By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
The Politics of the Diamond
The Tampa Bay Rays were not supposed to compete this year, after dumping most of their payroll last year. They really weren’t supposed to compete after it was announced that Evan Longoria was injured. They really, really weren’t once Manny Ramirez retired. However, here we are, almost a month into the season, and the Rays are in second place in the AL East. And Evan Longoria might be coming back soon. [mlb.com]
Tim “The Freak” Lincecum took a no-hitter into the 7th inning last night against the owners of the best record in the National League–the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies finished with four hits and one run. Which is seven runs less than the Giant’s eight. That’s a weird way of saying that the Giants won last night, 8-1, over the Rockies. [ESPN]
The AL Central is the division most up for grabs in baseball, in my opinion. If the White Sox want to compete for the pennant, they will need Jake Peavy. Unfortunately, he only managed to throw 15 pitches in his first rehab outing. [Chicago Trib]
The RP has come out against Barry Bonds going to jail. He now knows who to complain to about Bond’s conviction (the names of the jurors has been released) [Canadian Press]
Reds pitcher Mike Leake has been arrested on charges of shoplifting shirts for Macy’s. Since this is a website about civility and being nice to people, and this is a story about a Reds player doing something incredibly stupid, I will just leave you with that. [ESPN]
Major League Baseball has one of the most draconian policies on the entire internet when it comes to hosting videos. No site on the entire web is allowed to host a video of an MLB highlight, and MLB is very vigilant about ensuring these videos stay safe and sound at mlb.com. This angers baseball and sports bloggers everywhere–and they weren’t about to take that sitting down. Deadspin has decided to enlist the help of its readers to get reenactments of the previous night’s highlights as performed by youth baseball teams. The response was overwhelming, and now Deadspin has released a contest where they have asked youth baseball teams to reenact major events in MLB history. [Original Challenge] [Historical Challenge][Challenge Accepted]
By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, on Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
I want to thank Jonathan Miller for giving me the chance…as a recovering politician…to contemplate this week on the relation between faith and politics.
After my eight years as Lt. Governor of Maryland, I wrote “Failing America’s Faithful: How Today’s Churches are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way.” I thought that many churches that had once served as a counterweight to a nation overly obsessed with money were no longer were fulfilling this critical function.
Religious communities were strong and vocal during the Civil Rights era, and in the protests against the Vietnam war, following a strong tradition which began in the First and Second Great Awakenings, during which ministers preached to thousands (and this was the time before microphones!!) demanding justice.
The Abolitionist movement and the Suffragette movement both grew out of the Second Great Awakening. The late 19th century was the time of the Social Gospel activists, who asked “What would Jesus do?” as a way to urge the end of child labor, and to promote safe working conditions, a strong union movement and fairness for prisoners. FDR compared the New Deal to the “Sermon on the Mount” enacted into law. In the thirties and forties, Jesuits ran over 300 labor organizing schools.
This Holy Week — Passover, Good Friday and Easter — is the perfect time to reflect on our lives. What have we done? What should we be doing? Questions of justice and fairness permeate our conversations.
As an added bonus, this spiritual moment coincides with the fierce debates about the budget. We can and should engage in examination of conscience and examination of country. My fear is that the religious communities will not play the vigorous role in this debate as they have in our past.
Unfortunately today, may churches seem to have shrunk God, so that rather than a Deity who cares for the whole nation, this God is concerned with only “me”. They ask: “What is my relationship to God?” not “What is my duty to be concerned with all God’s children?” God seems to be created in the image of the believer, not a large God who is concerned with everyone.
Kathleen and her dad. Click on the picture to watch a video on RFK's South Africa trip.
When my father, Robert Kennedy, returned from South Africa, he wrote an article for Look magazine entitled, “Suppose God is Black?” He knew that God cared about justice for all, not just the few. He knew that Christ had said it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.
Today, America seems to celebrate the rich and famous. We tax work at higher levels that we tax wealth. There are some wonderful leaders such as Jim Wallis of Sojourners and groups that are concerned with the Common Good, with the proper relation between faith and politics.
I hope that we use this time to use our religious teachings to inform questions of public policy. And, of course, I am interested in any response to these ideas.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Apr 19, 2011 at 5:00 PM ET
Tomorrow morning, we lead off with a timely piece from a special new recovering politician.
She is a nationally renowned leader, a former Lt. Governor, and also happens to be the daughter of my father’s hero. (If you don’t know who she is by this description, then you haven’t been reading all my posts: DO YOUR HOMEWORK!)
She is also the author of a thoughtful book on faith and politics. So it is fitting that her inaugural piece for The Recovering Politician focuses on that very subject during a Holy Week for Jews and Christians, which conincides with one of the most significant budget battles in recent history. Whatever your faith (or lack thereof), I think you will find this piece very thought-provoking. So tune in tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, our Recovering Professor, Ronald J. Granieri, will bring his expertise in European history to bear by sharing his unique perspective on the Libyan conflict, with a focus on the relationship between the United States and its allies during this new era. If you are tired of all of the partisan soundbites back-and-forth on this issue, I think you will find Ron’s analysis to be quite interesting.
So, see you bright and early for some spirited discussion on some critical issues.
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Apr 19, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Film
You may have noticed that the time it takes between the release of a film in theaters and that film’s home release has gotten considerably shorter over the past few years. Studios want to cut that down even further. Theaters, on the other hand, don’t want that at all. [The Movie Blog]
Jesse Eisenberg, who was widely acclaimed for his performance in The Social Network, is teaming up with Ellen Page (from Juno and Inception) in Woody Allen’s next film. I am pretty excited about that. [Movie Line]
Nicolas Cage is in some hot water. He was arrested on charges of Public Intoxication, Disorderly Conduct, and it has been alleged that he physically abused his wife. Lets hope that Nic gets on track soon. And lets hope he makes better movies, too. [Chicago Sun-Times]
George Clooney is no stranger to controversial films. His next film could be about the Troubled Assets Relief Program, entitled the 700 Billion Dollar Man. He might even direct. [Film Junk]
It’s been known for a while that Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer will partner to make another adaptation of The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp playing the role of Tonto. However, things are looking like Ryan Gosling might play the starring role. Ladies, keep it together. [/Film]
Catherine Zeta-Jones has drawn praise for disclosing that she received treatment for bipolar disease. Mental illnesses are no joke, and its pretty sad that sometimes popular culture puts celebrities who suffer from them through the ringer. Here is hoping she gets everything straightened out. [The Guardian]
I do a radio show every week. If you happen to live in the Lexington, KY area, you should tune in to 88.1 WRFL every Monday at 10 to listen to it. Everybody else should go to our podcast and download it. Seriously, it doesn’t suck. [Surreelfilm]
You may have heard that professional golfer Kevin Na took 16 strokes to finish a par four hole last week. He is truly the new hero of all hacks and duffers out there. Unbelievably, though, his is not the worst score ever on a single hole on the PGA Tour. Know who owns that inglorious record? (The RP wonders if alcohol may have played a role?) [About.com]
And by the way, if you missed Na’s ordeal, you’ve got to watch this painfully fun video with great audio. [Bleacher Report]
Americans, of course, don’t like to lose. We especially don’t like to lose to other countries, right, patriots? But how about getting completely, embarrassingly pounded by the Germans? This falls into the WTF category. (And, yes, WTF stands for World Tennis Federation—WTF did you think?) [Tennis-X]
The Duke Lacrosse story has now gone from sad to sadder to tragic. [CNN]
Finally, there have clearly been great movies about boxing (Rocky, The Fighter come to mind) and golf (Caddyshack, definitely qualifies, The Legend of Bagger Vance is questionable—although it does have Charlize Theron in it), but have there ever been any good movies about tennis? LET US KNOW!!
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Apr 19, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET
My teenage daughter and I BOTH love it. So go forth, click, buy & read!
Furiously patting myself on the back for sucessfully introducing Nick Hornby’s masterpiece, High Fidelity, to my 17-year-old daughter, I’ve decided to make a tradition of aping the protagonist’s habit of breaking down pop culture categories into top five lists. (See my post on Top Five Breakup Songs here).
And now that the depression of March Madness has dissipated, and the ennui of the NBA playoffs has set in, there’s no better time to pick up a great book (or five) about basketball.
Unfortunately, with the qualifiation of the word “great” in the sentence above, there are not many to choose from. While the literary elite has focused its attention on the diamond or the gridiron, hoops have been sorely neglected.
There are, however, some exceptional exceptions. Click on the book covers below to preview and/or purchase):
The best book on basketball — and in my not-so-humble-by-any-means opinion, the best book on any sport, exclamation point — celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. You probably have never heard of it, and I wouldn’t have either, had I not read Bill Simmons’ The Book on Basketball (See #3 below). The late, Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter Halberstam followed the 1976-77 Portland Trailblazer NBA Champs in the years following their title, through injuries (most prominently to star center Bill Walton), dissension, trades, discontent, and sometimes, triumph. Halberstam eloquently illustrates through his prose that basketball — as I argued in my inaugural RP post, “Why March Madness Matters” — is the ultimate communitarian sport: Players and teams only can achieve greatness when individuals put aside their selfish needs to advance the common good.
2. A Season on the Brink by John Feinstein
The best book on college hoops was born when John Feinstein was granted permission to spend the year with the University of Indiana Hoosiers and its coach, Bobby Knight, who is perhaps the most controversial and polarizing team leader of his generation in any sport. This uncensored examination of how the pressures of the sport affect a coaching staff and its mostly teenage squad of players captures brilliantly how big-time college sports has emerged to transcend (some will say, offend) the Athenian ideals of amateurism, and become a professional institution of its own. And remember — this was written after the 1985-86 season, in the infancy of the March Madness phenomenon, which many argue began with the 1979 NCAA Championship, pitting a different kind of hoosier — Indiana State’s Larry Bird — against Earvin “Magic” Johnson of Michigan State.
To be clear (as admitted in the subtitle, “The NBA According to the Sports Guy”), this is really “The Book of Professional Basketball.” But despite mostly ignoring the finer collegiate variety of the game, this is a fascinating read — the kind of book that both provides tidy places for reading breaks, but also encourages you to read on and on. Simmons is at times hilarious, profane, and viciously jingoistic (He is a self-admitted Boston Celtic fanatic). The reader’s thirst for hoops information is fully slaked through reams of statistics, colorful stories, and witty pop-culture-laden metaphors, but Simmons also weaves through the book a wonderful narrative theme, borrowed from his favorite basketball tome, Halberstam’s The Breaks of the Game (See #1, above): “The secret of basketball is that it’s not about basketball…Teams only win titles when their best players forget about statistics, sublimate their own games for the greater good and put their egos on hold.”
The book that famously tarnished the uber-Man Michael Jordan myth created by Nike and the NBA (and discussed brilliantly by David Sirota in his new book, Back to Our Future), vividly captured the human side of the living legend: his temper tantrums, his biting critiques of his teammates, and his emerging super-sized ego. But the book also demonstrates how Jordan’s Zen-master coach Phil Jackson was able to direct Jordan and his teammates to emerge as one of the greatest squads in NBA history, by focusing the star’s attention (Here we go again!) away from personal scoring statistics to unselfish team play.
5. Duke Sux by Christian Laettner
In this touching — sometimes even moving — confessional memoir, former Duke University All-American center, Christian Laettner, apologizes to college hoops fans everywhere for the arrogant attitude of his squad, of the Duke student body, and most importantly, of himself. A key chapter is dedicated to his asking for forgiveness for his famous foot-stomping of Kentucky Wildcat reserve Aminu Timberlake during the historic 1992 NCAA Regional Finals, and his admission that the Blue Devils’ NCAA Championship that year should be vacated and given to the Kentucky Wildcat squad that almost beat them during the Greatest Game Ever Played/Worst Moment in World History.
—-
OK, OK. I might have made up one of the books above. (I told you this genre was bereft of classics!)
Please guess which one is the fake in the comments below. Or let me know what great hoops books I’ve missed.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Apr 19, 2011 at 11:30 AM ET
Greg Mortenson, author of inspirational memoir Three Cups of Tea, defends his book against accusations of fabrication. [New York Times]
Sidney Harman, the entrepreneur and philanthropist who saved Newsweek, died last week after a battle with cancer. [The Daily Beast]
Sometimes the media gives us gems like Jersey Shore and Dancing with the Stars that we will love, regardless of how crazy they are. Time magazine documents the 2011 Reality Rocks Expo: [Time]
Not on the Twitter bandwagon yet? With 200 million users and counting, it’s time to get on board! [CNN]
Tired of all the serious media coverage of the Royal Wedding? Check out this humorous take on the wedding of the century. Let’s hope Prince William really does leapfrog over his brother down the aisle. [CNN Video]
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Apr 19, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET
Pardon the interruption for some HUGE RP NEWS:
Contributing RP Jeff Smith, his stunning inaugural piece on his journey from politics to prison, and The Recovering Politician Web site, were highlighted this week by New York magazine’s The Approval Matrix, a leading national arbiter of the pop culture zeitgeist. (And now a TV show on Bravo.)
Best yet — Smith’s piece received the top rating: The Approval Matrix deemed it “Highbrow” (vs. “Lowbrow”) and “Brilliant” (vs. “Despicable”).
A pretty incredible development for a contributing recovering politician just beginning his second act and a Web site in only its third week.
Here is the screenshot of the top right corner of the matrix — click on it to read the entire page at the New York web site:
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Apr 19, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
By popular demand, today’s guest on RPTV’s Fifteen Minutes of Fame is contributing RP and former Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith. Jeff’s inaugural post for The Recovering Politician has electrified the blogosphere; already more than 10,000 people have read Jeff’s stunningly candid retelling of his post-political experiences in a federal prison.
In this morning’s interview, Jeff addresses many of the questions that our readers have posed since his article’s posting on April 4. If you are new to this site, be sure to read the following articles BEFORE you watch the interview:
