I’M BACK & HE’S HOME

Your eyes are not deceiving you; this is actually a new post from STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! I know that I have been away for almost two months, but they have been a very productive two months. Since I’ve been away, I have finished another semester of my MBA program (the last month of the semester was very tough, which was the predominant cause of the break). My beautiful wife also surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate our second year of marriage (That's right, I married a sports fan who took me to Vegas, JACKPOT!), and I have also been traveling for work. Now I’m back and ready to resume work on STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! My course load for the summer is lighter than that of a normal semester, so hopefully, I will not have a long school induced break.

It must be a good week for sports fans because I am back and Michael Vick is back at home. This is a story that is near and dear to my heart. I am a huge Michael Vick fan and can’t wait to see him on the football field again. I am not going to take the time to get up on my soapbox about how ridiculous it is that Vick spent time in federal prison for dog fighting, while Leonard Little killed a person while driving drunk and only missed eight games, and while Dan Heatley formerly of the Atlanta Thrashers killed his teammate Dan Snyder in an auto accident while driving like a mad man, never served any prison time. I guess the American Justice System is telling us that the lives of dogs are more valuable than the lives of people. But like I said, I am not going to discuss this now. The fact of the matter is that Vick has been released, and should be reinstated into the NFL in time for the upcoming season if Commissioner Judge, Jury, and Executioner decides that he has served his debt to society.

I must admit, I have found some of the commentary about Michael Vick’s football future absolutely hilarious. There are some people who think that he will only be able to sign for the league minimum (somewhere between $500,000 and $800,000 for someone with his years of service in the league) once he is reinstated, due to the perceived baggage that he will take along with him to a new team. That is an absolute joke. He will receive a multi-million dollar contract simply because more than one team will be in the running for his services and the price will most certainly be driven up through sheer competition.

The other comment that I hear concerning Vick that I think is hilarious, is that he will never be able to play quarterback in the NFL again and that he will have to switch positions. If you want to know why I find this comment funny, simply click on the video below.



This clown is not only still in the NFL, he just received a new free-agent contract. So if he can play quarterback in the NFL, someone please tell me why Michael Vick can't.

Vick will be back in the NFL and he will be a quarterback. I am even willing to say that he will be a starter before the 2009 season is over. I know for a fact that he will not be welcomed back by the Atlanta Falcons. He totally screwed up his chance here and they have found their new quarterback in Matt Ryan. Arthur Blank and company have every right to move on with their lives without Michael Vick. I am guessing that one of the following teams will sign him (no inside information, just my gut feeling):

San Francisco 49er’s – They have a head coach with a strong personality in Mike Singletary and they don’t have a quarterback. He will be able to handle the media scrutiny. This would be a great fit. They also have Michael Crabtree, which would make for better Mike & Mike show than the one that comes on ESPN Radio in the mornings (in my opinion, that show is terrible).

Miami Dolphins – Bill Parcells was able to keep Lawrence Taylor as in check as a cocaine-using linebacker can be. Therefore the Michael Vick drama should be a piece of cake.

Oakland Raiders – Al Davis (need I say more)

Carolina Panthers – They need a quarterback more than they will ever admit (JAKE DELHOMME IS DONE!). They also have a strong running game and a good defense. They could play ball control offense with Vick, DeAngelo Williams, and Jonathan Stewart and really let Steve Smith do what he does best on the outside. Vick will make them a favorite to make the Super Bowl.

Arizona Cardinals – Vick can get in shape and work on his throwing as Warner finishes his career. They will need a quarterback soon because Matt Leinart simply is not the answer.

Tennessee Titans – They drafted the imitation, why not sign the real thing. Vick is what they thought they were getting in Vince Young. Also, Kerry Collins is near the end.

There are those who believe that Vick will reunite with Jim Mora Jr. and Greg Knapp in Seattle, but I don’t think that will or should happen. I know that Hasselbeck is done, but Vick is not the answer there.

I can’t wait to see Vick back on the field.

AND NOW FOR MY BALLER & SCRUB OF THE WEEK!

BALLER: The Orlando Magic & Denver Nuggets - You share this honor because you have showed up and played your butts off in the Eastern & Western Conference Finals respectively. The good people at Nike & Vitamin Water have all but written you off. This is obvious because they have been running Kobe v/s LeBron commercials since the playoffs began. In their eyes, you are nothing but a stepping stone. As a fan of the NBA and an even bigger fan of competitive games, I want to thank you for making both the conference finals an actual competitive series. You both have a legit chance of making it to the finals and you are proving to everyone that you aren't going to simply be "Witnesses" to the advertisers dream come true. (For the record, I am pulling for Cleveland & Denver).

(On a somewhat related topic, I noticed that Kobe is referred to as the Black Mamba in some of those commercials. Does anyone really call him that? I have never heard anyone call him that, and I think it is a stupid nickname. Also, who gave him that name. I hope he didn't give it to himself. Doesn't he know that you can't give yourself a nickname. Then it isn't a nickname, it's simply you wishing that you were someone else.)

SCRUB: NBA Commissioner David Stern - You get this honor for allowing companies to run ads basically foreshadowing a finals matchup BEFORE THE FINALS. You have already had a referee get convicted for fixing games, and many casual fans also believe that some games have been fixed in the past. (We aren't even going to get into the alleged frozen envelope during the 1985 draft lottery.) So if one or both of the conference finals go to a seventh game and Cleveland and/or LA win in a close game or on a questionable call, you are really going to open yourself up to criticism for fixing the finals for advertising dollars. Allowing these ads to run before the finals is really stupid, and for that you are my SCRUB OF THE WEEK.

Now for a totally non-sports related topic:

I am 27 years old, and a child of hip-hop music. Not the junk you hear on the radio today, I am referring to the music of rap's golden era, the 1990's. There are a few rappers that I listen to today. Among them are Outkast, Jay Z, TI, Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli, Lil Wayne and Mos Def, just to name a few. However, I must say that there hasn't been any new talent worth listening to in quite a while. That is until now. For those who appreciate good rap music and is disgusted by the junk that is on the radio today, I recommend that you check out a new artist (as Ghetto Mafia would say) that is Straight from the DEC (Decatur GA). He goes by the name of B.O.B. He is the real deal and the future of hip hop. But don't take my word for it, simply click on the link below.

THEY BETTER GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME

For the most part, the people who choose the college basketball player of the year are a pretty incompetent bunch. I’m not sure what their criteria is, but it seems to change from year to year. Some years, they obviously give it to the best player on the best team. Other years, they seem to give it to the best player at the biggest program. There have also been those years that they chose to reward the best non-freshman in the nation. Then there are the years that they give it to the person who actually deserves it. This year, they better do just that and give it to Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin. Not only should he win the award, but the voting should be unanimous. Although the choice seems obvious to those who believe what their eyes see, you can never count on the voters for college sports awards to make the obvious choice. Some years, they get it right and some years they miss worse than Shaq when shooting free throws.

Last season, they simply gave it to the best player on what was allegedly the best team. Don’t get me wrong, I think that Tyler Hansbrough is a fine college basketball player and has had a great career at North Carolina. But can anyone look me in my eyes with a straight-face and tell me that he was better than Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose last season….. I didn’t think so. Michael Beasley averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds a game in his only college basketball regular season. Yes, these numbers are great, but what makes them even better is the fact that he played for KANSAS STATE! That’s right, I said Kansas State. That’s not exactly what I call a powerhouse program. This is a school that basically didn’t exist in the world of college basketball before his arrival, and it has fallen off of the map after his departure. He was basically Beyonce while the rest of his teammates were Destiny’s Child, or he was Nelly and he played with the St. Lunatics. Perhaps the best way to put it is to say that he was Michael Jackson, and he was on the court with four Tito’s. He and he alone led that team to a 21 – 12 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Hansbrough on the other hand, averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds per game on a team that was absolutely loaded. Beasley faced double and triple teams all season because no one feared any of his teammates, but defenses had to honor the rest of the Tar Heels and be careful not to focus too much on Hansbrough. Simply put, Beasley did much more with much less than Hansbrough, and he should have been player of the year. Due to the fact that I have written several blog entries about Derrick Rose in the past and my readers know how I feel about his game, there is really no reason to discuss him any further.

The 2003 player of the year award also baffled me. T.J. Ford was the winner. Much like Hansbrough he was also a very good college basketball player, but 2003 was also Carmelo Anthony’s freshman year at Syracuse. Need I say more? So if you thought that T.J. Ford was a better college basketball player than Carmelo Anthony, please let me know. The argument that I heard most that year was that a freshman couldn’t win the award. That was simply a cop-out because Kevin Durant won it 2007 and he was basically the second coming of Carmelo Anthony, without the National Championship.

Although Griffin and Oklahoma fell one game short of the Final Four, the fact remains that he was hands down the best player in college basketball this year. He averaged 23 points and 14 rebounds this season, and has simply been dominant this season. Not only has he been great this year, but he should be the first pick of the NBA draft (which means that he stands to make a lot of STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!), and trust me he will not be a bust. He is definitely not the second coming of Kwame Brown.

BLAKE GRIFFIN IS THE COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR, AND THE VOTER’S BETTER GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME!!!!

AND NOW FOR MY BALLER & SCRUB OF THE WEEK!

BALLER: John Calipari (The next Head Coach of my Kentucky Wildcats) - This may be wishful thinking and a bit pre-mature, but I really hope that he is the next Head Coach of MY WILDCATS! Note to Calipari: This honor will be null and void if you do not become the Wildcats next coach.

SCRUB: Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) - As you all know, I HATE KOBE BRYANT! (read the blog entry "I HATE KOBE BRYANT" to find out why). But he is my Scrub of the Week because he is allegedly the best player in the league, yet he could hardly shake Mario West in Sunday's loss to Atlanta. The Hawks held him to just 17 points in Sunday's game, and the undrafted Mario West defended him about as good as anyone ever has (I only saw Bryant shake him once). I take special joy in honoring him as the SCRUB OF THE WEEK!!!!

STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! HAS A TEST

Thanks for checking in. Unfortunately, I am not able to post anything new this week due to an exam that I had to study for this weekend. Please take the time to read any entries that you may have missed and comment on them if you would like (I do check old posts for new comments). Thanks for the continued support. Wish me luck on my exam!!!!

STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! HAS HOMEWORK

Thanks for checking in. Unfortunately, I am not able to post anything new this week due to a great deal of homework. Please take the time to read any entries that you may have missed and comment on them if you would like (I do check old posts for new comments). Thanks for the continued support.

RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS

By now I am sure that everyone who lives on the planet Earth has heard the news out of Dallas Texas. The Dallas Cowboys have released the most controversial figure in the NFL today. I’m not talking about Pacman Jones (who is probably posted up at a strip club as I am writing this) or the safety Roy Williams (who routinely gets beat deep by the kids in his neighborhood playing street football). I am referring to the great Terrell Owens. He is in the conversation as the best receiver in the game today, and IS the conversation as the worst teammate in the game today.

I’ve never seen another athlete who destroys the team chemistry of every locker room that he sets foot in. He publicly humiliated his quarterback while he was a 49er, he was jealous of his quarterback in Philadelphia, and he was just an all-around “ME-FIRST” distraction in Dallas. The football gods must be counting Dallas as his third strike, because his terrible behavior and reputation has earned him a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills. Some might say that he’s still the winner because he is still in the NFL and making $6.5 million. For any other NFL player, that would be the case, but for Owens this deal shows that he is quickly running out of options.

When was the last time that a top-flight (potential Hall of Fame) player ever decided to sign with the Buffalo Bills as a free-agent? You don’t have to answer now (because you can’t), take your time and just shoot me an email sometime in the future if the answer ever comes to you. Buffalo isn’t a dream destination for any player in the NFL. The Bills are rarely on national television, they do not have a national fan base, and the last time I checked the social scene in western NY wasn’t exactly jumping. As a matter of fact, just to remain viable the Bills have to play one home game a year in Canada. They’re not exactly the Dallas Cowboys when it comes to popularity. He essentially went from “America’s Team” to “Erie County’s Team.”

Now let’s take a look at the football aspect of this acquisition. The Bills have some good young talent in Marshawn Lynch, Donte Whitner, and Lee Evans. That being said they also have a very young player at the position that T.O. envies the most. That would be quarterback. Their quarterback is Trent Edwards, who is entering his third year in the NFL. Although they have some talent, the Bills will finish no higher than third, and quite possibly last in their division this upcoming season. That is because they are simply not better than New England. They will battle for second with Miami and the New York Jets, but won’t be able to overtake both teams. Since this is his first year on the team and he is only on a one year deal, I expect big things from Owens this season. He will being playing alongside the best receiver (excluding Jerry Rice) that he has ever played with in Lee Evans. They will be a dangerous duo. In addition to that, we must remember that he has perfected the art of not allowing the real T.O. to show until his second year on a team. He was a model citizen for one year in Philly and Dallas, so I wouldn’t expect him to act a fool until his second year with the Bills (which will likely never happen).

The fact that a player of his caliber is playing on a one year deal with a small market team tells you everything you need to know about T.O. as a teammate. If he was even an average teammate, contenders would be lining up for his services. That won’t happen because contenders know that they are contenders because of great play on the field and good team chemistry in the locker room (which he would destroy). He could easily replace Marvin Harrison in Indianapolis, or even provide San Diego with a great deep threat. The Giants are also in the market for a receiver, and the Titans haven’t had a good receiver since Derrick Mason or possibly even Yancey Thigpen (depends on what you consider good). But all of these teams know that T.O. will definitely do them much more harm than good. As a matter of fact, if he was simply an average teammate he would probably still be catching balls from Donovan McNabb. But instead he is a thirty-five year old wide receiver that is basically playing in a city that no one pays attention to and on a team that no one watches.

If T.O. scores 15 touchdowns this season and no one sees it, did it really happen?


AND NOW FOR MY BALLER & SCRUB OF THE WEEK!

BALLER: Jery Jones (Owner Dallas Cowboys) - He realized that his team was to talented to miss the playoffs last season. He has manned up and corrected some of his personnel wrongs this off-season. He has already jettisoned Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson. This week he did what he really needed to do and got rid of Roy Williams (the safety) and Terrell Owens. I guarantee that the team although less talented, will win more games next season than it did last season.

SCRUB: Billy Gillispie (Head Coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats) - I have made no bones about it. I have hated this guy from day one. He is in WAAAAYYYY over his head at UK. My beloved Wildcats are currently 19-12 overall and 8-8 in the SEC. They are also on a 4 game losing streak. That is unacceptable. HE IS A SCRUB!!!!

RECESSION MY A$$

Did you miss me? Hopefully you did. But after a three week absence STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! is finally back. Over the past three weeks I have had two exams (remember I am pursuing my MBA), celebrated my mother’s birthday with the family, and also spent a wonderful Valentine’s weekend with my lovely wife. So, I guess you can say that my absence has been a lot of work with a little bit of play mixed in. Even with all that going on, I never forgot about my loyal readers. The wait is over, because I AM BACK!!!! and like always, I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!!!!

I consider myself to be a fairly well-rounded person who likes to keep up with current events and political issues. Over the past two years, there was a heated campaign for the Presidency of the United States. During the campaign, there were many issues that came to the forefront. Among them were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, energy conservation, healthcare, education, and immigration. Although all of these issues are important and garnered a lot of attention and emotion from the candidates as well as the American people, the one issue that virtually everyone could agree was the most important, was the ECONOMY! Everything that I see, hear, and read on a daily basis says one thing. WE ARE IN A RECESSION!

I’m not sure where the NFL gets their news, but it seems to me that they must be getting it from two conflicting sources. Recently some franchises have had layoffs in their support functions (mainly non-football operations i.e. marketing, sales, promotions, and general administrative staff). They have cited the bad economy as the reason for these job reductions. Taken at face value, the average person is not totally shocked by this development. They know first-hand that businesses across virtually all industries are struggling, and the NFL is also a business so they are not immune. However, I AM NOT BUYING IT. As much as I love the NFL (I am possibly the biggest NFL fan in the world), I must question their priorities. I’m having a hard time understanding how teams that sell out every game, have billionaire owners, and millionaire coaches and players must get rid of $40,000 a year employees to make ends meet. To my knowledge the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, the Washington Redskins, and the NFL offices have all had layoffs. This is ridiculous because this is a league that (according to Wikipedia) receives $ 3.085 billion per year from the television networks just to air its games. Not to mention the millions of dollars that are made each year from game day income (tickets, parking, concessions, etc.), merchandise sales, and licensing for video games, wall graphics, and other products. Are they really struggling financially?

I really have a bone to pick with two of the teams that have had layoffs. That would be the Denver Broncos and the Washington Redskins. The Denver Broncos had a layoff, but also have a former coach in Mike Shanahan that they are paying approximately $20 million dollars over the next three years not to coach. They are also paying Josh McDaniels a total of $8 million over the next four years to actually coach the team.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Washington Redskins have recently signed Defensive Tackle Albert Haynesworth to a seven-year, $100 million contract. Yep, you read that right I said defensive tackle, not quarterback. How stupid can you get? Don’t get it twisted, HE IS THE BEST DEFENSIVE TACKLE IN THE NFL, but no defensive lineman is worth that type of coin. If he doesn’t average 32 sacks a season (two per game), he will be viewed as a failure in my eyes. Not only must he average 32 sacks a season, he must also lead the Washington Redskins to five Super Bowl Championships over the next seven years for me to view this signing as a success. I guarantee that the Redskins will not win five championships in the next seven years. You know why? Because they also signed MeAngelo Fall (aka DeAngelo Hall) to a six-year $54 million contract. No team that pays the most self-hyped, self-overrated player in the NFL that kind of money is ever going to win anything. They are paying him like he is one of the best corners in the game. Obviously they didn’t watch last year’s Broncos – Raiders game in Week 1 of last season. Remember, that was ROOKIE Eddie Royals coming out party. He had 9 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown in HIS FIRST NFL GAME! The vast majority of which came courtesy of stellar coverage from DeAngelo Hall! This is the same guy that GOT CUT BY THE RAIDERS DURING THE SEASON!!!! Man, it’s a good thing that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is tightening his belt and clipping coupons. This economy is really affecting him. He wouldn’t be able to survive if he didn’t layoff those support staff members.

The bottom line is this. I really don’t understand how the NFL is blaming the tight economy for their need to reduce staffs. They really need a dose of reality. There is just too much money to go around to say that they are feeling the effects of the economy. It’s entirely possible that attendance and merchandise sales are declining due to the tight economy, but they are still making and spending too much money to cry broke due to the economy. For crying out loud, this is a league that will have a salary cap of over $127 million per team for the 2009 season! If NFL teams want to reduce their staffs, it's their prerogative. But don't try to blame it on the economy. There are some industries that are currently suffering due to economic conditions, but I am not buying the NFL as one of them. Are you?

AND NOW FOR MY BALLER & SCRUB OF THE WEEK!

BALLER: Joel Segal & Alvin Keels (Agents for DeAngelo Hall) - They got a player that was cut by the Raiders (not the Patriots, Colts, or Steelers, but the Raiders) in the middle of the season a six-year $54 million contract with $22.5 million guaranteed from the Washington Redskins. The Redskins are the only team that would be stupid enough to make that deal, and fortunately for DeAngelo, his agents knew and exploited that fact. Thanks to his agents, Hall is now BALLIN! with rapper Jim Jones! Which is ironic because he plays about as good as Jim Jones raps (If you aren't familiar with Jim Jones' music, don't bother looking him up. You will be dissapointed.)

SCRUB: Daniel Snyder (Owner of The Washington Redskins) - Paid Albert Haynesworth like a quarterback & paid DeAngelo Hall like a good player (which he is not), and laid off other employees due to economic conditions. That my friends, makes him a SCRUB!

STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! HAS A TEST

Thanks for checking in. Unfortunately, I am not able to post anything new this week due to an exam that I had to study for this weekend. Please take the time to read any entries that you may have missed and comment on them if you would like (I do check old posts for new comments). Thanks for the continued support. Wish me luck on my exam!!!!