One pioneering name seems to have fell through the cracks; and it wasn't until watching last week's WWE Hall Of Fame Presentation Show that I first heard the name "Sailor" Art Thomas. Inducted as a "Legacy" entrant, Art Thomas broke into wrestling back in 1943. After finishing up his time in the U.S. Navy, Thomas had already made a name for himself as a Bodybuilder and was asked to wrestle some house shows. Possessing an amazing physique, crazy strength, and 6'5" 265 lb frame he quickly rose up the ranks. Billed as a former seaman, Sailor Art Thomas was also known to showcase much style and flavor-always dressed immaculately in either a business suit or a seaman uniform. As a fan favorite Art Thomas would earn many opportunities to challenge for The NWA World Championship Belt-including several memorable battles with The Legendary "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. In the 1960's Sailor art would move on to The then-WWWF and battle in Tag Team matches with Legends like Bobo Brazil and Bruno Sammartino. During the 1970's Art would move on again to wrestle in Canada, and would retire in the early 1980's. While working all over the country, Sailor Art Thomas was best known for his time wrestling in Chicago. Sailor Art would succumb to cancer in 2003. He was also known as "Seaman" Art Thomas, "Hercules," and "The Body." Without his hard work and sacrifice, so many others would not be selling out huge arenas today like The Rock, Booker T, and others have in more recent times. #SaluteThePioneers
For most people that grew up in the 70's and 80's Pro Wrestling and Shaolin Kung Fu Movies were two staples that dominated television on any weekend, and for me both of those somewhat guilty pleasures would continue to be a part of my life right up to this day. I don't really get too much into toady's wrestling as much; but can (and do) sometimes spend hours at a time watching the old classics. Figuring I knew just about all there is to know about the different legends and pioneers, I have spent considerable time learning about the Black and Brown Faces of yesteryear that could have been so much more well known-if not for segregation and old racist attitudes in certain territories. People like Ernie "The Big Cat" Ladd, Bobo Brazil, Thunderbolt Patterson, The Junkyard Dog and many others were fan favorites and generated lots of money for the different promotions that they worked for; but were not allowed runs as World champions because by many accounts promoters feared that angry white fans might riot. In fact it wasn't until 1992 that a Black World Heavyweight Champion would be crowned, when College Football Hall Of Famer Ron Simmons would be Big Van Vader for The WCW World Heavyweight Championship Belt. One pioneering name seems to have fell through the cracks; and it wasn't until watching last week's WWE Hall Of Fame Presentation Show that I first heard the name "Sailor" Art Thomas. Inducted as a "Legacy" entrant, Art Thomas broke into wrestling back in 1943. After finishing up his time in the U.S. Navy, Thomas had already made a name for himself as a Bodybuilder and was asked to wrestle some house shows. Possessing an amazing physique, crazy strength, and 6'5" 265 lb frame he quickly rose up the ranks. Billed as a former seaman, Sailor Art Thomas was also known to showcase much style and flavor-always dressed immaculately in either a business suit or a seaman uniform. As a fan favorite Art Thomas would earn many opportunities to challenge for The NWA World Championship Belt-including several memorable battles with The Legendary "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. In the 1960's Sailor art would move on to The then-WWWF and battle in Tag Team matches with Legends like Bobo Brazil and Bruno Sammartino. During the 1970's Art would move on again to wrestle in Canada, and would retire in the early 1980's. While working all over the country, Sailor Art Thomas was best known for his time wrestling in Chicago. Sailor Art would succumb to cancer in 2003. He was also known as "Seaman" Art Thomas, "Hercules," and "The Body." Without his hard work and sacrifice, so many others would not be selling out huge arenas today like The Rock, Booker T, and others have in more recent times. #SaluteThePioneers
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While any look at NFL History usually features a glorious cavalcade of Black & Brown Faces dominating the gridiron, NFL Front Offices have sadly remained a White-Dominated Area in which very few Melanated Faces have been allowed into. Currently there are only Five Black Head Coaches (plus one who identifies as Hispanic) going into The 2016-2017 NFL Season. With the institution of The Rooney Rule, in 2003, the barriers impeding Black coaches from ascending into Head Coaching Roles seemed to be on the ropes-but in recent years those in power have figured ways around that rule. One area that has rarely, if ever, been called into question though is in the front office. In the entire history of The NFL, there have only been nine Black General Managers ever to be hired. The Baltimore Raven's Ozzie Newsome was the first, and arguably the most successful. On the job since 2002, Ozzie is an NFL Hall Of Famer (as a player) and has won two Super Bowls as General Manager/Executive Vice President in Baltimore. It goes without question that he will also be inducted into The HOF as an executive also. next came Houston Texans General Manager Rick Smith in 2006, who at the age of 36 was the league's youngest GM. In 2007 The New York Giants promoted their Director of Player Personnel Jerry Reese to General Manager (now serving as Senior VP & GM). That same year that Jerry Reese built roster would go on to win the first of two Super Bowl Victories won under his watch. Riding off of these pioneers wave of success, others would come and go; but few remained in positions as long as their contemporaries. Martin Mayhew, Ray Farmer, Rod Graves would all meet their endings over the last few seasons.
But as the new league calendar has now kicked in, alas there is hope for the future. Three NFL Franchises, each of which have been through at least a decade of mediocrity (in some cases worse), have found themselves ranked among those considered on the rise. Well, at least two of them. Who's behind these teams? Sashi Brown, Reggie McKenzie, and Doug Whaley... Doug Whaley and Reggie McKenzie have actually been on their respective jobs, with the Buffalo Bills & Oakland Raiders for awhile now-but now the marvels of how they reshaped the rosters into respectable contenders has finally come into the light. Having worked as a personnel exec since 2011, Doug Whaley was promoted to GM in 2013-and was rewarded for his work with a four year contract extension after The 2015-2016 Season. The Buffalo Bills haven't been a playoff contender since the late 1990's; but thanks to his work, anything less than that would now be a disappointment. Oakland Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie took the then-unenviable job of bringing the Silver & Black back from the dead after serving as The Green Bay Packers Director Of Player Personnel from 1994 until moving on in 2012. That year, McKenzie inherited a team that had gone 4-12 the prior year and had traded away both of their First & Second Round Picks in the upcoming draft. Additionally, they had not made it to the playoffs since the 2002-2003 season. The last two seasons have had their bright spots, and have given Raider Fans something to hope for. And going into the new season, The Raiders appear ready to make the jump back into the playoffs. With a young, but well put together roster, much is expected from The Silver & Black for the first time in many years. That leaves us to the newest kid on the block, Sashi Brown. Recently hired as The Cleveland Brown's new General Manager & Executive VP Of Football Operations, the 39 Year Old Brown previously worked as General Counsel for The Jacksonville Jaguars-before being lured away to Cleveland. Unfortunately for Sashi Brown, The Cleveland Browns Organization has been downright bad for well over 20 years now-and has been the true picture of dysfunction since Jim Haslam bought the team in 2012. But as bad as things are/have been, the remake in progress for 2016 does have some believing that (like Their AFL Legacy Counterpart The Oakland Raiders) they may soon see brighter days ahead. Time will tell as to whether a larger Black Presence in The Front Office will lead to us seeing more Black Head Coaches on the sidelines… Though nothing could ever match the excitement that runs through a true football fans veins when watching a real live game; there is still quite the adrenaline rush sparked during the first few days of a new NFL League Year. This past Wednesday March 9th marked the start of the new league year, and with it THE FIRST DAY OF FREE AGENCY!! For those unaware, many teams will make roster moves that will either push them into contender status or doom them to yet another year of mediocrity (if not longer). Some teams will pay way to much for unproven and/or washed up players, some will add players that might be good-but will be that cancer that destroys the team's chemistry, while smarter teams will take the more methodical approach of carefully adding depth to their lineup.
Unlike most years, this year didn't have a clear cut superstar that had teams gearing up for a bidding war-but that didn't lessen the amount of drama that would come on Free Agency Day One in the least. The biggest shocker, and longest running storyline, came out of Denver. With Monday's official announcement that Peyton Manning would be retiring, the plan had always been for Brock Osweiler to lead the Defending Super Bowl Champs into the future. But someone forgot to confirm that with him. Osweiler would instead head off to The Houston Texans, who signed him to a 4 Year - $72 Million Dollar Contract. So in the space of two days, The Denver Broncos suddenly found themselves without a quarterback. Then, as if they didn't lose enough blood there, the loss of their young superstar Defensive lIneman Malik Jackson will hurt for at least the next four or five years. Denver also lost Linebacker Danny Trevathan to The Chicago Bears & potentially could lose Running Back C.J. Anderson to Miami. It is pretty safe to say that The Broncos will NOT be back in The Big Game next year. Any move they make now will come from the standpoint of desperation-which can never be good. To the exact opposite, The New York Giants & Miami Dolphins made several Blockbuster Level Moves to improve their chances of getting back onto the winning side of things. The Giants really weren't good on either side of the ball last year; but their defense was just plain bad. Knowing this, they added truly Blue-Chip Talent at DeFefensive Tackle, Defensive End and Cornerback. Some will question the amount of money they handed out in just one day; but adding former Rams Cornerback Janoris Jenkins ($12.5 million per year), former Jets defensive tackle Damon Harrison ($9.25 million per year), And former Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon ($17 million per year) could definitely pay off in the end. They also re-signed Defensive End Jason Pierre Paul to a one year deal. Other than re-structuring Victor Cruz's contract, there haven't been any notable moves on an offensive that needs help-but perhaps they plan on addressing that in the NFL Draft. The Miami Dolphins addressed some defensive needs by completing a trade, with The Philadelphia Eagles, that brought them Cornerback Byron Maxwell and Linebacker Kiko Alonso. They also signed Defensive End Mario Williams to a two year deal worth $17 Million. The latter deal leaves some with questioning the logic choosing 31 Year Old Mario Williams over 25 Year Old Olivier Vernon (not to mention they also lost 24 Year Old Running Back Lamar Miller & will likely ask Cameron Wake to take a pay cut). Much like The Giants, The Dolphins still have multiple holes still needing to be filled on the offensive end of things. Both The Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars showed signs that the future may be BRIGHT for them in the coming years, and BOTH made moves this week that may just accelerate that growth even more. The Raiders added former Ravens Guard Kelechi Osemele, former Seahawks Linebacker Bruce Irvin, and former Chiefs Corner Sean Smith to help push them ahead in a division that they can now realistically win. Just the Pass-Rushing Pairing of Irvin with Khalil Mack alone should be pretty damn exciting!! The Jags added the previously mentioned Defensive End Malik Jackson, bruising Running Back Chris Ivory, former Cleveland Safety Tashaun Gipson, and former Giants Cornerback Prince Amukamara to their squad. Staying The AFC South, The Houston Texans added the previously mentioned Osweiler & Running Back Lamar Miller & The Tennessee Titans got a glimpse of hope, not seen in quite some time, when they traded for former Cowboys/Eagles Running Back DeMarco Murray. Other notable moves include:
Psychologist & Educator Dr. Umar Johnson has been at the forefront of the push to bring Black Mental Health Issues (such as Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder and the affects of Psychotropic Drugs) into the light as major reasons why some issues continue to negatively impact The Black Community. In this latest video Dr. Umar speaks on the dysfunction in Black Make/Female Relationships, and its correlation to The Black Community on a Whole. Espousing on everything from the negative effects of sibling Rivalries & issues within neighborhoods often lay the foundation for how we tend to look at each other, to how unresolved past grudges & trauma can destroy new relationships (and more importantly cause damage to the psyche of the person they entered into that relationship with), to the unhealthy and addictive habit of using relationships as a "pacifier" to distract us from dealing with our issues-The self-proclaimed "Prince Of Pan Afrikanism goes in on many of the way too common & repetitive mistakes we make in relationships. FEEDBACK & COMMENTS WELCOME. |
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