Ten Best Things About Sports

In an article on Salon, sports columnist King Kaufman notes an article by a San Diego sportswiter listing the 10 worst things about sports (a pretty good list because it includes both the designated hitter and the New York Yankees.)

He asked readers to submit their ideas for the converse list–the ten best things in sport. The only one he listed so far is the first goal in a big soccer match. Here is my list:

The 10 Best Things In Sports

1) The relay throw (outfielder-cutoff man-catcher) that nails the guy at home in baseball.

2) The punt return or kickoff return for a touchdown in football.

3) The longstick defender scoring a goal in lacrosse.

4) The bicycle kick in soccer.

5) Stealing the ball off another player’s dribble in basketball.

6) The “one-timer” re-directed goal in hockey.

7) Blocking a spike in volleyball.

The clean forehand winner down the line in tennis.

9) A reversal in wrestling (real, not pro).

10) The photo-finish in horseracing.

A Glimpse At The Treehouse

The Brookings Institution has compiled a report Restoring Prosperity, that deals with the role states can play to help old industrial cities rebound from economic decline.

They had a presentation on their report in downtown Syracuse last night and I attended. I’m usually pretty pessimistic about these kinds of reports. The community group that I work for has collected mounds of these reports in the 30 years of our existence. Nothing ever comes of the good intentions, charts and glossy pictures.

Unfortunately, Sean Kirst , a columnist for the local newspaper wrote a column on the report and because he’s such a damn good writer and so obviously cares about development policy, I figured this was an event to attend. All I can say is that the presentation was two hours of my life I’ll never get back again.

The report, which I have to more thoroughly read, seems too light on practical steps for corrective action. The report tells us to “fix the basics”–safe streets, good schools and a positive business climate. Well, duh. Then it says what everyone has said lately: play to your yuppie strengths–build up downtown and University Hill.

The biggest problem we face was not addressed: we are relying on the same old clique of narrow-minded government officials and development types to lead this effort. Sean Kirst has nicknamed them members of the “Treehouse”–they pull up the ladder behind them and go on making stupid decisions–not siting the ballpark downtown, using outdated technology for sewage treatment plants in residential and retail districts while still not cleaning up Onondaga Creek. Rt. 81 blasted through the old 15th ward, separating the University from the city. The list goes on and on.

According to Sean Kirst, guts and creativity are what is needed to turn our city around. According to Brookings, these local people will be able to better show those guts and creativity with new and enlightened state policies. Bullshit. The most rancid example of the thought process in the Treehouse was uttered by one of the hosts of the event, a woman from the power company National Grid, She crowed about her company’s role in rehabilitating the old Dey’s Brothers building downtown.

Here’s the full story on that. Niagara Mohawk (the name of the power company prior to the National Grid buyout ) went to then Mayor Roy Bernardi and threatened to move their customer call center out of downtown and out to the suburbs. NiMo wanted a bigger and better building. The Mayor, through the quasi-governmental Syracuse Industrial Development Agency, financed the purchase and rehabilitation of the Dey’s Building at a cost of $18 million. The administration used financing through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and their Section 108 economic development loan program.

Through the Section 108 program, HUD advances the city funding and the city agrees to repay HUD based on the repayments the city expects from the businesses ultimately receiving the loan. Historically, this program was used to help existing businesses expand and individual loans in Syracuse rarely exceeded $50,000. Mayor Bernardi changed all that, extending six figure loans to risky start up businesses and the massive Dey Brother’s project.

When the businesses do not generate enough income to make repayments to the city or fail outright, the city is still responsible for repayment to HUD. The collateral HUD uses for this loan program is the city’s Community Development Block Grant budget. This money is given to the city each year to improve low income housing, as well as provide funding for a wide array of social services. At the start of the Bush Administration, the city received $10 million in CDBG funding. Last year’s CDBG funding was $7 million. The city of Syracuse uses this money to fund all the non-profit housing groups working in the city and is the source for funding for the key housing programs in the city’s low income neighborhoods: homebuyer education classes, home improvement loans and mortgage foreclosure counseling.

As a direct result of the failed businesses and the massive amount of money spent on the Dey’s brothers building, the city has had to take over $10 million out of the CDBG program during the past decade. According to figures from Mayor Matt Driscoll, the city will have to take an additional $12 million out of the CDBG budgets over the next five years.

Oh, by the way, when National Grid bought out NiMo it downsized the company’s call center. The smaller center didn’t need the space in the Dey Brother’s building and moved back into the old NiMo building on Erie Boulevard.

What Are We Celebrating?

Memorial Day is the old Decoration Day, started in the late 1800’s just down the road in Waterloo, N.Y. It was a day that communities went out and decorated the graves of their townsfolk who had given their lives in battle. That is understandable. What the holiday has become now is up in the air. Why parades with little leagues and cub scouts? Why fireworks? What are we celebrating?

The past two wars of great consequence in this nation (Vietnam and Iraq) have been divisive and unpopular. They were fought with no understanding of the history, culture or desires of the indigenous populations. They both cost American lives for no discernable purpose.

Celebrating our military at this time brings on cognitive dissonance. We support the men and women who bravely sacrificed their lives, yet wonder at the stupidity, gall and arrogance of our military leaders and politicians for asking these young people to die so needlessly.

I’m not unpatriotic. I’m confused, angry and heartsick.

That Book Isn’t Even On Your List!

Awhile back I composed a list of books that were piled around my house, waiting for me to read them. Since that time, I’ve broken the logjam. No, I haven’t read any of the books on the list, but I did move and was forced to create new piles.

I did read a book since the move. “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” is an oral history reminiscence of the recently deceased rocker Warren Zevon. I’m a big fan of his music and the book did force me to go out and buy a couple of his albums to plug some of the gaps in my collection. The book itself is less impressive. Compiled by his ex-wife, the book alternates between intimates in Warren’s life commenting on his life with some excepts from Zevon’s diary.

The idea was to create a “warts and all” biography of a person known for a fascination with guns, drugs, booze, women and literature. He bravely fought against terminal cancer by writing and recording one final album. The book is a mess because it is redundant. Everyone says the same thing over and over again: he drank a lot, he behaved badly when he drank, he slept with everyone and his music was both literate and brilliant.

The reader is given no context, just a few good stories about how some memorable songs were inspired and how badly he behaved while drinking. Save your money for a his albums.

Long Live The Revolution!

Long Live The Revolution!

Originally uploaded by Phil At Sun.

I’ve always thought the Syracuse Post-Standard has been gradually moving towards

my liberal politics. As a youth growing up in the early 1970’s the

“Sub-Standard” was a right-wing mouthpiece. However, I was pleasantly

surprised to see the Post Standard’s new advertising slogan stenciled on a local paper

box in my neighborhood. If you can’t quite make out the phrase due to

my poor camerawork, it says: “Capitalism Is Not Democracy.”

Long Live The Revolution, comrade!

The Song Remains The Same

I was listening to 95X yesterday while riding around in the car. Some heavy metal came on and after listening to the lyrics, I thought the song was a new anti-Iraq War anthem. Then I realized that I was listening to “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath circa 1970.

Unfortunately, the sentiments expressed in the song remain as potent today as they did back in Viet Nam’s heyday:

Black Sabbath - War Pigs

Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of death’s construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds
Oh lord yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to poor

Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait ’til their judgement day comes
Yeah!

Now in darkness world stops turning
Ashes where the bodies burning
No more war pigs have the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of judgement, God is calling
On their knees the war pig’s crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan laughing spreads his wings
All right now!

Implicit Association

The NYT has a fascinating article on a new study by a UPenn professor on whether white NBA officials made more foul calls against black players than white players. The study suggests that white officials make up to 4% more foul calls against black players (even after accounting for many variables that skew foul calls.)

What makes the study fascinating is the glimpse into what academics are calling “implicit association.” The theory is that given the myriad decisions folks are asked to make each day, predispositions, prejudices and experiences will influence the outcome of that decision, without the conscious knowledge of the decision maker. Given the biases of society, many of those decisions will have negative effects on racial minorities, women (and presumably the disabled, the overweight and even those considered unattractive.)

Many folks commenting on this study are unphased, like sports columnist
King Kaufman of Salon.com who writes: It would be ridiculous to think that in the racially charged atmosphere of the NBA, a league with an overwhelming majority of black players and white fans and ownership, racial bias would be completely absent in the work of the referees, who are themselves majority white.”

In my mind, the most interesting quote from the article is by Professor David Berri of California State University-Bakersfield, the author of “The Wages of Wins,” which analyzes sports issues using statistics. Asked to analyze the study by the NYT, he commented: “This is just the nature of decision-making, and when you have an evaluation team that’s so different from those being evaluated. Given that your league is mostly African-American, maybe you should have more African-American referees — for the same reason that you don’t want mostly white police forces in primarily black neighborhoods.”

Dedication

Dedication

Originally uploaded by Phil At Sun.

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I’ve just moved and my trusty iMac and its peripherals are packed up in two or three boxes either in my new bedroom or in the hallway next to the kitchen…Oh, and I don’t have any phone or internet service set up for the new place either. It’s rather peaceful. . .no computer, no phone, no TV. I have my iPod hooked up to a portable speaker in the living room and the company of my wife and three doggies for entertainment. (However, the cable is still on at my old place so I take a folding chair over on Sundays to watch The Sopranos.)

Don’t worry, I’m not a Luddite and I’ll get wired again soon. But I’m not rushing it. I’ll try to steal a few minutes from work to tap away at this here blog-thingie.