ESPN's Playmakers...

Nykkii-

Actually I do, hell I was one of them myself. I was a linebacker, 6'3" 245 lbs, solid muscle. A good linebacker can wreck a good offense. Some of the better ones like Lawrence Taylor where the offense has to put TWO men on him to stop him. Because they needed TWO men on him, that opened up someone else.

You DO need that confidence or big ego, whatever you want to call it. That attitude were you are going to shut them down no matter what they throw at you. That feeling you get inside you is great, you KNOW you can handle them no matter what. They can talk all the trash they want but you are going to bust them up, it don't matter. Similar to like a Warren Sapp.

Now the downside is that some guys take that same attitude OFF the field. Thats where you get into trouble.

I'm glad they are showing the one brother who is married and has a stable life. You ALWAYS hear about the negative things black pro athletes do but you ALMOST never hear about the positive ones.

Mike Tyson NEVER would have gotten into the situation he did if Robin Givens, his first wife, had been a stablizing force. But she was into the bling-bling worse than he was. You see that part all the time. Deon Sanders, who was at one time playing pro FOOTBALL and BASEBALL, ALWAYS took his wife with him. She was with him no matter what, she had just had a baby one time and was on the road with him two days later.

Big money, even in college, brings out the wolves, men and women, black and white. White women throw themselves at you like you wouldn't believe. Will follow you into the men's restroom, camp outside your apartment, will break into your apartment and be in your bed naked when you get home and you don't even know this person. If I slept with only a small percentage of the women who came at me, I could have had babies all over the country.

Most of what they have shown is real. Being a pro athlete puts you in a whole different world. I had a knee injury that ended my career in college. The knee is one area on the body that can't really heal. So I went into engineering and applied that same attitude in that as I did on the field and got by BS degree.

Darkbuck,
I would have to agree with you, but I would add one caveat. It depends on the sport. I played college baseball, which doesn't generate the money college football or baseketball does. College Baseball is actually a drain on athletic departments. With the travel and number of games, it makes a differnce. I also think with the minor league system, it forces players working their way to be a bit more humble, doesn't mean you don't have the same situation, but not as prevalent as football or basketball.

Darkbuck, I would also appreciate your thoughts on why drugs are more in the two sports. My theory is because of the need for performance in a short period of time and the short playing career, get it while you can. I also think with baseball, you tend to need to keep a clearer mind with a 95 mph baseball coming at you.

quote:

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Originally posted by darkbuck:

Mike Tyson NEVER would have gotten into the situation he did if Robin Givens, his first wife, had been a stablizing force.

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So, Robin is the cause of Mike's problems?


There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life
that is less than the one you are capable of living. - Mandela

Haven't read all this... and haven't quite kept up with the series but I like it because it has some serious character development for so many of the PLAYAS!!

The stereotypical Black drug user/dealer thang notwithstanding... I think they've done a good job at showing very complicated/conflicted characters.

I think they gave Rush Limbaugh a reincarnation in the QB! PainKILLERS!!