Video: Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story
Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story from Diesel Films on Vimeo.
When I was out in Chicago a few weeks ago, Sammy introduced me to an executive producer on the above project who is also a good friend of his, Pete Viña Jr. Having lived in the UK and understanding the talent in the Premier League, and the passion for football over there, this is an absolutely remarkable story. More on the project below.
“For a true story of determination and inspiration, you all need to check out Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story. The film follows the path of Jay DeMerit, an undrafted, unheralded soccer player, who left the U.S. upon graduation from UIC to pursue a career in European soccer. After a year of shut doors, countless “No’s” and disappointment, Jay came back to ‘States with more determination than ever! The rest as they say is history. You may recall him playing in the back for the U.S. in last summers World Cup in South Africa. Check out the movie opening on November 3rd nationwide on a limited run. For a theater near you check out www.jaydemeritstory.com. Stories like these are what the people need to see!”
Sunday Sports Day: Congrats, Prime Time
Peace on this Sunday. Many things happened in the World this past week including another pending economic disaster as the U.S. credit rating was downgraded to the dreaded AA+ mark. The U.S. also lost 31 special ops troops to whom I think we all owe a big thank you for their commitment to our country. A moment of silence is probably owed to say the least.
With that said, this is Sunday Sports Day, so allow me to commence with some commentary on this weekend’s cerimonies in Canton, Ohio.
This weekend saw the enshrinement of several football players from a generation of talent most people my age had the pleasure to watch and enjoy. One of them in particular, Prime Time, is held in special regard as you will come to understand here shortly.
To brief everyone, my favorite professional sports teams in the World are the ones that hail from Cleveland. Outside of our three Cleveland teams, I don’t like anyone else. At all. I don’t have a second team and never did in any sport. My favorite Cleveland professional athletes growing up were Bernie Kosar (QB, Cleveland Browns), Kenny Lofton (CF, Cleveland Indians), Omar Vizquel (SS, Cleveland Indians), Mark Price (PG, Cleveland Cavaliers) and Albert Belle (LF, Cleveland Indians).
However, growing up I took a liking to a few players that did not call Cleveland their homes. In no particular order those athletes were P Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox, PF Chris Webber of the University of Michigan, Washington Bullets and Sacramento Kings and one CB Deion Sanders of FSU, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.
I am not exactly sure how I came to like these other athletes, but I think they all had one thread in common: flash. At their peaks, these were the most competitive players at their positions in their respective sports. While my memory of childhood is not great, I know one thing for certain, Deion Sanders had a huge influence on me as early as I could remember.
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Jay-Z Partnering with Pharrell on BBC
Reported earlier this week, Shawn Corey and Rocawear will be partnering with Pharrell’s BBC label on manufacturing and distribution level.
Even earlier in the year, Nigo’s Bape brand was bought out. In Nigo’s instance, it was reported that he was obviously the visionary and creative behind the brand, but the actual financials were in terrible shape. It’s easy to see how that is possible. Honestly, every time I walk into a department store I wonder to myself: how does anyone make money off this? You have to have an extremely sound strategy and reliable manufacturers and distribution channels. That isn’t even getting to the point where you better have a strong consumer base who wants said product. Moving on though…
Again, Hov is saying this is not him buying Pharrell out in this case, however. I have a lot of thoughts on this and how the state of ”their” product relates to the state of the economy. Now, there are clearly, highly successful brands out there, but where their price point lies certainly would drive away the majority. I understand they are a high-end urbanwear brand, but isn’t that some sort of contradtiction? Speaking logically, it would seem to be.
To be fair, I love and have loved Bape, BBC, Ice Cream, Original Fake, Commes des Garcons PLAY etc. for some time now, and I have spent good money on their product, especially out here in London. Do I regret those purchases? Honestly, some of them I do. At the same time, I like what I like and so be it. There is a mighty thin line between being too fiscally conservative versus not enjoying the things we are able to on this Earth. It’s a converstation I have with myself a lot. Our wants often overhwelm us to the point where it causes us to make poor financial decisions. After having earned a good wage working for some time now, I often see the error of my ways as a younger adult. It is not easy. It’s funny though because as my eyes open to these revelations, my wants become less powerful. I think that is a sound evolution.
With that said, I got an e-mail from Tres Bien Shop in Sweden last week. They were having a 40% off sale on Commes ges Garcons PLAY items. That is unheard of! So yeah, I dropped some coin. Additionally, my favorite brand in the World is Polo Ralph Lauren, and the Lord knows I have plenty of that in my closet. You see how difficult this becomes? LoL.
Good luck to Jigga and Skateboard P with whatever they have cooking. As if they need it…
PREVIOUSLY: Jay-Z & Kanye West – Otis
Sunday Sports Day: Indians and Browns Analysis
By MK
I haven’t written on sports in a while, but with the Tribe making a huge trade and Browns camp starting back up, I feel now is a good time to offer some thoughts. I definitely miss the banter with friends and fans back home. We also used to do a sports thing once a week, so maybe this will segue me into bringing that back, but don’t bet on that shit.
Either way, after the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, things got popping off with a lot of Tribe fans ecstatic about the trade. I am not specifically going to get into the psyche of a Cleveland fan, because at this point, let’s be honest, our fan base is not the most sane or rational one. For good reason, but I am going to take a more pragmatic approach as I examine this trade, but more so the philosophy I believe a team in our economic situation must adopt.
About the Tribe…
Overall, I applaud Antonetti for actually having the balls to make this move. You get an ace for at least two years as it should seem, while giving up your top two pitching prospects. Bold move. High risk, high reward stuff. But let’s move on to the practicalities of this trade.
Let me begin by saying this: pitching and defense wins you championships. Timely hitting is also a large part of that, but I believe the first two are the foundation for a championship ballclub. As I assess our ballclub, our pitching even without this trade is ahead of our offense. So…
To those drinking the Kool-Aid on the Ubaldo trade, please understand: we will eventually go down the same path with him that we did with Cliff Lee and Cookie Cookie Sabathia, and what did that yield? So far, a decent player in Michael Brantley and a few hits out of Matt LaPorta. We will see what Jason Kipnis is made of shortly. However, for the position we are in as an organization, a shitty one at that, it’s those top teir prospects we need to rely on, for depth and better long-term contract situations. I think most people really undervalue this concept for two main reasons.
First, in the last few seasons we have been in fire sale mode, so we have been acquiring prospects. Those prospects rarely jump straight to our Major League club meaning they are still in this development process. Second, our drafts had been so shitty for a number of years that our so-called top prospects had been over-hyped. Without developing an in-house prospects, but it seems of late, this had been turning around with prospects like Alex White and Drew Pomeranz.
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Peyton Hillis – Madden 2K12
Let’s get it! I’m hype for this upcoming season, especially with Hillis on the Madden cover. They better get things straightened out soon with the NFL owners, though. We DON’T need to have a football-less Fall season. Nope.
2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster
Official.
AMG is presenting a new dream-car: the 2012MY SLS AMG Roadster. This super sports car thrills with a perfect combination of open-top driving pleasure, outstanding driving dynamics and sophisticated lightweight construction. The 2012 SLS AMG Roadster will make its U.S. debut in Fall 2011. The technological highlights of the 2012 SLS AMG Roadster include an aluminum spaceframe body, an AMG 6.3-liter V8 front-mid engine with dry sump lubrication developing a peak output of 563 hp and 479 pound-feet of torque, a seven-speed dual clutch transaxle transmission and a sports suspension with aluminum double wishbones – all of which will raise the pulse of sports car enthusiasts while providing outstanding driving dynamics and driving pleasure.
Props to the beast.
Mercedes-Benz G-Class BA3 Final Edition and Edition Select
I’m a sucker for nice whips. Props to the beast.
Mercedes-Benz is welcoming spring with two new, luxuriously equipped special G-Class models. Among other enhancements, an extensive stainless steel package and mounted AMG features ensure a visually striking appearance for the “BA3 Final Edition” based on the short-wheelbase Station Wagon and the “Edition Select” with a long wheelbase. In the interior a Chrome package and many more comfort-enhancing extras dominate the ambience of this classic, which has continued to enjoy the affection of off-roader fans worldwide for no less than 32 years. A classic off-roader is entering its final phase: as the model designation suggests, Mercedes-Benz is producing the last edition of the short wheelbase Station Wagon in the successful G-Class with the special “BA3 Final Edition” model. Two variants will be available: in the G 350 BlueTEC a 6-cylinder diesel engine with the very latest BlueTEC emissions control, 155 kW (211 hp) and 540 newton metres for great pulling power both on and off the road. In the G 500 a powerful 5.5-litre V8 petrol engine with 285 kW (388 hp) and 530 newton metres effortlessly performs the same function.
Gotcha B*tch!
Well, well, well. Looks like we finally got that ass. Props to all you special ops out there. I think this should be an official holiday…
