The normally tasteful and judicious folks in the Nike marketing department have made a new commercial featuring a creepy, unblinking Tiger Woods and the beyond the grave voice of his father (who liked a little action on the side as much as his son does, apparently..) The strange thing to me is I'm not sure what this commercial is supposed to mean. Is his father absolving him ("I'm inclined to be inquisitive..")Are the weird flashes towards the end supposed to symbolize the media that is hounding this innocent man?

It's rather clear that the spot is supposed to make me feel bad for poor Mr. Woods. That is probably not going to happen.

I used to live in New Orleans. It was the most insane place I have ever been, and that was before their beloved Saints won the Super Bowl. A few random observations of my time in New Orleans (all pre-Katrina, so perhaps no longer as relevant, but still..):

- It is a cliche to say a city bleeds their football team's colors, but it is true for New Orleans. I was there when the Saints were awful (and Mike Ditka gave away the entire draft for Ricky Williams) and still it was all the sports anyone talked about. I used Saint's box scores to teach my students math. It was a lot easier to understand averages if you were figuring out yards per rush.

- Celebrations are just different there. Before the winter break, the school district had us send home a letter to parents reminding them that the bullets they shot in the air would come down somewhere, and might be dangerous. Note: the letter was not silly enough to suggest they not do so, merely that they be careful.

- Somehow, things that are bad ideas still get done in New Orleans. Example, for St. Patricks Day they have a Mardi Gras style parade. Along with the usual cups, beads, the various floats throw heads of cabbage! While watching this parade I witnessed two windows broken by flying cabbage, to the general amusement of all.

- In short, New Orleans is not like the rest of the world. Congratulations to all the Saints fans out there, party safe, but still party.

The directors of the New Orleans and Indianapolis Museums of Art have been having a very enjoyable trash talking dialogue back and forth about the losing city offering a piece of art to the winning city. The messages have been routinely enjoyable and will certainly offer better trash talk than either team. A few samples I liked:

Indy: "We're already spackling the wall where the NOMA loan will hang,"

New Orleans: "Max Anderson must not really believe the Colts can beat the Saints in the Super Bowl. Otherwise why would he bet such an insignificant work as the Ingrid Calame painting?"

And my personal fave from New Orleans: "I am amused that Renoir is too sweet for Indianapolis. Does this mean that those Indiana corn farmers have simpler tastes? If so why would Max offer us that gaudy Chalice — just looks like another over-elaborate Victorian tchotchke."

They settled on a bet, with New Orleans offering up a Claude Lorrain painting for loan and Indy meeting that with a JMW Turner painting. I have to admit, this bet might be the funnest thing about the Superbowl this year.

I'm pretty sure this doesn't need any snarky comment. It's one of the most surprising things I have heard Brit Hume say (and that's saying something if you remember his strange, giddy performance on election day 2008.)  Brit's suggestion that there is no room in any heaven he believes in for Bhuddists is a) the sort of close minded thinking that turns people off from religion and b) probably good news to Bhuddists.

I did sort of enjoy Bill Kristol's more secular response.

FIBA (The International Basketball Association) will be holding it's 2010 tournament in Turkey this year. I love these tournaments because they always have strange mascots. FIBA 2010 has not disappointed! I give you the unnamed cat mascot of FIBA 2010.

How could you not like a creature described thusly: "He is of course a cat…. BUT thinks he is a dog. He thinks he is the best basketball playing dog in the World only to realize that he is in fact a cat – but a brilliant loveable and unique cat at that!" (I hope the sic is not necessary there)

I think Air Bud would have something to say about the best basketball playing dog, but c'mon no self respecting cat would think it was a dog. I do enjoy the fact that one of the things he likes is using his tail as a 3rd hand. I wonder if that would be illegal in basketball?

Found a quirky story over the break. About a time when the Communist Party USA had a sportswriter. His name was Lester Rodney, and he was an amazing man. Mr. Rodney was one of the earliest and strongest voices calling for the integration of major league baseball.

Writing for the Daily Worker (the organ of the Communist Party in the US) Mr. Rodney constantly browbeat baseball commissioner Landis to bring black players into the major leagues. Here's a sample of his writing:

“You, the self-proclaimed ‘Czar’ of baseball, are the man responsible for keeping Jim Crow in our National Pastime. You are the one refusing to say the word which would do more to justify baseball’s existence in this year of war than any other single thing.”

Imagine any sports league in this day and age credentialing a reporter from the Communist Party? It's hard to believe. It's also hard to imagine that the press and the people acknowledged the efforts of the Communists here.

Mr. Rodney died last week, at the age of 98. He really led an extraordinary life.

This morning one of the ESPN morning shows had Cowboys receiver Miles Austin, who is from New Jersey (even gave the Garden State a shout out…) This led to the awkward moment of the interviewer asking Austin "You're from New Jersey, have you seen the show Jersey Shore on MTV?" Happily, the player hadn't (or at least wouldn't admit it).

What was the rationale behind that question? Would this then lead to a long discussion of just why that guy calls himself "The Situation"? Or perhaps we could finally hear the word Guidette on ESPN airwaves? Were they really that starved for interview material with the new star of the team that beat an undefeated team? Sheesh.

Honestly, could anything be worse for America's fourth largest city than the New Jersey Nets?  According to the New York Court of Appeals, it's a positively good thing that hundreds of people will be thrown out of their homes, to make way for a basketball team that has no fans.

A group of tenants and owners claim the seizure is unconstitutional. They argue that developer Bruce Ratner's proposed $4.9 billion, 22-acre Atlantic Yards project mainly enriches private interests, while the state constitution requires public use for taking land.

"The constitution accords government broad power to take and clear substandard and insanitary areas for redevelopment," Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman wrote for the majority. "In so doing, it commensurately deprives the judiciary of grounds to interfere with the exercise."

It's worth noting that the commission charged with gifting 22 acres of prime real estate in New York City to billionaire Bruce Ratner found the area to be only "mildly blighted," and therefore proper for eminent domain.  Like a yard that hasn't been mowed in two weeks.  Or a vast vacant lot in New London Connecticut.

The Court of Appeals essentially holds that its hands are tied when some bureaucrat writes the words "blight" and "public benefit" somewhere in the same order.  New York's courts won't protect anyone from loss of property if the magic words are used.

Personally, I find the thoughts of the lone dissenting Justice, Robert Smith, more persuasive.  Justice Smith seems to think that courts should actually look at the facts and evidence before allowing the state to seize people's homes.  He seems to recognize that, shockingly enough, bureaucrats and well-connected land thieves actually read court opinions, and might know that if they want to take someone's property, all they have to do is mouth the proper formulas.

Even if what they want to do with the land will only create a larger blight.

In April, Tom Boonen, a Dutch pro cyclist, tested positive for cocaine use in April. Now, if he were in American sports, he would have released a statement disputing the charge, and suggesting that a supplement was mislabled or something. Boonen went a strange route where he (sorta, kinda) took responsibility for his actions (or at least for not knowing what his actions were…)

"I was very drunk. I do not know what happened, but the next day I tested positive for cocaine," he said.

Terry O'Neill, the head of the National Organization for Women (a pretty redoubtable organization in my mind) has criticized the President's all male basketball games as indicating a "boys club" atmosphere in the White House. Now, I'm always ready to criticize Obama for his sizzle over substance, but in this particular case, I just don't see it.

It would be one thing if there were women asking to get in on the game and they were refused. That would be bad. Should Obama invite some women to play? Yeah, that would be a great idea (and the linked article mentions HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as a possible candidate). But does the absence of women from the game indicate an actively sexist President? I don't think so.

The dependably satirical Red State has an impassioned defense of the civil rights of the most persecuted man in America, Rush Limbaugh.  It bears reading, if only for the hilarious scope of it. Apparently, dropping Rush from an NFL ownership position is the equivalent of the Holocaust.

The post suggests that "Tonight Rush became the metaphor for all of us… every man woman and child in this great nation of ours." Really? So a cabal of rich white guys (most of whom probably agree with Rush on just about anything) decided that another rich white guy was too much of a bad PR move (because of his own actions and words – see McNabb, Donovan) and that makes him a victim?

The NFL is notoriously paranoid about it's image. This is a league that fines grown men for wearing too short socks. Was there ever any doubt that they would want to stay from Rush?

No, Rush is not a victim here. He is not a persecuted minority. He's just a rich white guy.

The Dallas Cowboys opened a mammoth new stadium, which includes a ridiculous idea to have over 30,000 standing room only tickets. Apparently it never occurred to them that those 30,000 might clutter the walkways and make lines for food and restrooms untenable. Luckily, the internet has given sports fans a chance to bring perspective to this disaster. Note this comment to a Dallas Morning News story:

"..it reminded me of the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina."

Yeah, I think that's the comparison to make. Unless, that is, you can somehow work in the Holocaust.

Nothing like spending millions and millions of dollars to get a high powered athlete to endorse your product, and slap their fierce visage all over the website that is reporting that the athlete is having season ending surgery after the first game. Yes, Bears LB Brian Urlacher is the frontman for Nike's new campaign, and his face is all over the ESPN website saying "Prepare for Combat" I suppose that should be changed to "Prepare for Surgery." It's like they always say, timing is the most important element of comedy…

That is one of the classic lines from one of the best computer baseball games ever made "Ernie Harwell's Broadcast Blast Baseball" (it was also known as APBA Baseball for Windows) It was a great game, made all the better for it's full audio. Ernie called every game as if it were a July Sunday day game. My brother and I would sometimes put on a game with two AI players just to listen to the great Harwell call the action.

The game itself was well done, although not as feature rich as todays games like OOTP. You could only play one season, doing drafts was pretty difficult, and the interface wasn't great. Oh, and the voice of a vendor would sometimes inexplicably go on for a 30 second solo. But still it was baseball at a non-video game patient beautiful pace. If you wanted to pinch hit, Ernie would talk about "manager Denney (if you were lucky enough for your name to be one of the few in the database) is looking at his lineup card. Looks like he wants the right hander to come in."

I love OOTP & MLB The Show, they are great baseball games, but they play at a videogame speed. I finish a game in 20 minutes. With APBA, the game played much longer, but you enjoyed it. It captured the feel of listening to a game on the radio. The languid ebb and flow of innings. And, there was enough audio that it didn't feel repetitive.

I guess all of this is my way of acknowledging that Ernie Harwell had a huge impact on my life as a baseball fan, even though I never saw a Tigers game in my life. Thanks Ernie, and good luck with your new adventure. I hope I have as much courage and positivity if faced with a similar situation.

Professionally I strive to win second chances for clients who have [for public consumption] had tragic misunderstandings with the government or [for private consumption] done evil things. Personally I'm more agnostic about the whole thing. The government probably ought not make convicts permanent lepers as a matter of law, inasmuch as it seems likely they will just re-offend because life in prison is no worse than life as a leper. But individuals are free to act as they like, and to refuse to believe in redemption or forgiveness or rehabilitation for others. (People are excellent, I find, at finding exceptions for themselves.)

Lots of people are pissed that the Eagles hired Michael Vick, convicted animal abuser. That's their right. Or so you would think. That viewpoint seems to irritate the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, which is planning a pro-Vick protest march before a game:

A massive demonstration is planned to support Michael Vick at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday, when Vick is expected to make his debut with the Eagles.

The Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and other local civil rights groups had planned a demonstration to support Vick. . . . .

"We believe Michael Vick has served his time, paid his debt to society and deserves a second chance and the animal rights groups want to hold him hostage for the rest of his life," J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, said Wednesday. "We think that's patently unfair. It denies Michael Vick's basic civil rights, denies him his ability to make a living."

That's a bit odd. If the government said that Vick could never work in the NFL again, that might be a violation of his civil rights. If the Eagles refused to hire Michael Vick but agreed to hire a notorious animal abuser who is white — say, Lyndon Johnson, or Richard Gere — that might be a statutory civil rights violation. But in any coherent legal worldview, people in plastic sandals holding ill-lettered signs protesting the Eagles for hiring Michael Vick do not violate Michael Vick's civil rights. They don't even violate his civil rights if they succeed in convincing the Eagles not to hire Vick. The Eagles are free not to hire someone who is so reviled that he will lose them money. The protesters are free to convince the Eagles that is the case.

Moreover, it appears that the NAACP is protesting an animal rights protest that isn't happening — or at least, not on any organized basis:

The Eagles have not heard of any planned demonstration or protest from animal rights groups, which met with team management for two hours on Monday at the team's practice facility. Although no local animal rights group have yet to partner with the Eagles or Vick in a local anti-dogfighting campaign, the meeting appeared to end on a positive note and head off any planned massive protest, participants said.

Meanwhile, animal advocates are throwing a tailgate party on the other side of town Thursday for the 2nd Chance Dogs campaign — a pointed reference to Vick's second chance in the NFL — to increase awareness of dogfighting and encourage adoption of rescued pit bulls.
. . . .
Local animal advocates seem to be keeping their distance. Rather than protest Vick or work with him, they prefer to use the public debate about his return to the NFL to raise money and awareness of animal cruelty issues.

Unstated, but looming, is the suggestion that people who oppose Michael Vick only do so because he's black. That's rather odd. Have animal rights groups failed to protest similarly situated white animal abusers? The only racially suggestive language I've heard about Vick came from Whoopi Goldberg.

Hat tip: Dave (ND)