Friday night lights in Olney, Maryland proved to be too much for the Gonzaga Purple Eagles as they fell 37 – 7 to the Falcons. Good Counsel improves to 8 – 1 and only has the one blemish from league-leading DeMatha. The Falcons will close their regular season next week against an underachieving Archbishop Carroll team while Gonzaga (5 – 4) will take on Saint John’s for the final play-off spot in their historical contest.

The Cadets (5 – 4) certainly weren’t looking ahead to the oldest rivalry in high school football in the country against Gonzaga next week because Saint John’s destroyed Bishop O’Connell 30 – 7 at home on Halloween. I really feel bad for Trimble’s Knights because the Swine Flu pretty much destroyed any hope they had for competing for a WCAC title. Bishop O’Connell (4 – 5) still has a chance to end their season respectably if they can defend their home turf against a Paul VI team that has been nothing short of horrendous this year.

Paul VI traveled out to Forestville to collect a 34 – 7 thrashing from the Bishop McNamara Mustangs. The Panthers fall to an overall record of 1 – 8 and haven’t shown any real signs of life this season with their only win coming against Saint Mary’s Ryken. The Mustangs are sporting an overall record of 8 – 1 but they have yet to play the Stags this year. No matter the outcome of the final regular season game next week McNamara can look forward to making the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.

DeMatha (9 – 0) demonized the Archbishop Carroll Lions 44 – 0 on the road this Halloween. I’m still not willing to say that the team and the defense are totally ready for the playoffs yet because the Lions (2 – 7) have played tremendously terrible this year. McNamara and Landon also shut-out Carroll earlier this year. The Stags probably still have more work to do before they are totally ready to defend their streak of six WCAC titles. I’ll give my take on what they need to make it to the next level, by the by.

Dandini’s Week 10 Power Rankings

I’m rooting for DeMatha to be the undisputed WCAC champion and in order to do that they are going to have to play up to their potential against Bishop McNamara next week.  I know that the Stags can do it, but I also know that DeMatha football has another gear that they haven’t used yet.  Let’s make it happen and keep practicing hard, DeMatha!

Cross Country Cory

Also shout outs to Cory Puffett who became to the first cross country runner in WCAC history, ever, to win the individual championship three times in a row.  In case you are trying to keep track at home, that is Puffett’s fifth cross country race win of the year, as well.  As if that wasn’t enough of a superlative, the young man also broke a course record and finished in 16 minutes, flat.  What a phenomenal runner!

Go Stags!

There is a lot going on today.  Today is Halloween.  I also have to work, though, so there isn’t a whole lot that I’m going to be doing.  The Stags play at Archbishop Carroll this afternoon, but I can’t go to the game.  I’m sure that there are parties out there and all that, too.  I’m not going to any of them though.  My plan is to continue to hold it down and dream about far away places.  I’m really appreciating how Jessica Marquez is getting me in the right frame of mind.  The sparkly shoes are just awesome too.  Gosh, I have serious problems.  So far, nobody has been able to help me.  I think that I have an un-curable case of being a Black man.  I got out of the game back on October 14, if you recall, but that doesn’t mean that my eyes fell out of my head and that my penis isn’t still psychic.  “I see hard times in your future.”  Also my sense of humor has problems, but we’ll get into that later.

I don’t know if you wanted to check the Howard University fashion scene or not but you could always just click on this link and peep the perspective of the Washington Post.  Let me just say a few words about fashion at Howard University: it’s real.  When the girl in the video said that she never went to classes in sweatpants, she probably wasn’t kidding.  The Bison typically bring their A games when it comes to dressing to the nines.  With that being said, I’m not in college anymore and while it was fun to play dress up during homecoming I think that it is important that you all know that I don’t always dress like that.

This is a picture of me going to work this morning on casual Friday.  Usually when I go to work I wear suits, or at least a jacket and tie, but I’m not nearly as coordinated as I was last weekend.  I think that my Friday outfit last weekend was way out of control.  Did any of you peep the navy blue Ralph Lauren ensemble, game?  (Polo down to the socks, ya’ll.)  There were so many people that weren’t even ready for that.  By the time that Saturday rolled around and I hit them with the velvet, nobody knew what to do with themselves.  These days, now I’m more concerned about the changing of the seasons and the leaves and stuff.  In this picture, I’m grooving to the new Ghostface and thinking far away happy thoughts.

Speaking of happy thoughts, while I was writing last night the New York Yankees actually took me there.  As you already know, I’m thoroughly enthralled with Alicia Keys, and my favorite color is purple, and I happen to love hip-hop music, baseball, and all things New York.  Enter the Shangri-La…

And the Yankees won the second game  of the Baseball World Series, 3 – 1, and Hideki Matsui hit the game winning homerun!  (Shout outs to Japan!)  Needless to say, I’m a very happy man.  I feel great.  Happy Friday, ya’ll.  The Stags play tomorrow, but I have to work.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to write a whole bunch this weekend, but I hope you guys out there understand that I’m with you in spirit.  Hold it down for me until I make it to your city…

I’m sorry, but did Alicia Keys just get on the stage wearing some purple displaying that perfectly rotund ass, and wailing the Jay-Z anthem “New York” as a pre-game warm-up to the second game of the world series? Did John Legend just put down the Star Spangled Banner?  The New York Yankees are so big time, but they also better win tonight…

Wow, that just happened.

The DeMatha Stags have been winning steadily without the help of The Long Ranger, folks. Marcus Coker didn’t start Week 9 and we’re heading in to Week 10 and while I haven’t exactly been all up on the Stags, that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t keeping a watchful eye on all of them. I’m going to give you the run down on the scores from Weeks 8 & 9 before I get into all of that though.

WCAC Football 2009: Week 8 Recap

There were no surprises in the eighth week at all. Everybody that was expected to win did just that. Good Counsel blanked Paul VI 49 – 0 to prolong the agony of the Panthers’ season in Olney.

Bishop McNamara handled Bishop O’Connell in much the same manner, handing them a 29 – 0 loss. The Battle of the Bishops wasn’t nearly as good this year as it was last year because many of the Knights came down with the dreaded Swine Flu before travelling to Forestville.

In the battle for North Capitol Street Gonzaga showed Archbishop Carroll who was boss 34 – 13, and finally defended their home turf. There were some people that believed that Carroll was going to manage a win, but I wasn’t one of them.

Lastly, you already knew what DeMatha did to Saint John’s College from the early release. Stags rolled 37 – 7 on the Cadets’ home turf and I’m told that Coker only played a half before getting injured. Fortunately the injury isn’t serious, but there will be more on that later –as promised.

WCAC Football 2009: Week 9 Recap

Week nine was a lot like week eight, in that there were no real upsets. The only thing that made it slightly different was the fact that some of the scores were closer. I guess this means that everyone is taking a cue from the DeMatha Stags and teams are starting to rely more on back-up players before making that final push in the playoffs?

The score that jumped out at me right away was the unimpressive victory that the Mustangs had over the Lions, 7 – 0. When I think of the talent disparity, I would imagine that the McNamara could have pulled off a three touchdown victory at the very least, even though the weather was bad and McNamara was on the road. If this were Las Vegas then I suppose that a lot of people would have gotten burned on the spread.

The second score that caught my attention was the 22 – 10 victory posted by the Falcons over the Cadets of Saint John’s. On the one hand Saint John’s always plays Good Counsel pretty tough, even on the road, but on the other hand this should have been a blow-out, too. I can’t really call it. I will say that this game probably had one of the best action photos of the year in it, though.

Paul VI can’t really play with anybody this year and they lost, again, to an improving Gonzaga team 20 – 7 on the road. This score was also significant because the Panthers finally scored a touchdown and Gonzaga’s offense finally seems to be coming back to normal after stepping it up recently.

Lastly, the DeMatha Stags crushed Bishop O’Connell 35 – 7 at the Prince George’s County Sports Learning Complex. I want to say that the Knights are still suffering from the flu, but I don’t know if it would have had a significant outcome on the game if they were all healthy. DeMatha is coming together right now as a team and the Stags aren’t just relying on The Long Ranger. For the second straight week the league’s leading rusher did not get significant playing time. Why?

Here’s What I Know…  But What Do I Know?

Two weeks ago The Long Ranger was in contention for national recognition for Player of the Year considerations but I don’t believe that it sat particularly well with the coaches. Not for the reason that you’re probably thinking, but because the rest of the DeMatha football team still hasn’t played to their full potential, yet. I’ve alluded to it before on this site, but DeMatha isn’t a school where an individual is going to be made into a super star. No matter the sport, DeMatha is a school where the team is going to compete for a championship, and whatever lessons are necessary are going to be taught along the way.

Coach Emeritus Morgan Wootten is famously the punch line to an old joke that has haunted DeMatha hallways: Who is the only person to hold basketball Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley under thirty points-per-game? Students might still be there getting a chuckle out of that joke, but like the old folks say, “there is truth in every jest.” Coach Wootten would often sit basketball players simply for having too many points in the game. I can also speculate that current Head Coach Mike Jones holds players like Oladipo to the same standard.

Win or lose, Coach Wootten was committed to the overall welfare of the team so much that individual superlatives would suffer. (I don’t believe that selfish players fit the sort of system or tradition that has been passed along at DeMatha.) Could a player such as Keith Bogans, score more than 30 points-per-game when he was at DeMatha? Probably so. Would Keith Bogans ever get many opportunities to score that many points in a DeMatha uniform? Probably not. Even though football and basketball are different, I can totally remember Coach Wootten’s philosophy for hot shot players and their accolades.

Any player approaching the limit of let’s say twenty-five points in a basketball game would be monitored and substituted for immediately, if DeMatha was cruising towards an apparent victory. Even when the Stags were approaching losses, star players sat on the bench with 30 points, almost without exception and it became a right of passage for the great ones: Adrian Branch, Hawkeye Whitney, Sid Catlett, James Brown, Vaughn Jones, and etc… Coach Wootten would say, “Come and explain to me how you got all those points next to me on the bench.” What is more, Coach Wootten meant it. I heard one hot shot that later went on to play for Duke try and convince The Wizard of Washington that he “meant to pass that last time.”

Coach Wootten had no qualms about stopping play, or calling a time out, just to take a player out of the game that had too many points. Ball hogs were quickly cured of the habit if they wanted to log minutes on the floor at DeMatha. You’d have to be having a hell of a game to get back in the action with 30 points even in a losing effort. I’m talking about guys having at least ten assists and twenty rebounds in a game that DeMatha was likely going to lose, but not surprisingly, this didn’t happen very often. (I think Jones had 32 points and 20 rebounds in a standard 32 minute high school game as a DeMatha player, once –but we won that game.)  In team sports, and with the correct emphasis being placed on the team rather than the individual, there is little incentive for one player to outshine his teammates.

Of course there are always cases in which a player is just so talented that he stands out above everybody else. (Mike Jones wasn’t really that type of player, but it still happened for him, so what does that tell you?)  In the early 1970’s at DeMatha that person was Adrian Dantley, and a joke was born. Today, we are talking about a different sport altogether and the student athlete is Marcus Coker, a University of Iowa committed recruit. Football is also a team sport but there are also elements of strategy that lead me to believe that the DeMatha coaching staff is saving him. Injuries can be a big problem in high school football and with two successive wins it didn’t seem necessary to play Coker at all to avoid any risks. Sure there is speculation that he could very well be injured, but for some reason I just don’t believe it.

I think that the reason why he probably isn’t playing is a little more obvious than that: other DeMatha athletes are being forced to step up by a coaching staff pushing for a seventh league championship in a row. The Long Ranger already has his golden ticket: a scholarship offer from a Big Ten school, University of Iowa. Why not give some other kid a chance to shine on highlight reel because the object for Bill McGregor is to get as many kids into college as possible? I thought it almost as soon as it happened back when The Long Ranger proved to the Good Counsel Falcons that he wasn’t the type that would go gently into any good night: the Stags can’t make a habit of that if they want to go undefeated.

After scoring three touchdowns in the span of ten minutes of a game, it is pretty pointless to keep pushing the young man out there he definitely deserved the rest. Aside from running the risk of injury or over-exposure, DeMatha coaches are probably only thinking of winning another WCAC championship. (The Stags make no bones about wanting to win, but DeMatha’s trademark has always been the impossible team win through amazing synergy –and the football team just doesn’t seem to be there yet.) DeMatha has had some pretty great players in just about every sport that you can imagine throughout the years, but I don’t think that you can any one of them “over-exposed.” I tend to believe that good coaches know when all the talk is going to a kid’s head, and they will shut it down.

Don’t get me wrong, everything that I have heard from Marcus Coker in interviews suggests he isn’t that type of student-athlete, but DeMatha isn’t the type of school that is even willing to take that chance. Excellent coaching is another trademark of the Stags. The DeMatha, or Trinitarian philosophy, has always been to err on the side of caution when dealing with egos in the making. Nobody is above being taken down a peg or two, at DeMatha, as many a young “superstar” has found out. Deflection for the humble usually comes in the form of a phantom injury. In the case of the rare DeMatha student-athlete that thinks he’s bigger than the team, a suspension for “violation of team rules” is the usual prescription.

I know people out there are reading the Washington Post and thinking about past DeMatha stars who never graduated from the school because of similar quotes that ran. Let me state for the record that I don’t believe that The Long Ranger is in the same category as any of the people that you might be thinking about. (There are way too many people to name that used to go to DeMatha, and never graduated because they couldn’t conform to the simple system.) I have inklings that he’s an excellent student that doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight at all. As long as DeMatha football keeps winning then I wouldn’t see why Head Coach Bill McGregor wouldn’t sit him down with an injury that changes locations, and allows college recruiters to see some of the other kids that want to play big time college sports.

DeMatha is way ahead of most of the other schools in the WCAC, in that regard. The Stags aren’t in the business of producing professional athletes, but they are in the business of sending student-athletes on to college. These scholarships aren’t going to offer themselves, now are they? The professional mentality is a little too cut-throat for teenagers, but for those willing to play nice, glory awaits on a DeMatha Stags athletic team. What is more, you have a better chance at getting a college scholarship at DeMatha, even when playing behind a record-breaker like The Long Ranger, or even sitting on the bench. How’s about those Stags!

Joel Tudor interviewed by yours truly for the Frank 151 website.  Click on Joel’s picture above (photo credit to Estevan Oriol) to go directly to the interview.  Shout outs to Sector 9 & Vans for getting on the gi for sponsorship.

It took me a little while to get to this point, but here I am finally introducing you all to one of my favorite composer.  A lot of people ask me how it is even possible for me to like classical music as well as hip hop music.  Well the answer is that I never thought of the two as mutually exclusive, and I was involved in classical music when hip hop was getting started.  As far as classical music goes, Percy Aldridge Grainger was the gangster composer of his time, he was most productive around 1920 or so.  He started to perform publicly at the age of 12, in Australia, as a child prodigy and eventually began transcribing folk tunes into amazing classical works.  He travelled all over the far recesses of England and Ireland with a recording device strapped to his back to capture the sounds of the lore that became his obsession.  His skills on the piano were as legendary as his sexual deviance.  More on all that later, though.

I totally realize that the You Tube video is a teaser, and it doesn’t really give you enough to go on.  With that in mind, I hooked you up with some more music in the public files.  I hope to draw attention to Grainger’s extraordinary ability to capture the essence of folk music.  Grainger bucked the system while rejecting the sonata form of celebrated classical composers like Bach and introducing his own method of reproducing songs.  In many pieces he would introduce a theme and embellish them in a way that if you could put them all together then you could understand the whole of it.  In many cases Percy was able to even interpret complex ideas and words through orchestral arrangements and instruments as difficult as the piano.  Grainger not only paid homage to all things “blue eyed English” and Norse, he also pushed the envelope of modern classical music with his use of dissonance and unique annotations. 

Despite the fact that he was a notorious racist and sexual pervert, I’ve always admired him for his brazen and bold musical choices.  I hope you enjoy the full version as much as I do.

Okay, who am I kidding?  It is going to be a little while before I can write anything because my brain turned to mush.  Too much drinking and too little sleep is the recipe for soft brain.  On the bright side my weekend of Howard University Homecoming festivities was completely and totally awesome, and DeMatha also won.  The dark side is, of course, Howard University lost the football game to NCA&T.  Oh well, you have to take the good with the bad.  I promise later on today I’ll provide you with a photo link in this post so that you can see the photos from Saturday night.  Above you can see both my outfit and my mindset, and now you can click on the picture to see the photos or just hit this link.  Overall, I hit them hard all weekend with Homecoming chic fashion wear, but last night was especially velvety.  The all black theme was in remembrance of the Bison like Prince Jones, who are no longer here with us.

Today is probably the biggest travel day for Howard University Homecoming for the Bison headed towards the annual festivities. Tonight, Tom gets into town so there can be no doubt that we’ll be drinking the good scotch tonight.  Rudy and I don’t have very far to travel so we have it easy.  I hope that everybody out there travels safely.  Tonight is also the night of the big time happy hours for people as the get into town, but you probably already guessed that I’ll be attending a private affair.  It is not very often that Tom, Rudy and I are all together so we’re going to have to take advantage. Let me know if you’re out there and headed my way. I might have some good advice for you, and at the very least I want to shout you out.  GO BISON!

“I can hear sweat trickling down your cheek. Your heartbeat sound like Sasquatch feet: thundering, shaking the concrete.” -Notorious B.I.G., Who Shot Ya’?

I’m going to separate the weak from the obsolete. It’s hard to creep the Bison’s streets. It’s on, nigga… Fuck all the A&T beef.

[Can you feel the Rhythm? The homecoming theme this year is right on time. Who is more “on it” than black college kids?]

I hate to get all out of order on you but we’re already in medias res in regards to Homecoming week for Howard University. (Hoity-toity Latin is apropos of the occasion.) The Bison are getting all set to take on North Carolina A&T Aggies this Saturday so this might be my last chance to hip you to the game on how it is about to go down. You know how I do during Homecoming. I’m liable to incognito on the internet. Even if I do have a presence in cyberspace it is likely to be straight pictures because I just don’t see myself writing that much.

I wanted to do the whole big homecoming extravaganza like I did last year but it isn’t really going to bubble on that tip this time. I’m not saying that some people won’t have as good of a time as last year, but I am saying that the folks around my era aren’t likely to feel this year nearly as much. For one thing it has become apparent in the scheduling and venue selections that those of us from the nineties have kind of jumped the shark. Instead of being known as the crew that brought you the Masquerade Party at Bobby Vans, this year we’re going to throw the Michael Jackson inspired, “Remember the Time” themed shindig at The Park on Saturday hosted by R&B superstar Brian McKnight. Classic case of great host, with a venue that isn’t as strong as Bobby Van’s, but more on that in a second…

Making it even considerably weaker is the fact that it will also probably rain Friday and Saturday. Needless to say, because of a person that I do not care to mention on my website that happens to own The Park I am not hype on the party. I have to go though because if you have checked the website for “Remember the Time” then you’ll know that my homeboys are all on the flyer as people hosting. I happen to know for a fact that both of my closest friends will not be in attendance despite the fact that one of them is listed, that only serves to further dampen my hype this year. I’m still hype on Howard Homecoming, mind you, just not hype on the nineties crew’s ability to be the talk of the big show this year. Instead, we’re using our combined forces for good in order to honor fallen Bison while raising money for the Tom Joyner Foundation.

You already know how my mans Bryndan is putting it down and it is actually for a good cause, so I would still suggest that you slide through that party. You should also support Zanzibar because my fraternity brother owns it, and it is in South West. Also support The Brookland Cafe because my friend D’Maz is in on that. They’ll all be doing their thing this weekend too, probably making a killing because the Black dollar is making a big comeback on the Howard Homecoming scene this year. With that being said, let me tell you about the crew that is apparently ready to raise the bar for black bourgeoisie partying this year: Black Hollywood. I’m told that this has been in the making for many years but it is finally coming into fruition.

This year a coalition spanning many years associated with all things Hollywood glitz and Howard are putting it down for the ages at the museum / mansion adjacent to the convention center. Of course, being a black and thoroughly bourgeoisie affair, the attire is black tie. They are rolling out what they call a “black carpet” right out to the main thoroughfare of Washington DC, and have already garnered the support of many reputable Hollywood types. I don’t want to get into the whole naming of the names but there are quite a few actors and actresses that are Howard University alumni. I’m not taking pictures though, this year, so you’re just going to have to take my word for it.

If you are in Washington DC and really want to know what the “it” party is this year then you probably need to look no further than all the events associated with the Black Hollywood crew. They are hosting everything from happy hours to mansion bashes. Maybe it is because I’m old and all that, but I’m really down with the whole bourgeoisie balls for homecoming because it allows you to step it up a bit. When we were all in undergrad we would seek out the older parties too, for that very reason, but it also never stopped us from sweating up clubs in jeans. I know that the true undergraduate parties are where it is really at, but because my tastes have changed I can leave it to those experts in the making. There will still be plenty of young, supple college kids that are able to schmooze their way into elite events, anyway.

I certainly never had a problem. Well there it is. I kind of told you a lot of the activities without having to get too far into the nuts and bolts. (I feel like I’ve dropped enough hints for you, there is no need to claim insider status –just bring it.) Before I bolt off to finish cleaning my house in preparation of this massive weekend let me tell you that you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a good time at homecoming. All of the parties that I mentioned so far are going to run gentlemen about $200 per evening, from tickets to drinks. Ladies don’t usually have expect to pay for much if they can get in the venue. If you take advantage of the websites and purchase right now, even that cost can even be reduced. Party planning is of the utmost importance, which is another reason why I’m not willing to put my complete schedule out there on the internets.

Be sure that you get out there and go to all of the free stuff though. Just like every year the Yardfest on Friday is the signature homecoming event aside from the game itself, and it is totally free. Consider yourself lucky if you run into anybody in a sea of Black people jamming to a free concert and mingling on Main Campus from noon until nightfall. If the weather is nice, and this year that isn’t exactly promised, then the Yardfest could be epic.  I suppose it also depends on your perspective and if you actually know the hundreds of people that you are sure to bump into. This year the concert is classic funk, Cameo, and some fresh hip-hop, The Clipse. I have no idea how they are going to tie those two drastically different acts together or who is in between all that, but check it out.

At the very least you can peep all the booths selling food and clothes and whatever black people will buy at such events. If you don’t make it on Friday, the same goes for Saturday, where they will broadcast a live telecast of the football game if you can’t pack into the stadium for the game. We have to play roulette with the chances that there will be better weather for the homecoming parade on Saturday morning, and if not maybe clear up in time for the game? Speaking of the game… well I don’t really want to speak about the game. We lost the game last year, and I don’t have much faith in the team this year. I couldn’t name you one player on the team either. All I know is that the football team is really bad, and that the more you drink during the weekend, the more you won’t even care. I know that the Aggies are awful as well, but I don’t know whether or not Howard is worse. I guess we’re all about to find out.

So if we’re really good friends, you might want to get with me Thursday night. I’m hosting a special “The Bruzz” edition, happy hour, and is probably the last time that Rudy, Tom, and I will all be together before going our separate ways for the weekend. (Rudy is headed to Florida for a family centennial birthday party, and is not having his annual homecoming bash this year. Tom is only staying until Saturday morning because he’s splitting time at his wife’s homecoming at the fake HU, Hampton, the same weekend. Boo!) Friday night, early, I’m going to dedicate some time to my fraternity brothers -like I have choice.  I will arrive back in the general population relatively soon, though. I can’t be out there holding it down for the brotherhood all day like I’m pledging or something. Anyway, meet me at the flagpole on Friday and let’s kick this thing off.

Seriously name the plant, Genus species and common name and win something.  I don’t know what you’re going to win yet, but it is something that can be sent in the mail.  I guess that this contest is somehow related to Howard Homecoming or something, but I don’t really know how.  Maybe I’m going back in my mind to the time that I had Plant Systematics with Dr. Poston, again.  (She’s not even at Howard anymore, sadly, but this is definitely the sort of question that would be on her midterm or final.)  She would just throw down a bunch of plants on the table and you had bring the knowledge.  As hard as her class was, I loved that lady.  She is just a whole bunch of awesome wrapped up in a neat package.  Where do you find a person like that, these days?

So the Giants lost.  It also looks like my fantasy football team, The Cooperators, aren’t doing too well of late.  I can’t say that I’m sad, though.  There is still a whole lot that is still going right with me in the world today.  At least the Stags are still winning.  I still got to see how USC kicked Notre Dame out of the top 25 in college football yesterday.  I can’t believe that it is already snowing in places like Boston and that the really super cold air isn’t very far behind.  I don’t think that autumn is going to be very long this year.  That means it is probably going to be a very, very cold winter.  I’m hooking you up with the bonus round of Briana Loyd in the hopes that it will keep your Sunday warm.

The New York Yankees beat the California Angels in game two of the American League Championship Series early this morning.  The game lasted 13 innings, over five hours of play, and didn’t end until after Saturday Night Live a little past 0100 in the morning.  Still it was an epic baseball game that showed that the Yankees never give up. 

Today, I’m going to concentrate on the New York Football Giants in their game against the New Orleans Saints that will take place this afternoon.  I hope that the Giants win.  My plan is to lay around all day and watch football.  It is rainy on the East Coast and so I haven’t exactly been motivated to go outside and play.  I’m really concentrating on holding it down and sticking close to home bases. 

Oh, it’s officially Homecoming Week for Howard University so I guess I really won’t be staying in as much soon so I need my rest.  Tonight is the Gospel Concert at Crampton Auditorium and the traditional opening ceremony of the week-long celebration of all things Bison.  Gospel concerts are great ways to start out the week.

I’ll keep you posted.

The DeMatha Stags cleaned up nicely against the Saint John’s Cadets by winning 37 – 7.  I would like to take this time in order to personally thank the 2009 DeMatha Catholic High School football team sponsors Nike and Outback Steakhouse.  If you like to wear fresh sweat suits with matching kicks and then hit up Australian steakhouses then you might want to check on the Stags.  I can’t make this stuff up, people.

Yes, we like Cara Skye just because her name is so fresh.  Okay, maybe it’s just because she’s cute and half naked.  I’m willing to overlook her McIntosh products because I’m strictly a MSN man.  I really mean that, too.  Anyway, I’m putting it down here for you right now to let you know that the Stags play this afternoon at 1400, but I’m obviously not going to the game.  I hope that the Stags win, though.  Right now, I’m thoroughly engrossed in other, more pressing, activities.  I don’t want to go into detail, but let’s just say that I’m putting in the work.  Still got to get the paper, nah mean?  I’ll keep everybody posted how the game goes, but don’t expect me to hang around staring at pictures on the internets with you all day.

Right now, I don’t have this problem anymore but I have had recent ruminations on girls that make you look bad that I would like to lay out for you here.

In relationships I don’t believe that there is any difference in the sexes when it comes to people wanting to avoid the people that embarrass them. Whether you are talking about someone that you are intimate with, or a buddy that you play pick-up basketball with I think that people tend to gravitate towards enhancing their self image with the company they choose. Don’t get me wrong, I play a basketball and rub elbows with folks that have made me look bad. In the case of basketball, it can make you a better player. In the case of social company, it can push you intellectually.

Trying to defend this little gorilla-looking kid, Alaric, at Fort Stevens playground in the late 1980’s, early 1990’s was not a good idea. Alaric was the ghetto classic, dribble-first, point guard that had a penchant for breaking over-aggressive defenders’ ankles with dizzying spins and a crisp crossover. He would pause in the middle of his moves to give the crowds that would show up there a chance to react and he would crush your reputation in the process. Every “oh” from the spectators meant that you were getting served and that you were having a hard time staying in front of Alaric. Maybe because I was from New York and a year older than him that I made it a point to play against him every chance that I could? I have a competitive streak like that, but Alaric was a bit too much DC youngling for me and he made me look stupid for a good six months.

Not all of my fraternity brothers and I get along despite the fact the group actions can be binding on individuals. Fraternities are a lot like families, in that you are stuck with them, and that some of the personality clashes are simply luck of the draw. There were some meetings that we would have in college that would come to fisticuffs. The beauty of it all was the fraternity, itself, provided the structure by which the playing field of power was leveled ideally. Brothers quickly learned that politics was a more effective tool than brute strength, all the time, even though there were quite a few of us that relished some of the rougher confrontations. No matter how much you wanted to bash someone’s brains in because of a stupid decision that you would ultimately be responsible to help carry out, it was always in your best interest to build a coalition against the idea.

Now those are two examples that I just put out there in order to demonstrate that if you always choose the easy road in relationships then you are very likely to miss the opportunity to use the resistance to grow. With that being said, you would have to be an idiot, male or female, if you choose the most difficult partner to begin a relationship with the idea that you are going to be stronger for it in the long run. You may succeed in your exercise and find yourself single, because in this day and age, it isn’t likely that you will stay together. Some challenge is good, but I don’t know if a healthy relationship can survive the heavy strain that comes with constant opposition. When it comes to getting together people have a tendency to pick people that they get along with. Forcing it is for the stupid and for men that don’t mind giving up half of their traps in divorce settlements.

Compatibility is the key and there are few things more incompatible to me than some woman embarrassing me which is why I’m usually gone at the first signs, and why I’ll never be with stupid one.

I keep going back into my mind to the Million Man March because today is the anniversary.  I have nothing really profound to say about that, and I was just throwing it out there.  I might not even have the right day.  Today is Friday people.   It isn’t like we have anything of substance to report.  My mind is devoid of all real thought today.  I keep alternating between nostalgia and the mundane.  I remember when we had to wake up so early from the campus of Howard University and we walked all the way to the National Mall.  I don’t know how many years it is later, but I wish that we had a different speaker now.  I wish that they had let me get on the set so I could tell them that I was special and that we should all get out there and start slapping fools.  Okay, maybe that isn’t what I would have wanted to say with one million black men in the audience.  At least it would have been more memorable than what was actually said.  Get out there and make it pop off like you got a pair!