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Bar Chat

02/23/2012

Racism

NASCAR/Daytona 500 Quiz: Name the last five winners of the Daytona 500. [No way would I get it…so you get some help.] It’s not Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon. Answer below.

College Basketball

AP Men’s Poll

1. Kentucky…down 13 at half to Miss. St., then prevailed 73-64, Tuesday
2. Syracuse
3. Missouri
4. Kansas
5. Duke
6. Michigan State
7. North Carolina
8. Ohio State
9. Georgetown
10. Marquette
14. Murray State…No. 12 USA TODAY/ESPN
15. Florida State
18. New Mexico
20. Notre Dame
22. Temple…good to see them back
24. San Diego State…probably shouldn’t be in top 25 anymore
34. Saint Mary’s…if you extend out voting…but No. 23 USA TODAY

New Mexico took a big leap forward in the poll, as expected, after being No. 30 the prior week. And then they went to Colorado State and lost! 71-63.

Missouri lost to Kansas State, at home, 78-68. Bye-bye No. 1 seed, potentially.

Georgetown got blitzed by Seton Hall, 73-55.

And Binghamton won their first game of the season, defeating a decent Vermont squad, 57-53.

More Linsantiy

--Jeremy Lin is on the cover of Sports Illustrated for a second week in a row. Why not? SI wants to sell magazines and Lin is hot, not just a U.S. but a global phenomenon, which is the gist of the second SI piece.

“Of all the drives, dunks and dazzling shots Jeremy Lin is forcing upon the stars of the NBA, none of it compares with the moves he’s putting on a larger collection of everyday people.

“Jeremy Lin has dribbled America into the previously quiet corner of its casual prejudice and lazy stereotypes of Asian Americans.

“The true beauty of his story is in awareness of the ugliness that has been found there.

“It’s been barely two weeks since the beginning of a tale that rocked the sports world with great basketball and bad puns, but so much already has changed. When America now looks at Lin, it should see more than an Asian American kid from Harvard who overcame ignorance at every level to become a star guard for the New York Knicks.

“America should see itself in the murky reflection of a society that has long considered it reasonable to publicly categorize Asian Americans in ways that would never be acceptable for other, more vocal minorities.

“America should see the writer from Foxsports.com who began the barrage of ignorance last week by tweeting a tired joke about the assumed size of Lin’s manhood. The guy apologized, but his company did not, which should not be surprising considering Fox Sports is also the outfit that last fall aired a segment in which a reporter ridiculed Asian Americans at USC for not understanding football.

“Can you imagine a major American media company tolerating this sort of blatant racism if it were directed toward any of Lin’s African American teammates?

“America should see the game video from the Knicks’ MSG network in which cameras focused on a homemade sign that showed Lin’s face above a fortune cookie with the words, ‘The Knicks Good Fortune.’

“Can you imagine, five months from now, that same television director willingly airing a shot of a sign that made fun of the heritage of a Latino member of the New York Mets?....

“America really needs to watch the ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit in which three sports reporters laughingly discuss Lin while using Asian American slurs, yet when a fourth newsman tries to discuss other Knicks by using African American slurs, they become offended.”

--As for the ESPN headline on a story following a Knicks loss, “Chink in the Armor,” for which the network fired the employee responsible, Lin himself said, “You have to learn to forgive, and I don’t even think that it was intentional.” ESPN also suspended anchor Max Bretos for using the expression in what proved to be a totally innocent mistake vs. the headline maker’s.

--Meanwhile, you have the other side of the race argument, though not a very good one as put forward by the insufferable William C. Rhoden of the New York Times. To wit:

“Midway through a discussion about the world of sports at the Connecticut Forum in Hartford last week, Rebecca Lobo, the former University of Connecticut basketball star, posed an intriguing question. Could anyone recall a black athlete who had come off the bench like Tim Tebow or out of the blue like Jeremy Lin, flared to immediate stardom and received the sort of impassioned outpouring of love that has enveloped Tebow and Lin?

“The root of the question was that Tebow and Lin have received attention from the sports news media that seemed out of proportion to the time and duration of their successes.

“Between the Tebow phenomenon in the fall and the recent Lin explosion, I had been asking myself a variation of Lobo’s question: When was the last time a young, untested professional African-American athlete had been on the receiving end of this type of adulation? Specifically, adulation that had more to do with positive, universal characteristics – faith, humility, selflessness – than with athletic acumen….

“Examples involving African-American athletes were difficult to come by, especially adhering to the criterion of athletes who had come from out of the blue, because very few athletes do these days.

“Victor Cruz’s name came up as an example of a black athlete…whose sudden professional success and acceptance were parallel to that of Tebow and Lin. Cruz, the young Giants receiver, is certainly a fairy-tale story.

“The thread that connects Cruz, Tebow and Lin is that their teams began winning as they assumed starring roles….

“But unlike Tebow and Lin, Cruz was never deified, never used as a symbol of all that was good and holy. He was simply pumped up as an explosive player who was also a polished end-zone dancer.”

“Cam Newton, on the other hand, was not widely embraced but should be despite the accusations that his father shopped him to colleges. After Newton dominated college football, winning a national championship and the Heisman Trophy, critics said he was ‘an athlete-first’ quarterback who would not be able to dominate in the NFL. But Newton did dominate the NFL in his first season – and always with a smile.

“I’m eager to see news media reaction to Stanford’s Andrew Luck next season. If he has the type of rookie season Newton had, will he be hailed as a messiah? If he suffers through a nightmarish rookie season, will it be dismissed as growing pains?”

“Michael Vick served time in prison, was released and had an outstanding season. His performance was widely heralded, but there was a loud contingent of critics who said they would never forgive Vick, regardless of how much time he had served.”

Cam Newton and Michael Vick, compared in the same vein with Tebow and Lin? Where does one start? I won’t bother, except to say the Vick comparison is galling, while Newton’s year on the gridiron was indeed stupendous, but we still don’t know the full truth when it comes to Auburn.

“The crux of the Lin phenomenon is that as an Asian-American in the NBA, he is different. So difference is a criterion for elevation.”

Oh brother. Rhoden then brings up Jackie Robinson (“duh!”) and Venus and Serena Williams as others who weren’t treated fairly. 

[Serena Williams vs. what we know thus far about Tebow and Lin as both athletes and people? Are you kidding me?! The same Serena who threatened a line judge? Give me a freakin’ break.]

“African-Americans often complain about being stereotypes of lazy, undereducated products of dysfunctional homes.  The African-American is stereotyped as ultra-athletic…..

“As we in the United States continue to dance around issues of ethnicity, using diversity as a diversion, we will continue to struggle with the pick-and-roll of race.”

Meanwhile, Rhoden conveniently forgets the hero treatment, nationally, accorded a young Michael Jordan. You know the guy whose sneaker introductions can still cause riots even though he has been out of the game for years? Remember him?

[Speaking of Jordan, one of these days I need to get down for the archives just what kind of person MJ really is. It won’t be flattering.]

“The NBA all-star break is this weekend. How can this be? It seems like the season began maybe a week or so ago. But when a greed-infested labor dispute results in a condensed schedule, this is what you get – the All-Star Game this Sunday, the playoffs start the following weekend and Jeremy Lin, I believe, will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame early next month.

“Boy, time flies when you’re having to make up a lot of lost revenue in a short period.

“Anyway, midway through a compressed but compelling season, these are my favorite stories:

“The Heat got close last season and likely will get close again, but the Three Tenors – LeBron, D-Wade and the other guy – won’t be warbling a title tune….

“As a front-office guy, Michael Jordan probably should be given a smaller office. He might’ve been the greatest athlete of the 20th century – I still have him behind Babe Ruth, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Jim Thorpe and Secretariat – but he appears to be the worst director of basketball operations of the 21st century. Boy, he’s stunk up the joint in two locales – first with the Washington Wizards, as a part owner, and now with the Charlotte Bobcats, as a majority owner….

“I’m tired of hearing how tired players are. Sure, they’re playing seemingly every other night…But they can absorb it: I get jet-lagged when I fly from L.A. to Las Vegas, but I’m over 50 and two-thirds dead; these guys are young athletes in first class with personal trainers and PlayStations.

“My goodness, residents in hospitals…often work 24-hour shifts. And Broadway shows run six nights a week, with matinees on Wednesdays and Sundays – I don’t recall Ethel Merman or Bernadette Peters ever complaining about back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back performances. MAN UP!

“All right, let’s briefly look at this Jeremy Lin thing. He’s a fabulous story – one part Tim Tebow, one part Roy Hobbs, two parts UFO. But trust me, if he were doing his deeds in, say, Portland or Milwaukee rather than New York, he’d be a much smaller sensation. When it’s in the Big Apple, it’s always a big deal; imagine if Murray State were Manhattan State.”

Chad has his “Ask The Slouch Cash Giveaway.” E-mail asktheslouch@aol.com and, if your question is selected, you can win $1.25…in cash!

Q: Ricky Williams is retiring. Should I be investing in marijuana futures? (Jim O’Brien; Racine, Wis.)

More on Gary Carter

--Andrew Klavan is a novelist and screenwriter who had the following on Gary Carter in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. Klavan never met Carter but describes how the “Kid” changed his life in the 1980s. Klavan was considering suicide.

“But I remember one night, sitting alone in my room in darkness, smoking cigarette after cigarette as I considered the ways in which I might put an end to myself.

“The radio was on, playing a Mets game. I’d been trying to listen before the dark thoughts took over. By the time the ninth inning came around, I wasn’t paying attention at all.

“One sentence ran through my mind again and again: ‘I don’t know how I can live.’

“Before I knew it, the game had ended and Carter – who apparently had beaten out a grounder to reach first base – was giving a postgame interview. The interviewer asked him how he managed to outrun the throw when his knees were so bad from years of playing catcher, squatting behind the plate.

“Carter was a devout Christian with just the bright, inspiring Tim Tebow sort of personality our media can’t stand. He was forever thanking Jesus Christ in postgame interviews. He once remarked that he could see the smiles curdle on the faces of unbelieving journalists when he did it, but he felt he had to tell the truth….

“He said something else (that night), something much simpler but also true. I don’t remember the words exactly but a fair translation would be this: ‘Sometimes you just have to play in pain.’

“Carter’s words somehow broke through my self-pitying despair. ‘Play in pain?’ I thought. ‘Hell, I can do that. That’s one thing I actually know how to do.’….

“I did tough it out, and I got therapeutic help, and I abandoned lifelong self-destructive habits and thoughts….

“Gary Carter didn’t save my life. He was just a ballplayer I’d never met. He didn’t have that power. But because he was how he was and played how he played and spoke with a brash, sunny optimism that made journalists hate him – well, let’s say he lit a candle when a little bit of light made all the difference.

“Celebrities don’t owe us entry to their personal lives in payment for their fame. They have the same right to fail and sin and learn that the rest of us do. But when I see athletes behave like thugs on the field – when I hear pop stars romanticize alcohol and drugs and cheap sex with hummable tunes that make self-destruction palatable to the young, or when I see actors star in films that make recklessness and stupidity look cool and admirable – I think they are throwing away a precious opportunity to be something better than they are.

“No one can demand that celebrities live well, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask them to behave well and be a little bit careful about what they say and represent. They are role models whether they like it or not. And someone might be listening to them in the dark.

“So goodbye, Kid. And thanks. You did it the way it ought to be done.”

--Some are now saying the Mets should retire Gary Carter’s No. 8, even though Carter only played in New York five seasons. Tom Seaver is the lone Mets player to have the honor (Gil Hodges, Casey Stengel and Jackie Robinson being the others), but if Carter’s gets retired, then you have to retire Darryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez’ numbers as well. I’d just stick with Seaver.

--Kudos to the Montreal Canadiens who honored Carter on Sunday in what was said to be a touching tribute. You see, the Expos moved to Washington before the 2005 season, but Carter’s number had been retired in Montreal and he’s wearing an Expos cap on his plaque in Cooperstown. It turns out Carter’s uniform number hangs in the Canadiens’ arena and the team also wore a No. 8 patch during their game the other night. Very classy.

--Anyone following the Knicks can see that power forward Amar’e Stoudemire seemingly has zero hop left in his game. He is getting one shot after another blocked from inside the box, but also when he steps out. So the Wall Street Journal’s Michael Salfino observes that Stoudemire indeed has had 9.9% of his shots rejected versus 8.1% in both 2010-2011 and 2009-2010, according to HoopsData.com. That’s seventh worst among players who average at least 30 minutes per game this season. “And it comes despite Stoudemire attempting a career low-rate of shots within nine feet of the basket – just 51.6% this year compared to 57.9% last year and 64.9% in 2009-2010.”

Eegads. Plus Stoudemire is shooting just 44.9% from the field vs. a career average of 53.2%. And he’s shooting 3 fewer free throws per game with his penchant for jump shots these days.

--Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden underwent his fourth major knee operation the other day. Talk about a horrible situation. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft and he’s now had three microfracture surgeries and one on a fractured kneecap. He will not play this season.

Trail Blazers president Larry Miller said: “It’s hard to put into words the heartbreak for everyone involved, but especially for Greg. He’s a young man who has experienced a great number of physical challenges in his playing career and today is yet another significant setback for him.”

Oden has appeared in just 82 games since he was drafted and none since 2009.

--Peter May of the New York Times did a piece on the Ivy League’s Golden Age in basketball, mostly late 1960s to early 1970s. Back then many high school stars saw no difference in attending an Ivy League school vs. an ACC or Big Ten entry in terms of the ultimate goal: playing in the NBA. But nowadays, an Ivy Leaguer making the big time is a rarity; Jeremy Lin being the first since 2003.

But in the Golden Age you had the likes of Princeton’s Bill Bradley, Geoff Petrie (who would share rookie of the year honors with Dave Cowens), John Hummer and Armond Hill. Columbia’s Jim McMillian. Penn’s Corky Calhoun and Bob Bigelow.

In all, 35 Ivy players were drafted by the NBA from 1965 to 1976, including 14 in the first three rounds.

--Manny Ramirez, who retired last April rather than face a second suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs, has signed with the Oakland A’s and could be eligible to return on May 30, his 40th birthday. Normally the penalty for a second offense is 100 games but because Ramirez left the sport, baseball reduced it to 50. He can also play in spring training. Ramirez will be paid just $500,000, having agreed to a minor league deal.

--Denver Broncos quarterback Brady Quinn is harshly critical of fellow QB Tim Tebow, including how he got to become starter over Quinn when Kyle Orton got hurt. As Quinn told GQ:

“Early in the season, there was a game when Kyle got hurt and the coaches were calling for me to go in, but Kyle got up and finished the game out. So I was the second-string guy. Then, a few weeks later, they decided to put Tim in. I feel like the fans had a lot to do with that. Just because they were chanting his name. There was a big calling for him. No, I didn’t have any billboards. That would have been nice.”

“The entire game, the defensive line is chasing the quarterback around, and that wears down the pass rush. Meanwhile, the defensive backs are chasing receivers, but you only throw eight passes, so they start to feel lazy. It only takes that one play, that one big pass, for a touchdown.”

Meanwhile, coach John Fox has said Denver will look to bring in two QBs to compete with Tebow next summer. This shouldn’t be in the least bit surprising, it’s just how everyone around the team is acting.

‘Oh no…it’s not going to be Tim Tebow…we wouldn’t do that! How could we?’ they all seem to be saying.

Well, you know my stance these days. I hope the guy succeeds in retaining his job. Or at least performs well in training camp to create even more controversy. Quinn, by the way, is a free agent but some in Denver still want to keep him.

[On Tuesday, Quinn was forced to apologize after all the negative press and backtracked. “(Tebow) deserves a lot of credit for our success and I’m happy for him and what he accomplished. Most importantly, he is a good teammate.” Unlike you, Brady…whose name goes into the December file for “Jerk of the Year” consideration.]

--Increasing talk the Washington Redskins could trade up for St. Louis’ pick in the NFL draft to get Robert Griffin III.

--The Minnesota Vikings signed a deal with the University of Minnesota to play at TCF Stadium while a new Vikings stadium is finally built. TCF’s existing 50,000-seat capacity is being boosted by just 3,000 temporary seats.

--The Detroit Red Wings extended their record home-winning streak to 23 on Sunday, though they lost on Tuesday in Chicago, their third straight road loss. [See, I am following hockey!]

--Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times, in describing Sunday’s playoff at Riviera between Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley and eventual winner, Bill Haas.

“It’s not that Haas is an unpopular golfer. It’s just that Haas’ beautiful birdie denied Phil Mickelson a second consecutive tournament victory….

“ ‘I like it when the crowd cheers,’ said Haas, who won $1,188,000 with the victory. ‘Honestly, ‘Phil’ sounds really similar to ‘Bill,’ so you just kind of pretend that maybe they’re for you.’”

But when it dawned on everyone in attendance that Haas, not Phil, was the winner, “the crowd reacted as a group of 5-year-olds might when told that Santa Claus didn’t exist.”

--According to scientists, dolphins deserve to be treated as non-human “persons” whose rights to life and liberty should be respected.   The experts in philosophy, conservation and dolphin behavior are calling for a “Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans.”

Recognizing cetaceans’ rights would put an end to whaling, as well as the use of dolphins and whales for entertainment.

Now this isn’t new, having been brought up a few years ago, but psychologist Dr. Lori Marino from Emory University in Atlanta told a scientific gathering in Canada that the view of the cetacean brain has changed with new research.

“We went from seeing the dolphin/whale brain as being a giant amorphous blob that doesn’t carry a lot of intelligence and complexity to not only being an enormous brain but an enormous brain with an enormous amount of complexity, and a complexity that rivals our own. Its different in the way it’s put together but in terms of the level of complexity it’s very similar to the human brain.”

Dolphins have a sense of self in that they recognize themselves in a mirror, says Dr. Marino.

“When you get up in the morning and look in the mirror and know that’s you, you have a sense of ‘you.’ They have a similar sense. They can look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, that’s me.’

“Once you shift from seeing a being as a property, a commodity, a resource, to a person, an autonomous entity that has right to life on his or her own terms, the whole framework shifts… this is not about harvesting resources, this is about murder.”

The experts cited a few examples of dolphin and whale behavior both in the wild and in captivity. Here are two, as reported by John von Radowitz / Irish Independent.

“A member of a group of orcas in Patagonia had a damaged jaw and could not feed. The elderly whale was fed and kept alive by his companions.”

“A number of captive dolphins were rewarded with fish in return for tidying up their tank. One of them ripped up a large paper bag, hid away the pieces, and presented them one at a time to get multiple rewards.”

--So I gave the Sierra Club $25 because they send this really cool calendar strip for your computer keyboard and I’ve been getting it for years. [Yes, the simple things that make some of us happy.] But because I gave this humongous sum, I now get the Sierra magazine, six times a year, and it’s not bad.

Like I learned with my first issue that if you’re attacked by a mountain lion, “Don’t play dead – or you soon will be.” Gotta fight back as hard as you can, notes Andrew Hugham, wildlife official with the California Department of Fish and Game. From a firsthand related experience with a lion, it also appears that an air horn comes in handy in an emergency. So bring along an air horn with the bazooka I’ve long recommended when hiking in places like the Black Hills of South Dakota.

--Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl, Kate Upton, No. 7 on the Bar Chat list, signed on to be spokesman for Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s. Previously, Carl’s had employed Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian.

One ad exec notes that “When you’re constantly aiming at 14-year-old boys with stuff like this, you’re not helping 14-year-old girls with their self images.”

--Adele picked up more hardware at the Brit Awards on Tuesday, but after she was cut off during an acceptance speech for the Best Album trophy because another artist, Damon Albarn, had gone way over in his, thus putting the show hopelessly behind schedule, Adele took offense at host James Corden cutting her off, telling him, “You’re going to cut me off. Can I just say, then, goodbye and I’ll see you next time round?” Then she flipped the bird.

You go, Girl! [The producers of the show actually apologized to her after. It seems Blur was allowed to play for 11 freakin’ minutes! Kind of like the incredibly stupid Nicki Minaj act at the Grammys.] 

--This was so predictable…yet officials in the town of Westfield, New Jersey didn’t seem to be prepared. Whitney Houston was buried at a cemetery there, the day after her funeral service, and security was appropriate for the private ceremony as her body was laid to rest near her father.

But the next day all hell broke loose as hundreds of vehicles tried to get in to view the gravesite. It was comical. The local television stations covered the story and some of the ‘fans’ showing up said stuff like ‘We were told the ground is still soft. I don’t want anything to happen!’ This rather imposing woman was afraid she would fall into the pit. As in these ‘fans’ had no problem just trampling on the ground! As in, Westfield police were not only not prepared, imagine that it was Presidents Day, a day off for many, so a lot of folks went to see their loved ones gravesites and couldn’t get in because of the Whitney Houston gawkers.

So as I write on Wednesday, the cemetery remains closed to all except those who can prove they have a relative there. It is likely to be this way for weeks, if not months.

I’m guessing the body is moved elsewhere…with the only alternative being that Ms. Houston’s estate front 24-hour security for the foreseeable future. I mean ‘fans’ have already been climbing over the fence at night.

Pssst…I’m going to wait a few weeks myself, then saunter over, it being just 15 minutes away.

Top 3 songs for the week 2/21/76: #1 “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” (Paul Simon) #2 “Theme From S.W.A.T.” (Rhythm Heritage…oh gawd…what the hell were we thinking, people?!) #3 “You Sexy Thing” (Hot Chocolate…reminds me, I have some Ghirardelli hot chocolate mix that is to die for…gotta use it up before winter’s over)…and…#4 “Love To Love You Baby” (Donna Summer…huhhh huhhh…) #5 “Love Machine” (The Miracles….I’m just a love machine…and I won’t work for nobody but you…) #6 “I Write The Songs” (Barry Manilow…not his best effort… ‘Weekend in New England’ better) #7 “All By Myself” (Eric Carmen…Carmen sings hauntingly of the first time he tied his shoes) #8 “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” (Neil Sedaka…brilliant) #9 “Take It To The Limit” (Eagles…eh…I can name at least ten of theirs that was better) #10 “Evil Woman” (Electric Light Orchestra…not a fan of the group because I had a friend at Wake who played their stuff incessantly…while another played Boston and Steve Miller’s “Book of Dreams” non-stop. Of course I was playing Earth, Wind & Fire myself. We had a noisy suite.)

NASCAR/Daytona 500 Quiz Answer: Last five winners…

2007 …Kevin Harvick
2008…Ryan Newman
2009…Matt Kenseth
2010…Jamie McMurray
2011…Trevor Bayne

Next Bar Chat, Monday…from Minneapolis…actually, an Indian casino near there. Why? Stay tuned.

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