Are all sports fans morons?

I seem to have a love-hate relationship with sports. Having played baseball at the college level briefly, as well as playing semi-professionally and for various town teams for more than a decade afterwards, not to mention coaching college-age players as recently as two years ago and still serving as league president, I obviously have a strong connection to the sporting world.

One of the things I recall from my own playing days back at the University of Maine, was that most of the jocks that I ran across wouldn't have been classified as intellectuals. I’m not sure why that is and certainly, you’ll find athletes in all sports that are intelligent, articulate and who could serve as role models of thoughtfulness.

If anyone has ever read David Halberstam, Pat Jordan, or Michael Lewis, to name but a few writers who mine the field of sports, it becomes obvious that sports and intelligence aren’t even mutually exclusive. Having said that, however, all one has to do is spend a few minutes going up and down the radio dial, or spend time with any of the better-known television sports talk shows to wonder why so much of America’s discussion of sports is rooted in the mundane, monotonous, and dare I say, simple-minded and shallow end of the pool.

There are sports hosts for instance, like David Stein, who takes the events that comprise sports and weaves them into a celebration of life. Even the incredibly popular sports host, Jim Rome, books solid interviews that on most occasions, reveal that many athletes are capable of more than the typically clichéd answers to the usual line of sports questioning.

Yet, from the two local yokels on The Morning Jab, to other national sports feeds from ESPN Radio and other syndicated programming beamed at us, the questions and the topics rarely seem to vary. Even worse, the level of discourse and the lack of civility among regular callers is particularly gallling. Speaking of the local morning drive programming on WJAB, the two morning hosts recycle the same warmed-over drivel on either the Patriots, or the Red Sox, 365 days per year. Oh, yeah, they manage to mix in some local racing news once-in-awhile, but good lord, how many fucking times must we rehash this past Sunday’s Patriots’ loss to Indianapolis? And did I mention the callers? Well shoot me and put me out of my misery! I swear, these people are interchangeable with the crowd of knuckle-draggers who call in to support the war, the right-wing agenda of the Bush administration and any other topic that can be condensed into a five-second sound bite.

It doesn’t seem to matter what sport or team one follows, either. Despite their losing record, I’ve gotten hooked on this year’s version of the Boston Celtics. As a result, I’ve begun searching the blogosphere and other online sources of information on the Green and Gold and I swear, the commentary is the same old rehashed shit that one would find at baseball, football, or hockey fansites. As always, there are exceptions. Both Dave Zirin’s blog, as well as the excellent NBA site, True Hoop offer examples of witty, intelligent takes on the world of sports. In fact, Zirin’s site often puts sports into a political context that is sadly missing in almost all reporting and writing that might be classified as sports journalism.

Like any subject, the world of sports allows writers and other so-called journalists, an opportunity for innovation and something that rises above the trite and typical. Writing about sports and covering teams and athletes allows access to an entirely different audience than commenting on politics, or popular culture. I’m surprised that more writers and journalists don’t offer a more nuanced approach and maybe attempt a blending of the world of athletics, with politics and social commentary, more often.

I know I’d certainly appreciate some different perspectives and new approaches to the coverage of sports, as I can only take so many discussions about the same old players and teams. It seems to me that a few others might, also.

Local baseball legend passes on

(Stubby Truman on his way to first, 1965)

I interviewed Leon "Stubby" Truman in the fall of 2004. I knew when I walked in the door of his rustic home, on the outskirts of Norway that Stubby was a character.

We spent three hours together that afternoon and I knew in speaking to him, how much being inducted into Maine's Baseball Hall of Fame would mean to him.

Like many of the 40 men I interviewed for When Towns Had Teams, Truman still took pride in the accomplishments that he had achieved on the baseball diamond. One of the best indications of this was born out to me in March, the following year. I was giving one of my first talks on my upcoming book at the Auburn Public Library. On that cold late winter evening, nearly 30 people showed up for my talk, most of them being former town team legends.

My talk was scheduled to start at 7, but these old-timers (including Stubby) were trying to one-up one another with stories, reliving the days when maybe they struck out a great hitter, three times, or when one of those hitters won the game with a blast over the trees in the distance. I enjoyed just sitting back, listening, knowing I played a part in bringing these guys together one more time.

Two weeks ago, I received an email from Stubby's daughter-in-law. She wrote that Stubby was terminally ill. While struggling with the questions of "why" that accompany being dealt this hand, she indicated that Stubby was still as upbeat and filled with life as was possible when you know that your days are numbered. Apparently, Stubby received a call on Christmas Eve, indicating he had been selected for a July induction into Maine's pinnacle of baseball achievement, the prestigious Hall of Fame. His daughter-in-law said there was alot of joy in the Truman household. She also told me that she felt my book had much to do with his induction.

If my book was able to accomplish anything, it was to validate the stories and the memories that these men have left behind. I had been hoping to call Stubby and was thinking about doing that and inquring if he was up for a visit, making a note to call him over the weekend. I never got the chance because when I opened up the newspaper, his obituary was featured at the top of the page.

While Stubby was a tremendous local baseball player, twirling 10 no-hitters over his illustrious career that spanned nearly three decades, he was so much more than that. His obituary indicated that he was a pillar of his community, reviving the local fish and game club, as well as being a longtime member of the Rotary. Married to the same woman for 46 years, the obituary showed Truman to be the loving husband and father that he was, devoted to his two sons and two daughters and later, his grandchildren

I drove to Oxford yesterday afternoon to pay my respects to the family. When I walked into the packed room, I knew that this man left behind a legacy in his local community. I also observed several men that I had interviewed, opponents of Stubby, some of them bitter rivals, but here to honor a good man, someone who lived his life with honor, dignity and who enjoyed his time that he had.

Not a judgement, just an observation

There once was a blogger from away, who got paid to blog. She developed a large following, mostly because she wrote with enthusiasm and wit about many things that locals got jaded about, or no longer took the time to seek out. In fact, some of us thought she captured the unique qualities of the Pine Tree State better than many of us who have lived here forever.

People regularly visited her employer's site, people who ordinarily didn't give two sh*ts about most of the rest of the lame ass content at that site. As happens, the blogger got a new job and she was off to New Jersey, to discover new things about a brand new adopted state.

Much to the excitement of her readers (dare I say, fans?), the blogger began a new blog, which fanned the flames of anticipation for stories from the land of Tony Soprano, urban crime and the Meadowlands. At first, our former daily detour included us in those first early days, unpacking and setting up her new life in Jersey City—tales of journeys across the river, exploring the Big Apple, her new landlord and the first things of a new chapter, thus begun.

Our former online compatriot from away, no longer paid to blog as part of her job, grew tired, or found other things to do with the time she once spent blogging. If other former readers were like me, they continued to check her new blog, hoping to glean what new things she was learning in the new land to our south, told with her unique voice and self-deprecating way of seeing things. Unfortunately, despite posts insisting that she wouldn't forget us, the posts stopped. Oh, there was the recent one telling us that she was too busy, too tired, too whatever, to post even occasionally. C'est la vie, as they say.

It makes you appreciate those bloggers, who also spend their days in front of a computer for work, or even write for a living, who for whatever reason, find the time and the urgency to continue to share their thoughts. As a friend once told me, when I was growing weary of the blog—you've got to write for yourself first—if you can do that, more likely than not, you'll continue to crank out posts, frequently, or even semi-frequently. In my way of thinking that makes it more authentic and in line with "keeping it real."

HIllary joins the 2008 field of candidates

It's now official—Hillary’s entered the horserace. Just like Obama, who didn't come off particularly presidential, with his hemming and hawing about his own announcement, the senator from New York has kept us waiting longer than was necessary.

Both Senators Clinton and Obama contend that they are still in the exploratory stages of whether to run or not, having each formed perfunctory “presidential exploratory committees,” which has now become commonplace in our media-driven, candidate-handled, image-focused world of politics, making a run for president look more like The Truman Show, every four years.

People who get paid big bucks to handicap the circus, have guaranteed us plenty of early Clinton/Obama drama on the Democratic side. While no fan of the GOP myself, I’d have to say at this stage, the Republican field brings plenty of intrigue and interest to their own bid to crown a contender, particularly in light of President Bush’s dreadful poll ratings, the war in Iraq and candidates like Chuck Hagel, who incredibly is running as an anti-war Republican, of all things.

Senator Sam Brownback, who makes our current president seem like a progressive cut from LaFollette’s cloth, has thrown his hat in the ring and will curry much favor with the far right Christian, Left Behind crowd, hoping to get their annointed one to Pennsylvania Avenue before the rapture.

Intent to take issues of morality and run with them, Brownback could prove an interesting opponent for the likes of Giuliani, McCain and Romney, although it appears that McCain, the former “maverick” has suddenly become a born-again conservative, trying to run right of the rest of the most rabid right-wing contingent of contenders.

There is no doubt that Obama’s entry into the mix threw an unexpected wrinkle into Clinton’s bid for the presidency and forced her hand earlier than I think she intended to announce. Still, her online announcement was well done and humanized her, which is something that will be imperative for her to be successful in gaining the Democratic nomination and more important, having a legitimate chance at the presidency. Team Clinton brings a team of seasoned political operatives, including her former ex-president husband, as well as an expected war chest that will probably raise $100 million in 2007, alone, making her a formidable opponent, regardless of her tendency to be one of the most polarizing figures in post-modern American politics. The fact that she supported the war could also cause her problems, as it will for much of the pack of contenders and presidential wannabes.

In addition to Clinton and Obama, former Kerry running mate, John Edwards, as well as New Mexico governor Bill Richardson will be nipping at the heels of the appointed leaders of the pack, waiting for some scandal, or some other X-factor to allow them their window of opportunity.

Russ Feingold, who has said he won't run, could bring some progressive values to the race and force fellow Democrats to face, rather than dodge real issues—plus, he'd be a legitimate anti-war Democrat. Speaking of issues, here's a short list of things that Democrats better be talking about—things like the spending on the war (now topping $360 billion), healthcare, education and particularly the American workforce’s inability to compete with much of the industrialized world, as evidenced by several recent reports. Additionally, finding an alternative to oil needs to be put on the front burner, as American cannot continue to depend on fossil fuel to power our cars, heat our homes and prop up our system of commerce.

It’s still early, but for those of us who follow the race, there is plenty of interest already. And since its only the first lap of the race, those of us who follow these things know that anything can and probably will happen.

IRS/Govt. practices selective enforcment

I ran across this story on the back page of my local newspaper, tucked away in the lower right-hand corner of the business section. The only reason I saw it at all was that the term “bureaucratic bungling” happened to catch my eye. In fact, the only reason I paid this much scrutiny to this meager (one page) attempt at business reporting was because I was searching to see if the editor had run a press release that I had sent them for a training initiative I’ve been working on, in Lewiston/Auburn. Not able to find it anywhere in local news, I thought there might be an outside chance it might make the business page, due to business-centered nature of our program.

The paper, probably in an attempt to fill some copy space (heck, they ran my 250-word press release, in its entirety, above the fold), grabbed this Newhouse News Service wire story and “buried” it. As hard as I’ve worked to get my current training initiative off the ground, in my opinion, this brazen bureaucratic snafu is more newsworthy than a local press release.

According to the Newhouse wire story, Johnnie Burton, Director of the Minerals Management Service, one of nine operating units that make up the Department of the Interior, failed to insure that 1,032 leases granted to oil and gas drilling firms contained royalty provisions and price thresholds, which would have allowed the IRS to properly collect some $10 billion dollars in royalties that the U.S. Treasury should have received under the 1995 Deep Water Royalty Relief Act.

Bill Walsh, a Newhouse reporter, filed the story, which reports that Inspector General Earl Devaney found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing but criticized the ``cavalier management'' of the director of the Minerals Management Service, who Devaney said ignored the blunder for more than a year.

In his testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Devaney questioned whether, even now, taxpayers are getting what they are owed from private energy companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico. He called the royalty-collection process "basically an honor system," a characterization that sparked a strong response from Democrats.

“The IRS has no problem sending out a tax bill with interest down to the very penny, but we have a problem doing that with big oil companies,'' said Sen. Robert Menendez, (D-N.J.) “Ask the taxpayers how they feel about that.”

Since you asked, Mr. Menendez, this taxpayer, who now works closer to state bureaucracy than he cares for at times, thinks it is absolute BS!! Furthermore, as a small business person (micro-business, actually) who constantly has been harassed by the IRS over the past five years for minor issues that cost me more in time and money than they were probably worth fighting, knows firsthand the selective policies that the IRS administers.

In my opinion, rather than hassle and harangue honest business people, just trying to make a living, if you really want to put a feather in your bureaucratic fedora, then go after the real malicious cheats, the companies who are perpetuating fraud, or at the very least, getting a free pass from an agency that knows better, but seems to be serving the benefactors of the administration in charge, whether it be Republican, or Democrat.

In another tax-related story, the House voted on Thursday to roll back billions in oil company subsidies (or as I prefer to characterize them, corporate welfare). To Nancy Pelosi’s credit, this was the last of six high-priority issues that the speaker pledged, upon assuming her position, to push through during the first 100 hours of assuming control from Republicans.

Typically, oil-friendly Republican hacks, like Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Don Young (R-Alaska) were found bitching and moaning about this possible new direction in energy policy.

Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spoke for many Americans, at least folks who feel like I do, when he said, “The oil industry doesn’t need the taxpayers help…There isn’t an American that goes to the pump that doesn’t know that.”

While gas prices have fallen dramatically the past few weeks, it wasn’t long ago that most of us were paying close to $3/gallon to fill our tanks.

While I applaud Democrats for pushing this vote through the House, there is a lot more that they need to do before I’ll stand up and cheerlead for a party that too often appears more interested in keep bipartisan than it does on protecting us from the corporate bullies that keep stealing our lunch money and pushing us in the mud.