Odds and Ends

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it's a damn duck. If a golf club has two female members, and a two black members and is an invitations only membership, and not making any plans to add any more women and people of color, it's a racist and misogynist golf club. Yeah I'm talking about the Augusta National Golf Club: 99% of membership white males. And, really, up to the turn of the century all caddies had to be black? Yes'm masta. What is up with white guys? I'm a white guy and I'm getting really ashamed of my race.  So, I wonder why the golfers over the years haven't brought any real pressure to bear on Augusta? Probably because the vast majority are white. Hey, I wonder are there any Asian members? Am I being sarcastic? You bet.

I'm pulling for Sergio at the Masters. As great a golfer as he is and no majors??? I'll settle for Ricky
Fowler. You gotta love his orange Oklahoma State trousers. Watch out for Rose. The Englishman is so damn steady. 

Baseball season is on its way. Here's an off the wall and little known book of collected stories about baseball called KILL THE AMPAYA!  The Best Latin American Baseball Fiction . Edited and translated by Dick Cluster. Terrific fun read.

Watched Kevin Durant's first game back after injury. Looks like KD will be ready to be the old KD in time for the playoffs. It's going to be real interesting to see how Coach Kerr adjusts his rotations. My wife and I are going to be traveling in Greece during the first round, so I'll have to find a taverna with a TV, but then I might become distracted by a glass of ouzo and a plate of dolmas. Good luck, Dubs!

Teams in the NBA other than the Big Boys that will be better next year, not in any particular order:

1) I like the Suns's young players to mature and become competitive. Booker and Chriss,
     and Bender with a summer to improve.  Lem incrementally better. High energy wide body
     in Williams. One more solid draft choice away, but could surprise even without one.    

2) Portland Blazers. They've finally got a big who can score and protect the paint and a summer to
    find a little more muscle and an effective reserve point guard. 

3) I have to give the Timberwolves some love. They just have too many athletic and talented players
    to continue the status quo. If they can take Thibidaux's gruff personality and accept that they must
    play D for 4 quarters, they're bound to be be contenders for a playoff spot.

4) I'm giving a nod to the Sacramento Kings. A summer of improvement for their young core: Cauley
     Stein, Hield, Labisierre, Richardson, and Papagiannos. They still need a bona fide point guard,
     but even if they have to go with the steady if not brilliant Collison, they should be improved.

5) I don't see much improvement in the East, but will take a chance on Washington Wizards. With
     addition of Bogdanovich to stretch the floor. With a training camp, he might be the difference
     maker for a roster that contains lots of talent. Sometimes it only takes one addition.

6) Philly, but only if Embid comes back healthy and can stay healthy. He is indeed a stud.

Why I Never Played Golf    by Tom Meschery

I din't trust myself. Imagine
losing a match by one stroke
on the eighteenth green, his putt
longer than mine. He sinks it
for a birdie and I sink mine 
for par, and I have my putter
in my hand and a bad temper
and he is smiling at me.
You understand, smiling.

Raiders to Vegas and etc

Our talented sports writer Ailene Voisin in this morning's Sacramento Bee said it succincly, but not as colorffully as I'm about to do: Mark Davis is an ungrateful shithead. Oaklanders should bycott all the games next football season. Do not put one dollar in the asshole's pocket. And, Oakland should sue to keep the Raider name. The Vegas team should be renamed the Los Vegas Dice? Or how about the Los Vegas Strippers? Or how about Los Vegas Hookers? One needs to remember that Los Vegas was built on water they stole from California.

Alas, Mark Orr has left his post as Athletic Director of Saint Mary's College. He will be greatly missed, having done a fabulous job in his nine years at my alma mater. He becomes the AD at Sacramento State University. The school could not have found a better man for the job. You Sacramentans can count on great days ahead for Hornets' sports. First predication: in one year, Mark will announce he has put together the financing of a new multi-purpose arena to house basketball and other sports and events.

UConn Women's basketball team routed the Oregon Duckies. My wife, a Duck grad, is in mourning. It was inevitable. The Lady Huskies are, as usual, awesome. What Gene Auriama is accomplishing with his team, with each win, is making sports history. It needs to be pointed out, and not on the inner pages of the sports' section, that this record win streak is in the same class as the great Bill Russell Celtics, and Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game.

I agree with this morning's observation by Sac Bee's Matt Arrows that Kap, prior to his protest, was an injured player. Is he being blackballed? In this awful political climate with so many of the NFL's owner's conservatives, it's possible, but unlikely. Kap has a lot of football proving to do before teams are going open their pocket books. Let me say, on Kap's behalf, he opens up his pocketbook to support causes he believes in. In this regard, the man walks his talk. At some point in his career, the next team or the team after that, baring injuries, Kap will become an elite QB. Go Kap!

Love the Jeanie and Janie LA Lakers' show. A tough minded female boss, why not? Is Magic the right person? Not a good coach, but maybe a good consultant.

The Sacramento Kings have won two close game against two playoff teams with a team of youngsters and arguably vet non-starteers (on other teams). The youngsters are Buddy Hield, Willy Cauley Stein, Skal Labisiere, and George Papagiannis. One the bench, recovering from injuries, is Malachi Richardson. I do not mean to demean the other guys. They are playing tough and as a team and having fun and listening to their coach. They compete. Bravo.

On to the LIFE section of my Blog: Donald Trump, pay attention. I'm a Russian immigrant. Our family came to the United States after the Second World War. I became an American citizen, gratefully, at the age of sixteen. I love my adopted country. My parents loved their country, Russia, until the Bolsheviks (Communists) took over after the revolution of 1917. Most of my parents' family, my cousins and Granndpa and other kin, were executed by the Communists. Vladimir Putin is a Communist and an ex KGB agent. If you think he suddenly became a believer in democracy, I'd like to sell you the Golden Gate Bridge. If you and your minions are working with this Communist sonavabitch, in any shape or form, you are TRAITORS to the United States of America and should be imprisoned. 

Before ski season ends, here's a small poem I've always gotten a chuckle over.

Winter Trees  by Conrad Diekmann

I think that I shall never ski
Again against so stout a tree.

A tree whose rugged bark is pressed
In bas-relief upon my chest.

A tree that with bacchantic air
Wears ski poles in its tangle hair.

I've learned my lesson: Fools like me
Should never try to shave a tree.

Democrats Need Draymond Green

The Democratic Party has got to stop being so weeny and expose the Republicans for what the are: reactionary, frightened, homophobic, intellectually lazy, xenophobic, elitist, greedy, Putin puppet, lying white supremacists. Did I leave anything out? And if the Democratic Party doesn't have the gumption to stand up to the Trump crew, let me suggest that they take a crash course on toughness from Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors who has been playing David to Goliath his entire NBA career and winning.

Russell Westbrook has got to grow up. Doesn't he realize that if Kevin Durant was still on the Thunder, he (Westbrook) would have had no chance to surpass The Big O's triple-double NBA record. Zero chance! Westbrook should embrace Durant and thank him for helping him, by his absence, insure his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

I read two marvelous articles in today's Chronicle Sporting Green. The first was a short history of the life of Zaza Pachulia of Georgia and the Golden State Warriors. It is a story of family togetherness, how his father and mother worked together to give their son a chance at basketball greatness. The second story was about Patrick McCaw, the rookie combo guard of the Warriors. It too is about family, specifically about how influential Patrick's father has been in his life as a model to emulate.
It has been the case since the Warriors new ownership of Joe Lacob and Peter Guber that the idea of the team as family has been stressed. It was the case back in my day under the ownership of our beloved Franklin Mieuli. Zaza and Patrick have been great additions to the Dubs family.

Perhaps I'm not the first, but I haven't read or heard it said anywhere else, the King's 2016 first round draft choice  George Papagiannis has a chance to turn into a fine NBA center. He is more athletic than critics think. He's got length and strength and toughness. He finishes at the rim. He has a nice jump hook. And like all European bigs, he can shoot from distance. Needs to work on his footwork and lateral movement this summer. And, don't forget, he is only 19 years old.

Recently, Skal Labisiere has been showing that he too was a good draft choice. He has the ability to be a solid power forward. Malachi Richardson, before he was injured, was coming along nicely as a two/three combo. Buddy Hield is the shooting guard the Kings have been looking for. Finally, Willy Cauley Stein, once he learns to control his tempo, has a chance to be an explosive interior force, either at the post or at the power forward. So, the Sacramento Kings' fans should not lament the absence of the gloomy talented, personality afflicted Cousins, and take a look at what they have in place - some damn good youngsters to build for the future. Young smart coach. Players having some fun. Things are looking up in River City.

And, Pleas, please, Management, don't go out and get a bunch of old worn out All Stars in free agency. Let's stay young. Let's grow our own All Stars.

I continue to be a huge Coach Pop fan. Here's a haiku I wrote for him. I think it says a lot about what it takes to be great at anything you do.

Pop

One thousand wins
    And one loss keeps you awake
Staring into the abyss.

Duratnt is right about Shaq

Kevin Durant is right that Shaq is acting childishly for criticizing JaVale McGee, not once, but on a number of different occasion. So, what in the heck is the deal? Did McGee do something to Shaq that we don't know about? It would have to be some form of disrespect for Shaq to be so vindictive.
Because it is vindictive when you question a person's intelligence, when you continue to mock his performances. As Durant, JaVale's Warrior teammate, said, McGee has come to the Warriors and done everything they have asked of him. Durant twittered:"He (JaVale) only wants to be respected just like anybody else," Amen, Kevin.

I thought Shaq was a Ph.D? If that's the case, I guess it proves you don't have to be a sensitive and caring human being to earn one of those.

Let the young man alone, Shaq. Don't be such a bore. And, JaVale, you've answered back, so now leave it alone; let Shaq alone to embarrass himself.

On to a different subject. DeMarcus Cousins has stated for the press that Vlade Divac and owner Ranadive acted in a cowardly manner, first promising him he was not going to be traded, then trading him without any warning. I'm sure DeMarcus felt he was hoodwinked and, at first, I believed him. I have no particular confidence in King's management. But as Vlade explained in the newspaper this morning, he (Divac) and owner had little choice. They had shopped DeMarcus (the kid's agent must have known that) and found little interest. (No surprise, given the emotional instability of DeMarcus). According to Divac, the Pelicans deal came into play at the last minute as the trade deadline was about to expire, and they had to make a decision quickly.

That's the business end of the NBA and these kind of last minute deals have happened since the league began. Unless there is a written clause in a player's contract that states, he (the player) must be informed about being traded, (a la Carmelo) then management has no responsibility to do so. A GM and an owner have only one responsibility and that is to the team as a whole, to put together the best team, to provide the best entertainment for the community, one that is competitive with playoff possibilities.

DeMarcus' hurt feelings comes from his own insecurity, emotional instability, and lack of understanding of the business of sports. 

I was on the Warriors team when our owner Franklin Mieuli traded the single greatest force in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain, to the Philadelphia 76ers. Did Wilt whine? He packed his bags, left, arrived in Philly and later lead the 76ers to the NBA Championship against, you guessed it, the Golden State Warriors.

The difference between Wilt's reaction and DeMarcus' is that Wilt was an adult, and DeMarcus is not. Not yet, at least. As I've said on numerous blogs: Grow up DeMarcus!

Spring Training. Can hot weather and hotdogs and cold suds be far behind? Lot's of baseball poetry for me to chose from. Here's a wonderful little poem, full of innocence.

How to Play Night Baseball    by  Jonathan Holden

A pasture is best, freshly
mown so that by the time a grounder's
plowed through all that chewed, spit-out
grass to reach you, the ball
will be bruised with green kisses. Start
in the evening. Come
with a bad sunburn and smelling of chlorine,
water still crackling in you ears.
Play until the ball is khaki -
the girls' bare arms in the bleachers are pale,
and heat lightning jumps in the west. Play
until you can only see pop-ups,
and routine grounders get lost in
the sweet grass for extra bases.

Two Bottom Lines in Cousin's Trade & etc

Bottom Line #1: Will DeMarcus Cousins somehow changes his personality when he plays for the Pelicans, not just for this season, but for the foreseeable future? If he doesn't, he will poison the team. That's the bottom line. If he does wake up and grow up, the Pelicans will be a force in the NBA.

Bottom line #2: Will the Kings make the kind of smart basketball decisions that will indeed lead to a competitive NBA team. (That's all the Sacramento fans are yearning for.). I wish I felt a little more confidence in Divac and Ranadive. Still, I remain convinced that trading Boogie for an unnamed draft choice would have been better than trying to build a championship around a young man who is so out of control emotionally.

Lou Williams to the Rockets? How many 3 point shooters is enough? You'd think they'd tried to do something to shore up the paint.

Just a thought, Rose and Carmelo gone from the Knicks. Rose who dominates the ball, for primo point guard Ricky Rubio and a first round draft choice. Carmelo who dominates the ball for a first round draft choice. Carmelo gone clears cap space. Hey, I'm sounding like a GM.

Spring Training on. I wonder how many MLB players south of the boarder Trump would label terrorists and rapists. Just wondering.

Here's a baseball poem that I've kept since my days in the Iowa Writers Workshop. Michael Ryan, now one of America's premier poets, submitted it to one of the workshops for comments. I'll not include my marginal notes, which sound after all these years as not very helpful. If you don't know what a fungoe is, you've never lived in a big city.

Hitting Fungoes   by Michael Ryan

Hitting fungoes to a bunch
of kids who asked me
nicely, I'm afraid the hard
ball they gave me might
shatter the stained-glass
window of the church
across this abandoned lot.
I see it all now, in 
the moment the ball leaves
my hand before it smacks
the bat: we scatter
in every possible direction
but the pastor, sensing
a pervert, screams
to the cops to chase
the big one, and there 
I am trapped. I pull
my old Woodrow Wilson
Fellowship Letter out
of my worn suit pocket,
swing it wildly, but they
smell last night's sex
on my breath, condemn
me to jail for failure
itself. I swing without
thinking, the only way,
and the crack is the scream
of a hip-bone ripped
from its socket
on the rack. Not bad.
Not too deep, but nice
arching loft. One kid,
who runs faster than the others,
makes a spectacular 
diving catch & throws it back.