Game, Set, Match

The SEVEN
by Mack Williams
18 July 2015

I. Seeing Eye Dogs?

If Serena Williams looks like a man – which is what some of the haters are saying after her recent Wimbledon victory, which completed her latest “Serena Slam” – I so can’t wait to see what a woman looks like.

II. Doc & Co.

Seeing the 2014 Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom throw such a dominant inning in the All-Star Game was reminiscent of Dwight Gooden’s first All-Star appearance, which yielded the same result. The whole young Met staff is reminiscent of the ’80s Met starters, Gooden, Ron Darling, David Cone, and Sid Fernandez, although the current Met hurlers will be hard pressed to approach the mania in the city on days when Doc was to start home games in the ’80s and his 75-foot high likeness was one of the first things one would see when entering New York through the Holland Tunnel.

III. For A Cab Ride

A cab driver, in sharing some of his craziest experiences behind the wheel, once told me of the night a young woman got in, told him where she wanted to go – about a 20-25 minute ride – and asked what the approximate cost would be. When told the cost, she shared her problem, that being she didn’t have enough money for the ride, but needed to get there ASAP. (Public transportation could have taken her there just as well for a fraction of the cost, but not as quickly at that time of night.)

She then asked if there were any possible solution, at which point the driver suggested that doing the nasty on the back seat could suffice for payment. Her response: “Is that all you want?”

If she would do that for a cab ride, how many aspiring actresses would have done that with Bill Cosby for what they would have envisioned as a shot to be on the Cosby Show? Actually, the better question is why the heck (if these allegations are true) would Bill feel he needed to drug those women?

IV. Iran

Seems like some of the same folks that wanted to fight Iraq would rather fight Iran than talk with them. Seems like we’ve gone down this road before.

V. $5.9 Million

$5.9 million is s lot of money…but I’m sure Eric Garner’s family would return every penny if they could have Eric back.

The City of New York would undoubtedly be so much better off if it didn’t have to pay out so much money to families that have been wronged. Perhaps body cameras on police will help. They can’t hurt.

VI. Number 1

Donald Trump’s rise to the top of the Republican presidential polls – fueled by his “bad Mexican” comments which obviously resonate with a percentage of potential GOP primary voters – totally illustrates why the Republican Party will have an extremely hard time winning the presidency going forward.

VII. Harlem Book Fair

If you are in the area this afternoon, come find me at the the Harlem Book Fair on 135th St. between Malcolm X Blvd. and Frederick Douglass Blvd. Support some great authors…yours truly and many others!

The Whole World Is Watching

The SEVEN
by Mack Williams
28 November 2014

I. Sleep Tight

I was going to say that if you had done a Rip Van Winkle since Dr. J did the rock the cradle fast break dunk over Michael Cooper in the Moses Malone-named “Fo’ Five Fo'” 1983 NBA Finals, and woke up to hear that the Sixers and Lakers are quite possibly the two worst teams in the league, you would never believe that. But actually the Lakers might not be as horrible as originally thought. “Swaggie P” Nick Young is back, Jeremy Lin is beginning to get used to playing with Kobe Bryant, and Kobe will – barring injury – become the oldest player to lead the league in scoring.

The Sixers, on the other hand, may be worse. Were I in management down on South Broad Street, I’d pick a low demand game – Orlando? Detroit? T-Wolves? – and open the doors for free. Gotta do something for a fan base that could grow tired of several years of tanking.

II. The Champ Is Here

Very rarely do I predict a champion before a game is played; too many unknown variables – usually injury-related – can come into play which would render such predictions obsolete. That being the case, I’ve predicted that the San Antonio Spurs will repeat as champs this coming June – a prediction that was by no means unanimous. The Vegas oddsmakers had all but put the Cleveland parade route starting point in GPS.

Now, with close to twenty percent of the season having been played, my question to them would be the following: What have you seen so far to make you think San Antonio won’t win it? What I’ve seen is the Spurs winning games against good teams with three or four rotation players out, while the Thunder – as a result of the Durant/Westbrook injuries – may have a hard time making the playoffs in the west, and the Cavs are still finding their way in the east. I’ll stick with my call.

III. Spin Cycle

So this is why LeBron James urged the Heat to draft Shabazz Napier (before he left town)…

http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/11/18/7239981/shabazz-napier-crossover-deron-williams-kevin-garnett-heat-nets

IV. Meet The Mets

The New York Mets are moving the outfield fences in next season, basically because their players aren’t hitting enough home runs. (Of course, I wonder if they have considered that with the shorter dimensions, the opponents may hit more homers as well.)

They are also looking for a shortstop…which is interesting because in Jose Reyes they previously had a shortstop whose offensive game was tailor-made for a spacious ballpark such as Citi Field, especially with the original dimensions. And now with the great young arms in house – including the rookie of the year Jacob deGrom – you would think the larger park would work to their advantage. No such luck now.

So getting Michael Cuddyer seems like it may be an excellent move…or is it one in a long line of Met signings/trades in which they get a successful veteran who has, however, left his best years behind with the other team?

V. Flying Solo

Glad President Obama has gone ahead and done his own thing on immigration reform without the “help” of the obstructionist Republican congress. Hope he’s able to find a few more things he can do in their absence.

What I hope he doesn’t do (and I’m positive he won’t) is take the advice of Rep. Peter King, who wants him to invite Darren Wilson to the White House and praise him for a job well done. Should he also invite the guy that pushed the man onto the subway tracks? They’re both killers.

VI. No Justice, No Peace

During this week of Thanksgiving, we should thank God for the world of sports. While in the real world Michael Brown is killed and Darren Wilson is said to have acted in a justifiable manner, the sports world provides a welcome distraction from the nonsense. When I am scared for my Black son, a young man not that much older than Michael Brown, we can talk about his two-hit night on the ball field we passed in North Bergen, a place Michael will never go again. And when the 6’4″, 210 pound Wilson absurdly compares his encounter with Brown to that of a five-year-old holding Hulk Hogan – after which he forgot his job is to apprehend and not kill – I can think back to my friend’s gift of a replica WWE championship belt to my-then 10-year-old son. The belt is meant to remind you of an arena in which everyone leaves contented and happy; unfortunately the Brown family will never feel quite that way again.

So when your thoughts are not diverted from the tragedies, it is easy to be outraged. It is easy to see how some would react violently when our vaunted system of justice provides none whatsoever in case after case involving people of color. If the system condones violence, then don’t be surprised when people act violently. To those who would, I certainly understand – but I would encourage you to pick up a ballot instead of a rock. We can’t change everything overnight, but certainly in a place like Ferguson, MO we can start by changing the people in office.

VII. World AIDS Day

Monday, December 1st is World AIDS Day 2014 – and in New York City, New Hope for the World Ministries, Inc. will sponsor a Gospel Concert featuring Pastor Terrance L. Kennedy & The Reach Music Ministry. The program will take place at 6:00 pm at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, located at 163 W. 125th St., and will celebrate the life and musical legacy of George E. Canton, Jr. Get there if you can!

First Take

The SEVEN
by Mack Williams
15 August 2014
I. Pitch-Off

I hope MLB’s playoffs and World Series wind up with as compelling story lines as does the Little League World Series, beginning with that of Philadelphia’s Mo’ne Davis, believed to be the first African-American girl to compete. The ace pitcher of her team, she has challenged her pitching hero Clayton Kershaw to a “pitch-off,” which Kershaw accepted when she can get out to Los Angeles. Some company could get themselves some nice pr by sending Mo’ne out to Dodger Stadium between the end of the LLWS and the start of the school year.

While all the early talk was of Mo’ne, Chicago’s Pierce Jones grabbed the spotlight yesterday with his three-homer opening game performance and humble nature, making the representatives from the Jackie Robinson West Little League another must-see team.
II. Started At The Bottom…

Should the New York Mets still be offensively-challenged in another nine years, perhaps they might like to look at young Mr. Jones…but I write not to bury the not-so-Amazins, but to praise them. Not that I don’t stand by my statement that the Omar Minaya “Los Mets” were better than the current Sandy Alderson “moneyball” version, but after all of these years of less-than mediocrity and irrelevance, the Mets have assembled a group of young pitchers on their staff and in their farm system – from Matt Harvey to Zack Wheeler to Jacob deGrom to Jenrry Mejia to Noah Syndergaard and others – that have got to be the envy of virtually every organization. They’ve built from the bottom centered around pitching before – see 1969 and 1986 – and seem to be positioned to do so yet again.
III. At The Top

Kudos to the champion San Antonio Spurs on adding Becky Hammon to their coaching staff upon her retirement at the conclusion of the current WNBA season, which will make her the first woman to be an on-bench assistant coach.

While the summer basketball chatter has centered on LeBron and the Cavs and the improved Bulls with the returning Derrick Rose and the incoming Pau Gasol, don’t be surprised if the champs are able to do what they have yet to accomplish during their run of success: repeat as champs.
IV. Just Asking…

The recently-retired David Stern was one of the most impactful commissioners in sports history, helping to usher in an unprecedented era of worldwide NBA success. He is clearly one who is Hall of Fame-worthy, but why was he eligible for admission to the Hall five months after his retirement, unlike a player who would have to wait five years for eligibility?
V. Meet The Host

My wife never liked David Gregory as host of Meet The Press…and the ratings probably reflect the fact that she wasn’t alone. It’s hard to replace an icon such as the late Tim Russert. I expect that the next host, Chuck Todd, will do a good job, as he does with his political reporting…but the best choice from the NBC farm system might have been Rachel Maddow. And the next might have been Chris Hayes.
VI. Ferguson

Finally the name of the policeman who shot and killed Mike Brown is about to be released. It’s interesting that the police chief has been so intent on keeping that information from the public for his “safety,” unlike the lack of concern that officer showed for the safety of Mike Brown.

As Rev. Al Sharpton has worked with Brown’s family since his death and has invited them to participate in an August 23rd march in New York seeking justice for Eric Garner, I’m reminded of a co-worker who asked why Al Sharpton was always there every time there was an incident. The answer then – and seemingly now more than ever – was that if there weren’t so many “incidents,” there would be nowhere for him to go.

VII.   Eye of the Tiger

I still gotta believe a bunch of the other PGA golfers would love to see Tiger return to form.