Adam’s profile

Cecil Adams addresses the question of Celebratory Gunfire: How dangerous is it anyway? His answer: "It has been scientifically shown that firing guns into the air for entertainment is not a good idea. Please stop right away. Also knock off with the holy wars and random violence. Thank you."

posted at 01:24 AM on July 26

LBB, that's true. I guess I just don't see the humor in a biker not avoiding what seems like a rather avoidable dog. And how is this a closed course? It seems like a road through the countryside with a bunch of spectators scattered along the side. That last part, by the way, is not entirely rhetorical. Is this really supposed to be a closed course?

posted at 01:21 AM on July 20

Hmmm... those fancy racing bikes must not have advanced dog avoidance technology like brakes or pivoting front wheels. My Huffy does.

posted at 01:04 AM on July 19

Precisely. Adam, you're missing the boat on this one. It's not about equitable representation - it's about legacy and generational difference in the black sports community. Baseball has fallen off the wagon for some reason, and the article is positing one. The stats being ignored in you post are the ones that illustrate the percentage of Black MLB players fifteen years ago, vs. today. It has gone down at almost a 2 to 1 rate. Weedy, the reason you think we missed the boat is because you hopped on the wrong one. The point was not that there should be equitable representation in sports. It was that the sports media had distorted the facts by selectively reporting one statistic in order to make a story, and that this statistic was misleading. Not only is the decline real, it's going to continue - not because "Baseball Is Now So White", but because baseball is increasingly international. While just over a quarter of major league players are foreign-born, that share is more than doubled in the minor leagues. If you're tired of hearing about American blacks in baseball, this is not the time of year for you. Jackie Robinson's historic achievement in April 1947 will make this news every single year at this time. Rcade, I'll never tire of hearing about Jackie Robinson; I'd just like to see more honesty and responsibility in journalism. This article distorts facts, as did many of the reports and commentaries that I heard at the time.

posted at 08:05 AM on April 24

With Jackie Robinson Day calling attention to the experiences of African Americans in baseball, the sports media seemed determined to manufacture a story about the "crisis" of racial inequity in the national pastime. Story after story bemoaned the fact that only 8.4% of big-league players were African American in the 2006 season. I'll help flesh out the demographic picture of Major League Baseball beyond this one number. According to MLB, "27.4 percent of the players on last year's Opening Day rosters were from foreign countries." This means that only 72.6% were born in the United States. Some simple algebra shows that 11.6% of American-born baseball players were African Americans. According to the 2005 American Community Survey of the U.S. census, 12.8% of the American population is Black. This makes for a difference of 1.2& between the United States and Major League Baseball. In other words, the percentage of Black players in Major League Baseball mirrors the general population pretty closely. Does a 1.2% disparity constitute a crisis? I get the feeling that other groups of Americans are more underrepresented than Blacks. Although the number of Asians and Latin Americans in baseball continually increases, how many Asian-Americans or Hispanic-Americans do we see? Nevious quotes a few interviews to make his point about inequity, but seems to ignore some significant realities. The very title of the article, "Why Baseball Is Now So White", is ludicrous. The 27.4% of MLB players born in foreign countries are not coming from Europe. The number of Black players may be decreasing, but that's largely because baseball is becoming more diverse, not less. I've worked in urban Los Angeles high schools for 10 years, and I see more support from Major League Baseball than any other professional league. The Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program supports young baseball (and softball) players in year-round tournaments. The NFL, on the other hand, is as absent from the high schools as it is from Los Angeles as a whole. As in most areas, opportunities to participate in baseball exist in this country. If kids or their parents are participating in basketball (less expensive) or football (more expensive) leagues instead of baseball leagues, it's usually because they're making a choice, not because they're being forced out of baseball.

posted at 03:41 PM on April 22

I can just imagine if a baseball player had made the same comments about Sharon when he was ill if this would be so acceptible. It's not really the same thing. If the Israeli people wanted to see Sharon go, he could be voted out. That's democracy. The only way Fidel's leaving office is in a box, so I can see why those who feel oppressed would like for him to be dead. I guess that's the downside of being a dictator for life.

posted at 03:32 PM on August 03

Of course he has naturally high testosterone levels. We Americans are just extra manly. Yearghhhh!!!

posted at 03:42 PM on July 28

I dunno Spitz... your response seemed pretty freakin' enlightened, and I didn't even shoot beer out of my nose. I would just say that while the Tomahawk Chop might be exploitative and degrading, it's undoubtably goofy and I'd be happy to repeat that to any Braves fan. There is, however, no chance that I'm going to walk up to an All Black prop and tell him he looks goofy doing his team's haka. How's that for a profoundly unenlightened response?

posted at 01:38 PM on July 28

Amateur, I couldn't tell from the story what the race was of the player who was killed, but I also got the impression that the Delicious (but seemingly unsavory) chairman was accusing Rawsonville of causing Loots' death by slinging racial slurs (considerably less deadly than a boot to the head). My point was that the source is not necessarily trustworthy, and that his comments shouldn't be taken at face value.

posted at 02:02 PM on June 27

I played rugby for years. I'm not sure that I agree with all of the people describing it as "brutal". It's highly physical, but you don't really expect to be kicked in the head (at least not intentionally). Don't get me wrong... you're going to take a few blows, but this guy obviously stepped way over the line. As for the comments about race and apartheid and the decline of sports and society in general, let's remember that the allegations of racism were from the team that was suspended in a lame attempt to excuse their player's inexcusable behavior. It doesn't necessarily mean that racism was really the cause of this incident. It certainly doesn't mean that It doesn't mean that white ruggers are running around looking for heads of color to kick in. You simply can't draw conclusions about the state of South African rugby based on Bryant Gumbel's take on European soccer leagues.

posted at 01:26 PM on June 27

Remember when a touchdown celebration was a simple spiking of the ball? Even that seemed to bug some fans, but at least a spike seems like it could be a genuine celebratory action fueled by an abundance of adrenaline and emotion. I think that the problem with the "celebrations" we see out of Owens and Johnson is that they're not really celebrations. They are shows performed for the TV audience. These guys have pushed the envelope, and over time, we've become desensitized to the point where any genuine celebration that doesn't involve an elaborate stunt (or at least a dance) is largely ignored. Let's wait a couple of decades and see what happens after a few generations of players have had time to idolize and out-do today's notorious showman athletes. Twenty years from now, when today's Pop Warner stars score their NFL touchdowns, maybe we'll get to see a marching band, strippers, and a live circus act with hippos leaping through flaming hoops as the player stands on one leg in the middle of the field and juggles defensive backs. Now THAT'S a celebration.

posted at 01:29 PM on December 30

Rabid ferrets have big enough problems without being stuffed inside a bat with plutonium and superballs. I think that might get PETA and the ASPCA to lobby against Pete Rose; and if that happens, he's in real trouble.

posted at 12:51 AM on December 18

In this matter, I'm willing to accept that the TV announcers, color commentators, and players know a lot more about what happens on the field than I do, and their comments lead me to believe that the use of small amounts of pine tar really isn't all that unusual or dishonest. In fact, I believe the TV guys pointed out that the Nationals starter from the previous night (Loaiza) had pine tar in full view on his pants leg, to help with his grip. We can't know what Robinson's motivation was for having Donnelly's glove checked, but based on his comments, he was clearly harboring some bitterness toward Scioscia, his 10-game win streak had just been brutally snapped, and he was in danger of losing another game. If he truly suspected Donnelly of doctoring the ball, wouldn't he have waited until a few pitches were thrown, so that there would be some evidence? Scioscia didn't make an aggressive move toward Robinson. He argued with him. Robinson's age is irrelevant, and should not be a cause for other managers to sit on their hands and let him have his way. As for Donnelly's "cheating habits", he put his hand to his mouth a couple of times... an illegal move, which he paid for, but not quite enough to label a man a cheater in my eyes. We don't know what transpired between Guillen and Scioscia in the clubhouse, but we know that Guillen was the one throwing helmets around the dugout, he was the only one from either team who had to be physically restrained in this bench-clearing non-brawl, he's been on eight teams in seven years (clearly not for lack of talent), and he seems to be just about the only player or former player who openly speaks ill of the Angels' current manager or organization.

posted at 02:25 PM on June 16