What is going on with NBA fashions off the court? (l-r) Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, and Kevin Durant also of the Thunder.

If you’re a professional athlete, specifically in the NBA, it’s one thing to be flamboyantly gawdy, with diamonds or ice dripping all over your body and gators snapping at your feet in every color.  But to dress like you skip through meadows instead of smash on rims is a horse of another fashion color.

What exactly is going on with the NBA’s fashion?  Are certain members being courted by the fashion world in an attempt akin to the approach designers take to get actors and actresses to wear their couture on the red carpet?  Some ballers’ styles are a little more interesting than others.

Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook was recently quoted saying that his mother has a lot to do with his fashion choices:

“I ask my mom. She knows what’s up. Before a game, I’ll walk over to her and she’ll tell me no or yeah or to change my shoes. Or, if she’s not in town, I’ll text her a picture. I’ll also ask my brother or my girlfriend, but she’s grown to like my style.”

We are going to have to confirm that with mom because she is not telling that boy to walk out the house in them skinny ass jeans and/or technicolor jeggings!

LeBron James

Now Facebook is on fire with the talk of the town, Mr. LeBron James in capri pants. LeBron and Dwyane Wade seem to be in some kind of competition for who can squeeze their junk the tightest.  I thought the skinny pants and shirts were born of the skateboarders cliques but, it appears that lots of athletes like it tight.

Dwyane Wade

Tyson Chandler

Then I thought, well maybe it’s because they’re in Miami.  They’re known for flamboyant colors and beach style, but then we saw Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks and we threw our papers in the air and had to articulate it New York style…C’MON SON! What the hell is that?

Amare’ Stoudemire of the New York Knicks

Classic Magic Johnson

But magazines like GQ, Flaunt, and Paper are giving him and others of the NBA the green light for the Universoul look.  Back in the day, the fashions worn off the court by NBA players like Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, John “The Worm” Salley, Michael “Air” Jordan, inducted them into an elite special task force fashion unit.  Our prayer is that they come out of retirement and descend on these new school players’ locker rooms to have a sort of debriefing.

John Salley and Michael Johnson

But, I must give them some credit for not joining, thus endorsing the saggy pants craze that just will not die.  What would we rather see, a tight fit or wack crack?  The answer is: TRUE FITTING PANTS!  Contrary to popular belief, the racks at the stores used to be filled with them!  Our only prayer is that the NBA’s haute couture does not catch on and we’re trapped between an ass crack and bulging place.

What do you think about the latest style choices in the NBA? Please offer us all some insight while we get Beyonce’s mother on the line.

-J.C. Brooks

Russell Westbrook in fashion photo shoot:

Rolando McClain arrested just one week after signing with the Baltimore Ravens, April 12, 2013.

The Baltimore Ravens are the reigning NFL champions, but they are at a loss in different positions on the team.  Ray Lewis left a gaping hole in the heart of the team when he retired from the inside linebacker position he held and replacing him is not going to be easy.

So far, Rolando McClain has been officially signed to a one-year, $700,000 deal on April 12, as the team’s attempt to fill the position.  But, the 23-year-old linebacker has been riddled with problems on and off the field…but mostly off.  A week after he signed he was arrested in his hometown of Decatur, Georgia, for some sort of disturbance that included police, according to the Baltimore Sun.

They report that the incident stemmed from an event in the park that drew 700 people:

‘The latest incident occurred there Sunday night after police responded to a report about a disturbance in a local park, which is a popular area hangout. Witnesses told police that McClain was spinning the wheels on his Chevrolet Chevelle and “attracting attention” to himself when somebody spit on his car, according to Lt. John Crouch, a public information officer for the Decatur Police Department.”

…As McClain was walking past an officer, he yelled to the crowd, “[Expletive] the police,” according to a news release released by the Decatur Police Department. The comment was loud enough to be picked up on the officer’s microphone. 

The Ravens administration have yet to make any comment on the event and status of his contract with the team, but according to the Sun:

“McClain’s deal included incentives but no signing bonus, so releasing McClain wouldn’t cost the Ravens anything.”

McClain must be a great player because his record is filled with incidents of this nature and he was suspended by his former team the Oakland Raiders, before they released him April 5.

“With the Raiders, he struggled on the field and even was suspended for two games last year by Oakland coach Dennis Allen for conduct detrimental to the team resulting from McClain’s demotion from the starting lineup. But McClain’s biggest problems have always been off the field — and seemingly in Decatur, where he went to high school.”

So far, he’s out of jail after posting a $1,000 bond, but a city prosecutor is reviewing his previous two arrests to get the bond revoked and have him marinate in a cell until May 7.  Sunday’s incident was his third arrest in 16 months, and all of the trouble has been in Decatur.

Read more here.

-J.C. Brooks

Sheinelle Jones and Mike Jerrick, hosts of Good Morning show in Philly break out in uncontrollable laughter following an interview with Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.

Have you ever experienced something so ridiculously funny yet no one around you really gets the joke?  Well, good, because you might not get this joke, but you’re definitely going to laugh.

Philadelphia Fox 29 hosts of Good Day Philly Mike Jerrick and Sheinelle Jones, broke out in laughter after a recent interview with Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte. They tried to get him to divulge details about himself and his upcoming reality show “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?”  It didn’t take much to render him speechless and their interview was essentially a non-interview with the difficulty Lochte had answering their questions.

They were talking to him via satellite and as they were preparing to end the interview, they could barely control their laughter.  They nearly bust out laughing in his face.  The first question Jerrick had was “What was the question that stomped him?”  These two are out of control!  Jones is laughing so hard she fears losing a false eyelash.  Check them out!

-J.C. Brooks

Serena Williams being captured in a black and white striped swimsuit on a beach in Miami, Florida.

Serena Williams has to be one of the baddest athletes to ever grace a tennis court.  Her athleticism shows off in the rock hard frame she sports on the court, but now she’s taken it to the beach in swimwear that’s sure to make some of you salivate incessantly.

She was seen striking several poses during a photo shoot on a beach in Miami, Florida, but some of the photos look like she either wasn’t ready to pose or she was trying to get in place.  But whoever was snapping the photos submitted every movement and some of them are more attractive than others.

In fact, some of them look downright painful.  These pictures released through the Daily Mail seemed to be untouched.  But, most certainly when these photos have been touched up, we’ll be able to see the difference between the pictures we shoot as amateurs and the photos once they’ve been “processed.”

Serena sporting a sunshine dress that captures all of her curves.

She wears a multi-strapped black hip hugging dress that is the most attractive of the collection…to us!  But she also sports a ray of sunshine dress that accentuates her figure like nothing else.

Serena in a black multi-strapped hip hugging gown.

Check her out here in all her glory. 

-J.C. Brooks

Former Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, Basketball Coach Mike Rice, and maybe former President Robert Barchi are leaving Rutgers, but not without bringing down Eric Murdock who shocked the country with video footage of Rice’s abusive coaching techniques.

On April 4, we reported on the abuse that former Rutgers’ basketball coach Mike Rice, was doling out to the Scarlet Knights basketball team.  But when Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, saw Rice hurling anti-gay slurs, kicking, punching, and throwing things at his players, he only slapped him on the wrist with a $50,000 fine and a three-game suspension.  Well, once video of Rice in action surfaced on ESPN, we expected that Pernetti was going to get the same pink slip that the university eventually gave to Rice.  But, we had NO CLUE both of them would walk away on a RED CARPET!

Retired Los Angeles Clipper, Eric Murdock, who broke the story with video of Rice’s actions, is also under scrutiny, but we’ll get back to that later in the story.  First, let us detail the severance packages given to Mike Rice and Tim Pernetti.  Both the coach and the athletic director were given over $1 million dollar as Rice was FIRED, and Pernetti decided to RESIGN.  According to ESPN:

Tim Pernetti is getting $1.2 million in salary, plus an iPad, car allowance and more than two years of health insurance coverage under a settlement agreement…Pernetti is to be paid his base salary of $453,000 per year through June 2014 and a one-time payment of $679,500 in the next month. He gets the money even if he takes another job…He also gets his $12,000 per-year car allowance through June 2014 and health insurance and pension payments through October 2015.

Rice was fired ‘not for cause,’  meaning that under his contract he is in line to be paid just more than $1 million, or 75 percent of his remaining salary, plus a $100,000 bonus for staying on the job through the 2012-13 season.

Former Rutgers Men’s Basketball Program’s Player Development Director Eric Murdock blew the roof off Rutgers basketball program and is now the middle of an FBI probe for his good deed.

Wow!  So, it appears that they made out much better being fired and reprimanded to the point of resignation than actually doing their jobs…which they weren’t performing effectively anyway. But now let’s get back to Eric Murdock.  Murdock was hired by Rice to be a part of his team when he joined Rutgers three years ago, but Murdock left under conflicting circumstances that have not been made clear.  Some say he could’ve stayed, some say he was terminated.  According to Sports Illustrated CNN:

 Murdock has said Rice fired him after he skipped a session of Rice’s summer basketball camp, but has said he was targeted because he had spoken with others about Rice’s conduct at practice. The university found in a report that Murdock was not actually fired and that he could have continued working at the school.

After Murdock left, he spoke with university officials about his allegations against Rice…A December letter from Murdock’s lawyer to a lawyer representing Rutgers requested $950,000 to settle employment issues and said that if the university did not agree by Jan. 4, Murdock was prepared to file a lawsuit.

Now Murdock has become the poster boy for the saying “No good deed goes unpunished.” Murdock is being probed in an FBI investigation for extortion?  First of all he had to haggle for a severance package that Rice and Pernetti walked away with effortlessly, but because he gave the university a deadline for a settlement, he’s being accused of extortion?! Can you believe it?!  Yeah.  Unfortunately, we can believe it.  Now Murdock has filed a lawsuit against the university, “contending he was fired because he was a whistleblower trying to bring to light Rice’s behavior.”

And you know it’s true, Rutgers!  Tell the truth, Ruth!  But the big dog that sat on the porch watching all of this unfold will surely be the center of our next update to this developing story, the school’s president Robert Barchi.  His position with the university has now become tenuous as his own professors are asking for his job.  They are perfectly correct in saying that had they performed half as badly in their classrooms, they would’ve been fired.

HATS OFF TO YOU MURDOCK! You blew the roof off the motha!  Check out Barchi’s lame excuses and the professor that’s leading the charge to have him removed.

-J.C. Brooks

Brian Banks is finally drafted and headed to the Atlanta Falcons.

Finally, the story we’ve been following since May 25, 2012, comes to a triumphant close, yet also a glorious beginning for Brian Banks.  He was exonerated after serving five years in prison for being falsely accused of rape at the age of 17.  In total, he served 10 years for the crime with five years on probation and lost his promising football career.

Banks lost out on the football scholarships he earned to Michigan State University, University of Southern California, and University of Kansas because of the accusations.  But he will get a chance at the life he was meant to have after being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, Wednesday, according to the NFL.com.

When he was exonerated of the charges,  the Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers let him try out, but nothing stuck until now.  He kept himself physically fit and his mind and heart on his dream and now it has all paid off. Fox Sports insider and NFL Network contributor Jay Glazer reported that the Atlanta Falcons signed Banks and he took to his Twitter page with the news.

“I started working with (Brian Banks) 2 weeks after he was exonerated, promised him we wouldn’t stop until someone signed him. He worked so hard for this!!!” 

CONGRATULATIONS MR. BANKS! May you have a long and prosperous career.

Read more here.

-J.C. Brooks

Rutgers Coach Mike Rice has been fired after government officials were outraged with video of his extreme coaching style was released on ESPN.

When your kid takes up sports, you expect for them to be yelled at a bit, receive some crucial criticisms and maybe even physically pushed to get in position.  But, when the coach crosses the line of calling names, kicking, snatching, and hitting your kid, all bets are off!  You might even say, “Hell! I could’ve done that!”

These are all elements of FORMER Rutgers coach Mike Rice’s program that have now lead him to the unemployment line.  Even Governor Chris Christie demanded answers from the university after seeing him bully the basketball team.

Mike Rice is caught snatching a player by his jersey and getting in his face.

Rice said there is no excuse for his actions and is only just now seeing the error of his coaching ways as a tape of his thug coaching has been made public and aired on ESPN.  Retired Los Angeles Clipper, Eric Murdock, who had been fired from the program as Director of Player Development at Rutgers, made the tape and said that his extreme coaching tactics forced at least three players to transfer from the university.

“That’s how it was.  The verbal abuse, the belittling, yeah, I was like in total shock that this guy wasn’t fired. And immediately on the spot.”

Even LeBron James expressed outrage at Rice’s treatment of his players. James took to Twitter Tuesday saying:

Rice even went as far as to call players “faggots” and “fairies.” There had been complaints in the past, yet Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti only suspended Rice and fined him $50,000 back in December 2012.  But after the video surfaced and government officials demanded answers and Rice’s removal, it was only then that Pernetti decided to terminate Rice’s contract Wednesday.  He had planned to stand by his decision to only suspend Rice.

Now that Pernetti’s actions have come to light, his job may be in jeopardy as well.  Watch the report.

-J.C. Brooks

Louisville’s Kevin Ware already up on crutches after horrific injury Easter Sunday in the first half of Louisville’s 85-63 victory over Duke in the NCAA Midwest Regional final at Lucas Oil Stadium.

On Sunday, we all watched in complete horror as Louisville’s Kevin Ware went up to block a shot, and came down on his right leg which seemed to shatter upon impact.  The bone came through his skin and everyone in the arena was stunned.  Some members of the audience as well as his teammates, including Coach Rick Pitino, were seen crying as he writhed in pain.  Some of Ware’s teammates became ill and vomited.

But according to the New York Daily News, the seemingly career ending injury that everyone witnessed, including the Louisville team, was just a little “setback” to Ware, who is already up on crutches and ready to play as soon as he can. 

“This is a minor setback for a major comeback,” he said. “I have to have the right approach to it. They told me things are gonna be good for me. This is not a lifetime injury where I can never play basketball again.”

Coach Rick Pitino and former Assistant Coach Richard Pitino, visit Kevin Ware right after his 2-hour surgery Sunday on his right leg to present him with the Midwest Regional championship trophy.

His mother, Lisa Junior, who was not present at the game and saw the injury occur on television, was inconsolable until she was able to hug her son and have a few words with him. She gave an exclusive interview to Eyewitness Sports.

“He’s had to overcome a lot of obstacles, and it seems as if with every obstacle he has to go through he becomes a better man because of it. We don’t know why this happened. It’s a freak accident but at the end of the day I believe there is a reason for it all. Maybe it’s not him. Maybe he will have to pass this testimony on to someone else. I believe it will make him a better person.”

Ware is expected to attend the Final Four game and support his team from the bench as they face Wichita State in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday, at the Georgia Dome, according to the Los Angeles Times.

It appears that Ware’s perseverance will lead him back to the game in no time.  His spirit is already in the recovery and return to the game.  Read more here.

-J.C. Brooks

13 WTHR Indianapolis

Star high school athlete, Caleb Gordley, 16, was shot and killed while entering the wrong home two doors over from his own.

The odds of someone killing an intruder coming in their home in the middle of the night is highly likely, right? Would you stop to determine who it is before shooting or swinging a bat?  

Unfortunately, that is what happened when Caleb Gordley, 16, ended up in his neighbor’s home after being dropped off at the wrong home.  Allegedly, Gordley had been out drinking with friends and mistakenly entered a neighbor’s home through the window which tripped their alarm system.  The well-known firefighter Donald West Wilder II, residents refer to as “community-minded” shot and killed Gordley, who died on the scene, according to the Daily Mail.

The star athlete and promising rapper attended Park View High School where Gordley and sources from the school said he was dropped off in the quiet Sterling, Virginia cul-de-sac where he lived,  at around 2.30am on Saturday.  In the report they say that he was shot on his way up the stairs.

“Though the Loudon County Sheriff’s office continues to investigate before confirming details, one law enforcement official told the Washington Post that Gordley had attempted to walk upstairs where the family were sleeping before he was shot.”

It’s obvious that Gordley will be missed.  Some of his friends were interviewed and are shocked and shaken by his death.

‘He was on the basketball team, baseball… he brought happiness to the whole team,’ said one friend.

A heartbroken classmate told NBC: ‘If you had classes with him, there was no way you weren’t leaving that class without a smile.’

Incidents of teen drinking that result in their untimely demise are not public service announcements.  We simply pray that he had not been drinking and that he family will get closure in their child’s death.  One man already showed up to the property where the shooting took place.  There was an animated and heated exchange between himself and the man that answered the door until they slammed the door in his face.  The man returned to his car and backed up to the Gordley residence and went in.

Read more here.  We will be following the story as it develops because there is little concrete information about this incident.

-J.C. Brooks

Royce White opens up about his mental illness and being in professional sports to HuffPost Live Host Marc Lamont Hill.

Look at the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, just all of the professional sports and tell us if you think that all of them are riddled with mental illness. Most of you raised your hand in agreement that they are definitely suffering from some mental issues.  For me, the first poster child for mental illness that I think of that was in professional sports is Dennis Rodman.  But, we have some newer cases as well.

How about Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest and his anger issues?  There are some issues going on in the league that have not been properly addressed and Royce White is bringing attention to it.  He plays for the Houston Rockets.  Well, he used to play for the Houston Rockets until he was semi-benched for mental issues with anxiety disorder and a fear of flying.  

He was sent to the D-League which is the Rockets’ affiliate team in the NBA developmental league, which is akin to baseball’s minor leagues, when he returned from a three-month hiatus to deal with mental problems and his “disapproval of how the Rockets addressed his condition,” according to the Huffington Post.

White went to the Dr. Phil show and discussed his problems with mental illness and now he’s talking to HuffPost Live Host Marc Lamont Hill about the league and mental illness.  Hill asked him if he thought he was being punished by being sent to the D-League, but White doesn’t completely see it that way.

“If I was to make an educated guess, I would guess that Adam Silver and David Stern and the Rockets organization, some other owners in the league, GMs, want me gone. And why do they want me gone? Because business is about convenience, not about doing what’s necessary. It’s about cutting overhead… And a lot of times, what’s best for us as human beings doesn’t meet that criteria for business people.”

White also gave the statistics on society’s problems with mental issues saying that “26.8% of American will have a diagnosable mental illness.”  And the NBA, as well as other professional teams, are not exempt from those facts.  The problem White wants to bring to the surface is how professional sports deals with those issues.  He also talked with Hill about how other team members were interested in taking a bus because they also fear flying.

This is an undeniable problem that may end his career and others if the proper action isn’t taken to help them with their issues.  Should the professional sports teams be required to take care of their athletes or should future athletes with mental issues expect to be exempted from professional sports?

Check out the interview.

-J.C. Brooks