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The NBA has started its season off with a bang. Everyone is talking about “the big 3” in Boston which consists of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Dwayne Wade and his immanent return to the Miami Heat and Kobe Bryant’s reluctance to stay with the Lakers are dominating sports headlines. Even talk of Gilbert Arena’s gimpy knee being drained twice a month is newsworthy material. However, there is no talk of the off-season betting scandal involving NBA referee Tim Donaghy. NBA commissioner David Stern was informed by federal investigators that the aforementioned referee was involved with the mafia in betting on NBA games. Donaghy was immediately relieved of his duties and placed into the witness protection program. But you rarely hear any news of Tim Donaghy. Is it because the NBA has a marvelous PR department and just did a great job of diverting attention from Mr. Donaghy? Or is it because commish David Stern is focusing on other issues? Like instituting a new NBA dress code or a brand new basketball without consulting the players? There seems to be a double standard in the NBA and culture is the underlining issue.

You will often hear me talk about William Rhoden’s book “Forty-Million Dollar Slaves.” In the book he discusses the history of the black athlete. How they have been treated, viewed and he even speaks about the evolution of the black athlete. William also goes into detail regarding the lack of responsibility today’s African-American athletes have for themselves and their respective sports. With so many black professional players making millions of dollars in today’s sports market, the spotlight often shines the brightest on them. Also, most black athletes receive negative attention from the media. Whether they are criticized for being selfish or wanting more money, being in the limelight is not always a plus for professional black athletes.

This is where Mr. David Stern comes into play.

Last season, David created a new policy geared toward cleaning up the image of pro basketball. Players had to turn in their long t-shirts, baggy jeans, doo-rags and big jewelry. That attire was replaced with suits, button down shirts and penny loafers. One would begin to think that the new dress code has nothing to do with race or culture, the commish simply wants his business to run like one. Wrong. The NBA grew tired of its hip-hop image and was desperate for something new. Rappers that regularly performed at All-Star and playoff games were replaced with country and pop singers. Rap music was toned down in arenas and players no longer could proclaim their affiliation with the hip-hop culture through their wardrobe.

The players that make up the National Basketball Association are 80% black. Compare that to mostly white males attending basketball games and a problem is created. David Stern noticed that attendance at games was slipping and so were ratings.

So to combat his company loosing so much money, he changed the representation of the National Basketball Association. Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki were installed as NBA poster boys and begin winning MVP awards.

Now, allow me to go back to William Rhoden’s book for a moment. Black athletes have been made out to be villains since the dawn of sports. From Jack Johnson all the way up to Allen Iverson. No matter how hard they work or much they fight, their plight continues. So if there are so called “villains” on the court playing a game that someone paid $60 plus dollars to see, NBA fans may stop showing up if they feel un-comfortable.

Back to David Stern.

Stern wanted to soften the image of his athletes and make them look “presentable.” Therefore, he constructed a policy that would change the NBA dress code.

Since the dress code’s institution, NBA players have been fairly quiet. There have been minor scuffles and small off the court infractions, but nothing the NBA can’t handle. But this off-season the league was hit with a bombshell. Gambling has always had a presence in the NBA going back to the league’s investigation into Michael Jordan’s gambling habits. But this time it was different. The Fed’s were involved and so was the mafia. This case was so awful Tim had to be placed into the witness protection program. Even worse for the National Basketball Association was that Tim bet on games. He broke the golden rule. If you gamble never bet on your own sports games. Pete Rose broke that rule and was forever banished from Major League Baseball. The same goes for Mr. Donaghy. He is now awaiting trial for his role in the NBA betting scandal.

It seems to me that Tim’s situation is more serious in nature and far outweighs the NBA dress code. Yet the NBA has done an incredible job of keeping this matter out of the public eye.

However, I can’t entirely fault the league for wanting this story to disappear. It was a public relations nightmare when the league least needed negative publicity. If I were commissioner of the NBA I would try my best to keep the spotlight off of Tim and gambling as well. Also in the commissioner’s defense, it seems that as soon as the NBA gets past a negative story there is something even worse that follows. So for his handling of the fight in Detroit, the horrendous of the new NBA basketball, NBA player’s dress code and the betting scandal, Mr. Stern receives a C - when it comes to PR and how he handles his players. David has created a double standard within the league. While Tim will probably receive jail time for his actions, David made sure he kept the media away from this story. When NBA players were suspended for fighting and Stern created the new dress code, he did not do a great job of keeping the media away from both stories. It seems as if the African-Americans players got a raw deal.

By no means am I insinuating that David Stern is a racist. African-American athletes have excelled in the NBA and the most recognizable NBA player of all time is black. Their newest and brightest are mostly black and they also receive the biggest paychecks. I am very proud of some of the brothers in the NBA for reaction to David’s new rules. The bottom line for these players is they have to play above what is expected of them. Instead of David mandating a dress code, the players should already wear suits. Also, fighting anywhere is embarrassing to yourself and to the league. So instead of possibly being suspended for on the court problems don’t let your temper get the best of you. It is all about making fundamental changes. The NBA is a business and if the CEO makes a change then the employees have to adapt to it. Lets just hope David Stern only makes changes that are for the betterment of the league and not because he wants to rid his business of a certain culture.

-JH

For anyone who has ever heard of hip-hop or rap music, the question: “Who is T-Pain?” is a very unlikely statement. Aside from his own albums, his most recent Epiphany, seems like every new hit song has a remix featuring none other than T-Pain. He has collaborated with many other hit artists such as E-40, R. Kelly, T.I., Bow Wow, Plies, Fabolous, Baby Bash, DJ Khaled, Trick Daddy, Rick Ross, Flo-rida, Akon, Kanye West, and Chris Brown. In 2007 alone, he has already been featured on 9 separate remixes. Every time you change the radio station, or someone’s phone rings, you hear his voice…Or do we???
Almost every one of his songs features a “pitch corrector” or a “voice box.” Very rarely will you find a T-Pain track, or remix of course, that has not been technologically altered to some degree. His synthetic style has brought about much controversy amongst music fans.
Posted all over internet blogs you find the question: “Does anyone think T-Pain can really sing?” Many who have seen him perform live claim that he was either lip-singing or just flat-out sounded bad. A thread on Yahoo Answers was started by asking the question: “How does anybody like T-Pain?” Amongst the many responses, one person stated after attending a live concert: “He sounded like a blind rat dying.” Another music website, www.rojo.com, reviewed a tribute to New Jack Swing at the 2007 VH1 Hip Hop Honors that included artists such as Doug E. Fresh, Ne-Yo, and Kool Moe Dee. This review stated “I understand why T-Pain uses a voice box now, he’s a horrible singer.” It’s no secret that many artists these days have technical work, editing and enhancing done in the studio but many people are upset by the fact that T-Pain’s continued fame and fortune relies mostly on a computer software program.
Aside from people disliking the way in which T-Pain sings, some also have an issue with what he says in his lyrics. One of T-Pain’s hit singles, “Buy You a Drink,” has made a few people very unhappy. In the chorus of this song T-Pain “sings”: “Imma buy you a drink, then Imma take you home with me, I got money in the bank.” Many women have taken offense to these lines. Some think of T-Pain as just another rapper talking about the same topics with a different beat.
For the fans, it has been a love/hate relationship in regards to T-Pain. People either applaud the millions of dollars he has made and listen to his computer files/tracks on repeat or can’t stand to hear another minute of it. Either way you can’t deny his success as a producer and lyricist. Only time will tell just how long the people keep him on atop the charts. As for the voice box…”If it aint broke, don’t fix it.”

In his new music video for the movie "American Gangster," best selling rapper Jay-Z flaunts the euro, not the dollar, to showcase his wealth.

Recently when asked "What is the best currency in the world to own right now?", billionaire Warren Buffet replied, "Not the u.S. dollar."

It was recently reported that supermodel Gisele Bundchen refused to be paid in U.S. dollars, because of uncertainty over its strength. She instead, asked to be paid in euros.

The examples above speak volumes about what many people with money, lots of money, think about the value of today's dollar. And many of them are beginning to hedge their bets with respect to the dollar. But what does all of this have to do with renewable energy resources?

If the dollar continues to be weak against other currencies, it will produce many unpredictable side effects. But one side effect that is almost certain to happen is a rise in the prices of traditional energy resources. All imports, but specifically oil and gasoline, will become more expensive. The days of $1.20 a gallon for gas are probably gone forever.

Grid Parity and Energy Prices

Grid parity is the point at which it becomes cheaper to produce your own electricity, from photovoltaic cells using solar power, than it is to buy it from power companies off of the electrical grid. As energy prices rise, more and more people will find themselves reaching grid parity.

Until very recently, the prospect of a community reaching grid parity any time soon seemed like a remote possibility. However, as energy prices have risen, some places in the U.S. have already reached that point. As of 2007, Hawaii has reached grid parity with the peak charging rates. Parts of California, particularly Northern California, have reached gird parity as well. As energy prices continue to rise, in large part due to the dollars devaluation, we'll see many more communities reaching grid parity.

But there is also an inverse price relationship happening with solar power and oil. As the price of oil slowly increases, the prices of photovoltaic cells are slowly decreasing. Companies are becoming more efficient at producing solar cells thus enabling them to be sold at lower price points. In addition, the solar cells themselves are becoming more efficient solar collectors, which let's the home or business owner save even more money.

And, of course, other factors pushing us towards greater uses of solar cell technology are the looming worries of global warming and the pressing need to decrease greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere.

Are corporations betting on solar power? One such company, SunPower, which makes photovoltaic panels for businesses, expects to pull in over one billion dollars in sales next year. Solar Power Inc. had revenues of over 8 million dollars in it's third quarter alone. Solar power companies in foreign countries such as Germany, Japan, and China have ramped up their solar power production facilities dramatically in the past few years.

For the past several years the U.S. has been borrowing money with reckless abandon. We have a national debt of over 9 trillion dollars. Now, the rest of the world is slowly deciding that they no longer want to bankroll us. For us, that means a continued low valued dollar and increased energy costs.

The applebottoms is a fashion clothing line that was made specifically for the use of women that has a “BIG” sort of problem, particularly on the B-hind. Being big or having an excess baggage or a plus size or whatever you call it, is very problematic especially among the women.

Unlike the men, women are more self conscious of what they look like. Being big can be a huge cause of low self esteem, this is mainly because of what they endure on what others say to them, this thing can happen especially when buying some clothes.

This is why the applebottoms has been founded. The applebottoms clothing line was founded by a rapper and entrepreneur Nelly. He believed that the clothes should fit the women not the women should fit to clothes. From its name applebottoms, it signifies that these special clothing lines are for women that has a large behind.

Not only does the applebottoms help those that has a problem of being a plus size, the applebottoms also help those that are in need. Nelly uses his success applebottoms and any other businesses to fund a non-profit organization called 4Sho4Kids and the Jes Us 4 Jackie Campaign, established to help his little sister's fight against lukemia and increase membership to the Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

The applebottoms brand name, synonymous to the voluptuous behinds of target consumers, is meant to draw attention to the fact that not every woman has a supermodel figure. The jeans are flattering to women with curvy figures and are offered in a myriad of washes and rises.

With applebottoms, low self esteem is now a thing of the past. If you want more information regarding the applebottoms, then visit www.streetzwear.com.

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