NBA Quiz: What rookie has the 2nd highest scoring average with
a 31.6 mark compiled during the 1961-62 season? [Wilt is 1st at
37.6 in 1959-60] 2) Michael Jordan entered this season with the
longest consecutive game streak of 10 or more points, 840,
which was finally snapped after about 20 games this year. Who
is #2 at 787? Answers below.
The American Flag
Like all of you, I have been pleasantly surprised at the unity the
nation continues to show post-9/11. Of course we haven”t been
asked to really sacrifice at all and there have been no follow-up
attacks, thankfully, but inevitably, the day will come when some
dirtball will test our patience, doing something like burning the
American flag. So, from a historical perspective, here are a few
thoughts and facts.
It was President James Monroe in 1818 who finally standardized
the appearance, mandating that the flag have 13 horizontal
stripes of alternate red and white, with stars in a blue field, one
for each state. Until then, there were guidelines, but nothing
formal.
In 1831 Captain William Driver unfurled a flag as his brig was
setting sail for the South Pacific and declared, “I name thee Old
Glory.” It stuck.
In 1907 the Supreme Court upheld in Halter v. Nebraska a law
preventing the flag from being put on mercantile objects, ruling
that “such a use tends to degrade and cheapen” it.
Then in 1940, the High Court upheld a state statute making it
compulsory for school children to salute the flag, a case known
as Minersville School Dist. v. Gobitis. Justice Felix Frankfurter
opined, “We live by symbols (and) the flag is the symbol of our
national unity, transcending all internal differences, however
large, within the framework of the Constitution.” But 3 years
later the Court reversed itself in West Virginia Board of
Education v. Barnette. Justice Robert H. Jackson ruled for the
majority:
“There is no mysticism in the American concept of the State or
of the nature or origin of its authority. We set up government by
consent of the governed, and the Bill of Rights denies those in
power any legal opportunity to coerce that consent. Authority
here is to be controlled by public opinion, not public opinion by
authority.
“The case is made difficult, not because the principles of its
decision are obscure, but because the flag involved is our own.
Nevertheless, we apply the limitations of the Constitution with
no fear that freedom to be intellectually and spiritually diverse or
even contrary will disintegrate the social organization. To
believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies
are voluntary and spontaneous instead of a compulsory routine is
to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions
to free minds.
“We can have intellectual individualism and the rich cultural
diversities that we owe to exceptional minds only at the price of
occasional eccentricity and abnormal attitudes. When they are so
harmless to others or to the State as those we deal with here, the
price is not too great.”
By 1967, the nation was swept up in the anti-war movement.
That year one of the first documented cases of flag burning
occurred at a peace demonstration in New York City. There was
no federal law against it at the time, so President Johnson moved
quickly to sign a statute imposing a $1,000 fine and / or one-year
in prison. A congressman at the time suggested that anyone
desecrating the flag should be dumped 200 miles out to sea,
“Then tell ”em to swim to some country whose flag they
respect.”
By the mid-70s, the American flag seemed hardly to be a symbol
at all, particularly during the “malaise” of the Carter years. Most
would agree it was resurrected with the performance of the U.S.
Olympic hockey team at Lake Placid, as well as the candidacy of
Ronald Reagan, who didn”t shy away from using the flag to help
promote his old-fashioned patriotism.
Finally, in 1989 and 1990, the Supreme Court ruled that flag
burning as a political protest was a protected form of individual
expression guaranteed by the Constitution. In the 1989 case
Texas v. Johnson, Justice William J. Brennan wrote:
“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment,
it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an
idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive and
disagreeable.We decline, therefore, to create for the flag an
exception to the joust of principles protected by the First
Amendment.
“We can imagine…no better way to counter a flag-burner”s
message than by saluting the flag that burns.We do not
consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so
we dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents.”
In concurring, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy added:
“The hard fact is that sometimes we must make decisions we do
not like. We make them because they are right, right in the sense
that the law and the Constitution, as we see them, compel the
result.Though symbols often are what we ourselves make of
them, the flag is constant in expressing beliefs Americans share,
beliefs in law and peace and that freedom which sustains the
human spirit. The case here today forces recognition of the costs
to which those beliefs commit us. It is poignant but fundamental
that the flag protects those who hold it in contempt.”
But then in the case United States v. Eichman, Justice Paul
Stevens dissented as the Court reaffirmed Texas v. Johnson.
“A formerly dramatic expression of protest is now rather
commonplace. In today”s marketplace of ideas, the public
burning of a Vietnam draft card is probably less provocative than
lighting a cigarette. Tomorrow flag burning may produce a
similar reaction.”
Ironically, the same Justice Stevens who voted against President
Bush in Bush v. Gore, the case that halted the Florida recount, is
now one of the President”s major supporters, at least on the issue
of patriotism. Last October 16 in Chicago, Stevens asked a
lawyer group he was addressing to toast “our president.” Stevens
then reflected on his dissenting opinion in Texas v. Johnson and
the decision by the majority to uphold the right of protesters to
burn the American flag. The flag was a “unique symbol” of
“freedom, of equal opportunity, of religious tolerance, and of
good will for other peoples who share our aspirations” –
concepts, he said, that had motivated American soldiers at D-Day
and Philippine Scouts who fought at Bataan.
“Those of you who have read that opinion,” Stevens remarked
last October, “will understand how I feel about symbols of
tolerance, freedom and unity…I now ask you to join me in a
symbolic gesture. Please stand and take a glass –of wine or
water or even an empty glass will do – and join me in .a silent
toast to our President – to the President of the United States.”
Now discuss amongst yourselves.
[Sources: American Heritage magazine, Stuart Lutz; “The
Oxford Dictionary of American Legal Quotations,” Fred
Shapiro; “A History of the Supreme Court,” Bernard Schwartz;
Washington Post]
Stuff
–I”ve overplayed “Is That All There Is” in my Week in Review
column over the years, at least it feels like I have, so it is with
sadness that we note the passing of singer Peggy Lee. Born
Norma Jean Egstrom in 1920 in the town of Jamestown, North
Dakota, her mother died when she was just 4 and childhood
under the rule of her stepmother was tough. But at age 14 she
was earning 50 cents singing at local PTAs and shortly thereafter
a program director in Fargo suggested Norma Jean change her
name. By age 20 Lee was singing for Benny Goodman”s
orchestra, the start of a career that would see her record 600
songs on 60 albums.
Peggy Lee had 3 Billboard Pop hits, “Mr. Wonderful” (#14
3/56), “Fever” (#8 7/58) and “Is That All There Is” (#11 10/69).
–On Monday the New York Knicks suffered their worst home
loss ever, 43 points, as Charlotte annihilated them, 111-68.
Veteran sportswriter Peter Vecsey had some of the following
comments in the New York Post.
“(The Knicks) truly exemplified the spirit of Martin Luther King.
Never has there been such well-coordinated passive resistance.”
“…devoid of pride and empty on caring and competitiveness.”
“Greatest No-Show On Earth.”
“Nuke ”em.”
“I”ve been covering professional basketball since the late 60s
and, believe me, it doesn”t get any worse than yesterday”s
atrocity.”
The 14-25 Knicks are truly a disgrace, but even long-time fans
like myself are finding it amusing (hey, I don”t have season
tickets so why give a hoot). Management spent $100+ million
on Allan Houston, after all, a freakin” average shooting guard
that you can pick up in any 2nd round of the draft.
–Alex Hannum, RIP. Hannum, one of only two NBA coaches to
lead two different teams to NBA titles (the other being Phil
Jackson), died the other day at 78.
Hannum coached the 1957-58 St. Louis Hawks (featuring Bob
Petit and Cliff Hagan) to the title, defeating a great Celtics squad
which had Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, Bill
Russell and Frank Ramsey.all 5 averaging over 16.5 ppg. [By
the way, if you know who led the league in scoring that year with
a 27.8 avg., go to the head of class…quaff an ale. It was George
Yardley of Detroit. Yardley is actually in the Hall of Fame and
I”m embarrassed to say I never heard of the guy.]
Hannum also coached the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers to a title as
they defeated the San Francisco Warriors of Rick Barry and Nate
Thurmond in the Finals.
Now this Sixer team is considered by many to be the greatest
squad ever. They went 68-13, with a 46-4 start, and won by an
average of 10 points a game. Hannum convinced Wilt
Chamberlain to give up a little offense for the good of the team
and Wilt responded in spectacular fashion. While he still
finished 3rd in the league with a 24.1 scoring average, he was #1
in rebounds with a 24.2 mark and #3 in assists(!), 7.8.
In addition to Wilt the Sixers had Hall of Famers Hal Greer (22.1
ppg) and Billy Cunningham (18.5), as well as Chet Walker
(19.3), Wali Jones (13.2.I loved watching this guy) and
Lucious Jackson (12.0).
As for Hannum, he ended up garnering a 3rd title, as he led Rick
Barry and the Oakland Oaks of the ABA to the crown in 1969. It
was the first season for both, with Barry leading the ABA in
scoring, a 34.0 clip.
All three of Hannum”s championships, by the way, were in the
first year of coaching a team.
–Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has been in the hot seat
concerning more than a few conflicts of interest he has as both
commissioner and owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. You think
Enron is bad with all of its hidden loans and partnerships? Let”s
just say Selig has more than a few of his own deals, though while
everyone seems to agree that there is nothing illegal about them,
it just looks bad when major league baseball is attempting to
eliminate two teams, pleading poverty, while baseball”s owners
have helped to subsidize their own. Anyway, in case you
wondered, Selig makes $3 million a year as commissioner and
the sport maintains a 7,400-sq. ft. office overlooking Lake
Michigan in Milwaukee for him and all of 4 others, even though
baseball”s corporate offices are in Manhattan.
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/24/70: #1 “Raindrops Keep
Fallin” On My Head” (B.J. Thomas) #2 “Venus” (The Shocking
Blue) #3 “I Want You Back” (The Jackson 5)
NBA Quiz Answers: 1) 2nd highest rookie scoring average:
Walt Bellamy (“Bells”) averaged 31.6 in his first season with
Chicago, 1961-62. He also hauled down 19 rebounds a game.
While he ended up in the Hall of Fame, his rookie season was his
best and for his 14-year career he averaged 20.1 ppg and 13.7
rpg. And, of course, New York Knicks fans will recall that on
December 19, 1968, New York traded Bellamy and Howard
Komives to Detroit for All-Star forward Dave DeBusschere, thus
turning the Knicks from mere playoff contenders to champions
(”70 and ”73). 2) 2nd longest consecutive game streak with 10
points or more: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 787. Karl Malone entered
this season in 3rd with 575.
Next Bar Chat, Friday.
