I worked on this story for the Florida A&M's 2010 homecoming show. The Marching 100 band is world renowned for giving spectacular performances. The Grammy's, Super Bowl and President Barack Obama's inauguration are just a few notable events the band has performed. My story focuses on the band's familial relationships, and was done in honor of the passing of legendary band director Dr. William P. Foster.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The Fab Five backlash
I guess I missed it.
I guess I was so caught up in a documentary so candid that it brought all its viewers back into the present day. As the NCAA championship plays on in real time, it's easy to see why people can relive the Duke-Michigan rivalry of the Fab Five, Grant Hill and Christian Laettner days in real time as well.
Misconstruing Jalen Rose' and Jimmie King's comments as real-time perceptions, well that's another thing.
Are we the media so caught up in drumming up controversy that we forget what we were taught in basic English language composition? When a person uses the words "felt," it represents the past tense of one's feelings. So, maybe I was just enamored by the reality of the documentary, which helped people like me who didn't watch the rivalry play out in real time, feel like we witnessed the events when they happened. Or maybe, I just understood that when Rose said he felt Grant Hill represented the Uncle Toms of the black community or when King said he felt like Hill was a "b**ch," they were expressing how they felt as the teenagers that they were at the time.
For Hill to hear these comments made by people he views as friends today, I can understand why he was compelled to write a passionate rebuttal in The New York Times. To hear how the symbol and strength of your parents marriage is partly the basis for a deep-rooted hatred for you is insulting. But even Hill acknowledged that he didn't feel that those were Rose' sentiments today. What he attempted to do was make a case for the value of blacks striving for a quality education from schools like Duke and Yale; (I imagine) just in case there are still members of the black community who still harbor similar sentiments to Rose today. But his rebuttal mostly succeeded in giving the media ample ammunition to fire up the grill. Too bad Rose is the one being roasted.
The controversy has become the leading subject of discussion on many sports talk shows, forcing Rose to have to clarify that his comments represented the ideologies of an angry kid who grew up without a father and was unfairly judged as a product of his environment. It's forced both Rose and King to issue apologies to Hill, who they both expressed admiration and respect for in the documentary, and to the Duke organization.
But I don't understand why Rose and King should harbor the blame caused by decisions made by some members of the media to forget what one of the fundamental rules of the English language demands: that you regard verbs or words expressed in the past tense as an issue of the past.
I guess I was so caught up in a documentary so candid that it brought all its viewers back into the present day. As the NCAA championship plays on in real time, it's easy to see why people can relive the Duke-Michigan rivalry of the Fab Five, Grant Hill and Christian Laettner days in real time as well.
Misconstruing Jalen Rose' and Jimmie King's comments as real-time perceptions, well that's another thing.
Are we the media so caught up in drumming up controversy that we forget what we were taught in basic English language composition? When a person uses the words "felt," it represents the past tense of one's feelings. So, maybe I was just enamored by the reality of the documentary, which helped people like me who didn't watch the rivalry play out in real time, feel like we witnessed the events when they happened. Or maybe, I just understood that when Rose said he felt Grant Hill represented the Uncle Toms of the black community or when King said he felt like Hill was a "b**ch," they were expressing how they felt as the teenagers that they were at the time.
For Hill to hear these comments made by people he views as friends today, I can understand why he was compelled to write a passionate rebuttal in The New York Times. To hear how the symbol and strength of your parents marriage is partly the basis for a deep-rooted hatred for you is insulting. But even Hill acknowledged that he didn't feel that those were Rose' sentiments today. What he attempted to do was make a case for the value of blacks striving for a quality education from schools like Duke and Yale; (I imagine) just in case there are still members of the black community who still harbor similar sentiments to Rose today. But his rebuttal mostly succeeded in giving the media ample ammunition to fire up the grill. Too bad Rose is the one being roasted.
The controversy has become the leading subject of discussion on many sports talk shows, forcing Rose to have to clarify that his comments represented the ideologies of an angry kid who grew up without a father and was unfairly judged as a product of his environment. It's forced both Rose and King to issue apologies to Hill, who they both expressed admiration and respect for in the documentary, and to the Duke organization.
But I don't understand why Rose and King should harbor the blame caused by decisions made by some members of the media to forget what one of the fundamental rules of the English language demands: that you regard verbs or words expressed in the past tense as an issue of the past.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The Fab Five film
Wow.
That's just all I can say after watching the ESPN film The Fab Five, about the Michigan basketball team's famous five freshmen starters. The team included former NBA stars and current NBA analysts Chris Webber and Jalen Rose, current Miami Heat forward Juwan Howard, Jimmie King, who had a short stint in the NBA and Ray Jackson, who never played in the NBA.
I knew the story of these guys impressive back-to-back runs to the NCAA finals, the second of which ended on a botched time-out call by Webber. I have watched all kinds of footage about this team, enough to tell you much of the story. But watching the film gave me a better sense of the magnitude of these guys' impact on college basketball; particularly financially.
But before I go into the financial aspect, I have to say the film did a good job of capturing the vulnerability of these guys. As a result of their accomplishment, people treated them more like experienced college players than as the young'ns that they really were. Watching these guys find out how popular they were when Muhammad Ali addressed them by their names was indicative of their innocence and unawareness of just how much of celebrities they had become.
Which brings me to the financial problem. The debate over whether college athletes should get paid has been ongoing for years. On one end are those who feel the free college education with room and board amounts to paying athletes and on the other end are people who see how much athletes at universities like Michigan are netting schools and view it as modern day slavery.
Mitch Albom, a Detroit Press columnist discussed when he knew Webber would turn pro after the second NCAA title bid. He was walking with Webber who asked him for money for gas and to grab a bite. Albom turned him down (per NCAA rules) and moments after they passed by a store selling a Webber jersey for $75. Webber voiced his displeasure that his jersey was selling for that much and he had no money to eat, and Albom said he knew Webber would declare for the NBA draft. Webber announced his decision a week later. The film also cites that the University of Michigan netted $10.2 million from capitalizing on the sales of the fab five merchandise. Prior to the group's emergence on campus, Michigan was getting less than $2 million. The collective value of their college education if all had graduated (Webber left after his sophomore year, Rose and Howard left after their junior years) would not make a dent on what they earned the school.
I can see why Webber and Rose would be roped into the cash for play scandal that cost the school its Final Four appearances years later. It was hard for these young guys to understand that they were bringing the school millions of dollars, but living on cereal and hot dogs. And for this reason, I support the idea of college athletes being paid. It would definitely eliminate many of these NCAA infractions schools are facing, help the struggling families of these players who are earning money for their school but can't help their families and give more players an incentive to stay in school and get a college education.
After a failed NBA career, King reportedly worked with Merill Lynch as a financial analyst at some point and now has a solar energy business. Jackson became involved with a non-profit to help young children. I'm glad to see they found a life beyond basketball. Sadly, it's not the case for many former star athletes (look up Maurice Clarrett or Lenny Cooke.) So while these guys could've resorted to the kind of lifestyles that unfairly earned them monikers like "thugs," "goons" and even "n***ers," they've become positive role models for others.
That is what they should be remembered for more than anything else.
That's just all I can say after watching the ESPN film The Fab Five, about the Michigan basketball team's famous five freshmen starters. The team included former NBA stars and current NBA analysts Chris Webber and Jalen Rose, current Miami Heat forward Juwan Howard, Jimmie King, who had a short stint in the NBA and Ray Jackson, who never played in the NBA.
I knew the story of these guys impressive back-to-back runs to the NCAA finals, the second of which ended on a botched time-out call by Webber. I have watched all kinds of footage about this team, enough to tell you much of the story. But watching the film gave me a better sense of the magnitude of these guys' impact on college basketball; particularly financially.
But before I go into the financial aspect, I have to say the film did a good job of capturing the vulnerability of these guys. As a result of their accomplishment, people treated them more like experienced college players than as the young'ns that they really were. Watching these guys find out how popular they were when Muhammad Ali addressed them by their names was indicative of their innocence and unawareness of just how much of celebrities they had become.
Which brings me to the financial problem. The debate over whether college athletes should get paid has been ongoing for years. On one end are those who feel the free college education with room and board amounts to paying athletes and on the other end are people who see how much athletes at universities like Michigan are netting schools and view it as modern day slavery.
Mitch Albom, a Detroit Press columnist discussed when he knew Webber would turn pro after the second NCAA title bid. He was walking with Webber who asked him for money for gas and to grab a bite. Albom turned him down (per NCAA rules) and moments after they passed by a store selling a Webber jersey for $75. Webber voiced his displeasure that his jersey was selling for that much and he had no money to eat, and Albom said he knew Webber would declare for the NBA draft. Webber announced his decision a week later. The film also cites that the University of Michigan netted $10.2 million from capitalizing on the sales of the fab five merchandise. Prior to the group's emergence on campus, Michigan was getting less than $2 million. The collective value of their college education if all had graduated (Webber left after his sophomore year, Rose and Howard left after their junior years) would not make a dent on what they earned the school.
I can see why Webber and Rose would be roped into the cash for play scandal that cost the school its Final Four appearances years later. It was hard for these young guys to understand that they were bringing the school millions of dollars, but living on cereal and hot dogs. And for this reason, I support the idea of college athletes being paid. It would definitely eliminate many of these NCAA infractions schools are facing, help the struggling families of these players who are earning money for their school but can't help their families and give more players an incentive to stay in school and get a college education.
After a failed NBA career, King reportedly worked with Merill Lynch as a financial analyst at some point and now has a solar energy business. Jackson became involved with a non-profit to help young children. I'm glad to see they found a life beyond basketball. Sadly, it's not the case for many former star athletes (look up Maurice Clarrett or Lenny Cooke.) So while these guys could've resorted to the kind of lifestyles that unfairly earned them monikers like "thugs," "goons" and even "n***ers," they've become positive role models for others.
That is what they should be remembered for more than anything else.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Baller takes car dunk to another level
I stumbled on this video of And 1 streetballer Guy Dupuy making this year's NBA Slam Dunk winner Blake Griffin's dunk over a car look like a piece of cake. To refresh your memory, Griffin dunked over the hood of a car, with very little flair if I may add, to win the contest. Well if anyone knows anything about these street ballers, it's that they always push the envelope. Dupuy doesn't receiver an alley like Griffin does. Instead he takes off in the air, grabs the ball from the assisting ref, passes it between his legs before slamming it. The dunk is pretty incredible.
Friday, March 4, 2011
The not so Big Three
I am a longtime Miami Heat fan. So it hurts me to say this: the Heat cannot win the championship this season (good luck trying to get me to admit this vocally, the fan in me will never accept this). But the reality is they just can't.
For a moment I thought pride would force the Big Three to step up to critics and to the twits from rival teams' players (Paul Pierce,) and they would prove to everyone that if the Celtics could do it in the first season of the powerful combination of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rando, then the Heat were just as capable of winning it. Sadly I was mistaken.
Before you challenge my basketball knowledge, I approached my judgment mostly from a fan's perspective. But what about the other perspective, where talented players carry their teams to win. When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the Heat, the two, along with Dwyane Wade, made a big splash on South Beach not long after LeBron's indulgent "Decision" was made on national TV. It was the biggest mistake the team made. The Heat placed a huge target on its back and ensured that it would be the NBA's villain. And when you do that, you better be prepared to deliver.
But the Heat has failed to deliver. A day after blowing a 24-point lead to lose to the Orlando Magic, Miami suffered an embarrassing 30-point loss to the league-best San Antonio Spurs. Miami has now lost three in a row and four of its last five. The Heat have now dropped to third place in the East, behind Boston and Chicago.
So far, the Big Three have shown up in games against non-contenders, but have an abysmal record against the top teams. Miami's 0-3 against the Celtics, the Heat's biggest threat to get through the East, and have only managed one win amongst the West's contenders (a Christmas Day showdown against the Lakers.)
So what exactly has been the problem? To begin with, the Heat's defense, once its biggest strength, has dropped significantly. And signing players like Mike Bibby, the Heat's latest acquisition, is exactly why it has dropped. The Big Three superstars choose when they feel like expending energy on defense and the role players include a bunch of guys like Bibby and Eddie House, who are known for their poor defense. Further, I may be the only one saying this, but I've never felt like Bosh was worthy of all the hype. Yes he averaged 20 and 10 numbers while in Toronto, but how hard can it be to get those kind of numbers on a talentless team? I knew his real contribution would be revealed once he joined the Heat and he hasn't failed to disappoint.
Now when it comes to Miami's real go-to guys, it's a wonder both of them are not feuding behind the scenes. Or maybe they flip a coin pre-game to determine who gets to take over games in the fourth quarter. But Wade and LeBron are proof that incredible talent doesn't equate automatic championship. The two have become more accustomed to isolation plays, which turns the rest of the team into spectators. Their teammates, such as reliable three-point shooters James Jones and Mike Miller become ineffective late in games because they go cold from standing and watching Wade and LeBron take turns at playing hero of the day.
So who gets the blame? Pat Riley! It's obvious Erik Spoelstra doesn't have the ability to rein in his two superstars. Meanwhile, Riley, undoubtedly aware of the the criticism he drew by firing Stan Van Gundy to coach the Heat after the team signed Shaq, reluctantly sits back and let's the situation unfold.
It's not too late to fix this problem. The Heat still has a shot at landing the top spot in the East, and even if it doesn't, it can still defeat Boston, Chicago and Orlando. But it needs to start seeing the bigger picture. The entire season is a long distance race, not a sprint. It doesn't matter who gets out to the fastest start, it's who has the endurance to finish.
What Miami needs to do is run the ball through LeBron in the first three quarters, but let Wade control it in the last five minute of games; particularly close ones. Wade is a better closer and LeBron needs to understand this if he's more interested in winning a ring than in becoming the greatest player to grace the courts.
For a moment I thought pride would force the Big Three to step up to critics and to the twits from rival teams' players (Paul Pierce,) and they would prove to everyone that if the Celtics could do it in the first season of the powerful combination of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rando, then the Heat were just as capable of winning it. Sadly I was mistaken.
Before you challenge my basketball knowledge, I approached my judgment mostly from a fan's perspective. But what about the other perspective, where talented players carry their teams to win. When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the Heat, the two, along with Dwyane Wade, made a big splash on South Beach not long after LeBron's indulgent "Decision" was made on national TV. It was the biggest mistake the team made. The Heat placed a huge target on its back and ensured that it would be the NBA's villain. And when you do that, you better be prepared to deliver.
But the Heat has failed to deliver. A day after blowing a 24-point lead to lose to the Orlando Magic, Miami suffered an embarrassing 30-point loss to the league-best San Antonio Spurs. Miami has now lost three in a row and four of its last five. The Heat have now dropped to third place in the East, behind Boston and Chicago.
So far, the Big Three have shown up in games against non-contenders, but have an abysmal record against the top teams. Miami's 0-3 against the Celtics, the Heat's biggest threat to get through the East, and have only managed one win amongst the West's contenders (a Christmas Day showdown against the Lakers.)
So what exactly has been the problem? To begin with, the Heat's defense, once its biggest strength, has dropped significantly. And signing players like Mike Bibby, the Heat's latest acquisition, is exactly why it has dropped. The Big Three superstars choose when they feel like expending energy on defense and the role players include a bunch of guys like Bibby and Eddie House, who are known for their poor defense. Further, I may be the only one saying this, but I've never felt like Bosh was worthy of all the hype. Yes he averaged 20 and 10 numbers while in Toronto, but how hard can it be to get those kind of numbers on a talentless team? I knew his real contribution would be revealed once he joined the Heat and he hasn't failed to disappoint.
Now when it comes to Miami's real go-to guys, it's a wonder both of them are not feuding behind the scenes. Or maybe they flip a coin pre-game to determine who gets to take over games in the fourth quarter. But Wade and LeBron are proof that incredible talent doesn't equate automatic championship. The two have become more accustomed to isolation plays, which turns the rest of the team into spectators. Their teammates, such as reliable three-point shooters James Jones and Mike Miller become ineffective late in games because they go cold from standing and watching Wade and LeBron take turns at playing hero of the day.
So who gets the blame? Pat Riley! It's obvious Erik Spoelstra doesn't have the ability to rein in his two superstars. Meanwhile, Riley, undoubtedly aware of the the criticism he drew by firing Stan Van Gundy to coach the Heat after the team signed Shaq, reluctantly sits back and let's the situation unfold.
It's not too late to fix this problem. The Heat still has a shot at landing the top spot in the East, and even if it doesn't, it can still defeat Boston, Chicago and Orlando. But it needs to start seeing the bigger picture. The entire season is a long distance race, not a sprint. It doesn't matter who gets out to the fastest start, it's who has the endurance to finish.
What Miami needs to do is run the ball through LeBron in the first three quarters, but let Wade control it in the last five minute of games; particularly close ones. Wade is a better closer and LeBron needs to understand this if he's more interested in winning a ring than in becoming the greatest player to grace the courts.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)