Connecting with jr. high school kids

The best part of my day is usually the 2-4 hours I spend with the kids at my library. The kids there have many interesting points of view, but I often feel out of touch for good reason. The things that I enjoy adn remember from my childhood are experiences that they don't have.

For them

Biggie and Tupac have always been dead.
Shows like Fresh prince of Bel air and Martin have always been cancelled
The World Trade center has always been down.
Jay-Z has always been old
Jordan has always been retired.

This Can't Be life

Tears streamin down her pretty face, she got her palms to it
My life is gettin too wild
I need to bring some sort kinda calm to it
Bout to lose it; voices screamin "Don't do it!"

Sometimes the songs that motivate you, that you relate to, are seemingly random. Songs about experiences I've never had bring me solace. Maybe I haven't had that experience but I've felt that way about someone. There aren't any songs about law school, but the issues and nightmares that are shared in songs about the other side of the law equally apply so me.


I'm still scratchin on the block
like "Damn; I'ma be a failure"
Surrounded by thugs, drugs, and drug - paraphernalia
Cops courts, and their thoughts is to derail us

Say @@@@@ again, I dare you I double dare you

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/sports/basketball/bulls-noah-apologizes-for-using-antigay-slur.html

F*****

I’m from a budding generation where the rights of gay people can reasonably be considered civil rights. I preface my post of the day in knowing that 15 years ago my point of view would have been more of a fringe position. I also know that even in liberal New York City, where we have gay pride parades and have all types of events promoting marriage equality I hear that gay slur on basketball courts, in classrooms, and on TV. I’m of the opinion that within my generation being against gay marriage is closer to taboo than it has ever been, at least in American history.

Marriage in this country often has nothing to do with religion. Marriage is generally a means to attain benefits and to ensure that the person you love is allowed to share your assets and property in life, and in death that they are able to receive your shared property. Marriage isn’t just love and Adam and Eve in this country. If marriage were only a church procedure then I probably would be more understanding of the official position of the federal government against marriage. If the Catholic Church doesn’t honor same-sex marriage, they are a private institution and therefore they have a right to allow or disallow whatever activities they want within the confines of their facilities.

Because of the estimated 1,700 federal benefits (Pinello, 2003) that come through marriage, as well as all of the social benefits that come from consummating a committed relationship through marriage it seems reasonable that states should allow same-sex marriage within their jurisdictions. It serves many purposes. First, people will flock to your state to get married. Marriage is an economy booster, as people will rush to buy wedding rings, flowers, gifts for the couples. Second, it promotes monogamy and committed relationships between these couples. The option for marriage allows people to be more open about their relationship status. Third, it helps reduce bias and therefore crime in these jurisdictions. Banning interracial marriage was only recently declared unconstitutional (Loving v. Virginia, 1967). Seeing interracial couples over time helped reduce overt bias. Kids growing up saw black and white people dating and marrying and it became more and more okay. This made them less likely to perpetrate hate crimes and other similar acts of bigotry. To be clear, I'm not saying that being against same sex marriage means that your bigotted against same sex couples. However, I am saying that if same-sex marriage were legalized that bigotry would be reduced.

I’m not suggesting the world will change completely if same sex marriage is legalized. I’m not even suggesting that people won’t continue to share views against same sex marriage. I’m in a relationship where I’m judged harshly because of my racial background and because of the person who I love and one day hope to marry. This is more than 40 years after Loving v. Virginia was decided. However, I do know that those opinions are on the fringe and, at least publicly, people deride those who share those opinions. Goodridge was the first case to legalize same-sex marriage in a state and I’m sure in the near future it will be legalized federally.

Now, its time to get away from away from the rainbow and back to Noah’s arc. Joakim Noah just made a comment in anger that will likely lighten his wallet. I’m sure the angel of Stern will help relieve the stress of Noah’s hefty $3,128,536 salary with about a $100,000 fine, similar to the one Kobe Bryant received last month for using a similar slur to a referee. I also imagine that Stern will go to the next NBA star's house who says it and deliver a speech similar to this one, with Samuel L. Jackson playing the role of Stern, and "what" being replaced with the slur.

Noah spent his youth in Queens, NY and likely learned, by proxy, that it was okay to use the phrase from being on the basketball courts and classrooms. That is a habit that will be hard to break. However, if players keep getting hit with big fines for using it, they will be realize there are much better ways to yell back at fans or at referees, if so inclined.

I don’t think Noah is especially bigoted for using it, much as I don’t think that every person who uses the N-word is particularly bigoted. I hear both words on Xbox Live quite often. I hear both on basketball courts quite often. I often hear people try to equate the usage of both words on NBA courts. There is a big difference. While both words are offensive, in the context of the NBA they are different. If the NBA is representative of the general population, approximately 10 percent (according to the Kinsey report) of players could be gay. Even if the group is double, that would be 20 percent homosexual and 80 percent heterosexual. The offended party would be a heavy minority. Meanwhile, black players are the heavy majority, approximately 80 percent as of the ’08-’09 season. Secondly, as openly gay and black journalist LZ Granderson notes,

“My friend Ric Bucher said he's heard the N-word used on court, so punishing Kobe for a slur is a slippery slope. I say if Kevin Love or Steve Nash dropped the N-word on court that slope would dry up in a hurry.” (Granderson, 2011)

I have a feeling that just like using racial slurs on the basketball court which was okay in the 1950’s and completely not okay now, I’m sure that within a generation yelling a gay slur wouldn’t come to mind when angry.

Trends... vs Events

P.S. I started writing, thinking about this post before Game 2. Half of it is is probably unimportant. But I felt it was important to talk about the changes in thought as they happened. Post Game 2 thoughts in italics


After Game 1 of both conference finals, people got ridiculous. No problem with amateur views (Especially since that's what most of my blogging is). No problem with wrong views, or even those I disagree with. Watching one event and making conclusions about a career, or even a 7 game series is probably not a great idea. 1 game isn't enough to make definitive statements about a series.

<2games

1. The Bulls are going to shut down Wade and Lebron every night - Event


Lebron and Wade had a bad night for game 1. It's not indicative of the series that they had a bad night on the same night. Everyone is entitled to play badly every so often. Even Jordan had bad games. They'll be alright

After Game 2, business as usual for the Miami Heat, Lebron and Wade both dropped normal numbers, nothing to see here. I wonder if I'm going to hear Derrick Rose doesn't deserve MVP now that he had one bad night. I'm not too concerned, He's not going to walk all over the heat like he did the other two teams he's played against, but that too was an abberation and not a trend

2. The Heat can't rebound as well as the Bulls - Trend
However, the Heat may not be able to rebound consistently against the Bulls. The Heat don't have a pitbull on the inside. Every team needs one guy who really wants to get rebounds, especially on the offensive glass. Noah's going to play to potential every night.

Aparrently Haslem is filling out the pitbull role. He's the closest thing the Heat have to a pitbull. He was supposed to be that guy for them throughout the season. I don't think he's as good as Noah, not by a long shot, but I think that the toughness he brings will at least reduce the HUGE disparity in rebounding.

3. Taj Gibson is going to destroy the Heat
Taj Gibson is a monster. Honestly I don't think that its an event, it might be trend. He had a lot of off the court issues in the middle of the year and it led to a lackluster showing, but unlike the guy who starts over him, and gets paid more to do so, Gibson's gotten a lot better, and Coach Thibideau is rewarding him with minutes. Gibson is actually a pretty good player.

Didn't see Gibson on youtube this morning, but I still feel that way

4. If Chris Bosh drops 30, Lebron and Wade aren't shooting enough. - Neither

I feel about Bosh the way I feel about Westbrook. They generally shoulldn't score more than the best player on the team. However, if they do, it is usually as a result of the other team playing badly, not the cause of it. When Lebron and Wade combine for 24 points, someone has to score. While I wouldn't want Bosh to be the best player on my team (see Raptors 2003-2010), I'm quite happy if he puts up 30 when he's called to do so. Bosh isn't exactly trigger happy, so unlike Westbrook I don't foresee him having a game where he shoots in a way that hurts the team.

Bosh went back to normal in Game 2.

5. The Bulls Dominated the Heat
In rebounding may be a trend. As far as the entire game neither. The teams are too good defensively to dominate each other.

Yes, it works the opposite way too. The Heat didn't dominate the Bulls in Game 2. Although, the Bulls look markedly worse when Rose doesn't play well.


Might wait till after Game 2 to write about the OKC-DAL series. Although to be honest, if Dirk scores 48 and only misses 3 shots again, it won't be a long post, just one where I discuss who would be a better match up in the finals.

Draft Lottery nonsense

The NBA draft lottery was designed in 1985. With the former system, similar to the NFL’s draft system where draft order is in reverse order of Win-Loss record, teams were accused of intentionally losing games at the end of the regular season. On and on and on and now we have the system we have now. Ping pong balls pop up and depending on the order, non-playoff teams are allowed to pick.

The system is flawed, but it appears that there is a major reason why it needs to be different. In the NFL draft, there are many opportunities to improve your team. Each pick isn’t as important. In the 1984 NFL draft, 20 players went to the Pro Bowl. 336 players were added. In the fabled 1984 NBA draft there were only 7 players who played in at least one All-star game.

On top of that in the NBA only 12 players are on each team and 5 on the court at a given time. A great player can change the fortune of a franchise for 10 years. Teams shouldn’t be allowed to just throw games to have the best chance of getting the best players. In the NFL, it is more difficult to throw games because there are so few games. By the time it is apparent that a team is going to be in the draft, there are only a few games. Each position isn’t as important because you can still find a great player at the 8th pick more easily than you can find one in the NBA draft. Only about 60 players are drafted a year, so each pick is worth more.

Yesterday, the Cavaliers fortunes were changed by their acquisition of the 1st and 4th pick. They were lucky in the lottery, as they started off the night with the 2nd and 9th best chance of getting a top pick. This will allow them, in theory, to get 2 great picks.

Unfortunately having the number one pick doesn’t always pan out. The only years since the beginning of the lottery where the 1st pick was the best player in the draft were 1987 (David Robinson with all due respect to Scottie Pippen), 1992 (Shaquille O’Neal), 1993 (Chris Webber), 1997 (Tim Duncan), 1999 (Elton Brand, weak draft), 2003 (LeBron James, due respect to Wade and Bosh) and 2004 (Dwight Howard). It may also be safe to say that 2008’s pick Derrick Rose will safely be the best pick of the draft. That would be 8 drafts out of 26. 10 if Blake Griffin and John Wall become the best players of their draft class.

The chances of completely blowing the first pick are pretty high (See Brown, Kwame). In fact, in ’89, ’95, ’98, and ’01 the number one overall draft pick never even made an All-Star team. Bogut, Bargnani, and Oden have are also in the same position, and while unlikely to do so, they could still theoretically make an all-star team. So since the lottery there’s about a 15% chance of complete failure.

Holding myself accountable

Dammit NBA. There's only one sport I care about going on right now, and there are tons of story lines.

1. “This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines,” Kahn said.

The fairness of the draft lottery

2. Sports and sexuality

3. The two game 1's.

I'm going to write about all of them eventually. Probably going to wait on the conference finals on the basis of I'll have more to write about, and have a better idea of who the two teams are in relation to each other after game 2.

Unless an athlete "comes out" in the next week, I don't have a reason to procrastinate any further.

The Draft lottery story is rich, and if David Kahn is accusing it of being rigged, it makes the story that much better.

I'll have something hammered out by the end of the day, I promise

Bulls v. Heat

I said that the matchup at the end would be Heat vs. Thunder.

Lets break it down.

Derrick Rose v. Mario Chalmers
One is the league MVP the other is Mario Chalmers.

Advantage: Bulls

Dwayne Wade v. Bogans
One is the best player at his position, the other is Bogans

Advantage: Heat

Lebron James v. Luol Deng
I swear the lazy comparisons end here

Advantage: Heat

Joel Anthony v. Joakim Noah
Joel Anthony is a gambling defender much like LBJ and Wade. Noah is more the stay with your guy, help defense when needed type of player. In this series Noah is going to have the harder job, but i think he can handle his job better than Anthony will.

Advantage: Bulls

EDIT: When i first drafted this post I said the series would depend on who played better, Bosh or Boozer. Bomani Jones has already said this, apparently. So rather than present this as a fascinating take on the series, I'll settle for saying that I agree.

If Bosh plays well, and he has played well in the other series (Don't worry Chris, you're forgiven for game 3), the Heat will win. Boozer hasn't proven to me that he's ready for the limelight. This series could be the first of many classics between the two teams, I'm willing to believe that the Heat will draw first blood.

Advantage: Heat


Heat in 6.

From 718 to the 303... DLBinDenver?

If you told me 5 years ago that I would be moving to Colorado I'd have laughed at you. But here I am. Leaving SPG, headed to Boulder, to start a new life and go to law school. I don't know what I'm going to. I've only been there once and now I'm content to spend 3 years there. I know that I want it though.

My Goals.

- JD
- Exercise more
- Relax more
- Work harder in class

My side goals

- Watch an NFL game live
- Watch an NBA game live
- Watch an NHL game live
- Watch an MLB game live
- Catch em all (649)

I'm always asked "why do you want to leave NY"? It's so different there." That's the answer, its a more relaxed atmosphere. My dad always said I'd have a heart attack by 20. I haven't yet, but I do want to be more relaxed. Since I'm going through the stress of law school anyway, I may as well do so in an atmosphere where I'm not constantly stressed out.

Things I learned this weekend

NBA Playoffs now.

The Lakers are dead
The Celtics are on life support.
The Grizzlies are exhausted.
The Thunder are rejuvenated
The Bulls are a one man show
The Heat are a two man show
The Mavericks are sleeping
The Hawks don't matter.

To my friends who told me that Scott Brooks doesn't hate Nate Robinson, and that he merely hasn't had an opportunity to use him yet... They played a full 3 overtime game. Westbrook got in foul trouble. Nate rode the bench.

To those who said the Mavs would get crushed. As soon as everyone and their mother said the Blazers would win, that should have been a hint. The Mavs have been good. I'll still have the Thunder to beat them.

The Bulls will not win it all. The non-Rose portion of the team never shows up. They need more firepower. They need a shooting guard with no conscience like Westbrook. I'm sure you have J.R.smith's number.

The Lakers got swept. That doesn't mean the Mavs were that much better. That means the Mavs played better AND the Lakers played horribly.

The Heat might have enough to get the job done. James and Wade aren't batman and robin. They are equal to each other.

The Celtics are essentially dead. The Heat are on point. Ray Allen on the other hand has not been.

The Hawks are have done a great job of using the let one player do all the work technique. They are done after this round. They won't beat either Big 3. Celts or Heat

The Grizzlies are a decent team. Physical, versatile. Paint dwellers. I like them a lot. Shame they are playing the Thunder, or else I'd root for them.

Dallas's Draft a D minus?

Dallas
What I liked: In a big year for offensive lineman, the Cowboys picked up 20-year-old Tyron Smith, the highest-rated offensive tackle on most boards, with the No. 9 pick in Round 1. He's already talking about his Hall of Fame potential. Ah, the intoxicating elixir of the draft.
What I didn't like: The Cowboys fielded the worst defense in franchise history last year, surrendering 436 points. So what did they do? Doubled down on its prolific offense (29.1 PPG over eight weeks under Jason Garrett) while devoting just two of eight picks to defense. Very curious draft that appeared to ignore the team's most obvious needs.
It should have been a big day for defense. Instead, the Cowboys will likely take the field next year with a same old collection of big, but underachieving names on defense. Grade: D-

Read more:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/kerry_byrne/05/01/draft.grades/index.html#ixzz1LW9VJpsl

I'm sure that the writers at SI are smarter than this article. I didn't think their draft was great. Still don't. But it wasn't a D minus.

First, Dallas' biggest need was an O-line. Over the last years, the players got old, and they lacked depth at every position. It was the largest need. Remember that the Cowboys play in the same division as the Redskins and Giants who all have dominating D-line play. To keep up in this arms race they have to make sure their O-line isn't as porous next year, that way they have a chance of keeping Romo upright.

Second, the defense doesn't have big names, barring Ware and Ratliff, but the defense was often put into bad spots by the offense. They aren't going to compete with the Steelers or Ravens anytime soon, but their defense, when healthy, will get the job done. The corners were unusually bad last year, and I still have faith in Jenkins and Scandrick. They'll be better next year, it was an off year for them.

Giving them a D minus is a bit much. What the Cowboys did need to do was get a safety, which they haven't done, but its not enough to get them a D minus. For fixing their number one need the Cowboys get a B from me.