Designs To Infinity CEO Lore Ross Adds Personalized Sports Quilts To Her Collection

Don't throw away your kids' old sports shirts and game jerseys! Even they are capable of having a second life. Don't believe us? Take a look!

Here's a great way to capture those memories and give them functionality!

Handbag company Designs To Infinity created this one of a kind, handmade quilt for a young man who has played sports his entire childhood, and is now heading to college to continue to play sports.

It was done for a mom of three very active boys who wanted to create a keepsake for her oldest who has played sports for most of his life, and is now heading off to college to play baseball.

She presented the quilt to him at a graduation party she gave him a few weeks ago, where she invited family and friends.

Unlike the traditional wall hanging quilt, this was made to be used! After the individual jerseys were cut out and sewn together, the quilt was backed with a soft microfleece fabric.

It's now a comfortable "guy" blanket for taking to the park, the beach, or to put on your bed!

Racism from the Spanish Olympic Basketball Team?

By Jayar Jackson

In anticipation for the Olympics in Beijing, the Spanish basketball team took a picture for an advertisement a courier company had carried in a major Spanish newspaper. In the picture, all the players pulled the sides of their eyes, making the well known "slant eyed" look that mocks Asians' most recognizable feature.

No one on or associated with the team or the courier company that ran the ad seemed to find anything offensive or distasteful about the photo that included a Chinese dragon in the middle of the basketball floor. But many Chinese and other Asians didn't have to look very long to see racism oozing through the page.


The first thing to wonder is "what the hell were they thinking?" These guys aren't isolated to a small village that preaches hate and racism against anyone not like themselves. One of their star players, Pau Gasol, is a very popular NBA player, currently with the Los Angeles Lakers after spending over 6 years with the Memphis Grizzlies. Such a traveled individual must realize how the Chinese, the host country for the Olympics, would take this gesture. Even if he was riding off of the comradery of his fellow Spaniards, as he pulled his eyes back and laughed for the cameras, he must have been thinking in the back of his mind that this won't be something others will understand.

So this begs the question, are the Spanish so racist that they don't even realize it? Or, are the Spanish are just so accepting of other races, ethnicities, and cultures that their offbeat humor is nothing more than a simple joke? Does it really mean that the Spanish Basketball Federation, the courier company, and the newspaper that ran the ad are all so hateful and racist that they would boldly put this highly offensive image out there as they head to China? What is Spain's history with Asian countries...do they have something against the Chinese?

While reading discussions about this touchy subject, I found that some defenders of the Spanish mindset point out that Asian people's eyes ARE slanted and wonder why they are so offended when it's pointed out. Maybe everyone else is being a little ultra P.C. The Spanish always brazenly make fun of others and some say they see it all in good fun, harboring no ill will.

Then again, as I read this story, I got some flashbacks of stories out of Spain where football (soccer) players were mocked and called ugly racist names. As Black players touched the ball, fans would make monkey noises and bananas were thrown in their direction. Sure, those were a bunch of rowdy, out of control soccer fans, typical in some countries in Europe, but what about Luis Aragonés?

The Spanish football manager was caught on tape in front of a bunch of reporters referring to the French player Thierry Henry as "that Black shit." Although he apologized saying he hadn't meant to offend anyone, he continued to defend his comments.

There are racist people in every country in the world, Spain included. They have their preconceived ideas as to what others are like, painting them in a negative light to prop themselves up. This slanted Chinese eyes picture the national team took has to be categorized as racially insensitive. They may not disrespect and hate their Chinese hosts for the Olympics, but they don't seem to care that some jokes are not acceptable, whether they see the offensiveness or not. In the end, some Spanish people are obviously racist and they simply don't deserve a reputable organization to legitimize their hateful beliefs.

Oklahoma Football Quickly Boots Freshman off Team

By Jayar Jackson

Oklahoma University’s head football coach Bob Stoops followed through on his “zero tolerance” promise to his highly touted incoming freshman wide receiver Josh Jarboe last week. Stoops dismissed the troubled Jarboe after a video of him delivering a profanity-laced freestyle rap mentioning guns and shooting began circulating on the internet.

There must be more, right? One month after signing with Oklahoma in February, Jarboe was arrested and pleaded guilty to charges of bringing a gun to his high school and carrying a pistol without a license. Since this was his first offense, the charges were reduced to misdemeanors although he was still kicked out of school.

Jarboe’s pointless rap talked about the trouble he got into with the gun at school and included some elements that must have been relayed to Stoops as being violent and inappropriate, which made up his mind that this guy isn’t going to shape up.

This lame reason for dismissing Jarboe smells like a cop out; an opportunity to get rid of the kid for his actual offense, bringing that gun to school. Either Stoops or someone above him changed their mind about allowing his gun charges to slide by with a harsh warning.

A freestyle rap that uses metaphors to describe what many rappers describe is hardly an offense. In fact, forget the gun talk and profanity in the video, Jarboe’s horrific rap skills quickly became his second criminal offense in my mind. His lousy freestyle wasn’t exactly evoking the memory of Tupac, Biggie, and Big L.

The words didn’t clue anyone in on some master plan he has to get his gun and go shooting up campus, therefore not suggesting he’s back to his old tricks of touting a gun around school. If you watch closely, he’s filming his infamous rap session in a campus building with students walking by and clowning in front of the camera in the background. Man, this guy is so dangerous!

He’s an 18 year-old kid, who hadn’t proven his “troublemaker” status at Oklahoma that did something devastatingly stupid in high school after given a great opportunity with the Sooners. Let’s just get it clear though, it wasn’t this rapping that got him kicked off the team, it was Stoops’ second chance to please critics that questioned his decision to keep him on in the first place.

Justin Timberlake Edited for Joke at 2008 ESPYs

By Jayar Jackson

Now that everyone has had the chance to see the ESPYs 15 times in the last few days, the controversy of Justin Timberlake's hosting performance has made its rounds.

Boy bander turned all-around entertainer JT seems to be making a living off of his sports related performances needing a tape delay.

How could anyone forget his role in the infamous wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime performance with Janet Jackson, forcing CBS to implement a tape delay to avoid the FCC the next time around?

Well, our man Justin has now brought his line pushing to the doors of ESPN.

While joking about the Celtics' NBA Champion Paul Pierce's knee injury from Game 1 of the Finals this year, Timberland described his dramatic return as "shucking and jiving" back onto the floor. Although he had been getting laughs all evening, reports say that this joke evoked crickets from the audience of celebrities and professional athletes.

In case you're wondering, Pierce is Black and the term "shuckin and jivin" is a racially offensive way to describe Black people in trouble. It dates back to slavery days in America where a slave may try to quickly come up with a story to tell a White authority figure to get himself out of some mischief.

If it's still not sinking in, the negative imagery that comes to my mind is a Black man, fumbling and stuttering over his words, obviously lying to avoid some sharp and severe punishment for stepping outside of his box. He thinks he's smart, but he'll never fool the wiser White guy.

Unsurprisingly, ESPN utilized their 4 day gap between taping and broadcasting the event to edit out the controversial joke.

Should fans be annoyed and upset over Timberlake's irresponsible use of the term? Definitely. Should Timberlake apologize and move on with his life? Of course, that's what celebrities do. Should people assume that he is a racist that harbors negative thoughts and feelings about Black people? Hell no.

First of all, no one even knows who wrote that joke, and even if Timberlake did, it's pretty apparent that it was misplaced. The images of Pierce bouncing back onto the basketball court after being taken out on a wheelchair probably looked a little like a dance to some. The "jiving" of Timberlake's lame joke seemed to fit in his mind, not realizing that the term has origins of hate, ridicule, and mistreatment.

Pierce wasn't explaining anything, he wasn't coming up with a story to get himself out of any trouble as the term requires.

Bottom line, let him go; stop calling him a racist, a "wigger," (a term I happen to hate) and just keep buying his music every guy tries to hate, but secretly loves. Go ahead, play "FutureSex/LoveSounds the next time your boys come over (because you know you secretly have it). You'll get clowned at first, but they'll soon subconsciously start bobbing their heads!

Sports Round Up: Derick Rose Jams Injured Knee, Clippers Loose Brand And Maggette And Actually Think They Are A Better Team

The Los Angeles Clippers lost two of their biggest names last night Elton Brand signed with the Philadelphia 76'ers and Corey Magette signed with the Golden State Warriors. But what really makes my head spin is a delusional Clipper management who think they still have a shot at being a contender next year. And perhaps the rehabbing Derrick Rose is pushing it too much in summer league play.

If you are Elton Brand, you can reach into your pocket today and feel substantially more cash, while also sensing no more significant ties to southern California.

The former Clippers big man severed ties with that perennially insignificant team Tuesday and hitched his in-the-paint game the Philadelphia 76ers for a sum in the upscale neighborhood of $82 million, says the LA Times.

The good news for the Clippers is they now have an abundant expanse of salary cap room as they pursue Atlanta's Josh Smith and Charlotte's Emeka Okafor. The bad news is that Golden State has hijacked Corey Maggette, the Clippers' top scorer last season, with a five-year contract that will pay about $50 million.

Now then, let's all promise to buy low and sell high as we roll out today's game balls for recommended reading, conversation starters and significant fluff that may have surfaced while you were sleeping. This story and more sports round-up continues at Game On with Reid Cherner & Tom Weir

TIGER WINS U.S. OPEN WITH ONLY ONE GOOD LEG!!!!

This Biracial Wonder Is Simply UNBELIEVABLE!

It all came down to Tiger Woods vs. Rocco Mediate in the 18-hole playoff of the U.S. Open 2008 tournament, but it was not enough. Tiger Woods had a chance to tie Rocco on the 15th hole but failed to make his birdie put.

On the 16th, Tiger’s long put stopped right before the hole so he knocked it in for a par, still trailing by one stroke. Both Tiger and Rocco pared the 17th hole. Tiger birdied hole 18 while Rocco got a par.

Sudden death…

Tiger Woods birdies the first hole and Rocco Mediate fails to follow. And once again, the brother who has redefined golf, even with a hurt leg, roars!!!

Flopping In The NBA: One Brother Speaks Out!

By Jayar Jackson

Remember when your parents would tell you to clean yourself up, straighten up the house, and pick up your mess when company was coming over?

Sure, your dirty little friends came over all the time and they were never this strict with the rules.

They just didn’t want important people to come in the house and think that they were raising a slob.

Well, the NBA has been welcoming the company of more than just the average everyday fan for over a month now that the playoffs have taken center stage.

In the never ending goal of taking advantage of the increased exposure to expand the fan base, Daddy David Stern and the league have announced plans to impose fines on players for clear cases of flopping. Apparently, they are hearing the chorus of complaints that is growing daily from dedicated fans that see the natural feel of the game slipping away.

The flopping phenomenon that many attribute to being founded by Vlade Divac back in his playing days has become a league wide plague that has seemingly infested every player. The opportunity to add a foul to your opponent’s tally, frustrate the hell out of him, and get control of the ball in crucial situations is just too much of a juicy result to pass up for many.

We see contemporary versions of Divac in the league, making a living off of flailing their arms and stumbling to the floor from the slightest touch, or sometimes no contact at all. As long as bad acting gets rewarded with a trophy, this live theatre on the floor will continue to be commonplace.

Sometimes out of pure retaliation, the “tough guys” of the league have begun to face plant in hopes of sending the league-leading floppers in a tizzy. It’s a horrific cycle that needed to be addressed. But is this the answer? Will this simply put more pressure on the referees to spot, identify, and call the ghost fouls the other way in the heat of the moment while many other things are going on around them?

There are times that they have a bad angle on a play and impromptu meetings are needed to determine the correct call. What will the fate of the refs be when they miss an obvious one simply because some dude that happens to be 6’10” and weighs 270 lbs stands in front of them?

If the fines are retroactive once the league reviews a game from the night before, what will they decide about the outcome of the game being affected by the flop? Can a “flopping ref” be added to the already three refs occupying the floor crowded by giants, cameramen, and pompous millionaires with courtside seats? I don’t think they will agree to moving back 5 feet, as they won’t be able to give high fives to their favorite players as if they know them.

Let’s not forget that these refs deal with home crowds, superstar players, hall of fame coaches, and everyone at home yelling at them for 48 minutes, telling them they’re getting everything wrong. This just might just alter the problem the NBA faces from falling for the flop and turn into how to truly and effectively eliminate it’s stronghold on the league.

There will definitely still be some loose ends to tie up in order to exterminate the virus that so many complain about, but at least the NBA has realized that it left it’s bed unmade, dirty dishes all over the place, and filthy sneakers in the doorway. “You’re not going to embarrass this family when company comes over next time, I know that!”

Jayar is holding it down over there at The Young Turks

Miss Last Night's Games? Don't Trip, We've Got Your NBA Highlights Right Here!

No Joy In Big Brown Derby Win, As 2nd Place Eight Belles Is Euthanized

Both came here chasing history and hinting at greatness. Big Brown was unbeaten and trying to become the first horse in 93 years to win the Kentucky Derby after three lifetime races. Eight Belles, a filly, had ticked off four victories, emboldening her owner to run her against the boys in America’s greatest horse race.When Big Brown entered the stretch, seemingly finding a gear seen only on sci-fi rocket ships, the 157,000 here to celebrate thoroughbred racing, had their breath taken away by the big colt’s dazzling burst. When Eight Belles broke from the pack to give determined chase, many checked their programs, “Was that really the filly?”

Big Brown hit the wire nearly five lengths ahead of Eight Belles, but moments later, there was heartbreak. While Kent Desormeaux was galloping out Big Brown, Eight Belles fell.

She had fractured both of her front ankles, said the Derby’s on-call veterinarian, Dr. Larry Bramlage, and was euthanized on the racetrack.“You could tell when Kent came back that he didn’t look like he just won the Kentucky Derby,” her trainer, Larry Jones, said. “He was a little bit solemn.”

Two years earlier, Barbaro’s breakdown in the Preakness and his death months later helped speed the adoption of synthetic racing surfaces, Eight Belles’s death is bound to raise new questions about the safety of traditional dirt tracks like Churchill’s and lead to second-guessing over whether a filly, which usually runs against other fillies, should have competed against colts... Want more? Our Source is Joe Drape NEW YORK TIMES

Baltimore Ravens QB Steve McNair To Retire... But For How Long?

IT"S OVAH!!!

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair will announce his retirement at a news conference at team headquarters this afternoon.

The news was reported on NFL Network and is on the Ravens' official web site.

The news comes as a surprise; the Baltimore Sun reported today that McNair is "hoping to keep his 13-year NFL career going after a turnover-marred, injury-filled 2007

But when have we seen this before? The NFL is a tough league and by the third preseason game there are usually three quarterback openings in the NFL. So don't worry Steve, stay on the bicycle and keep the weight tranning up because you are going to get a call. It is not a matter of if, but when.

Nod to Michael David Smith for breaking this story.

Knicks Ex-Coach Isiah Thomas Says Goodbye!

Are We Jumping The Gun? Nah!!!

Mike Dunleavy tied a career high with 36 points, and the Indiana Pacers beat New York 132-123 on Wednesday night, sending the Knicks to a franchise record-tying 59th loss in what in all liklihood will be Isiah Thomas' last game as coach.

New Knicks president Donnie Walsh hasn't promised Thomas he'll keep his job, and Thomas gave Walsh another reason to fire him. The Knicks allowed their highest point total of the season.

Earlier in the day, Pacers co-owner Herb Simon announced he'd become more hands-on in operating the franchise, naming himself chairman and CEO of Pacers Sports and Entertainment.

Pacers fans booed Thomas during pregame introductions, even though the NBA great who use to kiss Magic Johnson on the court before the Detroit Pistons and Lakers went head up coached the Pacers for three seasons. [AP]

Former Baller Herschel Walker Is Crazy! No, Seriously!!!

Personality disorder threatened Walker's life

Herschel Walker, a University of Georgia football legend, successful businessman and father of one, said in his book "Breaking Free" and during an interview with ABC's "Nightline" that he nearly took his own life and the lives of others as he struggled with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

In the "Nightline" interview, the 46-year-old brotha talked about playing Russian roulette with a loaded gun at his kitchen table shortly after his retirement from football in 1998.

"To challenge death like I was doing, you start saying, there's a problem here," Walker said in the interview.

The interview coincides with the release of Walker's book, which chronicles Walker's lifelong struggle with DID and his therapy since being diagnosed in 2002. Since that time, Walker has worked with Dr. Jerry Mungadze to understand the disease, in which alternate personalities aid a person who is dealing with traumatic events.

In the prologue of Walker's book, he describes how a business deal over the delivery of a car so enraged him that he checked his glove box for his Beretta while driving to the meeting.

"The logical side of me knew that what I was thinking of doing to this man — murdering him for messing up my schedule — wasn't a viable alternative," Walker wrote. "But another side of me was so angry that all I could think was how satisfying it would feel to step out of the car, pull out the gun, slip off the safety and squeeze the trigger.

"It would be no different from sighting on targets I'd fired at for years — except for the visceral enjoyment I'd get from seeing the small entry wound and the spray of brain tissue and blood — like a Fourth of July fireworks — exploding behind him."

His former wife, Cindy Grossman, told ABC how Walker put a gun to her temple."There was somebody there that was evil," Grossman told ABC.

Walker started writing the book three years ago as a way to reach out to others with DID.

Before word started to leak about the impending publication of "Breaking Free," friends and family were unaware of Walker's diagnosis. And the diagnosis is somewhat controversial. Many in the psychiatric profession feel alternative personalities can be implemented by therapists as way to mask other feelings.

"My goal is to help bring freedom to the lives of those who have it and understanding to those who have never experienced it," Walker said.

Those who have DID have experienced a traumatic event or events in their lives, such as abuse. Walker makes it clear in his book that he was never physically, mentally or sexually abused as a child in his home. He was bullied at school and made fun of for a speech impediment and being overweight as a child. [AJC]

Hey-Hey, It's Jackie Robinson Day: Why The Brother Would Not Be A Happy Camper Right About Now!

Today is Jackie Robinson Day in the major leagues, and every player is welcome to wear Robinson's retired No. 42 on his uniform.

Baseball's tribute is bound to warm hearts today, but Robinson would likely be cold to what clubhouses have looked like in recent years.

In 1995, 19% of big-league players were African-American. But those numbers have come crashing down since.

As the Milwaukee Brewers filed into the clubhouse through double metal doors for a spring training game in Peoria, Ariz., last month, they found a locker and sat down.

Some rested, some grabbed food, others hit the training room.

But in one corner, four players huddled around the 3-inch screen of an iPhone and laughed about whatever they were seeing on the sleek contraption.

Mike Cameron, Tony Gwynn Jr., Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks were those players. Throw in Prince Fielder and, on most days during spring training, that quintet could be found somewhere around the middle of the team's clubhouse.

They would talk about hip-hop music, movies from the 1990s, their dream starting five in basketball and a list of corny slang words someone found from an "urban dictionary" on the Internet.Those kinds of things happen in every clubhouse and locker room from high school to the big leagues. But in Major League Baseball, it doesn't always look like it does with the Brewers.

On this, the 61st anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in professional baseball, not every team in the league can boast five African-Americans on the same major-league roster.

The Brewers, however, can do just that.Cameron, Fielder, Gwynn, Hall and Weeks are all African-Americans, and they are baseball professionals.

In today's society, that combination is becoming as rare as a day when those five aren't reveling in each other's company. Why? The reason is harsh, but real: Young African-Americans are not choosing baseball anymore.

"I don't think Jack would be real happy," said Hall, referencing Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947. "He and the other pioneers who gave us this opportunity to be playing right now, I don't think they'd be too happy about it."

Only 9% of players were African-American in 2004 and 2005, and in 2006 the number dipped to 8.4%. The numbers rose some last season, but two teams -- the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros -- had no African-Americans on their rosters.

Things aren't any better in the college game. Last season, less than 7% of all NCAA Division I baseball players were African-American, according to a recent story in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Those statistics, which surprised people a few years ago but have become common knowledge by now, are why the Brewers are an oddity. Last season, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had five African-American players. This season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have six African-Americans, and besides the Brewers, five other teams have five on their 25-man rosters.

"Besides college, this is the first team I've been on that has had more than four," said Weeks, who played at Southern University, a historically black college. "I feel good about the situation because you don't see it a lot. It's been pretty rare to see more than two people on the field who are the same as me."

That won't be the case this season.

Weeks, Fielder, Hall and Cameron will be regular starters this season. And Gwynn, until a hamstring landed him on the disabled list last week, was a regular in center field while Cameron serves a 25-game suspension.

All of those players are homegrown talent, except for Cameron, and no older than 28. Cameron signed with the Brewers in January partly because of the clubhouse's make-up.

He nodded his head slowly and smiled as he was asked if the number of African-Americans on the team was a factor in his signing.

"First and foremost, I had a chance to come to a situation where the pieces are there, and we just have to put them together," Cameron, 35, said. "No. 2, at this particular point in my career, to be able to instill the values taught to me, to get a chance to share those with these young brothers who have one or two years in the big leagues, it's pretty cool."

Cameron got his big-league call-up in 1995, and since then he has played on teams with lots of African-American talent, particularly in Cincinnati in 1999 when the team had eight players. Greg Vaughn mentored Cameron then, even allowing Cameron to live with him during spring training.

Cameron, who has been active in inner-city charities for years, also has two boys -- Dazmon, 11, and Mekhi, 6. This spring, they would occasionally dress in full uniform at their father's locker. They'd play catch and take fly balls, and during drills they'd stand to the side and study. Dazmon even left camp for a time to fly back to Georgia for a baseball tournament.

Dazmon and Mekhi Cameron know baseball; they were born into it and have always been around the game. Cameron believes that is why they gravitate toward the diamond, just as Fielder and Gwynn did as children of major-league players.

But Cameron's sons are exceptions today.

The reason the numbers of college and professional African American players are shrinking is because the kids are drawn to other sports and, in some cases, are never introduced to baseball.

Basketball and football's popularity are the main culprits, as well as dimming media exposure and cost, among a host of other societal reasons.

There is a misconception that those other sports lend themselves to the natural athlete, while baseball requires less athletic ability than basketball or football. It is also seen as boring or slow.

Of course, players take exception to that.

"You have less than eight tenths of a second to decide if you want to swing," Hall said. "I think that's pretty fast."

Still, Fielder can see why kids would gravitate to other sports.

"I wouldn't watch baseball either if I didn't play," he said. "If you've never actually played baseball, it's probably hard to get into it. You can go out and play pick-up basketball because it's easier. You can't do that with baseball."

The lack of media attention individual players attract is another deterrent. For every baseball player in a commercial, there are five or more basketball and football stars with their faces plastered on the screen. And you see them year around, while baseball players, with the exception of Derek Jeter, are rarely in a commercial outside of the season.

But that was not always the case. "When I was growing up, Ken Griffey Jr. was always on TV," Gwynn said. "You have a little bit now with Ryan Howard, but your basketball stars are on TV all the time.

"You have to reach the community by showing them another African-American is playing the sport. I mean, I don't know if people really recognize Derek Jeter as black. He is (universal)."

Cost has also played a role in the decline of inner-city African-Americans playing the game. Basketball requires little equipment, and football gear -- pads, helmets, uniforms -- can be reused and is often given out after a one-time fee. That is becoming less and less true with baseball, especially if you have talent and want to play beyond a three-month summer.

So as baseball expenses go up, the number of inner-city African-American players goes down.

"They're making it so that if you don't have money, you can't play," Hall said. "If you want to play on good teams with good coaches, it's a lot. And (inner-city) families don't have $1,000 to just give away for that."

Baseball also doesn't lend itself to instant gratification. Even if drafted in the first round, players usually toil in the minors for a least a few years, and some may never see the illuminating lights of "The Show."

And the hope for college is usually dashed when kids realize they might not even get a four-figure scholarship while some schools are cutting back or cutting out the sport from their athletic departments.

"I really do think that's a problem," Weeks said. "These kids look for the quick fix, meaning football and basketball, and those sports are just throwing away scholarships.

"In baseball, you have to toil for a while. It's a thinking man's game, and it takes a while to accumulate experience and maturity."

Hall, Weeks and Gwynn have held camps for inner-city kids and Hall is even planning to start a charity geared toward exposing African-Americans to the sport. In December, Hall and Weeks took 15 players from the Beckum-Stapleton Little League on a day-long trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. Each player said they learned as much as the kids and plan to continue exposing inner-city children to the game and its players, including themselves.

"Obviously, once we make it, we don't live in urban communities anymore," Hall said. "So they don't get to see us, but they need to understand we listen to rap music, too; we like Jay-Z and Tupac and everybody else. "We're just like them."

If kids knew that, they might be more comfortable with the game, Hall added. And even though they are adults, the African-Americans on the Brewers roster covet the comfort of being around people like themselves.

"You're going to go where you're comfortable," Cameron said. "Me and (Gwynn) Jr. talk about things maybe only we understand, and I think that's important to have."

While Cameron, Fielder, Hall, Gwynn and Weeks could often be seen together in the clubhouse and in the dugout this spring, the white and Latino players get along with them, and each other, just as well. During spring training, Ryan Braun and J.J. Hardy had ping-pong tournaments with Venezuelan minor-leaguers Hernan Iribarren and Alcides Escobar, and Cameron sometimes yelled across the clubhouse in Spanish to his Latin teammates.

But with the opportunities becoming scarce, the African-American players are savoring this experience.

"We all get along, black, white, Spanish," Gwynn said. "It's not cliquey at all.

"But it is human nature to gravitate toward people you know, people you're familiar with. With the game being predominately white and Spanish, it's rare to have this many African-Americans on one team. So you try to suck it in as much as you can."

Is The NFL Ready For The Return of Pacman Jones?

"I probably wont go back to a strip club for

at least two or three years..."

Adam "Pacman" Jones made this comment after his infamous "make it rain riot" in a Vegas strip club. Although we don't think this Black man quite gets it, Jones will seek reinstatement to the National Football League next week, according to Dallas-area newspapers.

The troubled Tennessee Titans cornerback and kick returner missed the 2007 season after commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him indefinitely following several run-ins with the law. Agent Manny Arora said Jones would seek reinstatement on Tuesday, according to the Dallas Morning News and The Star-Telegram in Fort Worth. Jones sought reinstatement last year, but was denied following a face-to-face meeting with Goodell.

Jones has said he wants to play for the Dallas Cowboys, but the Cowboys and Titans have yet to agree on a deal. Arora said it makes sense for Jones to learn his playing future next week, before the NFL draft, so that teams can decide whether they'd want to trade for him, according to the Star-Telegram.

More at FOX Sports

Bow Down To The Jayhawks!

The Kansas Jayhawks rallied from nine points down in the second half to force overtime and ultimatley defeat the Memphis Tigers 75-68 for the NCAA title.

It was the first title for Kansas since 1988, when Danny Manning, now an assistant coach for the Jayhawks, led them to an upset of Oklahoma.

Check out Kansas rallies to win NCAA championship

March Madness Is Here As Stephen Curry leads Davidson to Stunning Upset Over Number 2-Seeded Georgetown

Brothers Are Ballin', You Know What That Means!

Davidson's Stephen Curry, who scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half, drives around Georgetown's Patrick Ewing Jr. (yes, THAT Patrick Ewing) in the first half of their second-round NCAA Midwest Regional game on Sunday.

Curry scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half, and 10th-seeded Davidson ends up ralling from a 17-point deficit to stun No. 2-seeded Georgetown, 74-70.

UCLA 53, Texas A&M 49
Stanford 82, Marquette 81 (OT)
No guarantees for NCAA's top-seeded teams
Last year's heartbreak teaches Xavier
Memphis narrowly beats Mississippi State
Tennessee holds off pesky Butler
Western Kentucky locks out San Diego
Virginia finishes off UCSB, 86-52

Stephen Curry looked tired. His soft, feathery shot was clanging off the rim. The slender, baby-faced sophomore seemed to be just another in a long line of stars bottled up by Georgetown's ferocious defense.Davidson's run was certainly over. A good season was coming to a fitting end against one of college basketball's elite programs.

Then, as quickly as Curry can get off a turnaround three-pointer, the Wildcats staged a comeback.

Curry scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half, and 10th-seeded Davidson rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to stun No. 2-seeded Georgetown, 74-70, at Raleigh, N.C., on Sunday, sending the Wildcats to an improbable spot in the round of 16. [NY Times]

NBA Bad Boy Allen Iverson Stops Playing Games And Takes His Game To Another Level

Black Baller Decides It's Time To Man Up!

In this corner... Allen Iverson, in his Denver Nuggets uniform, a Band-Aid covering a cut above his left eye, resolutely walking through the door of the postgame interview area, past a cordon of TV cameras, tape recorders and security, the final steps of his path roped off from the assembled reporters.

And to everyone's dismay, the former 76ers star guard was open, thoughtful, informative, patient.

This wasn't the Iverson who, before facing the Sixers in Denver in January, said, "I don't care anything about them," and said that despite having been with them for 10 years "they kicked me out as if I had been there 1 day."

This was a gracious, contemplative Iverson. The warrior in him would have to wait until the game started.

"I'm 32 years old now, simple as that," Iverson said before last night's 115-113 Sixers win. "That's the only answer I can give you. I don't make the mistakes, do some of the things I was accustomed to doing anymore. I don't want to be that person that I used to be.

"But I don't regret any of it, because I feel like going through what I went through here, my ups and downs, helped me to be the man I am today . . . I would never want to throw away the experience I had in Philadelphia. I don't regret anything, but I'm just not that same person.

"I still make mistakes off the basketball court. I still turn it over on the basketball court. But I think I'm a better person, a better player at this point in my life."

He dealt with the media for 15 minutes, 6 seconds, then left to complete his preparation for his first game against his former team in his former arena. When he came through the tunnel leading to the court to warm up, he ran directly to center court, kissed the Sixers logo and waved to however many people were already there.

When public-address announcer Matt Cord - who usually low-keys the visitors' lineup during introductions - began a louder, more complete introduction of Iverson, it was virtually impossible to hear his final words. The sellout crowd was already standing, applauding, cheering wildly. The ovation lasted 1 minute, 5 seconds and might have gone longer had Cord not begun introducing Iverson's backcourt mate, Anthony Carter. As a frame of reference, when Charles Barkley returned to the Spectrum for the first time with the Phoenix Suns in 1993, his standing ovation lasted 42 seconds.

Through it all, Iverson remained stoical. He walked a few steps in different directions. Finally, he cupped his hand to his ear, a signature move from the best days of the Iverson Era. The sound level rose.

He said he wanted the entire experience to be positive. And it was. There were Iverson jerseys all over the stands. There were also some Andre Iguodala jerseys. And at least one Thaddeus Young jersey. You knew Iverson was taking it all in. Meanwhile, his mom, Ann, sat courtside in the second row near the Nuggets' bench, signing dozens of autographs.

The story continues...

TIGER WOODS WINS 2008 BAYHILL AND SAVES THE BEST FOR LAST

STARTING YOUR WEEK WITH A WINNING ATTITUDE!!!

You must watch this amazing putt from yesterday. Tiger needs this shot to win the tournamnemt. If he misses the shot he ties and goes into a sudden death playoff. He has not made any putts this day over 20ft and this one is 25ft.

ESPN Has A Blackout, Expanding In Film With African American Athletes

With Disney And Outside Partners, ESPN Goes Hollywood

While ESPN currently dominates sports on television, the cable heavyweight is now making a run at the big screen.

Coming on March 16 is a two-part, four-hour television documentary called “Black Magic,” a portrayal of the civil rights movement as told through the lives of basketball players and coaches.

ESPN said it would collaborate with Creative Artists Agency and Walt Disney Studios to produce and distribute theatrical films with sports themes. As part of the network’s expansion in filmed entertainment, ESPN is also hiring 30 filmmakers to produce one-hour mini-movies to appear on the channel starting in September 2009.

“We see this as a new way to reach sports fans and engage them,” said Keith Clinkscales, ESPN’s senior vice president for content development. “A lot of people who spend time being engaged in ESPN also spend a lot of time going to the movies.”

Movies will be financed by Walt Disney, which owns ESPN; outside investors; or a combination thereof. ESPN executives declined to comment on financial elements, except to say budgets would vary by project.

The self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports” is on a mission to tap into new areas of growth as it faces challenges in its core operations. ESPN, which is nearing its 30th birthday, remains one of the media industry’s biggest gold mines, with successful magazine and Internet extensions to complement its suite of cable channels.

But ESPN must also battle the exploding amount of sports video on the Web and maintain growth as cable operators resist paying higher subscription fees for the right to carry its programming (ESPN charges about $3.50 a month for each subscriber; the vast majority of cable channels charge well under $1.).

Recently, ESPN has been hiring sports journalists from magazines and newspapers to strengthen its bench of pundits while retooling its approach to live streaming video on the Web and mobile devices.

ESPN’s sports expertise, the deep talent relationships of Creative Artists and the movie-making experience of Walt Disney Studios may add up to a dream team, but producers warn that sports-themed movies are among the most difficult to execute. It is difficult to break free of the formulaic storytelling arc of win, loss and comeback.

ESPN’s core audience is young men, but women typically drive movie-going decisions. And most studios shy away from sports-themed pictures because they can be a difficult sell to international distributors.

“These movies are an incredible balancing act,” said Ron Shelton, the writer of “Bull Durham” and “White Men Can’t Jump.” Mr. Shelton, who has also had his share of misses — like “Play It to the Bone,” starring Antonio Banderas as a boxer — added that it is tricky to dramatize sports without sacrificing the kind of realistic portrayals fans crave.

As it moves deeper into filmed entertainment, ESPN also needs to be careful not to damage its symbiotic relationship with sports leagues. It is a risk the network knows all too well. In 2003, ESPN programmers drew strong criticism from the National Football League for “Playmakers,” an effort at a drama series that depicted steroid use and players hiding cocaine from the police.

Mr. Clinkscales points to ESPN’s recent experience with scripted television as evidence that the new entity, ESPN Films, will succeed. The channel’s eight-part miniseries “The Bronx Is Burning,” shown last July, was praised by critics. A 2004 made-for-television movie about the late Nascar legend Dale Earnhardt, “3,” drew raves along with stellar ratings.

Coming on March 16 is a two-part, four-hour television documentary called “Black Magic,” a portrayal of the civil rights movement as told through the lives of basketball players and coaches.

“We believe this represents a big score for sports fans and moviegoers alike,” said Richard Cook, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Mr. Cook noted that Disney has had success with such sports-themed movies as “Remember the Titans” and “The Rookie.”

Bringing Creative Artists into the fold signals ESPN’s seriousness to Hollywood, Mr. Clinkscales said. The agency, a leading talent representative, has in recent years expanded aggressively into sports representation, picking up clients like Peyton Manning, David Beckham and LeBron James. In addition to helping to line up financing, Creative Artists may also place its athlete-performers in the films.

David O’Connor, a Creative Artists partner and managing director, called ESPN Films a “natural and exciting” extension of the brand.

Close watchers of ESPN know that the network has been ramping up its filmed entertainment efforts for some time. Last year, the network helped create the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival to showcase the genre, and the company in January acquired “Kicking It,” about street soccer players, at the Sundance Film Festival.

By NY Times writer BROOKS BARNES

Kelly Pavlik Wins Decision Over Jermaine Taylor For The Second Time

Although you wouldn't know it from Kelly Pavlik's history of dynamite knockouts, patience is among the middleweight champion's greatest virtues.

Pavlik waited seven years for his first title shot against Jermain Taylor last year, and didn't waste it. In the rematch Saturday night, Pavlik persisted until the late rounds, when he finally landed the big punches that kept him perfect.

With a strong finish to a bout with more tactics than theatrics, the pride of Youngstown, Ohio, beat Taylor on Saturday night for the second time in 41/2 months, winning a unanimous decision.

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