Dome Pondering

2006. What a year it has been. It seems everywhere you turn, everyone has their own version of “year-end” memories and awards. To follow in this ever so popular and cult-like trend, yours truly will also delve into memory lane and dissect the year that was 2006.

"You were fooled because you believed it was about me. I believe it takes five. But you're not a fool, are you?" Many Adidas commercials boast this slogan promoting teamwork amongst the company's endorsers. Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and Gilbert Arenas each reverberate the slogan throughout their individual commercials promoting their personally endorsed shoes. Arenas is part of Adidas' new strong campaign to corner the basketball market. With the Nike's of the world having stars such as Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kobe Bryant under contract, Adidas might have found themselves a true star under the radar. With all the current news being about Allen Iverson and his move to Denver, many have failed to honestly recognize the type of season that Gilbert Arenas is having. Arenas has evolved over the past year and a half before the NBA fan's eyes. His true rise to fame came last year in an unforgettable series between the Cleveland C

Life is about understanding, learning and experiencing. To harness and benefit from these qualities, we seek others who have understood, learned, and experienced. We seek their mind, their guidance and their teachings from those that are where we are, where we are going, and where we hope to never end up. However, there are those that we wish that we can have fifteen minutes to pick their brain. When asked that proverbial question, "If you can meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?", these would individuals appear on that mental list. With that said, I have compiled a list of individuals I would like to spend fifteen minutes to simply ask questions about their experiences, and life in general. 10. Darryl Strawberry - This seems like a shocker. However, Strawberry could have possibly been one of the greatest baseball players ever. His demons got the best of him, and his baseball career was basically wasted. The chance to ask Strawberry about his career, his addict

T he New York Knicks . That statement alone used to be enough to represent prestige, tradition, honor and excellence. Today, it represents an ongoing circus of drama, poor basketball, and a skid mark on the World's Most Famous Arena. Yes, the New York Knicks are at it again. It seems whatever they do, they can't do it right. Saturday's melee in the Garden was yet another example of this as the Knicks continue to mess up and give newspapers and sport writers more ammunition to fire away on the barely pulsating franchise. The replay has been shown many times in various angles and speeds, but no matter how you view it, the Knicks have done wrong - again. Fans are upset. Front Office is a wreck. Team is in disarray. The Garden is empty. We blame Isiah Thomas. We blame James Dolan . We blame whoever has finger prints on this tragedy. Nonetheless, I will be that guy to stand up for Isiah. Although this is his team, he inherited an aging, nonathletic and huge

Trust. It’s a concept so complex, so rich in meaning that it causes the mind to go into overdrive. Trust. It’s a concept so powerful, it causes a person to become so overwhelmed with paranoia. Trust. A concept so conquering, it can break up the tightest of bonds. Trust. A scarcity in life. “Life is an amazing adventure. Each day a new journey unfolds” Throughout life we experience and endure many challenges. Through these challenges we learn more about life, its purpose, and ourselves. Many of these challenges are tasks that are too difficult for one mere mortal to tackle. The tasks cause an individual to look deep down inside, swallow their pride, and admit that they need help. In order to be fully committed, one will have to trust someone to overcome the specific situation. Whether you do this with awareness, or subconsciously, we all come to this fork in the road called life not once, not twice, but numerous times. How we handle it, depends on the person. Trusting another individua

Terrorism... February 26th, 1993. World Trade Center bombed. Severe building damage. Towers remain intact. 6 dead. 1,000 severly injured. July 26th, 1994. London, England. Israeli Embassy Attack. Car-bomb wounded twenty - including children. March 20th, 1995. Tokyo Subway System. Sarin Gas Attack. 12 dead. 6000 severly injured. April 19th, 1995. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Oklahoma Federal Building-bombed. 168 dead. 19 of them, children. Largest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history. November 11th, 1995. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Suicide bombing. U.S. army headquarters. 15 dead. February 25th - March 4th, 2006. Series of four suicide bombings. 60 dead. 284 wounded. July 27th, 1996. Atlanta, Georgia. Centennial Olympic Park. Bombed. 1 dead. 111 wounded. February 24th, 1997. Empire State Building. Man opens fire. Claims U.S. is "enemy of palestine". 13 dead. Many more wounded. August 7th, 1998. U.S. Embassy bombings. Tanzania and Kenya. 225 dead. 4,000 injured. October 12th, 2000. U

Destiny. It is a term so often used by many to describe their goal in the midst of facing adversity and hardship. It is a phrase that is so often described as an event which is so predictable, it's outcome seems inevitable and just. It is a word, so frequently used with arrogance and egotism, that it's essence of a meaning has been diminished by man's overused and self-absorbed thinking. According to dictionary.com, "Destiny" is defined as, "A predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human control". The meaning supports the claim that there is a path already set in which an individual's life will follow. A path so surely set in stone, that there is no getting around it. Whether the outcome is one of success or failure, Destiny is so overpowering, that it bares no mercy on it's victims. Destiny. A clear cut term. Very black and white in it's existence. Either it is, or it isn't. To be, or not to be. Or is it? In an ar

Hello. Greetings. Hi. How's it going? What's going on dude? What up nigga? Huh? Come again? Yeah, that's right, "What up nigga?" That statement alone has caused you, the reader, into a social shift into acceptance, defiance, a feeling of uncomfortableness, and other mixed bags of emotions. Nonetheless, whatever it may be, that very word, whether used in a greeting, statement or salutation, causes an uneasiness in relationships, and social well-being. However, it is a word that is used commonly in today's society. It's a word similar to the racial slur and hateful word of "nigger" which is used amongst friends, family, and confidants. It is practiced amongst many, as it is part of the hip-culture which embodies what America is today. It's use, as common as "dude, and "son" leaves the mouths of many youth today. Afterall, it's a universal term right?

Homerun Derby Done. All-Star Game completed. We are now ready to engage in the most important stretch of the Major League Baseball schedule - the second half. With the second half comes pennant races, creative trades and do or die series with rivaled division opponents. The second half of the season is gearing up to be an exciting one. However, before we look forward, here are my top ten stories from the first half of the season. 10. Delmon Young Throws Bat - Wow! No words can express Delmon Young's actions. The footage of this action was one never seen before as the bat thumped off the umpire's chest. There's a line seperating actions of how far to voice your opinion on the officiating of any game, but Young crossed that line and then some. Very foolish move on his part as a prized prospect in the Devil Ray's organization. Due to his actions, he got dealt with. Young recieved a 50 game suspension handed down by MLB and a ruined reputation. 9. Joe Mauer Becomes

"Cheating Death. Stealing Life". The catchy and trademark title of the Eddie Guerrero autobiography is one that is worth a read. The autobiography, ofcourse about the wrestler himself, is a story that is full of despair, struggle, triumph and life lessons that sets it apart from many other wrestling autobiographies on the market. After completing it, one has to ponder about the world of professional wrestling and its true relations with society over the past and into the future. Professional wrestling has been around since 1901. Many historical records date back to the early 1900's and some even dwindles further back. It was derived ofcourse, from the art of greco roman wrestling, thus evolving into much more than a struggle between two men. From the bounds of amatuer wrestling as it is called today, grew professional wrestling, a stigma which captured the attention of those seeking much more than a mat and a scoreboard. The wrestling business quickly caught on in No

One Year. After all the drama, after all of the controversy, it now comes down to one year for Isiah Thomas to turn around the mess that he created. Isiah has one year to improve the group of misfits that he has put together for an NBA roster. One Year. Good luck Isiah. The fact of the matter is that the Knicks are a mess. They have become arguably the most embarassing franchise in sports. A collection of high-priced players with no resumes of winning else where combined with a lack of leadership on the coaching, front office and ownership level is a combustible formula for any sports organization. It's sad. It's sad to see an organization that is used to winning and has a history of greatness and class reduced to nothing. Guys such as Patrick Ewing, Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed all who have worn that illustrious blue and Orange "New York" across their chests with pride and dignity are now an afterthought. Madison Square Garden - the mecca of basketball, and

Congratulations New York City!! To steal a phrase, the most controversial city is once again on top of the mountain. Did it break tourist records? Did it finally get more money for homeland security? American Idol is over, and well, the Yankees and Mets haven't won anything yet, so what's the deal? Congratulations New York City, you have been rated as having one of the lowest graduation rate in all of the nation!! What have they won you ask? Well, New York City has earned themselves a future supply of criticism, unproductivity, and useless minds! Seriously, this is one of the saddest things that has been reported about the greatest city in the world. The fact that a story such as this is located somewhere in the mid-section of the paper, where stories such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's baby make the cover of numerous papers. There is something wrong with that.

"If you want to understand today , you have to search yesterday." This statement once said by Pearl Buck, a writer and Nobel Prize winner, is one that is precise and direct regarding the everyday challenge that is life. Many times we come to the proverbial fork in the road and ponder the effects of the next vital decision. What should I do? How does this effect things? What will happen now? These are all questions that arise after specific events occur in the course of history. However, these events and decisions do indeed alters things. It changes us, our world and the way we perceive it. That's just life. We learn, we adapt, we move on. However, have you ever wondered what would happen if certain things occurred differently? How would things be different or if they would be different at all. The questions of "what if?" resounds in many of our thoughts and imaginations. With that said, I've decided to compile a top ten list of events which intrigue me, if t

J ason Grimsley? Wait, lets back up one minute and analyze this again. Jason Grimsley? Yes, the beloved former Yankee reliever and MLB journeyman has been exposed as a cheat. It has been all over the news and sporting world and discussed with it's potential ramifications on the game of baseball. Many claim that MLB is in trouble and this situation will not go away. They are correct, but not entirely. The fact of the matter is that this situation regarding steroids, HGH and any other performance enhancing drugs is a plague on not just baseball, but the entire sports world and the culture that it creates. Reports claim that Feds questioned Grimsley regarding their investigation of the illegal substances and requested names. In agreement and quick cooperation, Grimsely spewed out names in fear. Grimsley squeeled like a grade-schooler threatened with parental phone call. He told enough for investigators to move along in this ever-evolving case. Names were not released, but many feel th

So its been a while... So here we are on the start of the 2006 World Cup. Excited? No, I didn't think so. On the eve of the most anticipated sporting event in the world, it seems that America remains uninterested and unmoved by the cult-like movement that is competitive soccer. It continues be an amazement of the sporting universe of how a sport so loved and followed throughout the world can be so ignored in the media driven nation such as ours. We just don't care. It's the truth. So why is that? The other day on ESPN radio, the topic of discussion was a hypothetical question of "Which sport do you think has the ability to gain American interest - Soccer or Hockey?" After hearing many people's opinions, it seemed that hockey was the overwhelming victor, as many chose the wonderful sport on ice. How can this be? Well here are some logical thoughts on the question:

Well, with another summer comes yet another edition of this addiction. Yes, the third rendition of "Dome Pondering". It's been awhile, but rather than going into the rambling of calling this a comeback, I will be unlike that proverbial superstar that enters in and out of retirement and just ignore it. I don't like it when they do it. So I won't. Here is a quote I came across tonight: "Being grown up isn't nearly as fun as growing up. For these are the best times of our lives" It is summer and I have returned to the homefront for another 100 days of fun in the sun. However, this summer has already has the makings of a summer like no other. For years, summers consisted of the usual summer job surrounded by many memorable times with friends and close ones. We all can knock off the cob webs in our memory and remember those times. Those were the times where bonding with your friends became an unintentional priority as you felt like you and your crew reign