by Walter Allen Bennett, Jr. on July 10, 2010
Okay, so it’s none of my business. I’m not him. I’m not a member of his family. I’m nothing to Lebron James. But that does not change the fact that he’s somebody to a mass amount of people. He knows he’s somebody to a mass amount of people or he wouldn’t have ended up on ESPN with a show called “The Decision”, simply to tell the world where he’s going to work for the next five years. Quite frankly, there are a ton of people in America who would love to be able to quietly tell their families around the dinner table where they’re going to be working for the next week or so.
What does that have to do with Lebron? Well in the midst of all of this unemployment out here, folks reach out for a little escape. They look towards an evening at the movies, HBO, and if they’re lucky an evening at the basketball game to root for their hero. Hey, even if they can’t make it to the game folks settle for a chance to look at the big pictures in the sports section of their local newspaper or catch the highlights on the web, evening news and of course… ESPN. Read more... (624 words, 1 image, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)
by Walter Allen Bennett, Jr. on December 27, 2009
Oh how America loves a great fall. I’ve held back on the recent Tiger Woods watch, not because there was nothing to talk about but more so there was so much to talk about and astoundingly not about Woods himself.
What was there to talk about? How about, booty calls, ambien, the institution of marriage, how women feel about infidelity versus how men feel about it. There’s the difference between getting a little something something on the side when you’re rich vs. when you’re poor and have to pick your date up in a Ford Focus instead of a yacht called ‘Privacy’. Be honest, if Tiger’s name was Lamont, drove a Corolla and was the manager at Jack In The Box, there would be no scandal. There’s the guys who say how stupid Tiger was that with all that money he should have never gotten caught and women say how Elin should get half of that money after only five years of marriage.
There’s the tabloid, and digital media like US and OK and People Magazine (Yeah, I said their names and People Magazine, yes you are a tabloid.) whom have clearly taken sides with their female base. Online publications one would think would be above the fray like the Huffington Post, CNN, and others, eventually strayed from reporting and gave in to the sensationalism of it all and started their own girlfriend count and embraced anything that TMZ had to say, confirmed or not. Read more... (1048 words, 1 image, estimated 4:12 mins reading time)
by Walter Allen Bennett, Jr. on October 2, 2009
I’ll make this short. The United States is in a steep recession. One of the hardest hit American cities of this financial downturn is Chicago, Illinois. Yet, the GOP and Conservatives are gloating because President Obama’s trip to Copenhagen, in an attempt to bring the Olympic Games to this city, failed. Essentially, they are applauding the loss of billions of dollars in revenue to that city, state and the federal government because they’d rather see the President fail more than they would like to see an American city succeed. And this is the party that wants to retake the Senate, House and eventually the White House. Unbelievable if it didn’t actually happen. Saturday Night Live can’t even spoof this. They would be accused of committing a comedy no no of illustrating a joke. Unfortunately, the GOP is merely illustrating who they are and the joke is on America.
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by Walter Allen Bennett, Jr. on May 8, 2009
45 Million Reasons To Cheat
Manny Ramirez simply had to cheat. He held out during free agency for a better contract that was reflective of his stature in the league as the proven go to marquee power hitter of his generation. However, there were no takers willing to ransom their future or deplete their starting roster for his services; none but the one, the team he was willing to leave. So, he held out. Holding out meant no spring training, no reps at the plate where unlike a batting cage the pitches were meant to get him out and not for him to hit. Simply put, no grapefruit league. By late spring Manny and his “people” knew there would be no takers but he had painted himself in a contractually demanding corner. If he backed down from his demands, it would have tainted his asking power for the rest of his career. It’s hard to believe that accepting a multi-million dollar contract would be first and foremost as a means of saving face, but that’s where he was. With negative debates beginning to rise about him on sports talk radio, cable outlets and the sports columns, he was now also facing a ticking clock with his Los Angeles fan base as coming across greedy and self centered. Alienating his Los Angeles fans had no up side. His popularity with them factored in to his ability to make financial demands. They paid his huge salary and he knew no amount of money was worth playing in a town where you’re not liked. He had been there, it was called Bean Town. Read more... (847 words, 2 images, estimated 3:23 mins reading time)
