Bigots on the basketball court

Professional athletes often are stereotyped as being boorish, macho brutes. Tim Hardaway’s comments yesterday only reinforce the stereotype.

Asked during an interview on a Miami radio station how he might have dealth with a gay teammate, the former star guard with the Warriors and Heat offered bigoted rant:

“You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known,” Hardaway said. “I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.”

The question of playing with a gay teammate has come up quite a bit lately — with too many athletes showing their homophobic stripes — because of the release of John Amaechi’s memoir, “Man in the Middle,” in which he comes out of the closet. Amaechi played five years in the NBA after playing at Penn. State.

And the responses have been varied. Grant Hill, for instance, told ESPN last week that Amaechi should be applauded — a comment that got very little attention.

“The fact that John has done this, maybe it will give others the comfort or confidence to come out as well, whether they are playing or retiring,” Hill said.

Tracy McGrady and Isaiah Thomas also offered enlightened comments

“I can’t speak for somebody else’s locker room, but if it’s mine, we won’t have a problem,” Thomas said at the Knicks’ practice facility in Greenburgh. “I don’t know (if the NBA is ready for an openly-gay player). But I know this league is not about discrimination. I do know that.”

And yet, it is Hardaway’s big mouth that is getting all the press.

Athletes are not the monolithic bunch of neanderthals too many fans and commentators expect them to be (watch a sports broadcast featuring Len Elmore or Ron Darling). Many are intelligent, open-minded and politically committed (Steve Nash, Adonal Foyle, Etan Thomas, Carlos Delgado). Too bad we almost never hear about them.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

Finding his inner-Spitzer

A good column from Tom Moran in The Star-Ledger comparing the disappointing Corzine administration with that of New York new Democratic governor, Eliot Spitzer.

Spitzer (right) has been a bulldog; Corzine (left) a lapdog.

He has time to find his inner-Spitzer, but he needs to do it quickly before the bullies that run New Jersey government roll him completely.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

Snow business like, well, snow business

The photo above, taken by Post and Press Staff Writer Candice Helfand, pretty much sums up how all of us around the Garden State are feeling today. A mix of ice and snow has us all a bit chilled and dull.

The roads were pretty much a mess and remain so — even here in South Brunswick, where the Department of Public Works always makes the neighboring towns look like a bunch of slackers.

Then again, I’m in the office for the duration, so maybe this will stop and they can get things clear before I leave.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

What won’t they think of next

I am not sure what to make of this — a specialty beer glass, similar to a wine glass for beer connousiers?

From The Boston Globe:

Wine lovers have long used crystal stemware to help experience the exquisite nose of a French merlot or a frisky Australian vin ordinaire, and now the Boston brewer thinks beer connoisseurs have achieved a similar level of discernment when it comes to appreciating state-of-the-art advances in lager delivery-systems.

According to the company, the new Samuel Adams Boston Lager Pint Glass is the first glass specifically designed to showcase beer as brewers intended.

Sparing no effort, Boston Beer said it recruited “world-renowned sensory experts” to work on the design of a glass that beginning in March, will be sold in packages of four for $30 at www.samueladams.com.

One feature of the new glass is a neck-and-lip design that “helps sustain the head of the beer, which enhances the release of signature Noble hop aromas found in Samuel Adams Boston Lager,” the company said.

“It’s a personal passion of mine to develop a beer glass that elevates the craft-beer drinking experience,” Jim Koch, company chairman and founder of the Samuel Adams beer brand, said in a statement. “We wanted to create a glass that offers beer lovers a full sensory experience by fully showcasing Samuel Adams Boston Lager’s complex balance of malt and hop flavors.”

Hmmmm. I may have to order a set.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.