Joe Flacco and Ray Lewis

I watched the painful loss last night by the Ravens. The Steelers had no business winning that game, but a Raven's penalty and a bad punt allowed the Steelers to rally to force overtime where they would eventually win. Truth be told, the Ravens had an obvious touchdown by Mason, but the refs saw otherwise.

But that was the game, let me talk about two players who stood out in this game, Ray Lewis and Joe Flacco. Lewis the veteran, who is in his 13th year and the other a rookie.

First let me say Lewis played outstanding ball. He must have tackled every single Steeler during the game (and to think people thought he was done). He still has a couple more years to go. As for Flacco, he throws strong, moves out the pocket pretty well and has a quiet calm and leadership that has been missing for a while. When I saw him in preseason, I said this kid is good, but is 3 years away. Boy was I wrong. The kid is good and will only get better. He did something no Raven quarterback has done in a while (maybe ever), he led the Ravens back into a game after being flustered and oh my God!, they scored a touchdown.

This season will be a fun one for the Ravens, I still think they will end up 8-8 or 9-7 and build nicely for the future. The one obvious piece missing is to give Flacco a receiver. Derrick Mason is very good, but for the Ravens to be better, they need to give Flacco a big game, big receiver for a big play.

Paul Newman

He came from an era of Hollywood that has since disappeared. Where the actors had class, gave great performances and did things on their own terms. I am speaking of course of Paul Newman, an iconic actor whose piercing blue eyes gave the face to an actor who defined a cool era. I am a young guy and even I remember Paul Newman for his great roles in "Cool Hand Luke" "The Sting" "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" "Towering Inferno", "Cat on a hot Tin Roof" and other great movies that will stand the test of time. He won an Oscar for "The Color of Money" a sequel to "The Hustler" which was not the movie he would want to be remembered by.

A movie more deserving would be "The Sting", where he played an aging con man out for payback against the devilish Robert Shaw, while mentoring a young Robert Redford. I have watched this movie many times and his performance deserved an Oscar. He was effortless in his acting and did not rely on his good looks and charm to carry a movie. He has IT! Something very few actors today have.

Thanks Paul for the memories and the great movies.

Watching Debate or going out?

I was home on Friday with a decision to make. Go out and do the night time thing with a fair maiden or watch a debate that is important to the future of this great country? I chose watching the debate. Years ago I would have said, to heck with the debates and had a good time instead. But America faces a crisis that is the by product of gross mismanagement and corruption by the current administration. Trust me, when the Bush era is over people we look back and be able to count every mistep and bad decision this regime made. From the blatant disregard for the constitution to the lack of fiscal responsibility.

Ok enough, ecomoic and political "mombo jombo". I watched the debate between Barrak Obama and John McCain and came away with some points......

McCain spent too much time referncing Former President Ronald Regan. A man who most 20 somethings have no real knowledge about.

McCain could not look Obama in the face. A lack of eye contact usually means deception or lack of confidence. He is a respected war hero, but on that day he looked ill equipped to lead the country.

McCain also never gave credit to Obama for anything he said or did. He came across as an old man berrating his younger son. Obama at least gave credit multiple times to his opponent.

Obama looked the more diplomatic. The country needs someone who will do more research before going into unwinnable situations and at least can get the support of the rest of the world. America more than ever needs a leader who can rally allies and gain international support.

Good debate, despite the host almost messing it up with his ramblings. If I wanted to hear him talk alot, I would have listened to him on PBS. I have never watched PBS for longer than 10 minutes. Ever!

I can't wait for round 2.

Understanding the fairer sex

What happened to the days when you liked somebody and you went out and decided, I want to be with this person? I think that I am an intelligent young man willing to be a good man for a good woman. But I find myself in situations where I am always making mistakes in the eyes of women. Let me explain....

The women that I have been running into seem to expect something that they will never find.. a perfect man. There is no such thing. If you are a women, your biggest hope is that he is faith full and committed to you. But I have been that guy, but yet I feel burned and 1 step behind. Let me explain.....

I went out with this girl for awhile and when I first met her she was anti family and not interested in marriage. But as the years went by I continued to remain faith full, but she on the other hand became flirty with every "tom, dick and harry". There where secret text messages, late nights and of course the obligatory "he is just a friend. The ultimate insult is to find out that your girl has " made an oops with a guy" not once, not twice, not three times, but many times.,,, and she doesn't tell you. Oh but wait, "we were not together", I guess I missed the memo, cause I thought we where working things out. After all that, I still forgive, take her back. In her time of need when family or no one else would defend her, I did. But that meant nothing cause she dumped me on that common technicality that a lot of women use....."he was not ready for a commitment".... WHAT? Who cheated on who?

This was years ago, but the fairer sex has not changed. I want to spend time with a girl that I have known for a while, but she takes a trip with another guy for a week on some Caribbean Island and oh by the way, they are just "friends", nothing happening.

WHAT? I must have stupid on my forehead. I give her the "guys only want one thing" message and she says no it's not like that. I say ok, hey I have been dating too no problem. She comes back and no mention of the trip and she is tight lipped about the events. I still like her though, not in a "lets do it a couple of times way", but in a "I might want to settle down with you way". So I say I am coming over to see you in your neck of the woods and you are pissed about the fact that I am buying my ticket last minute. WTF?

At this point I am better suited just chasing the hootchies instead of these high end divas. They say they want a Prince, but they really want a rogue. You know what, I will be that rogue.

Lipstick, pigs and the rest of the madness

I am so sick and tried off all this "political hugwash" going on. I actually have forgotten what country that I am in. Is this the USA, or are we in some 3 rd world country? What happened to the intelligent Americans who gave us witty humor in shows such as Seinfeld (never a fan), Curb Your Enthusiasm? I am referring to the "Lipstick on a pig" statement made by Obama in a recent speech. I listened and I read what his statement was and nowhere did I think of Sarah Palin. In fact it is sad that her party made that assumption based on an analogy. We should be smart enough to distinguish between an analogy and a direct jab. The minute I heard the statement, my fairly intelligent brain deducted that he was talking about the present administrations failed policies and McCain's intent on doing the same thing, just calling it something different. America is lagging in science, maths and basic knowledge to countries that should be grateful if the United States even looked at them. We are so caught up in Tom Brady's injury or Britney Spears comeback or if Angelina Jolie will continue to have kids, that we have forgotten what is important.

We need to get America back to producing our own products and leading the rest of the world. The only guy who has even hinted at doing this, is Barrak Obama and it would be a shame if we let our racism dictate the next election. If Obama where a 100%white man, this election would not even be close. But it is obvious that a lot white people have a problem voting for a black man.

African Diaspora Club beginings

A college campus is only as reflective as how it reflects.
When I started at Towson University back in 1999, I was a little surprised that there wasn't an African based group at Towson University. There was a Black Student Union, Caribbean group, Jewish group, if fact I think there was a group for Martians!

My curiosity went wild and questions ran through my mind. How could there be no group for Africans on a campus who at the time boasted a good number of Africans on campus? Were we going to be a generation of Africans that would not learn from our forefathers? Lack of organization, lack of initiative, mismanagement, tribalism and all the other "isms" you can think of, have plagued us for decades. As is reflected in the fact that Africa is very rich, but yet very poor.

So with this "African patriotism" bursting through me, I decided to do "research and development". I asked some of "my people" on campus. "Why don't we have a African group?". Their answers shocked me. I was told that such a group was created, but did not last because food and drinks where not served to members. To that I said, "you have got to be kidding". Are we as Africans, still motivated by material things or can we evolve and come together for the sake our future?"

I knew what had to be done. I looked for the best of the best. The hidden gems, the reluctant leaders, the roses within the thorns, the water in the dessert, the.... well you know where I am going with this. The names have been changed to protect the identifies. These are the founders.....

Ambassador O O - his youth and energy sparked our membership
Soccer Bobo Bass - His popularity on campus legitemized our group
Qneen H Bint - Her quiet leadership and roots made her our "Hybrid"
O B K - diligence, sticking to details ensured we were a well oiled machine.
Beh Ja - her leadership and voice gave us the backbone we needed.

We had our first meeting December 1st 1999 and almost a decade later, the group continues to lead the campus in diversity and leadership. To think, they said it could never be done.


Pictures will be forthcoming.......