Why Jeremy Lin Matters (And It's Not Why You Think)

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Jeremy Lin is currently lighting up the New York Knicks, having won his first six - whoops, make that seven now -- starts and putting up All-Star numbers while doing so, including a game-winner in Toronto the other night. This is notable because of what Lin is, and is not.

He is not:

• A top draft pick in the NBA. In fact, he wasn't drafted at all. He was waived by the first two teams that signed him as a free-agent (Golden State, Houston), and is only getting regular playing time with the Knicks because of injuries

He is:

• A graduate not of a "basketball factory" but instead of the Ivy League, specifically Harvard - that has no athletic scholarships, etc.
• An Asian-American

These last two factors seem to be particularly resonant with people, who assume that anyone "like" this is destined for science, or math, or something decidedly NOT a star point guard playing in Madison Square Garden. It's a slap in the face to our stereotyping and assumptions as well as the thought that if you don't fit a certain mold, you are doomed.

That said, it's hard not to root for Lin, who seems like a truly nice guy and is clearly a gifted if unconventional athlete. His success has spawned some interesting things - columnists and athletes like Jason Whitlock and Floyd Mayweather tweeting unsubtle racist thoughts about Lin, and others falling over themselves to appreciate the "Lin-Sanity." People love this story because Lin should NOT be succeeding, but he is. He's a true underdog, and who can't get on board with that?

Before the predictable comparison begins, this is NOT the same as with Tim Tebow. Tebow won two national championships, a Heisman Trophy and was a first round draft pick. While many didn't think he would succeed, he is almost the very anti-thesis of an underdog. OK, done.

But ... then I see something like THIS from a columinist I respect, Tim Kawakami:

My boss asked if Jeremy Lin might be the biggest story in NBA history & I actually had to think for a second. It's not, but still.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) February 15, 2012

Are you KIDDING me? I think even if we cut Kawakami - or, more specifically, his boss - some slack, they are talking about this as a "story" not necessarily the greatest thing that has happened. But I'm not even a big basketball fan and I can list a few - Willis Reed, Michael Jordan retiring AND Michael Jordan returning after retirement, Magic Johnson having to leave due to HIV ... seriously, if those happened in the world of Twitter, it'd be bonkers. And it's not like there aren't corollaries for this - didn't anyone watch Rudy or Miracle? C'mon, people.

And that, more than anything, is why I think the Jeremy Lin story - again, a GREAT story that is still unfolding - is important. It points out not only our desperate need for a hero, and an underdog hero at that, but perhaps more importantly, it points out our complete and total lack of perspective.

Remember a few years ago when the Saints and Colts were playing in the Super Bowl? Most of the pregame talk - before the Colts LOST - was whether or not Peyton Manning was due to be considered the greatest QB of all-time, an idea that despite his greatness seems like folly just a few years later. Before THIS year's Super Bowl, people asked the same question about Tom Brady. Again, nobody is asking that now after he lost. (Just in case we aren't clear, the greatest QB of all-time is Tim Tebow. Just kidding! It's Joe Montana, obviously.)

Can't we just ... wait? Do we need to make declarative statements that Player A is the best ever, or the worst ever, or one of the greatest ever ... before we have any real evidence.

JEREMY LIN HAS STARTED SEVEN GAMES. SEVEN.

Yes, the Knicks have won all seven of them, but note that I didn't say HE has won all seven of them, right? It's a team sport. But it's SEVEN games...even in this shortened NBA season, that's 10% of the regular season. Part of this is the stage - playing in New York makes a difference, obviously - and part of it is quite obviously that nobody had any expectations that Lin could do this. But if he goes into a slump next week, or gets hurt, or the Knicks start losing because or despite of him, this isn't a story anymore. It's certainly not the greatest story in the history of the NBA. My goodness.

That being said, if the Knicks win a title this year, then yes, it's the greatest NBA story of all-time.

Read more »

Where I've Been

A good amount of blue (though some, like "China" when I've been to a single city in that mammoth country, is more than a stretch) -- far too much green, and I'm curious about the ones I have blank, too. (Honestly, when it comes to Africa, smack dab there in the middle, I know I want to GO - but I only really know about a smattering of the country.)




Oh, the places we'll go.

Read more »

The Return of Friday Tuneage: This Is The Modern World

It's been a long time but Friday Tuneage is back - it occurred to me yesterday while listening to The Jam that among all of the early 1980s bands that were hugely influential, The Jam seems to get short shrift. I never hear them referenced, and yet they were flippin awesome, and still insanely listenable.

Perhaps I'm jaded by The Quake, the single most important radio station in the Bay Area during my high school years, what broke "alternative" music to me and so many others. As part of their call sign, they'd play the six chord guitar strum and then you'd hear Paul Weller yell, 'THIS IS THE MODERN WORLD!'

Take a listen, with lyrics below:




Sweet. Here are the lyrics, with the verse that every teenager found beyond awesome in bold:

This is the modern world

This is the modern world

What kind of fool do you think I am?

To think I know nothing of the modern world

All my life it's been the same

I've learnt to live by hate and pain

It's my inspiration drive

I've learnt more than you'll ever know

Even at school I felt quite sure

That one day I would be on top

And I'd look down upon the map

The teachers who said I'd be nothing

This is the modern world that I've learnt about

This is the modern world we don't need no one

To tell us what's right or wrong

This is the modern world

Say what you like 'cause I don't care

I know where I am and going to

It's somewhere I won't preview

Don't have to explain myself to you

I don't give two fucks about your review

This is the modern world that I've learnt about

This is the modern world we don't need no one

To tell us what's right or wrong

Modern world, this is, this is, this is

This is, this is, this is, this is

Hey, we don't need no one

To tell us what's right or wrong

This is the modern world

This is the modern world

Read more »

The NFL Fails Basic Math

I'm incredibly psyched for the 49ers-Saints game on Saturday (I'll actually be watching it at 5:30 AM local time from Shanghai, so that will be interesting), but recently heard someone mention that everyone on Inside the NFL chose the 49ers to win. And then, I saw this on the home page of NFL.com:

Note the text in the green box -- it says, "Experts predict 49ers' win" -- this again was shocking to me -- as much as I think the Niners can win (they have a crushing defense, are almost fully healthy aside from Delanie Walker, it's on grass and the 49ers finally have homefield advantage back, among other reasons), I think the national perception is that the Saints are an almost unstoppable force, and that the 49ers simply can't run with them.

So, I clicked through to see what group of experts had collectively chosen the 49ers to beat the Saints, and saw...this:

How many experts chose the Saints? 5. How many chose the 49ers? 3.

So, sure some experts are predicting a 49ers win ... but MORE of them are choosing Nawlinz. Somebody done goofed. And hey, for a team that most didn't think would be .500, let alone 13-3, can't the 49ers enjoy a bit of their underdog status? C'mon, man!

Oh, and one more thing:

GO NINERS!!!

Read more »

The Bullpen Gospels

The Bullpen Gospels: A Non-Prospect's Pursuit of the Major Leagues and the Meaning of Life by Dirk Hayhurst
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Was thinking this was more of a three-star review - lots of good anecdotes about the wacky world of the minor leagues but not a TON of substance, but Hayhurst reels it all in at the end. (A bit disappointing that the most poignant parts are recalled as a story, rather than told as it was happening like the rest of the book. Show, don't tell, Dirk!) Still, it wraps up so well and paints a vivid picture, I'd recommend it for any baseball fan.

View all my reviews

Spoiler Alert: Check out this page for Hayhursts' career information.

Read more »

Ronald Reagan Was A Socialist

At least according to the brainiacs in todays Republican Party. Witness:

The nation is still recovering from a crushing recession that sent unemployment hovering above nine percent for two straight years. The president, mindful of soaring deficits, is pushing bold action to shore up the nation's balance sheet. Cloaking himself in the language of class warfare, he calls on a hostile Congress to end wasteful tax breaks for the rich. "We're going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that allow some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share," he thunders to a crowd in Georgia. Such tax loopholes, he adds, "sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying 10 percent of his salary – and that's crazy."

Preacherlike, the president draws the crowd into a call-and-response. "Do you think the millionaire ought to pay more in taxes than the bus driver," he demands, "or less?"

The crowd, sounding every bit like the protesters from Occupy Wall Street, roars back: "MORE!"

The year was 1985. The president was Ronald Wilson Reagan.

Only George Bush, Karl Rove and Mitch McConnell, among others, would have folks like me yearning for the good old days of Ronald Reagan.

Wow.

Read more »

Brian Jennings on the Penn State scandal

Joe Paterno and the accused pederast Jerry Sandusky.

A few days ago, Brian Jennings, the long snapper for the 49ers, was on his weekly radio show on KNBR.

The show is on earlier than I'm usually in my car, so I never hear it, but the hosts rave about his eloquence, his sense of humor and the fact that he's loved by his coaches.

This week, they couldn't stop talking about what Jennings had to say about the Penn State scandal, calling it the best thing they've ever had said on their show because of how important and eloquent it was.

I finally got a chance to read and hear his words, and I think they are worth sharing with anyone who has a chance to do likewise.  

Please read it. If you can and would like, you can also listen here.

"I feel pretty strongly about this and I’ll try not to go off on too much of a tangent because it’s a big deal. I thought of this quote last night from Edmund Burke. It says the only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing. When you look at Joe Paterno, I believe he's a good man, right? And I believe the athletic director is a good man. And the primary emphasis of the outrage should be directed at the perpetrator of these crimes. But at the same time, when you have the opportunity to stop something like this, you have to intervene. You have to.

"It's such a powerful thing because there are a few things that I pray for, and it's not to live a pain-free life or to be rich or to live 150 years or whatever. I don’t pray for that stuff. I pray that nothing bad happens to my family, I pray that I live my life with a certain level of honor and that in that moment when I were in a position that I see something going on that isn’t just a crime against our law, it’s not just a crime against humanity -- this is an evil thing that happened -- that I have the courage right then and the wisdom right now to take action.

"Whoever saw that, that young man that saw that, he was scared to death. He has been scared to death every day since. I don’t want to live with that. I would rather die in the fight than live with not doing anything. That is what I pray for. That is what I pray for all the time.

"I would invite your listeners right now, everybody listening to this, if you know of childhood abuse that is happening, pick up your phone right now and call 9-1-1 and report it. Say, 'You know what, I know a child that is being sexually abused,' and say his name. Just do it right now.

"Everything else will take care of itself. But this cannot be silent. You cannot let this happen and just let it ride. That’s on a religious level. That is on a spiritual level. That is your relationship with your Creator. Good vs. evil. And then when you get into college, you know, now we’re talking about a coach in charge of young men. A coach who is in charge of young men is in a unique position of authority. It is very much like a parent or an adopted parent, maybe, or something like that.

"In a very real way, I give credit to my coaches and teammates for raising me into the man that I am today. And I appreciate that in a very positive way. For them (at Penn State) to betray and to not take care of those kids is absolutely a huge tragedy. Furthermore, not only should they be fired – everyone should be fired, everyone should be criminally charged – it is an amateur sport, their season should be suspended, every win from the moment Joe Paterno knew about this, every game that he has been a part of should be stricken from the record. He cannot be held as the standard. It’s over.

"It only takes one thing to ruin it all. And that is what I pray for, right? What do you do to not let one thing ruin everything? This is that one thing for him. It’s over. "

Nicely said. What a horrorshow.

Read more »

Word of the Day: Murmuration

Nope, I'd never heard of Murmuration before, but apparently it means a flock of starlings (those are birds, moron), and specifically references a movement they do as winter is approaching.

I didn't know any of this. I didn't even really know what a starling was.

I know!

But I did see this video, posted by a few friends on Facebook, and hot damn, this is really, really cool. Would be amazing to be caught up in this live as these two were - do yourself a favor and watch this:



Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.


Even if this means winter is coming, this is damn fine stuff. Oh, and "Winter is Coming?" That means Game of Thrones is on its way back soon.

Read more »