

(!!!PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE BLOG!!!)
Not that it's really important, but three out of the a-four-mentioned (hyuk) are White. Not that it's really important, but you know that the writer of this blog is African-American.
Those of you that know me know that I've met enough people from all backgrounds and races, and I understand that the transcendant factor in meeting people are just learning more about them, and enjoying being around them…and hopefully being a factor in their existence in some way.
I guess what I'm saying here is that eventually, hopefully on a world front, we'll be able to get past the BS and be there for each other.
(!!!PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE BLOG!!!)
(REMIX!
REMIX!
REMIX!)
:-)

Oh…but back to this pic. Man, Janet and JD were at Game Six of the Heat-Pistons game…and I gotta talk about the Finals here.

You have the Heat-Mavericks in the finals…and I saw the Mavs there. The Heat? I don't know…I mean Pistons rhymes with fishin', but I did not see DET laying an egg in the Eastern Conference Finals. Oh well.

On the West Side of things, I know my homeboi Iceman is hurting, because he was rooting for the Suns. Well, Iceman, joke's on you…you know a team that doesn't have any semblance of a defensive mindset-smirk- in place isn't going to make the show. Just isn't happening.

Anyway, because you're my friend, Iceman…I decided on something to make the summer go by a little faster…

Iceman's Soliloquoy

My Suns, why hath thou forsaken me?
My heart melteth in the wake of your downfall
I hath midsummer night's dreams
Of rings and things
Celebrating with peers
But now I am only left with mine tears
My Suns, why hath thou forsaken me?

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all night.

Hmmm…anything else? Let's see…

Oh yeah, I was talking about the Mavs-Heat final with a friend of mine last night, and I had to give this cat the breakdown on it like I was on ESPN…I will save you guys that breakdown, but my friend was saying that I should be a coach…

Not a bad idea. Truthfully, I've thought about it before, and I was a basketball coach of one of my church teams once that made it to the finals (we lost, arrrrrrrgh…). Thing is, I would rather coach girls than guys…for this simple reason.

Girls listen, guys don't. Ok, let me not be that vague; sound that ignorant.

I just think girls are more adept at grasping to the team concept, and I blame society for why guys don't do the latter.

Truth is, all the And 1, isolation-plagued American hoops have forced the fellas into a situation where they'd rather take it down on a 1-5 break, spin baseline, throw down a one-handed jam, land, and then snap their fingers, then lean and rock while their opponent goes down the other end of the floor for an uncontested score.

Yeah, the kind of thing that makes a coach want to go and grab a player off the floor like your momma did back in the day when you was talkin' back to her.

With the young ladies, it just seems a little easier to look at a player and say, "Look, we both know that you can score, but it would be more important to us if you made sure that the other team's best player doesn't SCORE A SINGLE POINT.
"Truth is, you're pretty athletic…you play hard on defense, and I'll make sure that we find you in transition." See that would work…
Or, you take say a hard-nosed player that's used to taking all the shots…scoring like 25 in her church league, and running 1-on-5 practice drills so that player can understand that it's not all about scoring a bunch of points, but creating a rapport with teammates and being an unstoppable fist instead of a pointing index finger.
Truth is, five will always beat one, and eight will always beat two. It is what it is…

Hey, maybe I should be a coach…

And hopefully, my friend LeBron here will bring back the proverbial Fun Police, so that folks will understand that court vision is so much cooler than any jumpshot or dunk.

Alright, one more thing, and then I'm throwin' deuces…

One of my closest friends and fellow blog writers had this to say recently:

I gotta get to another level...I got something I gotta do and I don't know how to let it out...I don't even know exactly what it is, but I know it's there...

To that, I think I might have found a solution…

Luke 9:23 - And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

As this friend of mine said, the path to following God isn't that easy, but this is what I'm choosing to do. The way I see it, if I'm all for God, why not do what He wants first, then see what he has for me. It's likely that what he has for me far exceeds any existence I can think for myself, and judging by what gifts he's given me, I'm only shorting myself by trying to do things my way.

I figure that's the solution, to get to another level, and to have more of the good times.

Ain't we lucky we got 'em.

The Good Doctor

Jig on Trial: The Cross X

Finally, finally...

Yes, I have gotten around to doing the cross-examination on the five songs that Jig's selected...

Hmmm, let's take a look here and see...
1) Anita Baker - Just Because
2) Luther Vandross - Here and Now
3) The Emotions - Don't Ask My Neighbors
4) New Edition - Can You Stand the Rain
5) Jagged Edge - What's It Like to Be In Love

Uh oh Jig, i'ma tell ya right now, you know it's going to be trouble on five.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we goooooooooooooooo...

5 - Look at me...starting from five and heading to one...
Well, I personally think Jagged Edge's best song is 'Gotta Be', and the concept of the video didn't really motivate me to want to listen to the song, but Jig likes it.
Let's see here...let me check out the hook...
What's it like to be in love?
That's all I been thinking of
And I was just wondering, will love ever know me?
And my heart is open, and I've been hoping
To find what it is everybody keep on talking 'bout
Not bad, not bad at all...
To be honest, it's nice to see a guy keep the faith; not give up on love just because past relationships haven't gone the way he wanted them too. Big ups.

4 - This song reminds me of the second or third episode of Family Matters. I don't know why...maybe because every great R&B group of the late 80's-early 90's touched down on Urkelvision like it was American Bandstand or Soul Train. Anyway, Johnny Gill batting leadoff speaks for itself, followed by...

Well I need somebody/who will stand by me/for the good times and bad times she will always/be right by my side...

Ya'll better sing along...

Sunny Days, everybody loves them, but tell me baby, CAN-YOU-STAND-THE-RAIN
(can you stand it...i hear ya'll in the background!)

Hey, I mean, the truth is, storms will come, and this we know for sure. It's just a matter of whether you can roll(ing thunder) with the punches in a relationship.

3 - Man, Jig did the Castrol GTX thermal viscosity breakdown on this one. Don't know if there's much more I can say, but I'll try...
One of my pet peeves about relationships is that we always seek advice from other people instead of feeling our way through a situation. If your intentions are true, and if the love you have for a person is true, let it ride...see where it goes. No middleman necessary...and sometimes,

--you'll find I love you--

So no more asking neighbors. Please.

2 - All I'm saying is, if Jig didn't put a Luther song in here, I might have to re-evaluate my friendship with this cat...joking, of course.
What you have here is the ultimate ballad of dedication and commitment. (Dang, I liked that sentence...I'm stopping while I'm ahead.)
(No, I can't)...I'm actually going to try to compare this song with another famous wedding ballad...Freddie Jackson's "You Are My Lady". Actually, I can't...truth is, Freddie's title is a little more possessive, but it's all to the good because he's basically talking about how much his lady means to him. Luther goes beyond that, and not only says what his lady means to him, but also says what he's going to do in the relationship. That's Luther for you, always taking it to the next level.

1 - Because I really don't need a reason. I have to send this one out to everyone that asks 'why' in a relationship. Why ask why? Why not let words say what a touch can't convey, and why not let a touch prevail where words might fail? Why not let love be uninhibited and exhibited, why always try to find love's derivative? Why not stop asking questions because my answers are my actions, and why ask why? The fractured truth you receive is only a small fraction...
Eh. You guys see what I mean.
Something else...Anita Baker, Stephanie Mills...this is to you two...you guys are really slept on, and folks need to recognize.

Another slept-on pair...Floetry. If you don't know, DO PICK UP A COPY of Flo'ology...it's like spoken word and ballads all in one, yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah boy.

Alright...don't say goodnight...when you know...I gotta have your love...(first person to comment with the artist gets mad props,)

The Good Doctor

Oh yeah, I'd like to thank everyone who sent in comments and e-mails with their favorite lyrics...it was fun and enjoyable, to say the least. Everybody continue to take care and enjoy the summer, yep yep...