Miss Hill really outdid herself this time..thanks ESPN..thanks for the gift...

[Big Chee]

that keeps on giving.

What a HORRIBLE article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/080822

I wonder if she took the results from an African American gallup poll to come to such a result.

There are partial truths in there, but to act as if it has added importance to the African American community? ::)

What the hell is ESPN thinking, allowing garbage like this to be posted on their site?

 

[forever_town]

Re: Miss Hill really outdid herself this time..thanks ESPN..thanks for the gift.

The potential for a home run column was there. This was a Joe Mauer sacrifice fly.

 

[Big Chee]

The potential for a home run column was there. This was a Joe Mauer sacrifice fly.

Exactly. I had an issue with the climate around the '04 team, which to me was an un-american welcome for our very american players. It's clear to me that we sometimes see color over country, looking at the reception the Williams sisters have received compared to some of the foreign players they're up against and other examples I can bring up. But to act like her the black community put stock into what's going on in with this '08 team in terms of upliftment says more about her inferiority complex.

 

[Beaker]

The Celtics, who had an all-black starting five, also did a lot to change some of the negative perceptions associated with black basketball players.

Hmm, sounds like something she might've wanted to mention before she made her faux pas a while back...

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

i've seen worse. it's an interesting angle...

 

[Stoney]

I'd say the enormous popularity of this team goes a long way toward disproving the notion that the 04 team was so disparaged because of race.

The 04 team was excruciating to watch. This year's team is an utter joy to watch. I think they play as hard defensively as any international team I've ever seen, they pass the ball, play full court, they don't let up, and they took this very seriously and began preparing long in advance. They've even shown the occasional ability to hit 3-pointers. In short, they've done everything the 04 team did not.

If the 04 team would've approached the games the way this team does, they would've been beloved also, you never would heard any of that ****. The racial composition on both teams is exactly the same, one's enormously popular the other was scorned, the reason is solely because of the different ways they prepared for and played the games.

 

[AgatePage]

The potential for a home run column was there. This was a Joe Mauer sacrifice fly.

A sacrifice fly suggests that something positive came out of it. Reads more like a popup to the shortstop to end the inning to me.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Disclosure: I am Caucasian.

Having said that, the column stunk.

 

[outofplace]

I guess the hockey comment was thrown in there as her "proof" that this is a racial issue?

Shaky premise badly executed.

At the very least, it would have been great if she could have gotten a quote from at least one of the "black sports figures" that care so much about this. Just one. Otherwise, it reads to me like she is taking her opinion and attributing it to others.

Edit: Stoney, well put.

 

[armageddon]

I can't help but think of Bob Uecker reading this column and saying one of two things:

A) Juuuuuussst a bit outside.

B) Swiiiiiiing and a miss....strike three.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

I can't help but think of Bob Uecker reading this column and saying one of two things:

A) Juuuuuussst a bit outside.

By comparison, Wild Thing had the best control in history.

 

[armageddon]

I can't help but think of Bob Uecker reading this column and saying one of two things:

A) Juuuuuussst a bit outside.

By comparison, Wild Thing had the best control in history.

"I hate this f$#@&^% song."

 

[king cranium maximus IV]

The problem with the 2004 team: Larry Brown.

Alpha, omega. Nothing more needs to be said.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Last summer, Andrew Bogut, whose Australian team was whupped by the Americans in Beijing on Wednesday, told a Sydney newspaper: "The public's image of NBA players is true. A lot of them get caught up in the hype and do video clips with rappers and all that crap. They want bling bling all over themselves and drive fast cars. But that's just the way the culture is in America -- if you've got it flaunt it and if you don't, you can't.

"I'm not into jewelry. I've got some earrings but they're not too expensive. There are guys who drop a hundred grand for a chain. The public's got it right -- a lot of NBA stars are arrogant and like to spend lots of money and have lots of girlfriends and all that."

This year-old quote is very weak stuff.

 

[Starman]

She's right.

There is a huge, HUGE racial component to the monotonous pissing and moaning about "fundamentals" and "playing the right way." As well as Brown's (and the overwhelmingly white media's) continual kvetching about "work ethic," "discipline" and one of his favorite lines: that the players on the 2004 team "had never been coached" before in their careers. Well of course not, they were dumb ghetto players playing for dumb ghetto coaches, not clean-cut hard-working guys playing for Larry Brown, who would have coached them "the right way."

Don't believe me, ask the black-power advocate David Stern, who was ready to launch Larry Brown with his bare hands midway through the Athens Games.

 

[Lester Bangs]

She stretched in some places -- the Bogut stuff was just stupid -- but this is actually a pretty solid take on race in sports. Not saying I agree with her all the way through, but it's thoughtful.

 

[Twoback]

that keeps on giving.

What a HORRIBLE article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/080822

I wonder if she took the results from an African American gallup poll to come to such a result.

There are partial truths in there, but to act as if it has added importance to the African American community? ::)

What the hell is ESPN thinking, allowing garbage like this to be posted on their site?

I read this piece looking for the horrible. Aside from her being incorrect on reaction the the U.S. Hockey team's action in Nagano -- hey, it got enough pub that she remembered it -- I'm not sure I see the problem. A lot of the reaction to 04 was a reaction against the NBA's culture.
She makes a legitimate point. She supports it reasonably well, except for the hockey thing.
I'm getting the impression that if Jemele had written "Death Of a Racehorse," people would be ripping it to shreds.

 

[heyabbott]

Re: Miss Hill really outdid herself this time..thanks ESPN..thanks for the gift.

And the genuine feeling that Bolt is the sensation of the Olympics is merely white guilt ::)

 

[outofplace]

She stretched in some places -- the Bogut stuff was just stupid -- but this is actually a pretty solid take on race in sports. Not saying I agree with her all the way through, but it's thoughtful.

Great. She thought about it before she wrote this ridiculous piece of crap.

Edit: Twoback, it's bull****. How exactly is the culture of this group of NBA players different from the one in '04?

Where is the quote from even ONE of these people she talked to to help her form this opinion?

I don't care who wrote it. Shaky concept. Crappy execution.

 

[heyabbott]

Re: Miss Hill really outdid herself this time..thanks ESPN..thanks for the gift.

Exactly how shallow does Hill think most black folks are investing any amount of self esteem in the play of a bunch of unrelated strangers on a basketball court? Besides being insecure, Ms. Hill is extraordinarily patronizing.