by Dr. Boyce Watkins

I curiously watched the press conference held last week to celebrate the New Jersey Nets (well, not quite New Jersey anymore) stadium set to be built in Brooklyn. A group of investors, led by Bruce Ratner, were joined by many prominent New York public figures to celebrate the ground-breaking of one of the highest impact economic endeavors in the history of Brooklyn. Jay-Z is part of the group of investors who bought the Nets, so of course he attended the ceremony.

The excitement of bringing a professional sports team to a city is overwhelming. Teams can bring out a sense of community spirit and unity which ultimately helps provide a little meaning in a complex world. Cities compete to bring teams to their town because the fans want them. Cities give teams extensive tax subsidies and even offer to use eminent domain to take property away from residents who are not willing to sell their homes in order to have the stadium built. Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? Well, sometimes it can be.

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MIAMI – There was a time in his career when Ernie Els seemed to be finishing second to Tiger Woods at every major.

Maybe that’s why the Big Easy seems to be peaking again. He could have a chance to get even.

"I think it’s a good opportunity for a lot of players to basically try and strike now," Els said Friday after a bogey-free round of 66 on the Blue Monster moved him into a one-shot lead in the CA Championship at Doral.

He didn’t say why. He didn’t have to. With Woods’ extended absence, there’s no telling what kind of game the world’s No. 1 player will bring to the majors and whether he might go another year without winning one.

The door is open and Els is feeling it.

"I feel that the golf courses we are playing this year in majors, I love them," Els said. "I’ve done well at Pebble (Beach – U.S. Open). I’ve done well at St. Andrews (British Open) and I did well at Whistling Straits (PGA). I feel if I have my game there, I could have a good chance."

Chance was on his side Friday.

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Rev. Al Sharpton

Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), Rev Sharpton is one of most-renowned civil rights leaders in the country. Pres Obama called him “the voice of the voiceless and a champion for the downtrodden."

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Dr. Boyce Watkins

The Bottom Line

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and author of the book, "Black American Money." For more information, please visit www.YourBlackWorld.com.

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RK Byers

Rich’s Rant

Novelist, screenwriter and edtor RK Byers has spent a career speaking his mind on all topics from sports to news. His work has appeared in consumer publications including The Source and GIANT.

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Elon James White

This Week In Blackness

"This Week in Blackness" is a satirical look at race, politics and pop-culture in a so-called “post-racial” America.

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Warren Ballentine

Radio host Warren Ballentine, "The People’s Attorney," will provide you with all the legal and financial advice you need to keep up in today’s fast-paced world. Visit his website at www.thetruthfighters.com.

• by Dr. Boyce Watkins

According to a recent survey by Experian, African-American consumption grew by over 50 percent from the year 2000 to 2008 ($590 billion to $913 billion), and it is expected to grow to over $1.2 trillion dollars by the year 2013. The study also shows that blacks are more economically optimistic than whites, with 36 percent of us stating that we expect our financial future to improve, as opposed to 31 percent for all adults.

The Experian study says a couple of things: First, it says that black people love to consume and that we are getting better at it. In fact, black people have historically been very good at buying things and working hard to get them, but we are not very good at production, investment and saving our money. We grab our tax refunds and run to the mall. We become highly paid corporate lawyers in order to purchase the house and car we really can’t afford. We are chubby kids in the economic candy store, accelerating our collective addiction to the monetary engines controlled by corporate greed.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Facing potential bankruptcy, the board that governs the once flush-with-cash Kansas City school district is taking the unusual and contentious step of shuttering almost half its schools.

Administrators say the closures are necessary to keep the district from plowing through what little is left of the $2 billion it received as part of a groundbreaking desegregation case. The Kansas City school board narrowly approved the plan to close 29 out of 61 schools Wednesday night at a meeting packed with angry parents. The schools will close at the end of the school year.

Although other districts nationwide are considering closures as the recession ravages their budgets, Kansas City’s plan is striking. In rapidly shrinking Detroit, 29 schools closed before classes began this fall, but that still left the district with 172 schools. Most other districts are closing just one or two schools.

Emotional board member Duane Kelly told the crowd of more than 200 people Wednesday night, "This is the most painful vote I have ever cast" in 10 years on the board. Some chanted for the removal of the superintendent, while one woman asked the crowd, "Is anyone else ready to homeschool their children?"

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Roger Ross Williams Has Second Chance At Speech After Being ‘Kanye’d’ At The Oscars

Oscar-Winning Beauty: Get Mo’Nique’s Academy Awards Hairstyle

Oscars Red Carpet: Look for Less

Oscars Red Carpet: BV’s Best in Beauty Awards

Inner City School Gets 100% of Its Black Men Into College

Ed Gordon: Returning To BET News

Black Market Booty Injections Hospitalize Six Women

Tiger Woods Reportedly Preparing for a Comeback

Black Professor Becomes Major Media Entrepreneur

Parents Pimped Out 14-Year-Old Daughter to Used Car Salesman to Avoid Monthly Minivan Payments

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

There is one public, all-male, all-African American high school in the city of Chicago. That school is called The Urban Prep Academy for Young men, located in Englewood. The school recently got the attention of Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools Chief Ron Huberman when they were able to get all of their 107 seniors accepted into 72 different colleges across the country.
Huberman had this to say:

"All of you in the senior class have shown that what matters is perseverance, what matters is focus, what matters is having a dream and following that dream."

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