WORDPLAY

I love music. I'm a ole skool hip hop head to the core. I have nothing against some of these new cats who are on the scene. I just think that you have to put more effort into what you're talking about to get the results that you want. If you want to get drunk or get high before you write your verse, then you never know what that will do to your creativity. I don't knock cats for doing what they do. I just know that music ain't what it used to be. Damn...I sound like my pops.

We're gonna keep it real simple today. Today's vibe is gonna be a verse, a rhyme, or 16 bars from one of your favorite songs. It doesn't have to be rap. It can be r&B, country, rock, or poetry.

Here's mine. It was written by a young scribe named William Michael Griffith, Jr. Also known as Rakim or Rakim Allah.

My Melody

I keep the mic in Fahrenheit, freeze MC's and make em colder
The listener's system is kickin like solar
As I memorize, advertise, like a poet
Keep you goin when I'm flowin, smooth enough, you know it
But rough that's why the middle of my story I tell E.B.
Nobody beats the "R", check out my melody...

I take 7 MC's put em in a line
And add 7 more brothas who think they can rhyme
Well, it'll take 7 more before I go for mine
And that's 21 MC's ate up at the same time

Two Seventy Five

275???

Two Seventy Five

Two hundred seventy five???

$275 MILLION DOLLAZ!!!!

That's how much money a Georgia man won last Friday in the Mega Millions jackpot. Robert Harris, an iron worker, played the winning ticket numbers, 7-12-13-19-22 and a Mega Ball number 10, which were a combination based on his six grandchildren's birthdays. Harris and his wife drove 200 miles from their rural hometown of Portal, Ga (pop 600) to Atlanta to meet with the media and to claim their money. According to Robert, they played the same numbers each time that they play the lottery. The funny thing is that they ALMOST DIDN'T WIN. His wife had gone to the store but had left without getting the lottery ticket.

"It was raining like crazy and I said, 'No, I'm not going back up there,' " Tonya Harris said. "And then something changed my mind."

According to lottery officials, the odds of winning the jackpot was approximately 1 in 175 million.

Tonya Harris said all the money might change their lives — new home, new cars, college for the grandchildren — but it won't change them.

"I'll be back in jeans and a T-shirt tomorrow," she said. "It is not going to change me at all. Him maybe, but not me — I'm too country."

In the immortal words of Clay Davis... "shheeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyt!!!!" I'm gonna change.

I'm gonna change phone numbers...I'm gonna change addresses...I'm gonna change clothes...I'm gonna change drawz...

First, I'm not gonna do a stinkin' press conference. If I won that kinda money, I'd rather be anonymous. It would take me about 15 mins and 45 seconds to get from my house to the Lottery Claim Center downtown. I could go in the back door and leave through the back door. I don't need the fan fare. No need for a press conference for me to answer silly questions like... "What do you plan to do with all of this money?" or "Do you plan to quit your job?". The answer is simple. I plan to live life to the fullest and ball outta control and I quit my job as soon as those six numbers showed up on the tv screen. LOL

Second, I'm gonna leave the crib. I live in a very nice neighborhood but I'll leave the house as is. No need to spend another night in here. I'd prolly go live somewhere else while the dream mansion is being built. Call me paranoid...but the last thing that I want to worry about is some clown tryna kidnap my 1 yr old son and hold him for ransom. Maybe I've watched too many movies...but you get my point.

I'll drive to SC and tell my parents that they are retired. They've worked long and hard and it would feel great to be able to let them know that that they'd never have to lift a finger again.

Next, I'd make a few phone calls...round up the crew...and we're going to Magic City! Call the National Weather Service b/c there's gonna be a tsunami in Atlanta! We're kickin ole punk azz Pacman Jones out. And its gonna rain...like its never rained before. LMAO!!!

Lastly, me and my wife are going someplace..."where no mosquitoes is at."

What would YOU do???

Sportz Vybe

just some random thoughts here...

Roger Clemens...stop lying playa. You're giving a new meaning to the phrase "take it to the grave." Personally, I don't care that you took HGH and steroids to become the most dominant pitcher of your generation. That's on YOU. Steroids adversely effects your JOINT. I don't wanna mess with my joint...and neither does my wife.

Speaking of wife...Clemens' old lady took HGH, too. WOW! You mean to tell me that your ole lady took a shot of HGH and you knew nuffin bout it? C'mon dude. Don't piss on me and tell me it's raining.

Barry Bonds...you're next. I know you're laughing at Clemens but when they get done with him they'll be coming after you, bruh. The difference between you and Clemens is that your former trainer would rather do jail time than dime you out. Roger's trainer has already ratted him out. Maybe Roger should have set out some loot like you're doing.

I like baseball but the season is too long.

Don't sleep on my NY Yankees this year.

The Patriots lost the Super Bowl. I'll bet they STILL can't believe it. 18-1. Has a nice sound to it.

Tom Brady...thanks for all of those fantasy points during the regular season. You carried my fantasy team. Too bad you couldn't rollover those points like rollover minutes on a cell.

Eli Manning...for years I called you a bum. Maybe you aren't a bum...but you ain't Peyton. Congrats. Now, go do it again.

The Super Bowl was watched by nearly 93 million people. I wonder if anybody paid any attention to those horrible commercials.

Wonder if Mike Vick was able to watch the Super Bowl while in jail?

Speaking of Vick, I hope you are learning a lesson in the bing. You've had a lot of time to think. I'd love to ask Vick why you would be betting $2500 or $3000 on a dogfight when you've got 40 mil in the bank. Makes no sense to me. Hold ya head up, Mike. We all make mistakes. As a Falcon fan and season ticket holder, I can say that we miss you. The Dome ain't been the same since you left. Hope you get out this summer and get on with your life. And I know you'll be back in the NFL.

Wonder if TO is still crying?

Can you imagine TO and Randy Moss on the same team? That would be unreal. Hand the title to Dallas right now. Wait a minute...I said that last year when I heard that Moss went to New England.

Maybe it's just me...but is the NFL Combine...in a twisted sorta way...remind you of the slave trade? I'm not calling these players slaves. The players are poked and prodded. They are tested on their speed, strength, skill sets, and intelligence. They are then drafted by an NFL team where they are paid handsomely and are a property of that team.

As a former college football player, the NFL Combine is must see tv. LOL

Bill Beli-CHEAT...you cheated. It is what it is. 18-1. Karma is a bych aint it?

The NBA's Western Conference is gonna be a dogfight when the playoffs roll around

Funny how Shaq got "healthy" after being traded to Phoenix. I'm not saying that the Big Cactus was doggin it in Miami but I don't know too many superstars who'd wanna play for a team that only has 10 wins this season.

Wonder if Dwayne Wade was sad to see him go? He didn't look too sad to me.

I don't like Kobe Bryant...the person.

Kobe Bryant is the best player in the game. He's not Micheal Jordan. But he's closet to MJ that we've seen. He needs a few more rings to be mentioned with MJ. And MJ would have never taken 2 shots in a half of a game 7.

LeBron James is a beast. Cleveland better enjoy him now. When his contract is up in 2yrs, he'll be headed to Brooklyn to play for his mentor, Jay Z.

Cleveland got better with this trade...but it's not good enough.

The NBA Champion could come out of the Eastern Conference b/c the Western Conference teams are gonna beat the hell outta each other on their way to the Finals.

Rasheed Wallace is one of the most talented players in the NBA. He's just a head case.

Allen Iverson is tougher than leather

The NY Knicks suck. And I love it!

If my Atlanta Hawks don't make the playoffs, I'm gonna really be pissed.

The Hawks need a new coach...real bad.

Don't sleep on the Detroit Pistons.

I was very impressed with the Slam Dunk Contest. Dwight Howard is sick.

Can't wait for the NCAA Tournament

I hate Duke

Kelvin Sampson...damn! You had a good job coaching hoops at Indiana and you effed it up.

Bobby Knight...thanks for retiring

Michael Beasley from Kansas State is a beast

The ACC is down in hoops this year

Memphis...you better hit free throws if you wanna win

I love golf. My golf game is getting better. By the time the summer rolls around...watch out!

Tiger Woods...you're my dude...but I gotta call you out. No REAL black man would let anybody make a comment about "lynching him" and get away with it. Step your game up and stop being a sucka for these white folk. They'll piss on you and tell you that it's raining.

Damn I wish my golf game was like Tiger's. He makes it look sooo easy

Ladies...in my humble opinion...if you wanna meet a good man...go to a golf course. Or a sporting event. Football game, basketball game, etc. Go dressed to impress. Sexy.

Guilty...As Charged

Guilty pleasures. We all have em. You know...the things that you do that you find enjoyment in but you're not necessarily proud of. Some people have guilty pleasures...like dressing up in all black and going to a club where everybody is dressed the same way. I won't call any names (LOL) but if you like it, then that's cool with me. We all are strange...to a certain degree. Our differences is what make us who we truly are.

One of my guilty pleasures is that show Flavor of Love. I like that show! And I'm not a fan of reality tv. I've never watched American Idol, America's Top Model, or America's Best (fill in the blanks). I watched a season of the Apprentice and that's about it. I can't tell you much about Survivor or whatever the hottest show is right now on reality tv.

Flavor of Love is a show that features these beautiful woman who are all in one house competing for the love and affection of Flavor Flav. That's right...Flavor Flav from Public Enemy, the hip hop pioneering rap group. Flavor of Love is in it's 3rd season as Flav is looking for love...again. I saw the first season and was hooked b/c of the outrageous things that these women would do to themselves and others...just to be with Flavor Flav. Anybody who has ever seen Flav knows that he is a sore sight on your eyes. LOL. The mere thought of a fine woman kissing Flav is enough to make you laugh...or puke. These women hurl cuss words and fists at each other like there is no tomorrow. And it's all for their man...Flavor Flav. And for some STRANGE reason, I find this very funny. So, I tune in every week to see who's gonna make a fool of themselves.

There...I said it. I know I aint the only one with some type of guilty pleasure.

The Wire (Clarifications)

It was must see tv!

The Oscars...no

Chicago Bulls vs Houston Rockets...nope

I'm talking about the best thang on tv. The Wire. Last night's episode was powerful! However, in that episode, one of my favorite characters died. Omar Little. Omar was the local, professional stickup kid who terrorized the streets of Baltimore. He died from a gunshot to the head. The surprise wasn't the fact that he was killed but it was the person who killed him. A young snot nosed punk named Kenard. Kenard...not Kenard! Anybody but him. In last week's episode, he had just seen Omar for the 1st time and he had NO clue as to who he was. In the back of my mind, I knew that Omar had to die. He had done too much dirt NOT to die. He couldn't just ride off into the sunset. He had shot too many people and robbed too many stash houses to turn back. Omar was back in B-More to avenge the death of Butchie, his blind mentor who kept his ears to the streets. Butchie was killed by Chris who took the order from Marlo. When word got back to Omar, he came back to Baltimore and he was determined to get even. He had already killed alot of Marlo's muscle on the street. He had destroyed Marlo's drugs on the street and even the money that Marlo's hustlers had made. That said, I figured if Omar was gonna die it was gonna be in a shootout with Chris and Snoop. I never thought he'd get dropped by a young punk who never even shot a gun before. But that's the beauty of The Wire. If you think something is going to the left, it will go to the right.

Omar was a bad dude. A thug. A criminal. A thief. A killer. How could you be a fan of a guy like that? It's easy. Omar was the illest! Not to mention, Omar was a homosexual. While I don't think any dude should be kissing anutha dude, if that's your thing...then you can do what you want to do. I like women. LOL. I will say that I'm not the only fan of Omar's. Since this episode appeared last week online and on HBO's on Demand, message boards have been blowing up! Some people are mad b/c he died. Some are mad b/c he was killed by Kenard. I call it great writing by David Simon. The Wire has never been predictable. Moments after Omar was shot, my phone starts blowing up. Text msgs and emails. One of my boys called me b/c he just couldn't believe what he had seen. He knew that I had already seen the episode. He said that it caught him off guard.

As for the rest of the show, it was very intriguing. The walls seem to be closing in on McNulty. He's way in over his head. I like McNulty. I don't know what's gonna happen to him b/c he's sinking in quicksand. He came clean with Kema, who then denounced the whole scheme. He also came clean with his old lady who is about to leave him. Although the case is almost solved, McNulty is feeling guilty about creating this whole "serial homeless killer" stuff. It don't look good for McNulty.

Bunk has a warrant to arrest Chris but at McNulty's request he holds off b/c Lester is close to closing the case on Marlo. Speaking of Lester, he approaches Clay Davis in a bar and advises him that they will be headed for round 2...only this time it'll be a federal case. Clay knows that his "MLK act" won't fly with a federal jury. Sheeeeeeeyyyyyyyyytttttt!!!!

Gus catches Templeton in a lie. I like Gus. He knew that Templeton was making up stuff but he could never put his finger on it. He has exposed Templeton for what he truly is. A liar.

After watching the previews for next week's show, it looks like the last 2 episodes will be explosive.

RIP
OMAR LITTLE

Pushing The Limits

I was a great athlete. Now, I'm a good athlete. I started playing organized sports when I was 8 yrs old. I developed a genuine love and passion for sports. It started with football. I was inspired to play by my uncle who was in the NFL at the time. My father taught me the game. He taught me the rules and fundamentals of the game. More importantly, he never pushed me to play. It was my decision. I

History has now been repeated as my sons are active in sports. Both my 8 year old and 5 year old are playing basketball. The 8 year old has also played baseball and golf. As I watch them play, I wonder if they will be a great as their old man once was. LOL. Maybe...maybe not.

I also watch in amazement some of the parents who are around me. At a basketball game today, I saw parents yelling and screaming at their kids. When the refs make bad calls, I've seen the parents turn their anger toward the refs. Last week, a fight almost broke out between a parent and a ref. And this is a CHURCH league! Some people seem to want to win at all costs. That's not what it's about. It's about these kids having fun. It makes me wonder if the parents are trying to live their childhood again through these kids. I'm not trying to make my sons the next Jordan, LeBron, or Kobe. I'd like to see them develop in their sport and get better each week. Wins and losses don't matter to an 8 year old kid. It doesn't matter to me either. But if you listen to some parents, you'd think it was a matter of life and death. There's nothing wrong with competing but some of this stuff is crazy. Some of these kids are being pushed for all the wrong reasons. Has youth sports gone too far?

Where's The Beef?

WHERE'S THE BEEF???

That was a popular slogan on a commercial when we were kids. It featured a lil old lady who uttered those 3 words and became famous. To this day, I can't even remember what company had the commercial. I just remember that the commercial was very popular and that lil old lady got rich.

Today's question should be...what's in the beef? As you know, there was a recall on beef last week. What you may not know is that Americans already have eaten most of the 143.4 million pounds of beef involved in this week's biggest-ever U.S. meat recall. Yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture says consumers are at little risk -- even if they did eat the meat. Huh? I'm confused. As a person who eats at LEAST one burger a week, I am concerned. I try to watch what I eat. I work out and exercise 3 or 4 times a week (i should do it daily). I'd be lying if I said that this recall doesn't have me concerned about what I'm putting into my body.

The USDA said the risk is low of getting sick because no contaminated or infected beef has been found and because no human illnesses have been linked to the recalled beef. However in last September, twenty-one people in eight states may have fallen ill after eating hamburgers possibly contaminated with E. coli bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Giving up on hamburgers may become a problem for some of us (like me). It's about to get warm and that means it's time for me to break out the grill. LOL. As we try to be more conscious about what we eat, what should we do? Just become vegans? Ignore the warnings signs? Your thoughts.

12kyle

The Wire (Took)

He's toast.
There's no way he beats the wrap in court.
He's gonna do time!

Those were my thoughts about the fast talking senator Clay Davis. But after a "Oscar winning performance" while he was on the stand, Clay Davis walked! No jail time. He swayed the jury and had them eating out of his hands. Think Clay Davis was going to jail??? Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyttttt!!! LOL

I like McNulty. This dude is going through extreme measures to get it done. I'm concerned b/c I wanna see him get out of this jam. But he appears to be over his head.

What more can I say about Omar??? OMG! This dude is hobbling around Baltimore putting a huge dent in Marlo's muscle. I'm rooting for him. I hope he gets Marlo.

Templeton is lying. Gus knows it. I think he's gonna expose him..sooner than later. I like this story b/c I'm sure that every newspaper has a dude like Templeton who will stretch the truth in every story.

I've already seen this Sunday's episode and I won't spoil it for you. I'll just describe it in one word...POWERFUL!

Just A Waste of Time

"Time waits for no man. You MUST have a respect for time."-Coach Wells (circa 1991)

I'm not sure if that quote originally came from my old high school football coach. I understood what he meant. I hate being late to anything. I'd rather be 20 mins early than to be late. I don't waste time. Time is important. Time is not to be wasted.

Some things are a waste of time. For example, tonight's NBA Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. It's not what it used to be. If I had to describe it right now, I'd say that it's horrible. What once was the highlight of All-Star Weekend, is now a shell of what it used to be. The slam dunk contest used to be an event when you had the brightest stars in the NBA compete for the crown. Now, it's a "show" between some lesser known dudes who seem to be stuck doing the same ole dunks. The contest has been revamped so much that there are now only 4 contestants. In its heyday, the dunk contest had 10 contestants.

There is no star power in the contest. The stars of the League like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, & Tracey McGrady have given way to dudes like Gerald Green, Rudy Gay, and Nate Robinson. In my opinion, there are no stars b/c there's not enough $$$ involved. When Jordan was winning the contests in the 80s, the grand prize was 15k. Now its 35k. That's not a lot of $$$ (relatively speaking) to a multi-millionaire. Instead of making the winning purse at 35k, let's make it a mil!

There's no more creativity in the dunks. If you've watched as much basketball as I have, you've probably seen every dunk known to man. After watching Jordan take off from the free throw line, I think we saw everything that there was to see. Maybe that's why Jordan stopped participating...the expectations became too high.

"Hey Jordan, can you take off from half court?"

I remember one year where a judge had to spin a wheel to select the dunk that each contestant was to perform. Huh? Where's the creativity in that?

The NBA should just kill the dunk contest. Actually, it should have been done a few yrs ago. I'm not going to watch it live. I'll have the DVR set to tape it and I'll watch it later. That way, I can cut all of the foolishness and commentary surrounding these dunks. Every year, there's at least ONE dunk that opens your eyes. And for that reason, it'll make me DVR it. Other than that, I'm not gonna waste my time.

Here are a few other things in sports that are a waste of time...

NFL- the Pro Bowl (aka All-Star game)

Baseball-the regular season. there are wayyyyy too many games (162). they need to trim it down

Winter Olympics-nuff said

V Day

Happy Valentines Day to all of the lovers (and haters...lol). This is the "holiday for lovers." Although I've had people tell me that it's a wasted day, most people recognize their significant other on this day. Personally, I think V-day can be a bit much but it is what you want it to be. You can celebrate this day every day if you want.

Here's today's vibe...give me your best, worst, or most memorable Valentine's Day experience. My most memorable one was also my worst one. I broke up with my girlfriend on Valentine's Day! I called it off. Could I have waited another day? Sure. Was I dead wrong? No doubt. I blame it on youth. The truth is that we shouldn't have been together. I felt like I could hang on to this girl until the one I really wanted became available. Nevertheless, I could have waited another day or week or month. I know that my momma raised me better than that. LOL

That's my vibe...give me yours.

The Wire (The Dickensian)

Is he Superman? No. Is he Batman? No.

He's Omar...and he's still alive. Many people didn't think Omar would survive the shootout with Marlo's crew. Then, to escape his own fate, Omar leaps out of a 6 story window...AND SURVIVES. His survival leaves Marlo and his crew shook. Omar is on a mission. He's out for revenge. And from the way things look, he's gonna get it.

Is it just me or does McNulty make you laugh? McNulty is a guy who will go to any extreme to get what he wants. He has created this "serial homeless killer" and the city of Baltimore is on edge. Not only is McNulty corrupt but he has influenced Lester and Sidenor to join forces with him. You gotta love it.

Marlo told the co-op that he took responsibility for Prop Joe's death (then blamed it on Omar). He talked to these dudes like they were kids. And he ended the meeting by telling them that the price of a brick was going up! WOW! I don't like Marlo but that had to be one of the most gangster scenes that I've seen him do.

Clay Davis' trial is coming. Do you think he's going to get off? Shhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyt!!! LOL

Simply put...The Wire is the best thing on tv. I've already seen this week's episode and I won't spoil it for you. But it is...MUST SEE TV!!!

The Top 5

I don't watch a lotta tv. I don't watch as much as I used to. When I
turn the tv on, I'm usually looking for a game. If I can't find a good
game to watch, I'll try to find a good sitcom. Most of the sitcoms
that I watch are old ones that I grew up on. In my opinion, sitcom's
aren't what they used to be. TV is now being dominated by reality tv.
As a result, sitcoms have suffered. There are still some good sitcoms
out there but I couldn't name 5 sitcoms that are currently on tv. I
don't think they could stack up to those sitcoms in the past. If I had
to name a top five, it'd look like this...

5. The Cosby Show-great show that showed the upward mobility of a black family

4. The Jeffersons-a spinoff from All in The Family. Featured the
"movin on up" dry cleaner, George Jefferson and his wife, Weesy.

3. Good Times-this show was DY-NO-MIIIIITE!!!! Classic show about a
family struggling in the ghetto. Ain't we lucky we got em...Good
Times.

2. Martin-a sitcom from the early 90s about a radio dj and his
girfriend, Gina. Martin also played characters like Shenaynay, Rosco,
King Beef, Dragonfly Jones, and Jerome.

1. Sanford and Son-the story of a junk man and his son in LA. Redd
Foxx is hilarious. I never grow tired of this show. One of my favorite
episodes was when Fred and Lamont had to go to St. Louis to bury
Fred's uncle. Fred thought that his uncle left him a lotta money. Only
to find out that he left him nothing. And Fred goes off!!! LOL!
Classic.

Honorable Mention
A Different World, Different Strokes, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Give me your Top 5. Also, give me an example of a funny or your
favorite episode.