NFL 2005 Season Kick-off September 8

24 NFL greats, including former Super Bowl XVIII MVP Marcus Allen and Pro Football Hall of Famers will be participating in the NFL's kick-off party. There's going to be a free concert at the site of the NFL’s first Super Bowl—the Los Angeles Coliseum—as part of NFL Opening Kickoff which will feature Kanye West, Maroon 5, Good Charlotte and Rihanna as the headliners.

The night’s festivities will take place from three cities as the league celebrates “The Road to Forty” by looking back at the history of the Super Bowl, honoring last year’s champions and looking ahead to Super Bowl XL. A star-studded musical lineup will perform from just outside the Los Angeles Coliseum, Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. (home of the Super Bowl-champion New England Patriots), and Detroit (site of Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006).

Twenty-four former NFL players, including Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen and Pro Football Hall of Famers, will take part as will the USC marching band.Gates will open at 2:30 p.m. PT with music and festivities running through 6 p.m.Portions of the event will be televised live on “NFL Opening Kickoff” from 8-9 p.m. EDT on ABC and lead into the season opener between the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium.

The first video footage from the Rolling Stones “A Bigger Bang” World Tour, which hits Detroit August 31 will be featured. Festivities from Gillette Stadium will include a tribute to the Patriots and musical acts Green Day and Santana. Trisha Yearwood will sing the national anthem.

The concert will be preceded at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Wednesday, September 7 by the NFL Kickoff Celebration which will include a Celebrity Punt, Pass & Kick event, football clinics and a health fair for local youths.

ARE YOU READY for some FOOTBALL?

Philadelphia Eagles Pre-Season Victory

Philadelphia won over Cincinnati 27-17 last night. Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb, and Terrell Owens, Philadelphia’s star wide receiver were definitely in synch on the field. This was their first pre-season game together. Boy! Did they ever shine like the star athletes they are. Owens caught five passes for 131 yards, and McNabb threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns. That was in just one half. It was business as usual. They picked up right where they left off last season. No they do not appear to be speaking off the field. In the words of coach Andy Reid, "Sometimes actions speak louder than words."

To those sports writers and fans, too, who say Terrell Owens is out of order with his request for a better contract deal or that he’s out of line in his behavior, I say, you need to walk a mile in his cleats. Everybody knows it is the rare player who makes it to the last few years of his contract. Think Ty Law of the world champion New England Patriots. He was due to receive $9 million. The Patriots knew he was hurt. They decided to cut him. Final conclusion: the team did not have to fulfill the contract.

Let’s remember folks football contracts are not guaranteed long term as are Major League Baseball contracts or National Basketball Association contracts.
For those among you who think the Eagles organization should consider alternatives to T.O. being on the team I say BAAAH-Loney! There are others in the NFL who could adequately perform the job. Maybe. But none of them can perform with the same confidence, style and panache, or with the same timing developed over the past year between the QB McNabb and his wide receiver Owens.

As for the drama, it’s just the sports media doin’ their “sensationalize the mundane” thing. Drew Rosenhaus and Terrell Owens have brought the Philadelphia Eagles as much, if not more publicity and name recognition than the team that won the Super Bowl in January.

Celebrity News...(Psst! It's Gossip...)

Clark Dark here with some old and new Celebrity News....New talk show featuring TYRA BANKS scheduled for September.

Everybody gets a show.VENUS and SERENA WILLIAMS will have a reality show “Venus + Serena: For Real”. So far the most real thing in the show is Serena’s break up with Brett Ratner, film and video director. They had a low-key relationship.

EDDIE MURPHY and his wife, NICOLE, are divorcing after 12 years. Nicole filed the petition for divorce this morning in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences. Murphy released the following statement to Entertainment Television: "The welfare of our children is our main concern and their best interest is our first priority." The couple has four daughters and one son. I know it's old news.

File this under old news, too I guess...SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS’ girlfriend, KIM PORTER was left with a broken nose after the couple argued on Combs’ yacht in St Tropez. The argument is rumored to have taken place in the early hours of the morning after a party. Combs reportedly flew in a specialist plastic surgeon from Geneva after the accident. Porter has since claimed that she hurt her face after she "banged her nose on a table". Porter is the mother of Combs’ son Christian who is six years old.

The Associated Press recently reported a makeup artist dropped a lawsuit alleging she was drugged and raped by rapper SNOOP DOGG and several of his associates after a taping of the ABC television show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" two years ago. The woman's attorney filed a request about two weeks ago to dismiss the suit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. No criminal charges were ever brought. Snoop Dogg's attorney also asked that a suit he filed against the accuser be dismissed, said the rapper's publicist, Meredith O'Sullivan. Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, paid "absolutely no money in the settlement," O'Sullivan said. In a statement, Snoop Dogg's accuser said, "the matter has been resolved amicably." Snoop Dogg's lawsuit alleged that the woman had been trying to extort $5 million in exchange for keeping silent. He sought punitive damages and to bar her from future threats.

King Magazine gave a bachelor party for JERMAINE DUPRI in anticipation of his marriage (?) to JANET JACKSON.
Still no confirmation they have indeed tied the knot. In the September issue of King Magazine Dupri denies he’s getting married to Jackson. This does not mean he and Janet have not already married. Hmmmmmmm

That's it from me, I'm Clark Dark reporting, because "inquirin' minds wants ta know!"

The Response from A DIFFERENT KIND OF CANDIDATE

This is the response we received from Victor Bernace :

"....Thanks for the endorsement and kind words. If I didn't have support from people like you, I might be intimidated by all the detractors into canceling the party. We all have a right of self expression and if people disagree they can turn the channel, go to another website, or not attend the party. My opponent has come out numerous times against free speech by attacking local radio stations for their outrageous humor. I believe that the political race is more than just a cute party, it is about where you stand on free speech.

Be Seeing You,

Victor Armando Bernace "

The man is a class act. To Victor I say, you are welcome, anytime. Don't let the haters get you down! Hey! New Yorkers! Victor is a cool guy. His fundraising party will be a wonderful opportunity to get to know the candidate as well as your neighbors. He's more than qualified...and best of all he's something we've not seen in a while...he's an upfront, honest, professional with style and dignity. He's a leader.

We're gonna keep our eye on your campaign for office up in New York, the Washington Heights area. We're pullin' for ya, Victor, because we believe as you do, that freedom of expression is very important in a democratic republic. We need more Americans willing to go into public service. We need more citizens to come forward, as you have done, to demonstrate how much they cherish and understand our freedoms. We need people who do more than pay lip service on a message board to their "politics". Our cities and towns, our states and our nation need thoughtful, intelligent, honest, forthright professionals who can lead with compassion and who possess above all else, a sense of humor.

We cherish freedom of expression. That's why we're publishing this blog and forum. We want everyone to express themselves. Every original opinion is worthwhile. We say original because many of the opinions we hear from John and Jane Q. Public on the regular, are simply regurgitations of a newspaper piece they read this morning or the commentary on the evening news they heard or viewed last night. Diversity of opinion is what makes this nation great. If we destroy opposing opinions we destroy our country. The ability to think, to develop and promote new ideas is what America is all about. "With justice for all and malice toward none" let us begin again to exercise this cherished freedom by expressing our thoughts. Not the thoughts that were given to us on the morning news program, but our own original ideas based on our personal experience of freedom.

More Football Comments

A few words about Super Bowl XL scheduled for February 2006 in Detroit, Michigan. (That’s SuperBowl 40... not Extra Large!) The host committee for this event is at this point way out in front of the same committee that was in charge in Jacksonville for Super Bowl XXXIX. This year the Detroit committee actually has useful information on its web site. This time last year it seemed the bubba-officials, and I use the term endearingly, were floundering around tryin’ to remember when the NFL was scheduled to hold its big game in their fair city. (Did you know Jacksonville is "the biggest little city in America" area-wise that is?)

I wonder why the NFL thinks it’s important to enlist the participants in the small business initiative so early in the game? Nothing else is ready by the deadline they always impose. Usually they want the applicants, female and/ or minority owned enterprises to be front and center for scrutiny by the end of March the year before the SuperBowl. I wonder why that is. By March of this year there was no official host city web site on the Internet. Things that make you go….“Hmmmm”

The Eagles lost to the Steelers last night-38 to 31. Ah! It's only preseason. I'm looking forward to the continuing soap-opera that is Terrell Owens. Owens and the Philadelphia Eagles organization in dispute over his contract is a non-story that the sports media has pumped up into a mega non-story. It must be a real slow time for sports news. I wonder what kind of spin the press is gonna put on the Philadelphia preseason loss to Pittsburgh? I wonder how many sports reporters are hovering around Owens home in New Jersey or at Eagles training camp on the campus of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania as they await his return? They wait in anticipation. I'll bet they've already fashioned their sensationalized versions of what will happen upon his return on Wednesday. Stay tuned.

Though I am dismissive, along with many, of preseason footbll, because it doesn't count toward anything except to get the real fans revved up for the real NFL season, which opens September 8th at 9PM EDT with the Raiders and the Patriots in Foxboro, Mass; it does showcase new talent. It also brings injuries. For example: Chicago Bears' quarterback Rex Grossman broke his left ankle during the second quarter of the game in the Bears' preseason loss to the Rams on August 12 . It's been reported Grossman will be sidelined three to four months. This is Grossman's third injury in as many seasons. The young QB lost the majority of 2004 with a knee injury and missed the end of 2003 with an injured hand. Now they'll have to rely on running the ball.

General manager Jerry Angelo isn't sure when the quarterback will return. " ...We're not here lamenting over Rex Grossman. It's unfortunate. We have a contingency plan. The only thing I'm disappointed in is we're having to get to the contingency plan. We have a lot of confidence in our quarterbacks and (offensive coordinator) Ron Turner." Chad Hutchinson is now the starter, with rookie Kyle Orton and veteran Jeff Blake backing him up. Blake is a former All-Pro signed by the Bears to a one-year agreement.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF CANDIDATE

If I lived in the Washington Heights area of New York I would vote for him. His background is unusual and impressive. What’s impressive to me is not his Harvard law degree. I’m totally impressed by the fact he’s taught high school in the New York City public school system, after graduating from Harvard Law School. In his law practice he defends cab drivers. He’s basically a decent guy. He grew up in a dysfunctional home. He managed to overcome severe handicaps in school. Some of the teachers thought he was retarded. Turns out Victor Bernace is brilliant.

In the city that is ranked the 217th most conservative in the nation, (Gee! I wonder what city is number one?), this strapped for cash candidate, Victor Bernace, has decided to hold a fundraiser. Unlike the hypocritical pols we regularly see during campaign time, Victor has decided to face the issue of sex head on. He’s holding a fundraiser on Thursday, September 8th at 8PM at the Umbrella Lounge. It’s an event that will feature exotic dancers, both male and female. The event is called “Havana Nights”. Victor is of Cuban descent. For a mere $20 you will be a contributor to his campaign for mayor and the candidate promises you’ll have a fun time. He’s so convincing his opponents have purchased tickets to the event.

According to Melissa Haberman, of the New York Daily News, who broke the story-
“Bernace is unlike most politicians who run away from sex in any form whatsoever, making it the 3rd rail of politics. The moral majority, the fanatical right wing, the Bush administration have all been trying to force feed morality, pro life, anti-gay, anti-sexuality, puritanical beliefs unto the American public. The Republicans have been winning this cultural war recently. Mr. Bernace, a politician with respectable credentials, rather than running away from the subject matter actually embraced sexuality/sensuality as a fundraising technique causing a national stir."

If you’re a dancer in the New York area…even if you’re a dancer outside of the New York area this is a marvelous opportunity to get some experience, exposure, and publicity. You know the news coverage will be tremendous. They all want to see just how risqué the performances will be so they can accurately report the story to those citizens living in Utah, and the other red states.

If you’re an eligible voter in the New York area I encourage you to vote for this guy. Victor Bernace. Honest, professional leadership. The man is for real. Isn’t that what we want in our politicians? Honest,professional leadership?

[Psst! Victor-- make sure the television sets are on because that’s the night opener of the 2005-NFL Season. Football, sexy dancin’ guys and girls, and politics, too. What an all American combination.]
Wow! What a party. I wish I could be there. Janet Jackson, eat your heart out.

Gettin’ Ready for Some Football

In Japan last weekend the Atlanta Falcons, led by quarterback Michael Vick, won over the Indianapolis Colts 27-21 in the American Bowl. (I know if it’s the “American Bowl” why is it played in Japan? You’ve got to ask someone smarter than I. Maybe you should ask someone in the marketing department of the NFL?) The Chicago Bears defeated the Miami Dolphins 27-24 in the Hall of Fame game on Monday. These games are signs that the 2005 National Football League pre-season is underway. Pre-season will really be “on” on August 12 when 12 teams will meet. The NFL Network will broadcast the Oakland San Francisco game. This will be the network’s first live game broadcast August 13 at 10PM ET. The NFL Network is doing a kind of broadcast marathon…55 games aired in 25 days.

How about them Packers? (Yes, I realize it’s only pre-season football.) The quarterback Brett Favre trained with a conditioning and strength coach during the off-season, and as the French would say it “Viola!” he completes 9 out of 10 passes. Oh and lets give props to the kicker, Ryan Longwell, who gave an outstanding performance as he kicked a 53 yard field goal with 33 seconds left in the game to give Green Bay a 10-7 victory against the San Diego Chargers.

Here’s Clark Dark with more sports/entertainment news. Clark.

Thanks You Think. The NFL has tapped the oldest rockers in the world to help start up the official NFL 2005 season. Yes, the Rolling Stones will be a part of the “NFL Opening Kickoff 2005”—it’s a one hour pre-game special to air on ABC at 8PM ET on September 8. The program will also feature live performances by Carlos Santana, Green Day, Maroon 5, Trisha Yearwood, and Kanye West. This entertainment special will be the lead in to the game between the New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXIX Champions and the Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium at 9PM ET.

This musical celebration is part of the NFL’s “Road to Forty” season retrospective. The program will pay tribute to the New England Patriots, review the history of the Super Bowl, and look forward to Super Bowl XL scheduled for February 5, 2006 in Detroit.

Green Day and Santana will be performing from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Kanye West and Maroon 5 will be at the site of the first Super Bowl, the Los Angeles Coliseum, as part of a free concert. Yearwood will be performing the National Anthem from Gillette Stadium where the host for the event will be Freddie Prinze, Jr.

Since the NFL has called on the band that first put the marketing and promotions into rock and roll, the show will feature footage of the Stones’ perfomance in Detroit on August 31. Their “A Bigger Band “ World Tour begins August 21 in Boston. I'm Clark Dark reporting from Los Angeles. Back to You Think.

Sponsors of this event include Campbell’s, Canon, Coors, Diet Pepsi, EA Sports and GMC. Associate sponsors include Burger King, DMI, Gatorade, Motorola and Visa.

Words

Today a young friend of mine and I had a discussion about some words. There are some words she finds offensive. I, on the other hand, am of the mindset words don’t really mean anything. I suppose I’m promoting a different version of the actions speak louder than words school of thought.

The words my friend and I were discussing are the derogatory type. You know, the kind of words some people use to insult others. The kinds of words that most of our society considers to be politically incorrect, especially when directed at someone who is of a different race than you.

I thought my friend would be offended by the usual words used to describe blacks. To my great surprise she told my she found the word “colored” to be as offensive as the word “nigger”, or “cracker”. I say this came as a great surprise to me because I grew up in Pensylvania during the Civil Rights era. I grew up knowing that I, and my whole entire family is colored. There was no shame in being Negro or "colored". It wasn’t until I was about 16 that I became politically astute to accept being called “black” as a compliment. Where I grew up if anyone called you black those were fightin’ words. It reminds me of the line from a Richard Pryor comedy routine, “Don’t call me black! I’m a Negro.” It was an indication of moving forward in my racial societal evolution. For all my previous life I had been proud to be a Negro or “colored”. When in reality to the rest of the world I was black. It was a revelation to me. My skin is brown, not black. Why call me black? Negro is the Spanish word for black. I knew that from my 9th grade Spanish class. I just never put the two together. I’d been called black all the time. In fact my whole entire family was called black. I didn’t even know it.


My younger friend explained to me her experience with the word “colored” and why she found the term to be offensive. She grew up in North Carolina. She said it reminded her older family members of a time when blacks, coloreds, Negroes and/or niggers were kept apart from the rest of the society by those signs that designated certain unequal areas for blacks to receive food or hotel accommodation, or use public toilets or even drink from a water fountain. I gathered from my younger friend that her relatives, who are probably my age had mixed feelings about being "colored". On one hand they knew they were just as good as anyone, but on the other hand they were made to feel ashamed of being "colored". In her family when the Jim Crow laws were wiped off the books by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title II and Title III, the term “colored" was relegated to the trash heap.

I never thought of it that way. You learn something new everyday.

Not Quite Kim Novak

Robert Novak, renown journalist, cancelled himself last week when he had a very real moment in which he expressed himself using a an obscenity in response to some minor league needling from James Carville, a Louisiana born pundit, and political consultant, known as the “ragin’ Cajun”. Novak and Carville were taping a news program for CNN when Novak cursed, (he said "bullshit"), removed his microphone and walked off the set of "Inside Politics".

In response to the incident, CNN suspended Novak indefinitely, calling the outburst "inexcusable and unacceptable." Spokeswoman Edie Emery also stated that Novak had apologized to the network for his behavior, and that CNN was apologizing to its viewers. "We've asked Mr. Novak to take some time off," she said.
This is big news. Novak, the man who is known in some circles as, “The Prince of Darkness”, because of his role in several political scandals of the past, gave the distinct impression he can “dish it out,” but he can not take it. You’ve probably heard his name in conjunction with the current scandal in Washington, which involves Karl Rove, a former diplomat, the diplomat’s wife who is a CIA operative, and the President of the United States.

Novak has a reputation for being quite the charmer. One of his colleagues describes him this way: "Beneath the asshole is a very decent guy, and beneath the very decent guy is an asshole." I’ve personally seen the layer beneath the decent guy. I was witness to a grilling that Novak gave Jesse Jackson about thirty years ago on the NBC television program “Meet the Press”. After the broadcast it was clear Jackson was angered by the condescending manner, in which the questions were posed. He clearly did not appreciate the intent of the questions. I saw Novak come over to Jackson, offer to shake his hand and speak the words it’s nothing-personal Reverend Jackson. Novak’s meaning was I’m just doing my job. I only ask the questions the public wants to have answered.

It seems moderator Ed Henry planned to ask Novak some questions about his role in the current controversy to which his name is linked. Henry's questioning was likely to have been more thorough than previous occasions. Novak had avoided comment on the Plame affair in previous interviews by claiming that his lawyers had advised him not to speak. Reporters interviewing Novak were warned that any attempt to raise his role in the Plame affair would cause the interview to be immediately terminated.

On August 1st however, Novak had written a column on the affair in his Chicago Sun-Times column (“Ex-CIA official’s remark is wrong”). The fact that Novak had addressed the affair in print meant that CNN could not allow his previous 'legal advice' excuse to stand without comment.

In his column Novak claims he learned Plame's identity partly from reading the entry on Plame's husband Joe Wilson in Who's Who in America —implying that Novak never violated the law by revealing the name of a covert CIA agent. Even though the entry in Who's Who in America was consistent with Novak's claim to have found the name Valerie Plame there, Novak had previously given an inconsistent explanation claiming to have been given the name by his source; "I didn't dig it out, it was given to me, They thought it was significant, they gave me the name and I used it."

I find it interesting that Novak who wrote the news story in which the CIA operative’s name was disclosed is free, able to walk off the set of a television program taping while New York Times reporter Judith Miller,
who never wrote or reported a word about the case, sits in jail for more than a month. More about this another day....

Family Reunions

Recently a friend of mine told me of a vacation trip he took with his daughter to Pleasantville near Atlantic City, in Southern New Jersey, for a family reunion. He told of how it had been more than thirty years since he’d seen many of the relatives in attendance.

Alex Haley’s novel “Roots” and the television program of the same name can be credited with the resurgent interest in genealogy and family history. Over the past ten or fifteen years there has been an increase in the popularity of families meeting to see who resembles whom, to exchange addresses, both physical and electronic; photographs, and generally to meet without having to do so under the maudlin circumstances of a funeral. One popular search engine on the Internet offers more than one million pages of reference on how to organize such an event.

Family reunions are a chance for folks to reminisce; an opportunity to share good times, good food, lots of laughs about “back in the day” activities, and to see the promise of the future in the young adults, teenagers and the babies. It’s an opportunity for us to spend time with Big Momma, Pop-pop, our brothers and sisters, and all of our cousins and all the grandchildren, as well as great-grands, too. Some families are as large as 200 members. Can you imagine 200 people meeting at a small resort for a weekend? All praise to the co-coordinators in the family of such an event.

1999 Reunion Hemings-Jefferson Family

Now let’s get down to the real skinny on family reunions. We all know the old adage, “You can pick your friends, but not your relatives”. Tell us--which of the family members really gets under your skin? Is it your mother-in-law? Is it your bossy older sister? Is it your cousin who’s always boasting about the latest material acquisition? You know the new Escalade or the Lexus? Or the $2million home in the exclusive suburb? The promotion to CFO of a Fortune 500 company? Hey we’re not sayin’ you are really jealous of your cousin because of the success in life your cousin is always bragging about. Wouldn’t you just love to hear their Princeton genius had to transfer to another school because of the panty raid incident last spring? Is it your auntie who makes potato salad that is just too watery to be consumed by any human being? Maybe it’s your uncle who always has just a little too much to drink? Could it be your brother-in-law who is a life-long university student who loves to dazzle you with his ability to discuss religion and politics ad nauseum? Are there some youngsters who wear the latest style, XXL trousers that you find to be irksome, as they nearly trip over their clothes?

Family reunions are great. It’s a time to share and enjoy your relatives. It’s a time to celebrate life. But wouldn’t you enjoy yourself more if a certain someone wasn’t always there to put a damper on the party? How much more would you enjoy the party if a certain someone wasn’t a part of your family? If you can not identify that certain someone, maybe it's you?

Typical American Rapper-Drawing on His Tough Guy Roots

So… you wanna be a rapper….
Bassam Khalaf is 21, an amateur rapper. He records and performs under the name “Arabic Assassin” Sometime just after the Independence Day holiday Khalaf lost his job as a baggage screener at the George (H.W.) Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.

Khalaf was born in the United States. He is of Palestinian heritage. In his words:
"Controversy sells...Everybody wants to label all Arabics terrorists just because a couple of people messed up. Well, I'm going to play along with that character. I'm going to let you think I'm one."

I suppose his former employer, the Transportation Security Administration, thought his avocation
was counterproductive to their mission and his vocation.

His unreleased CD titled “Terror Alert”, according to news stories, features lyrics which describe the rapper flying airplanes into skyscrapers.

Khalaf, 21, was hired on Jan. 16 and fired July 7, according to a TSA termination letter that cited his "authorship of songs which applaud the efforts of the terrorists on September 11th, encourage and warn of future acts of terrorism by you, discuss at length and in grave and alarming detail various criminal acts you intend to commit, state your belief that the U.S. government should be overthrown, and finally warn that others will die on September 11, 2005." Khalaf, who was born in Houston and is of Palestinian descent, said working as a baggage screener was the best paying job he's ever had. He said he hoped to use any extra money he earned to produce his CD.

News stories told of how the regional Transportation Security Administration office in Dallas, checks criminal records before hiring screeners. The agency does not investigate what people do in their spare time.

"We have eyes and ears in the workplace," a spokeswoman said. "Once we discovered these Web sites, we fired him."

"I've been screening your bags for the past six months, and you don't even know it," said Khalaf, who also said he is not really a terrorist and his rhymes are exaggerations meant to gain publicity.

I visited his website to listen to his compositions. The writer uses the usual rappers devices, profanity, and posturing and plain talk. Khalaf has a nice flow, as they say in the world of rap. Khalaf’s way of keepin’ it real turned into something unreal. I wish him success.