| Author | Message | ||
     Claxton Rating: N/A |
1) Ding dong, the Witch is dead!! The "Witch" in this case is the Los Angeles Lakers, who had their butts unceremoniously handed to them by perhaps the nicest team in professional sports right now, the San Antonio Spurs. My hatred of the Lakers goes back to their Showtime days under Pat Riley and has intensified over the years as announcers have swooned over them, referees have looked beyond their on-floor indiscretions, and the commissioner's office failed to fine the Zen master, Phil Jackson, for comments that would've made other coaches light in the wallet. There's no doubt in my mind that the better team won the series. Now the world can see the Lakers for what they really are--great winners and sore losers. Next year, I'm writing in Gregg Popovich for President! 2) I found out an interesting tidbit of information during my last vacation, which included a trip to New Bern and the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. During the Spanish-American War, a regiment of over 1,000 black men, nicknamed Russell's Black Batallion and commanded by Colonel James Young, trained at Fort Macon, which is located near the mouth of Bogue Inlet in Carteret County. The fort had been used at various times for coast defense by the US Army and the Confederate army, and is believed to be the first major military installation to be commanded by a black man. Much of the fort has been restored to show what life was like during its service. It is open to the public every day except Christmas, as part of a nice little state park by the seashore. To read more on Colonel Young and Russell's Black Batallion, check out this link: http://www.clis.com/friends/SpanAmer-2.htm 3) I don't drink alcohol, but I believe that a change is in order for those who do or wish to do so. The minimum drinking age in the US should be lowered to 18. Going hand in hand with that, the minimum age for licensed driving in the US should also be 18. I can feel the cringes out there, but think of it like this...If an 18-year old wants to risk his life serving his country in the military, vote for the next President, or sign a pro-sports contract, he can do that right now. He's considered of legal age to act on his own. So why can't an 18-yard old have alcohol? Very likely, if he really wants to drink between 18 and 21, he's going to do it without official sanction. The caveat to this is to change the legal driving age. That may sound a little weird, but considering the number of accidents new drivers have, it may not be a bad idea to put the brakes on them. Here in my area, it's all too common to here of 16 and 17-year-olds dying behind the wheel, not because of intoxication or the influence of alcohol or drugs, but just because they were distracted momentarily or because they were simply driving too fast for the road conditions. The higher driving age could do two very important things--it would allow teenagers to get a maximum of 3 years of driving practice under their belt with parental supervision (first two years) or the supervision of a trusted adult (last year, someone 21 or over with a good driving record); and it might also prompt insurance companies to lower rates for those teenagers who maintain a safe driving record once they get their own vehicles and insurance policies. Something to think about there. 4) Speaking of teens, who in Creation thought it was a good idea for them to own cell phones?! I can't go to a shopping center or mall nowadays and not see kids yakking it up on the phone. For that matter, I can't get on the highway without some bozo slowing down my progress either because he has some really important business to take care of (in which case, pulling over is a good option) or just because he wants to look important (in which case, getting a real life is the only option). My cell phone typically gets about ten minutes of use a month. The only reason I own one is that my dad, many moons ago, suggested that I get one because I had a 20-mile trip to work one way at the time. Unless I know my wife is calling me, I don't even turn the thing on. Does everyone have a need to be so connected? I'm not feeling it. If I need to be in touch with someone, I'll be in touch. Otherwise, I'm not available. As the old saying is, don't call me and I won't call you. | ||
| Susan Rating: N/A |
Hi Claxton, I thought it was just me. I have a cell phone but only 2 people know the number. It was brought for emergencies. And, it's not just children who are yakking away out in the stores and everywhere else. Susan | ||
| Cynique Rating: N/A |
Hi Clax. A cell phone is not an appendage of mine, either. I just have one in my glove compartment for emergencies. And, yes, the Lakers' feet of clay have crumbled. The toasts of tinsel town have lost their fizz. The best team won. Na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey, GOOD BYE! | ||
| Snake Girl Rating: N/A |
I wish I could get somebody to help me pay my cell phone bill. I USES mines. | ||
| Sis E Rating: N/A |
Hi Claxton, Thanks for that heads up about the Black Spanish American War military at Fort Macon. I lived in Morehead City for about nine years, wrote at least one children's book about the area and still go saltwater fishing there, but you can believe nobody has said much of anything about these soldiers, and unless they revamped their paperwork, you won't find any mention of these particular Black heroes in the Chamber of Commerce brochures. I took a tour of the Fort back in the early 1990s shortly after we moved there. The Fort Macon gift shop woman told me when I asked that the only involvement of African Americans at Fort Macon was when the slaves helped to build it. | ||
| Claxton Rating: N/A |
Cynique, I know that you don't have much love for the Lakers, considering you're a Bulls fan. I knew there was something else I liked about you  Snake Girl, I don't have a problem with people owning or using cell phones, as long as it's legitimate business or an emergency. Calling your girlfriend to ask her what color pants you should get off the clearance rack--or worse, using one of those phones with the camera feature to transmit pictures of said pants--doesn't count. I know that cell phones have gotten better over the years in terms of security, but they'll never be as secure as a hard landline phone. Then again, there is that darned Patroit Act... Sis E, I had no idea you lived in Morehead City at one time...It's a lovely place, but it's too close to the ocean for everyday living. Too many tourists and always the threat of hurricanes. The fort has been renovated since you were last there. In fact, they were moving in fresh troops and guns to defend the coast--okay, okay, I'm kidding...But there's quite a bit of information about Russell's Black Batallion available at the fort now. And the tour guide--an older white gentleman who has been a volunteer guide for many years--told us that slave labor wasn't used to build the fort. While it's true that blacks helped build the fort, it was free blacks--those who had a marketable trade and weren't under any master's will--who helped build it. Judging from his age, I believe he actually helped them lay the brick... But what I learned about Fort Macon is just another reason why I believe history should be relegated to elective status in primary and secondary schools. You and I know too well that history is subjective, written by the majority as part of the spoils of victory. The guide even said that the books on North Carolina history don't even hint at the role blacks played at Fort Macon. | ||
| Snake Girl Rating: N/A |
Claxton-- Some of us "females" have cell phones because our boyfriends insist on being able to locate us at anytime, anyplace. Some men will call your cell phone 15 to 20 times in a single day. Not to mention regular emergencies--and the folks who call your cell cause you won't answer the regular phone. My regular phone is for Bill Collectors, honey. And I got 3 boyfriends right now and not one is helping to pay my cell phone bill--so I might have to drop 2 and keep the "dumb young fulla SUM one"--stress release is so important for busy women these days. LOL Let me get back to work. Speaking of phones. I wish they'd rip this company phone out the wall so I could get my typing done. White folks always calling up with stupid questions0--I never saw so many "unqualified" employeed people until I worked around ALL whites. Ain't got the sense they were born with and running things!! | ||
| Sis E Rating: N/A |
Hi Claxton, Thanks for the updates. The last time I was at Fort Macon was in November fishing. I'd been watching off and on how they were rejuvenating it. In fact, they had been dredging the inlet when I still lived in Morehead (1999). The remark that slaves weren't used to build the fort is a maybe, maybe not. You see, there's an interesting thing about Carteret County. They don't much acknowledge that slavery existed there. They insist that most black persons were either free or "a servant" which in many cases actually meant slave spelled differently.I've looked at the census books over the years and often that's the case. Where Morehead City is began as a slave-owning plantation called Shepherd's Point. So I take what they say in Carteret County with a grain of sea-salt. The part of the county where you take the ferry to go over to Hattaras and Okracroke is a KKK stronghold, for example, and has been for years. It's called by another name -- Sons of the Confederacy or something. I have volumes of historical paperwork on Carteret County from way back, so it's all very interesting. | ||
| Claxton Rating: N/A |
Sis E, good feedback on Cateret County...I learned something new, though not particularly out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, there are a lot of KKK pockets in North Carolina, especially outside of the I-85 Crescent. That's how Jesse Helms kept getting elected all those years. He couldn't win in the urban areas, so he had to rely on the conversative farmers and mountain folk to keep his seat. Snake Girl, you've got issues. If you've got boyfriends that insist on keeping tabs on you, you don't have boyfriends, you've got your own version of Homeland Security. As to being on the phone--I work in a job where I'm on the phone a lot. Sometimes I feel like I'm a politician, working the phones to get votes. So typically, the last thing I do when I come home is get on the phone. Piece of friendly advice--ditch the boyfriends. The phone bills will quickly follow. | ||
| Snake Girl Poisonous Rating: N/A |
Claxton...haven't you got any kinda sense of humor? Your post sounded like you walk in cement shoes everyday. Good grief Bro! | ||
| ABM Rating: N/A |
Claxton, Are you EVER going to stop hatin' on Phil/Shaq/Kobe? Brothah! Let it go, Man! There were great (& still are) a great team. They just got beat. It happened to Jerry/Wilt's West's Lakers and Magic/Kareems's Lakers. But Shaq and Kobe are still the best players at their respective positions. All they need is a solid power forward and a few bench players, and they are back in biznaz. Truth is, other than maybe the New York Yankees and the Montreal Canadiens, the LA/Minneapolis Lakers is arguably the greatest franchise in team sports history. | ||
| Cynique Rating: N/A |
Gimme a break, ABM. All the sports pundits including those in LA are dissin' Shaq and Kobe, Shaq for being lazy and past his prime, and Kobe for being hyper and unable to get past his ego. These Lakers were never anything but mediocre champs, their chief talent stemming from their ability to psyche out opposing players! A great team would've risen to the occasion and won a 4th title! You know I'm wid ya on this one, Clax! | ||
| ABM Rating: N/A |
How can you say that a team that won 3 consecutive titles is mediocre? To say that means that the entire league is lousy. And if you know anything about sports, you should know that most championship teams win by out-smarting their opponents. So the ability to "psyche out opposing players" is an important part of the arsenal of any great team. Who ever wins this year are just lucky they caught the Lakers on a down year. If Shaq's feet are ok and he commits himself to toning up and improving, Phil stays, and they get help at the power forward spot, the Larry O'Brien trophy will be returned to LA in the Summer of 2004. | ||
| Cynique Rating: N/A |
Well,ABM, maybe the whole leagues WAS lousy because the players were all so intimidated by the Lakers, and all guillible enough to believe the hype. Mediocre competition produces mediocre champions. Muhammad Ali was a CHAMPION. Evander Holyfield was a champion. And another thing the Lakers had going for them was how the referees gave them all the calls. Once the other teams started believing in themselves, however, the "champions" bit the dust. | ||
| ABM Rating: N/A |
Maybe the league is bad. I don't know. I think the athleticism is better but the basic skill level is down from what it was a generation ago. But you can only judge a team by how well they performed against the competition they were made to play against. And like it or not, the Lakers have been the class of their game. And come on now, Cynique. Nobody! Not Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Doctor J., Kareem, Bird, Magic....NOBODY got the calls that your boy Michael Jordan got. Hell, he illegally carried the basketball almost everytime he got it. And he push-fouled his defender to clear space to hit that final shot against the Utah Jazz in the Bull's last Championship series. | ||
| ABM Rating: N/A |
And about you rude, dangblasted cell phone users, I say the following: Never in history have men and women been permitted to talk so much yet have so little that is actually worth saying. | ||
| Cynique Rating: |
Now, now, ABM. Are you saying Jordan got more calls than Bird who always "walked" before he went to the hole??? No way! As for the Utah game, what referee is going to let a championship game be decided by a controversial last minute foul? Yes, I am a tad prejudiced in my criticism of the Lakers because I was such an avid Bulls fan, but I've become disenchanted with Jordan. He may be a superb athlete, but he's not a class act. | ||
| Chris Hayden Rating: N/A |
ABM I gots to disagree with you. Most championship teams win because their guys are bigger stronger faster and better than the other teams. As Napoleon said, "God is on the side of theBig Battalions. I know you will find an exception here and there, but taken as a whole the teams that win got the horses. | ||
| Claxton Rating: N/A |
ABM, I was hating the Lakers long before Shaq and Kobe even thought about being pro ball players...To me, the Lakers typify the wrong things about basketball, namely to win with finesse and the help of the zebras. Take the Sixers from back in the day, man. Yeah, they had Dr. J., as smooth as they got, but Cheeks, Jones, Iavarone and Malone weren't afraid to pop folks in the mouth when they needed it. And you know the Celtics were no joke, either. Of course, the Pistons were also heroes of mine. Nobody could handle the Bad Boys in their day, especially not the pretty-boy Lakers. I'll give the Lakers their due, but to say they're among the greatest champions is a bit far-fetched...They aren't even close to the Yankees or the Canadiens in terms of titles won. In fact, Boston is still the team to beat with 16 NBA titles. No doubt, they've got some work to do in LA to get the team back to true championship caliber. My hope is that San Antonio, Dallas and Sacramento will be stocked for several years worth of domination in the West, and keep the Laker dynasty in its place. BTW, if I'd be an NBA official, Jack Nicholson and his happy behind would've been tossed from the Staples Center. There's no excuse for his behavior, and I don't care if he owns the darned team, if he can't keep himself in check, he needs to exit, stage left. | ||
| ABM Rating: N/A |
Let me clear my throat. Ahhhummm!! Now... Cynique, Don't miss understand. MJ was probably the game greatest player (I still might draft Magic over him.). But I will ALWAYS believe that had Len Bias (croaked by "crack") and Reggie Lewis (a broken heart that could not heal) lived, the Celtics would have won some of those 6 titles that the Bulls got. And the immensely talented and competitive Bias might have had a career to rival that of even MJ's. Yes, bird got calls. As did Magic, Kareem and the rest. But Jordan became such a global phenomena that it seemed MJ could do no wrong. This was a guy who was a perennial all-defensive team player who rarely earned more than 3 fouls/game. Oh come on now, Cynique. Let Jordan have his skeazoid white groupies. You know that NBA regulations say you can't be considered a true bawlla unless you keep scores of floozy blondes draped all over you. Chris, I agree the guy with biggest fork usually gets to eat first. But when you have 2 combatants with fairly even physical skills, the head decides who feasts and who starves. Think back over some of those series the Bulls had with the Knicks. If NY had brains, not gerbils, twirling around in their heads, they might have derailed the 1st Bull's 3-peat. Claxton, I think that you see a different team from the one I saw in LA. The Lakers had the lowest points scored against field goal percentage and Kobe & Shaq made all defensive teams. You don't get those kids of props by being primarily a finesse team. And what's wrong with finesse basketball anyway. The NBA is for pro basketball, not Hockey. I too was a BIG fan of the Sixer's during Dr. J's era. MJ may have eventually become a better player but, Erving had the style/class that Michael pretended to have (Though I guess we can't forget that the esteemed Julius himself was a baby daddy on the DL.). But I REALLY disagree with you about the merits of the Detroit Pistons Bad Boys squad of the late 80's early 90's. I think the Pistons and later the Pat Riley's Knick's, with all the brawling and holding, set back the progression of pro-basketball by nearly 20 years. That's why today's games are often won by teams scoring over 90 points. And until the recent rule changes, the NBA seemed far more akin to rugby going than B-Ball. Many of these muscle-bound dullards still can't hit the side of a mountain from 2 feet away. And let's not forget how the so-called Bad (Loser) Boys, after getting got their "nutsack" handled to them by the Bulls, punk-out and walked off their own home court before the game ended...which is still 1 of the low points in NBA playoff history. Of course LA is no where close to the Yankees/Canadiens in numbers of titles. Those organizations have been around for decades longer than the Lakers. And Boston may have a few more titles than LA. But Russell won most of those titles during the 50 - 60's (& haven't won it since 1986). LA has won titles during 4 decades, with a greater assortment of players and in 2 very different cities. I don't think Nicholson owns the Laker's. It belongs to Dr. Jerry Buse (with his daughter & Phil Jackson's main squeeze Jeannie as the team president). But I agree that Nicholson need to either sit down on his pasty a$$ or be knocked down on it. | ||
| Cynique Rating: N/A |
ABM, when I say Jordan was not a class act, I wasn't talking about his womanizing. I was talking about how he threw his weight around and totally demoralized the Washington Wizards, criticizing and ridiculing the younger players. This is not what mentor is about. Because Jordan is so imbued with the killer instinct, he never quite learned how to have integrity. He has never been a player who has been enormously esteemed by his teammates because he was such an overbearing ego-maniac. |
