Hey! Whatever Happened To The Boston Garden?

By Brian Taylor

Today, in honor of the grandfather of modern basketball, I wanted to switch it up a bit.

Arnold “Red” Auerbach (a guy I share my birthday with) was arguably the most important figure in the sport of basketball, and he helped build the most storied franchise in the sport, maybe in all of pro sports, the Boston Celtics. Red was one of the last links to the Celtics glory years. There was always a mystique that went with Boston, the “luck of the Irish”, the banners, etc. But one of the most important pieces to the Boston franchise was their home, the Boston Garden.

The Celtics started out in the Boston Garden at the league’s inception in 1946. The arena was originally made for boxing, which made sight lines (blocked by huge slabs of concrete) closer than in other arenas. Everyone who’s ever seen the Celtics on TV knows about the infamous parquet floor, a design so revered that two other NBA teams copied it (T’Wolves and Magic). The legend has it that the reason Boston would win year after year, was because they knew where every bolt, crack and dead spot on that floor was, which gave them an advantage over visiting teams. As a kid getting into the game, Larry and Magic gave me my first lessons on CBS sports about basketball. I’ll never forget the Finals matchups at the Garden, that huge green and white leprechaun at center court (which was designed by Red’s brother). B-Ball at Recess was about either being at the Forum or the Garden back in the day.

I guess the reason I miss the Garden was that it (besides MSG) was one of basketball’s shrines. Every arena and stadium today is “FleetVerizonToyotaPriceWaterContinentalCenterGarden” and the cookie cutter feel of these places is what the NFL JUST got rid of, yet it goes on in basketball. Back in the day, you had the Spectrum, the Mecca, Chicago Stadium, HemisFair, the Summit, and the Omni. Names that made players step their game up, and the Garden was no exception.

Some of my favorite moments, actually all of them, came in the late 80’s, early 90’s, when the Celtics were in their heyday, but also passing the torch. I’ll never forget Magic’s baby hook shot to surprise Kevin McHale and Parish for the victory in Game 4 of the 87’ Finals. Who can ever forget His Airness lighting up Boston for 49 and 63 points respectively in the 86’ playoffs, or Johnny Most screaming his head off that there “was a steal by Bird”? Pistons fans remember the game where Adrian Dantley laid out unconscious on the parquet, after banging heads with Vinnie Johnson while diving for a loose ball. I remember the Bullets getting trounced there on a regular basis, and the Hoyas taking on Boston College on the Celtics’ floor. The Garden had no air conditioning, so June Finals games where hell, or at least it felt like it, and their visitors’ locker room was the inspiration for claustrophobia, with Magic and Co. enjoying it the least.

I remember Tommy Heinshon recounting a story about the luck that the leprechaun at center court brought them. His team was on a roll, storming through the playoffs, and after each home game, Tommy would leave a beer and a hot dog for the leprechaun on the parquet floor. Lo and behold, both were always gone by the time he came back out to go home, (of course it was probably the “Bull Gang” the guys that would break down the floor, but still, you gotta believe!).

When the Garden was demolished, the old floor was brought to FleetCenter along with it, until it became too old to play on.

Red may have passed, but the legacy he left, the mystique and the memories of the Garden live on today. For this season, the Celtics will wear black shamrocks on their jerseys in honor of the grandfather of basketball.

Thank you Red!

 

Cross Over: The New Model of Youth Basketball Development

By Ryan McNeill

Brian McCormick’s latest book, “Cross Over: The New Model of Youth Basketball Development,” proves that good things do come in small packages. Despite this book only being 85 pages in length it is full of a wealth of valuable information for basketball coaches. This book covers topics such asthe problem of early specialization, the disappearance of unstructured play and concludes with a proposal for elite player development called the Five Stage Basketball Model.

When the American National team were embarrassed at the 2004 Olympics journalists who have covered basketball at the professional level began complaining about the death of basketball. Despite all their complaints, writers failed to provide coaches, players or fans with any solutions to this problem. Brian noticed the problem with basketball in America back in 2001 well before journalists started pulling a Chicken Little and complaining about the sky falling and instead of sitting back and doing nothing about this problem, Brian wrote a letter to Basketball Times and set out to make recommendations to fix the problems with youth basketball programs in America.

“Cross Over” starts off with Brian McCormick discussing the current basketball system that is in place in America. He then proceeds to pick apart all of the problems facing basketball in North America such as the coaches “overemphasize competitive characteristics and ignores development and recreational characteristics” and “the hyper-competitive atmosphere hampers elite player development from player’s initial participation with an organized team or league.”

As someone who coaches elementary school students I am sorry to say that the problems Brian brings up in his book happen regularly. Last season I remember playing an exhibition game and the opposing coach ripped into a high school girl reffing the game until she broke down and cried. When did elementary hoops become so important that a coach should feel the need to yell at someone until they cry? I talked with this same coach later in the season and he told me that his kids would now just be playing for fun because his starting centre went down with an injury. Why wouldn’t a coach of a grade 7/8 team be playing the season for fun regardless of injuries? I completely agreed with Coach McCormick that placing an importance on winning and losing at such a young age and a “hyper-competitive environment” is damaging to children’s athletic development.

Later in the opening chapter Coach McCormick drops another gem when he writes that “the irony of the United States youth basketball player is so many players and parent exist in an atmosphere with one eye firmly fixed on the future, yet nobody appropriately plans or organizes long term athlete development. Playing basketball is no longer an end; it is merely a vehicle to a college scholarship. The ‘ship, in many circles, is the impetus, not a reward for the talented player. No longer is the journey the destination; now one must reach a tangible destination.”

No longer is just playing basketball with your friends the goal, now the goal as early as elementary school is getting a scholarship or setting yourself up to make a living playing a sport. Because of this, Coach McCormick has found that players learn bad techniques, are sustaining more serious injuries and a new term called “Peak by Friday” is entering into youth sports. This term was initially coined by Dr. Istvan Balyi and is a mentality “that ignores important preparation and development stages which lead to better performance and overall ability as the athlete grows.” Coach McCormick talks about this in his book and states that, “coaches do not have time to insure players move correctly, learn to run and jump with proper form or dynamic warm-up activities because they have too much to do to prepare for the next game.”

As an elementary school physical education teacher I have seen this start to show itself in my gym classes. Last year we had 45 minute teaching blocks which provided ample time to allow children to change, stretch and then go through a couple of guided activities. Now with 30 minutes periods everything has been condensed and rushed. Instead of slowly going through stretches now I find myself rushing through this part of my class so that I can get through all of the necessary activities.

John Di Frances wrote in “Reclaiming the Ethical High Ground” that a 4th century Roman general wrote in his records that, “when because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armour began to feel heavy since the soldier rarely, if ever, wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplate and mail and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought without any protection for the heart and head and were often beat by archers. Although they were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore the armour to the infantry. They took their armour off and when they armour came off so too came their integrity.”

If we as coaches continue to rush through practices and ignore teaching the fundamentals then it’s our students and players that will suffer. We need to get away from teaching how to beat full court traps and instead spend that time work on passing and dribbling drills. We need to spend less time teaching complicated offensive sets and instead teach basics like pick and rolls. While our players may look good heading into “battle” with complicated sets they will ultimately lose because they are sorely unprepared because they haven’t spent enough time working on the basics like dribbling, passing and shooting.

As an elementary school basketball coach I really enjoyed reading chapter two because it talks about the problems with early specialization. Parents will often ask me if I think they child should play multiple sports or focus on one and this chapter is now something I will reference every time a parent brings this topic up. Coach McCormick does a great job of debunking the notion that children should start specializing at one sport at an early age when he writes that playing multiple sports or engaging in multiple activities increases an athlete’s multilateral development, playing multiple sports creates a natural periodization for athletes, playing multiple sports helps prevent overuse injuries such as tendinitis and plantar fasciitis as well as the fact that playing multiple sports is fun. Besides what Coach McCormick has to say, parents need only look at the NBA’s top stars to see the benefits of playing multiple sports while growing up. LeBron James is considered one of the top basketball players in the NBA right now and he was known as being a talented football player in high school, Allen Iverson who was a nationally ranked quarterback in high school and Tim Duncan was an elite swimmer until he hit his growth spurt.

Another chapter that stood out was the one on unstructured play and how that aspect is missing from children’s lives. In this chapter he talked about coaching an under 9 AAU team and how he and his assistant coaches made sure to incorporate games into practices rather than worrying about spending too much time on drills. He talked about the importance of allowing children this young to explore a basketball through dribbling games without worrying how to beat a full court press through a series of complicated drills. As a coach for a grade 7/8 team I have to admit that in previous years I have spent the majority of my practice time working on defensive footwork, running offensive plays and teaching my kids how to beat a press. Reading this chapter has inspired me to spend a lot less time doing that in my practices and instead work on incorporating more games into my practices.

Another part of the chapter that stuck out was when Coach McCormick talked about his time as a coach in Sweden. He wrote that, “when I lived in Sweden as an exchange student and played for the local club, I coached an u-14 boys team. I started with 8-10 players and slowly but surely, more and more players attended. At the peak, we had 26 players for a practice. I never told anyone to leave; it was an inconvenience, but if they were willing to talk through the snow to get to practice, I was going to teach them something and make it a fun experience.”

I have had numerous discussions with my principal and co-workers about the idea of forming a basketball club rather than a team that only allows 10-12 students play on the team. Eventually their argument always comes back to the fact that for a competitive team to emerge you need to be able to work with a smaller group of players in practice and only give playing time to certain players. The consistently argue that for a competitive team to develop you can’t play 20 players in game situations. My new argument will be this – why should winning matter before high school? From my elementary school maybe the top two or three players will play high school ball so why not allow every student in my school to play a couple of years of basketball while they are in elementary school? Plus, there are three rep basketball teams in my area so the “elite” players have a setting where they can try to play competitive ball if they and their parents want that.

After exposing all the faults with amateur athletics in America, Brian McCormick then does a masterful job of offering a wide range of possible solutions to all the problems that are ruining basketball in America. His solutions revolved a program called “The Five Stage” model that is rooted in Bailey’s Late Specialization model, New Zealand’s Long Term Development model and Basketball Canada’s Development Model. Through analysing these three models he was able to create his model which has four stages – The Foundation Stage, The Fundamental Stage, The Training Stage and The Competitive Stage.

The Foundation stage is geared towards children who are between the ages of 8 and 10 and it “introduces basketball through fun, active training and develops general movement skills essential to success.” It’s at this stage that children learn the basics of speed, co-ordination, proper movement patterns and fundamentals of movements. At this level the top priority is that fun and games are used to develop skills and athleticism.

The second stage is called the Fundamental Stage and is aimed at children who are between 10 and 12. In this stage children, “continue general motor skill development; learn fundamental basketball-skills and progress to full court 5 v 5 games.”

The Training Stage involves children between the ages of 13 and 15 and allows children the chance to “refine basketball-specific skills, develop strength and fitness and expand tactical awareness in the 5 v 5 game.”

The final stage, “The Competition Stage,” is for children that are playing varsity basketball (generally 16 to 18) and it “builds the competitive fire, optimizes basketball skills, specializes position skills and builds the team first mentality.” In his book Coach McCormick talks about movement skills, tactical skills, technical skills and drills that coaches can use in practices for players in each of these stages.

This is a book that challenged me to take a strong, hard look at my coaching philosophy and the way that I look at player development. You may not agree with everything Coach McCormick talks about in this book but it will definitely get you thinking about your team and how you plan your practices. If you are a basketball coach at any level this book is a must read.

Hey! Whatever Happened To John Starks?

By Brian Taylor

Last week’s “Hey” segment was about one of the protagonists of the Knicks-Pacers wars of the early 90’s, highlighting the 7’4” nuisance known as Rik Smits. This week, I wanted to take a look at a guy on the Knicks side that made the battle just as fun, as cutthroat and as entertaining a rivalry I’ve ever seen in sports. I’m talking about your boy (and Spike Lee’s), John Starks.

Everyone loves the story of an underdog. It makes an even better story when said dog is a little on the edge, and bites a few mailmen on the way. That was Starks in a nutshell. The 6’3” guard from Tulsa was on the Kurt Warner Track (minor leagues, bagging groceries until being discovered) to the league, and stands out as one of the few undrafted rookies to make an impact, like Ben Wallace. Starks was balling out in Oklahoma, when his brother sent some of his highlight tapes to the staff at Oklahoma State, where John got some playing time. He had a brief, free agent stint at Golden State, but got into a beef over playing time with then-coach Don Nelson. After surviving “Nellyville” in Oakland, Starks spent a year in the CBA before getting picked up by the Knicks.

In New York, “the underdog” tried to mark his territory off the break, when he tried to dunk on a tree named Patrick Ewing. Starks was blocked, and suffered a fall of Grant Hill-Sprite commercial proportions, which broke his arm. The Knicks’ brass wanted to cut him, but because of his injury, they kept him. Dave Checketts admired his heart and well….subtle craziness and signed him up for the 1990-1991 season.

Fast forward to the NBA Playoffs, where the Knicks were trying their hardest to dethrone the Jordan Dynasty. Starks’ defining moment came in the 1993 playoffs, when New York was hosting the Bulls on NBC. Everyone knows that in those series, Jordan was like the tormenting, older brother, who would basically tease John Starks by doing whatever he wanted, but in this game, John got even.

With the ball on the wing, Ewing set a screen for John on the Bulls’ B.J. Armstrong. Starks, deciding he’d had enough of the Michael Jordan Show, spun away from Ewing’s screen into traffic to bash one of the sickest playoff dunks ever on His Airness and Horace Grant. Don’t believe me? Peep the YouTube clip and tell me you’re not hype afterwards.

Bonkers kid!

Starks would always run into the “Jordan Wall” in the playoffs until 1994, when Mike gave the league a break. With the Knicks beating the Bulls in the infamous “Pippen Headache Game”, New York was finally going to the Finals. Riley’s boys played the Dream’s Rockets to seven games, but in the last game, Starks was brick-tastic, with an anemic 2-18 night, including a missed trey at the end that would’ve won it.

Starks was also antagonized by the Pacers’ Reggie Miller. Who can forget the time Reggie kept stealing the Knicks inbounds passes and knocking down threes like mad, angering Spike Lee and taunting Starks in the process? John gave Reggie Miller a few headbutts in those series, and those two had some great battles, ask Spike.

After being traded back to Golden State (for Sprewell), then Chicago (this was like Larry signing with the Lakers…I couldn’t believe it) John stopped in Utah for the last time before laying it down for good in 2002. He has a foundation named after him that gives scholarships to high school seniors, so if you want to see some NBA positivity, hit him up at www.johnstarks.com

Video Game Review: Sony’s NBA ‘07

By Ryan McNeill

Every October I head out to Best Buy to purchase the latest NBA video game and most years I pick up NBA Live. This year I thought about going with my traditional pick but during the past week I noticed on a short clip You Tube showing all the glitches in NBA Live and read an online report about possible glitches with NBA Live. Instead of forking out $50 on a game that’s full of problems I elected to switch it up and try a new game instead. I thought about checking out 2K7 but elected to go with Sony’s NBA ‘07 – despite the fact that they have Kobe “Black Mamba” Bryant on the cover.

This game had all the same features that I’m used to with NBA Live but they’ve added a couple more options that I had a blast using. The Play Station version has two cool options that I liked in Eye Toy Functionality and Character Fidelity Engine. Eye Toy Functionality allows you take a snapshot of your head and then put your head onto the body of any NBA player in their system and Character Fidelity Engine is a feature that involves facial mapping of NBA athletes, realistic head shapes, expressions and attitudes.

One of the in-game features that I really enjoyed was Conquest mode. With this style of play you were able to challenge NBA squads in a game of “territory” that provided a fun balance between strategy, basketball knowledge and gameplay skills. Earlier this spring I noticed that EA Sports produced a game in association with the NFL called “NFL Head Coach” and this is the closest match to this that I’ve seen for basketball fans. In NFL game you are given complete control over a NFL team – hiring a coaching staff, running a draft each spring, calling plays during games, deciding which players to play each week, what plays to run during games – and this hoops game by Sony is the most comparable option to that for basketball fans. While playing in “Conquest Mode” In NBA ‘07 you get to take control of a team and then play other teams while adding a player from each team that you beat. You need to realize who your opponents top players are and what players on any team you beat can fill holes on your squad. This was a fun way to use a bit of strategy while also playing a “streetball” style of game.

Another feature that I love using was the pick-up mode. In this mode the computer randomly gives you and your opponent teams with 10 NBA players and then you compete in an outdoor full-court game. This didn’t require nearly as much strategy or thinking and was just a fun game to play because it reminded me of playing hoops in the summer with buddies.

My buddy Matt – who’s the artist and designer for the Hoops Addict Magazine – isn’t a big basketball fan but he enjoyed playing all the Carnival Games that were included (Pop-A-Shot, Pinball and Skee-Ball). We also duked it out playing dodgeball, H.O.R.S.E and competed in a Slam Dunk Contest. The bonus games that are included with this game are tight so even if you aren’t a huge basketball addict you’ll still enjoy playing this game.

After spending my entire weekend playing this game I’m happy to announce that I wasn’t disappointed with my choice. Between all the fun carnival games, the streetball/gm style of Conquest mode and the great format of their League play this game was hard for me to put down.

If you’re looking for a fun NBA game that isn’t full of glitches I’d highly recommend Sony’s NBA ‘07 for your PSP.

Hey! Whatever Happened To Rik Smits

By Brian Taylor

There’s always that one goofy player that gets under your skin, not because he’s awkward or uncoordinated, but because some way, somehow, he gets the job done despite being awkward and uncoordinated. Man, there have been some real stiffs that have been drafted into the “L”, Shawn Bradley, Yinka Dare (his “Hey!”should be next!), Todd Fuller, etc. There was one dude who made folks nuts in the mid 90’s and that was Rik “The Dunking Dutchman” Smits.

Coming out of Marist College in New York, (Home of the Red Foxes!) Smits was hard to miss. How many times have you walked past a 7’4” blonde Dutchman without questioning it? In the NCAA’s no one walked past Smits without having the ball smacked into the second row. Smits was picked number two behind Danny Manning in the 1988 draft and was sent to a Pacer team that sucked, but had promise, thanks to a young , rail thin forward named Reggie Miller. Initially, Smits was drafted to backup Steve Stiponavich, the Pacers’ incumbent starter at center. You know Billy Joe Cuthbert, from the Live 07’ commercials? That was Stiponavich down to the T. When Steve went down, as they say, a “star was born”.

Fast forward to the mid-90’s, the Pacers were now a serious squad, just ask the Knicks. Rik Smits was responsible for at least 65% of the grey hair Spike Lee has now. Everyone knew Miller was the Knicks main nemesis, but Rik Smits was his enforcer. I cant tell you how many times I’ve seen either Ewing or Shaq ready to clock Smits in a game, only to have Rik pump in 18 points and 10 boards of his own at the end of the night. Night after night, the Dutch Boy was “In the Paint”, giving Miller the confidence to bomb away at will.

Eventually, age caught up with Smits, with foot problems hobbling him. In his last two seasons, Rik went all out, making the Eastern Conference All-Star team (his only appearance) and riding with the Pacers all the way to the Finals before bowing out to Kobe and Shaq. Today, you’d compare him to Yao Ming, only more, well, blonde.

Nowadays, Smits’ love is for vintage, old school motorcycles and cars, and at 7’4”, I can imagine he’d have a hard time finding a rocket that fits, but if you get some time in between saving the world, and winning a Nobel Prize while at your office, look him up!

Scoop Jackson Interview

Scoop Jackson has seen it all in his 15 plus years of writing. He’s gone from writing for hip hop slam dunk dreams in the counterculture magazine Slam, to the “He could go all the way!” mainstream audience best associated with ESPN. His unique voice is one that challenges what we think a sports writer’s voice should be. He’s paid his dues and even with his recent rift with former ESPN writer Jason Whitlock, he’s stood fast in his written rhythmic position of personal powerful journalistic conviction. His views should be associated with the fantastic sights and sounds that emotionally attack us during moments when we truly appreciate sports. He translates the action of sports into words of calculated description and skillfully uses his innovative avant garde talent to help educate the masses.

Michael Tillery: Respond to Jason Whitlock’s statement that you are Bojangling for dollars and that you don’t have any street credibility.

Scoop: I’m not one to believe too much in street cred. I haven’t found anyone to actually define what that is. He was on a couple of radio stations in Chicago saying I was from the suburbs. That’s so far from the truth. That shows that he knows nothing about me. You know full well how it is. In this business the first thing we do is make sure that we do our research. I’m from 48th and Ellis—the hood in Chicago. Still live in the hood in Chicago, always have. I take pride in that. I’ve been offered to move to Bristol. I’ve been offered to move to L.A. I’ve been offered to move to New York when I was with Slam. Chicago is where I’m from. One of the biggest mistakes we make as African Americans is to move out the place that put us in the position to be successful. We then complain about living conditions without lending a helping hand. That’s hypocrisy. The way we truly help is staying there and also by helping to make things better. It drives me. I choose to lead by example. That’s just the way I roll. I don’t know if that gives me street cred, but…Then he says on one hand that I bojangle and on the other hand I’m anti-white? You gotta make up your mind dude. I can’t be both. I have to keep in mind of what I’m dealing with. People need to keep in mind of what they are dealing with. Why is this dude saying all this stuff about me in the press? I think it’s disrespectful to call another brotha that, regardless of how you feel about him. Before you start making those kinds of comments, have something concrete. If you are constantly referring to me as a buffoon, a clown and whatever else, know exactly what you are talking about. You can’t waver on something like that and it sure as hell can’t be an opinion—it has to be fact! I was a colleague of his. It’s ridiculous. I haven’t done anything in my career to make his “opinions” valid. I stand firm on that. In one interview he referred to me as Kunta Kente. Why is he speaking out publicly about another African American like that? If you want to get technical, Kunta was the brotha you wanted to be like because he fought for his freedom. Did he mean Chicken George? Once again, the man didn’t do his research. My work and my personal background speak for itself—period.

Tillery: Give our readers an idea of your style.

Scoop: Good question. I try to be different. I try to be creative in telling a story. I try to challenge both myself and the reader. To get them to do their research by purposefully leaving something out. Similar to Chuck D in his going against the grain delivery, I don’t want to go the same way as most other journalists. I want to make my own mark. I’m not trying to fight against anybody, I’m just trying to be my own man. Since I’ve been at ESPN, the visibility has gone up obviously as well as the amount of work. With ESPN, you are looking at a large mainstream audience. So we have writing styles that reflect that. Actors such as Deniro, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman all vary in style, ESPN is nothing different. Coaching styles are different. Sometimes differences are hard for people to swallow. My style of writing is being presented in a whole different light. I try to do things differently and now that I’m on a bigger stage in ESPN, it’s not as acceptable. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to change. When I was working for other outlets—the underground, if you will—there wasn’t this much asking of me to change. To certain individuals it’s unique, but to others my style makes them uncomfortable. Very similar to when Hip Hop came on the scene, or when Prince came on the scene. Jazz is the classic example. When Charlie Parker and Miles Davis were doing their thing, it wasn’t avant garde. There was a resistance of the masses, but they got it. Ali came along and people weren’t comfortable with the way he chose to live his life, but they ended up getting it. I bring up these great people to make a point. Obviously, I’m not comparing myself to their collective greatness. We all use a certain part of our existence when we write, there’s nothing wrong with that. Different styles bring more objectivity to a story and gives it more truth. My style is not an urban style, it’s not a Black style, it’s “originatic” if you will. I try to catch a rhythm. Dwyane Wade is a rhythm basketball player. I try to do the same thing with words. I try to make the reader find that rhythm and connect with my sense of style. Sports journalism really hasn’t changed in the way it’s presented. It’s time for that.

Tillery: Why is there a lack of Black journalists? Is it because Blacks are used to how the media has been presented historically? Blacks don’t have an interest? What is it? Would the way media is presented be varied if there was a higher concentration of Blacks in powerful positions?

Scoop: Great questions. There’s really not one correct answer. I’m just dealing with mass media. It’s no different than any other business that exists in this country. 12% of America is Black. So you would think that the workforce would show such diversity. It doesn’t work that way in this country. Especially the higher up you go in most occupations. So, journalism to me is no different than it would be in law, medicine, architecture or any other industry.

Blacks do have a large percentage in sports and entertainment. That has always been the case after most sports were integrated. Because of that, you would think there would be a higher density of Black journalists covering sports, but it simply is not.

Whose fault is that? Is it White America’s fault? Probably. Is it Black America’s fault? Probably. Is it the fault of education and government? Probably. You can go right on down the line. If there are more positive role models presented like you and I then we will begin to see some inroads in journalism. Like Katrina for example. Once Spike’s documentary was aired it showed that you couldn’t point your finger at just one person. I want to see it change not just in journalism, but every other industry.

I think there would be a slight change. This is all hypothetical of course, but if the numbers were different I don’t think the witch hunt associated with Barry Bonds would have been so blatant. There’s just a different fairness in judging Bonds with Blacks. This is where I have to applaud someone like Jason Whitlock for standing up and saying what he truly feels. If there were more of us, I truly feel that we would have spoken out like Jason did.

Tillery: Who has been your biggest influence?

Scoop: I have a lot of influences. Ralph Wiley of course. Nelson George had an urban feel with Billboard and the Village Voice. They didn’t fear letting you know exactly where they stood. You knew they were Black by the way they wrote and I was able to identify with that. My father was a journalist in Denver. His influence was a little bit different because he lived in Denver and I lived in Chicago. To see what he went though in Chicago as a reporter let me know early on that that is not what I wanted to be. I always looked at reporters as people who invaded personal privacy. The way they attack stories. I gained a different kind of appreciation for what he did. As a result, I became a magazine type. Getting into writing from a magazine perspective. That’s where Ralph and Nelson came in. Rob Marriott dealing with cultural issues. Gary Smith of Sports Illustrated and Nancy Gibbs of Time Magazine. I read all these people and wish that I could be half as dope as they are. Gary Smith is sick! He’s like Michael Jordan. He’s unbelievable. Even writers like Chuck D, Common, Ice Cube, Lupe Fiasco, KRS 1 and Rakim. Just the way they approach their craft influences me. How they construct their rhymes. I can’t forget my crew of boys. We all have a crew that we can bounce ideas off of. They give me ideas. I feed off of them and the way they live. That’s the good stuff. I can look at art, a magazine article, and a show like Grey’s Anatomy—the sister that created that show and I’ll gain influences from there. Something Bob Ryan wrote seventeen years ago and I’ll pull something from there. I can read an original Batman comic book and gain something. It’s all over the place. Voices of Freedom, Eyes on the Prize.

Tillery: It’s my opinion, but I just don’t see that broad based influence that you allude to in sports journalism so when something is said they consider off the wall, it’s seen as negative. That’s unfortunate.

Scoop: Exactly, and it never should be apologetic. Remember when Chuck D said (Rebel without a Pause) “A supporter of Chesimard?”(Assata Shakur—activist in Black Panther Party currently living in asylum in Cuba) I guarantee you that nine out of ten people never knew who Chesimard was. Chuck D remained unapologetic in his lyrics. He never explained who she was. He wanted the listener to do the research. I’m the same way. It’s the same way when hypothetically a White writer like Lupica or Albom references a Bob Seger song. I wouldn’t know what the hell they are talking about! I have to do the research to find out. When I mention an Ojays song or something by Gil Scott Heron, or something deep from an Oscar Peterson song, or Kool G Rap or Ultramagnetic MC’s, I’m not going to explain. Do the research. An ESPN executive told me that when I came over from Slam Magazine that I might have to explain some things as I write them. I told him no. I wanted my writers to enlighten themselves by taking the time out to do the research. African Americans history and future at the same time is enriched with all kinds of knowledge and experience. When we pull from that we are educating the masses and they should see it as such. We are the only race of people in this country that has the past that we have and are unsure about our future. If we don’t pull from that and associate it with our craft then we are just like everybody else.

Tillery: Like the spoken word pieces that I use as a summary of—depending on the subject of course—who I’m writing about. That is a direct effect of Black culture.

Scoop: Yes, I probably am a victim of doing it too much. I know exactly what you are saying. You pull words out of the context to give it more texture. I feel you on that. It gives your words a third or fourth dimension!

Tillery: Yes that added dimension is what my reader can attach their subconscious to hopefully understand my words more clearly.

Scoop: I hear you all day long on that. That’s what we are supposed to do as writers.

Tillery: Is the media partly at fault regarding T.O.? Do Terrell and the media mirror each other?

Scoop: Yes. I think so. Sports journalism forever has believed in leads. I know how it is at ESPN. If a story is going to make us money, then we would be fools not to run with it. It spikes here every time Owens is on so there must be a demand. I’ve written many Terrell Owens articles myself, so I’m also to blame. You win some and you lose some in the media. The media is in the supply and demand business.

Tillery: Talk about Buck O’Neil’s affect on American sports culture.

Scoop: My boy is from Kansas City. I’ve been dealing with Buck O’Neil on a personal level since 1981. He was like my man’s surrogate father. There’s a personal connection to Buck O’Neil. My boy is very upset that Buck didn’t get into the Hall of Fame. I’m of the personal belief that if they don’t teach you right, how can you expect them to treat you right. Regardless of Buck’s accomplishments, Blacks should not be upset that he isn’t validated through the Hall of Fame. We all know what kind of player and coach he was. Let that glorious impression of us marinate in our hearts. Baseball has never done anything without force. Baseball is fine, they aren’t a bad organization but I don’t think I am in the minority in saying that they don’t have our best interest in mind at all times. That goes with their treatment of Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson—the way the Atlanta Braves treated Hank Aaron up until recently. It doesn’t bother me as much that Buck died without that honor as much as it does those closer to him in Kansas City. There are going to be a lot of people—and it’s going to be a groundswell—that are going to have issues with Major League Baseball because they didn’t elect Buck last year when the other veterans got in. It was a slap in the face. How many did they let in?

Tillery: I think it was twelve players and five executives.

Scoop: Yeah something like that. Then the people they did let in could carry Buck’s jock on the field! We won’t even get into his managerial skills. His legacy is how he carried himself in giving the game of baseball 80 plus years at least. That’s a disgrace. I don’t hold that against them though. They just won’t get his true affect on us as well as the game.

Buck O’Neil’s legacy goes down in my eyes as being rooted in the games truth. It’s going to be interesting how his legacy is truly recognized. The writers that had the opportunity to write him in, how are they feeling right now?

We are doing with a lot of hypocrisy in this country—the war, and Katrina. Look at Ali. He’s a national treasure now? He should have been a national treasure a long time ago when he was going through everything he had to experience.

A lot of writers that had the chance to vote Buck O’Neil in will have a lot of nice things to say about him now. We should not let what other people think of Buck O’Neil validate what he means to us. Major League Baseball should not get that satisfaction.

Some people don’t see it this way, but Buck was one of our last holders of the 40 acres. The Negro Leagues was part of our 40 acres.

Tillery: What is your impression of Black athletes?

Scoop: Athletes are like onions they have layers so I’m not going to lump them all in a basket and say they are all any sort of way. I’m not going to say because Stephen Jackson fired a gun that athletes are all criminals or whatever. I’m not going to let Kevin Garnett’s millions or Warrick Dunn’s social responsibility overshadow whoever is out there messing up. They are people just like every single one of us regardless of how much money they are taking in. The majority—especially Black athletes—are doing the right thing. I would say 80%. That’s what should be highlighted. 20% should not be the basis of opinion on all athletes. They must take more responsibility for their actions. I will say that. I know I respect them for what they do.

Tillery: The reason why I bring this up is because of athletes like Chris Webber who seems to be about more than just the athletic journey. I’ve done a couple of pieces on him. His philanthropy as well as his collection of African American information is unquestioned. You are more of a national figure in sports journalism than I, are there other athletes out there like that?

Scoop: Chris has always been one of the truest brothas out there. I’ve been doing this for a while to. He always seems like his heart and his soul are in the right place. He’s dealing with a situation where the general media doesn’t understand him and I don’t think he cares if they do. He’s gonna catch some flack. I do appreciate brothas like him that are unapologetic in their dealings—as long as it is positive. Chris does not misrepresent his race. I don’t think an Allen Iverson misrepresents his race. I think he should speak up for himself a little more. For example, going back to the Laker series when he caught a lot of flack nationally for what they deemed his lack of coming through in the clutch. I wish they would have looked at the game on both ends. Chris personally took Vlade off of Shaq. Vlade was getting killed by Shaq. Chris took it upon himself to guard Shaq and didn’t do a bad job. Anyone who has ever played basketball knows that playing defense—especially on a man Shaq’s size—takes a lot out of you on the offensive end. He should have told them to basically kiss his ass for questioning his manhood. Sacramento hasn’t been the same without him.

On the same hand, remember the famous sound bite with Allen Iverson about “practice?” The question was about his boy being killed. So he says, “You people are up here talking about practice and my boy just died? Practice man, practice?” Allen has never talked about that. That’s why I’m here. I just don’t want to protect athletes, but to make sure the total story gets out. Right or wrong. That’s my job. If we do seem like we are protecting athletes then we get pegged the wrong way. People then call us out. There are things we can’t even address. There are certain things we can’t say as Black writers. It will be all we are known as. Case in point. When I wrote the story about there being a lack of sports editors, I wasn’t the one who broke the story. Norman Chad from the Washington Post broke the story. He didn’t get the type of attention that I received did he? No. I’m the one who came across as controversial because I’m a Black man writing on Black issues. Bill Plaske of the LA Times just wrote a story on Roger Clemens saying that he’s going to be treated better than Barry Bonds because Roger is White! Do you know what would have happened if I wrote something like that? Keep in mind that it won’t be that much different even with more Black journalists. We have to be careful collectively as well as individually. William C. Rhoden has to be careful. J.A. Adande has to be careful. Michael Wilbon has to be careful. Phil Taylor has to be careful. Jason Whitlock has to be careful. We all can’t jump on a situation. We have to choose our battles. The landscape is not going to change that much.

Tillery: When it’s all said and done, how do you want to be remembered? What are you in it for? Are you in it for the fame?

Scoop: I’m in it for the craft. I want people to finish reading all of my stuff and one day maybe say, this dude was a genius. At the end of the day, that’s what I strive for. I’m always pushing for greatness for this generation. I would be remiss if I didn’t characterize my talent in such a fashion. Like a Rakim, or a Prince catalog, I want people to really feel my writing and truly just get it.

Tillery: Scoop we appreciate the voice.

Michael can be reached through email at MASDALUNKIN@aol.com.

Jason Whitlock Interview

by Michael Tillery

Love him or hate him, you must trust that Jason Whitlock knows the field of journalism. He’s coming off a controversial transition from ESPN to AOL Sports because he had the temerity to express himself in an age where the media hasn’t any accountability for anything and everything. Sit back and observe the inevitable and seismic media shift that soon will become evident. While I personally don’t agree with everything he says—I’m sure he really doesn’t care—he is uniquely confident in his conviction and makes no bones about it. He deserves props for standing up to the powers that be at ESPN and speaking his mind about the Bonds witch hunt that had the majority of the media running around in circles like a disillusioned dog chasing its own tail.

I initially judged him as the writer farceur, but his recent insight has drastically changed that unfair characterization. He proves that there is a need for more Black voices in journalism with his strong opinionated wit that has to be put on notice. He’s become an influential check and balance. I personally feel that it was his dissent of Mike Lupica and others on Sports Reporters that took the heat off Bonds as the media improperly searches for a singular face to historically attach to the steroids era.

You are going to enjoy this.

Michael Tillery: For our readers who are fans of yours on ESPN. Why the switch from the world wide leader to AOL sports? Number 4 or 5 in the ranking of mainstream sports web sites.

Whitlock: It’s a calculated move on my part, a belief that my perspective on issues is totally unique and impossible to duplicate. If you have something original to say, location isn’t as important. I’m confident people will find my work because my work will demand to be found. Neal Scarbrough, the guy leading AOL Sports, will help people find my work. He believes in me and the originality of what I have to say. There was a glass ceiling for my work at ESPN.com. I’m not a backup quarterback. I’m a starter, and I deserve a starter’s salary. I couldn’t get that at ESPN.com. So I signed with a team that was looking for a starting quarterback.

Tillery: What will you bring differently to AOL sports? What is real talk?

Whitlock: Real Talk is a brand of journalism, a style of writing that is honest and free of hidden agendas. It’s a way of discussing and learning about complex issues that will bring good people together and make the comfortable very uncomfortable.

Tillery: What is your overall perception of the Black athlete in the 21st century? Are you comfortable with their mainstream ruffle no feathers attitude?

Whitlock: My perception of the modern-day Black athlete is that he’s an underutilized resource. He’s just like most of young Black America — direction less, in love with money and clueless about what to do with his wealth beyond partying. His consistency in being clueless is a statement about the failure of Black leadership. He doesn’t know what to do because We don’t know what to do. Begging white folks to fix Black problems is not what We need to do. We need to ruffle Our own feathers. Black athletes need to be led. Muhammad Ali was not a leader. He was a follower. Someone told him what to say. No offense to Mr. Ali, but boxers do not moonlight as doctors or rocket scientists. So whatever you don’t like about today’s modern-day athlete is a statement about what you don’t like about our leadership. We haven’t captured their minds. 50 Cent and all the other closet klansmen have.

Tillery: What did you make of the frenzied media assault around T.O. and his accidental overdose/suicide attempt?

Whitlock: T.O. likes to bojangle, so the media treated him like a bojangler.

Tillery: You talk of a new civil rights movement for Blacks in 2006? Please explain

Whitlock: I’m talking about a cultural revolution among the hip hop generation (40 and younger). I’m talking about a total rejection of the negative images and values promoted, popularized and exploited by the Black closet klansmen, the Black men and women making money by defining Black culture as anti-education, pro-violence, pro-crime, pro-drug dealing, anti-fatherhood and totally irresponsible and devoid of morals. Kanye thinks George Bush hates Black people. Not as much as we hate ourselves. Racism definitely created the self-hate mental illness that we are suffering from, but we are responsible for nursing ourselves back to health. I hurt my knee playing football. I went to rehab every day, not the guy who fell on my leg. And when I was in rehab, I didn’t whack a baseball bat against my leg every day. So why are we ingesting music that is based in portraying us as uneducated animals? What other ethnic group does this? Why are we gobbling up Flavor Flav’s minstrel show on VH1?

Tillery: Talk about the elimination of “Bojangling for Dollars” amongst Blacks? What does that mean?

Whitlock: Responsible Black people need to penalize, reject and express displeasure toward the Black people who are profiting by promoting and conforming to a buffoonish and/or criminal Black image. I asked a Jewish friend what Jews would do if a group of Jewish kids started making music that relied on Jewish slurs and bragged about Jews killing Jews and called Jewish women bitches and hoes. Let’s just say the situation would be handled and there wouldn’t be a follow up album.

Tillery: Was there real animosity between you and Scoop Jackson (ESPN contributor)?

Whitlock: Scoop was bojangling for dollars, and I taxed him for it. If he continues, he’ll get taxed again. He was hired for the specific purpose of bojangling — “go write something that has that ghetto feel.” The dude is in his 40s and isn’t remotely street. He should know better. Do I have animosity toward Scoop? No. He just needed to be stopped before he wrote another article suggesting that Black kids stand a better chance of making the NBA than landing a job as a sportswriter.

Tillery: You made the comment about Scoop and referenced the Chris Rock character “Nat X” in your description. Please elaborate?

Whitlock: Nat X was a buffoon who spouted illogical, racist rhetoric in the name of Black power. He was a character created by SNL to make people laugh and dismiss legitimate issues raised by Black people. Replace Nat X with Scoop and SNL with ESPN and the sentence still holds up.

Tillery: You talk about the late Ralph Wiley as one of your favorite writing heroes. What made him unique in your estimation?

Whitlock: Ralph always had an original opinion. He always had to be taken seriously. He was always the smartest person in the room. Ralph was the same person all the time. He didn’t have a personality for white folks and a personality for Black folks. Ralph was Ralph. And Ralph defined Ralph’s value. Sports Illustrated didn’t define Ralph. ESPN didn’t define Ralph. Ralph made me realize at a very young age (when I saw him on the Phil Donahue show when I was a kid) that it’s foolish for a Black man to allow American institutions to define his value. You can’t win that battle. And as soon as you start performing for the approval of the powers that be, you lose your original, authentic voice and you’re a step closer to bojangling.

Tillery: Why do you think Bonds continues to be the “exclusive poster” boy for alleged steroid use and other athletes are constantly been added to the equation?

Whitlock: Bonds is a no-lose proposition for most sportswriters. Bonds doesn’t cooperate with the media, so there’s nothing to lose by attacking him. Plus, it’s an American tradition to put a Black face on whatever negative crisis is getting lots of media attention. Bonds is Willie Horton.

Tillery: You handled yourself well in a Sports Reporters episode when Lupica attempted to manipulate your voice. What is up with brothas not truly being able to voice gut opinions?

Whitlock: I don’t think there’s a movement to stop “gut” opinions. People run into the problems when they start expressing intelligent opinions that make the people in power uncomfortable. That problem has little to do with race. Insecure, sneaky, devious people tend to gobble up power because they are skilled at and enjoy playing the political games that it takes to gain power.

Tillery: Why is there an absence of media culpability when stories are reported in error?

Whitlock: Because most people are way too insecure to admit when they’re wrong.

Tillery: What can be done to create more opportunities for minorities in journalism?

Whitlock: Black people have to accept the responsibility of doing the work it takes to prepare for a successful career in journalism. There’s nothing wrong with working in the sticks for a few years and building a resume. White people in management need a better understanding of what “diversity” is. It’s passionate disagreements and the ability to get over it and continue to work with the person. I’ve seen too many people have their careers ruined because the sports editor was petrified that someone offered a dissenting view.