Take a quick look down Tuskegee University’s 2010 football schedule on its website, and the word “cancelled” appears in big red, capital letters next to a Sept. 25^th game against Texas Southern in the Angel City Classic at Los Angeles Coliseum.

Before being “X’d” out, it would’ve been the latest in a string of select black college football games played in major cities like Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis, and would’ve been an instant diversion for fans in Southern California who are annually inundated with only USC football.

 

But Los Angeles’ loss might very well be Mobile, Alabama’s gain, because a deal is now imminent to play the game here … at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on that same last Saturday in September.

 

It could also be just the beginning of a long-standing relationship between Tuskegee and the city for the Golden Tigers to play one home game a year in Mobile.

 

“We recruit heavily in Mobile. There is some good talent and students down there that could benefit our school and our program,” said first-year Tuskegee Athletic Director Alvin Jackson.

“I’d like to play a game in Mobile every year. The possibilities are very good.”

 

Jackson has already submitted his proposal to Mobile Mayor Sam Jones and city council, and is simply awaiting a response.

 

He may not have to wait too long.

 

“We’ve already mailed (Jackson) the contract and are just waiting for him to sign and return it,” said Ladd-Peebles Stadium Board of Directors Chairman Milton Joyner.

“We’re very pleased at the way this is turning out.”

 

The way this is turning out might just go a long way toward washing away the bitter taste in Mobile’s mouth left by the Gulf Coast Classic … the former annual game between Alabama State University and Southern U., that had Jones and the city council fighting among themselves about whether to keep pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into a losing proposition.

 

Jackson’s proposal is simple, and … more importantly … doesn’t call for the city to come up with any money.

 

Because it is a Tuskegee “home” game the university will pocket gate receipts and pay for the team’s travel here, as well as that of the band, cheerleaders and other school officials. Tuskegee will also pay Texas Southern’s team expenses, leaving Ladd to pocket money from concessions and parking, while “S’kegee” gets the gate receipts.

 

Translation: There’ll be no promoters with their hands out looking for a piece of the pie.

And in Jackson’s world, it’s the ONLY way to do business.

 

“I was raised in Mississippi on a farm,” said the native of Como, Miss., a small town about 45 minutes south of Memphis.

“I don’t need to borrow a tractor if I can buy my own.

 

“The deal (with promoters) in Los Angeles just didn’t work out. I’m friends with the athletic director (Charles McClelland) at Texas Southern, so we got together to work out how we could get this done.”

 

Another cool sidelight to Tuskegee playing one home game a year in Mobile is that its opponent will change.

 

Although it competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), the Golden Tigers annually schedule at least two Southwestern Athletic Conference schools.

This year’s SWAC foes are Texas Southern and Alabama State, but the possibilities are there for future games against marquee schools like Jackson State and Grambling … not to mention even further possibilities of bringing in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference bad boy Florida A&M in the future.

 

The door is now open for something good to happen with black college games at Ladd and Jackson is proud to be a part of it.

 

Said Jackson: “In years to come I’ll just look down our schedule, find what I think is an attractive game and say ‘‘Meet me in Mobile.” 

 

The one thing I've always liked about sports is that the concept of team most always seemed to bring a group of folks together for a common goal ... to be successful as a single unit in order to win or be the best. 

That's something the Minnesota Vikings should’ve really thought through more closely before signing Bret Favre.
That’s a story for another day, though.  

But at the same time that team concept more times than not always ends when players take off the uniform.
That's when individuality sets in.

That's when Michael Vick runs a dog-fighting enterprise.
That's when Matt Jones gets yanked out the back seat of an SUV while he's cutting up a couple of crack rocks.
That’s when PacMan Jones makes it “rain” at a Las Vegas strip club and a bouncer ends up paralyzed from gunshot wounds. 
That's when Plaxico Burress shoots himself inside a New York nightclub.
That's when Ray Lewis hangs out with his boys in Atlanta’s Buckhead community and two people his group encounters end up dead.
That's when Donte Stallworth goes out drinking, then runs over and kills a guy on the drive home.

Those things, just to name a few, are the result of one person's individual decision ... not a team's. 

So when I read an idiotic story like the one written by the Miami Herald Columnist Dan Le Batard Sunday ("NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's Methods Not Working"), I cringe. 

When Le Batard says Goodell's crackdown on bad behavior isn't working, it means people like him don't get the bigger picture of what the commissioner's efforts are really aimed at doing ... sending a message to future generations of players that getting into the league isn't a right just because they can run, block and tackle, but that their behavior off the field can get them sidelined permanently. 

Just like it's impossible to save the current generation of 16-, 17- and 18-year-olds who're roaming the streets at night robbing, shooting and killing people, trying to get the attention of 22-, 23- and 24-year-old football players who’ve been pampered since Pee-Wee League just because they can play the game well is a lost cause. 

They’ve been told by friends, coaches and even family that they are “the man” for years, so why should they believe anything different when they get to the NFL?

But the kids who should be watching what Goodell is doing are those junior high, high school and college players who aspire to be the next Jerry Rice or Adrian Peterson.

If they're paying attention to the commish's edict they just might start cleaning up their acts now, so by the time they do get to the NFL they realize that hanging out with their posse's, for instance, can get them kicked out of the league.

Or that beating up their women can get them kicked out of the league ... or that getting drunk and driving their $200,000 cars way over the speed limit can get them kicked out of the league.
Or for that matter, being stuck on themselves ... instead of keeping the team first and foremost ... can get them, well, you get the idea. 

It’s way past time to get some order back into the private lives of many professional athletes.
Playing professional sports is a J-O-B in multi-million dollar corporations ... NOT a game anymore.

And the expectations of those sports company’s employees are no different than those of any other company ... be at work on time, do your job, put in a good day’s effort and … most of all … don't put the company in a bad light or bring any undue hardship on your fellow employees.

I used to work with a guy that the folks in my company nicknamed "Pockets," because he ALWAYS walked around with his hands in his pockets. Nobody wanted to work with the guy because he always made it hard on whomever he was working with.

I contend that Michael Vick put the Atlanta Falcons in a bad light and brought undue hardship on his co-workers because the team couldn’t replace him with a comparable talent … all because of his off-field actions. 

I contend that Plaxico Burress put the New York Giants in a bad light and brought undue hardship on his co-workers because he couldn’t be replaced with a comparable talent … all because of his off-field actions. 

What Goodell is doing is a good thing, especially for the long term good of the league.  

After all … cliché or not … there is no "I" in TEAM.   

(Darron Patterson is an award-winning freelance journalist and owner of WriteStuf Communications, LLC ... www.writestuf.com.)

I use this space to talk about more things than just black and white issues.
But make no mistake, as a black man growing up in an America where race is interwoven into the very history of our country, how people of my race handle social and politcal issues is always something I pay close attention to.

The spotlight has always been ... and always will be ... on blacks who've made their way to positions of responsibility.
But that spotlight is shining even more intensely on us now than ever before as America gets ready to inaugurate its first-ever African American president.

If you think people ... black and white ... have scrutinized the moves of powerful black people in the past, wait til Barack Obama takes office.
You ain't seen nothing yet.

But is it fair to scrutinize only those powerful black people, or has the recent politcal reality series titled "Blacks Gone Wild" actually clouded the picture of what's really taking place in American politics?  

In less than two years, black elected officials across the country have been caught red-handed doing everything from taking a paltry few thousand dollars in bribes to using millions of dollars in taxpayer's money to cover up sexual affairs.

And while those incidents are truly pathetic, they aren't any worse than a white U.S. Senator using kickbacks from wealthy constituents to make lavish improvements to his home, or more recent allegations of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich selling a U.S. Senate seat.

Black, white or green ... the color that most stands out surrounding all those incidents is messy brown.

How do we stop it? 
How do we make people of power ... of any color ... straighten up and fly right?

Its not that complicated. 
Just take a page out of the book our parents used when they were raising us as kids ... they watched everything we did.
And if we got out of line they slapped us upside the head.

In my current position, I report daily to a man who is a former United States Marine officer. 
Virtually everything he does is by the book.

And there is ONLY one book ... his.
If you miss something on one of his pages, that's your ass.
If you choose to ignore something on one of those pages, that's your ass.
If you decide to re-write something on one of those pages it better be better than what he's written or ... you got it ... that's your ass.

He's virtually always critiquing you on your job and always pushing you to do better.

Some people don't operate well in those type of environments. But being watched on how you do your job comes with the territory in certain, high-profile jobs.

And particularly today, in an economy so out of whack that virtually every dollar spent has to be spent wisely, the people others entrust to spend those bucks must ... Repeat: They MUST ... operate with a sense of urgency to do the job they were hired to do.

The word I'm hinting around at is oversight.

Someone has to be responsible for overseeing another's job.
And somebody else has to be responsible to ensure the person watching somebody else is really doing their job, too.
And somebody's got to be watching them ... and somebody watching them ... and somebody else even watching them, too.

The honor system is a beautiful thing, but it really only exists if somebody's watching to see how honorable you really are.

(Darron Patterson is President of WriteStuf Communications, LLC, and Director of Communications at the United States Sports Academy) 



 
 

Maybe now a lot of folks will finally get it.

Maybe now there's a reason to believe in hope for the entire world.
Maybe now Republicans across the country will see that nobody's fooled by them walking through disaster areas with their sleeves rolled up.
Maybe now they'll see that their "we're smarter than you" politics of days gone by is just that ... politics of days gone by.

Maybe now people will see that the color of someone's skin isn't something to be afraid of.
Maybe now it'll become clear that we're all in this together.
Maybe now we can go about the business of making this world better for everybody ... not just a privileged few.

Maybe now young folks of all races across this country will see that there really is hope, and they don't have to use a gun to solve a problem or rob someone else.
Maybe now, too, they'll see that the problem they think they have isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of the world's survival.

Maybe now we can see what it will take to return America to its rightful standing in the world as a country to be respected, not feared.
Maybe now those with blood on their hands will see that you can't send young soldiers into battle on a personal whim of controlling the world's oil.
Maybe now those responsible will also see that the young faces thousands of American families will never see again didn't have to die at all.

Maybe now we can see how long the people of the world have been waiting for America to elect a president they can talk to and not be looked down upon.
Maybe now we can all just try to care about one another.

Maybe now, with Barack Obama as a leader the world has been waiting for, we can all move on in the right direction ... 


(Darron Patterson is an award-winning freelance journalist and President of Detroit-based WriteStuf Communications, LLC, www.writestuf.com)

So, let me get this straight ...

After watching a Sunday television news show that interviewed some Pennsylvanians, a lot of 'em will vote for a man who represents a political party that's largely responsible for the mess this country's in, rather than elect an obviously intelligent black man who has a crystal-clear plan to cure America's ills?

Hmmmmm.
Makes sense to me.

I wonder if those same people would reach out to grab a black man's hand if they were about to let go of a thin tree branch and fall a thousand feet to their death?

Now that's a question I would've asked 'em.

The sad reality this 2008 Presidential campaign has served to reveal is that this country hasn't come nearly as far as a lot of people hoped it had.

Racism is still ... and will forever be ... a major problem.
But now, instead of racism being something that a lot of Americans thought was safely hidden in their closets, Barack Obama's candidacy has brought it front and center, and it has the potential to be a big pothole on America's road to economic and global recovery.

Now hear this: Electing Obama is no longer just a dream for black people, but HAS to be the goal of every American regardless of color IF they want this country to survive.

America is on shaky ground on more than just one front.
Our military is stretched thin, our economy is in the toilet and our streets are war zones ... filled with young jobless people of all colors fighting and killing each other because they see no hope. 
  
Don't think foreign interests across the globe aren't paying close attention either, examining every problem this country has and looking for any open door to exploit it for their own gain.

Remember this: Because of its arrogance, the United States does not have many friends ... EVEN among countries who claim they're our allies.

This country MUST elect a leader who'll choose to sit down with people around the world and repair the many bridges Republicans have successfully blown up in the last 8 years.

We can't fight everybody! We've got to pick our battles.

We shouldn't be spending $10 billion a month to fund a foreign war when the money desperately needs to be spent here!
We can't tell somebody "Ok, we're going to sit down and talk with you, BUT only under these conditions," as Republican Presidential nominee John McCain so adamantly wants to do.

THAT is not a two-sided conversation. THAT is just America ... once again ...dictating what should be talked about and how it should be talked about.

I don't know about ya'll, but I'd kinda like to hear what other countries are so chapped about.
Who knows, what they have to say might actually make some sense.
AND it might be something worth listening to ... just to see if we should change our own position.

Our ideas aren't the ONLY ideas.

My daddy, Walter Patterson, told me something once that I repeat quite often ... even if I don't always adhere to it myself.

He said: If you don't listen, you can't hear.

Make sense?
Of course it does.

America MUST listen.
It must listen to other nations to understand what their issues are.
It must listen to itself to actually hear what its saying and how others might be interpreting it.
It must listen to the majority of its people who desperately want this weak economy to get stronger.

But most of all, every American needs to listen to the Pennsylvanians who say they'll vote for a man ... even if he's not equipped to solve the country's problems ... just because he's white.

And then decide just how much damn sense that makes ... 

(Darron Patterson is an award-winning freelance journalist based in Detroit and President of WriteStuf Communications, LLC www.writestuf.com)

 

Everything isn't always about race.

I'm not what you'd call your regular kinda blogger.
I don't write every day just to be writing (unless, of course, you pay me ... then I become your regular kinda blogger real quick).

But, when I do blog, I blog because something gets my attention and I've got a lot to say about it.

Let's see, its been about three months since I've really felt compelled to use this space and talk about something.
And, it's not like things haven't happened that weren't worth talking about either.

Just to name a few ...

• The Governor of New York got caught with a hoe and had to resign. No word yet on how many times his wife has gone upside his head by now.
• The Mayor of Detroit got indicted for lying on the witness stand about about the real reason he had two cops fired (to hide the fact he was screwing his chief of staff). No word yet on how many times his wife has gone upside his head either, nor how much he's had to pay her to stay with him.
• The toilet on the International Space Station went out. (Bet the folks up there wish they had a window to open.)

None of that moved me (although I did think about that toilet thing) until ... Obama.

Unless you've been at a pretty lengthy white supremacist meeting for the last few days, you now know that Barack Obama ... the U.S. Senator from Illinois ... will soon officially become the Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States.

A black man.
In my lifetime.
Nominated to become President of the United States.
No shit!

As a black boy who grew up in Alabama ... during the days of church bombings, lynchings, water hoses and German Sheperds turned on black people, an Afro-sporting, dashiki wearing Jessie Jackson screaming Black Power and the Rev. Martin Luther King preaching peace ... I never thought (as a black man) I'd ever see the day America would be so starved for change that it's on the verge of electing a black president to help pull it out of the gutter.

Life has a way of coming up with its own justice, don't ya think?

Obama is a phenomenon.
He's smart, appeals to a wide scope of Americans of all races who're tired of the preferential politics Republicans have been guilty of forever and just might be the one conduit to get a lot of life-long global enemies talking to one another and ... possibly ... be willing to live and let live.

As a person who's constantly harping for racism to be taught in schools ... educating kids black and white on how it evolved, has been allowed to fester and (essentially) how to handle it ... I'm not suggesting Obama can solve all that ails this country (especially its racial issues).

But, I am saying he can give us all something we've needed for a long time ... hope and a fresh approach to solving old problems that are long overdue to be put to rest.  


(Darron Patterson is an award-winning freelance journalist based in Detroit and President of WriteStuf Communications, LLC, www.writestuf.com) 

There was a time when I thought the best thing that could ever happen to this arrogant, pants-sagging generation of young black kids across America was to look at a guy like Kwame Kilpatrick, who wasn't much older than them, and realize there really was hope ... without guns and drugs ... if they just put out the effort to grab it.

I've lied before.
Of course, that was all before I grew up a lot and realized how lies can hurt a whole lot of folks.

You can wipe that look off your face because ... you know ... you've lied, too.

Don't lie. You know you have!

And because you and I both know, from experience, that when we were caught in a lie ... no matter how young or old we were (and there was no way out because everybody involved knew we'd lied) ... we came clean.
There was nothing else for us to do but apologize and come clean.

Which is why I don't understand Kwame Kilpatrick or Roger Clemens.
Yeah, THAT Kwame Kilpatrick, the Mayor of Detroit. My Alpha frat brother.
And THAT Roger Clemens, one of the best pitchers of all time, and a guy who was ... I stress was ... going to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame one day.

Anybody with a pulse in this country who's heard all the stories surrounding Kwame and Clemens lately must be wondering what the hell are these guys thinking.

During a recent trial in a civil suit brought against the city by two cops who felt they were wrongly fired by the mayor, Kilpatrick testified that he'd never had an affair with his former Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty.

He also testified that one of the cops, who'd been investigating an alleged wild party at the mayoral mansion (that also allegedly involved strippers ... one of whom is now mysteriously dead) wasn't fired, but had merely been reassigned.

But once outside the courtroom, the cop's lawyer revealed to the mayor's attorneys that he had dug up text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty ... indisputable evidence that not only proved they were sleeping together, but that both were responsible for the cops losing their jobs, too.

At that, Kilpatrick hastily ordered his lawyers to settle the case with over $8 million in taxpayer's money in a settlement that included a "secret deal" to keep the text messages forever hidden.

Documentation of that secret deal is now all over the place.
Even homeless people and crackheads on the streets of Detroit have a copy of it.

But Kilpatrick and all those worthless lawyers he's paying ... including the city's attorneys, who are nothing more than his pawns ...  are still saying there never was any secret deal.

My mama had a saying: "I may not be the smartest person in the world, but that don't mean I'm stupid."

Which brings me to Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers baseball has ever seen, who testified before congress a few weeks ago that he has never taken performance enhancing drugs ... that's steroids for you people who like to cut right to the chase.

The Rocket couldn't explain how his former personal trainer has solid evidence that he injected Clemens with steroids on numerous occasions.
And he also now can't explain how his picture was taken at a party thrown by admitted major league baseball steroids user Jose Canseco, who said he gave Clemens 'roids at that party.

Clemens says screw the picture ... he was never at that party!

Hmph.
Probably was some guy impersonating him. Ya know?
There's a lot of that going around these days.
People who look just like you ... exactly like you, as a matter of fact ... just walking around the streets saying they're you.