By JAMES J. PARZIALE
With the recent announcement of a foiled terror plot against JFK Airport, potential terror targets in Queens are now garnering attention from politicians beyond the five boroughs.
State Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R-Schenectady) has called on the state to upgrade security of New York City’s underground fuel line infrastructure as a result of the short-circuited terror plot that included blowing up the gas lines that feed JFK Airport.
“Electrical cables, water pipes, gas mains, telecommunications fiber optics and sewer lines are all vulnerable to potential attacks and need to be securely protected,” he said.
Read more...
Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
...Restaurant Review...
Come Inn For A Meal
The Inn Bar And Restaurant
201-01 Northern Blvd., Bayside
(718) 281-3100
Cuisine: American
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri.-Sun 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Bar open until 4 a.m. daily
Credit Cards: All major
Parking: Meter
For a cozy atmosphere and a filling meal with the potential for a great night out, Bayside’s The Inn might have what you’re looking for.
The Inn Bar and Restaurant has several personas: a restaurant, chill bar and a place to watch the game; it’s the all-inclusive package. On summer nights the open windows allow the night breeze to infiltrate the surroundings. The dimly lit interior is anchored by candles at every table.
Starting the night with a glass of wine isn’t a bad pre-meal festivity. With a hearty list of appetizers, there’s something for every patron’s palate.
The mozzarella sticks aren’t too cheesy (pun intended) and don’t fall apart after the first bite. A portion of seven is more generous than most, and the potato skins with bacon and cheddar cheese may not be on the Atkins diet, but they’re a delicious indulgence. If you’re in the mood for fish, other starters include friend calamari, popcorn shrimp and mussels – any of which will run you from $3.95 to $13.50
Read more
Mom Keeps Praying For Son’s Safe Return
 |
| Alex Jimenez Duran |
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
Maria del Rosario Duran doesn’t know how much sand is left in the hourglass, but with each passing day she knows it might soon run out.
The Corona mother of Spec. Alex Jimenez Duran, one of three U.S. soldiers in Iraq rumored to be captured by al Qaeda almost three weeks ago, has held two vigils in the past week for her missing soon. Hope has begun to give way to desperation, and the proposition of bad news is starting to sound better than no news.
The family held vigils on May 24 and Wednesday in Corona attended by Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) and Jose Peralta (D-Corona) with members of the community. A Monserrate spokesperson said Wednesday Rosario Duran hasn’t received any new information since last week’s vigil and is trying to maintain a positive outlook.
“This is too terrible for me,” Maria Duran said. “He’s only 25 years old. Alex, please. Come to my home. Come back.”
Spec. Duran grew up in Corona, but lived in Massachusetts with his father.
As of last week, U.S. troops had questioned hundreds of people and detained 11 in the search for Spec. Alex Duran, Pfc. Byron Fouty and Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack, Jr. who were feared captured by al-Qaeda during a deadly weekend ambush south of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday. Anzack was found dead May 23.
“We have conducted more than 450 tactical interviews and detained 11 individuals’’ as of last Monday night, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said.
The Islamic State of Iraq – an al-Qaeda front group that claims it has the soldiers – last week warned the U.S. to halt its search by about 4,000 troops and the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that it believes the soldiers are in terrorist hands.
The three were last seen before a pre-dawn ambush Saturday that destroyed several Humvees in a U.S. convoy and killed four Americans and an Iraqi soldier traveling with them.
The Corona mother of Spec. Alex Jimenez Duran, one of three U.S. soldiers in Iraq rumored to be captured by al Qaeda almost three weeks ago, has held two vigils in the past week for her missing soon. Hope has begun to give way to desperation, and the proposition of bad news is starting to sound better than no news.
The family held vigils on May 24 and Wednesday in Corona attended by Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) and Jose Peralta (D-Corona) with members of the community. A Monserrate spokesperson said Wednesday Rosario Duran hasn’t received any new information since last week’s vigil and is trying to maintain a positive outlook.
“This is too terrible for me,” Maria Duran said. “He’s only 25 years old. Alex, please. Come to my home. Come back.”
Spec. Duran grew up in Corona, but lived in Massachusetts with his father.
As of last week, U.S. troops had questioned hundreds of people and detained 11 in the search for Spec. Alex Duran, Pfc. Byron Fouty and Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack, Jr. who were feared captured by al-Qaeda during a deadly weekend ambush south of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday. Anzack was found dead May 23.
“We have conducted more than 450 tactical interviews and detained 11 individuals’’ as of last Monday night, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said.
The Islamic State of Iraq – an al-Qaeda front group that claims it has the soldiers – last week warned the U.S. to halt its search by about 4,000 troops and the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that it believes the soldiers are in terrorist hands.
The three were last seen before a pre-dawn ambush Saturday that destroyed several Humvees in a U.S. convoy and killed four Americans and an Iraqi soldier traveling with them.
...Pol Gains Insight, 2 lbs After Week On Stamps...
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| Eric Gioia peruses the aisles for cheap eats. |
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
Eric Gioia’s week-long hiatus into the life of those relegated to Food Stamp dependency is over. So what does he have to show for it?
How about being hungry and still gaining two pounds in a week.
That, in addition to fatigue and headaches, is what the Sunnyside Councilman endured through his “Food Stamp Challenge.” From May 10 to 17, Gioia lived on a $28 budget in an attempt to expose the deficiencies of the program and the devastating results potential cuts to the Farm Bill would render to the Food Stamps program. Gioia in turn quipped that more should be invested into feeding the hungry.
Read more
...Cop Killers To Face Death...
By James J. Parziale
Cop killers could soon be staring at more than just a life sentence in the can: they might face the death penalty.
State Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) cosponsored legislation that has passed in the State Senate that will reinstate the death penalty for criminals who kill police officers, corrections officers or members of the Peace Corps.
“As a former Queens prosecutor and Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau, I know firsthand that if we don’t fix the death penalty and get it back on the books, crime rates will undoubtedly increase,” Maltese said.
The bill passed in the Senate May 14 but companion legislation is still pending Assembly approval. It has Gov. Spitzer’s backing, according to Maltese spokeswoman Victoria Vattimo.
“It is for law enforcement officers,” she said. “As far as the voters of New York, polls have shown they are all for this.”
read more
Cop killers could soon be staring at more than just a life sentence in the can: they might face the death penalty.
State Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) cosponsored legislation that has passed in the State Senate that will reinstate the death penalty for criminals who kill police officers, corrections officers or members of the Peace Corps.
“As a former Queens prosecutor and Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau, I know firsthand that if we don’t fix the death penalty and get it back on the books, crime rates will undoubtedly increase,” Maltese said.
The bill passed in the Senate May 14 but companion legislation is still pending Assembly approval. It has Gov. Spitzer’s backing, according to Maltese spokeswoman Victoria Vattimo.
“It is for law enforcement officers,” she said. “As far as the voters of New York, polls have shown they are all for this.”
read more
...Take A Walk Into A Congo Maison...
 |
| Jean Prouvé’s Congo Maison sits on a Queens lot — for now. |
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
The peculiar structure rests on stilts, nestled underneath the Queens side of the Queensboro Bridge with the beautifully painted Manhattan backdrop and East River serving as a backyard. It’s obvious the setting is not this particular building’s home, as it is surrounded by some unwelcoming terrain.
Studying the peculiarities of this futuristic creation, you come to find out that not only was it not built on this continent, it’s from a different era altogether.
The Maison Tropicale, constructed in 1951 by Frenchman Jean Prouvè, rests in a lot owned by Silvercup Studies in Long Island City for all to see. What onlookers might not know is that this architectural oddity has a much more exotic home than Queens – having been built in the Brazzaville, the capital of Belgian Congo.
Read more
...All Criminals May Give DNA...
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
Legislation pushed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer that would require DNA samples to be collected from anyone convicted of any crime – including youthful offenders – is gaining popularity in Albany – and Queens.
This legislation, co-sponsored by Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale), retools a law passed last year by mandating that authorities collect DNA from anyone convicted of a crime, registered sex offenders and individuals on probation, parole supervision or registered as sex offenders. Essentially, it expands the legislation to indiscriminately cover all convicted criminals.
“Since its inception, DNA technology has proven to be an invaluable tool for our law enforcement officials,” Maltese said. “Increasing the scope of the DNA database will certainly help identify, arrest and convict criminals.
...Gas Pipe Still Exposed...
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
No progress has been made to tighten security around Keyspan Energy’s new high pressure natural gas line above the Grand Central Parkway.
As first reported last week in the Tribune, the gas utility has rerouted a pipe that travels into the Jamaica rail yard on a major overpass. The original pipe travels beneath the Grand Central, while its new counterpart – part of a series of replacements Keyspan is making – is exposed to subway trains that access the rail yard, weather elements and pedestrians.
Read More
...Water Hike Alternative Offered By Boro Pols...
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
New Yorkers, prepare to get hosed starting July 1.
The New York City Water Board approved an 11.5 percent rate hike despite rabid resistance from local leaders and communities. This flies in the face of most of the negative commentary at last month’s DEP-hosted public hearing, at which politicians and community residents pleaded against the rate increase. Now, a single-family household will experience a $72-per-year hike.
Read more
...Take Con Ed’s Power By Giving Options: Pol...
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
In response to a proposed rate hike by Con Edison, local politicians are telling the power company to take a hike.At the forefront of this battle is Assemblyman Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria), who has proposed legislation that he feels would rectify an unwarranted increase to borough residents and businesses after last July’s crippling blackout in Northwest Queens. The proposed rate inflation wouldn’t take place until April 2008, but Gianaris and others are stupefied at Con Ed’s gall and lack of responsibility. They feel dumping the burden on consumers is outlandish.
“I would say it adds insult to injury, but that understates it,” Gianaris said. “One thing that has been obvious since last summer is that they don’t feel accountable to the people they serve.”
read more
...Run, Bike And Swim To Fight Lymphoma...
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
Dennis McKeever’s tug-of-war with cancer has come full circle. He has transitioned from patient to survivor, and recovered to become and advocate for awareness about the disease that takes so many innocent lives each year.
McKeever will board a plane Friday and venture down below the Mason-Dixon Line to Memphis for Sunday’s Triathlon benefiting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research. The fundraiser, sponsored by Team In Training, which has raised nearly $700 million in almost 20 years, gave McKeever a forum to help out. There will be more than 2,000 participants pushing their bodies to the limit in the name of awareness.
His website (www.active.com/donate//tntnycDMcKeev), which allows for donations to be made for the triathlon through June 6, has raised $5,490, nearly $1,500 more than the required amount to participate.
Read more.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Italian Treats Abound In Atlas Park Locale
Even if my last name didn’t end in a vowel, I’m convinced Italian cuisine would be a bliss I could not live without at least once a week. Last Saturday I discovered a buried treasure at the Shops At Atlas Park.
More
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Wine, Cheese & Flowers In One Spot
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
There is a hidden slice of suburbia-meets-Manhattan with some West Coast sprinkled in for flavor at the Atlas Mall in Glendale.
The mall’s décor and architecture is phenomenal, as newly-designed white structures with vast columns transport you from 80-00 Cooper Ave. to the Western U.S. The Green, which is an open grassy knoll in the mall’s center, features a sprinkler system that permeates the aroma of mist on a warm summer day. It’s good for the kiddies, too.
More
There is a hidden slice of suburbia-meets-Manhattan with some West Coast sprinkled in for flavor at the Atlas Mall in Glendale.
The mall’s décor and architecture is phenomenal, as newly-designed white structures with vast columns transport you from 80-00 Cooper Ave. to the Western U.S. The Green, which is an open grassy knoll in the mall’s center, features a sprinkler system that permeates the aroma of mist on a warm summer day. It’s good for the kiddies, too.
More
DOT Leaning Toward Replacing Kosciuszko
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
Though six options are on the table, the Department of Transportation is leaning toward complete replacement of the Kosciuszko Bridge come 2012. At a conference at the DeVry Institute in Long Island City last Thursday, the DOT reviewed six proposals, outlining all the pertinent details including timeframe, cost and ultimately what new structure – if any – would be built.
More
Though six options are on the table, the Department of Transportation is leaning toward complete replacement of the Kosciuszko Bridge come 2012. At a conference at the DeVry Institute in Long Island City last Thursday, the DOT reviewed six proposals, outlining all the pertinent details including timeframe, cost and ultimately what new structure – if any – would be built.
More
Utility Says It’s Ready For Summer’s Surges
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
Con Edison’s Senior Vice President of Electric Operations John Miksad got right to the point Friday at Queens College. “We are going to be ready for this summer,” he said at a business forum before sponsors and Queens businesses. Last summer’s massive blackout crippled Northwestern Queens, leaving some 25,000 residents without power for greater than a 10-day span. Miksad acknowledged his company’s culpability and unveiled a plan to prevent further outages in Queens and all across the city.
Click here to read more
Con Edison’s Senior Vice President of Electric Operations John Miksad got right to the point Friday at Queens College. “We are going to be ready for this summer,” he said at a business forum before sponsors and Queens businesses. Last summer’s massive blackout crippled Northwestern Queens, leaving some 25,000 residents without power for greater than a 10-day span. Miksad acknowledged his company’s culpability and unveiled a plan to prevent further outages in Queens and all across the city.
Click here to read more
...H2O Tax May Drown Small Biz And Seniors...
By JAMES J. PARZIALE
A proposed 11.5 percent water and sewage tax hike has been met with staunch opposition from residents, civic groups, and politicians throughout Queens. At a hearing hosted by the Department of Environmental Protection in Elmhurst last Tuesday, each group spoke out against the potential increase which would go into effect in July. Essentially, a single-family household would experience a $72-per-year hike. The DEP is proposing a plan that, over the next 10 years, would cost a whopping $23.3 billion and is backed by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, though many local leaders and residents are crying out against it. The Queens Civic Congress is one of the bill’s strongest detractors, arguing that the City should invest money into the more economically sound watershed project.
To read more, click here
A proposed 11.5 percent water and sewage tax hike has been met with staunch opposition from residents, civic groups, and politicians throughout Queens. At a hearing hosted by the Department of Environmental Protection in Elmhurst last Tuesday, each group spoke out against the potential increase which would go into effect in July. Essentially, a single-family household would experience a $72-per-year hike. The DEP is proposing a plan that, over the next 10 years, would cost a whopping $23.3 billion and is backed by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, though many local leaders and residents are crying out against it. The Queens Civic Congress is one of the bill’s strongest detractors, arguing that the City should invest money into the more economically sound watershed project.
To read more, click here
Monday, April 30, 2007
...White Coffee...
Another interesting look into an unknown world...
http://www.queenstribune.com/guides/2007_QueensBusinessBook/pages/CoffeeTalk.htm
http://www.queenstribune.com/guides/2007_QueensBusinessBook/pages/CoffeeTalk.htm
...more news stuff...
This is my story about the Mattone Group construction company in Queens.
http://www.queenstribune.com/guides/2007_QueensBusinessBook/pages/BuildingaPlan.htm
http://www.queenstribune.com/guides/2007_QueensBusinessBook/pages/BuildingaPlan.htm
Saturday, April 28, 2007
...roadway idiots...
This is a simple blog that is about me venting.
New York drivers are by far the worst drivers I've ever encountered. Countless times, in various parts of the city an state, I feel my blood pressure rising to unhealthy levels.
Now, I've been to California, Montana, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Virginia, NJ, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Colorado, and never do experience that same type of frustration (unless there's someone with NY plates).
In other places, drivers obey the rules of the road. The left lane is the passing or speeding lane, not the lets-drives-49-in-a-50 lane! I'm sure some of you have also encountered these particular problems as well, or are the reason others of my ilk stick one finger out the driver's side window.
If you are, just learn the fundamentals of driving!
New York drivers are by far the worst drivers I've ever encountered. Countless times, in various parts of the city an state, I feel my blood pressure rising to unhealthy levels.
Now, I've been to California, Montana, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Virginia, NJ, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Colorado, and never do experience that same type of frustration (unless there's someone with NY plates).
In other places, drivers obey the rules of the road. The left lane is the passing or speeding lane, not the lets-drives-49-in-a-50 lane! I'm sure some of you have also encountered these particular problems as well, or are the reason others of my ilk stick one finger out the driver's side window.
If you are, just learn the fundamentals of driving!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
...traggic shooting turns into my first news clip...
Neighbors Stunned By Grisly Shooting
(from QueensPress.com April 26 issue)
BY JAMES J. PARZIALE
A 20-year-old man shot and killed his mother, her companion, and a home health care worker in Cambria Heights on Wednesday before turning the gun on himself while police were en route.
The rampage began shortly after 11:38 a.m. when Sonia Taylor, 44, called police and said she had been fighting with her son, Jimmie Dawkins, for five hours and was fearful for her life “and something terrible was going to happen.”
“My son is destroying the house,” Taylor said to a 911 dispatcher, according to published reports.Police arrived shortly after to find Taylor, her wheelchair-confined boyfriend Arnold Lawson, 47, and home health aide Syndia Brye, a mother of three, had all been slain on the first floor of the single-family home. Dawkins apparently killed himself on the second floor with the same .40-caliber handgun used against the other three, according to published reports.
Lawson’s nephew, 21-year-old Laurice Johnson, hid in a closet during the shooting after one of the bullets had grazed his leg, but he remained mum for fear he would be killed. He played dead in the closet until he heard Dawkins walk up the stairs to the second floor and then bolted out a window without shoes for 3 J’s International Restaurant about 1-1/2 blocks away.
From there, he told owner Joyce Reynolds-Wilcott to call 911.Johnson was visiting from Jamaica and had come to see his uncle, who had suffered a stroke recently and was confined to a wheelchair. He has only been in the country three weeks.This was the culmination of a bevy of domestic disputes.
Police were called twice on Monday at 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. and filed domestic incident reports. Police had been called to the house eight times since May when Taylor said her son was throwing things around the house, published reports said.Dawkins is alleged to have been unemployed and a drug abuser; a domestic abuse blog (homesweethome.wordpress.com) cited marijuana use. Dawkins was also brought to Long Island Jewish Hospital for an evaluation, but returned home. His mother contacted the Internal Affairs Bureau to try and have him arrested thereafter, but there were no signs that he was a danger to himself or others.
Taylor, 44, a nurse, “exhausted every method, and nobody did anything,” according to her sister, 40-year-old Annetta Taylor. “She went o the cops. Police wouldn’t respond,” Annetta Taylor said. “She was desperate: ‘I need help. I need to get this boy out of the house.’ He was threatening to kill her.”
After Monday’s massacre at Virginia Tech, where 32 students and faculty were killed, this incident sent a chilling ripple through the close-knit community. Residents were seen embracing and discussing what could have been the impetus for the shooting.
Rodney Capers, 30, a neighbor, said he found Dawkins disturbing when the two crossed paths in the neighborhood.“Every time he came out of the house he looked mad,” he said. “The kid was mental. He was a weirdo.”
(from QueensPress.com April 26 issue)
BY JAMES J. PARZIALE
A 20-year-old man shot and killed his mother, her companion, and a home health care worker in Cambria Heights on Wednesday before turning the gun on himself while police were en route.
The rampage began shortly after 11:38 a.m. when Sonia Taylor, 44, called police and said she had been fighting with her son, Jimmie Dawkins, for five hours and was fearful for her life “and something terrible was going to happen.”
“My son is destroying the house,” Taylor said to a 911 dispatcher, according to published reports.Police arrived shortly after to find Taylor, her wheelchair-confined boyfriend Arnold Lawson, 47, and home health aide Syndia Brye, a mother of three, had all been slain on the first floor of the single-family home. Dawkins apparently killed himself on the second floor with the same .40-caliber handgun used against the other three, according to published reports.
Lawson’s nephew, 21-year-old Laurice Johnson, hid in a closet during the shooting after one of the bullets had grazed his leg, but he remained mum for fear he would be killed. He played dead in the closet until he heard Dawkins walk up the stairs to the second floor and then bolted out a window without shoes for 3 J’s International Restaurant about 1-1/2 blocks away.
From there, he told owner Joyce Reynolds-Wilcott to call 911.Johnson was visiting from Jamaica and had come to see his uncle, who had suffered a stroke recently and was confined to a wheelchair. He has only been in the country three weeks.This was the culmination of a bevy of domestic disputes.
Police were called twice on Monday at 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. and filed domestic incident reports. Police had been called to the house eight times since May when Taylor said her son was throwing things around the house, published reports said.Dawkins is alleged to have been unemployed and a drug abuser; a domestic abuse blog (homesweethome.wordpress.com) cited marijuana use. Dawkins was also brought to Long Island Jewish Hospital for an evaluation, but returned home. His mother contacted the Internal Affairs Bureau to try and have him arrested thereafter, but there were no signs that he was a danger to himself or others.
Taylor, 44, a nurse, “exhausted every method, and nobody did anything,” according to her sister, 40-year-old Annetta Taylor. “She went o the cops. Police wouldn’t respond,” Annetta Taylor said. “She was desperate: ‘I need help. I need to get this boy out of the house.’ He was threatening to kill her.”
After Monday’s massacre at Virginia Tech, where 32 students and faculty were killed, this incident sent a chilling ripple through the close-knit community. Residents were seen embracing and discussing what could have been the impetus for the shooting.
Rodney Capers, 30, a neighbor, said he found Dawkins disturbing when the two crossed paths in the neighborhood.“Every time he came out of the house he looked mad,” he said. “The kid was mental. He was a weirdo.”
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
...another Imus angle...
The Imus hubub is finally losing momentum, but as his fire flames out, a new one begings to burn. Should all of our culture, including rappers and other musicians, be held to the same standard? I say yes, this guy says no.
I completely disagree with this opinion, but offer it up anyway.
I completely disagree with this opinion, but offer it up anyway.
Monday, April 16, 2007
...Jackie Robinson's ripple...
If there’s one woman I’d love to have the privilege to interview, it’s Rachel Robinson. She was married to the late Jackie Robinson, the pioneer who started to breakdown racial barriers in our country.
Rachel Robinson, a woman who lived through segregation, who lived through a time where blacks were socially considered inferior to whites, would be a truly astounding person to have lunch with, let alone interview.
Still, I truly gawked at her on ESPN Sunday night when she said her husband, if alive, would be disappointed with the state of baseball. She cited that of the 40 percent of minorities playing in MLB, only 8 were black. She and Jackie would truly have been disappointed.
Those are pithy numbers, indeed, but maybe Mrs. Robinson doesn’t follow other sports. Yes, minority involvement in baseball has dropped, but is has no doubt swelled in other sports, a feat Jackie would no doubt take pride in.
A report on Yahoo! said that 80 percent of the NFL was black, or African American, compared to 17 percent white and 3 percent other. I also sent a breakdown inquiry to the NBA, but will wait to hear back and update this blog.
So much has also been done in sports in terms of minority hiring to bridge the gap of coaches, managers and front off ice personnel, but that is not a battle that has been won.
On the field is a different tale. It’s all about the almighty dollar these days, and that means winning. I don’t think any MLB executive would choose a white, Hispanic or Asian player over a black one if it meant hurting his team’s chances to win.
That is a victory in itself.
Rachel Robinson, a woman who lived through segregation, who lived through a time where blacks were socially considered inferior to whites, would be a truly astounding person to have lunch with, let alone interview.
Still, I truly gawked at her on ESPN Sunday night when she said her husband, if alive, would be disappointed with the state of baseball. She cited that of the 40 percent of minorities playing in MLB, only 8 were black. She and Jackie would truly have been disappointed.
Those are pithy numbers, indeed, but maybe Mrs. Robinson doesn’t follow other sports. Yes, minority involvement in baseball has dropped, but is has no doubt swelled in other sports, a feat Jackie would no doubt take pride in.
A report on Yahoo! said that 80 percent of the NFL was black, or African American, compared to 17 percent white and 3 percent other. I also sent a breakdown inquiry to the NBA, but will wait to hear back and update this blog.
So much has also been done in sports in terms of minority hiring to bridge the gap of coaches, managers and front off ice personnel, but that is not a battle that has been won.
On the field is a different tale. It’s all about the almighty dollar these days, and that means winning. I don’t think any MLB executive would choose a white, Hispanic or Asian player over a black one if it meant hurting his team’s chances to win.
That is a victory in itself.
Friday, April 13, 2007
...See through the smoke screen...
My sympathy goes out to Don Imus. Not because he was fired, but because his firing should be the beacon of some good in our hypocritical, paradoxical and confused society. I fear that won’t happen.
Now, just for a millisecond, let’s table al the hoopla and the avalanche that landed on him yesterday. Let’s just look at the incident, and then try and see if he deserved to be crucified for his statement, one which said he derived from a pop culture/IPod generation that bobs and weaves to facsimiles of such lyrics in our headphones everyday.
Don’t pretend like you’ve never heard a rapper call a woman a ho or a whore, or a gold digger or a chicken head, and sang the hook.
What Imus said was stupid, that’s one thing we al can agree upon. But I’m not sure anyone can label Don Imus or anyone else a racist or bigot for one glaringly indecent, insensitive comment.
I don’t claim to know the man, and I’m sure 99 percent of those reading this don’t, either. But if anyone reading this has never made a joke involving sex or race, then please stop reading and take your seat at the right hand of the Father.
Imus’s firing was the product of a witch hunt masquerading as a morally driven crusade. Give me a break. It was all about the politics, agendas, and, of course, the Benjamins.
Look at the two men at the forefront casting the stones: Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Both these men have made statements they were never forced to recant. Sharpton once referred to the Central Park jogger, a woman brutally raped and left for dead, as a whore.
Jackson all but convicted the three Duke Lacrosse players charged with raping a 27-year-old stripper 14 months ago, saying, “There's more evidence that violence occurred to her than she's the lead of a hoax.”
Now what is he saying? Is he going to pay their legal fees the way he wanted to pay her way through college? Of course not.
These two men use their pulpits to do more harm than good. In a time in our country where race relations are at a constant simmer, ready to boil, they reach for the gas can. They do little good to mend whites and blacks, rather making the tenuous times between the two sides more divisive. It makes me sick.
CBS released three statements regarding Imus’s slur and not until the last were they repulsed by what he said. Things have a way of picking up steam in our media -- especially when sponsors, feeling social and economic pressures, begin to retreat.
And in case you weren’t aware, CBS is owned by Viacom – the rightful gatekeepers of all MTV channels and BET. Those stations produce more misogynistic material than Imus could spew in 10 lifetimes.
So now Imus, who birthed these ill-advised and moronic comments, no longer has a way to make amends. The women he truly afflicted, the Rutgers basketball team, met with him and forgave him. They are the victims, the ones in dire need of consolation.
If anyone at WFAN, CBS, or MSNBC had any marbles, they would’ve turned this media circus into a stage for knowledge. One solution could have been to have Imus and the Rutgers coach and team on his show to discuss race in the media, or portrayal of women in today’s society. ANYTHING to bring the discussion out of the spin zone, and into a level-headed debate. Those are the issues at hand. It would’ve taken a PR department 10 minutes to quell this storm and wait for the sun to come out.
Instead, everyone bailed. That will never happen.
I agree with Charles Barkley’s statement earlier this week, noting that no one deserves to be fired over one comment, one mistake. We are all fallible, subject to stupidity and lapses in judgment, but if we were all so harshly punished, there’d be way more people on the unemployment line.
But, to me this is less about Imus than it is about the other swirling issues we are all left to deal with in the fallout.
Will Imus’s comments fade into the sunset now, or will all these parties, like Jackson and Sharpton and Viacom, make good on their word that the campaign doesn’t end here? They say they will take on the music world, the rappers, and hate producers in our culture.
I will have to see it to believe it. I just hope it doesn’t start and end with Imus. Then, his firing will truly be a waste.
Now, just for a millisecond, let’s table al the hoopla and the avalanche that landed on him yesterday. Let’s just look at the incident, and then try and see if he deserved to be crucified for his statement, one which said he derived from a pop culture/IPod generation that bobs and weaves to facsimiles of such lyrics in our headphones everyday.
Don’t pretend like you’ve never heard a rapper call a woman a ho or a whore, or a gold digger or a chicken head, and sang the hook.
What Imus said was stupid, that’s one thing we al can agree upon. But I’m not sure anyone can label Don Imus or anyone else a racist or bigot for one glaringly indecent, insensitive comment.
I don’t claim to know the man, and I’m sure 99 percent of those reading this don’t, either. But if anyone reading this has never made a joke involving sex or race, then please stop reading and take your seat at the right hand of the Father.
Imus’s firing was the product of a witch hunt masquerading as a morally driven crusade. Give me a break. It was all about the politics, agendas, and, of course, the Benjamins.
Look at the two men at the forefront casting the stones: Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Both these men have made statements they were never forced to recant. Sharpton once referred to the Central Park jogger, a woman brutally raped and left for dead, as a whore.
Jackson all but convicted the three Duke Lacrosse players charged with raping a 27-year-old stripper 14 months ago, saying, “There's more evidence that violence occurred to her than she's the lead of a hoax.”
Now what is he saying? Is he going to pay their legal fees the way he wanted to pay her way through college? Of course not.
These two men use their pulpits to do more harm than good. In a time in our country where race relations are at a constant simmer, ready to boil, they reach for the gas can. They do little good to mend whites and blacks, rather making the tenuous times between the two sides more divisive. It makes me sick.
CBS released three statements regarding Imus’s slur and not until the last were they repulsed by what he said. Things have a way of picking up steam in our media -- especially when sponsors, feeling social and economic pressures, begin to retreat.
And in case you weren’t aware, CBS is owned by Viacom – the rightful gatekeepers of all MTV channels and BET. Those stations produce more misogynistic material than Imus could spew in 10 lifetimes.
So now Imus, who birthed these ill-advised and moronic comments, no longer has a way to make amends. The women he truly afflicted, the Rutgers basketball team, met with him and forgave him. They are the victims, the ones in dire need of consolation.
If anyone at WFAN, CBS, or MSNBC had any marbles, they would’ve turned this media circus into a stage for knowledge. One solution could have been to have Imus and the Rutgers coach and team on his show to discuss race in the media, or portrayal of women in today’s society. ANYTHING to bring the discussion out of the spin zone, and into a level-headed debate. Those are the issues at hand. It would’ve taken a PR department 10 minutes to quell this storm and wait for the sun to come out.
Instead, everyone bailed. That will never happen.
I agree with Charles Barkley’s statement earlier this week, noting that no one deserves to be fired over one comment, one mistake. We are all fallible, subject to stupidity and lapses in judgment, but if we were all so harshly punished, there’d be way more people on the unemployment line.
But, to me this is less about Imus than it is about the other swirling issues we are all left to deal with in the fallout.
Will Imus’s comments fade into the sunset now, or will all these parties, like Jackson and Sharpton and Viacom, make good on their word that the campaign doesn’t end here? They say they will take on the music world, the rappers, and hate producers in our culture.
I will have to see it to believe it. I just hope it doesn’t start and end with Imus. Then, his firing will truly be a waste.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
...No. 5...
So I’ve taken some time off between postings on this bad boy. I can’t really call it a hiatus; it was more like a sabbatical.
Just don't call it a comeback.
Yet once I dug up this buried treasure I yearned to finish this Top 10 Curses list. My influence on sports through 6-to-10 was pervasive, but I wouldn’t be doing any of you justice if I didn’t finish the Top 5. Besides, now I can link this thing to Facebook, which means my loving girlfriend won’t be the only one forced to read this.
Without further ado, let’s pick up right where were left off.
Without further ado, let’s pick up right where were left off.
Number 5
2004 American League Championship Series
Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees
We read this script before, seen this movie a million times. Just insert the cliché of your choice here. It was a forgone conclusion that the New York Yankees, a well-oiled dynasty which suffered a hiccup is the 2003 World Series against the Marlins, was about to leave the ALCS station headed for its last stop: The World Series.
After taking the first two games in New York, the Bombers bulldozed the Red Sox the way Germany overran Poland’s infantry (which consisted of men on horses going up against tanks) in World War II. A 19-8 win gave the Yankees a 3-0 series lead, making a return to the World Series a mere punch of the ticket. No team in baseball history had ever forsaken such a margain, and surely it wouldn’t happy to the most storied franchise in sports, as YES Network dubs them.
With tickets to Game 6, I was resigned. I wanted to see the Yankees clinch a berth in the big dance. Brian Silverstein -- my best friend at the time who staked claim to the other ticket -- and I began scouring the Internet and investigating how to get out money back. Maybe we could trade them in for World Series tickets, we bellyached.
Hopefully the Yankees will make it to Game 6, win at home, and everyone could go home happy, we joked. When speaking to friends, I said the only way my ticket would go to use was if the 11th floor bathroom ran out of toilet paper. I even recited the dreaded phrase aloud.
“This series is over. This is better than last year,” I snickered, referencing Aaron Boone’s walk-off homer that put the Yankees in the World Series.
But our jests would soon turn to jeers. Game 4 was moved back a night because of rain, allowing the Red Sox to reset their rotation. Derek Lowe started in place of Bronson Arroyo, and Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling were now on the docket. Still, I wasn’t too worried.
Then the slightest tactical error in the bottom of the ninth in Game 4 turned out to be a series-turner. It amazes me, because I still remember the move being regarded as minor at the trading deadline. Dave Roberts, whom Boston got midseason, came in as a pinch runner, stole second base and eventually scored. The Sox won in extras, and won Game 5 in similar fashion on Big Papi’s home run in the 14th.
Brian and I, now quivering and despondent in the rain, sat in section 53 of the bleachers for Game 6: the Bloody Sock debacle. After A-Rod’s glove-slap torpedoed the Yankees chance, we looked at each other and didn’t say a word. We knew what was happening, but could not acknowledge it. As I've declared before, being a Yankee fan is hard because when you experience the joys of victory, it makes defeat more unbearable.
Game 7 turned out to be the real formality, and I won’t even get into it. The memory is blurred, a night of three too many Jack and Coke’s, and I prefer to keep it that way.
We read this script before, seen this movie a million times. Just insert the cliché of your choice here. It was a forgone conclusion that the New York Yankees, a well-oiled dynasty which suffered a hiccup is the 2003 World Series against the Marlins, was about to leave the ALCS station headed for its last stop: The World Series.
After taking the first two games in New York, the Bombers bulldozed the Red Sox the way Germany overran Poland’s infantry (which consisted of men on horses going up against tanks) in World War II. A 19-8 win gave the Yankees a 3-0 series lead, making a return to the World Series a mere punch of the ticket. No team in baseball history had ever forsaken such a margain, and surely it wouldn’t happy to the most storied franchise in sports, as YES Network dubs them.
With tickets to Game 6, I was resigned. I wanted to see the Yankees clinch a berth in the big dance. Brian Silverstein -- my best friend at the time who staked claim to the other ticket -- and I began scouring the Internet and investigating how to get out money back. Maybe we could trade them in for World Series tickets, we bellyached.
Hopefully the Yankees will make it to Game 6, win at home, and everyone could go home happy, we joked. When speaking to friends, I said the only way my ticket would go to use was if the 11th floor bathroom ran out of toilet paper. I even recited the dreaded phrase aloud.
“This series is over. This is better than last year,” I snickered, referencing Aaron Boone’s walk-off homer that put the Yankees in the World Series.
But our jests would soon turn to jeers. Game 4 was moved back a night because of rain, allowing the Red Sox to reset their rotation. Derek Lowe started in place of Bronson Arroyo, and Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling were now on the docket. Still, I wasn’t too worried.
Then the slightest tactical error in the bottom of the ninth in Game 4 turned out to be a series-turner. It amazes me, because I still remember the move being regarded as minor at the trading deadline. Dave Roberts, whom Boston got midseason, came in as a pinch runner, stole second base and eventually scored. The Sox won in extras, and won Game 5 in similar fashion on Big Papi’s home run in the 14th.
Brian and I, now quivering and despondent in the rain, sat in section 53 of the bleachers for Game 6: the Bloody Sock debacle. After A-Rod’s glove-slap torpedoed the Yankees chance, we looked at each other and didn’t say a word. We knew what was happening, but could not acknowledge it. As I've declared before, being a Yankee fan is hard because when you experience the joys of victory, it makes defeat more unbearable.
Game 7 turned out to be the real formality, and I won’t even get into it. The memory is blurred, a night of three too many Jack and Coke’s, and I prefer to keep it that way.
The Curse Top 10
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