tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32247558874308205062024-03-12T22:25:51.105-07:00Games People PlaySports, entertainment, politics & popular cultureGames People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-23568334708203259822013-03-30T09:17:00.000-07:002013-03-30T09:17:05.565-07:00Warren Buffett: I Could End U.S. Deficit in 5 MinutesWarren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling: "I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there is a deficit of more than 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election." <br />
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18-year-olds) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. <br />
<br />
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land all because of public pressure. <br />
<br />
Warren Buffet says this is one idea that really should be passed around: <br />
<br />
Congressional Reform Act of 2013 <br />
<br />
1. No Tenure/No Pension: A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office. <br />
<br />
2. Congress (past, present and future) participates in Social Security: All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.<br />
<br />
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.<br />
<br />
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise: Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.<br />
<br />
5. Congress loses its current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. <br />
<br />
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. <br />
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7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 06/01/2013: The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. <br />
<br />
The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. <br />
<br />
<br /><br />
Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-2765685285068451792012-12-29T16:32:00.001-08:002012-12-29T16:34:51.626-08:00Juan Rivera to Yankees only makes sense<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nuTZpb8k5S7FOeEDLdlpdGJClQSw12NgTTgo2XJ4M0qKw7Yr6gHdtekjSBWlzCX_A4KgLkv7fb1MwivqUPgUjhg_pEw_qXAPVmw6fyqaPZgRTkxpggbehkDKzGcL_oyTx_R1LFc6-zg/s1600/yankees+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nuTZpb8k5S7FOeEDLdlpdGJClQSw12NgTTgo2XJ4M0qKw7Yr6gHdtekjSBWlzCX_A4KgLkv7fb1MwivqUPgUjhg_pEw_qXAPVmw6fyqaPZgRTkxpggbehkDKzGcL_oyTx_R1LFc6-zg/s1600/yankees+logo.jpg" eea="true" /></a></div>
With Nick Swisher's defection to Cleveland via free agency this week, the New York Yankees have a hole to fill in the outfield. <br />
<br />
But rather than repeat what the Yankees have done so often over the years--offer an overpriced, multi-year deal to a free agent and then lament their diminishing returns at the back end of the contract--the Bronx baseball braintrust should extend a modest, two-year contract to Juan Rivera.<br />
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Rivera, who will be 34 on opening day, played the outfield for the Yankees from 2001-2003. He has never been an All-Star and will never be one. But he is a righthanded hitter with a good arm, a good glove and some pop in his bat--just the kind of bench player and occasional starter the 2013 club needs. <br />
<br />
In today's free-agent market, Rivera could be had for $8 million over two years. Or the Yankees could offer a one-year deal worth $4 million with a club option for the 2014 season. <br />
<br />
Rivera made $4 million for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. He hit .244 with 9 home runs and 47 RBI. He can also play first base, which means the Yanks could give starter Mark Teixeira a day off once in a while.<br />
<br />
The Yankees are likely to open 2013 with a starting outfield of Brett Gardner in left, Curtis Granderson in center and Ichiro Suzuki in right. That trio should cover plenty of ground in the outfield and steal a ton of bases. <br />
<br />
But Granderson, Gardner and Ichiro are all lefthanded hitters. That would leave the Yankees especially vulnerable to lefthanded pitching. <br />
<br />
Signing Rivera would allow Yankees manager Joe Girardi to sit the strike zone-challenged Granderson against a particularly tough southpaw; Gardner could move to center when Granderson sits.<br />
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Rivera could also fill in for Ichiro, no spring chicken at age 38, or be a righthanded DH--a role in which Andruw Jones struggled in 2012. (Jones has signed a free-agent contract with a team in Japan.)<br />
<br />
Admittedly, the Yankees won't make major headlines by signing Rivera. They won't break out the carving board and serve roast beef at a Yankee Stadium news conference to re-introduce Rivera to New York.<br />
<br />
However, Rivera can help the 2013 Yankees. The club should not wait any longer to sign him.<br />
<br />Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-54777398373335380712012-12-24T17:31:00.000-08:002012-12-24T17:36:07.785-08:00The Year of the 49ers? Why not?Here is the most important thing I've learned from watching at least a little bit of every NFL team every week (thanks in large part to a great channel called NFL Red Zone): No NFL team is great.<br />
<br />
Never mind the hype you hear each week about Peyton Manning & his Broncos, Tom Brady & his Patriots, RG III & his (pardon the offense) Redskins. Not one of those teams is special.<br />
<br />
Neither are my beloved San Francisco 49ers, as much as I would like them to be.<br />
<br />
The NFL in 2012 is far more mediocre than majestic. But somebody has to win the Super Bowl in February. It's a league rule. So it might as well be my maddeningly inconsistent 49ers.<br />
<br />
I've seen the 49ers' "A" game. It's as good as any other team's "A" game, and better than most.<br />
<br />
Problem is, the 49ers have not produced that "A" game often enough to make them a safe bet to win it all.<br />
<br />
There are no safe bets in this NFL season. Only sucker bets.<br />
<br />
I've been strapped into an emotional rollercoaster with my 49ers from Week 1 of the regular season, when they looked super in beating the Packers by two touchdowns at venerable Lambeau Field, to Week 16, when they were thoroughly humiliated by the Seahawks 42-13 on a typically rainy night in Seattle.<br />
<br />
My 49ers dominated the same Seahawks team 13-6 on a Thursday night in San Francisco in October.<br />
<br />
That's the point here: No NFL team is great from week to week. <br />
<br />
Some teams, like the 13-2 Falcons and 12-3 Texans, have great records.<br />
<br />
But those teams couldn't carry the helmets of the 12-3 49ers of the 1980s or the 12-3 Cowboys of the early 1990s.<br />
<br />
Today's NFL has been watered down, largely because of salary cap rules that prevent any team from holding onto great players for more than a few years.<br />
<br />
The salary cap destroyed the 49ers of Montana, Rice, Craig & Lott and dismantled the Cowboys of Aikman, Smith, Irvin and Norton.<br />
<br />
Those teams were the last true dynasties in the NFL.<br />
<br />
Although the Patriots have won four Super Bowls with Brady at quarterback and Coach Bill Belichick on the sideline, but the core of each of those championship teams has been markedly different.<br />
<br />
It should surprise no one that the Giants will likely fail to make the playoffs this year after winning the Super Bowl last year.<br />
<br />
And it should surprise no one if the team that hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the NFL's best playoff team in February fails to make the playoffs in 2013.<br />
<br />
Just get into the 12-team postseason tournament this season, and you've got a chance to win it all. It doesn't matter if you're the No. 1 seed in your conference or the No. 6 seed. Just get in, baby.<br />
<br />
Fans of each playoff team will have high hopes--not because of that team's relative strength but rather because of the other teams' weaknesses.<br />
<br />
Conventional wisdom says the 49ers have a great defense. But I watch them every week. That's my team. The 49ers have below-average cornerbacks. They can be thrown on. They can be burned deep.<br />
<br />
My 49ers have an inexperienced starting quarterback in the heavily tattooed Colin Kaepernick. At times, he looks brilliant. At other times, he looks hopelessly overmatched against opposing defenses.<br />
<br />
If the latter Kaepernick shows up in the playoffs, the 49ers will lose. If the former Kaepernick shows up, then he will be reading David Letterman's "Top Ten" list sometime after the Super Bowl.<br />
<br />
Do I know which Kaepernick will show up? Of course not.<br />
<br />
Do I know if the 49ers will bring to the playoffs the "A" game they used to beat the Packers, Bears, Saints, Patriots and Seahawks (in October)? Nobody knows.<br />
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Some people like this sort of uncertainty. Clearly, the NFL does.<br />
<br />
But I miss the dynasties. I know they're not coming back under the current system. Still, I miss the symphonic beauty of Montana to Rice year after year after year.<br />
<br />
Now, I can only hope to see Kaepernick to Crabtree for six points, and Gore up the middle, and Akers with the field goal, and Smith and Willis combining on the tackle for victories in January and February.<br />
<br />
Why not the 49ers? Somebody has to do it.<br />
Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-15471825540866383732012-11-10T15:45:00.000-08:002012-11-11T09:26:17.320-08:00An Open Letter to "Papa John"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87pri78Z8HxQ3YnXEjkm1I816lR_NmiuPEhakoh1U7Pucy0khPTFGT0N57_E3JXKMC-sSlwk3j1bb2WZT_3wQRYfauUvCTE49OD98J_PtO6Af_pSkWswqyLbQSV8pC4s33SGNh0zc5dM/s1600/Papa+John's+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87pri78Z8HxQ3YnXEjkm1I816lR_NmiuPEhakoh1U7Pucy0khPTFGT0N57_E3JXKMC-sSlwk3j1bb2WZT_3wQRYfauUvCTE49OD98J_PtO6Af_pSkWswqyLbQSV8pC4s33SGNh0zc5dM/s1600/Papa+John's+logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
November 10, 2012<br />
<br />
"Papa John" Schnatter<br />
Founder & CEO<br />
Papa John's International, Inc.<br />
2002 Papa Johns Boulevard<br />
Louisville, KY 40299<br />
<br />
Dear "Papa John,"<br />
<br />
I'm not one of your regular customers. But I'm from New York, and New Yorkers know pizza. I've tried your Papa John's pizza, and let me just say that it pales in comparison to Original Ray's.<br />
<br />
Actually, I have little use for pizza. You see, I'm an avid runner. My fiancee and I have qualified for next year's New York City Marathon. <br />
<br />
Eating pizza after training for a 26.2-mile race would be about as foolish as claiming to have difficulty running your business just because President Obama, owner of the Affordable Care Act, has been re-elected.<br />
<br />
That is why I have taken time to write to you. <br />
<br />
You see, Papa, I'm not one of those gullible folks weaned on Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and the Drudge Report. You are going to have to produce some of those convenient things we like to call <strong>facts</strong> to convince me that you will have to cut your employees' hours--and wages--or lay off many of them because of Obamacare. <br />
<br />
With whom would you replace them, workers imported from China?<br />
<br />
Or would you have to close locations or, goodness gracious, go out of business? <br />
<br />
All because of Obamacare?<br />
<br />
Papa, we both know there is no plausible connection between Mr. Obama's re-election and the livelihood of your unfortunate employees.<br />
<br />
I'll be blunt because, remember, I'm from New York: If you cannot provide affordable healthcare for your employees with cutting their hours or wages or jobs, then you are as inept at business as Congressman Todd Akin is at discussing the female reproductive system.<br />
<br />
You do believe your employees deserve to have access to affordable healthcare, don't you?<br />
<br />
Don't you?<br />
<br />
Even if your allegation were true, that the barons of American business cannot survive under the yoke of Obamacare, then you should have traveled the country with your man Mitt and spoken at, well, 47 percent of his campaign rallies. You could have been a game-changer. <br />
<br />
But then, you probably thought Mitt was going to win anyway, so your presence was not required.<br />
<br />
That's what you get for listening to Karl Rove, Dick Morris, Donald Trump and the Rasmussen Poll.<br />
<br />
Sorry, Papa.<br />
<br />
Just as I'm sorry to see your company's ongoing contribution to America's obesity epidemic. Maybe you should have to close about a hundred franchises, lest Americans stop expanding as if hooked on helium:<br />
<br />
"I'll have two Double Bacon 6 Cheese Pizzas, a dozen Cheese Sticks, two Super-Size Cokes and two Hot Apple Pies to go."<br />
<br />
"Yes, sir, Governor Christie. Coming right up, sir."<br />
<br />
Little did I know, Papa, that you and Herman Cain, the lascivious former CEO of the Godfather's chain, had formed this loony anti-Obama pizza lobby.<br />
<br />
And little did I know that your pitiful fear mongering could actually teach me something about your product that is truly remarkable:<br />
<br />
Apparently, too much pizza can make you crazy.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Cecil Harris<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-84104212905058958682012-01-21T09:50:00.000-08:002012-01-21T10:32:49.733-08:00ESPN loses with jingoistic tennis coverage<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIPQvHg4zv74h2KkwOp2tkyzWHOZ7URFe2ALJ5ws8B98xut9zoSS1FtRONQBiBYcvvjlRpyml3HuuKYpQpXBvUBVzUhDcPtR8flc9WVakxi0cKqUrepc8JTBMXEmRAlPANGXWaN4Gg6o/s1600/serena+swings.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIPQvHg4zv74h2KkwOp2tkyzWHOZ7URFe2ALJ5ws8B98xut9zoSS1FtRONQBiBYcvvjlRpyml3HuuKYpQpXBvUBVzUhDcPtR8flc9WVakxi0cKqUrepc8JTBMXEmRAlPANGXWaN4Gg6o/s400/serena+swings.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700154960841220818" /></a><br />Once upon a time, you could not tell the players without a scoreboard at the ballpark. Nowadays, you cannot watch tennis on ESPN without using the mute button on your remote control. <br /><br />Unless you make tennis on ESPN sound like the award-winning silent film, "The Artist," ESPN's jingoistic "America versus the world" approach to the sport would render its coverage completely unwatchable.<br /><br />"Serena Williams is the only American left in the main draw," ESPN told viewers often during its Friday night/Saturday morning presentation of the Australian Open before the mute button was pressed. <br /><br />As if a player's nationality matters in tennis. It doesn't. It never has. And never will to the vast majority of viewers despite ESPN's attempt to brainwash people.<br /><br />Tennis is an individualistic sport. Serena Williams does not play for Team USA any more than Rafael Nadal plays for the Spanish Armadas or Roger Federer represents the Swiss Cheeses.<br /><br />Serena plays for Serena. If she wins the Aussie Open, it is her victory, not a reason for a flag-waving public celebration. A Serena triumph Down Under would not validate the American way of life, whatever that is, any more than a Serena defeat would bring shame to those values Americans hold dear (which in our increasingly divisive political climate is harder than ever to define).<br /><br />Yet ESPN insists on sabotaging its tennis coverage with constant prattle about how the Americans are doing in a given tournament, even though that is not why tennis fans watch tennis.<br /><br />Tennis fans love the drama, contrasting styles and prodigious artistry of a Nadal-Federer match. That neither player is American is utterly irrelevant. Always has been.<br /><br />Unfortunately, ESPN remains tone-deaf to the truth: Tennis will not achieve NFL-type ratings here if such American players as Mardy Fish, Donald Young, Christina McHale and Melanie Oudin (who has done nothing since the 2009 U.S. Open) join Serena in the second week of a major tournament. <br /><br />Tennis is a niche sport in America. Most sports fans don't watch tennis. But avid fans will watch the Grand Slam tournaments regardless of who wins the events. Why? Because we enjoy tennis. We especially enjoy our tennis with intelligent and insightful commentary that enhances our appreciation of the players involved, their biographies, strategies, strengths and weaknesses.<br /><br />Alas, intelligent and insightful commentary on ESPN tennis coverage has been in such short supply that the sport's best TV analyst, Mary Carillo, finally got fed up two years ago and left the network.<br /><br />Carillo wants to talk tennis, which she does now for Tennis Channel and for CBS at the U.S. Open. She does not want to wave pom-poms for American players. She does not want to spend infinitely more time talking about an American teen-ager making her Wimbledon debut than Novak Djokovic trying to repeat as the tournament champion.<br /><br />Now that Disney-owned ESPN has wrested the TV rights to Wimbledon from NBC, we will no longer be able to hear Carillo's commentary of the tournament during championship weekend. Our loss.<br /><br />What constitutes an even bigger loss for viewers is the realization that ESPN can substantially outbid other networks for the right to televise marquee tennis events without having any clue as to how to present the sport properly.<br /><br />So, like many tennis fans, I'll be watching "Breakfast at Wimbledon" this July, ESPN-style--with my oatmeal and fresh fruit on the table, and the audio on mute.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-30645352748452278882011-10-08T07:59:00.000-07:002011-10-08T08:44:30.592-07:00Jesus Can Save 2012 Yankees<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmAci3q5CYDY3EvTp18z7kQwli_Ng0TXvrPaYF3odth35WMCc-FmImQlOzwez7G47mLKok_nAKl7WTkvcaoW4JmCBFRtIemg_H0ZADD5k1m9J9Gn-_Fs9-oT_MGxRmMkriH77QggG14o/s1600/yankees+logo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661144014401264226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmAci3q5CYDY3EvTp18z7kQwli_Ng0TXvrPaYF3odth35WMCc-FmImQlOzwez7G47mLKok_nAKl7WTkvcaoW4JmCBFRtIemg_H0ZADD5k1m9J9Gn-_Fs9-oT_MGxRmMkriH77QggG14o/s400/yankees+logo.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNxqJzOKt4gu_UQ1PG2kSic-Nfqtt7TW5-wtWM4gzktsWcjgpe_QgD8fLwc5unoQcTO6mzHLBOr31QHnjXO4TsL_cLkYkoB0jemtcb3g56Ijim5G6hjb5z0fF65aOKhZ9PxDBwZKrM0g/s1600/jesus+montero.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661143915998241762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNxqJzOKt4gu_UQ1PG2kSic-Nfqtt7TW5-wtWM4gzktsWcjgpe_QgD8fLwc5unoQcTO6mzHLBOr31QHnjXO4TsL_cLkYkoB0jemtcb3g56Ijim5G6hjb5z0fF65aOKhZ9PxDBwZKrM0g/s400/jesus+montero.jpg" /><br /><br /></a>For the second straight year, the New York Yankees were eliminated from a postseason baseball series on an Alex Rodriguez strikeout.<br /><br /><div>At least A-Rod swung and missed to end Game 5 of the 2011 American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers. He didn't go down with his bat on his right shoulder, as he did to end the 2010 AL Championship Series against the Texas Rangers. </div><br /><br /><div>Still, there is no joy in Yankeeville. Once again, mighty A-Rod has struck out.</div><br /><br /><div>But it's time to stop bashing the 36-year-old Rodriguez. Yes, he made $30 million for the 2011 season and hit a measly .111 (2-for-18) in the ALDS. But he wasn't the only high-priced underachiever on the Yankees -- sportsworld's most profitable franchise with a net worth of $1.6 billion. </div><br /><br /><div>Derek Jeter, 37, failed too often in the clutch against the Tigers. Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher, both 30, were downright awful against Detroit. And CC Sabathia, 30, was missing more than the periods in his name versus the Tigers. He lacked command of his fastball. And he allowed mediocre hitters like Brandon Inge and Ramon Santiago to beat him in Game 3.</div><br /><br /><div>It's time for the Yankees to get younger and more athletic, and the key to that infusion is 21-year-old Jesus Montero (pictured left). A powerfully built right-handed hitter with a quick bat, Jesus needs to become a regular in 2012. </div><br /><br /><div>Jesus has the potential to become a Mike Piazza-type catcher -- a consistent offensive threat with adequate defensive skills. Russell Martin, 30, the incumbent catcher, is a .230 hitter. He simply doesn't provide enough offense to start 130 games in 2012.</div><br /><br /><div>But if the Yankees are insistent that Martin play regularly, then they need to bench Swisher (sorry, ladies) or refuse to pick up his option for 2012 and instead convert Jesus into a right fielder. </div><br /><br /><div>Right field is the easiest of the three outfield positions to play at Yankee Stadium, and Jesus has a strong-enough arm to make the transition.</div><br /><br /><div>After being called up from the minor leagues in September, Jesus was not overmatched against major league pitching. Indeed, he showed the maturity to hit outside pitches to right field with authority, and he handled fastballs inside like a veteran.</div><br /><br /><div>All Jesus needs is regular playing time to become a power-hitting threat in the middle of the Yankees' lineup -- exactly what A-Rod used to be.</div><br /><br /><div>And Jesus might just become the postseason clutch hitter that the Yankees need. In the last several years, we've learned that A-Rod, Teixeira, Swisher and the aging Jeter are not up to the task.</div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-66170156192240471522011-06-13T07:56:00.000-07:002011-06-13T08:35:56.131-07:00Enough About Weiner & His...You Know<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmKymoIMI7pBV-DdK1kmKdZSlOVvcARqu_E2tPEovRGHGfexk6nIJaRQXRmChJvFTXI951Sf_iqJoCwROx1tdx0s27kMTwVC-YoewwrGoEgkUsOT2DCF5_Zpr3w9miIw2fOVQurA-gPg/s1600/weiner+%2526+press.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 211px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617728198473593586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmKymoIMI7pBV-DdK1kmKdZSlOVvcARqu_E2tPEovRGHGfexk6nIJaRQXRmChJvFTXI951Sf_iqJoCwROx1tdx0s27kMTwVC-YoewwrGoEgkUsOT2DCF5_Zpr3w9miIw2fOVQurA-gPg/s400/weiner+%2526+press.jpg" /></a> Should a United States Congressman be able to keep his seat while undergoing treatment for a cybersexual addiction he didn't seem to know he had until indecent photos of himself got into the hands of his political enemies?<br /><br /><br /><div>How I wish I had created that storyline for my next book! Sounds like a best-seller if ever there was one. </div><br /><br /><div>Unfortunately for Anthony Weiner--and his wife, Huma Abedin, and his political mentor, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York--the storyline is fact, not fiction, and it will likely strip Weiner of his power.</div><br /><br /><div>As of today, the liberal Weiner still represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens in the U.S. House of Representatives. But that may not be true for long, nor should it be true.</div><br /><br /><div>Weiner has neither the grace nor gravitas of a statesman. Otherwise, he would not have sent sexually explicit photos of himself to at least a half-dozen women. Nor would he have lied about it so aggressively for 10 days before being forced to come clean because his political enemies had found even more embarrassing photos.</div><br /><br /><div>In the days since his June 6 news conference, when he said he would not resign, we have learned that Weiner's wife is pregnant with their first child. The New York Times broke that story, probably acting on a leak from Weiner himself. The pregnancy angle made headlines on the same day a photo of Weiner's weiner was posted by radio shock jocks Opie and Anthony.</div><br /><br /><div>Although Weiner succeeded in changing the narrative for a while, he looks like an even worse husband and a more reprehensible person for sending nude photos and sexually explicit texts to women while his wife is pregnant.</div><br /><br /><div>Now, we hear that Weiner is in treatment for his cybersexual addiction (and, I would hope, his habitual lying). But, apparently, he wants to keep his $175,000-a-year job. And his access to the congressional gym, where he reportedly shot some of his nude and semi-nude photos. </div><br /><br /><div>Clearly, Weiner has not lost the arrogance that got him in trouble in the first place.</div><br /><br /><div>This is not a private matter between Weiner and his wife. It is a betrayal of the trust we must have for our elected representatives. We should not expect our politicians to be perfect. But we should expect them to have better things to do with their time than send lewd photos and raunchy texts to women. We should expect politicians to make better use of our tax dollars.</div><br /><br /><div>Without trust in our elected officials, democracy withers and dies. As long as Weiner remains in Congress, the media will continue to ignore the important issues that truly impact on the quality of our lives and over-publicize the salicious tale of a congressman's political implosion.</div><br /><br /><div>"Weiner-gate" will not go away until Weiner himself goes away. </div><br /><br /><div>Weiner should resign from Congress, get the help he so desperately needs and make it a priority to become a better husband and citizen. Assuming therapy is successful, he could run for his old congressional seat in 2012 (if it isn't eliminated through redistricting). That way, Weiner's constituents would have the final say on whether he is fit to represent them in Washington, D.C.</div><br /><br /><div>The rest of us have had enough of Weiner and the body parts he just could not keep to himself.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-81823961366598333372011-04-07T20:40:00.000-07:002011-04-07T20:44:58.516-07:00A Slimmer CC Sabathia Means Business in 2011Despite being the best pitcher on the most successful franchise in sports, CC Sabathia is underrated. The New York Yankees ace has won an American League-leading 40 baseball games the last two years while helping his team win the 2009 World Series. But each time, he got snubbed by voters for the Cy Young Award, which goes to the best pitcher in each major league. Cy Young voters seem to prefer pitchers who excel on lesser teams, as Sabathia did in 2007 when he won the award as a Cleveland Indian. The Yankees, with their major league-high $221 million payroll, are hardly underdogs. But Carsten Charles Sabathia — who prefers to be known as CC without the periods - seems determined to be more dominant in 2011 and beyond, whether he wins awards or not. During the winter break, the 6-foot-7 left-hander shed 25 pounds, from 315 to 290, he said, "by not eating Cap’n Crunch every day. I could eat a box at a time." Dropping that bad habit was smart. According to the product’s nutritional information, one box of the cereal contains 1,400 calories. Eating a boxful is equivalent to 10 tablespoons of sugar. Sabathia, 30, has also begun working with a personal trainer and a nutritionist. "This was just something to try to extend my career," he said. Sabathia, a four-time all-star, said he intends to lose more weight, which is fine with the Yankees because he has shown in two starts this season that he’s lost nothing off a fastball that consistently tops 90 miles per hour.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-48855955525466947892011-04-03T09:46:00.000-07:002011-04-03T21:32:29.151-07:00NY Times Travels Pay-to-Read Route...Again<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNMvFFW7c_1Kio4S3s8nAddg8P0KzSux4rRQg_F3L5kocq-KY8g_d5T28gMHeDbn9B6i6qZzo-UypLV0rSS5E6M56om71NVLja50EnsnETg8ssjDqJ_dj2NiX1urTwQNmLFbKBMk2V_A/s1600/nyt+building.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNMvFFW7c_1Kio4S3s8nAddg8P0KzSux4rRQg_F3L5kocq-KY8g_d5T28gMHeDbn9B6i6qZzo-UypLV0rSS5E6M56om71NVLja50EnsnETg8ssjDqJ_dj2NiX1urTwQNmLFbKBMk2V_A/s400/nyt+building.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591418465069146754" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSxkYS7SJ6igEEpzPdsjhN_HzCOCuhyUXurkG_4bI2zgcT4-wXyKOF0Lp_EYFWhXjnyxAPI3aPXf9xCtsQXUhFd1m3xkofrOckl-8WLxWxWjTtlGfeiPQi49zASDMeKd62BQI7hMXAXk/s1600/nyt+obama.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSxkYS7SJ6igEEpzPdsjhN_HzCOCuhyUXurkG_4bI2zgcT4-wXyKOF0Lp_EYFWhXjnyxAPI3aPXf9xCtsQXUhFd1m3xkofrOckl-8WLxWxWjTtlGfeiPQi49zASDMeKd62BQI7hMXAXk/s400/nyt+obama.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591418374818661506" /></a><br />As an increasing number of people visit newspaper websites for their daily dose of information, they are forcing publishers to grapple with the metaphorical question, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" <br /><br />Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of The New York Times, is hopeful that his influential daily has found the solution to making money from the unique visitors to the newspaper's website who no longer buy the print product. <br /><br />On March 17, the Times launched a metered pay-to-read system for its online readers in Canada. Eleven days later, the system went into effect for the rest of the Times's 20 million unique online readers worldwide.<br /><br />The journalism industry and business analysts are watching closely. Newspapers sorely need to find a new revenue stream to compensate for advertising dollars lost to the Internet. Consumers can advertise goods and services for free on websites like Craigslist and eBay. That has had a devastating effect on print media. Since 2002, U.S. newspapers have suffered a 70 percent drop in advertising revenue--from $19.6 billion to $6 billion, according to Bloomberg Television. <br /><br />The Times's pay-to-read system works as follows: A visitor to nytimes.com can access up to 20 articles, slideshows and videos for free each month. After that, the visitor will be charged on a sliding scale: $15 per month for web access and an iPad application; $20 per month for web access and an application for an iPad and other tablets; and $35 per month for access to all three platforms. <br /><br />In a letter to Times readers, Sulzberger called the pay-to-read system "an investment in our future. It will allow us to develop new sources of revenue to strengthen our ability to continue our journalistic mission as well as undertake digital innovations that will enable us to provide you with high-quality journalism on whatever device you choose."<br /><br />This is not the Times's first attempt at a pay-to-read model for its online visitors. Several years ago, the Times discontinued a program called TimesSelect, which offered most online content free but asked readers to pay to read its popular columnists such as Maureen Dowd and Thomas Friedman.<br /><br />TimesSelect led to a significant decline in the online readership of Dowd and Friedman, both Pulitzer Prize winner. Friedman, who specializes in global economic issues, told New York magazine, TimesSelect cost him virtually all his readers in China, and he rarely traveled to any country outside the U.S. without hearing from people who stopped reading him after the TimesSelect pay wall was erected.<br /><br />The Wall Street Journal, a staunch competitor of the Times owned by News Corporation, offers readers some of its online content for free while charging a subscription fee for other content. But the Times's metered pay-to-read system closely mirrors that of the Financial Times. <br /><br />If the Times's new model succeeds, surely other U.S. newspapers will follow the lead of the daily known as "The Gray Lady." <br /><br />The New York Times Media Group owns more than a dozen other daily newspapers, including two of the three largest-circulation dailies in New England: The Boston Globe and The Telegram & Gazette in Worcester. The Times Media Group also owns 17 percent of New England Sports Ventures, whose holdings include the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and New England Sports Network.<br /> <br />Perhaps the greatest risk to the Times' pay-to-read policy is readers could limit their use of Times content to 20 exposures a month and then go to other online news outlets that will remain free such as USA Today, Gannett's flagship newspaper, or such international news sources as Reuters, BBC, Guardian, Independent, Telegraph and Al-Jazeera.<br /><br />However, The Times is banking on reader loyalty toward its brand. Sulzberger believes readers who don't consider other news sources as accurate, authoritative or reliable as the Times will not object to paying for the online version.<br /><br />"As you have seen during this recent period of extraordinary global news, the Times is uniquely positioned to keep you informed," Sulzberger wrote to his readers. "The launching of our digital subscription model will help ensure that we can provide you with the high-quality journalism and substantive analysis that you have come to expect from the Times."<br /><br />Time as well as Times readers will tell if he is right.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-91680458898681932702011-01-23T13:31:00.000-08:002011-04-02T15:51:56.423-07:00TV or No TV? That is the Question<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIxqC0Ehpg_9s_V8vPoZDDGZOvXr6Ng1TrD-TwTfYF-TyJ45G3KF-3wrxB8u-lDvKd8ZET1luKUPRO3bH9gFfTKxgTOyKsGc4xXkux-KQZhntFhzYjjupmXgU8WsT59DMyVg9H1FU2fE/s1600/old+time+tv.jpeg"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 193px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 261px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565499504659352946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIxqC0Ehpg_9s_V8vPoZDDGZOvXr6Ng1TrD-TwTfYF-TyJ45G3KF-3wrxB8u-lDvKd8ZET1luKUPRO3bH9gFfTKxgTOyKsGc4xXkux-KQZhntFhzYjjupmXgU8WsT59DMyVg9H1FU2fE/s400/old+time+tv.jpeg" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Zfho0rbehJ8IlnygXl7aJ67S8FWJB_ohVMtt6hP-dPcOLsz6XdbNw31c5aXWfyF8hvcVRCO6FjG5yGLUXyT6zZK2Ykt9OrCb_as-ztTHSgqcGE760d2WAhznVWd2ikv2sS43NVDy9TA/s1600/flat+screen+tv.jpeg"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 201px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 251px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565499317935262626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Zfho0rbehJ8IlnygXl7aJ67S8FWJB_ohVMtt6hP-dPcOLsz6XdbNw31c5aXWfyF8hvcVRCO6FjG5yGLUXyT6zZK2Ykt9OrCb_as-ztTHSgqcGE760d2WAhznVWd2ikv2sS43NVDy9TA/s400/flat+screen+tv.jpeg" /></a>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Having grown up during the television age, I have been genuinely surprised to meet people who say they don’t have a television in their home and don’t want one. </p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Not anymore. </p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Not after another weekend of sampling the vulgarity, coarseness and incivility that passes for entertainment on TV.</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Indeed, if I was not a sports author and journalist who enjoys watching athletes, I would be accepting offers for my 25-inch set right now.</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Channel-surfing last Saturday night while waiting for ESPN’s coverage of Australian Open tennis, I came upon “Harry’s Law,” an NBC series starring Oscar-winner Kathy Bates as a fired corporate lawyer who opens her own practice in a hardscrabble section of Cincinnati.</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">In this episode, Bates’s character, Harriet (nicknamed “Harry,” hence the title), tells an opposing attorney that a jury would be more inclined to rule for her client instead of his because, “You’re an a**hole.”</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">The obscenity was uttered so casually, so quickly, there would have been no time to cover the ears of a child who doesn’t deserve such an assault to the ears and senses.</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Don’t get me wrong. I’m no prude. I was a huge fan of “The Sopranos” during its six-season run on HBO. It was one of the best-acted, best-written shows in television history. </p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">However, the profanity, nudity and whackings in Tony Soprano’s world were expected. </p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">And HBO is a premium channel, so you know what you’re paying those extra dollars for.</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">But nobody watching NBC at 8:16pm on a Saturday night should expect to hear one character on a drama series call another “an a**hole.”</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Whatever happened to the family hour? Remember when the networks told us the period from 8pm-9pm Mondays through Saturdays and 7pm-9pm on Sundays were reserved for family entertainment?</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Has the concept of non-offensive, family-oriented nightly entertainment on over-the-air television become as antiquated as the rabbit-eared antenna? </p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Do TV network honchos really believe that only vulgarity sells? That only a show with characters saying crude things to each other can be “edgy” and “hip”?</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Is that why Kathy Bates is allowed to speak from the gutter in prime time? </p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Is that why “stinks” has been replaced by “sucks” in commercials and on TV series?</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Is that why Fox Sports commentator Terry Bradshaw could say “sc*mbags” on a Sunday afternoon football show earlier this month and face no consequences?</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Is that why CBS now presents a prime-time sitcom called “S**t My Dad Says”?</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Is this what CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, WB and UPN think they have to do to compete with the brain-numbing boorishness of shows like “<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Jersey</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Shore</st1:placetype></st1:place>,” which continues to set ratings records on MTV?</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Much of television today resembles a warped game of limbo in which the overriding question is, “How low can you go?”</p>
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<br /><p class="MsoNormal">Low enough to compel many viewers to become far more discerning about what they watch and when—or join the growing ranks of those who use a television only to watch DVDs while ignoring network shows altogether.</p>Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-3777314733044203082011-01-13T12:29:00.000-08:002011-01-15T18:43:55.072-08:00The Indomitable Mariano Rivera<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaswUWz0snVe0Djtlwt7jLL-PcRclZbHeM-OUhomRyXqWw23hZfiw706qtJlCsFPku_47INUI0JmXna5b3sz-f9p2GmJodnm-Jsf6IJTXLn03_j2vt45ysiGKVdRXUvf4KlW9aQJkHNiU/s1600/mariano+rivera.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaswUWz0snVe0Djtlwt7jLL-PcRclZbHeM-OUhomRyXqWw23hZfiw706qtJlCsFPku_47INUI0JmXna5b3sz-f9p2GmJodnm-Jsf6IJTXLn03_j2vt45ysiGKVdRXUvf4KlW9aQJkHNiU/s400/mariano+rivera.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561772037274780594" border="0" /></a><br />With Trevor Hoffman announcing his retirement from baseball this week, Mariano Rivera stands ready to take possession of the only significant record for relief pitchers that he does not currently hold.<br /><br />Hoffman, who ended his career with the Milwaukee Brewers, retired with 601 career saves.<br /><br />Rivera, the New York Yankees relief ace since 1997, has 559 saves, only 42 behind Hoffman.<br /><br />The number 42 is particularly significant for Rivera. He is the only player in the major leagues still wearing No. 42. <br /><br />Jackie Robinson was baseball’s most famous No. 42. Major League Baseball officially retired the number on April 15, 1997 — the 50th anniversary of Robinson becoming the majors’ first black player with the Brooklyn Dodgers.<br /><br />Players who already wore No. 42 during the 1997 season were allowed to keep the number until they retired. Rivera is the only such player left.<br /><br />Rivera has worn No. 42 with such distinction that he, like Robinson, will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer someday.<br /><br />No relief pitcher in the history of baseball has been better than Rivera. Here’s a point-by-point comparison between Rivera and Hoffman:<br /><br />Age:<br />Rivera: 41<br />Hoffman: 43<br /><br />Major League Baseball seasons:<br />Rivera: 16<br />Hoffman: 18<br /><br />Regular season saves:<br />Rivera: 559<br />Hoffman: 601<br /><br />Regular season games:<br />Rivera: 978<br />Hoffman: 1035<br /><br />Regular season ERA:<br />Rivera: 2.23<br />Hoffman: 2.87<br /><br />All-Star appearances:<br />Rivera: 8<br />Hoffman: 7<br /><br />Postseason saves:<br />Rivera: 42<br />Hoffman: 4<br /><br />Postseason games:<br />Rivera: 94<br />Hoffman: 12<br /><br />Postseason ERA:<br />Rivera: 0.71<br />Hoffman: 3.46<br /><br />World Series championships:<br />Rivera: 5<br />Hoffman: 0<br /><br />As the numbers clearly show, Rivera has been far superior to Hoffman in postseason games, when the stakes are highest and the pressure and media scrutiny are the greatest.<br /><br />Only once did Rivera and Hoffman go head-to-head in the postseason. In the 1998 World Series, Rivera’s Yankees swept Hoffman’s San Diego Padres. Hoffman went 0-1 with one blown save and a 9.00 ERA while Rivera was perfect, saving all three games in which he appeared without allowing a run.<br /><br />And Rivera is equally impressive off the field.<br /><br />Growing up the son of a fisherman in La Chorrera, Panama, Rivera learned at an early age the value of hard work, religious faith and giving back to others.<br /><br />Yet he remains humble, hard-working and altruistic despite the phenomenal success he has enjoyed as a Yankees reliever since 1995.<br /><br />(When the Yankees won the 1996 World Series, Rivera excelled as John Wetteland’s set-up man. Rivera became the closer a year later.)<br /><br />Married and the father of three sons, Rivera has helped finance the construction of an elementary school, a church and computer centers in his native country.<br /><br />This winter, Rivera has delivered Christmas gifts to children in Bronx, NY, where the Yankees play their home games, and Panama. He does this without seeking publicity.<br /><br />But his many contributions on the mound have been impossible to conceal.<br /><br />Rivera dominates hitters with a devastating fastball that seems to grow teeth and bore in on hitters, often turning their bats into firewood. The fastball, along with his mental toughness and resilience, has set Rivera apart.<br /><br />"I think the key to be successful in the closer role is to learn how to bounce back after the blown save or the losing circumstance," Rivera says. "Learn to come back from that and put that behind you."<br /><br />Rivera overcame adversity in his first season as the Yankees’ relief ace. With the Yankees just four outs from winning the 1997 American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians, Rivera gave up a game-tying home run to Sandy Alomar Jr. Cleveland went on to win the game and the series.<br /><br />Rather than be haunted by that failure, Rivera came back stronger. He helped the Yankees win the next three World Series — and did not allow an earned run in any of his 18 postseason appearances in 1998 and ’99.<br /><br />Consistency on the field and off has been a major reason for Rivera’s success. He doesn’t just kill time in the bullpen and wait to be called upon in the late innings. He remains a student of the game.<br /><br />"Watch the game, pay attention to the hitters and once I do that I have some kind of idea on how to attack them," he says.<br /><br />Yankees fans have come to expect satisfaction whenever Rivera emerges from the bullpen at Yankee Stadium to the tune of Metallica’s "Enter Sandman." And Rivera rarely disappoints.<br /><br />Rivera, who recently signed a two-year contract worth $15 million a season, has averaged 35 saves a year during his career. That means sometime during the 2012 season, he should surpass Hoffman and become baseball’s all-time leader in saves.<br /><br />Rivera is already baseball’s greatest relief pitcher ever. But after he breaks Hoffman’s record, there won’t be any doubt.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-32226103357902777392011-01-04T14:24:00.000-08:002011-01-05T20:20:32.596-08:00Ron Franklin, you will be missed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAuTGviON5lbfB0ywS9Fm4H0YlnMWpeUaHrbdn7ajVZUOU7ShA_S1e4wbwwlq8auwbFuwwRnmXiKLfU54DCoCIhEXuduC4yAx91CPdLHtcvtO-uZr9XTsiuHA8NjqxveMYF_9C1tG46M/s1600/espn.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 111px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAuTGviON5lbfB0ywS9Fm4H0YlnMWpeUaHrbdn7ajVZUOU7ShA_S1e4wbwwlq8auwbFuwwRnmXiKLfU54DCoCIhEXuduC4yAx91CPdLHtcvtO-uZr9XTsiuHA8NjqxveMYF_9C1tG46M/s400/espn.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558467507449191314" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmfpLyuLbrvpFAdz2OqNnJWHjkFZNeQJpQalRfmMVRy_TgeoUaEnzb0jYAAj5qL9FJd0wLqJo8lzLM6xkE5CClwJOFjLX4FQ80oP4mLo2SorQaATMSu5Y2_ZPMLsk2CFCa6qZO9GLayg/s1600/ron+franklin.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 163px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmfpLyuLbrvpFAdz2OqNnJWHjkFZNeQJpQalRfmMVRy_TgeoUaEnzb0jYAAj5qL9FJd0wLqJo8lzLM6xkE5CClwJOFjLX4FQ80oP4mLo2SorQaATMSu5Y2_ZPMLsk2CFCa6qZO9GLayg/s400/ron+franklin.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558467398947846146" border="0" /></a><br />If you are the type of sports fan who just watches the game without paying any mind to who is broadcasting it, then you probably heard of Ron Franklin for the first time this week.<br /><br />ESPN fired Franklin today for comments he made to colleague Jeannine Edwards at a production meeting before the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta last Friday.<br /><br />Reportedly, Franklin referred to Edwards as "Sweetcakes" during a discussion unrelated to football. When she rightfully objected, he called her "asshole."<br /><br />That may be all most people care to know about this story.<br /><br />But there is more to be said about an excellent play-by-play announcer who should not have lost his gig because of one high-profile mistake.<br /><br />I have never met Franklin and probably never will. But I will miss hearing him on ESPN's coverage of college football and college basketball.<br /><br />Franklin's college hoops partner, Fran Fraschilla, is someone I used to cover for Gannett Newspapers when Fraschilla coached at Manhattan College. Fraschilla and Franklin made an excellent team on Big 12 Conference games.<br /><br />The Franklin-Fraschilla duo gave us no hype, no screaming, a few deadpan jokes and plenty of substance. They were consistently a good listen.<br /><br />With a Texas twang, Franklin's booming voice easily cuts through crowd noise. Hence, he never screams at his audience. He knows football and hoops, and has an understated play-by-play style in the Ray Scott/Jack Buck tradition.<br /><br />In today's era of screaming boyish chatterboxes in the play-by-play chair, people like Franklin are valued by sports fans like me.<br /><br />Did I know Franklin was capable of obscene, sexist comments? No.<br /><br />Did he deserve to be suspended? Yes.<br /><br />Did I think he would be fired? Never.<br /><br />At age 68, Franklin may never get another network gig, which has more to do with the way the business of sports television has changed than with any perceptible decline in his skills.<br /><br />Considering that Vin Scully is in his 80s and still going strong as the voice of the Dodgers, Franklin might have been able to go another 10 years on ESPN had the network allowed it.<br /><br />Franklin, who was a star sportscaster in Texas before joining ESPN 25 years ago, may decide to go local again. If that's the case, I hope to find one of his games on satellite sometime soon.<br /><br />Finally, on the subject of what may have triggered Franklin's ugly comments toward Edwards, I say this not to try to excuse the inexcusable but to make this point: The ESPN of today--with sideline reporters as eye candy on football games despite the ladies' glaring lack of football knowledge--bears little resemblance to what ESPN used to be.<br /><br />Franklin, I suspect, resented having to share air time with someone who lacked the credentials to be on a football telecast, someone with whom he never had to work back in the day.<br /><br />Sideline reporters on ESPN, women such as Edwards, Erin Andrews, Heather Cox and Lisa Salters, add absolutely nothing to a game telecast.<br /><br />Sideline reporters on football games are so irrelevant that CBS does not even use them on its NFL telecasts, and nobody misses them.<br /><br />Eye candy disguised as sideline reporters exist, as former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson once told me, to give guys something pretty to look at.<br /><br />Well, I don't need any more candy.<br /><br />For me, the game is enough and it always will be.<br /><br />I suspect Ron Franklin, a play-by-play man from the old school, felt the same way.<br /><br />Hence, it did not take much for him to snap.<br /><br />It's just too bad Franklin did not complain from a seat at the hotel bar like everyone else who strongly dislikes what the hyperbolic, shallow, always-be-selling ESPN has become.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-9700349604860726412010-12-30T17:26:00.000-08:002010-12-30T17:31:50.672-08:00In College Football, Even the Nitpicky Rules Matter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJ6bFW1Joz7ZwcFoja10OQhen7hKzR52GlojhH6BJtUH3kpqnYPmuthwWdCNEcxLLyW2WGpP7OL3HO3URbiN8ct7wVgsYCmXuPSKJAUyqt9gMn8AU59bh5GAlUYm6UB7-xLlUInYU4rM/s1600/college+football+trophy.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJ6bFW1Joz7ZwcFoja10OQhen7hKzR52GlojhH6BJtUH3kpqnYPmuthwWdCNEcxLLyW2WGpP7OL3HO3URbiN8ct7wVgsYCmXuPSKJAUyqt9gMn8AU59bh5GAlUYm6UB7-xLlUInYU4rM/s400/college+football+trophy.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556652598845361442" border="0" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /><o:p></o:p>There are still 11 days until college football’s national championship game between <st1:state st="on">Oregon</st1:state> and <st1:city st="on">Auburn</st1:city> in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Glendale</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">Arizona.</st1:state></st1:place> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Let’s hope head coaches Gene Chizik of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Auburn</st1:place></st1:city> and Chip Kelly of Oregon are reminding their players that not following every rule on the field could be the difference between becoming national champs and becoming, well, the Buffalo Bills of college football.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Even the nitpicky rules matter in college football, something we were reminded of during Thursday’s Pinstripe Bowl between <st1:city st="on">Syracuse</st1:city> and <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Kansas</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> at Yankee Stadium.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Let’s hope Kelly and Chizik show their players the video of <st1:placename st="on">Kansas</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype> wide receiver Adrian Hilburn catching a touchdown pass that cut <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Syracuse</st1:place></st1:city>’s lead to 36-34 with 1:13 left after which Hilburn cost the Wildcats a legitimate chance to tie the score because of an “excessive celebration” penalty.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >According to the rules, any action by a player that draws undue attention to himself is guilty of excessive celebration, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >How did Hilburn break the rule?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >He raised his right hand to his helmet and saluted the crowd in the back of the end zone.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >So what, you say?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >You’ve seen other players do much worse than Hilburn without being penalized, you say?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >I agree with you. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >The night before, in the Alamo Bowl, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Oklahoma</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> wide receiver Justin Blackman decided to run parallel to the goal line for several seconds just to call more attention to himself before he scored a touchdown.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Blackman was not penalized. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >But he should have been. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Whether you like the excessive celebration rule or not, it exists and it’s supposed to be enforced.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >If not for Hilburn’s act of self-aggrandizement, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Kansas</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> would have attempted a two-point conversion from the 3-yard line as usual. But the penalty pushed the ball back to the 18-yard line. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >From the 18, a low-percentage pass by Kansas State into the end zone fell incomplete and Syracuse held on to win.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Never mind that Hilburn’s behavior in the Pinstripe Bowl was not nearly as self-absorbed as Blackman’s in the Alamo Bowl.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Never mind that the way zebra-shirted officials call college football games is wildly inconsistent.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >What matters is the excessive celebration penalty has been on the books for years, yet players continue to violate the rule by diving into the end zone, or dancing, or pointing contemptuously at an opponent, or pointing vaingloriously to himself in nearly every college game. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Since coaches don’t know whether the crew officiating their game will be strict or lenient until play actually begins, the best thing to do is remind players not to do anything stupid on the field—something that could cost the game a national championship and force that player to wear a figurative pair of goat horns for the rest of his life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >Think about it. The only thing saving Hilburn from a lifetime of national ridicule is he committed his selfish act in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl, a game most sports fans didn’t bother to watch.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >But if an Auburn Tiger or an Oregon Duck who worships at the Shrine of Kanye West decides to behave like Hilburn on January 10 and costs his team a chance to win or tie the national championship game, then he will deserve every bit of criticism that comes his way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;" >And so will the head coach who should have taught him better.<o:p></o:p></span></p> Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-85375817835039248562010-12-21T20:14:00.000-08:002010-12-21T20:18:06.555-08:00Letterman's Ironically Funny Take on LeBron James<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAme5kgeIF8u7Yj3kQQz4DwnzgQgidHiBPbnXaHMjGCDUCg-yGwlx9zAMm-rHJ5bXQC5eEVuwvx0qrlAWLz21B9zKJ1-j7quyZIFzctZvahwzz-QcP0d4WSJ8l9D7eJbknqS0_qDea-s4/s1600/letterman+%2526+marv.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAme5kgeIF8u7Yj3kQQz4DwnzgQgidHiBPbnXaHMjGCDUCg-yGwlx9zAMm-rHJ5bXQC5eEVuwvx0qrlAWLz21B9zKJ1-j7quyZIFzctZvahwzz-QcP0d4WSJ8l9D7eJbknqS0_qDea-s4/s400/letterman+%2526+marv.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553355694500558002" border="0" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p></o:p>Now it should be clear why LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers to, in his words, “take his talents to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">South</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Beach</st1:placetype></st1:place>” and join the Miami Heat:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">He wanted to be more than just another great basketball player whose team fails annually to win an NBA championship.
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">And he wanted to transcend basketball and become a hot topic of general conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">While it remains to be seen if James will achieve the former, there’s no doubt he has accomplished the latter. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">Broadcasting legends David Letterman and Marv Albert had a spirited debate last night on Letterman’s “Late Show” about James’s decision. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">“If LeBron had announced that he’s staying in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:city> for three more years, he would be the most beloved athlete in sports today,” Letterman opined, although he failed to get Albert (or me) to agree with his take.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">“As a free agent, LeBron had a right to leave,” retorted Albert, the indisputable voice of the NBA. “He spent seven years in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:city>, and he no longer believed he could win a championship there.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">But Midwestern states like <st1:state st="on">Ohio</st1:state> are hurting, Letterman argued, and James would have given a boost to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:city>’s economy by staying with the Cavaliers. By turning his back on the Rust Belt in favor of the fun and sun of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Miami</st1:place></st1:city>, James had unwittingly become the most vilified athlete in sports.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">At that point, Albert served up a facial, comparing James’s decision to leave <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:city> to Letterman’s decision to leave NBC’s 12:30 am time slot in 1992 for CBS’s 11:30 pm slot and a head-to-head battle against Jay Leno.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">Remember that game? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">When “Tonight Show” icon Johnny Carson retired, NBC executives bypassed <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Carson</st1:place></st1:city>’s choice Letterman and gave the coveted gig to the less edgy, more generic Leno.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">“NBC didn’t want me,” Letterman told Albert as his studio audience applauded.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">Actually, NBC still wanted Letterman, just not at 11:30. Letterman did not have to leave NBC. He chose to leave, because his ego had been hurt.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">James chose to leave <st1:city st="on">Cleveland</st1:city>, because of management’s failure to surround him with the kind of complementary talent Michael Jordan played with in Chicago and Kobe Bryant plays with in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">Letterman’s take, then, is at once ironic and funny. His decision to shun The Peacock for The Eye stemmed from a desire to better himself while sticking it to his former boss. Just like James’s.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear Letterman and James discuss how much they have in common on a future “Late Show”?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14;">As Albert would say, Yesss!<o:p></o:p></span></p> Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-21888688653836988722010-12-20T12:09:00.000-08:002010-12-20T13:55:28.085-08:00ESPN does UConn Women a Disservice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-dq4n3a6838NvGSaviTUeyMF6YThXWKw5OdGcwENTGoXlkmj2jfbD-kgkQeb4BK05-AyAouOrNJuHFBVJQ1qey1iw_gVYNvUEsRnC6MDhYmb2hFqv1BKXj2rXJEoQ3Om1pyKmCITVec/s1600/obama+%2526+uconn+women.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-dq4n3a6838NvGSaviTUeyMF6YThXWKw5OdGcwENTGoXlkmj2jfbD-kgkQeb4BK05-AyAouOrNJuHFBVJQ1qey1iw_gVYNvUEsRnC6MDhYmb2hFqv1BKXj2rXJEoQ3Om1pyKmCITVec/s400/obama+%2526+uconn+women.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552861964183303730" border="0" /></a><br />ESPN has been around since 1979. I’m old enough to remember when the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network used its flagship program, "SportsCenter," to report news, not to try to create news or shape public opinion.<br /><br />I remember when a credible SportsCenter anchor like Bob Ley or the late Tom Mees would have reported the story of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team this way:<br /><br />"The UConn Lady Huskies extended the longest winning streak in women’s college basketball history to 88 games with a victory over Ohio State at Madison Square Garden yesterday."<br /><br />That’s it. Concise and, above all, accurate.<br /><br />But that’s not the ESPN of today. The S in ESPN now stands for Selling hyperbole.<br /><br />The ESPN of today wants you to believe that any significant athletic accomplishment in this era is better than anything that happened before. If ESPN can convince you of that, then the network believes you will be more willing to buy whatever it wants to sell.<br /><br />And the ESPN of today is always selling.<br /><br />Here is how ESPN anchor Hannah Storm — a middle-aged broadcaster who should know better — breathlessly reported the Connecticut women’s story on SportsCenter this morning:<br /><br />"The UConn women won their 88th consecutive basketball game yesterday, tying the record set by John Wooden’s legendary UCLA Bruins from 1971 to 1974….The Lady Huskies can set the all-time record with a victory at home tomorrow night against Florida State."<br /><br />It is asinine to compare women’s basketball to men’s basketball. They are completely different sports.<br /><br />ESPN does a disservice to the Connecticut women by trying to force a comparison between their winning streak in a sport that has not yet evolved into a game played above the rim to the achievement of the Wooden-coached, Bill Walton-led UCLA teams of the 1970s.<br /><br />Such a bogus comparison insults the intelligence of the ESPN audience. It also gives people license to dismiss women’s basketball, for that sport will never be on a par with the men’s game, given the stark differences in athleticism and physicality between male and female players.<br /><br />It does not matter if the Connecticut women win 150 consecutive games. Their streak will never be better than, or comparable to, the UCLA streak.<br /><br />The streaks are different, because the sports are different.<br /><br />Unless Maya Moore or any other member of the Connecticut women’s team is capable of stepping onto the court and performing creditably against today’s male players — and we know that would not be the case — there should be no attempt to equate women’s basketball, past or present, to men’s basketball.<br /><br />Yet ESPN insists on forging an apples-and-oranges comparison between the UConn women and the UCLA men, apparently after arriving at the simplistic conclusion that apples and oranges are both fruits.<br /><br />ESPN did the same nonsense several years ago when Tennessee women’s hoops coach Pat Summit got close to winning as many games as Dean Smith and Bob Knight won in men’s college basketball.<br /><br />For weeks, we heard babbling from "SportsCenter" anchors about Summit’s bid to "break Smith’s record" or "pass Knight."<br /><br />The Summit hyperbole became so unrelenting that I switched channels whenever ESPN aired a story about her. Many viewers did likewise, not because of any harsh feelings about Summit, a marvelous coach and teacher, but because of the contrived nature of ESPN’s reporting.<br /><br />I sent ESPN a letter at the time, urging the network to stop doing a disservice to Summit. That she has won the most games in women’s basketball history is enough. Just report it that way. Don’t try to force down our throats a comparison between her and Dean Smith, or her and Bob Knight, as if their sports are exactly the same.<br /><br />Since ESPN has ignored my advice, I will have no choice but to respond this way during Wednesday morning’s "SportsCenter":<br /><br />"Last night, the UConn Lady Huskies broke UCLA’s record with their 89th..."<br /><br />Click.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-33766955353306469392010-12-06T18:58:00.000-08:002010-12-06T19:07:35.998-08:00Fantasia Goodwin: A Hoopster You Should Know<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJx9b5HyW8tWWoNXokSedT-tEilsu_PiRFlSb_SUW_Xsi5qkGw2gdPh9t9kDdQgeSDGnXxnw2lQfqQexUm0BSH1ytSns55adKSWuWdfkfqaAHBDoPhtm495WadRee4df5JoahCImK5vko/s1600/fantasia+goodwin.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 369px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJx9b5HyW8tWWoNXokSedT-tEilsu_PiRFlSb_SUW_Xsi5qkGw2gdPh9t9kDdQgeSDGnXxnw2lQfqQexUm0BSH1ytSns55adKSWuWdfkfqaAHBDoPhtm495WadRee4df5JoahCImK5vko/s400/fantasia+goodwin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547771635475230946" /></a><br />from the archives comes the story of fantasia goodwin, a young woman who overcame adversity as a child and an unexpected pregnancy during her collegiate basketball career to become a star player at syracuse university. She also earned her degree.<br /> <br />Someone making the giant leap from Division III Player of the Year to a major Division I program would usually be wracked with anxiety, wondering if she truly belonged in the big leagues. <br /><br />Not former Syracuse junior swingman Fantasia Goodwin. Not after surviving a childhood so harrowing it would have crushed the spirit of someone less determined. <br /><br />"Basketball saved my life," said Goodwin, who as a preteen was placed on suicide watch and shuttled among more foster homes than she can remember. "Where I am now compared to where I was is something I owe all to basketball."<br /><br />Where she is now is at a Big East school with a domed stadium that seats 30,000-plus for basketball. Where she is now is on campus taking summer courses with the goal of eventually earning a Master’s degree in sociology.<br /><br />"I want to work with kids because there are plenty of kids in group homes who were like I was," she said. "They don’t know what they want to be. If I can inspire them, then it would be worth it."<br /><br />Goodwin, 20, had to grow up fast to avoid becoming a victim of the hardscrabble Brooklyn, N.Y. neighborhood in which she was raised without a responsible parent close at hand.<br /><br />"She’s been on her own since she was very young," said Keith Cieplicki, Goodwin's first coach at Syracuse. "And she has demonstrated an extraordinary level of maturity on and off the court."<br /><br />Goodwin recounts her tumultuous upbringing in such a relaxed tone that it would seem to indicate she won’t be intimidated while competing against Big East powers such as Connecticut, Rutgers and Notre Dame. She has already defeated foes more formidable.<br /><br />"My mother didn’t have a job," she said. "She was a drug fiend. That’s why she died (in 1997). She was in a coma for a year and a half before that. I was living with my two younger sisters at the time, and I had to try to take care of them because my mom was never around."<br /><br />Nor was her father, who lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. <br /><br />"My relationship with him is getting better," Goodwin said. "I don’t know if it’s because of basketball, but he’s real proud of me. He’s got my press clippings and he’s starting to play his role (as father)."<br /><br />Goodwin’s sisters, Essence and Natasha remain in New York’s foster care system. Like Goodwin, they are considered wards of the state until age 21. <br /><br />"I remember wanting to kill myself," she said, "because I was in so much pain and I didn’t know what else to do."<br /><br />Fortunately, she found basketball at age 11 — and found herself.<br /><br />In two seasons at Monroe College in New York City, Goodwin scored a National Junior College Athletic Association Division III record 1,681 points, smashing the old record of 1,456 set in 1995. <br /><br />Goodwin established NJCAA D-III records for career scoring average (27.1), season scoring average (28.0) and points in a season (867), and twice she led the nation in rebounding (17.0 and 15.6). <br /><br />A 6-0 southpaw with enough versatility to play in the backcourt or up front, Goodwin joins an Orange team in need of rebuilding after a 9-18 season.<br /><br />"Fantasia is a tremendous player and person," Cieplicki said. "She shows a great love of the game and a toughness to find a way to succeed. These are very attractive characteristics to us."<br /><br />In 2005-06, Goodwin led Monroe to a 36-0 record and the national championship. Twice a first-team D-III All-America, she became the only D-III player named to the 10-member Kodak All-America team for junior colleges and community colleges in 2005-06.<br /><br />But her exploits occurred far from the bright lights and big arenas of the Big East. Usually, less than 100 people attended her D-III games at a high school gym in Bronx, N.Y. <br /><br />Nevertheless, she has no doubts about being ready for prime time.<br /><br />"Playing for Syracuse against better players is just going to make me better," said Goodwin, who sports on her left shoulder a tattoo of a basketball surrounded by the words TRUE TO THE GAME. <br /><br />"Syracuse is a young team and I want to be one of the team leaders. I don’t want anybody to underestimate me. I’ve always proved people wrong whenever they’ve underestimated me." <br /><br />Goodwin discovered basketball at The Graham School, a foster care facility in the New York City suburb of Hastings-on-Hudson. Jerry Leventhal, Graham’s vice president, became her first coach and legal guardian. <br /><br />"There was a vulnerable, fragile side to her at that time," said Leventhal, who signed Goodwin’s national letter of intent. "She didn’t have structure, consistency and care in her past."<br /><br />What she had was a knack for basketball, an innate sense of what to do on the court and when to do it. But her prowess did not surface immediately.<br /><br />"In the first game she ever played," Leventhal said, "the referee threw the ball up and the girls started running. Except Fantasia. She froze. I called time-out and told her to play. At the time, I think she didn’t want everyone watching her considering everything that had happened in her life. But now, she’s very comfortable in the spotlight."<br /><br />Comfortable, yes. Ostentatious, no.<br /><br />While at Monroe, she used to keep her press clippings — including a Faces in the Crowd selection in the March 14, 2005 issue of Sports Illustrated — and awards in a box under her bed. This she did not because of concern about theft but because she didn’t want to seem like a show-off.<br /><br />The box of hoop awards did not accompany the WNBA hopeful to Syracuse but are instead in the care of Charles and Deborah Mathis, who became her surrogate parents four years ago. <br /><br />"We’ll always have a room in our home for Fantasia," said Charles Mathis, who lives in Reading, Pa. "We’ve done everything for her but adopt her. We really love this young lady."<br /><br />The ranks of those singing Fantasia Goodwin’s praises could grow exponentially at sports-crazed Syracuse. Her name is a headline writer’s dream. Her multifaceted game and personal triumph over adversity make her easy to root for.<br /><br />"I’m not afraid to let people know what I’ve been through because I’m still here and I’m succeeding," she said. "My story lets people know that if you find something you love to do and work hard at it, anything is possible."Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-79221168461300734202010-12-03T17:47:00.000-08:002010-12-03T17:49:55.500-08:00LeBron James Gives Cleveland Beating It Deserves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8E9bd6FakHcKEz-Fh9A5HDKO3PGV0EWhCAbUbfWrIkmKGLs6fHCP73-165KfZBx8oukGP_d15X23xiL5r78VQVnPNgNmw2ak1A0cWowx6jphppOHhToHIwHg7BgJqGmZMZqaJdgJATY/s1600/lebron+james.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8E9bd6FakHcKEz-Fh9A5HDKO3PGV0EWhCAbUbfWrIkmKGLs6fHCP73-165KfZBx8oukGP_d15X23xiL5r78VQVnPNgNmw2ak1A0cWowx6jphppOHhToHIwHg7BgJqGmZMZqaJdgJATY/s400/lebron+james.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546638289821139826" /></a><br />On the day LeBron James returned to Cleveland to play for the first time against his former team, the Cavaliers, a woman in the city known as “the mistake by the lake,” looked fiercely into a camera and said, as if addressing the man himself, “LeBron, you are definitely the most hated man in Cleveland.”<br /><br />Well, even if that comment were true, what exactly would it prevent LeBron from doing?<br /><br />How would being “the most hated man in Cleveland” restrict his life or career options?<br /><br />Just try convincing the people of Cleveland that life goes on after a basketball player decided to exercise his right to leave one team and sign with another as a free agent.<br /><br />Clevelanders may never understand that the Cavaliers organization failed LeBron for seven years by not acquiring enough star talent to complement his unique and multifaceted skills.<br /><br />Michael Jordan, brilliant as he was, won nothing in Chicago until the Bulls added future Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen to the “supporting cast.”<br /><br />Together, Jordan and Pippen won six NBA championships.<br /><br />The best player with whom LeBron played in Cleveland was an over-the-hill Shaquille O’Neal last season.<br /><br />One more time, Cleveland: LeBron signed with the Miami Heat because he knew the Cavaliers’ organization would never make the moves necessary to give him the best chance to win an NBA championship. <br /><br />LeBron is not in basketball just for the money. He has plenty of money. He yearns to do what Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Elgin Baylor, among other NBA greats, could not—win at least one NBA championship.<br /><br />Time will tell if LeBron’s partnership in Miami with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and team president (and perhaps future head coach) Pat Riley produces that coveted league title. <br /><br />But it is undeniably clear that LeBron’s chances of holding aloft the Lawrence O’Brien Trophy, presented yearly to the NBA champions, improved exponentially when he packed his bags and, in his words, “took his talents to South Beach.”<br /><br />As the Heat bludgeoned the Cavs 118-90 on December 2, LeBron heard numerous insulting chants while scoring a game-high 38 points. <br /><br />Just one of those insulting chants bears repeating here: “Who’s Your Daddy?”<br /><br />Why repeat that one? It underscores how ugly and despicable “fans” can be when things don’t go their way. (LeBron was reared by a single mother in an Akron, Ohio, housing project after his father left the family.)<br /><br />Obviously, those hateful people were never truly fans of LeBron. Instead, they thought they owned him. They saw LeBron as their own athletically gifted version of Dred Scott—the former slave who was ruled three-fifths of a man in the worst Supreme Court decision ever.<br /><br />“We made him rich,” one visibly disgusted Cavalier fan was heard saying on ESPN.<br /><br />So this dolt believes no other NBA team would have paid LeBron a King James ransom as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 draft?<br /><br />Not the New Jersey Nets? Not the Los Angeles Clippers? Not the Toronto Raptors?<br /><br />Only Cleveland?<br /><br />Please.<br /><br />Cleveland, a city that has not won a league championship in any sport since the 1964 Browns, was extremely lucky to have LeBron represent its city for seven years.<br /><br />Problem is the Cavaliers never put championship-caliber talent around him—the way the Bulls did for Jordan, the way the Los Angeles Lakers did for Kobe Bryant, the way the San Antonio Spurs did for Tim Duncan.<br /><br />And that, Cleveland, is why he left.<br /><br />So brace yourselves for more beatings. LeBron will be visiting you twice every season.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-10670335507140491522010-11-16T19:32:00.000-08:002010-11-16T19:38:38.961-08:00Cam Newton: The Cloud over College Football<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJ-nz8xr6AnEgbBG-BxUpzIuX9F9Gq9NHjVV_A96SOgOqYY91ulUtTcjnTxThQV_1UqX4VC9smZcr9tu2cirzb9InzlWrK2HCOYnjhLykUePiAXfaiHz7_M96vJay1z0FfJ37w_ePo4U/s1600/cam+newton.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJ-nz8xr6AnEgbBG-BxUpzIuX9F9Gq9NHjVV_A96SOgOqYY91ulUtTcjnTxThQV_1UqX4VC9smZcr9tu2cirzb9InzlWrK2HCOYnjhLykUePiAXfaiHz7_M96vJay1z0FfJ37w_ePo4U/s400/cam+newton.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540357324822012610" border="0" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /><st1:city st="on"></st1:city><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on"></st1:placename></st1:place>I don’t have a Heisman Trophy ballot, but if I did it would look like this:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">(1) Cam Newton, quarterback, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Auburn</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">(2) Andrew Luck, quarterback, Stanford<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">(3) LaMichael James, running back, <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">(4) Kellen Moore, quarterback, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Boise</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">(5) Patrick Patterson, safety, LSU<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">Since I’ve been paying close attention to college football all season, I would have to vote for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Newton</st1:place></st1:city> because the field leader of the undefeated Tigers is undoubtedly the best player in the sport.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">I would vote for Newton even though he appears to be the second coming of Reggie Bush—the first Heisman Trophy winner ever to give back the award because all the dirt on how he came to be a running back at USC threaten to bury him.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">Bush has done extremely well in the NFL, helping the New Orleans Saints win the Super Bowl in February, and I’m sure <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Newton</st1:city></st1:place> will do well in the pros. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">I’m also sure <st1:city st="on">Newton</st1:city> will be a pro in 2012 because he’ll have no reason to return to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Auburn</st1:place></st1:city>, whether he was paid to play there or not.
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">For now, he’s a 6-foot-6, 250-pound cloud over college football.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">By now we know that his father, Cecil Newton Sr., spoke with someone supposedly representing <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Mississippi</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> about a pay-to-play arrangement for his son. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">That Cecil Newton Sr. is a pastor only makes this story more obscene than the average big-time college sports recruiting scandal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></st1:city></p><p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-size:10;">Newton</span></st1:city><span style="font-size:10;"> did not go to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Mississippi</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>. He went to <st1:city st="on">Auburn</st1:city>…after leaving the <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Florida</st1:placename>, where he reportedly stole a laptop computer and was caught cheating on three separate occasions, and a <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> junior college, where he played last year.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">Cam Newton “is a great man,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said after <st1:city st="on">Newton</st1:city> led the Tigers to a 49-31 victory over <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Georgia</st1:place></st1:country-region> last Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">A great college quarterback? Yes. A sensational athlete? Absolutely. But a great young man? Hardly.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></st1:city></p><p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-size:10;">Newton</span></st1:city><span style="font-size:10;"> may well be remembered as the kamikaze who took <st1:place st="on">Auburn</st1:place> football to heights even Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson—the school’s two Heisman Trophy winners—could not reach in the 1970s and ’80s, only to cause the school’s program to crash and burn after his departure.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></st1:city></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><st1:city st="on"><span style="font-size:10;">Auburn</span></st1:city><span style="font-size:10;"> is likely to lose everything because of the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Newton</st1:place></st1:city> affair: a Southeastern Conference division title, an SEC championship, an undefeated season, a national championship and a Heisman Trophy winner.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:10;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">It would violate NCAA rules if <st1:city st="on">Newton</st1:city>—or anyone representing <st1:city st="on">Newton</st1:city>, e.g., his father the pastor—received money or financial incentives to attend <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Auburn</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">Trouble is we’re not likely to find out if <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Newton</st1:city></st1:place> got anything, and how much, and from whom before December 6, the final day on which Heisman votes can be submitted.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">So voters have to vote for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Newton</st1:place></st1:city> based on what they’ve seen him do on the field. But voters also have to think harder this year about who their second choice would be—because he could well become the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner by default in a year or two.<o:p></o:p></span></p> Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-41614867535223544092010-11-08T15:37:00.000-08:002010-11-08T15:40:52.785-08:00Sports Television Still in Need of Color Adjustment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNdbbQh4UNJWG2qjJZ-C541tmVqVQ8YCbY6ipiBZx7YYqu1xk7hCfDKJ0O0wQxkei1wZAx_wo9z38W6y3yhAqa6YQkBtzt-5Vd9hTVeMJztKKyxTv4oy9ztVNdGwvCUBLRecO5kq2AU4/s1600/bill+belichick.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNdbbQh4UNJWG2qjJZ-C541tmVqVQ8YCbY6ipiBZx7YYqu1xk7hCfDKJ0O0wQxkei1wZAx_wo9z38W6y3yhAqa6YQkBtzt-5Vd9hTVeMJztKKyxTv4oy9ztVNdGwvCUBLRecO5kq2AU4/s400/bill+belichick.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537327986257797378" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYIk0lM3pXbDEYEtRUGFLoZg3IOctSzwV1BcuShmrjBuIdCZuLVhlj8wC7NsnKLwySfaKDM1XZE7dHp9H9cd2aMUz281OdAT5wkNqBAlfuJejH5k6rMbtUD0cLVNtRR2Qkjm5dxe0a6dQ/s1600/mike+tomlin.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYIk0lM3pXbDEYEtRUGFLoZg3IOctSzwV1BcuShmrjBuIdCZuLVhlj8wC7NsnKLwySfaKDM1XZE7dHp9H9cd2aMUz281OdAT5wkNqBAlfuJejH5k6rMbtUD0cLVNtRR2Qkjm5dxe0a6dQ/s400/mike+tomlin.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537327919805769442" border="0" /></a><br />Sports are not exempt from racial profiling. While the racial profiling in sportsworld is not as extreme or humiliating as that which exists in America’s airports and on the roads, it is mindless and infuriating nonetheless.<br /><br /><br />My skin crawled while watching an NBC Sports promo for this Sunday’s Patriots-Steelers football game. As NBC showed film of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick (right), a voiceover announcer intoned, “the master mind.” Then we saw film of Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin (left) as the announcer said, “versus the master motivator.”<br /><br /><br />Both Belichick and Tomlin are Super Bowl-winning coaches. Belichick is white. Tomlin is black.<br /><br /><br />Why isn’t Tomlin credited with having a fine football mind? Why do media observers ascribe Tomlin’s success to an ability to give a fiery speech? Why are Tomlin and other black NFL playoff coaches past and present—men such as Tony Dungy, Herman Edwards and Dennis Green—reduced to mere “motivators”?<br /><br /><br />Racial profiling.<br /><br /><br />Before Tomlin became Pittsburgh’s head coach, he was the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator. Every week, he spent many hours breaking down film footage to develop game plans that included coverage and blitzing schemes designed to thwart an opposing offense.<br /><br /><br />Heady stuff. And Tomlin did it very well. The Vikings had the NFL’s top-rated defense during his tenure. And his work as Steelers coach has been so exemplary that no one believes Pittsburgh misses Bill Cowher.<br /><br /><br />Yet NBC could not bring itself to promote Patriots vs. Steelers as a battle of coaching masterminds.<br /><br /><br />Experience shows that both Super Bowl-winning coaches have to be white for that to happen.<br /><br /><br />Remember when Eric Mangini led the Jets to the playoffs in his first year as an NFL coach?<br /><br /><br />“Man-genius,” he was called. Or just “genius”? That is, until the Jets fired him after the 2008 season.<br /><br /><br />Did Mangini get dumb? Or was he never a “genius” in the first place, but rather the beneficiary of media hyperbole given to a successful white coach by a predominantly white sports media?<br /><br /><br />Mangini used to be the NFL’s youngest head coach. Raheem Morris is the NFL’s youngest head coach now.<br /><br /><br />Morris’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 5-3. Have you heard anyone call Morris a “genius” for turning around the previously woebegone Bucs? And you won’t hear it, even if the Bucs make the playoffs.<br /><br /><br />Racial profiling.<br /><br /><br />And it’s hardly limited to football.<br /><br /><br />On October 22, the night the Texas Rangers vanquished the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, former big-league catcher turned TV commentator John Flaherty said this about Texas manager Ron Washington: “He’s not the best Xs and Os guy in the world, but he gets his players to play hard.”<br /><br /><br />Flaherty, who works for the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, would have us believe all Washington does is motivate. The fact is Washington out-managed Yankees skipper Joe Girardi so severely that, if not for a late Yankees’ rally in Game 1, Texas could have swept the best-of-seven series.<br /><br /><br />The list of baseball managers whose success has been attributed to an ability to motivate rather than an ability to strategize and make smart in-game decisions includes Washington, Dusty Baker and two-time World Series winner Cito Gaston.<br /><br /><br />Not surprisingly, all three are black.<br /><br /><br />A generation ago, we heard and read that successful black athletes were “natural athletes” while successful white athletes were “smart” and “brainy” and “savvy.”<br /><br /><br />Some older commentators still engage in this kind of racial profiling. (Pay close attention to Bill Raftery’s work on ESPN’s and CBS’s college basketball telecasts, particularly when he talks about point guards.)<br /><br /><br />Fortunately, most people who get paid to comment on sports have become enlightened enough to drop the “natural athlete” references or the stereotype that light skin = smart and dark skin = physical.<br /><br /><br />Alas, we still have to smarten up the ones who routinely subject black coaches and managers to racial stereotypes.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-90264182504377208052010-08-08T13:51:00.000-07:002012-06-19T19:53:26.002-07:00Charging the Net: A History of Blacks in Tennis from Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe to the Williams Sisters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BwiZxDMdBWroibQy0zm8H7jRrnwS50_8d7xTjJTx_AXoTC8Ra06wkQeewXnQSllV9_bir2uc2rM3sKvmfAkeq-PCtu2ai-iqcyrDHhYbLBdhoKCyCo0PPxyAfd2bW1zhqsYrcYMogmw/s1600/arthur+ashe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BwiZxDMdBWroibQy0zm8H7jRrnwS50_8d7xTjJTx_AXoTC8Ra06wkQeewXnQSllV9_bir2uc2rM3sKvmfAkeq-PCtu2ai-iqcyrDHhYbLBdhoKCyCo0PPxyAfd2bW1zhqsYrcYMogmw/s400/arthur+ashe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503145665000598642" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwATKMjZa4iAowxjjdo8jEMlVoQDO4HkNiLqVZMCsUyYTE6XYbMNs4MS4KrmDk4bgYYPjhu3LXdtmIzOLh78tc-8Zea02r-AFmQO5oFDmm00wMzaQaCG0EakhHvWPzQXuoD_hnRN-ooP0/s1600/venus+%26+serena.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwATKMjZa4iAowxjjdo8jEMlVoQDO4HkNiLqVZMCsUyYTE6XYbMNs4MS4KrmDk4bgYYPjhu3LXdtmIzOLh78tc-8Zea02r-AFmQO5oFDmm00wMzaQaCG0EakhHvWPzQXuoD_hnRN-ooP0/s400/venus+%26+serena.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503145237896021554" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">With every powerful serve and deft ground stroke, with every graceful volley and determined charge to the net, black tennis players – from Hall of Famers Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Evonne Goolagong, and Yannick Noah to future legends James Blake and the sisters Venus Williams and Serena Williams – have forced open the sport’s shuttered gates and demanded to be acknowledged.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">In <b style=""><i style="">Charging the Net</i></b>, Cecil Harris and Larryette Kyle-DeBose draw on personal interviews and extensive research to chronicle the humiliations and triumphs of blacks in professional tennis from the 1940s to the present. For many fans and writers Ashe, Gibson, and the Williams sisters personify the achievement of African-Americans in tennis, but others too have made their mark. <b style=""><i style="">Charging the Net</i></b> spotlights a wide range of competitors as well as the American Tennis Association, an organization that thrived despite racial segregation, thanks to such benefactors as Dr. R. Walter Johnson.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">The book also introduces readers to two black officials whose success was short-lived; both have sued the United States Tennis Association, alleging discrimination based on race, gender, and age.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;">Harlem-trained, Harvard-educated James Blake, who overcame career-threatening injuries to achieve World Top Ten status, has written a Foreword to <b style=""><i style="">Charging the Net</i></b>. The Afterword is written by Robert Ryland, the first black to compete in a major college tournament, who later found the doors to tennis’s premier venues marked “Whites Only.” With a clear vision, this eighty-six-year-old coach now looks at how far blacks in tennis have come and how far they have yet to travel.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size:10;">With 8 pages of photographs.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:10;">Cecil Harris</span></b><span style="font-size:10;"> has written on sports for <b style=""><i style="">Newsday</i></b>, the <b style=""><i style="">New York Post</i></b>, <b style=""><i style="">The Sporting News</i></b>, and <b style=""><i style="">USA Today</i></b>, and has covered tennis for <b style=""><i style="">The Indianapolis Star</i></b> and for Gannett Suburban Newspapers (now <b style=""><i style="">The Journal News</i></b>) in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Westchester County</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>. His other books include <b style=""><i style="">Breaking the Ice: The Black Experience in Professional Hockey</i></b> and <b style=""><i style="">Call the Yankees My Daddy: Reflections on Baseball, Race, and Family</i></b>. He lives in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Yonkers</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:10;">
<br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:10;">Larryette Kyle-DeBose</span></b><span style="font-size:10;"> is a player-captain in the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association. She has worked as a photojournalist for the <b style=""><i style="">Swazi Times</i></b> in <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place> and is the author of <b style=""><i style="">The African-American Guide to Real Estate Investing</i></b>. She lives in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Stone Mountain</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Georgia</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-14106779675003391972010-08-07T17:35:00.000-07:002010-08-07T17:38:50.417-07:00Alex Rodriguez joins baseball's 600-home run club<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizKdccnm1ETawSpfPVWQWsgtaXm-x0NqMvQN0JRxL_grRyshtihYc72jvbu7uTlogo5Qt6_Im-_QrTEWvI_ddRD7b7z5V1nhhkUJE1tgTm5g6NcILqf8lpUAiSl9fSoj9IHK1G-Fg0olA/s1600/a-rod.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 398px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizKdccnm1ETawSpfPVWQWsgtaXm-x0NqMvQN0JRxL_grRyshtihYc72jvbu7uTlogo5Qt6_Im-_QrTEWvI_ddRD7b7z5V1nhhkUJE1tgTm5g6NcILqf8lpUAiSl9fSoj9IHK1G-Fg0olA/s400/a-rod.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502832040720503218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRT4YCVBMvf-aXJlrfuhujd3zLgQ3gez3dwxF2jiir-9pzHeyI1DUXxYHX2MCc24LXTaAWQYM0zm_OAnZqB4ntFIZlaX2vE8OeK_EUSypZM6zN0e7OZzYIoMdp-grjErILb0GJjKL0wQ/s1600/a-rod.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 398px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRT4YCVBMvf-aXJlrfuhujd3zLgQ3gez3dwxF2jiir-9pzHeyI1DUXxYHX2MCc24LXTaAWQYM0zm_OAnZqB4ntFIZlaX2vE8OeK_EUSypZM6zN0e7OZzYIoMdp-grjErILb0GJjKL0wQ/s400/a-rod.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502831854981959714" /></a><br />With one mighty swing on August 4, Alex Rodriguez made history.<br /><br />The New York Yankees third baseman belted a fastball over the center field fence in the first inning at Yankee Stadium and became only the seventh player in Major League Baseball history to hit 600 career home runs.<br /><br />Rodriguez, 35, also became the youngest player to reach the 600-home run mark. Rodriguez, a right-handed batter hit the historic home run off Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Shawn Marcum in the first inning of a game the Yankees won, 5-1. <br /><br />After Rodriguez was met at home plate by his happy teammates, a crowd of 47,659 gave him a standing ovation. Because the crowd continued to cheer, Rodriguez emerged from the Yankees’ dugout and waved his batting helmet to the fans.<br /><br />The other players to hit at least 600 home runs are Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa.<br />Rodriguez is the only man on the list who is still playing.<br /><br />Rodriguez hit his 599th career home run in a July 22 victory against the Kansas City Royals. That means it took him 12 games and nearly two full weeks to hit No. 600. He had gone 17 at-bats without a base hit before the big home run.<br /><br />Rodriguez is a 13-time All-Star, and he has been one of baseball’s finest players since his pro career began with the Seattle Mariners in 1994. He switched from shortstop to third base when he joined the Yankees in 2004 because the Yankees already had an All-Star shortstop, Derek Jeter. <br /><br />Although he is the highest-paid player in baseball, making a reported $27.5 million a year, Rodriguez is not a sure bet to make it to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, where the sport’s greatest players are celebrated. That’s because in 2009, after many years of denials, Rodriguez admitted he took steroids – an illegal drug – to try to improve his performances earlier in his career. <br /><br />Medical experts say steroids help athletes work out for a longer period of time and recover faster from a workout so they can get stronger, and that gives them an unfair advantage over other athletes. <br /><br />But because Rodriguez said he took steroids in 2003, several years before baseball began testing for the illegal drug, baseball officials did not punish him for it.<br /><br />Rodriguez has not failed a drug test since baseball began steroids testing.<br />Many believe he will someday pass Bonds’s total of 762 and become baseball’s all-time home run king.<br /> <br />Who is ALEX RODRIGUEZ?<br />Age: 35<br />Date of birth: July 27, 1975<br />Birthplace: New York, New York<br />Height: 6-foot-3<br />Weight: 225 pounds<br />Job: Baseball player<br />Current team: New York Yankees<br />Position: Third base<br />Previous teams: Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers<br />Previous position: Shortstop<br />Reported annual salary: $27.5 million<br />Family: Divorced with two daughters<br /><br />MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL’S ALL-TIME HOME RUN LIST<br />(as of August 7, 2010)<br />1. Barry Bonds 762<br />2. Hank Aaron 755<br />3. Babe Ruth 714<br />4. Willie Mays 660<br />5. Ken Griffey Jr. 630<br />6. Sammy Sosa 609<br />7. Alex Rodriguez 600Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-49534225674112570982010-08-07T17:32:00.000-07:002010-08-07T17:33:51.109-07:00J-Lo & Tyler in, Ellen & Kara out on 'Idol'? It's hard to judgeNetworks at the Fox Television Network have yet to confirm or deny reports about major changes to America’s highest-rated TV show, “American Idol.”<br /><br />As auditions for the 2011 season take place around the country, starry-eyed contestants still don’t know who will be judging their singing performances when the show returns for its 10th season in January.<br /><br />Viewers knew sharp-tongued judge Simon Cowell would be leaving after this year’s “Idol” to bring “X Factor,” a talent show he created in England, to American audiences on Fox.<br /><br />But “Idol” fans are buzzing over reports that judges Ellen DeGeneres, who joined the show this year, and Kara DioGuardi, who joined last year, are out. Word is they’ll be replaced by Steven Tyler, lead singer of the famed rock group Aerosmith, and popular singer-actress Jennifer Lopez.<br /><br />The presence of J-Lo would give “Idol” more star power at the judge’s table than the show has ever had. Not even Paula Abdul could compare. Abdul, a quirky singer-dancer-choreographer, left “Idol” in a contract dispute in 2008.<br /> <br />DeGeneres, the host of an award-winning TV show, says she won’t return, citing a demanding work schedule and her reluctance to give negative criticism to “Idol” contestants. <br /><br />DioGuardi, a singer-songwriter, reportedly has been fired. According to some reports, Lopez has agreed to do the show only if she were the only female judge. <br /> <br />Tyler replacing Cowell could raise eyebrows because “Idol” has long favored pop music singers, and Tyler performs rock music such as the 1980s hit, “Walk This Way.”<br /><br />If the changes become official, Randy Jackson, a producer and guitarist, would be the only judge left from the original cast. And you may not be able to tell the other judges without a scorecard.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-48352272496460399892010-08-07T17:29:00.000-07:002010-08-07T17:47:00.860-07:00America takes part in Hiroshima ceremony for first time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJY8V68e4yNJApqJpMuAsNukZ48ouCyrkOHIZGouDLAEKwAs53NNYbqfD6SXtlZVRUq6fXFrnKXYi0Eqjylqt38f8K54RhWIOY4n7wGTFyOZoQ1DLG0YIqg5arJV_Kr91IPwCpeuWG4E/s1600/hiroshima+today.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJY8V68e4yNJApqJpMuAsNukZ48ouCyrkOHIZGouDLAEKwAs53NNYbqfD6SXtlZVRUq6fXFrnKXYi0Eqjylqt38f8K54RhWIOY4n7wGTFyOZoQ1DLG0YIqg5arJV_Kr91IPwCpeuWG4E/s400/hiroshima+today.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502833803307048578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnuCZjUo-5bAiBB1moWGAvOkb813QhdHpokn5NLzkw9Z5P7jaIr_ZBdXxi-xV_O38cIUZlJW3thrNWJGiRXk2WR4TeE4MRT_NFRsnMh4b5oGZFvDtQTgexwM8ceuf5c-1UqlpHo2T6uKo/s1600/hiroshima+bombed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnuCZjUo-5bAiBB1moWGAvOkb813QhdHpokn5NLzkw9Z5P7jaIr_ZBdXxi-xV_O38cIUZlJW3thrNWJGiRXk2WR4TeE4MRT_NFRsnMh4b5oGZFvDtQTgexwM8ceuf5c-1UqlpHo2T6uKo/s400/hiroshima+bombed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502833673289590290" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRlRUbFxpCpNC0u67yNSRnFkMGvoXCD_oRClhMTJMPyHIB23qeqE92h_7TFoqcv_68ZcgCm-TnVfu57JtFsYzoMMzL0_BsgHftR4KL607HLviAK8cFNOjUkMvhEb8LGRIKNXmzJ5oYMc/s1600/hiroshima+story.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRlRUbFxpCpNC0u67yNSRnFkMGvoXCD_oRClhMTJMPyHIB23qeqE92h_7TFoqcv_68ZcgCm-TnVfu57JtFsYzoMMzL0_BsgHftR4KL607HLviAK8cFNOjUkMvhEb8LGRIKNXmzJ5oYMc/s400/hiroshima+story.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502830129328966530" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Each year on August 6, the Japanese city of Hiroshima holds a ceremony to remember the atomic bombing of their city on that date in 1945. The explosion killed 200,000 instantly. Many more died because of burns and radiation illness.<br /><br />The United States dropped the bomb on Hiroshima in retaliation for Japan’s attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941 – an attack that led to America’s involvement in World War II.<br /><br />The bomb was nicknamed “Little Boy” by those aboard the Air Force bomber Enola Gay.<br /><br />Because of the tragic event linking America to Hiroshima, our country had chosen not to participate in that city’s annual day of remembrance.<br /><br />Until this year. U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos took part in the solemn public ceremony, which included the ringing of a bell at a Buddhist temple and the release of a flock of doves. Doves are an international symbol of peace.<br /><br />For years, America’s reluctance to participate was seen as a way to avoid having to apologize for the bombing of Hiroshima and another Japanese city, Nagasaki, during World War II.<br /><br />Roos offered no apology or public statement of any kind during the ceremony. But his presence was largely seen as an attempt to promote peace and greater understanding between the U.S. and Japan.<br /><br />So was the visit of Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba to The White House in January. Mayor Akiba invited President Obama to visit Hiroshima when he travels to Japan in November as part of an event honoring Mr. Obama and other recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.<br /><br />The White House has not said whether President Obama will visit Hiroshima.<br /><br />America has long held the position that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, horrific as they were, helped shorten World War II and prevented a U.S. invasion of Japan that would have led to more deaths.<br /><br />Japan, which is now a pacifist, or non-aggressive, nation, believes the bombings showed the world what mass destruction nuclear weapons can cause, and that is why they must be eliminated everywhere.<br /><br />Should America formally apologize to Hiroshima? Today, even the opinions of those who survived the bombing are divided.<br /><br />“I want President Obama to apologize,” said Tadashi Takahashi, 84, an antiwar advocate. “But even more I want what he wants – a world without nuclear weapons.”<br /><br />“There is no point in apologizing now, after 65 years,” said Akihiro Takahashi, 79, the former head of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. “We want President Obama to see with his own eyes what really happened here. This will give him stronger willpower to eliminate nuclear weapons.”<br /><br />QUESTIONS:<br /><br />(1) Should President Obama visit Hiroshima during his trip to Japan this fall?<br />(2) Should President Obama apologize for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?<br />(3) Should every country that has nuclear weapons destroy them?<br /><br />Note: The news item used in researching this article did not say whether Tadashi Takahashi and Akihiro Takahashi are related.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-28757008179052370862010-08-07T17:24:00.000-07:002010-08-07T17:26:34.708-07:00Wyclef Jean to Run for President of Haiti<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-g2sPR0OxdbCL99qTlqd3C34XTP1LeQNcEZcg7GkxgmCsHdLHqmQC5WjvJs3qec6OHpT3wawn5xwrMcW11nJcTDBlXm_VO01GBETCAXkRkhy2JoAZ_iuuN5me8bc3Cajog3OLS3CPuuM/s1600/wyclef.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-g2sPR0OxdbCL99qTlqd3C34XTP1LeQNcEZcg7GkxgmCsHdLHqmQC5WjvJs3qec6OHpT3wawn5xwrMcW11nJcTDBlXm_VO01GBETCAXkRkhy2JoAZ_iuuN5me8bc3Cajog3OLS3CPuuM/s400/wyclef.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502828873108068018" /></a><br />Singer-songwriter Wyclef Jean, who for many years has been an advocate for Haiti, now wants to be president of his native country.<br /><br />Jean, 37, submitted the paperwork August 5 to run in the election set for Sunday, November 28. The winner will be elected to a five-year term. Political analysts don’t expect President Rene Preval to be reelected.<br /><br />People had speculated for years about the political ambitions of Jean (pronounced Zhahn), who was born in Haiti but moved to New York City when he was 9.<br /><br />Jean said he knows critics will say he’s not eligible to run because the Haitian constitution requires a candidate to have lived in Haiti for five straight years prior to an election.<br /><br />“They’re going to attack me in the next two weeks,” Jean said. “They think they’re going to get me with the dual citizenship thing. But I have a Haitian passport with a green card.”<br /> <br />A three-time Grammy Award winner best known for being part of the group The Fugees, Jean became highly visible in Haiti after a January 12 earthquake devastated the Caribbean island. The earthquake killed 230,000 and left 2 million homeless in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.<br /><br />Yele Haiti, a charity founded by Jean, collected millions of dollars earmarked for earthquake relief and recovery efforts. Much of the money came from people texting their donations.<br /><br />A 2006 tax return showed one-third of the donations to Yele Haiti had been used instead for miscellaneous expenses. At a news conference in January, Jean tearfully denied knowledge of the financial problems. <br /><br />Actor Sean Penn, whose J/P Relief Organization has aided Haitians, said on August 4 that in the months after the earthquake Jean “has been virtually silent for those of us in Haiti. He has been a non-presence.”<br /><br />Although Jean has no political experience, he says he believes he can inspire Haitians in a way similar to that of the first African-American president.<br /><br />“The United States has Barack Obama and Haiti has Wyclef Jean,” he said.<br /><br />DID YOU KNOW?<br /><br />* Haiti has a long history of political instability. Dr. Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, are among the past presidents widely seen as brutal and corrupt by the people of Haiti. <br /><br />* Half of Haiti’s 9 million residents are under the age of 25. That could bode well for Wyclef Jean’s campaign since he is very popular among Haitian youth.<br /><br />* Pras Michel, Jean’s cousin, and Lauryn Hill were the other members of The Fugees. The group’s second album, The Score, won two Grammys.<br /><br />* Jean’s uncle Raymond Joseph, a former Haitian Ambassador to the U.S., also plans to run for president? “We talked about this; we talk all the time,” Joseph said. “We are family. We won’t allow politics to divide.” There is talk that Joseph and Jean may campaign together. Relatives campaigning together while running against each other for the same job? That’s something you may never see in American politics.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224755887430820506.post-59231907962178806742010-08-07T17:16:00.000-07:002010-08-07T17:18:33.581-07:00A Supreme Achievement: Elena Kagan Joins America's High Court<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzf4y4Q09rZWJckxMqdShrXJo_6yhJMMJjNxvN0w4Io673TxgRahT9v2-VJrKoC2HG2PGKXIN21JV9kH4U2mRZkfgrl1LXcceo78epdnQY58fGNHwXOPxSX-LIbKcteITqPDceGdfmVCo/s1600/kagan.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzf4y4Q09rZWJckxMqdShrXJo_6yhJMMJjNxvN0w4Io673TxgRahT9v2-VJrKoC2HG2PGKXIN21JV9kH4U2mRZkfgrl1LXcceo78epdnQY58fGNHwXOPxSX-LIbKcteITqPDceGdfmVCo/s400/kagan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502826762894165170" /></a><br />With the lifetime appointment of Elena Kagan, three women will serve together on the United States Supreme Court for the first time.<br /><br />Kagan, a New York City native, joins Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg on America’s highest court. Kagan, 50, will be the youngest of the nine members.<br /><br />Both Sotomayor, who was nominated by President Obama last year, and Bader Ginsburg were born in New York City. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia grew up in New York City.<br /><br />During an August 6 ceremony at The White House hosted by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, Kagan thanked her parents. “I wouldn’t be standing here today without their love, support and devotion,” said Kagan, the 112th Supreme Court Justice.<br /><br />Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to sit on the High Court and decide many of America’s important legal issues. She was nominated by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and retired in 2006.<br /><br />Kagan graduated from Harvard University Law School, as did President Obama. She is the first Supreme Court justice in nearly 40 years with no experience as a judge. She is a former dean of Harvard Law School, and she had served as solicitor general under former President Bill Clinton. <br /><br />After President Obama appointed Kagan for the Supreme Court, she had to be confirmed by a majority of the members of the U.S. Senate. Since there are 50 states and each state has two senators, a total of 100 senators voted.<br /><br />Kagan was confirmed by a vote of 63-37 to replace the retired John Paul Stevens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the Democratic senator to vote against her. Five Republicans and the Senate’s two independent members voted for her.<br /><br />President Obama said the senators “got a pretty good look at Elena Kagan…her formidable intelligence, her rich understanding of our Constitution…and occasionally her irreverent sense of humor.”<br /><br />THE SUPREMES<br /><br />The U.S. Supreme Court traditionally begins its session on the first Monday in October. Here are the nine members and the years they were nominated:<br /><br />Chief Justice John Roberts (2003); Associate Justices: Antonin Scalia (1986); Anthony Kennedy (1988); Clarence Thomas (1991); Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993); Stephen G. Breyer (1994); Samuel Alito (1994); Sonia Sotomayor (2009); and Elena Kagan (2010).<br /> <br />NEW WORDS<br />Ask students to come up with words and terms that mean the same as: irreverent – making fun of, mocking, saucy, flippant<br /><br />majority – best part, more, most<br /><br />What does a solicitor general do? The solicitor general is the chief lawyer representing the federal government, and decides what legal position the U.S. will take in the Supreme Court.Games People Playhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959179030373152695noreply@blogger.com0