Team Captain, World Champion, Sportsman Of The Year...

I feel a special "congrats" are in order to Mr. Derek Jeter. I also feel its only fitting that the starting shortstop and team captain of the 2009 World Champion New York Yankees should be named sportsman of the year by Sports Illustrated.

Honestly, this is good news for everyone. Why? Because for fans, its shows the appreciation for the team captain by honoring his leadership, knowledge and sportsmanship.

For the haters it gives them a new goal to work towards by working hard to overthrow the king.

I say, its motivation either way to be the best at what you choose to do. Hate it or love it but finish strong whichever road you decide to take! Ha...

To Be The Man...You Have To Beat The Man...

I was always taught that in order to be the best you have to beat the best. In Sports entertainment, i.e. "wrastling", Ric Flair used to scream it all the time.

"Whoooo, to Be the man, You have to Beat the man, Whoooo!" I believe he was right! You can't earn respect as a world champion without beating the champion.

In sports, obviously the competition is elite and as you climb the ladder of success, the competition continues to get faster, harder and stronger. And speaking of competition, its that time again for the World Series Championship of Baseball.

The 2009 World Series is what sports legends are made of. The Philadelphia Phillies return to the world series to defend their championship against the New York Yankees, the all time most winning ball club in sports history. As a kid in little league, this is the exact stage you would strive to reach for.

The irony of this years world series is people always comment about flukes and whether or not someone has earned their championship, or they didn't actually beat the reigning champions, (cough cough hence Michael Jordan retiring and THEN Kobe's Lakers win back to back titles, BUT he never beat the Bulls for those titles! Or... a healthy Kevin Garnett with the Celtics for that matter, HA) but seriously, this year the 2009 Baseball title will be undisputed.

New York had the best record in baseball this season and the Phillies actually RETURN to the world series to defend their title. For once, the two best teams are going head to head for the championship in a winner-take-all fight to the finish. I will have my popcorn for sure. All I have to say is...may the best team win.

(In Darth Vader Voice) The Empire Strikes Back!

The Heart Of A Champion

If we have learned anything from our youth its to believe in yourself and PLAY with your heart and everything else will come to fruition. I watched this little league world series game for a lot of reasons. One was because I love watching championship caliber sports, two because the team was from Chula Vista (San Diego). Three because watching the kids play showed the the true heart of a champion, meaning playing for the love of the sport and not for money, collegiate scouts, or some type of contractual agreement, but strickly for the passion and ability to say I have accomplished a goal that I worked hard for. And four because I just wanted to watch something that could quite possibly go down as history being made.

No US Little League team has beaten another country in the last umpteen years. I'm not stat checking here, I am making a point. These kids had talent, the will to survive and the beliefs that they could actually do something they set out to do which was win the World Series Little League championship.

You could see early in the game when Chula Vista was down 0-3, Kiko Garcia was on the mound against Taiwan's best batter with some doubt in his eyes, but once he struck their all star player out, it was money in the bag! Confidence is everything, right? Believe in yourself. As @iamdiddy tweets consistently, GO BE GREAT!

Too many times as adults we lose the love that we had in the beginning for our respective passion because we get caught up in life. Bills, Money, Spouse, family and well life. These kids had passion and all they had to do was practice, eat their vitamins, say their prayers and believe in themselves, just like Hulkamania taught us.

I think we need to all take a lesson from Hulkamania and the Chula Vista Little League World Series Champions and once again regain our passion for life and not just walk like zombies in the Mill. I think them winning not just for Chula Vista (San Diego) but also USA proves that we can all be champions if we lift our heads up, believe in ourselves and stick our chest out!

Now, if we could get the OTHER San Diego powder blue team to win, we would REALLY have some celebrating to do. Sometimes it takes the kid in us to bring out the BEAST!

Changing Of The Guard...

Over the years, I have found myself becoming a modern day captain obvious by realizing that in life, there are definitely no guarantees. And even when someone provides you with substantial evidence showing the later, I still am ready to blow a whistle and throw out the SSD flag!

The entire reason for this website is solely based off of the dedication to determining whether or not someone or something can guarantee the result it claims from the hype it has surrounding it. Since there are no guarantees, throughout my research of this journey called life, I have found that there are three things you can at least rest assured to be inevitable: times changing, paying bills and death.

The irony of this is the longer you live your life, you will continuously begin to notice the more things change, the more things tend to stay the same and as long as you are living you will eventually have to owe someone something i.e. paying a debt/bill, until you die and then in that case, something definitely would be different and so my theory would be true, but I guess we won't know until the day after, huh?

Without falling too far off from the subject matter, some people don't like change and some people welcome it with open arms.
I grew up like most people watching my favorite basketball players on my favorite team play basketball. At that time, I thought these certain marquee players would play on that same team forever. And then the unthinkable happened, In 1998, forever arrived and Michael Jordan retired on top of the world, as an NBA World Champion Chicago Bull.

Being from Chicagoland at that time was a detrimental time in life. Was this the death of sports as we knew it or the birth of a marketing big business corporation dragon that today commonly devours the love of the game that players have for their respective sport or team?

As you know, SSD is dedicated to erasing the hype to uncover the truth. Through my perspective, it seemed that although Michael Jordan retired, his love and passion for basketball along with the desire to come back and play was not strong enough to compete with the "BIG BUSINESS" moving on without him, leaving MJ to have no choice but to migrate to another team that would accept his talent.

Now I know that the marketing corporation monster has been around longer than before Michael Jordan's days, my point is that this situation is far too common with players in this new age. Teams are not loyal to players and players are not loyal to teams. Its all business and in my opinion players are starting to lose the love they have for the game and are playing just to show up to cash a check. Is it the players fault for this mentality or is it the organizations that treat players/talent like cattle by not nurturing their players the ones to be blamed?

I guess there are so many variables at this point in time, its almost impossible to point the finger now. Art vs. Commerce is a life long battle across the board when it comes to talent vs client(organization) relations no matter what type of talent it is. (example: Athlete, Actor, photographer, recording artist etc.)

I digress.

So my question is, why should I continue to be loyal to a team if neither the players, nor the organization are showing loyalty to me as a fan? We want to THESE players playing on OUR team. It seems as if someone has sold their soul to the devil or given Biff Tannen the sports almanac to give us this alternate football sports universe.

Let's break this 2009 sports-opera'd, pro-club, Sunday drama scenario down, shall we? What's interesting is, I'm not even talking about 3rd and 4Th string wannabes being shipped off, I am talking about marquee Probowl caliber players that become synonyms with specific team recognition being shipped off like sheep for whatever reason. Its very interesting to say the least. Like Bill Gates and Microsoft, these athletes were, if not THE franchise player, or at least a franchise player within the organization.

Let's start with former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss (the whole reason I even started watching football as adult). Moss was traded from the Vikings (NFC North) to the Oakland Raiders (AFC West) and then finally to the New England Patriots (AFC East). Next, former Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Michael Vick had a run in with the law therefore forfeiting his NFL career only to be reinstated into the league and signed two years later with his former nemesis the Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East). I really wonder if birds of a feather...naaaah!

Brett Favre who was a Green Bay Packer fixture as well as the starting quarterback forever, retired and then after a stint with New Jersey Jets, decided to come back this season and is signed to the Vikings now (going from one NFC North to another NFC North team is the equivalent to the CEO of Samsung LCD Television screens throwing his 52" in the trash and picking up a Sony, you just don't see that every day). Then again, times change. The Vikings, (my former team) also had running back Michael Bennett during the Randy Moss hay day, but Bennett now plays with the Chargers.

I know all of these players were traded for various reasons, but for whatever the reasons, I'm merely stating that it seems odd to see these marquee players performing in different colored jerseys. I think back to my Bill Gates analogy and envision of Mr. Gates sitting down to an apple macbook pro doing some itunes and iphoto for his grand kids. Wait, Itunes is compatibale with windows. I guess times do change. HA!

Either way, 1998 my faith in sports for love, passion and entertainment was crushed but I learned that you can always enjoy sports, just to stay away from the business side as you will be let down every time if you get caught up in more than the entertainment aspect of sports.

Fast forward 11 years. It seems all the teams with marquee players have basically traded the players to the enemy. Literally. It's the Babe Ruth curse all over again.

With this knowledge, I chose my new football team based off of friends, business acquaintances and newly found home front ties. Being a professional photographer that living in San Diego, I have worked with The Chargers organization on nonprofit and profitable events not to mention becoming friends with some of the players so its only logical that I ride with my home team. I figure with the exception of a few lucky players, no one on a given sports team is actually from the city they play for.

This means the bandwagon threats can remain idle as long as you pick your team before the pre-season starts and the team has no previous championship at least 3 years before you picked them. Don't worry the football gods will grant you a change of team in that situation. Michael Bennett is with the chargers now, so as far as I'm concerned, I am atill routing for the home team.

Vick Returns to NFL...

After an almost 2 year stint in prison, former NFL Quarterback Michael Vick has been reinstated into the NFL. Since being reinstated, the NFL, media and fans alike have welcomed Vick back with a lukewarm reception. There has also been a surge in media scrambling to change headlines about figuring out which team was going to add the former star to their roster. Would he be as good, is this risk worth the pay off and what team will even want the added media attention are just some questions NFL execs, coaches and fans have been asking.

Well Look no further friends, because it seems we have an answer.

Previously, Michael Vick was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, but as time has progressed, so has his team. After being reinstated into the NFL, Vick has reportedly swapped feathers ultimately to join the immortal NFC enemy, the other bird in the east, the Philadelphia Eagles. How is this for irony? If you can't beat em join em is right. Michael Vick once a Falcon, is now a Philadelphia Eagle.

Obviously, until he proves otherwise this particular season the name Vick will be synonymus with controversy seeing as the current starting quarterback Donavan McNaab, a probowl teammate of Vick's now has pressure to play well or lose his job. How is this Phily sunday daytime drama different from any other season you ask? In my opinion its not. Just some more negativity for people to talk about in the city of brotherly love. Either way, the deal is signed and preseason has arrived and after all of the off-the-field off-season antics, I just have one question...Are You Ready For Some Football?

The Life Of A Superhero...

Big Papi, say it ain't so, SAY IT Ain't SO! David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are two more names that have been added to the 2003 steroid scandal. As a journalist, I am supposed to remain objective, unbiased and behind the scenes by just reporting the news, but I can't help but think SSD! Everyone wanted to throw the book, stones and chairs at Alex Rodriguez, but what about David Ortiz? He's allegedly claiming to be "trying to figure out what went wrong." Puuh-a-lease!!!

I'm a Yankees fan so, of course I'm riding with number 13, but on the other hand, everyone makes mistakes and in 2003, I would challenge you to name a player that wasn't juicing! David Sterortiz, A-Roid and Manny Roidmerez, are all legends in our time and with or without scandal have proven that they can get the job done. I'm not saying I condone the use of steroids, but this society has put the "ju" in Jump, Justice and Judge, by picking and choosing who to condemn/ruin, who to give a pass to and who we want to see PERFORM like superheroes regardless of their faults.

My only question is, since these steroid scandal plagued names are slowly being leaked out, how many heroes will really become tarnished and how many players will just be given a pass because we really don't care about the moral factor, or their health just as long as we can see these super players hit 77 Homeruns, tackle 25 quarterbacks, jump 3 times higher than superman, and swim faster than Michael Phelps, after all aren't records meant to be broken?

King Infamous

Stopsellingdreams.com is a site dedicated to erasing the "hype" surrounded by a situation and uncovering the truth about popular culture and entertainment. Alright now that I have gotten that out of the way, Lebron "King" James has been in the media lately for being dunked on at his own Basketball camp by an "unknown" college student. No matter how you view it, it's pretty much ALWAYS a bad thing to be dunked on anywhere, whether its at a playground, in Madison Square Garden, or even at your favorite gym but it's especially a terrible thing to get dunked on at YOUR own basketball camp.

Okay lets SSD and erase the hype, anyone can be dunked on at any given time, that's the nature of the game, but to try to hide the evidence like it never happened is another type of all time low. After viewing the tape, I have come to the conclusion that it was worse for Lebron to even try to hide it in the first place. The dunk is not THAT bad, but now its a scandal and has exploded into a situation that its worse because he tried to hide the evidence. I know its easier said than done, but King James should have just taken that dunk like a man and laughed later.

Basketball is a competitive sport and anyone can have a good day or a bad day. That's why the NBA playoffs are a best of 7 series. But for Lebron and Nike to try to confiscate all the proof is wrong and makes matters worse because the tape will and did eventually come out for everyone to see. The worst thing that would have happened is there would have been a few jokes and then it would have passed over, but now this tape is out and the controversy surrounding the Dunketapegate makes the situation BIGGER than it even is. See the tape for yourself. SSD!

Kings James Being Dethroned...

*photo and video courtesy of www.tmz.com

I can't wear skinny jeans, because my money clip wont fit...

Trends, Trends, Trends. What is a trend? Do you follow trends? What's the newest trend and how long will it last. Recently President Obama was criticized for apparently wearing Mom Jeans to throw out the first pitch at the 2009 MLB All Star Game. Personally, I have an issue with trends and don't care to keep up with them. Why, because it means you have to conform and follow the masses in order to be cool. SSD!!!!
When I was about 14, the ONE and only time I tried to keep up with the Jones', or for me the Brooks was an epic fail. One of my best friends to this day, KB always had the latest and greatest of the trends. The newest video games, the newest Jordan's, Timberland boots, first down goose puffy coats, I mean you name it and he had it. He was one of the cool kids. I wasn't jealous, but I did indeed look up to him.

I begged my mom to buy me these specific Jordan's and some in style jeans, goes to show what I care now, I don't even remember what the name of the jeans were. They aren't in style anymore anyway, TRENDS ha! Anyway, after weeks of begging, she finally caved in and bought me these jeans and shoes. I was geeked to finally have one up on my friend KB!

So here it is, the day comes and I'm ready to debut my new trendy style. I'm wearing my shoes and my kicks to school and the first thing I notice is KB has on a NEW pair of shoes! S0 I asked him what shoes he had on and he replied, "Oh these are the new Jordan's that just came out this morning." WTF!...so KB says to me, "Yo man, why are your jeans so TIGHT?" I didn't know what to do. Growing up TIGHT jeans was Not acceptable.

Here I am busting my butt to get these shoes and jeans which turned out to not even be the cool thing anymore. From that point on, I said I don't care about TRENDS, I'm gonna do, wear, and think HOW I want to and not care about anybody else's trends.

Fast forward years later and KB says to me, "Hey You know I never told you this but I looked up to you." I'm like WHAT, Why? He said, "because you had the courage to be yourself at a time when it wasn't cool to stand out or do your own thing." He used to call me casual man for getting my grown man on at age 14. ha!

So I said to him, "Man, I looked up to you and your brothers because you guys always had the hot stuff." He said, "Man, I got that stuff because I liked it, not because it was trendy. I could care less about what's cool, you're the one that had all the important stuff, like a car, especially a car like the James Bond old school Mercedes at 14! We used to all love to come over YOUR house because you had the coolest stuff at your house."

Now I really fast forward and look at people talking crazy because OBAMA does NOT wear skinny...wait...let's erase the hype... SSD... TIGHT jeans! I can not see a grown man wearing tight jeans...maybe when you're 14...but the president has other issues to deal with besides what a trend says is cool but wont be next week. Next week none of us may have a job, because Obama DID choose to go purchase some skinny jeans instead of signing a bill or doing his JOB...ha ha ha. Real talk, be true to yourself and do your own thing, this trendy thing will be out of style tomorrow anyway...what's Ed Hardy again!? HA!