All I want for Christmas...

All I want for Christmas is ... 

I never get what I want for x-mas. I ask and I ask but yet people never get me what I want. I'm a simple man, I'm not asking for the world.  A gift certificate to a Nike Outlet store, a video game or 2 to keep the inner child alive and well and maybe throw in a slab of applewood smoked bacon. What's wrong with that? Instead what do I get. A pocket knife and an AM radio with a flashlight, as if someone is slowly preparing me for a zombie apocalypse. I got a fucking tie last year. Getting me a tie is the equivalent of getting someone else a fruitcake. It says 'I really wanted to get you something to show that I don't care about you at all' 

So this year, I'm reaching out to the world of immortals. The man that used to come thru for me year after year. That's right good Ol' St. Nick. The last month or so, I've studied theories, listen to analysts, jotted notes on player and coaches interviews, and all I want Santa, is for you to make the perfect sports world for me. here's my x-mas list buddy:

Ist, fix football Santa.

   Get rid of the extra point. It's a useless play. Every touchdown is worth 7 points and if they go for a 2 point conversion and fail, then it's worth 6 points. The NFL already made kickers and punters irrelevant by stating that they can't be hit during the field of play. Go ahead and go that extra yard. The extra point is the most mundane play in ALL of sports. Completely useless and a waste of time. Bill Belichek says so and he's the smartest person in the NFL, just ask Peyton Manning

 Allow coaches to challenge pass interference calls. Every pass play; (is this where a semi colon goes) players, fans, coaches and commentators are waiting/asking for a penalty flag to be dropped. It has dominated the game. If that's the case, then let coaches challenge the penalty. We're trying to get the game right aren't we?!! Same rule applies, if you lose the challenge, you lose a time out. So simple. Jon Gruden thinks they should and he's only the biggest football nerd in the NFL, just ask Ron Jaworski. You know how hard it is for Jaws to be made obsolete.

You would think that I would ask Santa to change all the illegal hit penalties and defensive rule changes that allow offenses to score 30 points a game (not you N.Y. Giants, I'm not talking about your shit team) I however am not, mostly because I know what it feels like to be concussed every Monday morning.... Hello Jameson* 

* Santa if you could give me a super absorbent liver, that would be awesome

2nd, Baseball Hall of Fame

 I really go back and forth about who belongs in the Hall of Fame and who does not. I think that players like Bonds and Clemons should get in, they were clear HOF's before they started 'allegedly' juicing. While players like Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire had no chance of making it until they started juicing, should not get in. However, what do we do with players like A-Rod and Manny Ramirez, when did they start juicing, right away or much later in their careers? Is it fair that they get in, while Sosa and Mac sits? What about the players that did it the right way, like Frank Thomas and Curt Schilling who was calling out players juicing long before the media did anything about it. Which brings me to the Baseball HOF voters. Isn't it their journalistic responsibility to investigate these matters. The right to vote for the Hall of Fame is a prestigious honor and they at the very least owe us, the fan, the due diligence to turn over every nook and cranny over why and how mediocre players were now hitting 50 home runs per year, instead of trying to pass the "baseball are wound tighter so the ball travels further" theory.  I also find it weird, that when Mark McGwire and the happy go lucky black man Sammy Sosa was crushing the ball, the media smiled and said how great the game of baseball was, but when the angry black man Barry Bonds started crushing the ball, all of a sudden, 'there's something wrong with the game of baseball', but that's for a different blog. So what I'm asking Santa, is that you make these pompous, self righteous, contradictory, (I vote Tony Larussa into the Hall, but not Mark McGwire, who Tony clearly defended while he was cheating, playing for Tony's team) hypocritical voters, to set some basic guidelines for hall of Fame induction. ie, 500 home runs, 300 wins automatic hall entry while allowing players that come up short of arbitrary numbers the right to be voted in. And yes I still say a big fuck you to Pete Rose.

3rd, College Basketball 

It's simple Santa, I believe high school players should be allowed to play in the NBA immediately, it's the American way. If you're gonna make them stay, make it 2 years. The college game would benefit from it. I'll take the sure fire NBA prospect over the fringe Overseas, D-league prospect any day of the week. The longer you keep NBA prospects in college the better chance we'll have of not watching a Duke/Butler finals again. Imagine watching a player like Jabari Parker who just dropped 20+ points, 10 boards and 5 dimes (pretty impressive for a Duke freshman until you hear the last freshman to do it was Corey Maggette ... Then not so much) come back for a 2nd year. I know the players union fought hard to allow players to jump ship after one year, but don't you have a magical fairy dust or something

Last but definitely not least, NBA

I really think that the NFL with it's rule changes is losing its appeal among sport fans. Now's the chance for the NBA to pounce. I believe the NBA can become America's game. OK, the sport is too dominated by African-Americans for that to actually happen, but hey white people you can claim Blake Griffin. (does anyone know his nationality? This is a good thing right?) At the very least it would change the perception that the NBA is a selfish group of malcontents, who don't play hard and are only worth watching during the playoffs. All  you have to do Santa, is change the lottery format. Instead of the worst playoff team getting the best chance to win the 1st pick in the draft, how about the best non-playoff team, gets the most lottery balls. It makes so much sense. That means no more teams tanking it. No more trading away a teams best assets, to 'rebuild' for the future. No taking games off. Win and be rewarded. This isn't rocket science Santa. A family of four pays well over a $100 to go see a NBA basketball game, shouldn't they be rewarded with a teams best effort. "Hey season ticket holder, I know our team is shit, but we're gonna try to win as many games as possible, so we can get a high lottery pick" - sincerely Random NBA  GM. I've been championing this notion for years and so has Mike Greenberg from ESPN, I'm not saying he stole my idea, but my blog has been picking up steam. Anyway, who cares. He's the most popular voice in sports radio so he's gotta know something right?

While you're at it Santa, if you could you know... Like um, well you know...

Denver -10.5 over Houston, always bet against Houston

Dallas -3.5 over Washington, Washington is bad but this Cowboys meltdown is one for the ages

Dallas over 54, if the weather is atrocious then be leery, if not, then this should be covered by halftime

San Francisco -10 over Atlanta, the 49ers make a habit of crushing bad teams and the Falcons are bad

Carolina -3 over the Saints, This ain't the Superdome homie

Bengals -8 over Minnesota, Bengals are a different team at home

Ravens -2 over New England, Gronkowski injured makes the Pats very beatable

Catch Kevin every Sunday night at 10:15 CST on Foxsportsradio.com and every Sunday morning from 10am-noon CST on 560wind.com

For tour dates go to Kevinbozeman.com 

Never trust a man in orange and vegas picks

I'll be honest, I've never been a big fan of the color orange. It's the most untrustworthy of all the colors. If you're racist at least you know where black or white stand. Yellow represents afraid, red-anger, gray-indecisive. Oh but that orange, what does it represent? It reeks of fakeness I tell ya. I don't even trust a pumpkin, smiling at me, with his crooked teeth as his pumpkin guts lay next to him in a garbage can. No pumpkin, now is not the time to smile, you're a one month fad, end of October - end of November, then times up. Stop being fake, what exactly are you, a fruit, a veggie, are you a fucking legume.

Which brings me to Mike Shannahan, head coach of the Washington Blah Blahs. I remember when they 1st hired him and his initial press conference, I thought, "holy orange face" how can a head coach be that tan, but I dismissed it. I thought he's a rich man, late 50's why not lay out in the sun, enjoy life Mr. Shanahan. Fast forward 6 months later, living in frigid Washington D.C. in early January, guess who's still fucking orange?!!! Mike Shanahan. 

Is this just some small little nit pic, trying to force a blog out of this bored soul, as I try to occupy myself at a Starbucks on a gloomy December day in Tulsa, OK.... Perhaps. However, don't you think men who gets paid, millions of dollars, to be violent and win at all cost should have a general who is the most  honest and real person in the entire organization? Bill Belichek, Tom Landry, Bill Parcels, Vince Lombardi, you think those dudes would ever get a tan and then tell 53 of the most dedicated, angry, violent dudes in the world, that they're not tough?!!! Do you trust a 60 year old man wearing goggles and a speedo, lying in a hot bed, giving your favorite team a halftime pep talk? 

Yes RGIII is having a down year, yes he also has handled things in an undermining way. However Agent Orange in all his fakeness, clearly didn't take charge. No way he should have let RGIII play in last years playoffs. He was just a rookie, you made it to the playoffs, everything else was gravy. You ended up letting him talk you into playing. Every athlete wants to play, its your job to say NO!!! What happened? His knee was blown up and he hasn't been the same since and now you want to sit him at the end of the regular season so he can be healthy for the off season?!!! Who sits someone so they can be healthy for a vacation? Fake I tell you, Shanahan is fake, fake, fake. He handled Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth poorly, not because they weren't washed up. He just was dishonest and not upfront. You think Belichek would ever have that problem? Randy Moss, thanks for your time but you've lost a step bye, bye. Wes Welker thanks for the 100 catches a year and crucial drop passes, bye, bye. Mike Shanahan "Well, we benched McNabb cause he was tired in the 4th quarter but he's still our guy" huh? What QB gets tired in the 4th quarter after going thru a full training camp and half the season?

Another thing, sure Agent Orange has 2 Super Bowl rings, but he did that with one of the 3 best QB's to ever play the game in John Elway. Since he won his last Super Bowl in 1998, Agent Orange has amassed one playoff victory. Of course I could just put this Shananan-agins on the Washington blah blah's owner, Daniel Snyder, for looking continually to make a big splash, instead of actually doing a legitimate search of assembling a real football team. However, 2 rings is sometimes hard to ignore. So for future reference Mr. Snyder, if someone walks into your office, with  a man purse, crocs or clogs, skinny jeans, a gold chain, a downloaded ringtone, a sweater vest, a chain wallet or a DEEP DARK TAN. They are not a head football coach. I'm sure this time next year, Shanahan will be cool, enjoying his 7 million dollars and Mai Tai's as he lays out in his summer home patio.

Speaking of leadership. Normally I would be done with this blog but I can't let go the recent comments made by Jim Brown about Kobe Bryant on Arsenio Hall this week. Look I get that Jim Brown is an all time great, and a Nobel civil rights activist, but to say that Kobe would have never been asked to be an activist and is confused about culture, even though from my understanding Brown has never even met Kobe Bryant, let alone had a legitimate conversation with the man, is both disrespectful and irresponsible. It would be like saying that Jim Brown an alleged woman beater, is the worse kind of man and gives the African American man a bad rep. I'm sweeping Jim Brown's statement under the rug and so should you

Well last week I went 4-0, yep I sure did

Seattle -7 over New York is anyone paying attention to how awful Eli Manning has been? No way he doesn't throw at least 2 INT's and a pick 6 this game, no way

Jacksonville + 1 over Buffalo The Jags are a covering machine of late. What faith do you have in Buffalo? Sure their wings are amazing but not the team

Indianapolis -6 over Houston, The Texans are the worse team in football, trust me on this boo, trust me

Cincinnati -2.5 over Pittsburgh. I wanted to pick the Bengals a lot more this year but I don't trust the way I spell Cincinnati (you have to admit, there could have been an easier way to spell that name) thank you spell check

Baltimore + 6 over Detroit

Detroit wins, but another Matthew Stafford bone headed interception allows the Ravens to cover

You can listen to Kevin Bozeman every Sunday night on foxsportsradio.com at 10:15 CST and Sunday mornings on 560wind.com from 10am-noon CST

For tour dates check out KevinBozeman.com

I'm calling out the NFL, MLB and Chris Paul and week 14 picks

Can we please stop calling Chris Paul a superstar?!!! At the very least the 3rd best player in the NBA?!! There was an article written on ESpN about CP being the best point guard ever. I of course didn't read it. If I want to be entertained by skewered facts I would watch Fox News or MSNBC. I'm sure they pulled out some player efficiency rating to back up this non-conversation worthy topic, but I would counter this. Chris Paul is in his 9th year. He's  only won 2 playoff series in his entire career, sure his team is flawed, but a true superstar could do some damage with the likes of Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford, Deandre Jordan, Matt Barnes and Caron Butler, those aren't scrubs. Not by a long shot. The NBA is a superstar driven league. Look at the last 30 years of the NBA, playoff success has been dictated by superstars. Not to mention that in the last 30 years little guys that are the best players generally don't win. Isaiah Thomas being the exception, but his team had to totally revamp their style of play for him to win. You could also throw in Tony Parker but I would say Tim Duncan is at least 1A with Parker and also, Tony Parker hasn't won a championship since he became the teams number 1 option. So yes CP is a really good player maybe even a hall of famer some day, but you would really take him over Paul George? You really think the Clippers are going to get out of the 2nd  round even though Paul now has a great coach and a team built around CP's talent? good luck with that.

Can we please stop acting like baseball GM's are any different from professional athletes when it comes to spending money. A 20's something athlete that never had anything, is suddenly thrown millions of dollars and is ridiculed when they blow it all by the time they're 30 years old. Tragic, yes. Bad advice and mismanagement, for sure. I still get it. Very few people can resist the temptations of a materialistic world especially when they've never had it, but general managers that run baseball teams... What's their excuse?!!! No one in their right mind can tell me that signing a 31 year old Albert Pujols, who at the time was not only considered the best player in the game but maybe one of the 10 best to ever play the game, was a good idea signing him to a 10 year contract. He's yet to live up to that contract and at 34, he's not going to get better. Still somehow the Seattle Mariners just signed a lesser player in Robinson Cano, who is 31 years old, too a 10 year contract. How can you justify paying a player 24 million a year when he will be 41 years old. The odds say that he will be past his prime by at least the age of 36. Unless you know he's doing... Well you know... I'd rather not say. So that's 5 years at 24 mil to a player who will be over the hill. $120 million dollars?!!! Someone wrote an article that Jay-Z, Cano's agent botched the deal.... WRONG!!! kudos to Jay-Z, I would have to think that part of the negotiations went like this

Seattle GM: You must think I'm one of your little groupie girls if you think we'll pay that much to Cano

Jay-Z: I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one (Jay-z doesn't blink)

Seattle GM: (blinks) Ok we'll give Cano this money, but you and Beyonce have to perform at the Seattle Mariners Christmas party as soon as Cano bats .280 with 15 home runs. 

Jay-Z: HOV

Can we please stop acting like the NFL is a quality product?!!! The only reason that I'm invested in the NFL, is my multitude of fantasy teams, mixed with a small gambling problem and a fall/winter habit (that im sure to break) of spending every Sunday watching a once magnificent game. How can you justify that the NFL is great, when every pass play you either hope or hope not, pending on your rooting interest, that there is a penalty flag. Pass interference, illegal hit on the quarterback, etc. etc. How can that be entertaining. I'm a huge Chicago Bears fan, but I know a journey man QB when I see one and Josh McCown is that such dude, but yet every week he puts up monster numbers. Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, RGIII and Russell Wilson all burst on to the scene with incredible efficiency. When the likes of Steve Young, Brett Favre and Troy Aikman (too name a few) struggled too adjust to the NFL. How can this be?!!! Answer me, Commissioner Goodell!!! The rule changes has made it increasingly hard to defend offenses. So now when a player like Josh McCown, who would have a limited amount of throws he could make, is giving an option of throwing the ball wherever he wants because defenses aren't allowed to hit anyone. He comes across as this great QB, when in actuality he has arguably the 2 best starting receivers in the game, whom defenses can't touch because of the rule changes. I'm personally glad that the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars played on Thursday, cause Thursday night football is the worse of the product offered by the NFL. Sending teams out every week with only 3 days to recover and prepare to make an extra dollar. Shame on you Goodell. We may as well get those 2 teams out of the fucking way, so we can salvage whatever good we can for the mediocrity the NFL has become. Every Thursday, the shittiest game of the week should be played as voted on by the fans? The reality is that there aren't any great teams in the NFL, which is why a mediocre Ravens team and before that a mediocre Giants team can catch a little hot streak and win a Superbowl. I get that players need to be protected, that's fine,  but its still a water shed product and shame on the NBA for not capitalizing on this, an injury to Derrick Rose, the awful hiring of Jason Kidd and Carmelo Anthony being a fraud of an NBA superstar has left the Eastern Conference in shambles. 3 teams at .500!!! This makes the NFC East look like a real division and with all of that being said. I give you this...

My picks of the week

Denver-13 over Tennessee Peyton Manning just declared that he was the same QB in cold weather as he is in a dome. Peyton also. Has a chance to break the single season record for touchdown passes in a year. I smell a rout 41-20

Denver/Tennessee over 49 look at above prediction silly

Pittsburgh-3.5 over Miami The Steelers won't go away quietly and sadly nor will the Dolphins and their Jonathan Martin saga 

Philadelphia -3 over Detroit I don't like Detroit on the road, as a matter of fact I won't even drive a Detroit made car on the road 

Is 4 games not enough?!! Fine

San Diego-3.5 over New York

Tampa Bay -3 over Buffalo

Tune in every Sunday night 10:15pm CST to catch Kevin on www.foxsportsradio.com and every Sunday morning on 560wind.com 10am-noon on the Mike North pre-game show

For tour dates go to www.kevinbozeman.com

Lessons Learned and Vegas picks of the week!!!

Well it's been 7 days since my last blognand I've learned a Lil sumptin' sumptin' each and everyday.

Saturday - College Football is as good as its ever been, so good that it actually tricked me into thinking that I had a good time while I was in South Dakota.

Sunday- For a brief 3 hour spell, Illinois learned what it felt like to live in Oklahoma. 68 degrees and sunny one minute... Oh shit what happened to my house 10 minutes later.

If you stop Jimmy Graham the New Orleans Saints look incredibly ordinary

The Chicago Bears having 2 legitimate starting QB's, is as rare as seeing a happily married couple

Seattle is the best team in football and barring injury, there's no way they lose at home which means they are an automatic lock to go to the Super Bowl, currently at +140 (you're welcome)

Monday- Monday Night Football taught me 2 things. 1) pass interference isn't really pass interference, if you interfere so bad that someone intercepts the ball 2) Cam Newton can make a case for being the best young QB in the game 

Tuesday- Please stop saying how great Kevin Love is. I get it he's white so its like an anomaly, but this isn't the Matrix and Love is not "The One"  He's yet to play in one playoff game (as I watch his team lose to the lowly Wizards)

Wednesday - Every time a star athlete's semen is found in a girl's underwear, a Trojan warrior loses its wings

Thursday- Being a guest on the Bob &Tom radio show was a thrill and an honor and NFL football on Thursdays still suck!!!

Friday- I learned that after going 3-1-1 on my NFL picks last week I'm in a groove...

Chicago Bears + 1 At some point vegas will realize Josh McCown is legit

Oakland -1 The way the Titans lost to the Colts, no way they bounce back from that game.... Ever!!!!

Detroit -9 Tampa has won 2 in a row, but they can't keep pace against a playoff caliber team who desperately needs a win!!!

Make sure you tune in every Sunday night 10:15 cst to hear Kevin Bozeman's take on the week in sports on www.foxsportsradio

Catch Kevin Bozeman every Sunday morning on 560wind.com for the NFL pre-game show 10am-noon cst

Coming soon the highly anticipated anything goes sports podcast "Ball Hog" https://www.facebook.com/Ballhogpodcast?ref=hl

For tour dates go to www.kevinbozeman.com 

The Ball Hog himself picks a starting 5 to take on Jordan's and Vegas week 11 picks of the week

The Jordan 5

Michael Jordan

Magic Johnson

Scottie Pippen

James Worthy

Hakeem Olajuwon

Once MJ named his unbeatable 5, everyone in the hoops world took notice. Why wouldn't you. If The G.O.A.T. speaks you listen. You have to admit, as far as line-up goes, that's a pretty impressive line-up. No one on is under 6-6, they're comfortable with playing with each other and any team with Jordan on it stands a chance of not losing, but I also take this team with a grain of salt. MJ the baller is undisputed, but MJ the team organizer...welllll slow down. Constructing teams is not exactly your strong suit MJ, unless you want to talk about Kwame Brown, Adam Morrison and Tyrus Thomas???

Look, I ain't no punk Mike. You can't just tell me that you got a starting 5 and no one would ever beat you. Sure you made Gatorade my hangover drink,  Jordan's my wedding shoes and you tricked people into thinking that bald heads with diamond stud earrings is a sexy look (and truly I thank you for that) and yeah your dunk on Ewing was as nasty and inappropriate to New York Knick fans as a Matt Barnes 3rd quarter tweet, but still, That don't mean you can grab 4 dudes and beat anyone I put out on the black top. You have to understand homie, I have mastered the art of the pick-up game, both on the court and at the club ... Ladies?!!!! My point is that I know what it takes to win, so not only do I defy your claim that you got an unbeatable 5. I'm running 5 dudes that will give your team a straight run for the money. You wanna hear em, here they go...

C- Shaquille O' Neal. Wait hold up MJ, I love the Dream, but you made yo' 1st mistake son. It's a pick up game, so ain't no free throws dog. Which is the only real weakness the Diesel ever had. Shaq gets fouled, we take it out up top. Run it right back to him. No way Hakeem matches the raw power of The Big Pythagorean Theorem, so now you gotta start double teaming which means I'm also running out... 

F- Larry Bird. How the hell you gon' have an unbeatable team. When I'm running out a dude who's nickname is Legend?!!! Whenever you double Shaq, he kicking it out to the best shooter in the history of the game. Oh will Larry love the sound of those chain nets, TWANG, and plus he's a noted shit talker, something that's oh so important in street ball. Maybe, just maybe, you don't leave The Legend open, but you got to leave somebody open right? Shaq is pummeling mofo's down low. Which is why on the other other wing, I'm running out....

SG - Reggie Miller. Also a trash talker supreme. So you can double Shaq if you want, as my squad continuously run the 2 man game between Shaq and Bird, but if you try to send weak side help. You leave Reggie 'I shoot from 23 feet in my sleep' Miller wide open. I got 2 of the 5 best outside shooters spreading the court out, with the most dominant player since, that dude that fought Conan the Barbarian to the death and boned 20,000 women (and not so much as one visible herpes sore, what are the odds?) My team still however lacks a little moxie so that's why I'm going with a dude who's game screams STREET (the caps represents the screaming)...

PG Gary Payton - Any great street baller, needs a shit talking, ball hawkin', ain't afraid of nobody, do everything kind of dude on his team. Payton can post, shoot the J, dish the rock and D up. All the while he's telling you he's doing it, doing it, doing it well.  Which means I need one more player, one that brings toughness, straight thuggery...

F- Charles Oakley. Oh yeah, this maybe a shock to some but here me out boo. Whenever you play a pick up game, everyone hates to go against that elbow throwing, knock you on yo ass type that knows he can't foul out, so what does he do? He keeps fouling you, the game last 20 minutes longer than its suppose too, strictly because of this dude. Everybody's on the side arguing about who's got next. Secretly hoping that my team lose so they don't have to play against Oak. I could have went with other players like  Rodman, Laimbeer, Xavier McDaniel and for you true old schoolers Maurice Lucas, but ultimately, I settled on a dude who apparently bitched slapped Charles Barkley during the '99 NBA lockout and Barkely..didn't ..do .. nuttin', now that's tough and that's why I'm riding with Oak Tree.  Plus he can hit that corner J, ya dig!!!

So that's my squad, An unstoppable force, 3 shit talkers, 2 of the best 3 point shooters ever, a do it all guard, a ratchet man, a clear offensive and defensive game plan, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. We got Next!!!

Vegas Picks of the Week

New Orleans -3over San Fran 

Keep drinking that 49er kool-aid and watch them lose by 13

Kansas City +8.5 over Denver

Krytopnite to the Broncos is a very physical team, guess what the Chiefs are???

Bears/Baltimore under 46 points

I don't care how bad these defenses are, it's the Bears and Ravens Damnit

Oakland + 7 over Houston

When has the Texans shown to be more than 7 points better than anybody???

Seattle -12 over Minnesota

The Vikings almost beat the Cowboys then beat the Skins, they've peaked boo trust me

Til next week, Dueces!!!

Don't forget to catch Kevin Bozeman every Sunday night on www.foxsportsradio.com at 10:15pm central time and every Sunday morning from 10-noon on www.560thewind.com

Don't forget to like Kevin's fan page for his highly anticipated podcast, Ball Hog https://www.facebook.com/Ballhogpodcast?ref=hl

For upcoming tour dates to see Kevn's live stand up show go to Www.KevinBozeman.com

Incognito and the N-word plus Week 10 pick of the weeks

The fact that Richie Incognito could refer to a black dude as a nigger, and his BLACK teammates defended him shows the disconnect that the Black Community has with our African American heritage.

It's not surprising - most black athletes are in their 20s, which means that they are 90s babies. In-your-face racism was pretty much non-existent then, as it is now. That's not to say that it's not prevalent or doesn't exist, but it's rare that a white person can just visibly show hatred for someone who doesn't look like them. (Thanks, Dr. King). Most of the racism that existed in the 90s was institutionalized, "Sure we'll hire them, but they'll never get promoted," or "You're a good guy, but I don't want you dating my daughter." That kind of closet racism still exists.

For the 90s African American child, the only time they heard the word nigger was from rap music and calling themselves niggas in da hood. The young black populace has become desensitized from the power of the word. A lot of white people (not saying all and not saying most) and some black people want to take the power away from the word: "Why do you let the word bother you?" "Why do you get to say it and we can't?", etc. That's for another debate. However, I will say that for any black person (especially those that grew up in the 50s or 60s) who had been called "nigger" to their face and had to grin and bear it, or for any kid that watched his parents get water-hosed for demanding equal rights, the word "nigger" can never be de-powered.

Black people, for better or worse, have become the gate-keeper of the word "nigger," and we are doing an awful job at it. If you're a parent of a young teenager, sit down and watch the greatest mini-series of all-time, Roots.  Have them watch Jackie Robinson biopics, and then discuss it with them: feelings, perception, why it's important in American history, etc. If they're younger, and you don't feel comfortable with them seeing how shitty we can be as people, have them read a book like The Color of My Skin. This is not just for African Americans - this should be for everyone.

Richie Incognito gets a word from the top to "toughen up" Jonathan Martin. He goes too far, and the Dolphins make him the fall guy. Does this sound familiar? Remember a little movie from 1992 starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson? A Few Good Men was the name of the movie, and it was about a general who ordered his marines to toughen up another marine, and then when that marine was killed, the other marines took the fall for it. At some point I expect ESPN's Adam Schefter and coach Joe Philbin to be in a locker room and have the following conversation:

Philbin: Son, we're playing a game in which you can't even comprehend what it takes to beat a team like Tom Brady and Bill Belichek, and you want to ask me the means in which I entertain the masses with a QB like Ryan Tannehill?

Schefter: I want the truth.

Philbin: You can't handle the truth.

Schefter: Did you order a code red?

Philbin: You're goddamn right I did.

My point is, Joe Philbin will lose his job over this, mark my words. Richie Incognito, though just doing his job, went way over the top and may never see a football field again. Little hint - when trying to spot a racist, here are 3 red flags: 1) a confederate flag t-Shirt (unless you're Kanye West), 2) anytime you refer to a group of people with "The" (aka "The Blacks," "The Jews," "The Gays"), and 3) If you have a tattoo that says "Made In The USA" (Incognito has one). Your Racist radar should be on alert. Jonathan Martin, despite his Harvard parents and Stanford background, handled this like a community college kid unsure of his major.

Last week we struggled to a 2-3 record, but as you know I'm undaunted. I'm about to go on an unprecedented run...All Aboard the KB train...

Cowboys + 7
Chargers +7.5
Steelers -3
Bears even
Bengals -1.5

NBA Predictions and week 9 NFL vegas style

Hey, hey, the NBA is here or as I like to call it, The Lebron James Show. Here's something that you never heard any team athlete say. "I want to go down as the greatest of all time". Think about it. Ali said it, Tiger has said it, but they compete[d] in individual sports. You've heard many an athlete say, I want to be considered an all-time great or one of the greatest, but no one has ever said, I want to be the greatest to ever have played my sport... until now. Lebron said it. I mean who says something like that. I'm in the business of stand-up comedy, where narcissism and ego manicalness (yep, I just created a new word, acknowledge me Webster) is the way of life and I've yet to hear a comic say they want to be better than Richard Pryor. No one would dare put themselves under that kind of microscope. James identified Michael Jordan as the best and that he wants to surpass him. I think that's fantastic. We're going to be watching him and everything he does, we will stack it up against MJ. Yesterday a buddy called and said can you believe that Miami lost to Philadelphia last night, that would have never happened to an MJ led team. It has begun LeBron it has begun

Western Conference
Pretender
Oklahoma City Thunder oh what could have been. Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden would have made an impossible team to defeat. That could have been the line-up if they hadn't traded away Green for Kendrick Perkins and Harden for cheapness. Now they have a team that's still talented with 2 top 10 players in Durant and Westbrook but not near the firepower needed to come out of the loaded West. Sure they'll be no easy out but they can't match-up with these teams

Dark Horse
Memphis Grizzlies is a deep talented team but if Zach Randolph isn't gonna be the dominant force that he was 2 years ago, then they have no chance. They don't have enough outside shooting to unclog the lane and give Marc Gasol and Randolph the room to operate. However if Mike Miller and Conley stroke it consistently and Randolph paces himself ala tim Duncan they could sneak in the championship.

Not Quite
The Golden State Warriors are a fun team to watch. They can stroke it with the best of them, but I've yet to see a team that doesn't play defense win a championship. Run and gun is great for the regular season, but you gotta be able to clamp 'em up son. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson can conceivably give you 10 3's a game between them, but where's the easy points coming from... Andrew Bogut?!!! ummmm...

Fraud
So the favorites in the west is suppose to be from a Center who can't shoot free throws, a power forward who can't shoot free throws and is your leading scorer but doesn't have a go to move, 2 shooting guards who can't guard anyone and your best player on the team is 6 ft. How many championships have been won when the unquestioned best player on the team is led by a little guard in the last 30 years. The answer is one, Isaiah Thomas and the Detroit pistons who won 2 chips by playing stout defense and I think Doc Rivers is a great coach but this team has too many holes. I'm just wagering with history boo.

Which leaves
I'm done writing off the San Antonio Spurs. Greg Popovich is the best coach in the game. They're deep and Kwahi Leonard will replace Manu Ginobli and become the third headed monster next to Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. No other team in the West is as versatile as the Spurs. The only way they don't make it, is if a serious injury to one of their core players happen. Which is definitely possible but I bet they hold off all competitors for 1 more year and Tim Duncan solidifies his stature as the best player of his era

Eastern Conference
Pretender
I think the Boston celts... er, I mean the Brooklyn Nets have a solid team. They have second round written all over them, but their go too players are a bit soft. I used to think Deron Williams was the best point guard in the league. Now he may not be top 5, would you take him over Paul, Rose, Westbrook, Curry or Irving? Brook Lopez can score in the post and is a solid 7 foot, athletic big, but what's up with only 7 boards a game?!!! Pierce and Garnett along with Johnson and Terry are nice pieces but KG's has gotta put some mental toughness in that team, throw in Jason Kidd as the coach and something just doesn't sit right with me and this team

Frauds
The New York Knicks owner James Dolan said that he expects to win a championship this year http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/9903108/james-dolan-new-york-knicks-owner-expects-championship-year. Ummmm, Raymond Felton, Amar'e Stoudemire, Bargani, J. R. Smith, Peace... I know right. If by championship he means, we'll make the playoffs and lose in the 1st round then he'll be correct

Not Quite
Indiana Pacers are definitely not a dark horse after giving the Heat everything they could handle in last year's Eastern Conference finals. Paul George is a superstar and he could at least make Lebron's impact somewhat negligible. Hibbert is a beast. I love the pick-up of Luis Scola and the experience they got from last year's playoffs. However the uncertainty of Danny Granger and the backcourt of Lance Stephens and George Hill doesn't give me the confidence to pick them to win it all.

also Not Quite
The Miami Heat????? What, wait, why??? Here's my simple answer. Resting Dwayne Wade in the 2nd game of the season says one thing. The Heat will semi-coast thru the regular season and gear up for the playoffs. Which means they are contempt to NOT have home court advantage. Which means they will have to play a combination of Indian and Chicago to get thru the East. They struggled last year with those 2 teams and this year, both the Pacers and Bulls are considerably better than they were last year. Which means the Heat will have to deal with Hibbert, Noah, West, Scola, Boozer and Gibson, which means... They're gonna have to count on Greg Oden, gulp. I hate to best against Lebron but if they're gonna sacrifice home court ...

Which leaves
Maybe I'm a homer in picking the Chicago Bulls but despite the throttling the Heat gave them in the season opener, this team is not nearly the team they're gonna be at the end of the season. Jimmy Butler will be a bona fide star, Rose will have shaken off the rust and Mike Dunleavy will be a difference maker (god I hope so) The Bulls are ready and so am I

Bulls over San Antonio in 6

Let's not forget the all important week 9 picks of the week
Cowboys -10.5 over Minnesota
Cowboys/Vikings over 48
Buffalo +3.5 over Kansas city
Oakland- 3 over Philadelphia
Bears/Packers u 50.5

P.S. the Indiana Pacers are getting 15-1 odds to win the championship this is great value

See you next week

Kevin Bozeman can be heard every sunday on 560wind.com from 10am- noon cst and heard every Sunday night on foxsportslive.com at 10:15 cst. Kevin bozeman is a frequent guest on the Mancow show. Be sure to catch Kevin Bozeman on the stand up circuit, check for tour dates here www.kevinbozeman.com
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