We Go Hard (Never Die)

[J-Hop]

WE GO HARD
•••••••

Everybody wants you.

Everybody can’t stand you.

Everybody just wants you to die.

They want to see us drown, but like hard-headed kids, we continue to do what we want. People love us, people hate us. That’s just how it is and how it forever will remain to be. We fight for what’s right, we look to rid of the wrong.

We are going into another big fight of our lives. Men who have had an astounding career as singles have paired into a group, a stable and one by one, they are impressing the viewers. Going through every obstacle in sight. The ‘Street Sweepers’ you could say are what the ‘Natural Born Killaz’ are.

They beat Foul Play right down the middle in their own playground. Nothing more impressive than that.

Now here they are, one step away from winning it all as they go against Anthony Bailey and myself as ‘The Dying Breed’. They are hungry wolves, waiting eagerly to blow the house down. We’re not the three little piggies. Oh no ... we are the lions laying stealth in the tall grass, just waiting.

Latch.on.to.you.

We have enjoyed their work, seeing the build and chemistry flow in the ring. They ride for each other and die for each other. There are very few teams who ride and die to the end. Most jump-off midways through the ride. These two, nah ... They are in it, win or lose.

Unfortunately for Leon Roberts and Jake Titan, they will learn from this session that no matter the difficulty of the mission, we just will not die. We will not surrender. We will not fail. They will understand and acknowledge it. They will feel bitter but in time, they will be better prepared for when round two approaches.

================


JUNE 5TH 2013 -- NEW YORK, NY | HAZELDEN REHAB CENTER | 11:30 AM

~ Day 14 of 30 ~


Ugh, sixteen more days in this place and it would be the end. I prayed for 27th of June. That would be my last day. I repeated to myself that I would never ever again do stupid shit. It happens in life and when it happens, you have to deal with the consequences. Today was Wednesday and besides it being the traditional “Hump Day”, it was yet another boring session.

Everybody now thinks rehab facility centers is like what Reaver showed last week in his promo against me. Those are places that have no control, places where no one cares if you live or you die. Reaver hearts a place like that, unruly and cannot be civilized. Not all are like that. Not all are unruly or hard to control. This was like an old folks home, a retiring center with the way everything was run.

“Mr. Hopkins?” A man entered my room after knocking on the door three times before opening it. He peeked his head in as he looked at me with one leg on the bed and the other dangling off, staring at the ceiling.

“Yeah, what’s up?” I responded, head raised.

“Someone’s here to see you.” He said as he moved away from the door and pushing it open and coming through it, someone I really never expected to come all the way here to visit.

“Anthony?” I said as I had a questionable tone of voice.

“Hey man, thought it’d be cool to drop by. Sorry it’s taken me this long but I figure I’d help run the time down for you.”

“Thanks man, but you need your rest man. Why are you holding a basketball?” I asked as he stood by the wall as I sat at the edge of the bed looking curious.

“Remember awhile back when we talked and you said something about wanting to go to the new Barclays Center? Well, I talked to some people and was able to rent out the arena just for us two.”

Anthony speaking, it was just a passing thought I never expected him to hang onto. Man did I have a smile of a five year old on my face. Clapping my hands, I nodded my head, jumping off the bed.

“Damn Ant ... Wasn’t expecting you to hang onto something minor like that.”

“Yeah, I figure we can get some time in to build up and take the frustration off from last week. I’ll meet you outside. Get ready. Our gear is already at the arena.”

“Gear?” I said as he had already left out of the door. Man, I was smiling from ear to ear. Of all places, I had yet to get inside the Barclays. Being on the road and other crazy things had stalled out that plan ... until today.


JUNE 5TH 2013 -- BROOKLYN, NY | BARCLAYS CENTER | 2:00 PM


And here we stood, inside the Barclays Center. One section of the court was lit as the other side remained in the black. Half-court worked just fine as I still was in shock of all of this by Bailey. I just never understood why so many people dislike him. Why? For what? Doing the right thing? Not going the route of cheating and scamming his way through? He’s done a lot for people. People who had nothing, he gave them something. People who lost it all, he helped them out. Taking someone like myself, under his wing and bringing me along into the system. No one does that too much. No one looks out for others these days. It’s why I considered Anthony Bailey as my “Big Brother”. I looked to model myself after him. Do the right thing, stay away from the bad shit. I was still a work in progress.





We stood ready as the basketball sat positioned centered in between the two of us. Bailey had on his Miami Heat custom-made jersey and I had on my Nets jersey. He rocked the LeBron’s, I rocked the classic first-ever Jordans. Bailey allowed me to pick up the ball as I backed up a bit as Bailey went into his defensive stance ready to follow my every move.

“You know I was always an Iverson-fanboy. I watched his every footstep, just hoping to imitate it one day. Never could. He represented the ‘small guys’ in the league. Him, Mugsy and Spudd. Will never forget. I just hope I don’t make you twist your ankle or anything, Ant.”

Anthony let out a short laugh as he shook his head.

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” Flashing a smirk, Bailey waved with his hand for me to “bring my best”.

Sizing him up, I look to go to the right but with a quick shift, he blocks my attempt. I looked to go the left but he did the same.

“Not going to get me with that.” Bailey said as he looked to put a hand on my shoulder.

A quick spin to the left gave me the quick edge to take off as it was clear to the hoop. A quick score with an easy layup gave me the lead.

1 - 0 - Layup (Hopkins)

“I got you with that though. Not bad, huh?” I said to Bailey as I took to the defense and he had the ball.

He nodded. “Not bad at all bro. Whoever gets to ten wins. Like old times, outside these lines is two points. Anything else is just one point.” He said, giving out the rules and the number to get to.

With a move forward and a stepback, his feet stood on the outside of the line as he shot up. I jumped high, looking to get a tip of the ball but thanks to his six-foot frame, he had no problem in dropping down the two-point shot.

1 - 2 = 2-point shot (Bailey)

Simple but effective. Bailey decided against the dribble and crossovers and just a one-footer stepback jumper to take the lead.

“Not too much glitz and glamour with me. Create a space and shoot. Effective enough.” Bailey said as he was back on defense.

It was a good time to strengthen our chemistry as we needed it knowing who was next to come up to the batter’s plate. The Natural Born Killaz. The ones that defeated Foul Play to earn a shot at the gold we share as one around our waists.

“So Ant, we defend those tag titles in Las Vegas man. We got the Natural Born Killaz craving like zombies.” I said as their hunger resembled ours when we pursued “M&M”.

Bailey kept his eyes and focus on my one hand dribbling as I dribbled to my right side. Looking as I did a dribble between my legs repeatedly, Anthony poked his hand in as he went for the steal. The ball left my fingertips and went bouncing behind me. Anthony responding quicker than me allowed him to gain possession. He went ahead as I got to my feet. Looking to recover as I ran to go in front, he pretty much ran and hopped on the other leg pulling off a runner as the ball bounced off each side of the rim before slowly going in as if there was a force field keeping it from bouncing out.

1 - 3 = Running Jumper (Bailey)

“I know. They have the craving of a champion but we have to block their attempt, steal their focus and put them away. Force them into mistakes. They surprised Foul Play, we can’t allow them to surprise us.”

Bitter at the fact the ball went in, I was down two and knew I needed a two-point play. Bailey grew a smile on his face as I eyed him, looking to make my move. A jab step to the left followed with an inside half-spin allowed for me to roll to the opposite side with a mid-range jumper in which the ball rolled around twice before falling in as I held my breath.

2 - 3 = Jumpshot (Hopkins)

“Whew!” I said, expressing myself as the shot went in. “Jake and Leon had the best night of their life that night in Chile. They got the decisive win over Kash and Reaver and then getting promoted onto Overdrive’s roster. Not only that but they got to watch me and you against Logan and Aubrey as we proceeded to beat the hell out of each other. They got to watch and get an early look.”

“A very dangerous combo they are. Albeit their losses in the Test For The Best Qualifiers, they proved that they can amaze. They are future stars and for that, we have to make sure we stay on them. We can’t lose focus. I’m sure Kash and his crew will try and bring their faces into this match but even then, we still can’t lose focus.” Bailey said as he waited for the ball.

Bailey pushed off as I tried for a quick steal but was denied. With a little space, he shot the jumper as it again went in. Looking at him, it felt like he was ‘warm’ from the get-go.

2 - 4 = Jumpshot (Bailey)

“Man, you practiced before you got me, didn’t you?” I asked, curious.

“Nope, not at all. In my spare time, I go to the basketball court and practice my shots. It’s all about motion. Like Larry Bird, that one fluid motion shot that was unstoppable.”

Taking the ball, I couldn’t seem to fake him out with a dribble move. A dropback fade to the side gave me an open shot but the ball bounced off the edge of the rim and out, giving me my first miss. Bailey grabbed ahold of the rebound as he backed out, clearing. He spun around with a sweet spin and threw off his right leg. The ball hit the backboard and went off. Quickly going for the rebound, I leaped with my 5’8 frame to grab it. Clearing it, I sped past Bailey for yet another layup.

3 - 4 = Layup (Hopkins)

Bailey got the ball and drove past me, using his body to gain advantage. Layup scores.

3 - 5 = Layup (Bailey)

“You know I can’t let you win this!” Anthony said.

“Hahaha, I know, you already said before. Not gonna stop me!”

The game went into fast-forward as shots were being made with every possession.

3 - 6 = Jumpshot (Bailey off steal)

“I respect the hell out of Natural Born Killaz. I mean at first, I looked at them wrong but they are doing whatever they can to apply themselves as part of the backbone to this company. Jenning’s speech last week on Overdrive, people needed to hear and understand what he said. People who aren’t worth the airtime gets it all. Those who are worthy of it get none.”

5 - 6 = Jumpshot 2-pointer (Hopkins)

“We have the chance to tear the roof off in Las Vegas as we all make our round to Meltdown to give them a show. We’ve went through a lot on Meltdown the past few weeks. We’ve given back to the fans that helped mold us into who we are today. Meltdown is simply going to ... melt down. It’ll be an epic contest, I promise you that.”

6 - 6 = Jumpshot (Hopkins off of rebound)

6 - 7 = Jumpshot (Bailey)

6- 8 = Layup (Bailey off rebound)

8 - 8 = Two-Point Jumper (Hopkins)

8 - 9 = Jumpshot (Bailey)

9 - 9 = Layup (Hopkins)

It came down to the final possession, who would get to ten. It was Bailey’s turn again as he looked up at the backboard and the square. Keeping my guard up, I stayed with his every move until his phone all of a sudden went to ring. Just that split second...

“Shoot!” Bailey yelled in frustration.

Taking advantage of that phone ring, I poked at the ball and it bounced to the floor. Swiping it up like broom to dirt, I took it and went for the quick layup as I clenched my fist as I was the next and last to score as I was once down a few points. Now I stood as the winner of this pick-up game.

10 - 9 = Layup (Hopkins off steal)

“That was a good game!” I said as I handed the ball to Bailey.

“Yeah it was, I would’ve had a shot if it wasn’t for that phone. I meant to put it on vibrate.”

“Focus like that, we can’t afford. We can’t have a phone ring or one’s surprising entrance music to kill our vibe and cost us. Just like I stole that ball, they will look to do the same. They waited for this moment for a while. They defeated Kash and Reaver in a First Blood Elimination.That’s a high accomplishment there. We got hungry wolves, Bailey.”