BYOW

It was so hot here in Philly yesterday (99 degrees) that the young bucks who usually sell bottled water near the Schuykill bridge were ghost.

T.O. IS HERE!

Nope, Terrell Owens isn't in town. Not in camp either, since it hasn't started yet. But will he be? Negative. Not happening. Why? Because the real T.O. has taken over, and is calling all the shots, through the media no less, which makes it that much worse.

There're a lot of people sitting back saying, "I told you so." Jeff Garcia... Steve Mariucci... and pretty much every football fan in the Bay Area. Oh, and Ray Lewis, too. But still, the Eagles did what they had to do in addressing probably the biggest weakness that kept them from the Super Bowl. Sure would have looked a lot better now had they won, because at this point, it's becoming more like a no-win. They're not paying him. They're probably not trading him. So he's either not playing, or coming late, probably half-hearted, ready to blame McNabb's velocity for the fact that he's rusty and dropping passes. Given his history, imagine what kind of locker room the Eagles will have after a loss (which is a 50/50 shot of happening on opening night in ATL). And given the Eagle's history, you know they don't do "against the grain" for too long (see Freddie Mitchell and John Welbourn).

Look around, T. There are bridges ablaze at each turn. And you running your mouth on ESPN every other night is a lot more like gasoline than water.

Flashback to a year ago this time. The tension surrounding his destination. The stubborn insistence to have his way, despite his own error, and the ultimate result... getting what he wanted. McNabb and Owens toured the sports channel circuit like 2 buddy-movie stars, doing impressions, on top of the world. McNabb, an easy-going guy in general, seemed extra carefree, even smiling on the field. It was a beautiful thing, finally removing some of the hopes and prayers of every Philadelphia Eagles fan from his shoulders. The big day came - "destiny" is what they called it here in Philly - and with it, returned the tension. Finally, after being so close the past seasons, they were there. You can't run from that kind of pressure, even if you can scramble like Randall (and especially not when you stay in the pocket so long). But Owens again defied the rules, declaring himself healed from an ankle fracture, and turned on one of the most remarkable performances in recent memory. Immediately after this, the finger pointing began, and the bottom slowly began to fall out. They say time heals. In this case, time's only made it worse.

I'm no psychologist, but it seems like when T.O. can't get his way (he really wanted to have his performance go down as one of the greatest Super Bowl victory stories of all time, which would have happened had McNabb not gotten tired, according to Owens), he lashes out at specific targets (the media, the QB, the management, etc). In doing so, he only ends up creating problems for himself. T, I think you need some counseling, brotha. And not the kind you're getting from your new agent. Remember, he gets 15% of that new contract that you're not going to get.

Harlem Book Fair

I'll be at the Harlem Book Fair, at the Okayplayer.com table (look for the banner), promoting Okaybooks, Okayplayer, The Guide to Excellence, Literacy, Water, Heat, and whatever else happens to pop off during the day. Stop thru. This Saturday, July 23, 11am - 7pm.

Author signings include OJ Lima, 2pm, and Yvonne Bynoe, 3:15pm. My books and I will be onhand throughout the day.

Brown Out

On the one hand, Larry Brown's been wishy-washy his entire coaching career and deserves for somebody to actually put the first foot forward and kick him in the ass on the way out. On the other hand, he did take the Pistons to the show two years straight, punishing the Lakers, and pushing the Spurs to 7 games. AND, it is somewhat absurd to have him "guarantee his health for the year" when none of his players, his coaching staff, his trainers, the ballboys, the box seat season-ticket holders, or the fool that got his jaw touched by Jermaine O'Neal, can guarantee theirs. A few years ago, cats was catching the 'thrax like crazy! Nobody's safe...lol.

But since the Pistons won't be in the finals this year (or maybe for the next 20), we can already blame Flip Saunders and the curse of Larry Brown. Expect Darko to see 10 minutes per game...and to still be a bust.

(This message was sponsored by the "Nowitzki is still the only Euro baller that matters" foundation, and the New York Knicks, the next (and last) stop for Larry Brown (cuz those bammas ain't winning shit, and Larry's health doesn't like losing...you did notice how he was perfectly fine in the playoffs))

Lake Show's Big Playoff Return

Mark my words, this is huge. Say hello to O'Neal, part 2. Not Shaq, but Jermaine.

Kwame's been getting slummed throughout his career, and oft times, for good measure. But remember when J. O'Neal was burried on the Blazers bench? Look at him now.

Brown's looking at 20 and 10, almost by default. 1) Fresh start. 2) Lamar Odom, one of the better setup men, 3) Who else do they have in the post?

(Quietly, I have wanted Philly to make a play from Kwame for a minute now, but with the Webber move last year, and the re-signing of Dalembert around the corner, we can only hope that Sam gets a go-to move and stays out of foul trouble. But if there was a power forward out there with the athletic ability of Brown, and the game knowledge of C-Webb, he'd look kinda tight catching lobs from AI, or hitting turn-around jumpers on the baseline. Did somebody say, Kevin Garnett?)

Moment #94251

Was at the gym today, wondering what am I doing here. Only reason I went was b/c it was visit #119 on the health plan mission to get my fitness reimbursement. One more to go, son! Holla at ya healthy boy! Anyway, I was dog tired. Stretched, did a few things, then bounced to pick up the kids. Honestly don't remember the ride home (good thing it's a straight shot... just gotta pay attention to the red and green lights). Get to the house, unload the fam, then go to park the car. Come back in and the kids yell up "Hiiiiiii Daaaaadddddy" from downstairs. It's a daily routine for them now, but this time, in that moment, I realized just how good it was to hear it. One day they'll be too old and too cool, or they'll be at basketball practice, or over at a friend's. One day, they'll be glued to the TV (maybe we'll all have high def by then), or be mad at me b/c I had to put them on punishment, and give me a lazy wave, or maybe no acknowledgement at all. One day they'll be in college, then in their own house with their own kids, and I'll probably still look at them the way my momma looks at me... like I'm that little brown boy who just lost his two front teeth.

It's days like today when you feel lucky, and you realize the importance of paying attention to your life, and the little things that mean so much.

Happy Birthday to You!

This past week was my daughter Nia's third birthday and as is tradition with me, it's the time that I finally get around to updating kids' pictures on the website. Okay, that's all a big lie. It's not a tradition. It should be, but it's not. I'm going to start it this year though, as soon as I make time tonight to transfer photos from the camera (the likelihood of this happening is about 32.7%, but telling myself that I'm going to do it makes me feel good... until the ADD kicks in). Moving right along to the next topic...

The least I can do is give you my most recent update on the kids and what they've been up to. Let's start with the birthday girl.

Nia is three in people years, but in Nia years, she was three at about 9 months, and is now pushing on 13. As soon as her vocabulary catches up with her, its over. She's got the numbers, letters, letter sounds, and colors down. I think she could actually begin learning how to read soon, and writing her letters, but oftentimes when we get home from daycare, she's much more interested in acrobatics. Our sofa has become an indoor trampoline for both the kids, and the other day after toiling away at the 9-5, sitting in traffic w/ the kids, then heating up some food for them, all daddy wanted to do was sit down for a few minutes. Wasn't happening. Nia and Jalen decided that they would take turns climbing to the second step and then cliff-diving into my lap. These jokers are fearless! Jay likes to slide off the sofa head-first. But this paragraph isn't about Jay, it's about Nia, who prefers to pull or push Jay off the sofa, depending on the angle.

Their play is all in fun though, even when it's rough, but they do occassionally have their moments. Both can get quite territorial about a toy or a snack, and both are very stubborn (they got that from they momma... okay, both of us). But at the end of the day -- literally and figuratively -- Nia's all about helping her little bro. If he's fussing at bed time, she'll tell him that it's okay, and that it's night night time. And even during the day she'll often act as his translator, proclaiming that "he wants another cracker." Crazy thing is, she's usually right.

Jalen's coming up on two years old in August and is holding his own. We were talking with some friends of ours yesterday who also have 2 kids, saying how the 2nd one always catches it b/c they're compared so much to the first. When Jay wasn't talking like Nia (who started very early), we got concerned. But as he and I have gotten to know more about each other, I've come to accept that Jay is Jay. He's meticulous about what he does -- playing with things until he understands how they work, inventing new games, testing new theories. And when he's not exploring, he's busy running in circles, seeking out the next experiment. And it always seems like he wants to skip a step. He didn't crawl much, but went straight for pulling up, and wanted to forgo walking for running. Now, with his speech, he jumped right over the basic words and has instead opted for phrases. Like two days ago, when daddy said, "owwwww," Jay asked, "What happened? You okay?"

"Yes, Jay, daddy's okay. It's just that you pushed your car off the counter onto daddy's foot again." I think he already knew that, he was just being courteous. There's a lot Jay already knows. Nia too. They are some slicksters, through and through. I could tell you all some more stories, but that will be for another day.