Black History Month – Alan Page

Alan Page – Defensive Player of the Year, 50 Greatest Vikings, Pro Football Hall of Fame, a Member of the Purple People Eaters, First Black American to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court (1992)

Don’t say Alan Page didn’t have goals. While he played for the Minnesota Vikings (1967-1978) as a defensive tackle, he was attending the University of Minnesota Law School. He received his Juris Doctor in 1978. After that, he went on to play for the Chicago Bears (he must like the cold) for another three years.

“The lessons that I learned from professional football were many: hard work, discipline, focus, the ability to analyze a problem and work through it. To accept that you don’t always win and when you do win, that doesn’t change who you are.” – Alan C. Page, 2005

After football, Mr. Page did a little radio broadcasting, then began his second career. In 1985 he was appointed Special Assistant Attorney General and then was promoted to Assistant Attorney General.

In 1992, Mr. Page was elected as an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He is the first Black

American to ever serve on that court. He was reelected in 1998, 2004 and for the last time in 2010.

According to Wikipedia, Mr. Page is looking into becoming a public school teacher.

Mr. Page, your contributions and career are certainly an inspiration to us all.

More about Alan Page

Pro Football Hall of Fame

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Black History Month Facts – Condoleezza Rice

Whatever your politics, you cannot deny the fierceness of Ms. Condoleezza Rice. Not only does she know her college football and football in general, she started college at the University of Denver when she was merely 15 years old.

She was the first Black woman to be appointed national security adviser and U.S. Secretary of State. She is also the first woman and the first Black American to serve as provost of Stanford University.

Ms. Rice is an accomplished concert pianist. At the age of 15, she performed a Mozart composition with the Denver Symphony and while serving as Secretary of State, she played with a chamber music group. In addition, she performed for Queen Elizabeth II and has played with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Queen of Soul, Ms. Aretha Franklin.

Her favorite composer is Brahms, because as she puts it, his music is “passionate but not sentimental”. Furthermore, she has stated that her favorite band is Led Zeppelin.

Growing up in Jim Crow Alabama, Ms. Rice was a witness to the effects of racism in the south. She was eight when one of her school friends was killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963. Her comment on that:

I remember the bombing of that Sunday School at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963. I did not see it happen, but I heard it happen, and I felt it happen, just a few blocks away at my father’s church. It is a sound that I will never forget, that will forever reverberate in my ears. That bomb took the lives of four young girls, including my friend and playmate, Denise McNair. The crime was calculated to suck the hope out of young lives, bury their aspirations. But those fears were not propelled forward, those terrorists failed.

— Condoleezza Rice, Commencement 2004, Vanderbilt University, May 13, 2004

“The crime was calculated to suck the hope out of young lives, bury their aspirations.

Those terrorists failed.”

Ms. Rice, you are one of my heroes.

Football Fridays and a Tiny Rant

Hello, my name is Dahlia and I’m an erotic romance writer. For those who don’t know what that means, “erotic romance” is an indicator that if you pick up one of my books (and please do) you will most likely stumble upon to an open door sex scene. You will most likely see the words “p*ssy”, “c*ck”, “d*ck”, “breasts”, “balls”, read about the exchange of bodily fluids and climaxes and orgasms (always a good thing). You will also read about people becoming aroused, thinking about having sex and invading others’ personal space, with sexy results.

I’m sure you’re wondering what’s up with the picture. Stick with me. You’ll see.

As a curious (nosy) person, I used (note the word ‘used‘) to peruse my Amazon book reviews as well as the reviews of other erotic romance authors. It is interesting to read how others view the erotic romance novel. Some of the reviews I’ve read have literally caused my jaw to drop.

I’ve read that some books are “pure p*rn”, nothing but “smut” or have “too much sex”. I’ve also read reviews in which reviewers commented that the heroine doesn’t “have respect for herself” because she f*cked a hot dude on page two. Furthermore, I’ve also read reviews that said “I don’t like books where the woman seeks sexual satisfaction”. I guess this last means the woman has to wait for the man to bring it.

These types of comments truly puzzle me and bring me to a couple of questions:

1. Why are you reading erotic romance novels if you don’t want to read about sex? That’s like watching the NFL channel and getting angry that it has too much football.

Sidenote: To the reviewer who didn’t like the woman who pursued sexual satisfaction, aren’t you doing the same thing by reading a sexy novel? What the f*ck?

2. If you thought an author’s book was pure p*rn, then why did you buy the rest of the books in the series? Who’s the dummy? I’m allergic to peanut butter. So, I go out and buy a Snickers bar, eat it, get sick, then complain?

3. If you don’t like the depiction of blow jobs/p*ssy worship….yeah, why are you even reading an erotic romance? There’s a high chance you’ll run into some c*ck-sucking or **gasp** p*ssy-licking if you read enough of them.

Point is, writers write because they love what they write. Readers read because they love what writers write. I am so glad that there is a place where writers can express the sexuality of their characters and appeal to the readers that like the hot stuff. There is no shame in that game. I have a ton of writer colleagues who write stuff that make me blush, but like I always way, chacun son goût…. les yeux sans visage…. voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir …that’s my French for the day.

I’m not even going to call these people haters, because why bother? My advice? Stick to the sweet romances. Avoid any romance that mentions the word “heat” in the blurb. And, if the cover has a couple enjoying a sweet, sexy embrace, stay far, far, FAR away. You don’t want to get bumped in the face with a stray erection.

As I typed this, I found a brilliant way to tie this all in with Football Friday. My fantasy football stud quarterback, Peyton Manning will wrap this up nicely. Let me give you a little history. Peyton has played in a dome – Lucas Oil Stadium (aka the house that Peyton built) for most of his career. When he went to Denver, there was all sorts of talk that he couldn’t play in the cold. For while, that’s been true until this past game with the Titans. With a kickoff temperature of 18 degrees F, Peyton threw for 397 yards with four touchdowns with no interceptions., The Broncos won, 51-28. Furthermore, the 39 completions established a new franchise record.

Now, does the graphic make more sense?

Football Fridays – Frustrated Tom Brady and Week 2 Matchups

Well, Geno Smith and the Jets’ one game winning streak has been broken! Most of us were in suspense regarding the game: Who would win?

Yeah, right.

Despite the gutting of the Patriots’ offense by free agency, injuries and (alleged) murder, the Jets suffered from poor performance on both sides of the ball.

I am not a Pats “fan” per se. I admire their work ethic and the coaching of Belichick, but I simply cannot abide a team that uses cheating tactics to win. Don’t they have enough film to study?

On the other hand, I am not a Jets’ fan, nor am I a fan of Geno Smith. So when it comes to these two teams, I go with the more mature QB.

That being said, the game was sloppy on both sides. Dropped passeds turnovers (not the tasty kind) and interceptions made the game a disappointment to watch. I expect more from Tom Brady, though I understand that he’s working with super-brand new players. But Tom showed his frustration, yelling on the sidelines about his immature receivers.

Either way, the Pats won and Tom Brady didn’t put up many fantasy points.

Let’s take a look at this weekend’s matchups:

Weekend Matchups –

(note…I only comment on the games that will probably be shown in the New York metro area. Your mileage may vary.)

Chargers at Eagles

The Chargers like to give away games and the Eagles seem like they are on a serious mission. With the addition of coach Chip Kelly, the Iggles are a team to be reckoned with. I pick the Eagles.

Saints at Buccaneers

Drew BREES! As a former New Orleans resident, I like Drew Brees. As a current New Jersey resident, I do not like former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. But I do like former Tampa Buccaneer, Warren Sapp. Hmmmmm. I pick the Saints.

Redskins at Packers

I am neutral on the strength of both these teams, but I like RGIII much better than Aaron Rodgers. Despite my affection for the running quarterback, I have to pick the Packers.

49ers at Seahawks

I laughed this morning when the fellas on WFAN reported that someone on the 49ners called the Seahawks, the “Shehawks”. Juvenile? Yes. Fun? Most definitely. This will be a hard fought game between two tough teams. I can’t even venture to pick a winner.

The Manning Bowl – Broncos at Giants

What else can be said about this matchup? I don’t do point spreads and stuff like that, but let it be said that Peyton has won every Manning bowl so far. In addition, the Giants defense isn’t what it used to be – but the Broncos offense is hot! Either way, it should be a good game to watch.

Let it also be said that the Eli does have two championship rings to Peyton’s one.

Who’s your team? Who’s your player? Comment and let me know!

Football Friday – The Season Begins

Broncos vs Ravens

And football season is upon us with a vengeance. Super Bowl champs the Baltimore Ravens paid a visit to the Mile-High City for a rematch. If you remember last year, the Ravens bested the Broncos in overtime to move on to the Super Bowl. Mind you, the NFL Channel never let us forget it – I have seen enough replays of the end of that game to last me a lifetime.

I would venture to say that Peyton Manning and the Broncos gave the Ravens a bit of “get-back” last night.

Yes, the first half was slow. A thirty-minute rain delay coupled with the slow saunter of the Ravens onto the field didn’t bode well for the Broncos, especially when it started to rain. When the Ravens drew first blood with a touchdown, Broncos fans may have thought that the Super Bowl champs were back stronger than ever.

However, Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning and despite the absence of Von Miller on defense, Manning more than compensated with his passing game. Wes Welker showed his total catching abilities with nine catches for a total of sixty-seven yards and two touchdowns.

In addition, Demaryius “Only winners get wings” Thomas and Julian Thomas (no relation) combined for 181 yards to push the Broncos over the Ravens.

The most exciting second half I’ve seen in a long time.

And thank goodness, football season has begun!!

49-27 ……Broncos

Note: Peyton Manning ties NFL record with seven touchdown passes.