Linsanity

The SEVEN
11 February 2012


I. Love Is In The Air

To all of the ladies that are reading this, Happy Valentine's Day!


II. Love Is In The Air, Pt. 2

Mike D'Antoni must love his newly-found hero...I mean, wouldn't you love someone that may have saved your job?

Clearly the biggest sports surprise of the year so far was not the underdog Giants' Super Bowl appearance, nor their victory over the favored Patriots, but the meteoric rise to instant stardom of the New York Knicks Jeremy Lin, who this past Friday led the Knicks to their fourth straight win by scoring 38 points against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. Lin, whose first appearance some weeks back seemed to forecast a stint in the D-League, has brought a ball-sharing mentality and excitement back to the team, which is 5-0 since he broke into the lineup (as opposed to 8-15 before).

Charles Barkley stated that Lin needed to be added to the Rookie/Sophomore game during all-star weekend...but if he keeps playing like that, he'll get added to the main roster. And now does this make two teams that are playing better in the absence of Anthony?

III. Please Don't Go

Rich DeVos, the senior chairman of the Orlando Magic, says that he wants their franchise center, Dwight Howard, to stay in Orlando, and that he doesn't want to trade him. Were I in their front office I wouldn't want to trade Superman either, but I might point out to Mr. DeVos that they didn't grow their Amway empire on a string of bad decisions.

The Magic need only look down the road to Miami, where the Marlins are preparing to enter the 2012 season with former Met Jose Reyes at shortstop after he signed with them as a free agent this winter. As it turns out, the Mets probably should have ticked off their fan base last July by trading Reyes right then. Fans would have been irate at the team trading the National League's leading hitter, but had that happened, the Mets would have walked away with something, as opposed to Reyes walking out the door in the off season and leaving the Mets with nothing. I doubt that the Magic want to replicate that scenario...a scenario that played itself out very similarly in Miwaukee as well when slugger Prince Fielder left for Detroit.

IV. Not In The Market

When a New York City Councilman suggested that billionaire mayor Mike Bloomberg buy the struggling Mets, Bloomberg respectfully declined, stating that "...why anybody wants to own a sports team, I can't figure out." Well, if that franchise is the Yankees, you have your name in the media constantly and ultimately walk away - if you choose to sell - with a crazy profit. If it's the Mets...maybe that's why he said no.

V. Here's The Story of a Man Named Brady

Okay, we all now know that supermodel Gisele Bundchen - the wife of Patriots
quarterback Tom Brady - was none too pleased at the performance of some of his
teammates in the Super Bowl...and that saying "my husband cannot throw the
#*?;"+%€ ball and catch it at the same time" might not have been the most
diplomatic statement possible for someone in her position.

That said, here are two things to keep real: one, she didn't express any
sentiment that wasn't being expressed thousands of times across New England.
Two, she does have a right to have an opinion and is not excluded from having
one by virtue of being a woman - which is why it's great that the Giants'
Brandon Jacobs has apologized for his "stay cute and shut up" comment.

VI. Make Me Lose My Religion

If only the CPAC conference could last for the rest of the month. If it did, the
Republican presidential contenders would have so fully stumbled over each other
in an attempt to prove themselves the most conservative that the ultimate winner
would be essentially eliminated from serious contention in the fall. So in
light of all of the discussion this week about coverage of birth control - with
President Obama's opponents bashing him as anti-religion and virtually the
second coming of Satan - it seems funny how some of the haters continue to claim
that Obama is a Muslim, while others (and maybe some of the same folks) continue
to castigate him for the years he spent in Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church.

Hey guys, see if this makes any sense to you...if he's a Muslim, then there's no
need to harp on him about being with Rev. Wright. If he's a Christian, then no
matter what his name may be, he's not a Muslim. Of course, if he spent 20 years
at Rev. Wright's church, chances are he's not a Muslim. Bottom line...we know
you have issues with him being who he is and where he is...but don't trash him
on both of these.

VII. The Greatest

As an attendee at the 1994 NAACP Image Awards, I saw one artist going back and
forth onto the stage to accept award after award, thanking everyone with
anything to do with the success during these multiple presentations. Finally
she went to accept what was to be her last award of the evening, saying "I don't
know what to say."

From the back of the auditorium, during a split-second of quiet, I shouted,
"Sing!" - and it reverberated throughout the entire hall. Within seconds people
around the building were shouting for her to sing.

"You want me to sing?"

We screamed our approval, and then Whitney Houston broke into an a cappella
rendition of Jesus Loves Me. Rest in peace, Whitney. Another star gone too soon.

Super Seven

The SEVEN
5 February 2012

I.  Super Bowl Sunday

Back in December I kind of predicted that the recently 7-7 New York Giants might advance to the Big Game after their defeat of the previously-undefeated Green Bay Packers...and now here they are, back against the New England Patriots, their opponent four years ago.

Four years ago I so expected the Pats to win because I didn't consider Eli Manning to be an elite quarterback. Now that he definitely is, I could see either team winning...but I still think his brother should or could really be the MVP!

II.  Job Opening?

A few nights ago a guy predicted that Mike D'Antoni wouldn't last the week as the Knicks' coach.  Well, that was wrong - but it brings to mind the championship predictions flying through the New York air upon his signing. Folks must have thought he was bringing Steve Nash along.

III.  Winning Ways

Nash & his Suns just sent the Charlotte Bobcats to their eleventh straight loss. Michael Jordan didn't experience eleven losses during the entire 1995-96 regular season...& super rookie Kemba Walker barely saw more than eleven losses in college.  

IV.  Strength in the Hair?

Before we begin to think Jose Reyes' haircut for charity  will strip him of his strength, let's remember he kind of played like this before he grew his locks out, so we should expect more of the same in Miami...or maybe more in the warm climate.   Hope the Make-A-Wish Foundation does well with their auction of those locks!

V.  Winter Break

Meanwhile I was recently in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area to watch a group of 12U, 16U, and 19U ballplayers that had taken their talents to South Beach and nearby to participate in the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League's All-Star games, which took place on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend.  The players were treated to great coaching by, among others, Mookie Wilson and Preston Wilson; a great seminar on Black participation in baseball, and a great tour and hospitality provided by Florida Memorial University.   A good time was had by all and all are looking forward to the MJBL Classic at the end of July in Richmond, VA. Check out mjbl.org for more information on this organization.

VI.  Why?

What's up with fans booing Kris Humphries?  Let's be real; he was the only one in that marriage with any talent.

VII.  I Knew It All Along

A recent study, discussed in the following Huffington Post article,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/intelligence-study-links-prejudice_n_1237796.html, shows a correlation between low IQ scores and conservatism.  According to the study, people that had scored low on IQ tests as youth were "more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood."

I knew it!  I knew those Tea Party/Klansmen/right-wingers were intellectually challenged, to say the least, but I just didn't have the empirical data to prove it. Thanks so much!