Two Basketpolitics Items
In the new Era of Obama the intersection of basketball and politics is going to be a hot area, and I intend to keep it covered. First, from The LA Times, “Magic Johnson says Lakers need to have an Obama-like mind-set”. Specifically:
Johnson had come to talk at halftime of the Lakers-Clippers game about how he and his wife, Cookie, cried when hearing that Barack Obama had become the president-elect Tuesday night and would become the first African American to hold the highest office in the United States. [...] Johnson spoke about how Obama was competitive from playing basketball and how he has that fire that burns deep inside.
Note that the Lakers actually have a pretty white team in the scheme of things, though Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza being back from injury should mean less Luke Walton than we saw last year. And then there’s this from The New York Times:
As for sports, the big question is whether the new president will install a basketball court at the White House. President Bush had T-ball games; will Mr. Obama bring B-ball to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? There are still 75 days to go until Inauguration Day, but members of the Washington Wizards, the city’s N.B.A. team, are already dreaming.
“I want to play Obama one-on-one,” Andray Blatche, the Wizards’ 6’11” forward, declared after practice the other day. His teammate Caron Butler jumped in: “It’d be nice to go out there, shoot around with him, tour the White House.”
As the ninth most important person in America, my official transition advice is that if Obama wants to hang out with Wizards, the guy who was arrested for soliciting prostitutes probably isn’t the best bet. Conversely, considering the Wizards’ 0-3 start, playing a man in his forties might be their best option.
54 Responses to “Two Basketpolitics Items”
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November 6th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
“Conversely, considering the Wizards’ 0-3 start, playing a man in his forties might be their best option.”
BAM! That hit the target. Good stuff.
Romney in 2012!
November 6th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Re Matthew’s comment “Conversely, considering the Wizards’ 0-3 start, playing a man in his forties might be their best option.”
——–
Damm. Matthew has a MEAN streak.
I like that in a person.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I think freedarko beat you to it quite some time ago…
November 6th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
He’s shown he can go to the right or left as the situation dictates, but he’s got no shot.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
You need to adjust your Magic-speak interpreter: Johnson clearly wanted the Lakers to make more use of Odom, who has that same hopeful-in-the-face-of-adversity personality as Obama.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Celtics players have been pushing Obama in the local media for a while now, with the exception of one (think worst player in basketball with red hair).
November 6th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I don’t normally get too excited with celebrities and athletes going political, but I do like LeBron’s recent break with the MJ/Tiger mold of being more apolitical than a six-year-old. Not that he’s writing op-eds or anything (I think the extent of his Obama support thus far includes meeting him, wearing a shirt with his face on it, and holding some rally with Jay-Z in Cleveland), but at least his concerns go slightly beyond the feelings of shoe-buyers.
Then again, it problably makes business sense for a man who wants to be a global icon to associate himself with a president the rest of the world kinda digs.
Also, Carmelo wanted to score 44 last night.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
What, no comment on Mayor KJ? A former NBA player who’s a socially liberal Democrat (against Prop 8!) and big on inner-city school reform? I would think Matthew would want to quit his job and go work for him. Sac Town ain’t that bad, if you don’t mind a little heat.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Also, Carmelo wanted to score 44 last night.
Too bad he ran up against the defensive juggernaut of your ‘08-’09 Warriors.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I do like LeBron’s recent break with the MJ/Tiger mold of being more apolitical than a six-year-old.
Wrong again, liberal media!
November 6th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
How could you do this post and not mention that his Brother in Law is the coach at Oregon State?
Here is a nice bit on how he spent election day:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2008/11/osus_robinson_had_best_seat_po.html
November 6th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Hey Matt! This post got linked from TrueHoop, Henry Abbot’s blog at espn.com:
http://myespn.go.com/nba/truehoop
I love it when two of my favorite (unrelated) blogs collide.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
During the winter they can play some hockey on the south lawn, and of course invite the Gov. of Alaska (is that part of North America?) to come….. and maybe Todd can bring his dogsled, eh?
November 6th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Also, Carmelo wanted to score 44 last night.
And instead of President-Elect Obama, it was Woodrow Wilson (28), George H.W. Bush (41), Jenna Bush (49) and Melia Obama (55) that were honored.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I think President Obama should at least start opening the NBA season by taking the ceremonial first 3-pointer of the season.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
“As the ninth most important person in America, my official transition advice is that if Obama wants to hang out with Wizards, the guy who was arrested for soliciting prostitutes probably isn’t the best bet. Conversely, considering the Wizards’ 0-3 start, playing a man in his forties might be their best option.”
Look, consorting with working women, consorting with Bill Ayers, we shouldn’t judge folks by associations they make at the beginnings of their careers. Andray is a good kid.
But before working Barack into the rotation, Ernie Grunfeld still has to answer for letting Roger Mason Jr go…
—–
“Also, Carmelo wanted to score 44 last night.”
The irony, of course, being that he ended up honoring Woodrow Wilson instead of Obama, probably the most openly hostile President to African Americans in our entire history.
Can we get Chauncey to finally show up for his physical so Bubbachuck can play? Yes we can.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
“Hey Matt! This post got linked from TrueHoop, Henry Abbot’s blog at espn.com”
Kevin Arnovitz wrote the link, not Henry Abbot.
Kevin Arnovitz : Henry Abbot :: LeBron James : DeShawn Stevenson.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
The irony, of course, being that he ended up honoring Woodrow Wilson instead of Obama, probably the most openly hostile President to African Americans in our entire history.
I don’t know much about Wilson, but he’d have a lot of competition for “most openly hostile President to African Americans”. Remember, quite a few of our Presidents owned slaves and a bunch more rode into office on waves of racial animosity.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
And since we’re talking espn, can we get some over/under action on the time before Bill Simmons’ column on the Iverson trade comes out, considering that writing it will force Bill to consider the rise of a potent conference rival to his beloved new Celtics dynasty, and that he will thus want to procrastinate? I’d set the line at 5.5 days…
November 6th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
>> Romney in 2012!
> He’s shown he can go to the right or left as the situation dictates, but he’s got no shot.
ROFL!! Very nice. – elgin
November 6th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Hey, if the Yankees can have celebrities take an at bat like Billy Crystal, why not throw Obama into a wizards game for a posession? It would be awesome, and drive a ton of attention to the team. They could even run an iso for him.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
“I don’t know much about Wilson, but he’d have a lot of competition for “most openly hostile President to African Americans”. Remember, quite a few of our Presidents … rode into office on waves of racial animosity.”
Against African-Americans, not so much.
Oddly, the Presidency has been an oasis from overtly George Wallace-type politics throughout our history, with Wilson being somewhat notable by exception.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
“You need to adjust your Magic-speak interpreter: Johnson clearly wanted the Lakers to make more use of Odom, who has that same hopeful-in-the-face-of-adversity personality as Obama.”
I’m not sure I follow. Obama can knock down the 3pt shot.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Petey’s right about Wilson. Yes, there were slave-owning presidents, but they weren’t any more racist than the average upper-class white man of the time and place. Wilson was actually notably racist for early-20th-Century America, a real, live Klansman who set the cause of civil rights back significantly.
On top of that, he did more harm to the 1st Amendment than pretty much any president I can think of, actually throwing dissidents in jail and so on. Just a first-class asshole and a terrible president, like Dubya-class bad.
Petey, if Simmons is going to consider the Pistons some new rival to the Celtics, he’d have to think that exchanging Billups for Iverson makes them a better team. I don’t know what Simmons thinks, but I don’t think it makes them better, and I’m no Celtics homer.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Oh, and I almost forgot: Viva Brandon Wright! Now if Nellie would just play Anthony Randolph I’d be a happy man.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
“Petey, if Simmons is going to consider the Pistons some new rival to the Celtics, he’d have to think that exchanging Billups for Iverson makes them a better team. I don’t know what Simmons thinks, but I don’t think it makes them better, and I’m no Celtics homer.”
Who knows how it’s going to work out, but before the trade, the Pistons weren’t getting out of the East this year minus serious injuries to their competitors and/or a huge amount of luck. And now they’ve got a real shot at beating anyone.
I’m worried that Iverson never got in shape this summer because he was planning on staging a blue flu this year and thus, along with advancing age, he is especially susceptible to injury. But if he can survive the wear and tear, the Pistons are going to be seriously bad-ass next spring.
It’s simply the best roster he’s ever been part of, and he still can ball.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Against African-Americans, not so much.
You’re right, the Southern Strategy and “welfare queens driving Cadillacs” had nothing to do with African Americans. Racism wasn’t the only thing putting Republicans in the Whitehouse in the second half of the 20th century, but it was definitely a regular part of their political arsenal.
Yes, there were slave-owning presidents, but they weren’t any more racist than the average upper-class white man of the time and place. Wilson was actually notably racist for early-20th-Century America, a real, live Klansman who set the cause of civil rights back significant.
Thanks for the (much-needed) history lesson, but I think that the question of “who’s the most racist” is still an open-ended one with lots of interesting sub-questions about historical moral relativism.
Viva Brandon Wright!
I only caught the first half of the game last night, but wasn’t it amazing? It felt like some sort of acrobatic-Globetrotters vs the Globetrotters-And1 tournament (in a good way). Between the flight of the Birdman, ‘Buke’s nasty block, SJ’s calm confidence, and the horrible defense all around, it was a thoroughly enjoyable game.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
“Oh, and I almost forgot: Viva Brandon Wright! Now if Nellie would just play Anthony Randolph I’d be a happy man.”
Nellie just put the youngster out there to tease you. Now that Wright kicked some ass, it’s back to the bench until mid-March. After all, Nellie has to play Harrington for 48mpg to so tire him out so that by New Years Day Harrington is embarrassing himself on a nightly basis and Nellie can look good.
Also, rumor has it that Nellie is going to re-re-sign Chris Webber so he can cut Biedrins’ minutes in half.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
“You’re right, the Southern Strategy and “welfare queens driving Cadillacs” had nothing to do with African Americans.”
The post-LBJ GOP Presidents have tried to do a delicate dance of attracting racist support without openly breaking with civil rights goals.
Some of Reagan’s rhetoric and policy came closest to Bilbo-ism that we’ve seen around the Oval Office outside of Wilson, but Reagan also did things like promoting Colin Powell up to prominence, which isn’t a dance Woodrow Wilson would have engaged in.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Nellie has to play Harrington just enough that he has a few good games and someone wants to trade for him, but not so much that he plays really well and the Warriors stop trying to trade him.
I’m very much in the Tim Kawakami camp on this. I love Nellie. He’s a great coach. He made this team over the last 2 years. He’s the only coach that could have gotten them past Dallas and gotten such a superb performance out of them in the 7th through 79th games of last season (remember, they started 0-6 without Capt Jack and then they folded in the last week). But Nellie is not a great coach to rebuild with. He wants to win too much, and he wants to reward “his guys” rather than develop young talent.
I’m still glad he re-signed, though. He’s a great guy to have around, the most honest coach in the NBA, and he knows this is a player’s league. And the Warriors will always be watchable with him coaching. I’d love for the Warriors to be a contender, but I really just want them to be fun to watch. Without Nellie we could revert back to the inter-Nellie years. Just brutal.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
“I’m still glad (Nellie) re-signed, though. He’s a great guy to have around”
The fish rots from the head, and Nellie ain’t the head in the case of the Warriors.
Kawakami is nicely on the case.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
You know, until the whole Monta thing I had no idea who this team president asshole was (can’t even remember his name now, and I have no desire to look it up). I always thought Mully called the shots unless Cohan wanted to pull rank. Obviously Mullin is toast before too long, but this is a bad sign for the franchise. They need a basketball guy in charge of the basketball stuff. Mullin isn’t the greatest GM in the world, but he’s far from the worst. He’s made some crappy decisions, but he got Baron, he got Nellie, and he made the trade with Indiana. Plus some nice low draft picks: Monta, Biedrins, and probably Wright and Anthony.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Wait, obviously Wright wasn’t a low draft pick. You get my point.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Steves, the guy you don’t want to think about is Robert Rowell. Also, does a lottery pick count as a “low pick” re: Randolph?
Tim Kawakami is a moron, and I really can’t stand his writing style. His hoops reporting might be ok, but the idiocy of his baseball opinions makes me doubt his worth.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:55 am
That’s too bad — I don’t read Kawakami on baseball, because I don’t give a shit about Bay Area baseball teams. Is he a Joe Morgan-class dumbshit? That would be disappointing. His hoops reporting is excellent — he gets great stuff out of Nellie and Mullin. His analysis is pretty decent.
Randolph was a low lottery pick, and if he’s as good as I hope he’s going to be, that will seem like a low pick for him.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Yeah, what’s up with no mention of Kevin Johnson, the new mayor-elect of Sacramento?
November 7th, 2008 at 7:42 am
hope that you keep reporting and following up on this issue. I signed the petition because I can’t think of anything that is more important to the long-term health of our country, our environment, and our economy than a smart transportation policy, and especially
November 7th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
“hope that you keep reporting and following up on this issue.”
I think the sexshop bot makes an extremely cromulent point.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Let me rein in my hyperbole: TK is a rather head-slapping combination of the Morgan school and the more statsy school of baseball discourse. An example of the former was when he declared right after the All Star break that the AL East-leading Rays wouldn’t be able to close out the division because “it [wasn't] their time.” On the other hand, he got rightly apoplectic with how Bruce Bochy unnecessarily extended Lincecum for a late-season Cy Young push (though he didn’t mention anything like PAP). My real problem with him (from an analytical standpoint — I find his writing style lazy) is that he harbors maddeningly Morganesque tendencies even though he approaches some things from a moderately statsy angle. (In my less charitable moments, I’d say he hides his stupidity in sabr-sounding smoke.)
November 7th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Fair enough. He’s not the most brilliant basketball analyst either, but he’s a great reporter. That stuff about Rowell firing Mullin’s right-hand man was frightening.
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