Dream on Barry Bonds

On Wednesday, Jan 23rd, Barry Bonds asked a federal judge to dismiss perjury charges against him arguing the indictment is "scattershot" and noted for its "striking inartfulness." The lawyers said "the questions posed to him by two different prosecutors were frequently imprecise, redundant, overlapping and frequently compound." Bonds' lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to toss the case or order prosecutors to streamline the indictment, which cites 19 different instances of Bonds' alleged lying but only charges him with four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction. Bonds, a free agent, has pleaded not guilty to four charges of perjury and one count of obstruction.

Sorry Barry Bonds, you are living in a dream world because now that the Law and the fans that hates you has there claws in your flesh, dismissal is not an option!

The case against Bonds will not be dismissed. Why? Not because of your alleged guilt, but because of his character and race.

Bonds is in a losing situation. Fans hate him because he is viewed as a "jerk", some players don't like him because he is viewed as a primodonna and others hate him because the color of his skin.

The steroid hypocrisy continues!

By L.A. Batchelor
labatchelor@blackathlete.com

I think it's hypocritical for this DA in Albany to leak the names of people who are not even part of the criminal investigation at the same time MLB can name some and elude to others in there report. Meanwhile, white society will find those entertainers guilty without proof while at the same time, give Roger Clemens (who is guilty as sin) can get the benefit of the doubt because of some made up story on 60 minutes.Black America better wake up because the attack goes all across the board. If you are rich, famous and black, white people will not stop until they ruin you and destroy you whether it's your reputation, credibility or finances. The fix it in!

Marion Jones in Prison, Now about Roger Clemens

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com

Marion Jones, former Olympic champion, has been sent to prison for 6 months for lying about using steroids and being involved in a check fraud scam. While one might be tempted to believe that the prison time was due to the perjury issue and the check fraud problems, the words of Federal Judge Kenneth Karas lead one to conclude otherwise.

When handing down the sentence, Karas mentioned that the maximum would be given in order to set an example for other athletes who use drugs. He argued that Jones and others have overlooked the values of "hard work, dedication, teamwork and sportsmanship."

In other words, he was sending Marion Jones, mother of two young children, to prison to make an example out of her. Jones cried like Paris Hilton (the drunken driver who could have killed someone behind the wheel), but unlike Hilton, she was not let out of jail in 30 minutes. By his statements, the judge was attempting to argue that Jones has poor values and lacks hard work and dedication.

And I thought it only happened to black males.

The judges words remind me of the ridiculous sports commentator who describes the team from Princeton as the one with great intellect, team work and commitment, while describing the team from Georgetown as the one with great athletic ability.

He reminds me of Fox Sports commentator Joe Buck, who described Randy Moss as a "disgusting" human being, yet he acts as if Bret Favre and Tom Brady are the second coming of Jesus.

I saw Marion Jones being regularly insulted on Fox News after allegations of steroid use. They too attempted to argue that Jones has poor character and is just a bad person. All the while, they spent almost no time scrutinizing their heroes, Lance Armstrong (for whom the allegations of drug use are endless, quite probable and regularly overlooked) and Roger Clemens (the 40-something pitcher who plays like he's 18 years old - one of the textbook symptoms of steroid abuse).

I love a good double standard when I see one. America has always been good at that.

Marion Jones should not have used steriods, yes. The problem is that steroid abuse is rampant in professional baseball, football and track. Any athlete hoping to compete at the highest levels is forced to find a way to match up to the drugged up athletes around them. That is a simple fact. Many of your greatest sports heroes were doped up in a major way, and you will never know.

Secondly, labs are all over the world that focus entirely on the task of creating designer drugs that avoid detection in traditional tests. BALCO just happened to be the one that got raided, but it was not the only lab in existence. Do you think that all those other labs went out of business after BALCO got raided by the FBI? Yeah right.

Finally, the governing bodies responsible for managing drug abuse among athletes did not do their jobs effectively. Major League Baseball could have done much more to stop the steroid craze of the nineties, but the "cha-chings" of filling parks with big time sluggers may have led them to put the steroid testing issue on the back burner. I honestly believe that they could have stopped the problem if they'd wanted to, but the money was just too good. If you are looking for a place to put the "low character" label, start with the commissioner's office.

Bottom line: Before you cast value judgements on Marion Jones or Barry Bonds, be sure to spread those judgments equally. I would like to see the same critical eyeballs on Roger Clemens, Lance Armstrong and others who have been accused of doping.

Barry Bonds and Marion Jones were great natural talents, who had amazing careers before drug use became an issue. These are two forthright individuals who may have likely felt the need to use drugs in order to keep up with the pack. By judging them so harshly and isolating these two individuals as the sole keepers of poor character, you are effectively arriving late to a fight and only punishing the child who threw the last counterpunch.

If Marion Jones has poor character, then so do many other American heroes. Judge Karas is wrong and racist in his assessment, and as a black man, I tire of having individuals like him questioning the character of my people. He should probably start by questioning his own.

Golf Channel Analyst Says Tiger Woods Should be Lynched

Kelly Tilghman, a former golfer for Duke University and now a play-by-play analyst for The Golf Channel, said some things on air that would have made Don Imus and Bill O'Reilly blush.

During a telecast of the PGA Tour's opening event, Tilghman said that today's young players should "lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley."

According to Newsday, a spokesman for the Golf Channel said that Tilghman apologized during Sunday's broadcast and has "reached out to Woods' representatives to express regret for the comments."

"I've reached out to Tiger to make an apology, and I've done the same with our viewers," Tilghman said.

"I can assure you that there was never any intention to offend anyone. I'm sorry for any misunderstanding."

The Golf Channel representatives have stated that they plan no disciplinary action.

Golf Channel Anchor Says Golfers Should Lych Tiger Woods

Kelly Tilghman, a former golfer for Duke University and now a play-by-play analyst for The Golf Channel, said some things that have her in hot water.

During a telecast of the PGA Tour's opening event, Tilghman said that today's young players should "lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley."

According to Newsday, a spokesman for the Golf Channel said tha Tilghman apologized during Sunday's broadcast and has "reached out to Woods' representatives to express regret for the comments."

In light of the events at Duke University in the past and the Don Imus incident, this event is not surprising. At the same time, one would be surprised that Tiger Woods would be the subject of such an alarming statement.

Ohio State Embarrassed by LSU

Man, sometimes it's hard to be an alum of Ohio State. OK, I love it more than I hate it, since the coach of the football team has done things that no Ohio State coach has done......ever. He has gotten the team to the title game 3 times in his 7 years, and won the damn thing once.

But there is this problem. Every time we face a major SEC foe, we end up getting our asses handed to us in a coon skin cap. Just flat out embarrassing. Last year, we were spanked by Florida and this year, it was LSU doing the damage.

I can't complain, since getting there is better than not getting there. Before Jim Tressell became the coach, it took over 20 years to win a title. The man is a winner, and I knew it before he was hired. But damn. Damn Damn Damn.

Let's actually try not to embarrass ourselves next year.

Michael Vick Switches Prisons

Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick left his jailhouse home and got a new one. Vick was recently transferred to a Kansas prison to serve out the rest of his 23-month prison sentence on a federal dogfighting charge.

The camp is in Leavenworth, Kansas, said Traci Billingsley, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Yahoo! Sports stated that Vick is attempting to enter a drug treatment facility at Leavenworth. If he successfully completes the program, he will be eligible for parole in 12 months.

Vick was convicted on federal dogfighting charges after he and 3 co-defendants were found to have raised pit bulls with the intent of dog fighting. The dogs were found on Vick's property in Virginia and Vick was connected with the events that took place on the property.

Can the Celtics Match the Bulls of the Nineties?

This may seem absurd, but it is theoretically possible for the Boston Celtics to match the amazing 72-10 record of the Chicago Bulls. At 29-3,they are on pace to finish 73-9, which would allow them to surpass the greatest year of one of the greatest teams ever.

Wow, how quickly things can change.

It's too bad that the Knicks can't take notes from the Celtics, another organization that had fallen into the toilet. After the Rick Pitino debacle, Boston found itself overpaying for undertalented players, and with horrible management. Somehow, they found a way to make things better, and it's starting to pay off.

My prediction: this team knows how to win and they want to get a title. If there are no injuries, they will get it. There's nothing scarier than a bunch of 30-somethings with experience, heart and just enough legs to make their last, desperate run to save their collective legacy.

MVP MY ASS!!!!!

By L.A. Batchelor
sports.yourblackworld.com
labatchelor@blackathlete.com

NC-Tell me how anyone logical, sensible, honest and non-bias person could even say and award Tom Brady as the MVP of The NFL this season? All you have to do is go back to last year and look at his stats with no Randy Moss, Dante Stallworth and others. They (his stats from last year) are abysmal! Let's look at his stats from last season and then this season.

Last season (regular season): 61.8 completion percentage, 3,529 passing yards, 6.8 yards per pass, 220.6 passing yards per game, 24 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 87.9 passer rating.

This season: 68.9 completion percentage, 4,806 passing yards, 8.3 yards per pass, 300.4 passing yards per game, 50 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and a 117.2 passer rating.

So what happen? Did he suddenly learn how to throw the ball better? Did he work harder in the off season to get bigger,stronger, faster like Lee Majors? Did he suddenly have an epiphany on how to be more accurate and throw more touchdowns?
Of course not. All of these scenarios are ludicrous and absurd.

No, Brady got the award because the white media was looking to crown the new "Larry Bird". The great white hope. Bird like Brady, was sort of declared great and the hope of many whites even if he didn't want to. Either way, Like Bird, Brady has come to embrace it and take full advantage of it. He is the new Champion of the white man's athletic world. He is considered the one definite Caucasian that some feel is as good as "the brothas" if not better. All of this regardless of the fact Randy Moss had a career year, catching over 30 touchdowns, he has a solid offensive line, a great coach and a defense that makes big plays when needed.

Brady's not The MVP of the league. He's not even the MVP of his own team.

You still think Barry Bonds is the only cheater in MLB?

Artwork by Lance "Scurv" Scurvin: www.scurvinoriginalz.com

Barry Bonds was not the only cheater in Major League Baseball. Turns out that the truth was what we knew all along, that TONS of guys were getting juiced up. There was just too much many at stake, too many egos and too much competition.

Barry may not end up in the Hall of Fame. But if he goes down, then alot of other guys should go down with him. Roger Clemens should be one, since there is no reason that a guy in his 40s should be playing like a 22-year old, unless he is getting a little extra "boost". Oh....sorry, he's not black, so his talent comes from "intelligence and hard work". My mistake.

You still think Barry Bonds is the only cheater in MLB?

Artwork by Lance "Scurv" Scurvin: www.scurvinoriginalz.com

How to Watch a BCS Bowl Game

I get sick of the bowl system, but then again, that's nothing new. Everyone hates it. Everyone knows that it's not a fair or accurate system. Everyone knows that it's controlled by money. Everyone knows that none of that money goes to the players. Instead, it goes to old white men who refuse to hire black coaches and have no problem exploiting the black guys on the field. A 20 year old kid breaks his neck, and after a few minutes of silence, we hear: "We'll be back after this message from our sponsors."

I don't give a damn about Tositos. But I am trained like a hamster to say "Tostitos Fiesta Bowl". I don't give a damn about any of the bowl games, because they mean nothing. The only game that sort of means anything is the championship.

The marketing works. They convince us that winning the Rose Bowl is a lifetime achievement award. The player wins the silly bowl game and the poor guy is running up and down the field with a rose in his mouth as if he's on his way to Disney Land. Doesn't he realize that this is just another game against a ranked opponent?

Only the championship means anything, and even that's a big ol lie.

My alma mater, Ohio State, has slipped its way into another title game. I hope they win, and I am excited. But truth be told, there are at least 8 other teams that have just as much of a right to be in that game. What's best for the Buckeyes is that they don't have to prove they belong. The computer did it for them.

Imagine if college basketball titles were decided the same way as football titles. The number one and number two teams go at it, and everyone else is left to play in some silly, corporate sponsored consolation game. Roy Williams and the Kansas Jayhawks, according to my calculations, would have won 4 or 5 titles during the 1990s. Each year, they entered the tournament as the number one seed, only to get pimp slapped in the first or second round.

Imagine that. They had to prove it on the court.

I can't lie, I love a good college football game. The black athlete is just too amazing for us to ignore...and the other athletes are very good too. Game must be respected. So, I've come up with a formula for how I watch bowl games without being duped by the stupidity of it all:

1) I TIVO EVERYTHING - By using my trusty DVR, I am able to fast forward through every single commercial, killing their ability to mash my brain with one commercial after another. A 4 hour game is shrunk to 60 minutes of hardcore football. I am also able to skip the retarded analysis that swears Tim Tebow is Jesus and that the good ol boy hired ahead of all the talented black coaches is the brilliant mastermind who deserves to make $2 million a year while the guys doing all the work get nothing.

2) I Pay VERY LITTLE ATTENTION TO THE MEANINGLESS GAMES - If it happens to be on and it's good, I'll watch. But again, only the championship has meaning. You can hype a bowl to me all day long, but I know that it's just another game.....even if the word "Outback" has been added to the title. If the game would not be interesting during the regular season, it's not interesting to me during the post season.

3) I IGNORE THE AWARDS - The Heisman means nothing, since it's only a paper tiger award created by the media. The best player in college football is the top player chosen in the NFL draft....period. Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow got "tamponed" in his game against mediocre Michigan, so he is clearly not the best player in the game. Had Tebow been black, he would have not even been a Heisman candidate.

That is how I get through this silly concoction called NCAA football. It's a damn lie, a travesty of fairness and a corrupt corporate machine that does a huge disservice to its fans, the players and the American public.

It gets old real fast.

Tim-T-WHO?

By L.A. Batchelor
sports.yourblackworld.com

Let's see 17 of 33 for 154 yards. Not exactly the kind of numbers you would expect from a Heisman Trophy winner going into a Bowl game against an unranked team. Not expected but those were the numbers for Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow New Year's day at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida sending the much maligned Michigan head football coach Lloyd Carr out with a big victory in his final game as coach 41-35.

Now Tebow did score three touchdowns but in watching the game, you never felt like he had the kind of control or dominance a Heisman Trophy winner would have in a game and bowl that was really only meaningful to the Universities and their fans and alumni.

Although Tebow is flashy, flamboyant and talented, he is not a true quarterback. He looks to run the ball first to set up the pass which worked last year when the Gators had a true quarterback in Chris Leak starting and could bring Tebow off the bench to give their offense a different look and could confuse opposing defenses. Not this year. Coach Urban Meyer and the Gators needed to utilize a true running back to execute the ground attack and not use Tebow to try and run and pass the ball. I guess the reality for the Gators is Tebow is underdeveloped as a passer and is more suited or comfortable as a runner.

The previous season, Troy Smith won the award primarily as a pocket passer but the only thing you hear about him is the lost to The Gators last year and all the reasons why he is not an NFL quarterback. Not an NFL quarterback? Just ask The Pittsburgh Steelers(after losing to him and The Baltimore Ravens) if he is an NFL quarterback.

The biggest issue with Tebow is not his performance in a insignificant Capital One Bowl, but the irony that surrounds him.

The irony is The true running back is McFadden who had a phenomenal year for the Arkansas Razorbacks but a quarterback who ran first and passed second won college footballs biggest prize. The other irony is The Gators won a National Title with a maligned quarterback who had so little confidence from his coach, they showed great confidence and decided to give playing time to Tebow, but couldn't win their own conference (The South Eastern Conference) let alone a National Title with the same player they showed such confidence to the previous season.

The biggest irony is Urban Meyer wants and allows Tebow to play exactly the way some African American quarterbacks in college and the NFL play but why is Tebow considered a great quarterback and the African American QB's considered just athletes? In both cases, they use there legs to make plays WHEN NEEDED but Tebow is considered smart or making a smart play while African American quarterbacks are considered to be improvising?

The answer is clear and indisputable both with Urban Meyer and the Gators and coaches alike who see color in ability, leadership and apply their bigotry accordingly. It's like the old Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird comparison. Magic was the flashy athletic point guard while Bird was the solid thinking man. I guess athleticism beats intelligence since Magic won Five World Championships while Bird won Three right?

Bottom line, no matter how well African American quarterbacks perform in college or The NFL, the stereotypical mentality will continue to exist in the sports world because human nature sometimes is ignorance, bigotry and entitlement.
Entitlement Tebow was fortunate to have in winning The Heisman Trophy with the same formula of some of the best African American quarterbacks in college and The NFL.

Racism and the Heisman go hand in hand

Perhaps they should just call it the "Whiteman Award" and cut to the damn chase. Seriously. 3 out of 4 of the Heisman Candidates this year were white, although anyone with eyeballs knows that college sports is dominated by black men.

But then again, the Heisman always goes to the golden boy. That is usually a white quarterback. The black guys get the Heisman sometimes, but they have to be supermen to beat out the leading white guy.

Then, the NFL draft comes, and we see all the black guys getting drafted first. This clearly shows that they are the best players on the field, but the white guys keep getting the Heisman.

So, let's just call it the WhiteMan Award. What is most ironic is that it was not until after the year 2000 that the Heisman became it's most racist. Since the year 2000, 6 of the 8 Heisman Trophy winners have been white quarterbacks. What is also interesting is that when a black man wins it, he is usually a running back. When a white guy wins it, it is as a quarterback.

Here is a list of the Heisman Winners since the early 80s. Out of this list, only a couple of the white winners have done jack squat in the NFL. Most of the black running backs who win the Heisman went on to have great NFL careers. Some of them did not. But while the black failure of a Heisman winner is rare, the failure of white quarterbacks after winning the Heisman is the norm. It is no different from the year that Shaquille O'neal was given none of the player of the year awards, while Christian Laettner got everything. That was a travesty.

Here is a list of the Heisman winners. You be the judge:

2007 Tim Tebow Florida (Quarterback)
2006 Troy Smith Ohio State (Quarterback)
2005 Reggie Bush USC (Running Back)
2004 Matt Leinart USC (Quarterback)
2003 Jason White Oklahoma (Quarterback)
2002 Carson Palmer Southern California (Quarterback)
2001 Eric Crouch Nebraska (Quarterback)
2000 Chris Weinke Florida State (Quarterback)
1999 Ron Dayne Wisconsin (Running Back)
1998 Ricky Williams Texas (Running Back)
1997 Charles Woodson Michigan (Cornerback)
1996 Danny Wuerffel Florida (Quarterback) 1995 Eddie George Ohio State (Running Back)
1994 Rashaan Salaam Colorado (Running Back)
1993 Charlie Ward Florida State (Quarterback)
1992 Gino Torretta Miami (Quarterback)
1991 Desmond Howard Michigan (Wide Receiver)
1990 Ty Detmer Brigham Young (Quarterback)
1989 Andre Ware Houston (Quarterback)
1988 Barry Sanders Oklahoma State (Running Back)
1987 Tim Brown Notre Dame (Wide Receiver)
1986 Vinny Testaverde Miami (Quarterback)
1985 Bo Jackson Auburn (Running Back)
1984 Doug Flutie Boston College (Quarterback)
1983 Mike Rozier Nebraska (Running Back)
1982 Herschel Walker Georgia (Running Back)
1981 Marcus Allen Southern California (Running Back)