Deleted Scenes from "Enjoy the Show"

When writing “Enjoy the Show” for this month’s Norman Einstein’s, I reached out to a few individuals who elaborated a bit more on their appreciation for the NBA’s All-Star gala. We’ll see it live within two weeks and a few of you may be lucky enough to see it in person. Yet, here’s the full text of what the contributors had to say.

Once again, I send my most sincere thanks to Andrew Bucholtz, Patrick Truby, Jason Rawlins and Tamara Curl-Green for such on the fly, but great responses.

Jason Rawlins: The NBA does the best job with their all star weekend because basketball is the only team sport that permits for individuals to showcase their extreme talents within the flow of the game. The nature of basketball alone makes it more exciting in the all star format. We get the opportunity to see (Harlem) Globetrotteresque dishes, arcade classic NBA jam type slams, and the occasional brilliant block. All of the essentials that make the game are displayed at their highest level (minus defense) which allows for viewers to fully grasp how physically gifted these athletes are.

Can we really grasp how great an All-Star left fielder is if he gets no balls hit his way? Can we fully understand how hard a Pro Bowl running back runs if he's stopped close to the line of scrimmage for the majority of his carries? It’s only in the NBA all star game where any player who touches the ball has the opportunity to showcase their superior skills, whether with a killer crossover, low block post move footwork, or long distance shooting. As difficult as it is to hit a baseball or make a diving catch at SS, I'd rather see an easy layup pinned to the backboard or a gravity defying alley-oop. A Pro Bowl QB can have a great day connecting with a rival receiver, but since the game is at the end of the season, I couldn’t care less about AFC/NFC bragging rights. It’s only in the game of basketball where we have the chance to see every player potentially show us something that makes us think, "I wish I could do that."

Tamara Curl-Green: I'm not much of a hockey fan so I won't comment on their game. I do think that the NBA All-Star Game is more of an exhibition but I think it's unfair to discount the MLB and NFL games. In all sports, fans are much more inclined to ooh and awe over good offense. The NBA is the only league where players aren't invited for being exceptional defenders. It's the nature of pro football and also MLB that defensive players will also stand out and be selected because of their performance on defense. In that sense, it's much easier for the NBA to make it an exhibition game. On the other hand, if home court advantage was on the line, like home-field is in baseball, you'd probably see much more defense in the NBA.

That all being said, I just think it's easier for the NBA to put on an exhibition because of the nature of the game. And with that, it's easier to draw celebrities as well as fans to the weekend and get them excited because we are all sure that we're going to see a great exhibition game.

I do enjoy watching MLB All-Star events as well. Especially since the league has made an attempt to expand the weekend.


Andrew Bucholtz: For me, it's a few things that elevate the NBA All-Star Weekend above the rest. First of all, the NBA All-Star Game itself seems more faithful to the regular season than either the Pro Bowl or the NHL All-Star Game; the Pro Bowl features barely any effort and as little hitting as possible, while no one throws body checks or plays defence in the NHL game, causing 11-10 scores to be the norm. By contrast, the NBA game is reasonably similar to a regular basketball game. It still has all the traditional elements, just with more talent and a bit of a higher score than usual.

Another thing that makes the NBA game special to me is dramatically improving a player's teammates the way you do in an All-Star Game seems to have more of an impact in basketball than in the other North American sports. In baseball, so much of the game is individual that it doesn't matter all that much to your play who you're with. In hockey, stars are usually playing on the top lines, so they're generally around a fair bit of talent anyway. Significantly changing your teammates can make a big difference in football, but the lack of effort in the Pro Bowl means we don't really see the full effect of, say, Peyton Manning throwing to Andre Johnson. By comparison, the NBA's salary cap means each team is pretty much limited to one superstar and a bunch of supporting players. Having ten superstars on the floor at once isn't something we get to see apart from the All-Star Game, and it can lead to some incredible moments. NBA players also seem to care more about putting on a show in the all-star game than their counterparts in other leagues, which generally leads to a better game.

Finally, the NBA has a better lineup over the rest of the weekend than any other sport, featuring some really cool events like the dunk contest, the three-point contest, H-O-R-S-E and the rookie-sophomore game. It's not about finding out who's actually the best at basketball skills, which is the mistake the NHL's made with its skills competition. Instead, the NBA focuses on putting on an entertaining show, and that makes for a much more watchable product. There's a reason SI can put together a top-10 list like this of NBA all-star weekend moments and have the top-10 actually be memorable; I think I'd be hard-pressed to even come up with 10 things I remember from any other league's all-star weekend.


Patrick Truby: Regarding the all star games: I think the NBA has the most entertaining All Star because of how the game is played. It can function and entertain even when there is nothing at stake. Football is just dangerous, and any precautions taken to slow the game down or make it safer takes away what makes those NFL players great. Who wants to see a great pass rusher come off a block only to stop short of sacking the quarterback?

Major League Baseball is okay because, despite determining which league gets home field advantage in the World Series, the players still have a lot of fun, especially during the Home Run Derby when they all bring out their cameras and joke with each other the whole time. But the rhythm of baseball, with its stopping and starting between pitches, outs, and innings, especially without a real rivalry for fans to have a rooting interest in the game, does not make for great television. (I think MLB also lacks the personalities that made great moments like John Kruk's backward helmet possible).

The NBA All-Star Game emphasizes the more entertaining parts of the regular game that fans love, like amazing shots, fast breaks, dunks and alley-oops. Also, the players seem to have just as much fun playing as audience does watching.

What Are You, A Bunch of Einsteins? Well... Yeah

For those who haven’t caught up with the February’s edition of Norman Einstein’s Magazine (the apostrophe is key from here on out), I not only implore you to read all of the fine work, but take some time over the next few days to pore through the archives. For the unfamiliar, working with the NE has been great because there’s a strong mix of sports writing & photography (unfortunately, nothing from Stephanie Lim this month) that does well enough to preach to the converted while providing some intrigue to the agnostic.

I won’t go into a description of my venture this month, but the deleted scenes that came from it will be posted later Wednesday afternoon. However, a brief description for each of the remaining contributions:

Zac Soto has a unique Super Bowl preview; going into the divide on what we truly find great about sports. In a sense, he dares to ask if it truly is about the name on the front of the jersey – or in this case, the colors and logo of it – or the name on the back. Yet, he is providing less of a statistical breakdown compared to other sites who are salivating over Sunday’s championship and more of a description on how those stats come to be; styles, resolve, faith in the systems built by their respective organizations.

NE oracle Cian O’Day attacked the prior three weekends of the NFL postseason with a balance of analysis and poetry with varied angles. While he certainly agonized over his Packers painful, but thrilling exit, he gave each game its own fair treatment. Yet, he also took on the controversies and no-questions of the league awards, the dagger and the farewell… all from interesting bar stools and couches in the New York/New Jersey vicinity. As many former football players, there’s a different vibe in his words (played center in high school) compared to someone as myself (played running back on Madden).

Corban Goble took on a different twist in his playoff viewing this season; the son of a Packers stockholder – talk about prestigious - he had the struggle of watching both his NFL team and his college basketball love, the Kansas Jayhawks, take breathtakingly bad losses within hours of each other. He chronicles the day in a ten-year-old-fan-in-a-grown-man’s-body fashion; certainly entertaining and for those who know a similar internal battle, you’ll empathize, sympathize and… cry-a-thize.

Finally, Rough Justice as an interesting take on Lance Armstrong. He discusses the lack of awe or even respect within the American cycling community as he took a single-minded focus towards one race (the Tour de France) as opposed to ensuring a similar excellence towards several. Rough Justice also delves into the brand that he’s become; taking the Michael Jordan route to the point of even greater discontent from some.

The rest of the week may have you frazzled with work, class, bad weather and whatever challenges in your way. Feel free to give yourself some time to soak it all in and as “Rick James” would say, “enjoy yourselves. It’s a celebration…!”

January Newness on the Norman Einsteins

If you have yet to check out the video and slideshow from my last visit to the soon-to-be-parking-lot that is Giants Stadium, feel free to do so. It'll be even better with some more perspective.

In the latest edition of the Norman Einsteins, I tried to give the place a proper farewell, yet I was more compelled with the recent run through of stadium construction history here in the metropolis that is New York. Keep an eye on the 'New' part, though.

For those of you connected to this area, the changes that have taken place in the area have overwhelmed as much as they have fascinated. As someone whose family is a part of said changes in Harlem (rehabilitation of exisiting housing being one of several community initiatives my kin have lend labor, time and support to), I would have been naiive to think that only my neighborhood was the only one undergoing a makeover.

The changes in the sporting venues in the area seem to be old hat to the rest of the country and that will be explained in the article. Yet, there's a tenor to the construction here that may be unmatched because everything else around it.

Previous articles had deleted scenes, however, because the additional media came prior to the article and no one was interviewed, you'll just have to play the video on endless loop.

In the meanwhile, this week will be a big one for Scribe as the start of the site revamp will take place. You've already noticed a slight change already with the posts with the titles, but that's not even a molecule in the entire iceberg. So get hyped!

Before that, there will be some newness for The Perpetual Post as well.

Perpetual (II)

As hilarious as this Sports Illustrated photo is (and it IS hilarious), this is also the lone mention on Scribe regarding Tiger Woods' personal problems. You stay classy, Jacksonville Jaguars.

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As mentioned in previous ramblings, I've been writing a ton outside of Scribe in the last two weeks. This week was my debut with The Perpetual Post. On top of the usual chaos, there was also appearing in a podcast (which will appear soon, I hope) and writing two articles:

Allen Iverson's Return

Bud Selig's Legacy

This is a blessing, considering that at least until the start of the new year, there are going to be relatively short articles for the New York Beacon.

With TPP, I'll have the chance to discuss more basketball-related topics. It's a win-win for both sides not only do I get to write about the NBA for the first time outside of Scribe since 2006, but for TPP, there's another person on the roster that is willing to plop $170 on NBA League Pass per season.

Also, I'll add to the discourse of several different sports as well. The Selig discussion is a little more up my alley than, say, specific Winter Meeting moves. Yet, you'll see some of the same chatter with TPP that you'll see here on Scribe.

The Perpetual Post has sports as a spoke on a rather large wheel that includes news and politics, media and entertainment, culture and humor. While there's a very miniscule chance you'll see me enter those realms, there are some rather engaging conversations to be had.

While there are plenty of changes afoot for 2010 (all good ones, best believe it), it's been great to get a headstart on the new year with adding The Perpetual Post to my plate.

And now, onward to trying to figure out what will go in Issue 8 of The Norman Einsteins...

Corner (I)

Scribe interrupts this writer's block to bring you a public service announcement:

STOP TALKING ABOUT TIGER WOODS UNTIL HE REALLY DECIDES TO TALK!

STOP TALKING ABOUT TIGER WOODS!

Moving on...

Continuing the thread of a previous post, December's essay for the Norman Einsteins takes a look at the dymanics between a boxer and his/her corner during a fight.

Something notable from the Manny Pacquiao victory over Miguel Cotto was how Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago, was raked over the coals from insiders, fans and media for his lack of strategy during the fight.

An analyst on ESPNews (whose name, sadly, I cannot recall) said that fans tend to believe that once a pugilist gets in the ring, everything said by his/her corner is rendered useless. As a former boxer, he said that the corner is just as important on fight night as those members are during training camp.

I reached out to Ashley "Treasure" Theophane, a rising young welterweight out of London, to give me some insight on the dialogue that goes on between figther and trainer. Boxers of all ilks pay attention to each other's movements, especially those who straddle the same weight class.

Just as the last essay for the NE, the deleted scenes will be posted tomorrow in hopes of giving you greater context of our interview. In the meanwhile, not only do I encourage you to read my previous submissions, but observe the rest of the excellent work.

Say What?!?!: Apparently, what will become the biggest fight in boxing history has a date. Venue TBD, but it seems as if Top Rank (Pacquiao) and Golden Boy Promotions (Floyd Mayweather, Jr. via Mayweather Promotions) are really considering leaving Las Vegas for either the Lousiana Superdome or Cowboys Stadium. More on this later.

Corner (II)

Quick note: Your friendly neighborhood Scribe will be a part of a NBAToday.net Roundtable tomorrow. Hopefully, this will be second of three non-Scribe efforts you will see before the weekend arrives. Guess who feels giddy?

As the last piece for the Norman Einsteins where you got to read deeper perspectives from the interviewees, I thought you may appreciate this month's deleted scenes from "Know Your Corner". Good times, good times. Again, many thanks to Ashley Theophane for taking the time to share his insights.

Besides getting your body ready for the fight, much of training involves building a primary strategy against your opponent.

When you are training for a fight you have to get your body is supreme conditioning and building a strategy for a fight is as important. You have to focus on your own strengths but look at your opponent’s weaknesses and certain bad habits they have.

I would say it is more important to focus on what you will do in a fight but your strategy can always fail so you have to have plan B and C just in case.

Is there a point during training that you prepare for anything to go wrong? (Example; dealing with a cut that continues to bleed)

I have only had cuts in training but I have trained with some of the World’s best and none of them have done any training or prepared for a cut. Thinking of negative aspects is something we would try not to do. Your corner would just try to keep you focused on the job in hand if that happened but negative stuff is kept out of the build up as you just want to be thinking of positives and believing in yourself.

Could you describe your mentality during a bout as you are trying to concentrate on the opponent while your trainer gives instructions? Do you actually hear him shouting to you or are you too focused to hear him?

Different trainers work a corner differently. I have had Harry Keit, Francisco Guzman, Johnny Eames, Isola Akay, Lou Fosco and John Tiftek in my corner. They all have experience in big fights so what they say you would take in. If you don’t respect your trainer’s advice, he should not be in your corner.

When I go into a fight I do what I do, but if my tactics are not working, I will take on board what my corner tells me. Sometimes your trainer’s advice can be the difference between a win and a loss. George Benson was probably the best tactician of the last 100 years. He worked with some of the World’s best and read a fight like no other.

My mentality during a fight is focused on executing my strategy and looking at my opponents weaknesses and capitalizing on it.

Typically when a television camera shows a corner between rounds, the conversation is typically one-sided as the trainer and assistant (occasionally the doctor) are talking to the boxer. Have you ever found yourself wanting to engage back in order for him to understand what’s really going on in the ring?

Sometimes you want to, but you have 60 seconds and you want to relax and recuperate for the next round. Sometimes your corner might ask how you are, but there is not much time to have a conversation about tactics. The team would know what the plan is and they can see some things that you can’t, so you have to trust in their eyes.

Despite preparation leading to a bout, is there a fight in your career where truly felt that you wouldn’t have gotten through without your corner? What was it that they said or did that helped you forge through?

The fight that comes to mind is when I beat former World champion Demarus “Chop Chop” Corley. I had fought in London late June and dislocated my finger bone. So preparing for the fight with Corley was not ideal. I couldn’t use my right hand for five weeks and when I did I was in excruciating pain. I did 9 rounds sparring with World number one Dmitriy Salita and World number ten Francisco Figueroa. I broke down in one of the sessions due to the pain in my hand. I was in great shape and believed that I could win. The first two rounds I showed too much respect to Corley and I was apprehensive with my right hand, but Harry Keit and Francisco Guzman told me to show him no respect and gave me some great advice through the rounds. I ended up winning the fight and I owe a great deal to them for their great advice through the bout.

Much was made about Joe Santiago’s background prior to Miguel Cotto’s fight with Manny Pacquiao; being that he was never a fighter himself before becoming a trainer. From a fighter’s perspective, do you think someone of his background can help during the fight, despite the lack of in-ring experience?

If I am correct, the great trainer Eddie Futch was never a pro boxer, but is one of the most respected trainers of all time. (Scribe: Despite amateur success, Futch actually never fought professionally due to a heart murmur. However, he trained four of the five men that defeated Muhammad Ali) I would rather have a trainer who has been through what I have been through with training, losing weight and fightin,g but sometimes a trainer can learn through being in the gym anda,ssisting other trainers. I wouldn’t have hired him if I was Cotto but each to their own.

Piggybacking off the last question, can he have long-term success? If yes, what can help him along the way (especially as over time, trainers can gain enough trust to build a stable of fighters)?

Watching the fight. I think Cotto’s tactics where terrible. He did much better when he boxed Manny Pacquiao. When he traded he got tagged and eaten up. It will take time but if Joe Santiago is a good trainer, his stable with grow.

You’ve had tremendous successes in your career, but I can imagine that you’ve seen plenty of guys (maybe gals, too) who have hit a certain wall that impeded progress. Just as much as some trainers can make fighters, is it possible that the hard-luck guys are handled by the wrong corner men or does it all still come down to the fighter?

My career is well. I have beaten former World, English and African Champions along the way. There is still much more I can achieve. I am half way through my journey, so big fights inspire me. It has been a slow year boxing wise. Since I beat Demarcus Corley it has been hard to get fighters in the ring with me Stateside. My team has tried to get fights with Zab Judah, Juan Diaz, Carlos Quintana, and Victor Ortiz to no avail. Perseverance is the key.

I think it is all about the fighter. A trainer can add to a fighter’s game and advice him well but the fighter has to execute the plan and stay calm under pressure. Look at Jermain Taylor; he is a talented fighter but something is not there. He has always had a fitness problem and now it is all starting to take its toll. Some trainers can ruin a fighter, so it is a balance. The key is for there to be a relationship as the fighter needs to trust the trainer. If there is no trust, there is nothing.

Unbreak (II)

So for those who have not had the chance to, check out the latest contribution to the Norman Einsteins.

Because of such fantastic insights from putting this article together, I decided that it would be best to add a bit more to the conversation. I left out a ton as this piece turned into a 2500-word essay without batting an eye.

Every person share varying insights based on their upbringing and a reverence for the sports culture of the towns they represent. Here are responses of three of the questions that were asked, but were not addressed in depth in the NE article. Again, my most sincere thanks to those who responded.

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Q: For you, was there an allegiance to the nearest team in the region before the arrival of the new team? If so, could you describe the change from old to new?

Marcus: For awhile I became a Chiefs fan, especially when my favorite players, Joe Montana and Marcus Allen, joined the team. But it wasn’t the same. They weren’t OUR team and there is such a loyal sports-following tradition here in St. Louis, that I still couldn’t quite claim them wholeheartedly.

I believe our city’s enthusiasm towards football went from lukewarm to extremely high. St. Louisians are sports fans and are very loyal to their local teams.

Jones: No, because watching the NHL as a kid (post-Stars) was an angering experience. And honestly, the closest NHL team to Minnesota was Chicago and their owner (until he died last year) blacked out games. So unless it was the playoffs and the Red Wings were involved, I didn’t follow or cheer for any NHL teams. I had the Packers to fill my winter sports needs.

Law: Not really. For me the switch was from a huge fan of the Association to a Memphis Grizzlies fan, so that makes things difficult for me at times. Why should I watch the Grizzlies get bulldozed by the Sixers or some other mediocre team when I could be watching the Nuggets or Magic – a couple teams I love now, but have no allegiance to – run on national television?

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Q: Besides winning games (for those that had done so), what was it about the new team that fans gravitated to in the early days?

Marcus: For us, it was just nice to finally have a team to call our own again. We wanted to show Bill Bidwill arcus:that with proper management, we COULD have a winning football team in St. Louis. The general public understood that it would require a state of the art new stadium and we were all in favor of that.

Jones: A lot of it had to do with a return to professional hockey culture for Minnesotans. As much as we love high school and college hockey, there’s no fighting, little complexity in strategy and at a lower skill level. For the love of God, when the Wild hired Jacque Lemaire, I was excited to see a trap defense. I was excited to see a LACK of scoring!

Early on, it was like a family reunion with tens of thousands of people. We could talk NHL hockey without totally feeling like we were missing out. The hurt lingered and it still lingers, but we at least could celebrate our love of the sport played at its highest level.

Law: I don’t think there has been anything for Memphis fans to gravitate towards just yet. It’s not like basketball was some magical unknown quantity because the Tigers have always been here, so the team didn’t even really make great noise in its inaugural year. Also Pau Gasol is European and often perceived as being “soft” because he played out of position at center almost constantly while in Memphis, so he never really drew a crowd despite being an immense talent. In fact he was resented so badly that even while the Grizzlies were respectable there was very little support for the team.

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Q: For teams that experienced a lengthy slide in performance, have there been times that you were tempted to go back to the first love?

Marcus: Many St. Louisians will never forgive Bill Bidwill for moving the St. Louis Cardinals and still casually root for the Arizona Cardinals. But regardless, it does not feel the same as rooting for your very own team. Now that a team has moved away from us, we know that we are lucky to get a second chance and having a team and we don’t want to lose them.

Jones: The Wild has been mired in mediocrity for a few years and while there hasn’t been a disastrous season, I have been frustrated with a lack of organizational progress in a decade. Some of it has to do with the lockout+economy+change-in-ownership for the stalled progress, but a lot of it had to do with the former GM (Doug Riseborough) dragging his feet in free agency and trades.

But I’ve never wanted the Wild to go away or wanted to cheer for another team. Like I’ve said over and over again, I know what it’s like to have no NHL team and that prospect is too crushing to consider.

Law: No, never. It’s not hard for me because there is always a different team on national television waiting for me if I need to see some good basketball. Plus I entered fandom with full recognition that the Grizzlies were going to be bad for a long time.

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Additional insights:

Jones: The divorce analogy is thrown around a lot during these situations and while it seems cliché, there is truth to the parallels. Some break-ups are easy and you can see why it didn’t work out (like the Expos leaving Montreal), but others just rip your heart out that it leaves an indelible scar and it impacts all future relationships. So while I was excited for the Wild to play, I couldn’t (and still can’t) look at the team without thinking about those seven years without the NHL.

Law: Memphis doesn’t really uniformly support any other team since its only regional connects I can think of are Atlanta and Charlotte, who haven’t exactly had a storied past few years. The contrast is definitely between Tigers and Grizzlies fans; iIt’s kind of a rectangle-isn’t-always-a-square/square-is-always-a-rectangle type of situation. Grizzlies fans don’t really have any hate for Tigers fans, since they’re mostly drawing from the same pot. On the other hand Tigers fans tend to believe the Grizzlies are a bit of a sideshow or mockery, which might not be an undue opinion.

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Now, for those of you who have kept up with the NE essays since I started with the site in September, you recall that the prior entry to this discussed the legion of minority hockey fans within the NHL. Believe me, after going through Jones’ responses, I asked myself “where the heck was this guy last month?”

As a preface, I have always been a Wisconsin sports fan. I was born in Milwaukee and moved to Minnesota when I was a 3. But my father raised me to cheer Packers, Brewers, Bucks, Badgers, etc.

That said, hockey was and is different for me because it’s not a sport, but a religion in Minnesota. Actually, religion isn’t the correct term. It’s more like race or heritage. You can change religions. You can’t stop being African-American, Asian, Latino, etc. As a Blasian (half-black, half-Asian) boy growing up, I felt easily disconnected from my peers at school and in the neighborhood. But we always had hockey. All of that cheesy stuff in the Mighty Ducks movies rang true (except for rollerblading through the Mall of America). We’d wake up, grab our skates, rollerblades (in the summer), our stick and hit the nearest rink, pond or open space for 12 hours of hockey. I lived across the street from the park/rink so it wasn’t odd for me to wake up at 7, get some oatmeal, head over to the rink by 8 and play until dinner (and then head out to play under the lights (unless there was a Stars game that night).

Hockey indoctrinated us early. We all had the same path: pee-wee leagues from ages 4 to 10, traveling teams from 10-14, high school teams until 18, Gophers from 18-21 and the North Stars from 21 until you had too many concussions to play. Just look at the WCHA. It’s the most competitive league in college hockey, comparable to the SEC in football or Big East in basketball. Nearly half of the teams are Minnesota schools. It binds all Minnesotans, whether you’re the rich white kid from the suburbs, the poor Hmong kind from East St. Paul or the country kid from Hibbing.

This is why the North Stars move knocked the wind out of us. We sold out the Civic Center every night. We bought the merchandise. We traded stories about the Broten Brothers and Mike Modano and critiqued Jon Casey’s performance against Detroit. We didn’t just know hockey, we lived out our love every day. The expansion into the south, while expanding the sport to a new generation, has left a lot of fans in the north with a sour taste in their mouths.

I used to write sports for a weekly and I did a story on the fall of the NHL’s popularity in America. I asked an NHL spokesperson why Gary Bettman decided to push into the south at the expense of the northern fans (leaving Winnipeg, Quebec, and Minnesota for half-empty arenas in Phoenix, Nashville and Tampa Bay). His response was that the NHL has been growing in revenue. And while this is true to a certain extent, the larger-market lust crippled the diehard fan’s trust in the overall product. I spent ages 10 to 17 cheering high school and college hockey teams without an outlet in the professional ranks.

There’s a reason why hockey has died out in the television-watching public’s eye: because the NHL abandoned northern 18-34-year-old males in the ‘90s while trying to prop up franchises in cities with transient/older fanbases (Miami, Tampa and Phoenix). So when it comes to watching hockey on T.V., I and many Minnesota males my age don’t religiously watch the Wild—because we didn’t watch it growing up. We’ll follow the games online or read the papers. We’ll go to a game. But we won’t watch it on TV. I ask my friends (one of whom worked for the Wild for three years) if they go out of their way to see the Wild or prop their kids in front of the TV and watch the Wild as a family event. They tell me that while they go to games occasionally and watch a game if there’s nothing else on, it’s not like watching the Twins or Vikings, where you make an event out of it or make time to sit down and watch it. The NHL took an ardent fan base and made it casual—which is why the Xcel Center sells out every game, but the league is stuck on Versus.

Unbreak

"Unbreak my heart

say you'll love me again
Undo this hurt that you caused

when you walked out of the door

and walked out of my life

Uncry these tears

I cried so many nights

Unbreak my heart

my heart"

So what in the world does one of Toni Braxton's greatest hits have to do with Scribe?

This isn't the place to rehash her alleged role in breaking up Triple J, however, it's this song that works so well with the title of my latest Norman Einsteins contribution, "Unbreak My Heart: The Many Sides of Teams on the Move".

"Unbreak" discusses the impact of relocated franchises in their (relatively) new cities. This topic came to mind for a number of reasons, but it was mostly inspired by Michael D'Antonio's Forever Blue, a book that shined a new light on the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles and was referenced here recently. The recent ESPN "30 for 30" effort from Barry Levinson helped kick the tires a bit more as "The Band That Wouldn't Die" added another chapter to the saga of the Colts move from Baltimore to Indianapolis.

I have been amazed how often we hear about the heartbroken city and the demonized franchise as opposed to the jubilant new hosts and the newly-deified home team. Not to say that this article will suddenly open the collective fans' eyes to the realities of such decisions, but if anything, I hope it at least makes people consider the other side a bit more.

There was so much left out from this essay that I decided that a follow-up post is in order for tomorrow. Again, my most sincere thanks to the contributors.

Also, do yourself a favor and check out the rest of the sixth edition of the web magazine and always get enlightened with some of the best sports scribbles on the internet in the Rec Room.

Block

Writer's cramp, writer's block, whatever you call it, it's been killing momentum on Scribe. So, with my sincerest apologies, I ask a few favors:

1. Observe the latest poll. Not only should you vote, but please feel free to come up with your rationale on why you feel the team selected will fall short of lofty expectations in this upcoming NBA season.
   
   
2. If you are a fan of an expansion team or a relocated franchise in a relatively new market within the last 25 years, please email Scribe (asportsscribe@gmail.com) for possible assistance with a new piece for next month's Norman Einsteins.
   
   
3. Admire and laugh at these:

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.

Semi-pro

Since American football season officially begins in two days (college football kicks off on Thursday), I figured that today would be the perfect time to debut on the online monthly magazine I recommended to you last month, the Norman Einsteins.
This month's edition is football-heavy, but my article talks about a realm of the game that gets little to no attention from the pigskin faithful. Semi-professional football is probably in your backyard, but you wouldn't know it unless you asked around or did a Google/Bing/Yahoo! search.

I spoke with a fellow weekly paper scribe, Paul Grenada of the Amsterdam News, as he plays for the Brooklyn BullDawgs of the Regional American Footbal League. Once again, I thank him for his,insights as he gave me a look at who are the kinds of players who take part in these outfits. Truthfully, I wish I could have provided more, but I hope that you are all pleased with the effort.

As for the Norman Einsteins in general, I am really excited about working with its creator, Cian O'Day, as he created a rather unique outlet to illustrate the sports world. This should be a ton of fun, but not only for me, but for you as there are some interesting vantage points to the games we love.

Enjoy.

Spot

Since this is getaway day (or night) for many of you, here's a quick question: what is your favorite sports-related spot/ad/commercial so far this year?

I ask this because I was reading about the NFL's new campaign to take over our minds, bodies and souls. Here in the New York Times, representatives of both the league and Grey New York (the agency of record for the league) explain the thinking behind these new commercials.

As mentioned earlier this year in a post called Fluid, I was fascinated by a Jumpman ad that starred Richard Hamilton, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Joe Johnson. There are others of course, but none that have stuck out of the crowd as 'Field Generals'.



Well, except for this... well, I'll be fair and say that both Johan Santana and CC Sabathia did their best.



Say What?!?!: Still feeling my way through Twitter, I haven't picked up on Follow Friday just yet. However, I recommend that you all check out the Norman Einsteins, an online monthly magazine from Cian O'Day. It takes a unique look into sports with various writers and photographers. I am looking forward to doing some work for the site in the future, but here is this month's edition. Enjoy yourselves.