When I first heard that the deal was finalized, I had this song going through my head…
I love young Tupac, being wild, funny and lyrical with Digital Underground providing comic relief and a flow that keeps you in a summer mood. I will also take this time to give a belated birthday shout out to Tupac, who would have been 38 this June…
Born June 16th 1971
Shaq is chasing fame and it is fleet of foot.
hopefully, it's for nothing that would make your parents cringe...
Fame must be one of those things that once you have it, you constantly crave it, like getting upgraded to first class accommodations. He is still a big enough star to help force a deal. This is a deal that I can get behind for both teams, for different reasons. The Los Angeles Times is reporting what seems to be a done deal now…
If the deal is done today, it will be remembered as the day the Clippers got Blake Griffin (that’s nice) and the Cavaliers got Shaquille O’Neal (HOLY MT. OLYMPUS, SHAQ AND LEBRON JAMES TOGETHER!).
Hopefully, the look on Shaq’s face isn’t because he is going become a stinker for Cleveland and LBJ. I mean he is moving from the “magic potions” that the Suns used to keep him in shape…
The deal being discussed is similar to the one they discussed at midseason, with the Cavaliers getting a center, and the Suns getting cap relief.
The package the Suns would take back, according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, is almost comical: Ben Wallace, who’s retiring and may accept a buyout; Sasha Pavlovic, whose salary is only partially guaranteed, and the 46th pick in today’s draft.
Shaq gets to upstage the entire NBA draft! We don’t look at the draft as the Blake Griffin show, now the discussion has to be about Shaq and LBJ. But, Shaq is the master of this type of self promotion…remember this? (BTW I thought it was smooth…)
Here is the reason why I love it for the Cavs. It shows LBJ that you were serious about getting him some more help. What you gave up was not in the core rotation, so that is undisturbed. The matchups still remain the same and this team won 66 games last year. The teams that you have to watch out for still remain the same in Boston and Orlando.
Boston right now is hard to predict, because it sounds like they are about to undergo massive upheaval.
• The Rajon Rondo trade talk is still alive despite Danny Ainge’s attempts at spin control. In speaking to the media Tuesday, Ainge was pretty adamant that if the Celtics trade Rondo, it will be to make their team better and not because of any problems with Rondo.
I’m not sure I totally buy that. Rondo was the best player for the Celtics in the playoffs, a triple-double machine and the bridge between their present and their future. How would trading Rondo away make the Celtics better?
I’m more persuaded by what several league sources told me about Doc Rivers‘ relationship with Rondo. They say Rivers has told them Rondo is “impossible to coach” and “stubborn.” The worry is that if the Celtics give him a big contract extension next year, he’ll be even more unmanageable in the future. So the Celtics are trying to trade him now, while his trade value is high, to avoid a very difficult decision a year from now.
So, you are a triple double machine AND the team is taking offers for your services? That reinforces that you are a piece of meat…unless you are KG or Paul Pierce. Rondo, hopefully you are going to come back humble and hard working. But your reputation preceeds you. That is why my dad was a big believer (actually had to take the time to email him and say what up…) in saying that your word is the most important thing that you posess. Here is what Bill Burt posits about Rondo
Everything was going too swimmingly for Rajon Rondo.
Starting point guard for the Boston Celtics. World Champion. Reebok commercials. Triple-doubles galore. Recognition as the next “great” point guard.
All by age 23.
This is the same Rajon Rondo who, on draft day in 2006, drew this comment from ESPN college basketball expert Jay Bilas, “The problem is he can’t shoot.”
Rondo still can’t shoot, but he can run an offense.
Now comes the dirt.
He’s pig-headed. He’s not a leader. He’s been tardy too many times to games, including a playoff tilt. And, maybe worst of all, he wants to be among the richest players in pro basketball.
And lest I forget, he still can’t hit the open jump shot.
Clearly, you are getting a little to big for your britches. With that type of movement possible ( not to mention that Ray Allen is looking for a three year extension, which is making management offer his services around with Rondo) makes the Celtics window of dominance potentially shrink. Here is what your coach and GM have said about you in the past. (Thanks to Bluegrass State)
“He’s stubborn,” Ainge told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullen. “He doesn’t always take direction well. He’s very bright and knows what he needs to do to be successful. But sometimes he doesn’t understand what the team needs to be successful.”
Earlier in the season, head coach Doc Rivers said this to Rondo:
“Do you know your teammates hate playing with you? … The point guard has to be the guy that brings energy to the team. You can’t be the guy that sucks it away. Your moodiness is affecting us. Change it.”
For that reason, the Celtics are not the team that you attempt to build your team to beat, you clearly have to beat the Magic to contend for the Crown. With Shaq, you can have an effective counter to Dwight Howard.
The other thing is that you preserve your other talented center, Big Z. Now, he can be regulated to only playing about 20-25 minutes. This allows Cleveland to be more flexible. With Shaq, they have a tremendous low post presence. You can pound the ball down low, trolling for easy shots and silly fouls on Howard. While this is not the best strategy late in the game if you are behind, it can be an effective way to foul out Howard and get fouls on people coming over to double team. That killed the Magic against the Lakers.
The second look that it provides is allowing the Cavs to have the Eastern Euro look, without having to actually have greasy Europeans on your team.
two greasy Euros for the price of one... Sasha Vujacic of the Lakers and Fabricio Oberto formerly of the Spurs (recently traded to the Pistons)
The Cavaliers also were in talks with New Orleans about obtaining Tyson Chandler. If they had not made the trade for O’Neal, they would have traded for Chandler, according to a source.
The Cavs believed O’Neal was the better option because he has just one year left on his contract, and will not eat up cap space that will enable them to pursue players such as Chris Bosh in next summer’s star-studded free-agent class.
It’s all about flexibility and preserving options to keep LBJ at home. Plus, Chandler doesn’t have enough bump in the trunk to deal with Howard.
I like this for the Suns as well. Shaq dominated the ball while he was in Phoenix. When he touches the ball, it slowed down the “beautiful game” style that Steve Nash and Leandro Barbosa like to play, with the influenced D’Antoni/Nolan Richardson 4ominutes of hell/7 seconds or less type of play. Both styles are not going to be enough to get the Suns past the Lakers. The question is will that style get them past San Antonio, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Utah and New Orleans. There is obvious a lot of talent in the West.
Losing Shaq comes with some financial and emotional rewards with Phoenix. First, they do not have to trade Amare. This gives them some money to play around with. It also keeps him happy. I don’t think that Amare enjoyed the second fiddle role with Shaq in tow. The financial rewards are explained in the ESPN article.
For the Suns, the O’Neal trade is a straight salary dump. Pavlovic’s $5 million contract next season is only partially guaranteed, for the amount of $1.5 million.
Factor in the disparities in the contracts among Wallace, Pavlovic and O’Neal, and the team will save $4.5 million next season.
However, factor in the savings the Suns will reap on the luxury tax, and it will be closer to $10 million in savings. That would be amplified if Wallace decides to retire and the Suns buy him out of his contract for less than the $14 million he’s owed next season.
Phoenix is the Wu-Tang of the NBA right now.
and it helps to kick start the rebuilding process that needs to happen. Grant Hill and Steve Nash are past their prime days and are close to the pasture. It is time to restock and reload. Lopez was a great catch last year, but you have to develop some more talent and stop selling your draft picks.
Does race play into decision making? Harvard expels black student after murder on campus
May 27, 2009
Have you ever been around someone who racially/ethnically counts or totals up their friends/co-workers or colleagues? When they do that, do you ever call them a racist? It’s fun, you should try it some time. See how defensive they get.
Friend: Why do (fill in the blank group) do that?
Me: Do what? What are you a racist?
F: NO, NO! I have (x number) of friends! I didn’t mean it like that!
M: What did you mean then? Am I supposed to essentialize the characteristics of some group into a simple answer?
This also works when people expect you to speak for your ethnic/gender/social orientation. You can get a lot of kicks from that, and it becomes a teachable moment for a lot of people to watch what they say.
All you need to know is right here...
I got to spend some time in Boston when I was younger. My girlfriend, who convinced me to move to Minnesota, attempted to convince me to move to Boston. I didn’t really feel Boston as a town and I didn’t know anyone there, so I resisted change and eventually she moved and we attempted a long distance relationship and it fizzled out.
I resisted Boston, because of a bad rep the city had. As someone who follows sports fanatically, I have always been turned off on Boston, due to the fact the black players always talked trash about the city.
Boston Magazine has an article devoted to the perception of the city and the allegations of racism. The lens is initially focusing on the Kevin Garnett trade (circa start of the 2007 season) to the Boston Celtics. (and we all remember how well it worked out)
First of all, it’s a bad team,” Wilbon opined. “Second of all, you have this history of bigotry against African-American people in Boston. The only place I’ve ever been confronted, multiple times, and been called the n-word to my face, is specifically the Boston Garden…. The fact is, Boston has that history, and black players know that, and they do not want to go voluntarily to Boston.” When asked by Patrick whether he thought that perception factored into Garnett’s unwillingness to be traded here, Wilbon said, “I know it does. Yeah. Sure. Absolutely.” He later added that racism “might have been our issue at one point, but now it’s [Boston’s] issue.”
There were qualifiers before and after those comments. Wilbon credited the Celtics for being one of the first teams in the NBA to feature black players. And he stipulated that he didn’t think Boston today is much different from other major cities. But that didn’t matter. All anyone heard was Wilbon calling Boston racist. And that’s all anyone needed to hear.
Now, I have been to Boston several times, before this and after the deal. Boston is really like any other town to me. You have enclaves or pockets of areas that are not diverse, just like most places in America. It isn’t warm and friendly, but point to a big city that is. Gary Matthews Jr, an outfielder on the Angels (who also stinks as a fantasy player, since he is their 5th OF, only playing due to a rash of injuries in the OF) speaks on the subject.
“They’re loud, they’re drunk, they’re obnoxious,” Matthews told the Los Angeles Times, referring to Sox fans, and added that Fenway is “one of the few places you’ll hear racial comments.” It was an extemporaneous remark, one the reporter never asked him to elaborate on or provide specifics for—and as casually as it was thrown out, it was just as readily accepted as fact, with other national outlets, once again, quickly picking up the story. In that way, it smacked of a familiar pattern: Every few years, someone in the sports world comes along and says something similar. (Back in 2004, it was Barry Bonds telling reporters he wouldn’t play here because “it’s too racist.”)
Basic History would tell us of Boston’s racist past. There were parts of the outlying community and places inside the city that blacks were not welcome.
Normally, if you are rich, you transcend race. It’s one of the reasons that O.J. still gets talked about and defended by blacks and whites is that his physical greatness was so remarkable, that people overlooked race. With Bill Russell, he paints a different and racist story about Boston. For whatever reason, his race trumped his athletic ability. (For those of you who don’t know who he is, just know that he is one of the greatest ever in basketball, point blank, period.)
Celtics Hall of Famer Bill Russell may have been named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players, but that didn’t shield him from bigotry during his playing days. Russell, who once called Boston a “flea market of racism,” even had vandals break into his home just to defecate in his bed.
But, racism is a part of most cities past. Why cant we move on from the admittedly horrible past? Because it is too fresh in our minds and the images are burned into our memory. When you include busing as part of the issue, that brings memories that I only tie in with the south. As a black man, I can tell you that one place I will never live is in the South.
They look as though they could be your neighbor, or in your church...
Look at the picture above. It looks like middle class mothers are fighting for something. Unfortunately, what they are fighting is to prevent busing and de-segregation in Boston during the 70’s.
Imagine that is our daily routine. You get up, take a shower, and have some breakfast. Your mom packs your lunch and tells you to, “Have a good day.” You give her a peck on the cheek, go to the corner and get on the bus. As someone who was bused in the 70’s to go to Kensington Elementary in Kensington, CA, that resonates with me. We didn’t need any of the armed guards, and people actually welcomed us, but I could feel their unease at different surroundings. Now place yourself in their shoes…
So, Boston, you have a well deserved skeptism from black people…The Boston Magazine continues
More than anything, we have busing to thank for that reputation. There’s no getting around it. Instead of inspiring racial harmony, the experiment failed miserably as white parents threw stones at busloads of frightened black children without compunction. Boston has been known ever since as the racist city of segregated enclaves like Southie and Charlestown.
Is this as close as White America wants Blacks to get to Harvard?
Of course not. We have come too far to say that. But, can we say that race matters and effects all aspects of our life? Absolutely.
The recent happenings at Harvard seem to prove this thesis true. Lets get a look at what has happened recently. The Times Online reports…
Harvard University is embroiled in a scandal involving drugs, murder and allegations of racism after a man was shot dead on campus.
The murder last week of Justin Cosby, an alleged drug dealer, has stunned America’s oldest Ivy League institution. The expulsion of a female student believed to be linked to the killing has added to the university’s problems after she claimed that she was being targeted because she was black and poor.
Chanequa Campbell, 21, who grew up in a rough, working-class Brooklyn neighbourhood, was admitted to Harvard after winning scholarships from The New York Times and Coca-Cola, and was due to graduate next month. She was ordered off campus last week.
Now, first, you have to get past her name. I could a whole post about crazy names people give their children, but that is for a different time. Second, she has to be smart as hell. She is about to get out of there with a degree, and she had won some big scholarships.
Race has something to do with this. Ms. Campbell thinks so, and I am inclined to agree with her.
“I do believe that I am being singled out . . . the honest answer is I’m black and I’m poor,” Ms Campbell told The Boston Globe.
“I’m from New York and I walk in a certain way and I keep my clothes in a certain way. It’s something that labels me as different from everyone else.”
Here is the perspective (very brief) of the Harvard Administration.
A Harvard official said that the university had taken “appropriate steps”.
I was left wondering what steps were those. I would hope that there would be some sort of review process, and hearings to determine her outcome, but the article does not go into more depth. But, at the point the police have not charged her with anything, why expel her BEFORE the case has even gone to trial?
Ms Campbell is believed to have been expelled from the university — the alma mater of Barack Obama and seven former US presidents — because of her alleged involvement in the death of Mr Cosby, 21, which prosecutors say was a botched robbery.
In reading the rest of the story, they never seem to connect the dots to explain WHY SHE WAS EXPELLED. The best rationale that I can come up with is that she knew the someone who knew the killer. Yeah, it’s that flimsy…
One issue is how the alleged killer gained access to the dormitory. Officials say that he obtained a security pass from a Harvard student.
Ms Campbell said that she lived in Kirkland annex and not in Kirkland House, where Mr Cosby was shot, and insisted that Mr Copney did not use her Harvard card to get in.
Gerard Leone, the district attorney prosecuting the case, said that Mr Copney, the son of a retired New York police officer, had travelled to Harvard with the intent of robbing Mr Cosby, who was unarmed. “During the course of the rip-off, things go bad and Justin Cosby gets shot to death,” Mr Leone said.
Prosecutors said that Mr Cosby was “visiting friends on the campus”. He was confronted by Mr Copney and “during the course of the confrontation, multiple shots were fired. One of those shots struck Cosby, resulting in his death.” After he was shot, the victim ran up a street before collapsing. He died several hours later in hospital.
Ms Campbell said: “I have no knowledge of anything that happened, none whatsoever.” She said that she was taking a final exam on the afternoon of the murder.
With evidence like that, what other conclusion should/could you come up with outside of race, or general incompetence? Fight the power!
E’s song of the day
May 2, 2009
I’m chilling in Kentucky (no, not for the Derby) at the Tournament of Champions (high school debate, people, recognize!) but I’m done for the day and back at the hotel for a hot minute, so I can hit you off with a couple of jams (gotta atone for missing yesterday – crazy travel etc.). They’re literally minutes away from the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby so I’ll keep things short and sweet. Speaking of sweet, I was inspired by the last SOTD (Next – Too Close) to relisten to my cassette copy of The Nutty Professor Soundtrack – a great collection of works, including today’s first jam. For the ladies (I love you, girls): AZ Yet – Last Night. Enjoy (Note: the video is a little out of synch, so ladies: just close your eyes and think of your boy E) ….
The second jam I have on some random bay area DJ mixtape (I rep a variety of local DJ’s including, but not limited to: The Oakland Faders, Dj Eleven, Dj Ayres, DJ Neil Armstrong) and then I heard it again on the radio a few days ago, so you know I had to make a note to share its genius with my favorite people. Jam two and then the horses run. I’m rooting for General Quarters – the obvious feel-good favorite. I had been backing I Want Revenge but that late scratch forced me to make a last-second swap. Either way, this race, for me, is really just an appetizer for tonights Main Events: Chicago-Boston hoops (get it done Bulls!) and the Pac man (My Guy!!) – Hatton (Jason-the-hipster’s guy) fight. But I digress. Jam two and then I’m out with no real promise to get at you for a jam tomorrow during the madness that is this weekend. Ray, Goodman and Brown – Special Lady. Enjoy….
A Good kind of Turncoat: Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switching to the Democratic Party
April 28, 2009
I had an experience that caused me to become a turncoat…. and I am not embarrassed about it.
When I was a kid, I was a Philadelphia 76er fan. One big reason is that basketball was not really televised much. Occasionally, you got a tape delayed game, or you got the game of the week. Two major moments defined who I rooted for. The first reason was this
Dr. J was beyond cool in this movie. Plus, I am a Pisces as well, so there is some symbolism in the movie for me. The second reason is the TV. Lots of people are always up in arms about why I am a Laker fan. It stems from the fact that I was a Sixer fan.
The Sixers were eliminated twice in the Eastern Conference Finals. In 1979, Larry Bird entered the league, reviving the Boston Celtics and the storied Celtics-76ers rivalry; these two teams faced each other in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1980, ‘81, ‘82, and ‘85.
The Bird vs. Dr. J matchup became arguably the top personal rivalry in the sport (along with Bird vs. Magic Johnson), inspiring the early Electronic Arts video game Julius Erving-Larry Bird One-on-One.
The battle lines had been drawn. I wore out the Commodore 64 playing this game on the green screen, then finally in color.
I was clearly rooting for Dr. J, just like I rooted for Magic and Michigan St against Larry and Indiana St in the finals of the NCAA tournament as a kid. It would continue later, in a different form.
The Dr. J, Bobby Jones, Moses Malone, Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney team was the reason that I played basketball. With other personalities like Darryl Dawkins and Marc Ivaroni, this team was ready to roll.
Philadelphia finally had its missing ingredient. Malone’s physical presence and tireless rebounding took the pressure off the rest of the 76ers, and the team jelled as never before. Malone was MVP for the second year in a row, becoming the only man to win the award in consecutive years for different teams. He averaged a team-high 24.5 ppg and a league-leading 15.3 rpg, and also gave Philadelphia a last resort: Whenever the offense broke down or got stuck, the Sixers would simply dump the ball in to Malone, who would wheel to the basket and either score or get fouled (Malone would make 600 of 788 free throw attempts, both league highs).
Meanwhile, Julius Erving averaged 21.4 ppg and was spectacular at one forward, joining Malone on the All-NBA First Team. Marc Iavaroni was the silent banger at the other forward spot, with All-NBA Defensive First Team selection and fast-break finisher Bobby Jones coming off the bench. Andrew Toney, a deadly shooter whose proficiency against the hated Celtics earned him the nickname. “The Boston Strangler,” averaged 19.7 ppg and teamed with playmaker Maurice Cheeks (6.9 apg, 184 steals) in a classic backcourt. Clint Richardson and Clemon Johnson were other key reserves for Head Coach Billy Cunningham, who was emerging as a strong NBA bench leader with the able support of assistant Chuck Daly.
The Sixers raced through the regular season, finishing with a league-best 65-17 record. Heading into the Finals, Malone was asked for his prediction and responded with the classic “Fo’, fo’ fo’.” Philadelphia came close to living up to Malone’s prediction of an unblemished playoff record, sweeping New York, beating Milwaukee 4-1 and then sweeping a Los Angeles Lakers team weakened by injuries to Norm Nixon and Bob McAdoo in the NBA Finals. Philadelphia’s 12-1 playoff record is the best in NBA history, and an amended version of Malone’s prediction was engraved on the players’ championship rings: “Fo’, five, fo’.”
That 82-83 team was the only one to break through the wall of green known as the Celtics. I hated watching them beat my team in seven games most years. As soon as the Eastern Conference Finals were over, I was ready to root for the West. Almost every year, it would be the Lakers playing the Celtics.
That, coupled with the Video Games, I finally decided that I rooted for the Lakers. They have been the only team I root for since 86. Its funny that my friends get so up in arms that I root for the Lakers. It makes me laugh because its only an issue when they are doing well. I wasn’t hearing this when Magic retired and I was rooting for Ced Ceballos, who quit to go hang out at Lake Havasu one year. I supported the local team, the Warriors, until the one player I really liked, Mitch Richmond, was dealt on opening night, with me in the stands. I stopped rooting and supporting for the local team, except when they play my team, or its the playoffs, since playoff basketball has a special feel to it.
Plus, they forget that I lived in LA as a kid for awhile and I worked at LMU, where the Lakers routinely held practice and summer scrimmages, but there is not ever a need to remind them, since they are just pissed about the fates of their own teams.
Another person has seen the light and has decided to change affiliations.
Specter To Switch Parties
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning.
Specter’s decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator from Minnesota. (Former Sen. Norm Coleman is appealing Franken’s victory in the state Supreme Court.)
“I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary,” said Specter in a statement. “I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election.”
He added: “Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.”
Specter as a Democrat would also fundamentally alter the 2010 calculus in Pennsylvania as he was expected to face a difficult primary challenge next year from former Rep. Pat Toomey. The only announced Democrat in the race is former National Constitution Center head Joe Torsella although several other candidates are looking at the race.
This is a weapon that Obama has to use. This is what Democrats were hoping for in the election, the 60 person majority that can block filibuster attempts that could prevent measures from getting past. This is a powerful tool Presidents can use to drive their agenda.
This does not mean that Obama can rest. It is always possible to lose members of your party on the more controversial issues that can drive the proverbial wedge between supporters. But, with numbers like this, you can force Republicans to the drawing table, where negotiations on issues can take place.
