The Whole Delivery

Photo from Stanley Chou/IOC Projected Formation (4-2-2):                  Valladares Peralta  - Bernandez- Figueroa - Izaguirre Espinoza -  Garcia -   W. Palacios  -   Najar             J.Palacios - Bengtson The Runthrough Colombian manager Luis Fernando Suarez went from the highs of leading an Ecuador side out of the group stages at the 2006 World Cup to the lows of emphatically being fired thanks to the rough start of that nation's unsuccessful 2010 qualiication bid. Suarez has recovered to display his winning managing credentials, leading Honduras to a second straight World Cup. Barring a miracle however, he will have to hold off on adding more W's to his win column. Unlike central American rivals Costa Rica with Brian Oviedo's devastating ACL injury, there are no absences that Garcia has to overcome. However, this Honduran side (100% full strength or not) will be...

Photo from CAF  Projected Lineup (4-5-1):                           M'Bolhi Mandi - Cadamuro- Bougherra- Goulam                           Lacen                Taider           Bentaleb Feghouli                                   Silmani                         Soudani (Ghilas)                 The Runthrough:  As the least heralded of the five CAF teams, Algeria are fully aware that any progression to the knockout stages will be a remarkable result. In fact, they feel fortunate to even return to the competition for the fourth time after getting by Burkana Faso on away goals in th...

30- Iran Team Runthrough  Photo from TeamTalk Projected Lineup                        Ahmadi  Montazeri- Hosseini - Sadeqi - Belkzadeh  Heydari - Nekounam - Teymourian - Dejagah              Shojaei  -  Ghoochannejhad      Runthrough  For a man who has led three nations to the last four World Cups, Carlos Queiroz is a manger still known more for being Sir Alex Ferguson's loyal #2.  Disappointing displays both of his global tournament participants is the reason why Queiroz's most notable accomplishments have come as the legendary Scottish manager's understudy at Manchester United. That label appears that it will continue in Brazil 2014 for the former South Africa and Portugal manager despite a qualifying campaign that saw them finish ahead of South Korea to top their group.  In fact, they swept ...

Costa Rica Runthrough   Photo from EFE Projected Staring XI:                    Navas  Gamboa Umana Gonzalez Miller                     Borges                Diaz Tejada                    Ureña (Ruiz)       Campbell  Ruiz (Saborio Runthrough When it comes to playing away from the great home confines of San Jose, the troubles are very prevalent for Costa Rica.  A sound 1-0 defeat in Sydney, Australia at the hands of the Socceroos last fall, in which Jorge Luis Pinto's squad could only muster one good chance there, represented how Costa Rica would struggle to even get to the knockout stages of a World Cup for only the second time in its history.  Then their Brazil 2014 group was revealed in December, and, well, they ...

Projected Lineup-                         Ryan  Wilshere (Franjic)  Spiranovic  Good Davidson                Milligan Jedinak             Leckie    Rogic  Oar                          Cahill  Runthrough When the Soccroos were humiliated 6-0 by Brazil back in September, they immediately were pegged by many as the worst team to participate in the final tournament. That dubious mantle was further vindicated with the group the Socceroos were drawn in, with Chile, Holland, and the world champions Spain eyeing how many tallies they need to score on Australia to strength their goal difference in complicated, difficult Group C.  It didn't help ease pessimistic feelings for fans Down Under when rising forward Robbie Kr...

 (Photo by Steven Lawton/FilmMagic) Not his most complex spitting, but Lupe is getting so momentum from this new one he's released. It's the combative, resilient "Missions, your Music Energy Boost today.  More to come at TWD, stay tune. 

Fulltime (ET): Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid  Sergio Ramos' heroics, and a tried Atletico side, spelled the difference as Real Madrid received their long coveted 10th European Cup title.  Full review to come in other outlets, but for now, the pictures and celebration take all the headlines.  It's been another wonderful season in UEFA Champions League play, as Real Madrid now extend their most continental cup championships lead over AC Milan to 3 as the great Italian club have 7. Take care and so long to the UEFA Champions League for this season, until it all starts again in August. (Enjoy all the prematch and midmatch stuff below): Halftime: 'Baked Iker" Mistake Leads To Godin Giving Atletico The 1-0 Lead  Gareth Bale's agony face was less painful for Madrid than the one Iker Casillas's face featured after allowing this.  Really for Madrid, Ronaldo has to come back further up instead of waiting for Di Maria, Modric, a...

Sami Khedira vs Tiago/Gabi - It's quite the stage for the German glueman to be given the starting center midfield nod in his still early convalescence from his long term ACL tear back in November. Khedira faced Atletico in the first Madrid derby of the season and was outperformed by Simeone's two holders. It didn't help Khedira that his partner Illarramendi wasn't ready to perform on the day in that big match, but it was a performance that will make Tiago and Gabi ready to attack further this time around. With Xabi Alonso's absence, Khedira will need to be strong and provide the outlets for Modric and Di Maria without them coming back too much to assist him. Diego Costa and David Villa vs Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos - With Pepe unavailable and Costa's magically available, this matchup has turned from a decent Real advantage to a firm toss up. It's still a question on how effective the much discussed horse placented Costa will be, while the unexpe...

First Thread Focus: How JuanFran and Daniel Carvajal Are Playing For More Than Champions League Glory  With every UEFA Champions League final, much is obviously at stake. But unlike any final in the 22-year old reformation of the European Cup, the ultimate match in Lisbon today has its own unique elements. The whole all-Madrid final, as well as seeing if Atletico could achieve an unfathomable double or if Real can finally end its global community's long (and very annoying for some) obsession for La Decima, gives this campaign's decider an appeal like any of the 21 that preceded it. However, while the dynamics on club football have received the most attention from this crosstown final, the dynamics of what this contest has on the World Cup, in particular the Spanish national team, will certainly hold equal importance for both sides. This is the match before Vincente Del Bosque narrows his provisional 30 man list to the final 23 man squad tomorrow morning, and will se...

When Mase was at the top of his game, but still right in the aftermath of Biggie's death. "Harlem World" went four times platinum back in 1997 and featured his full star appeal in the game before it all faded away with Bad Boy losing their luster and his decision to go retire to the Lord. Despite all the history and transformations, Mason Durell Bertha is still just 36 years old and even planning to do a new album after finally getting out of his Bad Boy contract in December 2012. Although this was the third popular single from his smash debut, it went higher on the Billboard Top 100 (#6) than "Looking at Me" (reached #8) and just was a whisker under "Feels So Good" #5 pinnacle. Your Flashback Friday music choice for this week, it's Mase featuring Total and their smooth, underrated hit "What You Want." Mase feat total - what you want by mh_moody More to come at TWD today, stay tuned...

Focus: How Mark Cuban's Lack of Encountering His Racial Bias Hurts Society  In the midst of his still trepidation of revealing all of his feelings for Donald Sterling, Mark Cuban's racial bias comments from last night have gotten traction all day today.  Now the main issue from this author with Cuban's comments wasn't his candid honesty at expressing what his primary thoughts are that arises in certain situations, but the fact that he never mentioned that a key follow up contemplation over his initial instinct existed in him. We will all have initial thoughts that serve as terrible ideas to execute. That currently is the case whenever a person has to write, where one sentence or statement needs proper refurbishing before it is finalized. There is a reason why the term "rough draft" is prevalent in our minds since the days we commence our grade school life. You never want to finish with a rough draft, no matter if you are Frederick Douglas or this...

Vincent Harding (1931-2014) (Eternal -....) One of America's most underrated went up above the sky yesterday. Vincent Harding was more than just the man who wrote MLK's Vietnam. He was his own venerable Civil Rights figure who should have never fallen off the list of renown black figures. Maybe moving to Colorado and no longer being apart of the Harlem community he grew up helped contribute to his lack of deserved recognition? Or just maybe in the still myopic, waterdown perspective of black history in a commercial form for this community that Harding became less than an alterthought in the mainstream conscious: He barely garnered even a single thought . Either way, it is paramount that some time and some space be taken out in tribute to an unsung soul like Harding. As pious of a Christian as they come (with holding up Christian values instead of being intrusive and antagonizing), Harding's tenure across the country in many storied universities exhibited the d...

With their 11th album out today, the lead single from the concept album "And then You Shoot Your Cousin," it's The Roots with "When The People Cheer," your Music Midday Energy Boost for the day. More to come from TWD in a bit.

The Main Story: New, Quick Changes in Catalan Country   Hoping that they get a "Pep Guardiola 2" with their choice, Barcelona have moved swiftly on replacing Tata Martino with Celta Vigo coach Luis Enrique becoming their new manager. The former Barcelona class midfielder returns to the Nou Camp, looking to be the man to return the club back to their trophy earning ways after its worst campaign in years. The moves comes hours after Louis van Gaal became officially Manchester United's new manager. Van Gaal will take over the team after his World Cup duty with Holland. The Dutchman's arrival signals Ryan Giggs to his new assistance role after being the interim manager following David Moyes' exit, spelling the end of the legendary Welch winger's 24 year career.  In fact, Giggs wrote a emotional letter to United fans about the close of his playing days . Back to Barcelona as another official signing has happened for the Catalan giants. Marc Andre ter St...

(Viewer and listener discretion is advised, especially if you aren't black or from a diverse minority American community):   It's a new one from Talib with the Chef on the track, it's Violations and it serves as your music energy boost for this current moment here at TWD: More to come here, stay tuned. 

Photos from Atletico's press conference With no proper reasoning why the Malaga-Levante match was played on a Friday night to close their seasons, the 2013-2014 La Liga campaign has its finale weekend, where the leagues MVP Atletico Madrid may somehow have nothing to show for their historic season. A loss to Barcelona tomorrow in the competition's dramatic last chapter would be about as unkind as any Suarez's bite. Atletico have clearly felt the pressure and fatigue of going into the last weeks of the season with multiple trophies to play for. They couldn't get anything past Keylor Navas and almost were dealt the same devastating blow against Willy Caballero last week, while their own ace netminder Tobias Courtois' gaffe to give Malaga the opener belied the unfamiliar May tension surrounding Madrid's unglamorous big club.   Make no mistake, Atletico have been a Godsend to a league that couldn't tolerate another season of "Big 2" duopoly b...

In the spirit of the whole Jill Abramson-Times debacle , take it back to when Kelis' career was its most relevant point, with the smooth semi-hit "Bossy", with only "Milkshake" being a way bigger hit for her. With the Bay Area sound individual Too Short (before he went to VHI's Couples Rehab), it's "Bossy", your second Flashback Friday selection of the week. More to come from The Whole Dleivery in a bit, stay tuned. 

If you ever needed anymore proof, this video from two days ago highlights it for us all. And the interview with the boy, his mother, and Tara the hero cat afterwards was golden: Timeless. More to come in the Friday Fun Thread in a bit. 

The Flashback Fridays are back, with the long forgotten (except out of reggae circles since he is still getting salary somewhere, since he has also had a lot of legal issues) Elephant Man with his dance crossover classic "Pon De River." "Yup, good to go" will always register in the mental. So "Walk the Plank" and "Give Them a Run" for "Pon De River", as the Flashback Fridays return. (This is The Whole Delivery. Stay tuned for more). 

Focus: Jill Abramson's Firing Looks Worse When The Times Advocated For Equal Pay in the Past  Photo from MSNBC  It's not about whether Jill Abramson was a "pushy" boss or someone who helped their friend steal back her dog, or whatever way that funny, irrelevant story turned out to be.  Jill Abramson's forced egress out of the New York Times was yet the latest, prominent example of the professional inequality still prevalent in the female salary work place. How dare Abramson asked for the same pay as her male predecessor Bill Keller? That what was clearly expressed in the thoughts of Arthur Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and proud member of the powerful white male union still presiding over our gender pay gap ethos. You can understand if the pension wasn't the same as Keller had, as the size of many workers' pensions (or if they even qualify for a pension in the first place) is dependent upon years spent at a profession. But for a hig...

Focus: How Floyd Mayweather Revealed That Despite Everything He Has, He is Still A Fool  Photo From Mayweather's Twitter In case you needed another reminder to this fact that won't improve your life one single iota, Floyd Mayweather is the highest paid current athlete in the world now. More than LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. More than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. More than Miguel Cabrera. More than even Peyton Manning and Tom Brady combined. He is an still undefeated and considered pound for pound the #1 boxer, even if his ducking (which will be addressed later in this column) is maybe the greatest thing about his career. He is about to have another one-sided victory over a far inferior opponent that will lead to him getting another $32 million pay check. But no matter how he has made a living now at being able to dupe thousands of people into playing for his ridiculously overpriced PPV fights against fighters who will never be ask quick as he is (including y...

Made even more iconic for how The Boondocks's "Tom" karoked it to perfection , "Burn" as the second single for "Confessions" help continue Usher's push to full superstardom a decade ago during this time. Jermaine Durpri produced another classic beat for this terrific ballard that wasn't too slow. And though the music video was subpar as for what it could have been, "Burn" still resonates up there as one of Raymond's Top 5 in my mind. So for today's Flashback Friday first choice, it's "Burn" from a decade ago. More to come at The Whole Delivery in a bit, stay tune. 

Focus: How just slamming the LA chapter of the NAACP Rings Hollow If You Barely Cared About it in The First Place  For yours' truly, it wasn't the least bit surprising to see one of the more idiotic things in "ironic racial history" occur, when the news that the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP had given and would give another award to Donald Sterling. Of course, some people who are black and not black reacted in shock, laughter, anger, and just overall bemusement at how this could be. After years of housing and employee discrimination charges of both the racial and sexual kind, how could this local chapter not see it was dealing in good tidbits with one of America's richest racists. Is this another "Onion joke" gone true, that even the Onion couldn't think of?' Is it the thought most pondered when they saw this? And as stories come out now about the chapter's current president, Leon Jenkins, and his own sordid chapters in Michiga...