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| This issue, TSAReport.com caught up with David Tyree of the New York Giants. After receiving huge recognition for his famous catch which helped the Giants win SuperBowl XLII, Tyree has written a tell all book about his life struggles and successes. WWE-Entertainers or Athletes? TSAReport.com elaborates on the physicality and athleticism of wrestlers. We found our selves, for the second year, courtside at Rucker Park witnessing some of the brightest talent in high school basketball during the 2008 Boost Mobile Elite 24 Basketball Classic. Check it out! |
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DAVID TYREE: MORE THAN JUST A CATCH
Words by H.L.
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David Tyree: was he heaven sent? Many Giants’ fans seem to believe so. Making one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history, which led to the New York Giants game victory, Tyree proved to be the angel the team needed. TSAReport.com caught up with the six foot wide receiver who shared his thoughts on his relationship with God, his family, the Super Bowl, and his book—More Than Just a Catch.
Q: How does it feel to be recognized for your accomplishment in the Super Bowl?
A: Its just another moment to glorify God. My greatest catch, I realized was all about the platform God wanted me to have. To share the love of what God has done is for myself and for the world. Looking at it from that perspective it causes me to be humbled. It takes the ego away from it, and it takes the pride out of it, so you just enjoy it and live life and thank God for the blessings.
Its been a lot of fun, you know obviously a lot more recognizable, I came from no one knowing who I was just living my life and having fun with that to having trouble eating a meal sometimes, and you know the best part about it is enjoying it.
Q: I hear you are from the New York area, so this winning must have meant a lot more to you being a New York native
A: You know I was born in New York, and I’m a Jersey boy. I went to Montclair High School, my family is from East Orange. Just being back home and sharing that with them, watching the impact it has had on the New York/New Jersey area, its crazy…you know and obviously having a part to play in it, the magnitude of it, it’s just life changing and you just gotta love it.
Q: What would you say was your drive throughout the season?
A: The great thing is we could believe in God for the greatest. But I tell people I have a great measure in faith, and walking with God. My best is my prayer call God gave me a life changing historical catch that they would know. So when I look at it in hindsight, he exceeds our expectations, so far as we could just trust him.
Q: What were your feelings as you ran on the field during the Super Bowl 42?
A: “It’s been a lot of fun, you know, at first it was just crazy like my heart was beating fast. But God gave me the peace to deal with it, to enjoy it and do what he taught me to do.”
Q: Tell us a little about your book.
A: It’s a lot to tell, some of the main struggles that I dealt with before my relationship with God were substance abuse, mostly being alcohol. It wasn’t just partying and throwing up and starting again, it was blacking out not remembering where I was the night before, waking up naked. You know just some scary stuff, especially in college. You know from a spiritual perspective people don’t see the spiritual side of Christianity to the fact where we always recognize God, but we don’t recognize that there’s a devil that wants you dead. Early on in my Christian walk, I had some real demonic experiences you know. This book has a little different edge, its coming from the real the real, not just from the Christian perspective, you wouldn’t imagine that an athlete would go through some of these things. But it’s not just my story, its very much impartation, you know its something you could take with it and apply to your own life.
Q: What is the title of your book?
A: Its called “More Than Just a Catch,” and I think that its perfectly fitting in the fact that a lot of people would associate me with this catch, I don’t look at it as a bad thing, but the catch doesn’t satisfy me in life, my relationship with Christ does. So you know, if everybody forgets me tomorrow, I will be full to the brim because I got a relationship with God. So it’s definitely a story that one could share in, delight in, and be inspired in. I want lives to be impacted and changed, that they were coming along with that relationship with Christ, and I know the creation is designed to have.
Q: Has it always been in the works?
A: It hasn’t always been in the works, I think its something that down the road I probably would have done, but there is no greater timing than right now, God’s time is what I want. With everything that happened at Superbowl 42, God kinda told me and showed me a lot of these things happen before they happen, it comes by word of prophecy.
Q: Was any of this expected?
A: You know somebody came to me around the first Dallas game last year and said, God is going to make your name great as a wide receiver. While I’m sitting there holding on to that word and that promise from God for the whole season, I only got four catches during the year, and through the playoffs I only had one or two catches, but in the Super Bowl in all the mad moments, God literally made my name great. Stuff like that happened throughout the year, that’s the struggle that God kinda brought me out of. You see I didn’t do no AA, he just took the taste of alcohol out my mouth. He’s been working miracles in my life from the moment that I surrendered myself to Christ.
Q: Are you currently in a relationship?
A: I’ve been married for four years, but I’ve been with my wife for nine. We had a separation; my first year in the league is when a lot of the stuff went haywire. I ended up getting arrested on marijuana possession; I got arrested with a half pound. And, you know, just doing some wild stuff. One of the first revelations I got when I came into Christ is that God already gave me a woman that loved me with her heart, soul and strength, and God restored the relationship. And it’s been nothing but bliss.
Q: Do you have any children?
A: I have four, two boys, 6 and 3, and I just had 2 twin girls, I had them two weeks after the Superbowl.
Q: What are your expectations for this season?
A: I have high expectations; I think we have as much talent as we’ve ever had. I’m going to miss Jabrel Wilson, but we didn’t lose too many guys, which was good. We lost 3 key guys; however, we still have a lot of great talent.
Q: How can the Giants fulfill these expectations?
A: We have to find the perfect ingredient. But the main thing is that we are hungry, and we are humble; and I think those are 2 ingredients that could take us a long way. And if we could find that mix and chemistry set that we got with this team, we can do many things.
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WWE REALER THAN FAKE
Words by Dave K. Far-El
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Last month, TSAReport.com was invited to watch Pro Wrestling WWE Raw live in NYC’s Madison Square Garden. It always amazes me when people attempt to tell me how “fake” it is; that it’s not even a sport – I know, it’s entertainment. That’s why WWE calls itself “sports entertainment”. I say these men and women are competitors in the same vein as an NBA, NFL, MLA, MMA, MLB or any other professional athlete. WWE itself is just not a “sport” in the sense of fair competition because the out come of the matches are predetermined. These men and women are athletes because they have to work out on a regular basis and maintain their peak performance. I think their schedule is actually a bit more hectic because there is no off-season. These men and women “wrestle” house shows during the week on top of taping for television. Sometimes they will go out of the country to perform, and be back the next day for a televised show. That’s dedication if you ask me.
I have seen matches where these men and women put their bodies through plate glass windows, walls, chairs, tables, ladders, etc. Of course, my favorites are always the TLC (tables, ladders and chairs) matches. One of the more memorable matches that sticks out as an example of what physical hell these performer/athletes go through is Wrestlemania. There was a match between Undertaker and Mankind, titled “Hell in a Cell”. The two men wrestled inside of a twenty foot high enclosed cage. In a scripted move, both men ended up on top of the cage and once again, in a scripted move, Undertaker tossed Mankind off the top of the steel cage onto an announcers table. That wasn’t the end. Mankind gets off the stretcher the medics had him on, climbs back up to the top of the cage only to be choke slammed through the top while holding a chair that knocked his teeth through the top of his mouth and that part was NOT scripted. The top of the cage broke beneath the two men’s weight. Yes, the match was scripted, yes the men knew what they were facing but to actually pull a stunt like that off without someone being more than seriously injured was amazing to say the least. On a sidenote: if a performer ever performed such a stunt for my company, I don’t care how much of an idiot they may be at times, said performer would ALWAYS have a spot in my company. MICK FOLEY!!
Back to the topic at hand. WWE deals with relevant topics in society. For instance, in 2006 while the big debate in regards to illegal immigrants from Mexico was being forged, WWE had a Mexican champion in Rey Mysterio. The wrestlers go to Iraq for the soldiers, they are very aware of the upcoming elections, heck RAW superstar JBL is even a real life financial analyst for Fox News.
The one major knock that WWE has constantly dealt with is the use of steroids; and even that has been cut to a minimum with the WWE Wellness Policy. The bottom line is this: as a brand, WWE is entertainment at it’s athletic best. They deal with relevant social topics; it’s kind of like a male soap opera; and most importantly, it’s fun. Don’t believe me? Just ask our media coordinator who went with me to watch her first show.
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JUST TO GET A REP
Words by L.A. Sharp
It’s the place where dreams are born and legends are made. In some circles it‘s considered basketball’s holy ground. In the hoop capital of the world, it is the ultimate proving grounds. Ballers from all over the world pass through its’ gates hoping to earn their nicknames. In fact, in the world of black-top basketball, you can’t be considered great until you do. And through the years, some great names have made this their birthplace. From Earl “The Pearl” to “Skip to my Lou”, and even the immortal “Dr. J”, they’ve all showcased their talents on the livest stage of all, the legendary Rucker Park.
At present time, the nickname that now rings the loudest belongs to Lance Stephenson a.k.a. “Born Ready”. With still a year left in his high school career at Lincoln, “Born Ready” is already built like an NBA vet – hence the name. His 6’5”, 200 pound frame allows him to shed defenders like Jerome Bettis penetrating the goal line. But it doesn’t end there – he’s agile, with a jumpshot as fluid as bottled water. After watching him in action, even the most inexperienced hoop fan can see that he has the mysterious “It” factor. All the great ones do.
At the 3rd Annual Elite 24, held at Rucker Park this past Friday, his talents along with 23 of the best high school players in the land were put on display. “Born Ready” did not disappoint, and neither did his supporting cast. In fact, there were times when others even stole the show. Like John Wall, an electrifying point guard from North Carolina with enough hops to put a game on freeze – a true show stopper. Then there was Maalik “So Unique” Wayns out of Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High School. Yet another teenager blessed with a grown man’s body. Maybe he and Lance follow the same diet, or at least are cut from the same cloth.
All game, Maalik ran the show like a true floor general, and although he was 100 miles away from home, he quickly became a fan favorite. As game announcer, Bobbito Garcia (a legend in his own right) yelled his newly christened nickname through the mic, Maalik amazed the crowd with his machine gun handle and aggressive drives to the basket. “I was just trying to focus on being a leader out there. On the next level, I know that’s what I will have to be… I trained hard for this opportunity, and I was ready.” said Maalik.
With the crowd littered with sports agents from all over the world, and with his team being coached by Kenny Anderson (arguably the greatest NY point guard ever), the stage was set for Maalik. The Villanova signee represented the “City of Brotherly Love” to the upmost.
“I always heard about the Rucker coming up, but I never imagined it would be like this, this atmosphere was amazing.”
And so was he, along with the rest of his star studded cast.
The ability to perform under pressure is the difference between good players and great ones, and there is no atmosphere more intense than the majestic Rucker Park. With the intimidating presence of the Polo Grounds looming in the shadows, and with a hostile Harlem crowd at fever pitch, young men are expected to put on a show, and last Friday, they did just that.
Both Maalik and Lance picked up some hardware too. The two young men were awarded co-MVP status, and along the way, they were bestowed an even greater honor, their nicknames.
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TSA BLURBS
I’LL SEE YOU IN COURT
Lisa Miceli was jailed Aug. 13 for violating an order in the civil suit Michael Jordan filed against her in January. The order enforces a 2005 agreement stopping her from contacting him or those close to him after two DNA tests showed he wasn’t the boy’s father. A judge found Miceli sent messages to Jordan’s lawyer after the order was issued. · Retired New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan won the latest round in his lengthy divorce case when a state appeals court reversed a lower court’s awarding of about $18,000 per month in child support to his twin 3-year-old daughters. The three-judge panel found a lower court didn’t adequately review the claims by Strahan’s ex-wife, Jean, about the girls’ needs. Among the listed expenses was a 10-day vacation to Jamaica for the girls’ nanny and her family, allegedly as a gift from the children, and diamond jewelry given to their grandmother. Strahan’s ex-wife also claimed the toddlers needed $27,000 per year for clothing because she dressed them in a new outfit each time they saw their father. “Some of the expenses claimed by defendant clearly should have been deleted by the court,” the appeals court concluded. · A man who wrote hundreds of threatening letters over 20 years to black and mixed-race men—including New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas—was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison. David Tuason apologized in federal court, saying he never meant to hurt anybody. He said he sent the threatening letters because a black man “stole” the girlfriend he planned to marry. · A pregnant woman has sued Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Dennis Northcutt, saying he arranged for his cousin to beat her up. Sharri Henry, who claims to be four months pregnant with Northcutt’s baby, accuses the nine-year NFL veteran, of trying to harm her unborn child and permanently disfigure her face May 17 at a Hollywood restaurant. The cousin is not named in the lawsuit. Henry seeks compensatory and punitive damages. · Jaguars’ running back Fred Taylor was ordered out of his car at gunpoint, patted down and handcuffed while a K-9 unit searched his vehicle for drugs outside a Miami Beach nightclub, according to a police report. Taylor yelled at officers repeatedly and was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, after they advised him three times to quiet down, according to Miami Beach Police. · CBS has filed a federal lawsuit to establish its right to use without charge the statistics that underlie fantasy football leagues. The lawsuit filed by the network’s online operation claims that the NFL Players Association has threatened to sue the company if it does not pay licensing fees for the statistics. CBS seeks a court ruling saying “the Players Association may not seek to control the use of player statistics in fantasy games and may not continue to extract money from CBS Interactive for the use of publicly available football statistics.”
LETS TALK SPORTS
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is out for the season with a left knee injury that will require surgery. The 2007 NFL Most Valuable Player will be placed on injured reserve, the Patriots said Monday, one day after his knee was injured in the first quarter of a 17-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. · Serena Williams has won the 2008 U.S. Open. Williams did not lose a set in the tournament, is once again the #1 ranked women's tennis player. · FIFA ordered Romanian striker Adrian Mutu to pay Chelsea FC 17.17 million Euros ($25.60 million) in damages after the Premier League club terminated his contract in October 2004 for testing positive for cocaine. · Michael Phelps is trading the pool for the “Saturday Night Live” stage. The recording-breaking swimmer, who took home eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, will host the 34th season premiere of NBC’s long-running late-night sketch-comedy series on Sept. 13. · LeBron James has gone from the gold-medal stand to the silver screen. The Cavaliers’ megastar will be at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend for the debut of “More Than A Game,” a documentary chronicling his rise to stardom. Combining footage taken during James’ career at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in nearby Akron, along with one-on-one interviews by writer/director Kris Belman, home videos, and personal family photographs, the film is not only about basketball, but it’s about friendship, loyalty and love. · Antonio Tarver is set for an October bout with Chad Dawson. The bout will be televised on Showtime in conjunction with the WBC heavyweight clash from Germany between champion Sam Peter and former titleholder Vitali Klitschko. · Team officials officially announced that the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics would be known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. · Junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton will be trained for his next bout by Floyd Mayweather Sr., the father of the man he fought for a welterweight title last year. Mayweather, who also trains Oscar De La Hoya, will prepare Hatton for his fight against IBF 140-pound champ Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas on Nov. 22. · Talk show host Oprah Winfrey threw a rousing welcome home party for more than 150 U.S. Olympic medal winners. The event was a salute to the athletes and a pep rally for efforts to bring the 2016 summer games to America. · Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur, heroes of the University of Kansas' were dismissed from the National Basketball Association rookie transition program, ESPN reported. The ESPN website, citing unnamed sources, said the pair were banished after being discovered in their hotel rooms with marijuana and women, a violation of the program's visitors ban. Arthur and Chalmers, among 69 rookies who for a four-day seminar on adapting to the NBA, were fined 20,000 dollars each and will begin their first NBA season on the suspended list, according to the report. · The National Football League decided to recognize receiver Chad Johnson’s legal name change to Chad Ocho Cinco. The new name will be on the back of his Cincinnati Bengals uniform for the season opener in Baltimore. · Marion Jones, the former Track & Field star, was released from a US federal prison after serving a six-month sentence. The 32-year-old American, who returned the five medals she won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was imprisoned for lying to federal prosecutors when she denied using steroids and lying about a check fraud scheme. Jones, who never failed a drug test, pleaded guilty last October to two charges of making false statements to federal investigators in 2003.
SPORTS BIZ
Major League Baseball owners voted unanimously to approve Bill Neukom as controlling owner of the San Francisco Giants. Neukom will take over Oct. 1, when Peter Magowan retires. · The Cleveland Indians informed Major League Baseball of their desire to terminate their player development contract with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, ending a 14-year partnership. The Indians’ decision appears to clear the way for the club to move its top minor league affiliate to Columbus, Ohio, which will have a new stadium next season. Cleveland already has three minor league teams—Akron, Lake County and Mahoning Valley—in Ohio. · For the fourth consecutive year, the average ticket price for an NFL game rose by about $5, increasing to $72.20. The cost of taking a family of four to an NFL game rose 7.1 percent to $396.36 according to TMR, which compiles ticket data on all the major North American sports leagues. The NFL is the most popular North American sports league, boasting strong television ratings and annual league revenue topping $7 billion.
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Some of the information provided is courtesy of AP, Reuters, and, Ticker. |
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