I'm watching the NFL Draft while waiting for the NBA Playoffs to draft. Chicago's on the clock and they select Cedric Benson out of Texas.
Scroll down to see the photo.
When they draft him, he's crying tears of joy. The announcers are talking about the passion they see in his eyes, the sign of a sure winner. Then they flash to a couple of Texas highlights.
Then I notice the second thing--he had dreads in undergrad, but doesn't have them now. Why?
They cut to an interview with Susan Kolber (used to be "Suzy" but she chopped that I guess, for good reason). I like Kolber, but I didn't expect anything more than a perfunctory interview. She asked him the standard question "How do you feel?" And he responds noting that it's been a long road for him, given the "Ricky" stuff.
Ricky Williams was also a star Texas running back, with dreads. Has had a history of problems--has had a hard time fitting into the NFL culture more than anything else. So Kolber pushes him on it, and asks him why he cut his dreads off. Benson noted that he wanted a "fresh start" with a nice "clean cut" that could look "businesslike." But even that didn't seem to be enough for the coaches. From jump, during workouts, during interviews with various squads, they treated him like he was a boy, then a piece of meat, then a shiftless bum. We all know where those discussions were coming from. I'm willing to bet that the #1 pick (quarterback out of Utah) didn't undergo similar treatment.
After the interview was over, the commentators swiftly moved on.
That was Craig Hodges. Ho' Grant ain't no fruit. What did y'all expect MJ to say? Not that I love him anyway. The Players Association should have said something...they should have spoken up in defense of Mahmoud Abdur-Raouf (formerly Chris Jackson, out of LSU). And, by the way, these cats try to act like Raouf was not the BEST!!! guard to come out of college since who knows when. He had in the gym range, a handle as good as anyone who has ever played and was absolutely unguardable. He SMOKED!!! Gary Payton(Oregon State), Kendall Gill(Illinois) and anyone else that came his way. He could sky and he was QUICK off the floor. Were it not for Taurette's Syndrome, he would probably still be a dominant scorer in the league. Imagine Iverson with an infinitely better handle and much more range. He was not as good as Iverson defensively, but on the offensive side of the court, defenders would've needed a priest - or an imam.
Posted by: Temple3 at April 26, 2005 09:42 AMThat was Craig Hodges. Ho' Grant ain't no fruit. What did y'all expect MJ to say? Not that I love him anyway. The Players Association should have said something...they should have spoken up in defense of Mahmoud Abdur-Raouf (formerly Chris Jackson, out of LSU). And, by the way, these cats try to act like Raouf was not the BEST!!! guard to come out of college since who knows when. He had in the gym range, a handle as good as anyone who has ever played and was absolutely unguardable. He SMOKED!!! Gary Payton(Oregon State), Kendall Gill(Illinois) and anyone else that came his way. He could sky and he was QUICK off the floor. Were it not for Taurette's Syndrome, he would probably still be a dominant scorer in the league. Imagine Iverson with an infinitely better handle and much more range. He was not as good as Iverson defensively, but on the offensive side of the court, defenders would've needed a priest - or an imam.
Posted by: Temple3 at April 26, 2005 10:13 AMThanks temple always for some reason got Hodges and Grant mix up.
tootsie
Hey LKS remenber Horace Grant Chicago Bulls ,won 3 pts allstar competion was acquiring land outside of Chicago for food co-op purposes and a menber of The Nation of Islam was ran out of the NBA of course MJ was silent.
Posted by: tootsie at April 25, 2005 02:09 PM