2011 Thread Mock Draft Pt. II

Welcome back everyone. We decided to simply consolidate the last two draft submissions into one giant Draft Extravaganza! Now the Houston Texans are on the clock. Our first ten picks can be found here.

The Big Socrates: With the 11th overall pick, the Houston Texans select, Robert Quinn, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker, North Carolina.

Analysis: With the way the draft is rounding out, Quinn is easily the best player available at this spot. Switching to the 3-4 is going to be tough for already the worst defense in the league, but adding a talent like Quinn could definitely change the fortune for this team on D. The problem with Quinn is to try to figure out how much of the rust is there from sitting out for a season. Plus, he won’t have offseason workouts for awhile so it’ll be almost 2 solid years without any real competition to go up against (ruled ineligible along with Marvin Austin last season). He definitely has the physical tools to be a standup guy in a 3-4 though he played with his hand in the ground next to Marvin where they were quite the disruptive duo. In reality it might actually be Quinn, but I also see Jones here as well and while he’d definitely be the best player available, he’d be on offense, and I think he’d be an incredible addition playing opposite Andre Johnson. We shall see where my hometown Texans decide to go.

*Note-There’s also plenty of talk going around of the Texans making some moves to enter the Top 10 looking to either get Von Miller or Patrick Peterson. I would love the move up to get Patrick but I think if they try to load up for Von, they’ll be  giving up way too much in the process.

 

Crucify Me

I’m a Black Catholic. And I was an Altar Boy. But I haven’t gone to Confession in years. I was voted Most Likely to Succeed in high school, yet I failed many times in my college career.

I’m sure you’ve formed an opinion of me based on the above. Applied something to me based upon your perceptions of rights or wrongs associated with each sentence. And no doubt, based just on these sentences, before you’ve even met me, you’ve judged me.

Every year leading up to Easter Sunday, Catholics practice Lent – a period of holy fasting and sacrifice symbolic of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert (Note: While Lent is associated mostly with Catholics, it is actually encouraged and celebrated by people from every walk of life looking to “test” themselves). Every Holy Week, we attend a Good Friday Mass, within which we recreate the events that happened during the Crucifixion of Christ as described in the Holy Bible. The Mass is set up a bit like a play: the priest recites the words said by Jesus; one of the deacons voices Pontius Pilate, another each of the disciples; and the congregation voices the crowd that mocks and insults Christ.

At one point during the Mass, just as it is written in John 19, Pontius Pilate addresses the crowd. He presents Jesus to the people, saying, “Here is Your King!” The “crowd” – we as a congregation – shouts in reply:

Crucify Him! Crucify Him!

 

Black History 24/7 #5: The Top 4 Most Underrated Black Actors

In keeping with my Black History 24/7 series, I’m pleased to break form with this installment and not have to report on someone’s memory/death.

There’s nothing I enjoy more than a good movie that has great, relatable characters and a compelling story. I don’t need explosions or special effects or anything like that; I just need something that will stick with me after I’ve left the theater or returned the DVD to redbox. Now, when conversations are had about who can be considered amongst the best Black actors, usually Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson (more for comic relief these days than quality acting skill, though), and Will Smith are the frontrunners. (Cuba Gooding, Jr., used to be in the conversation, too… until he did this… and then followed up with this…)

We miss Rod "Show me the money!" Tidwell...

This entry is my dedication to the lesser-recognized and sometimes overlooked men in Black Hollywood. Not only are they often snubbed when it comes to the almighty golden statue known as “the Oscar,” but a lot of times, their attention to craft and ability to make their characters truly memorable is equally ignored. (Of course, it’s only fair that I show the ladies love, too; so I’ll be following up later this week with a second installment giving props to the Top 4 Most Underrated Black Actresses.)

Without further ado, my Top 4 Most Underrated Black Actors:

 

Are HBCU Grads Outdoing Non-HBCU Grads?

To preface primemeridian and I’s post asking if college is really worth it (please post it so I don’t look stupid) dropping soon, I thought I’d kick start the college discussion with an interesting article I stumbled across.  You can read it here.

According to a study done by Howard University and Morehouse College, HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) graduates do better financially than their black counterparts who graduate from traditionally white colleges and universities.  I found this interesting, but I can’t say that I’m overly surprised.  When many companies feel the need to add some color to their workforces, they look no further than an HBCU.  I don’t blame them either because HBCU’s are obvious hotbeds for black graduates.  I wish I would’ve seen more companies reach out to my school for black graduates while I was in undergrad, but why would they?  The semester I graduated, I think we had about 30-35 black graduates.  That seems bleak when you see that my alma mater has an enrollment of over 50,000 students.

This isn’t a PWI vs. HBCU debate, though, because both serve their purposes for black students.  My grandmother graduated from Prairie View A&M, and I stand on her shoulders, so I find the argument to be asinine.  Without our grandparents and ancestors being forced to create and attend their own colleges and universities, our generation wouldn’t be afforded the option of attending a PWI or HBCU.  It’s time for us to stop this rivalry between historically black schools and predominately white schools.  It’s nice to see a statistic reflecting the successes of black students.  I salute you all.

-23

Follow us on Twitter: @TheThreadBlog

 

NBA Playoffs Preview

Football season is long gone. March Madness has turned into April Sadness, and the only thing we sports fans are hearing about is the NFL lockout, baseball games that don’t matter, and NHL Playoffs. Blah. But, have no fear! The NBA playoffs start THIS WEEKEND! There are some great matchups in the first round, and four die hard fans here at The Thread (facecurtainista, The King’s Law, our resident NBA guru WPWinter and myself, MichaelYoungHistory) are here to break down the matchups for you, as well as predict this year’s NBA champ! Like any great playoffs, we hope to see physical play, fights, technical fouls, buzzer beaters, tears, epic fails, great finishes, and if we’re lucky, Artest will go into the stands again…Anyway, with no further ado, the 2011 NBA Playoffs!

Eastern Conference

#1 Chicago Bulls vs. #8 Indiana Pacers (The King’s Law)

 

Boehner’s Sister Souljah Moment

In 1992 Sister Souljah was quoted in the Washington Post as saying “If Black people kill Black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?” after the L.A. Riots. Bill Clinton condemned her remarks and this interaction where a politician takes on stalwarts of his or her base became known as a Sister Souljah moment.

 

2011 Thread NFL Mock Draft Pt. I

Welcome everyone to the 2011 Thread NFL Mock Draft. While the labor situation has still left the season up in the air, there were still be an NFL Draft on April 28th and we are here to predict what the first round is going to look like. There are 3 of us participating in this process, myself, MYH, and friend of the thread Mark Rodriguez. The picks will be alternating like this: 1st: MichaelYoungHistory 2nd: Myself 3rd: Mark. And with the ground rules in place, the Carolina Panthers are on the clock and MYH will do the honors.

MichaelYoungHistory: With the Number 1 overall pick the Carolina Panthers select, Cam Newton, Quarterback, Auburn.

Analysis: So, I’ve been very hard on Cam personally given all of the <ahem> extracurricular stuff surrounding him,

Dolla, dolla bills y'all.

Blame it on Cecil...

But it seems that Carolina is more than a little bit smitten with the Heisman Trophy and National Championship game winner. Although Todd McShay does not believe that Cam is worth a pick that high, I will say one thing; with a new coach and staff coming in for Carolina, they need some new blood and a reason to get the fans in the seats. Say what you will about Cam, but he’s a blast to watch, and fans will love him. He’s already a media darling and the Jimmy Clausen experiment has gone as badly as possible. Cam needs some work with his physical tools, but he’s the best athlete at QB we’ve seen since Vince Young and played in an offense at Auburn that put up alot of points against vaunted SEC defenses. I don’t think he’s a week one starter (especially given the lockout, which will decrease his amount of time to practice) but when Clausen gets out there and stinks it up, ensuring that Carolina will once again miss the playoffs, I think Cam will get some starts towards the end of the year (See, Tebow in 2010).

 

Wait Broke the Wagon Down

We’ve been taught all of our lives to wait our turn. From when we’re in Kindergarten, we’re taught to wait our turn to go down the slide to when we’re 16, we’re taught to wait our turn to drive. We have a hegemonic culture of protocol, and it’s always proper to wait our turn.

But I believe that sometimes waiting our turn can hurt us. Waiting for our moment can sometimes cost us to miss an opportunity. We have to do A, B, and C before we get to D. That’s not always the case, and we sometimes have to be bold enough to jump from A to D even if it results in us landing on our face. There’s always a lesson learned, and my mom taught me that education is never free.

I know this may sound cliché, but do you think that if Martin Luther King, Jr. had waited his turn, we would be where we are today. Now it might seem that I’m preaching, but I include myself. I think over one specific time I was following the protocol that I was taught to follow. I was negotiating a contract, and I was so eager to get the deal that I shot for the lowest option even though slightly hinted to go for the gusto. I was following the steps issued out to me during my formal education, and I ended up receiving the short end of the stick.

 

Paul Ryan, The Poor, and The Failings of the Modern Church

Recently Paul Ryan (WI-R) released a budget that purports to solve our long-term deficit issue. The plan while quite ambitious is extremely flawed. Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias have been bulldogs on the subject and has given Representative Ryan no quarter. The main thrust of the criticism has been that Rep. Ryan targets the poor to shoulder most of the burden of solving the debt crisis with no tax increases and literally two-thirds of his cuts coming from programs designed to help the most vulnerable among us.

 

He Said/She Said: Women’s Basketball – The Aftermath

After facecurtainista blessed you with “Sports In Real Life Vol. 2: The Future for Women’s Hoops“, we thought we’d follow up now that the women’s championship game has come and gone. For those of you keeping up with our “He Said/She Said” series, we’re back for a fourth installment.  Here are the first three (For Colored Girls, Making Love vs. Having Sex, Love Jones) in case you missed them.  I brought along our resident Threader who played collegiate basketball to discuss the aftermath of last night.  She brought you this gem that shattered myths about female basketball players.  I don’t pretend to be a huge women’s basketball fan, but like many men, I was tuned in and turned on.

Why were men suddenly so interested in watching a women’s basketball game?
He Said: Let me go ahead and just get this out of this way. This is why men were tuned in: