BIG EAST BIGOTRY Call it what you want. You can even call me a Big East Bigot if you’d like.  But honestly, until NCAA tournament time, I don’t watch anything but the Big East Conference.  The rest of the country just doesn’t do it for me. You and I have everything thing we need right here in The Big East don’t we? Take your slow Big Ten, your soft ACC, your football dominated SEC and your 11 pm start west coast PAC-10 stuff somewhere else. They all pale in comparison to the best conference in the land. Let’s look at Syracuse for example. What other conference can deal a team that was ranked as high as #3 in the nation four straight loses? Or how about Georgetown?  They were basically on life support a few weeks after being assaulted by the Big East Conference.  Now they’ve won four straight conference games. Providence, in case you forgot they were in the conference, knocks off two top 25 teams in Louisville and Villanova back to back. The Cardinals then knock of Kemba Walker and UCONN at home while Rutgers takes Pitt down to the wire at the RAC in my hometown Piscataway, NJ.  And in case you missed it, mighty Duke got ambushed at The Garden yesterday by St. John’s, a team that had lost five of their last six games in the Big East.  Anyone care to argue?  Anyone? Anyone?  Bueler?  Bueler?

Dunk Contest??? Does it really make sense for the NBA to even do a traditional dunk contest this year?  I prefer to think of it as a total waste of time. Nobody will even come close to sniffing Blake Griffin’s socks in the dunk contest. I have an idea though. Why don’t we just eliminate everyone else.  Let’s just have a Blake Griffin dunk off. The NBA can run a video of the greatest dunks in Dunk Contest history one by one on the video board. Then Griffin can simply try to top each dunk while the crowd cheers him on. I think a much better idea right? This may go down as the biggest mismatch since Vince Carter in 2000. This is a slap in the face to Griffin.  On another note, I love the kid’s work ethic.  I must ask you Blake why are the veterans mad because you play hard the entire game? Not understanding this one. Hey Lamar Odom, you’re my dude, but maybe if you played harder this wouldn’t happen to you.

Betting On Black Too many people are afraid to talk about race. Fortunately Celevision loves to push the envelope. Race matters and it always will. This is America, where race has always been a taboo topic. Our sensitivity comes from the mistakes that we’ve made as a country in the past. We only heal through talking, through REAL dialogue. I am rooting for the Steelers because I love seeing a black coach win the Superbowl!!!  Yeah, I said it.  Truth of the matter is, I’m not a Steelers fan, but I, like so many other African Americans, will root for Tomlin. It’s not racism, but it’s pride. It wasn’t too long ago, that the NFL lacked black coaches altogether.   We’ve come a long way, yet there still are only four black general managers and zero black majority owners. I still remember when it was widely perceived that black quarterbacks weren’t smart enough to even play the position, causing me as a youngster in Pop Warner not to even think about going out for quarterback. So that’s why I love Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb, even though he struggled this year. I even root for Vince Young to get his act together. I was ecstatic when UNLV smashed Duke back in  the NCAA championship game in 1990. I was just as depressed when they lost in the rematch in the 1991 Final Four. I loved Michigan’s Fab 5 and the long baggy shorts. I was proud when Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to win a Superbowl. So don’t be angry at me because I’m rooting for the black quarterback or the black coach.  Don’t label me a racist.  I am not the angry black man.  In essence am I any different than Mexicans rooting for Mark Sanchez? Or Filipinos rooting for Manny Pacquiao? How about the Chinese citizens voting Yao Ming as a starter for the All-Star game even though he’s out for the season?  How am I different?  Isn’t the Superbowl being played during black history month anyway?

Five Great Black Innovations

FAB FIVE BLACK SOCKS They were trend setting. Nobody had ever dared come out with the black socks. Many were already rocking the black sneakers but the black socks gave the bad boy image. The black socks were so hip-hop. The black socks were so urban. The blacks socks were going against the establishment. We all loved the FAB FIVE because of the style and flair they had when they played the game. But the fashion sense took us over the top. Black socks for life.

BLACKBERRY When this first came out, I realized that the life as we knew it would be changed forever. Now we could get our emails while on the go? Are you kidding me? The world would now be a quicker and smaller place. No more could you say, “Oh I didn’t see your email? Or I didn’t have the time to get back to you.” It could all be there in quickness of a click. I sometimes wonder though, in all the madness if this really complicated things even more?  Or perhaps made us more lazy.  I’ve emailed my wife before to bring me up some lemonade from down stairs.  How sad.

BLACK FRIDAY Yes, its somewhat psychotic.  We know as Americans, we will do anything for a sale. I tried to fight this for years saying I wouldn’t subject myself to stooping to such a level as sleeping outside a store or using my athletic speed and agility to maneuver through isles past slower, unsuspecting shoppers who had no idea I would knock them over to get to that flat screen. But I finally did it this year. I must admit, I’m hooked. Outside of winning a state championship in high school, there may be no better feeling than getting a major electronic item for half price. Ok, maybe using the bathroom after you were forced to hold it on a long highway drive is a little better. But nothing else compares.

BLACK SUIT Hey, I’m no fashion guru, but I know one thing, when in doubt you can’t go wrong with a black suit. From going to church, to a wedding, to a funeral the black suit can always be the go-to-guy in the clutch. You don’t need to have a great fashion eye to put colors together when messing with this bad boy. Close your eyes and pull any shirt or tie out of the closet and BAM…you’re good to go. You only need one. You can change the shirt, tie, pocket square or shoes and your peers will think you have five damn suits!!! Trust me I wore a black suit three days in a row one time on the road and not one person was the wiser.

BLACK AND YELLOW, BLACK AND YELLOW, BLACK AND YELLOW…….I don’t care what you say, you’ve heard this song.  You don’t have to like hip hop to like this song. I must admit, when I first heard it, I thought to myself, “Are you kidding me?  He just yelling out colors?” But it was in my ignorance that I failed to recognize the pure genius of this creation. After about a week, I realized I couldn’t stop singing it. And I must say, if you haven’t been physically in a Pittsburgh bar or sports venue when this song comes on then you really don’t get the true experience.  Shout out to my boy Justin Bailey in Pittsburgh for hooking me up.  This song, like “Who Let the Dogs Out?”… “Whoop There it Is” or “Bust a Move” will go down as legendary. It can be played for years in Pittsburgh, maybe even until the end of time. Wiz Kalifa never has to make another song in his career. You can hate on it if you want, you can even try to disagree. But wouldn’t you just love to be in Pittsburgh in some club, bar or Superbowl party right after the Steelers win Superbowl XLV and this song comes on? It may be like an out-of- body experience.