Lakers Establish Themselves as a Major Contender

The amount of substantial moves in the NBA this season has been the most that I've seen in recent years. It proved just how important superstars are to their franchise on and off the court, and probably most importantly when owners look at their revenue.

• First, Kobe Bryant threatened to leave, almost everyone expected him to opt out after this year - he was begging for help - and he got it. The additions of Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol and the arrival of Andrew Bynum makes the first place L.A. Lakers a real threat in the league. They also have pretty good wing players in Luke Walton and Lamar Odom. Let's hope that Bynum doesn't rush his comeback and when he does comeback, he's back at 100% - the kid is under 20 years old, I'm suspecting he'll be fine. The only thing this squad is missing is a proven solid PG and the sky will be the limit for the Lakeshow. Things have just been working in their favor, give those guys a A+.

• The ultimate losers this season have to be the Memphis Grizzlies. Yup, the Memphis Grizzlies, not the Miami Heat or the New York Knicks - the Memphis Grizzlies. They're obviously planning a reconstruction and their management seems to be in shambles ever since Jerry West (one of the best GMs to bless the front office) stepped down. Whenever you lose Pau Gasol, but "gain" Kwame Brown...you've got a major problem. D

• The Miami Heat made a move they had to make - or did they? The trade was excellent in the aspect of giving up not so much for a lot. Shaq is on the horizon of retirement but still poses a threat to anyone in the paint, can still grab boards, defense is still there, and rarely anyone is going to want to challenge him the paint. Shawn Marion is the most underrated superstar in the league, the guy does everything well and will provide a great dose of everything that the Heat needs and Marcus Banks is good, too - it's just difficult playing behind Steve Nash and Barbosa for much of the beginning stages of your career. I'm expecting the Heat to develop decent chemistry but they still need a big man - maybe their hoping Earl Barron to be their Andrew Bynum. B+

• The Atlanta Hawks made a good move that will put them in serious post-season contention by acquiring PG Mike Bibby from the Hawks for four players including Tyronn Lue, former starter Anthony Johnson and sophomore Shelden Williams. But Bibby is recently coming off of an injury and hasn't been able to put it all together like he used to. We'll see how the talented Hawks all play together, it would be good to see them put it all together for once. B

• The San Antonio Spurs made their usual close to nothing move by getting rid of Francisco Elson and acquiring Kurt Thomas. B-

• In another "ask and you shall receive" situation, Lebron James got some much needed help in Cleveland by adding Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Delonte West to their roster. Defensively, this is a great improvement for the Cavs. As far as the "O" goes, let Lebron take care of all of that. B

• The Supersonics simply got nothing in return for what they gave, Donny Marshall and Ira Newble, giving Kevin Durant even less support...C-

• The Nets gave up a proven superstar that helps everyone around his excel for a few role players and a retiree. This now puts more pressure on Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter to make the team theirs and carry them to wherever they lead them. B-

• The Suns acquired Shaq for Shawn Marion...not a good trade for the Suns, Shaq will inevitably get injured and that'll be the end of that...there's no D.Wade on the Suns. C

• The Kings don't have a quality PG now with the exception of Anthony Johnson (if you want to call that quality) and John Salmons, who is always good for 5 turnovers per game. C

• The Mavs definitely upgraded, their offense will flow like the days when they had Steve Nash on their squad, but now inside presence is a bigger issue than ever. B+

• The Bulls got it all wrong by getting rid of Joe Smith and Ben Wallace for Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes - Hughes can't do anything on the court that no other guard on Chicago can and Ben Wallace and Joe Smith for Drew Gooden is just plain wrong. C

We'll see what the future holds for all of these teams, it's going to be an exciting second half of the NBA season

The O'Reilly Factor

Bill O'Racist-I mean O'Reilly

...And I'm not talking about the Fox News show. Instead, I'm talking about how majestic it is that this man still has a job after his over the top blatant racists comments on the regular - might I add. Anywhere from suggesting population control for minorities so that Whites can stay the majority, to his condescendingly racist comments about restaurant customers in Harlem, it is no secret that Mr. O'Reilly is a racist. Recently, O'Reilly accused Sen. Barack Obama's wife of being unpatriotic and said "I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there is evidence, hard facts that say this is how the woman really feels. If that's how she really feels - that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever - then that's legit...We'll track it down." But what makes it worse is because other people in that same position, don't get away with it - we've seen the Golf Channel reporter, Kelly Tilghman say that the only way Tiger Woods' opponents would have a chance of beating him would be to "lynch him in a back alley." Woods forgave her and didn't take much offense, Tilghman was suspended. Great controversy has surrounded idiots that like to flaunt nooses and they've all been reprimanded but how come Bill O'Reilly gets away with so many of his racist remarks and doesn't get punished. I yearn for the day he publicly confronts Blacks or any other ethnic group on the streets. Michelle Obama originally said she hasn't been more proud of this country until now, here is the clarification. Bill O'Reilly Quotables (as late as 2003, I'm sure a lot more crazy comments has surfaced from then)

• "Does anyone know where the Best Men are? I hope they're not in the parking lot stealing our hubcaps." (the Best Men are a performing group who live in the inner city of Washington D.C.)

• On Immigration: We'd save lives because Mexican wetbacks, whatever you want to call them, the coyotes--they're not going to do what they're doing now, all right, so people aren't going to die in the desert."

• "The most unattractive women in the world are probably in the Muslim countries."

• On Black athletes suing over minimum academic standards for college participation "Look, you know as well as I do most of these kids come out and they can't speak English."

• "We have black leaders in this country who blame everything on whitey, everything's the system's fault, and that gives a built-in excuse to fail and act irresponsible. 'Oh, I can't get a job. Whitey won't let me,' or 'I can't get educated. The teachers are bad, so I'm going to go out and get high and sell drugs. That's the only way we can make money here.' You know what I mean? And it's a vicious cycle."

• (America)"must realize that racial demonization is now organized and well-funded, and it will not end until everyday people begin condemning it." He wasn't talking about himself, though; he was referring to critics who label him a racist.

Ralph Nader Will Create Madness by Joining It

Green Party Pioneer, Ralph Nader has decided to run for President...again. When will this guy ever learn that he can't win? Although he's making a stand by running and maybe even making a few people proud, by him joining the madness that is the Presidential election, will he create even more madness? There are some pundits that believe that the soon to be 74-year-old Nader won't have too much of an influence on either the voters or nominees, but it is easy to see differently, especially in November. Voters who will vote for Nader will more than likely be Independent, Green Party, and radical left wing Democrats - all voters who would have formerly voted for a Democrat. By Nader joining the race, he can take those voters away from the Democrats and also those who are undecided - all while not effecting right-wing voters at all. This could turn ugly. The two Democrats running seem to put up a facade as if they aren't worried about what could possibly happen - but it would be foolish and naive to think that they aren't thinking about it and might even alter their focus and speeches to rope the voters who would vote for Nader in, pleading for them to vote for someone who has a chance. Quotables:

• "He thought that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush and, eight years later, I think people realize that Ralph did not know what he was talking about. My sense is that Mr. Nader is somebody who, if you don't listen and adopt all of his policies, thinks you're not substantive."- Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)

• "It is very unfortunate...I remember when he ran before. It didn't turn out very well for anybody -- especially our country. This time I hope it doesn't hurt anyone. I can't think of anybody that would vote for Sen. McCain who would vote for Ralph Nader. Obviously, it is not helpful to whoever our Democratic nominee is. But, you know, it is a free country."- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)

• "I think it always would probably pull votes away from the Democrats and not the Republicans, so naturally, Republicans would welcome his entry into the race." Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AK)

According to CNN.com, Nader encouraged people to look at his campaign Web site, www.votenader.org, which he said discusses issues important to Americans that Obama and Sen. John McCain "are not addressing."

Quick Notes

Sorry I've been gone for over a week...I don't even have a plausible explanation for it. I took the week off from work so that I can focus more on a collegiate competition that I have coming up starting next Thursday (which reminds me that I have to type up a final resolution) and my weekly class schedule isn't too tough - there really is no excuse. I feel especially bad because I have some good people on my team that big me and my work up...it is well appreciated. But the week wasn't too unproductive for me, I met a revolutionary interdisciplinary writer and performer, Coco Fusco. If you're not familiar with - get familiar at, www.cocofusco.com. To make a long story short, Coco spoke about the roles of American troops of women in interrogations in Iraq as a response to what late British feminist Virginia Wolff said about females who serve in the army don't do much. Overall, it was a good, moving performance that definitely made her audience think. Music and Entertainment

• R&B artist Ne-Yo or Neyo was arrested for speeding, driving recklessly and without a valid license - nothing ridiculous or crazy from the singer/songwriter, but we did find out why he always wears a hat:

Need I say more?

• Ne-Yo wasn't the only R&B artist that got arrested recently, rising artist, J-Holiday was arrested and charged with drug possession at around 10:30 PM when a pair of Maryland State Troopers pulled his car over because they smelled and saw marijuana.

• In case y'all haven't heard, R. Kelly is at it again! But this time with music industry vet. George Daniels' daughter, Maxine. Daniels was formerly a good friend of Kelly's and obviously disapproved of his relationship with his daughter. The daughter, a.k.a. Maxine, is 20 years younger than the 41-year-old, Kelly. According to Los Angeles Radio Station, Poppa Daniels said, "He crossed the line with my daughter...It didn't get to the extreme of that [sex tape] video or else I wouldn't be here, if you know what I'm talking about." (He's saying that if it would've been that extreme, he would've done something to be in jail right now instead of doing the interview for those that didn't catch on). Kells said that the relationship between the two was set up by Maxine's mother, and wife of George, Regina - stating that Regina gave her daughter his private phone number. But Maxine said that it was Kelly that gave it do her, and she also took full responsibility for everything that went down stating that she "was caught up in his charming and generous ways." Finally, the camp of the R&B star said that the team of Regina Daniels' reached his camp about a "healthy" six-figure settlement to make it all go away quietly. Regina denies that claim, stay tuned as the soap opera will surely continue.

• I'm not going to take up too much time or space on this one, but, R&B living legend, Patti LaBelle is putting her wonderful vocals aside to create a new line of wigs and hair pieces. According to EURweb.com, the LaBelle collection will feature nine styles of hair designed by the legend herself - the pieces are 100% human hair. It will be available exclusively in the Especially Yours catalog and available on their website, www.especiallyyours.com

• Sticking to R&B stars that are trying new things, 21-year-old Mario is putting the mic down for now and has joined a list of celebrity contestants of the upcoming season of "Dancing With the Stars." Other notable names that are joining the singer (whose album was very good, just not promoted right, by the way) are comedian Adam Corolla, actor Steve Guttenburg (can't wait to see that!), actress and ex-wife of two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, Shannon Elizabeth, former Olympic Gold winner figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, and Tennis Hall of Famer and stab victim, Monica Seles.

• Another R&B star making the switch includes the beautiful Mya (who can get the treatment) will start acting in the Broadway play, Chicago starting in May.

• Nas, love him or hate him, is one of the most respected rap/hip-hop artist to ever step in the studio and as all hip-hop heads now, his next album will be one of much controversy, entitled "Nig**r" but one of the producers one the album is one that doesn't get as much respect as he deserves is DJ Khalil (KHALIL not KHALED). Khalil is a staff producer for Dr. Dre and is very excited for what should be Nas' first single - a recycled song, "What It Is." Khalil recently held a public listening on some of his tracks. Check out the video:

DJ Khalil gives a Sneak Peek at new Nas

Nas What it is first listen Dj Khalil by Bounce2dis

• New Danity Kane track, "Damaged." A few notes: the track is pretty good, more of the melody that they have developed as opposed to the actual lyrics, I still want to hear that track that the dudes keep previewing, that sounds like it should be good. I hope that they get a name, though - having them known as "The Band" is pretty demeaning, LOL, and is a testament to the longevity that Diddy think that they will have.

• I remember back in the day when I used to be a HUGE WWF(now called WWE) wrestling fan, me and my entire family used to watch it religiously. I've separated myself from it when I turned a teenager but now I found myself watching it recently because of the best boxer in the world, pound for pound king, Floyd Mayweather Jr. made a special appearance on WWE's Pay-Per-View event, "No Way Out" and got in to it with 7 foot, 400 pound wrestler, nicknamed "The Big Show". Apparently, Floyd was defending a wrestler that "Big Show" was beating up, Floyd entered the ring and stood face-to-torso with the Big Show. The Big Show then got on his knees to mock Floyd when Floyd hit him with a three-piece that legitimately broke Big Show's nose. Floyd, by the way, is barely 5'8 (reppin hard for the shorter fellas). Floyd will face the Big Show, who was ironically training to be a boxer before that fell through in "WrestleMania" on March 30 - that should be quite the spectacle.

• Finally, some "A-list" celebrities were among over 100 people to be recommended to get an immediate Hepatitis A exam after a Bartender at a West Village Bar in New York City was infected. Among the big names were, Ashton Kutcher (who was there celebrating his 30th birthday), wifey Demi Moore, and Madonna. Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by a virus and is spread from person to person by putting something in the mouth that has been contaminated with traces of fecal matter from an infected person, the department said. Symptoms include jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea.

Quick Weekend Notes

• First, our condolences to the family and friends of Rep. Tom Lantos, who was a holocaust survivor who escaped the Nazis twice as a teenager, and was the only survivor to serve in Congress - he was 80.

• There were two high school shooting in Memphis over the last week, the most recent one happened today, when a 17-year-old student shot a 19-year-old senior twice over an argument. The suspect shot the victim in gym class, the victim is in critical condition. The other shooting happened at a different school last Monday, Feb. 4 - when a student shot another student in the leg - no critical injuries were reported. Both students were detained and will more than likely be charged.
• Without getting into too much detail, Yahoo! Inc. respectfully rejected Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid to take over the company, deeming in inadequate. Word is that Yahoo! is in talks with AOL about a possible merger.

• Another lawsuit is coming out of former B2K member Raz-B's team. First, he was supposed to press charges on his prime producer/manager Chris Stokes for raping him and others - the suit was dropped a day later...nope, that's not shady at all. But this time, Raz-B's lawyers are out for blood against the team of boxing great Floyd Mayweather. According to Raz-B's lawyers, the security team of Mayweather beat Raz-B's brother, Ricky Romance, to a bloody pulp outside of a Grand Rapids, MI hotel - where Mayweather was holding his weekend extravaganza "The Mayweather Experience." Let's see if they fold if/when an athlete puts the pressure on them.

• To keep it on boxing, two big time welterweight prospects were in action this past weekend. Paul "The Punisher" Williams, who was coming off of a win against highly touted contender, Antonio Margarito, was in action against contender Carlos "Indio" Quintana, who is coming off of a loss to one of the tops in the division, Miguel Cotto. Paul Williams is a 6'1 welterweight - which means that at 6'1 - he fights at 147 pounds - he would easily be the favorite in any welterweight fight with exception only to one with either Floyd Mayweather or Miguel Cotto - but the hype was put to a stop as Quintana pulled off the upset, by winning an Unanimous Decision over the former WBO champ. The defense of Paul Williams (33-1, 24 KOs) wasn't there and both he and Quintana (25-1, 19 KOs) were sluggish, but the southpaw Quintana won the fight on straight lefts over the right arm of fellow southpaw Paul Williams. The scorecards read 115-113 (twice) and 116-113. Paul needs a rematch ASAP to prove that it was just an off night, and then he needs to move up in weight, it just looks very awkward to have a 6'1 athlete weigh 147 pounds in today's day. In the co-feature, undefeated prospect Andre Berto forced Michael Trabant to quit on his stool after six rounds of punishment, Berto moves to 21-0, 18 KOs, Trabant falls to 43-3-1, 19 KOs. Mega fights are in the future for Berto, I want to see him fight one more "average" boxer than move up to face Zab Judah.
• Lastly, big-ups to allhiphop.com, which is where I found this next clip, of some reporters at Fox in Houston tried to sucker Bun-B of the legendary UGK into demeaning hip-hop culture, but Bun-B proves he's too smart for it, and addresses the issue of him back on the road without partner, Pimp C - R.I.P.

Grammy Notes

I'm not going to write too much about the Grammy's...yet, probably won't ever (I'm not too big of a fan - the way they approach urban culture is unprofessional and some events last night proved just that), nonetheless, it seemed to be quite the night. But there are a bunch of other happenings, especially in sports and politics. First and foremost, big ups to the homie Kanye for shutting down the Grammy orchestra for trying to rush him off stage. I know that it wasn't my imagination - they definitely gave him less time than other winners who made their acceptance speeches. And it just so happened that the only two winners that got the orchestra played over their speeches were Black and quite amazing at what they do. More importantly, they both resisted and did their thing! (What up Herbie Hancock!) << style="font-weight: bold;">This clip isn't the entire acceptance speech, but it definitely wasn't a long one: Easily the best performance of the night: In other Grammy news, (by the way, I think it should be noticed that when I spell the word "grammy" with a lowercase "g" apparently, it's a misspelled word, but when I spell it with a capital "G" it's correct...smh) Amy Crackhouse, I mean Winehouse performed via satellite - she actually did a good job, despite her apparent unawareness of where the camera was filming from and the twitches and steady grabs at her crotch. She won 5 "Grammies" including record of the year and songwriter of the year - the category in which my lovely future wife who doesn't know I exist, Corinne Bailey Rae got robbed. Amy's Acceptance However, some of the best, if not unusual, news happened on the red carpet - and I'm not talking about horrid dresses worn by Cher or about how great Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, and Corinne Bailey Rae looked, I'm talking about Nas' political statement...I don't know how I feel about his shirt, but I understand what he is trying to say. Two things to peep in this clip: Kelis and how scared and nervous the reporter is, she's getting a raise: Also, just to cap off a great weekend for Sen. Barack Obama - the Presidential hopeful won a Grammy! for Best Spoken Word Album for "The Audacity of Hope..." It's now or never.... Until then... Maybe next year, wifey.

Senator Obama speech in Richmond last night pts. 1-4

After a line of victories, Barack Obama celebrated in Richmond, Virgina - a state who votes along with Maryland, and Washington D.C. During this celebration, Sen. Obama, delivered yet another enlightening and igniting speeches. Critics call his words, just words - could he be too positive for politics? Pt.1 Pt. 2 Pt.3 Pt.4 (My personal favorite) I will post Senator Hillary Clinton's speech in Richmond, VA soon, as well. But it should be noted, that she didn't even mention Obama's name - nor did she acknowledge him by name. It was more about John McCain, but enlightening nontheless. Until then.

A Race to the Finish

Supporters indicate a big day for Obama.

Senator Obama swept the race to be the Democratic nominee in Washington (state), Nebraska, Louisiana, and the U.S. Virgin Islands yesterday, tightening his already snug race with Senator Clinton. The count for delegates stands at 1,139 for Senator Clinton and 1,106 for Senator Obama. 2,025 delegates are needed to win the nomination. The skinny jean-like tight race has brought some attention to the more than likely fact that a winner will not be announced until the Democratic Convention in late August. It also allows both candidates to focus on "superdelegates" which are elected officials and party leaders who will vote at the convention. Even more important, there are 796 of them, with the race being this close, even a portion of 796 is imperative to the two candidates. Both campaigns of the candidates are already focusing on the superdelegates by having big names in the world of government make phone calls to them. On the list for the people making the calls for the candidates are Madeline Albright (former Secretary of State under President Clinton I), President Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton [all in support of Hillary] as Tom Daschle, Gov. Janet Napolitano, and Senator John Kerry are among those making calls for Barack. Disheartening News for Obama Despite his recent surge in gaining support and votes across the country, the New York Times took a survey of these "superdelegates" about a week ago and the results were a bit lopsided, 204 pledged support for Sen. Clinton to only 99 for Sen. Obama. Although other surveys depicted Obama with more support than the New York Times indicated, I'm not quite sure if it is close to 204. "Superdelegates" include all Democratic governors and members of Congress, as well as officials and other prominent members of the party. Some said they were grappling with how to use their power if it comes into play, especially if their judgment does not match the will of a majority of voters - which might cause them to lose their own popularity and, in a way, disregarding the voice of the American people. Some Quotes from MSNBC about the issue of "Superdelegates"

• “My strong belief is that if we end up with the most states and the most pledged delegates from the most voters in the country, that it would be problematic for the political insiders to overturn the judgment of the voters." -Senator Obama
• “I think it is also important for superdelegates to think about who will be in the strongest position to defeat John McCain in November and who will be in the strongest position to ensure that we are broadening the base, bringing people who historically have not gotten involved in politics into the fold.” - Senator Obama

• “Superdelegates are, by design, supposed to exercise independent judgment, but, of course, if Senator Obama and his campaign continue to push this position, which is really contrary to what the definition of a superdelegate has historically been, I will look forward to receiving the support of Senator Kennedy and Senator Kerry.” - Senator Clinton

Many "superdelegates" said they would stay neutral as long as possible, hoping to be spared a decision. But, they said, they are prepared to step in and try to push the party to a decision as soon as the primaries are completed.

• “Once the primary season is over, I am hoping we will have a nominee. If those of us who are uncommitted can help bring that about, then I think we should try to do that.” Senator Cardin (D-MD)
• “I will not go through the summer, I can tell you that, without endorsing a candidate, I am not a big believer in smoke-filled rooms.” Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
• “My personal opinion is it would be a mistake and disastrous either way for the superdelegates — insiders, establishment politicians — to come along and overturn the expressed view of those pledged delegates,” Senator John Kerry (D-MA)

It's obvious that as Sen. Obama is streaking and making a run at taking the lead and eventual victory over Sen. Clinton when it comes to delegates, he might not be as fortunate if/when it comes down to superdelegates. I understand what they're saying though, it's sort of like, if the people choose one candidate by a narrow margin, why should we have so-called "superdelegates" overturn our voices? With that said, after a line of victories yesterday for Senator Obama, he had a great speech in Richmond, VA - whose primary will be held on Tuesday along with Maryland, and Washington D.C. In the speech, he spoke about an issue I haven't heard too many candidates speak about -- education - maybe that's why it hit me as hard as it did. Nonetheless, it was a goodie, I will post it separately. Until Then.

Super Tuesday Quick Notes

Super Tuesday came and went...and voters are still left in the same ambiguous puzzle as they were before the supposedly revealing day. On the right, it seems like John McCain is slowly pulling away from his opponents (Romney and Huckabee) with his seemingly moderate approach. It's a pretty tactical strategy for McCain because if/when he wins the Republican nomination and then tries to convince some Democrats to vote for him, it won't seem like he's switching it up or "flip-flopping" as much if he keeps this moderate approach. He's probably the best candidate on the right for the country. On the left, it is still a mess...an organized one, though. And it is very exciting (we never thought CNN could be so exciting). Sen. Clinton won by a little margin in both delegates and states, but the race is still very tight and anyone who is counting Senator Obama out, might just be setting themselves up for a big shock, (see Giants vs. Patriots, LOL). On Tuesday, McCain won 605 delegates, his closest competitor, Mitt Romney, won a mere 201 and Huckabee won 195. Overall, McCain leads with 707 delegates, and Romney is in second with 294. It takes 1,191 to win the Republican nomination. In other words, this race is all but over. I read a report of how if Sen. Clinton were to win the Democratic nomination, it could lead to a big mess of a Democratic Convention in Denver during August. I respectfully disagree with that, although Colorado might be an Obama state, Clinton has more support of her peers than that of Obama. The real mess at a convention will be the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minnesota during the beginning parts of September, because of the simple fact that McCain gets steady criticized for not being "conservative enough" by his peers and far right wing voters. A good portion of his supporters and those that have voted for McCain might just be Moderate Democrats who don't want to or aren't ready to see either a Woman or an 1/2 Black man as the President - so they'd rather vote for the closest Republican to their ideals. Both the woman and the 1/2 black man fared exceptionally well on Super Tuesday - it was a very tight race, as expected. Clinton won 784 on Tuesday, Obama won 758. The race was so tight, delegates in Missouri split among the two candidates evenly. The total count for Cinton is 1,045 and Obama has 960 - 2,025 is required to win the Democratic nomination. In other words, this race is far from over. Lastly, I find it terribly important for voters to acknowledge that no one is perfect, not even you, so voting for the candidate that is "most like you" is a bit stupid. I'm sure you wouldn't want the responsibility of running the "most powerful country in the world" nor do you want everyone to be the same, have the same mindset, do the same things - that, my friends, is communism. It is important that we vote for the candidate who is best for this country, for the good of Country - not just because he/she is just like me. It's one thing to be down to earth and to relate to a candidate but another to consider his/her ideals and intended policies. Make the right choice - don't put people who call Ronald Reagan a hero in office, or else it will be a repeat of the 1980s.

Head to Head: Sen. Clinton vs. Sen. Obama

For many of us, Super Tuesday is tomorrow and it is the first step to creating a much needed change to a country down and in dire need of help. Many of us are vexed and torn about who to vote for when it comes to the Democratic Nominee. For voters, there is no better way than to judge our candidates than to see how they react under pressure in a debate or to hear what they say and how they react to tough questions. We all need to be dedicated in getting out and voting. Many of us do not like the position that we are in today with the so-called leader we have today, our chance to begin changing it is tomorrow - it lies in our hands. For Democrats, the vote is between two candidates being that the third candidate (who is probably the right choice dropped out, for once, we can say that a candidate was neither Black enough or Woman enough - big props to my big bro Rob). On the Republican side, many of us have our minds made up: we don't want/need another Ultra-Conservative President in office - especially when they mention Ronald Reagan as a Republican/Conservative Hero - that's more of a reason for me to steer away from those guys. Although I'm only in my early 20's, I've still seen the after effects of what Reagan has done to the working class and Black community. (see, the Crack Epidemic, war on welfare, affirmative action, & war on poverty - disguised as a war on drugs). We still see these after effects as someone who gets locked up for a particular amount of possession of crack/cocaine gets at least 15 years in the pen - I'm not arguing against that, but when you compare that to White Collar Crimes and DUIs that murder people daily - and see these crimes get ignored or getting off by paying fines - the worst case scenario is they get 11 years in most cases - unacceptable. Here is a series of video-clips of the Democratic Debate between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton last Thursday. Be informed, Be educated, Be aware. Introductions On the Effects Illegal Immigration on the Economy On the Chances of being each other's VP Paying Homage to the Good Guy Quick Notes

• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) has endorsed
• Sen. John McCainSen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama
• Maria Shriver (Arnold's wife) endorsed Sen. Barack Obama

Final Thoughts Be informed and do the right thing. Don't hesitate to use your resources to find out more information on candidates, do whatever is necessary.

Super Bowl XLII First, congrats the to New York Giants last night - no one thought they could do it, except themselves. They definitely played their asses off - never underestimate the strength of heart -real talk. A few things that no one would have imagined -especially this time last year: 1) The Giants would make it to the Super Bowl 2) The Giants would make it to the Super Bowl minus Tiki Barber AND Jeremy Shockey 3) Tom Coughlin still had a head coaching job in the NFL 4) Eli Manning - Super Bowl MVP!? It all seems a little too good to be true and I'm interested in seeing what the off-season brings for the G-Men besides huge raises for all of them. Let's just hope that they stay hungry and don't get ahead of themselves like their opponents last night. The Patriots blew that game because they know that they didn't play like they should have and not as hard as they should have. Retrospect is only 20/20. I can't lie though, I did want to see perfection - (it's such a pretty word with even better meaning) and my homie Randy Moss do it up big - but I'm definitely not mad at the G-Men they did it up and they definitely deserve it - if anyone. P.S. I still say fire Tom Coughlin, LOL, their Def. Coordinator will be a head coach very soon, trust that. Battle of the Titans (Microsoft vs. Google II) In case you haven't heard, Microsoft has bid $42 billion to take over Yahoo! Inc. in order to compete with Google as the world's leading search engine and advertising haven. But critics oppose Microsoft's bid, arguing that it'll lead to a Microsoft monopoly...complementing their unethical practices of getting consumers to add many of their products while they only want to add one. According to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Google owns about 75% of the market and the Microsoft takeover would only enhance competition because it won't be able to eliminate Google. Not yet, at least. Google argues that if/when Microsoft takes over - they will have too much control over the internet and that Microsoft will be able to hinder internet freedom as consumer automatically be directed to adding their e-mail and instant messenger softwares. Yahoo Inc. said that they will closely examine Microsoft's bid. The battle has gotten to serious that Google CEO called Yahoo CEO to try to persuade him not to accept the bid. An interesting twist to this is that last year, Google bought Double Click Inc. for $3.1 billion and Microsoft tried to protest it, deeming Goggle an internet monopoly - it was unsuccessful in the U.S. Best Super Bowl XLII Commercials #8 Who: Audi - "Godfather commercial" Why: The car is very sexy w/ a spook of a classic to compliment.

#7 Who: Bud Light - "Wine and Cheese" Why: Bud Light always brings the heat (no pun intended for those that saw the "Breathe Fire commercial - it was just OK in my opinion)

#6 Who: Tide - "Talking Stain" Why: Don't Wear Dirty Clothes

#5 Who: Diet Pepsi Max - "What is Love" Why: Hilarious

#4 Who: Planters - Unibrow Hottie

#3 Who: E*Trade - Baby Why: Possibly the Funniest of the Day

#2 Who: E*Trade - BabyII Why: Another funny

#1 Who: Doritos : Rat Trap Why: Another hit

Overall, it was probably a sub-par year in Superbowl Ads and commercials, but it was fun, to see all of the commercials, one by one. Go to http://sports.aol.com/nfl/superbowlads Also, DO NOT FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW! GET FAMILIAR - I'LL BE POSTING A HEAD TO HEAD BETWEEN TWO CANDIDATES LATER TO HELP US ALL OUT...UNTIL THEN.