Monday, March 31, 2008

ESPN Women's basketball commentary

I enjoy watching Nancy Lieberman and Pam Ward do commentary on women's basketball forESPN. Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli were the prime commentators for many years but Pam and Nancy have taken over. Pam's awkwardness works with Nancy. Like Elgin Baylor and his famous twitch that got him and Jerry West open. Nancy has a way of stepping in and rolling off her phrases and sentences with a comment of her own but allowing Pam to move on. That is what makes them standout. Pure Poetry! Lots of energy and honesty without the Simon Crowell enjoyment of being an antagonist.

With the second-half about to begin or out of a break, I really enjoy the preparation, talent, and work ethic put into the game by Nancy and Pam. There is mutual respect without the backhands. Their minds are pumping like coaches during timeouts. With other commentators, the game usually creates that effect due to the communion with the crowd, closeness of the game, and rival perspectives. With women's basketball, the game hasn't garnered that crowd excitement, close games are viewed like blowouts, and rivals are meaningless. Yet, Pam and Nancy make the game enjoyable because of their many perspectives (coaching, playing, interviewing, training, reporting, and selling) and how to process that info as it relates to the game at task. The excitement of the game elevates just by those two. Sort of like Billy Packer and the late Jim Thacker when they did ACC basketball during the 70's.

Pam and Nancy can think and respond to each other two plays ahead is what makes them so effective. This allows them to use pauses effectively while maintaining energy because their minds are working. Whereas other broadcasters, it is dead air and you see them react defensively and burn themselves out. Likewise, they can make adjustments when things aren't working due to their preparation but understanding their roles as a team in situations and how to react to them offensively. They maintain a high-level but an even-keel energy throughout their broadcasts.

A good studio team is needed to feed off Nancy and Pam's magic. Stacy Dales, Trey Wingo, and Kara Lawson agree too much. Which is fine but they lack perspective because they are too young to be studio hosts. Very mature but unless they had a father or a mother who was a player and is willing to embrace the past like the Alberts, it doesn't work. For instance, Stephen Curry really absorbs history well but Tameka Catchings doesn't. Now, Stacy and Kara as well as Doris Burke who occasionally comes in are all in the now and go. ESPN shouldn't try to change them but get them to blend with Nancy and Pam. The studio will have a less dead feel and have more of a livelier effect.

Stacy and Kara are hungry for knowledge as well as Trey but ESPN is not helping them at all. Pam and Nancy can do both but they are needed on the court not the studio. Also, Beth what is up with you on the sideline and and Debbie, working with Dave Pasch?

Postscript: I just loved the way Heather Cox handled the joy of Candice Wiggins after she got Stanford into the Final Four. When Heather started to ask questions, Candice was speechless and felt bad about it. She started to deprecate herself in front of Heather and the camera. Instead of annoyance or pity, Heather calmly reassured her, stuck with Candice's emotion without interference and added words to the scene when necessary. Great job!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Dependent mafia in the USA?

American people are willing to fight against Terrorists groups that do harm to others but not terrorist groups that harms others in their own homeland. You have gangsters like the Sicilian Mafia, Russian-Judeo mafia, Irish, Hispanic, Latino, Black, Indians, Jamaicans, Nigerians, East Asians, Albanians, Eastern European, Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, and more to come. My point is these folks are outsiders and immigrants. With the exception of Russian-Judeo mob, most of these mobs inflict harm on their own groups unless somebody crossed over their side without permission or wasn't an invite. The FBI mostly has a line over them. Even the most powerful gangsters are nothing but an FBI snitch bitch to pay off the government.

When I lived in Charlotte, illegal teen prostitution was going on amongst Chinese immigrants. These girls were brought to homes and catered at parties. These homes were next to gung-ho patriots who "would die if any foreigner would do harm to the innocent" bull. In Atlanta, it was the same thing with those massage parlors. I went there a couple of times and those girls looked way too young. Luckily my functions didn't last long but my rep did. Word got around about my adventures at my workplace at the time. Thanks Maria and Miss Grande for your sarcasm.

Eventually, those places were shutdown by surveillance. I went to the American side of the parlors where the girls were older for awhile. Yet, I always wondered concerning the Chinese ones why they were open despite cops being there? Another co-worker asked why don't I go after girls who pay $20 dollars off the street. I simply thought because "no protection". If it wasn't sex with these groups, it was drugs, gambling, or cheap labor. The group would only house their own to control.

In other places, you see country clubs or corporations hire minority workers than their own people but it had to be connection style. Not the immigrant bull of a dumb naive, English illiterate who asked for a job. You have the liaison or middle-person who worked the gambit like mafia. The head boss wouldn't know or didn't care who the workers were as long as they were efficient at their jobs. That was true with people who had their homes fixed by illegal workers or their homes cleaned.

In my observations, the strain I notice is the liasion having to pay for workers and to make sure they are paid efficiently. The liasion is in a vulnerable position to take the easy way out of bribing workers to work for free by threatening deportation or ask for compromising favors. The low workers can't exactly go to the big boss man if mistreatment occurs because big boss is a vulnerable position himself of hiring these workers.

Public opinion is very complex in this situation. There is outrage but it is not cohesive. If a sucessful immigrant has a John the Baptist American covering, Americans will be afraid to inflict their opinion to the top but wait when the immigrant runs out of favor. Small time bosses can forget trying this tactic without connecting themselves with "Mr. Baptist" If people try to mess with him, they are usually gone or keep to themselves and let things pass. This is true in bigger cities, country club resorts, and the burbs. Oh, but who is the real gangster, John the Baptist or the Feds on ATM?

In short, Americans are potent in fighting minorities and whites regardless of status but are impotent in fighting minorities and whites of stature and power.