#AthleteTalk Recaps National Signing Day

By: Candy Man

National Signing Day came & went and Dade County sent athletes to schools all over the country. Two of the biggest football programs in Miami, Booker T. & Central, had about 30 players altogether sign with schools yesterday. Both schools are coming off three straight state championships & have sent big time athletes to college & the NFL over the years. Booker T. had 2 players sign with Miami, running back Mark Walton & linebacker James King, joining Chad Thomas & Demetrius Jackson from last year’s class. Devonaire Clarington & Davante Davis, a Homestead transfer, both signed with Texas. The 3 other Homestead transfers that played big roles for the T last season committed to FIU (Maurice Alexander), Florida (Antonio Calloway), and FAU (Ocie Rose). Two other key players that had productive seasons, Terry Jefferson signed with FAMU & Vaquan Smalls signed with Samford. Central already have 2 of their best players from this class attending Florida State, receiver Da’Vante Phillips & defensive back Calvin Brewton, continuing the Central to FSU pipeline. Fermin Silva & Anthony Jones both enrolled early at FIU. Marshall University, where former Rockets Rakeem Cato & Tommy Shuler have broken multiple records, is getting Marquis Couch & Jason Jean. Keivonnis Davis will be joining the Gators & Dade County’s leading rusher signed with Jacksonville State. I’ve seen Miller play in person & I’m surprised because he has the talent to play for a major D1 team & should’ve got more offers. 

Some of the best high school football is played in South Florida & that is illustrated on National Signing Day every year, with high schools all over Dade & Broward sending athletes to college on football scholarships.

·      NORLAND…Carlton Davis – Auburn, Rayshad Jackson – Florida, D’Andre Smart – Kent State, William Gordon – Alcorn State

·      KILLIAN…Jaquan Johnson, Sheldrick Redwine – Miami, James Bowe – Massachusetts

·      NORTHWESTERN…DeAndre Baker – Georgia, Khalid McGee – South Florida, Samuel Dervil – South Carolina State, David Vincent – Mississippi Valley State, Xavier Bailey – Florida A&M

·      CAROL CITY…Rashad Fenton – South Carolina

·      EDISON…Robert Knowles – Miami

·      GULLIVER PREP…Dominic Sheppard – Virginia, George Grimwade – Samford, Antonyo Sotolongo – Bowling Green, Jowan Watson - Georgetown

·      ST. THOMAS AQUINAS…Jordan Scarlett, Richerd Desir-Jones – Miami, Damon Arnette – Ohio State, Colin Byrne, Samuel Clausman – Syracuse, Chris Hart, Tyson Cisrow – Utah, Devante Peete – Louisville, Brandon Boyce – Duke, Rashard Causey – Central Florida, Wyatt Ray – Boston College, Jawaun Harris - Rutgers

·      MIRAMAR…Tyrek Cole, Jovon Durante – West Virginia, Kahlil Lewis – Cincinnati, Leeward Brown – Tulane, Jeffrey Hill – Northern Illinois

·      AMERICAN HERITAGE…Torrance Gibson – Ohio State, Tarvarus McFadden – Florida State, Christian Irving – Wyoming, Anthony Flory – Appalachian State, Janarvis Pough – Bowling Green

·      MONARCH…Calvin Ridley, Shawn Burgess-Becker – Alabama, Ronnie Hoggins – South Florida

·      HALLANDALE…Sh’mar Kilby-Lane – Florida State, Juwan Taylor – Georgia, Taj McGowan – Central Florida, Malik Henderson – Pittsburgh, Dana Levine – Temple, Richie Cooper – Akron

Alabama, Florida State, USC, Clemson & Tennessee all finished with top 5 recruiting classes according to Rivals & ESPN, with Alab

ama having the #1 class in the ESPN rankings & USC with the #1 class in the Rivals rankings. Florida State, by far, ended up with the best class in the state. They signed 5 5* athletes that should be able to come in & contribute right away. Florida had a horrible class a month ago but new head coach Jm McElwain & his coaching staff had a great National Signing Day & finished with a top 25 recruiting class. Headlined by Martez Ivey & Cece Jefferson, they also stole a few recruits from Miami including Jordan Scarlett, Jordan Cronkite & Antonio Callaway. Miami had a good class and ended up finishing a few spots behind Florida in the rankings. Mark Walton, Jaquan Johnson, Bar Milo & Scott Patchan are some of the key players they signed but UM also lost a lot of potential players with about 15 decommitments.

Athletes & Their Business Endeavors

By: Candy Man

Michael Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players of all time and also a talented businessman. It is said that his net worth is more than a billion dollars and he acquired that after decades of a Hall of Fame NBA career and a variety of business deals. He’s had sponsorships with Nike, Gatorade, McDonalds, Hanes, 2K Sports, Upper Deck & a host of other corporations. Those sponsorships included shoe deals, commercial appearances, being a spokesperson, & cover athlete of NBA 2K for a couple of years. He also has multiple business investments. He owns restaurants, car dealerships and is also the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. He has earned millions on the court and even more millions off of it from his endorsement deals and business interests. More than anything, he made most of his earnings from Jordan Brand & his partnership with Nike. He makes more than $60 million a year from his contract with Nike. Jordan sneaker sales are still growing after all these years and generate more than $2 billion every year. Due to the massive popularity and influence his shoes have had, Jordan Brand owns more of the basketball shoe market in America than Nike itself.

MJ is the most influential example of athletes turning their career success into a profitable business of their own. There are so many NBA players today with their own shoe deals including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose & Dwayne Wade. Damian Lillard & John Wall recently joined the competition with sneakers of their own. Outside the NBA, some of the most popular athlete endorsement deals are George Foreman and his grills, and Tiger Wood’s partnership with Nike. While the highest paid athlete contracts come from baseball, some of the wealthiest athletes in terms of endorsements come from tennis, golf and soccer; Roger Federer, Phil Mickelson, Maria Sharapova, David Beckham, Rafael Nadal, Rory McIlroy, Serena & Venus Williams.

Besides endorsements, another popular option for athletes to increase their net worth is through franchising. Many athletes partner with corporations to own & operate their retail stores. Peyton Manning owns multiple Papa John’s stores in Colorado. Former NBA player, Jamal Mashburn, owns many stores across a variety of businesses including Papa John’s, Outback Steakhouse, Dunkin Donuts & a Toyota dealership in Kentucky. Junior Bridgeman, who spent most of his NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks, owns about 160 Wendy’s & Chili’s restaurant franchises around the country. Many professional athletes are also franchisees in Wingstop restaurants. Wingstop has become more popular due to Rick Ross rapping about their lemon pepper wings and all that good stuff. He and his sister, Tawanda Roberts, opened 6 new stores across the South and Rozay heavily promotes their chicken wings in his music.

If you’ve seen the ESPN 30 for 30 “Broke” documentaries, you know how fast athletes can make money and how fast they can lose it all. Athletes like MJ realized their power and influence and took advantage of it. With so many athletes going bankrupt and blowing their money away on gambling, splurging, or domestic issues, Jordan is a role model in the business world for developing the knowledge and network to turn his name into a billion dollar company. Many of today’s athletes are following his lead and creating their own brands. I just highlighted a few athletes but there are many more that are successfully building their own companies after retirement.

               

         

Miramar Patriots Football: Is it the End?

By: Candy Man 

The 2014 Miramar football team was the #1 team in the preseason Class 8A polls & one of the most talented teams in Florida. They were projected to win the Class 8A state championship but soon got off to a disappointing 2-2 start to the season, losing leads late in the game to Plantation-American Heritage & St. Thomas, and another lead later in the year to Flanagan. They finished the year with 8 wins & 3 losses. They also lost their head coach, Matthew Strout, who resigned midway through the season for personal reasons. However, after his resignation, he claimed that several players were academically ineligible to play and others were paid to transfer to Miramar & for their play on the field. 

To provide a little background on the situation, the 2013 Patriots finished the regular season undefeated before losing in a surprising upset to Palm Beach Gardens in the regional finals. Damon Cogdell, the head coach that built Miramar into a powerhouse and won the 2009 Class 6A state championship, left the school to become the linebackers coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers. Strout who was an offensive line coach, got promoted to head coach. This past summer, Miramar received several transfers including highly-recruited prospect, Jovon Durante from Norland. The Patriots got off to a 5-3 start before Strout was forced to resign. Soon after, allegations of ineligible players and impermissible benefits surfaced. Along with his other claims, Strout also claimed that he gave “sports gear, airfare to summer camps, presents for players’ girlfriends, cash incentives for grades, and tickets to USF football games to two teachers,” according to the Sun-Sentinel. Strout also lied about his educational background and job history. 

I don’t know if Miramar football has a history of academic misconduct & giving illegal benefits to athletes under Coach Cogdell or if this all started when Matthew Strout was named the head coach but it’s unfortunate that the football team had to lose their whole season and a shot at the state championship because of a few bad people in the program. It is said that more than 20 student-athletes were implicated and some ineligible athletes even had their grades fixed so that they can continue playing. Others were paid for making big plays on the field. After the team learned that it would lose its spot in the playoffs, athletes, parents, & coaches protested in front of the Broward County School Board building but the school board was firm & steady in their decision. Hopefully, Miramar will find a coach that can clean up the program, be a leader to the young men and help the team bounce back from this controversy in 2015.

Miami’s Urban Dance Scene Influence the NFL

By: Jimbo Brown 

“Its peanut butter jelly time, its peanut better jelly time,” came blasting through the speakers during my 4th grade dance. If you are from Miami you know that this is one of the dances of our generation. If your not…you maybe know the song from different commercials or that one episode of Family Guy when Bryan had on the banana suit. LOL! This dance and others was the best part of elementary school dances, birthday parties and family events. The Ice Cream and Cake, Do-Do Brown and the Cry Baby are just some of the dances created in the inner city of Miami. You eventually seen the dances being done in the pop warner games growing up. As the times and the dances changed, the kids in the middle of the dance circle grew up to play sports and never to forget their roots. 

As a child, I used to day dream about playing in the NFL (when that was a thought), I envisioned myself scoring a touchdown and doing the Drop for about 15 yards. Thinking how cool that would be to put my Hometown on the map. Even though thats not my reality right now, I still seen my vision come to life. During the 2014-15 NFL season we have seen the evolution of the celebration. The Smurda Dance is the newest one that has emerged onto the NFL stage. Since entering the league, Pittsburgh Steelers own Antonio Brown has done exactly what I day dreamed about. Around that time a popular dance called the Beanie Biggle Wiggle was created by a security guard at Norland High School named DJ PA Teezy. This was the school Brown career began and ended. Since the first time he touch the end zone Brown did this dance for his celebration. More Miami dances have gotten exposure this year by William Gay, a cornerback for the Steelers. The Bobble Walk the hottest dance in Miami is getting all type of national love. He even gained the attention of Super Bowl champion Terrell Davis, who did the dance on NFL Network. Miami players shedding light to their hometown of Miami. 

It feels good to know that I probably wasn’t the only one who had those visions. To see them come true is the biggest pleasure of it all. Every time I see one of the dances it reminds me of when life was so innocent. Nothing mattered but playing football and having a good time with your peers. Thats what motivated me to do this tribute to Miami. Ricky Jean Francios aka Freak, former LSU Tiger and Carol City Chief, won Dancing with the Starters this morning with his celebration after a sack. Guess what dance it was? “Its peanut butter jelly time, its peanut better jelly time."

Amari Cooper: The Hometown Favorite for the Heisman

By: Jimbo Brown

Miami Northwestern Bulls is one of the nationally known high school powerhouse coming out of South Florida. Many high school legends were made on 71st. Greats such as Teddy Bridgewater, Antonio Bryant and Lavonte David have all went to college and onto the NFL. In recent years, The West has had 3 players in the race for the Heisman in their college career. Jacory Harris and Teddy Bridgewater both were in the conversation, but with mid-season collapses they weren’t invited to New York once the season ended. The player who has be consistently great for the Alabama Tide and has a great chance to win this trophy is Amari Cooper. 

As a high school stud, Cooper was a three-sport athlete that shined in every sport that he played in. In his junior he was one of Teddy Bridgewater’s primary targets. As a senior, he had 33 receptions for 722 yards and was considered the 6th best wide receiver recruit by Rivals.com. This landed him a scholarship to the great University of Alabama. 

Fast forward to the 2014-2015 season, the Heisman race this year is clearly a three headed race in my opinion. Marcus Mariota, Melvin Gordon and Amari Cooper. These three candidates have all had their Heisman moment this year that all winners have to defy their greatness. Cooper just has more then one this season.  He killed my Florida Gators with 201 receiving yards and three touchdowns and thats not the stat that catches my eye. Against a tough LSU and at the time #1 Mississippi State he has caught eight passes for 80-plus yards and a touchdown. He finished the Iron Bowl with 13 catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns to help the Tide comeback against a well coached Auburn team. 

Miami Northwestern and youth throughout the inner-city of Miami  should look at the success Cooper is having and to the best of their power emulate. Its not many athletes who have national success like this and have no off the field issues. Even though I believe Marcus Mariota will win the Heisman, Cooper should have the support of his hometown and help campaign for him to at least get invited to the ceremony. Big time players make big time plays in all situations. 

Season of Giving: 1st Annual Turkey Bowl Extravaganza

By: Jimbo Brown

“Good works is giving to the poor and the helpless, but divine works is showing them their worth to the One who matters.” - Criss Jami

One day while exploring the clouds, I had a flashback of some of the great times my close friends and I enjoyed together. These times included throwing one of the biggest house party in Tallahassee, Florida, to playing football every thanksgiving morning. The one I remember the most was when my homeboy from Oregon gave us some gear and we all was out there looking like baby Ducks. This was one of the few times that we could all get together and indulge in an activity that brought us all together. It became an event that us and other compadres would look forward to while home for the holidays. Once I came down from cloud surfing, the idea of making this an annual event for the community was stuck in my mind. Thus, the 1st Annual Turkey Bowl Extravaganza Fundraiser/Flag Football Game was born. 

C-Town Athletics, Behind the Scene Kings and Beautiful Spirited Women has put together this event. The purpose of this event is to give families the ability to have a thanksgiving dinner that we believe everyone should experience. Most people have the pleasure of eating a hot meal on Thanksgiving while others can only day dream about it. These organizations want this event to bring the community together and show that there are people that care. 

TBE2K14 is half fundraiser/food drive and half flag football game. This event will be held on November 23rd from 1pm-5pm at Betty T Ferguson Sports Complex. The day will be filled with music, giveaways and flag football. An limited amount of thanksgiving baskets will be given to the families that need it. There will be two flag football game: CTA vs BTSK and Total Package vs Go Gettas. Come out and enjoy yourself at this community event. 

Treon Harris: Scandal or Conspiracy?

By: Jimbo Brown

Treon Harris the lone Gator out of the talented Harris family, lead UF to a 10-9 win against their rival on Rocky Top. Treon Harris, younger brother of Tim Harris Jr. and Brandon Harris: both UM standouts. Treon is arguably the best out of the three brothers leading his high school football to two state championships. Saturday, October 4th Treon brought life to the Gators offense, that hasn’t looked to good this season with Jeff Driskel at the reigns. 

Just like #1 Alabama losing to #10 Ole Miss this past weekend, Treon Harris chances this season have gone down the drain. Early Sunday morning, an accuser claimed Harris forced his way into her dorm room and sexually assaulted her. Lynden Trail says, “He and others will support Harris, not just because he plays football but because it’s not in his character." Based on the evidence so far, the case is pretty shaky and is based on a lot of “He said, She said” information. I will access the situation more once the investigation plays out. For now I will discuss the real possibility of Treon Harris being a starting quarterback at UF, another highly talented black UF quarterback ostracized and will this trend every change.

I highly doubt UF would make Treon their starting quarterback without giving Driskel another shot. Over the past couple of years Driskel was unsuccessful at returning UF to the limelight. Treon has a strong case over Driskel in the limited time we seen him play. My opinion is that race would have played a large part in this situation. After Chris Leak (who didn’t have the norm black appearance) all other black quarterbacks at UF was casted out either by transfer or criminal allegations: Cam Newton and Jacoby Brissett. 

If the accusations against Treon turns out to be false this would look like a conspiracy to oust another black QB from the program. Cam Newton “Stolen Laptop” situation was skeptical and this case gives me that same feeling. UF can’t afford to lose another highly-talented QB because Newton ended up to be a Heisman/National Championship winner in the same season with a mediocre Auburn Tigers. When will this cycle stop?

Before this scandal, I believed that the cycle would have stopped with Treon Harris. I made this assessment based off his high character and maturity that others before him may not have possessed. He is the kid you want the ball with 2 minutes left in Death Valley and he’s down 6 points. He has that “It” factor that a starting  quarterback needs to have to win in NCAA football.

Teddy “2Gloves” Bridgewater: GUMP (Great Under Major Pressure)

By: Jimbo Brown

“Teddy, Teddy, Teddy” chants the the Minnesota Vikings fan base after rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater came to the sideline after a touchdown drive. “It’s great when you have fans on your back supporting you,” Bridgewater said. Its not new for Teddy to hear his name chanted or lead his team to a comeback victory, he has done both throughout his career.Teddy’s career didn’t start off on the bright side. He didn’t become the #1 pick after preseason mock draft had him and Jadeveon Clowney as #1 and #2.

Two other quarterbacks were taken ahead of Bridgewater after respected experts had him ranked as  #4 QB due to a subpar performance at his pro day. Teddy stayed humble throughout the draft process and worked hard to show the Vikings their first-round pick wasn’t a waste.  His first career start didn’t disappoint the Viking organization neither. 

Teddy Bridgewater was the first quarterback ever to record a fourth-quarter comeback in his debut bringing the Vikings back from a one-point deficit after they blew a 27-14 lead in the third quarter. With the best debut of any vikings quarterback back, Teddy set team records for the most passing yards, most completions and highest passer rating by a rookie in his first start. After only one start, Teddy is proving on the field that he was the best quarterback in the 2014 NFL Draft. 

Trying to make a play to put his team in the lead, Teddy sprained his ankle and didn’t return to the game after converting the 2-point conversion. Although he is likely to start this Thursday against the Packers, Teddy has played with this injury before while at Louisville, against an in-conference rival, University of Rutgers.Teddy states “I think in this situation, I’m just going to have to put extra time in the training room.” As the co-founder of GUMP (Great Under Major Pressure), Teddy will be well prepared if coaches decide to start him. 

Teddy “2Gloves” Bridgewater gives the children that are running around Bunche Park, someone they can look up took and say “I can do it too.”  He’s done everything the right way and still has a lot more to accomplish. 

Miami Youth Football: More than Just a Platform

By: Jimbo Brown

Growing up in Miami, their were not many opportunities for the youth to succeed. We were constantly surrounded by violence and drugs either being sold or used. In other cities, it might be unusual to see crack pipes or baggies on the streets, but in the inner city of Miami that’s every day life.  When living in Miami it is easy for you to get sidetracked and into the gang/drug culture. Those were the successful people we saw on a daily basis.  We have no choice but to turn to little league sports, football being the most popular.Youth football helped kids in  my generation in multiple ways. It keep us off the dangerous streets of Miami, helped us learn discipline, and build a brotherhood with peers we normally wouldn’t have. 

If you were able to withstand the desire to join that culture, the people in it would encourage you continue on the sports route to success. Our coaches were extended father figures and for some the father figure that they were missing. Some coaches would get so involved where they would pick kids up for practice, pay for participation and supplies, plus get involved in academics for those who needed it. When you got in trouble at home or in school the coaches would discipline you on top of being punished at home. Running, crabbing and having to hit the whole team are just some of the disciplinary tools used. Lifetime friendships have been made through playing optimist football. Most of my friends I have either played with or against during my optimist career. The Miami youth football scene is filled with many teams in several different leagues. 

When it comes to the popularity of Miami youth football it is known and respected throughout the country. Years back Uncle Luke and Snoop Dogg hosted a day filled with the best youth teams throughout the country. Most of the teams were from the Miami and  California pop warner leagues. Miami's Pop Warner and South Florida Youth Football League was arguably the two best leagues and where most of the talent in Miami was found. The programs that had consistent success and talent were: North Dade, Bunche Park, Scott Lake, Gwen Cherry, NW Boys & Girls Club, Liberty City and Miami Gardens. Many players have became stars on their high school, college and professional level. 

Teddy Bridgewater, Devonta Freeman, Allen Hurns, Eugene Smith and Kayvon Webster are just a few players who continued their success throughout all three levels. These individuals and a host of others serve as role models and give the youth hope that their dreams can come true. Showing the youth in their communities that dreams do come true.