So…before we begin let me just say that yes….I AM A COWBOYS FAN! For better of for worse that is my team and I’m sticking with them. However, unlike most fans of a particular team, in a particular sport, I have this uncanny ability to remain objective. Above all else…when trying to validate your opinion, engage in an intelligent debate, or just communicate a different perspective about anything, you must always seek to remain objective. I preface all of that because what I am about to propose is something that may case you, if you are a sport fan, to stop reading this post and move on to the more exciting agenda items of your day. Like it or not…Tony Romo is better than you think. In fact, I believe that he should be considered a Top 5 quarterback in Today’s NFL.

Yeah I said and yes I am in my right mind. Recently, Will Brinson- a NFL writer for cbssports.com, published an article where he ranked all of the current starting NFL quarterbacks 1-32. On his list, he had Tony Romo checking in at #8; ahead of everyone except Rodgers, Brady, P. Manning, Brees (those guys being in the “elite” section) and E. Manning, Ryan, and Roethlisberger. If you are running a little slow this morning, that also means that Romo was placed above the the current Superbowl champion, Joe Flacco… Cam Newton, Matt Stafford and all of the current youth explosion guys: Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, Colin Kapernick and RGIII. Crazy you say…not so fast my friend.

The eye test instantly will cause you to focus on the Brett Favre streak that is in Romo. You will undoubtedly conclude in your mind’s eye that his inability to deliver consistent post season success in Dallas or his perceived lack of mental fortitude in crucial games in the regular season action should have him lower on this list of quarterbacks. However, what if what you were seeing, is not congruent with what should be reality? Let me explain.

According to ESPN, Romo was number 10 in Passer Rating. But since 2006, when he took over as the starting quarterback, Romo has never finshed out of the top 10 in any season except for 2010 where he was injured and didn’t qualify statistically to be listed. Romo finsihed 3rd with the number of pass attempts and was top 5 in completeition percentage, top 5 in total yards, , 3rd in yards per game, and 6th in Touchdowns; and before you say anything, he was tied for the most interceptions thrown last year with Drew Brees (19), but only two quarterbacks with over 500 passing attempts finished the year with single digit interceptions (Rodgers and Brady, both with 8). Just by looking at the numbers, you could easily suggest that Romo is definitely worthy of his slot at #8 in this ranking; and even though numbers never lie, they also don’t always tell the full story.

Here is the part of the argument that very few people ever talk about when trying to truly determine how bad Tony Romo is….he plays for the COWBOYS. Take Romo’s numbers and put that production on a different team. Let’s use the Houston Texans for example. Matt Schaub and Romo had similar looking numbers last season. Romo threw for almost 1000 yards more and almost 60 more yards a game, but overall they had similar seasons statistically. However, when you look closer, don’t even ask yourself how much better Romo would have been if he were on a team with an above average offensive line (last year Pro Football Focus had the Texans OLine as the 11th best compared to the Cowboys who were ranked 25th) or a consistent running game that was easily top 3 in the league, ask yourself what would have become of Matt Schaub’s numbers if he were the QB in Dallas… and that’s my point about Romo needed to be considered in the elite conversation.

I’m not suggesting that he is ELITE…although based on his numbers since 2006, you can’t truly suggest that he isn’t. You would either have to completely shrink your ELITE list with Romo on the front porch trying to get in, or you would have to at least let him in the house and maybe sleeping on a cot instead of occupying one of the bedrooms. Because of the crappy defense of the Cowboys over the years and the make shift offensive line that they have had in their most recent memory, there aren’t many QBs that you can definitively say would have been able to reproduce or even come close to the numbers they are currently putting up. In fact here is the short list of guys who could probably still produce at the level they are now if they played on the Cowboys:

Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton…. and maybe Big Ben. No one else would have the time or the ability to maneuver in the pocket that would break down in less than two seconds to be able to make something happen. Conversely, put Romo on your favorite team and while yo still may not win the Superbowl….you wouldn’t be doing any worse than what you are dealing with now; and i didn’t even go into the coaching or play calling that devastatingly impacts Romo in Dallas. So while we still have a little ways to go before the start of football season, just know that when you start trashing Romo…put your favorite QB on the Cowboys and ask yourself…how would my QB have handled that situation?

Football fans…am I wrong? Prove It!

As always, Caesar

For the third time in a week, former Lions wide receiver Titus Young is in trouble with the law.

Young was arrested around 11:30 p.m. Friday, May 10, in San Clemente, Calif. After police say he broke into a home on the 3700 block of Calle Casino, according to Lt. Joe Balicki of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Young also was arrested twice in a span of less than 15 hours last Sunday, May 5, in Moreno Valley, Calif. After police say he made an illegal left turn into oncoming traffic at 12:01 a.m., he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

At 2:22 p.m. the same day, Young was charged with burglary after he was seen jumping the fence of an impound lot to look for his black Ford Mustang, police said.

While the obvious thing to discuss is will Young ever play in the NFL again?  For the kind of money NFL players get paid, his natural talent can only get him so far because there is another guy with talent waiting in the wings for a guy like him to slip up.  His dad blames his actions on a disorder caused by his brain being compressed into the front of his skull, but dad couldn’t recall the name of the disorder on Monday.  Basically the dad is claiming his son hasn’t been the same since a concussion and is off his medication.

I’m not here to judge Titus Young’s actions being blamed on a legit or non-legit illness.

I’m writing this a here blog to ask the awesome people of the internet, HOW IN THE F*CK YOU GE T ARRESTED THREE TIMES IN A WEEK?!?!  Even more, HOW YOU GET ARRESTED TWICE in 15 HOURS?!?!

Young’s May 12 Mug Shot….epic downfall

Like this kid aint got nobody in his camp to help keep him under control after the first arrest?  That wasn’t a signal to a friend or family member that hey, maybe I should go check on Titus?  SMDH

Thanks for tuning in….

BROWNLEE

MRS

 VS

BS

Here are 3 Things More Important than Finding a Husband during the College/Young Adult years

1.  Kicking Butt in College/Career! – As a college speaker, it would amaze you how many times I speak with students doing the bare minimum in school!  Get your Life!  Studies show that students that excel in college are more likely to be successful in their careers and life in general.  Makes sense, but common sense ain’t common.  Also, people with successful careers are more likely to be married, just an FYI.  Having an intense focus on your career in the very beginning can pay off large dividends in the future.  In the words of my LB Keylan Morgan, “sometimes you need to have a healthy unbalanced work/life situation where work wins now so you can have a healthy unbalanced work/life situation where life wins in the future.”

2.  Finding Yourself – What do you like?  I mean what do you really like, when you are not worried about impressing someone.  For most of us, the young adult/college years are our first time on our own.  It’s the first time our parents can tell us something and we can take it as a strong suggestion and not an ironclad demand.  We are forming the habits that will likely shape the people we will become.  It might be a good idea to know who you are independent of anyone but GOD.  It’s important to know who you are and what you like before you get involved in a relationship.  Also, having a sense of self is a healthy sign that you are ready for a relationship.

3. Find a Passion/Ministry/Hobby – You will never have more free time then you do during this time in your life.  You have mad gaps in your schedule!! Fill them up with an activity or cause you are passionate about.  Find a ministry at church.  Our ultimate purpose is to DO WORK!! God calls us to action.  Most believers struggle with finding a ministry because they are trying to squeeze things into an already full life.  Remember those habits I said you were forming in #2?  This is an opportunity to form a habit of balancing ministry and life so it will be less difficult as you add more things to your plate.Give back to the community.  Pick a hobby or sport like golf or tennis…something!!  These are great times to learn something new, do something different, travel, read, study, etc.   Find out what it really means to DO YOU!

VS

It’s important that the cultural pressures to conform do not consume you.  I know that everything that is tossed in your face is telling you that you need a man.  Mrs me with that foolishness!  Think like a Man, How to get Man, How to Marry a Man, Why Sisters can’t get a Man.  Mrs me with that foolishness!    You are significant and relevant without a man.  You don’t need a man to complete you or to achieve success.  Marriage is dope, but it ain’t for everybody.  It ain’t for the weak at heart either.  I know I make my wife question her sanity at least twice a month!  There are no deadlines for the events in your life.  Everything happens in God’s time.  Focus on becoming a Virtuous Woman and God will take care of the rest.
*Disclaimer – I’m not suggesting that you can’t or won’t find the love of your life during your college/young adult years, but if you don’t, it’s not the end of the world.

What are some other things more important than getting your MRS during your college/young adult years?  Do you think it’s important to find a partner before a certain age? Why?  What is the cut-off age?

When the dust settled after each event, the top 3 winners would get ribbons and the rest of the kids had to accept that L.  When someone lost, they got pissed.  That even includes me.  When someone won, they basked in the glory and let folks know they’re the best.  But at the end of the day, we all remained friends and it pushed us to do better.  It was all in the spirit of competition.

Last year, I attended my daughter’s Field Day events.  I was excited to see my Princess compete against her friends and have a good time.  Well, honestly, I wanted to see my Princess DUST all the other little snot-nosed kids on the field because I want her to have that killer instinct when it comes to competing!  So I walk up to the first event she’s in and get my camera ready to snap some photos.  It’s the sack race.  The teacher yells out to begin the race.  My daughter jumps out to an early lead with one of the other kids close behind.  The other kid passes my daughter, but she speeds up and beats him by a nose.  I was so proud! My daughter tasted victory!  I couldn’t wait for her to get her first winning ribbon (which I knew would be the first of many) but the teacher passed out a ribbon to everybody…  Huh?  Wait…what?  I couldn’t help but have one of these faces:

I approach the teacher and ask, “Will there be an additional ribbon for the winners?”  She says, “Oh no, everyone is a winner here!”  Again…I couldn’t help but hit her with this face:

After my first experience of the “everyone’s-a-winner-field-day” I couldn’t help but notice a correlation between the behavior of our young adults today and school’s instilling the idea that everyone’s a winner.  Kids (and by kids I mean high school to young college kids) are always looking for immediate gratification for ANY and ALL things they’ve accomplished.

“Look at me, I took notes in class!”

- But you’ve been taking notes in class since middle school…

“Look at me, I wrote a two-page essay!”

- But you’ve been writing essays since high school…

“Look at me, I color coordinated my clothes!!”

- But you’ve been dressing yourself since you were a child…

The above examples are that of a 22 year-old College senior.  Thirsty for compliments and acknowledgement.  Now don’t get me wrong, it’s great to hear a “Great job!” or the occasional, “Ata Boy/Girl!” but if a person consistently hears that for EVERYTHING they do, it sort of loses it’s luster.  Why would receiving an award for achieving a 4.0 GPA be any better than receiving a participation award in a table tennis class?  SMH.

In my opinion, we’re failing our children if we keep telling them everyone is a winner.  We’re lying dead to their little faces.  In life, there are winners and losers.  I’m not just talking in sports, I’m talking in life period.  Want that job? Guess what, only one person is going to get it and that person will be the winner.  Want that woman? Guess what, only one guy (typically) is going to marry that woman and that guy is the winner.  When we coddle our kids and protect them from losing, they’re going to grow up and wonder why everything isn’t handed to them.  When they don’t get that first job out of the school, they cry about it in hopes someone will GIVE them a job because they gave it the ol’ college try.  I’m sorry but if you weren’t qualified for the role, then you won’t get the role.  If your interviewing skills suck, then you’re not going to get that job.

So what do you guys think? Is it just me? Or are we living in a generation of young cry babies?  Let me know the comments below.

As always folks, stay classy.

Ant

And he wants the ring back.

That face you make when she won’t give your ring back bruh!

Attorneys for Williams filed suit last week in Harris County state district court against Erin Marzouki, who is described in the lawsuit as Williams’ former fiancée. The suit seeks recovery of a *clears throat* 10.04 carat diamond ring from Marzouki in the wake of her decision in January to end her engagement with Williams, according to court documents.

“(Marzouki) never intended to marry (Williams) and used the relationship as a means to get to (Williams’) money and acquire gifts,” said the lawsuit, filed by his Houston attorneys.

Williams presented the engagement ring to Marzouki on Feb. 19, 2012, according to the lawsuit. He also gave her an American Express card to which she charged $108,000 during 2012 and “additional luxurious items” valued at about $230,000, attorneys said.

However, Marzouki “unilaterally terminated” the engagement on Jan. 21, 2013, and has refused Williams’ request to return the diamond engagement ring, which she had promised to do if the engagement ended, according to the lawsuit.  It’s like she was on some ”Buffalo? You never said anything about Buffalo!” type of stuff.

Williams’ attorneys are seeking a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction preventing Marzouki or her associates from selling or damaging the ring or keeping any proceeds from the sale of the ring. Williams is entitled to recovery of the ring, they say, under a “conditional gift rule” recognized by Texas courts.

So what do you all think?  Is he dumb for spending that much on a ring and deserves to lose his money?  Should women get to keep the ring if they don’t go through with the marriage?  Is there a woman worth a $785k engagement ring (about 1% of his $50 million guaranteed)?  

Thanks for tuning in….

BROWNLEE

What’s a little different about this, is that it was about 30 girls for posting a video to YouTube.  They were fully clothed, and not doing anything illegal.

One of the AV kids thought it would be awesome to do a twerk video and post it online.  I’m sure in an attempt to go viral,  because that’s all that matters these days.  They got a camera, posted up on the wall, and got to twerking.

I’m not even going to mention the race of these kids because I don’t really think it matters.  It’s a thing that everyone does now and is extremely popular thanks to “role models” like Miley Cyrus.

Why would they get suspended for twerking on YouTube? Cause the dummies used the school’s equipment on the school grounds to film the video.  Directly violating the code of conduct.  Makes sense to me.

Again, I am sooooo glad YouTube was not a thing when I was in high school waaaaaaay back in the 90s.  I don’t understand the need to broadcast every single thing you do.  I’m talking to you Miley Cyrus (and have y’all seen the epic failure that is Amanda Bynes these days?)

Do you think it was right to suspend the girls from school?  Do you think that twerking will ever go out of style?  Don’t you dare try to trace it back to Africa either. Did you know there was an instructional video on YouTube to teach you HOW to twerk?! Is Ying Yang in this thang?

A lot of cats out here have little to no chill. The fact of the matter is that a lot of guys really are thirsty running around in the streets. That dude that sends out the “Good Morning, beautiful” text every day for weeks, even though he probably only talked to the girl in person once for like 3 minutes. He probably likes everything she posts on every social media outlet. That shit happens. Blame yourself, ladies. Stop giving out your information to lame niggas. Then ya’ll won’t have to wonder why this fool won’t stop sending paragraphs of texts to you even though you only give him one word answers. She probably doesn’t even answer him half of the time. Perhaps some of you guys out there haven’t heard the gospel of the Two Contact Attempts Maximum rule. The TCAM rule states that if you reach out to a girl twice and she doesn’t reply, let it go. Whether you call, text, email, or send a raven to her crib, tweet, Facebook message, whatever the fuck. Maybe the first attempt didn’t go through. Technology isn’t perfect. Trust me, I have a blackberry. But twice? Naaawww playa. She got the message then she said fuck your contact attempts. Maybe you’ll run into her in person again and you can be fake sad, and maybe…just maybe you can flip that into some sympathy sex. I’ve seen weirder shit happen.

That’s why the concept of moderation is a beautiful thing. Vices are cool when done in moderation. Overdoing it and addiction is for suckas. Take the nice guy for example. Surely, no woman wants Ike Turner as her man, but they damn sure don’t want Marny’s first boyfriend from “Girls” either. She doesn’t want a pushover, she wants a man that’s not afraid to shake her every once in a while just to show her who’s running the show up in this bitch. Then everybody’s happy, and each one of you can thrive as a ya’ll.

Which brings me to my creep niggas. The Blair Underwoods of the world, if you will. The creeps have the right approach, they’re just executing it horribly. And in turn, they’re scaring all the pretty girls away. Every man has a creep within him, but you have to learn how to control Mr. Hyde, Jekyll. The smart man uses his inner creeptivity to his advantage. He doesn’t let it blow his chances. But it’s absolutely necessary that men let a little bit of that creep come out on some nights. How else can we expect a woman to know what we really want from her? I’m not gonna lie, my inner creep has gotten more wins than regular me. That’s why I like that dude. He comes through for me. But if your inner creep gets drinks thrown in your face, or a screen shot of your anatomy…yeah let’s call it “anatomy”…posted on the internet, you gotta have a talk with him. Let him know he’s grounded and he can’t come out for a few weeks. I bet he gets his shit together then, and conducts himself accordingly around the pretty girls.

Ladies do you notice the thirst in guys?  Is it hard to tell between thirst and genuine niceness? Do you sometimes encourage the thirst?

Fellas has the thirst ever worked in your favor?  Have you been a creeper?

There are some, like Charles Barkley who just don’t give a damn.  As he said last night on TNT’s NBA playoff pre-game show, the Chuckster just doesn’t care who you are sleeping with and doesn’t understand why it has to be broadcast to the world.  I don’t remember him complaining about all the attention Gabrielle Union was getting when she was on the sidelines cheering on her boo D Wade, but I digress.  If we don’t care about the sex lives of movie stars and athletes, why are Basketball Wives and Love and Hip Hop so damn popular?  Chuck I feel you, but I think you don’t want to talk about Jason Collins being gay because you don’t agree with it (as you clearly stated) not because you don’t care.  And that’s ok, because she goes both ways.

Then there are some like Kenny “The Jet” Smith who believe that Collins is bold for coming out but it doesn’t change the truth of his career…..”that he still can’t score very well”.  I love it!!!!! I darn near fell out of my seat when he said that.  Gay or straight homeboy your game is still borderline NBA acceptable.  Kenny was also is not so quick to call him a hero or say that he is proud of Jason Collins for coming out.  He is more proud of him because of his character and commitment to the communities he’s played in.  And I can respect that, because she goes both ways.

The NBA on TNT pre-game crew represented a microcosm of the Jason Collins discussion

And then there are folks like Chris Broussard!! Chris went in on Jason Collins…..#pause.  Chris Broussard is a proud Christian and believes that living in open rebellion to God’s Word is sin and he would never willingly support such a lifestyle, homosexuality included.  It’s nothing personal, he just can’t support things that fly in the face of his relationship with Jesus Christ.   I love and admire a person willing to be uncompromising in their faith.  Speak from personal knowledge and multiple trusted sources, Broussard seemingly walks his talk as much as possible.  I dig that cause I understand she goes both ways.

Chris Broussard has an opinion on Jason Collins’ sexuality, and that is just fine. He shouldn’t lose his job because of it!

The Jason Collins revelation, shoes how far we have progressed as a society. Though it was a top news story, most folks were pretty blah about him actually coming out! The passion in most discussions came from individuals stances on homosexuality in a general sense.  It also highlighted how hypocritical our nation can be.  When we have political and social factions demanding the protection of the 2nd Amendment we tend to be less stringent about defending the 1st! Especially when we don’t agree with an opposing opinion! But the 1st Amendment is a girl and she goes both ways.  She protects the right of of Amuricans to speak their minds.  She also protects the right for people to emphatically and with prejudice  disagree with you!  It protects the opinions of the KKK just as much as it protects minorities rights to call them idiots. It protects both sides of the aisle and those in between. Basically, the 1st Amendment is Amber Rose, pre-Wiz.

For the Jason Collins supporters, good for you and him.  If his story helps you or someone you love than more power to you.  For his detractors, detract away.  Be it religious reasons or really stupid ones like homosexuality is contagious, do you.   And both sides can be as vocal as they please within the bounds of the law.  I think in this conversation its particularly interesting that the law protecting both sides of the argument goes both  ways!!  (s/o to Six Two for providing the inspiration for today’s post)

Do you think Jason Collins coming out was a big deal?  Do you feel Chris Broussard should lose his job over his statements regard Jason Collins’ sexuality? Did you know the First Amendment was  girl?

Here are the five friends every man needs:

The Brother – this is the friend that is ride of die.  The type of dude that you can call at anytime and know that you will get solid advise or wisdom, or if you are on that bull… they will call you out!  The Brother is normally greeted with a big smile, a hug and a slight rock side to side.  You all keep up with each other’s families through more than FB & Instagram.  The Brother keeps men accountable and focused.  This dude is an essential element to every man.

The Wing Man – This is the friend that is always ready to go….somewhere! Anywhere. Everywhere.  He don’t ever watch the game at his house, EVER.  This negro is always somebody’s plus one.  He is also infallible in social settings.  The Wing Man is every ready to take one for the team, but never taking an L in the process.  Do you know how hard it is to kick it with the girl that only wants to talk about derivatives and ex boyfriends and STILL have a good time?  The Wing Man is greeted with, “a fam I’m feeling this chick but her friend is hating.”  There have been odes written to the Wing Man, nuff said.

This is a Wing Man!!!

The Ghost – There are some people that you can always count on to kick it with you, then there are the people you can count on to not show up, cancel, or flat out say no.   The latter is the Ghost.  The dude that only comes out on special occasions and major anniversaries.  The Ghost is greeted with, “heeeeeeyyyyyy look who showed up!”  Contrary to popular belief, this guy is not a bad friend.  He is often the first one to settle down, get married and have real bills.  This limits his time to hang meaning that he maximizes every moment away from the crib.

The Borrower/A$$hole – ah the dual threat!  The Borrower/A$$hole lives up to his name! He is the dude you have to darn near force to buy a round of drinks and then he doesn’t let you forget about for the next 3 weeks (even though he bought Taka while everyone else bought Goose).  Even though you all are grown, this man is the most likely to start a fight or altercation (not just in club scenes either, I’m talking crawfish boils, spades games, and Christenings).  With all of the drama that The Borrower/A$$hole brings, you couldn’t imagine life with him, mostly because he owes you $50 and he still has your card table and chairs set.  He is normally greeted with, “This MuthaF^@ka here!”  He keeps your head on a swivel.

That Dude – The celebrity of the group.  When you go out bar hopping, he knows every bartender.  When you all are at social gathering, he bumps into people you had no clue he knew.  At the grocery store, the excellent cashier is his mentee.  He doesn’t always drink beer, but when he does it’s a Heineken, he is THAT DUDE.  The social butterfly that knows all the hot spots and has connects to get the whole crew on the guest list.  You know the footage of the Most Interesting Man in the World when he was younger, That Dude is living out those scenes and we are just blessed to be able to be in the back ground.  Whenever you are stumped and don’t know what to do you call That Dude.  He is normally greeted with, “how did you make that happen?” We all want to think of ourselves as That Dude, but he is actually the person that first came to mind when you read this description.

These 5 characters are in every group of male friends.  It doesn’t matter if you are black, white, brown, or purple, if you have friends these 5 characters are present.  You may only have 2 or 3 people in your click, that only means that you all rotate between these roles depending on the situation, but all 5 are there.

Where you able to identify with these 5 friends?  Did a person pop in your head as soon as you read one of them?  Which role do you play the most?

MAN is looking to raise over $10,000 with their 5K run and my request is that you PUT SUMPIN ON IT!  I am not big time enough to  cut the check for $10k, but I understand that every little bit helps.  $144 supports one kid in the program, and I am hoping to sponsor at least 2 kids….with the help of The Block.  Click here to donate any amount you can afford and help me help a worthy organization.  When you have decided how much you are going to donate and you are ready to checkout, put “The Block” in the “If you are supporting one of our youth/supporters..” slot like the example below.

Replace my name/amount with your name/amount and let’s make a difference in the lives of some young people.

  Click here to support

MAN and their 5k Run/Walk

Thanks in advance,

Chris Collins