Dawkins’ claim of racism is more than bogus, it’s inflammatory. But he’s now in at ESPN while Limbaugh’s out.
ONE week after ESPN “resigned” Rush Limbaugh for what the network deemed to be insensitive and erroneous racial remarks, it announced that Darryl Dawkins, ex-NBA half-court jester, has been hired as a “culture and lifestyle” contributor on ESPN2’s new morning show, “Cold Pizza.”
The last time we saw Dawkins on national TV was in March, on HBO’s “Real Sports,” at which time he made the same claim that he makes in his new autobiography: The influx of foreign players into the NBA proves that the league practices institutionalized racism, that the NBA will do anything it can to sustain white faces on its teams.
Dawkins’ claim, however, simply doesn’t stand up to facts. It discounts the addition of valued white foreign players – including Dirk Nowitzke and Pau Gasol – while ignoring the addition of both valued black foreign players – including Michael Olowokandi and Dikembe Mutombo – and black foreign players who disappointed – including NBA first-round picks Yinka Dare and Mamadou N’diaye.
Dawkins’ claim further ignores that college coaches – black and white – now regularly scour the earth for talent, black, white, Hispanic and Asian.
Dawkins’ cry of racism, fully indulged during his HBO appearance, also ignores the fact that a team of U.S./NBA stars, last year at the FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis, lost to Argentina, Spain and Yugoslavia.
Dawkins’ claim of racism is more than bogus, it’s inflammatory. But he’s now in at ESPN while Limbaugh’s out. But that’s how it goes.
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If ESPN Radio-NY’s Michael Kay doesn’t stop his childish and self-serving on-air whining about Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, he risks joining them in the megalomania ward.
OK, so Francesa and Russo, on their WFAN/YES simulcast, intentionally left Kay out when speaking about the YES Network’s postseason Yankee coverage, which was anchored by Kay. OK, so WFAN also removed Kay’s name from the YES promos. Might that not be a form of flattery – a tacit admission that Kay is considered by WFAN to be a legitimate radio rival. Why come off as a jilted date at the junior prom?
OK, so Al Leiter, Kay’s buddy and contracted regular-season radio guest, last week jumped on with Francesa and Russo – after Russo privately apologized to Leiter for the trashing he spewed about him in June. Take it up with Leiter.
OK, so Francesa and Russo often don’t give credit where credit’s due. What else is new? They’ve been presenting the work and ideas of others as their own for years. Only when they get it wrong do they credit (blame) their source.
Of course, an ESPN-NY vs. WFAN name-calling feud might serve as a good short-term hook to divide the attention of WFAN’s dim-witted loyalists, but why do both stations seem so eager to dismiss the intelligent New York fan as unimportant?
The sports radio scene here has become a paradise squandered. It’s pervaded by the petty, the duplicitous and the egocentric. Et tu, Michael Kay? The local fan now has two radio stations from which to choose, but the differences don’t seem particularly different.
Besides, if Kay wanted cross-promotion from Francesa, he should do what his ex-Yankee radio partner, John Sterling, did – hire Francesa’s agent.
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According to sports broadcast historian David Halberstam, Fox’s celebration, during Game 5, Thursday, of Tim McCarver’s record-breaking 78th World Series telecast, came a bit late – he’d already broken the record. Halbertsam disputes Fox’s claim that Curt Gowdy called 77 telecasts. He suggests that Fox may have been unaware of those Series when Gowdy split his assignments between TV and radio, but didn’t work the same Series game on both.
Frank McLaughlin, Fordham AD, and Bob Lanz, local Coca-Cola exec, were honored by the American Heart Association at its annual golf classic Monday at Baltusrol. Lanz was cited for years of service to the AHA; McLaughlin for performing life-saving CPR on Lanz this summer, when Lanz was stricken with a heart attack while the two were playing golf. A few months earlier, McLaughlin had directed all Fordham coaches to learn CPR – and he joined them.
USA Network continues as the perennial Saturday morning home for football scamdicapper shows. Two now appear in time-buys. Of course, USA prefaces both with a disclaimer distancing itself from responsibility for the claims made in the shows. USA just takes the money. Year after year.