The ONLY Reason I'm Nervous about Skins vs CowGirls on Sunday

Tony Romo doesn't scare me. Dez Bryant doesn't scare me. They'll get their numbers for sure but their both one brain fart away from causing a loss for their team. Rob Ryan however, is not to be slept on when it comes to coordinating a defense. His brother gets all the pub (for all the wrong reasons lately) but Rob is mean too!

Rob has seen the Redskins offense once and his defense got smoked like a blunt at Wiz Khalifa's house. Now he's had a week to prepare for an offense he's seen once before and I'm sure he's sitting back thinking of all types of sinister plans to shut the Skins offense down. Granted, the players have to play and DeMarcus Ware isn't going to be 100% healthy but I'm sure Rob is going to come up with a solid plan, it's just a matter of whether his defense can execute it well enough to not give up a lot of points. The Redskins are going to score. I'm guessing we'll put up at least 21 points though I'm not delusional enough to think we'll have all those big plays like last time. Games like this are where guys like Rob Ryan earn their keep and I'm sure he's preparing like a maniac.

My guess... The first team to 30 wins this game. The Redskins aren't going to stop the Cowboys from scoring at least two touchdowns. The key is whether Dallas can stop RG3 (throwing AND running) and Alfred Morris. The Redskins don't have a receiver as explosive as Bryant but between Moss and Garcon, they should be able to perform well enough to win. And if Hankerson keeps catching the ball and doesn't go back to his early-season "Stonehands" edition of himself, I think that he and Josh Morgan can be hold down the "possession receiver" role (even though Moss is better at that).

It should be a good game but of course, I'm rooting for a Redskins win! #HTTR!

Key & Peele: Substitute Teacher

Key and Peele
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows

"If one of ya'll, says some silly ass name..." and then he snaps the stuff over his leg ... LOLOLOL!!!!

O'SHACK HENNESSY!!!!!

Christmas Movie Season!!!

Christmas may have already passed but the holiday season is still in full swing for most of us. That likely means either not going to work, going to work and not doing much of anything, or being at work and doing so much you're pissed and can't wait to get off and enjoy some free time, lol.

Hopefully everyone reading this had a great Christmas and was nice enough for the last year that Santa brought you everything you wanted. And although Christmas is gone for another 364 days, I wanted to pass along some of my favorite movies to watch during the Christmas/Holiday season. Not all are Christmas-themed but they're great to watch during this time of year!!!

Friday After Next

This is one of my favorite movies because of Mike Epps and Katt Williams. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's not kid-friendly though, lol.

Christmas Story

I'm going to assume that this is one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time since there is a 48 hour marathon of this film on TBS each and every Christmas. If you haven't seen this already, you probably don't celebrate Christmas or have been living under a rock.

Home Alone

This is another film that I will assume that anyone born after 1960 and before the year 2000 has seen, lol. This is probably number 2 on my list of favorite Christmas movies. Ralphie's first, of course. Home Alone is also where I first heard "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, which is in my top ten favorite Christmas songs.

Bad Santa

This movie is so reckless and raunchy that it's hilarious that the theme is Christmas-based. This is most definitely NOT kid-friendly but this is a hilarious movie.

Trading Places

This movie isn't so much Christmas-themed as it is a movie where the Christmas holiday occurs, lol. Yet-and-still, it's one of the movies I think of first when Christmas time comes around. Eddie Murphy is hilarious as Billy Ray Valentine, much like he is as Hakeem in the next flick...

Coming to America

This is my favorite movie of all time, I have to admit that up front, lol. This is another movie where it's not Christmas-themed, it's just a great movie to watch at any time.

The (Aspiring) Rapper, K. Robinson

So I found out last night that my godson that lives in Buffalo raps (as K. Robinson). I had heard wind of this a couple years back but didn't know he really took it this seriously. But apparently, not only does he rap, he makes beats too! Now to put this into perspective, he's 14 years old. No 14 year old is out here dropping Andre Benjamin style gems or making Dr. Dre beats. Me being a fan of hip-hop/rap, I had to temper my expectations before I watched the video (see below).

When I watched the video I was impressed. Mostly with the latter part of the video where he does his verse a capella (at about the 4:35 mark) and I can tell that he actually puts some thought and effort into his rhymes and he's not just writing words that rhyme. Anyway, whether or not he becomes a rapper or producer or whatever, I think it's dope that a kid can have this as a hobby and channel all the energy he has into something positive that lets him be creative and develop a passion for something. That's dope and I'm proud of him.

Video: Big KRIT - Rich Dad, Poor Dad

I liked this song when I first heard it but not as much as most people I know. The video enhances the song by helping to bring out what he's saying with visuals and this is definitely one of those tracks that should be on the radio but likely won't be.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock

This show (The Big Bang Theory) is great, lol!

NFL Round-Up

It's about to be Week 16 of the NFL season which means a lot of teams already know they'll be home for the postseason and several teams are fighting for their playoff lives. It also means I'm playing for the chip in one of my fantasy leagues. The other league, I stink, lol. I've got a few issues I wanted to address and here they are...


The Superbowl

If the Broncos can avoid injuries and get home-field advantage, they're my AFC pick for the Superbowl. It's been proven that the Pats can be beaten by a solid defense that pressures Tom Brady (see: 49ers). Elvis Dumervil and Vonn Miller could do this. Champ Bailey's still got enough juice to shut down Brandon Lloyd. The only question mark on the defensive side for the Broncos is whether or not they can stop Hernandez/Gronk and Welker. But if they get enough pressure on Brady they can minimize the damage there.

The Ravens have proven that aging defenders and a not-so-elite QB (I take back what I said at the beginning of the season) can't get the job done. On paper, Houston should be able to get it done but in the end I think they have that same not-so-elite-or-even-close-to-it QB problem that Baltimore has. And there will be no dark-horse 6 seed team in the AFC that will pull off some amazing, world-shocking run.

In the NFC, I'm still not sure. The Packers are surging right now and the 49ers looks like they can beat any team on any day if they are playing at their best. Atlanta is solid and I expect them to make it to the NFC championship game but depending on who they are playing, I just can't see them winning. There's no way I could pick Atlanta to beat SF in that game. Maybe they could beat Green Bay but only if the game is in Atlanta. Seattle's defense makes them a tough out, especially at their home field. And the Redskins seem like they're surging and I hope they make the playoffs but even if they do, I just don't see us being able to win more than one playoff game with a defense that's basically a sieve. If I had to pick a team right now from the NFC, it would be the Niners but I'm not completely sold on them either like I am the Broncos.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

As much as RG3 is my favorite NFL player, this award should go to Andrew Luck. He's playing with a much weaker team overall and he's got a better record at this point and as a QB, he's just doing more. What I mean by that is that Luck is running a traditional offense which requires much more reading before the play and during the play. RG3 and Russell Wilson are not doing as much of that. They're clearly more gifted athletes but they're not being asked to do as much of the mental aspect on the field. That's not to say that they can't. They're coaches are just smart enough to utilize their athleticism while allowing them to transition to the speed and defenses of the NFL. They're all really fun to watch and make me excited about the future of the NFL and how the QB position (as a result of defensive lineman becoming faster) is changing into a position for the best athlete on the field, not just a guy who can sit back there, make reads, and throw it. The QBs of the next 5-10 years will likely be guys that are ridiculously good athletes. Cam Newton took the "athlete as quarterback" to an entirely different level last season by being able to put up the passing numbers he did as a rookie. No disrespect to Steve Young, Mike Vick, Randall Cunningham, or Donovan McNabb but Cam put up video game numbers. Young had the greatest WR ever. Vick seemed to always want to run more than pass, Cunningham was a scrambler that wanted to throw on the run, and Donovan's accuracy was ridiculously streaky (not that Cam's isn't sometimes).

If anything, RG3 should get the Most Exciting Rookie Player Award, Wilson should get the Most Slept On Rookie QB Award, and Alfred Morris should get the Lucky to have a coach with an awesome running system and QB that can run the option so I can get a ridiculous amount of yards for a 6th rounder award.

NFL MVP - Adrian Peterson

First of all, how can you NOT want to see this guy break the record after what he's been through. I'd bet that even the guys in his division want to see him break it, but just not beat them in the process, lol. What he's come back from and what he's done this year is simply amazing. I know Peyton's doing great and in my opinion he should get the Comeback Player Award (does that exist?). What Adrian is doing is simply amazing!

Video: Gods'illa feat Sean Price - Saviours & Punishers

I know I posted that Trinidad James joint the other day and I definitely like that track. But when it's time for that real hip-hop, gotta put something like this joint on.

"Back to that Timberland rap, so tie your hoodies up!"

Video: Miguel - Do You

Love.This.Song!!!!

"Don'tBeleeMeJehWatch-Don'tBeleeMeJehWatch!"

Yep, I'm rockin' to it, smh. I'm guilty, lol.

Jamie Foxx on SNL: "How Black is That?"

Actor, singer, comedia, and he plays the piano, AND he is hood-approved. Foxx is like a Black Renaissance Man. Homie is part-time coon, most times an actor, part-time comedian, moonlighting as a singer (and producer now from what I understand), but also informed and knowledgeable enough to drop jewels on his radio show while also being ratchet as all hell. Navigating through mass media outlets, the recording and movie industries is tough enough for any person but simply being a talented Black man in any single predominantly non-Black organization/entity provides a litany of challenges that are unique to the Black man. Being able to navigate as much as he does and remain true to himself is what I find most impressive about Jamie Foxx.

Deadskins, huh? Hysteria in Baltimore over the Ravens (LMFAO)!!!

Seriously, after losing to the "uppity Redskins" and our two rookie QBs yesterday and losing to the oldest QB on earth (Charlie Batch), the Ravens have fired their offensive coordinator (rightfully so but he should have been gone months ago) and every football prognosticator in the city is about to claim the end of the Ravens chance at a Superbowl. Personally, I find it all very very funny being a Redskins fan that lives in Baltimore.

Here's how I sum up the alleged Ravens-Redkins rivalry which is really a rivalry between two cities with different personalities that don't "click" with one-another:

I like how in this article from the Baltimore Sun, the writers uses the phrase, "uppity Redskins". That pretty much sums up how much Baltimore fans hate DC fans and why this loss hurts them so much. For years and years DC has been a better city than Baltimore in many ways and most Washingtonians have not been shy about stating it, especially those who have come from the D.C. area to live Baltimore. BUT when it came to football, the Ravens - since they came into the league - have been far more successful than the Skins over that time period. So the one sure thing Baltimore folks always had on D.C., it was FOOTBALL! Yeah, Baltimore has a baseball team too but the Orioles stank so bad Baltimorians couldn't throw the O's in the faces of D.C. sports fans. Not only did Baltimore have the better football team, Baltimore had a tough, "we'll kick your ass in a street fight too!" team! A team that definitely embodied the personality of many in this city. Tough, gritty, locally prideful folk (which is one of the things I respect about real Baltimorians). Baltimore sports fans have always viewed themselves as a tougher, grittier city with more heart and less pomp, circumstance, high-priced free agents, and well... "uppity-ness". So now that they've lost to us after we've been the "bums down '95" the fans here are really hurting. Oh well, let it burn folks and get over it. I'm sure many Ravens fans are thinking "I can't believe we lost to the soft, bum Redskins!" Well yep, you sure did and it sucks to be you for at least a week.

I don't feel bad for Ravens fans at all, especially the obnoxious ones that know very little about football but talk relentless amounts of trash. Any Ravens fan with solid football knowledge and a realistic perspective on their team KNEW that no matter how they felt about the Redskins, that game was going to be a tough one and one the Ravens could easily have lost. Joe Flacco's still the QB ya know?

The Ravens have a great football program with players that were once great and now they're just good. They had an offensive coordinator that failed to use his biggest weapon consistently enough and that's where the Redskins and Ravens are different. The Redskins run EVERYTHING through their most talented player, even on run plays, and even though he's a QB and not a RB like Baltimore's best player, Ray Rice. The Redskins are headed in a positive direction from being a mediocre/bad team for the last X years. The Ravens have been a good team for that same amount of time and now, their stars are getting older, losing a step, and they're QB is on his best day a low-end of the top 10 QBs in the NFL and on his worst day (or just on the road for that matter), one of the 5 worse QBs in the league.

The Ravens will make the playoffs and win a game (or two) and the Redskins likely won't make the playoffs even though we have a good shot. But every year the same thing happens and it will again this year, the Ravens will win a game or two in the playoffs and then it's back home with the Redskins, fighting over stippers at Stadium or the gold-diggin' chicks at the various late-night party spots in Washington. In the end, both cities appear to have good teams this year and although the cities have different personalities, we should be rooting for both cities to do well because if both teams do well it helps all of the Baltimore-DC metro area. It's not a real rivalry by any means when it comes to football. The real rivalry is among the two cities.

My Latest Pair: Columbia Descender

This is the most comfortable athletic shoe I have purchased in a while.

Thoughts on the Rap Nominations for the Grammy's

Best Rap Song

“Niggas In Paris” – Jay-Z & Kanye West: This is a great nomination for this award. A popular song but not so pop that it doesn't feel like a hip-hop/rap song.

“Daughters” – Nas: Deep down, I really hope this song wins because of the topics Nas addresses but it's not going to happen.

“Lotus Flower Bomb” – Wale: Dope song and one of my top 3 off of this list. I'm rooting for Wale because of his DMV ties and the fact that even though he's signed to Fat Ricky he hasn't completely tried to emulate or poach the down south rap swag like other artists from up north (see: Fat Joe, Diddy)

“Mercy” – Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz: This would be a landslide to win in my mind if there wasn't that horrible part of the song where Kanye changes the beat during his verse. I may be more opposed to/disgusted with that part than most people but it takes away from the overall quality and flow of the song. I'd bet though, that this has a really really good chance of winning.

“The Motto” – Drake ft. Lil Wayne: My favorite song out of all of these listed here because the joint just bumps. I'm imagining that this will finish in the top 3.

“Young, Wild & Free” – Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars: This is a pop song, it should not be listed under the Best Rap category just because it has rap artists on it.

Who do I think will win? Well, I'm rooting for Wale and I think that "Lotus Flower Bomb", "Mercy", and "The Motto" should be the 3 finalists. But in the end I think it's going to be between "Niggas in Paris" and "Mercy". Either way, Ye Tuda gonna win.

Best Rap Album

Take Care – Drake: I don't think this is Drake's best work but I understand why it's on the list. I don't think this album should win though.

Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 – Lupe Fiasco: I haven't listened to this album all the way through yet but I'm guessing Lupe does some of his usual addressing of social issues and "the industry is some bowlshat" banter on here so I'm not mad that he's nominated at all. Lupe drops a lot of dimes but nobody really listens.

Life Is Good – Nas: My personal opinion of this album is that it's really good but has been prematurely exalted to classic status by Nas stans due to Nas's history of not-all-that releases and their dying urge to call something Nas has done within the last decade a classic.

Undun – The Roots: I haven't listened and although I like The Roots I still think it's BEEN time for that Black Thought solo project.

God Forgives, I Don’t – Rick Ross: Really? This (like Drake) is not Ross's best work as an album (see "Trilla" and "Deeper Than Rap"). "Deeper than Rap" set the bar for me as far as Ross albums go and this one isn't close to being as good as that. Another Curtis beef or Jeezy beef and Ross might be able to make a truly classic album. Until then, I guess he gonna churn out that post-poverty but I still need my streetcred dope boy shyt.

Based On A T.R.U. Story – 2 Chainz: Clearly, this is the "it's still a popularity contest" entry. 2 Chainz raps but he is by no means the best at it. he makes catchy songs and is quite entertaining. If this is a popularity contest and not a contest about the best album, 2 Chainz should win. If this is about the best ALBUM, he shouldn't even be on this list. No disrespect to him because he has his lane and he's doing his thing but this album is not an award-winner in my opinion.

Whose gonna win? This is either going to go to Aubrey (Drake) Graham or to 2 Chainz. I know, I know, it sounded just as crazy as I was typing it as it did when you just read it.

Best Rap Performance

First off, I'm confused by the title of this award. When we say performance what do we mean? Performance on stage? If so, when and where? Performance in a video? Ok, I can see that sort of. I just don't get how you judge the best rap performance. It's not like all these folks showed up at the same time like a cheerleading competition and performed. Anyway, that's just my little axe to grind with the title of the award.

“HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)” -Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne: I ain't never seen this performed but I kinda like the song.

“Niggas In Paris” – Jay-Z & Kanye West: Here's your winner. They performed the song in Paris with Mary Kate and/or Ashley backstage. How can they NOT win the award?

“Daughters” – Nas: Video was cool. I like the song. Not sure how this is gonna be judged as a performance though.

“Mercy” – Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz: If we're counting the video as a performance, I think this should be in the top 3 for winning this award. That video was simplistically dope.

“I Do” – Young Jeezy ft. Jay-Z & André 3000: Mehhhhhh. This song was sooooo over-rated because of that Andre verse.

Kay-Z should boycott the Grammy's next year if they don't win this category.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

“Wild Ones” – Flo Rida ft. Sia: I've never heard this song but I will admit that I like "I Cry" by Flo-Rida.

“No Church In The Wild” – Jay-Z & Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean & The-Dream: Since when did Terius Nash get added to the list of artists associated with this song? I guess he must have ghost-wrote that hook for Frank Ocean. Oh yeah quick question, what happens when you put Frank Ocean, Kanye, and The Dream all in a darkly-lit studio by themselves? Yeah, I don't want to know either. But I would love to hear the song that came out of it, lol.

“Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” – John Legend ft. Ludacris: This song was pretty avergae to me.

“Cherry Wine” – Nas ft. Amy Winehouse: This song is HANDS-DOWN the best collaboration even though Amy is dead. Then again, maybe Nas will lose points because Amy is dead. Who knows. Either way, this is the best song listed out of all these categories and should have been up there for Best Rap Song. Definitely one of my favorite tracks of the past year.

“Talk That Talk” – Rihanna ft. Jay-Z: This was a solid radio track but Rihanna is better seen than heard in my opinion (even though I like the Diamonds joint). This joint ain't gonna win.

Nas, go get your award SON!

Video: DJ Khaled - I Did It For My Dawgs

Featuring Rick Ross, French Montana, Meek Mill, Ace Hood, and Jadakiss. This is my favorite joint off "Kiss the Ring". LOL at how Khaled snuck an Ace Hood verse on the video version of the track.

One thing I can't understand about the NFL and head injuries

Sure, there's been a crack-down on hitting defenseless receivers, helmet-to-helmet contact, and hitting the QB above the shoulders. Hooray to all of that. But I have always found it interesting that the NFL with all of its uniform restrictions and "partnerships" with Nike, Reebok, or whomever makes all the teams' jerseys, has yet to come up with a standard helmet design for all players to use.

It seems that some players have adopted helmet technology that helps keep their heads safer and presumably helps prevent concussions. Even back in the day I remember Mark Kelso (shown on the right) having that extra padding thing on his helmet that made him look like a space alien.

If the NFL is so concerned about concussions and preventing them, why hasn't there been any league-wide mandate that all players wear the some sort of advanced protection helmet?

Does the technology not exist? Does the NFL not want to piss off Nike since they're in bed with Phil Knight for the jerseys? I guess the theory is that if you eradicate helmet-to-helmet hits (which by the way is impossible unless the NFL changes to a "touch" league) then who cares what type of helmet a guy is wearing. That thought would be short-sighted at best. Running backs and linemen have helmet-to-helmet contact on just about every play, that's not going to stop. So making all of the players wear an extra layer of protection or a helmet with some special space-aged padding makes sense to me.

I don't believe I've heard anyone on television ask the question of a standardized helmet for safety and I've been sitting back thinking about it for a while now. I'm sure someone has, maybe I just haven't heard it. And apparently, not enough people have heard it. Changing the protective headgear across the board seems like a nice compliment to the money-grabbing penalties, fines, suspensions, etc. The NFL says it wants to protect its players from these types of injuries but do they really? Or, do they just want to use fines, penalties, and a new concussion protocol to create the illusion that they care? I don't know the answer to that. My hope is that they do want to protect players but that they also realize that there are additional measures they can take. If the league can mandate that all players wear thigh and knee pads (or they are fined) and make all players adhere to other wardrobe rules on the field (ask Clinton Portis or DeAngelo Hall), then if they wanted to, they could find a company (I don't even care if it's Nike) that has some next-level protective technology in their helmet designs and mandate that all players wear them. My guess is that the players who think about tomorrow and next year are already taking some steps to protect themselves. It would be nice to see the league put something in-place across the board to protect all players.

BONUS UNRELATED COVERAGE: "Lucille Baller"

Blank.Stare.