My Memories....

How many of you played high school football? How many of you attended school with guys who made it to the professional ranks, whether it be baseball, basketball or football? How many of you remember dunking on, laying the smacketh down in football or just fanning out a top big league hitter whether it be little leagues or high school. How many was the man in high school in your respective sport, but somehow college coaches overlooked you? Oh I can see the hands going up, including mine. My sport was football, I played middle linebacker in high school after playing defensive end in pop warner. When I played, I was fearless. I hit hard. To put it short, I was one bad mutha-you fill in the blank. I had an attitude. I hated pretty mutha-" "ers who pranced either around my side of the field or through middle and I expressed my disdain for those jheri curl wearing pretty muthas with hits so hard, my grandmother would whip my behind for being rude. I smelled the fear of quarterbacks, when I hollered and screamed. I hated referees and their punk ass yellow hankies. I played like Jack Tatum. Hell, Mark Carrier didn't have nothing on me. Yeah, you got it I punked him. And it wasn't only football, basketball..man, I have game! I haven't lost it. My game was inside and out and I played it aggresively..yeah, I had rivals like that little ass punk named Leon Porter, who sounded like Mickey Mouse. He used to talk smack on what can do on the court and feared to God that I didn't try out for the Hamilton Jr. High School basketball team in the 9th grade. For his sake his prayer was answered only part time, I got a late tryout while the wolverines was two games in the season and made the squad. Punk ass was the starter, and he knew he had to bring it every saturday or else. Well one day, we played against my childhood friend, Duane Cooper's (USC-Los Angeles Lakers) team..and Duane was using Leon's punk ass, he went left, he went right and used either hand on Porter. Leon had no answers, so the coach took him out and put me in. Right off the back Cooper knew his luck was about to run out..I knew him and he knew me..hell we lived a few houses down from each other and to top it off..we were best friends..I check in, and Coop yells out, watch out for Jimmy! right off the back, down the court to my left, see my big man, Rick, cutting in towards the basketball, I loft the ball towards the rim, Rick grabs it and lays it in..one assist..next play Coop gets a help by a screen, he pulls up..swish! two points..we're still down..I take the ball from inbounds, my boy Rollin is in the right corner..Coop knows I'm going to him, he's screamin for coverage on my boy Rollin, I cross over and go to my right..the defense is collasping on me, again Rick is cutting towards the basket, I see him and so does the opposition..Coop is on my left hip. I flip the ball to the next open man..lay up..two points..next trip down...Coop's team is a zone defense...no problem...I told you I had game...next two trips down...back to back jayters...I wish I could tell you we won, but the damage Leon left behind, hell even MJ couldn't fix....One of these days I will tell the story of me and coop.

But football was my game, and me and my boy Oliver, man, it was well oiled machine...man, I was so bad, that when our center got hurt, I volunteered to block for my boy. I remember it like it was yesterday, we were playing LB Wilson high school, my boy Oliver is playing quarterback and the played called for him to hit our flanker in the flat, Wilson blitzed and got through, but that was their mistake, because Oliver had unbelieveable speed and moves, need an illustration, Barry Sanders. Oliver started to scramble and the biggest mistake Wilson made was letting him scramble and having me roam the field, O rolled to his left and Wilson defenders covered that part of the field and then O rolled to the right and oh by the way, if you think my boy was going to pass to our flanker, it doesn't pay for you to think, besides we couldn't count on the muther " " er to catch it. Anyway O is heading towards me and behind him is nose guard looking to stop Oliver for a loss, O comes towards me..you can see him looking at me and I looked back, it was like a signal saying, "J- get this mutha off me" Hell he didn't have to say it, we both knew someone was going to get hurt and it wasn't O or me. Yeah, imagine the best blind side hit you ever saw, but add this, a blind side hit everyone saw including the doomed person. Shit, I didn't even say sorry and for punishment and the discomfort, my boy O took out their running back when we played defense..and we beat the tar out of Wilson.

You see, where I grew up, everyone knew each other or heard of the person. Hell, before So. Cal's gang problem in the streets..We used to play each other's street in whatever sport...football, basketball and baseball...and it carried on to whatever Jr. High or High School we went to. Hell, we even competed to who had the best grades. When I think about my Jr. High and High schools days, I often smile. Yeah, today I may not remember everyone I joked about, every single fight, girlfriends or who was my secret sister in high school. But the memories of the good times and pranks we played are lifelong. If you played sports like I did or participated in other extra curriculum, like drama..Yeah, I did that also..quit laughing, how many of you got to kiss one of the honeys at your school in a dramatic scene...and still get to keep your high school sweetheart?

The Jackson 5 came out with a song name "good times" and I remember those good times...I can't take back the jeering I did to the folks in the band. I can't take back the jeering my and other jocks did to other students...Hey, if you had a letterman's jacket...you were a Roma God....

ahhh to be young again...