www.Empowermentminds.com My Non-Profit Foundation...

These are a few pics from past empowerment M.I.N.D.S. events autograph signing at Nancy's Pizza in Atlanta Thats my mom to the right of the picture, and my step mom to the left of the picture!!!... At Todd Heap's celebrity Fundraiser in Baltimore from left to right Todd Heap, Ashley Heap, Shauna Wilcox-Strickland and myself, Mike Furrey and myself helping out with the Special Olympic football Camp in D.C. for the NFLPA, and Me at the 1st auction I ever did... Auctioning off a autographed football!!!

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Must see Video Tell me what you Think!!!

Football opens doors to the community. Watch the video!   As U see in this Video not only have I been blessed with football. "Football has blessed me with so many other opportunities"!!!   Sometimes we live life and forget about others, but without others life Is pointless... We all need other people!!!  We were built for companionship!!!  Don't go through life being selfish, try giving and helping people out on a regular basis... That doesn't always mean giving people money either... That just means giving yourself to others when the opportunity presents it self... Hope You Enjoy the Video!!! A friend of mine put this together for me in California... Thanks Justin B.

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Happy Father's Day!!! The Worst Off Season Ever!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers around the World!!! I honestly feel blessed to be a father... I have a beautiful 4 year old son thats an amazing Kid and I love him more than words can say!!! Daddy Loves you Tristan!!! This was The 1st father's day I spent away from my son this year... He's in Atlanta and daddy is in Baltimore packing!!! Yes people packing!!! Getting ready to head back to Atlanta, since I am no longer a Baltimore Raven! This year was supposed to be a contract year for me, but that contract has yet to come... I'm still sitting here waiting on that day to come... My wife and I decided to wait until July with hopes that we wouldn't have to move twice. Hoping that by this time I would already be picked up by a team!!! Well as u see that hasn't happened... YET! So now we are in full swing packing mode!!! And headed back to Atlanta in two weeks!!! Thats my home town, where I was born and raised!!! A lot of people never think about this part of the game... This is the part of the game that you never really hear about... Since I didn't impress the Ravens enough last season, they didn't resign me... But they did give me 5 good years... And for that i am Thankful... Now I have to pack my bags and move, or set up shop in Baltimore. This has been the worse off season Ever... There's nuthing worse than not knowing what's next for you and your family... Football sometimes feels like a girl friend that u love like crazy, but she's always leaving and coming back into your life... Your always doing every thing that you can to show her your love and affection... But she only give you flashes, every blue moon, that she loves you back!!! As soon as you think she is really feeling you, you try to get comfortable... Then she drops you like a bad habit...

Moving on is like starting from scratch... I'm scratching my head like where do I start, where do I go from here?... I've been so faithful to football these last 8 years... Now that she (football) has broken up with me, how do I start to date again (look for another job)??? Should i wait for her, or should i just move on? Is she coming back again? I still LOVE her... It's pretty wierd to think that I would have a serious career for 8 years and that it may be over at 8... I was not prepared for this, but yet I have been preparing for this the whole time!!! Strange right!!! I have my hands In so many other things that its crazy... I'm just not as passionate about other things the way I am about football... I've been playing football for 27 years... It has consumed so many years of my life... So many of my days, so many hours, so many of my minutes... I have truely been blessed with so much in my life that's why I thank God for every opportunity that I get!!! Thank You God!!! My Blessings have never stopped coming... I thank God for my wonderful Wife, who on Fathers day took me to see Anthony Hamilton Perform Live... This was an amazing experience... I Love his passion presented thru his musiq... For those of you that don't know Anthony Hamilton, please try his albums... He has been my favorite R&B Inspiration for the Last 5 years!!! I even liked him back in the day when he did stuff for 2Pac!!! As much as I wanna think that musiq doesnt influence us it does... it sets our moods and persuades us in different directions... Anytime I'm upset I can throw some A. Ham. on and It calms my nerves... well I gotta get out of here so I will catch u guys next Time!!! God Bless...

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THE BEST FOOTBALL CAMP!!! JUNE 20TH, 2009

JUNE 20TH, 2009 I HOSTED MY 5TH ANNUAL FREE FOOTBALL CAMP FOR THE KIDS OF BALTIMORE!!! I WAS AWAKEN ON THE MORNING OF THE 20TH BY THE SOUNDS OF A THUNDER STORM... IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THE DAY WOULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN... WHEN I GOT TO THE CAMP I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE A GYM FULL OF EAGAR KIDS AND PARENTS... EVEN ON A RAINY DAY PARENTS STILL TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPURTUNITY TO BRING THEIR KIDS OUT!!!... I DIDNT KNOW HOW THIS EVENT WOULD TURN OUT SINCE I MOVED THE CAMP FROM RAVENS STADIUM TO CARDINAL GIBBONS HIGH SCHOOL... NOT PLEASED WITH HOW THE CAMPS OF THE PASS HAVE TURNED OUT WE TOTALLY REVISED THE WHOLE CAMP SCHEDULE!!! NEW DRILLS, NEW LAYOUT, NEW PLAN!!!

I WANTED THIS CAMP TO BE ABOUT KNOWLEDGE, NUTRITION, SKILLS, & TECHNIQUE!!! THE VOLUNTEER COACHES FROM HIGHSCHOOLS, MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND RECREATION LEAGUES ALL OVER BALTIMORE SLOWED THINGS DOWN IN THE STATIONS TO TEACH THE KIDS THE PROPER TECHNIQUES!! THIS ALLOWED THEM TO LEARN THINGS THE CORRECT WAY!! IN THE PAST THE CAMPS HAVE SEEMED TO BE DESIGNED TO JUST WEAR THE KIDS OUT!!! I FIGURED THAT IT WOULD BE MUCH BETTER NOT TO WEAR THEM DOWN, BUT JUST TEACH, TEACH, TEACH... IN THE PAST WE HAD KIDS QUITING, CRYING, COMPLAINING AND FEELING SICK!!! SOME OF THEM DIDNT SEEM HAPPY, OR LOOK LIKE THEY WERE ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE!!!

WELL THIS TIME AROUND THINGS WERE VERY DIFFERENT.. EVERY KID AT THE CAMP FINISHED EVERY DRILL, EVERY EXERCISE AND EVERY EVENT!!! THERE WAS NO COMPLAINING, EVERYONE WAS SMILING, HAVING A GOOD TIME AND WORKED THRU THE RAIN, THE MUD AND THE EXTREME CONDITIONS!!! THE CAMP WAS A SUCCESS!!! TO ME IT WAS THE BEST ONE YET!!! Moses Washington #26 FROM Michael Irving's TV SHOW '4TH & LONG' SPENT ALL MORNING ENGAGING IN DRILLS... AND ALSO SHARED HIS THOUGHTS AND ADVENTURES OF LIFE WITH THE KIDS... Antwan Barnes #50 DE FOR THE BALTIMORE RAVENS CAME OUT AND SPOKE TO THE KIDS AND SHARED HIS STORY AND BELIEFS WITH THE KIDS AND LEFT THEM WITH HIS PRIZE WORDS 'KEEP GOD 1ST AND TEAM WORK'!!! STAND OUT VETERAN RECIEVER Derrick Mason #85 FROM THE BALTIMORE RAVENS ALSO CAME TO SHARE HIS WORDS OF WISDOM WITH THE KIDS... IN THE OBSTACLE COURSE SO THEY COULD COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER... 2ND YEAR WR Edward Williams #18 OF THE BALTIMORE RAVENS SPENT THE WHOLE AFTERNOON WITH THE KIDS CHEERING THEM ON AND HE ALSO SHARED HIS PATH TO THE NFL WITH THE KIDS TO KEEP THEM INFORMED THAT IT TOOK SO MUCH HARD WORK FOR US TO BE WHERE WE ARE... THE ROAD WAS NOT EASY AND IT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME TO CONVEY THAT TO THE KIDS!!!

THE THING THAT EMPRESSED ME THE MOST WAS NO MATTER THE AGE OF THE KID, THE SIZE OF THE KID, THEY ALL HAD THE WILLINGNESS TO COMPETE... AND TRUST ME THEY ALL PERFORMED!!! THIS CAMP HAS ME VERY EXCITED TO DO THE NEXT ONE... SEEING THESE KIDS EXCITED ABOUT FOOTBALL THE WAY THEY ARE GETS ME EXCITED TO PLAY THE SEASON NEXT YEAR... I'M FEELING BETTER THAN I HAVE IN A LONG TIME AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING PICKED UP SOON!!! SEE U LATER BALTIMORE, HERE WE COME ATLANTA!!!

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Player's Frustration on Sundays

Alot of people ask me do we players see any tangible benefit or value in designating 8 players from a 53 man roster as inactive on any guven Sunday. I always answer, I kind of see the reasoning behind it but for those eight players its torture. You practice all week not knowing if you are going to play, with the coaches screaming and hollering at you as if you are. Then moments before pre game warm-ups they give you the thumbs down – just after you prepared to play; studied all week; check over your plays one last time before the game; get in the hot and cold tub take a shower; put on you jock, socks, pads and your pants; check your chin strap, jersey, shoulder pads and with one leg in your game pants...Then they come give you the thumbs down and you have to take all the stuff back off, including the war paint you strategically placed on your face and take your mind from assassin mode to cheerleader mode. It’s crazy!


For example, their are guys on the Ravens roster that are lights out in practice but haven't had the opportunity to show the world what they can do during gametime. Edgar Jones, No. 84 is my guy for that vote. This guy is insane. He actually played in some games last year but has yet to be officially let loose. He plays both ways, yes both ways... okay he's a triple threat... Offense, Defense, and Special Teams... but check this out he plays DE, and TE, so he's no little guy... usually when you hear about a guy in the NFL going both ways he's a little guy like a DB or WR...I'm talking 6'4" 270 pounds of muscle! And he's legit! What NFL players do you guys think hasnt had a fair shot on your favorite NFL team?

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