Minority

The lack of activity on Scribe in recent days is a result of... well, a ton. Late September/early October is a rather hectic time with family obligations on top of personal & professional tasks at hand.

Fortunately for myself and all of you who come across this blog, the cupboard isn't completely bare.

Thought it's been a couple of weeks since the last link from the paper, here's something for the NFL (specifically New York Giants) fans in this week's edition of the New York Beacon (the PDF has yet to be uploaded to the site as of 9:47AM this morning):

The road show continues for Big Blue in Kansas City when they take on the 0-3 Chiefs this Sunday. Where the Buccaneers can at least say that they have veteran playmakers that can produce down the line, this once-proud AFC power can’t say the same. In Philadelphia, the Chiefs were outplayed on every facet in a 34-14 loss to an Eagles team without Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. Even without their two best offensive players, the Eagles amassed 420 yards of offense; mostly through the air as Kevin Kolb threw for 327 yards starting in place of McNabb.

Considering how Manning has been able to spread the wealth with his passing, especially in the first half, it will be interesting to see how he handles the secondary. Brandon Flowers, the impressive second-year cornerback, will most likely be assigned to Steve Smith while the taller Brandon Carr will cover Manning’s deep threat Mario Manningham (or Domenick Hixon, if his knee allows him to play after sitting out the last contest). Kansas City employs a 3-4 defensive scheme, but they have yet to show that they can put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

In addition, my latest contribution to The Norman Einsteins will be posted today.

Last month in a American football-focused edition, my debut discussed the current state of the semi-professional leagues; with much thanks again to Paul Grenada for his insights. For the October edition, coinciding with the NHL regular season openers in Europe, this article delves into what I hope becomes a conversation piece about a ghastly overlooked part of American sports; minority hockey fans.

Yes, if you just raised your eyebrows after reading those three words, they do exist. Here's a snippet, but certainly comment here about the article:

Labeled a cold weather sport that brings unwanted chills, the game’s biggest detractors aren’t just xenophobic Americans who view Canada as a punch line. Many, if not most ethnic minorities would give you a look of bewilderment if you talk about impact Jay Bouwmeester or Chris Pronger will bring to their new teams this season. “Not to be tasteless,” warned David Scott Lee, an avid puckhead from Queens, New York. “I remember a joke on the Don Imus Show where someone said hockey is racist because it’s a bunch of white men running around smacking the only black thing on the rink with sticks.”

Personally, I'm really proud of this piece because there is little information online about this growing legion of puckheads in the States. Since many people who come across Scribe are not savvy about the minutae of the games, this is something that may tickle the fancy as it's more of a cultural discussion rather than stats-heavy chatter. Even for those who have an unbridled passion for the game of hockey should take a gander with this piece as well as all of the other brilliants work on the Einsteins.

Finally, I will be away this weekend for a homecoming visit to the alma mater, some "chowda" and attempts to blackmail unsuspecting New Englanders. No guarantees that there will be any updates on the blog, but there's always the rather popular micro-blogging site you've come to love/loathe.