Who's Going To See Ted?!?

Before you ask, no, this isn't an ad. Yes, I really, really want to go see this movie.



Question: Who's Going To See Ted?!?

Herman Cain Becomes Parody Of Self.

Seriously, Real America, ya'll had this guy leading the polls last year?!? If not for his zipper problem, he might be in the running to become the 2nd black President right now.



That can't feel good.

ObamaCare Death March UPHELD!!! Open Thread.

After a false start Monday, today, the actual SCOTUS ObamaCare ruling comes down here in DC. Who knows what'll happen, and honestly, who cares?

Update: Congrats to the President, and every Real American whose lives will be made betted by this landmark legislation. Props to John Roberts for making the right/brave choice and not buckling to right wing pressure, although he will clearly have a proverbial target on his forehead right now. Middle finger to CNN for totally and completely screwing this entire thing up. Royally. #CNNHeadlines

Question: What are your thoughts on this ruling?!?

The Problem With Racial Profiling...

...is well demonstrated in this House video, courtesy of C-Span and Illinois Congressman Gutierrez. I'm sure he's gonna catch a lot of backlash here for "playing the race card" but this exercise is spot-on to me.



Question: Anyone else notice that all the folks talking about how great "stop and frisk", "airport profiling" and "show your papers" are, seldom happen to be the ones who'd likely get profiled? I'm just sayin', it's never an inconvenience until it happens to you.

Black Culture Reaches A New All-Time Low.

Seriously, can we just send the Drop Squad for whoever greenlit this sh*t?!?



Can we find some way to blame The GOP for this one? Please?

Obama's Day In Court Open Thread.

Lots of big decisions coming from the SCOTUS today. In short, depending on how the chips fall, the President's key initiatives and re-election prospects make either get a boost or take a hit. Tune in here as the rulings are made.

Supreme Court rejects much of Arizona immigration law - The Supreme Court on Monday rejected much of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, but upheld other provisions, giving a partial victory to the Obama administration. The court ruled that Arizona cannot make it a misdemeanor for immigrants to fail to carry identification that says whether they are in the United States legally; cannot make it a crime for undocumented immigrations to apply for a job; and cannot arrest someone based solely on the suspicion that the person is in this country illegally.

Court strikes down Montana limits - The Supreme Court has struck down a Montana ban on corporate political money, ruling 5 to 4 that the controversial 2010 Citizens United ruling applies to state and local elections. In his original decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy argued that independent campaign expenditures by corporations “do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.” Ginsberg argued that the Montana case was an opportunity to reconsider “in light of the huge sums currently deployed to buy candidates’ allegiance.” But today’s ruling shows that the five justices who supported the original ruling have not budged.

Question: What are your thoughts on these rulings?!?

Karen Klein, Parental Guilt, And Cyber Victimhood.

By now, I'm sure you've all either seen or heard about the New York state bus monitor who was bullied by a bunch of preteens who were dumb enough to record the whole thing and put it on the internets.

It was just a week ago that Karen Klein was sitting on a bus enduring the teasing and taunts of a group of kids with a grace that wouldn't be recognized until days later, when a video of the incident went viral.

Now, thanks to an online fundraising effort, the upstate New York bus monitor, 68, has more than $645,275 (and counting) to her name from people – total strangers, mostly – who saw the video, heard the hurtful words and wanted to help.

"I keep thinking, 'What have I done?' " the Greece Central School District employee said during an in-studio interview on Monday's Today show. "It's like I almost don't feel like I deserve it."

The campaign, originally intended to send her off on "a vacation of a lifetime," has long surpassed its goal of $5,000.

So how will she use her money? "What would anybody do with that much money?" she said.

She'll invest some, she said, and donate to charity. The grandmother of eight has plenty of family, and "they need, they need, they need," added Klein, who isn't sure if she'll return to her job come fall.

Here's the offending video.



Here's Mrs. Klein speaking with Matt Lauer.



Let's get a couple of things out of the way first, so that the rest of this post doesn't make me sound like a total a$$hole.

1) This is wrong. These children are poorly behaved.

2) I'm not against people raising money to put this woman out of her Day Job misery.

3) This woman's child committed suicide last year. Anyone with a brain can see that she's clearly in "checked out of life" mode here. So lets not make a big deal out of her not defending herself more. It's completely understandable.

All that said, come the f*ck on, America!!!

Seriously, people get so emotionally caught up in something that they give a million dollars (that'll surely be the final tally, she was on The Today Show again this morning) for what's essentially a bunch of bad assed kids harassing an adult? Again, I'm not making light of this situation or this woman's very real pain. I just wonder why Americans are so captivated by this that they go straight to their PayPal accounts and give money like it's nothing.

I won't play Oppression Olympics here.[1] Yes, there are others who've suffered far more than the terse words of a bunch of non-home trained brats. That's not up for debate here, so please don't waste the keystrokes.

What's clear to me, is that the astounding outpouring of media attention and monetary donations is all about absolving guilt. Yes, a lot of people look at this and see a tortured grandmother, but I'm betting far more people look at this and see their own shortcomings as parents. We'd all like to believe that our kids are little angels who respect each other, themselves, and their elders, but reality is, kids are kids. I'm betting most of the parents with kids on this bus had no idea (or at least couldn't admit it to themselves) that their children could behave so boorishly. Likewise, most of the people donating money here want the same "pay it forward" sense of redemption.

"Hey, feel guilty that you might not be raising your kids to be as respectful as they could be? No worries! You too can feel better about yourself! Just give a little money to a woman you've never met via a website that might not even be reputable! It's that easy! Now go back to watching Greys Anatomy! Lil' Austin' will raise himself on SpongeBob SquarePants! Yaaay, DriveBy Activism!"

If this all confuses you, sorry, it's admittedly not a well thought out hypothesis, but hey, I'm just as puzzled as ya'll. There's gotta be an explanation. If you got a better one, explain below.

One thing that's abundantly clear: if you're getting treated poorly, the best thing you can do is have someone record it and put it on Youtube. That's a serious come-up. In fact, I'm gonna predict that Cyber Victimhood™ is the next Grand Hu$tle™. If this sounds crass to you guys, need I remind you how many people raised money for 9/11 families, tsunamia recovery, and "Katrina Victims" and put that sh*t right in their own pockets. We can be a downright triflin' society when we really put our minds to it.

Or, in this case, we can be a great society. I just wonder why we're being this great.

Question: How else do you explain the Karen Klein phenomenon? What's really fueling the media attention and financial windfall?

[1] But if I was, I'd say that had some other variables been slightly different in this video, the public response would likely have been quite different. I damn sure know Matt Lauer wouldn't be "apologizing" for those kids' actions if they were black.

King James Is Crowned. What's It Like To Cheer For A Champion?!?

So, as I'm watching the Heat celebrate their championship in remarkably subdued fashion, it occurs to me: I've never had a professional team that I root for win a world championship. Ever.

Yes, my UNC Tarheels have won four NCAA men's basketball championships in my lifetime. And yes, I remember where I was, who I was with, and what I was doing each time. But college is different, obviously. It's more about regional pride and bragging rights. It also, for some reason, feels so much more... temporary.

Professional championships are bigger, although if you think about it, you technically are only better than about 30 other teams, whereas in college, that number's dramatically larger. But in any event, it's a feeling I can't say I personally know. My lifetime of pro fandom has consisted of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons,[1] Charlotte Hornets, (formerly) and now solely the Washington Bullets/Wizards. I'm a bandwagon Redskins fan, and trying to get into the Nats, but that's the extent of it. It's really Wizards or Die! And yeah, based on the team record of late, it's been a whole lotta dyin'.

Which brings me full circle to the point of this rambling narrative: if you're a (true!) Miami Heat fan[2], what's it feel like today? Or for that matter, if you're a fan of a professional sports team that's won in this decade, what exactly does it feel like? Just curious. Tell me below.

Question: Hoooow does it feeeeeeel?!?

[1] Cyber CapriSuns™ to the first person that can explain why a kid growing up in rural NC rooted for team from The A.

[2] I'm convinced that about 80% of the people "cheering for" the Heat are either Lebron fans or people who just love a frontrunner. Nothing's wrong with either, but please don't tell me this as "true fandom" because it's not. A "true Heat fan" would be able to tell me at least 5 players on the franchise's expansion year roster. If you can't do that, you're probably a Lebron fan. You were probably a "Cavaliers fan" two years ago. Word to Dan Gilbert.

AB.com Open Mic Thursday.

I'm busy today, so entertain yourselves. Drop links, write your own posts. You know the drill by now.

Question: What's on your mind today?

It's A Wrap For OKC.

No need to lie. Even though I'm an NBA fan, I seldom tune in to any of the Finals games until there's about 5 minutes left. If you think about it, watching the prior 43 minutes is pointless. A team can jump out to a huge 1st quarter lead (as has apparently happened in each of the 4 games thus far) and blow it by the half. Quick starts mean nothing in NBA basketball. They do, after all, call them quarters for a reason.



While I think OKC's a swell team full of swell players (with the exception of the perpetually boneheaded Russell Westbrook and his loud, expensive shirts)[1] that plays in a swell state, reality is they just aren't ready yet. Miami was a team built to win now, and probably be dismantled later to avoid luxury tax penalties. OKC did it the smart way, drafting wisely (for the most part, they've also whiffed a few times) and making timely trades. They haven't added any real free agents other than Derek Fisher. Of course, they'll have their own luxury tax issues soon.[2]

Still, I just don't like what Miami did, and the precedence it sets if they win. Now, every rookie will come into the league thinking they can just collude with other stars and form their own SuperTeam at the end of their first contracts. Some say the new CBA tweaked the salary structure to prevent this, but I know of no such thing. So year, the rich will certainly get richer.

Is it possible I'm writing this series epitaph prematurely? Sure. OKC reeled off 4 against the Spurs, so anything's possible. They take Game 5 in South Beach, and they've got two home games to come back and win. But that's not likely.

I suppose I should say congrats to Lebron. He's mostly shown up in fourth quarters this series (except Game One), but reality is this team's just better constructed than last year's Finals loser (adding a Shane Battier and subtracting a Joel Anthony can do that) and more battle tested. It's Miami's time, whether we like it or not.

Put me solidly in the "nots" column.

Question: What are your impressions of this series so far? Can OKC come back? Is this bad for the NBA as a whole if the Heat wins?!?

[1] It's puzzling to see people spent so much money to look soooo bad. You can buy ugly shirts for $10 at Filenes. But I'm betting he paid a grip for that bait & tackle number above.

[2] Harden and Ibaka both need to get paid. You'll basically have 4 guys on max 2nd contracts, in the NBA's two smallest media market. So yeah, somebody's gotta go. It's just not financially possible.

Enter The AB.com Suits Sweepstakes And Win Free Stuff.

As I've only stated about 2 million times on this blog, my favorite show on TV is the USA Network legal drama Suits. If you're one of the 18 or so remaining people who still haven't seen the show for some odd reason, the premise is fairly straightforward.

Mike Ross is a stoner/slacker/college dropout with a photographic memory. When he accidentally stumbles into a job interview at a corporate law firm, he gets hired on the spot by Harvey Specter, an arrogant high-powered attorney who will do anything to win a case, including passing Mike off as a Harvard Law grad. Mike helps Harvey win tons of cases, and the pair seemingly spend every episode attempting (and often failing) to keep their ruse a secret. Mix in a handful of well-scripted ancillary characters (including two black women in very prominent roles) and it's easy to see why Suits is my favorite show, and should probably be yours too.



Season Two kicked off with a bang last week, and to commemorate the show's return, the fine folks at 360interactive are giving away one Suits prize pack to the show's biggest fan. The Suits & Style Fan Pack emphasizes the first-of-its-kind partnership between television and fashion, with Suits and MR PORTER. A $245 value, the prize contains a $200.00 MR PORTER Gift Card, and a Season 1 DVD set.

To enter to win, either shoot me an email or a tweet (use the #SUITSSTYLE hashtag) telling me your favorite character on the show, and a little about their personal style. Please do not leave comments below, only emails and tweets count as entries! Contest ends next Friday.

Suits airs Thursday nights at 10PM Eastern on USA Network.

* The prize was provided by USA Network, but USA Network is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this giveaway. Contest open to US residents only.

Artur Davis And The Conflicting Logic Of Black Conservatism.

For those unaware, Artur Davis was a Democratic Congressman who unsuccessfully ran for Alabama Governor in 2010, on the heels of then-Senator Obama's ascent to the White House. Since getting his arse whipped, he's not only switched parties, but he's now contemplating a run for Congress in (brace yourselves) Northern Virginia.

If you're unable to grasp that startling timeline, brace yourself for more nonsense. Davis, who backed (and might I note again, ran for Governor using Obama as an aspirational back story) Obama in 2008 is now solidly behind Mitt Romney, and thinks the GOP is right on the cusp of reclaiming a lion's share of the Negro Voting Bloc™.



Yeah, makes plenty of sense to me too, Artur.

Seriously, there's so much wrong with this video, I don't know where to start.

1) Davis says he thought Obama would "completely change race relations in this country". This, coming from a grown assed man who grew up in the Deep South. What sorta childlike naive BS is that? And BTW, is Davis suggesting that Obama is somehow responsible for the race problems in this country, yet he sides with a GOP party that perennially uses race-baiting as a campaign strategy?!? N-Word Please.

2) Davis thinks Obama has gone too far left, when he expected a centrist? F'real? Enjoy that Single-Payer Healthcare, ya'll. Wait, we don't have Single-Payer Healthcare?!?

3) Davis thinks Obama ran Bill Clinton against Hilary Clinton? Did he miss what Bill said in South Carolina? Did he miss the months and months and months of GOP-style race-baiting that the Clintons ran against Obama?

4) Davis respects the President, but differs with him on issues of policy? Yet he can't name one reason why he thinks Romney is better for the country on issues of policy?

5) Davis went to Harvard so his math is admittedly shifty, yet he uses Obama's overall vote share in 08', and compares it to his current approval rating to arrive at the "10 million of us have switched sides" figure? Really? My brother also went to Harvard, but I don't think he took that math class.

6) Bruh, what's up with that haircut? Did you go into SuperCuts and ask for the "HBCU Chancellor's Special" or what?!? Where they do that at?

7) Davis thinks the GOP can get black and brown votes if the party "earns those votes". Apparently he doesn't realize the GOP goes out of its way to disown those votes, playing a short game that acknowledges white voters are still the biggest bloc. So yeah, that can start that "earning" process anyday now.

8) Wolf Blitzer... man... you know what... if you gave my 12 year old nephew his own cable TV news show, I'm betting the net result would be roughly the same as The Situation Room. Maybe a few more video games and fart jokes, but basically the same effect.

Seriously, Artur Davis. Go. Sit. Down.

Question: What's up with this guy? Does he make any logical sense whatsoever?!?

Ashy Or Classy?!? adidas Air-Kunta Kinte Shoes.

all.day.i.dream.about.slavery.

I'm not exactly a sneaker head, but I fux with some adidas. Few shoes have the same "chill factor". I'm sure they make shoes for athletic activities, but every pair of adidas I own is strictly for frontin'. Or whatever the kids are saying nowadays.

Anyways, the shoemaker is in the news for a very poorly thought-out new line of kicks that for some odd reason seem to mimic slave imagery.

A hurtful symbol of slavery or simply a quirky fashion statement?

Adidas is rebuffing fierce criticism of one of its upcoming original sneaker designs. The JS Roundhouse Mid, a collaboration between Adidas Originals and edgy fashion designer Jeremy Scott and due to be released in August, features a bright orange chain and ankle strap.

The public got its first look at the sneakers when Adidas added a photo of them to the brand's Facebook page on June 14 with the caption: “Got a sneaker game so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles?”

The posting has racked up more than 2,000 comments, with many describing them as offensive, inappropriate, and yes, even ugly.

While detractors likened the kicks to slave chains and prison shackles, Adidas said the JS Roundhouse Mids are not meant to be a symbol of oppression, and noted that Scott has previously designed creative kicks for Adidas featuring panda bear heads and Mickey Mouse.

“The design of the JS Roundhouse Mid is nothing more than the designer Jeremy Scott’s outrageous and unique take on fashion and has nothing to do with slavery,” a representative for the shoemaker told TODAY.com by email. “Jeremy Scott is renowned as a designer whose style is quirky and lighthearted ... Any suggestion that this is linked to slavery is untruthful.”

In the pantheon of "Black Folks' Problems" this one ranks somewhere below Getting Miss Cita Back On BET and Figuring Out Exactly What Kinda Jalapenos Those Are That Come With Church's Chicken, but still. Seriously, adidas, what were ya'll thinkin'? You know Negroes are sensitive about this slave sh*t. Why even bother pushing the envelope? Nobody is gonna rock a pair of Air Nat Turners Kunta Kintes, and the PR backlash you're getting prolly is gonna be worth more harm than good once the final tally comes in.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Someone shoulda peeped the initial prototype and axed this one before it went public. I'mma call this one Ashy as a slave's ankles. What say' ye?!?

Question: Ashy or Classy? Would you rock a pair of Air Tubmans?!?

Is George Zimmerman The Dumbest Criminal Ever?!?

True Confession: I am scared as hell of ending up in jail. Period.

As a rule of thumb, I don't take penitentiary chances. I'm not built for the penal system. I ain't bout' that life. At all. Call me a square, but sometimes it's just much easier to play by the rules and stay outside, instead of doing dirt and ending up in a cell with two guys named Rudy and P-Nutt who want you to share your cornbread. And by "cornbread", I mean anal rape, of course.

I know this all sounds crass, but reality is most of us ain't bout' that life, and most of us wouldn't make it one day in the slammer. Certain people have an innate ability to survive, hell, even thrive, inside the clink. And certain people lack the street smarts and soap-grasping ability to do a 72-hour hold. I'm one of those people, and I'm proud of it. Proud, I tell ya'.

George Zimmerman prolly is too, but hey, he killed a kid who obviously didn't deserve to be killed, and now finds himself behind bars without a clue for how to survive. So while his wife is obviously a ride or die chick[1], dude's lack of common sense seems to have landed them both in hot water. And by "hot water", I mean jail, of course.

The former neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin told his wife to buy bulletproof vests for them and for his attorney, according to jailhouse calls released Monday.

“As uncomfortable as it is, I want you wearing one,” George Zimmerman told his wife. Zimmerman was wearing a bulletproof vest when he left jail after posting bond. His attorney, Mark O’Mara, has reported receiving threats.

The calls, released by prosecutors, also detail how Zimmerman instructed his wife to transfer money from bank accounts and could play a crucial role in his second bond hearing next week.

Zimmerman was released on $150,000 bond in April, several days after the calls took place. At his bond hearing, his wife, Shellie, testified that she didn’t know how much money had been raised from a website created for his legal defense. She also testified that they had limited funds because she was in school full time and Zimmerman wasn’t working.

Prosecutors say the calls show George and Shellie Zimmerman knew that roughly $135,000 had been raised by the site.

Shellie Zimmerman was arrested last week on a charge of making a false statement. George Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense during the confrontation with the 17-year-old teen in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. The case sparked protests across the country when George Zimmerman wasn’t arrested at first and led to nationwide debate over race and self-defense laws.

In one call, Zimmerman tells his wife and sister how to change a computer password at a credit union so they can move funds around.

In another call, Shellie Zimmerman said that money raised from the website was also being used to pay off bills. The couple also talked about how they would whisk Zimmerman away from the Seminole County Jail once he was released in April, and discussed using a rental car to drive to a hotel parking garage. There, they would change into another rental car to throw off anybody who tried to follow him.

Shellie Zimmerman told her husband that the website had crashed because of supporters leaving words of support, as well as donations.

Wow, there are "dumb criminals" and then there are really dumb criminals. I'mma let ya'll guess which one Mr. Zimmerman is.[2]

Did this fool ever watch "Oz"? Doesn't he realize you can't do this sorta stuff behind bars without getting caught?

And by "this", I mean killing an unarmed teen.

Of course.

Question: Do these latest revelations harm Zimmerman's credibility and hurt his defense? Could you make it 3 days behind bars? Is you "bout' that life"?!?

[1] Who oddly looks an awful lot like him? No?

[2] BTW, that Rick Ross verse on the new Usher song where he name drops Trayvon and Zimmerman... can we call the Drop Squad on Rozay? Please?

Obama Finally Channels His Inner N*gga. Puts Conservative Carnival Barker In Check.

In a move only about, ohhhh, 4 years overdue, President Obama finally put some Conservative douchebag in check. It's about damn time, Barry.



Owned! Pwned! Whatever'ed!

Beyond the classlessness of this moron from the Daily Caller who bothered interrupting Obama, I gotta agree with the action taken here. Sure, it woulda been more courageous to just push Congress to pass The Dream Act 3 years ago when you had all the votes to do so, but better late than never I guess.

If there's anything unsettling about this, it's that it seems to be yet another example of people who should know better (elected officials, "journalists", talk show hosts) and should act better showing the President (and his wife) zero respect. Wonder why?

Nah, can't be "The R Word". We're post-racial.

Question: Did Obama check this fool? What's up with this President being disrespected so frequently?!?

NBA Finals Open Mic.

That image above is so awesome on so many levels. And so is this year's NBA Finals, which are tied at 1-1 heading back to South Beach for three straight games. Personally, while I understand the 2-3-2 Finals format, I really don't like it. A team that splits the first 2 road games essentially regains homecourt advantage.

I'm not into sports betting, but based on what I've seen the first couple of games, I'd say Miami's in good shape. They've essentially controlled the tempo in both games and gotten out to big leads. Chris Bosh seems like he's finding his niche offensively. Lebron finally came up big last night. D-Wade is officially off the milk carton. Shane Battier's playing like he's back at Cameron Indoor. Joel Anthony finally got a haircut. The Heat's on a roll.

Of course, OKC has the offensive firepower to stay in any game, and Miami's home crowd is notoriously wishy washy, so it's not like they've got this incredible environment to spur them on. Still, it's hard to see Miami not winning 2-3 at home, and closing this baby out in 6.

What say ye?

Question: What do you think so far? Any impressions?

AB.com Open Mic Thursday.

I'm busy today, so entertain yourselves. Drop links, write your own posts. You know the drill by now.

Question: What's on your mind today?

King James Vs Durantula: Who Are You Rooting For?!?

An NBA season that began under the cloud of a lockout is poised to end with a flourish tonight as the Oklahoma City Thunder(s) host the Miami Heat(s) in Game One of the NBA Finals.

Of course, that's how professional sports guys are spinning it. But reality is, this is the ultimate manifestation of good vs evil. In short, it's Kevin Durant vs Lebron James, and who you cheer for says an awful lot about who you are.

Durant, according to people paid to write this sorta thing, represents all that's good about sports. He's humble. He's clutch. He's a great teammate. He plays in a red state. He went to college (albeit for a single year). He's the child of married parents (although they're no longer together). He stuck it out in a boring assed town because he really loves OKC and wants to bring those fine, humble Oklahomans a title. He saves kittens from trees.

Lebron, on the other hand, represents everything wrong with sports, the NBA, black males, entitled 80's babies, and society as a whole. He's self centered. He disappears in the clutch. He had the nerve to leave Cleveland for Miami (the nerve!). He has all the substance of a Gucci Mane mixtape. Who can forget "The Decision"? He bailed on his hometown and took a shortcut to a title. He has a "posse". His mother makes Ann Iverson look like Michelle Obama. He eats kittens. Not because he likes the taste of kittens. Just because he can.

All of this greatly oversimplifies both men, of course, but it's the nature of the sports media-driven beast. Narratives are necessary, even when the quality of the product on the floor is so awesome that narratives are actually unnecessary.

Personally, I'm (apprehensively and noncommittally) rooting for the Heat. The only real reason is because I'm so sick of hearing about how much of a loser Lebron is. I just want him to win so sports talk radio hosts can find another guy to pick on. That's basically the extent of it.

So yeah, go Heat(s), I suppose. It's whatever.

Question: Who are you cheering for? Is this "Good vs Evil" narrative annoying?

NBA Baller Beats: Quite Possibly The Worst Video Game Evar.

As a guy who plays one video game, and one video game only[1], I find so many things patently offensive about the NBA Baller Beats gameplay trailer that I'm almost at a loss for words.



Almost.

Let's see...

1) The game involves dribbling an actual regulation sized basketball. Did the makers of this title consider the fact that dribbling an actual regulation sized basketball indoors is both noisy and not really wise? Do they realize that every black child in America was told "Don't you dribble that damn ball inside my house!" by black parents growing up?

2) If you're a grownup, unless you live in a single family home, this makes no sense whatsoever. You're neighbors are prolly gonna hate you and do some cruel things to your car if they have to endure this level of noise. Assuming, of course, you have hardwood floors and can play this in the first place. You can't dribble on carpet after all.

3) Janelle Monae?!? "Tightrope"?!? On a video game?!? Word?

4) Mixing the "nice looking chick who plays ball" into this crew is supposed to be a realistic portrayal of how sh*t goes down in the real world? Word? "Nice looking chicks" do not play ball, nor do they hang out with losers who play XBox Kinect.

5) How many flat screen TVs will be demolished by an errant crossover? Is this the first video game that can cause actual physical damage to a household?

6) The white guy just had to be the one to mess up. That's racist.

7) And last but certainly not least, this is a freakin' Guitar Hero ripoff!?! Jesus!!!

Dear EA Sports,

Please focus on getting the Live! franchise back on the rails so you can give us a reasonable alternative to NBA2K. This tomfoolery must end, and it must end now.

Question: Would you play this nonsense?

[1] Take a wild guess.

AB.com Open Mic Monday

I'm busy today, so either entertain yourselves or weigh in on Friday's epic post. Drop links, write your own posts. You know the drill by now.

A few topics to chew on...

Obama's "The Private Sector Is Doing Fine" flub.

Lebron finally comes up big and leads Heat to Finals vs Thunder.

Spain gets bailed out. Greece still unsettled.

Auburn University pool party massacre leaves 3 dead.

US Secretary of Commerce (allegedly) has seizure behind the wheel. Cited for hit and run.

Bryce Harper. Man, is that one exciting 19 year old or what?

Question: What's on your mind today?

With Surrogates Like Bill Clinton...

...who needs Hillaries?!?

Am I only one who remembers how brilliantly orchestrated the 2008 Obama campaign was? There were no leaks, no dissenters, everyone was on message, and the candidate himself was so calm and level-headed that the campaign was dubbed "No Drama Obama".

What a difference 4 years makes.

Whereas Obama had all his pros in check 4 years ago, this election season, it seems like someone veers off message on the weekly. Corey Booker caught heat a few weeks ago, but there's been no more egregious repeat offender than Bill Clinton, a guy whom I'd swear was trying to undermine the President if I didn't know better.

Former president Bill Clinton said Tuesday that broad tax cuts that are set to expire in January should be temporarily renewed, including for the wealthiest Americans, to give lawmakers time to reach a deal on a longer-term extension that should exclude the rich.

Clinton’s comments were in contrast to those of President Obama, whose reelection bid he is supporting. Obama has opposed renewing the tax reductions for people who earn more than $250,000 a year, saying they must contribute to the effort to control rampant federal deficits.

Reductions in income tax rates and other levies enacted under President George W. Bush will expire in January, at the same time that $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts take effect. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and others have warned that letting both events occur would drain so much money from the economy that it could spark a renewed recession next year.

“What I think we need to do is to find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff, to avoid doing anything that would contract the economy now, and then deal with what’s necessary in the long-term debt-reduction plan as soon as they can, which presumably will be after the election,” Clinton said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell With Maria Bartiromo.”

Asked whether that means extending the tax cuts, Clinton said, “They will probably have to put everything off until early next year. That’s probably the best thing to do right now.”

Last week, Clinton said presidential challenger Mitt Romney had a “sterling” record at private equity firm Bain Capital, departing from efforts by Obama’s campaign to criticize the Republican’s experience there as having little to do with job creation.

Not helping.

But well, that's prolly the point.

Question: Is the "first Black President" trying to undermine the "first African-American President"? Why?

The AverageBro Show™ - Episode Six.

In this episode, AB talks about his Justin Combs/UCLA story that went Reuters, his appearance on ESPN, and a crazy rant about Home Depot checkout folks. Music by Nas, Kaze, and Jay-Z.


As always, retweet and download responsibly.

AB.com Open Mic Monday

I'm busy today, so either entertain yourselves or weigh in on Friday's epic post. Drop links, write your own posts. You know the drill by now.

Question: What's on your mind today?

My 15 Minutes Of Unexpected Infamy: Diddy's Kiddies, Reuters, And How Sensational News Stories Get Made.

Wow, what a day.

I'm still off the Day Job on paternity leave, but when my old AOL BlackVoices editor asked me to write a contrarian piece for The Grio about Diddy's son Justin Combs receiving a football scholarship to UCLA, I said, why not? Baby girl was sleeping. I can write snarky pieces about pop culture fluff in my sleep. The money was good. Sign me up.

The piece went up the next day and got a lot of comments, which I figured would bode well for my goal of getting more freelance work in the future. With 3 mouths to feed and a wife with a Master's Degree in Internet Shopping, I need the money. Let's get it!

A couple of days later, something really weird happened. I took a long nap after dropping my son off at school, and when I woke up, my Twitter timeline, email, and voicemail were blowin' up.

Strangely, my (admittedly fluff) piece had been picked up by Reuters and used as the basis for a larger story about the blowback UCLA was taking for giving the kid the scholarship. Mind you, my Grio piece wasn't saying the kid didn't deserve the scholarship, just that since his family can afford the scholarship, he should walk on, and free up the athletic scholarship for another player. Basically, take one for the team (since you can afford it) and make the team stronger since they get a 2-for-1 deal. Whatever. That's all, and honestly, I didn't even care that much about the issue.

But it goes without saying that when a major news organization picks up your opinion piece and uses it to prove a pointness point, then someone actually does care about the issue.

I don't typically quote news stories this heavily, but sheeeit, my name's in the damn story. I sorta feel entitled.

Justin Dior Combs, whose father topped a Forbes list of hip hop's wealthiest this year with a net worth estimated at $550 million, comes to the California school from the private, Catholic Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, New York.

The younger Combs' scholarship to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, and play on the football team will provide $54,000 a year toward his education, with that money coming from what the athletic program generates, not from taxpayers, the school said.

That has not stopped some critics from questioning whether the money might not be better spent.

The younger Combs, in response to a CNN story about his scholarship, took to Twitter on Tuesday to say that he earned the scholarship. "Regardless what the circumstances are, I put that work in!!!! PERIOD," he wrote.

"Regardless of what you do in life every1 is gonna have their own opinion," Combs, who played in nationwide high school all-star game in Arizona in January, said in a follow-up post.

UCLA said in a statement that unlike need-based scholarships for academics, the school's sports scholarships are awarded strictly on the basis of athletic ability.

"Athletic scholarships, such as those awarded to football or basketball players, do not rely on state funds," UCLA said. "Instead, these scholarships are entirely funded through UCLA Athletics ticket sales, corporate partnerships, media contracts and private donations from supporters."

UCLA hands out about 285 full athletic scholarships each year.

At the NBC News opinion website TheGrio.com, blogger Jay Anderson asked whether paying for his son's education should be the obligation of the elder Combs.

"By taking a scholarship that he earned, but could likely afford on his own, (Justin) Combs is taking a spot away from a player who might elect to go elsewhere ... which in theory would hurt the team as a whole," Anderson wrote.

Fast forward a bit. The story's been covered on CNN, ESPN, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, and the Huffington Post. People as diverse as Russell Simmons, Dick Vitale, and Roland Martin all weighed in, all disagreeing with my point. Heck, even Diddy's Kid himself took to Twitter to (indirectly) bash me.

And then, I got asked to go on ESPN Radio Los Angeles to discuss my PoV on the Mason & Ireland Show, which I did. The appearance went well. I stuck to my central argument (2-for-1, makes the team better) and even referenced other examples where kids of means decided to walk-on, rather than take up a spot, for the good of the team. Of course, this being talk radio and all, as soon as I hung up the hosts sorta flipped the script on me, and accordingly, caller after caller dialed in and ripped me a new one for being "jealous" and "hating hip hop". I can't say I didn't know what I was getting into, so I'm not mad. It's whatever.

So, what did I learn from all this?

Be careful what you write, even when it's lighthearted, because you might have to defend it at some point.

It musta been a sloooow news day at Reuters.

News travels fast in cyberspace. Really fast.

People sure get worked up about that amounts to nothing. I mean, seriously, do a Google or Twitter search on this. It's pretty astounding.

My skin's much thicker than I thought.

Sports talk radio is all about sensationalism and keeping ears glued, even when the topic of convo isn't all that important. At all.

Man, am I glad don't go by my government name on the internets. Very glad.

All in all, a weird, weird day.

Question: What do you think? Did I hold my own on the radio? Does it bug you that a supposedly reputable news organization can take two lines from an opinion piece and turn it into a story "embroiled in a firestorm"?!?