Trashing Flyers Fans?

The Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Washington Capitals for game three of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The Flyers team initially seemed inspired by the emotional pre-game tribute to the late owner Ed Snider and scored within the first minute of play at the Wells Fargo Center.  But then the momentum stopped for the Orange Crush, which brought out the worst in unhappy Flyers fans.

As the Flyers descended to an eventual 6-1 rout by the Capitals, Flyer fans got unruly. The towards the end of the game, giveaway bracelets began to pelt the ice and even hit Capital players on the bench. Despite the entreaties of  P.A. announcer Lou Nolan, the Philadelphia Flyers were assessed a bench minor penalty for delay of game as the shovel brigade worked to clear the playing surface from debris from pissed off fans.

Red Wings Head Ice Manager Al Sobatka

The Detroit Red Wings have to temper their fans enthusiasm in the playoffs but from the other end of the spectrum. A tradition started in 1952 that enthusiastic fans threw an octopus on the ice symbolizing the eight games that were needed to win the Stanley Cup at that time. In the 1980s, Red Wings fans tossed larger and larger cephalopods weighing 38 and 50 pounds.  The head ice manager would twirl the octopi above his head as he walked to the Zamboni.  The NHL tried to curtail this practice but the league relented after the hue and cry from fans in Octopus-gate.

Philadelphia Flyers fans are renowned for their fierce fanaticism. This seemingly reflects the region (as Veterans' Stadium had  a court and jail for rowdy football fans).  It is not surprising that Flyers fans emulate their team's legend.  During their heyday in the 1970s, the Flyers were known as the Broad Street Bullies. Their fans revel at intimidating and insulting their bete noirs.

To some extent, this fanaticism is admirable.  But it can be a vein for irascible and unmerited anger. Cheering injured players, taunting "traitors" (players now playing for opposing teams), attacking players in the penalty box,  booing Sarah Palin ceremonial puck drop and they even booed Santa Claus.  But what cemented the conceit of classlessness happened several years ago when a PSA played on the Jumbotron featuring several NHL stars in an anti-cancer spot.  The crowd booed because the anti-cancer ad featured it featured Penguin's star Norm Crosby et ali.

There is no particular desire for a unrepentant rivalry in the District of Calamity with the City of Brotherly Love. But it seems ashamed that Flyers fans projected their frustration being three games behind in the playoffs by trashing the ice and endangering players with their projectiles. It seems that Lord Stanley might not want a cheese steak this season.

At a rally prior to the start of the series, I met a woman who was former military fully rockin' the red (including a red coif) who was driving up to the game in Philadelphia with a friend who is a big Flyers fan who was on shore leave.  I shudder at the mood on the ride home based upon the behavior displayed at the arena. 

On Leaders, Liars and Links

As Anthony Anderson intimated on Late Night with Seth Meyers, it is not unexpected that golf course Landlords get better lies. Yet Trump thinks that it has something to do with his...hands.




You know what they say about guys who cheat at golf.

Joe Garagiola on Baseball

Joe Garagiola, a major league baseball player who evolved into a long broadcasting career at the age of 90.  Garagiola was a journeyman catcher who played for nine seasons in the majors for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants.  After his retirement from baseball, Garagiola wrote the book "Baseball is a Funny Game" (1960).  That helped launch his broadcast career.

But Garagiola was better known as the backstop panelist for NBC's Today show from 1967 to 1982 and 1990 to 1992. Garagiola also did play by play and color commentary  for NBC Sports baseball telecasts from 1974 to 1988.  Garagiola then spent a season doing cable commentary for the California Angels.  Afterwards, Garagiola did part time commentary for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2012 while his son was general manager for the Diamondbacks.  

All together, Garagiola broadcast for 35 years over seven decades.  No wonder why Garagiola was honored with the Ford Frick Award and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York in 1991.

Keeping to his lighthearted take on life, Garagiola quipped that the only way that he could get into Cooperstown was as a broadcaster.

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ESPN Sports Cuban Propaganda

One of the reasons why sports is a popular pastime among Americans is because it has tended to be non-partisan. It is news which mentally reconnects aged athletes back to their glory days, while stoking local loyalties and friendly rivalries and forgetting the tumult of news from the "real world".

Unfortunately, the trend in the media has been to politicize everything, including sports news.  More than seeing sports through a lens of political correctness, the sports media has segued into political propaganda. 

A case in point was a ESPN Sportscenter social media sharing in regards to President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba after 55 years of bilateral hostility.

ESPN authorized a Tweet which whitewashed the brutality of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's communist regime by promoting propaganda that Fidel was a sports fan. 

After a couple of hours of consternation, ESPN withdrew the post, but the damage was done by humanizing the despot. One of the reasons that Cubans believe that they won their long standoff with the United States is because of Fidel's romancing the American press. 

It may be true that Fidel is a big sports fan.  Fidel even yearned to play for the Yanquis in his youth. But ESPN featuring such factoids during a controversial trip to Cuba by President Barack Obama amounts to propaganda. 

To give a truer picture of the sporting Castro, it is important to understand how Fidel Castro used sports as a weapon to enforce his communist ideology.



A more accurate picture of Fidel Castro's sporting sense is captured by hitting the links with the bloody revolutionary Che Guevara. 

[L] Che Guevara [R] Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro

It is dubious that Che's favorite sport was golf.  More likely it was coaching firing squads.

Johnny Manziel on Football

Giving a Flying Flip About NFL Coin Tosses

The NFC divisional playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals was marred by a botched overtime coin toss.

After the referee first tossed the coin, it appeared that the Packers won it as they had called heads.  The ref then voided the first toss as the coin had not flipped.  On the second attempt, the coin landed tails and the Cardinals took the ball.  

Arizona won the game 26-20 in overtime.  The Cardinals will be traveling the Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers.

R.I.P Meadowlark Lemon: Athlete; Entertainer; Evangelist

Basketball legend Meadowlark Lemon died at age 83 in Scottdale, Arizona on December 27, 2015.  Lemon was the court jester of the Harlem Globetrotters for 22 seasons before venturing off to play for the Bucketeers, then later with the Shooting Stars and in 1988 starting "Meadowlark Lemon's All Stars".  In 1994, Lemon played 50 games for the Harlem Globetrotters while still playing for his own touring team.

In Meadowlark Lemon's prime, he played 325 games a year. After missing one game in Germany after a bad meal of goulash in 1955,  Lemon played  7,500 consecutive games for the Harlem Globetrotters, which was the equivalent of 92 NBA seasons. But Lemon was known for more than his perfect attendance on the courts.   

Wilt Chamberlain played with Meadowlark Lemon for the 1958-59 season on the Harlem Globetrotters.  Wilt Chamberlain lauded Lemom shortly before his Wilt's death in 1999:  “Meadowlark was the most sensational, awesome, incredible basketball player I've ever seen.  People would say it would be Dr. J or even [Michael] Jordan. For me it would be Meadowlark Lemon.”  Lemon could make unbelievable behind the back half-court baskets and was known for his long range hook shot. 

Supplementing his superior skill set at basketball fundamentals, Meadowlark Lemon was a showman.  He enthusiastically embraced being the "Clown Prince" of basketball, by doing a regular shtick of throwing a bucket-full of confetti and pulling down the pants of referees.  Meadowlark Lemon was inducted into both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the International Clown Hall of Fame. 

Aside from being an athlete and an entertainer, Meadowlark Lemon had a spiritual side.  Lemon became an ordained minister in 1986 and a Doctor of Divinity in 1988 from Vision International University.  Along with his second wife Dr. Cynthia Lemon, he founded  Meadowlark Lemon Ministries with a mission "Changing lives to change the world" by   leveraging his books, media, evangelical outreach along with Camp Meadowlark basketball camp as inspiration to stay focused and finish strong message aimed at keep kids away from the path of substance abuse. 

Meadowlark Lemon Ministries has a special outreach to youths in detention facilities and prisons.  Meadowlark's message to these troubled souls is that you are not alone, you are uniquely special, God has great plans for you and you are forgiven. 

Through his excellence on the courts and comedy, Meadowlark Lemon could entertain and elevate his fans.  Parlaying his successes on the court to his ministry, Meadowlark Lemon helped elevate himself and others to a higher level. Rest In Peace Clown Prince of Basketball. 

Midshipmen Alternate Football Uniforms-- Damn the Torpedoes!

During the annual Army Navy game, the Midshipmen will be donning their alternate uniform helmets which are replete with meaning.  Each of the seven types of hand painted helmets depict the player's position. 

• Linebacker: Cruiser- Provides anti-air defense and packs the biggest punch of Naval surface ships representative of the linebackers on the Navy football team.

• Defensive Back: Destroyer- Known for significant fire power, speed, and anti-missile defense as are Navy's defensive backs.

• Wide Receiver: Submarine- Predominantly utilized as blockers, wide receivers play a key role in driving the Navy rush attack, taking on a stealth-like persona as they blend into the rhythm of the offense but bring significant fire power when called upon, just like a Naval submarine.

• Lineman: Amphibious Assault Ships- Just as a lineman's job is the create a hole for a running back or linebacker, these ships are utilized to establish the "beach head" that enables the invading force to gain access and ultimately accomplish their objective.

• Quarterback: Aircraft Carrier- The QB of the Naval Fleet, the aircraft carrier is the ultimate decision maker; the "quick strike" weapon of the Naval fleet.

• Running Back: Littoral Combat Ship- Like running backs, these fast and nimble ships can navigate through both crowded shallow and deep waters.

• Kicker/Special Teams: Minesweeper- Much like the specific task of the Navy special teams, this small ship has a unique mission of identifying and eliminating mines.

In addition, the rally cry "Damn the torpedoes!" from Admiral Farragut's victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864 is featured on the player's gloves. 

Roger Staubach on "The Extra Mile"

The annual Army-Navy game is the last game of the college football regular season.  It is an over a century old rivalry between two military academies.

During the first half of the 20th Century, the Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights were in contention for the national championships.  However, nowadays the five year commitments which academy athletes make to their armed service makes professional sports players about as rare as a rocking horse's manure. Yet players give their all for this annual match-up.  They are inspired to go the extra mile.

Groucho Marx on Kansas CIty

Congratulations to the Kansas City Royals for winning their first World Series in 30 years in decisive fashion in five games against the New York Mets. 

As an inveterate New Yorker from birth, it is likely that Groucho would mark the Royal victory with a Bronx cheer for K.C.

Double Amputee Defensive Lineman's Drive Motivates Team

Joe Martel III is a 14 year old freshman who made the Beggs (Oklahoma) High School Golden Demons football team.  What makes him unique is that Martel is a double amputee.  Martel was born without shin bone. To treat the tibal hemimelia, Martel's legs were amputated at age 1 1/2.  

However Martel has never let a couple of missing limbs keep him from his love of sports, especially football.  As a pee-wee player, Martel would put Koosies on his stumps as padding while out on the field.  When playing games, Martel can put on prosthetic limbs, but in practice, particularly when rushing up and down the stands, he hurls himself up bleachers without them.  

Martel's Football coach Lee Blankenship rightly points to Martel's example,  not only for overcoming his handicap, but for his work ethic and positive attitude.

So often sports can be diminished into statistics or win-loss records.  Joe Martel III highlights how determination, drive and disposition can be inspirational. 

h/t: The Root

Huge Hype Miscue for Fox Soccer?

In order to promote the US versus Mexico men's soccer match, Fox Soccer superimposed images of prior international games between the teams with selected speeches by 2016 Republican Presidential Donald Trump.




There was adverse reaction on social media to this Trump pump up video.

Reliably liberal sources like the Huffington Post vexed that Donald Trump is not a proper representation of American Patriotism and worry that it might inspire xenophobic fan chants worse than "dos a cero" (referring to Mexican losses in international matches against the US).

But such knee jerk liberalism ignores the inspiration of the Fox Soccer ad.  In September TV Azteca produced a pump up Mexican Soccer video which exploited more sharped edged Trump-isms on Mexicans.




 It would seem that some trolls on social media and the Lamestream Media can not take tongue in cheek hype and worry about how America is perceived in the world.

Perhaps a more soothing  and politically correct portrayal of American patriotism today is conveyed by President Barack Obama bicycling.

Iranian "Womens'" Soccer Team -- What a Farsi (sic)!

Al Arabiya reported that eight members of the Iranian Women's Soccer team are not actually woman and having been playing on the national team without a sex change operation. Some of those cited played their entire career as men but only revealed their gender on their last day of duty. Seven players were terminated because of this controversy. 

This is not the first time that the Iranian women's team has been over-inclusive in their team make up.  In 2014, when the Iranian governing soccer body started gender testing, it was revealed that four players on the women's national team were men awaiting sex change operations. 

The Iranian womens' soccer team is renowned for wearing a modified hijab when they are on the pitch.  FIFA banned the Iranian Womens' team in 2011 as the international body deemed the headscarf unsafe.  Perhaps.  But headwear certainly helped hide these sporting Tootsies.

Ironically, the Iranian Women's soccer team has experienced troubled fielding legitimate women soccer stars abroad.  Last month, standout player Niloufar Ardalan was stopped from traveling to Malaysia for a match by her husband who wanted his wife to follow sharia law by staying home and caring for her child. 

Aside from the jocular grotequeries of the Iranian Womens' Soccer team farce, this brings up several ancillary meta-issues.  President Obama made an Executive Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran over Nuclear Arms.  Many questioned provisions which allow the Iranians to self inspect, citing their history of cheating.  The multiple malfeasance by the Iranian Womens' soccer team does nothing to dissuade this perception of Persian prevarications. 

Secondly, the number of Iranian Womens' Soccer players who are supposedly having sex change operation calls into question transgender issues.  While operations may mutilate genitlia to mimic the female body features, does it really change someone's genetics.  In the wake of Bruce "Call Me Cait" Jenner's rollout, questioning this scientific fact can bring a civil discussion to blows.  

Last year, MMA fighter  Tamikka Brents reacted to her Technical Knock Out by transgendered athlete Fallon Fox (ne Boyd Burton).  Brents opined:  

I’ve fought a lot of women and have never felt the strength that I felt in a fight as I did that night. I can’t answer whether it’s because she was born a man or not because I’m not a doctor. I can only say, I’ve never felt so overpowered ever in my life and I am an abnormally strong female in my own right. Her grip was different, I could usually move around in the clinch against other females but couldn’t move at all in Fox’s clinch…

Some say this is just sour grapes after being TKO'ed. Perhaps.  But does a sex change operation change a person's skeletal and muscular structure? Of course not. This XY advantage becomes more evident in combat sports like Mixed Martial Arts, boxing and wrestling.

Lately, the political news has been abuzz over politically incorrect comments made by Republican Presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson about how he could never support an unreserved Islamist for President.  Liberals lambasted the proud non-politician candidate as being a racist (which incorrectly presupposes that Islam is a race).  But the crux of the matter is that an Islamist adheres to sharia, a holistic religious, cultural and political legal system which  supersedes any existing secular law.  

Part of sharia allows for taqiyya, deception to advance one's aims by cheating.  It is sad to wonder if the Iranian "Womens'" Soccer team had to cheat to try to win, but the hijabs seem to do more than protect a woman's female honor on the field.  What a Farsi (sic)!

Senator Ted Cruz's Sporting Analogy About the Republican Leadership

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) gave a blistering hour long speech on the Senate floor pertaining to procedural votes which set the stage for passing a "Clean" C.R. (Continuing Resolution).

To illustrate how Republican Congressional Leadership is acting like the Surrender Caucus in allowing full funding for President Obama's unwise and extra-constitutional actions with Obamacare, Executive Amnesty and the Iran Nuke Deal, Senator Cruz resorted to a football analogy. 

Senator Cruz has not endeared himself with his colleagues for calling them out on show votes which are meaningless but letting government growth legislation pass without objection. But if Cruz can successfully convey this Congressional Kabuki show to primary voters, he may score with frustrated populists, Tea Party Conservatives and RON Paulesque "conservatarians".  

Viking Mascot Ragnar Cut from Field After Daring Danegeld Demand

After representing the Minnesota Vikings since 1994 by entertaining fans at home games, Joe Juranitch found himself at home on game day.  However, his forlorn Facebook posting was more than a bit disingenuous.  The human mascot who used to ride a purple motorcycle to lead the Vikings out on the field was cut because his danegeld was too outrageous. 

Danegeld was a tribute payment  by the English and French from the nineth to eleventh century AD to prevent marauding by Vikings.  In Juranitch's case, he wanted a 2100% increase.  Last year, "Ragnar" was paid $1,500 a game.  In Juranitch's renegotiation, he wanted a cool $20,000 a GAME with a 10 year contract. This avaricious offer killed the golden goose.

That would have meant that over the period of the contract, Juranitch would be paid $1.6 million (or $2 million if it included preseason) for being on the sidelines for 90 games.  Nice work if you can get it.  

Well, the Vikings already had a kid friendly mascot Viktor the Viking. And the team might want to watch their expenses as they are footing $551 million of the $1.061 billion U.S. Bank stadium which will be ready in 2016.

There is a fan based petition drive with 10,000 people in order to reinstate Ragnar to his former place on the sidelines. But I suspect that "Ragnar" will have more time to snowtube during his free weekends in Minnesocold. 

Remembering Red Bandanas and Teamwork

 

 While there is nothing new about Welles Remy Crowther's aphorism from his high school yearbook, the way that he put the maxim into action in his life was remarkable.

Welles Crowther was a lacrosse player in secondary school in Nyack New York and later for Boston College's varsity team.  Crowther was associated with always wearing a red bandanna, a penchant he acquired as a child.   Due to his smaller stature, Crowther was physically overmatched by his competitors, but made it up with enthusiasm and teamwork.

Off the field, Crowther also embodied the heart of a servant.  Crowther joined the volunteer Fire Department at age 16.  Even after landing a job as a equities trader, Crowther expressed an interest in changing careers to join the New York City Police. In fact, a partially completed application to the NYFD was eventually found in Crowther's apartment

On September 11, 2001, a 24 year old Welles Crowther was at his office on the 104th Floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the first airplane struck the other building.  That horrible event prompted him to put his professional pursuits aside and channel teamwork.  Crowther was on the 78th floor Sky Lobby of the South Tower when the second plane struck.

Crowther striped to a t-shirt and wore a red bandanna to cover his nose and mouth. Crowther immediately acted as an impromptu team leader to rally the walking wounded to a functioning stairwell.  Survivor Judy Wein remembers hearing: "Anyone who can walk, get up and walk now. Anyone who can perhaps help others, find someone who needs help and then head down." Crowther was seen carrying a woman on his back. He  led them down to the 61st floor where they were met by First Responders who got them to a functioning elevator on the 40th floor and the rest of the team escaped the towering inferno.

After escorting people down 16 flights of stairs, Crowther ascended the stairwell again to help more "team mates". Crowther's group of First Responders had the "Jaws of Life" and were prepared to lift debris to help trapped victims. According to survivors,   Crowther's remains were found with other firemen who were on the 78th floor Sky Lobby when the South Tower collapsed.  Crowther's courage and teamwork may have saved a dozen lives.




Crowther's story might have been lost in the alluvia of fragmented memories of 9/11. But six months after the atrocity, the New York Times published an account from a survivor who remembered a detail about a mysterious man with a red handkerchief organizing a makeshift triage.  This red bandanna memory gave Crowther's grieving parents some solace about their son, simultaneously  providing closure and confirmation of  their son's solid character.

In 2006, Welles Crowther was posthumously named an honorary New York Fire Fighter for being a 9/11 Angel. Boston College sponsors an annual Red Bandanna Run for the Welles Crowther Trust. The American Heroes Channel will soon award an Inaugral "Red Bandanna Award"  for exemplifying the American spirit during a nationally televised Boston College football game on September 18th.


So often, sports can become base, reduced to a boxscore, vexing whether the home team will make the playoffs or speculating about the latest New England Patriots scandal.  But sports can be much more than those pedestrian pastimes.

As we reflect on the anniversary of 9/11, Welles Crowther's exemplary life shows the deep values that can be derived by sports. Welles Crowther's dedication to teamwork was cultivated by coaching on the field but was inculcated into his life.  Crowther not only thought of others at a tragic time, but was conditioned to rally and help "team mates" at a test match of life.

While the cynical may smirk at the truism that "There is no 'I' in team",  Welles put that principle into practice sacrificing his life for the sake of others.  Those are the virtues which make sports meaningful.

h/t: ESPN

Trump Worms Endorsement from Dennis Rodman

During this Trump Summer before most primary voters seriously concentrate on electing a Republican Presidential nominee, the billionaire populist GOP candidate earned an unexpected assist.  Trump was endorsed by Dennis Rodman.

Of course, Rodman has also endorsed North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, so it is hard to discern what Rodman's political disposition is, other than supporting friends. In the past, Trump was chagrined by prior attempts to by Rodman to worm a connection between the Big Apple billionaire and the  Pyongyang's newest Dear Leader.

Mike Huckabee on Getting Into the Girls' Locker Room

Forest Gump on Running

In honor on National Running Day, consider the mythical movie exploration of why running took off in America as a personal sport in the late 1970s. 

On FIFA Corruption