by John Walters
A More Than Happy 89th to the World’s Most Interesting Sportsman, Bud Grant
NBA champion. NFL wide receiver. Winner of five Grey Cups as a CFL coach. Took the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowls. World War II veteran. Former teammate of George Mikan and Chuck Bednarik. Has lived in the same home for 50 years. Ohhhhh, Mr. Grant!
Starting Five
Why can’t we be friends, Susie B? Why can’t we be friends?
1 Above and Beyond
That’s 10 in a row for the Cavaliers after bumping Toronto 108-89 last night. The Raptors again kept it close for one quarter. There was one play where a Raptor attempted a three from the deep corner, right in front of Cleveland’s bench, and as he did three Cav benchwarmers stood up behind him and enthusiastically waved their arms and shouted (with big grins on their faces).
The shot missed wildly.
I tried to imagine that scene happening with David Blatt as coach. Give Tryonn “STFU, I Got This” Lue credit. This team seems much happier and together under him. It’s less Lord of the Flies than it is Stripes after Sgt. Hulka died (did he die or was he just incapacitated? I forget).
David Blatt: 30-11 this year with the Cavs.
Luke Walton: 39-4 this year with the Dubs.
Both their teams should make the NBA Finals, and neither will be the coach of those teams when they do.
2. The Daily Harrumph! (“Redskin, please”)
Random Thought after taking on PC Bros on Twitter yesterday (which I chose not to post on Twitter): “I grew up in a country where you were considered prejudiced if you treated people differently based on the color of their skin. Now I live in a country where you are considered prejudiced if you don’t treat people differently based on their color of their skin.”
(Should I post this on Twitter? What do you think?)
So the Washington Post released a survey/poll of 504 Native Americans nationwide and found that 9 of 10 were NOT offended by the NFL team’s use of the word “Redskins.”
Surprise.
Slow news day. And this was like catnip to my friends Bomani and Clay, albeit on polar opposite sides of this dispute.
In 1988-89 I was a chemistry teacher/basketball coach/dorm moderator at Saint Catherine Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which taught Native American students grade 7-12. I lived with NAs (for the purposes of brevity) day in and day out. My firsthand experience (which apparently is not enough on Twitter) was that not only were my students not offended by “Redskins,” but that the Redskins were by far their favorite team.
I’ll need a judge’s ruling on whether it’s okay for one Native American to call another Native American “Redskin.”
Is the word racist? In a strict sense, of course it is. But all the PC Gang who came at me on Twitter yesterday for sharing what I just did (“White privilege!” “I have friends who are…”), even though they themselves have no personal experience with NAs, couldn’t tell you what BLM stands for or what a feast day or a pueblo is, etc., they’re all missing the point. For many NAs, seeing that face on that helmet is validation that American culture has not passed them by. You and your Trader Joe’s Liberal pals may think that’s warped, but before you patronize a people you don’t know or understand, maybe ask them how they feel.
I know he was making a point at the time, but I laughed. When did everyone lose their senses of humor? Was it before or after REM’s “Everybody Hurts?”
Am I defending the use of the word Redskins by Daniel Snyder? Not at all. I’ve covered this topic in depth in the past. All I’m saying, from someone who’s had far more exposure to NAs than most anyone who follows me on Twitter, is that the results of that poll did not surprise me one bit. And that, c’mon, after all, isn’t the really offensive thing the usurping of these peoples’ lands and their way of life?
3. The World Is Not Enough
Craig’s refusal has left the Bond franchise shaken, not stirred (I know, too easy)
Actor Daniel Craig, who has played James Bond in the past 007 films, has reportedly turned down $100 million to star in two more. That’s a lot of money, penny. But as the British actor told one interviewer last year, “I’d rather break this glass and slit my wrists” than star in another Bond film.
So I guess that leaves the door wide open for Ricky Gervais.
4.Goo Goo Goo (Gurgle, Gurgle) Joob
Man, you’ve been a naughty boy/You let your face grow long
At the Xixiakou Wildlife Park in northeast China, a walrus killed his trainer and a tourist by hugging them and dragging them underwater to drown them, which was definitely not part of the act. The walrus was actually just trying to be friendly (or so his defense attorney says).
The tourist was walking along a path above the walrus’ enslcosure, one that has no barrier, and fell into the water. The trainer jumped in to save him. The walrus, so happy to finally have someone to play with, was a little over-exuberant. Perhaps.
(Here is where someone adds a politically incorrect line about how will the world ever survive with two less Chinese people?)
5. Hot In Herre
According to scientists (what do they know?), the Earth broke a monthly heat record for the 12th consecutive month. When you consider that there are 12 months in a year, and correct me if I’m wrong, that would mean that the hottest month on record for each month in recorded history has happened within the last year.
Also, India, a country that in 10 years is projected to have the world’s largest population, set a record yesterday with its hottest day ever, 123.8 degrees.
Music 101
White Winter Hymnal
It was Fleet Foxes who wrote and recorded this modern classic in 2008, but six years later the a cappella group Pentatonix covered it for a Christmas album. This video has gotten nearly 26 million views, or nearly twice as many as the Fleet Foxes’ video, which is actually one of the last really creative music videos in (this guy’s) memory.
and here’s the Seattle band’s. Don’t overanalyze what the song means or why it gets stuck in your head and never leaves. It just does. And it’s the perfect a cappella song, too, written just as that phenomenon was taking off.
Remote Patrol
Game 4: Penguins at Lightning
NBC Sports Net 8 p.m.
Thunderbolts and lightning? Very, very frightening.
Penguins and Lightning? Not as scary. Pittsburgh leads 2 games to 1.