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It is the dream of almost every child in this great nation. It is the dream of seeing one’s name in bright lights. It is the dream of being on center stage with the whole world watching, in awe of your magnificent talent. It is the dream of being on top of one’s profession and enjoying wealth and prosperity beyond their wildest imagination.

For many African Americans, athletic competition is a means of escape from the grim desperation of reality. Many young Black children who lace up those sneakers or cleats see athletic competition as a platform to a better life for themselves and their family. With millions of dollars and financial stability in the palm of their hands, many athletes of all ethnic backgrounds have bypassed college and amateur sports for the riches and fame that come with their instant celebrity status.

Athletes that run the gamut from the National Basketball Association’s LeBron James, to the National Hockey League’s Sidney Crosby and golf’s Michelle Wie have all foregone higher education to pursue their goals on the highest plateau of their respective professions.

While Wie and Crosby were lauded for their decision, African American athletes like LeBron James and Dwight Howard were dissuaded from making the jump from the preps to the pros.

Criticism of teenage athletes encouraged the NBA to enact an age minimum that would bar any more athletes from making that jump for the foreseeable future. This action makes one wonder if there is a double standard when it comes to young African Americans earning millions of dollars to perform on center stage as opposed to non-Blacks.

At the onset of the 20th century, society labeled African Americans as inferior to their White counterparts in every avenue of the human experience. From athletics to academics, Whites were viewed by themselves as being innately superior to anyone with a darker complexion. The weakest White could defeat the strongest Black in any form of competition that he so desired.

This belief of racial superiority/inferiority was so engrained into the American psyche that a color barrier was erected in most sports. However, athletes such as Jack Johnson, Fritz Pollard and Jackie Robinson excelled in their respective sports and became role models for many young African Americans aspiring to follow their example.

From the early 1900s to the present, African Americans have excelled to the point that they have become lucrative commodities, influencing not only athletics, but popular culture as well. From Michael Jordan to Venus and Serena Williams, Black athletes have turned professional sports into an American institution and a billion dollar business.

Despite the success of Black athletes and their influence in the world of endorsements and marketing, many of them endure ridicule for their success. It is as if the more successful and wealthy they have become, the more they are seen as the enemy.

The low point came during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and the 2006 FIBA World Championships where Americans saw the predominately-Black men’s basketball team as an opponent on their native soil. It was perplexing that at a time of war, in which America is regarded as an enemy to many nations, our own fellow citizens would root for their defeat, simply because of color.

When Bob Johnson purchased the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the first Black majority owner of a sports franchise, many non-minorities were speaking of boycotting the NBA. It has become evident that Black success is very threatening to those who want to hold on to false hopes of a superior race.

Although I am against the new age minimum in the National Basketball Association, I understand its need. There are many more DeShawn Stevenson’s and Korleone Young’s than there are Kobe Bryant’s and Kevin Garnett’s in the world. However, the new NBA Development League, which will serve as a minor league farm system, is all that is necessary to keep unprepared teens out of the league until they are fully mature and ready to succeed on the highest level.

It is funny when high school baseball players make the jump from the preps to the pros it never causes a stir. Nevertheless, when the sport consists of predominately African Americans an uproar ensues.

Since 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, African Americans have succeeded on the field, on the bench, and in the front office. However, in 2006 it seems as if the Black athlete is being punished for the same success they said we would never achieve.

did sidney crosby go to a disciplined hockey academy? which one? how much money was it?

Mario Lemieux’s last home goal(before first retirement) of the 1997 playoffs V.S. Philadelphia Flyers scored in the last minute.

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Sidney Crosby is a big Montreal fan,he wished he could play for the Canadiens.Will he ever play for the Montreal Canadiens?

shown during the 1992 playoffs, this video recounts the top 10 goals of mario’s career up until that point.

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We are quickly approaching the face-off of the 2007-08 NHL season and as a Pittsburgh Penguins fan I have hopes for an even better season than last year. But a better season is certainly not assured.

I’ve already been through my season tickets and thought about each game on them and how the teams they will be facing this year in pursuit of Lord Stanley’s Cup have changed. For the Pens, there will be no sneaking up on people this year. There will be no surprising our opponents. They know what the team can do and they will be ready.

So I wanted to sit down and put together my thoughts about the upcoming season and what it is going to take from individual players and the team as a whole in order to make it back to the playoffs and not get bounced in the first round again.

Sidney Crosby: He put together another stellar performance last year and is on his way to becoming the most dominant player on the ice but must do so again this year to keep people from scratching their heads and wondering if he can continue. I personally believe that he can. But there are other players that certainly could eclipse him if he doesn’t keep the pedal to the metal during the 07-08 season. One of those? None other than …

Evgeni Malkin: Malkin was perhaps the player that shocked everyone the least last year. Anyone that didn’t expect greatness when the Russian phenom took to the ice wasn’t paying attention. Although his season looked in doubt when he collided with John LeClair in the preseason, Malkin didn’t disappoint. Even though Geno was not widely seen outside of Russia, his reputation preceded itself. His presence on the team automatically gives the Penguins two number 1 lines or a single super line when he plays with Sidney Crosby. But he still has a long way to go and needs to improve his game this year. He will. He’s a smart guy and has talent and skills on par with His Sidness.

Jordan Stall: Ok, no more hiding Jordan. Everyone knows about you this year and your ability to score shorthanded because of your tenacious two way play. This is the season where you have to prove yourself to fans across the NHL. Right now you are in the upper tier of third line players in the NHL but you can, and must, go further.

Marc Andre Fleury: For the Penguins to improve this year, our goaltending has got to improve. Fleury is the latest in the long line of potential superstars to stand between the pipes for the Penguins and yes, he won 40 games last year, but his stats were not as good as they need to be. Some will blame that on a defense which I still do not believe was as bad as it was portrayed at times, but he is still young and learning. His save percentage was a .906 and his (24th) and his goals against average was 2.83 (27th). Yes, there were games that he faced far more than his fair share of shots but Fleury has to stay on his angles watch his propensity to over commit which also didn’t help matters. If he can improve so will the Penguins.

Gary Roberts: Gary Roberts has been playing hockey longer than some of the Penguins have been out of diapers. The commitment to keeping him around another year shows the Penguins are committed to becoming a little more physical as his grit it legendary around the NHL. The fact that he wanted to stay tells you he thinks this team has potential because he would much rather be in Toronto. He’s perhaps the best conditioned player in the league and despite being over 40 can skate and play rings around most in the league.

Play The System: Too many times last year the Penguins gave up on their “system”. Michel Therrien is no slouch. He knows how to win and for the team to be successful they need to understand that they may not like their roles and they may really want to go and do their own thing, but they need to stick with what Therrien tells them to do.

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