Just because you think it's right doesn't mean it is

I finally saw Law Abiding Citizen and it's my new favorite movie. I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but the movie makes a great point on the subject of right and wrong. Just because we think something is right doesn't mean that we are doing the right thing.

To put this in the simplest and easiest perspective to understand...a little "white" lie is still a lie. We try to tell ourselves that by telling this lie, we are "helping" someone else by not admitting the truth(and the truth does not have to be brutal). Then there are times we feel justified by what we do because we are somehow "owed" something so it's o.k. if we "use"(steal) a few things from work(since we do work a thankless job for a miserable boss). Here's the kicker...if these two events were the "right" thing to do then the people that we call "terrorists" would be justified for their violent actions because many of them believe that they are doing the work of Allah.

For the record, I think any lie is wrong just like any theft is wrong, and God or any higher power anyone chooses to serve would not condone the killing of innocent people. I also think that whatever you or I choose to believe is right then we should not only believe it internally or in certain company, but everyone should know our personal code of ethics. In other words, if a person is a racist among members of their own race, then they should spit their racial epithets to any race. Will this sort of free speech make someone a hated individual or possibly beat up...yes, but it comes down to...consequences.

If we think it, and act on our thoughts, then we should be willing to face the consequences for our actions. This is the problem for some of us who choose to be hypocritical and not live up to the thoughts that we actually have and instead, choose to act on what is considered publicly to be the right thing. I'm not writing all of this to tell you what is right and what is wrong, but I am saying that if we think what we do and how we act is right and justified, then we should face the consequences for our thoughts and actions. For a better example, see the actions of those involved in the Montgomery bus boycott.

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." - Proverbs 16:25

Either she's lying or brother, you need help!

All I want to do is watch the Super Bowl in peace, but first, I have to vent. I know that domestic abuse is a serious offense that no one should ever mock or take lightly because there's nothing funny about a black eye, bruises, or the mental and spiritual pain that tylenol can't treat. So like most people, when I see or hear about abuse, my first reaction is to believe the accuser. In the next second, I have to remind myself the world that I live in now.

First, to the "men"(or "women") who physically abuse your "loved" ones...STOP! If you don't have the mental capacity to stop yourself from raising your hand in anger or if you get some twisted happiness in hurting someone else, I beg of you to seek professional help, otherwise, you will face the consequences of your actions in other ways. I'm not saying this just based on my belief in God, but through my own witness of evil actions begetting evil results. When you as an abuser put away your anger and hate, you not only save the well being of your victim, but yourself as well.


Nowadays, it's easier for someone to sue someone in hopes of a big payoff rather than work honestly for what they want. So who better to go after than a big name celebrity with loads of cash who sometimes has the wrong people or no people giving them advice on how to treat their fame and status? So for those who look to the haves to supply your wants...STOP! Crying abuse when it's a lie not only hurts the person you accuse, but it affects everyone they're around as well. Your desire to live the life of a golddigger does not give you the right to be malicious against someone who wasn't that into you in the first place. If you want to mooch, there are plenty of "reality" shows for you to seek your fame and fortune that way.

So for the "men" who are guilty of abuse, and the men who are falsely accused...throw away your friends! The company you keep aren't necessarily supposed to be your father figures, but they should have enough sense to let you know when you're around a bad situation. If your "friends" parade "hoes" in front of you, then these are the same "friends" who would testify against you in court. A friend that shows you the self-respecting woman is the same friend that not only respects you, but will warn you when you're about to do something foolish.

This concludes my rant...now on to my game!

My proposal to make the pro bowl fun

I think we all can agree that changing the date or time the pro bowl is played doesn't change the fact that it is essentially a meaningless game. Houston Texan QB, Matt Schaub played his heart out all season, the Texans missed the playoffs, yet he has a pro bowl MVP award to show for it all. And what can he get for his award...jack squat and a free plate at IHOP. With one major tweak, I believe the owners, players, and fans will all have a reason to anticipate the pro bowl.

DRAFT PICKS!

That's right...draft picks, but not just any picks, but the winning conference of the pro bowl wins ALL of the available 1st round draft picks. Why...because there's no amount of money or notoriety that can top a team getting the pick of an Adrian Peterson, a Jared Allen...but hopefully not the next Ryan Leaf. In the same way that the worst team gets the first pick and the best team gets the last pick, the winning conference would get their picks the same way. The NFL tries to promote parity and this will still help because there are teams who have already traded away their first round picks for 2011, but if their conference wins in the pro bowl, then they still have a chance at the best draft picks. On the other hand, there could be another team that wants to trade the 1st round draft pick they won in order to trade for a free agent that they need. This plan solves almost everything that's wrong with football(maybe)!

Curse you IKEA! Why must I love you so?!

So it's a chilly Saturday afternoon and a beautiful woman named Anna and my kids want to get out of the house. No problem. Anna's destination of choice...a 2 hour drive to IKEA. If you've never heard of the place, maybe you live in one of the handful of states that doesn't have one of these behemoths inside its borders. That's o.k. since I can explain.

The first thing to know is that IKEA is not a store. Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target...these are stores, but IKEA in itself, is an event. People prepare to go to an IKEA much like celebrities prepare to go to an awards show or normal people prepare to do early Christmas shopping(yes, even the ones who consider Dec. 24th to be early). If you don't mentally and physically prepare yourself, then you will end up a broken person aimlessly walking around looking for the exit.

The next question is not to ask, "What does IKEA sell?", but ask, "What doesn't IKEA sell?". This "store" is a 2 story marketplace full of some items that every home needs and a huge amount of crap that no one needs, but looks so great in the store that you really want to buy it(only to question yourself in shame weeks later). Beds, plants, tables, desks, art work, shelves, pillows, towels, finger puppets(yes, finger puppets), and so much more. IKEA is set up in such an intricate maze that the good management is even nice enough to employ guides, trackers, and people to supply you with water as you make your trek through the store.

For anyone who has ever frequented a superstore so many times that the workers know you by name, or anyone who spends hours in an electronics store and buys nothing, then you have to visit IKEA. I like the store so much that I googled it, but I was startled by my findings. It turns out that IKEA was started in Sweden in 1943 by a man named Hans Ikea. Mr. Ikea had the notion that everyone outside of Sweden lacked taste and style, so he created a store for everyone to buy crap that would make their homes look Swedish. He also invented a dangerously sweet elixir known as "lignon berry punch" which is actually a psychotropic beverage intended to make the drinker more Swedish, but it tastes like expensive kool-aid(OH YEAH!).

So in closing, Mr. Ikea may have plans of making the entire world Swedish, but I can't wait to go to IKEA again!

The NFL Rooney Rule and the shortage of black coaches

The Rooney Rule was established in 2003 and is named for Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the chairman of the NFL diversity committee. The rule requires all 32 NFL teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities. The biggest question is why isn't this rule working?

In the past 4 years, there have been 4 black head coaches to go to the Super Bowl(thank you Rob Parker) and as of right now, 2 of those 4 have led their team to a Super Bowl victory. In spite of this, there are only 5 active black head coaches today. There's not a lack of talent, experience, or leadership when it comes to head coaching or even coordinating jobs especially not when anyone does a little research.

There's a handful of black men when it comes to active head coach, assistant head coach, and offensive and defensive coordinator jobs. There are men like Curtis Modkins who is the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills who coached RB Tashard Choice at Georgia Tech and worked with P.J. Daniels, a walk-on who became 4th leading rusher in Georgia Tech history and a 2 time all-conference selection. There's also Ron Meeks who is the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers who served the same position in Indianapolis from 2002-2008 and helped the Colts to win a Super Bowl when Tony Dungy was the head coach. Between all of the black head coaches and coordinators, black men have helped their teams win 7 Super Bowl victories. Romeo Crennel helped the Patriots win 3 Super Bowls and Crennel has been in 5 Super Bowl wins, yet his 24-40 record as head coach of the Cleveland Browns proves that you're only as good as the people around you.

So, who's to blame for the extreme lack of black head coaches? Should we consider Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, to be the devil or should we hold a march in New York at the NFL head offices? No, because those would just be more ignorant moves. The true villain in this are the 27 team owners who thumb their noses at the Rooney rule and ignore the talent and leadership shown by men like Winston Moss, the assistant head coach of Green Bay, Leslie Frazier, the assistant head coach of Minnesota and other men like them who have proven their worth in landing an NFL head coaching position.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for men like Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, and Brian Billick who are all former coaches that have won Super Bowls, yet these are mainly the only names anyone hears when a head coaching job is vacated. There are far too many active coaches and coordinators on the pro and college level for team owners not to seriously invest their time and money trying to get these intelligent leaders.

The sad truth is that in spite of the facts and any passionate speech anyone can give in regards to more black head coaches being in the NFL, the burden of proof rests in the hands of the owners of the teams. It is the owner who either hires the head coaches themselves or they hire the presidents and general managers who do the hiring of the team personnel. No one, not even Goodell himself, can force a team owner to hire personnel that the owner doesn't want to. The only chance that we will see more black head coaches is with the further success of the current active coaches and coordinators seeing how many teams try to copy the success of other teams.

NFL overtime doesn't suck...but some teams do

If the Vikings offense had a chance to get on the field during overtime, the Saints wouldn't be going to the Super Bowl. If Minnesota had won the coin toss in overtime, then they would be going to the Super Bowl. It's time for every football fan to face facts...overtime does not suck!

Yes, we ALL want our team to win no matter if it's the Dallas Cowboys or the Cleveland Browns, so if our team is "lucky" enough to get into overtime, then we feel justified if they win in OT, but if they lose, we feel that the OT rules need to change. There's only 2 reasons any game goes into overtime, either because our team got "lucky" enough to score a TD or kick a FG to tie the game or because our team didn't make the defensive stop to keep the other team from scoring.

Herm Edwards says that, "You play to win the game" and we all know that a regular game is 60 minutes so every team has an opportunity to win in 4 quarters. The difference is that during the game, one team could have been out-coached. Maybe the defensive front sacked the QB so many times that he couldn't see straight, or the cornerbacks and safeties played like defensive wide receivers and picked off any pass the QB threw. For all we know, it was one fumble too many or the 100+ penalty yards our team got for holding, being offsides, intentional grounding, false starts, or whatever gave the other team the right field position to kick our butts.

Yes, this OT debate will still go on, but face facts sports fan, the game is 60 minutes long and not 75 minutes. So if our team wins in OT, then we should feel extremely lucky they won because no TD or FG is guaranteed, and if our team loses, we have to understand that they should have done more in 4 quarters to not have to go to OT.

Faith in a faithless world

It's easy for anyone to lose their faith or even their hope for a better tomorrow considering that we live in a faithless world. From earthquakes to tornadoes and all other natural disasters, many lives have been lost. We also have to worry about con artists, thieves, rapists, murderers, and the sad part is that everything I've just mentioned is only half of the negativity that we watch on the news every day.

In spite of the truth of what I've just mentioned, I can honestly say there is a strong reason for all of us to stay strong in our faith...the strength of our fellow man or woman. There are many things that I plan to do that I know will help many people, and there are also many times that things don't go the way that I've planned them. Honestly, a lot of times that my plans have been shot down, I've felt defeated and sometimes I've even lost faith in the possibility of my actions. The good news that I can say is that God has put people in my life to give me the strength to have faith again.

Even though I'm a God fearing man, I don't expect every one to feel the way that I do because not everyone has walked in my shoes. I do know that we see the power of faith and belief in a higher power or even one's self every day. Many of us watched the Hope for Haiti telethon and heard stories about men and women who had nothing but their faith giving them strength and keeping them alive while they were rescuing loved ones or while they were being rescued. So far, that telethon has raised $57 million for relief efforts.

The main point that I want to stress to everyone is that even when you think there's no reason to hold on anymore, hold on just a little bit longer. Sometimes the plans you make aren't working the way you want them to so maybe you need to alter your vision a little bit or maybe you just need to keep working because you will hit your mark soon. Either way, you need to hold on just a little bit longer. If you're in doubt or hanging onto your faith by a string, then find someone to give you strength because I guarantee you that someone is waiting to give you a reason to hold on a little bit longer.

Isaiah 40:31 - "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.