Letter to a Bee

Disclaimer: This is a different kind of writing than my usual posts. It's more of a short-story, so please give me feedback. Tell me what you think, as always.

Like most kids, when I turned 5 it was time to learn how to ride my bike without training wheels. I had mastered the art of riding with training wheels, but now it was time to see if I could manage the task of riding it without them.

My mama was there to help with me with this process. She would guide my bike while I peddled my little heart out and then she would release me like a caged bird. Except this caged bird was one who had never had experience flying so instead it just tumbled to the ground. It didn’t take long for me to get the hang of riding my bike, with my mama's assistance, but the next step was the most important one.

Riding my bike completely by myself.

It was a big step.

It was a summer day and I had gotten up early that morning specifically to ride my bike. I went outside and brought my bike from the backyard to the sidewalk in front of my house. I propped up the bike and hopped on. I used my feet to push off, and suddenly I was riding. Until moments later, I crashed on the ground. Though it only lasted a few short moments and it was painful hitting the hot pavement, I couldn’t wait to get back on. I thought that since I was able to last for a couple of seconds, that it meant I was close to actually being able to ride my bike.

My second time wasn’t as successful.

I decided to take a break after my first ride. I went inside, ate some bacon – which was my food of choice, back then – watched some cartoons. A couple of hours later, I felt like I was ready to give it another try. I was confident that I would be riding in the wind. I got back onto my bike. This time I didn’t push off of the ground because, I didn’t need to. With a Kanye-esque arrogance, I started peddling my bike and this time I lasted much shorter than the first time. And this fall not only hurt me physically, but it hurt my pride, as well. I just knew I was ready to ride my bike by myself. But maybe I wasn’t. Maybe I should just give up, is what I thought. I was doomed to be the 5-year-old who just wasn’t meant to ride a bike and I had to accept it. I was crushed. I left my bike on the sidewalk, walked into the house, closed the blinds and just sat on the couch. Wallowing in my own pity.

Then, I heard a knock on the door. It was the girl who lived next door named, Alexis.

“You left your bike in the middle of the sidewalk,” she said.

“I know,” I replied.

“So why did you leave it?”

“I don’t need it anymore.”

“Why not? It’s a brand new bike. I saw you trying to ride on it all morning.”

“I can’t ride it. So I don’t need it.”

“How many times have you tried to ride it?”

“Two times. Why do you keep asking me questions!?”

“Well they say the third time’s a charm.”

“I don’t care what they say. I can’t ride the bike!”

“Just try it one more time. Just see.”

“Whatever. Leave me alone.”

Alexis went home and I sat back on the couch. My mama came in the front door, shortly after Alexis had went home and she immediately told me to get my bike out of the street.

“Are you nuts!? Do you know how much I paid for that bike, just for you to leave it on the sidewalk for somebody to steal it. You lucky I don’t whip yo behind,” she said.

I hopped off the couch and ran outside to get my useless bike. As I picked it up, I thought about what Alexis had said. By this time the pain from the last two falls had numbed and I felt like maybe there was some hope for me to finally accomplish my goal.

I got on the bike once again. Humbled from my last experience, I used the ground to push off and begun peddling. And I rode off into the wind...

Even More Than Rollercoasters

In life, my two biggest fears are death and failing. When it pertains to death, I don’t only fear my own mortality but that of the people around me. I wonder how I will go on when those around me, whom I love the most, aren’t able to be in my life. But this isn’t about death. This is about my greatest fear, which is failure. The fear of failing is what drives me and destroys me.

At a young age, I knew I was smart. Not just any old smart, but exceptionally smart. I was teased a lot, but my retort was always “But, I’m smarter than you,” and that’s how I felt at the time. Yes, it was horrible for me to say these things, but I was young. I didn’t know any better. Since being smart was my gift, my ultimate goal was to be the smartest person on the planet. This was a realistic goal that I had. In my mind there was no way that I could not eventually be the smartest person that walked the earth. Anybody who I felt was a threat to me being the smartest, was an instant rival. And this is where I developed my greatest fear.

When I was younger, I held myself to the highest standards. I remember when I got my first B on my report card in the 3^rd grade, I cried in my room. I wanted all A’s and nothing less. Though I was still successful, it wasn’t enough to be just successful – I had to be the most successful. At the end of my 5^th grade year, my teacher, Mr. Brooks, gave my classmate and I plaques for having the highest grade point averages in our class. My classmate, Courtney Ross, had a higher GPA than I did and I reacted horribly to the news. I remember looking at my plaque, putting it on my desk and leaving class. I didn’t receive any permission or anything. I just left. That’s how serious I took it. If you want to know how petty I was about being the smartest, the perfect example is one day – I think it was the day after we received our plaques, but I’m not certain – Courtney asked to go to the “bathroom” and I corrected her and told her it’s called a “restroom” not a bathroom. I was weird kid. But this laid the groundwork for my fear.

A decade later, and I’m at the Ohio State University, I’ve finished my first quarter and it’s only a matter of time before I will have graduated. Success should be imminent, but I wonder if that’s enough.

I’m doing the writing thing and I know I love it. Some things you just know. I feel like I was meant to do this more than anything else in this world. But I read. And I read other writers. Really good writers. And I wonder can I reach that level? And then I wonder if I don’t reach that level what will happen? It’s a tricky question. I don’t just want to be a regular writer. I want to be great. I have to be great. I don’t know if I can settle for less. Fundamentally, I’m the same kid I was 10 years ago and the way I reacted to not reaching my standards back then, makes me wonder how I will react now. I’ll read something by Chuck Klosterman, or Malcolm Gladwell, or Michael Lewis and just wonder What do I have to do to be just as good, if not better than these guys? What if I don’t have what it takes? It’s something I won’t know until the day comes and I don’t know if I’m prepared for the answer.

And it scares the living sh*t out of me.

This post was inspired by the last minute J. Cole's song, Premeditated Murder.

Where is the Love?

It’s been two weeks since LeBron’s “decision.” I’ve finally accepted what has come to be. With that being said, what I am about to write has nothing to do with LeBron James, the NBA or sports in general.

What I am about to write is something I’ve been meaning to write about for months.

Maybe even longer.

I actually got up the nerve to start writing what you are about to read a couple of days ago. I think I had close to 600 words written before I decided to delete them all. It was way too self-deprecating and depressing. At that point, I decided that what I wanted to write was too personal. Maybe I shouldn’t be so open. Usually I would look at those 600 words as a release. A way to get whatever I needed to off of my mind. But those 600 words didn’t give me that relief, it just made me realize that I didn’t even know what I wanted to say in the first place.

Well, now I have a direction. A new direction and while I have no clear cut destination for where I’ll go with this, it will be a lot more focused and hopefully more poignant than depressing.

This story starts in 2003. One of my favorite groups of all time – this is probably not what I thought then, but I was kid, sue me – released a double album, titled Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. The duo had decided against doing two discs worth of music as a group and essentially released two solo discs. You may be familiar with this group. They’re called Outkast and feature the playalistic-slick talking tongue-twisting Big Boi and the otherworldly Andre 3000.

Before ’03, I would say I was an Outkast fan. Though I never owned any of their albums, I always liked their radio singles. “B.O.B.” “Rosa Parks” "Da Art of Storytellin’ Pt. 1” were some of my favorites. One thing I distinctly remember, is me liking Big Boi more than Andre. I would see and hear a lot more from Big Boi outside of the duo. He was on songs with Missy Elliot and Slick Rick, so since he was the more visible member, I figured he was better.

Back to ’03. I’m a freshman at Meadowdale High School. A disillusioned, skinny kid with no real identity. I cringe when I think of trying to buy tall white t-shirts . I was a sheep following with the herd. It wasn’t until probably 2007, when I was able to completely leave that mindset behind and become the person that people know and love today – I hope.

Ok, so it’s ’03 and I’ve just finished my first month of high school. It was September and the new Outkast album was soon to be released. Being the broke, skinny kid I was, there was no way I was going to have money to buy the real Outkast album in stores, but that wasn’t a problem at all. There was this white kid named Josh, who would sell Cd’s in the library for $2 or $3. When the Outkast album came out, I had to be the first kid to fork over my $3.

(Sidenote: Approximately seven years later, I would end up working with the same Josh at Red Lobster. I never told him this, but he kind of changed my life by selling me that album.)

I remember being so excited to listen to this epic double-album. As a 14-year-old kid, the first two things I noticed about both cds, were 1) Why are Big Boi and Andre only on like three songs together, they’re a effin’ duo for a reason, 2) And what’s up with Andre and all this stuff about love and Cupid and why is he singing, I mean it’s cool, but I don’t get it.

Regardless of my first impression of the album, I still enjoyed it and I was obsessed with Andre’s “Hey Ya” and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t alone in that sentiment because it was number one on MTV’s TRL for what had to be a couple weeks in a row – for all the kids born after ’91 this was when MTV actually played music videos, who’da thunk?

It took me awhile, but eventually I would start listening to the rest of The Love Below, the following year. It was practically all I listened too. And it had a profound effect on me. Can you imagine really hearing “Prototype” at the impressionable age of 15? To this day, “Prototype” might be my favorite song ever. This lyric especially sticks out to me: “If we happen to part/ Lord knows I don’t want that, but hey/ We can’t be mad at God/ We met today for a reason/ I think I’m on the right track now.”

The Love Below and that song, in particular, affected every way I interacted with girls from then on. I will go on record as saying as a 15-year-old kid I shouldn’t have taken Andre so seriously when I was pursuing other 15-year-old girls. Trust me, the results aren’t good. Either way, Andre’s thoughts on love and women planted the seed that would eventually grow into to how I viewed women. And the roots of that seed are still planted rather deep.

A few months back, I read this great article about the Dungeon Family – a collective of artists, including Outkast – and there was a section of the article that hit a chord with me:

[Andre] made The Love Below sessions extra exclusive. Swift was one of the few people who witnessed Andre 3000’s magnum opus about the thing that scares him the most: love. “Dre got an extreme level of passion for women,” he says. “This nigga love women… But I think love and life has disappointed him ... So I think he’d just rather sing about walking down that road of love than to actually experience it.”

My world almost crashed down. If the man who (unintentionally) shaped my biggest ideals on love and women isn’t satisfied with it and would rather live it vicariously through a song then what does that mean for me. I’m only 21, and in no way actively seeking out love – not that I think you can seek it out, I think it’s something you kind of fall into unexpectedly, hence the term “falling in love” – but still I do worry about ending up alone. Even now I recognize that there is love out there, just waiting to jump out the bushes and get me, O.J.-style.

Honestly, I just don’t want to go through life without ever saying I experienced the love… below.

So Far Gone

I don’t know what happened to LeBron James. I wrote a couple weeks ago that if LeBron were to leave Cleveland he would be hated by an entire city and maybe LeBron doesn’t have the heart to do that to his hometown. But if LeBron chooses a team besides Cleveland, on his hour-long special that will be broadcast on ESPN tonight, then I was 100 percent wrong about the Akron Hammer.

I’ve been a LeBron supporter since his first game in a Cavaliers jersey, when he almost recorded a triple-double against the Sacremento Kings, though in a losing effort. LeBron was my Michael Jordan. I saw LeBron do things that I had never witnessed on a basketball court ever. I would defend LeBron to the death, but I don’t think I can do that anymore. Not after this offseason.

I don’t think LeBron is the blame for all the hoopla and buffoonery caused by his free-agency, but he has brought it upon himself. I used to wonder how people could hate LeBron, and in the beginning it was hard to. He lived up to all the hype and then some, but now in the past two summers LeBron’s approval has dropped significantly. From the handshake fiasco to the egotistical shirts to the rumored free-agency tour – that was either cancelled or false to begin with – to the hour-long special airing on ESPN tonight.

Unequivocally, I don’t think he should have this TV special. I don’t care that the money is going to the Boys and Girls Club of America. The only way this special could help his reputation is if he re-signed with the Cavs. Then, for the rest of the duration of the special, he basically royally kissed Cleveland’s ass.

For the past couple of days, I’ve been contemplating how I would feel about this moment. Being a die-hard LeBron fan, I wondered if I could remain that after this moment. Can I forgive LeBron for all of the foolishness caused by this nonsense? I don’t know. I want to. I just can’t imagine living in a world where I’m not a LeBron James fan. And if I’m not a LeBron James fan, am I still a fan of the NBA? I’m in a dark place, as far as fandom goes.

One thing I will say is that LeBron no longer holds the undying affection he received from the media in years past – except for Skip Bayless, who has always been a LeBron-detractor.

Whatever the case may be, I truly wonder if LeBron is aware of the ramifications of his ultimate decision. And only time will tell if that is true.

I do believe that if LeBron were to sign a six-year contract to stay with Cleveland, that he would be able to win a championship, but it would probably be only one.

The Dissection of Drizzy

Saying that Drake is a phenomenon, may be an understatement. Over a year ago, he released a free mixtape titled So Far Gone, which spawned one of the biggest radio singles of last summer “Best I Ever Had.” With just the verbal backing of rap artist Lil’ Wayne, Drake became one of the biggest hip-hop artist period. He went on to be featured on songs with Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z. Eventually he would sign with Universal Motown through Lil' Wayne's Young Money imprint. The buzz for the release of Drake’s debut CD, Thank Me Later, was beyond a fevering pitch.

Then June 15 came and almost 500,000 people purchased it in the first week. That’s kind of a big deal. With two weeks since the album’s release, I felt it was time for a dissection of Drake and not for a review of Thank Me Later. I’m not too big on music reviews, just because like all art forms, music can mean anything to any person, so instead I’ll try to express what Thank Me Later meant to me.

TML is a very smooth, cohesive project. Majority of the production is handled by Drake’s consigliere, Noah “40” Shebib, which gives TML a musical narrative. I like the production on this album because it suits Drake’s better qualities as an artist. Most of the tracks are minimalist in nature and are somber in sound. I applaud Drake on not having a real single. By that I mean, a song that sounds extra contrived made solely for the clubs or for the kids or whoever the hell rappers are marketing their music to nowadays. The lead single “Over” could never be confused with likes of a “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent or even a “Gold Digger” by Kanye West. If “Over" was just an album cut, it would still get plenty rotation. Though Drake is known for his ability to rap and sing (kinda), it was risky to release “Find Your Love” as the second single, where he only sings on the Kanye West-produced track. Again, I applaud Drake for being slightly unconventional with his album.

In respect to the songs I prefer, I tend to lean towards “Karoake” – another song that features a mostly singing Drake – or “The Resistance” where Drake raps in the second verse, “I heard they just moved my grandmother to a nursing home/ And I be acting like I don’t know how to work a phone/ But hit redial, you’ll see that I just called/ Some chick I met at the mall/ Who I barely know at all.” That’s Drake at his finest. His best quality is that he’s good at rapping about his life and transferring his feelings to the listener.

My biggest gripe with Drake has and will continue to be his flow. He never switches it up. Ever. And that’s his biggest weakness. Sadly, I think most rappers have a hard time switching their flow and the same might be for Drake. He also has a tendency to sound like a Bel-Air version of Lil’ Wayne. Just as much bravado, a lot less gang and gun talk. But, since Drake is able to carry a decent tune and is exemplary with melodies he stands to last a long time in the game.

And I’m very thankful for that.

Second Times a Charm

About a decade ago, I was reading a lot of Harry Potter, getting A’s and B’s on my report cards and watching an ungodly amount of MTV. And if I was watching MTV, I was most definitely watching the Real World. Well at the ripe age of 21, I’m still reading a lot of Harry Potter – not as much since the final book in the series was released almost three years ago – I’m still a nerd, just a tad bit cooler, and I don’t watch an ungodly amount MTV. Actually, I don’t watch much of MTV at all. But, I do still have a sweet spot for the Real World and after 10 years RW is back in New Orleans.

This year’s group will have to do a lot to top the New Orleans cast of old. Off the top of my head I can name Julie the precocious Mormon, Melissa the crazy chick with the glasses, Jamie the quiet heartthrob (pause), David the ladies man and singer – “Come On, Be My Baby Tonight” is classic – and Matt the born-again Christian. That’s five out of seven.

Well this year’s cast seems to have some potential. First off we have Preston the black gay guy – who bears a resemblance to Boston Celtic guard Rajon Rondo, and is from Boston, incidentally – Ryan the hyperactive and straight hairdresser, McKenzie the ditzy blonde, Knight the former pill addict, Eric the aspiring comedian, Sahar the Muslim girl from Michigan, Jemmye the amorous country darling and Ashlee the former college basketball player.

After viewing the first episode of the season here’s how the cast rates on my likability scale of 1-5 (5 being the best, 1 being the worst).

Preston – 4

Ryan – 1

McKenzie – 3

Knight – 4

Eric - 4

Sahar - 3

Jemmye – 5 (gotta love those amorous country darlings)

Ashlee – 4

If you watch the show and don’t agree with my rating of Ryan you may need mental help. But, if you don’t watch the show, then let me describe Ryan in two words. Douche bag – not a word I use often, but is the best description for this guy. It’s the first episode and all the drama in the house can be traced back to Ryan. Not a good sign, if you ask me. Overall, I liked the cast. I see Jemmye providing some great reality TV moments and most of the other castmates doing their part as well. They're in friggin’ New Orleans, how can it not be great? From what I hear, it was taped during the New Orleans Saints’ championship run, which means debauchery galore is in our future.

I can’t wait.

Expect weekly updates on RW: New Orleans throughout the season.

Free Agent Bonanza

The NBA Free Agency began a little over 24 hours ago and while it may be weird to say this, but the unpredictability of this year’s off-season, has been pretty predictable.

While Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James have yet to verbally agree on a contract with any of their potential suitors – deals can only be signed starting July 8 – some big names have already shaken hands. Memphis Grizzlies Rudy Gay agreed to a five year, $80 million contract, and Atlanta Hawks Joe Johnson is expected to sign a deal worth $121 million for six years, according news outlets such as USA Today and ESPN.

In my opinion, those are two very bad deals. Johnson is simply not worth that much. He will be making as much as James, a two-time MVP, would stand to make if he stayed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Johnson was barely able to get the Hawks past a Milwaukee Bucks team missing their best player, in this year’s playoffs. And he basically gave up against the Orlando Magic in the second round.

With Gay, my main problem with is that for the money Memphis is giving him, will he be able to get them to playoffs, let alone to a championship. I don’t even think Gay is the best player on his team – that designation would go to Zach Randolph, unfortunately. That’s an NBA GM for you.

Even with those horrendous deals, Gay and Johnson have had a massive effect on the NBA market. There are five places looking to land at least two high-caliber players in this year’s free agency: Chicago Bulls, L.A. Clippers, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets and New York Knickerbockers. Each of those teams had Johnson on their list as a backup plan if they weren’t able to land James, Wade or Bosh. With Wade trying to recruit players to the Heat, he’s eliminates himself from the discussion. That leaves Bosh or James. There are two other high-caliber stars who are two notches beneath James and Bosh: Carlos Boozer and Amare Stoudemire, but one is undersized and sucks on defense and the other has had several knee surgeries and is allergic to defense.

One of these teams is going to get royally screwed this year and it may end up being the Heat – the Knicks were destined to take a humongous L this off season. The Heat currently have two players under contract. Both of those players come courtesy of the 2008 NBA Draft, one Mario Chalmers and the indescribable Michael Beasley. If they aren’t able to get two legitimate stars next to Wade, I think he bails. I predict that James will probably go to the Bulls or remain a Cavalier, while Bosh will either land in Chicago, maybe with James, or elsewhere. But, even if Bosh were to go to Miami with Wade, that would be far from enough to compete at a championship level and Wade knows this.

Out of all the top free agents, Wade has been the only one to adamantly say that he plans to remain with his team. With that said, I think Wade has played the free agency as shrewdly as possible. He has appeared to be loyal to the team who has drafted him, while still testing free agency. Today he met with the Bulls, in Chicago, to hear their pitch, even though a couple months back he disparaged their owner for not taking care of his former players.

I believe Wade will wait to see what James does and definitely what Bosh does. Because if those two don’t end up in South Beach, I don’t think he will settle for Boozer or Stoudemire. Which leaves the door open for Wade to go to the Nets and become the face of the eventual Brooklyn squad or even beat Bosh and James to the punch by getting a deal done with Chicago, his hometown. Wade has been playing chess, while the other free agents have been playing checkers. We'll have to wait a couple of days to see if he goes for the checkmate.

I didn't mention some of the dumber signings such as Drew Gooden, John Salmons, Darko Milicic and Amir Johnson. What the hell is wrong with these GM's. Stay tuned for more stupidity

The Purge

I just finished my second week at OSU and it has been what I expected. I think Sinclair has prepared me to succeed on this level, and now it is up to me to decide whether I want to do just that – succeed.

With classes underway, my next goal is to check out OSU’s newspaper, The Lantern. I admit that I’m a bit nervous about applying for The Lantern, since it has been awhile since I’ve written a news story, but I feel like I have a decent enough resume to earn a spot on their roster.

Now let’s get to the good stuff.

This post has been titled the purge because it has been over a week since I last wrote something and I have a lot to say. With the help of Grippo’s potato chips and Minute Maid Lemonade, I plan on post three consecutive blog posts. Numero uno will be about the current NBA Free Agency frenzy that began over 24 hours ago. The second post will be about the new season The Real World, which has returned to New Orleans. Lastly, I will discuss rapper Drake’s debut CD, Thank Me Later.

Let’s GO!!!!

First Round Draft pick

Announcer No. 1: Hello Ladies and Gentleman, welcome back. I’m Bob Johnson, with my co-host Dave Jacobs, and up next we have Ohio State University on the board.

Announcer No. 2: Now Bob, our top pick available is Kamari Stevens. Now Stevens wasn’t really a stat-stuffer at Sinclair, but he has a lot of upside.

No.1: It really just depends on if he wants it enough. He has all the tools, but does he have desire for greatness. We’ve seen him show glimpses but he hasn’t been able to sustain and with this being a higher level is it right of us to think he will be able to do it.

No.2: Alright Bob, it seems that OSU has chosen Stevens. One thing I will say is this is a good situation for him. He was raised in Dayton which is roughly an hour away from Columbus, so he will be able to maintain his support system.

No.1: It seems that we have the Buckeye available for a moment, let’s hear what he has to say.

Stevens: I’m extremely happy to be Buckeye. Yes, I’m excited and nervous, but I think I will be able to succeed at the next level.”

That’s what you usually hear from most high school recruits or college athletes who are getting drafted. Though I’m not receiving a free ride or a million-dollar contract for my scholastic abilities, the situations are comparable. And I think if I were one of the prospects in the upcoming NBA Draft – which is this Thursday – I would probably be most comparable to Daniel Orton. Orton is a 19-year-old, 6” 10’ prospect from the University of Kentucky. In his one and only season at UK he averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds per game. You don’t have to be fan of basketball to know that is not a lot, but Orton is still garnering tons of attention just because his potential. Not because of his actual input, because there are plenty of players in this year’s draft who have done much more and won’t have a chance at getting drafted. It’s because of what can be and in a league where a 6” 10’ guy can mean a lot championships, drafting Orton, no matter that he hasn’t really proven himself, can be worth it.

I say that, to say this. At Sinclair, I wasn’t the best student. In very few classes, did I work up the capacity of what I can do, but there’s always the chance that I can do that. And, if I were to really work up to my potential, maybe I could be something special.

Maybe.

My advisor at the Clarion, would always talk to me about my lack of enthusiasm or effort and she wasn’t the only one. And each time, I would hear what I would call the “Kamari get your sh*t together” talk, I would genuinely take it to heart. One of the things I fear most is letting people down, who have faith in me.

So, with my first class at OSU starting in less than 12 hours, I am ready to shed the attitude that I have had about school for the last eight or nine years. I’m finally at a big university and I’m ready to prove that I can excel at this level, regardless if my track record says otherwise.

I am excited and very nervous. This moment doesn’t seem real to me. I remember being an 11-year-old kid just waiting for when I would get to college, to show what I was really made of. And the time is here.

Hopefully, I won’t let 11-year-old Kamari down.

7

As I promised, being the huge NBA fan that I am, I have to discuss the NBA Finals between the L.A. Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

This has been a weird NBA Finals for me. Mostly due to my work schedule and my lack of digital cable, I have been unable to see an entire Finals game. The few times that I’ve been able to catch some of the game is only because of my knowledge of how to watch the games on my laptop.

But it’s just not the same.

This year’s Finals is a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals, where the Celtics beat the Lakers 4-2. Last year, the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in the ’09 NBA Finals 4-1, to become the now-defending champions.

I didn’t predict that the Celtics and Lakers would meet each other again in this year’s Finals, mainly because now it’s almost unheard of to see two teams play each other twice in the Finals, whereas in the 80s it was commonplace. The last time it happened was with the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, in the ’97 and ’98 NBA Finals.

With that out of the way, let’s discuss the series which is now tied 3-3, with the deciding seventh game being played on Thursday, June 17.

Coming into this series I felt that the Celtics would have the advantage over the Lakers, just because no one expected them to win the Eastern Conference. It’s been documented before by ESPN columnist and Celtics enthusiast Bill Simmons, that the Celtics went 26-24 in their last 50 games of the regular season. And I don’t know if this is worldwide knowledge, but the NBA regular season is only 82 games. On the flipside, the Lakers had pretty much a guaranteed route to this year’s final, especially with the only two teams that I thought could beat them in a seven-game series, the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks, being ousted in the first round of the playoffs.

This brings us back to the penultimate seventh game.

From the glimpses I’ve been able to catch and what I’ve read about this series, it has been one that could be described best as unpredictable. The first three games, two in L.A. and one in Boston, were muddled by bad refereeing. The result was a 2-1 series with the Lakers leading.

Sidebar: Another stat that has to be brought up is the streak where Lakers coach Phil Jackson has won every series in which his team has won the first game. Right now that streak is at 47 and depending on the outcome of Thursday’s game; it could very well be 48. But there is also another interesting stat pertaining to Phil Jackson. He’s never coached in NBA Finals Game 7.

In the next two games, both in Boston, the Celtics were able to impose their will on the Lakers and even withstood a magnificent performance from Laker Kobe Bryant, to make the 3-2 in the Celtics favor.

Last night’s game featured the Lakers just flat-out dominating the Celtics, while the Celtics lost their starting center Kendrick Perkins in the first quarter. This tied the series 3-3.

To be honest, I would love for the Celtics to somehow win Game 7. I happen to hate Kobe Bryant and the Lakers to almost irrational levels, and to see them win back-to-back championships would hurt me to my core.

On my Facebook status, I half-jokingly said, “I would rather flunk out of college than see the Lakers win (the title) back-to-back. Lakers suck.”

But, sometimes you have to be realistic and with the Perkins being injured I don’t think the Celtics will be able to pull off the upset victory. They have history on their side – in the ’69 Finals a veteran-laden Celtics team beat the Jerry West-helmed Lakers in the deciding Game 7 (another nugget from Simmons’ column).

So, all I can do is sit and wait. And, maybe flunking out of college wouldn’t be that bad.

Pause for the Cause

Sorry for the lack of post. I had to clock in major hours at my job – Red Lobster – which left me with little time to sit down and write. Sometime tomorrow I’ll have one, if not two, blog posts. Be there or be square.

A Long Time Coming

After almost a full year since I was accepted, I will finally set foot on Ohio State's campus as a full-time student on June 21. It really has been a journey. A little less than a year ago, I attended OSU's orientation where I didn't know how I was going to pay for school or where I would be living if I could pay for it. Lack of preparation had a lot to do with it, but it also was a lack of urgency. In most sports, T.V. analyst and sportswriters always talk about the urgency to win a title. Most professional athletes have a small window where they have the chance to win against the highest level of competition. Even the select few who are labeled superstars, like former Miami Dolphins QB Dan Marino or NBA Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley, don't succeed at winning at that level. So, when the window begins to shrink , said player does all within his power to attain that goal of winning it all. Barkley, who had been to the NBA Finals once in '93 with the Phoenix Suns, was traded to the Houston Rockets which featured fellow HOF's Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olujawon in hope of attaining a title. Even with this combo, Barkley was unable to win a ring and eventually retired in '00.

Which leads me to my point. When I moved up to Columbus this past March, it was because I felt the sense of urgency. It was a deafening sound. All of the kids who were freshmen when I graduated from high school were now graduating themselves. I felt like I was losing my place. Whether my choice was right or wrong, I do feel it was necessary. But it was also a risky move.

I moved to Columbus with hopes and wishes in my pockets. I had enough money to pay for the first two months of rent and that was it. The only positive I had going for me was that I still had a job. I was scheduled to start at OSU for the Summer quarter, but I still didn't have a way to pay for school. The only plan I had was to wait and see if I received enough financial aid to pay for school and whatever the aid couldn't cover, maybe a private loan could. Since my own credit history wasn't the best, I had only my aunt to rely on as a co-signer. No parents. No grandparents. Just my aunt.

Talk about having all your eggs in one basket.

With another OSU orientation on the horizon, I figured it was time to call good ole Aunt Jenae. After filling out the application and having her and I sign it -- electronically, of course -- I received some unpleasant news.

Auntie's credit wasn't so great. Which meant no loan for me.

Damn

Without the loan, it was like I was sitting on the Sun. But I remained calm. I had yet to see what my financial aid award would be, so there was still hope that I hadn't made a grave decision in moving to Columbus.

Fast forward to today. I finally received the letter I had been so desperate to see and it was just what I needed. With school grants and federal loans provided by the government, I am able to pay for Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.

When people asked me whether I was excited about going to OSU I couldn't really say yes, because until today I didn't know if it was really going to happen. But now it is and there is no turning back.

And, I couldn't be more excited.

Post coming this week: Hopefully one about women, and maybe one in particular. Definitely one on the NBA Finals.

The Fate of a City

I've been a fan of LeBron James since he first came into the league and posted 25 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds on the Sacremento Kings -- or Queens if you asked Shaq -- in his first NBA game. As LeBron's game improved, my love for the game of basketball and the NBA became more present as well.

The early exit of the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron's team, in this year's playoffs came as a shock to me. This was the year he would win it. I just knew it for certain. But that's when I realized that nothing is ever a sure thing. As the cliche goes, "That's why you play the game."

With the Cavs at home, another part of the LeBron era has begun and that is "Where's LeBron going?"

If you aren't a sports fan, than you may not know that the two-time NBA MVP is a free-agent this summer and has the chance to play anywhere he pleases. This isn't usually such a big deal. Superstars in any sport, whether it's the NBA or the NFL, have the chance to explore new territories each year. But what makes this year different is that 5 of the top 25 NBA players, two of them being definite future hall-of-famers, have that chance.

In all the years that I've watched the NBA, this has had to be the strangest and most hyped off-season of all time. Whatever happens this summer has the potential to change the NBA for the next decade and the biggest bearer of that weight is undoubtedly LeBron.

What makes LeBron situation so special is that he has essentially played for his hometown team for his seven-year career. LeBron, who is an Akron native, was drafted by the Cavs as the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Cleveland, which is only approximately 50 minutes from Akron, took LeBron as their native son.

With seven years passing and no titles to show for it, the Cavs and LeBron relationship is currently up in the air and without being on the point of hyperbole; everyone is wants to know where LeBron is headed. My 73-year-old nana even has an opinion on what LeBron's next move will be.

"I hope he stay (in Cleveland)," she said in her deep, southern accent, a couple of weeks ago.

While I will remain a LeBron fan regardless of his decision, I think that it has been overlooked by the media and regular folk who love the game of basketball, about the pressure LeBron and the city of Cleveland is experiencing right now. Yes, it's widely known that Cleveland sports haven't brought home a title in several decades, but LeBron was and is the only hope of Cleveland gaining any title hopes. Both the Browns and the Indians aren't near having teams with title hopes, and since the Cavs supporting cast are pretty much a bunch of castoffs, players way past their prime -- I'm looking at you Shaq -- and role player, LeBron is the Cavs.

Ask any regular NBA fan and they'll say something that will resemble this, "LeBron is a beast, but the rest of the Cavs are trash." Even with this year's team, which was loaded compared to some of the other teams LeBron led to playoffs, it was still LeBron, a nerdy coach and a bunch of other guys. Guys who couldn't step up when necessary and a coach who continually lacked creativity on offense.

Instead of looking at where LeBron might go -- I think his best chance of winning a ring or multiple, is by going to Chicago with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah -- I believe that the amount of pressure LeBron has had to face these past two years should be properly analyzed.

Yes, he brought some of it on himself. If he would've committed to Cleveland I think some of this would've been preventable, but LeBron is only 25 and who wants to be tied down at 25. So, it's understandable if the man wants to keep his options open.

When LeBron came to Cleveland, they were beyond terrible. I remember the Ricky Davis/Darius Miles days. Damn, were those rough, but LeBron shined regardless. He became Cleveland basketball. And if LeBron leaves, that's Cleveland basketball as we know it. If you watched this year's playoffs and last year's, you couldn't help but notice how quick the crowd would get uptight if these weren't going the Cavs way. If the Cavs were down by four going with 2:50 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the crowd was as silent as a mime. Forget a knife; you could cut the tension with a bare hand. At any moment it looked like the Quicken Loans Arena could spontaneously combust and if I could feel, I can't imagine how it weighed on the players. Especially with this season being possibly the last time LeBron would wear a Cavs jersey.

No one man should have all that power.

And I think that's what is lost in this. We dehumanize these athletes and forget that they're human beings who feel pressure just like we feel it. The pressure of not just any city, but your home city, the pressure of all the people counting on you and the pressure of people wanting you to fail just so you can, maybe, play for their city.

I don't think that even LeBron's 6" 9' frame could handle all of that. And he shouldn't have to.

So, come July 1st, I'll be waiting patiently to see where LeBron lands, and hopefully he'll make the decision with his head and his heart.

When They Reminisce Over You

With tomorrow being Memorial's Day, this will be the second holiday that I've spent away from my family and it only enhances the loneliness I sometimes feel in Columbus. Though it has been an adjustment being away from pretty much every familiar face I’ve grown accustomed to over the past couple of years, I know that the decision I made to move up here is for the best.

Or at least I hope.

I talked to my mama yesterday and she had wondered whether I was coming home for Memorial’s Day and while I would love to, it’s probably not in my best interest to drive back to Dayton, when I plan on coming home this upcoming Friday. As of now, I stand to spend Memorial’s Day alone, which is kind of sad, but I imagine that I’m not the only person in the world feeling this way.

My friend named Will, who is currently in the U.S. Marine Corps, is probably experiencing what I’m going through and has been for the past three years. Last time I talked to him he was in Nevada, so hopefully everything is well with him. It’s shocking to think that the past few years have went by so fast and now, like Will, I’m away from my family – completely on my own.

At times, I feel weak for missing people. I spend a lot of time either by myself or lost in my thoughts and though I’m optimistic about how my life will turn out, I can’t help but not hear the voices of doubt that reside in my head. I try to think of the positive things that may lie ahead, but if I do I’ll just daydream about the future instead of focusing on what’s more important.

My present.

Life could be worse, but it’s hard to separate yourself from your own feelings and thoughts. I guess that I should use Will as an example, because he’s been traveling the country, having to adjust to whatever new place he’s sent to and he’s managed to persevere. Hopefully I can too.

To all those soldiers representing our country, I can’t say enough how much I take for granted what you do to protect people like myself. I wish you peace and happiness in your journeys.

Happy Memorial’s Day.

Posts slated for this week: A recap of my OSU orientation and my opinion on the Summer of the King aka LeBronamania

Where Do I Begin?

I started this blog about a year ago for a class I was taking. Being that I am an aspiring journalist – which is pretty obvious – maintaining a blog should’ve been a necessity for me. It would’ve kept my writing skills sharp and I would have full control over the content I posted. There was just one tiny problem.

I’m lazy.

Now you may ask, why am I (re)- launching the blog if I’m lazy? Well, if you must know, my former editor and co-worker, Joe Stueve, told me my writing skills were wack. Or something along those lines, sometimes I just hear what I want to hear. But I digress, Joe told me I should start blogging and I thought, Well that wouldn’t be such a bad idea if my life wasn’t so devastatingly boring. Whether that be the case, I know for me to continue to grow as a writer, I must continually develop my voice as one and the only way to do that is by writing.

So, this blog will be about my journey. To wherever this laptop leads me and whoever happens to read this blog will be along for the ride. I plan to touch on a range of topics, but the blog is for me to improve as a writer and keep track of that progress.

For all those who visit the site, be critical, yet encouraging. Any advice you have, I’m open to it. Because at the bare minimum, I want to be a better writer than Joe Stueve, which in my opinion wouldn’t be so bad.