Today a Team grows in Brooklyn. After Years Of Anticipation Today Begins the ground work at Atlantic Yards For the New Jersey Nets.  Governor David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz today joined Forest City Ratner Companies Chairman and CEO Bruce Ratner, Barclays PLC President Robert E. Diamond, Jr., and NETS investor and cultural icon Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter at the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards.

The Barclays Center will host more than 200 events annually, including professional and collegiate sports, concerts, family shows, and NETS Basketball.
 
While construction has been on-going since last fall, today’s ceremony marks the next phase of construction of the arena, which is expected to open in 2012. You Can Catch all the action at barclayscenter.com

Pictures of the new arena design & Jay Z live Press Conference after the jump

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I’ll be honest, I was just getting in from a *wonderful* experience with the DC public transportation system last night when this happened. Needless to say, I knew LeGarrette Blount (Oregon’s star running back) had a bulls-eye on his chest because of his comments before the game basically stating Boise State was going to get their asses whooped.Regular football talk, nothing to cry home about.

Well, to make a long story short, Oregon lost and Blount’s prediction was null-in-void. However, after the game as he was walking off the field, he was taunted by Boise’s defensive end Byron Hout and even pushed. Blount retaliated with a one-hitter-quitter and how was he rewarded? By being suspended for the season, of course.

I’m calling bullshit. Now, granted he shouldn’t have punched dude in the first place, but football is a game based off the most intense emotions. Someone got in his face and he only did what your mother taught you to do as a kid, defend yourself. It was a great punch by the way and Hout pretty much had no clue where he was afterwards.

Now they’re saying he may have ruined his chances for a future in the NFL with this act. C’mon. This is the NFL, you damn near have to be a terrorist not to get in and it’d be a damn shame for this to make or break a potential career in the league. Plus, dude had over 1,000 yards last year and averaged 7.3 yards a carry. Someone’ll take him.

What crack was to Pookie, football is to Brett Favre. At this point, I’m not even convinced he’s doing this for money, rather he has a true love for the game. Meanwhile, I try to convince Karen that being a fan of the Eagles and Giants is not possible and completely wrong in the world of football-dom. Back to Favre, however, the future Hall-of-Famer signed a 2 year-$25 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings guaranteeing him between $10M-$12M this season. Not a hard decision when it’s presented like that.

“I felt I did everything I possibly could do to get where I need to be,” Favre said at his introductory news conference Tuesday. “You’re 39, your arm may not feel like it did at 21. But the pieces are in place that you don’t have to do that much and I agree with that.

“If they were willing to take that chance, I was, too.”

Favre finally decided that he didn’t want to live with regrets.

“I don’t know how I’ll feel a year from now, five years from now, but I didn’t want to say what if,” he said.

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This doesn’t have anything to do with music, but it needs to be said. Usain Bolt is fast. And by fast I mean fast like the groupies who were after Magic Johnson in the late ’80’s…fast. The man who solidified himself as a worldwide phenom at last summer’s Olympics added another accomplishment to an already impressive resume only moments ago.

Bolt ran 100 meters in 9.58 seconds Sunday at world championships, turning his showdown against Tyson Gay into a rout and putting to rest the questions that went unanswered last time he set the record — at his showboating Olympic run of 9.69 seconds.

It was the biggest change in the record since electronic time was introduced in 1968. It came very close to the 9.55-second time that an American professor said Bolt would have run in Beijing had he run all out in the Olympic 100 finals.

T-minus three years until Bolt and Michael Phelps make the 2012 Olympics in London their personal playground…again.

Usain Bolt’s 9.58 at world championships shatters 100-meter record

Talk about coming full circle. Nearly three years after his dogfighting charges surfaced, former Virginia Tech and Atlanta Falcons standout, Michael Vick, has returned to the NFL. Late Thursday evening, the news the entire sports world had been waiting for since Tony Dungy eluded to last week finally came to fruition.

The Philadelphia Eagles offered Vick a two year contract, thus making an already competitve division even more intriguing.

Vick arrived in Philadelphia Tuesday morning and remained there Wednesday evening. The Eagles will hold a news conference on Friday morning to announce his signing. The first year of the deal is for $1.6 million with an option for the second year at $5.2 million. Vick can also earn an additional $3 million in incentives over the two years of the contract, ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli reported.

As stated in the conditions of his reinstatement, Vick will be allowed participate in the final two preseason games and can begin regular season play after (Keep reading…)

Download: Lil Wayne – Kobe Bryant

I dont care for the NBA, holla at me during NFL season!

Ahhh yes! Harlem Lanes was where I decided to hold the Harlem vs. US tournament. The Harlem team consisted of; Team Captain Esso, Donny Goines, Young Nate &  Shiest Bub. The US; Team Captain Karen Civil, Emilio Rojas, GangSTARR Girl,  & Kid Potential…of course “US” came out victorious! When it comes to sports I do NOT loose so please excuse my Keisha from 4H Taft projects behavior, I just take any sport seriously…

 Sean Michael Maurice Taylor was an American football free safety who played for the NFL’s Washington Redskins franchise. Collegiately he played for the University of Miami, where he helped lead the Hurricanes to a national championship in 2001. Due to his ferocious style of hitting, several of his pro teammates nicknamed him “Meast,” a reference to “half man, half beast.” Among his many football accomplishments, Taylor was widely considered one of the hardest hitting defensive secondary players in the NFL.

Taylor was murdered on November 27, 2007, at the age of 24, dying from critical injuries from gunshots by intruders at his Miami area home on November 26, 2007. His death led to an outpouring of national support and sympathy, especially in the Washington D.C. area where Taylor was a fan favorite as a Redskin. In honor of Taylor’s passing one year ago, I caught up with DC rapper Wale,  he discusses the moment he heard the news, the love, and the man Sean Taylor was.