😎 👍 OPTIMISTIC LIFE, POSITIVE LEGACY:  R.I.P. BILL WALTON (1952-2024) — Hoops Superstar,🏀 Memorable Announcer, 🎤Grateful Dead Fan, ☠️ All-Around Good Guy 🤣Succumbs To Cancer at 71, As Well-Earned Tributes Pour In!

From NBA.com:

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-family-pays-tribute-to-bill-walton

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and more pay tribute to Bill Walton

NBA legends, current players and members of the basketball community react to the Hall of Famer’s death on Monday.

Updated on May 28, 2024 7:45 AM

Bill Walton
Bill Walton (1952-2024)

Members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team took to social media to honor the legendary Bill Walton (left) on Monday.

Hall of Fame center Bill Walton, a two-time champion at UCLA and in the NBA, a former No.1 overall pick, and one of the biggest personalities of the game, died on May 27 after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 71 years old. Walton played 10 seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, LA Clippers and the Boston Celtics, averaging 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He earned Finals MVP after leading the Blazers to the 1977 championship and won another title with the Celtics in 1986. A two-time All-Star, Walton won the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 1978.

Walton retired from the NBA after the 1987-88 season. He turned to broadcasting where he became one of the most entertaining and eccentric color commentators for NCAA and NBA telecasts.

A beloved member of the NBA family, legends, current players and other members of the basketball community took to social media to pay tribute to Walton’s career and his many off-the-court contributions.

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Walton was a zany presence, but his guts and talent were undeniable. He was one of the dominant college players of my younger days as a fan when UCLA under the legendary coach John Wooden was the undisputed “King of the Court” in NCAA basketball.

You can read the heartfelt tributes from his contemporaries at the above link.

Even in death, Walton leaves a “positive spin” that we’re much in need of these days.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-28-24

🇺🇸GEORGE PACKER @ THE ATLANTIC ON WHY JOE BIDEN SHOULD GO TO KENOSHA TO LISTEN & DELIVER A NEEDED MESSAGE OF PEACE, HOPE, & UNITY!

https://apple.news/AY0ybevmoTUe6tKe-0t8z3Q

Packer writes:

. . . .

Nothing will harm a campaign like the wishful thinking, fearful hesitation, or sheer complacency that fails to address what voters can plainly see. Kenosha gives Biden a chance to help himself and the country. Ordinarily it’s the incumbent president’s job to show up at the scene of a national tragedy and give a unifying speech. But Trump is temperamentally incapable of doing so and, in fact, has a political interest in America’s open wounds and burning cities.

Biden, then, should go immediately to Wisconsin, the crucial state that Hillary Clinton infamously ignored. He should meet the Blake family and give them his support and comfort. He should also meet Kenoshans like the small-business owners quoted in the Times piece, who doubt that Democrats care about the wreckage of their dreams. Then, on the burned-out streets, without a script, from the heart, Biden should speak to the city and the country. He should speak for justice and for safety, for reform and against riots, for the crying need to bring the country together. If he says these things half as well as Julia Jackson did, we might not have to live with four more years of Trump.

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Read the rest of Packer’s article at the link.

Seems like a sound plan. Joe probably should take Kamala with him to Kenosha. Get the input of the residents and public officials living with this horrible situation every day and see what common ground they might suggest for both repairing the damage that has been done (to the extent it can be repaired — obviously, there is no restoring Mr. Blake to his pre-shooting condition) and moving forward as a united community and as a country. Assuming, as I do, that the vast majority of Americans favor both justice for all and peaceful, prosperous communities, what are some specifics about how we might get there by working together and across racial and party lines.

Threats and more force won’t solve the problem. We know that. But just that knowledge isn’t enough to solve the problem.

I think it also would be a good idea for Joe and Kamala to seek the views of individuals like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph & Ayesha Curry, George Hill, Kenny Smith, Colin Kaepernick (who was born in Milwaukee and spent the first four yers of his life in Fond du Lac, WI)and others in the African-American community. How would they solve the problem of racial injustice while building community harmony. How could they use their influence to help. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Sen. Doug Jones (to name just a few) might also have some good ideas to contribute.

Donald Trump is not, and never will be, a thoughtful, unifying problem solver. It’s just not in his makeup or “skill set.” He has no coherent plan for anything.

By contrast, Joe Biden has shown himself to be thoughtful, willing to admit and move by past mistakes, and able to build on his experience and past views to address the present. Now, he needs to put it all together in “real time” and show America what a competent, caring, and listening Government could do for the common good. Without necessarily “becoming Elizabeth Warren,” he and Kamala “need a plan for that.” And listening to the “real people of Kenosha” seems like the place to start.

PWS

08-28-20

 

TRUMP DECLARES WAR ON AFRICAN-AMERICAN ATHLETES — DISSES CURRY, NFL, NBA, LEBRON JAMES REACTS! — Packers & Other NFL Teams Push Back Against President’s Appeals To Racism & Disrespect For Constitution!

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/23/politics/donald-trump-nfl-nba/index.html

Chris Cillizza writes on CNN:

“On one level, this is classic Trump. He feels as though he is being disrespected — whether by NFL players not standing for the national anthem or by Curry saying if it was up to him, the Golden State Warriors would not visit the White House. (The Warriors, in a statement Saturday afternoon, said they would come to Washington and do events to promote diversity and inclusiveness rather than meet with Trump.)
They hit him, so he hit back.
But, there’s something far more pernicious here. Both the NFL and the NBA are sports in which the vast majority of the players are black and the vast majority of owners are white. In the NFL, there are 0 black owners of the 32 teams. In the NBA, Michael Jordan is the lone black owner of a team.
Consider that in the context of what Trump said both Friday night and Saturday.
In Alabama, Trump called the players who refuse to stand for the anthem “sons of bitches” and insisted that any owner worth his or her salt should fire them immediately.
That got a lot of attention — and rightly so. But it’s what Trump said next that’s really telling. “Total disrespect of our heritage, a total disrespect of everything that we stand for,” he said — adding for emphasis: “Everything that we stand for.”
Notice the use of “our heritage” and “we” in those two sentences above.
But wait, there’s more. In both his Curry tweet and his two NFL tweets, Trump expressed frustration that these lucky athletes felt the need to be ungrateful.
Trump noted the “great honor” of going to the White House and the “privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL.” You should just be thankful for what you have and not be making any trouble, Trump is telling these players.
Here’s the thing: Even if we lived in a color-blind society, that would be a dangerous sentiment. After all, freedom of expression is right there in the First Amendment. And our brave soldiers didn’t fight and die so that everyone stood during the national anthem. They fought so people could have the right to make a choice about whether or not they wanted to stand. That’s the whole damn point of the First Amendment.
The thing is: We don’t live in a color-blind society. Slavery sits at the founding roots of America. The goal of racial equality remains a goal, not an achievement. To pretend otherwise is to willfully blind yourself to hundreds years of history.
Even more context darkens the picture for Trump. He played at racially coded language throughout his presidential campaign. He also displayed a stunningly simplistic view of the black community.
“You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed — what the hell do you have to lose?” Trump said of African-Americans in a speech to a largely white audience in Michigan during the campaign. When NBA star Dwyane Wade’s cousin was shot in Chicago, Trump tweeted: “Dwayne Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”” He took an inordinate amount of time to condemn former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. And so on.
As President, Trump has done little too ease concerns about his racial views — and, in fact, has heightened them. His handling of the Charlottesville, Virginia, protests — in which white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched in protest of the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee — was particularly alarming.
Even as the protests turned violent — one woman was killed — Trump claimed that there were violent factions “on many sides” to be blamed. Days later, he doubled down on that false premise; “I watched those very closely, much more closely than you people watched it,” Trump said. “And you have — you had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to say that, but I’ll say it right now.”
Although his administration tried desperately to move on from his remarks, it was made clear recently that Trump meant exactly what he said. The day after meeting at the White House with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott — the lone black Republican in the Senate — Trump was quick to note that he had been right in his initial comments after Charlottesville.
“I think especially in light of the advent of Antifa, if you look at what’s going on there, you have some pretty bad dudes on the other side also, and essentially that’s what I said,” Trump told reporters.
And now, this.
I’ve long believed that Trump is simply saying whatever comes to mind, that there is no broader strategy to his comments. But it’s impossible to conclude that after Charlottesville, Trump is totally ignorant of the racial context in which his remarks on the NFL and NBA land. No one is that oblivious.
When, given all the water under the bridge — both in terms of our country’s history and the more narrow history of Trump’s campaign — you make comments about how the athletes in predominantly black pro sports leagues should just be happy with what they have and not complain, you aren’t doing it by accident. You really believe it.
Play football or basketball so we can be entertained, Trump seems to be telling these athletes. No one wants to hear your lack of gratitude for what you’ve been given.
There’s so many things wrong with that view.
First of all, no one gave these players anything. They worked for it.
Second, just because you are a professional athlete doesn’t mean you don’t get to be a citizen, too. We don’t tell accountants, for example, that they can’t express their opinions on politics and the culture more broadly, right? So why should we be in the business of telling professional athletes? And would Trump feel the same way if the majority of those protesting the anthem were white?
Trump defenders will note that Trump didn’t name names — other than Curry — when he blasted professional athletes. That “we” are adding color to it, not him.

But that doesn’t fly. As I noted above, both the NFL and NBA are majority black. And those refusing to stand during the national anthem are, with one exception, also all black.
Trump knows this. He is an avid consumer of TV and culture. Which means that he is purposely playing at and with racial animus here. That is a dark thing to do as the leader of the United States. And something he deserves to be condemned for.”

As reported in the Green Bay Press Gazette, Packer President/CEO Mark Murphy issued the following statement:

The full statement from Murphy:

“It’s unfortunate that the President decided to use his immense platform to make divisive and offensive statements about our players and the NFL. We strongly believe that players are leaders in our communities and positive influences. They have achieved their positions through tremendous work and dedication and should be celebrated for their success and positive impact.

“We believe it is important to support any of our players who choose to peacefully express themselves with the hope of change for good. As Americans, we are fortunate to be able to speak openly and freely.”

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Trump’s racism and his condescending attitude toward minorities should come as no surprise given his campaign, his base, the GOP’s racially divisive agenda, and the folks surrounding him. It also should come as no surprise that Trump’s remarks came in Alabama, a state unable to advance beyond its disgusting racist history (except on the football field in Tuscolusa in the Fall) and move into the present.

It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow at NFL stadiums. It will also be interesting to see whether African-American athletes put their money, time, and prestige behind encouraging others to vote so that Trump will never happen again and that the GOP stranglehold on our Government and our country will be broken.

Finally, why do we sing the National Anthem at sporting events in the first place? These athletic contests are entertsinment, not expressions of patriotism. We don’t sing it before concerts, movies, plays, and other performances. It doesn’t belong at sporting events either.

It is a bizarre and sad state of affairs when the President of the Green Bay Packers has to “school” the President of the United States on the meaning of our Constitution and an appropriate tone for race relations in our country!

PWS

09-23-17

 

 

 

 

NBA SUPERSTAR STEPH CURRY JOINS LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA’S PRO IMMIGRATION CAMPAIGN!

http://www.vibe.com/2017/06/steph-ayesha-curry-lin-manuel-ham4all/

VIBE reports:

Lin-Manuel Miranda early this morning announced his latest and most important contest yet: the #Ham4All challenge in support of Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition.

“Hamilton has crisscrossed the country—New York, Chicago, San Francisco. Next stop…Los Angeles!” wrote the playwright in an open letter. “I’m thrilled to be back again with another great Hamilton experience, this time benefiting a cause that’s not only at the heart of Hamilton but particularly close to me—immigration. I’m raising money for the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, which is comprised of 12 amazing organizations.”

READ: Lin-Manuel Miranda To Be Inducted In The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Shortly after making the announcement, Golden State Warrior and NBA champion Stephen Curry and his wifey-in-crime Ayesha Curry entered the challenge, making a donation of their own—performing their favorite Hamilton track and throwing down the gauntlet to the next celebrity, in one fell swoop.

“We all feel strongly about supporting these important organizations fighting to protect immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who want to make a better life for themselves and their families,” the couple captioned on Instagram, urging Olivia Munn and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to join the fight. “The grand prize winner will join us and Lin-Manuel at the LA opening on August 16th. We think that this will be the biggest Hamilton sweepstakes yet, but we need your help…”

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Read the complete story and get links to more information about the “Immigrants: We Get The Job Done Coalition” at the above link. Compare Miranda’s positive, upbeat message about immigration with the steady stream of fear-mongering, xenophobia, implicit racism, and, let’s face it, outright lies about migrants coming from the Trump Administration.

PWS

06-28-17

WashPost Politics: Chris Cillizza & Sally Quinn Put Trump Into NBA Context — It’s Chris Paul Guarding Steph Curry!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/what-chris-paul-and-steph-curry-can-teach-us-about-president-trump/2017/02/05/0c9c161a-ebb2-11e6-b7e8-df81bd6c4c30_story.html?utm_term=.b3a333c3e4fb

Chris Cillizza writes in “The Monday Fix:”

“The best unified theory of Trump I’ve come across is by Sally Jenkins, the legendary Washington Post sports reporter and columnist. Here’s Sally’s explanation of Trump from a tweet last week “An old sports strategy: foul so much in the 1st 5 min of the game that the refs can’t call them all. From then on, a more physical game.”

If you think about the first 14 (or so) days of the Trump presidency through that lens, it starts to make a lot of sense.”

. . . .

But if Jenkins is right — and I suspect she is — then that outrage, those protests, those skittish Republicans will all dissipate, or diminish, as Trump’s presidency goes on. What feels like line-pushing now will seem normal sometime soon. By pushing so hard so fast, Trump is redefining what he can do and how the political establishment, and the country at large, will react.”

 

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Foul early, foul often, upset your opponent, challenge the refs, and stretch the rules to the max. We’ll see whether it works as well in politics as it does on the court.

PWS

02/06/17