Engage. Enrage. Enjoy.

Party With the Lombardi

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If everybody every day got offended by everything would that actually enable cancel culture to cancel cancel culture?  Just asking as 1) we cannot be that far from it, and 2) it would be a merciful end to the maniacal madness.

Can we just make it stop?  We are asking for a friend.

Actually, we are asking for Tom Brady.  He’s in hot water(not really) after tossing the Lombardi Trophy over Tampa Bay water from one boat to another as all of Tampa celebrated the Bucs Super Bowl victory with a boozy Super Bowl boat parade.

He completed the pass just like he has so many before with a real football that isn’t attached to the stem of the trophy. So, no big deal right?  Wrong.

“It just upset me that this trophy was disgraced and disrespected by being thrown as if it was a real football,” the daughter of the man who designed the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Lorraine Grohs told Tampa’s Fox 4.

“I personally would like an apology, not just to me and my family and the other silversmiths but to the fans, all the football fans, the other team players,” she insisted.

Did she miss anybody?

“Hi, Tom Brady here.  I’d like to personally apologize to all silversmiths near and far for my outrageous behavior late last week.  Hic.  Apparently, having fun and silver trophies don’t mix well.”

Would that tongue-tied in cheek BS apology be sufficient?  We can hope.

The woman went on to claim that she has experienced “sleepless nights” over what she feels is the “disrespect” her father’s handiwork received.  Sleepless nights?  Sure.

The only thing worse than that claim is that this nonsensical “news” story even got air time.  And, maybe that, unto itself, is the problem.

Everyone wants to be famous for 15 minutes even when it’s achieved by taking a shot at a guy who took a few shots on the field then a few more off of the field.

“I only watch the game to watch the trophy come out. I like to see all the owners and the football players just hold it up with such pride and hold it up and show everybody and I get goosebumps…. like right now I’m getting goosebumps,” she admitted.

Goosebumps!  It’s not winning the trophy that’s the thing, it’s seeing the trophy.  Who knew?

Tom tweeted, “nothing to see here, just a little avocado tequila.”

Nothing to see here, indeed.

Name Dropping

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As you know Hank Aaron passed away over the weekend.  His contribution to baseball and countless lives transcended the game.   He conducted himself on and off the field with great ease and aplomb.

His 755 home runs are surpassed by only one player in the game’s history.  And history will forever judge how that player got there.

He started his career in Milwaukee, continued the storied run in Atlanta, and finished his final two trips around the league again from Milwaukee.  Through it all, he amassed 3771 hits and was a career .305 hitter.  His place in the game is forever etched in its lore. And he did all of it with great grace in the racially charged ’60s and ’70s.

This brings us to today’s world.  Seemingly minutes after his passing social media got active.  Then it got hot like one of Arron’s hitting streaks.  The outcry was again renewed to rename the team that Aaron made famous-the Atlanta Braves.  It’s always a good time to stir the cancel culture pot.

“Braves” is insensitive they (whoever they is) say.

The organization has remained steadfast that it’s an honorable term for the Native Americans.  Though that same organization has eliminated the tomahawk chop from the battle cry for the offense to light up in the stadium.  The war beat of the drum has ceased banging as well.  Seems two-faced or at least red-faced to us, though we doubt that you could or should say red-faced anymore either.

Georgia Tech announced that they were going to retire the #44 in honor of Aaron.  What is the association of Tech with Aaron you ask?  Same city, but nothing.

The Atlanta Falcons also announced that they were retiring #44.  Really?  The town’s football team is retiring the town’s best-known baseball player’s number.  The Falcons should have quit while they were ahead.  Wait.  They already did against New England in a Super Bowl a few years back while leading 28-3.  Maybe they should retire numbers 28 and 3 as well?

While the “to be or not to be” Braves discussion plays out, maybe they should change their name temporarily a la the Washington Football Team?  How well does the “Atlanta Baseball Team” roll off of your lips?

Many have suggested that the Braves become the Hammers to honor Hammerin’ Hank Aaron.  Drop the tomahawk and add the hammer to the logo. Voila- that’s a cheap and quick fix if there ever was one.

This brings us to tomorrow’s world.  Shouldn’t we honor all of the minorities that broke through after Jakie Robinson broke through?

The San Francisco Giants could become the San Fran Say Hey Kids honoring Willie Mays.  The New York Mets could be named The New York Gooden Plenty seeing how Dwight Gooden brought the Big Apple’s little apple a championship.  And, the Pittsburgh Pirates should consider the Pittsburgh Pops for the revered Willie “Pops” Stargell.

While we’re at it the New Orleans Pelicans could retire #9 in honor of Drew Brees soon, too.  Wait.

Perhaps we’re getting a bit carried away?

Perhaps.

 

Opt Out or Cop Out?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Two Mondays ago the following was the lede paragraph from an ESPN article. “South Carolina’s top two cornerbacks, Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu, have opted out less than 48 hours after coach Will Muschamp was fired this past weekend.”  South Carolina fell to 2-5 after a loss to Ole Miss two days prior.

Yesterday it became official that Terrace Marshall, by far LSU’s best receiver this year and a significant part of last year’s National Championship team, opted out right after LSU played a sloppy offensive game on a sloppy Kyle Field.  The loss to A&M brought the LSU season record to a sloppy 3-4, a far cry from last year’s excellence.

The three players cited above are far from the only college players who have opted out in the year 2020 of our COVID-19 pandemic.  Some hung up the cleats of their choice prior to the first kickoff of their season. Some after minor injuries.   Some conferences, ahem, the PAC-12, wanted to hang up their season before it started as well.  But, we digress.

Merriam-Webster defines opt-out as a transitive verb meaning “to choose not to participate in something.”

The NCAA took numerous steps this fall to attempt to play fall sports.  One step was that  “all student-athletes must be allowed to opt-out of participation due to concerns about contracting COVID-19. If a college athlete chooses to opt-out, that individual’s athletic scholarship commitment must be honored by the college or university.”

Further, that student-athlete would not lose any eligibility if they chose to opt-out.  In other words a sophomore on the field in 2020 who became a junior in 2021 in the classroom would still be considered a sophomore in 2021on the field.

The original idea’s intent was to give each individual a path to choosing what they deemed appropriate and safe for themselves without any loss of opportunity as a result.  And, that sounds fine in, ready for it, unprecedented times.

What doesn’t sound fine to many is how the one-year “loophole” is being used by the players relative to their responsibility to their team, coaches, and peers.  None of the three mentioned above are concerned about COVID-19 suddenly.  They are concerned about their individual future.

The two from South Carolina “quit” on their team and teammates 48 hours after the administration “quit” on the coach that recruited them.  It’s time to get ready for the draft they said.

The one from LSU gave an impassioned speech to the entire team sans coaches present two weeks ago about finishing strong as a team.  So much for that.  Is he suddenly afraid of the disease?  No.  Was he suddenly afraid of injury? No. He played on a rain-drenched, slippery College Station field Saturday night all the while knowing that Sunday was time to tweet that he was opting out.

“It’s time to get ready for the draft,” they say.  “Weren’t you doing that in so many ways while playing, lifting, etc. within the framework of the team?”  Fans ask.

“It’s an individual decision,” some say.  “It’s putting the individual before the team,” the retort bellows.

“It’s a sign of the times,” some say.  They go on, “this generation is so soft.”

“Doesn’t college prepare you to go out into the real world, get a job, and make money?”  “If they feel ready for the draft, so be it.”  This sounds selfish (bad) and capitalistic (good till Bernie takes over) all at the same time.

Only a few months back, NCAA players across the fruited plain were organizing.  They demanded to get paid for playing at the college level.  Not yet it seems.

Is this a one-time pandemic opt-out, some call it a cop-out, only one time?  Or is it a natural progression beyond the players choosing to skip bowl games that they deemed “meaningless?”

Is this yet another step towards a watered-down college football game going forward?

Soon might college football remind you of college basketball?

If you support the team you won’t like it.  If you support the player you will.

There is no “I” in the word “team,” especially if “I” opts out.

Truer words…………..

 

 

 

 

A Tradition Like No Other

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you’re still feeling hungover from the election season and now all of the legal wrangling that comes after it, we understand.  If you’re done with Fox News (at least for now), we understand.  If you’re done with worrying about COVID-19, we understand.  If you’re over the Green New Deal, we understand.

That’s why this AM, we decided to go with something new that’s about green jackets, putting greens, and lots of greenbacks to the winner. You don’t have to like golf to enjoy the history and beauty of Augusta National just like you don’t need to like horse racing to enjoy The Kentucky Derby.  Below we deal you ten fun, interesting, and light facts about The Masters.

  1.  Jack Nicklaus, John Harris, and the deceased Arnold Palmer are/were the only professional golfers to ever be invited to be members.  Membership outside of Georgia residents is limited to two people per state.
  2.  The tradition of wearing green jackets began in 1937 when jackets were purchased from New York’s Brooks Uniform Co. The idea was that Masters patrons easily could see members who would have accurate information to assist them while on the grounds.
  3.  Avid golfer Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower is the only U.S. president to have been a club member. Ike’s Pond occupies 3 acres near hole No. 9 on the par-3 course.
  4. Each hole is named after a plant or shrub that adorns it. For example, No. 3 is called “Flowering Crab Apple.” An estimated 80,000 plants have been added since the course was built.
  5. Club founder and legendary patron of the sport of golf, Bobby Jones, initially intended for the Augusta National course to have a19th hole. His reasoning was that losing golfers would have an opportunity to win their money back through a last-ditch double-or-nothing round.  The idea was scrapped when it was realized that the view from the clubhouse of the 18th green would be lost.
  6. The tournament was not played during the years 1943, 1944, and 1945 because of World War II. To help with the war effort, turkey and cattle were raised on the Augusta National Grounds.  It was estimated that the cost to repair the damage to the grounds was nearly $20,000, an outrageous sum of money back then.
  7. Tiger Woods was the youngest player to win a Masters Tournament, at the tender age of 21 years, 3 months, and 14 days.  Fuzzy Zoeller was the only player to win there on his first try.  Jack Nicklaus has the most Masters Tournament wins, with six. Nicklaus became the oldest player to win a Masters Tournament, at 46 years, 2 months, and 23 days in 1986.
  8. There is no question that the map in the official logo for the tournament is meant to represent the continental United States. But its proportions are conspicuously wrong. So how exactly did the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, one that is so concerned with details and decorum, come to have such a wonky logo?

    Masters logo map

    .

    One theory speculates that printing technology in the 1930s, during the time that the Augusta National was constructed, was simply not precise enough to replicate the sharp angles and narrow off-hangings that an accurate map of the continental U.S. would entail.  As to why the original logo is still used to this day, the answer is something that is used to explain many facets of the Masters: tradition.

  9. One of the most beloved traditions of the tournament is the bequeathing of a famed Green Jacket to the new champion from the previous year’s winner. These Green Jackets are among the most iconic pieces of clothing in the sporting world. Yet, somehow, in 1994 a lucky and unsuspecting golf fan came across one in a Toronto thrift shop and paid a whopping $5 to take it home.  The Augusta National confirmed the authenticity of the piece and determined that the Green Jacket in question was from the 1950s. The lucky thrifter went on to sell the jacket at auction for nearly $140,000 in 2017.
  10. Although CBS has broadcast the Tournament since 1956, Augusta National still owns the broadcasting rights and negotiations are renewed every year. So theoretically, the tournament could switch to a different broadcaster at any time.

 

Enjoy the escape, you’ve earned it.

It’s a Dangerous Intersection

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

With so many working from home you’d think the traffic would be far lighter.  But, on the corner of Sports Street and Life Lane, it’s busier than ever.  And once again yesterday, to make matters worse at rush hour, that damn train rolled through as well.

You know the train by name.  It’s a passenger train outbound to nowhere.  It’s called the Cancel Culture Express.  Except for this time a passenger that The Movement was trying to throw off decided to step right in front of it and dare the engineers to hit him.

If you’re an NFL fan you’ve heard of Luis Moreno, Jr. haven’t you?  He’s with the Carolina Panthers.  He has been for 10 years and counting.  Well.  It’s ten years and counting until yesterday.

No, he doesn’t play linebacker and he doesn’t kneel when the National Anthem is played.  Moreno is a Spanish-language broadcaster for the Carolina Panthers and a darn good one.  He says felt pressured to leave his job because the team is upset that he is a supporter of President Donald Trump.  In our “all-inclusive” society we only are inclusive if you choose to be included in the cause.

Moreno told the Charlotte Observer that he began openly supporting Trump on his personal Twitter account this Spring.  Shortly thereafter he was contacted about his tweets by Eric Fiddleman, the Panthers’ radio and television affiliate manager.  Fiddleman asked Moreno to delete any affiliation with the team from his personal Twitter account.

Fair enough.  The Panthers clearly feel the need to be on the right side of BLM and the NFL office nowadays.  It’s their brand and they should choose their messaging.

But, Fiddleman continued to fiddle.  He reportedly contacted Moreno (who actually is an independent contractor for them, hence even further removed) again in the summer, but this time to tell him to stop his political tweets. “If what they want me to do is stop supporting the president, I’m not gonna do that,” Moreno told Fiddleman.

Moreno further charged that Steven Drummond, the Panthers vice president of communications and external affairs, refused to speak with him about the “issue” of his social media posts and support for Trump.  Ten years of loyalty won’t help you cross the intersection these days when the ole’ Cancel Culture Express is blowing its horn.

“I’m hurt,” Moreno told the paper. “Because this has nothing to do with my performance on-air.  I’m one of the best, and I’ll put myself against anybody in the country when it comes to what I do in Spanish. None of my support for the president was done on any of their social media pages, it was never done on any of the airtime. This was solely on my personal time on my personal accounts.”

Moreno added that he won’t return to work unless the team says he is free to advocate for whomever he supports politically. “I am not OK with them censoring my freedom of speech in support of the president,” he added.

And with that, he put his hand up and stopped the Cancel Culture Express before it ran over him.

“Silly him,” you say.  “He’s the one out of a job,” you say.

It’s rare these days, but refreshing when it happens.  Someone spoke up for common sense, dignity, and most of all freedom of speech.

Moreno was a member of the “silent majority.”

He’s not anymore.  He spoke up.

Take a Stand.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NFL 2020 season kicked off last evening.  But, before it kicked off there was hope that our summer of disease and discontent could turn nicely into fall like a green leaf turned red, yellow, and orange.

Afterall there has been only one positive test in the league for COVID-19 in over 8300 tests to date. Wowza! And, the NFL has not only allowed, but encouraged players and teams to express their concerns against racial inequality and for social justice.  Wowza!

Well, that didn’t go so well.  Prior to the visiting Houston Texans v home Kansas City Chiefs, players from both teams locked arms in unity.  And the fans booed.  Not all of them booed but enough to be heard did so.

Prior to that, the Texans stayed in the locker room for both the National Anthem and for Alicia Keys’ performance of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” otherwise known as the Black Anthem.  The Chiefs stood on the field as a team for both.  So much for unity until their arm locks.

Benjamin Watson is a former NFL player.  He had a very successful stint as a tight end for 15 years in the league and was on the winning NE Patriots team for the Super Bowl in 2005 as well.  He was known as a great teammate, hard worker, intellect, and leader both on and off of the field.

Following the events in Ferguson, Missouri, Watson wrote a Facebook post on the issue of race in America that was “liked” on Facebook more than 850,000 times. The post received national attention.

On November 17, 2015, Watson released a book, Under Our Skin: Getting Real About Race–And Getting Free From the Fears and Frustrations That Divide Us.

Watson took to Twitter last evening. He wrote “Don’t kneel.  Don’t lock arms.  Don’t love each other.  Don’t care about your country.  Don’t seek social justice and equality.  Just play.  Sad.”

And we wonder.   Where did free speech and freedom of expression wander off to in the anything but United States?

It went to a spot that only allows it if you agree with what is being said.  Maybe some fans just want pure sports.  Is it ok for them to express that?

We used to frown upon kneeling for the anthem but recognized the right to do so.  Now we frown upon objecting to kneeling.
The right to kneel or lock arms is equal to the right to boo that very act.  Or it should be.

Did you notice the word “equal” in the last sentence?  It stands for equality.

Well, it used to stand for equality until it was frowned upon to want all to stand for the Anthem.

Bored With It All

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Sir Winston Churchill lived a long and fulfilling 91 years.  He passed away in 1965.  His last words from his last bed were “I’m bored with it all!”  With that said he slipped into a coma.  We have to wonder if Churchill was channeling the year 2020 nearly 55 years ago.

Are you watching sports on TV?  We’re trying.  Churchill’s words keep ringing in our ears.  When we ask ourselves why we think we’re so bored, more than anything, it’s because of what is not ringing in our ears.  We hear no roar, no matter what venue the sport, as there are either zero or very, very few fans in the stands.

Who knew that the in-person fan and his/her participation would have such an effect on the fan watching from home on a comfortable couch chewing on Cheetos? We didn’t.  Did you?

Maybe half seasons, shortened seasons, and start/stop/start seasons have also watered down the interest.  But, the enthusiasm generated in person seems to have a greater effect on those at home than ever imagined. It all seems very flat emanating from the flat screen.

There were a few NCAA football games on TV this past weekend.  Normally there are some blockbuster “kickoff classics” to whet our appetite.  Instead, we saw our military teams and a few others.  Army marched all over Middle Tenessee St. 42-0 while Navy got washed ashore by BYU 55-3.

Trump was accused late last week of not caring for the military.  Doubtful.  But, it sure looked like the Navy didn’t care about football.  They did no live tackling during practices leading up to the debut and did very little live tackling in the debut.  Army cared.

But most of all seeing a very few thousand Army men and women dressed in full fatigues all six feet apart from one another virtually high fiving after each score didn’t inspire.  There were no fans allowed at all in the Navy game.  The resulting silence combined with the utter mismatch was so deafening coming through the TV that this writer dug deep into the Netflix barrel to come up with something/anything more interesting.

The NFL starts this week.  Will it generate any more enthusiasm from the couch?  We’re hopeful, but we’re doubtful.

Let’s hope the year 2020 is bored with it all, too.  It will soon slip into its own coma.  We can hope.

And, let’s hope that the year 2021 is unrelated to and healthier in many ways than the year 2020.

We need fans in the stands.

 

 

Preacher Pete and His Sheep

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Give NFL Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll credit.  He knows how to run through a hole when he sees one and put it all out there.

He just didn’t see fit to call a play to create a hole for his “Beast Mode” running back Marshawn Lynch way back in Super Bowl XLIX in 2015.

You remember, don’t you?  The Seahawks had second-and-goal at the 1 with 26 seconds remaining. Seattle was 1 yard away from securing a second consecutive championship.   But instead of handing the rock the most powerful goal-line runner in football, Carroll called a pass play, causing double-takes on his sideline and in sports bars all over the football-watching world.  New England intercepted the ball, took a knee(not like Kapernick), and won the Super Bowl.

Seattle was left to second guess their coach for a failed call for the ages.  They were still so upset that years later they almost renamed the city CHAZ to erase some of the bad memories, but we digress.

Pete said after the game to let the criticism flow. “I can take a punch,” he said.

And, this past Saturday, after canceling the Seahawks practice in the wake of the Jason Blake shooting he delivered a punch or three as well.  In his comments about why he chose to cancel Saturday’s practice, Carroll made it clear that his goal was to educate “white people” about “racism in America.”

“This is about racism in America that white people don’t know,” Carroll said in a press conference. “And they need to be coached up and they need to be educated about what the heck is going on in this world.”

“White guys came over from Europe,” the coach explained. They had a “great idea” about freedom and equality that has never come to fruition. “And they put together a system of slavery.”  “It’s never gone away. And the really amazing thing that I’ve learned is Black people know the truth. It’s white people that don’t know.”

It’s important to keep the locker room united you know.  Pete saw the hole, and Pete ran his time.   Don’t take our word for it, ask Drew Brees if you need to.

Pete Carroll, a rich white coach, gave America a lecture about its ignorance.  Has Carroll ever exploited black guys on the football field for his benefit?  You know them.  They are the league minimum yearly 500K and often so much more black guys.  We should all be exploited so.

Has Carroll ever exploited soon to be educated (on scholarship money) or rich (on NFL money) college players?  Have you ever heard of Reggie Bush?  Carroll coached at USC, arranged for Bush’s parents to live rent-free in LA for three years, won a national championship, and rode the hell out of Dodge on a Trojan horse before the NCAA dropped the hammer on the program of exploitation.

Has Carroll ever used the Colin Kaepernick saga to his advantage?   Carroll on a June 3rd podcast,  “Kapernick took a stand on something, figuratively took a knee, but he stood up for something he believed in — and what an extraordinary moment it was that he was willing to take.”  We couldn’t hear Carroll audibly back when it happened though as the fire was too hot.

As the riots began last week, Kaepernick jumped to social media to tell rioters that the riots were the “only logical reaction” and that they need to “fight back.”  The next day, Kaepernick offered to pay for the legal fees of any Antifa rioter who gets arrested during the unrest.  On the podcast, Carroll added that Kaepernick’s “mission of what the statement was, such a beautiful” statement.

Carroll said that he regretted not offering Kapernick a contract to play for the Seahawks when he had a chance to do so.  The point is he didn’t. Do you regret not investing in Apple stock in 2000?

Carroll concluded on Saturday, “Let’s step up. No more being quiet. No more being afraid to talk to topics. No more, you know, I might lose my job over this, because I’ve taken a stand here. Screw it.”

Preach Pete.  Do as I say, not as I do.  Sheep.

Brees used Carroll’s logic above.  Abraham Lincoln had more success watching a stage play.

It sounds like Carroll would be wise to finally run with his own advice.

Because in the 2015 Super Bowl and numerous times before and after when it mattered, he chose to pass.

Screw It!

 

 

The Jury Is Out on BOYCOTT-2020

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In the last few months for the NBA, the NHL, and MLB great preparation and an abundance of caution have been taken for players’ safety to minimize or prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease.  Lessons were learned from this an applied to try to get the NFL and NCAA football teams in camp and able to start the 2020 fall seasons successfully.

The jury is still out, but the preponderance of the evidence seems promising that success can be had.

Little did anyone know that another problem could and would spread faster through the leagues than even COVID-19 could.

It’s called BOYCOTT-20.  It’s not as deadly, but its actual root cause is to prevent deaths ironically.

It started three days back in a meeting of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks team meeting.  They decided collectively that they had had it with the continued unnecessary deaths of black men at the hands of white cops.  Indeed, that is a valid concern.

Quickly, the BOYCOTT-20 festered in the NBA bubble.  All playoff games for Wednesday were boycotted.  The Clippers and the Lakers, led by the King, decided in a Wednesday PM meeting that they were done with the season.  And, Thursday’s games were canceled as the league tried to find agreeable ways to combat the warp speed virus.

The damn thing jumped out of the Orlando bubble and hit MLB like a Nolan Ryan beanball and the NHL like Gordie Howe slapshot.  They went dark last evening too.

And yesterday the SEC Kentucky Wildcat football team boycotted practice. Other SEC teams may follow today.

The PAC 12 and the Big 10 want desperately to boycott their football practice too.  Unfortunately, they succumbed to the deadly CC-20 (cancel culture) weeks ago. Unfortunate.  RIP.

The jury is still out on the success of these boycotts as well.

As a matter of fact, the jury hasn’t even been empaneled for the state v. Rusten Sheskey, the cop that shot Jacob Blake seven times.  As a matter of fact, Rusten Sheskey hasn’t even been arrested.

But, The Movement moves fast.  They’ve seen enough.  A black man shot in the back SEVEN times.  It’s all there on video.  It’s all there on video except all of the facts that led to that moment or those seven moments.

As a society we haven’t learned yet from the deaths or shootings of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL, or Freddie Gray in Baltimore, MD, or Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA, or Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, or George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, or now Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI.

We want change and we want it now.  If we don’t get it, we’ll take our ball and go home.  No more games.  That’ll show America.

Except it won’t.

America wants change too.  America doesn’t want more police interaction with criminals who disobey their commands.  America doesn’t want chokeholds.  But, America wants peace.

Acting like a petulant child spraypainting a building, shooting fireworks, or much worse won’t help.  Boycotting won’t help.

America wants an America where The Movement recognizes that multiple time offenders like Floyd and Blake aren’t good people.  Should they have been killed or nearly killed?  No.  But, they’re bad people-period.  In fact, they are really bad.  Look up their police records if you have 45 minutes to spare.  Maybe some will want to boycott armed robbery or sex offenses.

Boycott for the next ten seasons if you wish.  But on your way to the woke walkout take a minute to realize how very bad actors put themselves in very bad positions where very bad things can and do happen.

With all of the extra time off that boycotts bring, athletes can ask their woke self what they would do in an instant when you fear for your life even when you have the gun and the badge.  Then ask yourself if it would be better for those resisting arrest to avoid the situation altogether.  Again, and again, and again.

But BOYCOTT-20 might be subsiding.  Rumor has it the NBA told the remaining playoff players that their income might be clipped by 25-30% should they cancel culture their livelihood.  Sounds like sneakers will be squeaking on the hardwood floor as soon as today.

At a bare minimum can America wait for a jury to hear all of the facts?

It worked for OJ.

 

Loud Statement, Next Step, Deaf Ears

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s always important to give credit where credit is due.

You have to give it to the NBA, they always go the extra step or three.

Years ago they loosened the rules and now three, four, and even five steps carrying the ball are no longer considered traveling.

This late Spring they actually traveled to the Orlando ESPN/Disney bubble taking the extra step of precaution to maximize player safety by minimizing outside exposure to the invisible virus.  By anyone’s measure that was a great idea that has been successfully executed.

And, yesterday they actually took extra steps to bring further attention to the systemic racism, social injustice, and the racial inequality plight that minorities (read that as black) face.  They had to because efforts to this point haven’t been enough.  The players and coaches boycotted all of the day’s scheduled playoff games.  The WNBA did as well, but no one knew that they were playing to begin with.

The Milwaukee Bucks took or should we say led the charge to boycott.  Other teams followed the Bucks lead.  Milwaukee is less than an hour from Kenosha where yet another video was shot of a white policeman and a black wanted suspect encounter going very wrong this past Sunday.

They tried hard for the prior ninety days after George Floyd’s death.  They painted Black Lives Matter on the court.  They wore it on their warm-ups.  They wear it on the back of their jerseys.  They take to an open mic to further educate America.  But it wasn’t enough.

And more steps seem inevitable after last evening’s “in the bubble” meeting.  Players from the remaining playoff teams met.  Lebron James spoke on behalf of the LA Lakers and LA Clippers.  Then he walked out.  The LA contingent followed the King.  The Lakers and Clippers say that they are now done with the season, period.  Will the league bow to the King?

And so the season that was, then wasn’t, then was, is now on the bubble while in the bubble.  Clearly the players think that this next and final step is needed to show America how serious they are about this.

But, does ending a professional basketball season do anything to aid the cause they stand united against?  It’s either a reaction or an overreaction to a video prior to all of the facts surrounding the event coming to the fore.  But The Movement moves too fast to wait.

The Attorney General of Wisconsin admitted in a presser yesterday that Blake was a wanted felon, had 911 called on him, had a knife (Blake’s own admission), was tased, refused police commands, and went into his car face first for unknown reasons prior to being shot.

Should he have been shot seven times?  No.  Should the police(all police) have body cameras?  Yes.  Should the city riot?  No.  Did they?  Yes.  Were additional lives lost needlessly because of it?  Yes.  Is Blake, the victim, at all to blame for repeatedly running afoul of the law?  Yes.  When guns and knives are involved can bad outcomes on either side happen?  Hell yes.

If 90 days of riots, and paintball guns, and looting, and shooting, and painting BLM in 2000 font on 5th Ave. in NY, and NBA messaging didn’t work then, will an all-out boycott of the players actually matter whatsoever now?

Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers apparently thinks it might.  He emotionally said yesterday, “All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear.  We’re the ones getting killed.  We’re the ones getting shot.  It’s amazing.  We keep loving this country and this country does not love us back.”

Does Rivers have a lot to be thankful for?  He dribbled a basketball and now coaches it and is living the American dream, or so it seems.

And, be sure to always blame Trump because none of these worries existed before he took office.  So shallow.  So shallow.

Former MNF lead analyst Booger McFarland chimed in on Twitter.  “Black athletes are tired of entertaining America when that same America doesn’t seem on so many levels to give a damn about black people.  The NBA players are making a loud statement.”

Black athletes are free to stop entertaining America whenever they so chose.  All athletes are. In America, you can choose your profession.  It won’t do ANYTHING to get to the very core of the problem.  And, are the NBA players making a loud statement? Maybe.  Many won’t listen and many others won’t see any connection.

What happens when the next black wanted felon is shot or killed by a white cop?  Does the league disband? It’s the logical next and final step.

And, that is the very point.  We will say it again.  When Antifa, and the BLM, and the woke mayors of violence enabled cities want to sit down with local and national civic leaders, police unions, policemen, government, victims and victims families to make a real difference good came come of all of this.

We suppose that the NBA means well.  That loud, mostly well-intentioned, and very misguided statement likey just falls on deaf ears.