Posts Tagged ‘Monica Pierce’

WRS TV Review: ‘Black-ish (The Pilot Episode)

Friday, September 26th, 2014

by Monica Pierce

Monica Blog

 

 

 

 

black-ish-promo-image

I watched the first episode of Black-ish and I like it. This is coming from a person who isn’t a fan of sitcoms. However, I’ve heard some criticisms of the show that I’m confused about.

(1) “It’s too much black this and white that”…So what. Isn’t that the point of the show? He’s talking about preserving what he feels it means to be black while providing your family with things that will often have them in a situations where they are truly the minority.

(2) “I don’t know where the show will go from here”…Huh? It’s a sitcom…SITUATION COMEDY. This means where it will go from here is onto another situation and add comedy to it.

(3) “Anthony Anderson is over the top”…Again, it’s a sitcom. Sitcoms are over the top. Remember when Cliff took everything out of Theo’s room and sold it back to him? Or when Gina got her head stuck in the bed frame on an episode of Martin? How about the time when Fonzie was water skiing and literally jumped a shark? These things are all over the top and the shows I mentioned had very successful runs.

(4) “I hate the name of the show”…Ok, fine, I don’t like the name of the show either, but how is that an opinion of the quality of the comedy or the actors’ ability to make you laugh?

(5) “Laurence Fishburne and Anthony Anderson had a moment at the end that seemed forced”…That’s just ridiculous. Sitcoms, especially family sitcoms always have a movement in the end where there is a message or a teaching moment. And that’s what that moment was between Anthony Anderson and Laurence Fishburne.

I’ve heard some other criticisms but some of them are so ridiculous I don’t want to discuss them. I like this show. It has the formula that we see on family shows like Modern Family and The Goldbergs. It seems that people, black people in particular, are overly critical of this show while they praise the aforementioned shows. And for the non-black people, mainly white people who say Anderson’s character focuses too much on race, you may not relate to it but trust me as black people, we focus on race.

Sometimes shows need time to develop. Remember at one time the Cosbys had four kids until one day they had five.  Theo was called Teddy in the pilot of the Cosby Show and then was never referred to as Teddy again. Some shows get better with time. I will continue to watch the show. I thought it was funny and I related to some the things Anderson’s character was saying and going through in his work place. I hope people give this show a chance to flourish. I’m partially biased because there are few shows with full back casts on TV, but I’m not completely blind to the quality of the show just because the faces are brown. And for the people who won’t watch because of the so-called bad reviews, ask yourself who wrote the review? What’s the reviewer’s perspective?

 

Monica Pierce, for War Room Sports

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For The Love of the Game

Friday, October 14th, 2011

By Monica Pierce

There are some things going on in sports these days that have me feeling bad for young athletes.  Some of the things that have me feeling sympathetic are:

  • The increasing amount of stories I read about kids being scouted by college and professional sports teams as young as the seventh grade

 

  • The fact that my nephew and I sit and watch the Little League World series games on the family of ESPN networks, with the championship game being aired on ABC.

 

  • Turning to ESPN and seeing a high school basketball game between two high schools that aren’t even in the same state

 

  • An article I recently read discussing the growing popularity of athletic trainers for kids

 

  • Lastly, a website I stumbled onto that says they specialize in training young athletes http://kidssportstraining.com/

 

It seems like as soon as a kid shows any promise or potential, the predators come running.  There is no room for the average kid to play sports, and the kid that is the standout feels the pressure early.  My nephew is 12.  He’s short for his age and just started playing basketball a year ago.  I heard someone tell him that he’s going be short and he started playing too late, so he might as well stop playing.   What’s wrong with him playing just for fun or exercise?  When I think about how children with or without athletic abilities are treated, it makes me wonder…when do kids have the chance to play their favorites sports, simply for the love of the game?

Monica Pierce, for War Room Sports

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Girl Fight

Friday, February 18th, 2011

On February 17, 2011 an Iowa freshman made history when she won a wrestling match during the state tournament.  She was the first girl to win a match in the tournament’s 86 year history.  However, she won by default.  Her opponent, Joel Northrup, a sophomore boy refused to wrestle a girl.  He said:

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan [another girl that was eliminated from the tournament] and their accomplishments, however, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times. As a matter of conscience and my faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most of the high school sports in Iowa.”

This young man can still win the tournament, but he has to do it through a loser’s bracket.  So far he is doing well.  Many applaud this young man for sticking to his convictions.  I do not.  It’s a tournament, a competition.  And as a competitor, you face the opponent in front of you.  The girls and their families are well aware of the nature of the sport and still the girls decide to compete. I assume that Joel Northrup entered the tournament to win.  What happens if those two are the last ones standing at the end of the competition, will he just give her the title?   I’m a skeptic so maybe I’m just reading too much into the situation.  Perhaps, this young man (a home schooled preacher’s son) is a stand up guy that just doesn’t think its right to “fight” a girl.  But, I feel there is more to this story.  Perhaps, while being home schooled, he never learned to socialize with the opposite sex and is afraid of what may happen if she gets too close.   Maybe this young man is scared to lose to a girl?  If it were your son, what would you advise him to do?

Monica Pierce, Guest Blogger for War Room Sports. Read more of her writing @ monicasthoughts.com.

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Andy Reid: Yeah, But…

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

In the words of Roy Jones Jr. “Y’all Musta Forgot”, but I damn sure didn’t. Those who know me best can attest to my glass-half empty personality. With that being said, let me commence to raining on the parade of the Philadelphia Eagles and Coach Andy Reid.  As an Eagles Fan, I am ecstatic about Sunday’s win against the midgets. But I haven’t forgotten about the things that pissed me off though.

(1) Andy Reid’s gross misuse of the red flag makes me want to scream. We witnessed this dude challenge a play in the first quarter of a game because he didn’t like the spot, yet on Sunday he didn’t challenge a play where DeSean Jackson was clearly down before he fumbled. That play led to the Giants’ final touchdown. I don’t get it. It has bothered me for years. We all know that if the Eagles had lost that game, Birds fans everywhere would have been calling for everyone’s job, especially Big Red.  Everybody says, it’s not his fault. He has someone up there looking at it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Andy Reid the H.N.I.C., The Lord and Savior, and The Alpha & Omega in the organization? That means he had to hire whoever the chump is telling him when to throw the flag or not. Andy Reid is a hell of a coach, I won’t deny that, but when it comes to that challenge flag he makes me want to throw things at him.


(2) Dimitri Patterson.  It’s still hard for me to say his name without cursing.  After the game and celebrations ended, Dimitri Patterson should have visited the nearest police station to file assault charges on Mario Manningham for the abuse he endured during that game.  Towards the end of the game, Eli stopped looking for open receivers and started throwing wherever  Patterson was positioned on the field.  It was embarrassing.  The Eagles defense has been depleted and it seems they lose another key player every week.  Therefore, we get left with the Dimitri Patterson’s of the world.  He played better in the second half than in the first (that ain’t hard to do but still…), but if this is what they’ll be going into the playoffs with, I hope the offense is ready to light up the score board.

(3) Why no adjustments?  When Dimitri Patterson was getting burned, toasted and scorched by Manningham, did it ever occur to Andy Reid to make an adjustment?

(4) Mike Vick and DeSean Jackson are making plays that are out of this world, but can Shady and Maclin get some love?  While Jackson is an electrifying player, Maclin is more consistent.  He leads the team in touchdowns.  The speed of Jackson makes Maclin look like a pedestrian, but he is fast as well.  The Eagles have long since been identified as a passing team, but McCoy has been playing well in the running game.  Now he won’t be mistaken for MJD or Jamaal Charles, but he’s doing what’s asked of him and in my opinion, he is the Co-MVP of the team.

(5) The Eagles have given up an average of 24 points per game, that‘s more than the 4-10 Detroit Lions.  If the playoffs began today the Eagles would be a (3) seed and they would face the Midgets who would be the (6) seed.  Based on what I saw during the two match ups between these teams, big mistakes by the Giants have been the difference.  As a Birds Fan, I want nothing more than to party on Broad Street, but as I said before, I have a glass half-empty personality and on top of that, I haven’t forgotten the first 3 ½ quarters of Sunday’s game…have you?

Monica Pierce, Guest Blogger for War Room Sports. Read more of her writing @ monicasthoughts.com.

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We Got Next…For A Lot Less!

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

I like sports in general, but I have never been a huge basketball fan.  This year that has changed.  My 11 year old nephew has just discovered Derrick Rose and is now a basketball fan.  I like to talk to him about his interests, so this year I have been watching a lot more basketball.  We’ve attended a live game this season and even succumbed to purchasing the overpriced Direct TV NBA League Pass.  Whenever I become a fan of something, I always wonder how much money people make doing whatever it is.  So I went to the place I get all my answers, Google.

After a brief Google search, I learned about rookie salaries as well as veteran salaries.  I learned that during the 2010-11 season, first round draft picks will make anywhere between 1 million and 4 million dollars during their first season.  Veteran stars like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett will rake in about 13 million and 18 million respectively.  While role players such as Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess should pocket approximately 2 million and 4.8 million dollars respectively. While I was Googling salaries of NBA players, I started to wonder how WNBA players salaries would compare to their male counter parts.  What I found led me to ask this question, WHY IN THE HELL WOULD SOMEONE AGREE TO THIS?

The disparity between NBA salaries and WNBA salaries is just damn egregious.  If my daughter told me she wanted to play in the WNBA, I’d tell her, she’s better off teaching.  There is no possible way a woman could play in the WNBA if she didn’t love the game.  Let’s look at the numbers.  A WNBA player with 0-2 years of playing experience will make a minimum of 35,000 in 2010.  35,000 dollars, that’s it.  This is four thousand dollars less than a General Manager at Wendy’s. What that means is that John Wall, the number one 2010 NBA draft pick can pay the number one 2010 WNBA draft pick’s (Tina Charles) salary about 114 times.  The NBA has a sliding scale by which players get paid.  The WNBA also has a similar chart, but it only has two rows, players with 0-2 years of experience and players with three or more years of experience.  In 2010, a WNBA player that has three or more years experience will make at least 51,000 and max out at about 100,000.  Are you kidding me?

It’s funny because just like the NBA, the WNBA has salary caps.  The NBA Maximum Team salary cap for 2010 is 58 million dollars, while a WNBA team can spend at the most 800,000 dollars.  This is hilarious considering the last pick in the first round 2010 NBA draft will make at least $ 1 million dollars for his first season.

WNBA players, often stay in college the whole four years and earn a degree.  This is a good thing considering what their base salaries are.  After they are done playing basketball for less money than IRS auditor makes, they are going to have to start a second career.  I’m convinced; WNBA players have to love the game.  Why else would they devote years to playing the game, when they could take their degrees to private industry and make way more money?  I’m not naive, I know that the NBA is way more appealing and profitable than the WNBA, but I never would have guessed the gap between salaries was this big.  Before retiring at the end of 2009, arguably the most marketable star of the WNBA, Lisa Leslie, was paid about 91,000.  As if all of this information wasn’t bad enough, while NBA superstar Lebron James decided to tear down an entire franchise on the way to South Beach during his off season, WNBA players play in places such as Poland, Turkey and Israel to collect larger paychecks during theirs.

With all of this being said, if your daughter was a beast at basketball, and she came to you with a four year degree in one hand and a WNBA contract in the other, what would you tell her to do?

Monica Pierce, Guest Blogger for War Room Sports. Read more of her writing @ monicasthoughts.com.

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Posted in General, NBA | 3 Comments »