"It's The Playoffs Bruh!"

Derrick Rose helped off of the floor after tearing his ACL.

Just last week I wrote a Hot Joint entitled "Welcome to Sports 101" that essentially explained to sports fans that in order to enjoy watching your favorite team you have to take your heart out of it. Don't get so emotionally involved that you can't see what's really going on. I used the Chicago fan base as my clinical study because in my opinion they are the most delusional fan base in all of sports.

On Saturday with 1:22 left in game 1 of the Chicago Bulls playoff win over the Philadelphia 76'rs 103-91. MVP and all everything point guard Derrick Rose tore his ACL during a non-contact move. Sadly he'll miss the remainder of the playoffs. It's very unfortunate that his season has to end this way. He's battled a plethora of injuries all season long and is now in the studio working on the remix of Khia's "My neck My Back!" Now the Bulls have to go on without him.

First of all, as soon as he went down I tweeted, "The way it buckled it looks like he tore his ACL!" I'd be surprised if it's not torn. Let's hope for the best!" Immediately, my Twitter account went crazy with Bulls fans calling me a hater. I responded, "First of all, I've been around sports my entire life and I've got a degree in Sports Science. I've seen 100's of them and they'll have to wait on the MRI!" They(Chicago fans) continued to respond, "He's putting weight on it so he'll be fine you're just a hater. Not five minutes later NBA trainers across the league begin to say the same thing I just said. Then the news hits the air waves that it was in fact a torn ACL but I'm a hater!

These cats are like the girl friend that's being cheated on and all of her girls are telling her that they keep seeing her man creep around town with other women. Instead of her taking the approach of listening to them and then investigating. She fights every one of them until she has no more friends left and then her man finally tells her that he's got another chick and wants out. C'mon bruh!

After it was confirmed that the ACL was in fact torn I tweeted, "Boston is foaming at the mouth right now because they can handle Chicago without Rose early in the playoffs! They're old but it's early!" All of the Chicago delusional girlfriends went crazy again! This time they took the high heels, the ear rings and jewelry off and put the Vaseline on! I'm glad my ride wasn't parked outside because they would have keyed that bad boy up. Boyz or should I say irrational cheated on girlfriends were hot at me spitting all kinds of venom!

Then later on Saturday evening  ESPN NBA's Chris Broussard said exactly what I said four hours earlier! The icing was put on the cake when NBA Hall of Famer and 5 time NBA champion Magic Johnson said, " It's over for the Bulls! It's the playoffs brother! They got no chance without Derrick Rose!" Broussard and others tried to imply that they were 18-9 without him during the regular season. Magic shut it down quickly by saying, "It's the playoffs brother!" It's a whole different animal in the playoffs! CJ Watson and John Lucas aren't going to surprise anybody in the PLAYOFFS!"

They say I'm a hater like somehow I won't be welcomed in the wild 100's or like I can't slide out west to K-Town! I'm from GI (Gary, In.)! I've got no reason to hate on the Chi! I not only cut my corporate teeth in the Windy City selling pagers on the south side from 55th to 130th from the lake to Halsted, I'm from the area. Ya'll already know who owned all of the pager stores in the hood in the early to mid '90's too. I grew up with Chicago radio, TV and all of it's influences. Ya'll don't know nothing about WBMX Radio Oak Park Chicago or Bob Wall getting yanked off of  the air live on WGCI for playing the explicit verson of Prince's Erotic City during the morning drive! What do you know about the greatest hot dogs in the world from Jew town? Ya'll don't know nothing about George's Music Room! Can you feel me on Harold's Chicken or Moo and Oink bruh? Stepping on Friday nights or listening to house music rolling down Stoney Island at 3am trying to find something to get into. What ya'll know about watching Bozo's Circus after school on WGN? I wanted bucket #6 like everybody else.

I'm authentic GI but you can't be GI without being Chi too. I just tell it the way Big Momma would always say, "Like it sho nuff T.I.S.!" Got boyz out here screamin' "The Chi" and ain't never been to the Chi. If I dropped you off on 62nd and State you couldn't survive but I could, even in my suit! A lot of these cats just jumped on the bandwagon cuz they're winning now. Where were you when they broke up the team after the '96 title and they wandered in the desert like the Children of Israel for 13 years? Holla At Ya Boy on that bruh when they were drafting guards every year. I'm family so I can say what's real. You know how family can talk about the "mess up" but those outside of the family better not say a word? It's like that bruh!

It blows my mind that I can say the same things that all of the so-called experts say even before they say it. However, when it comes out of their mouths it a legitimate statement but when I say it I'm a hater. Now do I have to be on ESPN in order to be validated? Absolutely not! I just have to talk to reasonable sports fans. All of those guys on TV are simply giving their opinions of what's going on just like you and I. Nobody is a prophet and can tell you with 100% certainty what's really going to happen so don't be a sucker and think that just because a cat is on TV he knows more than anybody else. That's as silly as making the "I read it in a book so it's got to be true" statement. Maniac's write books too!

Michael Jordan was the greatest player to ever lace them up bruh and he's sitting next to you and I watching the playoffs too. Why? Cause it's the playoffs bruh and he didn't know how to assemble a team and you have to be good enough and lucky enough to make it through! So like I said earlier, Chicago's got no chance without Derrick Rose!

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

"Marcus Darling!"

"Maybe I'm going doing too much? This outfit isn't doing it for me."

A couple of years ago I wrote a joint entitled "Jordan Is The Jerry Jones of the NBA" because he's a control freak that keeps getting in the way. The reason that the Dallas Cowboys can't win at the level that they aspire to is because of Jones. He's the freaking owner, GM and President of the team. He doesn't trust anyone to handle those positions so they keep getting great talent that can't gel together.

Well Mike is such a control freak that he's completely destroyed the Charlotte Bobcats. They just finished the season with the worst winning percentage in NBA history (.106) with a record of 7-59! 7-59 bruh? Down the stretch they lost 23 straight! Who does that? I know that after the 15th joint guys were just going through the motions. They probably didn't even do exit interviews at seasons end. As a matter of fact, they didn't even take showers after the last game bruh. Boyz went home musty because they couldn't wait to get away from Jordan.

 I always say that just because a guy played the game doesn't mean that he understands how to assemble a team or run an organization. Those are completely different skill sets that Air Jordan obviously doesn't possess. Yes, he was the best to ever lace them up but he doesn't know what a team looks like if it ran over him in the desert and stole his bike. Keep in mind that he was a complete train wreck in Washington too!

"Oh Marcus darling!"

Straight up, Mike needs to be like Lady Eloise, Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima and Captain Morgan! The picture on the box and nothing more. He shouldn't be making any decisions going forward. He just needs to be the ole cat walking around the building flirting with folks, "Oh Marcus Darling!" He can sit in on meetings all he wants just don't let him say a word bruh! Whenever he starts talking distract him by asking him about his old Bulls days. Let him talk until he falls asleep and then you can finish your meeting.

 Can you imagine what Anthony Davis is thinking right now? I'm quite sure he's happy to have the opportunity to play in the league but I know he doesn't want to play for Jordan. Who would? I'll bet he would be willing to protest Charlotte's 1st pick in the draft by even cutting the uni-brow. If anybody has a right to pull a John Elway or Eli Manning and refuse to play for a team it's Anthony Davis. Yeah bruh, it's just that serious.

I always talk about how selfish this cat is but how do you own the team and you don't even go to see them play. Last week while the Bobcats were playing he was in Chicago watching a hockey game! Now you own the joint, you've got free tickets and a owners suite and you don't even want to see this foolishness that you have put together. However, you expect the fans to pay good money to see it. That's Mike for you though!

Most teams draft and add free agents in the off season to prepare to compete for a title the following year. The Bobcats are merely looking to win 25 games next year. I guarantee they'll be poppin' bottles like they won the Eastern Conference if they can simply do that! Championship? Please, boyz are trying to get in the club free. If you don't win at least 20 games the local night spots make the players stand in line with everybody else. VIP? Man they're getting charged like the drug dealers and the women are even on NBA baller strike in Charlotte! "Oh Marcus darling!"

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

Bulletin Board Material

"If I can't see or hear your emotions you're toast before the game starts!"

Life is about competing and competing at the highest level. During the hunt for success I believe that the person with the most hustle will always finish on top. My much younger cousin will be graduating from college on Saturday so I called him to congratulate him. During our conversation I told him that it's grown man business now and that I would talk to him next week when he officially became a grown man. I went on to say that now he's got to step into the arena and compete with me and all of the other folks out here that are trying to get it. In saying that to him I made no apologies for it. 

Unfortunately, we now live in a world that everyone is afraid to have some bravado while in the heat of competition. It's even happening in the sports world which should be the gold standard for competition. 

Philadelphia 76'rs guard Evan Turner, who is from Chicago, was asked what it would mean to face the Bulls in the playoffs, and he was quoted by The Delaware County Daily Times as saying, "It means we're dodging the tougher team. That's what I think. I think we'll be able to compete well against Chicago, and have an opportunity to win the series."

Understandably, boyz went at him on Twitter and the media jumped all over it by asking the Bulls players how they felt about what Turner said. After it blew up Turner later tried to explain what he meant.

"Absolutely, they play the whole year as the No. 1 team, they beat Miami a couple times, they're without Derrick [Rose], without their best player for a while," Turner said. "Obviously, they should be [upset]. I would be mad, too. 'Who does Evan Turner thinks he is?' I understand. They could have easily said negative stuff and been unprofessional."

He tweeted a response to Bulls fans: "And bulls fans: please stop tweeting me about the playoffs. I didn't say anything negative. All I said is we match up better with them smh"

In my opinion, that was a chump move on Turner's part. Who cares what the other team or their fans think about what you thought bruh! Being the best or not never stopped boyz from talking trash or leaving the other team bulletin board material when I was a kid. I mean what was he supposed to say? "It doesn't matter we're going to lose either way!" Really?

 I get sick of competitors trying to keep their emotions in tact so that the other team won't get mad. Competitive people by nature have to be somewhat delusional. They always have to think that they are better than they are in order to compete daily.   

This new generation is so afraid to get into the trenches that it makes me nauseous. It doesn't matter that the Bulls are CLEARLY a better team than the 76'rs. That's not the point here! In the heat of the battle you've got to do a little talking in order to do two things; A) get into the head of the competition and B) fool yourself into believing that you're better than you actually are until you get better. Have you ever heard the term "Fake it til you make it" bruh?

Faking it means to think that you're already doing whatever it is you're trying to do and acting like it too. How many times have you had to compete against someone that was clearly better than you were but because of your confidence going in, you threw them off of their game and won? Have you ever heard the story of David and Goliath? Now God was on David's side but it was David's faith that allowed him to believe in what was ordained.  C'mon bruh! 

 If Evan felt that way about the series then that's what it is. Now the Bulls have to prove him wrong. I've been in sales for the past 22 years and I'm one of the best in the world. My numbers haven consistently proven that. So when I see my competition, I let them know that it's not going to be a cake walk and that's putting it nicely. Most of the time I win but sometimes I lose but that never changes my approach. 

If I'm out of my league I'll never let my competition know what I'm thinking because to do that is to accept defeat without trying. Philly may as well not even get on plane to Chicago this weekend because Turner has conceded the loss even before they tip off. If you're going to compete, in my opinion, there must always be bulletin board material! Your confidence at some point has to spill over. It's OK to talk a little trash bruh because your competition will respect you in the morning. Otherwise, you're just going through the motions!

Holla At Ya Boy!

 Jay Graves

Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article. 

The Draft Night Oakey Doke

"Hey Roger, You think they can see my watch & pinky ring dawg?"

As I watched the 1st round of the 2011 NFL draft last last year I couldn't help but notice that many of the players were wearing more than $100K in watches and ear rings. The only problem with that was, they hadn't signed a contract yet. Now I know that agents will give the players loans before the draft to buy cars and jewelry but it's a trap bruh.

Many times the banks will also give guys that are potential first round picks, loans of up to a half million dollars as long as the agent or the NFL can provide proof that the kid will be drafted. The worse thing that can happen to youngsters is for someone to give them credit because they'll charge to the limit not understanding how the game works.

I can remember being a broke college student and the banks would show up on campus and give out credit cards. It was like hitting the lottery because we would get approved and head straight to the mall. If the card had a $1000 limit we'd try to spend $1100 with no thought of how we would pay the bill. So many people are still making the minimum payment on those cards and will be paying them for the rest of their lives or they'll eventually start hiding from the creditors. Lack of self-discipline and maturity can be deadly to a person's financial health.

As I was watching the guys get drafted and go up to shake commissioner Roger Goodell's hand, all I saw was the bling from "Jacob the Jeweler" timepieces on their wrists. After all, they did spend the week in New York City.  They're spending like we did at the mall but it's on a whole different level. I'm talking about being broke before the first check comes in.

If a kid signs a contract to make let's say $1 million per year that would sound like a lot of money. However, it really isn't when you start deducting the foolishness right off of the top. Uncle Sam is going to hit you for $400K right out of the gate. That leaves you with $600K  for the rest of the year.  You spent $100K on the draft night watch and ear rings. You bought the family and entourage new clothes and jewelry($100K) for the draft as well. Not to mention the Supercharged Range Rover($100K plus) loaded with all of the toys to push around campus or the crib before the draft. Oh yeah, you still have to pay the agent his 10 to 12%(another 100K or so) off of that same million.

So the day after the draft you're down to less than $200K and you still haven't signed the contract that's supposed to be a million dollars per. Remember, this is the NFL, contracts aren't guaranteed like they are in the NBA. He may sign a deal for maybe $3 million/year but only $1 million is guaranteed. So that's why I settled on the example of a million dollars.

 What happens if the deal swings a $100K in the wrong direction? You're hit! Oh yeah bruh, you still have to find somewhere to live and pay for the up keep of the joint like paying for lights, gas, furniture, landscaping, property taxes etc. At some point you've got to eat, right?  It's grown man business now! If you don't believe me follow Warren Sapp and guys like him to the crib! On draft night everybody's on top of the world bruh! It's cool to do your thing but you've got to show some restraint. A $100K for a watch? Really? What's wrong with the $7 to $10K Rolex that's been the symbol of wealth for ages? C'mon bruh, don't let some cat gas you up to get in the "I'm gonna be broke line" in 5 years.

That million dollars doesn't look all that attractive now does it? One thing I've learned about money during my lifetime is that it will only be loyal to the one that's holding on to it. Once you give it away it's gone. So my advice to you would be to wait until you sign the contract before you start looking for people to give it to. Money is like a woman, when you don't understand her you can't keep her. That's the X-factor!

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

Check Mate!

Deion posted this picture of he and his kids filing a police report after the assault. 

The most important thing you need to know about the game of chess is that you always have to anticipate your opponents next move. As a matter of fact, you need to be two or three steps ahead of the game in order to be successful at playing it. My man Deion Sanders proved on Monday night that he was in fact a great chess player!

He was reportedly attacked in his Prosper, Texas home by his estranged wife Pilar Sanders and her girlfriend. Deion filed for divorce back in December of last year however the two have remained in the home. Both refusing to leave the joint so you know it's gotten ugly bruh. 

Let's keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes first! Pilar wants that money and pretty much doesn't plan on leaving without it. However, she ran into a real G that saw her coming a mile away and had her sign a prenuptial  agreement before they married. According to The Insider's Kevin Frazier the joint is air tight. So she'll only get X number of dollars when she leaves. 

Boyz are blasting Deion all over the radio and TV about getting beat up by his wife and yeah it's funny but Deion is about his paper. Tom Joyner and all of the affiliated comedians were killing him yesterday calling him everything. They need to call him Yogi because he's smarter than the average bear! Shortly after the alleged assault he posted this on his Tweeter account:

Gangsta move bruh! By posting this information online he makes Pilar look evil and when they go to court to fight for custody of the children guess what's going to pop up! Even if the prenuptial is air tight she still would be entitled to child support. However, if she's painted in the court as being dangerous and the kids are fearful for their safety guess who gets custody of the children and guess who doesn't get child support? Straight gangsta move. 

A magistrate judge ordered Pilar Tuesday to stay away from their home for 60 days. The judge also barred her from threatening or harassing her husband, KTVT-TV reported.

On Tuesday morning "Prime Time" posted this on his Tweeter account,  "Joy came this morning and we opened the door and let Joy in." Ya'll can clown him all you want bruh but he's playing chess with his kids money and reputation. Don't think for one minute ole boy couldn't have made both of those broads tap out. Let's keep it real he's a Hall of Fame football player that's taken and given much hard hits than that in his sleep. However, had he jumped on them that he'd still be in jail, be fired from NFL Network, lost all endorsements and would have been ridiculed for being a wife beater. C'mon bruh he got more sense than that!

So if he had to take a two piece and a biscuit from Pilar and her girl to keep his life, kids and money then all the real men out here can respect him for that. Now I believe 100% in the sanctity of married and it's unfortunate that his didn't work out but violence is not the answer to any situation bruh!  Check Mate!

Holla At Ya Boy!

Jay Graves

Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article. 

Welcome to Sports 101

"Don't be this guy bruh!"

Good morning class I'm professor Graves! I'm here to teach you how to watch sports and cheer for your favorite team without making yourself look stupid. It's OK to have a team that you completely love but please understand that you've got to be able to watch the game with your head and not your heart.
So many times I run into folks that just don't get it. For the purpose of this discussion we will use the Chicago fan because I'm surrounded by so many, living here in the Midwest. In my opinion, they are the most delusional sports fans in the country.

It's important to understand what your team is capable of doing. You have to know what their flaws are and also what they do best. Don't just say that my team will win just because they're playing in the stupid game. When the Bears made it to the playoffs in 2010 every Chicago fan had them going to the Super Bowl. However, they had glaring flaws that couldn't be ignored. Duh, they had no quarterback and the offensive line was terrible! That combination was lethal.

Cutler was the most sacked quarterback in the league and he had been very inconsistent all year. Great defense though. However, you can't win with a quarterback that is consistently on his back that has the tendency to turn the ball over. If you were a real fan of that team you would know that going in.

The Bulls had one player in Derrick Rose that, well let's say this, wasn't a consistent shooter from more than 15 feet. Yeah he was the MVP in 2011 but they didn't play the same team in a best of 7 series during the regular season in 2010-2011. His whole game was taking you to the rack and he's extremely effective at doing that. You didn't think that Miami wasn't going to figure that out after game one? When you take that away his game is limited like I've continued to say for 3 years. If you watch them every night you're supposed to know that if it's your team bruh! Even after Coach Thibodeau got on ESPN Radio yesterday and said that he doesn't know how much their going to get out of Rose for the playoffs. Bulls fan in America still believe they're going to win it all. That's called being delusional bruh! Just say that if Rose is healthy we've got a shot to win it all. However, without him we're toast for sure. That would tell folks that you at least know something about your team.

 I'm not saying don't pull for them, just understand what your they're capable of doing. That way you don't talk trash all season and have to call off work like most Bulls fans did the last year because they couldn't face their co-workers after being dumped by Miami. If you would have been honest with yourself and just said, "We're good but we're a free agent away because Boozer plays no defense and we can't get any offense out of Noah! I hope we win but we're suspect right now especially with Rose being banged up. I'll be happy if we can somehow pull it out". If you say that no one would've bothered you after the loss last year and won't this year. But you're at work talking 100 worth of trash again and you're destined to have to call off again.

I'm a season ticket holder for the OU Sooners. In 2004, they were undefeated and the #1 team in the country. The Sooners were scoring more points than anyone in the history of college football.  I was at nearly every game. However, after each game I said we aren't ready because our defensive secondary is suspect and if we play someone that can throw the ball we'll get destroyed. Both USC and Auburn at the time were undefeated.

 I was hoping to play Auburn because Jason Campbell wasn't the greatest quarterback in the world and he had a tendency of making mistakes. Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Co. were a well oiled machine and I knew they would blow us out because our secondary hadn't played against a pro-style offense and they couldn't cover. We met USC in the Orange Bowl for the National Title and got blasted 55-19. I didn't have to run from folks because I'd been saying it all year. It's called being an "Objective Observer". I knew what my team was capable of. No one should know your team better than you.

Die hard Cubs fans are completely delusional. Why would you cheer for a team that consistently loses? They haven't won a title in over 100 years, yet you say this year is the year, every year. C'mon bruh! Is that by accident? There's no incentive for the Cubs management to win. They sell out every game with a loser on the field. Why go out and pay $100 million for a superstar if people will come anyway. It's ridiculous! The #1 rule for watching sports is to take your heart out of it. That doesn't mean that you can't like a certain team but know what your team can do. That one rule will keep you from looking like an idiot when your team loses!

Granted, there are upsets every now and then, but that's why they call them upsets. Nobody saw that coming! The favorite some how fell asleep at the wheel and the underdog wins the game. Most notably Boise State beats Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl a few years ago. Unless you are a prophet you can't call those types of wins.However, there are no surprises in the NBA Playoffs bruh! The best TEAM always wins a 7 game series unlike the one game upsets of the NCAA Tournament. Even if you didn't know who the best team was going into the series it becomes evident midway through. For the most part it's not that difficult to figure out whether your team is capable of winning. You should always know what to expect if it truly is your team. The Gold Rule for watching sports is to "TAKE YOUR HEART OUT OF IT and look at it for what it is!"  Class Dismissed!

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

"Cold Cocked"

"The follow through kept him from talking his way out of it!"

I remember as a kid getting into trouble at school and they would send me to the principals office? Back in that day there were no camera's in the class room or on the property for that matter. So whatever I was there for came down to me being able to talk my way out of it. It was my word vs some other kid's and I usually came out of the office with some one owing ME an apology.

On Sunday, Metta World Peace tried to pull an "old talk my way out of trouble" move but it was wasn't happening. He was ejected from the Lakers' 114-106 double overtime win over the Thunder on Sunday after receiving a flagrant foul 2 for cold cocking James Harden in the head with his elbow. For those of you that didn't grow up in the hood. To cold cock means to catch a boy completely off guard and knock the crap out of him. It usually happens when two guys are just talking trash or if there is beef in the air. The next thing you know one of them is on the ground without warning. I'd say that's pretty much what happened!

The old school coaches would always say, "the tape don't lie son!" When in doubt watch the film. Now the refs are watching film and determined very quickly that World Peace was way out of line with that move. Let's keep it real or all the way 100, that was Ron Artest out there bruh! You can officially put the Metta World Peace guy back in the closet.

He issued this statement after the game:

"During that play I just dunked on Durant and Ibaka and I got really emotional and excited and it was unfortunate that James had to get hit with an unintentional elbow," World Peace said. "I hope he's OK. The Thunder, they're playing for a championship this year, so I hope that he's OK and I apologize to the Thunder and to James Harden.

"You know, it was such a great game and it was unfortunate so much emotion was going on at that time. ... That's it for today."

This guy definitely missed his meds on Sunday! How in the world do you think that it's OK to blast a guy in the head with your elbow for no reason? It wasn't like he and Harden were squared up or he'd been constantly bullied, had taken his bike or lunch money. He caught him with an elbow to the head. I'm just glad that the bench's didn't clear because if that were 10 years ago they would still be out there fighting.

The NBA has recently instituted a rule that gives automatic suspensions for any player that comes onto the floor in those situations. So I was glad to see guys counting their money first and then realizing that the playoffs are next week. The Thunder have a legitimate shot at getting to the Finals too. So they're going to need everybody to be ready to role including Harden when they tip off.

Artest knew exactly what he was doing by waiting to pull a move like that in the NBA. If he had pulled a move like that in high school in the hood it would have gotten ugly! Whatever block that Harden represented would have been waiting for him at the bus. Let's just say this, the team would have NEEDED a police escort all the way home and I'm not sure that would have been enough. One thing about it bruh, it's playoff time and I'm excited. Sit back, kick your feet up and enjoy the ride!

Holla At Ya Boy! 

Jay Graves

Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.     

"The 10 Spot"

"I'll see ya'll next year bruh & get rid of Van Gundy while I'm gone!"

The mistake that most men make is that they get caught up on the visual instead of the substance of a woman. Most cats, especially young boyz, are only concerned about how fine she is and how other guys will react to them steppin' in the joint with her. It doesn't matter what type of personality she has or what her conversation is to them. As long as she's a cosmetic 10 their all in! The problem is, the cosmetic 10 or dime, as we called them in the hood, is always going to come with baggage. The question is, are you willing to put up with it?

Well, apparently the Orlando Magic have committed to the dime and is willing to put up with the foolishness that comes with her. Dwight Howard has now called owner Rich DeVos to tell him that he won't play for coach Stan Van Gundy anymore, according to WKMG out of Orlando. It's now been reported that he WILL have back surgery on Friday and will be out for the remainder of the season including the playoffs. Now could he have played and had the surgery after the playoffs were over? He could have at least tried though right?

All I'm going to say is Game 5 1997 NBA Finals! A guy named Michael Jordan played with the flu and had to be carried off of the floor because he wanted it so bad. Now Howard has a herniated disc in his back but a great competitor would have at least "tried" to play bruh. He also wouldn't have said before hand that he was about to quit on his team anyway.

 Now don't get it twisted, I've got a degree in Sports Science and I realize the seriousness of a herniated disc and it can't be compared to the flu. However, I've got a PHD in understanding and deciphering a hustle bruh! Does he need surgery? Yes! Did he need it on Friday? Probably not, but because he took a PR hit for quitting 24 hours earlier he figured it was better to go under the knife now than to be remembered as a quitter. 

Don't act like this doesn't sound familiar to you. There is a reason why nobody ever marries the dime in real life bruh! Why? Because the dime is never satisfied!  Have you ever wondered why the finest girl(cosmetically) in school or college, years later is still single? You see them walk into church every Sunday by themselves and you hear the same whispers as she walks by, "Man she used to be the finest chick in school and everybody wanted her but look at her now bruh! She's still fine but nobody wants her because her attitude stinks!" 

The dime can't ever settle down because as a youngster she always had options and never learned how to. Over the years she always had boyz waiting in line to date her and she knew it. So she never learned how to commit to the same guy especially when things got bad in the relationship. Let's just say that they had that Beyonce' "Irreplaceable" joint in their heads well before she even wrote it. "You must don't know bout me, You must don't know bout me, I can have another you in a minute, matter fact, he'll be here in a minute (baby)." Ya'll know the drill and Dwight Howard is doing the same thing. So he's going to be as disruptive as possible because he can. He's going to prove to the organization that he's more important than Van Gundy.  

Now I'm not mad at him because he is what he is, you can't change the dime. When you start dating one you already know what the program is bruh. Once the Magic committed to him they bought into that foolishness and what do I always say, "players don't win titles, organizations do," as I so eloquently stated in "The Firm".

I blame the Orlando Magic organization for this thing falling apart right before our eyes. You can't commit to the dime without giving the dime everything she wants. Otherwise, she's going to act a fool on you and therefore wouldn't be fulfilling the Dimes Across America Oath! 

Now I know some cat is still thinking about my comment on why nobody marries the dime because they're always looking for a better deal. They're stuck on that joint because they're saying to themselves, "JayZ married Beyonce' bruh?" Let me take you to school young blood! JayZ IS the better deal bruh! He's at the top of the food chain financially for relatively young urban cats. There isn't another boy out here besides Diddy or Fifty Cents that has his type of bread. So she can't get another him in a minute! Plus JayZ's got better flow and lyrics than both of them combined. 

Don't get it twisted bruh, you can have a woman that's both attractive and possesses a great personality but they call that wifey material or as we so affectionately call it "The Dime Piece!" I've had one for almost 10 years and it's like winning the lottery because they don't make that kind of woman everyday! So when you run across her you better hold on to her bruh. Otherwise, you'll keep getting fooled by her looks only and end up with Dwight Howard!

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

"Hindsight is 20/20"

"This game has always been violent bruh!"

The ole timers would always say that hindsight is 20/20! What that means is that everything is always clear as a bell after the fact. It's easy to be a detective and see all of the clues leading up to the crime once it's been committed. Grandma used to say, "the best sense is bought sense" that's why they call it wisdom. You don't get it until you've been through something.

That's why I find it amazing that former players are suing the NFL in federal law suits that brain injuries have left them struggling with medical problems years after their playing days have ended. I would think that suits claiming that the NFL hasn't provided enough medical insurance and support to help them in their retirement would be more appropriate.

They maintain the NFL knew as early as the 1920s of the potential for concussions to harm its players. The former players claim a range of medical problems stemming from their playing days, including memory loss, headaches and sleeplessness. They are seeking jury trials and unspecified damages. Are you kidding me?

"The NFL has done everything in its power to hide the issue and mislead players concerning the risks associated with concussions," the players argue in several lawsuits.

The issue of concussions is serious business. However, for former players to sue the NFL for the risk of concussions is like a race car driver suing NASCAR for car accidents. Especially those that played prior to the NFL or the medical community as a whole identifying them as being problematic.

I'm not making light of concussions but it's only been in recent years that the football community as a whole has embraced the fact that the medical diagnosis of concussions were prominent in the game. Back in the day if a kid suffered a major hit they called it "getting your bell rung." Coaches would tell them to sit out a couple of plays and they'll be alright. Cats have always stumbled off of the field seeing stars with dizziness and feeling nauseous. That wasn't just in the NFL bruh! That was happening in Pop Warner as well, especially prior to about 2002!

It wasn't until former players started having medical problems and dying did the football community start looking into the connection seriously. One of my good friends, Tory Epps, who played 6 seasons in the NFL died at 38 years old after complaining for years of continuous headaches just 7 years ago. Was there a connection? I would think so. After Dave Dureson committed suicide and his brain was examined it was shown to have what has been called Concussion Syndrome. Dave knew that he suffered from it but no one took him seriously. However, during the time in which he and my boy Tory played there was a different culture and the medical community wasn't diagnosing concussions in football the way they are now. So to try to sue the league after the fact is ridiculous!

We understand NOW that there is a link between sustaining years of devastating blows to the head and concussions but to sue the league because of it doesn't make sense. That’s like Muhammad Ali suing the WBA because he has Parkinson’s disease. When you signed up for Pop Warner football everyone knew that it was a violent sport at that time.

The older you got the more violent the game became. Even in the violence of guys suffering major injuries we all willingly continued to play. Let's keep it real or all the way 100 which ever comes first! You didn't have to play in the NFL before it got violent bruh. If you don't believe me ask all of those kids that have been paralyzed as a result of playing this game in high school and even those in middle school.

Over the years guys have had extremities shredded, lost consciousness and been paralyzed right before our eyes. The risks have always been there. So to sue the league because you claim that they hid the risks associated with concussions is asinine. The question is, if the league had known then what they know now and had explained to you what the risks were. Would you have turned in your equipment? Probably not bruh!

Boyz have always known that football was a violent sport and all parties understood that the risks of major injuries were out there. Now that it has become proper protocol for the league to diagnose concussions and they have a system in place we can call that progress. The medical community has not only recognized the connection in the NFL but in all sports. My nephew, who as a freshman football player at Ball State last year, was ruled ineligible to participate for the rest of his college career because of multiple concussions. Also my teenaged son was diagnosed with a concussion from an elbow to the head while at basketball practice a few months ago. He wasn't able to resume activities until he passed a concussion test at the team doctor’s office. That's progress bruh!

If the NFL doesn't address the issue of concussions now I think they should be sued. However, you can't go back to 1920 and say that they knew of the risks then. Medicine and technology changes and gets better as more evidence becomes available. Remember what I said about wisdom earlier. These law suits are nothing but a lot of  former players, many of whom that haven't made the best financial decisions, trying to get paid at the league's expense. That's like the prodigal son suing his ole man for giving him his bread too early. No, it's like some one's family trying to sue the automobile industry because they had a loved one die in a car accident in 1970 because they weren't wearing a seat belt. When at that time there wasn't even a seat belt law in existence! Hindsight is and will always be 20/20 bruh!

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

"The Five Heartbeats"

"Kentucky' s starting five Gettin' Money!"

A month ago I wrote a joint entitled "Class? What Class?" where I gave detailed instructions to freshman phenom Anthony Davis, if he were my child, about not worrying about going to class. You wouldn't believe the amount of push back that I got from folks telling me that I was crazy and out of line for making the comments, "It's a complete waste of time for this kid to be in class right now!" Turns out I was right in my assessment of Davis but you had to be blind not to see it. All five starters from this years national title Kentucky squad pulled up bumpin' that Junior Mafia "Get Money" joint in a green ride wearing big faced watches after making bread at the local bakery. 

All five of them in a press conference declared for the NBA draft on Tuesday. Not only did Anthony Davis make a move but so did fellow freshmen Marquis Teague and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist along with sophomores Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb.  

"We made it work," Jones said. "We all wanted to be there and do it together like we've done everything else together."

 Like I've been saying all along, college is for those of us that didn't possess extraordinary skills at a young age. It's a place to mature and figure out what exactly you want to do with your life. It's also a place for you to learn the things necessary for the career you aspire to have that requires a four year degree. 

For example, if you want to become an engineer Purdue, Georgia Tech or Rose Hulman are great places to become qualified to do that. They'll give you all of the training and certifications you need to eventually become one. It normally takes about 4 years.  If you want to become big time highly paid lawyer, Harvard has one of the best programs on the planet after you've already received a bachelors degree with the GPA and the bread to afford it. It normally takes about 7 years to complete that process( 4 years undergraduate plus 3 years post graduate) . 

If you possess the genetics and the work ethic to be a professional basketball player the length of time to become qualified varies depending upon your skill set. For some people it may take 21 or 22 years. However, for the highly skilled and extraordinary which is only a chosen few in the world, it only takes 18 or 19 years!

Like I said a month ago it didn't make an ounce of sense for Anthony Davis to be in class this semester because he was going to the league in June anyway. If he had listened to all of those folks that thought going to class was the best thing for him he would have wasted his time. Why? Because now that he's declared for the draft, he's signed with an agent and class isn't an option at this point. They have to get him prepared for the draft in June. So guess what? He nor the other four guys that declared on yesterday are in Lexington today in class. 

They will be training like I said Davis should have been doing since the beginning of the semester. Because out of that group he was the only sure fire lottery pick coming out of high school a year ago bruh! Listen folks, don't continue to go through life doing what only sounds good when you blurt it out. Going to class only sounds good because somebody has told you that your entire life because it was safe for the average person. You can't use that logic when you're talking to a freak of nature. The rules change depending upon who we're talking about. 

In this case, I was specifically talking to Anthony Davis not the other kids that eventually decided to leave school. They're weren't any guarantees with guys like Teague or Kidd-Gilchrist coming out of school. So they should have been going to class and playing it safe until the scouts gave them the high sign. Now they've got to train and be ready to play after the draft. 

Trust me folks I know what I'm talking about. All you've got to do is pay attention to what's going on around you. If there is a kid in your neighborhood that has been born with what no other kid possesses then watch him. If he's 6'8" or taller and is extremely athletic, has great body movement and footwork. Not to mention can run the floor, shoot, play defense and isn't a head case. More than likely he's one of the those people you'll be watching in the NBA in a year. 

They don't make those types of people all of the time bruh! If you don't believe me go to any court in America today and look for him! It's like looking for Big Foot! They rarely pass your way so when you see them they more than likely don't need anything past a high school diploma! Now you can find cats 6'0" to 6'3" that can do that all day long. That's why more often than not they would be advised to go to class at least until given the high sign. 

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves

Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport

It's The Little Things!

Melo meets with Trayvon's family on Friday.

Last month  I wrote a SERIOUSLY HOT JOINT entitled "TALL Respect" giving the Miami Heat mad props for making a statement in support of Trayvon Martin. The Heat led by LeBron James & Dwayne Wade posed for a team photo with all of them wearing hoodies. I went on to say that guys like Michael Jordan nor Tiger Woods wouldn't have gone anywhere near that photo shoot if they were on that team. 

Big props to Carmelo Anthony as well for hosting Trayvon's family at Madison Square Garden on Friday. They were in New York City on Thursday for an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN when they received an invitation from Melo to meet privately in the locker room before the Knicks blew out the Wizards 103-65.  

"[It was] a blessing, an honor," Anthony said after Knicks practice Saturday, in regards to meeting Martin's family. "We all know the tragedy that happened, and just to get in a different space of mind right now, just bringing them to not even the game, but to the locker room in the back, meeting all the players, meeting the coaches, that was the easy part. We had no media there. It was just something that I wanted to do."

It's the little things that count bruh! This family has endured so much over the past couple of months and for these players to embrace them is meaningful. A couple of days after the Miami Heat photo surfaced on Twitter they were in Indy to play the Pacers. Well, I've got media credentials so my plan on that evening was to talk to the Heat players about it. When I asked Mario Chalmers what motivated them as a team to take that photo. He  simply said, "Everybody on the team has kids and that could have been any of them." 

Later that week I was on a radio show talking about the the "TALL Respect" joint and my conversation with Mario Chalmers. The host of the show immediately cut me off and said, "Come on Jay, you know that wouldn't have been LeBron's kid!" Ya'll know I gave him the business for even suggesting such a thing. 

If that had been LeBron's kid he wouldn't have been walking to the store. He would have been driving some luxury vehicle and would have only fueled the fire even more to be racially profiled. To think that just because someone is rich takes away the stereotypes that people use in this country is asinine. All they would have seen is a black kid driving a Range Rover etc. and that would have been enough to pull him over and here we go. Let's keep it real or all the way 100, I'm still getting pulled over for no reason and I'm 45!

Here lately there have been all types of reports that Trayvon wasn't the nice kid that he has been portrayed to be. There are reports that he'd been suspended from school in the past or that he was caught with some weed etc. None of that justifies a kid being gunned down while unarmed walking home. Especially when the perpetrator was told not to confront the kid by the 911 operator in the first place. Let's keep it real! There are very few black men or people in general that wouldn't have faught for their lives if some cat ran up on them with a gun!

So again, I give Melo love for taking the time to meet with Trayvon's mother and his two brothers on Friday. Being a celebrity means something to people and to use it to put a smile on their faces is what it's all about. So many times we say that we want our athletes to be role models but in reality we want them to be train wrecks like Basketball Wives or the Real Housewives of Atlanta because we're addicted to foolishness. 

Now I can't lie I watch that foolishness but I'm extremely happy to see the Tim Tebow's, LeBron's and Melo's of the sports world being positive role models. Regardless of their wins or losses, I ride with guys like that because they've got character and long after the games are over they'll be great people. Remember, they'll only be able to play these games for a short period of time and God willing they'll live well beyond that. Then what? It's not about the amount of games you've won or the amount of rings you've got. It's about what type of life you've lived and the amount of people you've impacted along the way. Because you can't take wins or the championships with you when the Good Lord calls you home!

Holla At Ya Boy! 
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
Like me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheJayGravesReport

"You Got To Pay To Play!"

"These boyz better start paying us!"

The ole timers would always say, "Ain't nothing in America free!" Well as I get older and wiser I realize that they weren't lying. I can remember when I first graduated from college, moved to Atlanta and into my first apartment to begin my career in Corporate America. Up to that point I'd lived in the dorm for 5 years (I was in no rush bruh) or at the crib before that. So the bills were always paid and I just got up, ate and went class. Life was good, cheap and easy. 

However, when I became a grown man it was like some cat was standing at the end of my bed in the morning charging me to get up. It literally costs $30 just to get out of bed in the morning! Now throw kids in the mix and you could be up to $75 for starters! Regardless of what you do for a living you aren't willing to work for free! So why do people expect for professional basketball players to work all summer for nothing? 

 I'm in complete agreement with both Dwayne Wade and Ray Allen when they said just recently that players should be compensated for playing in the Olympics! Just because these guys make millions of dollars as players doesn't mean that they should become pons in the game and be taken advantage of.

"It's a lot of things you do for the Olympics -- a lot of jerseys you sell," Wade said after the Heat's practice on Wednesday in advance of Thursday's game against Chicago. "We play the whole summer. I do think guys should be compensated. Just like I think college players should be compensated as well. Unfortunately, it's not there. But I think it should be something, you know, there for it." 

 Now Wade was the leading scorer on the 2008 national team that won a gold medal in China. So he's not speaking about something that he's heard. He's watched folks take advantage of him. These guys aren't stupid bruh. Believe me, the most disrespectful thing a person can do to you is to take advantage of you. When your boss/manager/supervisor comes to you at work and asks you to work optional overtime this weekend. What's the first thing you ask him? "Am I getting paid for this?"  Now if he starts running the company line by saying, "No my man, do it for the team! Look at the big picture etc!" You'd immediately say, "no thanks I would do it but I've got a family commitment this weekend!"  

So why do we try to run that same "be patriotic line" to the players just because they're rich. Rich or making good money is all relative. Don't you hate when folks try to size you up when you say, no I can't spend money like that and they come back with the "Man you got it!" response.  Don't be counting my money bruh! That's the same thing Dwayne Wade and Ray Allen are saying. 

How are you going to run the be patriotic line on a boy and you're selling his jersey right in front of him? Be patriotic and give up some of that bread that you're making when you fly them around the world charging people to see them play in what are called "Exhibition Games." C'mon bruh, the modern athlete might be crazy enough to spend all of his money and go broke buying 15 cars, $4 million worth of jewelry, have 10 kids by 6 different women etc. Now granted this isn't all athletes. But if he's gonna go broke he still has to be given the option to go through it all his way. You can't try to think for him and say, well since he's probably going to be broke anyway so we won't pay him upfront. Who does that? He's not trying to let the US Olympic committee pimp him too after he's already been taken advantage of in college! Like I always say, Ima keep it real or all the way 100, which ever comes first! This is grown man business! Patna!

Also for those of you that thought I was being stereotypical about boyz going broke I only deal in the facts bruh.  According to a Sports Illustrated article entitled "How (and why) Athletes go Broke!" published in March of 2009, within 5 years of retirement more than 60% of former NBA players are broke. Within 2 years of retirement 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce! You need more proof holla at Warren Sapp right now bruh! Now do you still think they should go to work for free?

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

"The 2nd Golden Rule!"

"You just can't score with the other teams ball and lie about it!"

During this process of raising my children I've adopted several catch phrases that I constantly repeat to them that I hope they will retain for the rest of their lives. One of my favorite contain six simple yet powerful words. These six words, I'm always telling them, can change your life, career and all of your relationships immediately. They are, "Do What You're Supposed To Do!" 

Somewhere along the line during Bobby Petrino's life he never absorbed that lesson. I know that he's heard something similar to it because he's a football coach. Football is the ultimate team sport bruh! It's the one sport that is dependent upon everyone doing their job at all times at the same time in order for the team to win on each play. 

On Tuesday the University of Arkansas fired Bobby Petrino as their head football coach for not doing what he was supposed to do! He was essentially fired for unfairly hiring his mistress and intentionally misleading his boss about everything from their relationship to her presence at the motorcycle accident on this past weekend.  

As a child what did you always hear when it was time to man up? If you tell the truth you won't get in trouble but if you lie it's gonna be worse. Big Momma's and Fat Daddy's in every hood in America whether you grew up in the projects, in a trailer park or in the suburbs, have been preaching that joint religiously since the beginning of time. So I know ole Bobby has been on the short end of that joint on multiple occasions during the course of his lifetime as much as he lies bruh. This cat is unbelievable! 

I told you in my article entitled "Thriller" at the beginning of the week that this situation would get worse before it got better, didn't I? So here we go! I can hear Michael Jackson bumpin' in the background and I know you can too. According to Arkansas Athletics Director Jeff Long in his press conference on Tuesday Bobby ran game on everybody!

 "He made the decision, a conscious decision, to mislead the public on Tuesday, and in doing so negatively and adversely affected the reputation of the University of Arkansas and our football program," Long said, choking up at one point as he discussed telling players that their coach was gone. "In short, coach Petrino engaged in a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior designed to deceive me and members of the athletic staff, both before and after the motorcycle accident."

Like the old folks used to say, I just wanted to be fly on the wall at the Petrino home when he walked in last night! Not only did he embarrass his family but he lost his job in the process. Boy, that's worse than when the ole timers would gamble their entire check away at the pool hall when they knew Big Momma had been waiting to buy groceries all day. You talk about a getting cursed out and shoes being airborne, bruh!

He's just lucky that his wife isn't a sista because she would have been on the news last night for assault with a deadly pump. OK, let's keep it real! She probably already knew that he was dirty but now he's cut off the family income? Bruh, he was making more than $3 million dollars a year in Arkansas and his contract still owed him $18 million. The fact that he was fired with cause nullifies the remainder of that balance babyboy. 

Now you know if that was a sista she would have been at the crib with all of her girlfriends waiting on him bruh! $18 million for some young 25 year old chick? Hey, they would have been out front keying the ride and everything! You know that a few of the wife's girls would have been sitting out front of the mistress' crib waiting on her too. It would have been ugly! I'm just saying that the sale of vaseline would have been up in Fayettville yesterday because sista's can't fight without it!  So for that, Bobby got lucky his wife didn't grow up where I did. 

 Well the good in all of this is that a friend of mine, Tavor Johnson, is now the interim head coach. One man's trash is a another man's treasure. Tavor was coaching defensive backs at Ohio State this time last year. Now he's the guy in charge at Arkansas because Petrino took it all for granted! Ain't God good! Well...Petrino's got to figure out the lesson in all of this first. However, God's still good even when you're in some foolishness by your own doing. 

I'll go to my grave saying it, "Do What You're Supposed To Do!" As a matter of fact, you can put it on my tomb stone because I've found that living by those six words makes life so much easier. 

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