HustleKnockin'

Where's Roger Clemens' Backup?

I got one question for Roger Clemens:

"How come no players (past or present) are coming to your defense?"

I mean, even when Barry Bonds got accused of 'roiding up based on nothing but rumor and hearsay, players came to his defense. Guys that played with him in SF... Pittsburgh... Guys who only saw him for a couple innings a year during all-star games... Guys who played with him in college came out in his behalf.

Now, none of these people claimed that Barry was Mr. Warmth or even civil to be around; but they all—to a man said, "Barry's one of the greatest ballplayers I ever saw and last I checked we’re innocent until proven guilty...If he's juicing I don't know." Even current and former athletes from other sports like NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley have decried the Bash Barry Witch hunt.

Roger, where's your squad of get-up-off-my-man?

Hey Roger...Where's your back-up?

got one question for Roger Clemens:

"How come no players (past or present) are coming to your defense?"

I mean, even when Barry Bonds got accused of 'roiding up based on nothing but rumor and hearsay, players came to his defense. Guys that played with him in SF... Pittsburgh... Guys who only saw him for a couple innings a year during all-star games... Guys who played with him in college talked.

Now, none of these people claimed that Barry was Mr. Warmth or even civil to be around; but they all, to a man said, "Barry's one of the greatest ballplayers I ever saw and he's innocent until proven guilty...If he's juicing i don't know." Even current and former athletes from other sports like NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and  decried the Bash Barry Witch hunt.

Roger, where's your squad of get-up-off-my-man? Where's Joe Torre talking about what a stand up guy you are and how you'd never cheat. Where's your catchers you got Cy Youngs with from over the years talking about how clean you are. Where's all the guys you won pennants and rings with? Where's all the guys from the all-star games talking about how clean you are?

You see Roger, unlike Bonds people kept their mouths shut regarding you because there was no hard evidence against you. While every fan and media and comedian and blogger went off on Bonds based on nothing but rumor, they all gave you the benefit of the doubt. But now, you've got the Mitchell Report which you didn't even acknowledge for almost 2 weeks. Then you did that stupid online video. And two months after the evidence comes out, you go on a talk show throwing more heat than you've thrown since the Yankees' last won a World Series.

And all along, not one player has come out to your defense. Not even Andy Petite who is your boy and admits to being on HGH... Not even Andy, the guy you've trained with for years, will come out and say, "Hey, I know what I did. I know I used HGH and steroids, but I never saw Roger do anything."

Why, Roger? Why?

Well I've got a couple theories... Now where I'm from, people turn on you for 6 reasons:

1) You're Broke.

2) They're Jealous and can't wait to see you fall.

3) You're in trouble and they're more scared of whoever's coming after you and they don't want any part of your headache.

4) You done some dirt and they don't want any of your dirt on them.

5) You've been nominated the scapegoat for everyone else's dirt.

6) You're randomly accusing people of stuff.

7) You're an asshole.

So Paul Byrd's on the juice, too?

Another MLBer fesses up to being on HGH. This time it's Paul Byrd; big-time pitcher for the Cleveland Indians--yeah the same guys who made it to the ALCS... the same Byrd hailed for his stamina, stick-to-it-ness, etc.

Paul Byrd. He of the book deal, in which he brags about his HGH usage. (HGH is a banned substance under MLB guideines.)

Neither did Brady Anderson or Mark McGwire.

Byrd says he used HGH because he has an "adult growth hormone deficiency syndrome" caused by a pituitary gland problem.

Sorry but every man has glad problems with glands--it's called "getting older". As you age, you lose testosterone and your production of estrogen goes up just enough to make muscle gain, muscle strength, stamina and recovery more difficult. You get tired, you can't do what you used to do when you were younger...

any doctor will tell you this.

So how do you counteract the "aging process" and pituitary problems? Steriods. Human Growth Hormone.

What Byrd did was realize that he had a ceiling--a point at which he was going to start losing physical strength and recovery abilities and he took drugs to beat it.

If you forgive or excuse Byrd's use, you gotta give everyone else a pass. Byrd was using this substance to prolong his career and aide in maintaining world-class performance levels.

He's no different from Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Brady Anderson, Jeremy Giambi, Rick Ankeil, Scott Schoenweiss, Wally Joyner, Ken Caminiti, Matt Lawton, Brett Boone,Rafeal Palmiero, Jason Grimsley, Pete Rose Jr. (yup--he used while he was in the minors) and all the countless others who've done "the stuff" as Giambi sheepishly called it.

Now I left one big obvious name off for clear reasons:

No one cares what anyone does except Bonds. The hypocritical powers that be and the league's mob of hypocritical fans have decided (for all sorts of reasons) that no matter who's done/does what, that unless Bonds goes down nothing else matters.

And it's that level of two-faced, assissine hypocrisy of singling out indivual guys for reasons that have almost nothing to do with integrity (i.e. "i don't like him"/he's black, he's mean, he choked in the playoffs, etc.) while excusing/downplaying everyone else's offense is why baseball will get exactly what it deserves in the end.

seven. five. six.... owed.

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"Babe Ruth hit 715 affirmative-action home runs."
—Chris Rock (7/28/07)

KTH EXCERPTS!!! N'joy

(You Can’t) Knock The Hustle

A realist is always hated in a society of
sanctimonious hustlers, which is what America is.
—Gore Vidal

My hustle of choice: the advertising and marketing industry. Been in it for 15 years. Now the best way to explain marketing is this: Hold up your hand, either one: Go ’head, get it up—I’ll wait (lol)... Okay, now think of your hand as the marketplace:

Starbury's: Great product, bad marketing!

When I first heard about this from cats I knew, I thought it was a joke. Then here it was in Brandweek: Starbury pushing Dime ‘n’ Five kicks from... Steve & Barry. Now, Mitchell & Ness, I get, but Steve and Barry?

My ample gut's told me that it’s just another sign of a brother falling on hard times. Steph brought the Showbiz to KG in Minnesota. Shoulda been Shaq/Kobe 1 minus the rape trial and infighting. Definitely one of the greatest mag covers ever. (Ups to SLAM!) One of the true and living streetball legends to break an owner’s bank before the salary cap—and back it up on the court. Mostly.

He was like Iverson without the (mainstream paranoid-media-hyped) thug passion. Grip. Speed. Could go baseline or the lane on just about anybody. Better passer than AI. Could give you 40 most any night. (Might require 25 shots but he’s good for 40.) Star’s heart was questioned on occasion. No real love for the game. In short: Typical block to the top hood baller.

How Soccermoms Killed Soccer

Why write about soccer? Because i think there's an interesting marketing component that few are afraid to discuss. It's lot easier to just bash soccer fans and ignore the sport. But can 2 billion people just be insane?

So here's my thoughts.

How Soccermoms clocked American Fùtbol.
By: Hadji Williams

It’s late summer. And once again Soccer fever has come and gone like a fart in the wind. How can the most popular sport on the planet (over 2 billion fans and causal players worldwide) lose out to poker stateside? As much as we love overhyped competition, swollen balls, and corruptive sponsorship ops, why do 300 million sports fiends continue to sleep on soccer? The only thing most Americans can recall about this past World Cup is that one WWF move that cost [some country?] the crown.

We’ve tried everything to make soccer hot in America: We dig up Pelè every 5-7 years. We over-hyped Freddy Adu... We flashed sports bras. We pretended Mia Hamm had a marketable personality... We threw in Nike loot (Truckloads of Nike loot!)… Not even Mr. Global Godbody a.k.a. David Beckham has been able to bend the masses to dribble with our feet.

The theories are many: odd scheduling, lack of scoring, lack of superstars, too many foreigners,… But I think it comes down to two simple factors: Soccermoms and Shot Clocks.

And then the Lawd said...

Okay here's a fun bit of news regarding everybody's favorite +30, non-threatening to liberal america black actor. no not Denzel; but the one and only Samuel L. Jackson.

Yeah, that's right, I said Big L. Not Morgan Freeman or Sidney Portier. Trust me, if you can let Tarantino call you anything and put "n" in your mouth ain't nobody quakin' in they boots when you come through.

Secondly, when your flicks gross over $1.5 Billion worldwide, it ain't because the hood's holding you down in the face of Bill o'Reilly rants and mainstream tisk-tisks your style and focus groups in Iowa fronting on your very existence. No, no...Sam's loved by all. And that's ok.

So much so, that they're putting him down with the King.

JACKSON VOICES GOD
[16/07/2006 23:41]
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/jackson%20voices%20god_1002655

Was this guy the answer?

On the one hand, I’m sorry to see anyone go. On the other hand, I’m a little frustrated, that something like this gets celebrated. I’m not sure why. Equality is never as one-sided as Black and White…
And maybe that’s what bugs me about it. That it actually takes a client, a so-called “suit” to push for something as innovative as inclusion and diversity, but only because it “makes good business sense.” And that our industry, which swears to be the most creative thing this side of Hollywood couldn’t get any more milquetoast if it tried.
Ironically, nothing’s gonna change until you get more Sam Thurm out there.
Or until people stop debating whether not equality has anything to do with business sense, “giving back” or political correctness and accept it for what it is:

Right.

With all that said, the business community lost what seemed to be a pretty good guy this week.
Remember business ain’t everything.
Go home and kiss your family and hug somebody you care about and thank God for breathing.
The buildings will probably be here on Monday.
You’re not promised tomorrow.

Would you like some white bread with your beer?

Okay, so I'm chopping it up with a buddy of mine the other day. Can't say he's my boy or my partner. Or een my dawg. maybe if it were 1999. but it's not and he's white. So he's just my buddy.

He'd be my bro if he were about 25; but he ain't so, buddy it is.

We joke like that. known him since college. Anyway...

He's in the beverage game. more proof that he's white. he says beverage. a lot. why harp on the "white" thing? because he calls me up, we talk about liquor--he's in the marketing biz--he tells me that some big dumb white client he works for is struggling to move cases.
again. he ads, "these guys are too white for their own good."

Finally, after Ted Ferguson bud guy.. umpteen incarnations of blonde vs. brunette jokes
SNL vs. Mad TV styled bits, somebody besides me, unprompted just says it.

They're too white for their own good.

So this is what teens want...

While on NPR last week, Deborah Patton of VNU Media fixated on the infamous "youth conference". after a little digging, i found out what she was talking about.

It's called What Teens Want. Should be called, WHAT MARKETERS WANT TEENS TO WANT. Beleve me, that's all this unholy hell of a farce will amount to. It takes place in NYC July 13.

www.whatteenswant.com for more.

Hadji on NPR pt.2

I've said once, and I'll say it again: Corporate America makes people soft. squeezably charmin, pillow soft... so soft they get "handlers"... they have "people"...

Corporate People lose their friggin' minds they go so soft.

hadji goes off on NPR!!!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5540573

i got into it with this chick from VNU Media. when i was on NPR the other day. News and Notes with Ed Gordon. She was pretty slimy. actually, just slimy. give a listen.

Teen Consumers and the Trials of Youth Marketing

News & Notes with Ed Gordon, July 7, 2006 · Next week in New York City, a group of global marketers will gather to talk about the challenges of marketing to teenagers. Ed Gordon talks with marketing executives Hadji Williams and Deborah Patton about how marketers sell to young people, and issues of corporate responsiblity.

what if the game got flipped?

I came across this article on stereotypes of a black male--misunderstood, but it's all good. (sorta.)http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Men_Surviving_Blackness.html

Once I saw, I couldn't help but start building on it. So, my comments follow. It just got me rolling a little bit. at once there's hope, then at once, there's not as much. It makes me wish I'd done more with my pen and less for some of my clients'...

maybe there's still time.

get your motor runnin'! or else!

Harley Davidson...vroom, vroom. they got issues.... 

Big Ben vs. K2

I'm a big football head. fun thing about marketing is the way we package athletes as brands. I came across this piece from Bomani Jones, a pretty strong writer out of Durham, NC. He contrasts the manner in which we as a society bashed Kellen Winslow II's motorcycl accident of a couple seasons' back with QB's Ben Roethlisberger's recent wreck.

As a marketer (Big Ben is the more marketable of the 2 being the Super Bowl winning QB), a Christian (Big Ben wears his faith proudly but not smugly), a Black male (Winslow is a brother), and fan of him and his ol' man (K1 was the best pass catching Tight End in modern history), I'm pretty conflicted here.

Image is everything. Marketing shapes us all more than we care to admit to... Read and weep.

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KTH.com is down until the 15th

Unfortunately, I have to make this announcement... KNOCKTHEHUSTLE.com is under repairs. Being revamped retooled. This time by actual web designers who know what they're doing. I hope. At least that's what they're being paid for. Same goes for Prodigalpen.com.

The company and the movement will launch once and for all for good this summer. Honest. I swear. I'm not making this up. I mean it. Truly I do.

Actually, this time, I'm excited to have professionals who are working under threats and compensation... There are wonderful crazy stories behind all of this hectic madness.

gay ads vs. black ads

There are those who say that race doesn't matter on Madison Ave... There are those who'd be goofy. Here's an example from The New York Times chronciling how Madison Ave--my beloved industry treats one group. Now contrast this with how it markets to Black folks.

This is a big key to why so much of what we call "black advertising" sucks.

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Hey, Gay Spender, Marketers Spending Time With You
By STUART ELLIOTT

FOR years, advertisers seeking to reach gay and lesbian consumers concentrated their spending in the print media. There were few effective or efficient alternatives among the media that offered the appealing attributes of sight, sound and motion.

To be sure, those advertisers could have bought commercial time on television. But spots during TV series that would seem appropriate — “Will & Grace,” for example — cost too much; the shows ran on mainstream networks and the audiences included so many heterosexuals.

Why Black Female Artists Still Suck!

I wrote this piece a while back on the struggle black female artists have. Now in honor of some of my fave slept-on folks of 2008--Chrisette Michelle, Meshell N'dege Ocello, Ledisi, Sharon Jones and yeah, India.Arie.—I'm running it back once again.

Happy Reading!

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Preach, Sistah Arie, Preach!

“She’s too preachy.” That’s what the music director of WBLS-FM in NYC says about India Arie in the June ’06 Essence magazine. I.A.’s got a new joint coming; it’s her third album. Despite her initial success, this one is considered by many a make or break for Arie. “You want to take her in small does.” Stacy Anderson adds.

Everybody in Hiphop hates Chris, but so what?!

Well, here's my 2 cents on Jigga vs. Chris...

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How Cristal hustled Hiphop

By: Hadji Williams

After spitting its virtues for ten summers, Jay-Z and his hiphop minions are now boycotting Cristal, a hiphop staple after Frederic Rouzaud, the brand’s managing director made what many are calling elitist and racist comments against the hiphop community’s economic support of Cristal in a recent interview in The Economist magazine. (www.targetmarketnews.com).