The Whole Delivery

They just had to :  In an extraordinary scene that is unlike any other in modern soccer, the players of Racing Santander forced their Copa del Rey second leg quarterfinal against Real Sociedad to be abandoned after protesting their four month unpaid wages.  There were many rumors circulating around as to whether the Racing players would play this match, as the once La Liga club has seen incredible financial hardship befall them after two relegations and former owner Ahsan Ali Syed abandoned the club. Ali Syed went into disappearance after INTERPOL launched an investigation for his arrest charging him with for international bank fraud and non-payments with his company Western Gulf Advisory. And watch the powerful video down below: More to come at The Whole Delivery, stay tuned.

How lovely, in which Michael Grimm's political career will now be over real soon: What a wonderful guy, his latest moment of bullying, intimidation, and just thuggish behavior. Yet, he still is a more peaceful, friendly guy than Richard Sherman.

Photo from Getty Images This is quite a wonderful statement being made by the Northwestern football players, and it could leato something so revolutionary with NCAA football and basketball.  Paperwork signed by what union organizers say represents the majority of the current Wildcats football team was submitted Tuesday to the Chicago office of the National Labor Relations Board. Cards filled out by individual players declared they wished to be represented by the newly formed College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) against what they deem their employer, Northwestern University.  CAPA is backed by the United Steelworkers, who had their international president, Leo Gerard, and national political director, Tim Waters, in Chicago to assist in the process. It is running in conjunction with the National College Players Association, a once small advocacy outfit from California operated for years by former UCLA linebacker Ramogi Huma. And unsurprising, the powers tha...

The top three: 3) One from Huffington Post news editor Johanna Barr. (Full disclosure, I know her): I can't believe Beyonce wore white to all those people's weddings. — Johanna Barr (@JohannaBarr) January 27, 2014 2) Charlemagne, with his proper Country Music analysis: I think Taylor was supposed to win but they saw her wilding to hard to Kendrick and called an audible. — Charlamagne Tha God (@cthagod) January 27, 2014 And the #1 tweet of the night from an unlikely source, Arby's Restaurant shares their thoughts on Pharrell's synonymous Fedora hat . 1) The tweet of the month and one of the tweets of 2014 Hey @Pharrell , can we have our hat back? #GRAMMYs — Arby's (@Arbys) January 27, 2014 It was so legendary that even Pharrell had to provide a witty reply: Y'all tryna start a roast beef? 😄😘 " @Arbys : Hey @Pharrell , can we have our hat back? #GRAMMYs ” — Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) January 27, 2014 The top three tweets of many gr...

Although Dominika Cibulkova is in the best form of her career at the moment, she is the clear underdog in this final. Quite simply, Li Na does everything better than her, even on the forehand side where Li can break down and the Slovakian can get into the zone. Most importantly is the serve, where Cibulkova has fired just only a handshake full of aces and Li has broken her at will to win all four of their previous matches. It will take a heavy choke from Li Na to lose in her third Australian Open final, and with Carlos Rodriguez continuing to keep her calm after surviving Lucie Safarova, it is the Chinese superstar destined for the title in routine fashion I believe. A second Grand Slam for Li Na, and I think in routine fashion. The Result Li 6-1, 6-4

Photo from Ball72 Legendary Brazilian forward Rivaldo chastised his country Thursday afternoon, vowing that their hosting of the World Cup Finals would be a complete failure. The famous striker and World Cup winner of 2002 based his attack not on the many unfinished stadiums left around the country, but for how the money used for the global tournament should instead go to many public services that the nation requires at the moment. "We knew this would happen," Rivaldo said after his team Mogi Mirim lost to Sao Paulo 4-0 in the Sao Paulo State Championship. "Brazil has alot to do like school, health and prison, not soccer fields for the World Cup taking so much money for one month."  

After all the analysis and conversation from sports and non-sports journalists, black and non-black people, and confrontational and non-confrontational people sharing their thoughts on Richard Sherman, let's just get back to the main reason on why he is a crossover star now. I waited to talk about this specifically when I saw the final audio from Sherman on "Inside the NFL" last night after his tip ball denied Michael Crabtree the winning touchdown and sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. I wanted to see if he didn't say "Good game" while reaching his hand out to Crabtree before the receiver (who is not a "sorry" receiver by the way) smacked his helmet. After seeing the video and hearing the audio, I believe more strongly that Sherman was being a proper sportsman and thought Crabtree would give him his due respect after making such a fantastic play. It was the type of extraordinary moment to decide a great game where the losing man has ...

This following Vine, the greatest Vine ever ..... Lead me to the full video: Can't get more PEAK epic then that. More to come at TWD today in a bit. 

For MLK day, I take you all the way back almost six years ago when I did this poem .......Thanks to Talib, Chuck D, Nikki Giovanni, and Sonia Sanchez always giving me the love on this. Enjoy!

Besides the obvious stars (Patriots' offensive line, Broncos O'line and receivers, the Patriots running backs), here are the key men who are going under the radar that will help decide or will decide the biggest game in the AFC this season.   AFC Title Game Runthrough  X-Factors for Denver- Quentin Jammer He was torched last week the minute Chris Harris was ruled out by Kenoy Allen, and he will have to not be beat badly today, especially if he covers Shane Vereen. It is mandatory that he does not get beaten by any non-WR today. Sylvester Williams and Terrance Knigton, along with Wesley Woodyard and Danny Trevathan  They have to get off the blocks in the Patriots run game and make Brady beat them one dimensionally, especially without Vickerson. Duke Ihenacho and Mike Adams  So key are these two in making sure to tackle Blount and Ridley if they get to the next level through the linebackers, as well as many sure not to fall asleep if Brady goes o...

More to come...

Photo from Getty Images' Rob Carr Jim Caldwell will be the Lions' new head coach, a good move and hire by the organization. Caldwell becomes the fourth black head coach currently in the NFL, joining Mike Tomlin, the under fire Marvin Lewis (at least for Stephen A.Smith), and Lovie Smith. Both Smith and Caldwell return to the coaching ranks.  The Lions seemed to have favored Ken Whisenhunt more than Caldwell, but the Chargers' offensive coordinator decided to go to Tennessee instead out of more fears of the division he was facing in the NFC North than AFC South.  Caldwell may turn out to be the one who fits the Lions' better than Whisenhunt, who has a similar fiery persona to Jim Schwartz despite being on the other side of the thinking philosophy. That will serve Matthew Stafford well, as the uber talent can see how Caldwell brought out the best of Joe Flacco in the postseason last year and will improve from his late season collapse.  The former Colts...

Day 1 Players of the Day WTA: Annika Beck  The young counter puncher from Germany hit a wall last season, where she struggled to break in the Top 40 after a promising latter 2012. But that may soon change after recording the first double bagel of 2014 on the WTA side, embarrassing talented but troubled Croatian Petra Matric by the 12 games to love scoreline. ATP: Damir Dzumhur  So many candidates were worthy of this award, from five set warriors Tommy Robredo, Adrian Mannarino , and Jerzy Janowicz , who took everything from another prodigious Aussie teen in Jordan Thompson. Ernests Gulbis and Alexandr Dolgopolov showed how talented they always are with impressive wins that could see their 2014 make them be legit darkhouses. But the honor goes to Dzumhir, who backed up his impressive qualifying run by becoming the first player from Bosnia to win a Grand Slam match. What an accomplishment. Day 2 coverage is located at @ByTheMinTennis. 

Cristiano Ronaldo Wins His Second Ballon D'or  Here's the video of him accepting his award:  And his emotion was major:  Nadine Angerer was the deserving women's winner, with Wambach the holder as the runner up and Marta third.  And here below is the first and second versions, with the coaches information down below.  First and Second Versions Great to see Jupp Heynckes be the obvious coach for men's Coach of the year, while Silva Neid deserving of the women's award. The Player of the Year coming soon.  Sigh at Sergio Ramos and Dani Alves on the best XI list.

"I was shooting for stars, on a Saturday night."

Final: Seahawks advance to the NFC Title Game. The key catch  Halftime Thread  Jimmy Graham, where are you? And Drew Brees might as well take off those gloves since they aren't helping.  I guess those noise simulations in practice have not helped whatsoever.  And with Seattle getting the ball first in the second half, it may get even uglier after such a promising tough start by the Saints. 

Full Time: Atletico Madrid 0-0 Barcelona  Stalemate official . Great tactical duel even if the game didn't have the quality to match the intensity. Still, much to be decided in La Liga BBVA, where Real Madrid fans will be happy that the two teams they hate the most have to settle for a draw.  Halftime Version  Stalemate as expected at the half as Martino and his team looked tentative in the beginning portions of that first half, as Atletico dominated. Busquets was ineffective as Tiago was having the better half in that key holding midfield battle, as well as JuanFran doing well on the flanks. Atletico had the best chance of the half but Costa put the set piece wide. But Barcelona will go into the break with the momentum as they got into their rhythm in the first half as both Costa and especially Arda Turan became non existent. Pedro is active in the right spots and Iniesta is Iniesta as usual.  With the control of the game for now, who will ...

Bring in Luda and De La Soul for the first Saturday First Thread of 2014.

Come on in Rebecca...... Time for the Friday fun thread everyone. I'm on the @LateShow tonight! Dave and I talk Chris Christie and our favorite scandals and stuff — Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) January 10, 2014 That will be great times for sure. Jay-Z and Beyonce rented a jungle for their daughter, because they can . One Charles Barkley's day in playing beer pong for the first time . More Fun Much is being made about now about Bill De Blasio eating pizza with a fork: Note: @BilldeBlasio is eating his pizza with a knife & fork. pic.twitter.com/tM7btCB1B3 — Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) January 10, 2014 More to come.

Because it simply was that special and that great. Truly deserving. That is the best song of 2013, and there will be more to come at The Whole Delivery today. Stay tuned. 

Major rest in heaven for the wonderful poet and underrated activist that is Amiri Baraka, who has passed today at age 79 . Here is some of his best work and notable TV appearances down below. It is a real shame that he went so quite to the general popular for so many years. And look at the interview he did with Connie Chung where he was on to talk about his controversial poem on 9/11: And how he wished the US "was a Communist country." More to come at TWD, with blessings to the Baraka family for sure and thensome. 

Photo from the AP's Phelan M. Ebenhack Jay Gruden, the younger brother of Jon Gruden, will be named the new coach of the Washington Snyders (Redskins) today, as reported by ESPN and many sources. Gruden the younger did not do well on Sunday, as he was badly outcoached by San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano and struggled to get A.J. Green touches on Sunday. He didn't place Andy Dalton in good spots and contributed to the young quarterback having a forgettable afternoon. Still, Gruden is a decent enough coordinator who can be inventive. But I question if he is the right guy for the job. (More in a bit in this sports thread). 

It will never get old:  Still, instead of us making fun of him, we should look at our relations with North Korea and the hypocrisy and problems in regards to the history of both Korean states. (More to come in a bit).

Co-Lead Story: Manziel Declares   Photo from USA Today It's official, Johnny Manziel will have more times to party with Drake and work with LeBron, and not have to worry about suspension from the corrupt NCAA. He has declared for the NFL, to the surprise of not a single soul. Co-Lead Story: The Baseball Hall of Fame Story  Greg Maddux , Tom Glavine , and Frank Thomas have been elected into Cooperstown this year, the only three to get elected into the Hall of Fame. Craig Biggio missed entering the Hall of Fame (like he should have) by just two votes: Agonizing for him and made more pathetic by who somehow got votes by the non-transparent baseball writers, who are so gutless that they won't have the courage and reveal who they voted for (more on that later). Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens went down while Piazza went up. Bagwell also went down, while McGwire looks like he will never come close to. And who in the hell voted for J.T Snow , Jacque Jone...

Final Version  Halfime Thread: The signs that are sweeping the nation As long as Freeman and Williams are being used, FSU will be fine after that needed touchdown before the half. Their linebackers though need to get lined up since Fulse and Uzomah will be used by Malzahn for sure.  Auburn must be careful with Whitfield on the return. He is a major threat.  First Version  When Auburn has the ball  OL's Akex Kozan and Reese Dismukes vs DL's Timmy Jernigan and Christian Jones WR's Sammie Coates, Ricardo Louis, and Quay Bray with TE Brandon Fulse vs CB's LaMarcus Joyney, Nick Waisome & safety Karlos Williams and Terrence Brooks When Florida State has the ball OL Josue Matias, Bobby Hart, and Tre Jackson vs DL's Dee Ford, Nosa Eguae, and Gabe Wright WR's Rashad Greene, Kenny Shaw, and Kelvin Benjamin vs CB;s Chris Davis, Jonathon Mincy, and Jermaine Whitehead. Prediction   Florida State will end the SE...

Once again, for another powerful corporate media listical, black people barely exist in the "post-racial world." Forbes' Jeff Bercovici had its 2014 version of "30 under 30 in media", and only one black person made the list out of the 34 (since co-founders added meant more than 30 people). Uzoamaka Maduka gets that nod but, outside of one article on Salon , is not well known like many others on that list, as well as her  American Reader website  barely making a major blip in online and (definitely) black online news circles. The judges for this list were Arianna Huffington, Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith and ABC News president Ben Sherwood. I have never even heard of Maduka before, and it seemed that Bercovici or those judges just looked in his (or their) elite rolodex list and found the only black person he (or they) knew and picked Maduka. It really is alarming but typical again of how barely diverse the list is with similar lists in the past, w...

Mary J. Blige Feat. Ja Rule - Rainy Days by erwan951

Back at halftime for Saints/Eagles B.O.B, proceed...."I was shooting for stars, on a Saturday night."

 More to come from TWD on this Friday night.

Superb from Miguel, who if he goes on the right steps and doesn't try and jump over people at awards shows will be a top artist.

What made this song is the production by Boi-1da and T-Minus, and how, as I said before about this song, how Wayne and Wayne's girl version can give quality if they just have to do one verse and not have to carry a whole song.