YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME

A day after former B2K manager Chris Stokes vehemently denied allegations that he sexually molested former members of the boy band while serving as its manager, his accuser, former B2K member DeMario "Raz-B" Thornton, has apologized. In a 30-second video posted on YouTube on Wednesday, Thornton stands outside on a city street and recants the sordid accusations he and older brother Ricardo "Ricky Romantic" Thornton had made in a pair of videos that circulated over the weekend.

"This is DeMario Thornton, publicly known as Raz-B of B2K," a solemn-looking Thornton tells the camera in the video, called "The Truth About Chris Stokes B2K Part 3." "I would like to send a public apology for some tapes that were leaked without my authority. I just want to say that those allegations are not true ... with Chris Stokes and Marques Houston, [I] apologize for any hurt this may have caused publicly [or] financially."

Stokes reacted to the new video in a statement released Thursday (December 27) morning. "I'm happy that DeMario 'Raz-B' Thornton and Ricardo Thornton realized their mistakes and admitted to lying," he said, although Ricardo Thornton is standing by his claims. "I have always supported my family and have always been a stand-up person. I knew that the truth would eventually come to light."

Thornton's abrupt turnaround came just hours after Stokes told MTV News that the allegations were false. His denials were seconded by another former B2K member, Omarion.

"I'm not gay. And I'm married. And I have four kids. I been with my wife for 16 years," Stokes told MTV in an exclusive interview. "And I'm not a child molester. So those are all false allegations. I'm gonna sue them. And I owe that to my wife and kids, period. It's ridiculous."

The truce between Raz and Stokes doesn't appear to have been extended to Ricardo. After MTV reported on the apology, Ricardo told MTV News that he stands by all the original allegations and is not recanting his story. He said he hasn't spoken to his younger brother in more than a day — which he said was unusual for the siblings — and predicted that Raz will "come back around," suggesting that the apology might not have been his brother's idea.

MY TAKE:

I laughed my ass off the first, second & third time I read this shit. This is ridiculous....some guys these days act like bitches....no integrity, WTF lol it makes him sound gay dat he apologized about something he supposedly made up...who makes up a lie about being molested?".....i know he's lying, he's getting paid like a fuckin prostitute...... if he was molested, i sympathize with him, regardless he should just be honest.

For those of you who don't know what Chris Stokes looks like, here ya go. If ever there was a guy that looked like an ass pirate, fun boy or doo doo chaser, its this guy. If this picture doesn't have you convinced, hearing him talk probably will. LMAO

Stay tuned. Till next time.....

EC Reports : 2 Girls 1 Cup

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Almost went to the hospital

We had health scare on Monday. Yours truly almost died. Ok, that was a little dramatic, but for what seemed like a lifetime [3hours], I was sure I was a goner. Ill start from the beginning.

Sunday

I was at my parents house. I usually try to go home every weekend and spend time. All my brothers have moved out, so its just them in our house in Garland. I feel like the older I get the closer we should be, so going home every weekend is my way of staying in the loop. Anyhow, I dont know if it was the subway I ate for lunch or the yam & eggs [Nigerian special], I greedily ate after not being satisfied with the subway, but I had a major case of the mud butt! (please click the hyperlink if this term is unfamiliar to you) Anyway, I was taking all kinds of medicine to make it go away but it just didn't happen. I was in agony. I eventually found my way off the toilet seat and just passed out on the couch. I just felt like shit. Muscles aching, head was pounding, stomach was rumbling. Classic flu -like symptoms. It was awful. It was so bad I couldn't even leave my parents house. I spent the night there and got up at 5:30am , so i could quickly drive home and get ready for work.

Yes i had to work: I ran out of sick days :(

Monday

Monday was probably the most miserable day ive ever had at work. I just never felt good the whole day. Add the fact that my management team is stressing everyone out because of mismanaged initiatives that have come back to bite us in the ass at year end, this made things even worse. I wont even get into the story of how I had my last sick day taken from me, but as payback I made sure that i coughed in the faces of those responsible for that debacle as much as a could. [evil i know, but hey, what goes around comes around]. Anyway, Ive been working on some small investment deals with some people I know, & I had to meet one my partners after work. Driving there, i could tell i was taking a turn for the worst, but I just wanted to get the meeting over with, as this person is really hard to get ahold of. Just my luck : I get to my partners office and hes running late. I guess I waited around for him for about 40 minutes when it started. I noticed that I kept getting this feeling of being extremely cold. Freezing cold. I figured that it was the building I was in, but when i looked around every body seem comfortable with the temperature in the office. It was me. Before I knew it, I started to shiver. I was so cold. I walked around trying to warm myself up, but it didn't work. I even looked for coffee, which I hate, but i needed something to keep warm. When I found out that the coffee maker was broken, the shiver I had, graduated to a full blown shake. It was uncontrollable. I was just sitting in this mans shaking like a junkie looking for his next fix. Like a crack head fresh out of "rocks". I would take deep breaths to try to control it, but every time I was able to slow it down, the shakes came back, at a machine gun pace. After 20 minutes of tryin to make it stop, I decided to leave. I didnt want this man, who i was trying to do business with, to find me in his office shaking like a heroin addict or something. So I shook my ass all the way to my car. I knew I was in trouble, because putting the key in the ignition was so hard to do. It was at that point that I called my mother. Man, I am a true mamas boy. When I called her, I told her "something is wrong". My mother is a nurse, so she started asking me questions about what was going on with me. I could feel her concern grow with every stuttering answer I gave. [I was shaking so bad, I couldnt talk straight] I don't know if it was the meds or what, but hearing my mother being concerned like that made me burst into tears. Try to picture this if you can, Im sitting in my truck shaking wildy, crying, & stuttering on the phone trying to explain to my mother what was happening to me. It was the worst. I had no control of my body whatsoever. Ive never experienced anything like this in my life. I kept asking my self, "Am I about to have a seizure?" My mother suggested that I try to drive to the hospital, but in my current state, I wasn't really sure that I could make it. I wasn't too far from my house, so I decided to see if i could drive home. This was the longest 10 minute drive of my life. I just couldn't stop shaking. I would get to red lights and I could feel the eyes of people in the lanes next to me, looking at me and wondering what was going on. Yes, it was that bad. I finally made it home and made a b-line to my bed and buried myself in blankets. I guess my parents made a panicked phone call to my brother, because he got to the house not long after I did. He ran upstairs to check on me and by then the shaking had calmed down. He wanted to take me to the emergency room, but I told him he need to go get me some thera flu: I hate hospitals, so i was just gonna ride this out. By the time my parents came to my condo, the shaking had stopped. When i looked at my moms face, I saw that she had been crying & it broke my heart. I hate to make her worry about me, and I guess she was worried to tears. We dont talk about how we feel alot in our family, but on Monday, December 1oth, 2007, I felt loved and important. Im obviously better now, because im back on the blog, but i encourage anyone who is reading this, to tell the people you care about that you love them. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

Till next time......

Gym Thoughts on a Saturday

Ive been gone for a little while, so I decided to return with a few nuggets of greatness. Ive been going to the gym alot lately. A whole lot. Im starting to see what the effects of binge drinking and wolfing down plates of hot wings can do to ones body and im not liking it one bit. I used to be able to eat anything & just balance it out by working out. These days im finding that you have to work out twice as hard to keep that beer gut from rearing its ugly head. DAMN!! Anyhow here are a few gym observations:

No Shower?!!!

For lunch, instead of stuffing my face with God knows what, (no homo), I started to work out at the gym on site at my place of employment. It feels good to get a nice 45 min workout in during the day and not have to worry about it when you get off. Well, on this particular day, I was surprised to find three of my out of shape co-workers in the gym working out. I thought it was pretty cool and gave them each a high five as I made my way into the locker room to change. So Im in the locker room taking my HGH, and these guys all walk in looking like they just completed the hardest workout in history. These guys were sweatin like cave men. It was pretty gross. Im not gay or anything, but if i ever get so far out of shape that a puddle of sweat can rest on top of my belly [like these guys], youll be reading about me in the obituary, after i kill myself. Anyway, after seeing all this, I looked at my watch and it was only 11:30. I was like damn, you guys came down here at ten thirty to work out? [most people take an hour lunch, so i just assumed they took an early one.] One of my heavyset co-workers informed me that they only take thirty minute lurches. Im sure i gave him the dumb face, because in my mind, I was thinking, "What the hell could they do in thirty minutes that would have these guys sweating like wild beasts? I didn't even have time to think this thought thru before I saw the unthinkable: They were putting their work clothes on without taking showers. WTF!!! I just stood there in stunned silence. Im not sure what shocked me most, the fact that these sweat hogs were "towling" the sweat off to put on deodorant or the fact that they seem completely comfortable with not showering. It was so gross man, I almost threw up out of both ends! It was funny because the other day on the ticket, Donavon [ of BAD radio], was telling listeners how his uncle thinks white people smell like sweaty gym socks....... im guessing he saw many cases of this madness that I witnessed. Not showering after a workout is pretty bad. Not showering after a workout and then going back to work is borderline insanity!!! Where do these people come from???

Ed Hardy

I went to workout at LA Fitness today and I saw a guy working out in an Ed Hardy t-shirt. For those of you who dont know, these t-shirts go anywhere from $60 bucks to $140, depending on how complex the design on the shirt is. I usually dont analyze male gym attire, but this floored me. What was more puzzling was the fact that the sleeves were cut off. Damn. All I could think of was, "What does this guy do for a living". When you can go to the store and buy a $100 "gym shirt" & cut the sleeves off, life must be pretty good.

Gym Weirdness

I may have to start going back to LA Fitness on the regular. Ive been getting weird looks from people at the gym at work. Maybe its me being paranoid, but im sure that people think im on roids or something. I have pretty intense workouts during my lunch. Really intense these days as work has sucked ass lately. So I just take my frustration out on the weights. So after a set of anything fairly heavy, ill look up and see about 3 people turn their heads really quick as if they weren't just staring at me. I feel like im the lunch time entertainment. Im just waiting for someone to say "Here lift this treadmill", or something else crazy. I swear they look at me like im Barry Bonds or something. This is the main reason i stopped working out at work in the first place: too many "suspicious" eyes on me. I do take supplements, mostly protein, but i get scared to let anyone see me take them. I guess im being paranoid......


Till next time.....

Five Giants who deserve a trip to the Pro Bowl

One week from today, the Pro Bowl rosters will be announced and if history is any indication, the Giants will be disappointed. Undoubtedly, at 9-4, they feel they deserve to be well-represented in Hawaii. Chances are they won’t be.
The history of Pro Bowl voting (the fans’ vote ended today, the players and coaches will vote Thursday and Friday) is that it’s based largely on reputation and past performance, though it can be swayed by a team having a dominant season. That means the NFC squad is likely to be overflowing with Cowboys and Packers. And there aren’t many Giants whose past performance or reputation is good enough to swing the vote.
The lone exceptions, of course, are Michael Strahan and Jeremy Shockey, who have perennially been among the voters’ favorites, and both of them have an uphill fight this time around. Strahan, looking for his eighth Pro Bowl, will be hurt by the fact that Osi Umenyiora is a lock to go considering he’s the second leading vote-getter among all NFC defensive players. Shockey, looking for his fifth, will be hurt because he trails Jason Witten and Chris Cooley in receiving stats.
In the end, I think Shockey and Strahan will get there — though I wouldn’t have voted for Shockey, who has been way too inconsistent and has rarely seemed to be on the same page with his quarterback this season. I think they’ll be joined by Umenyiora, but that’s probably it.
And that’s too bad, because I can make a real good argument that five Giants deserve to go:
1. WR Plaxico Burress — I know the numbers, and I know how far down he is in the statistical rankings. But when I factor in that he’s got 62 catches for 900 yards and 10 touchdowns on a sprained ankle that’s now lingered for more than four months and a sore knee that’s bothered him for weeks, I had to include him. He’s also the MVP of the Giants’ offense and has come up with more big plays on the team than anyone else. Without him, how bad would the Giants be?
2. DE Osi Umenyiora — The only lock to go on the Giants, based on the fan voting. His numbers (12 sacks) are wildly inflated by his six-sack game against the Eagles and I would’ve preferred a more consistent performance. But since that Eagles game he has consistently gotten pressure and he is much improved against the run. He and Strahan are the best DE tandem in the league, and I’d vote for them both.
3. DE Michael Strahan — This is not a sentimental pick, it’s based on the fact that after he shook off his holdout rust in the first three games, he’s had nine in the 10 games since…at age 36…less than a year after an awful, mid-foot sprain…while he’s still drawing consistent double teams. He’s also still the best DE in the NFL against the run.
4. G Chris Snee — The way the Giants’ offensive line has played, and the way they’ve powered a rushing attack that has featured a carousel of running backs, it would be a shame if they weren’t represented in Hawaii. Snee is the best of the group — powerful, quick and steady in his performance. He’s been on the brink of the Pro Bowl since he arrived in the NFL and there’s a chance this could be his year.
5. P Jeff Feagles — I’ve made this argument before, but I’ll make it again: He’s better at his job than anyone on the Giants is at their job. He’s the most consistent punter I’ve ever seen and better at pinning teams inside the 20 or taking the return man out of the equation than any punter in NFL history. His leg isn’t the strongest in the league and his stats won’t grab anyone’s attention. But no punter is more valuable.
***
The Giants got no help from the Atlanta Falcons last night, so here is the updated playoff picture for them:
The Giants are in the playoffs if they beat (or tie) Washington on Sunday night.
They can also get in with a loss if the Saints lose to (or tie) the Cardinals on Sunday AND the Vikings lose to (or tie) the Bears on Monday night.
***
Good news for fans of Big Blue: The Giants have decided against wearing their ugly, red alternate jerseys on Sunday night. They will be wearing their regular blue home uniforms instead.
By Ralph Vacchiano on December 11, 2007 1:36 PM

Hatton v Mayweather........or at least the part i saw.....

Unless you live in a cave, im sure by now you seen the highlights of the now infamous beat down of Mr. Ricky Hatton. When I saw the highlights last night @ 972 (which by the way was extremely wack ), all I could do was think about how crazy the crowd at winghouse went , when "Pretty Boy" Floyd unleashed that deadly left hook that made Ricky Hatton look like a drunken fool....see it for urself..........



Anyway, my biggest problem with this clip is that this is actually the first time that ive seen this!!! Before I get into that, let me back up and start from the beginning.

I guess Golden Boy Promotions is on top of their game, because this fight was all I could think about all week. I actually contemplated ordering the ppv just to see if the "Great White Hope", could pull off the upset. Given the nights events, I probably should have done this. With most ppv boxing matches, you usually have to endure almost 3 hours of an always underachieving under card. Its inevitable, you just have to sit through it. Especially if you are trying to watch it at the local sports bar, which was the case for me and my boys on Saturday night. The Mayweather fight wasn't supposed to start until about 10 or so, so we figured it would be a good idea to get there around 7, to hopefully avoid the rush. We should have got there sooner. This place was at capacity @ 7:30. I couldn't even park at the restaurant. I had to park across the street at a nearby Sam's Club. There was a list a mile long to get the next available table & you couldn't even get inside the restaurant unless you had a table. FUCK!!! I was so pissed. I couldn't believe that we might have to watch the fight outside like a bunch of homeless bums. Luckily one of my buddies was able to sweet talk a hostess and BOOM.....we are inside. We had to share a table with some random old people but anything was better than watching it outside. I guess I should mention that we were at Winghouse. Ive never been to this place but it was pretty nice. Its like the black hooters. Ass everywhere and the wings were good too. Anyways, after a plate of wings & 2 & half hours of a terrible under card, it was finally time for the Mayweather fight. The atmosphere inside the Winghouse was great. Each fighter had his own cheering section and they each lived and died with every punch. In the first couple rounds, Hatton was the aggressor. He was pretty much throwing Mayweather around the ring like a rag doll. Strangely enough, Mayweather never looked hurt. It was almost as if he [Mayweather], was weathering the storm and waiting for the right time to strike. He eventually did, but I would never get a chance to see it.

You see, around the 4th or 5th round, the restaurant manager made an announcement that someone was getting towed. I'm not sure why I jumped up, but something told me to check my truck and make sure that it wasn't me. My friend , also worried about his car, decided to follow me. After making our way through mass of humanity outside the wing house, I was relieved to find that my "Black Beauty" was safe and sound. My relief quickly turned into panic as I saw that my friends car wasn't so lucky. My friend made a dead sprint towards the tow truck, where he pleaded with the driver to release his car. "Man, don't take my car. Please don't take my car." This guy was a straight up bitch. "Get the fuck away from my truck. Its gonna cost you a 100 bucks to get it back." I couldn't believe my eyes. Its been my experience that if you come outside before they`ve taken your car, you can usually talk the driver out of towing it. This prick wasn't budging. It was at this point that my friend attempted to open the drivers passenger side door. "Get the fuck away from my truck!" And with that, he sped off with my friends crossfire, driving wildly, & hitting speed bumps without slowing down. My boy was pissed!!! We tried to cut the driver off before he got to the street, but he just stepped on the gas and was gone. We saw another tow truck in the distance and ran towards him to get info on where we could pick up my friends car. My friend was so pissed, i thought he was gonna "Ricky Hatton" this dude who had nothing to do with the situation. We got the information and sped off to get my friends car. The whole time we were in the car my friend is screaming expletives. "Im gonna fuck this guy up if i see his bitch ass". In my mind, I was trying to think if i had enough money in my account to bail this guy out of jail ;because i was sure he was gonna commit a felony if we saw this guy again. We finally get to the pound and guess what: We see the guy that took my friends car. AWW SHIT!! My boy screamed " You fuckin bastard!!!".........I revved the engine, and the chase was on! I don't know what got into me, but I had this huge rush of adrenaline . It didn't take long for me to come to my senses, because I asked myself, "What are we gonna do if we catch this guy?- I started slowing down. Then I asked myself, "What if he has a gun? - I turned my black ass around & went back to get my friends car out of the pound. I turned to my friend and suggested that we just get his car before something stupid happens. When we finally got the car back, we found that the tow truck driver had damaged the car. So instead of whopping his ass, maybe we can just get him fired.

Till next time.......

Holiday Awkwardness

We`ve all been through it. Every year around the holidays, you find yourself at the mall trying to get your Xmas shopping in, when you see an unfamiliar-familiar face. You do a double take just to make sure your not mistaken and ,while your performing your visual research, you suddenly realize that this person is looking at you in the exact same way. Awkward. You realize that this person is someone that you graduated high school/ college with & its been years since you've seen them. Now, what do you do? Do you pretend you didn't see them? Do you run the other way? You freeze. Now you have no choice. You now have to engage in a forced, awkward "conversation", with a person who, you barely remember, haven't thought about in years & probably wish you hadn't run into. Why is this so weird for people? Why is this so uncomfortable? I don't know about y'all, but I start sweating something terrible when this happens to me. I just don't know what to say to these people. You don't know what these people been doing wit the last five or six years of their lives so you don't want to rub it in if your doing well and they aren't. On the flip side you don't want to sound like a loser that's been wandering the earth aimlessly either. I have to go through this at least a dozen times during the months of November & December every year. These meetings are almost always nothing more than bullshit sessions. You ask generic questions, "Hey you! (cause u cant remember their name), How have you been? (cause your wondering why they are looking so crazy or differently than you remember) , and you ususally get generic answers, "Yea, Im doing well. Just been doing my thing". WTF!! I usually try to keep my accomplishments pretty basic and general without going into much detail, but surprisingly enough, you'd be amazed how many people actually give you their life story right then and there. And most of the time the stories are never good. So awkward. I had one acquaintance tell me about his stint in rehab and recent incarceration, like it was nothing. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say to that so I just gave him the good old dumb-face and tried to change the subject.

[Maybe im being an A-Hole right now, but am I the only one that gets a kick outta seeing the highschool badass or mr cool getting the shit kicked outta him by life? I usually dont like to make light of other peoples misfortunes, but nothing makes me happier than running into guys who thought they were the shit in highschool. Life isnt so great for them now, unless you count , managing the local sonic ,scrubing toilets for a living or trying to relive their "glory days" at highschool football games. (true story, but I wont drop any names) God forgive me, but it makes me happy. I guess im easily amused]

Anyways, after you get through that forced awkwardness you have to deal with the portion of the conversation where no one says anything and your both nodding and smiling like idiots. Ugh!! That's the worst. Your just looking around hoping the other person breaks this silence by saying something, anything. Man!!!! I usually chime in with a "that's cool" or a "sounds good". But no matter what I say, it always leads to the worst part of the conversation: The End. "Well it was good seeing you, ill talk to you later." Oh man, this is the most bogus line ever used on the face of the earth. Do people even think when they let this phrase and others like it, come out of their mouths? "Well I come to this mall allot , so I'm sure ill see you around". I feel like my intelligence is being insulted every time I hear this shit! We both know damn well we ain't gonna see each other , yet & still these phrases are uttered with such conviction, that you almost believe them. Its crazy. If it took 5 plus years for me to run into you, it will probably be at least that long before i see you again & even then, I may remember our last conversation & avoid you at all cost........

New Rule: When your ending one of these awkward conversations and your sure that your not gonna see the person again, don't patronize them with a "Ill see you later". Just keep it real with a "It was nice seeing you, take care" & keep it moving.

Till next time.............

Eli the (Not-So) Terrible restores Giants' confidence

Written by Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News

So, what goes through the mind of a professional football player, down 16-7 in the fourth quarter of a key game on a freezing-cold day, when everything looks bleak and there’s no hope in sight? Where do they find the strength to keep fighting? How do they muster the courage to mount an unlikely rally?

“Trust me, as we’re out there and it’s 16-7, I know you guys are writing your stories already,” Michael Strahan said yesterday. “So a lot of you, you may have to change some words. Some of you may have to rewrite the whole story. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, they’re writing us off already.’ But it is four quarters and I was thinking, ‘God if we win it, it would really screw you guys up.’”

Yes, Michael, I admit it. You got me. My game story was finished yesterday with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter of your wild, exhilarating, 21-16 win over the Bears. With three minutes to go, I was frantically rewriting all 900 words, praying for someone to call timeout and loudly thanking Lovie Smith for challenging Plaxico Burress’ catch at the 2. Any stoppage of the clock was greeted with a little cheer from me in the press box. The fact that a story even made the first edition of the Daily News today is as big a miracle as what your Giants did at Soldier Field.

But what a comeback! It was impressive, incredible. What more can you say? If Eli Manning doesn’t rally the Giants, we’re talking about another second-half collapse today. We’re analyzing the Vikings and Cardinals and talking about how hot they are and how tough it’ll be for the Giants to hold them off. And we’re putting Manning on a stick between a piece of chicken and an onion and twirling him over a fire.

Instead, Eli the Terrible is now Eli the Great — a comeback nearly as impressive as the one he pulled off on the field. And the Giants are once again being hailed as the third-best team in the NFC, probably rightfully so. Their confidence is restored and their coach is off the hot seat.

I’m just glad I could help.

A few more thoughts from the Chicago Caper …

• Manning in the first 48 minutes: 9 of 18, 100 yards, two interceptions. Manning in the last 12 minutes: 7 of 9, 95 yards, one touchdown. His inconsistency is really the only consistent thing about him.

• Boy, was I wrong about Derrick Ward. I had been unimpressed with him this season when compared to Brandon Jacobs. I thought he’d max out as a 75-80-yard guy, while Jacobs had a much bigger upside. I didn’t think he could carry an offense by himself. But Ward was tremendous. He showed speed on the outside, toughness through the middle, a good burst in the open field. His injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. I would’ve liked to have seen more.

• On the second series, the Giants send WR Sinorice Moss on a deep pattern and actually threw to him. In fact, he was open despite behind held by the cornerback (the ball was overthrown). That seemed like a smart play, given the fact that Plaxico Burress is hobbled by an ankle and a knee injury. Of course, that was the last time we saw it. On the next series, a gimpy Burress went deep on a similar pattern. Of course, he was double-covered. And of course, Manning threw to him anyway.

• David Tyree’s two catches for 32 yards on the game-winning drive brings up another interesting point about the Giants’ WRs. If they don’t want to use Moss as the third receiver, why not use Tyree? It sure looks like Manning trusts him.

• Even with Kevin Dockery in the game, the Bears sure seemed to throw at Sam Madison a lot.

• The defense was overlooked yesterday because of the Manning miracle, but they deserve a ton of credit. With a patchwork secondary playing, the pass rush harassed Rex Grossman with six sacks. They held the Bears to just 68 rushing yards, even though they had the lead almost all of the game. And they only allowed 98 total yards in the second half — 36 of which came on Chicago’s final, desperation drive.

• It’s official. My 7-9 preseason prediction was wrong. Can I have a mulligan?

• Funny quote from Tom Jackson on ESPN yesterday: “Eli Manning, you play in a city that is the most passionate city in the world, especially when it comes to their sports, and you seem dispassionate which they read as disinterest. So give them something. That would be my advice to Eli. Even, if it’s the finger. Give them the finger. You’d be surprised how much New York fans would appreciate it.”

Oh, I don’t know. I have a hunch that New York fans appreciate Eli today.

By Ralph Vacchiano on December 3, 2007 9:09 AM

Giving Him the Bizz-Ness

You will get talked about at Champps!!

Oh man, i had to blog about this while it was fresh in my mind! Tonight I rounded up a bunch of people to go watch the Packer-Cowboy game at Champps in Addison. If you've never been to a restaurant or sports bar for a big game, I highly recommend it. The atmosphere is great. TV`s everywhere, cougars on the prowl & the occasional over dressed fan, usually make for a great time. All that being said I had a great time tonight and it wast because of the any of the aforementioned reasons. Because of the high demand of the game alot of the tables were pushed close together. This made it easy to talk to other tables about the game and just make general conversation. It also made it easy to hear what other tables were talking about. Well , midway thru the third quarter my entertainment began. During a commercial timeout I just happened to hear the tale end of a very heated argument between the people sitting next to me. "Muthafucka, you don't fuckin know me. I ain't the one." When I turned around to see where these words were coming from, I saw this skinny white girl with bad skin, rolling her neck and snapping her fingers, raining down expletives on this black guy who had a smirk on his face. The white girl had a girlfriend (who was black) and the the black guy had another guy with him and both these sidekicks were struggling to keep from laughing. So at this point im not even looking at the game anymore, im more interested in seeing where this situation is headed. Before I could make more sense of the situation, the white girl continued, " Fuck you, I went to a black school & Im an AKA so I can talk how I wanna talk, I ain't the one". I started grinning and repositioned my chair away from the tv screen & in front of this train wreck. Apparently, this black guy was giving the white girl a hard time for "talking black", and I guess she tried to justify her "blackness" by volunteering all that info. Big mistake. As soon as she said all that, it was like a light switch was turned on in this guy, because he started talking bad to this girl. "Bitch you only went to a black school because you didn't have the grades to get in anywhere else". "Hoe, i don't know why you trying to be black, you need to concentrate on being white! You got on all that make up and still got bad skin.......shit don't make sense" He just started verbally assaulting this chick and all I could do was laugh.......hard. She tried to get him back......"that's why you fat". Hearing that was like a seeing a pitcher toss a softball to barry bonds, only one outcome can occur. "Mr. Bonds" shot back wit "Don't worry bout me, u need to take ur skinny ass to tha gym. This bitch cant even afford a gym membership. working at customer service making 7 dollars an hour." When he said that half our table started listening and laughing. It was about this time when the white girls black friend jumped in and tried to help her. "That's why you talk so low with that fat ass gut" Oh man, these comebacks were so weak. It was like they brought knives to a gun fight.....and this guy had a fully loaded clip. He started going hard on the black chick, "bitch are you even black? you ain't even got no ass! get the fuck outta here!" "Bitch you got on fake jewelry too! All that lead around ya neck from shopping at Sam Moon! Keep buying that cheap shit "3 dollars will get you killed" At this point me and half my table are all laughing uncontrollably. Soon as he saw he had an audience the material just got better (or worse for the people getting talked about) "Bitch you ugly! Wearing glitter on you face like you 15! Who the fuck wear glitter on they face? "This ain't the circus" "Take this white girl to Karma, Max wells or whatever black club y'all going to and get the fuck outta here" Oh my God. I didn't even care about the game anymore. I had tears in my eyes. I kinda felt bad , because me and about 6 others were pretty much laughing in their faces, but we couldn't help it. His timing was on point and his delivery was outstanding. "You hoes cant even fit regular clothes." "Y'all went to baby gap to get outfits to come to Champps? Who does that?" "You hoes broke too! This bitch brought her own cup into the bar?!!! What kind of bum ass ghetto bitches bring their own cups to the bar?!!" What made this hilarious was the fact that these chicks actually brought their own wine glasses to Champps!! I was dying!! He laid into them for 30 good minutes. Dude was out of control. The whole time the white girl had her face down pretending to text people on her sidekick. But it wasnt hard to tell that each insult cut deeper than the last. I was hoping for tears but it didnt happen. To those girls credit, they sat there and took it on chin for a good minute. [im thinkin they stayed so long because there was no where else to sit, but ill still give them the benifit of the doubt] I laughed so hard that my stomach started to cramp. The hardest laugh came when the white girl decided shed had enough and took the walk of shame out of the restaurant. As she walked away he said, "Truth hurts don't it. See ya at Karma!!" [For those of you who don't know, karma is a black club in Addison. extremely ghetto] YES!!! He talked about her so bad that she left Champps!! Packers game was good but this scene stole the show for me. Good times!!! The moral of this story is that if you are a white girl with bad skin, just be a white girl with bad skin - just be yourself and you wont get talked about! My tab that night was 15 bucks . potato skins -6 dollars, frozen margarita - 6 dollars, tip - 3 dollars (yes I'm cheap) & seeing a white girl trying to be black get talked about so bad that she left the restaurant - priceless

Till next time......

The grim, horrible statistic wins again by Jemele Hill Page 2

Sean Taylor's death wasn't random.
Maybe it was, but it wasn't.
As the details emerge about the circumstances surrounding Taylor's death and Miami police hunt for the person responsible for claiming a vibrant life, this much already is true: The grim, horrible statistic won again.
The leading cause of death for black men 15 to 24 is homicide. Taylor, who died from a gunshot wound early Tuesday in connection with an apparent robbery at his home, was 24.
For the second time this year, an NFL player -- a young, black male -- has been murdered. Tragedy struck on the first day of 2007 when Darrent Williams, a Denver Broncos defensive back, was shot to death during a drive-by near a Denver nightclub after attending the birthday party for Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin.
Denver police believe the shooting was linked to an altercation involving people who were with Williams that day. He wasn't involved in the altercation. Not that the bullet cared. He was 24 when he died, too.
Their fame and wealth and playing for respected professional sports franchises didn't protect Williams and Taylor from an epidemic more lethal and closer than any war overseas, or any boogeyman terrorist we can unearth or create.
Violence in America has laid a special claim on young, black men. When it made its way to Taylor's exclusive suburban Miami neighborhood, it didn't care that Taylor was engaged, the father of an 18-month-old daughter, the son of a police chief, a trusted teammate, the fifth overall pick in the 2004 draft, a hard-hitting safety who teammates nicknamed "Meast" (half-man, half-beast), a Pro Bowler, the Redskins' leading tackler last season. Or that a plaque honoring him for a generous, monetary donation rests in the cafeteria at his former high school, Gulliver Preparatory.
"It sounded like things were getting better," a still-dazed Steve Howey, Taylor's high school coach, said early Tuesday morning. "To find out he'd died this morning, it just knocked the wind out of me."
Howey, now the football coach and athletic director at St. John Neumann High School in Naples, Fla., won a state title with Taylor in 2000 -- the defensive back's senior year. This is the first football player he's ever lost to violence.
"You hear about stuff like this from time to time," Howey said. "It's never been this close."
Perhaps the most pertinent question is, how much closer does it have to get before we realize these unfortunate incidents are reflective of an enormous crisis that requires our immediate attention and action?
A New York Times article reported the homicide rate among young, black men in America was seven times higher than any foreign country studied.
That article was published in 1990.
Why has nothing changed?
Studies conducted in 2006 at Columbia, Princeton, Harvard and other institutions concluded a black man is more than six times as likely to be murdered than a white man.
This isn't to say Taylor was killed because he was black. This is to say that, because he was black, Taylor was more likely to be killed. The weight of that should be just as jarring as waking up and discovering an NFL player died from a gunshot wound. Please don't roll your eyes, release a frustrated breath, and trivialize this as "playing the race card."
This is an American problem, not just a racial one. The fact that it has spilled into the sports world should indicate just how serious it is.
As unfortunate as Taylor's death is, as representative as it is of a much more substantive issue, the saddest part is his passing may never be put in its proper perspective.
Although study after study shows black men are more likely to be victims of crime, rarely do they receive victim treatment. When black athletes are crime victims, the undertone seems to be they somehow were at fault. Eddy Curry, Antoine Walker and Bucs cornerback Phillip Buchanon all have been victims of home invasions that seem as orchestrated as the one that claimed Taylor's life. In March of 2006, Buchanon was stripped naked and tied up by seven men in ski masks who robbed him and jammed a gun in his mouth. This past July, Curry and his family were bound by duct tape as men robbed him at gunpoint in his suburban Chicago home. The Pistons' Flip Murray narrowly escaped the same fate, slamming the door on two gunmen on his porch before he called police. Yet we seem to think it's much more likely a black athlete is holding the gun instead of staring down the barrel of one.
By now, everyone is well aware of Taylor's past brushes with the law. They should be equally aware that those who knew him best thought he had distanced himself from those troubles; he was someone who had overcome the growing pains associated with being a professional athlete given unimaginable wealth at a young age. No matter what, Taylor's past doesn't in any way justify him meeting this tragic present.
We should, of course, remember Taylor with a heavy heart. But it's even more important that we remember there are thousands just like him in communities within walking and easy driving distance. And they shouldn't have to wear a NFL uniform for us to care about them.
Page 2 columnist Jemele Hill can be reached at jemeleespn@gmail.com.

McClaren Fired: Too Little Too Late

As a die hard England/ Beckham fan, Wednesday was a tough day for me. Watching this team, who had everything to play for; only needing a draw to qualify for Europe's biggest tournament, lose to a team with nothing to play for is unbelievably shocking. I still cant believe England will not participate in Euro 2008. It seems fitting that McClaren ends his tenure as England Manager the way he started it: making mind bogling decision. His latest and last mistep was benching Beckham again and starting a rookie goal keeper in the most important game in English Football. I think after watching the womens world cup final most people would know the importance of having an experienced goal keeper minding the nets in a big game. Not this genius. He gave Scott Carlson his first ever England start and he played AWFUL!
Then he benches a man that constantly performs everytime he puts on the England shirt. For all his supposed flaws, Beckham has set up goals in every game he has played this year for England.
When Macca took him off the field he sealed his fate. For non soccer fans, ill try to put this into perpective. England not going to the Euros is like the 1992 Dream Team not qualifying for the Olympics. I could blog about this in further detail but I think Ill let the english fans speak on this. Here are some posts by devastated fans around the world that pretty much share my feelings on this subject.........

.....how can people still doubt David Beckham? Anyone who has played football knows how difficult a ball like that is to play. ...and yes, SWP could do that......COULD, but DIDN'T... Beckham does it everytime he puts an England shirt on, nobody else does. I agree, he is not quite the player he was, but still performs when it matters - another thing that no other player seems capable of doing (Crouch's performance yesterday excepted). Are you Beckham haters blind or do you simply not understand what makes a decent footballer? It's not what they can or can't do in theory, it's what they actually do on the pitch. Even with an unfit Beckham, he still makes the game changing deliveries.

.....Beckham and Crouch were the heroes last game, but even they could not manage to stop the disaster unfolded on Wembley. there were mistakes, stupid mistakes and from the only one man.McClaren beckham should have been from the first second on the pitch not from the second half

......Wow, there's so much to comment on where to begin...

Well first, let's pin the blame. It falls not on McClaren (despite his complete ineptitude) but the people who selected him for the job. What were they thinking??? They recruited someone whose sum achievements count as one League cup victory against Bolton. Yes please re-read that last sentence. How did this man win the most important job in English football?

You can't blame a man for taking his dream job (not to mention dream salary) but the blame falls squarely on those that made such a categoric error for English football. Heads should roll.. preferably literally.

What is SO frustrating as a football fan is that you really don't have to be the slightest bit intelligent to realise that a crucial match at home against good opposition when you need only a draw is not a good time to experiment with a new goalie (and sympathies to the lad who must have felt the pressure, but he was AWFUL. Robinson, for his flaws, would have kept out all three goals.) This tactical catastrophe simply should not be allowed to happen if the selectors;
a) knew a damn thing about football
b) recognised someone who knew a damn thing about football.
On the show of football tonight you could really go up the drunkest fan in any bar, and I'd honestly rather see him pick the team. At least he might have the good sense to pick Beckham from the start who, despite the odd dip in form (normally over hyped dip in form - just 'cos he doesn't score from every free kick doesn't make him a liability) has proven his match-winning potential, work ethic and bulldog spirit time and time again.

The fact is we;re not as good as we think we are, but the sooner we realise that a manager is the most important 'player' there is, and move to secure one worthy of the job, the sooner we'll finally be able to challenge for the big tournament. Personally i'm almost relieved that i don't have to waste my summer watching this mis-managed team struggle through the group stages only to fall at the first penalty shoot out.

Normally as an England fan I have some sense of injustice to complain about but this time I can honestly say we don't deserve to qualify... nowhere near. It's a great shame for the players who are getting a bit older and probably won't have a chance to compete for these titles again. As an England fan all I can say is that the time under McClaren has been wasted and detrimental and someone should take responsibility for this.

We've the fourth biggest economy in the world, 60 million people, a wealth of talented players, enough money to employ any manager we like and yet we're outplayed - considerably - by a country of less than 5 million people who had nothing to play for. How proud I could be if only I was born in Croatia.

You Got Knocked the **** Out!!! Vol I

I think im gonna start a weekly Big Hit post because lately there have been some bone crunching hits. People are getting fucked up on a weekly basis. As long as people continue to get jacked up like this, I will bring it to you. This first one comes from last weeks LSU v Ole Miss game. Watching this hit made me want to put the pads back on! The second clip comes from the Wisconsin v Michigan State game a few weeks ago. This might be the hit of the year. The third and final clip came from the USC v UCLA game last year. I know its old, but it is very worthy of being mentioned....Enjoy







Till next time...

I love me some Fight Club!

I really forgot just how good fight club is. As I was watching it, I found myself strangely identifying with Edward Nortons character. For those of you who are not familiar with this movie, It's the story of a man who is subconsciously fed up with the monotony of everyday life and creates a new persona inside his mind to revolt against his repetitive lifestyle. When I say I identify with Norton's character, I only mean the part of him that is driven to create his alter ego. I'm talking about the part in all of us that go through this monotonous routine called life & struggles with the question of "Is this all there is". Maybe its just me, but I am bored out of my fucking mind. My God, I don't know what my perception of what life was gonna be like after school, but so far this is not what I expected. Shit if you ask me what I expected, I probably cant even tell you, but I'm sure it wasn't this.Recently Ive been thinking about meaning & purpose when it comes to this life. For 52 weeks, I Wake up, go to work, work out, go home, watch tv till you fall asleep. Wake up and do it again. Repeat this four more times and then "rest" on the weekends? Watch Friday go by as quickly as it came, waste Saturday doing nothing and then begin the "Damn I gotta go to work in the morning" countdown on Sunday. I guess you can sprinkle in a few random unique events that break up this routine, but for the most part you spend your life pretty much doing the same shit over and over until you die. I feel like the weeks come and go. Life is quickly passing me by. This probably doesn't feel good to read, but sometimes I wake up thinking Whats the point of all this? In my "youth" getting the approval & praise of my parents used to be enough to keep that previous question out of my mind. I would try to do well in school, football, and any other extra curricular activity to please them ; often falling short of their expectations and constantly having something to strive towards. I'm 25 years old now. I did well enough in school to graduate high school & college. Check. I was able to get a football scholarship, start & be a productive member of my team, & I got a fat bowl ring for my trouble. Check. After I graduated from college it took me two weeks to find my first job. Check. I made enough money from working to buy the truck I dreamt about in college. Check. Even after I spent all that money on the truck, I was somehow able to get a nice condo with my brother. Check. To me, I have reached or exceed a lot of the goals I had when I was younger and these days I struggle with finding what to do next that will motivate me in the next 25 years of my life. I have this overwhelming feeling of NOW WHAT??? What am I gonna do now that's gonna give meaning/ purpose to my life. I know what isn't gonna do this for me, and that's working. I probably sound like a lazy fool, but I think this is the one thing that I detest the most. I remember being in school and telling some of my classmates, "Yea man, I cant wait till I get out of school so I can get a 9-5 and make some money!". I wish I could build myself a time machine & go back in time to the precise moment when I voiced those misguided opinions to others; so I can kick my ass for being so naive and stupid. Hindsight is a bitch! I LOVE MONEY, but at this early point in my career, I'm not sure what amount of money will offset or outweigh the dread and hate I have for getting up in the morning and going to work. Maybe I'm not making enough right now and I'm just bitter, but I know people that make 3 times as much as me that have pretty much the same sentiments. I was talking to a friend last night and she was asking me : What makes you happy? The fact that I have no clue how to answer this question really bothers me. I have no clue what really makes me happy. The more I thought about this question, the more I started to realize that outside of the occasional sporting event, I really have nothing to look forward to. Sounds odd to say that, but for me this is the case unless you count the fact that I will one day become and old guy with a receding hairline (thanks dad), not be able to stay in shape like I am now and have all the other eventual problems that come with age. The only thing that I really think will give my life purpose and meaning would be to have kids. I think having some kind of positive profound impact on one of my own, would somehow validate this life for me. I sense this every time an old friend calls me asking for work/relationship/ or general advice and im able to help or at least put perspective on things. I like helping people or at least steering them clear of potential disasters. So yea, I think having kids would be my "motivation", but the only problem with that, is that you need this thing called a woman. Im not of big fan of you guys these days. I wont get into this ordeal, but these days you can just call me Ethan Hunt. Because finding & keeping a woman has officially become Mission Impossible. Anyway, this same friend was telling me that maybe I'm feeling this way about life because I'm single. I told her that she may be right, but I don't think someone can make you happy unless you've found a way to make your self happy first. Maybe this is the reason no relationship has really stuck for me. How can you find happiness with someone when you don't have it within yourself? Good question. Wish I had the answer to this one, but i fucking don't. The more things i try, the more things i find that don't make me happy. Ill be sure to let y'all know when Ive figured this one out. Because right now, I have no clue.....

Jumping back to the working subject, I guess I'm starting to see why there are so many small businesses out there. People fed up with working for someone else, thinking if they are their own boss they may actually enjoy what they do more. When you put it that way, it sounds good, right?..........wrong. Even this has its own set of drawbacks. My parents have their own business and its probably gonna drive them to an early grave. Not that I want my parents to leave this earth or anything, but I see the added stress that owning, operating and ultimately being responsible for your own business, has on a person and it seems almost as bad as working for someone else. I work for lack of a better idea. I work because I want to get promoted and make more money ( if i have to work, why not get paid top dollar). I work because if I'm lucky enough to get married, I don't want the bachelor party to be held at Dave & Busters and the reception held at McDonald's. I work because if God blesses my life with a special woman, I want to put a fat rock on her finger and be able to take care of her. I work because someone has to pay for my condo. I work because I like driving my truck. I work because I like to look good in expensive clothes that I don't need. I work because every now and then, girls like to be wined and dined and that shit takes money. I work because if i didn't id probably be another statistic.......because my parents would kill me. I work because it makes my parents proud to have a son that is "doing well". I work because I have student loans to pay back. I work because my brothers will hopefully follow my example. You didn't see "I work because, it makes me happy", because the bottom line is that working really sucks and I'm starting to think that "happiness" is about as real as Santa Claus

Till next time.....

X-Mas Come Early

Jay-Z recently announced plans to drop an a cappella version of his American Gangster album.

The instrumental free American Gangster will be available on Hov's born day - December 4 - the same date as releases from Ghostface Killa, Wyclef Jean and DJ Drama.Hov previously released an a cappella version of 2003's The Black Album which eventually helped launch Gnarls Barkley producer Danger Mouse into the spotlight.Danger Mouse was among a number of DJ's and producers to use the acappella for a mashup - his project The Grey Album set Jigga's vocals over unauthorized samples from The Beatles.The a cappella version of The Black Album spawned numerous remix albums, including Hov's collaboration with Linkin Park for Collision Course, the Mike Shinoda-produced set that remains the only Black Album remix to get an official stamp of approval from Jay-Z.It's still too early to guess how producers and DJ's will put the American Gangster a cappella's to use, but with December 4 right around the corner time will soon tell.

WHOA!!

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lil' Romeo is headed to Southern California to play basketball.
The teenage hip-hop performer signed a national letter of intent to attend USC on Monday at a news conference held at a posh hotel near Beverly Hills.
Lil' Romeo, an actor and rapper whose full name is Percy Romeo Miller, is currently a senior guard at Beverly Hills High. He averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 assists last season. His father, hip-hop mogul Master P, had tryouts with two NBA teams in the 1990s.
"This is the most important thing I've had to do and hopefully it sends a message to kids across the country that education is more important than money," Miller said at the news conference. "Getting a college scholarship is more important than winning an American Music Award, and I plan to be the best student-athlete I can be at USC."
One recruiting service ranks Miller, a 6-0, 170-pounder, among the top 15 prep point guards in the country.


My take:

I had heard rumors that this kid was nice, but I didnt know he was this good. Getting a scholarship to USC is no small feat. I cant wait to see him play with Mr. Mayo next year. How crazy would that be if he was good enough to go pro? Im old enough to remember the days when Master P had a ten day contract with a couple NBA teams about 10 years ago. Guess he passed his "skills" on to his son. Stay tuned.

Till next time....

When people let you down....

I'm sure this is a topic that we can all relate to on some level. For me, this is something I struggle with almost on a daily basis. I don't know what it is about me that makes me that guy that has to be the one to "Let them make it", "Hold my tongue", or " Give people a "pass" when they let you down", but apparently I'm that guy. I guess I have always been that guy and I'm just now realizing it. When people let me down, in whatever form or fashion that may be, I kind of shut things down and throw the charm/positiveness/energy into neutral and eventually the relationship is lost. If the friendship isnt lost, the innocence usually is and the relationship is never the same. I don't know why I do this, but I guess Ive just trained myself to not give my all in any relationship at the first sign or hint that others may not do the same for me. This year alot of friendships have tapered off because of this.........at an alarming rate. The realist in me, says "Good riddance, you probably didn't need them playing a role in your life anyway". The optimist in me thinks that maybe I should have given them a chance to redeem themselves because most people [generally] are inherently good, just not perfect. I guess the point to all this is, that when I think of the friendships Ive let fall by the waste side, it kinda makes me sad. Not that having a million friends is the end all be all, but when I look at the number of people that I "didn't let slide", "didn't give a pass" or " didnt let make it", it makes me wonder: Is there something wrong with me?? If you are often identified as a person that can let people slide when they f**** up, (not many people can, Mr. Hodridge stand up) why should you always have to? Am I really asking alot by expecting people to treat me the way I would treat them in relationships?
When I get in any type of relationship / friendship, I honestly try to go in with a positive mindset. Ill do my due diligence on the person, (find out if we mesh well, have similar interests ect) & when they have jumped through all those "hoops", Ill call my best friend in Houston and tell him "We got another one". Here lately, Ive been having to make the same phone call and say "We just lost another one". In this world, I think its rare to find true friends that you can relate to and are genuine in there approach to their friendship with you. I guess because of this reason, when I find people that could potentially become great additions to the friendships I already have, it hurts that much more when the test of time proves that they are not. I'm not sure why, but I really take it personally when some one falis to meet my expectations. Maybe I give people these unrealistic expectations that no one can attain. Maybe I am setting myself up for continual disappointment. I read somewhere that "Having realistic expectations for others involves realizing that all of us are less than perfect." While this makes perfect sense, I really don't like the idea of expecting people to F*** up and then being surprised when they don't. I don't want to view the world or people in general in this pessimistic view, but maybe this is the lesson that God has been trying to teach me this year. "Don't expect too much and you ll have peace of mind"

I read this on a friends blog and I think it is very relevant:

"On the rare occasion that reality meets my expectations, one would think I'd be pleasantly surprised….but that is not the case. Why should I be excited about something/someone just meeting my expectations? Do you get excited when your car cranks up? No…because you expect it to run" -SH

I am grateful for the many friendships that I have gained over the last year, but when I look at the ones that were lost or are in danger of being lost, I wonder if hoping people meet my expectations is expecting too much. I wonder, if I had turned the other cheek and overlooked the issue that caused the friendship to be lost, if any of those people would be around today? I wonder why, when people notice you have that other cheek to turn, they continually find ways to slap it? I wonder if maybe I am the problem. I wonder, if I'm the problem, what and where is the solution. I wonder what life would be like if you always expected the worst in people, because you rarely got their best. I wonder how many people reading this are "that guy " and are as tired of this role as I am. Maybe I should expect to be let down from the start and when this happens, I haven't lost; and if my expectations are somehow "exceeded", thats a win. But does anyone really win when you approach relationships this way?

Till next time.....

The Stage Is Set

RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) - England's bid to qualify for next year's European Championship is still alive.
Israel beat Russia 2-1 Saturday night, preventing the Russians from climbing past the English into second place in Group E with one game remaining.Russia had put itself in control of gaining a berth with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over England in Moscow last month. But now England can qualify with a tie or victory on Wednesday against first-place Croatia at Wembley.
Croatia (8-1-2) clinched a berth because of Israel's win despite a 2-0 loss at Macedonia and leads with 26 points, followed by England (7-2-2) with 23. Russia (6-2-3) is third with 21 but England has the tiebreaker because of a better goal difference in its two games against the Russians.
Russia could have virtually eliminated England by beating Israel but now win at last-place Andorra on Wednesday and hope the English lose.
"Of course we are very, very disappointed," Russia coach Guus Hiddink said. "We were close. We were the team who was dominating the game."
The English enter Wednesday's game missing Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and John Terry because of injuries and Rio Ferdinand due to a suspension.
Elyaniv Barda gave Israel the lead in 10th minute, but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov tied it in the 61st. Dmitry Sychev, who entered early in the second half, nearly put Russia ahead in the 90th, but his shot hit a post. Omer Golan then just stayed onside when he took a pass in second-half injury time and scored the tie breaking goal.

My take: Prayers were answered on Saturday night. The English are still alive and with a draw on Wednesday they can book their reservations for the Euro 2008. Beckham once again assisted in the goal that put England ahead in their friendly on Friday against Austria. Seems pretty simple. If Beckham had stayed in the team since the World Cup, England wouldn't have to sweat it out on the last day of qualifying. Well the stage is set for another Beckham miracle and I hope he can recreate this moment and prove all the doubters wrong. I still get goose bumps watching this!

Till next time....