Category: Sports
Walt Disney: Can you hire a decent director???
Written by Ron McClure Jr.
Monday, 15 June 2009 13:44
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I love dramatic reenactment — skits, plays and, of course, movies. My love most likely stems from the creative side of me. You see, when I watch a movie, I always want to see, hear, feel and smell what the writer and director are trying to convey. And, I want to be “in” the story. There is nothing more impressive than a well constructed and sonorously conveyed tale.

However, I have an affinity for sports. And, when someone writes a book or makes a movie about sports, I really want to have a “true-to-life” experience. Have you seen “Hoosiers”? If you haven’t, it’s awesome. It is a very closely accurate depiction of the basketball craze here in Indiana. “Hoosiers” is a great example of “making a movie, that depicts the reality of the subject.”

What am I saying? Well, I hate watching movies that completely abandon the "true" story at hand. For example, I just finished watching “Glory Road” (a movie about the all-black Texas Western college basketball championship team in 1966). It is absolutely a monumental story, but “Disney” (like in other movies), almost makes me believe that the story they tell, is well, fiction. “Glory Road” is a good movie, based on an excellent story. The story absolutely carries the movie, and the ridiculous amount of B.S. — like the fake “can’t we all just get along” crap they feed you in the movie — only detracts from the real subject, which is tolerance and acceptance. Why can’t they just tell it like it was? This “reshaping” of history only clouds the true theme, which was racial integration within college basketball.

This movie reminded me of “Miracle” (the Disney movie based on the 1980 USA hockey team victory over the USSR). Almost exactly, the theme was, “the great underdog.” I love the underdog. But, how many movies can be made with the same “cookie-cutter” script? The worst part was that, in both movies, the “game-play announcement” sounded SOOO fake, that it made it hard for me to attach myself to the story. It sounded like a home video, with a bad actor, doing a book-read overdub…well, it sucked. And, the commentary (in both instances) seemed more like modern day vernacular than what would be expected for the times of the movies. One last thing…how in the world does hip-hop music fit into a movie based in 1965-66?

I absotively, posilutely LOVE a good movie, but give me a break. There is nothing worse than taking an incredible story and “transforming” it into a mediocre movie. Disney, you suck!!

 
The NBA Finals: Buy our shoes…or build a shoe factory!
Written by Ron McClure Jr.
Friday, 05 June 2009 12:34
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Yeah, the Lakers won the first game of the NBA Finals. Whoopee! I wish I cared. I am so sick of hearing about the salaries of CEOs and government employees, but only a mild rumble about the profligate salaries of pro athletes. I know, I’ve already written on the subject. But, one thing I didn’t contribute to that conversation was the idea of “earmarks.”

You, most likely, are aware that the vast number of politicians are elected on the contingency of the bacon they can bring home. So, what are earmarks? Well, they are one of those unfortunate, “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,” ideals that exist in our government today. It’s like this: “We will give you monetary and political support if (when you win) you will fund our ‘Save the Rapists’ fund.'” Okay, that may be a little exaggerated, but still, some earmarks are pretty ridiculous.

So, what does this have to do with sports? I’m glad you asked. Why do we not pounce on pro athletes like we do politicians? When you think about it, sports is just a form of entertainment, and athletes aren’t even required to be citizens. Yet, many pro athletes are rewarded for their incredible skills with ludicrous salaries (ones much greater than politicians), and then they are presented with inconceivable commercial endorsements. Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Gatorade — these are some, but not all of the common player endorsements in sports.

Earmarks? Endorsements? What in the wide, wide world of sports is the connection?

They are one in the same. Yes, political earmarks are nothing more than professional endorsements. It has nothing to do with ideology, but it is “all about the Benjamins.” That’s right. Do you think that corporations or organizations really give a hoot about ideology? No. They care about profit margins, just like the endorsers of pro athletes. They all just want to make a buck. Just look at the newly blossomed relationship between Obama and General Electric. Do you really think that GE supports Obama's promise of universal health care? Of course not. GE just wants the contracts for all of the new technology Obama wants to implement, namely the implementation of online medical records.

So, as you think of criticizing politicians, check this out. I have embedded a chart from Nate Jones' website JonesOnTheNBA.com. Just look at what some NBA players are pulling in…AFTER…their players' salaries. And you say you don’t like earmarks…

marketingdeals2007-2008

 
U.S. Congress: On the Battlefield
Written by Ron McClure Jr.
Monday, 04 May 2009 12:44
13 Comments

The shotgun is loaded…  This could be the end… Just one minor mistake, and in just a fraction of a second, it will all be over. Minds are calculating — hearts are racing. Who will be standing in the end? Who will live another day? Who will be the one that will ultimately proclaim, "VICTORY!"?

The Captain calls for back-up, as he breathes warm air into his frigid hands. He steps back — surveying the field, as his training and strategies are replaying in his head — like a high-speed slide-show. "Go left?" He ponders. "No, the guard will surely stop us." If only he had one more rocket — one more bomb — if only he could avoid the inevitable blitzkrieg awaiting behind the enemy lines.

I wish I was talking about war. But, I’m not. No, I’m talking about football. Football, you ask? Yes. Football. Why? Well, it seems that our Congress is more concerned about college football right now. We have two war-fronts (that we are retreating from), and Congress wants to talk “football”? Great. I wish college football had a playoff system too, but I think now is not the time to address the issue. We have so many other important issues that need to be attended to, that this one, well, just seems like a convenient distraction.

Okay, I love college football, and I have long since claimed that it is the most corrupt college sport, by far. In the current system, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rates all teams, and selects only two colleges to compete for the BCS National Championship, after the regular season. However, there are more than 30 bowl games in total. In the BCS Championship series (4 games total, with one championship game) each team receives a 17 million-dollar check. The other  bowl game checks range from around $1-2 mill.

So, what’s the problem? The problem is that big conferences have ties to most bowls, and “smaller” conferences have virtually no chance to earn the “big” bucks. For example, the NCAA Basketball Tournament is an “equal-opportunity” venture. If you make it in the basketball tournament (65 teams), you get to play for the Championship, and you get paid. In football? Well, not so much. In football, money talks.

First, like I said earlier, only two teams get the opportunity to be Champs. Plus, with all of the “conference-bowl” alliances, smaller schools with good teams often sit at home — or play for "chicken feed" in smaller bowl games. Each bowl game chooses teams primarily on how many tickets they will sell, plus, the ever-lucrative TV contracts. Only about half the time does a team get a “bowl bid” for its accomplishments — it’s usually about its “marketability.”

Okay, so there’s your football lesson. The system definitely needs to be fixed, but should Congress be the instigator? Is this just another stepping stone on our socialistic pathway? Many think that the BCS should police itself, and many, like me, think that our Congress has bigger issues to deal with right now.

It’s not just the significance of the issue, it’s also the appearance. Do we really need to be focusing on football right now? We are dealing with struggling automobile companies, folding banks and job cuts across the board. And, our Congress is investigating football? Gee whiz! I don’t like the BCS system either, but this does not make me feel like my tax dollars are really working for me.

So, I think Congress should “punt,” and try to score this one later in the game — when we don’t have so many “injured” players on the bench (autos, banks, jobs). I think Congress should be focusing on the real battlefields, not the "football" fields.