Jason Collins Coming Out

This pro basketball player who I never heard of named Jason Collins reportedly came out and admitted he was gay. And of course, everyone is opening their mouth with an opinion. Seems like everybody approves of this, Kobe Bryant expressed his appreciation and support. I'm not going to bash this guy or homosexuality but let's be honest, this isn't a big deal.

Keep in mind Jason Collins is not an All Star, not a champion, he's an unknown in the league. Check his stats, he never averaged double digit points in his 12 year career. While what he did was courageous, let's not blow this out of proportion.  If you look at Collins's pictures, it was obvious that he was a little sweet from the start. An obscure player that we've never even played with in 2k doesn't change anything in the league. The NBA has already been taking a tolerant approach. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, all of the elite players are straight, it's not like there's gonna be an all gay starting lineup any time soon.

I might be taking a cynical approach to this but somebody has to.

Inspiration

I want to dedicate this post to the people in my life who have inspired me and strive to change the world. There are so many people I can thank but I'll try and make this short. We all have people in our lives who inspire us and at times we will inspire others as well. We were all put here for a special reason, given special talents by God to make the world a better place. As I look at the people in my life, I realize that I'm surrounded by ambitious individuals and that motivates me to be the best writer, Christian, brother, son, student, and person I can be.

So thank you to everyone who has encouraged me not to be a bum. Thank you to my cousin Chris who I continue to look up to as a role model and has his own clothing line (Freshco. Fly), Alex, an aspiring rapper and talented football player along with the rest of the Joesph family, Dario, my sunday school teacher who launched his own company to motivate people to use their talents for good (Dario Inspires), Ms. Agostini, who's son is like a brother to me and makes her own greeting cards (Clofran Creations), My Pastors at Calvary Josiah and Chris for their moving words and reaching out to me, everyone down with the Broward County Chapter of the Freedoms Foundations of Valley Forge I met some of the brightest kids through this trip, my friends and colleagues in school, teachers, and my family for the undying love and support. Thank you all, Deion wouldn't be Deion without you.

If there's aybody you want to shout out feel free to do so through the comments! Links are below

• http://darioinspires.com/
• http://www.freshcofly.com/  Freshco.Fly Facebook page
• Clofran Creations Facebook page
• Freedoms Foundation website / Broward County Chapter Facebook group page

Ray J's I Hit It First

So if you don't know already, Brandy's never-has-been little brother Ray J came out with a blatant diss track called "I Hit First" Do I even need to tell you what its about? The song is basically Ray J reminding Kim Kardashian and the rest of the world once again that he's responsible for Kim's super stardom. Not only that but now he has Kanye West in his scope.

First off, you didn't hit it first Ray J. Kim was married before she was with you. Second, why did you attack Kanye? He never bothered you, are you mad because he had Brandy sing vocals on Late Registration and your sorry self was recording One Wish?

If I had one wish it would be for Kanye to respond to this with his own track. Please Ye, put little Ray in his place. "I Hit First" is the type of song for those 20 something year old men who watch highlights of their high school football games because that was the only glorious moment in their lives. In Ray J's case he just sits home with his tape on replay and flips the channel occasionally to watch Moesha reruns. I'm begging you Kanye, please respond. If you can address attack poor Kris Humphries you can confront Ray J. Think of the baby Ye! Think of the baby!!!

Playoff Predictions

It's the most wonderful time of the year, playoffs. A two month period of fierce and competitive basketball leading up to the Finals which we all know will end up as a Heat repeat. What I'm wondering is who's going to come out of the West. Clippers or Thunder? That is the question.

I hope the Spurs beat the Lakers, not because I hate the team and its fans but Tracy McGrady is in San Antonio now and it would be nice to see him advance to the second round for once in his career. I think Memphis' chances of making it left with Rudy Gay and I think the whoever wins the Golden State and Denver matchup can pull an upset .

As for the East my predictions are this, Heat will sweep the Bucks if they don't give them a pity win and coast through the East after getting past the Knicks in the conference finals. I thought the Bulls would cruise past Brooklyn but they just got spanked so that is subject to change. Whoever wins between Indiana and Atlanta won't matter, both teams will lose the next round.

Like I said it doesn't matter in the end because the Heat will win it all in 6 games or less. But until then let's just enjoy the postseason as best as we can.

Let's Talk About R&B

I have to be honest, I'm not feeling the R&B of today. These guys aren't romantic anymore, it's just a bunch of crying heartbroken dudes and sexually aggressive thugs. Who do we have right now? Trey Songz, Frank Ocean, Chris Brown, and the Weeknd. Of all these guys I only like a handful of their songs. I can't bump the Weeknd, dude has no bass in his voice, I would rather listen to Drake. At least when he sings its consistently catchy.
       What I'm saying is our generation doesn't match up in any way to the R&B singers of the past. We don't even have a black boy band, where's the new B2k? Look who the grown folks had: R. Kelly, Jodeci, Boyz II Men, Keith Sweat the list goes on. These guys had it all, heartbreak songs, love making anthems, and style. Our singers are only specialists in some of these categories, we need to step it up.

Maybe I should come out and me an R&B singer, bring the soul back! I got the choreography down all I need now is a chiseled chest and tons of baby oil, the rest will fall into place...

Is Future the new T-Pain?

T-Pain has been absent lately, I guess his time is done. Future came in to fill the void of the auto tune dependent feature rapper and he seems to be handling himself well. It just goes to show that in the rap industry you could have a successful 5 year tenure by being more of a personality than an actual MC. It's pretty sad but true. And if Future is the new T-Pain who did 2 Chainz replace?

Summer 2013 Hip Hop Preview

It looks like its going to be a good summer for hip hop this year. From May to August there's a lot of anticipated releases for hip hop fans to mark on their calendars.

      Next month we'll see the releases of Dreamchasers 3 and My Name is My Name.
June is probably going to be the most productive month. Big Sean, J. Cole's  sophomore albums are coming out, Hall of Fame and  Born Sinner which comes out June 25th, the same day as Wale's Gifted. And for a closer, in August we will hear the debut of Joey Bada$$.

What was the best song last summer, Cashin Out? We won't have to worry about anything like that happening again. There will be several one hit wonders but this won't be a summer to slept on. What are you looking forward to most and was there anything that I left out? Who do you think is going to make the most noise this summer? I have to say Drake if Nothing Was the Same comes out on time but Cole could blow up with this one.  

Prom

I don't know when prom is but I know it's right around the corner because girls are being asked left and right. During my three years in high school, I've seen plenty guys ask girls in some pretty bold and creative ways. Probably the most memorable was when this guy took the mic and asked a girl during lunch.
        There is something about prom that makes me smile. For the same reason I love Valentine's Day, I love the idea of girls getting excited about getting asked while guys are thinking about who to ask and how. The end result is puppy love and nothing is cuter than that. Please excuse me, my feminine side is leaking out.

So what are your thoughts on prom? Do you love it, hate it, why? What are the high lows and lows of prom? Fill me in so I can know what to expect next year.

Jordan Brand Classic/High School Basketball

Did anyone catch the Jordan Brand Classic last night? If you didn't, you missed out on some great basketball. The fact that all of these guys are seniors is amazing. I'm a junior right now so knowing that there are guys only a year older than me, being the best in the nation and hyped up by NBA stars and millions of fans is amazing. I wish there was a hoops prospect in my school or at least Coral Springs, maybe one day..

The players I'm following are Kennedy Meeks and Andrew Wiggins. Meeks because he's going to UNC (go Tar Heels) and Wiggins because he's #1 and undecided. They say he could be going to UNC or FSU, or Kansas... or Kentucky. If he goes to Florida State and stays there until his sophomore year when I attend, that would be bananas but one can only dream. But who is your favorite player right now and what's your college team? Better not be Duke...

Thank You

I just want to take the time to thank everyone who has been reading this. Whether you read one post or are a dedicated follower, thank you. I never know who actually reads this unless someone tells me but I have 496 views right now and that's suprising to me. I didn't start this blog to become popular and get paid, I just have a bunch of stuff in my mind and I sound like a weenie on video so I couldn't make YouTube videos.

Thank you to everyone who reads this and I'm sorry I'm not as dedicated as I could be in posting. I'll try my best to publish at least two post per week (no promises). Shoutout to all of my supporters, I truly appreciate it. Shoutouts to Robert A., Tim, Marco, Robert R., Brother Dario, Eddie, Franny, and all of you reading this right now! I apologize if I forgot to mention anyone in particular.

God bless you all, here's to keeping it In the Mix, Cheers