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Nine of the sixteen teams have more than reasonable expectations of making the playoffs. The rest are clearly also-rans. Giants and Pirates contend for the Number One pick in the draft. Reds will be better, Astros, Nats, Cards and Marlins will not. Phillies and Braves benefit from their divisions have/have-not dispersion. Rocks, Pads and Dodgers almost have to finish first in the West due to their divisions balance. I like the Brewers to break through this year as the wild card.
Mets vs. Brewers and Cubs vs. Diamondbacks in the Divisional Round. Mets vs. Cubs in the League Championship Series. Cubs avenge 1969 to advance to the World Series and Chicago is never the same again. ------------------------------------------ AL Division Winners - Red Sox, Tigers, Angels AL Wild Card Candidates - Indians, Yankees, Mariners Also-Rans - Rays, Blue Jays, White Sox, A's, Twins, Rangers, Orioles, Royals
A little more top-heavy than the National League. The Indians edge the Yankees for the wild-card sending Hank Steinbrenner into his administrations first tizzy and making the universe somehow feel less than right. The Mariners could beat out the Angels if their lineup had a little more juice (hint, hint). Collusion is a real bitch. The Rays will make some nose and bloody the Yankees and Sox noses periodically and then fall off. The pitching help they need is coming though. The Blue Jays show that money can't always buy love or wins, figuring out the exchange rate must tie up franchise resources just enough to keep them from competing, that and the stupid metric system. The rest have to rebuild or reload.
Red Sox vs. Indians and Tigers vs. Angels in the Divisional Round Red Sox vs Tigers in the League Championship Series Tigers advance to the World Series ------------------------------------------ Cubs vs. Tigers World Series
With the impetus from nearly a century of pent-up fan frustration to fuel them, the Cubs maul the Tigers in six games to win the World Series and avert the 100 years of futility.
CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN!!!!!
It will then be left to either the Giants (53 years of futility) or the Tampa Rays (10 years) to take the baton and become the first team to go 0 for a century without winning a World Series.
I'm hopelessly out of the money on both of my brackets uh, our brackets, and so I'm on a desperate search for cover bets to make back the money quick.
At the moment I'm considering the over/under on the length of time it takes Bobby Knight to choke the living shit out of of one his new ESPN "colleagues". Now I'm confident that fellow coaches Digger Phelps and Dicky V. are safe. He'd never go postal on those guys. Even Jay Bilas appears safe, but only by the grace of Knight's respect for Coach K.
Oh please God, if you could possibly arrange it, even though I think Rece Davis is pushing his luck a little bit and is certainly a viable candidate, please, please, please God let it be freaking Doug Gottlieb. Please, it's just so right, he stole while he was at Notre Dame, under the shadows of Touchdown Jesus. And he has Eddie Musters' hairline for God's sake. Oops, sorry about that one.
If you could arrange for Rece to have a case of strep throat, or laryngitis or whatever it takes.
Then you'll have to arrange for ESPN management to be stupid enough to consider putting Gottleib and Knight in the same studio.
What, that's not such a stretch, God?
ESPN is stupider than even you could imagine? HAHAHA. Wow, that's saying something because you've seen everything.
No, no I believe you. In fact, it doesn't surprise me at all.
And no, I haven't forgot about the Giants and the Super Bowl, but really I didn't ask for that and it did kinda fit in with your campaign against evil. What, you have me down for a prayer received by your staff right before the David Tyree catch? And another one right before the Plaxico Burress TD catch to put the Giants ahead? Well yeah, I remember those now, sure but...oh all right, I guess those count too.
OK, I promise I won't ask you to do anything for the Cubs. They can wait another century or so, right?
OK, so I have the under on Knight to choke the living shit out of a colleague.
The next one have my eye on is the over/under on Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl falling from grace as the result of a sexual scandal of some kind.
IF HE LAYS ONE MORE HAND ON ERIN ANDREWS HE'S GOING DOWN:
This one is like taking candy from a baby.
Yeah, yeah put me down for the under on that one as well. Well, that should do it. I ought to be able to recover my money in no time.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Los Angeles Angels Seattle Mariners Oakland A's Texas Rangers
This is another two horse race (it's the American "League" Way). Angels and Mariners battle it out through the summer with the Angels eventually winning out. The A's and Rangers pretend they are competing and battle it out for the three-four spots.
Los Angeles Angels Pitching - John Lackey, Kelvin Escobar, Jered Weaver and newcomer John Garland are formidable when healthy. Key words, when healthy. If not Joe Saunders or Ervin Santana have to step up. Nick Adenhart and Nick Green are prospects who could contribute. Frankie Rodriguez $(40 saves) is as good as it gets as a closer. SCott Shields and Justin Speier set up and spot close games.
Lineup - Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis will split the catching duties. Casey Kotchmann and Chone Figgins 3B man the corners. Howie Kendrick 2B and Erick Aybar SS are capable. Brandon Wood 3B-SS is a prospect who could contribute if he's more selective. Garrett Anderson LF, newcomer Torri Hunter CF and Vlad Guerrero RF are the holdovers, with Gary Matthews, Jr. relegated to DH-OF duties.
Prospects - Brandon Wood 3B-SS prodigious power, lots of strikeouts. Nick Adenhart RHP,21 and Jordan Walden RHP,20 are almost ready. Nick Green RHP,23 might be pressed into service so the younger talent can get more seasoning.
Seattle Mariners Pitching - Oriole newcomer Erik Bedard LHP moves to the top of the staff with Felix Hernandez and Jarrod Washburn. Carlos Silva and Miguel Battista round out the rotation. It's a playoff quality staff from 1-3, mediocre from 3-5. J.J. Putz (40 saves) anchors the pen.
Lineup - Kenji Johjima C holds the spot with prospect Jeff Clement ready to challenge. Richie Sexson 1B and Adrain Beltre 3B anchor the corners. Sexson looking for a bounce back from last year. Yuniesly Betancourt SS (9-67-.289) could be the next great young SS. Jose Lopez and Willie Bloomquist share 2B duties. Raul Ibanez LF Ichiro Suzuki CF and Brad Wilkerson RF man the OF with Brad Wilkerson spot starting. Jose Vidro splits the DH duties with Ibanez.
Prospects - Jeff Clement C,24 lefty power, team leader type. Carlos Triunfel SS,20 may be a year or two away. Wladimir Balentein OF, 23 could crack the lineup soon. The pitching prospects are all young and not ready to contribute. Chris Tillman RHP,20 might be the best for now.
Oakland A's Pitching - Joe Blanton and Rich Harden are top-notch, if Harden is healthy. Chad Gaudin and Justin Descherrer are unproven. LHP Gio Gonzalez (from White Sox in Nick Swisher deal) may have to step-in. He has top of the rotation potential. Huston Street (16 saves) is the closer. Alan Embree, Joey Devine and Keith Foulke are the closers. Like most teams if Street goes down, they could be in real trouble.
Lineup - Rob Bowen C comes over from San Diego to platoon with Kurt Suzuki. Daric Barton 1B looks ready to take over Eric Chavez 3B (15-46-.240) needs to bounce back. Mark Ellis 2B and Bobby Crosby SS are steady, but unspectacular. Emil Brown LF (from Kansas City) Chris Denorfia and Ryan Sweeney (from White Sox) in CF and Travis Buck RF make up one of the weakest offensive OF's in baseball. Jack Cust and Dan Johnson share the DH spot.
Prospects - Gio Gonzalez LHP (from White Sox) made the Nick Swisher deal work. Carlos Gonzalez OF, 22 should be able to push Brown if LF soon. Greg Smith LHP is crafty, he could see time this year.
Texas Rangers Pitching - Kevin Millwood, Vincente Padilla and Jason Jenning (from Houston) should be the top three starters. Brandon McCarthy should be the fourth starter. After that, who knows? C.J. Wilson (12 saves) is the closer. Kazuo Fukumori (17 saves) comes over from Japan. Eddie Guardardo may be running on fumes. Joaquin Benoit showed some promise last year.
Lineup - Jarrod Saltamacchia C needs to hit for higher average. Same for backup Gerald Laird. Ben Broussard 1B comes over from Seattle. Hank Blalock 3B (10-33-.293) needs to hit more. Michael Young SS hits for average (.315) Ian Kinsler 2B (20-61-.263) adds some pop. Frank Catalanotto LF, Josh Hamilton CF and Milton Bradely RF should start. Marlon Byrd will get some time as well. Milton Bradely will DH in spots, along with Jason Botts.
Prospects - Eric Hurley RHP,22 has great stuff, Luis Mendoza 15-4 in AA, could start soon. Chris Davis 3B,21 is a lefty bat with some power, John Mayberry OF,24 has power, son of former Royal John Mayberry. Elvis Andrus SS,19 is a great glove, needs to hit. Taylor Teagarden C,24 coming off of elbow surgery, has some pop.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Detroit Tigers Cleveland Indians Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins Kansas City Royals
Tigers should rule the division and threaten the 100 Win - 1,000 Run marks. Cleveland will contend and challenge for a wild card slot. White Sox didn't do enough to revamp the lineup although the bullpen is improved. Twins took two steps back with the Santana deal, but in a year or two when the prospects are ready, watch out. The Royals are still in Kansas City.
Detroit Tigers Pitching - Strong and still fairly deep. Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and a rejuvenated Dontrelle Willis will be hard to beat. Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson are about as good a 4-5 starter combo as any. Todd Jones and Fernando Rodney will keep the closer spot warm for injured Joel Zumaya. The bullpen would normally be this teams Achilles heel, but not with this offense.
Lineup - The arrival of Miguel Cabrera 3B moves Brandon Inge into the C-DH rotation with Pudge Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield. Carlos Guillen at 1B is steady (21-102-.295) Placido Polanco and Edgar Renteria are solid defensively up the middle and contribute offensively as well. The outfield combo of Jacque Jones/Marcus Thames LF, Curtis Granderson CF and Magglio Ordonez RF (28-139-.363) is spectacular. The toughest lineup this side of the Red Sox.
Prospects - Most of the good ones are pitchers. Rick Porcello RHP is 19 but could get to Detroit in a hurry. Virgil Vasquez RHP, 25 might be the most major league ready. Kaneland's LHP Casey Crosby will be rehabbing an elbow, he's a couple of years from Detroit. Jordan Tata RHP, 25 may also get a shot at the rotation.
Cleveland Indians Pitching - C.C. Sabathia, Fauston Carmona, Paul Byrd, Jake Westbrook and Cliff Lee are the best 1-5 rotation in the bigs. If they all perform well, they should challenge the Tigers. Joe Borowski (45 saves) is the closer and will be set up by Rafael Betancourt and Reid Santos. Mashide Kobayashi (27 saves in Japan) provides depth.
Lineup - Victor Martinez C (25-114-.301) is an All-Star. Travis Haffner and Ryan Garko combo at 1B-DH. Casey Blake 3B and Jhonny Peralta SS are 20-80.270 guys. Asdrubal Cabrera and Josh Barfield will compete at 2B. Jamey Carroll from Colorado is the back-up along with Andy Marte 3B. Jason Michaels and Dave Delluci split LF, Grady Sizemore is a bona-fide superstar in CF and Franklin Gutierez could really break out in RF. Lineup might be a tad under the Detroit-Boston juggernauts.
Prospects - Jordan Brown 1B-OF and Ben Francisco OF are good but both are blocked. Adam Miller RHP is a power pitcher who needs only to stay healthy. Aaron Laffey LHP showed well in spots in the bigs.
Chicago White Sox Pitching - Mark Beuhrle, Javier Vasquez and Jose Contreras headline the top of the rotation but 2 of the three are inconsistent. No longer a team strength. John Danks and Gavin Floyd are unproven. Bobby Jenks (40 Saves) has been joined in the bullpen by set-ip men Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink. This now has to be a team strength.
Lineup - A.J. Pierzynski C is backed up by Toby Hall. Paul Konerko and Joe Crede hold down the corners and the World Series tradition. The middle infield has been revamped with Orlando Cabrera SS coming over in the John Garland deal and Danny Richar 2B the front runner to replace Tadahito Iguchi. Watch out for Alexei Ramirez to eventually settle in there though. Juan Uribe could be the odd-man out or dealt. Josh Fields waits at 3B for Crede to get hurt or be dealt. Carlos Quentin and Jerry Owens battle in LF, Nick Swisher will win over South Side fans in CF and Jermaine Dye remains inf RF. Brian Anderson CF is running out of chances to stick, he moves from prospect to suspect.
Prospects - Ryan Sweeney OF is about the only every day prospect even close. Aaron Poreda LHP is a power pitcher looking for a second pitch. Lance Broadway RHP and Kyle McCulloch RHP could contribute this year.
Minnesota Twins Pitching - Francisco Liriano, Boof Bonser and Scott Baker at the top. This could be disaster if Liriano is not ready to pitch a full season. Phil Humber (from the Mets in the Santana deal) will challenge Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn for the back of the rotation. Jow Nathan (37 saves) and Juan Rincon are solid in the bullpen.
Lineup - Joe Mauer C needs to bring some power to his .293 average. Justin Morneau !B (31-111-.271) is an MVP candidate. Adam Everett SS brings stability from Houston. Mike Lamb 3B and Brendan Harris 2B are solid, but unspectacular. Michael Cuddyer RF (16-81-.276) is a budding star. Craig Monroe CF is keeping the spot warm for Carlos Gomez (from the Mets in the Santana deal). Delmon Young LF (13-93-.288) brings enormous potential from Tampa Bay. Nick Punto is the utility infielder. Denard Span may be the backup in the outfield.
Prospects - Carlos Gomez OF is the potential five-tool star that made the Santana deal work for the Twins. Anthony Swarzak RHP,22 is a power pitcher who comes right at hitters. Trevor Plouffe SS may be a year or two away.
Kansas City Royals Pitching - Gil Meche (9-13), Brian Bannister (12-9) Zack Greinke (7-7) and Jorge De La Rosa (8-12) could have the makings of a .500 team's rotation. The drop-off to Brett Tomko and Hiodeki Nomo afterwards is the frightening part. Kyle Davies (from Atlanta) and prospect Luke Hochevar may have to produce this year to avert disaster. Joakim Soria (17 saves) and Yasuhiko Yabuta (from Japan) anchor the bullpen.
Lineup - John Buck (18-48-.222) has to hit for better average. Miguel Oliva (16-60-237 with Marlins) could take over here. Ryan Shealy 1B anmd Alex Gordon 3B (15-60-.247) need to produce more. Gordon recovered after a horrible start last year as the uber-prospect. Tony Pena SS and Mark Grudzelanik 2B aren't going to carry the team, but Gruds did hit over .300. Jose Guillen LF (23-99-.290) comes over (banished) from Seattle. David DeJesus CF and Mark Teahen RF do nothing for me. Former Ray Joey Gathright CF could provide speed at the top of the order.
Prospects - Luke Hochevar RHP,24 is a potential top of the rotation starter. Mike Moustakas SS, 19 will be fast-tracked. He can rake. Daniel Cortes RHP,20 may have to contribute soon as well.
Congratulations to Kaneland High School's T.J. Weiss. I coached him as a freshman baseball player and he had a world of ability back then. The next season I saw him play on the football field and he reminded me of former Tampa Bay Buccaneer S John Lynch, just flying all over the field, on a play by play, search and destroy mission to find the ball and hit whoever was carrying it HARD. I felt like then that the baseball teams loss was going to be the football teams gain.
The thing I admired about him as a player, other than the potential to be an elite power hitter, was this kid was literally a coaches dream. The kind of kid who if you told him to run through a brick wall, he would do it. And then he would help you build a new wall.
When I first heard the speech, I didn't think it was one of Obama's better efforts due to the delivery, which was a bit tepid by his usual standard. However, due to the subject matter and the incredibly masterful way he has walked through the minefield that is race, religion and politics, I think it's fairly clear that he has won or will win the Democratic nomination. If he doesn't there clearly ought to be an investigation. But that investigation will need to be done by the DNC.
Just within this primary process, we have seen and heard two very powerful, important and necessary essays regarding the Big Three topics of Race, Religion and Politics in this speech by Obama and the Mitt Romney speech. And I still believe that Romney was every bit as much the victim of religious intolerance from the right as Obama is a victim of racial intolerance from the left. It's ironic in that the Republicans are often portrayed as the defenders of religious tolerance and promote the inclusion of religious values and virtues in our lives, while the Democrats are often portrayed as the champions of racial tolerance and understanding. The messages we have seen from the primary campaign has demonstrated that those images and commonly held beliefs have taken some friendly fire o both sides.
It should be an interesting conclusion to the primary season. We'll see what interesting thoughts and actions the respective party conventions bring to us.
So far, I still believe that even though philosophically he appears to be fairly far removed from my beliefs, the social significance and change that an Obama presidency might bring might be just what this country needs.
Thomas Jefferson said: "Every generation needs a new revolution." Maybe this candidacy is just the type of revolution this generation needs.
---------------------------------------- "God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.
The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is
wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts
they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions,
it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ...
And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not
warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of
resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost
in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from
time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
It is its natural manure." - Thomas Jefferson
---------------------------------------------- http://www.barackobama.com/2008/03/18/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_53.php
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'
Philadelphia, PA | March 18, 2008
"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.
And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part - through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.
This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.
This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.
I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.
Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.
This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.
And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.
On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.
I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way
But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:
"People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope - became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."
That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.
And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.
Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.
But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.
This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.
And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.
But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.
Ironically, this quintessentially American - and yes, conservative - notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.
The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen - is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.
For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
We can do that.
But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.
This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.
I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.
There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today - a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.
Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."
"I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.
Apparently, they will determine team penalties on a case-by-case basis. At least they are moving towards a recognition that there is some responsibility on those placed in charge of these student-athletes. That will get positive results faster than anything else.
-----------------------------------------------
IHSA sets penalty for steroid usage
Daily Herald Report
The Illinois High School Association's Board of
Directors at its monthly meeting Saturday in Peoria
approved the penalty to be applied to a student who
tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
The student would be ineligible for 365 days from the
date the test results were reported to the student and
the school.
The student may then apply for reinstatement of
athletic eligibility after 90 calendar days, following
the successful completion of an approved educational
program and a negative test for performance-enhancing
drugs.
The board determined that any team penalties would be
determined by the executive director on a case-by-case
basis under the provisions of Article 1.460 of the
IHSA Constitution.
The board also approved the National Center for Drug
Free Sport to provide testing services when the
program is implemented in the 2008-09 school term, and
approved the language of the random testing consent
form that each student and his/her guardian will be
required to sign to maintain athletic eligibility.
"We are pleased with the action taken by the Board in
regards to our drug testing program," said IHSA
assistant executive director Kurt Gibson in a release
on the IHSA Web site Monday.
"Our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee believes the
experience Drug Free Sport has with athletic drug
testing will be invaluable in the implementation our
program, and we're excited to have an opportunity to
work with them. Our committee felt that their
experience, expertise, and commitment to education on
the use of performance-enhancing substances were the
best match for the needs of our program."
Unbelievable. The number of top seeded teams going down in flames to double digit seeds in Tampa.
Drake, take your Cinderella dreams out of here. I had them winning two. UConn, bye-bye baby. Vanderbilt, see you later. I had them down for two W's Clemson, time to go home.
The 5 vs. 12 and 4 vs. 13 match ups were not kind to the favorites in T-town. And all across the land the bottom half of the bracket (the West & Midwest) has been torched.
The Mrs. has 24 correct after the first round, I only have 22. She is still in it as far as the entries that have UCLA winning the whole thing. So far, neither of us has a Final Four team eliminated. That's what cooks your goose, since in our pool the points are higher in the later rounds: ------------------------------------------ GROUP RULES:
Deadline for submitting your brackets is Noon EST on Thursday prior to the start of Round 1 games.
Constitution: $x.xx per entry Use total points in final game as tiebreaker Payout is xx% of pool for first place xx% of pool for second place xx% of pool for third place
As another spring snowstorm moves in on the Chicago suburbs, we are warmed by the return of March Madness and another chance to participate in the office pool. Actually, I participate in the pool that the folks at Mrs. TheSlav's workplace organizes. She bankrolls the entrance fee and I figuratively light the match that will ignite her investment dollars and turn them to ashes for yet another year.
It must be the "system" I employ, which is a mix of playing the chalk for the most part, with selective hedging on the "coin-toss" games, combined with a flyer or two on an upset from a so-called "Cinderella" team. The problem is there really are no "Cinderella" teams anymore. Everybody and his cousin who has access to a microphone and an audience leads up the week to the madness with their best guesses for "this year's George Mason". You almost have to be the first idiot to pick a #16 seed to crash the Final Four to be seen as the office "savant".
So ultimately it comes down to being the person in the lead who has picked the eventual national champion.
Just to give you insight into the lack of a life I lead, The Mrs. (or is it Mrs. The??) and I spent considerable time last night arguing about the relative fairness of my assigning the ownership of the "first" bracket to myself (just for bragging rights, I have zero chance of seeing any of the money should it win) and the "second" bracket to her. My argument is, since I rarely win these type of things, my first impression is generally sufficiently wrong so as not to have any real chance of winning the whole thing. Therefore, hers would have the better chance, at least against mine. Also, I had all four #1 seeds in the Final Four vs. her two out of four. She has Georgetown and Texas crashing. We both have a UCLA-UNC final, I have UNC winning, she has UCLA, so we'll see. I found her argument "why do you always come first?" both childish and inaccurate. But I kept my opinion to myself, even though our couches are very comfortable and spacious.
She wasn't buying my arguments obviously, but by the end of last night, I had four wrong vs. her one wrong. Our service also had the Texas A&M game marked wrong whether you had BYU picked to win or A&M I had BYU, she had A&M.
As I right this, Davidson #10 seed is beating Gonzaga a #7 seed, A Slav upset special on both cards. HOW ABOUT THAT!!! Last night, I split the #11 K-State vs. #6 USC game, she won of course. Drake is struggling in Tampa, which would hurt us both. They are a Sweet Sixteener for both of us.
Next year, I think I get the "which mascot wins in a fight" strategy, she gets the other one. I'll just tell her there were a lot of upsets.
UPDATE: WOW, Emmenaker from Drake just flopped his way to a charge to take the last possession away from W. Ky. Thanks ZEBRAS. OT, Baby!!! The refs suck at this level, they really do. Pawlus for Duke carried a ball five feet out of bounds, right in front of the ref yesterday and no call. Almost cost Belmont the game, maybe it did. You can argue that Duke didn't score on the possession, but the fact is, BELMONT SHOULD HAVE MAINTAINED possession and who knows what happens if they put it in from under their basket. They should just let the Dukies call their own game like the biggest kid on the playground does by force of personality and overall mass. That way we wouldn't have the hypocrisy we do know that it's a somewhat evenly called game.
Drakie goes to the line down one late in OT on a ?? call. Not much contact under the boards, if any it was initiated by Drake. ZEBRAS must also have Drake going deep. Big guy hits two. WKU has to go the length of the court, Tyus Edny style, to win. WOW, WKU's guard goes length of the court, gets cut off and kicks it back for a deep three to win it. BYE-BYE Drake.
My thoughts on the current state of blogging, both the serious sites and the ones that are tongue in cheek or comedic in nature. It doesn't seem like such a long time ago that the daily newspaper was the family choice for gathering news about what was going on in their local communities. The TV news where we went for national and international news and sports information. Then came the cable revolution and niche channels came into our living rooms. If you wanted sports highlights, you didn't have to wait for the last three minutes of the 11:00 news broadcast, you could turn on this crazy, new channel called ESPN and get highlights every few hours.
The came the Internet and newspapers, magazines, radio and TV have all struggled to compartmentalize their content to capture a share of the browsers. Then came the phenomena called blogging and the world of MSM has never been the same since.
All these changes have done is allowed people the freedom to choose what is relevant to them as far as what they want to read and listen too and when they want to listen to it. We see the same phenomena with cell phones and individualized ring tones. The company or industry that doesn't adapt is relegated to the dustbin of American corporate history beside the Pony Express. Unfortunately, the old-line sports media appears to be going in that direction, albeit kicking and screaming all the way.
--------------------------------------------- FROM DEADSPIN: BOB COSTAS, BILL CONLIN, TONY KORNHISER, DAN SHAUGNESSY SUMMARY OF BLOG-HATERS
The percent of people who get their information solely from TV and/or a newspaper decreases by the day. Nowadays, you can't create your own stories any more or attempt to mold the world to fit your own agenda and expect to maintain any sort of credibility.
Can you imagine a more anti-American position to take than to be an advocate against the freedom of choice? But that is exactly what the MSM (Mainstream Media) as personified by the recent comments in sports by Costas, Conlin, et.al. against the proliferation of bloggers, especially in sports.
Excerpts from Milton Friedman: Rightful Patron Saint of Blogging:
The beauty of blogging is self regulation at its very best.
The “blogosphere” is like a little experimental universe validating consumer choice vs. regulation—and consumer choice has won a colossal victory.
Left to the free market of ideas and instant reader feedback, good writing, quality and reliability in blogging secures a readership and reputation solely on merit.
Friedman should be the patron saint of the Age of Blogging: people with brains, networks, and powers of self-expression don't wait for journalism degrees anymore to have an impact.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comically, the same media that would question the credibility at bloggers by claiming the information is not vetted or credible comes from those who give us this type of behavior:
Will Albom's woes taint journalism?
Mitch Albom, the celebrated Detroit Free Press sports columnist who has been suspended for fudging facts in a recent piece, has a bigger name as one of the nation's best-selling authors
But Albom, who has been with the Free Press for 20 years, is taking a lashing from fellow journalists. They say he has revived the question of journalistic integrity after instances of deception by staffers at several major news outlets, including USA TODAY, The New York Times and CBS News.
Free Press editors didn't change Albom's copy. Now they and Albom are under investigation by the newspaper.
I guess you know what they see about people who live in glass houses. And I happen to like Mitch Albom, I think he's one of the best writers out there. It just goes to show that it can happen to the best of them. I just wonder why these guys feel so threatened by others out there who are just trying to mimic what they do and have a little bit of fun at the same time.
I guess I missed the part where the "real" Yankees felt threatened by Billy Crystal's at-bat or felt anything but honored or flattered by it or by him wanting to do it or the team for accommodating him.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE SPORTS PICKLE: A MORE HUMOROUS LOOK AT BLOGGING http://www.sportspickle.com/features/volume7/2008-0227-basement.html
Unemployed Journalist Forced to Move Into His Mom’s Basement
Washington Times sports reporter Terry Corman will be forced to move into his mom’s basement after budget cuts at the paper left him without a job.
“The Internet and all of those bloggers are killing the newspaper industry,” says Corman. “It’s a plague. Who reads that crap anyway? I can write a wrap-up article of a college baseball game with the best of them. But no one wants that sort of important sports news anymore. I guess it just goes to show how stupid the public has become.”
Unable to find another paper looking to hire a college baseball – and, in a pinch, college softball and tennis – reporter, Corman has been forced to put his house on the market and will move into his mother’s basement next week.
(click hyperlink to see entire story)
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PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles
Red Sox and Yankees battle it out throughout the season, with the eventual difference between the two coming down to who can avoid or adjust to injuries to key players, especially Papelbon and Rivera. The Rays shake off the name Devil and the move pays dividends as the perpetual rebuilding with youth finally pays dividends. Joe Maddon becomes a cult figure and an early candidate for manager of the year. The Blue Jays and Orioles try to retool around some questionable contracts and battle for the basement.
Boston Red Sox
Pitching - Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling begin to show wear and tear. Tim Wakefield should be pitching until he's 50 something. Daisuke Matsuzaka is the wild card for this team. If he has a great year, they cruise, if he struggles, either Jon Lester or Clay Bucholz will have to step in and produce, and both are ready. Jonathan Pepelbon, Hideki Okajima and Mike Timlin are as deep and effective a bullpen as any in the league.
Lineup - Jason Varitek holds down the catching slot, Doug Mirabelli becomes a luxury the Sox feel they can't afford until Wakefield lobs 4 or 5 passed balls by his replacement and then he'll be back. Kevin Youkilis 1B and Mike Lowell 3B on the corners are perfect for the Green Monster. Julio Lugo SS struggles at times but Dustin Pedroia 2B became an overnight sensation, with Alex Cora backing up. Sean Casey provides bench strength. David Ortiz seemingly can DH for another ten years. The only question in the outfield is when Jacoby Ellsbury takes over for Coco Crisp in CF. The over/under is Opening Day. J.D. Drew in RF and Manny Ramirez in LF are firmly entrenched. Bobby Kielty provides back-up along with Crisp, until he's dealt.
Prospects - Clay Bucholz RHP and Michael Bowden RHP, a local product from Waubonsie Valley, both appear to be ready to join the starting rotation. Jacoby Ellsbury CF will add speed to the lineup. Justin Masterson RHP could be a Derek Lowe-clone. Jed Lowrie IF is said to remind scouts of Dustin Pedroia.
New York Yankees
Pitching - Strong and becoming more of a balanced mix between veterans and youth. Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina continue to be the top three. Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy battle for the final two spots. Mariano Rivera continues to hold on to the closer spot. Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins will set up and close in spots where Rivera needs a break. Kei Igawa and Jeff Karstens provide depth, while Carl Pavano is still around to provide comic relief.
Lineup - Jorge Posada is still solid, bordering on spectacular as a hitter (20-90-.338) Jason Giambi 1B (14 HR's) and Alex Rodriguez 3B (54 HR's) provide power from the corners, Robinson Cano 2B (.332) and Derek Jeter SS (.322) hit for average, while providing occasional pop. The outfield mix is mainly provided by Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui in LF Melky Cabrera in CF and Bobby Abreu in RF. Shelley Duncan backs up here and for Giambi at 1B. Wilson Betemit is the infield depth. The DH spot is rotated between tghe LF-1B platoon spots.
Prospects - The furture is now for RHP's Phillip Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. RHP Ian Kennedy flies under the radar, but can pitch. Dellin Betances RHP (19 years old) is 6-9 and touches 98 MPH. Good combination. OF Austin Jackson (20) is a year or two away, but a potential five-tool talent. OF Jose Tabata (19) can hit.
Tampa Bay Rays
Pitching - This area could finally be turning into a strength. Scott Kazmir, James Shields and former Twins Matt Garza should be a strong top three. Andy Sonnanstine seems to have a leg up on the fourth sport for now. J.P. Howell and Jef Niemann should crowd out talented, but non-productive, Edwin Jackson. The bullpen adds veteran Troy Percival to close, moving Al Reyes to set up and spot closing duties. Veteran Dan Wheeler can set-up.
Lineup - The offense can put up runs. Dioner Navarro C needs to hit a bit more. Shawn Riggins will be the backup. Carlos Pena 1B (46-121-.282) had a monster year. Rookie phenom Evan Longoria may step in at 3B. Akinori Iwamura moves to 2B and Twins import Jason Bartlett will stabilize the SS position. The outfield is loaded with superstar Carl Crawford in LF B.J. Upton in CF and Jonny Gomes in RF. Cliff Floyd will fill in, pinch-hit and DH. Willy Aybar provides depth in the IF with SS prospects Ben Zobrist and Reid Brignac.
Prospects - Other than the aforementioned Evan Longoria at 3B, an early favorite for ROY, there's Reid Brignac at SS and the pitching, oh the pitching!!! If LHP's Jacob McGee, #1 Draft Pick David Price and RHP's Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann progress as expected, this club will be well-stocked for many year. All could be top of the rotation starters.
Toronto Blue Jays
Pitching - Roy Halliday, A.J. Burnett and Dustin McGowan are as good as anybody when healthy. After that it's anyone's guess, but it will be a RHP. Blue Jays could use a southpaw. Shaw Marcum and Jess Litsch should round out the starting staff. B.J. Ryan and Jeremy Accardo are strong in the bullpen. Ryan needs to stay healthy.
Lineup - Gregg Zaun is OK behind the dish. Sal Fasano is the backup straight out of central casting. Lyle Overbay 1B and newly acquired Scott Rolen 3B both both need to have stronger years. Rolen battles back from injuries, a common theme north of the border. Aaron Hill 2B and former Cardinal David Eckstein SS patrol the middle of the diamond. Marco Scutaro provides the fans an opportunity to develop creative chants.
Frank Thomas will be the full-time DH. Vernon Wells is a stud in CF. Alex Rios RF may be another one. Reed Johnson in LF may share time with Matt Stairs. EEK!!!
Prospects - Robinson Diaz C can hit, he has to prove he can catch. Travis Snider OF (20) is a year or two away. LHP Brett Cecil is needed this year, but may have to wait.
Baltimore Orioles
Pitching - Daniel Cabrera (9-18) is their best, his record should be the opposite. Jeremy Guthrie is average, but he's number a number two here. Adam Loewen pitched thirty innings last year, pencil him in as the #3 starter. Steve Trachsel may challenge for a starting slot. Are we sensing a theme here? This team stinks. Hayden Penn (16 saves may start) and George Sherrill (3 saves with Seattle) will lead the bullpen, for no particular reason. Ex-Ray Danys Baez (0-6 last year) may have to regian his D-Ray form. That's how bad it is in Baltimore. Reliance on former D-Ray castoffs to produce is a recipe for disaster.
Lineup - Ramon Hernandez is a journeyman catcher. Kevin Millar cowboys up at 1B with Melvin Mora 3B hoping to regain his 2006 form. Brian Roberts is an All-Star at 2B, therefore he has to go. Freddie Bynum backs him up and hopes for the trade. Luis Hernandez takes over for Miguel Tejada at SS. That's a brilliant trade-off. Luke Scott LF comes over from the Astros (18-64-.255) Adam Jones may be the starting CF, if not him, then back-up Tike Redman plays. Your staring center fielder may be named Tike?? Nick Markakis (23-112-.300) is a future star in RF, at which point, he will escape this moribund franchise. I pity the players, the fans, and their families that they are trapped in this baseball hell. The over/under on the fans protesting the Angelos regime is the All-Star break.
Prospects - As Mr. T said in Rocky II, "PAIN". Matt Wieters C (21) can flat out rake, a future all-star catcher. After that, not so much. Could be the most painful franchise to watch in the majors, along with the Giants.
This is an absolutely riveting documentary about the rise and fall of the historically black colleges and their impact on the direction and influence of basketball as we know it today. The interesting part is the story is told against the backdrop of the civil rights movement developing across the nation and some of the stories developed are truly shocking.
The scrimmage between the Winston Salem Teachers College team versus a Duke University team that was played under a cloak of secrecy in 1944.
The "Orangeburg Massacre" described in the story below compared and contrasted against the Kent State massacre.
The reaction of local southern residents, as described by Fisk University student Ben Jobe, upon learning that President John F. Kennedy had been shot. He describes some as waving the "Rebel Flag" and shouting "the South shall rise again" in celebration upon hearing the news. When compared against how we react to hearing about anyone who allegedly celebrated the attacks on 9-11, in my mind, this forever changes how I will look at that flag. Anyone who flies it, even in the name of heritage, with that kind of backdrop and history of hatred attached to it, should be ashamed of themselves as a human being.
The tragically poignant story of the rise and subsequent demise of young Bobby Phils.
It is a bittersweet walk down memory lane. The sweetness is seeing the great players of the past and learning more about the stories behind their struggles and triumphs along the path to basketball greatness. The bitterness is the backdrop of the discrimination these players and coaches faced back in the fifties and sixties that initially marginalized and compartmentalized the players and coaches in the HBCU system. The subsequent progress of the civil rights movement and the selective cherry-picking of players from the rich vines of the HBCU's by the larger universities resulted in the demise of the system. By historical comparison, the breaking of the color barrier by Jackie Robinson in major league baseball caused a similar type of slow, asphyxiation of the Negro Leagues as soon all teams clamored for their own version of Jackie. The pioneer coaches who developed the players and the , free-wheeling, fast-paced, high octane offenses we see many college and NBA teams run today were often either left on the outside looking in or forced to accept assistant coaching positions at the larger, predominantly white universities.
Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Dick Barnett, Willis Reed, Bob "Butterbean" Love, "Pee Wee" Kirkland, Temple coach John Chaney, Sonny Hill, Bob Dandridge and so many others. They collectively changed basketball in much the same way that Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Satchel Paige and others changed baseball forever by integrating the sport.
The documentary weaves it's way through the history of the HBCU with the same style and flourish that Earl Monroe exhibited on the basketball court. At times fast paced, the directors show an ability to slow the tempo down and give the events of historical significance their just due. This certainly must have been a labor of love for "The Pearl", who was involved as a director along with Dan Klores.
Some of the stories are sad, some a combination of triumph and tragedy. The documentary is 2 segments, four hours long in total, but both segments will leave you wanting to hear and see more.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER:
March 16, 2008
COMMENTARY: 'Black Magic' project invigorates Ben Jobe
By Josh Moon
Ask Ben Jobe a question and he'll give you an answer. It might not be the pretty, politically correct response you were looking for. It might not make you happy. It might not be what you want to hear.
But you can be assured of one thing -- it will be what Jobe believes. And he doesn't care if he's alone in those views, or just ahead of the curve.
It's all part of a conversation with Jobe on a Saturday afternoon. The topic -- the original topic, anyway -- was Jobe's participation in a documentary entitled "Black Magic" that will air uninterrupted in two two-hour parts on ESPN tonight and Monday. The film covers the lives of basketball players and coaches at historically black colleges and universities during the civil rights movement.
That personality makes him perfect for a documentary like this one. Because to tell the untold stories of decades-old injustices, you need someone willing to speak up. That has never been a problem for Jobe.
"I didn't want to do this (documentary)," Jobe said. "I was very, very ill when this was first brought up. But here came this man, Dan Klores, a great, gifted man with a vision for this film. And he said we can tell the real story. And I said, 'What about the South Carolina State story?' And he said, 'I want to tell what really happened.' After that, I was on board."
The "South Carolina State story" is often referred to by another name -- "The Orangeburg Massacre." It happened Feb. 8, 1968 on the campus of what was then South Carolina State College. State patrol officers opened fire on a group of student protestors, killing three and wounding 27.
"Most of the kids shot were shot in the back," said Jobe, who coached at SCSU shortly after the incident. "To this day, no one really talks about it. Everyone knows about Kent State and what happened there. I was at the Anne Frank Museum in Holland and the curator, as we were talking, asked me about the Kent State shootings. I asked if he had ever heard of the South Carolina State shootings. He didn't know anything about them. Kent State was a white school. South Carolina State was a black school."
With the freedom to cover any topic no matter how controversial, Jobe was sold on the "Black Magic" project. For two days, Jobe talked about basketball, life, civil rights, injustices, good times and unbearable times. He filled four hours' worth of tapes and sat for another seven hours in front of a video camera.
"We have to embrace our past if we're to have any hope for the future," he said. "I truly believe that the solutions for the future lie in the past. Often times, those solutions are in the things we've been hiding and not wanting to talk about for too long. And this film uncovers a lot of things people would just as soon we not ever mention again. It will make a lot of folks uncomfortable."
Josh Moon, a sports writer for the Advertiser, can be reached by e-mail at jmoon@gannett
----------------------------------------------- FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES:
Civil Rights on the Basketball Court
By RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: March 15, 2008
“Black Magic” opens with the details of a secret basketball game played in Durham, N. C., in a locked gym with no fans to witness it. On a Sunday morning in 1944 the innovative African-American coach John McLendon led his fast-breaking team from the North Carolina College for Negroes in a home game against an intramural squad from Duke University’s medical school.
Earl Monroe as a member of the Winston-Salem State College basketball team.
It was illegal. It was dangerous.
And the black team won 88-44. “They never saw anyone run up and down the court like we did,” a McLendon player says.
If you’re unfamiliar with the game, you’re not alone. The players and coaches from historically black colleges and universities were more obscure than baseball’s Negro Leagues, but were victimized by the same exclusions from the white mainstream. As racial barriers eroded, and white colleges recognized how much black talent they had ignored, they cherry-picked until it became nearly all theirs. The black colleges didn’t go out of business, as the Negro Leagues did, but they lost their leverage with recruits to the universities that act as the farm system to the National Basketball Association.
This remarkable four-hour documentary by Dan Klores, to be shown in two installments without commercial interruption on ESPN on Sunday and Monday nights, is as heartbreaking as any about civil rights. He sets it against the indignities of segregation but depicts the black colleges as educational safe houses where children of cotton pickers and sharecroppers felt nurtured and motivated. Like the grainy film of Mr. McLendon’s teams, archival footage from places like the Tuskegee Institute offers a vision of separateness.
Mr. Monroe’s spinning and feinting at Winston-Salem State College (later university), where Mr. Gaines coached for 47 years, earned him the nickname Black Jesus and led to a brilliant N.B.A. career. But a previous Winston-Salem graduate with similarly spectacular skills, Cleo Hill, was spurned by his racist teammates on the St. Louis Hawks and blackballed by the league. Mr. Hill, who became a college coach, still seems baffled.
Mr. Jobe, another McLendon disciple, is the documentary’s moral center. Like Mr. McLendon, he moved across the coaching landscape, from black colleges to mainstream universities and back again. His dignity is flecked equally with wit and anger. Reflecting on the praise accorded Duke in the late 1970s for a fast-break attack that he, like others, adapted from Mr. McLendon, he said: “Duke did it, it was genius. We did it, it’s jungle ball.”
BLACK MAGIC
ESPN, Sunday and Monday nights at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.
Directed by Dan Klores; Mr. Klores, Earl Monroe, Libby Geist and David Zieff, producers. An ESPN Original Entertainment, in collaboration with Shoot the Moon Productions.
