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Who turned Keith Olbermann into Edward Murrow?

Some people might not be old enough to remember this (say, if
you are younger than 16), but back in the day, the mid-90s
I think, the best show on television wasn't Friends or Seinfeld,
but the 11 PM edition of ESPN's Sportcenter with Keith Olbermann
and Dan Patrick. They were utterly hilarious and had terrific
chemistry. Lets say their chemistry was better than that of
Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser by a factor of about three
hundred million. So it was a tragic, tragic day when Olbermann
left ESPN for his own show on MSNBC.

For a few years, when I would happen to catch Olbermann's show,
the material would be something trivial a la the newscasts on
the Simpsons or Anchorman, "And today's #3 story on our countdown,
the bear who was not happy with his color prints!!!" And this was
just salt in the wound. Why, Keith, why did you leave ESPN?
I looked up to you Keith. Why??

I dunno what the turning point was, or what snapped, or what
progressive masterfully pulled off a little Manchurian Candidate
magic with Keith, but today he's become the most pointed and
unapologetic critic on TV of the disastrous policies of the Bush
administration. So y'know what, Keith? I'm happy for
you. I'm OK. I forgive you. I think you're doing great work.
I know you still have, like, 1/5th the audience of that pompous
conservative windbaw O'Reilly (who does takes a good stance on
civil liberties in about 1 show out of 10; more than I can say
for Limbaugh, et. al.), but don't let that get you down. As
William Lloyd Garrison once said, "The success of any great moral
enterprise does not depend upon numbers." Keep it up.

If you're out of the loop on this turn of events, check out
Olbermann's 10 minute commentary on the Fox interview of Bill
Clinton. Its really fantastic stuff-- and the most well
constructed, intelligent, cogent, and needed political
critique on television since Murrow. {aside.. so, if the
medium of TV delivers on this every 50 years or so, is it really
worth it? I think I just answered my own question, but Olbermann's
commentaries are still better than anything I've heard on
Air America thus far}.

Olbermann Responds to the Clinton Fox Interview



If you missed it, I am sad for you. Hopefully they'll come out
with a 'greatest hits' DVD one day.

Boo Outer-Borough Overdevelopment. Hoo-Ray Brownstone Brooklyn!

I realize I've blogged about nothing but sports and movies for the past three months. So maybe its high time that I weighed in on the weighty social issues. Repercussions be damned. Here goes...

Prospect of Dems retaking House or Senate: Good
Global Warming: Bad
Term limits kicking in in 2008: Very Good
Situation in Iraq: Very bad

Dang nabit... can't help myself

College coaches coaching the US B-ball team: Good
Entourage Season Three: Bad (but I'm still watching)
Talladega Nights: Good, but not Great
Anchorman, the Legend of Ron Burgundy: Friggen Fantastic

OK, that's enough thinking globally. Lets think locally. So.. I'm coming out on a big local issue.

Ahem. The Big Apple is a great town. Nothing else like it in the good ol' US of A. The diversity. The energy. The magesty. The sterling public transportation system. Err.. check that last one.

And a big part of what makes NYC so very special are the manifold and diverse and colorful and vibrant and unique neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have many different looks, feels, and flavors. A handful --mostly in Manhattan-- are pretty dang urban, built up, and crowded in terms of how they are put together, i.e. the Upper East Side, Clinton, Battery Park City. And these are swell places home to great people leading extraordinary lives. But the tall buildings and cramped atmosphere doesn't do it for everyone as a place to live in, to retreat to after work, to wake up and fall asleep in, to spend the weekend, to raise the kids, etc. This is why we have the outer boroughs. And the Village. Whatever.

I have not lived in Brooklyn for any real length of time on any scale of anything. So call me a transplant, an interloper, an invader, whatever. Point is, I left Manhattan for the relative peace and calm, and less developed urban environment, and culture and feeling of Brooklyn. And I found exactly what I was looking for. Precisely what I was looking for. Brooklyn rocks. Brooklyn is a special place. It’s a lousy thing to play or pick favorites here, but in my opinion, Brownstone Brooklyn is the Crown Jewel of NYC’s neighborhoods.

YES. Brownstone Brooklyn has its fair share of issues and problems. Gentrification. Lack of affordable housing. But here’s the rub, the punchline, the alpha and the omega of the argument for all I am concerned: the scale of Bruce Ratner’s proposed Atlantic Yards project—and here I’m talking specifically about the proposed 60 story SKYSCRAPERS—would be more than just throwing the baby out with the bathwater in terms of addressing gentrification and affordable housing and jobs and whatever else. It would go beyond that. It would take the (metaphorical) baby out of the brownstone bathtub and toss it out onto the street to a most heinous demise. The baby would be no more. The monstrosity of the Atantic Yards project would destroy the spirit and essence and nature of Brooklyn, NY. Which is a damned shame. Not for everyone, directly. Not for the folks in Canarsie or Sheepshead Bay or Red Hook or Greenpoint. But symbolically, 60 story skyscrapers smack dab in the middle of brownstone Brooklyn would be a gigantic sullying embarrassing permanent blight on Brooklyn’s front lawn.

A new arena for a professional sports team for a borough where everyone over the age of 6 shows visible scarring from the Brooklyn Dodgers leaving in the 1950s would be A-OK. But currently, the Brooklyn Nets are part of a crappy package deal, so I have to vote no on the whole thing. Sorry Jay-Z.

And.. c’mon ESDC.. Atlantic Yards would be a public administration disaster. Take an afternoon, any afternoon (say, between 9 AM and 9 PM), and stand out in front of the Target on 4th Ave. and Atlantic, and imagine 5,000 more cars trying to move through the intersection. Should be fun. At any rate… New York Magazine just ran a great piece which hits on the multifaceted problems the Atlantic Yards project raises. You should read it. Yes you should. Good read. Informative. Educational. As Lavar Burton said on Reading Rainbow, read the damn thing and make up your own mind. I’ve said enough.

The Article: Mr. Ratner's Neighborhood

On the Great A-Rod Debate

The subject of Alex Rodriguez and whether he is an overpaid athlete is currently 25% of what is talked about on local sports radio and 10% on national, so I feel oblidged to chime in. I'm not even a huge baseball fan, but the subject of performance in sport is universal and widely applicable, and I feel like most of the analysis here is off-the-mark. So here goes:

"A-ROD is TEMPORARILY OVERPAID"

A-Rod is temporarily overpaid. But he can redeem himself. Here's the rub:

The success or failure of a Major League Baseball team with a $200 million dollar payroll (OK.. $198m and change to be specific) to make the playoffs over the course of a 162 game season can't be pinned on one player. If anything, the failure of a team with this bankroll to make the post-season should be pinned on the GM and maybe the manager/coach (see: the New York Knicks). But this doesn't apply to the modern-era big-buck Yanks, because they almost always make the playoffs.

Once *in* the MLB playoffs, in a 5 or a 7 game series--and kudos to MLB for not following the lead of the NBA and NHL and adopting the interminable 7 game first round series--you can sure use marquis...or just above average... performances from your high priced studs. If a key starting pitcher or fielder falters or excels in a MLB playoff series, that can make all the difference.

In 2004 and 2005, A-Rod had a mediocre and a bad playoff series. He batted .258 against the Redsox in 2004 and an abysmal .133 against the Angels in 2005. This for a guy with a .307 career average. In case people forget, the Yanks had three close losses to the Redsox in that epic 2004 ALCS, and three close losses to the Angels last year. No telling if whether A-Rod had hit closer to his average in both of those series, Yanks would have prevailed and moved on. But here's the problem: he's paid friggen $25 million dollars to hit close to his average in those big games.

I don't know why this is so complicated. Sports (and CEO) salaries are disproportionately high, some more than others. But there is an internal logic (albeit a flawed one) to paying someone a gazillion dollars if the goal is to win a championship or post strong earnings. If the batting average drops in the big games, or if earnings plummet in the 4th Quarter, this is a problem for the players/people at the top of the food/pay chain.

As a New York sports fan, I don't care that A-Rod had strong playoff series with the Mariners, or that he had a 3-error game last week. I want to see him putting up big hitting numbers and good-enough fielding performances IN THE PLAYOFFS. Here's the good news for New York sports fans and A-Rod: he'll have plenty of chances to do this and come up big. Here's the bad news for New York sports fans and A-Rod: he'll have plenty of chances to do this and fail.

So... my jury is out. If the guy puts in strong playoff performances over the next few seasons and the Yanks win a Championship, great... way to go super-ridiculously-highly-paid professional athlete. You have done your job. If he does not, well... this is a problem, and I'll remember him as an overpaid athlete who couldn't hack it when the heat was on, even if he bats a career .300 and knocks in 700 HR.

But we're not there yet. To be continued...



I ain't gonna post a picture of A-Rod, so instead, I offer an image hearkening back to the days of yester-year when I actually cared as much about baseball as I do the NBA. Cheers.

Link of the Week

For a thoroughly hilarious take on Pirates of the Caribbean,
Dead Mans Chest, check out the Ninja's review.

On The Wallace Signing and Roids

This post goes out to Detroit native Aaron Lewis--aka the L.B.M.--and Capital of the Midwest resident Chris Rhodes. In the case of the former, I implore you to temper your disappointment. In the case of the latter, I instruct you to restrict your enthusiasm. Either way, random superhighway visitor, the below opinion clashes with all the talking heads at espn, so you're getting a fresh perspective on life.

Now, don't get me wrong, I certainly don't think the Bulls got any worse with the addition of Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas. And I expect them to add to their win total this season, even while I expect Boston, Charlotte, New Jersey, and Atlanta to also improve their regular season records. (Did I just write, "I expect Atlanta to improve?" Yes. I did. Still time to erase that.. still time to erase..) I would not make this argument if they didn't have a good coach and strong guard play, but that isn't the case.

However... I'm fairly certain a $60 million dollar contract for an undersized center who can't score (on the floor or at the line) and who looked a little worn down in the playoffs this year was the answer for a young run-and-gun team that barely made the EC playoffs and beat-the-Heat a couple times on the strength of their running and gunning and shooting.

Two big concerns:

1) Can the Bulls really avoid not becoming more of a half court team in the playoffs with the addition of Wallace and Thomas? Why not pick up players that allow you to become a more effective Suns or Mavs type well oiled offensive machine? As was well documented this season, this type of team can win big in the NBA these days.
And can win it all if not for Dwayne Wade and Bennett Salvatore.

2) Pro-sports maxim: You can't give an inflated star-player contract to guys who have made a name and a career for themselves as hardworking, gritty, hustle players. Ben Wallace has to be in the NBAs top 10 or top 5 hustle players of all time. Division II school. Undrafted. Rode the pine. Then made a name for himself in Detroit by anchoring a very talented, well coached, defense oriented, half court basketball team with blood, sweat, tears, and one very famous face-shove... but not by carrying the team on his back, a la Mr. Wade again. $60 million bucks means bright lights and an imperative to succeed on an individual level. If this Bulls team can't find a way to win the big games without asking Wallace to fundamentally change his game or his role, I'm not sure this is going to turn out well. We'll see.

Trying to be constructive here... If I were Jerry Krause... I would have upgraded from Luol Deng to Al Harrington, kept Chandler (who may or may not be on this way out) and tried to find a couple of DeSagana Diop/Erik Dampier type center/forwards who are nothing to write home about, but fit more smoothly into a roster built for speed and scoring.

One last NBA note, while I'm at it. Rod Thorn. What a guy. Has made being a Nets fan for the past 5 seasons enjoyable. One of the top GMs in the league. Great draft with grabbing Marcus Williams and Josh Boone in the late first round. Yes, these players require a little babysitting/development. Williams needs some time on weightwatchers and in the weightroom to ensure he doesn't go Chris Childs on us, and Boone needs to be spending some long summer weeks in the gym with coach Cartwright learning how to score in the paint. But otherwise, job well done.

Lastly.. I'd like to give a big shout out to steroids. Back in the day (the late 80s, early 90s), as part of anti-drug D.A.R.E. primary education indoctrination, most kids would be (such as myself) subjected to a 10 minute film on the roids. It went a little something like this: HS track or football star had it all... the grades, the girl, the Camero, the loving parents, etc., etc., but one day said star is offered the roids. Next thing you know, this person is struggling in the classes, beating the girlfriend, breaking out in acne, attacking random people with baseball bats, wrecking the Camero, and then dying of cardiac arrest at the age of 17. It was all a little over-the-top, and I don't think it stuck with anyone. But then came along Jose Canseco and Rafael Palmeiro and Mr. "I'm not here to talk about the past" and the roids were really put to shame. Well. That's too bad. But I do know this: I have battled and largely lost with Poison Ivy-Oak-Sumac my whole life, and picked up a nasty case of what I think was Poison Oak while in Cali. weekend before last. Nothing was working. Not the cortisone cream, not the benadryl, nothin'. Then I went to the neighborhood doc for a prescription... that stuff put the hammer down on my insufferable rash in about 36 hours. Drugs. Hoo-ray Drugs.

OK, enough said. Happy 230th birthday, my fellow Americans. Big shout out also to the 22nd Amendment. On our 232 birthday, we're getting a new pres. Hang in there.



Big Ben/Mark Warner in 2008

Soccer!!!!!

I'm going to break ground here and be the 1,003,295th person
to blog about soccer in the past week or so. And, like, two
or three people a day will glance at this. I'm wasting my life.

OK. Soccer must be a great game. Captivates billions. And
its egalitarian. You don't need to be 6' 9" or 280 pounds
to play. You can have the dimensions of a regular normal person
and excel. Its just a matter of speed, agility, and practice,
practice, practice.

Is the game in the end better than basketball or NFL football?
I dunno. One's perception on this is likely highly culturally
bound. I was hanging out on London for several months and
spending a lot of time in pubs watching the Premiership
League and soccer-viewing became fairly captivating. Back in the
states seven years later I can't remember why I found it all so
compelling. But I did. Funny story... one of my first evenings
hanging out in London I was at this gigantic pub in Muswell
Hill called the Church... the NFC championship game between
the Vikings and the Falcons (I think) had gone into overtime.
Out of nowhere, someone up front switches channels to a Scottish
golf tournament. No one in the place batted an eyelash.

I'll say this... y'know what soccer and baseball and football
are better than? Friggen baseball. You know what I love? I
love living in a big city with limited park space and--as is the
case in Central Park and Prospect Park--having 98% of the primo field
space reserved for baseball and softball from May until October.
This activity, when played casually by the public is less of a
'sport' and of more an 'exercise in socialization,' bereft of
any exercise. Bah humbug.

At any rate, I do have one gigantic problem with soccer. And a
solution for how it can be fixed. In your typical world cup
game, the following series of events occurs about once every
5-10 minutes: player X with ball is slide tackled from behind
or from the side by opposing player Y without ball. There is
(or is sometimes not) contact between player X on the giving end
and player Y on the receiving end of the slide tackle. Player
X proceeds to hit the turf, and scream and howl and grab some
part of his lower body and give the impression that he's just
blown his MCL and broken both legs with multiple compound
fractures. And then 80% of the time player X is back upright some
moments later sprinting down the field and showing the world
that he has not, in fact, just suffered career-ending injuries.

There is no honor in this. There is no competitive spirit in
this. There is only extreme lameness and embarrassment and
poor sportsmanship in this. The good news is, I have a solution:

Import the 10-second knockdown rule from boxing. If a
player cannot get up in 10 seconds, that player must sub out
of the game for at least 10 minutes. 10 seconds down, 10 minutes
out. That simple. Players who are truly beat up get a rest
and don't risk further injury. Those who are goldbricking a
major catastrophe are penalized. This rule would instantaneously
solve soccer's drama problem. Simple as that. Trust me.

...as a compromise, I'd be willing to accept players getting
penalized with accruing yellow cards and suspensions *after* matches
are over by governing leagues which review all feigned-death-by-slide
tackle-and-miraculous-recovery incidents. But I'd prefer the 10-second rule.

OK, that's it. Sorry Poland. Go Ivory Coast.



The only thing missing from this picture? Randy Neumann callin'
out, "One!... Two!... Three!..."