"Who Ya Wit?"

"I'm riding with Jesus!"

Those of us that understand the power of God aren't at all surprised at the success of Tim Tebow. Most people are scratching their heads trying to figure this thing out but there is no logic to what God can do. All he's doing is allowing Tebow to have success without reason so that he can get the glory. On Saturday the very man that didn't want Tim to play in the first place, coach John Fox, asked Tebow to address the team. According to the Denver Post, Tebow turned to the Bible, quoting Proverbs 27:17: "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

"He said iron sharpens iron and men sharpen other men. And I think that's totally true," rookie linebacker Von Miller told The Post. "He gave us a great speech. We came out (for the game) fired up. And that was a wrap. I've never seen a human who can will himself to win like that," Miller told The Post.

Let's keep it real or all the way 100, which ever comes first! Tebow shouldn't even be on the field according to the numbers not to mention be winning. However, the word of God says "if God is for you who can be against you?" Isaiah 41:13. Tebow is bold in letting folks know that he is a believer and God is allowing him to prosper as a result of it! So even though all of the experts continue to hate and explain to us that we aren't seeing what we're seeing. God is showing us that he can even be God on the football field.

You can throw the stats out of the window because when God takes over there's nothing you can do about it. How is it possible for a guy to win a football game in the NFL only completing two passes? How is it possible that a guy can start on a team when both the head coach and VP of Football Operations don’t want him? It's not, using the world's logic! However, all things are possible with God because his word says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13. Now you can hate all you want but Tebow will have success as long as God wants him to.

There are a lot of people that despise Tebow because of his faith. However, there will be a lot of people that will get saved because of him. Like it or not. God’s power is moving in that locker room already! The very fact that Fox asked Tebow to address the team is the door opening for Jesus to move. Fox isn't stupid. He knew exactly what Tebow would use to motivate his teammates, the word of God!

If Von Miller bought into the understanding that iron sharpens iron. I'm quite sure that others bought it to. That's the beginning of people moving towards the knowledge of God. Everything in that book is relevant and can be used to make us better people. It's not voodoo, it's wisdom! I'm proud of Tebow for being the person that he is and for being the role model that he is for our youth.

It's crazy that we respect guys for all of the wrong reasons. We loved Tupac for promoting Thug Life but he taught us nothing that would enhance our lives. We loved Allen Iverson because he had heart but he didn't use that heart to better anyone's life that watched him play. We loved Jordan because he was the greatest basketball player to ever lace them up but he only played for himself! But we hate Tebow for loving God.

Sure, athletes should be put into a box and we shouldn't look to them to be our role models. Charles Barkley said it best and even made a commercial out of it. "I'm not a role model! Your parents should be your role model!" Well, that sounds great in a perfect world when everyone has productive parents. Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with parents not to mention productive ones.

So guess what? Kids will turn to athletes and entertainers as their role models like it or not. How many kids do you see walking around looking like Allen Iverson or Kanye West everyday? I'm just glad that some kid has the option to mimic Tim Tebow today! So let me ask the famous question in my Bernie Mac voice, “Who Ya Wit?”

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

The Newest Black Quarterback

"I'm  just doin' me!"

It's only natural for people to hate what they don't understand. For years  black quarterbacks in the NFL have been told that they couldn't play in this league not because they were necessarily black but because they were different. He plays with a different style and swagger that most find to be offensive. They aren't the prototypical passer that stands in the pocket. They've always had the ability to make plays without going the traditional route. Even though black quarterbacks have managed to win ball games they still never get the credit for leading the team to victory.

Any of that sound familiar to you? Tim Tebow is the new white chocolate. He's so different in the way that he plays the game that people want to see him fail. The media wants to say that in order to play quarterback in the NFL you have to play like Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers etc. That simply isn't true and Tebow is once again proving folks wrong.

In 1953 Willie Thrower became the first black quarterback to play in the NFL. He played in one game for the Chicago Bears against the San Francisco 49'rs and it was his one and only NFL game. Thrower relieved the current quarterback, George Blanda. It would be another 18 years before Marlin "The Magician" Briscoe would star in the AFL as a quarterback for the Denver Bronco's. He was originally drafted in the 14th round as a defensive back but negotiated a 3 day trial at quarterback. He did so well that they named him the starter the very next week.

Sound familiar! The Denver Bronco’s once again has a guy that is doing so well that they HAD to make him the starter even though the head coach and VP of football Operations didn‘t want to. As Tebow continues to win the haters keep saying that he can't play quarterback in the NFL. He's won 5 out of 6 games but he can't play quarterback in the NFL? It's asinine to continue to say that he can't play when he's in fact playing.

All I keep hearing is, "he can't do this or he can't do that!" but I keep wiping my eyes because all I see him do is win. I keep asking myself is this kid black or white because I've never in my life seen a white quarterback win ball games and the powers that be keep telling me that I'm not seeing what I saw?

Doug Williams had to win the Super Bowl and the MVP to go along with it before people said that he could play quarterback in the NFL. I'm trippin' because there have been tons of guys that have played the position for years that were garbage and didn't get this type of scrutiny. Remember Jim McMahon with the 1985 Chicago Bears? He was horrible from a skill perspective but was a great leader. However, he managed the game without turning the ball over which allowed the defense to win games. Ever heard of Trent Dilfer? Not very good but managed the game which allowed Ray Lewis and Co. to succeed in winning the Super Bowl! In both instances they were given credit for leading their teams to victory.

So why are people acting like Tim Tebow is the first guy to manage a game and let the defense make plays to win games? How quickly do we forget that Big Ben Roethlisburger was only allowed to manage the games during his first Super Bowl run? Now I'm not suggesting that Tebow will win the Super Bowl or even make it deep into the playoffs. However, I am saying that he can play quarterback in the NFL because I can see with my own eyes that he is in fact doing it.

You can throw all of the stats you want at me but the only one that means anything is wins vs. losses! The Bronco's were 1-4 when he took over as the starter. Now they're 5-1 with his inability to throw the football that will never work in the NFL. Tebow is like the white kid that eventually pledges the black fraternity on campus because he's got more in common with the brothers than he previously thought. Over the years, people hating has very little to do with race or skill set but everything to do with being different. Go Tebow!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Same Ole Buckeyes!

"Brutus is back in business!"

With the upcoming announcement of Urban Meyer as the new head coach of The Ohio State University there has been a renewed since of excitement around the program. Over the past year the Buckeyes have been the target of an NCAA investigation resulting in the firing of Jim Tressel ending with their beloved Terrelle Pryor being completely thrown under the bus.

Now the good people in Columbus think that it's all good now that the Urban Legend is coming to town. All I've been hearing for the past few days is about how they'll be back to prominence and even better. Well... pump ya brakes Buckeye fans! You'll definitely be back to prominence but you'll just be the same ole Buckeyes!

Everyone thinks that because Urban's got connections in Florida and he'll get the very best Florida guys to come up here now. Well unless he's Heat Mizer and can change the weather patterns, it ain't gonna happen! Unless he can move the state of Ohio south and put it inside of the state of Florida, it ain't gonna happen! Unless he wants to commit network suicide, it ain't gonna happen! Unless he can change socioeconomics in the hood, it just ain't gonna happen!

Let me break it down for you bruh! The best players in the state of Florida aren't going to Ohio to play football because they've got options. They're being recruited by the Gators, Florida State and The U for starters. Not to mention all of the schools in the SEC that they would have to pass before they would get anywhere near Ohio. There are too many places that have off ramps on the way to Columbus.

Secondly, those kids have never even owned a coat in their lives. Why would a kid that could go to Florida, Alabama, and Florida State etc come all the way up north to the cold weather to go to school? Let's keep it real or all the way 100 which ever comes first! We're talking about black kids for the most part that are from the hood. Big Momma doesn't have the money to go to Ohio every week to see her son or in many instances her grandson play. She's barely going to get to see him play in Gainesville much less Columbus. Unless Ohio State is going to start sponsoring families to get to the games it‘s highly unlikely. Now if that happens we're in the same boat all over again with extra benefits.

Let's say he gets one maybe two kids to come up from somewhere like Miami. His family is going to have to save every dime they have to come up for one game all season long. Which game do you think that would be? The Michigan game! When is that game played? The last weekend of November! It's cold in November in Ohio and nobody in his family has a coat either. So guess what? Everybody's got to buy a coat before they come up. That’s a waste of  time and money because they won't need it again until year after next because they play in Michigan the following year. That's even further north.

Urban will get the same players Jim Tressel was able to get. Jim did an excellent job of recruiting the state of Ohio which is one of the best high school football recruiting hot beds in the country. The four best states for recruiting players are Texas, Florida, California and Ohio. He has to recruit in the home state first or he'll piss off the high school coaches there and they'll shut him out. If he doesn't recruit Ohio first eventually the high school coaches will encourage their players to go to other schools. Talk about committing network suicide and getting run out of the state with the quickness!

Don't get me wrong, being the same ole Buckeyes is a good thing. If he picks up where Tressel left off they'll be just fine. They'll still win the Big 10 title 7 out of 10 times. They'll go to a BCS Bowl nearly every year and compete for the national title. However, they'll keep showing up to the title game and getting blasted because they don't possess the speed that the schools in the south have. Simply because the southern schools have rosters full of players from Florida and Texas not just one or two.

Urban will in fact get a few Florida kids to come up. However, they won't be the very best kids from Florida because those guys have options. He'll be able to get the the middle of the road to lower end recruit for the most part and every now and then he''ll grab a stud just like Tressel was able to do(Santonio Holmes etc).

However, don't even fool yourself into believing that he's going to be able to cherry pick the Sunshine state for the best talent like he did when he was at Florida. He was only able to do that because he was at Florida! It's just that simple. Don't get too hyped thinking that he can perform miracles when he can't. Just be happy with being the same ole Buckeyes and getting back to beating Michigan!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

It's Never Personal!

"Bruh! What do you want me to do?"

As kids we were taught a concept called sportsmanship. It was code for always winning with grace and to be able to lose with dignity. The coaches would tell you not to rub it in especially when your opponent was clearly beaten. It's not cool to run up the score when the game has already been decided. Well that all sounds good in a handbook but those rules were obviously written well before there was a BCS.

On Saturday Les Miles and his #1 LSU Tigers beat the brakes off of the #3 Arkansas Razorbacks 41-17 in Death Valley to make a sound statement. They trailed early in the 2nd quarter14-0 then rallied to outscore the Razorbacks 41-3 the rest of the way. It was clear that Les Miles was trying to pile up the points in the 4th quarter  by kicking a field goal when the game was clearly over. However, he was just protecting his interest in getting to the BCS Title Game.

LSU had nothing to lose by continuing to score points but the favor of the Arkansas faithful and Bobby Petrino who was visibly upset about the route. The Tigers have been ranked #1 since the 3rd week of the season and has built a solid resume in the process. They've beaten #2 Alabama on the road 9-6 in overtime. Destroyed #10 Oregon 40-17 but they were #3 at the time of the robbery. Ran through and car jacked #24 Auburn 45-10. Rolled up to West Virginia and pulled a simple assault on a ranked Mountaineers squad 45-10! So it was only fitting that they catch a battery case against Arkansas too. In all they've beaten 7 top 25 teams by and average of 19 points!

All jokes aside Les Miles wasn't just being a jerk here. He was looking at the worse case scenario of losing to Georgia in the SEC Title Game. If that were to happen his Tigers could still get into the BCS Title Game because of their resume. It's highly plausible that they would only drop to #2 instead of #3 or #4. That’s what happened to Oklahoma in 2003. They were so dominate that they were so far ahead of the rest of the teams in the BCS race that when they lost to Kansas State in the Big 12 Title Game they only fell to #2! Thus, still getting into the national title game against LSU.

I don't want to hear that sorry excuse that if you don't win your conference then you shouldn’t play for the national title. It only sounds good in theory bruh! If you’re playing in a conference where the top 3 teams are better than every other team in the country and only 1 of them can win. That theory goes down in flames!

On any given Saturday anybody can win. However, if these guys have committed serial assaults all over the country and the one game they lose is in the SEC title game, then they should be good. You can't tell me that other 1 loss teams should get in before LSU. Who would you put in before them, Stanford, Oklahoma State or Va Tech?

Now you can understand why Les Miles put that thang on Arkansas on Friday just to put some insurance in the bank. He may not need it but if he does he's got it. Did you ever hear the colloquialism, "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it?" Folks in the hood know it well! That's why everybody carries a gun. You can't get caught sleeping out here. Les Miles obviously grew up in a neighborhood like mine because he had his joint in his waist.

It's never personal! It's all business and when Petrino calms down he'll understand that LSU had to do what it had to do.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
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The Principals Office!

Remember back when you were a kid and would get into trouble at school? They'd send you to the principals office to give your side of the story. Back then it was easy to lie about what really happened because it was your word against their‘s. Whoever was the most creative with the lie typically got off. Now days they've got camera's everywhere and like the coaches would always say, "The film don't lie son!"

Detroit defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was ejected from the Lions' 27-15 loss to the unbeaten Packers on Thursday after he stepped on an opposing offensive lineman. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected early in the third quarter after the Lions thought they'd stopped the Packers on third down near the Detroit goal line. A replay showed Suh and Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith scuffling on the ground briefly before the All-Pro defensive tackle got up and stomped at Dietrich-Smith's upper right arm.

After the game Suh was in the principals office trying to be creative. "I want to apologize to my teammates, my coaches and my true fans for allowing the refs to have an opportunity to take me out of this game," he said. "What I did was remove myself from the situation the best way I felt, with me being held down." (without camera’s I’d give him a 7!)

The principal was stone faced at this point so the All-Pro tried to put a twist on it. "My intention was not to kick anybody, as I did not, removing myself," he said. "I was on top of a guy, being pulled down, and trying to get up off the ground -- and why you see me pushing his helmet down, because I'm trying to remove myself from the situation, and as I'm getting up, I'm getting pushed, so I'm getting myself on balance." (without camera’s I’d give him a 10!)

Man that sounds like me in the 4th grade trying to explain to the principal how my classmate’s hood ended up in my hands. We had a spelling bee that day. This girl that sat next to me won it and the grand prize to go with it! It was a huge bag of candy. My boyz and I decided that we wanted it so we chased her to the crib to take it. I grabbed the hood of her coat and it was like a tear away jersey. Let’s say this, she tipped toed down the side line for 6 points and the candy. However, I was the most creative in the principals office the next morning so my folks didn't have to pay for the coat! No camera's!!

C'Mon Man my momma gone see this!

Ndamukong Suh had to know that he was playing on national television on Thanksgiving. However, his instincts from the playground kicked in and all he knew was to be creative. About midway through that first lie it dawned on him that it's on tape. “Damn! Now how do I back out of this one?” So like a real "G" he kept going! Problem is, the film don't lie!

He's been immortalized with that one bruh and for years to come he'll be on Sports Center for top 10 most creative excuses for getting ejected from a game! Right now he's at the top of the list! If you take nothing else away from this article. Always remember that they've got camera's everywhere even on the school buses. So don't jump on the bus and threaten some kid for bothering your child like your folks did. Because you'll end up on national television in an orange jump suit trying to be creative like Ndamukong Suh.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter:@jaygravesreport
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.

BCS Final 4!

The New Orleans Super Dome home of the BCS Title Game says,  "I'm waiting!"

All we ever wanted to see was #1 play #2 and until 1998 we didn’t have that luxury. Remember in back 1997 when #1 Nebraska played in the Orange Bowl and a #2 Michigan played in the Rose Bowl on New Years Day. They both won their respective games and they were both named National Champions? Then we spent the next year arguing about who was better. That happened so many times before the BCS that I care not to remember. All we ever wanted to see was #1 play #2. Now that we’ve got them playing folks are still complaining. I hear you in the background saying, “We need a playoff like the NFL.” That sounds great but it doesn’t make sense and here’s why.

There are 120 teams in the FBS division formally known as Division 1.Within the FBS ranks there are 3 or 4 levels of competition, from the very best teams #1 LSU and #2 Alabama, down to the worst, #119 Akron and#120 Florida Atlantic. The NFL has only 32 teams and 12 of them (37.5%) get to go to the playoffs. If we did the same thing in college football we’d have to put 45 teams in the playoffs if we want to be fair, right? Plus we’d have to get rid of the bowl structure as we know it. You can’t put 45 teams in a playoff because this isn’t basketball. You can only play one game a week not 2 like they do in the NCAA Tournament. All we want to see is #1 play #2 bruh!

If you just have to tweak the BCS I propose that we do this. Start the season a week earlier and make it mandatory that every conference play a title game. Right now not every conference plays one and that isn’t fair to those that do. Once the dust settles then on the first weekend of December there should be a Final 4! Have #1 play #4 and #2 play #3. The higher ranked teams would play at the crib. The two winners would then play for all of the marbles in January in the BCS Title Game! The argument is always between #2 and #3 anyway. Then everybody else would play in the bowls normal. I don't want to hear about #5 being left out because they were too far down the turn pike to be relevant. Problem solved.

Also don't try to use the silly argument that you have to win your conference to play for the national title because what about those playing in the SEC? They've got 3 out of the top 5 teams in the country. There can only be one champ but Alabama and LSU, are clearly at this point, the two best teams in America. Either one of them would win the other conferences easily. I'm just keeping it real. Remember my class "Sports 101" when I taught you to take your heart out of it. Those that don't want to see a rematch of LSU/Bama if they should happen to win out are simply thinking with your hearts.

You can't ever touch the bowls because it would be unfair to 106 schools because there are only about 14 schools or so that have the players consistently enough to complete for a national title. I’ll name them: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio St, Michigan, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Florida St, Miami, Auburn and Notre Dame if their administration would get their heads out of the sand. So what do you tell the other schools? It was nice doing business with you. See schools like Purdue, Miss St and Arizona will never play for the title because they don’t get the players those schools previously mentioned get. If there isn’t a bowl for Purdue to play in after they’ve won 6 to 8 games on a good year what are those kids even playing for. Sure every 30 years or so they’ll get a player that everyone slept on like Drew Brees or Bob Grease and win the Big Ten Championship. However, they won’t ever play for a national title. It is what it is.

So by taking the bowl games away we cheat college football of the pageantry that is college football. It’s a playoff starting week one anyway. I still hear you saying that those bowls are meaningless, we’ll… not to the kid playing at Missouri, Ole Miss or Western Michigan. The bowl game is their Super Bowl not to mention the revenue that the schools receive as a result of playing in those bowls. Do you realize that each bowl has a guaranteed payout just for showing up? If you’re fortunate enough to get to a BCS bowl it’s a $17 million payday whether you’re playing in the title game or not. The mid level bowls like the Chick-Fil-A, Cotton and Outback pay $3 million each. The Sun Bowl which Purdue has participated in previous years pays out $1.9 million. Even if you play in a bottom tier bowl like the Emerald it’s worth $850,000 to your school.

So if you were the presidents of Fresno State and Wyoming would you have voted for a playoff or accepted the invite to the 2009 New Mexico Bowl which paid them $750,000 each just for showing up? See the greatness of college football is the pageantry and the excitement of the regular season and the culmination of events with the bowls. If I’m an LSU fan I’m not only concerned with the Tigers, I’m concerned with all the chess pieces moving around them. Now really… did you want to take all of that away just to see LSU and Alabama anyway?


Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Trippin'!

Sammy Who?

For years people were upset with Michael Jackson because he bleached his skin. Especially black folks! As a result of the skin bleaching, people assumed that he was ashamed of being black. After his death however, we found out that he suffered from Vitiligo which is a condition in which your skin loses melanin, the pigment that determines the color of your skin, hair and eyes. The fact that Mike was so self-conscious of his looks anyway that he didn't tell the public of his condition and just bleached his whole body. Therefore, people jumped to conclusions. Now that we know the truth he couldn't have been ashamed of being black right? Wrong, because his kids look like they belong to Justin Timberlake and Wilma Flintstone. Everybody acted like they couldn't see the 800 elephant standing in the room but he was standing on my foot!

First Mike, now Sammy Sosa? My man has jumped off of the deep end too. He was recently seen at the Latin Grammy Awards looking like Babe Ruth! He's bleached his skin and there's no medical reasoning for it. There was speculation that the steroid use may have caused his skin to lighten but that simply isn't true.

"It's a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and whitens my skin some," said the former slugger during the "Primer Impacto" program at the Univision Spanish network. It's a cream that I have, that I use to soften [my skin], but has bleached me some. I'm not a racist, I live my life happily," said a smiling Sosa during the interview.

What? Man Sammy is trippin' big time! I wonder what his mother or most importantly, Big Momma has to say about this! Now let's keep it real or all the way 100, which ever comes first! Everybody's got a Big Momma whether you call her that or not. Depending on where you're from you call her Grammy, Mamaw, Nanna or Madea. The Latin word for grandma is Avia. I'm not sure what the slang term is for her, but I know it ain't "I'm happy to see my grandson looking like A-Rod now!" I can tell you that bruh!

After all the sacrifices the old folks have gone through to get you to this point? Man he better not show up at the crib looking like Neil Diamond unless he's Neil Diamond! Can you imagine what his daddy or homeboys are saying about this dude? The skin cream is bleaching it bruh? How stupid does this guy look? He looks like he's on his way to the Land of Oz to ask the Wizard for a brain.

First Sammy forgot how to speak English when he received a subpoena from congress to testify in the steroid hearings. Now he's looking like Patrick Swayze in the Ghost. That's what you call having too much money and time on your hands. I think there should be a rule that if you're going to retire from professional sports you've got to see a probation officer ever 3 months just to make sure you aren't doing something stupid.

Now this is only the first trip that we’ll see from Sammy. The next time we see him he'll have his ears pointed and his shoes sticking straight up in the air looking like one of Santa's elves robbing kids at the mall!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Permission!

Arkansas freshmen tight end Garrett Uekman dies Sunday.

On Sunday the Arkansas Razorbacks were just coming off of a terrific blow out win of 44-17 over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They were also anticipating their huge jump in the BCS rankings to #3 as a result of Oklahoma State, Oregon and Oklahoma being stunned over the weekend. However, they were reminded of their mortality on Sunday when back up tight end Garrett Uekman suddenly died.

The university said Uekman was pronounced dead at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville on Sunday. The cause of death wasn't immediately known, but the university said he was found unconscious and unresponsive in his dorm room on campus at approximately 11:15 a.m. Sunday. He was last seen playing video games by a roommate approximately an hour earlier. When emergency services personnel arrived, Uekman was in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 12:10 p.m.

"Garrett Uekman was a special member of our family, and we are all saddened by his passing," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said in a statement. "His loss is a terrible shock, and it makes you realize how precious life is."

It's amazing how God works! Even in the mist of success and triumph he reminds us that he is still God all by himself. He doesn't ask us for our permission before he allows things to happen. I learned years ago from the book of Job that everything that happens is either God caused or God allowed when he gave the devil permission to destroy Job's life. God told the devil that he could do whatever he'd like to Job as long as he didn't harm his soul.

So if I had to speak to the Razorback football team this morning I would share with them that even during their success it was time for Garrett to leave them. He was only supposed to be on this earth for a short period of time and that they still had business to take care of in spite of his death. So continue on my brothers and use his life as a reminder that God will call you home regardless of what you’re doing today.

I would also tell them that Garrett's death was a wake up call for those that have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and even though they are #3 in the BCS that they still have time to make God #1 in their lives. What good does it do for you to win a national championship and not make it to heaven when the real game is over? The word says, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36.

I always say that championships are not won on game day! Your level of success is contingent upon your commitment to it. It’s impossible to win without preparation and it’s impossible to see God without preparing to see him!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow Ya Boy on Twitter:@jaygravesreport
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.

Chaos?

"The playoffs started in September dawg!"

Who says that there needs to be a playoff in college football? This is the playoffs man! It has the best regular season of any sport on the planet. Do you hear me? In my Jim Mora voice, "What’s that? Ah — Playoffs? Don’t talk about — playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs?

Everybody was freaking out about the BCS imploding and having too many undefeated teams left standing at the end of the season. Just two weeks ago we had eight unbeatens and now we've barely got one! LSU is the last man standing in the big boy league. I'm not even going to mention the rec league champs in Houston. I'm going to say to the Cougar fans what my mother would always say when I was coming up, "Stay outta grown folks conversation!"

This past weekend 3 of the top 5 teams were knocked off and sending the BCS into full chaos! I love it! Even though my Sooners went down I‘m still all in. I'm a realist bruh; we weren't ready for the title game anyway. The BCS Championship Game is reserved for the top 2 teams in the country and my boyz weren't in that category. I'm just sayin'!

On Thursday night #2 Oklahoma State proved to the world that they were in fact Oklahoma State. At no point did I think the Pokes were going to make it to the title game. Well...because they were Oklahoma State! Then on Saturday #3 Oregon loses a thriller to USC in Eugene. To cap the night off #5 Oklahoma falls to #22 Baylor for the first time in school history.

Hey, it is what it is! Its college football and I wouldn't trade it in for the world. It doesn't get any better than this! On any given night any one can win and on Saturday that’s exactly what happened. Like I've been saying since the LSU/Alabama game on November 5th. The two best teams in the country are LSU and Alabama!

I'm blown away by the amount of people that are so-called football fans that say that they don't "want" to see a rematch, especially sports writers that have a vote. It doesn't matter what you want to see. It's about putting the two best teams in the country on the field for all of the Funyuns, penny candy and red pop. Take your feelings out it bruh. Nobody cares how you feel.

If LSU and Bama can win out then they should play for the title. Notice that I said "IF" because LSU still has to play the now #3 Arkansas Razorbacks next week and then Georgia, who has reeled off 9 straight since starting 0-2, in the SEC Title Game in Atlanta. That won't be a walk in the projects on Sunday morning at 8:45 am. I'm sure all of my current or former hood dwellers can appriciate that one! Lol!!

Yeah this thing is definitely going to go down to the wire! Just put your seat belt on and enjoy the ride! If you don’t have seat belts then fake it like you do during the road blocks on July 4th weekend! Remember this, regardless of what happens the BCS always works itself out.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

The "It" Factor!

"Baby Tim Tebow before he became the winner that he is today!"

Tim Tebow can't play quarterback in the National Football League if he can't throw the football! It'll never work! You can't run the option in the NFL! Defenses are too fast and good to run the ball all night against! It'll only work for a week or two and then defenses will figure him out! Bla Bla Bla...it's starting to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher or better yet just some good old fashion hatin'!

All I keep hearing is the so-called experts saying that it can't happen but it keeps on happening! It doesn't matter what it looks like as long as it gets the job done! Tim Tebow's 20-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left capped a 95-yard drive to elevate the Broncos to a 17-13 victory over the stunned New York Jets on Thursday night.

"I like winning," Tebow said after his third comeback in a month, "but I wish it wasn't this stressful."

"We played them well through the whole game, until that last play," Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis said. "We played them well. Tim Tebow's legs took them to victory, ran them to victory."

In my Herman Edwards voice, "YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME, HELLO!" Tebow has the "It" factor and there's nothing you can do about it. He just goes out every night and plays the game the way he knows how to play it. His passion is contagious and his teammates keep catching it. You can't teach what this kid has. You have to be born again. He's a winner and that’s all there is to it. While at Florida he won two national titles and a Heisman. They weren’t just giving those joints away like government cheese!

Neither Head Coach John Fox nor the Executive VP of Football Operations for the Denver Bronco's John Elway believed in him. It's almost impossible for a kid to find success when his own organization doesn't believe in his ability to lead the team to victory. However, Tebow understands that the Almighty God has the last word on everything. He says it best in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Tebow's faith (IT) is strong and God takes care of his own! It doesn't matter if he can't throw the ball the way everybody thinks that he should. After completing just two passes in a win at Kansas City four days earlier, Tebow completed 9 of 20 passes for 104 yards Thursday night that results in another "W". If he keeps collecting W’s he can start saying “whew, whew, whew” like hilarious Martin Lawrence!

When he took over as the starter the Bronco's were 1-4. They're now 5-5 and rolling with Tebow! Like we used to say in the hood, don't hate celebrate! What blows me away are the guys that keep saying that you can't build your team around this guy. You can't run an offense that only Tebow can run. Well...the Colts got away with it for 14 years with Peyton Manning.

It's obvious that he's the only one that can run that offense now. Every move from free agency to draft picks for the past 8 or 9 years was made to accommodate Peyton's brain. Now that the brain isn't on the field it doesn't work. However, they got multiple 12 win seasons, two Super Bowl appearances and one title out of it. Now I'm not saying that Tebow will be as successful as Manning but I am saying that offenses have been built around one persons unique talents in the past.

The only problem with the Colts was that they didn't have a contingency plan. If the Bronco's are smart enough to have a plan B then keep ridin' the horse until it pulls up bruh! I keep hearing people saying that they should go back to Kyle Orton because he can throw the ball better. Listen up knuckle heads, they were 1-4 fooling around with him. That makes as much sense as walking to work when you've got a new fuel efficient hybrid in the garage.

Like the old grandma's in the hood would say, "Tebow, go on wit yo bad self!" Tebow, tell the media what they can do like the ghetto girls would always say, "You can kick rocks!" Better yet, stay humble, keep doing what you're doing and keep giving God the Glory!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.

Mother's Day!

"The NBA Players Union just washed it away!"

Last summer I wrote a joint entitled, “Flip Flopping The Money!” about how the NBA players had all of the leverage if they would use it properly. Basketball is a global sport that has revenue all over the world. I always tell folks that there is no shortage of money out here. You just have to put yourself in a position to get it.

The league wouldn't be in a lockout right now if the star players wouldn't have been bluffing last summer. Everybody would still be getting paid right now. Remember when boyz were threatening to go overseas and play? Why hasn't anybody done that? There were several big time guys like Kobe and Darin Williams that had deals on the table to play overseas until the lockout was over. If the players had taken those deals, the flood gates would have opened for other superstars to sign with teams as well. Sure, the money wouldn't have been great but it would have put the owners on notice that big time players don't NEED the money bruh.

At that point the league would have to put something on the table that players would accept because they would have been stuck with the bottom end of rosters. Stars like Kobe, LeBron and D. Wade don't need the money so they could have been the leverage the players union needed. That would have put the league on their knees because the NBA can’t survive without its superstars. Therefore, forcing the negotiations to take place very quickly.

The players that NEED the money are the cats that are making $600K to a $1 million a year. They’re the guys that are hurting because that pay check on the 15^th didn’t show up. It was like Mother’s Day (the 1^st of the month) in the projects. By the way, there are two places that you must avoid on Mother's Day; McDonalds and Foot Locker! Boyz were waiting at the mail box but the only thing that came were bills. The superstars can run around and play flag football for the next ten years and it won't make a difference to them because they've got enough bread.

 The knuckle head that's making $800K per year that owns a $350K Bentley, wearing $100K worth of jewelry, living in a $1 million home and has 4 kids by 3 different women is the guy that NEEDED to get a deal done yesterday. He came through my crib and borrowed money last night.

In March of 2009 there was a very interesting article in Sports Illustrated entitled, "How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke" that broke down two important points:

1. By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.
2. Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.

Like I always say, if you aren't highly skilled in the art of negotiation and don't know how to use leverage to your advantage. Don't try to sit down with cats that play money for a living because you're in way over your head bruh.

All the players union had to do last summer was sit down with all of the star players from each team and convince them to go to Europe. Sign the deals that were on the table and let us handle the owners from here. The NBA makes a living by marketing its star players. The commerical on Christmas doesn't say Lakers vs Heat. It says Kobe vs LeBron! Without the stars the league can't survive. 

 Now that the first check has come up missing boyz will get this thing settled real quick like and it‘ll be business as usual.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Mo Money Mo Problems!

"Look what JoePa left on the table!"

Have you ever met someone that just seemed to be in a fog all of the time? They're walking, talking and breathing but for some reason they just aren't in the same room as everybody else. That's how I feel about Joe Paterno (JoePa). He's even got his own theme music. It's the O'Jays 1982 hit "Your Body's Here With Me" but your mind is on the other side of town.

Penn State has completely taken advantage of the old guy over the years and it's a shame. They've kept him around for decades as the figure head and paid him peanuts relative to what big time college football coaches are paid. According to an Associated Press analysis of state public pension records JoePa's pension will be more than $500,000 a year because of his long service at the university. That's sound great on the surface but they were ripping the old timer off in his annual salary.

Paterno's pension records obtained Tuesday from the State Employees' Retirement System credit him with more than 60 years in the system. The formula used to determine benefits makes him eligible for a pension equal to 100 percent of the average of his three highest-salary years. However, his salary only rose from $541,000 to $568,000 over the past three full calendar years. Man that's highway robbery in this day and age. After 60 years on the job (as a big time coach) he was only making $568,000? Are you kidding me?

JoePa had no idea what coaches were making but Penn State definitely knew what the fair market value was. That's why they kept him around for so long because he was clueless.

Here is the list of the top ten college football coaches and their respective salaries as compiled after the 2010 college football season:
Nick Saban, University of Alabama: $5.9 million
Mack Brown, University of Texas: $5.1 million
Bob Stoops, University of Oklahoma: $4.3 million
Urban Meyer, University of Florida (resigned after season): $4 million
Les Miles, Louisiana State University: $3.9 million
Jim Tressel, Ohio State University (resigned after season): $3.8 million
Kirk Ferentz, University of Iowa: $3.7 million
Jim Frobe, Wake Forest University: $2.9 million
Mark Richt, University of Georgia: $2.9 million
Bobby Petrino, University of Arkansas: $2.7 million

If JoePa was the king of State College surely he should have been paid a cool million at the minimum. Even guys like first year head coach Kevin Wilson at Indiana University is getting $1.2 million per year. Keep in mind that they haven't won a conference title since 1967 and they're willing to break bread. For the university to keep him around for 46 years as the head coach and only pay him a half a million bucks is what I call the ultimate jack move.

Whether he asks for the money or not you have to pay the guy if you're going to have him around. Obviously he doesn't need or want it because he's accustomed to living a very modest life style which is evident by looking at his home. However, I believe that he should have been paid what he's worth and let him figure out what to do with it.

JoePa probably didn't even have an agent all of these years because when he started coaching they were shaking hands and giving $1000.00 annual raises. Penn State saw him coming and he kept coming bruh. Now they've got a real dilemma. In order to hire one of these new boyz they’ve got to come out of some serious bread.

Guys are pulling up to the interview now days bumpin' that Puff Daddy "It's All about the Benjamins, Wu-Tang Clan "C.R.E.A.M.", The Notorious B.I.G. "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems", Bone Thugs-N-Harmony "Foe tha Love of $", Junior M.A.F.I.A. “Get Money”, 50 Cent “I Get Money”, The LOX "Money, Power, Respect”, Jay-Z “Money, Cash, .....” and Jermaine Dupri featuring Jay-Z “Money Ain't a Thang” before they even get out of the car!

So if the Nittany Lions think they can roll up on a coach for a half million dollars in 2011 they've got serious problems!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Momma Jokes!

"Yo momma's butt is so big! HOW BIG IS IT? It's so big....."

One of my most read articles of all-time was a joint that I did last year entitled, "Why Grown Men Shouldn't Wear Jerseys Ever!" It blasted grown men for dressing like kids and looking like groupies in the process. I upset a lot of people with that joint but it was necessary bruh! Now I've got to have a sit down with the ladies.

I'm tired of going to little league football and basketball games only to see all of the mother's underwear or more specifically their thongs. Every time I sit down some woman sits in front of me with a plumber’s crack that I don't find entertaining at all. As a matter of fact, I find it to be outright disgusting!

Back in the day when someone's mother came to see their kid play they were dressed like, well... someone's mother. They were fully dressed and well respected in the neighborhood. Now so many mom's are looking like they're on their way to work at the club and you know which one I‘m talking about.

Let's keep it real or all the way 100 which ever comes first! All you're doing is forcing your kid to fight at school. In case you didn't know not only are the people in the stands talking about you but your son’s teammates are too! They're riding him hard at school if they're anything like we were as kids. Oh yeah, they're telling him how much they like watching his momma shake it or tell yo momma to come through etc. So what does he do? Defend your honor or what little you’ve got left.

I heard a wise man once tell his daughter that whenever the meat is in the window it's usually for sale. That goes for mommas too. If you don't have any respect for yourself at least think about your son and what he has to goes through at school.

Aren't you tired of getting calls from his school telling you that he's been in a fight again? Well it's all your fault. Could you imagine if back in the day Big Momma or Madea showed up to the games with their bloomers showing? Wouldn't you have been embarrassed because all of your friends played the dozens for a living?

I know I talked about peoples momma's in my sleep, without any ammunition. I would just make up stuff about your momma. Where I'm from "momma jokes" was a right of passage. Now mommas are coming to games dressed like Lady Ga Ga, Nicki Manaj and Lil Kim? Man please!

For the sake of your kid’s education please put on some clothes before going to his game tonight! Otherwise he's going to be doing his math homework tomorrow through one eye because he can't beat up everybody.

Holler At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

My Brother's Keeper!

JoePa in his DMX voice, "Dat's my mans and nem!"

In Genesis 4:9 after Cain had murdered his brother Abel, God asked him where his brother was. Cain answered, “I know not; am I my brother's keeper?” Cain's words have come to symbolize people's unwillingness to accept responsibility for the welfare of their “brothers.” Even in the movie New Jack City The CMB (Cash Money Brothers) at least were aware of the scripture. However, not living by that montra ultimately cost them their lives!

Joe Paterno and all of the adults that had knowledge of the ongoing child sex abuse scandal at Penn State acted like Cain when asked what their brother Jerry Sandusky was doing over the past 15 plus years.

I'm completely blown away by all of the former players that have been interviewed on television that are supporting JoePa for his actions.

I've seen DJ Dozier, Matt Milan and even my man Lavar Arrington say that they would like JoePa to have his due process and that he should have been able to coach the rest of the season. What? Why is everybody stunned to find out that JoePa had knowledge of the situation and didn't act? He’s shown us that he was selfish for years because he won’t get out of the way and let Penn State move into the 21^st century.

Let me break it down so you can understand it bruh! Jerry Sandusky became a full time coach at Penn State in 1970 and was there until 1999. That means that JoePa worked with this guy for darn near thirty years everyday. Now I'm not sure if you understand just how much college football coaches work so I'll explain.

They are at the complex from 5am to about midnight from Sunday through Thursday. They get ready for a ball game by traveling on Friday along with walk through practice and meetings etc. Home games are no different because the team still stays at a hotel on Friday night. They coach a big game on Saturday only to repeat the cycle all over again. These guys don't get days off like you and I. Now that’s just during the season. They recruit the rest of the year other than when they’re in spring ball only to get a month off in late June into July.

So if a guy is next to you for 30 years you know what his tendencies are bruh! He's done or said something out of his comfort of just being around you that was suspicious. Let's keep it real! You can't do anything good or bad and your homeboys not find out about it.

I've got buddies that I've been tight with for 30 years that live across the country and I find out what they’re doing good or bad just because people know their my boys. You know exactly what I'm talking about. How many times have you gotten a phone call about one of your homeboys or girls that they were into something crazy?

Now think about JoePa and Co. living in the same city with a guy that was on something crazy! You don't think that folks have pulled Joe to the side over the years and said, Hey dawg what's up wit ya boy? I heard he's on something real crazy!" Keep in mind that at a minimum Joe knew about the 2002 shower incident and Sandusky is still allowed to hang out on campus in 2011? Joe Paterno is the king of State College. Nothing moves without Joe’s permission.

So don't try to tell me that JoePa needs due process because he may not have known or because he did what he was supposed to legally do. That doesn't cut it bruh! Anything short of calling the police and whooping his boys butt is uncivilized. Even if he couldn't beat him down every knows a guy that'll do it for a case of brew. JoePa was Cain in this situation all day long! He closed his eyes, kept on coaching and every time somebody pulled him to the side he responded, "Am I my brother’s keeper?" Just like Nino Brown's career, JoePa's ended in the streets too.


Holla At Ya Boy
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

False Flagging!

Boise State gets beat up for major hood violation!"

I remember in high school when everyone was affiliated with some type of club or even a street gang. Either way you had to be down with something for rolling purposes. My boys and I had "BMOC" stitched into our letterman jackets. It was an acronym for “Big Men On Campus!” However, there was always some kid that claimed to be "BMOC" or whatever you were down with that wasn't affiliated. The gangsters would call that false flagging.


Well Boise State has been false flagging as a national title contender all season long as I've explained in multiple articles this year. They were trying to affiliate themselves with the likes of LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon etc. by using a fake voucher to get to the national title game.

TCU showed up on Saturday, took that voucher and sent them to the crib crying with a 36-35 victory on the Blue Turf. The Horned Frogs were already upset with Boise State and the Mountain West Conference (MWC) because they hi-jacked them out of a home game way back in January of this year.

When TCU initially announced that they would be leaving the MWC to go to the Big East at the time. The conference decided to move the originally scheduled TCU home game to Boise State because it would help the conference get a team to the BCS. How shady is that bruh?

TCU has since changed its mind and will be joining the Big 12 next year. So you can imagine that they've been fired up for this game for a while. Now we can get back to talking about real college football national title contenders without some kid false flagging and eventually getting beat up for it.

Like I explained several weeks ago we'll probably see a rematch of LSU/Alabama because of the upsets that would take place. We saw one of them yesterday with Oregon beating the brakes off of Stanford. Which in my opinion wasn't an upset at all if you know anything about college football? Oregon had better athletes with considerably more speed and athleticism. Kids playing at Stanford are at Sanford for a reason.

Sure, they've got Andrew Luck who's probably the best quarterback in the country but that's one kid that comes around every 25 years or so. There is a reason why kids play at Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Duke, Stanford, Baylor etc. They're excellent students and just descent athletes 99% of the time relative to the real contenders. That's why they're usually at the bottom of the pile in their respective conferences.

Stanford just happened to have an excellent coach in Jim Harbough the last few years and he's gotten more out of less. That’s why he took a better job and bounced after last season. Current Stanford head coach David Shaw has been able to keep water out of the boat this year and do well. As soon as a better job is offered to him he’ll be on the next plane out of there too. They'll be back to their normal losing ways once Luck gets drafted anyway.

The best players aren't going to places like the aforementioned schools because they think they are the best. Kids on that level are dreaming of going to the NFL not dreaming of being a physicist or a doctor whether they make it to the league or not. People spend the most time doing what they're the best at doing bruh. Don't get mad at me for saying it. Every now and then you’ll get a John Elway (Stanford '83 draft) or a Mike Singletary (Baylor '81 draft) that will come out of programs like that.

So again it proves my point that they were faking the funk and it was only a matter of time before somebody jumped on them in the alley to restore order in the national title race.

Next Oklahoma State will prove me right too. They have always been the little brothers of Oklahoma and year in and year out they fall apart in the Bedlam game. I’ve seen too many of them to think otherwise. I’d be shocked if the Cowboys are the real deal and can handle all of the hype going into that game on December 3rd. False Flagging is a major violation in the hood and in college football. So let’s see if the Pokes will get jumped on for this hood violation too!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Ghetto Pass

"Make sure your joint is updated!"

Every kid in the ghetto dreams of making it big so they can one day escape the madness of the hood. It’s simply a place where drug dealing, murder, prostitution and gang bangin' are a part of everyday life. I can remember growing up in Gary when gun shots from the nearby Delaney Projects had simply become white noise. Whether you were an athlete or not the goal was to make it out.

As bad as people wanted out there always seems to be a magnet that pulls so many back. All too often do we see professional athletes hanging out in the hood without understanding the rules of being in the war zone with all of that money! The Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos simply didn't update his ghetto pass before returning home to Venezuela.

The 24-year-old player, who had returned to Venezuela after his rookie season, was just outside the front door at his home Wednesday night when an SUV approached, armed men got out "and they took him away," said Ramos' agent, Gustavo Marcano.

There are certain rules that have to be followed when you return to the crib whether you're a professional athlete or professional in Corporate America with money. You can't just come back home and think that everybody is going to be happy to see you. When you’ve got that type of bread you suddenly become a target. In the hood they call you an easy lick! That means we can come up big by robbing you without having to fight for it.

In order to be protected at the crib you've got to still be connected to the streets. You can't just pull up in the Benz or Beemer, wearing expensive jewelry, buying up the bar and thinking that it's all good. You've got to be with some cats that have never left and are still highly respected on the streets. That way you're protected from being an easy target.

However, the longer you've been away the less likely you are to be able to get your pass updated. The older you become that pass becomes null and void because you're hood secret service eventually dies off. All of those guys either die in the streets, end up in prison or have changed their lives in the process. Either way your ability to move through the hood becomes limited because the dynamics have changed.

Now the guys that are running the streets are much younger than you are and they don't know you. So if you come home to visit Big Momma you better tone it down and keep your butt at her house! Unfortunately, Wilson Ramos didn't have his street security detail with him with when he was kidnapped.

Not having the guys with their ears in the streets around him has proven to be a huge mistake. He could easily have been tipped off well before he was kidnapped. One thing about it, the streets are always talking. So the next time you decide to roll up at the crib flossin'. Ask yourself this question, "Am I still connected?" If the answer is no! You better keep in movin'!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Selfish Ambition!

"I don't know what to tell you!"

The trustees at Penn State University did what many believed just weeks ago would be the unthinkable. They had to fire the living legend Joe Paterno amid the child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the university! He essentially pulled a Kobe before there was a Kobe and put Penn State on his back for more than six decades. Paterno was the head coach there for 46 of those years.

Joe Paterno or JoePa as he has been so affectionately called had just recently broken the all-time NCAA wins record held by legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson with 409 wins. He was carried off of the field just two weeks ago after beating Illinois to break the record. In my opinion, he should have been carried off in handcuffs along with the A.D. and the VP of finance for being a selfish coward.

The Word of God says money is the root of all evil! Well, selfishness isn't too far behind! The fact that JoePa, the grad assistant at the time now wide receiver coach Mike McQueary and others knew about the actions of the accused Jerry Sandusky and did absolutely nothing is sickening. The board of trustees had no choice but to remove JoePa.

"The Penn State board of trustees tonight decided it is in the best interest of the university to have a change in leadership to deal with the difficult issues that we are facing," board vice chair John Surma said. "The past several days have been absolutely terrible for the entire Penn State community. But the outrage that we feel is nothing compared to the physical and psychological suffering that allegedly took place."

Let's keep it real or all the way 100, which ever comes first! Selfish ambition was at the root for everyone involved. The grad assistant who the witnessed Sandusky in the shower with the 10 year old child was concerned more about his job and ability to move up than he was the youngster being violated. It obviously has worked to his advantage because 9 years later he's the wide receiver coach at Penn State.

JoePa was more concerned about his legacy and his ability break the all-time wins mark than he was about the victims. Paul says in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” That means you gotta be concerned about other folks bruh!

 Let's be honest here. He should've been fired years ago but no one at Penn State had the package to do it. Even before this incident I thought JoePa was selfish because he's been pulling a Brett Favre on us for years.

The freaking guy has been in the way and no one had the courage to get rid of him. He's had no idea what the game plan has been for at least ten years bruh. The guy is just a figure head! He sits in the freaking press box on game day without a head set! Why are people shocked that JoePa left some kid hanging because he's proven over the years that he only concerned about himself.

An individual with morals would never have swept a situation like this under the rug and kept in moving but the legendary Joe Paterno did. Say all you want about the hood but it even operates with a code. Kids are off limits in whatever crime you decide to commit. If or when a kid is involved there is swift street justice because the code has been violated. Either the streets will handle it or the perpetrator will be turned in. That is the only time snitching is permissible in the hood! If thugs in the street can live by that code why can't a so-called civilized legend of college football do the same?

I've got more respect for the gangsta's that I grew up with than I do for JoePa at this point. He was outside of his house a couple of nights ago being cheered on and loving it like he'd just won the national title. Any decent human being would have come out and told the crowd to leave because this is completely inappropriate behavior at a time like this. The students that were out there were completely naive to the severity of the situation because many of them don't have children of their own. However, this 84 year old man has both children and grandchildren.

Everything that JoePa has accomplished, in my opinion, can be thrown out of the window! Who cares that he won a lot of games. At the end of the day he showed us what he was really made of.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

"Hood Conversations"

Hey Albert, you outta here dawg? Yeah man they let me go! Well let me get your gloves?

Two of my favorite quotes on success come from the late legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. He would always say, "The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary." So many people fail to realize that and wonder through life looking for the pot of gold that's always right in front of them. You just have to be willing to put in the work in order to capture success. The other quote is, "What the hell is going on out here?" after his Packers began to play with little effort during a game in the 1960's.

Unfortunately, Albert Haynesworth has never heard any of Coach Lombardi's quotes or just never paid attention to them. On Tuesday the New England Patriots released him. Let's keep it hood on this one. They cut his big tail for just showing up and costing the franchise money. I'll keep it all the way 100 for you guys. He got ran over or pan caked, if you will, by Giants guard David Diehl on a 10 yard touchdown run by Brandon Jacobs and didn't see the field for the rest of the game.

Then he got into an argument with the defensive line coach Pepper Johnson because of it. Consequently, Bill Belichick pulled an "Old Man Otis" on him and told him, "Keep it movin' der boi; just keep it movin' der boi!" Belichick was not playin'!

Was that simple enough for you? Albert Haynesworth was probably one of the most talented defensive linemen in the NFL but he had no work ethic. The word of God says, "Faith without works is dead, James 2:14. That goes for talent too! If you don't nurture the gift that God has blessed you with he'll take it away.

 Keep in mind that in 2009 Haynesworth signed a seven year deal worth $100 million with the Washington Redskins with $41 million of it guaranteed! However, after he got his money he started trippin'. When Mike Shanahan took over as head coach in 2010 Haynesworth didn't like the way he was being used in the defensive scheme so he said that he wasn‘t going to play in it. Let's keep it real! They just paid him $41 million guaranteed and he's trippin' off of how they’re going to use him? Are you kidding me?

If they told me that they needed me to sell beer and popcorn this Sunday I’d be the first guy at work practicing my “get their attention” lines. “Cold beer, Pop Pop Pop CORN! Holla At Ya Boy!” Man please!! These guys don’t know what a pay check looks like in the real world. I believe that they should make guys work a regular job for a year before that can get drafted. Then we won’t see guys trick off opportunity has often. You’ll still have the PacMan Jones' of the world though.

So obviously Washington traded him to the Patriots last summer for a 2013 fifth-round draft pick. Now he's unemployed! I just want to know how that conversation is going to go at the crib.


 "Baby, I just got fired because I didn't wanna do my job and by the way, I ultimately left ohhhh roughly about $59 million in incentives on the table with Washington deal." Yeah, that ought to be an interesting exchange especially if he's got a black wife from the hood that knows how to put her hands on her hips and work her neck while she's cursing you out.

Poor Albert! He'll be down at Roscoe’s Car Wash in about 3 years telling boyz how good he used to be and explaining to guys the difference between a Range Rover HSE and the Range Rover Supercharged joint because he had them both. The problem is the young boys will be looking at him like, "Man Shut up cuz you right back here in the hood with us.” That'll be just one of many hood conversations he'll be forced to have.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

The Penn State Nittany Ostriches

"Man I didn't see nothing!"

Normally university mascot names are brought on by something out of the states history. For example Oklahoma is known as the Sooner state because of the Oklahoma land rush of 1889. Tennessee is known as the Volunteer state because during the war in 1812 between the United States and Britain 2,000 Tennessee residents volunteered to fight.

So I guess that we've got to change the Pennsylvania nickname from the Nittany Lions to the Nittany Ostriches in light of everyone just sticking their heads in the sand in State College. Former long time assistant and at one time heir apparent to Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky, has been charged with multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of a child, indecent assault and unlawful contact with minor, as well as single counts of aggravated indecent assault and attempted indecent assault.

What I'm trippin' on is the fact that this has been going on for more than 15 years and no one has ever bothered to call the police including Joe Paterno! How can you be aware of these allegations and never call the authorities bruh?

The first case to come to light was a boy who met Sandusky when he was 11 or 12, the grand jury said. The boy received expensive gifts and trips to sporting events from Sandusky, and physical contact began during his overnight stays at Sandusky's home, jurors said. Eventually, the boy's mother reported the allegations of sexual assault to his high school, and Sandusky was banned from the child's school district in Clinton County in 2009. That triggered the state investigation that culminated in charges Saturday.

Why wasn't the police called right away? Banning him from the school district just says that you can't do that over here. It's like catching your neighbor's kid behind your house smoking weed and telling him to take that somewhere else. You see his folks daily but never tell them that their kid is getting high.

Another child, known only as a boy about 11 to 13, was seen by a janitor pinned against a wall while Sandusky performed oral sex on him in fall 2000, the grand jury said. Also in 2002, Kelly said, a graduate assistant saw Sandusky sexually assault a naked boy, estimated to be about 10 years old, in a team locker room shower. The grad student and his father reported what he saw to Paterno, who immediately told the athletic director and VP of finance for the university, prosecutors said. They didn't meet with the graduate assistant until about a week and a half later, Kelly said.

This is completely ridiculous! All of these people were either witnesses to or had knowledge of someone's child being sexually abused and essentially did nothing including the beloved Joe Pa! How do you get word that someone's child is being abused and take the easy road out by just telling the athletic director and the VP of Finance? Are you kidding me?

Let's keep it real or all the way 100, which ever comes first! Where I'm from they wouldn't have been able to recognize Sandusky by the time the police would have gotten there if someone would have caught him in the act. Justice would have been served well before the cops and the coroner arrived.

Joe Pa was only concerned about his legacy at the time he told the school officials. He didn't want the guy that was once his heir apparent to be arrested because it would've looked bad. What a Coward! Yes, I just said it bruh! Joe Paterno is a coward and should be fired immediately as a result of knowing of the incident and doing nothing. What have you always heard for years? If you know about it and do nothing you’re just as guilty! Jim Tressel was fired for less! Holla At Ya Boy!

Then he becomes real fake with it by releasing a statement and saying, "If true, the nature and amount of charges made are very shocking to me and all Penn Staters. While I did what I was supposed to with the one charge brought to my attention, like anyone else involved I can't help but be deeply saddened these matters are alleged to have occurred.

Shocked bruh? You've known about the incident since 2002! Where’s Chris Carter, KeyShawn, Tom Jackson and Coach Ditka when you need them most? C'Mon Man!! How can you sit in another recruit’s living room and tell his folks that you’re going to take care of their child when you couldn’t even call the police on your homeboy for the most egregious of crimes?

In my opinon, the Clinton School District, the A.D., the V.P, the janitor, the grad assistant, his father and Joe Pa should have all been arrested and in court yesterday. As a matter fact, go pick up the guy that built the freaking shower and haul him in too. It's a shame that someone that has meant so much to Penn State for so long is going to get run out of town for being a selfish coward instead of being a great football coach! I can see Joe Pa leaving town now bumping that Public Enemy, "911 is a Joke" joint with his seat leaned all the way back. If that was his boy then he knew the whole time bruh!

Holla at Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.

All That & A Bag Of Chips!

"And you know this, MAN!!!!"

Can you say Ali/Frazier, The Thrilla in Manila or would the Tussle in Tuscaloosa sound better? On Saturday #1 LSU rolled into town to take on #2 Alabama and it lived up to every ounce of the hype. By definition the word hype means to create interest in by flamboyant or dramatic methods. For weeks all we heard was the how great this game was going to be and it was all of that and a bag of chips. Go ahead and throw in the penny cookies, funyuns and the red pop while you’re at it bruh! Who needs Don King when you’ve got teams like this?

This is what college football is all about. There is excitement every week and not just when the playoffs begin because essentially the season is the playoff. Holla At Ya Boy! Now that we're going into the meat of the season and many of the undefeated teams are starting to fall it's even more exciting.

The battle royale that took place in Tuscaloosa was what it's all about. LSU wins an overtime defensive battle 9-6 over Alabama! Oklahoma State simply holds on for dear life in Stillwater 52-45 against Kansas State and there is still a lot of football left to play. Boy it doesn't get any better than this!

On the horizon we still have major road blocks for the top 5 to overcome with the exception of Boise State who is still out there hang gliding. LSU still has #8 Arkansas and possibly the SEC Title game in Atlanta to survive. Oklahoma State still has Bedlam looking them in the face with #6 Oklahoma coming to town in December! Alabama has to prepare for and win the Iron Bowl against arch rival Auburn and you can throw the records out of the window with the bath water for that one bruh. Stanford still has #7 Oregon waiting as well as the PAC 12 title game to possibly play if they can survive.

Then there’s #5 Boise State hanging out drinking tequila, sun bathing watching re-runs of Oprah hoping somebody loses so they can just waltz right into to New Orleans on a voucher. Well Boise State, once again it ain't gonna happen until to put your grown man suit on and join a BCS conference. It's insulting that you would even think that it's plausible that you should be playing for all of the marbles when boyz are out here going to war for this.

Are you even watching what the rest of the top 25 is even doing? I mean it's ridiculous to listen to your fans holler that the Bronco’s are getting screwed when you're essentially playing intramural ball. You caught Georgia sleeping week 1 and have been on a cake walk picking Lilies ever since.

If you think that I'm just being a jerk let’s look at the facts! According to CBSSports.com, who ranks all 120 FBS teams, here are the rankings of Boise State's other opponents this season: #49 Toledo, #28Tulsa, #50Nevada, #97Fresno State, #105Colorado State, #72Air Force, #109UNLV, #24TCU, #62San Diego State, #71Wyoming, #120 New Mexico! That's like playing the #71st ranked team in the country every week! Why are we even having this discussion bruh!


You can't just look at wins a losses because not everybody is playing the same caliber teams. If all we're looking at is impressive wins then undefeated Houston should be ranked #1 and their quarterback should be the front runner for the Heisman but they aren't because everybody knows they're frontin' too!

From the looks of the remaining schedules of the Top 5 teams, I can see an LSU/Alabama rematch for the title. Simply because I believe of the teams left they've got the stamina to win out. I don't think Stanford is the real deal and will lose to Oregon. Oklahoma State is still the little brother in the state of Oklahoma. So they'll lose the Bedlam game because the lights just got too bright for the kids in that program. Sure, Oklahoma would only have one loss as well but they fell asleep at the wheel a few weeks ago against lowly Texas Tech and that cancels them out of the discussion completely. Especially if we’re talking about the best one loss teams left.

If it works out that way I'll be cool with it because all we ever wanted to see was #1 play #2 anyway, right?

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Slow Ya Roll!

You hear  that bruh? It's Marvin Gaye in the background singing, "Let's Get It On!"

What makes college football so great is the sense of urgency that is so evident every Saturday. Win or go home is the mantra and it's even more evident in Tuscaloosa this morning. We've got #1 LSU rolling into town to play #2 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium and all eyes will be on that place at 8pm eastern time. Doesn't matter who you cheer for you've got a stake in this game.

Winner determines your team's next move in this game of chess especially for those hovering around the top 5. During this time of year the domino's start to fall and it gets even more intense as the weeks go by. Some body's got to take an "L" tonight. Who will it be?

Both teams have great defenses so in my opinion that's a wash. However, the quarterbacks and turnovers will be the deciding factor here. LSU has a balanced attack with two guys that can handle the pressure in Jordan Jefferson and Jarrette Lee. They can both throw the ball and run it and that sets the tone for their offense. Alabama on the other side, statistically has a very balanced offense on paper. However, we all know that their offense goes through Trent Richardson completely. His production allows them to be able to throw the football. What's going to happen when LSU loads nine in the box and forces Alabama's young quarterback to throw it with the Honey Badger on the prowl? I'm just sayin'! LSU's probably got the best set of defensive backs in the country and they're looking for souvenirs today.

I'm as excited to see it as the next guy. Yes I'm in Norman for the Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M game at 3:30pm eastern but I'll be looking for a TV at some body's tailgate as soon as I get out of the game. Even though my boys went down a couple of weeks ago to Texas Tech we're still sitting at #6 and have #3 Oklahoma State on the schedule in a few weeks. Anything can happen!

That's why I love this game because you can't fall asleep at the wheel at anytime because anybody can win on any given Saturday. So for all of you prognosticators that are screaming for a rematch of the LSU/Bama game already. Keep your freaking shirts on bruh! There is a whole lot of football still left to be played.

We've seen it happen all too often where the "Game of the Century" turns out to be a blow out or the winner looses the following week to some team with a loosing record. Remember, we're talking about 18-22 year olds. Anything can happen when you're dealing with that age group. A guys breaks up with his girl friend or someone takes her can cause him to play like crap. I'm just sayin' bruh! A kid gets caught up with something foolish etc. You never know. Also we've got to account for injuries down the stretch. Somebody is going to get hurt today. So it's not that cut and dry bruh!

 Don't crown either LSU or Alabama the national champ off of the hype alone. You're counting the money before the bonus check comes in. Let's see it play out before you buy the furniture.

Alabama still has to go to Auburn for the Iron Bowl at the end of the year and you can throw the records out of the window for that one.  LSU still has #7 Arkansas at the end of the season as well. Regardless of who wins this one today they'll still have to play the SEC Championship game in Atlanta in December. So like I said earlier, So Ya Roll!

It ain't over 'til the fat lady gets out of bed, eats breakfast, lunch, has her afternoon snack and dinner. She still has to get dressed and drive to the venue, do sound check and then sing the joint. So just sit back and enjoy the ride today because I sure will.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

The Bridge Burner!

"I really didn't mean to burn all of those bridges bruh!"

In 1993 the Hughes Brothers directed the ground breaking film Menace II Society that depicted the gritty reality of urban violence. The main character in the movie “Caine” had done so much dirt during his life that it was bound to come back his way.

 Big Momma would always say, "Don't burn any bridges baby because at some point you've got to cross back over them. Don't write any checks that your butt can't cash or watch what you say or do to folks because it’ll come back to haunt you." My favorite of them all was, "If you keep talkin' somebody is going to close that mouth for you." We've all heard those words of wisdom at some point in our lives. If you and I are familiar with them why did T.O. always act like these words were foreign to him?

On every team this guy was a part of he found a way to act a complete fool! It really got started when he was traded to Philly to play with Donovan McNabb. Forget about burning the bridge bruh. He simply blew it up! Now the brother was ridiculously productive with the Eagles though. Remember when he came back just weeks after breaking his ankle to play in the Super Bowl? Unfortunately, he was a diva in every since of the word and caused all types of problems in the locker room. Owens then went on a bridge burning spree in Dallas, Buffalo and it finally ended last year in Cincinnati.

Just recently, Carson Palmer was asked if he'd like for his current team, the Oakland Raiders, to pick up T.O.? His response was, "T.O. and I had a great working relationship, he had one of his most successful years over the past five or six years, a lot of production and he was a great teammate in Cincinnati.”


“The problem is that for him to get here there’s not anybody that we could let go, we have a stable of young horses that can run and guys that can just move, very young, very inexperienced but tons of potential and it’s tough to give up a young guy with a lot of potential for a guy that’s got a lot of history in the league that’s in his late 30s, so I can’t see him coming here but I had a good time playing with him and he’s an explosive player himself.”

All of that was code for, "I don't want that freaking guy anywhere near me or my team!"

The Raiders did in fact, go out and sign a veteran wide receiver on Tuesday but it was T.J. Houshmandzadeh. He's 34 and slightly younger than the 37 year old Owens but let’s keep it real. If T.O. didn't come with so much baggage Palmer would have spoken up for his former teammate.

T.O. acts like the old timers weren’t spitting words of wisdom on his porch when he was a kid. Even if you weren't getting it from family everybody knows of an "Old Man Mr. Johnny."  He was the guy in the neighborhood that would come through with some sound advice every now and then. Maybe he heard it but decided to not to take heed to it just like Caine.

At some point you’ve got to pay for all of the damage that you’ve done along the way. When boyz came back for Caine they brought the heat and as he was dying he said to himself, “I knew boyz were going to come back but I didn’t know they were going to come back like this.” Well, I guess T.O. never thought about how his actions would affect his career and personal life in the long run either.
　
He was one of the best wide receivers to ever play the game. This guy was gifted with all of the tools and natural ability that human beings are rarely born with. His inability to use wisdom and tact hampered his career tremendously. Talent is only a small portion of what it takes to maximize potential.

He'll definitely be a first ballot Hall Of Famer but he could have been an even more productive player that finished his career with all types of NFL receiving records. Instead he’s an outcast. Always remember that bridges are fragile and you’ve got to be able to handle them with care. My man Soloman says it best in the book of Proverbs 18:6, "A fool's lips bring him strife and his mouth invites a beating."

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport