Second Season - or Last Season?

The SEVEN
April 21, 2011


I. The "F" Word

Kobe Bryant has a little less "pocket change" - 100K, to be exact - as a result of being fined by the league and commissioner David Stern for calling a referee the "F-word" right in front of the TNT cameras. Not that that would have been any more excusable had it been the last guy on the Timberwolves bench, but my sense is that the amount of the fine rose due to the status of the offending player. Instead of bashing the referee in such a nasty manner, if the truth be told, Kobe and the Lakers better be careful before they are faced with another f-word: Freetime.

II. "The Blacks"

Unfortunately there's no commissioner of life to fine Donald Trump - or fire Donald Trump - for the crazy things flying out of his mouth of late, one of the latest being the statement about how he has "a great relationship is with the Blacks." First of all, Mr. Trump, using that phrase makes "the Blacks" sound like we are like the dogs, the cats, or some creatures in the zoo.

You know, if you want to be president, one of the qualities you should have is the ability to recognize what is wrong and how to fix it. To that end, I would suggest that before The Donald says any more about his "great relationship" or files any paperwork indicating a candidacy, he should apologize to the group of boys wrongly accused and convicted of a rape in New York's Central Park some twenty-two years ago. Trump took out full-page ads calling for the death penalty for the boys, but has not - at least not publicly - admitted that he was wrong to do so after DNA evidence (and the confession of the rapist) showed those boys were not guilty. Mr. Trump, try saying this: "I'm Sorry."

III. The Playoffs

The NBA playoffs have begun, and they are off to a tremendously exciting start, with drama in almost all of the first round matchups. I made predictions for this round before the round started...and while I might want to make some adjustments now, here they are:

Eastern Conference
Miami over Sixers in 6
Chicago over Indiana in 5
Boston over New York in 5
Orlando over Atlanta in 6

Western Conference
San Antonio over Memphis in 6
Lakers over New Orleans in 5
Dallas over Portland in 7
Denver over Oklahoma City in 7

IV. MMA

Went to my first MMA card last weekend to see a young man I used to coach during his baseball-playing days - Shedrick "Chocolate Thunder" Goodridge - fight for a regional title. I wound up leaving there with good news and bad news. First, the good news - Shedrick won the belt.

The bad news is that aside from the one match that I had a specific rooting interest in, the action was not exactly riveting - and I was at ringside. I guess the fact that I kept waiting or hoping that the guys would do some pro wrestling moves shows I wasn't particularly going crazy with excitement...except for "Chocolate Thunder." UFC , keep your eyes on him!

V. Bedtime for Bonzo

By the time Shedrick fought it was around 1:00 a.m...but despite the lateness of the hour and my lack of total excitement, I remained awake...unlike a few people in the news of late. I know some people would consider it almost blasphemous to put forth anything that even hints at criticism of Ronald Reagan...but with that said, is there any connection between President Reagan's firing of the air traffic controllers in 1981 - and the changes that brought - and these controllers falling asleep on the job in 2011?

VI. The End of a Reign?

As the playoffs are beginning, I find myself thinking back to some outstanding playoff matchups between the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings and, as such, truly saddened at the prospect of the Kings leaving Sacramento. We all know that sports franchises move from time to time; some, like the Indianapolis Colts, move in the middle of the night, while others just seek a better site. Indeed, the Kings moved from Kansas City...where they had moved to from Cincinnati...and I have have no real connection to Sacramento, having spent maybe three hours there in life. I just wonder if there could be a solution to keep a once-great franchise where it is.

VII. The End of a Life?

As passionate as sports fans are about their teams, sports, and games, we are periodically reminded that other things are of more importance. Troy Davis is facing execution in Georgia for a murder that it seems very likely that he did not commit. Various groups are attempting petition drives to spare his life, one such group being the NAACP. Please visit NAACP.org ASAP for more information, so that you can do your part to help justice prevail in this situation.