Is it time to end the love affair with Spurs' coaching and face reality?

By Gregory Moore

The San Antonio Spurs have four games left in the regular season and last night the team gave a dismal performance in the second half to lose 95-83 to the Portland Trailblazers.

The Spurs are now sitting at 50-28 and I have them projected at finishing the season with a 53-29 record.

Four games.

3-1 to finish out the year.

For many diehard faithful they think I'm crazy for uttering the following statement but why would it be so preposterous considering what is going on. If the team goes 53-29 this season it will be the first time since 1999-2000. Does everyone remember what happened that year? The Spurs were second in the Midwest division. Tim Duncan had a leg injury that sidelined him at the end of the season and he was through for the rest of the year. The Spurs went on to lose to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.

Okay now let's fast forward to this year and present time. Manu Ginobili is out for the rest of the year and playoffs. There is a distinct possibility that the Spurs will finish with the same 53-29 record and there is a chance that this team could be facing the New Orleans Hornets in the first round.

Seriously do you have confidence in beating a Hornets team that as of this moment of this writing has defeated this team 2-1 in the series and that included a win against them with Manu in the line up?

And so the question needs to be asked with all sincerity and realism; is it time for this city to quit falling in love with the folklore of the past and the 'coaching brilliance' of past campaigns and come to grips that maybe Gregg Popovich's rain as the Spur King is coming to an end?

THE TRUTH HURTS BECAUSE IT IS WHAT IT IS

This may not be a popular stance but then again since when has the truth ever been popular these days.

Sports fans rarely want to hear the truth because it tarnishes the fairytale that they have spun into their own little reality.

I don't believe in fairytales and luck is something that you make from your own choices.

With that said, how can my arguments of Pop possibly looking to ride off into the sunset either this year or next not be realistic. If I am looking at the body of work for this season, tell me why I can't make that argument.

Even with as many games as I have missed this season due to personal improvement, that doesn't mean I haven't been keeping track of what the hell is going on with this team. I've never claimed to be a homer on the take nor will I even shy away from not expressing some bits of reality about the situation. This current Spurs team sucks eggs and you cannot make an excuses for their poor play; especially this late in the season. Yet fans say I'm crazy.

Here is the truth of the matter.

As great of a coach as Gregg Popovich has been over the years, you cannot say that he has done a great job of winning this year.

Even last year, when the 2007-08 roster came up empty against the Lakers, he didn't do a stellar job that put this team into a winning position this year.

Sure the excuse of "Well they had a tough series against the Hornets and then they had to turn around and play the Lakers after sitting on the tarmac wore them out" may be plausible but it is still an excuse. Professional players get paid big time money to be uncomfortable.

But this season is totally different. This season nobody on that roster gave a poop about the playoff picture when it counted.

When did it count?

When they were playing teams with winning percentages.

Ask yourself this question: How good are the San Antonio Spurs this season?

Be honest with your assessment.

Can they beat New Orleans in a seven games series right after playing them on April 15th?

Do you think they can get past their second round opponent who would be the Los Angeles Lakers?

And what of the Western Conference Finals opponent? Could they win that series?

And if they were able to overcome all of these obstacles mentioned, could this current coaching staff and roster be able to defeat a Cleveland Cavaliers team that had just beat their pants with a 20 point win in the NBA Finals? Or Boston? Or Orlando?

Are you trying to tell me that the San Antonio Spurs are better than at least six other teams in this league right now? With Ginobili out for the year?

I didn't think so.

But yet many would say that you don't get rid of Pop because he is a hall of fame coach.

Really? Then what is Larry Brown? Phil Jackson? Rick Carlisle?

Those three coaches were shown the door when their windows of opportunity closed on them.

What would be the difference here?

I say it is time to stop looking at this team and this coaching staff as if they can do no wrong. Maybe that's the problem. Everybody is so afraid to speak the obvious in this town.

But the facts are the facts people and if you are true to your team, you want the truth to be said about how they play and whether the head coach is worthy of his job.

Let's be real about what is going on here.

The Spurs have had a good run and there is no shame there.

But if you are going to start talk about bringing in newer, younger players as the older ones get worn down, shouldn't you be talking about a change in philosophy too?

After all if you don't change how things are done, how can you expect a different outcome?

You can't.

Discrimination and necessity brought about minority media outlets

By Gregory Moore

Last week I had the privilege of doing a local radio show and discuss the NY Post cartoon that was printed last Wednesday.

In the midst of doing the show, the show host had asked me why did I run a publication/website that catered only to the African American community and not the whole community at large.

To paraphrase his comments, "It seems that you do not want me to read your publication."

This isn't the first time I've heard that statement or to have been asked that question. But being that we are in the last days of Black History Month, I thought it would be very appropriate to not only address why there is a separate media for minorities but to also show that even today, the very reasons why discrimination and racial stereotypes gives credence to the separatist mentality for the minority press.

When the New York Post allowed an editorial cartoonist to show the now infamous cartoon of a dead primate who was shot by a police officer with the bubble caption, "I guess they'll have to find another author for the next stimulus package", they overstepped their ethical duty as a news medium. Both the cartoonist and the publication violated several code of ethics that the Society of Professional Journalists adhere to. Among those codes are: Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context; avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status; and show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.

Sean Delonas, the now infamous cartoonist of the afore mentioned political cartoon has said that he did not mean for his cartoon to be racist.

"Do you really think I'm saying Obama should be shot? I didn't see that in the cartoon," Delonas said in his brief comment, read by anchor Kyra Phillips on "CNN Newsroom." "It's about the economic stimulus bill. If you're going to make that about anybody, it would be [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, which it's not."

Delonas and others who have never had to endure racism or be a part of a community that has to deal with the media stereotypes simply don't get it. It is a slap in the face, especially in this day and time, to think that you will not offend anyone by such actions. It is a thought pattern of stereotyping in this country over the years that has led to the minority press not only being formed but in some cases booming.

BATTLING THE MAINSTREAM STEREOTYPES FROM MAINSTREAM MEDIA

When the San Antonio Informer was formed back in 1988, it was developed to bring about a different way of covering African Americans in this city.

Are we a business? Sure we are and we are about making a profit like any other. But we are also about providing something that many news portals of our genre cannot provide and that is thought provoking, constantly changing news coverage.

Granted like all news media, the economy has hit this industry just like any other but that doesn't stop us or other minority owned media outlets from being the voices of the minority communities.

So the question asked not only perturbed me but it was almost infuriating to have to educate an audience where the good majority of the city is of Hispanic descent.

Now I'm sure the show host was only prodding the question to get an educated response and that's fine but you have to ask the question, "Would you ask Tito Duran why he started La Prensa or why the Express News started Connexion?"

It seems that only the Black press gets questioned about why it is in existence and that is just another stereotype that is fought on a daily basis.

Black newspapers, radio stations, television stations/programming and other media outlets are formed and developed for the same reason that Hispanics have their own media outlets, why the Indian culture have their own media outlets, or why those of Arab/Muslim descent have their own media outlets; they are formed to combat the pervasive stereotypes that the mainstream media in this country still inflicts on the American public.

Yet unlike many other minority media outlets, which are formed not just to inform that particular community but to also showcase its heritage to the rest of the world, the Black press has been developed out of the necessity of being shunned by White America back during segregation days and even in today's times.

Coverage of the Black community is often very tainted in the mainstream press with many images showcasing nothing but the bad imagery of poverty. Many anchors and news stations will run stories at the top of their newscasts that show the brutality of gang life, poverty, etc.

When it comes to musical entertainment, all the mainstream press really understands is the supposed imagery that rap music brings out and yet fails to realize that there is a whole facet of that musical genre that does not depict a woman as a whore or a Black male as a dope pusher, gangster or hustler out to make illegal gains.

The Black press, just like probably all other minority owned media outlets, tries to make sure that the rest of society sees the contributions that African Americans have made to society. It tries to enforce the fact that like everyone else, African American families have the same hopes and dreams like everyone else and also face similar family unit problems. But most importantly, the Black press tries to bring a conscious balance as to how this particular minority group is portrayed and that no matter how sophisticated we all may think we are in the country, that racism towards this one particular minority group is brutally consistent and unforgiving.

Several emails have come across this author's desk asking why can't there just be one type of media and I even tried to answer that on the air.

In today's times that simply is not going to happen.

As great as this country is, there is still a very distinct difference between those that have and those that have not.

I watched an HBO documentary over the weekend entitled, "Right America Feeling Wronged".

The documentary, done by Alexandria Pelosi, was a snapshot of some of the most enthusiastic conservative Americans, once labeled "the silent majority" of the voting American public. Many of them feel so alienated over cultural and political issues that they say they will never trust the new president, the Congress or the media.

What struck me about Pelosi's documentary was the fact that the documentary also showed the very public denunciation of Barack Obama's historic achievement in our history.

Pelosi visited 28 states and in much of the documentary you could tell that the majority White subjects did not care for Obama or the fact that a Black man had the gumption to run for the office of President of the United States. What I found myself doing was shaking my head, throwing balled up paper wads at my television, cursing in broken Spanish and French, and being utterly sickened even more by the so-called base of the Republican Party.

Keep in mind that this was the party that Lincoln represented; the party that freed Black slaves from their unjustified servitude. This was supposed to be the party that said that slavery was a moral injustice and that the then Democrats were morally corrupt in wanting to keep hold of an institution that enslaved another human being.

Yet is also very ironic that the only time the Republican Party as a whole picked a Black man to lead the RNC. Michael Steele wasn't picked because he was qualified for the job; he was picked because Obama became the first Black president of this country and that was how they were going to try and bring in the Black conservatives to the Republican fold.

However Pelosi's documentary may have thwarted that attempt by bolstering the very reason why the Black press is in existence; to confront the racial injustice, bigotry and idiocy that still plagues much of this country about who African Americans are and what the Black community is really about.

Should the Black press be constantly defended by those who are uneducated as to it's founding?

No.

But you can't expect this country to understand the most uncelebrated minority group in the country either. The un-celebration comes from the standpoint that the Black community is taken for granted more often than other groups simply because many in this country think everything is fine between Blacks and Whites.

In reality, these two groups have a long way to go to heal the racial divide. There is a mistrust that goes back generations and centuries that cannot be undone even with the historic election that was just witnessed. For the Black community, there is no rest for total equality until there is an acceptance that this particular community is known more than just athletes, great orators or entertainment models on the big and small screen.

Until that happens, the Black press is going to continue to try and balance the scales against the bigotry and overt racism that is targeted at the Black community.

It is the same charge that every other minority media outlet will do for their community because in this country, we are not at racial peace.

We have racial tolerance and somewhat of racial understanding.

But racial peace comes when everyone believes that each other is equal in the eye of the stranger and that no one is any more special in whatever task or societal grouping comes forth.

When that happens, then the minority press, as a group can be a full fledged member of the mainstream press.

NY Post cartoon is racist; not ifs, buts or 'bananas' about it

By Gregory Moore

Ever since President Barack Obama became this nation's president and even when he was running for the office, political satire involving him has been very "tame" compared to other cartoon depictions of political figures.

Maybe that has been because no cartoonist wants to offend the millions of African Americans but that has never stopped cartoon strips or editorial cartoonists from pushing the envelope.

Remember when the New Yorker came out with their cover about Obama and his wife? You remember the one? With Obama in a turban, the American flag burning in the fireplace and an AK-47 assault rifle strapped to an Afroed Michelle Obama?

Yeah that was every bit as racist and stupid as what NY Post's Sean Delonas shows just how insensitive this country still is towards African Americans and our accomplishments.

Let's put this into a perspective that everyone can understand.

This month, today (February 18, 2009) is Black History Month. Here we have what I am going to assume is one minority, Delonas, having the unmitigated gall to portray a chimpanzee as the "author" of the stimulus package that was recently signed by President Obama and the NY Post, a news medium that is own by a minority group, has the nerve to not even want to respond to the criticism the cartoon is getting?

What the Post and Delonas have done is actually openly pimp slapped Black America and say, "No matter what your accomplishments, you are still n****s and nothing is going to change."

You know what the funny thing is? There is still a good percentage of this nation's populous that thinks the way Delonas' cartoon portrays African Americans.

That perception also is extended to other minority groups but if you notice, not one American is upset that the current climate of our economic state may be the fault of a group of minorities who many perceive as money hungry, stingy ingrates. Notice how there are no cartoons depicting Jewish bankers or stockholders in a demeaned fashion?

But yet this country expects African Americans to sit back, gaggle, giggle and snort with laughter at such a depiction of what we consider one of our greatest leaders even if he is a neophyte on the political spectrum.

The anger that should be felt by many African Americans should also be felt by others because the cartoon is offensive to anyone with common sensibilities.

Here we are saying that this country is the greatest country in the world and a cartoonist has the audacity to think it is okay to use a chimpanzee as his main subject in a cartoon that has political influences?

Is the Post that insensitive that they simply don't give a crap about their minority readers?

They must be because they fired a freelance writer, who is African American, because they didn't think he was being racially profiled by NYPD. He sued the department and he won his case because there is a settlement.

But this cartoon is very disturbing simply because no one should ever have to see the imagery of a dead animal, two police officers and a crazy caption that Delonas used.

If the Post's editors don't care about who they offend, then maybe it is time that African Americans REALLY asserts how much buying power they have on the Post's advertisers.

If the Post doesn't think it exists maybe they need to call Don Imus and ask him what it felt like being stripped of your magical wand on a national stage.

The Suns' problem lies with GM Kerr and Robert Sarver; not coaching staff

By Gregory Moore

Al Davis. Daniel Snyder. George Steinbrenner. Donald Sterling. Jerry Jones.

You know what all of these rich team owners have in common? Robert Sarver.

Now you're asking yourself, "What does Sarver have to do with these five owners?"

It's quite simple. Sarver is now as meddlesome with his team as these other five owners and he is as clueless why the team doesn't win as the rest of his new found fraternity is too.

By the time this is posted, Terry Porter will be out as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and Alvin Gentry will be in. Sarver thinks that a change in leadership is needed but in reality what is needed is a change in philosophy and that starts with his general manager; Steve Kerr.

If anyone needs to go, Kerr does.

What many fans don't realize is that Kerr, with Sarver's blessing, has derailed the Suns from what they used to be. When you trade away key pieces of what made the eight second offense effective, you are not going to get the same personnel. But Kerr doesn't see that as the problem; he only sees Porter as the problem and that has now filtered into how the team acts as well.

The firing of Porter only does one thing; it delays the inevitable.

The sun is setting in Phoenix and nobody can save this franchise from being on the outside looking in any longer.

You would have thought Sarver understood this when he replaced Mike D'Antoni as head coach. Under D'Antoni the team did thrive in making the playoffs. Granted defensively the team was suspect but when you are capable of throwing up huge amounts of points and you can play a modicum of defense with Shaquile O'Neal in the middle, the system works for the moment.

But Sarver wanted NBA championship caliber effort and with the way the team was structured, he wasn't going to get that result. Kerr should have realized that and instead of signing off on replacing a coach, he should have found a way to keep guys like Shawn Marion on the roster and push for a common goal.

In other words Kerr is a lousy team leader from the GM slot and Sarver is even worse as an owner. The two of them aren't about winning. They couldn't be if they are thinking replacing Porter is the answer.

Maybe its my new found wisdom of team concepts and goals because of the classes I've taken already while going back to school. Yeah I'll admit that the team collaboration and conflict resolution course actually opens up my eyes and pinpoints where sports teams fall as top contenders but I'm not paid millions to figure that out.

Then again, maybe I should be. I know what the problem is with the Suns.

If you replace Terry Porter, you have to fire Steve Kerr at the end of the season. Alvin Gentry is a good guy but he isn't going to be the head coach next season.

There is way too much turnover in that organization for it to be successful and compete with the likes of the Lakers, Spurs and Hornets. Those three organizations have solid team leaders as general managers and they have a support staff that can get the job done. Phoenix on the other hand is a total mess of a situation that is brought on by what Sarver has fallen victim to; microwavable results.

Was Porter the right pick for the head coaching job two seasons ago? Maybe not. But then again what could he do with all the turmoil that was thrown at him by Kerr and Sarver.

Suns' fans should be up in arms about the fluctuation of the team by the front office.

If the Suns make the playoffs it is not going to be because of how they play or because they have new inspiration. Somebody outside of the big three I mentioned earlier will falter. That's five other teams from Denver to Golden State that will help them along the way.

The team will be an eighth seed and if they get Los Angeles, San Antonio or New Orleans in the first round, they will be unceremoniously swept or embarrassed in five games.

What will Gentry get? Nothing.

What should he get? A medal for dealing with the tom foolery that is the front office.

What should Sarver and Kerr get?

How about a one way ticket out of Phoenix.

The Suns' fan base deserves strong leadership at the top and Sarver is a very rocky leader at the helm of this team. But its hard to fire an owner so the next logical candidate after Porter's dismissal this week is Steve Kerr; Sarver's right hand man.

Somebody needs to take the blame for this and Kerr is as good a choice as any.

Not to defend Grimes, but Dallas Academy never quit at trying to be competitive

By Gregory Moore

The coach whose team beat an opponent 100-0 was fired on Sunday.

Micah Grimes, who was in his fourth season at Dallas Covenant, was fired by the school after Grimes posted his comments about the game on a website he co-founded.

In his post, Grimes said in part "I respectfully disagree with the apology, especially the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel 'embarrassed' or 'ashamed. We played the game as it was meant to be played and would not intentionally run up the score on any opponent. Although a wide-margin victory is never evidence of compassion, my girls played with honor and integrity and showed respect to Dallas Academy."

Grimes may feel that he was properly leading his team but others think otherwise.

That's a tragedy because in a world where we have now coddled young boys and girls into saying that losing is not a part of life, we have essentially taken the competitive spirit out of their being very early. What is ironic in this whole story is the fact that the athletic director at Dallas Academy didn't see the lopsided game as a loss but as a learning tool.

"My girls never quit," athletic director Jeremey Cevillo said. "They played as hard as they could to the very end. They played with all their hearts at 70-nothing, 80-nothing and 100-nothing. I was really proud of them. That's what I told them after the game."

So should Grimes have lost his job? Probably not but when you are dealing with a private school that is more concerned with a public perception rather than stark reality, what do you expect a head master to do these days, sit on his hands.

But what Dallas Covenant did was not show the life lesson that needed to be learned on their campus. In the midst of them celebrating the score, they failed to realize that it wasn't too long ago that they were on the bottom of the ladder. Four years ago the girls basketball team was 2-19. How many lopsided scores did those seniors endure? How many tears had to be dried up by parents? How many times did Coach Grimes have to console his players of some sort?

What the Dallas Covenant girls failed to learn was humility; even in a win. What Coach Grimes failed to realize is that sometimes you might have to take one on the chin in order for the lesson to be given, taught and learned by the students.

Yet instead of Grimes looking at the big picture, he only looked at himself and that could be the very reason why he was canned on Sunday.

And still nobody seems to care that in all of this, a Dallas Academy team may have actually learned the lesson better than any adults ever could.

How does that phrase go again? Out of the mouth of babes…

TIME FOR JISD TO STOP THINKING ABOUT THE PIGSKIN

If you haven't heard or read by now, the Judson Independent School District is coming under fire because of an internal audit that was supposed to be confidential is now public.

The infamous audit lists several contracting violations and according to several outside reports, this wasn't the first time the school district was caught with its hand in the cookie jar. Too many sources in the construction business say that the practices that are now just coming to light have been a part of how that board operated for young D.W. Rutledge patrolling the sidelines. We're talking at least 30 years ago minimum

Undoubtedly there will be a lot of people wanting Willis Mackey's head on a silver platter but you know what makes this ironic? He was brought in to clean up the school district.

So now it is possible that the fall guy could be the new superintendent.

Yeah it’s the same status quo.

The problem with the district is that they are like the small town in Friday Night Lights. It is football or bust in Converse and that doesn't do the kids any favors.

Let's be honest. When was the last time a Judson Rockets football player made it to a big time college and/or NFL team?

Hard pressed aren't you?

Well if you have a hard time trying to find one who is currently playing.

Not saying that they shouldn't care about their football program but it also time for the school board to run the district like the way a school district should be ran.

President Obama has promised that the three branches be very transparent with the public's money. I think that is a heck of an idea and if any school district wants to rely on the voters next time around, they want to know that the people who they voted for to represen them.

As it stands right now, JISD is tainted and only JISD can fix their problem.

They may have to clean house and if they do, they may want to make sure that the press is present during that time.

This school board has lost public trust and only the school board can regain the public's trust is to start doing things on the up and up; not continue their deceitful practices.

What is with Black athletes carrying guns in the first place

By Gregory Moore

This past week I was watching First Take on ESPN and I caught Jemele Hill do a good job explaining cultural differences between professional athletes who are Black and non-Black and illustrate that a lot of the incidents with guns involving Black players is a microcasm of the Black on Black crime phenomenon.

I give Jemele credit. She held her own and did a pretty good job with the topic.

But you know what is really troubling and is something that nobody has really ever addressed?

Why are so many Black athletes carrying weapons to begin with.

I want to stay within the NFL community if possible because right now that seems to be where this story resides.

In preparation for this op/ed, I wanted to find out where the NFL stood on the topic of gun ownership. What I did was that I logged into the media side of NFL.com and found the league's guns and weapons policy.

In the policy's last two paragraphs it makes mention of a player's responsibility to understand the laws pertaining to ownership and the disciplinary sanctions that could come from breaking the law. The policy states: "If you legally possess a weapon, you must understand the local, state and federal laws that apply. The NFL Security Representative in your area will help you get information about these laws. You should be aware that if you take a weapon from one place to another—for example, across state lines—a different set of laws may apply in the new place. Discipline. If you violate this policy on guns and other weapons, you are subject to discipline, including suspension from playing. And if you violate a public law covering weapons—for example, possession of an unlicensed firearm—you are not only subject to discipline, including suspension from playing, but also subject to criminal prosecution."

The last line in the policy is something to take note. To the players and staff of the NFL it says, "Remember, be careful and understand the risks."

That last line is key because when it comes to player education, it's not something that is on the hierarchy of Black players to read these policies and heed their warnings where applicable.

Of course many will say that it is hard to tell a grown man what to do with his second amendment right and while no organization can forbid an individual from exercising that right, what they can do is make sure that all safety precautions are adhered to and that ample warnings of disciplinary measures are in "black and white".

So it is rather perplexing that there is this sentiment out there that believes that the NFL and/or the New York Giants was wrong in disciplining Plaxico Burress last week after he accidentally shot himself at a night club.

Once again the public is not privy to what the media knows about the rules, policies and regulations of the NFL and the public questions those policies because they fail to realize that you are dealing with a corporate enterprise; not some church or civic organization.

But what is also troubling is that there is a segment of the community that does not understand just how serious Burress' actions are to the whole.

Accidental shootings happen more often when there is alcohol involved than when the weapon is at home or locked away. Shootings, whether they are in self defense or done in a malicious intent, are very common outside of night clubs AFTER midnight than during any other time.

And what is also troubling is that many use the argument that players need to protect themselves because they are targets and that argument is used in the wrong context during general discussion.

PROTECTION AT HOME IS ONE THING; PROECTION IN PUBLIC IS 1-8-7

Nobody is saying that professional players should not be allowed to protect themselves.

If a player wants to protect his home, his property and his family, he can do so at his residence. Some players opt to have a firearm in the home and some players don't. In the case of Sean Taylor, Taylor didn't have a weapon to defend himself or his girlfriend and thusly he couldn't adequately defend himself from what became a lethal attack on himself that took his life later.

That is a reason why many players now have firearms at home now and that is a good reason.

But what is not a good reason is to take that firearm outside of the home and transport it to a place in public.

That is where I think both society and the players get the second amendment all mixed up.

That is why the NFL came out with their policy on gun ownership.

But in order to know the law, you have to read it.

You can pretty much make the assumption that pro athletes do not take the time to familiarize themselves with the laws and statues of where they reside during the season. They are quick to blame it on their hired help when in actuality it is the players' responsibility to know the laws of the land they reside in and then act accordingly.

And so when a player like Plax is arrested and his lawyer tells him to plead "not guilty", that is done because the player is ignorant of the law.

That's some pretty jacked up advice but it also shows exactly why players need to read these little league memos for themselves.

If Plax had read and understood New York City and New York state laws on gun ownership, he wouldn't have even had that gun with him.

The other side of the argument is that as a gun owner, it shows that Plax is not mature enough to own a weapon in the first place.

Far too many black athletes think that just having a gun means you're the coolest person on the block.

Gun ownership isn't some right but a privilege that requires a responsible individual.

When players start toting firearms to clubs, they are like everybody else out there who are bad gun owners.

Yes these players need to protect themselves but what they don't need to do is be involved in a gun play scenario in which they either shoot an innocent bystander or they become the victim.

No one is saying don't go out and party.

Just be aware of your surroundings and if you need protection, hire some off duty police officers because guess what, police officers ARE NEVER OFF DUTY.

That last bit of advice might just save you or family from grief and legal issues.

Illinois gub gives right wing talking heads more ammo against Prez-elect

By Gregory Moore

As if President-elect Barack Obama doesn't have enough problems in the world right now, right in his own back yard he now has the crisis of all political crisis coming down upon him.

Forget about Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, Bill Ayers and Fr. Pfleger.

Those four men are neophytes when it comes to political scandals that could tarnish the first Black president of this country.

The heavyweight champion of political scandal has just been crowned and the winner is Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff.

If you don't know by now, Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday morning at his home by federal agents on conspiracy charges that include him trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's now vacated U.S. Senate seat.

Of course news of this sort is bound to hit the airwaves and undoubtedly Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hanity and other right wing talking heads are already trying to find ways to link Obama to this scandal.

Don't be surprised that the words "Chicago politics", "insiders" and even the re-surfacing of Wright, Rezko, and Ayers as possible connects by these and other right wing demogauges. In the world of talk show, in order to keep a listenership someone has to become the hated foe and Obama is the man that everyone loves to hate right now from that side of the world.

It's a pity that instead of reporting on the story about Blagojevich, there are going to be news entities like Fox News, National Review and others who want to make this about Obama and where he is from politically.

Fair and balanced coverage?

Are you kidding me?

Not in this day and age.

Not with so many from the right wanting to show that Obama was the wrong pick for the most lucrative job in this country and possibly the world.

They aren't about taking a wait and see attitude; they are about having ammunition of fodder to constantly last from their microphonic cannons.

So while the right wing blowhards try to find ways of keeping their conspiracy about Obama going, this country is now thrown into a political nightmare of unparalleled proportions.

If you take the treasonous acts of Aaron Burr and couple them with all of the mess that has happened with Watergate and even the Iran-Contra fiasco, you will not come up with a big enough scandal than what is in front of us right now.

How serious is indictment that Blagojevich is being charged with?

How about the fact that it is one of the very reasons why the 17th amendment is a part of our Constitution right now. The amendment says in part, "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of each State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."

The amendment was written and ratified to curtail the corruption that was before this current form of selecting Senators. The amendment was written to stop the very actions that Blagojevich is being accused of and there hasn't been a case like his in probably a 100 years or so.

But his story isn't going to be told and nor will the historical significance of this crime even be seriously talked about by right wing conservatives.

Not this week and probably not ever.

Instead President-elect Obama is about to be thrown into this mess of political strife simply because he was a U.S. Senator who became the President of the United States and instead of these talk show hosts withholding judgment on our 44th President or any of his staff, under the bus they will all go.

That's a sad commentary on our talking media but it also shows just how bad this scandal could become.

With a scandal like this, right wing opponents aren't going to look for plausibility or deniability for President Obama; they are looking for blood and flesh.

Too bad because if there was ever a time for the collective sides of the media to come together and show the country that responsible journalism still exists even after election, this is it.

That's not going to happen.

Not with a juicy scandal like this so close to our new president and it involves his U.S. Senate vacancy.