Cockroach vs. Gay Weatherman

Let's get ready to rumble!

In this corner we have the champion, a multi-legged, multi-generational Cockroach, weighing less than one ounce. In the other corner we have the challenger: An effeminate Gay weatherman wearing a tight brown suit and overly processed hair, weighing in at a whopping 145 pounds.

Folks, it looks like this lopsided match-up may be one for the history books!

And the winner is . . .

Spencer Haywood, a Forgotten NBA Legend

I pride myself on being a moderately informed sports fan. I mean, I'm no sports junkie, mainly I watch professional basketball and little else. But since I was introduced to the NBA some 35 years ago that probably makes me more of basketball fan than anything else. I was nine years-old when I saw my first NBA game. It was a televised series between Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks, a best of seven series that lead to Boston winning another NBA World Championship.

I was fascinated by the unselfish team play and camaraderie shown by the Celtics. Boston's arsenal included Hall of Fame players Dave Cowens, JoJo White, John Havlicek, and Paul Westphal. All were excellent players and a collective force to be reckoned with.

And speaking of force, does anyone remember Spencer Haywood?

According to NBA.com's web site, on the court, Spencer Haywood was such a devastating force in his prime that no opponent could defend him or keep him off the boards. Off the court, he had a lasting effect on the game of basketball, largely because he provided the 1970 legal test case that opened the NBA to undergraduate college players.

Spencer Haywood has won an NBA championship and a gold medal. At his best Haywood was as dominating as they come. As a 20-year-old rookie in 1969-70 he led the American Basketball Association in both scoring and rebounding and was named the ABA's Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year.

After moving to the NBA he averaged better than 20 points for five consecutive seasons, including 29.2 ppg in 1972-73, and he was twice selected to the All-NBA First Team.

Haywood was born into a family of 10 children on April 22, 1949, in tiny Silver City, Miss. The rural poverty called hard time Mississippi by Stevie Wonder in "Living For the City" struck true for the Haywood family. Taking the opportunity to escape the stifling conditions at the time in the rural South, Haywood at age 15 went to Chicago and then to Detroit to live with his brother. In the Motor City, he led his Pershing High School to the 1967 Michigan Class A championship.

He spent a year at Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado, where he tallied 28.2 points and 22.1 rebounds per game. In the summer of 1968, Haywood helped the United States to a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Mexico City. He moved on to the University of Detroit for 1968-69, where as a sophomore he scored 32.1 ppg and led the nation in rebounding with an average of 21.5 rpg. Feeling that he had accomplished all that he needed to at the college level, Haywood passed up his final two years of eligibility to sign with the ABA's Denver Rockets.

Haywood joined the ABA in 1969-70 and had a phenomenal first season. He was the league's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player. He also won the ABA scoring title with an average of 30.0 ppg, and he led the league in rebounding with a remarkable 19.5 rpg to set the ABA's all-time record. The next season the 21-year-old Haywood shook up both the ABA and the NBA when he left the Rockets to sign with the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics.

At the time, the NBA prohibited the drafting or signing of a player before his college class had graduated. Haywood's class wouldn't graduate until the end of the 1970-71 campaign, but the Sonics signed him anyway. The NBA league office and other NBA teams opposed the move, protesting that it violated existing rules and that, since Haywood hadn't gone through a draft, the Sonics had no right to him.

The NBA took Haywood and the Sonics to court. The argument in Haywood's favor was that, as the sole wage earner in his struggling family, he was a "hardship case" and therefore had a right to begin earning his living. The Supreme Court ruled in Haywood's favor, forever altering professional basketball.

Beginning in 1971, underclassmen were allowed to enter the NBA Draft provided they could give evidence of "hardship" to the NBA office. In 1976 the hardship requirement was eliminated in favor of the current Early Entry procedure, whereby any athlete with remaining college eligibility can enter the NBA Draft on the condition that he notifies the league office at least 45 days before the draft.

But before the final legal decision, Haywood would encounter a lot of hostility from the general public about his attempts to play in the NBA. However, after finally being cleared to play late in the 1970-71 season, Haywood joined the Sonics and averaged 20.6 ppg over the final 33 games. The five years he spent with Seattle represented the most stable and productive period of his career -- he made four NBA All-Star Teams, two All-NBA First Teams and two All-NBA Second Teams.

In 1971-72, his first full NBA season, Haywood scored 26.2 ppg and grabbed 12.7 rpg. The next year he was unstoppable, pouring in 29.2 ppg (third in the league behind Nate Archibald and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and pulling down 12.9 rpg. His most effective shot was a turnaround jumper in which Haywood took advantage of his height and reach to extend above the defender before lofting a soft arc toward the hoop. He scored 51 points against the Kansas City-Omaha Kings that year. The Sonics, however, finished with a 26-56 record, 34 games out of first place in the division.

Haywood continued to provide stellar play. In 1973-74, his scoring average dropped to 23.5 ppg, but he increased his rebounding to 13.4 rpg, sixth in the NBA. The Sonics finished 36-46 under new coach Bill Russell and missed the playoffs again.

His most effective shot was a turnaround jumper in which Haywood took advantage of his height and reach to extend above the defender before lofting a soft arc toward the hoop.

Haywood and Russell made history in 1974-75 when they led Seattle to its first playoff berth in the team's eight-year existence. Haywood was dominating as usual, averaging 22.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg and earning his fourth straight trip to the NBA All-Star Game. The Sonics finished 43-39 and actually made some noise in the postseason, bumping off the Detroit Pistons in the first round before losing to the eventual NBA-champion Golden State Warriors in the conference semifinals.

After that season, Haywood was traded to the New York Knicks for cash and a draft choice. In the Big Apple he led the life of a star. He married glamorous fashion model Iman, and the celebrity couple were regulars on the social scene. But New York acquired Bob McAdoo during the 1976-77 season, and the Knicks found themselves with two high-scoring forward. In the middle of the 1978-79 campaign, Haywood was swapped to the New Orleans Jazz for Joe C. Meriweather. When the Jazz moved to Utah for the next season, Haywood was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Adrian Dantley.

He averaged only 9.7 points in a limited role with the Lakers in 1979-80 but earned his only championship ring that year.

Haywood spent the 1980-81 campaign playing in Italy and working toward returning to the NBA. He played 76 games with the Washington Bullets in 1981-82 and 38 more the following season. He was waived in March 1983, then retired from the NBA with 14,592 career points and 7,038 rebounds.

Prior to retiring, however, Haywood got caught up in drugs. While playing for New York he was introduced to cocaine and eventually his drug use began to effect his play. Over the years his stats steadily declined and he played at a journeyman's level.

After retiring from playing in 1983, Haywood became involved in real estate development in Detroit, and wrote his autobiography, Spencer Haywood: The Rise, the Fall, the Recovery.

Today, Haywood lives in the Detroit suburbs with his second wife of 15 years, Linda. He's a family man with three daughters at home, Nikiah, 21, Shaakira, 15, and Isis, 12, and another, Zulekah, 26, from his previous marriage

I wasn't aware of the great impact Spencer Haywood had on the game of basketball until I logged onto NBA.com. I knew about his problems with drugs, but I had no idea that he was a trailblazer. Knowing what I now know, in my opinion Haywood's autobiography should be required reading for today's college athlete. His legacy serves as a reminder that had it not been for him, their asses wouldn't be in the NBA today living large and making all that cheddar.

Spencer Haywood is an NBA legend and trailblazer. He should not be forgotten.

Big Day for Smokey

Today's the day that my seven-month old Shih Tzu, Smokey, gets neutered. Although I have mixed reservations about stopping his reproduction system, I do recognize the advantages of spaying and neutering our pets. According to my veterinarian, neutering a male reduces the risk of both prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. I'm told that neutering also will make your pet more affectionate and less likely to roam, get in fights, or become lost.

Please say a prayer for my pooch as he goes under the knife this morning. As my neighbor said (while talking to his female dog), "Take a look at Smokey, because when you see him again he won't be the man he used to be."

4 Worst Sitcoms Ever

In the name of all things pure and holy, how does a bad situation comedy finds its way on air? Just looking at the quality of these shows one immediately can tell it's not about art or posterity. These whack-ass sitcoms should have never made it past the pilot episode. Yeah, they served a purpose. They created jobs for talentless writers and bad actors, and in some cases, good writers and talented actors fell victim, too. Amazingly these humorless comedies liberally laced with laugh tracks and feigned audience interest appear regularly on prime time television, either in syndication or regular season.

I guess like most things bad sitcoms have their place in society. Fortunately for the "hired help" like the grips, lighting technicians, hairstylists, costume designers, production assistants, make-up artists, et. al., it makes for steady employment.

Here is my list of the 4 Worst Sitcoms Ever:

4. Reba. This whack-ass sitcom has been on the WB network for the past several years. It started n 2001 and ended last year. It stars country singer Reba McEntire as a single mom raising three kids, but keeping an eye on a son-in-law, a granddaughter, an ex-husband and an ex-husband's neurotic wife. 'Reba' began with the Hart family in the midst of a divorce as Texas soccer mom Reba watched her white-picket-fenced world collapse before her very eyes. Her dentist husband, Brock(Christopher Rich), left her after what she thought was 20 happy years of marriage for his impossibly perky and unfortunately pregnant dental hygienist, Barbra Jean (Melissa Peterman). The cherry on top of this bitter sundae was the pregnancy of Reba's then 17-year-old daughter Cheyenne (JoAnna Garcia) and her decision to marry her high school football star boyfriend, Van (Steve Howey). Rounding out the happy brood is teenage Kyra(Scarlett Pomers), who continues to greet puberty with venom, and son Jake (Mitch Holleman).

Where's the humor in that scenario? Ask the writers, cause watching an episode of Reba is like visiting the dentist office. You know it's gong to be painful, so you just grin and bear it.

3. She's the Sheriff. Starring an ageless Suzanne Sommers cast as Hildy Granger, a young wife suddenly widowed with two children to support. Her employment worries end when the Commissioner of Lakes County, Nevada (near Lake Tahoe), offers to appoint her sheriff, the job held by her husband until his untimely death. Hildy accepts the position and is immediately forced to handle the daily problems of both locals and tourists, with extra trouble created by the four deputies on her staff. In addition, Hildy has regular battles with work colleague Max Rubin, who doesn't feel Hildy should be in the job.

Okay. Once again, where's the humor? This sorry sitcom lasted 44 episodes! Thank goodness it never made its way to syndication.

2. The Ropers. Simply horrible. A spin-off from Three's Company, 'Three’s Company' landlords Stanley and Helen Roper leave the apartment complex and move into a new one. Still the same Roper dynamic, but without the Three’s Company gang. Not funny. Without the ensemble cast from 'Three's Company', this sitcom fell flat. It only lasted one season.

1. Cavemen. Enough said. This bad sitcom was derived from a series of funny commercial ads for GEICO Insurance. What started as a good commercial ended as one of the worst sitcoms ever. How interested would you be in watching the perils of cavemen as the maneuver through a modern day big city? Get real!

Tell me, which sitcom would you like to see added to the list and why?

An Obama Love Story

Okay, so I've posted twice in a row about Obama. Don't strangle me.

I ran across this lovely video while trolling YouTube and immediately thought, "Wow! What a homage to love." It's a pictorial salute to love accompanied by a beautiful ballad sung by Clay Aiken. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. What I enjoy most about the tribute is 1) The strong and positive images of black family and black love, and 2) The words of the song.

Watch and listen for yourself.

Enjoy!

Obama Passes the Litmus Test

Several months ago when Barack Obama appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show he made a powerful statement. It wasn't so much what he said, but what he did. He showed the viewing audience that he has soul. And how does a black politician show that he has soul? He dances.

I'm not kidding. The Democratic presidential hopeful breaks out in a dance. Initially he looks pretty awkward, stiff and not very soulful. But when Ellen rolls up to him and starts her signature dance, Brotha Barack starts getting down. I mean he really gets down. He throws his hands up, shakes his hips and starts poppin' his fingers. You know. The cool brotha in the club dance. In essence, he got his groove on.

So for all you haters out there who keep saying that Barack ain't a brotha, y'all need to stop. See for yourself. Barack Obama is really Black. And he can dance, too . . . for a White guy.

Officer Fired for Beating Transgendered Woman

The Memphis Police Department has done the right thing. Officer Bridges McRae has been fired for using excessive force in the videotaped beating of Duanna Johnson, a transgendered former prostitute.

Although it took four months for the department to take action, the administrative hearing officers apparently only needed two hours. In an administrative hearing held on June 25, Officer McRae learned his fate: It ain't cool to beat-up a detainee and keep your job. During the proceedings, McRae wanted to speak in his defense but his attorney advised against it. He now plans to appeal his termination.

Johnson says she feels somewhat vindicated by the department's decision to fire McRae, but plans to continue with her $1.3 million lawsuit against the MPD. The FBI has also been called in to investigate to determine if Johnson's civil rights were violated.

Another bad cop off the streets.

Do you think it's ever warranted or necessary for police to use excessive force?

http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?s=8556748