It’s September and this summer’s blockbuster movie extravaganza has officially ended. That also means its now time I give my movie awards out for the good, the bad and the ugly. Just so you know every movie on this list I have seen in the theaters and some twice or even three times.

30 Minutes or Less

Bad Teacher

Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest

Bridesmaids

Captain America

Cars 2

Cowboys and Aliens

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Fast and the Furious: Fast 5

Friends with Benefits

Green Lantern

Horrible Bosses

Kung Fu Panda 2

Midnight in Paris

Mr. Poppers Penguins

Planets of the Apes

Pirates of the Caribbean 4

Spy Kids 4

Super 8

The Change-Up

The Hangover 2

The Help

The Smurfs

Thor

Transformers 3

X-Men: First Class

So here’s the deal with Harry Potter…

I never got caught up in the whole cult following of the most successful movie franchise ever. For some reason when the movie first came out, my impression was that its corny and I just didn’t want to be bothered by it. Next thing you know more and more of them kept coming out, so I stayed stubborn and never got caught up. I say all that because I’m sure it was the best movie of the summer but it’s not receiving any awards here.

Best Action movie: Cowboys and Aliens/ Transformers 3

Western are my favorite genre of movies. I like the fact that back then you could pretty much do whatever you wanted to do. I would of lived life literally by my own rules, just as long as the Sherifs didn’t catch me. I’m sure I would have been an outlaw causing havoc in every new town I stepped foot in. At that rate I probably wouldn’t have lived very long, but hey that’s how it was back then. Anyways, back to my selection. I loved everything about Cowboys and Aliens, there’s a reason I went and saw it 3 times. I never heard of a movie concept (at least that I know of) like this, it made me think what if something like that did happened back then? If a movie can put me in deep thought, you get extra points in my book. There were a couple loopholes in the movie, but it was so good I didn’t care.

Transformers 3 definitely made up for the dreadful sequel that came out a couple summers ago. This is probably the best of the 3 because it actually uses some American history and puts a twist on it. Plus the actual build up to the final showdown was way better than any of the other movies. All the action scenes were good and kept my attention for the most part. I did fall asleep a little bit but only because I saw it at midnight and it was almost 3 hours long. I really do hope they don’t make anymore though, this was a good note to send it off on.

Biggest action movie disappointment: Super 8

Looking at the poster I didn’t know what to expect from Super 8, it really left me baffled and that made me more curious about the movie. Usually that can either work out in a good way or bad way. In this case, this was one of those times that it didn’t fair so well. After seeing the movie, the first film it reminded me of was E.T., but on steroids. The only thing was that this extra terrestrial was bigger, uglier and instead on sitting in a basket front of a kid bicycle looking kind of cute, he was snatching people up during the night and taking them underground to eat as snacks until he figured how to fix his spaceship and leave the planet. And just like E.T. the humans were the bad guys who had no remorse for the creature or helping it get home. Regardless, he eventually makes it home safe with some help from a group of teenage kids from a small town. Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams, can we be more creative next time please?

Biggest action movie surprise: Thor

Unlike the other better-known comic books out there that had a cartoon on television when I was growing up (X-Men, Batman, Superman, etc.). I was never a big fan of Thor growing up; not because I didn’t like it I just barely knew the storyline or what even made him a superhero. The good thing about me is if you turn any cartoon or comic book into a movie, I’m going to see it no matter what and that’s exactly what happened with this film. The movie was good and written very well; they didn’t follow the typical superhero movie cliché. It was even funnier than I expected. At one point Thor pops banned him from the heavens (he was a loose cannon and needed to learn a lesson) and became a mortal, but he still thought he was powerful and above everybody still (but he wasn’t), so he received some real funny reality checks. He ultimately learned his lesson but it wasn’t in a corny way, somewhat realistic and he didn’t get the girl at the end either (Captain America didn’t either, what’s up with that?). I guess Hollywood wanted to change it up a little bit this summer.

Best Kids film: Kung Fu Panda 2/ Smurfs

I really thought The Smurfs movie was going to be just ok but I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. I love going to see remakes of childhood cartoons from when I was little because now my daughter and I can both go together to enjoy them now. It was funny, cute and best of all not corny like some other kids film I saw this summer. It stayed in its lane and it was solid from start to finish.

Kung Fu Panda was just as good as The Smurfs but with way more fighting, action scenes. It was definitely more well suited for an adult audience to enjoy as well as kids. I wanted it to exceed the original but it wasn’t as good as the first one. Maybe it had something to do with villain being an antagonizing peacock this time around instead of the tough, intimidating leopard who they built up to so well to be an unstoppable force. This time around we knew Po (the panda) was good at Kung Fu so it wasn't as intense to see if he would ever come around to being the Dragon Warrior. I was expecting something even better this time around but then realized it was just ok, but still amongst the best of the summer in this genre. Maybe the third installment will come back around to being just as good if not better than the first movie, something like what Transformers 3 was able to do.

Biggest disappointment/ Worst movie of the summer/ Burn every single copy of this movie ever made: Spy Kids 4

I see why I never seen any of those other Spy Kids movies that proceeded this one. It was just so corny. I wanted my daughter to say so badly, “Daddy can we go please because this movie is hurting my brain”. What made it even worse was that “Ari” from Entourage was casted to play the bad guy, what was he thinking? The only good thing this movie gave me was imagining what comical rant his “Ari” character would say about this movie being produced with Vince wanting to star in it.

Best Romantic comedy: Crazy, Stupid, Love/ Jumping the Broom

For Crazy, Stupid, Love I didn’t get to see any TV commercials or movie previews, so coming into it I really didn’t know what to expect or have an idea what it was going to be about. I’m happy I didn’t because I liked it more this way. I loved this movie, it was creative, funny, gave many different perspectives on love and how everyday people on all ages deals with it. Then I got caught off guard when they made all the characters love interests all came to one accord and blow up all at once, it was perfectly written. It did remind of the movie Valentines Day, but extremely better and not overwhelmed with big star names either.

Jumping the Broom was the first movie I saw when I first returned to the states and I was so glad it was entertaining. I would of hate to have my first movie of the summer suck balls. The movie was funny at the right times and sent a very serious message about family and getting married. And it was nothing like those Tyler Perry movies either; thank God! I do like most of his movies though, but happy to see another black themed movie not having a black man dressing up as a women acting ghetto as hell. Every black family doesn’t have a drag queen in it either. You never know, after awhile people (other than black) might start actually thinking that is the case and we wouldn't want that.

Biggest romantic comedy surprise: Midnight in Paris

Didn’t see too many independent/low budget films this summer but I did see this one. I realized the last couple movies Woody Allen movies have gone a little something like this: Take a handful of Americans on vacation, put them in a foreign country and see what happens when they’re out of their normal surroundings and see life in a different (good or bad) light. He might have to make a movie about me next then. Midnight in Paris was good if you like those kind of dry humor movies. I thought I could predict the ending (I usually do this with all movies I see) but it caught me off guard like most of hiss movies do. And for that, way to keep people like me on our toes Woody Allen. I like a good challenging movie ending sometimes.

Best documentary: Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest

I only saw this documentary for the whole summer, but that didn’t matter. I’m pretty sure no other documentaries were going to beat this one out. If you’re a fan and appreciate good music then you must see this film. It just made me respect A Tribe Called Quest even more than I ever would have.

The biggest surprise movie of the summer (regardless of genre): Rise of the Planets of the Apes

Yeah you read it correctly!!! Basically this movie shows what happens when testing on animals goes horribly wrong, for more than one reason too. The movie was great at giving you a first hand look at the human race closest relatives and shows what happens if they became smarter or just as smart as us. After awhile I felt sorry for the Caesar (the only smart ape), but once he made more apes smart like him I eventually started rooting for them. If you seen the movie you know that it wasn’t like the apes all of a sudden just conquered the world and imprisoned us; we just about doomed ourselves and they took over in an insinuating way. I won’t totally ruin the ending but if you ever see it you will know what I mean.

Best Comedy: Bridesmaid

I would of never saw Bridesmaids if it wasn’t for so many people telling me it was so damn funny. For one, it was released before I came back to the states and only to selected theaters. Secondly, the movie poster looks like a straight chic flick and I don’t see those unless I get forced into it. Even with all the heads up on how funny it was, it still ended up being funnier than I could have predicted. I can appreciate an all women cast putting it down like that, I didn’t think that was possible to be quiet honest. Bridesmaids puts both Sex and The City movies to shame (yes I seen them, don’t judge me ok?). It’s a reason why it grossed more than either Sex and the City movies, women do love them some Carrie Bradshaw too so that’s saying a lot.

Biggest comedy disappointment: The Hangover 2

Here’s the thing, at first I was kind of disappointed with The Hangover. But after thinking about it for the next couple days, what else was I expecting the movie to be? It should be exactly like the original because that’s why we loved it in the first place right? I was jus let down on how much they actually stuck to the original concept and format. For example, instead of a baby hanging around the crew, there’s a monkey now. They accidentally took somebody’s money “again” and have to figure where it is and return it. Oh yea and somebody’s missing once “again” and have to find them before returning to the wedding. Just be a little more creative from that standpoint, maybe they needed another summer to think of better material instead of rushing to film the movie after pressure from everybody because of the success of the first one.

Biggest surprise: Bridesmaid

It won best comedy for me and I wasn’t expecting that, so why wouldn’t it win biggest surprised too?

Best movie of the summer: Cowboys and Aliens/ Planets of the Apes

What can I say, this summer I was a sucker for Sci-Fi Westerns and Apes taking over the world.

I finally gave into twitter about a month ago so follow me @bobbysworld84

Happy born day to my father, he turns 56 (September 3rd). My beautiful daughter Aaliyah, she turns 5 (Sept. 14th). My niece Kyra (September 16th) and both of my brothers Jermel and Kareem (r.i.p.)

What better way to start writing my closure blog concluding my second season in Italy than on a six-hour bus ride in route to our last game. As I try to sit comfortably with my two pillows (one underneath me and the other against my back separating me from the bus window), my neck pillow and earphones on listening to my ipod. This would be the perfect time to look back and reflect on everything (good and bad) that has transpired over the last 7 months. One thing I haven’t done this time around compared to my first season in Italy was keeping everybody up to date with the progression of my season. Well allow me to take care of that in the next couple paragraphs.

A lot of people didn’t know this but for the last two months I’ve been playing on a different team here in Italy. I was caught off guard when I received the news that Montegranaro was going to release me. Obviously I wasn’t too pleased about that and I decided to wait until now to give my opinion on the situation because I didn’t want my initial reaction of resentment towards them to make me say something I didn’t truly mean at heart. Prior to the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the head coach (Palistrini) wanted me to surrendered and take a lesser role on the team. Believing at the end of the season it would be beneficial and worth the sacrificed for the team and me, I accepted it. But when the team reached a difficult stretch of the season, I was release because the coach felt I didn’t fit the system all of a sudden now. What I felt he was trying to do was use me as a distraction from the real problem the team was having. And that problem was the failure of the coaching staff to execute and make adjustments as the season progressed. I admit my performance was up and down at times, but everybody on the team was too. I’m not the type of player top point fingers, but when the coach isn’t playing you enough minutes and constantly not using you to your strength every game, then inconsistency will starts to occur. If you know my game or seen me play before, you know I am not a selfish basketball player on the court. Sometime to a fault, I put the team ahead of myself too much. More than not it works out for the good, but then when it doesn’t I’m left thinking I should of just been selfish like other players are. Soon I will come to find out they did me a huge favor.

So with Montegranaro releasing me I was left with two choices: 1) Go back home to the states or 2) Go play for another team (that’s if somebody wanted to sign me). Believe me, the first option was very, very, very enticing. Think about it, I could have gone home to America and started my off-season two months earlier; more time my friends, family and daughter. Can’t beat that right? But with some heavy convincing from various people, I decided to suck it up (no homo) and stay in Italy and play for a team in the second division. I pictured it like this, I didn’t want people last memory of me in Italy to be that I cut from Montegranaro (regardless if it was deserving or not). When trying to find a new team to play with next year, teams would see right next to my name when looking at my body of work last season that it will say released. Most teams would assume that I must have been doing something wrong to get cut. So that was the main reason why I stayed, I had to go out there and vindicate my name and prove my worth again.

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I was very fortunate that I was able to go to a team that was willing to let me play freely in every way possible. MarcoPoloShop.it Forli (my latest team) wasn’t in the best shape prior to me arriving there. They were dead last in the league and were on a 10 game losing streak. Let me remind you that teams here only play one game a week, so the losing streak spanned over two months. In a way you could say that I went to a worse situation than where I just came from. With only nine games remaining in the season, my main objective was to help save the team from getting sent down (In Italy the last 2 teams in every division gets sent down while the top 2 teams move up) to the 3^rd division. A challenged I was willing to accept and use to my advantage. And in those 9 games we went 8-1, beating the best team (record wise) in the league and many other teams that are in the top 8 of the standings as well. We jumped four spots (16th to 12th) and missed the playoffs by only two games. We were arguably the best team in the league.

Just in case you were wondering what happen with Montegranaro after I left, the losing continued (2-9) which inevitably lead to the dismissal of the head coach Stefano Palistrini with three games remaining in the season. I guess him system just wasn’t fit for the team it seems. When I heard the news of his firing, you better believe I celebrating just like most Americans were when they heard Osama died. I don’t know if he had the final say so on pulling the plug on me there, but he’s the head coach and controlled how much I was involved on the court. I wasn’t surprised that they kept losing; changing the color of the car isn’t going to fix the engine will it? Now looking back, the switch ended up being the best thing that could of happened for me. I ended up getting a coach that understood and let me do what I want to help the team win in every possible way. So there was somewhat of a happy ending to this season after all. I’m proud in myself that I stayed and toughed it out here in Italy when I could of easily folded. I helped save a team season but at the same time validate and prove that I help teams win not lose. And now this will be the last thing they remember here in Italy about me; mission accomplished.

After three flights totaling 16 hours in the air, I am now finally home. The next three and a half months I’m going to have to make the most out of, I have so many things to do with so little time. I’ve been through a lot here mentally and physically. Since September 2009 I spent the next 18 out of 21 months in Italy. I already know what some you all are thinking, “Your seeing the world and doing something you love”. True, but at what sacrificed? Being separated from every single person in your life that you care about. This isn’t a vacation for me either; we would be lucky to get 2 days off in a row during the season. There’s really no time for sight seeing and traveling all over Europe like you would think. On another note, I still haven’t picked up on the Italian language; I was being lazy once again. I do know about 20-30 words and phrases but that’s it. I do hope the third time is the charm for me, we shall see what happens. And for the second year in a row I have made many good friends in Montegranaro, Forli and all over Italy this year. I have made some great memories in Italy that I will never forget. Regardless if I met you at the beginning or towards the end of my stay here in Italy, I am very pleased to have met you all. What’s next up for me? My annual road trip (2 or 3 days) from LA to Seattle, I convinced some friends of mines to make the drive with me so it should be fun. Don’t miss me too much Italy. As bad as I need a break from you, I know you need a break from me too. Until next time…

If you’re a basketball player (especially if your a black, male) it's safe to say you probably have a few tattoos. Do I have any? No, but that doesn't mean I never considered getting one. Only thing that gets me is when I tell people I play basketball they never ask me, "Do you have any tattoos?". Instead they always ask me, "How many tattoos do you have?". So it's understood that I already have them, its just a matter of how many. What typically stopped me was that I could never make my mind up on what to get and where to get it on my body, I was just too picky. After so many years of me not being able to make up my mind, the time has passed and I don't want one anymore. Well I still do, but my conscious is now telling me that I'm too old to start. And if I wanted to get one, I should have done it while I was still young and in college. Even though tattoos are cool and fashionable when you’re young, the only thing is your not going to stay young forever. When people with tattoos (especially those with a boat load of them) start turning 40 and even older. There will be a lot of athletes, entertainers and even just normal people who are going to feel stupid and look even stupider. Eventually it will no longer be trendy and look sexy on their now aging body. Then they will spend the remaining years of their lives wondering why they have an ice cream sundae tattooed on their face.

Like I mentioned earlier, there were two things that I could never figure out and that prevented me from getting a tattoo. What kind of tattoo to get and where to get it placed? Both decisions are equally important; completing only 1 out of 2 will pretty much ruin what once you thought was a good ideal. For instance, while playing in Italy I had an Italian teammate get a tattoo on his lower back. First of all you don’t get a tattoo on your lower back region if you’re a guy, that wasn’t even the worse mistake he made. What makes it even crazier is that it reads, “No matter what, keep your head up”. Now you can imagine how many times we made fun of him about that in the locker room all season. I know he’s straight so that isn’t the issue, the real issue is that he should at least ask somebody for suggestions before getting it. Now he has to watch his back (literally) if he ever walks around with his shirt off in San Francisco or any other gay populated area, all because of one simple mistake. Rapper Rick Ross has a tattoo of George W. Bush face on his right arm? Regardless that in the tattoo G.W.B. is depicted with horns, who still would want to get that on their body? His reason for getting the tattoo was simply, “You gotta keep your enemies close”. Sorry Ricky, that tattoo was an epic fail as well as most of every other tattoo you have.

Did you know the NBA has nearly 30% (more than any other professional sport) of its players having at least one tattoo? The only reason for that I believe is because our jerseys show more skin than any other major sport (Football, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer). Ok, think of the top 10 NBA stars at the moment. Now do they have tattoos? The 7 out of 10 I thought of did. With that being said, without a doubt the tattoo culture in the NBA has influenced every basketball player directly or indirectly. When you’re young hopper and have aspirations to make it into the NBA, you are going to mimic the image of your favorite NBA player. We all know basketball players are consider larger than life figures who can easily influence kids. Allen Iverson was the first person I remembered who started getting a bunch of tattoos and wore cornrows in the NBA. After A.I. made it cool, it spread across the entire basketball scene to where we are today.

Before...

And after...

But this blog isn’t about the personally motivated, deeply religious, well thought out, perfectly hidden, in tribute of tattoos. And since the basketball and hip-hop culture are directly synonymous with each other and intervened with the tattoo society. Here are some who made horrible decisions trying to express themselves with tattoos:

Fellas, never "ever" put a tattoo around your belly button. I would of thought we should have already known this unwritten rule, but obviously Reggie didn't get the memo...

The human coloring book look...

Since your going bald, might as well put something up there right?

This tattoo will only come in handy unless your playing shirt vs skins at the local gym or park...

Two of my favorite artists at the moment... Ladies, do all their tattoos make them look better even though one is still really fat and the other super skinny?

Without even becoming aware of it, I thought up an alternative solution (I finally realized I it as I was writing this) to substitute not having tattoos; I wear really cool t-shirts. Its something I been doing for years, I own about 50 of these kind of shirts. The theme of my shirts can range from cartoons characters, funny quotes, TV shows, musicians, video games, movies, etc. So until they invent the magical tattoo ink that will vanish without a trace after five years, I’m going to have to settle with my really cool t-shirts. Sometimes I do wish I possess the state of mind to just let myself get my whole arm inked up and not worry about the consequences until later. As much as i want to do that, I have a bigger objective now. To remind people out there that not all black, basketball players have tattoos, just only most of them. Yes we are a dying breed, but I'm holding out for as long as I can. Wish me luck!

Ever since I graduated from the University of Washington in 2006, my fascination with college basketball has declined. This isn’t any surprise; I wasn’t really a huge college basketball follower to begin with (my attention more on the NBA). It really didn’t pick up until my freshman year in high school when I realized that it was my next stepping-stone into my basketball career, and it would probably be best to start paying attention to it. Nowadays, when I do get back into the mood, it tends to be around the time the conference tournaments are starting up. One thing that never changes: I do check on my alma mater every week or so to see how they’re doing, which leads me to my mid season report card for huskies men's basketball team.

The high expectations for this year’s group have been the most realistic (in my opinion) since I was back on the team. I say that because last years squad had a strong finish that was capped off with an appearance in the Sweet 16. And with the majority of the players all returning you would expect them to at least accomplish what they did last year, if not even more. I have also been hearing comparisons to the 2004-05 team, and that they could perhaps be better.

At first I was skeptical, but this year’s team does share some resemblances to the 2004-05 team (In my opinion the best Washington basketball team ever ensemble). For starters, this year’s bunch does have a deep bench just like we did. The more depth a team has, the more lineups your able to present for various situations within a game. Their guard play is above average; they have different guards who bring distinctive strengths to the table (the injury of Abdul Gaddy does hurt a lot). They thrive in an up tempo style game, which is always hard to prepare for and play against. Virtually all of the core players were on the team last season, the more experienced the player the better. But the most similar trait this group has with the 04/05 team is how they transitioned into the team they are now (the coming of age of sorts). A mid season turn around (2009-10) made this season (2010-11) easier for them to sustain the momentum/chemistry they had already established. Just as we did in 2003-04 (turn around season), we started the next season (04-05) just as we left off the season before, winning games.

The Huskies were off to their best start in the Pac-10 in over 24 years. Yet, in the back of my mind I’m still thinking, “How good are they really?” and “How much of an impact can they make in the tournament?” Right off the bat, it’s easy to notice that the competition in the Pac-10 (right now) isn’t very good, at least when you measure it up to when I was playing. Every year, the PAC-10 (2002 to 2006) would get at least six teams into the NCAA tournament, and from those, three teams would make it into the second weekend of action. So yes, the teams I was a part of were more frequently battle-tested, week-in and week-out during conference play. Fast forward to now, the Pac-10 would be lucky to get three teams into the “Big Dance”. So as far as an opportunity for this current Huskies team to be tested by a high caliber team just isn’t there, and that could hurt them when it comes to getting a favorable seed from the selection committee (the amounts of quality wins aren’t there). Nevertheless, I expected them to dominate conference play this season and disappointed they're not right now. So without a doubt they will have to dominate the remainder of conference play (hope Arizona and UCLA stumbles along the way) and win the Pac-10 tournament to make up for the 3 game skit they had.

Until the season is over with, we won’t actually know where to rank this year’s team. How far they go into the post season will in the end help determine their all-time positioning. We finished the 2004-05 season with a 29-6 record (#1 seed in the NCAA tournament) and lost to Louisville (which ended up going to the Final 4) in the Sweet Sixteen. If they were to fall short and not even reach the Sweet 16, I would have to consider it an underachieving year. Therefore not putting them ahead of any of the three teams that made the tournament when I was there. On a side note, as much as I enjoyed the 2004-05 team and season we had, the other two Washington teams that reached the tourney (03-04, 05-06) were equally as good and unique in their own way also. This season’s group of guys has all the necessary pieces to make themselves a “special” team to remember for years to come. Regardless of my analysis and outlook on the current team, I do believe in the hype and wishing them a strong finish to the season. Mid Season grade C+

Sorry for the long break everybody. Truth is I stumbled unto some new TV shows (Modern Family, True Blood, 90210) as of late. I ended liking all of them so much that I went on a non-stop (from their pilot episodes to most recent ones) marathon until I got caught up on all of them. Since I have now completed this task, we can now go back to our regularly scheduled program.

Some people may or may not know this, but I have an NBA record to my name. It wasn’t something I was striving to achieve; it was just one of those unique occurrences that just happen. To date no one has actually gone through what I have and I kind of hope they won't, I'm not saying that in a selfish way either. This extraordinary feat took place during the 2007-08 NBA season. I was going into my second year, and ended up playing for a record five different teams in one season. Until it was brought to my attention, it never crossed my mind to even think about if there was a record for this, let alone if I was breaking it.

The moving carousel started up in early January 2008 when Denver decided to let me go. I was out of a job for 3 days and my birthday just so happened to fall right in that stretch, nice birthday present right? One day after my birthday, the Memphis Grizzles signed me and I played there for about a month. Then on January 18, I posted career highs in points (20), rebounds (13), assists (7), steals (3) and minutes played (40) all in one game against the then Seattle Super Sonics. After that game I finally felt like I was on my way, but even with that performance I still wasn’t signed for the remainder of the season. But with that single game, it made other NBA team curious about me.

So for the next couple of months, I lived weeks at a time not knowing where I would be. On multiple occasions when my agent would call me, his first few words would be, “Can you make a flight in 3 hours to…?” And for that reason, I never fully unpacked my bags no matter where I was. After Memphis was Houston, then Miami followed. By far the most depressing period took place when I was finished my stint with the Heat. I reluctantly boarded a plane back to my D League team (South Dakota); somebody should have placed me on suicide watch for that following week. Going from South Beach to South Dakota is never an enjoyable feeling on any level, trust me.

As exciting as it was to travel the country and be apart of all of those different NBA teams, there also came the time where I would have to leave again and again and again and again and again. As I would get the unfortunate news that I was no longer going to be there, I always kept a smile on my face and left a good impression (because you never know if you will be returning). But after so many times getting the same reoccurring speech, it frustrated the hell out of me. Even when I had played good and averaged respectable numbers with teams, I still was let go. Even for those who are mentally strong (which I think I am), everybody has a breaking point. I was left always constantly asking myself, “What else can I do?” After a while I came to realize some things are just out of your control from time to time. You just have to make sure you put your best effort forward and not have any regrets. You know what did make me feel a little bit better at times? Knowing that with every team I went too, I did receive a nice check which I was very happy about.

I know many people view pro athlete as over paid, ungrateful, spoiled, lucky, etc. But for every prominent athlete in the media there are countless athletes struggling out there. And this is the life they will live for the time being, just so they can try to live the dream. This profession is so unstable and one can only try to make the best of the situation before it's too late. Maybe it will not be as extreme as my case bouncing around to 5 teams. Regardless, on some level this is the journey they will make in the pursuit of happiness. And in the pursuit of my happiness, I ended up with a record I can look back on later in life. So when I’m in my custom built mansion looking at all my framed jerseys in my game room I’ll say, “What I did was pretty cool”.

Recap of 2007-08 Season

Denver Nuggets (Sept. 10th - Jan 7th)

Memphis Grizzlies (Jan 10th- 28th)

Houston Rockets (Feb 26th- Mar 6th)

Miami Heat (March 12th- 21st)

San Antonio Spurs (April 1st- April 11th)

Denver Nuggets (April 12th until the end of season)

With the resurgence of my favorite football team this season (3-0, first place in the AFC West), I dedicate this entry to them. I Bobby Ray Jones Junior am a devoted Kansas City Chiefs fan. I know it’s still early in the season, but they’re one of the hottest teams in the NFL. As of late I haven’t had much to brag about, but I do now. For the record this isn’t me jumping on their bandwagon because they’re undefeated either, far from that. If you know me personally or talked football with me at some point, you know this is “my team". Not as of last year or five years ago, this spans over 15 years people. If you’re wondering, “How does a kid from Compton grow up to be a supporter of the Chiefs?” Fate decided this for me; it’s a real funny story too.

It all started when I was a little boy (I was maybe 9 or 10) on a typical NFL football Sunday. I don’t remember exactly what I was doing that day, but somehow I ended up walking into the room where my dad was watching the Raiders game. Since they’re one of his favorites teams (the other being the Cowboys), he was really caught up into the game, which ended up making me more fascinated with the game. Unlike most little boys mimicking and cheering on the same teams their fathers like; in this circumstance for some odd, strange reason I did the opposite. So if you haven't realized it yet, the team the Raiders was playing that Sunday was the Kansas City Chiefs. My soon to be favorite team ended up winning that game behind the arm of "the great" Joe Montana (yes he played for the Chiefs during the 93-94 season). From that point on, my dad would randomly ask me, “So, how did your Chiefs do this week?” I think he only asked me because he was sure that I wouldn’t keep up with the Chiefs after that game, but to prove him wrong I did. Thus began the beginning of a beautiful relationship between a boy and his favorite football team. It just goes to show how the littlest occurrences a kid has can have a lasting attachment even after you become an adult.

I started collecting Chiefs pin ups for my wall, wore jerseys (Derrick Thomas #58, Priest Holmes #31), choose them when playing Madden, memorized my favorite players names, team facts and accomplishments; basically all the things needed to become a die-heart fan to a team. I still reminisce watching my favorite Chief players on television: Warren Moon, Steve Bono, Marcus Allen, Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, Trent Green, Priest Holmes and let's not forget Donte Hall, just to name a few. Even though we have a tough game against this week against the Colts, I’m not worried at all. If the Jacksonville Jaguars can beat the Colts, we should be able to too.

Who would of thought my Kansas City Chiefs would be the last undefeated team left in the NFL? I'll be lying if I said I did, but they are though. Just imagine if we still had Tony Gonzales (TE) and Jared Allen (DE) (both of whom are pro bowlers too), that would be scary. I know what, I’m enjoying this time because I deserve this! I have been through more downs than ups since becoming a Chiefs fan long ago and I need some more good memories asap. Our young offense is still up and coming but I’m even more impressed by the explosive, relentless, blitzing defense we have. Much praises are due to Todd Haley, Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel; they are doing a great job running this young and talented team this year. Bring on “the great” Peyton Manning and the rest of the NFL; we are a team to be reckoned with this year. One more thing before I go, Raiders and Seahawks suck balls!!! :-)

Greetings everybody and welcome to the long awaited return of, “Bobby’s World” here on yardbarker. I had been on a 4-5 month hiatus since my last entry, but the absence felt even longer. Maybe it had something to do with having an enjoyable spring/summer. I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary for the most part, just the typical things people experience like: celebrating holidays, raising a child, weekend getaways, going to eat at my favorite establishments, watching every good movie that came out this summer and let’s not forget spending time with family and friends. May I refresh your memory that I was in another country for about 8 ½ months, so those things were not in my daily routine over there in Italy.

For those who haven’t read my blogs before, I will touch base on many issues that are intriguing to me such as:

1. The progress of my basketball season overseas

2. How it is to be an American living in a foreign country for over half a year

3. Current topics/scandals in the media (mainly sports related)

4. Personal curiosities I have about random stuff that come to mind (mainly sports related)

5. Also I will respond to my reader’s questions and requests as well

Hopefully my opinions aren’t too opinionated or offensive, if for some you think they are then oh well. I think I have a pretty good sense of humor and worldly outlook on life, especially based upon my background and where I grew up as a child. My main objective is for you to find my writings entertaining, informative and that's it ok? I get bored a lot here, so I’m just trying to channel my energy in other creative outlets that’s all.

If you still haven’t figured it out yet, I’m going to play in Italy for 1 more year (2nd year overall). One of the biggest changes from last year is that I will not be playing on the same team; instead I will be lending my services/talents to Fabi Montegranaro. The town is almost located in the same area of Italy I played in last year, which helps because I’m pretty familiar with this area already. I’m extremely excited for the potential of this team and for the season to start. This past summer brought nagging injuries (knee tendonitis and groin strain) that prevented me from being at my very best to play in the NBA summer league and also when it came to working out for teams. It was an unusual time for me because I never had to deal with stuff like that during the summer before. On a good note, I will almost be at 100% very soon; just working on my conditioning and flexibility are my top priorities at the moment. I’m not getting any younger so it will be “key” more than ever to stay flexible, its the best way to prevent injuries as well as eating healthy (we will see about that part though).

My adventure back to Italy didn’t go all the way according to plan, but I did make it here eventually and safe. It all started with a 7:30 am flight from Los Angeles to Charlotte, but soon after I arrived to LAX I found out my initial flight got delayed until 2pm. Since that delay wasn’t going to work for my next connecting flight (from Charlotte to Rome), I had to catch a shorter flight to Phoenix (2 hr flight) and then from there to Charlotte (3 ½ hrs flight). I had a 1-hour layover in Charlotte and then boarded my last flight to Rome (8 ½ hours). Once I arrived in Rome, I waited for my bags and luckily all 3 of my bags made it with me (nobody likes dealing with lost luggage). I still wasn’t done yet; I had to ride in a car to Montegranaro (2 ½ hr drive) before I finally reached my final destination.

Since I been here (a little over 3 weeks now), my mornings usually consist of conditioning/agility/weights as a team at 8am. In the afternoons we practice in the gym learning our plays, doing drills and other technical things. Were just gradually getting ready for the season to begin on October 17th. I’m not going to lie, these doubles days are starting to stack up now against my body. It’s no wonder always around this time; when I wake up sore and tired I ask myself if I can keep this up. I haven’t adjusted to the time change either, so many nights I’m waking up 3-4 times and then maybe can’t fall back asleep. We still have another 2 weeks of this (hopefully not), I will just grind it out like I always do. At the end of the day this is the career choice I choose for myself at the moment, just needed to vent a tab bit that’s all hope you all didn’t mind. Before I go I would like to wish a happy birthday day to my father (Sept. 3rd), brother (Sept. 8th), my daughter a.k.a. stinky feet and her grandmother (both on Sept. 14th) and niece Kyra (Sept. 16th). Also, here's a highlight video of me from last year in Italy. Until next time people…

Welcome to part 2 of, “Ending My Adventures In Italy” closure entry. Before I go any further, I would like to straighten out a couple things from part 1. When I commented about the basketball style overseas I wasn’t bad mouthing it. That’s just how they play over here and for the people here, this is normal for them. I was jus sharing the ups and downs of the their style being this is my first time dealing with that. If I wanted too I could find a flaw in every level of basketball I played in, no basketball style anywhere in the world is perfect from that notion. I just don’t like when people sometimes take my words out of context, but maybe I did a bad job of explaining it too. Anyways, as I look back at some of my earlier entry’s I wrote. It’s kind of amusing to see my initial reactions to certain things while being over here. Its one thing to remember something you thought or felt when adapting to a different situation later on once you’re recollecting. But when you actually see something you put down in writing that captured your mood in that precise moment is totally different. To me it’s the best way (writing, videotape, anyway to document an experience) to capture the essence of your time spent somewhere, to see if you grown or learned anything.

Being so isolated obviously forced me to be more independent and rediscovered things that I didn’t realized I missed so much. After giving myself about 25-30 haircuts while being a local in Italia, I figured out how to cut my own hair. I’m for sure not scared to attempt to do it anymore like when I first stated in one of very first blog’s I wrote. It’s fascinating to look back now because prior to my relocation abroad, I wouldn’t have dared tried to cut my hair; now I have the utmost confidence. Once I do get back home, let’s say if I’m not able to go see my barber for whatever reason and I need a haircut badly. When push comes to shove I now know I can do it. In any case, I can’t wait to let somebody else cut my hair again I’m tired of doing it myself. If you don’t remember or didn’t read one of my prior blogs where I mentioned this, another hobby I loved to do is go to the movies. I only went about a handful of times since I been out here in Italy. I did most of my movie watching on my computer through a couple websites, saved a lot of money but it just wasn’t the same. So excited to see the summer movies that are coming out, especially in IMAX. The most important fascination I rediscovered was my love for writing, I feel back in love with it. A lot of people didn’t know but my degree in college was writing. Writing has definitely helped me get through some tough times while being here. I will continue to write and hopefully will keep it up once I do return home and even once I’m done playing ball too.

So I know you’re probably wondering, “Bobby, what’s the very first thing you’re going to do when you get back home?” Well, that question has to be broken down into distinctive segments. Since I arrive in LA kind of late the first thing I’m going to eat when I get back is probably an In-N-Out burger as it being right by the airport and I will be starving, mom’s home cooking is absolutely being consumed the very next day. First thing I’m going to do when I step foot inside my parents house, I’m going to open all the new clothes I purchased online while I was in Italy (I’m a new fan of online shopping now too). The first big event I’m going to be apart of is a good old fashion road trip along the west coast. I’m driving with a buddy of mines from Los Angeles to Seattle and visiting two or three cities along the way too. And from that moment on just be a daddy to my baby girl, do a lot of training and staying in shape. After I do some relaxing, then I’ll begin to think about my future and where I will be going to play next year, my decision is still up in the air.

My days are winding down here in Italy; it’s been a strenuous 8½ months in a different country that’s for sure. At times, I seriously didn’t think I wasn’t going to make it to the very end. But since I did pulled it off, now its time to go home where I can relax and retrieve some of that absent familiarly I so desperately miss/need right now. While being in Italy, I had to face so much adversity on all different levels and dealt with every emotional trait achievable. And with that, I will be concluding my time here by doing a 2-part “Italy closure entry” by giving a final perspective on things on and off the court compared to what I wrote or thought before or once I arrived here. This entry will focus more of the basketball portion, while next week will pertain more on things I been through with transitioning as an American in a foreign country. Surprisingly, on some topics my opinions have altered, whereas some definitely stayed the same like figured it would. Oh yea, bypass any grammar errors you may encounter too. :-)

After just about completing my first year of playing ball overseas in Italy. I have learned plenty of things to take back with me to inform people that were curious about the whole overseas atmosphere. For one, not just anybody can play overseas; it’s just a totally different kind of basketball. When I use the phrase “can’t play overseas”, I’m not referring to the skill level aspect but more of the extra facets that it carries along with it. I heard many stories of Americans coming over here (from the NBA, college and even high school) and leaving soon afterwards (not completing the season) because they couldn’t adjust to the style for one reason or another. To look back to when the season first started, there were around 10 first time Americans that came to play in our league this year like I did and now for whatever reason they’re only 3 or so left. I’m pretty sure this is a normal thing for newcomers coming across the water trying to transition and not doing so, it’s a revolving door for most. In regards Americans getting a good contract overseas out the gate, it’s not what you think, well at least not anymore. European teams aren’t just giving away that kind of money to any American just coming over for the first time. A player might be lucky enough to get a much more lucrative contract before playing a single game in another country, usually that isn’t the case. Most European teams want to see if an American can adjust to this style first before they offered a bigger contract to him, so pretty much your dealing with a brand new hierarchy all over again. I still haven’t fully adjusted (and probably never will for that matter) to the way they play and the ref’s officiate here. It’s been going on before I got here and it will definitely continue when I’m long and gone. It’s just how it here, either you get used to it or keep it moving.

When it comes to the officiating here, what I thought after the first couple games here is exactly what I’m still believing now. There are some referees who are just horrible and then there are those who purposely make certain calls on purpose on specific players to mess with them or the team. Then if you’re really lucky enough, you might just get a combination of both (and I mean that in the nicest way possible too :-*). I even had people tell me that first year players don’t get calls so get used to it. But over the course of the season I have seen players (on my team or watching a local game on television) who have been playing over here for some time still get treated like this too, so that doesn’t matter I realized. So I would have instances where I could handle it and ignore their bad calls. But then again, a person can only bottle in so much before it explodes and I certainly did that too. I am stunned that I didn’t receive any technical foul all season compared to some teammates, so that was good from my end. Besides that, what really disturbs me is that they give the offensive player entirely too much flexibility to play dirtier and do more to the defender to get open. Over half of the down screens or picks they set overseas would be called illegal in America and for good reasons, you can injured the opposing player. So with defense being my strongest strength of my game, it’s even harder not to let that piss me off and frustrate me. Makes playing basketball kind of not fun having to always worry about that more than you normally should. Once again I repeat, it’s just how it here either you get used to it or keep it moving. There were plenty of other things as well that was hard to handle basketball wise, but I’m not going to air all my dirty laundry because they are some things better off not said.

I do give a lot credit to the Americans that have been playing overseas for years. I just can’t see how they can do it for that long. I miss America, my family and friends way too much to keep being away for this long every single year. I did soon realized after a couple of weeks moving here that you have to have somebody living you (at least have people visit you every month or so) to help you make the time pass faster and more enjoyable. I noticed, the majority of players that stay overseas to play for their careers have their families here and that’s probably the only way you will make it for that long I would think.

Can I do this again for another year? That’s a question I’m going have to think long and hard once I get home. For 8½ months you’re training twice a day for 3 or 4 days a week (I heard some teams are worse than that), that’s longer than a NBA and college season and your playing possibly 2 games a week if you’re fortunate enough. That takes a toll on you’re body after awhile and you’re more acceptable to injuries this way too. It took me so many months to get accustomed to the coaches constantly yelling, “forza, forza”, “score, score” and other one word Italian phrases about 50 times in practice everyday. It drove me crazy! I can look back now and smile because it was still a extraordinarily experience. In the distance future, I will look back once I’m done playing and reminisce and wish I could still be there. See ya next week for part 2. Ciao!

*Wanted to get a lot of issues/points out in this entry so bypass the grammar errors or incomplete thoughts you may see*

If you know me personally, you may know that I have a problem. Well actually it’s not a problem, rather more a lack of avoiding unneeded stressful situations. It’s nothing too serious and I have no reason not to confess it to people, I am anti-relationship for the most part. After years of trying to be my own psychologist, I still can’t figure out what made me like this. Is it because I’m an athlete? If I weren’t an athlete, would I still think like this? Was it my upbringing that shaped my views? I still don’t know the answer to those questions or the method to my madness but I do know relationships are already hard for the average person, but even further complicated for athletes (both sexes). Depending on the sport you play and the demands it requires of you time, it takes even more effort and perseverance to make a relationship work.

Since I don't have a lot of relationship experience, I get all my knowledge from just observing friends, family and hearing crazy stories of failed relationships and the mistakes that were made along the way. Just from those sources (don’t forget the affairs and sex scandals we hear in the news). I figured out why people on so many occasions get into relationships in the first place. People get lonely and need companionship which is perfectly fine to feel at some point, I do too. But forcing or jumping into a relationship too quickly because you need those missing ingredients in your life isn’t very smart either. I'm not going to waste my time on something I don't think will benefit me in the long run. Also I know that people feelings can change towards their significant other over time and next thing you know it might not be what you thought you wanted; which leads me to my next scenario I hear all to well on unsuccessful relationships. When a person is already with somebody but deep down inside they know it won’t go the long haul but scared to break up for whatever reason. So in reality you’re wasting not only their time, but also yours. So it goes on further than it should which means you’re playing with people feelings longer. I thought the point of having a boyfriend or girlfriend was because you thought they could be marriage material not because a person is lonely. You can probably have a happy life if a relationship started that way but the number can't be high, I'm not going to bet on that.

I didn’t get my first girlfriend (for my own personal reasons of course) until I was 24 years old, unless you want to count 10th grade for 2 months. I kept constantly telling myself I was too busy for one with basketball and all. Also, I figured if I knew I wasn’t ready (especially back in college) to give my all my energy to one person on a “consistent basis” why waste both of our time. I had classes, tutors, homework, basketball practice, weights, more homework and don't forget some "me" time. To throw in a girlfriend in there to juggle as well 24/7 I would go crazy. So with that common sense in mind, I knew I wasn’t ready yet. At the same time I didn’t totally throw away the idea either, I also knew I could always change my mind at any given moment too because I can’t control destiny when and where I will meet the right one for me. On top of the career choice I decided upon, being a basketball player. Plus my basketball career isn’t the most stable (at the moment) to start a strong foundation for a relationship either. Im never in one place long enough anymore to feel like maybe taking a chance, long distance relationships takes even more energy than the ones where you see the person everyday. Since I graduated from college in 2006, I live in 2 countries, 4 cities and 4 pit stop cites along the way too. I know I couldn't deal with my girlfriend or wife moving around that much.

Another speed bump I face as well as other fellow athletes is the genuine intentions of people. Here’s an interesting story that happened to me the day I got drafted into the NBA. One of my close friends made a comment that really caught me off guard. He said that I would never know if a girl would like me for me now. Somewhat of what he said is true but people in general can face this problem too, not just athletes. Maybe professional athletes are on a little bit higher level when having to be more careful of fake people. If you haven’t noticed by now, people are usually always perfect when you first meet them; everybody wants to make a great first impression right? Making a good first impression is one thing but having alternative motives which requires you to be fake is another. Nobody can be phony forever if you ask me, but being very attentive from the beginning and over time will increase the chances to unveil people “true” intension and their actual personality for the good or bad. Some people trust sooner than others too and that’s asking for more chances of betrayal or being taken advantage of. My antenna is always up when meeting/getting to know people regardless of what level it is. When pertaining to women, it takes time (I mean a long time) before I let them “in” to get to know me. Its not because I don't trust but I'm a tough person to get to figure out, its just my personality.

One thing people have to realize is that lifestyles by no means stay the same, its persistently changing from generation to generation. This isn’t the 40’s or 50’s anymore; people don’t get married when they’re in their early or late teens. Then more than not have to stay in the marriage because back then there was an unwritten rule and unheard of to get a divorce, even if they all unhappy. I’m not going as far as saying don’t get married, but I don’t see what the big rush is. I mean seriously, what’s the difference from being married for 60 years than it is for 50 years? Most couples don’t even last a measly 10 years anymore. So with that in mind, I’m willing to surrender an extra 10 years and stay single to make sure I’m making the right choice when choosing my wife. The statistics don’t lie; click here to see what I’m talking about. When looking at these numbers, to put into perspective: The highest percent for men to divorce are between the ages of 20 to 24. For women, the highest percentage are between the ages of 20 to 24 years, just like men. So waiting later increases your chances for a more promising marriage. Of course everybody is going to have the “not going to happen me” syndrome, which is fine. But I’m assuming everybody that was a casualty in those divorce statistics was self-assured the same way before getting married too, food for thought. Now just imagine this statistic for basketball players excluding the age ranges but instead the length of their career in the NBA. Bet you didn’t know that during a married NBA players career 90% of the married couples stay together. Post-NBA is a different story; there is an 82% divorce rate. The most recent example of this was Allen Iverson’s wife filing for divorce about a month ago.

Then again I’m just a male athlete speaking from only my point of view too. I’m not the one having the kids and worried about my biological clock expiring on me. If my friends got married before me I wouldn’t let that stress me out and force me to contemplate about actually being alone for the rest of my life. I know it looks like I hate on relationships and marriage, but not really. I’m pretty sure there is way more pros than cons when you comparing being in relationship to not being in one. I can’t wait for the day to be in love with someone and marrying her. The thing is some people fall in love with the “concept” of being in love rather than actually loving that person first. Which consequently might never comes around to what they’re hoping to be, then your left unhappy and incomplete. I don’t need to be in a relationship to learn stuff like that, I’ll just keep watching everybody else mess up. Many athletes I talk to (men and women again) honestly don't think they can be in meaningful relationship until they retire from their sport, I hope that isn't the case for me. Being single doesn't mean you know nothing about love either. It's wiser to be alone than with the wrong person that’s for sure. Basketball can stay my girlfriend/wife for the time being still, she's been taking care of me for awhile so I can't turn on her now.