THE WHEEL SPEAKS ON 2013 – Greatless?

1. 1
THE
WHEEL
SPEAKS
ON
2013
–
Greatless?
Many
of
us
are
enamored
with
what
constitutes
or
certifies
a
professional
athlete
as
great
or
especially
to
be
considered
the
greatest
ever
or
a
legend.
You
hear
stories
of
the
great
ones
like
a
Muhammad
Ali
and
his
generosity,
which
was
at
times
a
detriment
because
he
cared
for
so
many
people.
I’ve
heard
unbelievably
stories
about
people
like
Bill
Russell
Jim
Brown
Lew
Alcindor
(Kareem
Abdul
Jabbar)
who
at
the
height
of
their
greatness
put
themselves
in
the
forefront
of
civil
rights
and
the
struggle
of
African
American
people.
I
never
heard
anyone
say
that
they
love
Michael
Jordan
or
speak
of
how
great
of
a
person
he
is
or
has
been
or
represented
to
them.
He
represents
himself
well
which
isn't
a
problem
but
it's
only
beneficial
to
of
course
the
Jordan
brand.
But
there's
absolutely
one
thing
for
sure
whenever
anyone
speaks
of
hands
down
who
was
arguably
the
best
it
seems
like
everyone
mentions
the
same
name
consistently.
Nike’s
“Air
Jordan”
marketing
strategy
was
based
on
getting
black
inner-­‐city
kids
to
worship
Jordan
and
his
shoes.
Allen
Iverson,
LeBron
James,
Dwyane
Wade,
Paul
Pierce,
the
Fab
Five,
etc.,
made
Michael
Jordan
a
billionaire
(and
look
at
Iverson
now).

2. 2
Sometimes
being
the
best
means
to
walk
or
talk
and
communicate
in
a
language
that
many
won't
appreciate.
Accolades
will
shower
those
during
their
reign
of
greatness
but
through
the
years
the
praises
suddenly
have
worthless
value.
And
time
has
a
way
of
not
only
reversing
what
we
may
have
perceive
to
be
greatness
it
also
will
sometimes
expose
people
for
who
they
truly
are
&
what
they
won't
represent.
As
the
years
pass
and
LeBron
James
matures
I
find
myself
becoming
more
of
a
fan
more
so
what
he
tries
to
represent
image
wise
in
this
social
media
dominated
society.
Imagine
Michael
Jordan
dealing
with
half
of
this
today?
Right
exactly
people
better
start
appreciating
this
young
man
for
carrying
a
torch
that
right
now
know
one
will
be
able
to
do
better
when
he's
gone.
I
watch
Open
Court
-­‐
Keys
To
Life
on
the
NBA
Channel
the
other
night
the
panel
consist
of
Steve
Kerr-­‐Brent
Barry-­‐Steve
Smith-­‐Shaquille
O’Neal-­‐Reggie
Miller-­‐Chris
Webber
and
moderated
by
Ernie
Johnson.
Shaquille
O’Neal
spoke
about
the
word
annuity,
a
word
often
discuss
even
in
everyday
society
and
the
reality
of
it
especially
when
the
accelerating
pedal
of
life
has
come
into
the
eye
opening
years
of
our
time
we
have
to
open
our
eyes
and
many
times
sadly
a
little
to
late
(definition
provided).
annuity
|əˈn(y)oōitē|
noun
(
pl.
-­‐ties)
a
fixed
sum
of
money
paid
to
someone
each
year,
typically
for
the
rest
of
their
life.
Professional
athletes
people
and
it’s
sad
to
listen
to
some
of
the
players
now
especially
when
they
speak
of
how
people
infringe
upon
them
during
their
entire
careers,
and
especially
how
different
some
are
now
that
they
can’t
help
them
anymore.
They
speak
of
how
family
members
can
be
the
biggest
burdens
due
to
their
inability
to
deal
realistically
with
there
own
lives
and
obligations.
Reggie
Miller
use
a
quote
by
the
former
legendary
coach
of
his
alma
mater
UCLA
the
late
great
Wizard
Of
Westwood
John
Wooden.
“Be
more
concerned
with
your
character
than
your
reputation,
because
your
character
is
what
you
really
are,
while
your
reputation
is
merely
what
others
think
you
are”
People
tend
to
because
of
our
human
instincts
be
judgmental
of
others
and
society
today
actually
magnifies
and
encourages
this
type
of
behavior
through
various
social
media
networks
embedding
it
within
our
culture
as
a
form
of
normalcy
or
acceptable.
Greed
and
money
seems
to
be
the
emphasis
of
everything
even
on
a
parochial
level
even
as
early
as
AAU
which
many
can
testify
about
having
either
experience
or
seen
it
on
a
first
hand
level
but
before
social
media.
Imagine
the
demons
that
tried
to
prey
on
young
players
of
this
generation
especially
like
Lebron
James
coming
up
in
high
school?
I
can
remember
even
years
ago
when
my
nephew
played
AAU
and
eventually
high
school
ball
with
Stephon
Marbury
how
everybody
came
at
him
everywhere
when
he
was
a
kid.
I
was
literally
amaze
that
it
took
him
so
many
years
before
he
had
his
temporary
mental
breakdown
that
was
captured
on
cyberspace
when
he
was
being
push
out
of
the
league
all
because
of
what,
money
of
course
that
Knicks
didn’t
want
to
pay
him.

3. 3
And
now
we
fast
forward
to
todays
athlete
and
especially
the
infamous
decision
a
few
years
ago
that
Lebron
James
made
to
leave
the
Cleveland
franchise
where
the
owner
publicly
demonized
him
for
what?
He
was
demonized
for
literally
taking
control
of
his
own
destiny
and
empowering
those
in
his
life
who
he
trust
taking
a
vested
interest
in
his
brand
name.
And
since
he’s
totally
rewritten
the
rules
and
the
power
scope
for
the
at
least
astute
athlete
has
since
change
ever
since
and
although
the
player
has
evolve
being
more
aware
as
a
self
entity
and
brand
we’ve
as
a
society
still
don’t
seem
to
get
it
at
all.
Many
having
resentment
for
cunning
businessmen
such
as
a
Floyd
Mayweather
because
of
his
brashness
maybe
or
the
way
he
flaunts
what
is
his
best
commodity
his
arrogance.
In
a
sport
that
years
ago
ostracized
an
independent
thinking
champion
and
businessman
like
Larry
Holmes
because
he
was
a
threat,
and
the
threat
was
his
mission.
Which
was
to
eliminate
the
middleman
and
Mayweather
did
exactly
that
but
look
a
little
to
damn
defiant
doing
so
and
eventually
they’ll
look
to
have
vengeance
for
what
he
did
which
was
to
show
especially
African
Americans
that
we
can
rule
anything
with
the
correct
people
surrounding
you,
and
as
long
as
Floyd
has
family
who
has
been
through
the
storm
of
the
hypocrisy
of
what
the
fight
game
is
really
built
on
he’ll
never
loose.
Believe
it
or
not
Floyd’s
strength
is
having
a
father
and
uncle
who
have
both
weathered
the
storm
and
survive
and
prepared
him
years
before
anyone
even
envision
he
could
become
who
he
has
but
it’s
not
a
damn
surprise
to
anyone
name
Mayweather
at
all.
NFL
study
finds
6.86-­‐year
average
career
for
players
and
67
percent
being
of
African
American
descent,
NBA
career
length
of
4.869
seasons
with
a
little
more
than
78
percent
of
the
player
being
of
African
American
descent.
There
are
two
important
concerns
that
must
be
considered
when
looking
at
an
NFL
contract.
First,
almost
none
of
an
NFL
contract
is
actually
binding
to
the
team.
A
player
is
not
guaranteed
the
money
he
is
promised
when
signing
the
deal.
Only
the
money
for
the
season
being
played
is
guaranteed.
The
only
part
that
the
franchise
is
always
on
the
hook
for
is
the
signing
bonus.
Thus,
contract
negotiations
are
often
put
on
hold
simply
on
the
basis
that
a
signing
bonus
be
increased
for
the
peace
of
mind
of
the
player.
The
rest
of
the
contract
is
completely
subject
to
player
performance
and
injury
avoidance.
NBA
contracts
in
comparison
to
the
NFL
two
totally
different
beast
for
me
through
this
scenario
for
a
second
as
I
refer
to
this
column
written
by
Austin
Porter
for
Bleacher
Report
in
2012
as
a
credible
reference.
Take,
for
example,
the
contract
signed
by
Tennessee
Titans
running
back
Chris
Johnson.
Johnson
inked
a
controversial
four-­‐year
extension,
averaging
$13.4
million
to
go
with
a
$10
million
signing
bonus.
Pro
Football
Talk
breaks
down
the
incentives
required
for
Johnson
to
receive
full
payment
for
each
year.
Things
such
as
rushing
yardage
and
workout
attendance
dictate
whether
he
gets
full
compensation.
Simply
put,
if
Johnson
were
to
suffer
a
career-­‐ending
injury
or
get
cut,
he
would
only
receive
his
$10
million
bonus
along
with
his
2012
salary
of
$8
million.
That's
$18
million
of
a
projected
six-­‐year,
$56
million
deal.
Or
18
percent.

4. 4
In
the
NBA,
almost
all
money
is
guaranteed.
Grant
Hill
received
a
seven-­‐year,
$93
million
contract
from
the
Orlando
Magic.
Despite
playing
only
47
games
in
his
first
four
years
of
the
deal,
Hill
eventually
saw
all
of
the
cash.
In
America's
most
popular
sport,
contracts
yield
far
less
than
one
would
expect
from
these
lucrative
signings.
The
2011
NBA
lockout
changed
the
scope
forever
though
in
particularly
largely
responsible
for
the
breakdown
sadly
was
player
representative
Derek
Fisher
at
that
time
both
he
and
Billy
Hunter.
The
17
years
executive
director
of
the
NBA
players
association
was
secretly
sold
out
it
was
said
by
Fisher.
Hunter
was
responsible
for
the
lucrative
contracts
that
became
associated
with
even
2nd
and
3rd
tier
personnel
on
NBA
rosters
and
all
contracts
were
in
guaranteed
a
language
that
still
brings
a
bitter
taste
to
the
mouth
of
NBA
ownership
when
it’s
heard.
The
lockout
ended
in
November
2011
with
players’
receiving
a
50-­‐50
split
of
basketball-­‐related
income,
after
they
were
guaranteed
57
percent
in
the
previous
deal
that
Hunter
negotiated.
NBA
ownership
knew
they
had
to
take
a
look
at
the
example
that
NFL
ownership
had
establish
you’ll
never
find
a
scenario
that
will
ever
take
place
in
the
NFL
will
one
player
could
hold
an
entire
league
hostage
which
happens
repeatedly
every
few
years
in
the
NBA
because
of
free
agency
owners
won’t
have
that.
And
although
there
will
be
those
who
might
criticize
athletes
in
particularly
those
who
have
become
rich
through
endorsements
or
a
brand
especially
some
I’ve
even
mention
in
this
article
we
should
never
be
naïve
to
the
point
to
where
we
don’t
really
see
what
the
big
picture
actually
is.
Someplace
and
somewhere
money
is
and
will
be
always
recoupable
and
don’t
assume
for
a
minute
the
piper
won’t
be
paid
somewhere.
We
hear
of
incredible
stories
over
and
over
again
about
athletes
who
loose
money
or
go
bankrupt
and
we’ll
never
stop
hearing
these
stories.
And
we’ll
hear
of
the
athletes
who
sets
the
standard
and
changes
the
face
of
a
generation
and
what
an
athlete
is
perceived
to
be
as
Michael
Jordan
did
years
ago
but
it
comes
at
a
price.
And
that
price
for
those
meticulous
about
their
business
is
to
play
in
the
comfortable
confides
of
their
home
field
because
the
business
field
is
not
level.
I
have
a
great
respect
for
people
like
Floyd
Mayweather
or
a
Lebron
James
and
even
Sean
Carter
now
who
has
moved
into
another
genre,
which
is
sports
management
because
absolutely
nothing
has
changed
on
the
playing
field
at
all.
It’s
just
that
those
ethnicity
wise
of
darker
pigmentation
have
found
the
blueprint
and
now
all
of
a
sudden
it’s
a
big
problem.

5. 5
We
could
only
wish
down
the
line
someone
will
step
up
and
hopefully
do
something
that
might
benefit
their
culture
or
race
by
standing
for
more
than
just
running
faster
or
jumping
higher.
But
always
be
mindful
that
being
rich
does
have
it’s
privileges
but
being
black
makes
it
a
very
limited
one
still
in
some
circles
where
a
few
million
quite
truthfully
might
not
be
considered
$h@t
at
all.
So
black
athlete
be
smart
and
be
safe
because
some
thing
aren’t
controlled
by
faith
at
all.
So
what
should
the
African
American
athlete
truthfully
aspire
for?
Greatless……makes
one
wonder
if
there’s
really
incentive
to
even
bring
a
collective
people
up
at
all
sometimes.
Respectfully,
THE
WHEEL
SPEAKS
ON
2013
(The
Way
Humanity/Hudson
Expects
Everyone
to
Live)