It's the Mind Set

Or an earlier generation would say, a Raised Conciseness. What am I referring to? Until sports pages decision makers begin to understand that winning the WNBA Championship is far more significant than reading about why Frank Gore is not bitter towards the 49ers, these men (or woman?) will be stuck forever in a Male First Mind Set.

Congrats to the Minnesota  Lynx on winning the WNBA Championship. That's four titles in seven years. WhooWa! Are there any male sports team recently who have been this accomplished?

Did any basketball player in our country (or any civilian for that matter) get upset watching tone deaf Donald Trump shooting rolls of paper-towels to his audience of Puerto Ricans who are suffering for lack of clean drinking water and the necessities to make a decent meal?  Is Trump now the captain of the Knucklehead team? The Insensitive Team? The Rex Tillerson Moron Team?

Why the heck are the LA Lakers being featured so often during preseason in prime time and the Warriors, NBA Champs for two out of three years, relegated to 11 pm PST?? Or not at all? Can Alonzo Ball turn on the NBA that frigging much? He still can't shoot the jumper with anybody in his face. Okay, he's got tremendous assist instincts. But we'll see who he can guard once the season starts.

Holy Makeover, the Cavs, without Kyrie, are an improved team with one caveat. As long as Wade and Rose stay healthy - Rose because he's prone to injury and Wade because he's old and been through the wars.

Got to love it when pitchers get big hits. Right on Archie Bradley of the Diamondbacks for the huge triple in the 7th inning. It woke me out of a deep sleep. Sorry baseball fans.

Do I hate the new NBA All-Star selection rules. Yes and No. Yes, because I hated the last ones, allowing the selection to become a fan contest. No, because it reminds me so much of the playgrounds - two guys, always the best two on the court, picking players. Remember the last two youngsters waiting patiently to be picked, trying not to look embarrassed. Which two NBA player are going to be the LAST TWO in this incarnation?  Embarrassing????

The following is one of the funniest and saddest poems about sport/life I've read in a long time. That Louisville the basketball NCAA Cheater is referenced is pure luck.

Louisville Feared in Mideast    By Steven Bryan Bieler

     after a newspaper headline

You can't buy baseball bats in Israel.
You can't bring them in, either
(The batting gloves tucked in your belt give you away.)
God forbid you could poke somebody's eye out
Louisville feared in Mideast

You can't make crime pay in Egypt
Egyptian justice will track you down
You cell has no windows, no telephone, no Reader's Digest
They turn on the TV
NCAA basketball playoffs
Louisville feared in Mideast

You can't predict the price of oil
With the tools of supply and demand
The Arab oil ministers use their own tools
"And in today's results
Chiropractor ran last in the fourth
While Stormin' Norman failed to show."
Louisville feared in Mideast

Hoyer is Right. Listen Up, Dividers.

Brian Hoyer, 49er's starting QB is spot on when he says the President should be influenced by what a sports team offers by way of justice, unity, and equality. Having never participated on a team, other than, perhaps, some lily white rich kids preppy school junior varsity, what does he know about about sports, let alone diversity. Has Trump ever followed the advice of Atticus Finch to his daughter, Scout in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and walked in someone else' shoes but his own? Never. Otherwise, he would not be speaking about NFL players the way he is.

Being an immigrant to the United States, arriving on these welcoming shores after the Second World War, and having taken an oath of loyalty when I was 16 years old and becoming a naturalized citizen, I honor the symbol of our flag. But I can not honor it when it acts as a symbol for false patriotism and promotes animosity between our races. Like Brian Hoyer, I have experienced the broad ethnic, cultural, and religious differences that co-exist in harmony in sports locker rooms. Even though my instinct would be to stand for our National Anthem, given my absolute distaste for and horror of our President, these days I'd surely be on my knees in solidarity with my black brothers.

I found it surprising and touching watching Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys, his sons, and team officials, kneeling first, then standing with locked arms during the playing of the National Anthem. Jones supported Trump's election, but would not let that interfere with him being one with all the members of his team. His Team, Not Donald Trump's team. His solution may be the best one that satisfies both patriotism and the rights of all people to protest injustice:

Front page of this morning's Chronicle: the Warriors, the Most Hated Team. What in the hell is going on. Have we sunk that low in our country that because a team wins championships and rejects the White House, now they are HATED? Hate is a hell of a loaded word. I can think of a lot of groups to hate: Klu Klux Klan, Aryan Brotherhood, Nazi, White Supremists, and White Nationalists, for example. Hate a sport's team?? I hate David Duke. Anybody got a problem with that can see me any time any place. At 79 years old, I can kick any racists' ass without breaking a sweat. Okay, a slight exaggeration, but I'd definitely give it a try. Maybe with Draymond Green's help??

Last night I was on the phone with an old friend, retired Supreme Court Justice for the state of Washington, Don Horowitz. We've always been big talkers, able to spend hours on the phone yakking about all sorts of interesting, diverse topics. Last night, it seemed most of our conversation was about the Evil in the White House. This is what's happening all over America, the Beautiful.The donald, has usurped our peace of mind. He has made narcissistic self the focus of our troubled thoughts. I resent this Fake President terribly for so intruding on my life that I can't have a peaceful chat with an old friend, that every day since he's been in office, his name and image dictates the national conversation. An not for the good. History is going to treat this man very badly. His legacy will be a stain on our Republic.

In honor of Ken Burn's marvelous, revealing series about the Vietnam War, here's a Haiku I wrote about Mohammed Ali

Ali

Heavyweight title lost
   His stand against the Vietnam War
A butterfly's death

Fake President

After what our fake president said about our NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem, I think it would be fitting this Sunday that all the black athletes kneel in protest. Just for one game, that would be enough. And it would show terrific solidarity if all the white guys joined in.

Who does this lily white, privileged, born with a silver spoon in his mouth think he is? He is certainly not an athlete. Athletes have courage and show respect for each other.

As for the NFL owners, they should get on board and stand up with their black players, who work so hard to make their teams financially successful. And people all over the country should stand up and send letters to their Congressmen and women and Senators objecting to such behavior and language coming out of the White House. Such low class by a President of this wonderful country of ours. Shame, shame!

Roger the Dodger's NFL response to Trump was weeny. NFL owners, you got what you paid for. (Anybody interested, check the web to see how much $ the NFL owners contributed to the Trump campaign.) Now you owners must live with this fool. But the players don't have to, and shouldn't. I'd love to see what happens to your investments if the black players pulled out and formed their own league - all owners' worst nightmare. 

Hurrah for the Golden State Warriors for rejecting the White House. Hurrah for LeBron James for standing up for his rivals, the Warriors. LeBron, you showed some real class.

Our country is in a standoff with the Korean madman, (Truly serious stuff going on, like mushroom clouds and Chernobyl type fallout drifting our way) and our madman is wasting time criticizing a few athletes. Give me a f--king break!

Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain.
America, America!
Why're you suffering such pain? 

America, God shed his grace on thee
And crown they good with brotherhood
And sisterhood of all our rainbow colors
From sea to shining sea.

Thank God for Football

Okay, I know all about concussions and the hypocrisy of big time football (college and NFL), but I can't help it; I love watching the game. And now, my grandson by marriage, Jaxon West is making high school news at linebacker for Rio Americano High, intercepting passes, sacking quarterbacks.
Look out Clay Matthews.

Anyway, football will keep my jock juice flowing until basketball starts. What about baseball, one might ask. Ask ahead. I loved playing the game, but watching it is an entirely different proposition. I'm simply not a stats kind of guy, and I've never been very patient. So, a game of balls and strikes with occasional hits and runs has me switching to the food channels. Going to the baseball park is a little better because of the beer and hotdogs. Minor league parks are hands down the best in the food department. When I played for the Philadelphia Warriors back in the day, I used to occasionally drive up to Scranton and watch a Triple A game. Jewish Nationals in a soft bun with lots of sauerkraut and ice cold Rolling Rock. Under those circumstances, a pitchers duel, however boring, was ok by me. Tickets were cheap and the players at that level were intense. They were either on the way up to the Bigs or heading down and trying to get back.  So, it was all about hustle.

My biggest beef with football is the god darn commercials that ruin the flow of the game. I've already blogged about this, but it's worth repeating. When commercial time is equal to playing time, something is wrong.

I'm a huge Oakland Raiders fan and have been loyal to them ever since my best friend, Bill King, broadcast the games on radio. Looks like the East Bay finally has a team with all the skill set players capable of wining a championship, and for years to come, barring injuries. I'll remain a fan until they move to Lost Wages. Is Davis a greedy prick, or what?

Since I grew up in The City, my loyalty also extends somewhat to the San Jose 49ers. The 49ers owner finally made a good decision hiring youth to run the organization. I don't have much hope for them until they get a legit qb. Hoyer is fine backup and always will be a backup. The coach needs to give CJ Beathard a shot, but I agree with ex 49er qb Garcia that they should bide their time and let the kid grow and learn, but at some point, especially if the season starts to fall apart, as I suspect it will with Hoyer at the helm, they need to let Beathard get his feet wet.

Only about 30 more days before the NBA. WhooWah! Here's a suggestion. I think the NBA should ban their players from using Twitter. It only gets them in trouble. Recent misstep by Durant is a case in point, and then the young man had to apologize and nobody was really happy. Twitter is an apt name for this medium as it requires only the intelligence of a Twit to use it. Donald Trump being the biggest Twit of all.

I've been trying to write poems in a Chinese form called a Cheuh-Chu, which is a very concise poem of four lines. Here's one about ex NFL great qb Joe Kapp when he played for the Vikings.

Joe Kapp

Ran for out the out of bounds, but didn't
Ran for first and extra yard, fans cheering
Only gringos run out of bounds he states
After the touchdown, microphones in his face

Sports Academies

In this morning's sports page I read about Jordan Brown, Woodcreek High School's (Roseville, CA) 6'11" talented power forward rated #6 overall in the country opting to leave his school and enroll in Christian High School, a national powerhouse sports academy in Napa, CA. Jordan's father is quoted as saying he wants his son to be in a setting where he's challenged atheltically at a higher level. He's probably right from the point of view of the sport. But is he right from the point of view of his son's overall personal growth?

This last question bears on my problem with sports academies. Does it do young  athletes any good to lump them all into an environment where there is very little intellectual, social, and cultural diversity? By their nature, sports academies are elitist. Public high schools, by their nature, are not. They more closely imitate the democratic pluralism of our country's society. It seems to me that it would be pretty easy, perhaps even likely, for teenagers in sports academies to see themselves as special, a idea that will not help them once their sports days are over, and they have to fit into the normal day to day life. And, except for a tiny percentage who go on to become first round draft choices, those days come faster then they or their parents anticipated.

Sports academies, like charter schools, (another form of elitism in education) are not, unfortunately, going to disappear, and will more than likely increase in numbers as sports continue to become more and more big biz. So, I'm just blowing off a little retired teacher steam. I've always believed strongly, warts and all, in our public schools system being the best way to educate youngsters to be inclusive and compassionate thinking adults.

I Bless This Man   Pindar from Nemea 11 translated by Richmond Lattimore

I bless this man for Agesias, his father,
for the splendor and linked serenity of his limbs.
Yet if one, keeping wealth, surpass in beauty likewise
and show his strength by excellence in the games,
let him remember the limbs he appoints are mortal
and that he must put upon him earth, the end of all things.

In the speech of good citizens he should win praise
and be a theme of elaboration in the deep, sweet singing.