Last night Tavis Smiley hosted the 3rd Democratic Presidential debate of the year… Here are my thoughts:

• In general, I thought that Tavis Smiley did a great job as host and moderator. Tavis was personable, funny, and fair to all of the participants. For the first time this debate season, each candidate was given equal opportunity to speak. My only beef is that he and Tom Joyner hawked the “Convenant With Black America” book at the beginning of the show.
• Once again Hillary Clinton positioned herself as the leader of the pack, rocking the crowd with the standard Clinton sound bites.
• Although he was clearly on his home court, Barack Obama shined tonight more than ever before. He seemed comfortable, measured, and lucid in his responses. Although he did not display as much depth as he did in the previous debate, where he went to great lengths to explicate his health care policy, he left no doubt that he has the chops to be president. I was, however, disappointed with his endorsement of No Child Left Behind as a viable policy rather than an enemy to our children’s educational futures. Like most of his peers, he challenged the policy strictly on economic grounds and ignored its retarded logic.
• Joe Biden has an extraordinary ability to balance brilliant statements with wildy offensive ones. His critique of his Senate colleagues for not being tough enough on Supreme Court appointees –particularly in light of yesterday’s decision– was on the money. Biden’s comments about Darfur, differential sentencing and poverty were also on the money. Then, as always, he offered a borderline racist comment about Black men and HIV/AIDS, as well the absence of Black leadership willing to tell Black men that “there’s nothing unmanly about wearing a condom.”
• Is it me or has Bill Richardson checked out and decided to wait for his VP nomination?
• As always, Dennis Kucinich was the most thoughtful, articulate, and innovative in his responses. Every time he speaks, I’m more certain that he is by far the best candidate for the job.

Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich and I are on Chicago’s WVON radio right now!!!! If you’re not in Chicago, click here to listen.

Last night’s NBA draft was one of the most interesting and memorable ones in years. Here are a few thoughts:

• The New York Knicks made one of the boldest moves in the draft, trading Steve Francis and Channing Frye to Portland for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau, and Fred Jones. Although I maintain that Isaiah Thomas is a weak executive, this move should work out quite well for the Knicks. By breaking up the god awful Mawbury/Francis duo and adding some much needed size and talent at forward, the Knicks have positioned themselves to win an extra 10 games next year. The only question is whether Randolph and Curry can play together… But when did Zeke ever worry about such things??
• Don’t be surprised if the Knicks use their new resources to help pull off a trade for Kobe Bryant… You heard it here first…
• Why did the Bulls draft Joakim Noah? Even if he could play, which he can’t, placing him on a line with Ben Wallace is a recipe for offensive impotence.
• The Golden State Warriors came away big winners last night by trading Jason Richardson for the rights to Brandon Wright. In addition to picking up one of the major prospects in the draft, they created a $10 million trade exception that will allow them to sign a major free agent.
• Milwaukee’s decision to draft Yi Jianlian is a curious one. Since Jianlin’s handlers don’t want him there, my hunch is that he’ll end up getting traded for lower picks and/or an established player. The Philadelphia 76ers, who tried to trade up to get him, are prime candidates for such a move.
• Why was Aaron Brooks drafted in the 1st round?
• The Philadelphia 76ers made an excellent series of moves last night. Thaddeus Young might be the Paul Pierce of the draft and Jason Smith might finally allow them to put Samuel Dalembert to pasture.
• The Spurs decision to draft Tiago Splitter was brilliant. As the best team in the league, they could afford to wait a year for him to get out of his Euro contract. When he comes, he’ll make the other teams wish that they were more patient.
• Seattle made a no-brainer move by drafting Kevin Durant, the only guaranteed superstar in the draft. More importantly, they traded an aging Ray Allen and the 35th pick  to Boston for the rights to Jeff Green, Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak. Although I wish they had drafted Jianlin, fans should be excited by the stock of talent that they have.

Gay Marriage Could Be Profitable

According to a report from the city’s comptroller, New York City would stand to gain $142 million in the first three years of legalized gay marriage. What do you think?

Katharine Epperson,
Video Editor
“Why? Does buying a gay melon baller at Tiffany’s cost more than buying a straight melon baller at Tiffany’s?”

Andre Milstead,
Drayman
“$142 million! Boy, they really know how to pull an old conservative Republican’s heart-strings!”

Harris Charles,
Systems Analyst
“The city needn’t permit something so crass and immoral to raise money. May I suggest legalized gambling as an alternative?”

High Impact: What Football Owes Its Players
By Dave Zirin 

There is an old expression about NFL players: When you sign a pro football contract, you sign away your right to be middle-aged.

Many NFL players seem to drift overnight from being robust young men in their 20s and 30s to appearing staggered and elderly once they hit their 40s.

This isn’t about superficial appearance, of arthritic knuckles or the altered gait that comes with age. It’s about the long-term effects of brain injury and concussions. As William C. Rhoden wrote in the New York Times, “The legion of retired players has become a haunting presence for the National Football League and especially for the N.F.L. Players Association, which keeps one foot in and one foot out of the retired players’ lives.”

The health consequences of high-impact sports is not just an issue for old timers. Increasing numbers of present-day players are reckoning with the short- and long-term consequences of concussions and cranial trauma. This is partly because there is far more research and awareness about concussive injury. But the game is changing: Players today are bigger, stronger and faster than even ten years ago. In 1989, fewer than ten players weighed more than 300 pounds. Now there are more than 450. Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor weighs 235 pounds and runs forty yards in less than 4.5 seconds. His job as safety is to do more than protect his defensive backs: It’s to find people with the ball and with his scary combination of speed and power, remove their senses from their body. So the issue of possible trauma is not just for players who retired long ago.

This hit home when retired Philadelphia Eagles safety Andre Waters committed suicide in 2006 at the age of 44. The coroner’s report revealed that Waters had the brain tissue of an 85-year-old man in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Waters’s horror story is only one of many. And the tragedy of the walking wounded was on full display this week in the halls of Congress, where a hearing was held regarding the condition of NFL vets.

Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA), chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, set the tone early on, observing that the NFL was a “billion-dollar industry and yet the players who built the league are too often left to fend for themselves.”

Central to the hearing was former Chicago Bears Head Coach Mike Ditka, who said, “I just think that to go back and pick up these people and take care of them is not that big a problem. It’s right versus wrong, period.”

But it’s not so simple. A group of NFL vets have seized upon this atmosphere in recent weeks to reframe the debate from what the game owes these players to what the NFL Players Association–the union–is not doing for those retired with injuries. Led by Hall of Famers Ditka and Joe DeLamielleure, their push has been for the removal of NFLPA President Gene Upshaw. A movement that should be advocating for the rights of retired players is beginning to look like a move to discredit and weaken the union, while the owners kick back and allow the carnage to proceed.

For the rest of the story, click here.