Diddy A Gentleman On New Year's

Well the New Year is upon us and leave it up to my role model, Sean “Diddy” Combs to bring it in the right way. In the midst of his party planning he is displaying that he is not only a party thrower, but a gentleman as well. Word is, he is opening his wallet to pay for the cab-fare to help drunkards get home safely on New Year’s Eve. To do this, he’s partnered with New York’s Taxi & Limousine Commission to distribute thousands of debit cards, worth fifteen dollars for taxi rides to bring in a safe 2009.

The debit cards are redeemable for taxi rides and are being distributed in Times Square and at Chelsea from 11p.m. until 3a.m. on New Year’s.

How great is this? For Diddy to do something like this for the party-goers in New York is unparalleled and is a great way to enter the New Year, which will be the Year of the Gentleman.

I will say that, in the midst of all this, down in Miami, Fla. the Cincinnati Bearcats football team was forced to switch hotels for the night in order to make room for guests who will be attending another New Year’s bash being held by Diddy. The Bearcats were staying at the Fountainbleau Hotel for the Orange Bowl.

I guess Diddy can’t be perfect but it’s still great to see him bringing in the New Year the way a mogul should. Do your thing boy.

T.I. x Rihanna Perform Best Bridge of '08

During my drive to South Bend for New Year’s I was listening to a countdown on the radio. They went on and on discussing what song, they think, was the best song of the year. Eventually, I decided to put in a mixed CD I had made months earlier and I began to think about the best music of 2008. I came to conclusion that I have no idea what the best song of the year is but I do have an opinion on what the best part of a song in 2008.

Specifically, it came to me while listening to T.I. and Rihanna’s “Live Your Life.” It has been one of my favorite songs since it was released, but I often times find myself rewinding the bridge of the song, listening to that one minute of the song over and over again. Don’t act like you don’t do the same thing when listening to one of your favorite songs.

In case you don’t know what the bridge of a song is, the dictionary definition says it’s a transitional, modulatory passage connecting sections of a composition or movement…Yeah, okay. In English, it’s the part of the song that comes up after the first two hooks. Though, it usually sounds slightly different than the hook.

Here are the lyrics of the bridge I’m talking about:

Now everybody watchin what I do
Come walk in my shoes
And see the way that I'm livin if you really want to
I got my mind on my money and I'm not goin nowhere
So keep on gettin yo paper(ah ah)
And keep on climbin
Look in the mirror
And keep on shinin
Til the game end
Til the clock stop
We gon' post up on the top spot
Livin' the life, the life

In the brand new city
Got my whole team with me
Livin my life, my life
I do it how I wanna do
I'm livin' my life, my life
I will never loose 'em
Livin my life, my life
And I'm not stopping

Oh and the best hook of the year has to go to Kanye West for “Love Lockdown.” If you didn’t routinely bob your head to that one, you’re not human.

Apparel Watch...Abington Hiker Boot

As I was browsing the web “window” shopping the other day I stumbled upon these boots on urbanoutfitters.com. They kind of just jumped off the screen at me. The light brown color of the boots and the two-colored shoe laces were so ostentatious that I, honestly, couldn’t take my eyes off of them. I called the Urban Outfitters store in Bloomington, IN to see if they had any in stock but, unfortunately they did not. They suggested that, if I wanted a pair, I order them online. Priced at $195, I guess I should’ve figured that, since they are limited edition. Here’s the low down on the boot straight from the website:

Limited edition hiking boot from Timberlands Abington Collection - a tribute to the company's start as the Abington Shoe Company in the 1950s. Premium full-grain leather uppers, sourced from Chicago's Horween Leather Company; padded collar and tongue; hinged D-ring lacing; authentic oil-resistant Vibram sole. Imported. Spot clean.
* Fits true to size
* Leather, nylon, rubber

Despite 0-16 Season, Marinelli A Class Act

I can remember back when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old going winless in a season. I played for the Steelers in the Police Athletic League (PAL). Well, actually we may have won our last exhibition game that was aptly named “The Toilet Bowl”. That game we played against the Packers and I can remember running all over them. The funny thing is I ran over everyone that year but we, somehow still managed to lose every game.

The sting of continuous losing hurt but I’m sure it was dwarfed in comparison to what the Detroit Lions are feeling today. Head Coach Rod Marinelli is now jobless and the entire organization will now be immortalized in the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH for all of the wrong reasons.

Football is a tough, cut-throat business. If you earned a win for being a good guy, Marinelli would be 16-0. He stood up at every post-game press conference and refused to point the finger at someone else. He, instead, chose to pull the thumb every time. I’ve heard him say, “It’s nobody’s fault but mine” in so many different ways. He doesn’t make excuses and he doesn’t point anyone out to the media.

I won’t soon forget one post-game press conference when reporter, Rob Parker, from The Detroit News kept trying to coax Marinelli into bad-mouthing his son-in-law and defensive coordinator, Joe Barry. Through all of the questions - including one inappropriate one about his daughter – Marinelli kept his composure and displayed nothing but class.

Watch a clip from that Detroit Lions Press Conference here.

It’s nothing short of what you’d expect from a guy who began his NFL coaching career in 1996 as defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under then, head coach, Tony Dungy. And we all know Dungy is the definition of class.

It’s too bad you don’t get wins and losses for character – not directly anyway. I’m sure Marinelli will wind up somewhere. One thing’s for sure, wherever he coaches next, you can bet he will take a season’s worth of lessons and apply them to be more successful his next time around.

Sunday Devotional...You Are Favored

It’s the final Sunday of 2008 and so many things have been racing through my brain. As I sat in New Covenant Worship Center listening to everything Pastor Luther Whitfield preached I felt as if he was speaking directly to me, when in fact, it was God speaking to me through Luther.

What I’ve decided to do is bring you a devotional, an encouraging message each and every Sunday. We all need this at some point during our week. I hope it does you some good, for there’s nothing more important than one’s faith.

As 2009 rolls in we need to remember who we are and who we belong to in these rough times. Yes, we all know the economy is down; many are without jobs, some without a place to stay. But through it all we must remember that we are truly blessed in the Lord. We must not dwell on the things we don’t have, but, instead rejoice and thank Him for all that we do have.

We must strive for nothing less than greatness. We must continue to believe in our goals, for not only will God provide for His people, but He looks upon us in high favor, and we must always remember that. Too many times we get caught up in our own issues and begin to worry about the problems of the world allowing them to bring us down. Too often we forget that God has a plan.

Do not let your issues cloud what God has in store for you. The attitude of many is that they refuse God’s favor because of the condition they’re in. We wonder, “Who’s going to pay my bills? Will I have a job next week?” Not only are the motor companies looking to be bailed out but so are we! We must wake up and realize that worrying is a waste of time. It will only make our circumstances worse.

For us to improve we need to ask ourselves, “How big is my God?” We can’t forget that the Lord is bigger than ALL of our problems. He is able to do abundantly above all you can ask or think of. How we do as people in 2009 will be by God’s power. Not our own. In the New Year God will bless us all. We must receive His blessings and allow them to manifest in us.

So, in the next year strive for your goals like never before. Don’t allow time, unbelief or worry to creep in and take your faith. Have a vision. Have hope. Have dreams. Hang around others who believe in you and have similar goals. Follow those who are where you want to be and lead those who want to be where you are.

These challenges are not just for you, but for me as well. Both good times and bad times will be had in the New Year. But through it all we need to strive for greatness. So, let’s love each other, use the talents He’s given us and be blessed in the Lord in 2009. If we do that, we can’t be stopped.