Life, economics, politics, psychology, sociology, racism and other isms, law, history, journalism/media…all through the lens of sport.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Lin vs LeBron: the burden of gifting, the challenge to greatness



A comparison of recent game-ending situations confirms what many recognize - LeBron's gift is a burden for him, and he's afraid to be great.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

What's my name? Metta World Peace and self-determinism

I've got the Lakers/Thunder game on and there's a stream of tweets ridiculing Metta World Peace (born Ron Artest) for his change of name. I find it all the more remarkable as I reflect in the context of Black History Month.

It was 1967. Cassius Clay had changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Leading up to one of his earliest fights after the name change, opponent Ernie Terrel continued to refer to him as "Clay," publicly disrespecting Ali's decision to change his name.

Ali spent 15 rounds beating Terrel up while yelling at him, "What's my name?!"