Adena Andrews.com

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Thierry Henry signing with the New York Red Bulls is not yet official but his team, Barcelona, has reportedly allowed him to negotiate out of his contract. With Henry’s pending decision, theBVX decided to break down some other notable black athletes in the field of soccer.

1. Pele

FIFA player of the century and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people in 1999, Pele is a three-time world cup champion and soccer legend who scored an unmatched 1,281 goals in his career. The Brazilian native, known for his exuberant spirit and goal celebrations, was so loved around the world that both sides in a Nigerian civil war called a 48-hour cease-fire in 1967 so that Pele could play an exhibition match in the capital of Lagos.

2. Jose Andrade

Playing from 1901-1957, this Uruguayan was a two-time Olympic gold-medalist and one of the first black players to receive recognition in the world of soccer. Andrade won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 with Uruguay and was nicknamed The Black Marvel and The Black Pearl — Pele was later nicknamed this also.

3. Freddy Adu

Hailed as the second-coming of soccer great Pele at the age of 14, this Ghana native turned American citizen became one of the youngest players to sign a professional contract after he was selected by D.C. United in the 2004 MLS Super-Draft. At age 17, he became the youngest scorer in MLS history. Adu is also a two-time MLS All-Star in 2004 and 2006.

4. Ronaldinho

A Brazilian national player and A.C. Milan club player, Ronaldinho is considered one of the most talented and decorated players of his time. He’s also a two-time World Cup winner with Brazil in 1997 and 2005, FIFA World Cup All-Star in 1991 and 2002 and FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball and Top Scorer.

5. Eddie Pope

The 1997 MLS Defender of the year and Olympian, Pope gained his notoriety by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to give D.C. United its inaugural MLS Cup title. The retired footballer is also founder of the Eddie Pope foundation based in North Carolina and Washington, DC which aids in introducing more African-American children to the game of soccer locally.

Bonus: DaMarcus Beasley

Beasley is an Indiana native who is a two-time World Cup veteran and sits tied for 6th place in all-time points on the men’s national team with 49 goals. At the time, March 1999, he was the youngest player to sign a MLS contract at 16 years old. He is joined in the MLS ranks by his brother Jamar Beasley.

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Each season the NBA presents awards for the All-Defensive and All-NBA Teams, recognizing the best players in the league. But there are a couple of categories that the league missed so theBVX.com decided to lend the NBA a hand for some of the more… unconventional award categories.Each season the NBA presents awards for the All-Defensive and All-NBA Teams, recognizing the best players in the league. But there are a couple of categories that the league missed so theBVX.com decided to lend the NBA a hand for some of the more… unconventional award categories.

1. All “Scrapping” Team

Kevin Garnett: He’s got the biggest mouth in the NBA and has gotten under the skin of the best players pushing them to scrap or at least throw them off their game.

Ron Artest: He admitted to drinking Hennessey at half time, was the biggest offender in the “Malice at the Palace” incident and even stepped to Kobe Bryant during the 2009 playoffs. Ron Ron is a defensive firecracker that everyone wants as a teammate but hates to play against.

Rasheed Wallace: Registering 14 during the 2009-10 regular season, Wallace is the NBA all-time leader in technical fouls at 304. Sheed’s crazy eyes and careless fouls at crucial points in the game show fans he’s not all there.

Kenyon Martin: He once stepped to Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban for talking about his mama and this season he threatened to “put hands” on a teammate who played a practical joke on him– on April Fool’s Day.

2. All “Is that Yo Chick?” Team

Dwyane Wade: The Heat star is involved in a love triangle with Gabrielle Union and his ex-wife, Siohvaughn. Wade’s ex recently sued, claiming that Union and Wade partake in public foreplay in front of her kids causing them undue stress. Using your kids to sue the woman who took your man? Where they do that at?

Dwight Howard: He counts Royce Reed, former NBA dance team member who got low, low, low at a poolside party on YouTube for millions to see, as his baby mama.

Dirk Nowitzki: Fooled by a woman with a history of marrying men and leaving them with thousands of dollars in debt, Dirk reportedly gave his girl a $250,000 engagement ring before she was arrested. While behind bars she tried to trap the star by claiming she was pregnant, which was untrue.

Kobe Bryant: After Vanessa Bryant grabbed a $4 million, 8-carat apology ring from Kobe, her antics in the press and in private screamed “I run this man! Who want it with Nessa?” He cheated, he stayed and now he must deal with the monster he created.

Shaquille O’Neal: His ex-wife, Shaunie O’Neal, is the godmother of VH1′s new show “Basketball Wives,” which uncovers the secret, shallow lives of the women behind the game and their cheating men.

3. All “You Need Some Clippers” Team

Rasheed Wallace: Homeless people have neater hairlines. Rasheed seems to have given up on personal hygiene all together.

John Salmons: His beard is braiding length but has converted to the Rastafarian religion and become a dreadlock.

Marc Gasol: The Jesus look is old and Mark’s brother, Pau Gasol of the Lakers, lets us know that a dapper Gasol is possible.

Chris “The Birdman” Andersen: The Birdman Mohawk actually suits him very well. It’s when he forgets his gel and rocks the country trucker look that he scares the little children.

LeBron James: His hairline is moving further and further back and the natural he has going isn’t fit for The King.

4. All “He’s Still in The NBA?” Team

Juwan Howard: The 15 year NBA veteran had to step up for the Trail Blazers after several key players experienced injuries this season. The Blazers somehow found their way to the playoffs as Howard averaged 22 minutes per game in the regular season.

Theo Ratliff: Theo is comically referred to as “Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract” by ESPN’s Bill Simmons because that’s the only time his name was mentioned during trade talks.

Vince Carter: Once dubbed “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” for his high-flying dunks, the former All-Star weekend champ was grounded. But partnering with Superman Dwight Howard has renewed Carter’s career by giving him a legitimate shot at an NBA title.

Grant Hill: After numerous ankle surgeries and rehab, NBA fans had retired Grant. But Phoenix’s fresh air helped him start 81 of 82 games this season, and now folks can watch him blitz by on his journey to the Western Conference Finals.

Kurt Thomas: After 14 years and eight NBA teams, Kurt still hasn’t found a championship. But he’s found his fountain of youth in Milwaukee with rookie Brandon Jennings who has carried Thomas and the Bucks to the first round of the playoffs this season.

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After winning five Olympic medals in 2000, athlete Marion Jones was convicted of lying about her steroid use, sentenced to two-years probation and served six months in prison. Now, as a player for the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock, Jones sat down with theBVX.com to discuss her disgrace and redemption. The star debuted on the Oklahoma court on May 15, playing 3 minutes and 19 seconds and though her team lost 80-74 to the Minnesota Lynx, Jones sported a smile.

• How does it feel to finally get back on the court?

• After so many months of just answering questions and talking about the home opener it’s a huge relief.

• You have been gone from the game for 16 years now. What was the most difficult part of your game to reclaim?

• The basketball instinct of being able to make quick decisions. That just takes being able to be in those game situations. I can do lots of drills and skills work, but until you are actually on the court and have to make those quick calls, it’s tough.

• Since you had such a fall from grace, did you ever think about distancing yourself from sports or just not coming back totally?

• No, I never had a thought to distance myself from sport but I did think about not wanting to be in the public spotlight anymore. But when the opportunity [of playing basketball] arose and I realized that this would give me a really big platform to send my message and fulfill a lifelong dream.

  You went from being one of track’s first female millionaires to the financial turmoil of having to sell your assets. Now you are a rookie playing for the league minimum of $35,000, what’s that like?

  It’s weird because I didn’t decide to do this for the financial gain. If that were the only reason then this wouldn’t be the way to go. It’s much more to me. It’s about positively influencing the lives of people and helping people make better decisions. So it’s bigger than financial gain to me.

• Do you feel like a mom because you are in your 30s and much older than most of your team mates?

• Some of the girls, you look at their birth dates and some of them were born 15 years after I was! It’s tough. But because I’m a rookie and I’m not necessarily exempt to certain things, I don’t necessarily feel like the mom yet.

• So is there a bit of rookie hazing going on?

• I don’t know if I would call it “hazing,” but there are certainly things that the rookies are expected to do. Because we haven’t paid our dues at all, we understand there are certain obligations we have so it isn’t too severe. We had to wash the veteran’s cars and a couple of the rookies have had to bring sandwiches to the veterans and you know we are the last ones to shower after games. So little things like that make life a little more difficult.

• Drawing from your experience, what’s your advice to athletes like Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger, who’ve recently gotten into legal trouble while in the public eye?

• My only advice would be to totally embrace it. It’s not often you get to have an opportunity or a second chance. So when practices are hard, we’re gasping for air and you kind of wish it would end, I remind myself that this is a blessing that so many people don’t have. When I think of that, I am able to get to that next moment.

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Questions to expect during a job interview: Name, date of birth… does your mom have sex for cash? Don’t believe this actually happened? Ask NFL rookie Dez Bryant who was subjected to this tomfoolery in his recent NFL pre-draft interview and he’s not the only one.

The most disturbing part of this story is Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland asked the question because he knew he could and that Bryant, a young black man from Lufkin, Texas, would be a “good boy” and answer. Bryant wanted his NFL dream so badly that he wouldn’t dare lash out at the blatant disrespect of his mother. This is exemplifies the routine abuse young NFL players with big eyes and empty pockets endure in their quest for the league.

NFL Players do not have guaranteed contracts and are at times as dispensable as the shoulder pads that hang in the locker room. They are inspected in a way that recalls the slave trade and the biggest contract goes to the largest, fastest and strongest black buck. So when it comes to pre-draft interviews, respect for the potential player is probably the last thing on a general manager’s mind.

However, Bryant’s mother, who is a convicted felon and touts numerous encounters with the law, won’t be catching passes so why was she an interview topic? While it’s true that pre-draft interview questions can get a bit out of hand — a player was once asked “if you were a hot dog and you were starving would you eat yourself? — attacking the character of a family member, especially a mother is unheard of.

Still, Bryant’s experience only highlights a disrespectful trend in the NFL. Other examples include the Cincinnati Bengals asking draftee Geno Atkins if he was gay. NFL veteran Marcellus Wiley, an ivy-league grad, was asked in an interview if he did drugs. Also Anthony Prior, NFL veteran and Author of “The Slave Side of Sunday,” writes coaches would routinely call players porch monkeys, sambos and boy to mentally train them.

Had Bryant been a more combustible character and not such a “good boy,” this news story could have been a whole lot worse.

Although this is sports, where ass-slapping and swearing is considered motivational, team personnel must remember the NFL is a mega-corporation, not a plantation.

From Josephine Baker’s Banana skirt to Tina Turner shaking a tailfeather to the emergence of Beyonce and Bootylicious. Rump has always been on the main menu.

So it’s no surprise that Erykah Badu recently used her rump roast to make a socially conscious statement.

Like every other championship team from a major sport, the Yankees went to meet the President . But this time it was different. They were meeting Soul Brother No.1, a very informed and die-hard sports fan. Don’t try to joke on Obama or his teams or you will feel his wrath. Just ask Yankees’ Assistant GM Jean Aftermant.

According to ESPN.com,

President Obama, who had just professed his love for the Chicago White Sox and made some jokes at the Yankees and other teams’ expense, went to pick up the World Series trophy for a picture with Joe Girardi. On the dais, Yankees’ Assistant GM Jean Aftermant sat with the rest of the Yankees.

“Let him hold it,” Afterman said loudly. “He may not get another chance again.”

The president retorted, “And you wonder why the other teams don’t root for you.”

BOOM! The President hit you with the one-hitter quitter. Sit down mam.
The team executive later regretted the remark and was extremely apologetic to the president. She feared that her comments would be misconstrued as “Republican” when she is really the ultimate supporter of Obama.

She says she made the comment because:

“One of his geniuses, one of his enormous talents is to make everyone feel comfortable and make you feel like you can engage what I like to think of as witty repartee with the leader of the free world.”

She has a point. Obama is just the coolest. His ultra-smooth gait, confidence and sports knowledge makes him feel like your cool friend who just walked into the sports bar during the 3rd quarter. You can’t wait to joke with him and do a rundown of the game. But one must remember, Obama is NOT, I repeat, NOT YOUR HOMEBOY. He is the leader of the free world.

People seem to get too comfortable around him and forget the office that he represents. From Yankees execs to idiotic Republicans who yell out crap during congressional meetings, the respect just isn’t there.

So if you are ever lucky enough to meet Obama, first call me and hook me up,then remember this list of things NOT TO DO AROUND SOUL BROTHER NO.1

1. Do not try to dap up the president.

2. Do not ask him if he has heard Jeezy’s song “My President’s Black” and then proceed to play it for him on your cell phone

3. Don’t ask him what wave grease he uses. Or ask Michelle where she gets her hair did.

4. Don’t try to discuss the latest episode of the Boondocks with him.

5. Do not ask him if those are 20′s on his ride.

6. And please, please don’t ask him the name of the incense he has burning in the Oval Office.

He may be Soul Brother No.1, but he is the COUNTRY’S Main Man, respect the office. Respect The Man.

Fist up.