Harlem Globetrotter Curly Neal to be honored Feb 15th - 2.12.2008.2

For a bit of positive news I want to mention the Harlem Globetrotters. On the 15th they will be retiring the 5th number of a Globetrotter in the 82 year history of the basketball team. This honor will be going to Fred "Curly" Neal who played with the team for 22 years and played 6,000 games and whose number is 22.

Curly Neal is one of the most famous Globetrotters, starting with the team in 1963, he has been highlighted along with other members on television and cartoons. He was part of the teams 38 year winning streak, which is unprecidented in any sport to my knowledge.

For those that think the players on the Globetrotter team are just entertainers and not highly skilled basketball players, I suggest these facts.

The Globetrotters membership includes:

• Wilt Chamberlain (played number 13 that was retired as well)
  
• Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins (Hall of Fame 1992)
  
• Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton (first African American to sign a NBA contract)
  
• Marques Haynes (the possibly best ball handle and longest proferssional career in basketball ever)
  
• George "Meadowlark" Lemon (played with Curly Neal for 22 years, and recipient of the higest honor of the Hall of Fame – the John Bunn Award- and is a member of the Hall)
  
• Jerome James (who currently plays for the New York Knicks)
  
• John Chaney (a Temple University coach)
  
• Reece "Goose" Tatum (a WWII veteran and inventor of the sky hook that Karem Abdul Jabbar – an honorary memeber after 1989 - is famous for).
  

That’s just a few of the members that are known in basketball. Baseball Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Ferguson Jenkins and Lou Brock were also former Globetrotters.

The Harlem Globetrotters hit 22,000 wins in February 2006 (not that the major media covered it much as I recall) and have a current winning percentage of 98.4%. Oh and back when the NBA was still segregated (a mere 58 years ago) the Globetrotters beat the league leading Minnesota Lakers (an all-white team) 2 years in a row.

Curly Neal has played in 97 countries of the 118 that the Globetrotters have played in, before a good number of the 125 million fans that have seen this team, of which I include myself as a fan. This is an honor I am happy to hear of, and it’s hard for me to imagine a Globetrotter team that does not include him. I’m also happy to mention that later this year Curly Neal will be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

I congratulate him on these honors, and thank him for the performances and joy he provided me and so many others with.

Hall of Fame, Obi Wan, cavemen and Star Trek - 3.13.2007.1

So did you hear? Finally there has been some recognition for the original forms of Rap music. The musical genre has been rightly acknowledged with the induction of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. The founding groups and individuals that were considered mere fads by the media and industry are now finally getting the respect due for creating a genre that, though changed dramatically, now commands significant attention in record sales, movie soundtracks, music television air-time and more. Long past a mere fad, the founders can now look to be joined by other influential groups in the near term.

Without a question the Beastie Boys will get recognized, and they deserve to though I think it will be before other more deserving artists. LL Cool J must be inducted, as must Run-DMC, and Eric B and Rakim. I’m sure slightly down the road will be Queen Latifah and Salt&Peppa. Dougie Fresh would be a pleasant addition as well. Whether or not this will happen, and in what order will come out shortly as the 25 year pre-condition is met by more and more of the ‘fad’ stars. And when the time comes I dare the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame to deny Public Enemy. [Though I’m glad the time for considering the minor abilities of artists like 50 cent is far off.]

In other news there is talk of the cavemen from the popular Giecko ads, will be getting their own television show. This could be quite interesting, and I hope the respect is given to the men starring in the ads now by giving them a shot at fame on the show. It would be irresponsible if they aren’t in the show. More on that as details emerge.

In other popular news, fans of Star Trek have something to look forward to. The journey is not over, as a new movie is planned for the end of 2008. This new film will be going back into the past of the timeline, though thankfully will not be delving into the ruinous Enterprise arena. No, the studios have learned and realized the real draws of the series, and will be featuring a story based on Kirk and Spock. This will be about their first meeting and mission outside of Starfleet Academy.

This is fertile ground and a lot can be done with the story. Hopefully the writers have actually watched the early television show, even better if they are fans. But be primed against a good movie with the fact that ‘revisioning’ seems to be the mantra of films based on previous movies and television programs these days. The most critical fact will be the choice of who will play Kirk and Spock. Considering we know what they look like, getting someone that looks like younger versions of them will be difficult. But as long as the choices are close I can live with that obvious difficulty. Given that I can’t imagine who could pull it off. I’m not the only fan out there, who do you think should be these larger than Starfleet characters? Who deserves to be the greatest Starfleet captain and his first mate?

For fans of the biggest sci-fi film and series ever, another piece of the Force has just gone into someone else’s hands. Yes the cloak of old Obi Wan Kenobi, as worn by esteemed actor Sir Alec Guiness, was sold recently for $104,000. Not a small price tag, though I can see paying for that item. Of course my wish list includes Darth Vader’s helmet and lightsaber. Not likely I could afford them but still worth wanting.
For the non sci fi fans the same auction also sold a Bond girl catsuit, Mr. Mel Gibson’s kilt from Braveheart and Mr. Terry Jones’ metal helm from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That last piece went for 19 thousand. Some wish lists are real expensive.

More soccer and movie thoughts soon to come.

This is what I think, what do you think?