R.I.P. Teena Marie!

Word started spreading quickly last night that R&B singer Teena Marie had died yesterday after being found unconscious at home by her daughter. Initially on Twitter it was being treated as a hoax, but was later found to be true and so unfortunate. Teena Marie was first signed to Motown Records in 1976, and later became the protege of Rick James who produced her first album "Wild and Peaceful." This album is a classic record and features my favorite Teena Marie song, "Deja Vu."

It's becoming increasingly sad when artists are remembered more fondly after they pass away. Teena Marie was an icon and a legend. Her early music is truly classic and should be listened to in order to truly appreciate her immense talent. Rest In Peace Teena Marie, we were fortunate to have you with us for 54 years. Thankfully you left us with some great music.

Welcome Back Keyshia!

Keyshia Cole releases her 4th CD tomorrow titled "Calling All Hearts." All 3 of Cole's previous efforts have been certified platinum, but she may have a difficult time duplicating her previous efforts in terms of sales. 2 singles have already been released for "Hearts" and neither has yet to chart in any significant way which is not a good sign for the CD.

Keysia's life has changed quite a bit since her last CD "A Different Me" was released 2 years ago. She has had a baby and become engaged, so personally she's in good place. Career wise she's still making music, but may have to downplay expectations just a little in terms of future record sales.

Barack Seeking Support!

When President Barack Obama hastily paraded former president Bill Clinton out for a press briefing on Friday, it gave a hint of desperation for all of the criticism that President Obama has received for agreeing to extend the Bush tax cuts that have been in effect for 10 years. Democrats have berated the President for caving in to Republican pressure.

President Obama did what makes political sense at a time when the economy is still in turmoil. Getting Bill Clinton to c0-sign on the measure should give him some credibility with the American people, something he's been searching for since he took office nearly 2 years ago.

Praying For The Queen!

Word spread yesterday that the "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin is battling pancreatic cancer. All that we really know is that Franklin underwent an undisclosed surgery last week and was doing well. Friends and family remain tight lipped regarding her condition, but prayer vigils have been taking place for the last week.

Aretha Franklin is one of the greatest female singers in history regardless of genre. Still only 68 years old, it would be such a tragedy to lose her so soon without hearing that treasure of a voice to serenade us.

Wesley Snipes Trying To Stay Out Of Jail!

Wesley Snipes is putting on the all out press in an effort to stay out of prison. He's scheduled to report to a Pennsylvania prison tomorrow to serve a 3 year stint after being convicted of willfully failing to file tax returns between 1999 and 2001. Snipes appeared on "The Larry King Show" last night with his attorney in an effort to gain public support I assume. Snipes states that he's paid all of the taxes owed and feels he hasn't received just punishment. While I didn't follow the case, when dealing with federal officials it's probably a good idea to be contrite and cooperative. Snipes appeared to be just a little arrogant in his appearance on King's show. Arrogance is not a good look when dealing with the feds.

Dirty Money?

Diddy's latest musical concoction Dirty Money made an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend performing "Coming Home" and some other song that used Swizz Beats as the hype man. The fact that the group didn't perform "Hello Good Morning" or "Loving You No More" is quite interesting. The group's debut CD "Last Train To Paris" will be released next week, but it seems as if Diddy has been promoting this record for a year. Already on at least the third single, it looks like the record will go "aluminum foil" as I like to state when a record bombs.

The group, which seems like Diddy and his back up singers, Dawn Richards and Kalenna Harper is another vehicle to promote the brand that is Diddy, which is a disservice to the two talented young women.

The Return!

LeBron James returned to Cleveland last night with his new team the Miami Heat, and while his beginning with the Heat has been more than a little rocky, James' return to Cleveland was downright hostile. Fans booed him every time he touched the ball, and called him 7 letter words throughout the festivities in what could conservatively be called a bludgeoning as the Heat throttled the Cleveland Cavaliers. James had a simply spectacular 3rd quarter, ultimately scoring 38 points and sitting out the 4th quarter as the Heat won the game 118 to 90.

I listened to a Cleveland sports radio station leading up to the game and the hostility towards James is truly unhealthy for Cleveland fans. They had last night to get their sense of loss out of their system. It's obvious that LeBron has moved on, now maybe the fans of Cleveland will do the same.

El's Second Chance

El DeBarge's latest CD hits stores today amid as much fanfare as can be created outside of the marketing budgets of Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. El's CD is titled "Second Chance" and this is his statement to fans after being away from the music scene for 16 years and falling as low as a person can fall while dealing with drug abuse and prison time. El's comeback record should not be judged based on sales because the music landscape is crowded with releases over the next few weeks. El's voice is still magnificent and he's working with the likes of Babyface and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis so expectations in terms of quality should be high and hopefully will not disappoint.

Miami's Heat!

When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade to form the Miami Heat Big 3, pundits were predicting the team winning 70 plus games and cruising to a championship. As of today the team has a record of 9 and 8 and holding closed door meetings with speculation that head coach Eric Spoelstra will be supplanted as coach by team architect Pat Riley. Needless to say the team is in chaos, and blame is being thrown at everyone participating in what is turning out to be a big mess.

I've seen the team play a few times this year, and the biggest problem is that LeBron and Wade are the same player and both need the ball to be effective. It appears that both players are too stubborn to change their style, which will be a shame when in 2 or 3 years one of the big 3 is traded because the team hasn't met expectations. 17 games is a small sample size in which to judge the new look Heat, but the temperature keeps rising in Miami with each passing loss.

Velma Hart Now Looking For A Job!

Velma Hart, the woman who famously addressed President Obama at a September town hall meeting has lost her job as a chief financial officer for the non-profit organization Am Vets. Her job loss was a part of the organization's efforts to cut expenses. She gained national attention when she told the President the following:

"Quite frankly, I'm exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the man for change I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. And quite frankly, Mr. President, I need you to answer honestly, Is this my new reality?"

With Hart's national notoriety and talent she probably won't be unemployed for long, but her job loss is just another example that the economy is still struggling to recover despite what some economic pundits may state. The gainfully employed should not take their situations for granted, because employers have no emotion when deciding who gets to keep their job. It's all about business.

The Career That Never Will Be!

It was announced last night that Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden's season was over before it started as he will be having the dreaded microfracture surgery on his left knee. Oden had the same surgery on his right knee in 2007, so in the span of 3 years he will have had the same surgery on both knees. Oden was once lauded as a franchise saving player and was the Number 1 pick in the draft ahead of Kevin Durant, but with with all the injuries it's doubtful that he'll ever be what he could've been. He will likely now become a serviceable center and a role player, which may be difficult for him to accept, but that seems to be his new reality.

Everybody Loves Mike Vick!

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick put on a captivating show while leading the Eagles past the Washington Redskins last night in what can conservatively be considered a drubbing. Vick's statistics don't matter, because simply he was breathtaking in his passes and when he took off to run against the defenseless Redskins.

It's interesting now that Vick has regained his athletic prowess, everybody loves him again. I hope that Vick remains as humble as he has been since being released from prison. People will again begin coming out of the woodwork to soak up everything Vick, but he should remember when he was down who was in his corner.

No More Moss!

I guess we can stick a fork in the career of Randy Moss. Moss' NFL career will not be ending, but his days as a top tier talent appear to be over. Moss played for his third NFL team this season yesterday in the Tennessee Titans, and only had one catch. He's in the last year of his contract and was counting on one more big payday, which probably will not be coming. Moss appears to still have the talent to be a top level wide receiver, but the desire just may not be there, except to collect his money. His numbers alone dictate that he's a Hall of Famer, but a first ballot Hall of Famer may not be in the cards.

Michael Steele Not A Wanted Man!

The Baltimore Sun reports that Republican Chairman Michael Steele may not be a wanted man by his party if he decides to seek reelection as party chairman. Steele has been accused of not being a good leader by those looking to supplant him, although the party recently dominated the mid term elections. Steele has been coy about his future plans, but if he chooses not to run again or loses the chairman election, surely he'll surface on Fox News doing what he does best, being a talking head.

"Breaking News"

This is the new song titled "Breaking News" that has created controversy because some of his family members don't think the song is being sung by MJ. The vocals clearly sound like deceased "King of Pop" but unfortunately it sounds like a throw away song that Jackson never would've released on his own. Surely there have to be better songs that he recorded over the years that would create a quality product. Michael Jackson's musical legacy doesn't have to be tainted by releasing bad music.

Where There's Smoke With Cam Newton!

The timing of the allegations against Auburn quarterback Cam Newton are interesting. Surely they coincide with the fact that he's the leading Heisman Trophy candidate, but does have baggage going back to his days at the University of Florida. Allegations of cheating at Florida and requesting to be paid to attend Mississippi State have surfaced in the past two weeks that appear to have the intent to derail his run at the Heisman.

There's no question that a smear campaign has been orchestrated to taint Newton and his family. The NCAA and Auburn have been investigating the allegations, and Auburn seems satisfied that Newton is eligible to play football. There's definitely some smoke to the allegations, since Newton, nor his father want to address the allegations, simply saying they're in the past. The bottom line with the Cam Newton smear campaign and his eligibility is that if he hasn't accepted any money or gifts from anyone, then he should be clean. He and his father maybe did ask for money to attend Mississippi State, but at this point there's no proof that any money exchanged hands, which is totally different from the Reggie Bush fiasco.

Unnecessary Death of Bobby Tillman!

18 year-old Bobby Tillman attended what was intended to be a small house party in Douglasville, GA on Saturday evening. The party escalated to possibly as many 80 people and became out of control. According to reports, a female attendee hit a male attendee for some unknown reason. The male, choosing not to hit the female back, decided to hit the next male walking by who happened to be young Bobby. Upon being hit, Bobby was assaulted by more young men ultimately resulting in his death.

4 young men are now in jail being charged with Bobby Tillman's death. This is truly one of the truly unnecessary killings in recent memory. If this is an 18 and 19 year-old black male's mentality to hit another person without provocation, then the next generation is truly in trouble. Immediately 5 lives are gone, Tillman's mother has lost a son and this is not even considering what the owner's of the house that held the party is having to deal with in terms of future lawsuits.

A New Normal!

President Obama appeared on "60 Minutes" last night to discuss his emotional stability after the political "shellacking" that he took last Tuesday. Very interesting interview to say the least and The President vows to work with Republicans to prevent gridlock in policy making. One thing that the President said that stuck with me is that we may be in a "new normal" in terms of the economic structure of our country and employment. President Obama stated that he hopes that the new normal isn't company's doing more with less, satisfied that they will still make the same profits while expecting more from employees, which will prevent job creation.

The reality is that we're probably in a "new normal" from a employment perspective. Politics is often a dirty business, but business' look at bottom line numbers in terms of profits. The President can impact many things, however he can't force company's to hire when the company is operating efficiently and making desired profits. This philosophy puts most company's in the mode of simply replacing workers that they have to replace.

"Decoded"

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z is releasing a new book titled "Decoded" on November 16. The book reads as a biography and decodes 36 of his classic songs. The New York Post previews the book, which appears to be fascinating and a must buy. The artist, aka Shawn Carter opens up about his past of dealing drugs, getting high with Biggie and getting the sample approval on "Hard Luck Life" from the Annie franchise.

Jay-Z is worth an estimated $450 million, and doesn't have to release a book recounting his life. His rags to riches story is a testament to hard work, maximizing talent and rising above adversity.

"It Feels Bad"

President Barack Obama had the tough job of meeting the press yesterday after taking the political beating of his life the night before. Democrats lost the House of Representatives, barely kept the Senate, and lost major swing states to elected Republican governors. The President took the hit stating that "It Feels Bad" that the policies that he's pushed in 2 years have been rejected by the electorate.

I've hoped that Obama would not be a one term president, but after Tuesday night, he's facing a major uphill battle to regain the presidency in 2012. His only hope now is to quickly turn around the economy and get unemployment in the 7-8% range. The crazy thing is that President Obama hasn't done a horrible job in my opinion, but perception is reality and reality hit him over the head Tuesday. How he responds will be interesting, but I suggest he place a call to the master politician, Bill Clinton. Clinton's demise was predicted after 1994 mid terms, but he moved to the center on policy and survived to serve another term.

Randy Moss Iverson!

Wide receiver Randy Moss Iverson was waived by the Minnesota Vikings yesterday, after another unproductive Sunday afternoon and 4 games of work with his new/former team. Moss Iverson's uninspired performances since being traded by his old team the New England Patriots has been baffling to say the least, and his praise of his old team Sunday after they defeated the Vikings clearly shows that Randy Moss Iverson left his heart in New England. Moss Iverson was fined by the NFL last week for not speaking to the media, and even went on one of his weird rants about not giving any more interviews except to himself.

Perhaps Randy Mosss Iverson is not the player that he once was, and is trying to convince us otherwise. With professional athletes, skills do diminish when we least expect it, and if Moss Iverson isn't careful, he may be playing football with his namesake in Turkey.

Maurice Lucas Dead at 58!

Maurice Lucas died yesterday after losing a battle with bladder cancer. He was only 58 years old. Lucas was Bill Walton's enforcer while playing power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers and was a member of their 1977 championship team. A very tough loss for the N.B.A family.

Poor, Hungry and Unhealthy!

The Philadelphia Inquirer is running a series on being poor, hungry and unhealthy in the city. We normally associate poverty with hunger, but living in poverty contributes to being unhealthy, with a direct correlation with obesity and diabetes because of the poor food choices that are made.

Our first lady is now making the rounds promoting healthy living, and honestly I haven't seen or heard any of her interviews, but poverty continues to be the one issue that has long term effects for any person trying to live a productive existence. Lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables in poverty stricken areas has a direct impact on future heath.

Charlie, Kobe & Tiger!

Charlie Sheen was arrested Wednesday after going into a racial and profanity laced rage in a New York hotel according to the New York Daily News. Charlie went into a rage after 22 year-old Capri Anderson requested $12,000 before the 2 had sexual relations. Prior to this, the couple had smoked cocaine in the room. Charlie Sheen is the highest paid actor on television and has had numerous brushes with the law. America tried to tear down both Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods for their indiscretions. We know that Kobe has fully recovered and headed towards Top 5 All-Time in the NBA, while Tiger had a rough year but could be seen smiling last night while attending the Orlando Magic basketball game. Neither man was broken down by the media deluge which is a testament to their will.

Charlie Sheen is not completely getting a pass in this situation, admittedly because he's a "bad boy." However, if he truly was spewing the N-word continuously because he didn't want to give Ms. Anderson $12,000, he should be held accountable by the media, fans and his employer.

LeBron's New Nike Commercial!

LeBron James unveiled his new Nike commercial this week, and played 2 games with his new team the Miami Heat. The Nike commercial takes jabs at his detractors, using the tag line "What Should I Do?" James' commercials are always entertaining, and this one is not any different, overall I give it a B+ grade. James' team, the Miami Heat have had mixed results, losing to the Boston Celtics and beating the Philly 76ers.

James has had 18 turnovers in his first 2 games, showing that the Heat experiment will be a work in progress. I think the Celtics will ultimately win the championship. The Heat just aren't big enough up front to compete with bigger teams in the league, but the season will be entertaining.