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.

Starbury sneakers from Stephon Marbury - 5.1.2007.1

I must say I am impressed. There are few basketball players I am aware of that are really worth talking about these days. I admit I am not a fan of basketball; I liken it to tennis with 12 players a side. That does not mean I don’t think they have more skill than average at the professional level. Given my lack of knowledge, I am aware of certain players. One that has recently caught my attention, Mr. Stephon Marbury, as I mentioned impressed me.

What I am impressed about has nothing to do with his ability to bounce a ball (or the more controversial aspects of his sports career), but what he is doing about his responsibility to present a positive image to children. I cannot speak about his everyday actions, but his new line of sneakers demands conversation.

I saw Mr. Marbury being interviewed by Mr. Neil Cavuto yesterday on Fox News. The reason was the conversation on his new line of sneakers, Starbury. They cost $15. I did not forget the 0 in the number. Imagine that, a line of sneakers promoted by a star athlete,
that costs what they are worth. I thought the day would never come.

Finally someone is waking up and realizing that children, often from inner cities where money can be tight, cannot and should not need to afford ridiculously overpriced goods. Every sneaker on the market costs maybe $5 to make at the most, I’d guess, and parents have long been gouged to provide their kids the latest brand at retail costs in the $100+ range. When you consider that most products that can make a 20% profit are considered goldmines by corporations across the world you start to see the rip-off.

Mr. Marbury is giving back to the Black Community, and moreso to kids in NYC high schools that play varsity basketball. That is an act of kindness and responsibility. It’s a reminder that “bling” [truly a term of absolute ignorance] is just a way to stay poor and make someone else rich for no reason. It’s a lesson in fiscal responsibility, which I hope could lead to personal responsibility. It’s an entertainer doing something for the fans and not for their bank account. And it’s about time.

I don’t fault anyone for making or endorsing a product and getting paid for it. Even better if they actually support and/or believe in the product. But ripping-off kids is wrong no matter what the reason. And it’s insulting when a multi-millionaire exploits fans, especially those in the least economically capable communities, to make another buck. Even the worst stockbrokers I worked with or knew of in the market would NEVER take money from kids and orphans. To make it blunt, profits in excess of 200% for a piece of sporting equipment that can’t survive the wear and tear of daily use beyond 6 months or so, and targeted to children and young adults, is exploitive.

I also laud Mr. Marbury for being one of the NBA leading donations for Hurricane Katrina victims and the several barbers he has at Coney Island to provide free haircuts to the youth. Are all these actions the biggest things that can be done to help the community? No. Do they make a statement? I feel they do. What might that statement be?

I feel that unlike most athletes Mr. Marbury is stating that money is not the be all of life. That his personal prosperity is not more important than those that provide him the prosperity. He seems to realize that the fans are the reason for his success, ultimately. And he presents an image that is severely lacking among entertainers and celebrities today, especially if those entertainers are African American. That image is class, pride, perhaps humility. That is what I have been able to gather.

I don’t know a lot about Mr. Marbury, and even less about his profession of choice. Yet what I have been able to divine seems worthwhile, even though there are missteps which is part of being human. That is worth talking about, more to the point it’s worth having our children emulate to an extent.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Irresponsible NBA players - 12.18.2006.1

I realize that there was no news of the odd and unusual for this past weekend. There are to main reasons for that, the first being that there was no humorous and/or quirky information of once in a great while. At least not by my standards. The second thing is that with the end of year quickly approaching I am working on annual activities for 6+ websites. Part of the pitfalls of having a diversified business. Of course you might have noticed my letter, the first of several to be sent to various politicians, that I sent to Senator Clinton. But there were 2 things I did want to speak about.

The first is the NBA basketball game between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets. This is ridiculous. There is no excuse for it. This was supposed to be a basketball game, not a boxing match. These are supposed to be professionals, and they are paid exorbitantly well to be professionals. Yet there seems to be a trend growing of basketball player fighting in the middle of a game.

There is no reason for this. The foul was unnecessary. The reaction to the foul can’t be tolerated. All because one team kept its first string players in at the end of a game that was all but won. I don’t get it. The Knicks had lost, does it matter who was on the floor? How does it change anything? The knocks had the option to keep the first-string on the court, and chose not to. Deal with it. It’s part of being a professional and playing a sport. Sometimes you lose and sometimes that loss is embarrassing. In the same way that children would be punished for being a bad sport in a similar situation, these players seem to need to be scolded.

From what I understand several players will not be allowed to play for multiple games (ranging from 15 to 1) from both teams. It’s been said that this will affect the incomes these players will receive. At the 15 game penalty end it’s said that it equates to about $750,000. Now considering that this is for the top scorer of the NBA, whom I guess makes about 20-30 million over 5 years, it’s a slap but on the wrists. I don’t follow basketball, it’s not my game – reminding me of tennis with way too many people, but assuming I’m right that means the penalty will reduce the pay for this year to 3.25 million dollars. Sounds bad at first glance except it doesn’t take into account that I’m using the low end numbers for my guess. It also doesn’t factor in the advertising deals that this player has, which probably generate 2x his NBA paycheck.

In essence the money may prevent him from getting a new car or wasting it on a party, but beyond giving him a tax break, and a mini-vacation, it has no real affect. The more that these players get for individual performance, and advertising contracts on that same basis, the less they are team players and just businessmen for hire. So the effect on the team is not a priority. Were it up to me I’d make sure he lost half his pay for the year, banned from playing any games for half the year, and if he had any sponsorship deals something special. And company that ran an ad for the player in question would be banned by the NBA for one year (of course they would have a one week grace period to pull the ads), this would be in effect while the player was ineligible to play. That penalty applies to every player involved in a fight, no matter who starts it. If a player gets hit, they have to back off and not get into a fight [an exception for preventing being beaten to a pulp and merely defending yourself from repeated blows is allowed].
Sound harsh? Well I think its multi-million dollar responsibility harsh. They took the job, the pay, and the responsibility goes with it. I never heard of Mr. Michael Jordan in a fight, or Mr. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, or Mr. Larry Bird. The game is the same as then, only the players and their egos have changed. And how much money they make. There is no excuse.

And yes I left out the players names; I’m disgusted with their actions and chose not to speak of them by name.

I’ll mention the second item from the weekend in a little bit.

This is what I think, what do you think?

50 cent and Anna Nicole Smith

[this post was moved from An award, ice, a role-model and strippers for search engine reasons. No other alteration to the post has occured.]

Continuing this theme of ‘Why do I need to know this’ I fall upon a recent statement by 50 Cent [Ok here is a pet peeve of mine. What happened to the s? The word is cents, not a difficult word. I presume that the rapper has had enough education to know the proper spelling of this word. I could be wrong. Even if the word is supposed to be 50% where is the per? It just annoys me the way the American English language is abused for profit, encouraging misuse by those who do not profit but believe that it must be ok since rich entertainers do it. See my thoughts on NBA about role models.] on Eminem. First, what change does this make in ANYONE’S life? Why is this considered news? Secondly, Eminem is hardly a gold standard to follow. Eminem failed 9th grade three times and dropped out of high school. He has made millions attacking his mother and then ex-wife on various recordings. He received 2 years probation on a concealed weapons charge [shall we say slap on the wrist], was sued for defamation, and is often noted for his apparent homophobia (performing on stage with a gay man is a marketing gimmick not a statement about personal thoughts) and misogyny as expressed by his music. The last 2 items, and possibly the legal charges, are of course positives when rappers are concerned. But to be considered a role model seems hardly credible. While I cannot deny that some of the work by Eminem shows talent few in this sector of the entertainment industry have, that is not very hard in my opinion. To have marginal competence does not make you Einstein because you are compared against large numbers of incompetents, as an example. If Eminem is the highlight of what rappers should be like, then in most every aspect I’d have to be very sad for the outlook of an already felon-glutted, low-talent entertainment. Obviously 50 cent and I have severely different outlooks.

Lastly, since we are considering a way to look at things, I’m reminded that Ms. Anna Nicole Smith will soon be able to present her case before the U.S. Supreme Court. While not the typical “rags-to-riches” scenario, I am sure some (referred to colloquially in the Black African American culture at least as golddiddgers) may find this inspiring. I am amazed at the greed that is on display. Without regard for the feelings that Ms. Smith and her late husband shared, the various legal battles for his estate are less than virtuous at least in appearance. The press coverage of this case will no doubt be a standout. The big question of course is what precedent will be set by this case. And how much wealth can be shared by those in an inheritance. Keep dad away from those strippers or else.

NBA code

I am amazed at times by the silly and often tunneled-visioned responses that come out of the publics mouths. To hear that some people would ever claim that a dress code is an infringement of personal expression is ludicrous. To further state that it is racist is beyond words.

The fact that we are speaking about a small group of multi-millionares is not as relavant as the fact that we are speaking about a business. The NBA, like the NFL or NHL ect., are all businesses and that is the bottom line. Like any other business there are expectations of its employees, to be polite and presentable when dealing with the public. When was the last time you went into a major business establishment and found a punk rock-attired employee (outside of companies where such attire is part of the daily operation and image)? How many Goths are in full regailia as they serve you dinner in a resturant or selling you a new car?

In addition to that is the fact that, as Sarah Fredericks [as an example but not to single her out] states in her comment to the Albany times Union "Being a player in the NBA is a relaxed profession, not your typical 9-to-5 office job." This is something I do agree with, but she goes on to say "The NBA is sending a message to young fans, all right: Unless you adhere to the certain mold created and maintained by the dominant group, there is little chance you will prevail."

While the NBA is not a 9-5 office job, it is a job. And it is a job that directly interacts with the public on a global scale. Is it a smart descision for the owners and advertisers to alienate any portion of that worldwide market? And why would any owners of any business want to have an association (inferred or otherwise) with anything that promotes drugs, irresponsibility, violence, crime and derrogation of women (which the majority of hip-hop songs currently do) as an example.

As for the second statement, is it so horrible to expect the youth of today to dress in a classier style than 3XXX size garments and overabundant amounts of jewlery? Is it somehow mindless to wear and look good in suits (designer hand made in the case of these multi-millionares). Is Puffy any less of a creative figure due to the suits and ofits he wears (most being decidedly non-hiphop)? What about a statement made by Michael Jordan which I will paraphrase as I recall it, that as an international figure that recieves media attention worldwide he feels it is his responsibility to always be seen in public looking as good as possible, since he cannot say what impression will be made on the youth that happen to see him outside of his work, but that he want it to be a positive one.

I won't go into the thought that seems to be expressed often that the black/minority youth of today should be encouraged to seek out a life in sports at the exclusion of learning and the pursuit of knowledge. But to state that a dress code to maintain a unified and coherent business image during their extremely short work season that is positive, is restrictive to this group of multi-millionares is just laffable.

But what do you think?