What Time Is The Super Bowl?

Manning vs. Newton - Who ya got????

That's the question thousands of people will be asking on Super Sunday.  Two weeks of anticipation ends with the most camera flashes and eyes glued to the TV screen than any other time during the year.  The 50th Super Bowl will kickoff and parties across the country will celebrate as the most entertaining sporting event in history commences.

By the way, 6:30 PM Eastern Time is the answer.

However, you definitely want to peep in about 30 minutes earlier to ensure that you catch Lady Gaga's rendition of the National Anthem.  Vegas has "prop bets" based on how long it will take her to sing it.  You can bet less than or more than 2 minutes and 20 seconds.  Take the under on this one.  Lady Gaga like to show off, but only Alicia Keys has gone past 2:20 in the last 10 years.

I personally prefer to tune in just before the National Anthem.  As much as I like football, I can't do the 10 hour pre-game show that the talking heads will throw at me.  When 50 different people make their expert analysis on the game, the contradiction in the opinions leave you more confused than convinced that any of them know what they're talking about.

Hopefully, the commercials will be great again.  It's been awhile since they have been.  There are too many "feel good" commercials with lost dogs and helpful horses than they are funny and entertaining ads.  I'm hoping that Lil' Sweet makes multiple appearances for Dr. Pepper.

Enjoy the game, all!

Oh, I almost forgot!  My prediction: Carolina 21, Denver 16.

Lessons in Accountability from a 12-Year Old

I was at my god son's football game last Monday. On their only touchdown play, he was called for holding and the penalty resulted in nullifying the TD.

He was taken out of the game and the coach talked to him about what happened.  His body language on the sidelines showed that he was angry with himself.  After the game, he was visibly upset and said that he "let the team down."

Words can't express how proud that I was to hear him say that.  This is a 12-year old thinking about his team when most adults can only think about themselves.

If everyone took the same approach to accountability as he does then how much better would we all be for it?  If everyone at work gave 100% then our jobs would be easier.  If everyone at home gave 100% then our family lives would be easier.

Take a lesson from a 12-year old playing a game and make sure that you're accountable for your actions.

My god son may have gotten a penalty, but he's still my MVP.

For Once, #NFL Sunday Was Meaningless #BAMAvsAUB

I sat on my couch as I usually do on Sundays, but it felt different this time.  There was something missing.  I watched Arizona v. Philadelphia, New England v. Houston, Chicago v. Minnesota, and a few other games with close scores in the 4th quarter.  But, I still felt as if something was missing.  The DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket is way too expensive to not be satisfied, so what gives?  Why am I bored when watching my favorite sport of all-time?

Because Rivalry Week in college football ruined it for me.

It didn't ruin it in a bad way.  It actually was a good thing.  This weekend was the best weekend of college football that I've ever seen in my life.  So, after experiencing game-after-game of heated, long-standing, NCAA Football rivalries going down to the wire, I could only come down off of that high when NFL Sunday arrived.  The feeling of elation that I felt for some NCAA teams and depression that I felt for others could not be matched by the NFL.

Look at these scores from the games that I watched:

Duke over North Carolina, 27-25

* Mississippi State over Mississippi, 17-10, Overtime

Oregon over Oregon State, 36-35 

Georgia over Georgia, 41-34, Double Overtime 

* Ohio State over Michigan, 42-41

* Auburn over Alabama, 34-28

(*-came down to the last play of the game)

If you have a chance to catch the ending of any of these games, then treat yourself!  Even if you only watch the last five minutes of each one, then that will be enough to satisfy you.  And if you watch the 4th quarter of the Alabama / Auburn game, then you may see the most exciting 4th quarter in the history of football (pro or college).

Last weekend was the last full schedule of college football games for the season and it did not disappoint!

Why Your Child Stops Trying

Where are the fans?

Do you see that field?  This was taken during a high school football game between the Lanier Bulldogs (Jackson, MS) and the Germantown Mavericks (Gluckstadt, MS).

The schools are only separated by 21 miles yet the photo reveals the handful of fans who came out to support Lanier.  A 20-30 minute drive yielded just a few supporters.

I attended the Lanier / Callaway game a couple of weeks ago.  The game took place just minutes from Lanier High School yet there were barely any fans there.

Before that game started, I watched both teams warm up.  I mentioned to a peer of mine how bad Lanier's body language was.  Players were barely jogging instead of sprinting.  There was no enthusiasm whatsoever during pregame warm ups and it translated to their game performance.  Callaway slaughtered Lanier 59-0 and the players didn't seem too concerned about it.  The Lanier coaches didn't either.

Here are some of the other losses Lanier has received this season: 42-8, 67-0, 35-6, 68-16, 62-22, 50-0, and 56-20 to Germantown.  The only close game they've had this season is an 8-0 loss to a not so good Wingfield team.

I personally think that these kids have mentally checked out and I blame the parents.  The parents should be ashamed of themselves to not travel 21 miles to see their children play.  Also, the school should be ashamed for not having a pep squad and band attend as well.  Don't they have a responsibility to provide support as well?  After all, interscholastic competition is a promotion of brands (schools).

This is a school with almost 1,000 students and more championship basketball banners than probably any school in the state.  On game day during basketball season, you can't even squeeze into the gym.  But, if a child participates in anything other than basketball, then I guess it's not important enough for a parent to bother.

The result of this behavior is that the kids lose the desire to try since it appears that no one takes them seriously.  That's a problem.  There are way too many children looking in the audience for their family members only to not see them.  It can be a sporting event, music/dance recital, theatrical presentation, or whatever.  The day a child stops looking for their parents is a sad day!  And Talk 2 Q Show Legend, M&M, once said, "an unloved child is a dangerous adult."

Now, I know in 2013, people have to work.  There are some parents who just can't attend each and every game.  But, something has to be done to provide representatives to support these kids.  I have no allegiance to them at all and I couldn't help but feel sorry for them during the game.  It was pathetic.

Can someone explain to me what makes a parent not care?

I Chose #Scandal Over #BUFvsCLE

I'm embarrassed to say what I did, Olivia. SMH.

(SMH)

Those who have followed me for a minute know that I'm a huge football fan.  Especially the NFL.  (Sigh)  I almost feel dirty typing this, but tonight, I did the unthinkable.  Tonight, I did something that could possibly get my Man Card revoked.  Tonight, I chose to watch the hit show "Scandal" over Thursday night football.

What intrigues me so much about "Scandal" is the writing.  The show writers do an excellent job of taking you down a path, getting you comfortable, and then blindsiding you with something completely out of left field.  Top that off with a cast of amazing actors who surprisingly left the Emmy's trophy-less and you have something rare for prime time TV these days... an amazing show.

But, the NFL on Thursday night is a no-brainer for a sports nut, right?  Despite the fact that the game involved two un-sexy teams in Buffalo and Cleveland, it's still the NFL.  (BTW, the game was pretty entertaining).  I started watching the game at 7:25 PM Central Time and once 8:59 PM CT rolled around, I found myself changing the channel to ABC.

I still love the NFL, but with the magic of DVR's, I can pause the game, flip over to "Scandal", and watch the game during commercials.  Although it makes sense to most men to record "Scandal" and watch it after the game, it's virtually impossible to do due to social media.

If I don't watch "Scandal" live, then one of my Twitter or Facebook followers will be sure to tweet something that spoils the show.  That's not what you want in a show like this where the writing is so superior to 95% of the things airing on TV these days.  Shows like "Scandal" spawn copycats like "Deception" or "Betrayal" and all of those other shows with edgy names, but empty stories.  It's one of those trendsetters that every other station wishes they could duplicate.

I got on the Scandal bandwagon on Day One.  It's very rare to see an African-American as a lead character on network TV and for it to be a woman made the show more interesting to me.  I wasn't familiar with show creator, Shonda Rimes, also African-American, and my knowledge of actress, Kerry Washington, was very limited, too.

Despite all of that, I knew after only watching the first few episodes that this show would go down in history as one of the classics.  The ever-changing plot is great and the cast of characters is even greater.  It's the best cast of actors that I've seen on a show since ABC aired "Ugly Betty."

Dag, I may lose my man card for admitting that I watched that show in its entirety, too.

SMH.

Don't feel so bad, guys.  I'll be back!

Meet Me at the Cheesecake Factory!

"Meet me at the Cheesecake Factory!"

People are stupid. I mean really stupid. The older that I get, the more that I believe it. I remember when I was a teen how wise I used to think 20-somethings and 30-somethings were.

Boy, was I wrong. Not all of them were wise. I was just too dumb at the time to realize that they weren't smart. The D+ student is king in the land of F students, right?

But, here are some things that I don't understand about people: Why is it so difficult to avoid something that other people have fallen for? Vince Young is arguably the great college football player in the last 25 years. He was drafted very high in the NFL by the Tennessee Titans and made over $25 million dollars. In roughly six years, he's now out of football and on the verge of being broke.

How is this possible in today's society? Athletes have gone broke time-and-time again, yet you can't figure out how not to spend approximately $11,000 per day? Of course, Vince, like many athletes, blames his "management" for his losses, but let's take a look at how some of his money was spent, shall we?

Allegedly, he spent $5,000 per week at the Cheesecake Factory. Now, I know that the CF has great food, but $5k per week? Surely that amount has to be an exaggeration, but even if it's close, then that's still sad.  TGI Friday's named a drink after him after he dropped $6k in one night at one of their locations.

Next, it was reported that he once bought 127 plane tickets because he wanted to fly alone. Lucky for the 10 people who happened to purchase their tickets before Vince bought up all of the seats.

He drinks $600 shots of a liquor called Louis XIII on top of a rumor that he and LenDale White, a former teammate, drank 75 shots of Patron in 30 minutes.  If that's true, then that's probably why neither one of them are playing now.

A stripper said he dropped $50k in one night and so on and so on.  You get the point by now.  Another athlete's bank account bites the dust.  For some reason, some athletes just can't seem to realize that "buying the bar," going to strip clubs, having multiple babies by multiple women, purchasing excessive jewelry, cars, homes, etc. will all lead to "Would you like to Super Size your order, ma'am?"

Would You Go to Jail for Football Tickets?

Remember a few weeks ago when I asked you "Would You Go to Jail for a Hamburger?" Well, that was a true story about me avoiding the wrong place at the wrong time. The people in the above video didn't avoid their situation and it landed them in jail. At least a dozen of them, owing up to $75,000 in child support, were taken into custody after the sting. One of the arrested guys had several hundred dollars in his possession. Another asked after the arrest if he was still getting the tickets. LOL!

Serves them right! Whatever it takes to bring deadbeats to justice, I'm all for it. Kids don't ask to be here, but some "parents" treat them like accessories. There are too many people who wish they had kids or wish they had custody of their kids, yet these losers choose to not even try.

So, if it takes telling them they won tickets to the Super Bowl, front row seats to the Grammys or a private viewing session with Jenna Jameson of one of her movies, then so be it. Something needs to be done.



"Try on these not-so-kinky handcuffs."



I Hope The Wagon Runs Over You

After my Dallas Cowboys dropped a heartbreaking loss to the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving Night, I had to return to Facebook to face the music from the haters. No big deal. The Cowboys have lost 8 out of 11 this season, so I've done my share of dealing with the insults. Besides, I'm a true fan, so facing the music is just part of being one. Unless you're one of the many bandwagoners out there in the world.

Oh, how I hate the bandwagon fan. For those not into sports, the bandwagon fan is the loser who either pulls for whichever team is winning or they lay in hiding until the game is over and then rear their ugly heads to say "I told you my team would win."

I have a problem with these people. Back at my last job, whenever the 'Boys would lose, I'd have a select few show up at my desk that day after to gloat. I would hear all sort of "your Cowgirls suck" insults. But, whenever the 'Boys won, they were nowhere to be found. No phone calls. No texts or tweets. They are too cowardly to get a dose of their own medicine.

Some people are bandwagoners in their relationships. When everything is going well, they're the best girlfriend/boyfriend in the world. But when things hit the fan, they're ready to move on to the next best thing.

When your mate has a great job and they're in great health/shape then you're all smiles all the time. You brag to your friends on how good you have it.

But, if they lose their job, get a serious illness or gain weight, then you are ready to drop them quicker than some of those Cleveland Cavaliers fans who traded their LeBron jersey for a Miami Heat jersey.



People need to learn the value of loyalty. Once you commit to something, then stick to it regardless of how sour it gets. If they lose their job, then help them get their resume in order. If they gain weight, then be encouraging about losing it by exercising with them. If they get extremely sick, then don't let them go through it alone. Be supportive and try to make their life easier. Unless that person is doing something to you that becomes bad for your health (someone who's emotionally/physically abusive), then show some character by being true.

Because you bandwagoners always lose eventually. Every single one of you that are out there. That's why you "switch teams" so often because you are not emotionally stable enough to be viewed as a "non-winner." That low-self esteem means that ultimately, you will fall off the bandwagon. And when you do, I hope the wagon runs over you.

Super Bowl Predictions

I wanted to get my picks in before the season started. I hope you all will feel free to give your predictions in the comments below. It doesn't have to be as detailed as mine, but at least give your SB winner.

Okay, here goes:

Division Winners:
AFC - New England, Indianapolis, Baltimore and San Diego
NFC - Dallas, Green Bay, Atlanta and San Francisco

Wildcards:
AFC - NY Jets and Tennessee
NFC - Minnesota and New Orleans

Conference Championship:
AFC - San Diego v. Baltimore
NFC - Dallas v. Green Bay

Super Bowl Champion:
Green Bay over San Diego

Season MVP - QB Aaron Rodgers (GB)
Offensive Player of the Year - QB Aaron Rodgers (GB)
Defensive Player of the Year - LB Patrick Willis (SF)