Column Archive

Palestinian Soccer Star/Hunger Striker Mahmoud Sarsak to Be Freed

In news that will provoke tears of joy throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and not a few locker rooms, it was announced today that Mahmoud Sarsak, jailed Palestinian soccer star and hunger striker, would be released on July 10. Sarsak was arrested on his way to a national team match as he tried to cross the Gaza border, with travel approval from Israel in his hand. He has been held for three years without charges, a trial or even contact with his family. Over the last ninety days, Sarsak has refused food, continuing to adhere to an organized hunger strike of 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, even after their action was resolved.

Red State Hoops: The Oklahoma City Thunder and the value of Seattle's rage

To Seattle: don't get over it. Your anger is just and you should keep those embers of rage alive.  This isn’t about spite or jealousy or anything of the sort. It’s about protecting the future of hoops in the Emerald City. Basketball will return to Seattle. There are too many teams that have lost too much money and Seattle has the income, the passion, and the real estate to make it happen. There will be a Sonics again because the NBA needs Seattle even more than Seattle need the NBA.

Do You Know Your Enemy? Why we should all root for the Miami Heat to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder

If the Thunder win the 2012 title, the Clay Bennett/David Sternapproach will be lionized throughout pro sports. The theft of theSonics will be justified and cities involved in stadium negotiations will be threatened with being “the next Seattle" if they don't acquiesce to the whims of the sporting 1%. A championship for the Thunder would be a victory for holding up cities for public money. It would be a victory for ripping out the hearts of loyal sports towns. It would be a victory for greed, collusion, and a corporate crime that remains unprosecuted.

After 44 Years, It's Time Brent Musburger Apologized to John Carlos and Tommie Smith

Amidst the angry denunciations of 1968 Olympic protesters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, there was one column published in the Chicago American newspaper, that was particularly ugly. Smith and Carlos were called "Black skinned stormtroopers." The journalist  became an iconic broadcaster who now sits comfortably as the elder statesman of the sports world. He appears in family friendly movies like The Waterboy and Cars 2. His name is Brent Musburger. It's time for an apology.

Mind the Gap: London's Olympic Games are Falling Down

Upon returning to the United States after two weeks amidst London's pre-Olympic terrain, I have some final thoughts that I hope the International Olympic Committee and the UK's Tory Prime Minister David Cameron take to heart. I also hope that the Olympics lead corporate sponsors, British Petroleum, Dow Chemical, and McDonalds take a timeout from devising the latest cutting edge trends in evil and listen as well. Your games are in trouble. Your games are in trouble because the people who actually have to live in London alongside the Olympiad are mad as hell. And it's only May.

Protests are Coming to the Olympic Games

To be in London, two months before the 2012 Summer Olympics, is to feel a bit like a fish in an aquarium, with people constantly poking at the glass. Cameras adorn nearly every street corner and police vehicles are more prevalent than double-decker buses. It’s easy to understand why many are saying enough is enough.

"Drones, Missiles, and Gunships, Oh My!" Welcome to the 2012 London Olympics

As many as 48,000 security forces. 13,500 troops. Surface to air missiles stationed on top of residential apartment buildings. A sonic weapon that disperses crowds by creating "head splitting pain." Unmanned drones peering down from the skies. A safe-zone, cordoned off by an 11 mile, electrified fence, ringed with trained agents and 55 teams of attack dogs.One would be forgiven for thinking that these were the counter-insurgency tactics used by U.S. army bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, or perhaps the military methods taught to third world despots at the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning Georgia. But instead of being used in a war zone or the theater of occupation, they in fact make up the very visible security apparatus in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

What if Kobe Bryant was an Imprisoned Palestinian Soccer Player?

Imagine if a member of Team USA Basketball - let’s say Kobe Bryant – had been traveling to an international tournament only to be seized by a foreign government and held in prison for three years without trial or even hearing the charges for which he was imprisoned. This is what has happened to Palestinian national soccer team member Mahmoud Sarsak. Sarsak who hails from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, was seized at a checkpoint on his way to a national team contest in the West Bank.

Adam "MCA" Yauch: Our Ambassador From Atlantis

In the '60s they said, "don't trust anyone over 30." When it comes to remembering  Adam "MCA" Yauch, who died on May 4, I don't trust anyone under 30. Adam Yauch and the Beastie Boys stood for more than just hip hop and their personal “sounds of science”. They repped the soul of a city that no longer exists. The Beasties were global ambassadors from a lost New York City since smothered under the weight of police violence and gentrification. It was a city that churned out hip hop and basketball legends with arrogant ease. It was a city where the question “what do you do” was less about your job than what you did after work. It was a city where the clubs you could get into were less important than the neighborhoods you could get into – and out of. It was a city where if you could see over the counter, you were getting served. It was a city where a scuffle on 42nd and Broadway might spark and you would not even blink.

Junior Seau's Family Will Allow His Brain To Be Studied and the NFL Holds Its Breath

Today brings news that the family of Junior Seau, the former 10-time All-Pro NFL linebacker who took his own life earlier this week, will be donating his brain for study. They want to know if brain injuries sustained during Seau’s 20-year career may have contributed to his suicide. The ramifications are incalculable.