LIke father, like son...

Being the DIE HARD Knick fan and ALL TIME Patrick Ewing fan, I cannot express enough my excitement after learning that Patrick Ewing Jr. has become a NY Knick (via trade from Houston). Unbelievable! Welcome to the greatest professional basketball stadium in the world! Oh...did you know your father set NY Knicks records here too? No pressure, Jr... LOL!!

Bigg Russ

Obama's DNC acceptance speech...

I have nothing to post about it. I'm speechless.

Bigg Russ

...and my favorite former First Lady!

Hillary may not be the favorite of many now...but when she was 'running' the White House, she was da bomb. And let's not get it twisted...had Barack not been a factor, and it came down to Clinton vs. McCain...

'Nuff said.

Michelle Obama ... our next First Lady.

Michelle Obama @ The Democratic National Convention '08

If you haven't heard the speech, there's no better time than now.



If WE mess this up, we'll only have ourselves to blame.

Bigg Russ

C'mon, ladies...it's Miller Time!

If there was ever a family that needed a break it's this one.


LisaRaye and her half-sister Da Brat are just having one hell of a week. First, the former first lady of Turk and Caicos get's de-throned (and has the bruises to show for it). Now, Da Brat, the first female rapper to have a certified platinum selling album, has been sentenced to 3 years behind bars for assault. ASSAULT. All I can do is shake my head and offer 'em a beer. Or prayer. Whichever one they'll accept.

EDIT: Check the beat down below.

Click to enlarge.

Trifecta!

Bigg Russ, Colleen Bigsby (Chelsea Brewing Co, NY) & Ben Gordon

Let me first start this entry by saying being a part of Ben Gordon Weekend 2008 was quite a fulfilling experience. Three days of faith, family, unity & sports and I had a blast being a part of it. I sincerely cannot wait to start planning the next one.

Ever since moving back to my hometown of Mt. Vernon, NY, I've wanted to become more involved in its community. Knowing where to start was the hard part. Well, that's not entirely true. I knew I could try adding my personality to the more common institutions (i.e. Boys & Girls Club, YMCA) but after approaching those places, I felt I didn't fit their set in stone ways and policies.

Based on conversations with several close friends, it became clear to me that becoming a part of Ben Gordon Weekend (BGW) might be something I should look into pursuing. I immediately met with Kenneth Plummer, president of Kensworth Consulting, hoping to lend my services as a volunteer. Instead of volunteering, Kenny saw fit to add me as a full fledged BGW committee member. Five amazingly short weeks later BGW is over and I almost find myself sad because of it. It's one of those things where you can't wait for it to happen but once it is over, you wish you had more of it. Kenny introduced me to an amazing group of people who seemingly shared the same love of my hometown as I did, the rest of the committee. The best part about this crew is not only do they love Mt. Vernon, they CARE about it. What's the difference?

Love is emotion. Caring is action.

After learning the who, what, when, where and so forth surrounding BGW, I found myself wanting to do more. Wanting to spread the word about BGW. Wanting to spread the word about how great Mt. Vernon used to be, is and will be. Wanting to spread the word that, most of all, Mt. Vernon matters. As a community, some of us longer term residents enjoy showcasing our hometown celebs (Denzel Washington, Dick Clark, Gus & Ray Williams, Phylicia Rashaad, Puff/Diddy/Sean Combs, etc.). But Mt. Vernon is so much more than that because ALL of its residents make it so. Mt. Vernon is so much more because people like Michelle Walker, Karen Thomas, Willie Johnson, Dept. Commissioner Curtis Woods (DPW), Wes Alston, Vanessa Cowen, Fay Bartley, Hank Miller, Lowes Moore, Ms. Yvonne Gordon & the rest of the Gordon clan and a slew of other people decided to do something instead of just talking about doing something.

All that being said (and most of you know I could turn this blog into dissertation), I sincerely feel BGW was a smash and set an example for what it means to be community. Enough cannot be said about how everyone pulled together and made this thing happen. Of course, we couldn't possibly foresee the worst storm of the season happening when it did but that's okay. We didn't allow it to dampen our spirits though and that's the most important part. The various clinics run by Ben, the Bowling Bash, the Family Day...ALL successes. If you were a part of this, please give yourself a round of applause. If you weren't, I hope to see you at the next BGW. It's only going to get bigger and better.

Check out some more few pics from the bowling bash below.

Coach Jim Calhoun (UCONN) & Ben Gordon

Ben Gordon, Ashley Battle & Emeka Okafor

Kym Hampton & Ben Gordon

Brian Gillard, Kenneth Plummer, Terrie Williams & Hank Miller

Rain Dance

It finally happened. Ben Gordon Weekend 2008 kicked off tonight at City Hall in Mt. Vernon, NY. Being a part of the production staff for the last four weeks or so has been a task...but I'm glad to see all the hard work start to pay off. Today's events consisted of a talent show and youth based inspirational ceremonies. As the event was underway, I was still @ the office fielding phone calls, answering e-mails, solidfiying contracts, etc so I didn't get to see most of the festivities. It started raining just before the show was to begin but it soon subsided.

When I finally did arrive @ City Hall to partake in the occasion, it began to rain again (maybe I should have stayed in the office). The rain started coming down so hard, that we decided to cancel the rest of the night's performances and speaking engagements. At that moment, a lot of people decided to take cover in City Hall from the rain. As we started breaking down the equipment and trying to get people to vacate City Hall, something organic occurred.


The Revelators, an African dance troupe consisting of children from the local Mt. Vernon Boys & Girls Club, decided that they weren't going to let the rain wash away their performance. They cleared an area of the main foyer and started dancing. They were dressed to perform and that's exactly what they did. When I realized they were dancing, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. It was a great, proud moment in Mt. Vernon's long history and I was there to witness it. The Revelators were amazing to watch and the ovation they received when they were done was sincerely heartfelt.

Ben Gordon Weekend has and will continue to be about faith, family, unity and, of course, sports. When The Revelators decided that the show must go on, they exhibited those exact same attributes. They had faith in their skills and weren't afraid to show it. They performed for their Mt. Vernon family who stuck around when they could have gone home. They displayed unity by dancing as one. They showcased their athleticism by adjusting their performance to the limited space they had to work with. The Revelators should be proud of themselves and understand that they set a great example for many other children in Mt. Vernon and its neighboring cities to follow.

Bigg Russ

R.I.P., Issac....

And before I could finish flooding my friends' e-mail inbox's with the news of Bernie Mac's death, the world of entertainment lost another major player. Issac Hayes, dead at 65. I'm not even going to begin to get into this man's resume. For real, if you don't know...you better ask somebody. Wikipedia, Google, Ask Jeeves...wherever you get your info, there's bound to be PLENTY of references on this great songwriter and musician.

Music just lost a piece of its soul...

Bigg Russ

R.I.P., Bernie....

BERNIE MAC died today of natural causes due to complications related to pneumonia according to A spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. He was a young 50 years old.

Bernie was best known to most for his hit TV comedy, The Bernie Mac Show. To others, he was the headliner for the record breaking tour, The Origina Kings of Comedy, as well various other stand up performances. He was most recently seen on the big screen in Ocean's 13 and The Transformers.

I was a fan of Bernie's and will sincerely miss him.

Denzel gives Mt. Vernon sports $100G

He's good looking, owns Oscars AND he cares!!

According to lohud.com, Denzel Washington, former Mt. Vernon, NY resident, has pledged $100,000 to the Mt. Vernon Save Our Sports initiative. In case you were not aware, Mt. Vernon has lost its funding for sports in the school system. Several fund raising campaigns have begun all over the city and parts of Westchester County to help jump start the sports program again. Mt. Vernon's scholastic sports program is legendary, especially Mt. Vernon High School's basketball team, The Knights. The Knights hold several state and federation titles so this decision comes as a major blow to a program that has sent several players to college via scholarships and more than a few players to the NBA. Ben Gordon, the most recent Mt. Vernon H.S. graduate to be drafted into the NBA is currently the Chicago Bulls' leading scorer. Denzel's contribution will most likely be done via Ben's New Life Foundation.

Denzel is a big supporter of local Mt. Vernon establishments, most notably the Boys & Girls Club which he credits for keeping him on the straight and narrow. I'm VERY glad that he's decided to give again but I would also hope that current Mt. Vernon residents decide to contribute as well. These are our children that need a sports program.

Rock The Bells 2008 - Jones Beach, NY

I've been meaning to write something up about this concert since the moment it was over but I just haven't had the time. Consider this a place holder until I post the photos. Being 2nd row, center stage made for some GREAT photo ops.

More news @ 11...

Bigg Russ