Sports on My Mind – One of the better articles concerning David Stern, Matthew Dowd, and the disgusting, calculated destruction of the NBA. It’s hard to post just one excerpt from the article:
“Dowd, with his political background, undoubtedly has a deep understanding in how to reach a disaffected white audience. In the case of the NBA, the sports media at large began turning on the league and its players long before the Auburn Hills incident; the brawl only confirmed the ?thug mentality? that already existed.
Dowd viewed this ?already in place? backlash and identified the major media players propagating the negative perception of NBA athletes, ESPN among them. As he and Karl Rove proved in 2004, Dowd, armed with this knowledge, could immediately tap media sources to quietly urge them to intensify their criticisms of the ?NBA lifestyle? and the associations – valid or otherwise – with NBA players to gang mentality.
It is Rove?s influence on Dowd that may have led to the little-known but infamous 2005 ?Outside the Lines? segment dealing with the often illicit party-going nightlife of NBA players. The segment was made memorable not necessarily by its content, but by the manner in which that content was collected. Athletes were told that the segment was to be a ?spoof? on the lifestyle of the NBA player while on the road. One player told this – whose interview had a prominent place in the segment – was Golden State Warriors point guard, Baron Davis (then with the New Orleans Hornets).”
TrueHoop – a take on the coming out party of former player John Amaechi.
“(Check out the comments on the FanHouse. They’re already talking about everything from don’t drop the soap in the shower to judgment day. It’s like the eighth grade meets the apocalypse.) … And what we’ll end up with, I imagine, is a bunch of senseless homophobia, lots of nearly meaningless PC platitudes, and group of players who are honestly on the record as saying they don’t have a problem with it or even support Amaechi’s stand.”
NBA Fanhouse – is Michael Jordan’s new shoe connected to a California gang?
“The number 14. Each sneaker featured seven jumpman logos for a total of 14. The numerical symbol for the Norte?os is 14 (standing for “N,” the 14th letter of the alphabet). The 14 is often portrayed in the gang symbol of the Huegla bird — seven feathers on each side, just like the seven jumpmen on each shoe. …
The letter N. If you stare at the shoe long enough, you’ll see N’s.”
