Why do we have to be racist????

THE same racial stereotypes that dogged Yao Ming early in his NBA career are now being cast upon Harvard educated, New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin.

American sports network ESPN was forced to apologise on Saturday for an anti-Asian slur directed at Chinese-American Lin that appeared in a story about the point guard following the Knicks 89-85 loss on Friday night.
The headline "Chink in the Armour" was included in an online story about Lin's role in the game that ended New York's seven-game winning streak.
ESPN said in a statement it was "conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologise for this mistake."
ESPN claimed that the headline appeared to only mobile browsers for a 35-minute period but long enough for scores of people to see it.

The Knicks have been on a magical run since former part-time player Lin was called upon with two starters missing and answered with the most points of any NBA player in his first five starts since the NBA and ABA merged in 1976.
Lin's fairy-tale story is further enhanced because he was cut by two clubs, including Yao's former team the Houston Rockets, before the season started.
While the majority of Americans are captivated by the "Lin-sanity" phenomenon, others like US African-American boxer Floyd Mayweather are not.
"Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise," Mayweather said in a posting on his Twitter microblogging website.
Like Lin, retired eight-time NBA all-star Yao had to face taunts and ethnic slurs when he broke into the league in 2002.
Former Detroit Piston Ben Wallace said the then 21-year-old Yao would receive a rude welcome the first time China's national team played the United States in August 2002 in Oakland, California.
"We are going to beat him up. We are going to beat him up pretty bad," Wallace said. "Welcome to the league, welcome to our country. This is our playground."
Yao also had to deal with ethnic slurs from former Los Angeles Laker Shaquille O'Neal who once mockingly told a television reporter, "Tell Yao Ming, 'ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh'."
The 23-year-old Lin said on Wednesday he hopes to change outlooks and stereotypes regarding Asians and Asian-American NBA players.
"I think there are definitely (Asian) stereotypes," he said.
"There are a lot of them. The more we can do to break those down every day the better we will become.
"Hopefully in the near future we will see a lot more Asians and Asian-Americans playing in the NBA."
ESPN has fired an employee and suspended an anchor for using "offensive and inappropriate comments" about NBA phenomenon Jeremy Lin.

The moves come after ESPN apologised for its "Chink in The Armour" headline that appeared on ESPN.com's mobile website following the New York Knicks' 89-85 loss to the hapless New Orleans Hornets Friday.
The phrase, which carries obvious racial overtones when used in reference to a person of Asian descent, appeared on the site for more than 30 minutes before being removed.

The expression was also used by ESPN anchor Max Bretos on Wednesday when he asked a question about Lin's weaknesses during an interview with Hall-of-Fame Knicks guard Walt Frazier.
The network announced today that it had fired the employee responsible for the headline and was suspending an anchor for 30 days for "offensive and inappropriate comments" used during its coverage of Lin. The anchor is reportedly Bretos.
ESPN also said it had learned a similar phrase was used by ESPN Radio New York. ESPN said that it had not taken action for the radio incident because the commentator was not an ESPN employee.
"We again apologise, especially to Mr Lin," ESPN said in a statement.
"His accomplishments are a source of great pride to the Asian-American community, including the Asian-American employees at ESPN.
“Through self-examination, improved editorial practices and controls, and response to constructive criticism, we will be better in the future."
Lin, the first Asian-American to start an NBA game and an adopted hero in China, committed nine turnovers in the Knicks' surprise 89-85 loss to the Hornets at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. Lin, however, still showed flashes of brilliance in the game, scoring 26 points and dishing out five assists.
The defeat snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Knicks with the previously-unheralded Harvard graduate, who emerged in spectacular fashion with a run of elite performances to lay claim to the team's starting point guard spot and garner global acclaim.

The 10 Best Things About Being An A's Fan!

1. Unexpected years of contention: Baltimore, Kansas City and Pittsburgh? I just don't know how you do it. Sure, the A's are constantly in a state of roster flux, and I don't know if any team has a shorter average player tenure than the A's. But what I've learned and enjoyed over the years is that no franchise holds the ability to randomly compete in a year in which they're deemed to be irrelevant as a playoff contender.
The 1999, 2005 and perhaps even the 2002 team from "Moneyball" were all squads that didn't really have any business north of .500. Even when the A's are deemed to be in rebuilding mode, we're able to dream that the onset of highly touted prospects, and some veteran throwaways could somehow combine to form a 90-win team. On paper, the team we're fielding this year should be terrible, but perhaps the stars will align again. There's always hope.

2. We have a legitimate reason to hate Bud Selig: A's fans in the East Bay don't want them to move to San Jose. But fans to the south and the city of San Jose are all for it. Regardless of your take on the relocation, MLB's nearly three-year decision process is not only a huge abomination in leadership gone wrong, but a massive hindrance to allowing the A's to increasing their payroll and bolstering their roster.

Selig is a guy who is often begrudged by baseball fans. When pressed as to why the stodgy, awkward-looking commissioner can be public enemy No. 1 to baseball fans, all too often the case to condone his stewardship of MLB is very flimsy. However, after yet another winter of dismantling what looked to be a contending team and spending another year in relocation purgatory, there just isn't any excuse or explanation of why such a pivotal decision should take this long.

3. The best bang for your buck in all of MLB: Compared to their rivals across the bay, the A's are lacking on a lot of fronts on the game-day experience. There is no neighborhood or watering holes around the stadium, the stadium itself is one of the worst in the league, and the local businesses and residents just don't fill up the stadium like across the bay.

With that in mind, I'm unaware of any team that goes to the lengths of the A's in terms of special promotions to get fans to the park. Free parking Tuesdays! Dollar hot dogs! Two-dollar ticket Wednesdays! Beerfest! Tickets with all-you-can-eat food included in the ticket!

Plus, promos that include a handful of awesome bobbleheads, fireworks nights you can watch while sitting on the field, root beer floats served by the players, and (OMG!!) Coco Crisp Chia-Pet day. Outside of actually paying me to go to a game, the A's do more to solicit my business than perhaps even McDonald's when the McRib is back.

4. The Battle of the Bay: For six days a year, the Bay Area is a great place as a sports fan. Not particularly known as a haven of sports zealousness, those six games bring out a passion, competitiveness and excitement level that is rarely seen in the Golden State. The crowds are lively, the bars are packed, fans on both sides are chirping, and for just a quick minute, it feels like that magical October in 1989.

Unlike other rivalries pitting teams from the same geographic area against each other, the cultural and social economical divide between the fans of these two teams is great. That said, these games, while competitive and significant, typically don't erode into an unfriendly environment, as both fan bases seem to mesh well in both ballparks and are usually treated to some very competitive baseball.

5. You can get away with anything: Are you a mischievous rabble rouser? Well, Oakland just might be your place. A certain team across the bay will charge you $80 to tailgate as they require an additional parking space and even still, you're not really given the liberty to stretch out and descend into debauchery.

Not in Oakland, where the parking spaces to cars ratio is about 12:1 meaning you can setup whatever drinking game or slosh-ball field your heart desires. Need to relieve yourself? Having drastically reduced the number of porta-potties and locations they're located at in 2006, parking lot etiquette has evolved (or devolved, if you will) to allow a more organic way of relieving yourself, if so inclined.

With Oakland's close proximity to Hamsterdam and Berkeley, it seems as if the parking lot and the stadium itself have been annexed as a ganja-friendly destination. It's common place that on a trip to the Coliseum you're likely to see a higher amount of people hitting the green than players in green getting hits off the other team.

Even if you're not a big trouble-maker, the ability to sit wherever you want is a nice perk. The stadium is usually half empty and fans are late to arrive and early to leave, in addition to a good chunk of fans spending their time at the various watering holes the stadium has to offer. Out of the last two dozen or so games I've attended, I have only sat where my ticket was only a handful of times. There is something uniquely rewarding in spending $10 for a ticket and sitting in a $50 seat or even finagling your way into a luxury box.

6. "Moneyball": You're probably a tad bitter. We didn't really win anything, yet we had a best-selling book penned about one of the most memorable years in our history. Hollywood then double-downed on the book with an awesome movie. Who knows if we'll ever win another World Series in my lifetime, but for two hours, I can mentally escape the drain of being a fan and celebrate what was truly one of the more remarkable sports stories to take place in my lifetime. Have fun watching "Angels in the Outfield," Anaheim.

7. Close games: We may not win a lot, but rarely do the A's really get pummeled. With a philosophical preference for starting pitching, a strong bullpen and patient hitters, the A's are almost perennially a team that finds themselves in close, low-scoring games. In fact, last year through 47 games, more than 1/4 of the A's games ended up going extra innings, which is by no means good for your health. It's a blessing and a curse, as the A's are usually leading by just enough to blow it late or within striking distance for some late-game heroics that often never come.

8. We've Got Characters: Who is this foxy former A's ball girl below? Why that's none other than Mrs. Fields, who perfected her craft of baking delicious cookies during her time in Oakland, where she baked for those hard to bribe umpires.

MC Hammer worked in our press box growing up, the guy who invented propeller hats drunkenly walks the stadium known as Banjo Man (often mistakenly believed to be a hobo), and Tom Hanks sold soda in the bleachers back in the day.

There is nothing wrong with being a bit eccentric in Oakland as evidenced by the likes of Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, Bill King and Barry Zito. I wouldn't have it any other way.

9. The upside of Yoenis Cespedes: Starting in 2003, the A's have only had one player reach 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, and that was back in 2006 with Frank Thomas. Since then, the middle of the A's lineup has been an abyss, featuring the likes of unfulfilled potential like Jack Cust, or washed-up veterans like Mike Piazza, Nomar Garciaparra and Hideki Matsui. Outside of some speed at the top of the lineup, there really hasn't been much offensively to get excited about or sell any tickets.

Enter the unexpected addition of Cespedes, who depending on who you trust, will either be as bad of an investment as Dell in the mid-2000s or could end up being the masher needed to contend with higher payroll clubs in the division.

I'm not going to pretend that I have the answer here, but it's been so long since I've been able to drink the Kool-Aid of an A's power hitting star. I'll certainly drink up (with irrational exuberance) that Cespedes is the next Vladimir Guerrero.

10. 20 straight wins will likely never happen again: Yes, I am well aware that our 20 wins did not occur in October. That said, I'll always have those memories. Especially being in attendance at games 18 and 20, which were won with remarkable walk off home runs. After the first 10 wins, it seemed that the bubble was just due to be popped. Game by game, the narrative of the winning streak grew with more momentum and significance, and culminated in what was one of the most remarkable sporting moments I've ever seen.

Only one team wins it all each year, but perhaps in 2002, A's fans were allowed to experience the height of that emotion as it certainly felt like we achieved something of similar significance. We'll always have those memories and that unique perspective. The odds are nobody else will have that experience, and if they do, I highly doubt they'll reach 20 with as much style and fireworks as the 2002 A's did.

Taken from "Big League Stew" blog, Feb 15th 2012

What About Corruption In Sport??

Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone appeared in a German court this week as a witness in the biggest corruption trial the country has seen in over 60 years.

He's not in the dock, but he is accused of paying £27.5 million to an executive working for a state-owned bank. Ecclestone originally denied making the payment, but now says he was being blackmailed.

The man on trial for accepting the payment is Gerhard Gribkowsky, a former chief risk officer with the BayernLB bank. He's also charged with breach of trust and tax evasion over his part in the 2005 sale of the bank's £526 million stake in Formula 1 to private equity group CVC.

It's alleged that Ecclestone wanted the CVC deal to go through because that would enable him to stay in firm control of the sport. Ecclestone says he did pay Gribkowsky the money, but only because he was worried the bank executive would tell the Inland Revenue that Ecclestone was really in charge of an offshore family trust called Bambino, which is controlled by his wife Slavika.

Ecclestone says that allegation is false, but it would have sparked an expensive tax investigation. Gribkowsky denies blackmailing Ecclestone, saying the fees he received were for legitimate consultancy. The court also heard that Gribkowsy had authorised the payment of £26 million to Ecclestone as commission for easing the F1 sale – a payment that was totally above board.

Pakistani cricket scandal

It's yet another tale which is causing many to question how much sport remains sport. This year we've seen three Pakistani cricket internationals jailed for spot-fixing, something which shook the sport even more than the revelations of match-fixing 11 years ago by South Africa captain Hansie Cronje.

In 2006, Italian football giants Juventus were stripped of two league titles and relegated from the top division after taped conversations of club officials influencing referees were released. AC Milan and Fiorentina also had points deductions imposed as the investigation unveiled more corruption.

In Turkey, an ongoing investigation into match fixing, bribery, corruption, extortion and intimidation in football has seen 61 people arrested and put the results of at least 19 matches under the spotlight. Fenerbahçe, the club at the heart of the scandal, has been banned from playing in the Champions League.

In England, despite whispers over the years, there's no evidence of serious corruption of the sort that has disfigured football in Italy and Turkey. But with vast amounts of money at stake, and greater profits to be made, the temptation is surely there.

Ben Johnson

What does all this do for sport, and our enjoyment of sport? For sport to really work, spectators have to believe that what they are seeing is fair competition. Otherwise the spectacle is spoiled. It took me years to enjoy athletics again after watching Ben Johnson's amazing 9.79 second gold medal-winning 100m victory at the 1988 Olympics, only to find that his performance was aided by steroids.

Sport is certainly a business now and, at root, there's a fundamental clash between successful business and successful sport. In business, you need to guarantee success as much as possible. In sport, the more success is guaranteed, the less sporting the spectacle becomes. We have to believe we are watching real competition.

That's why sport is increasingly covered as entertainment, the thing itself becoming secondary to the narrative of character and confected controversy. Writing in the latest issue of football journal The Blizzard, Telegraph journalist Rob Smith refers to the headlines the morning after Barcelona's exceptional Champions League victory last year.

They were all about Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger complaining that striker Robin van Persi had been sent off. "The beauty of Barcelona was relegated to second billing behind the whisper of illusory controversy," he says. The sport has become secondary to the story.

Football bubble

While I don't see much evidence of the pull of sport diminishing seriously just yet, and certainly not of the long-predicted bursting of the football bubble, there is an underlying worry that sport is not what is was or what it could be. It is a great money-spinner because of the passion and affection it inspires, and there is some evidence that passion and affection are being tested by what sport is becoming.

Perhaps ironically, it was the founding father of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre du Coubertain, who turned the phrase that is at the heart of people's affection for sport. He said "the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not the winning, but the taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well."

That concept of fair play and honest effort is central to sport's attraction, and to why businesses want to be associated with sport. As sports turn themselves every more into businesses, they need to retain the ability to strike a balance between business and sporting values. Otherwise the whole house comes tumbling down.