My Fave Five Things from Homecoming Weekend!

This past Friday and Saturday, I was back at Princeton for homecoming weekend and it was one of the best Princeton-related experiences I have ever had! Here are some of the highlights: 

1.  New Ideas for PCW! 

On Friday morning, I attended three workshops for Princeton volunteers - one on affiliated groups and the other two on event planning. I came away from both workshops with a lot of new connections and ideas for upcoming PCW programs. For example, wouldn't it be great for Princeton alumni in DC to have the opportunity to have one-off precepts and seminars from Princeton graduate alumni? In order to make this happen, I'll need to step up my efforts and ask for more help, but as Dumbledore says, "help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

2. Saying Hi :) 

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to check in with some of the folks who were integral to making my Princeton experience amazing.

It was amazing that I had the chance to spend a little bit of time with the my friends at Quad (including the exceptional Quad Staff: T, R, D, and N). Also on Friday, I got some invaluable life advice from A, P, and of course PFK. Finally on Saturday, before the game, I had a chance to talk briefly to HS '52 - the Founder of Sustained Dialogue.

3. The Haircut.So if you don't know by now, I have a kind of mohawk thing going on with my hair and it kind of surprised some of my old friends. One of the funnier mini-episodes that occurred this weekend happened as I was looking for my seat: someone saw me and shouted "there's Usher" - Lol












4. Princeton Beats Harvard! 

If you haven't seen this video by now, just take a look.

I have been associated with Princeton for about five years: yesterday's Princeton vs. Harvard game was one of the greatest football games I have ever seen! Princeton mounted what had to be the greatest comeback in Ivy League history - 29 points in the 4th quarter - purely EPIC.

Furthermore, I went to the game with my Quad folks and had the chance to rush the field with them at the end. And here's another cool thing about this particular game: it was special to see a lot of the senior Princeton players that I knew from my time as a Freshmen Scholars Institute RA earn such a memorable victory.

5. A Special Moment at the Aspire Dinner 

There were a lot of special moments from this weekend, but there was one that really stands out from the reception/dinner celebrating the completion of the Aspire campaign on Friday night. During the reception portion of the evening, I had an opportunity to speak with a member of the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church - the church I attended during college. In the company of fellow ABPA members, she told me that a presentation I gave a few years ago convinced her son to attend the W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute. The W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute is a summer academic enrichment and leadership program for minority middle and high school students that is held on Princeton's campus; I attended DuBois in 2004 and it was the first time I was really challenged and pushed intellectually. Upon hearing that this lady's son had attended and graduated from DuBois my night was infinitely boosted. It was really humbling and heartwarming to hear that something I considered small might have made a significant difference in another person's life. 

BHM Profile #2: Curt Flood

"After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States." - Curt Flood in a 1969 letter to MLB Commissioner Bowie Khan

Curt Flood (1938-1997)

(For an excellent summary of Curt Flood's battle for free agency click here)

After Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood is the most important figure in the history of professional sports in the United States. Whereas Jackie Robinson was the man who integrated baseball, Curt Flood was the man who made it possible for all baseball players (and eventually, by extension, all professional athletes) to become free agents and thus have greater control over their labor.

Prior to free agency, baseball had something called the "Reserve Clause" in place. The Reserve Clause effectively (1) gave ownership exclusive rights over a player for the duration of his career (2) kept salaries perpetually low because players could not negotiate with multiple teams and (3) forced players into retirement or other extenuating circumstances if he could not come to an agreement with his club. The Reserve Clause always gave ownership the advantage over players.

When Mr. Flood challenged the Reserve Clause (he did so because at the end of the 1969 season, he was traded to Philadelphia against his wishes) he was doing something very uncommon for black athletes and especially rare for black baseball players: activism against the institution. As much as I love Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Hank Aaron, none of these men really did as much for baseball (and other professional athletes) as Curt Flood. In fact, when Mr. Flood against Major League Baseball to the Supreme Court, no other active baseball player neither offered testimony on his behalf nor attended the trial. Maybe it's appropriate that Jackie Robinson was one of two retired players whom offered testimony (the other being Hank Greenberg).

Here was the outcome of the Supreme Court case of Flood v. Khun (as summarized in The Atlantic):

"In effect, the court ruled that yes, Flood should have the right be a free agent, but that baseball's antitrust exemption could only be removed by an act of Congress and that free agency for players should be attained through collective bargaining."

In 1976, the Reserve Clause was eliminated when "when pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally agreed to play a season without a contract" and an independent arbitrator declared the players to be free agents. The direct results of this event were threefold: (1) baseball salaries sky-rocketed, (2) attendance and TV ratings also sky-rocketed because of increased fan interest due to free agency and teams' ability to acquire premium players, and (3) other professional sports followed-suit in terms of eliminating their versions of the Reserve Clause and instituting free agency; however, this story does not have a "happy ending" for its protagonist.

Unfortunately for Mr. Flood, he never had an opportunity to benefit from free agency. After sitting-out for the entirety of the 1970 season, Curt Flood made his final Major League appearance on April 25, 1971 for the Washington Senators. During this time, Mr. Flood was despised by baseball fans and his fellow players for trying to "destroy baseball." Moreover, he received multiple death threats on a daily basis. Read this:

"As Miller had predicted, Flood never benefited from the revolution he helped begin. High-strung and sensitive, Flood had been a heavy drinker practically since the time he became a professional ballplayer, and by the early 1970s he was an alcoholic. His first marriage fell apart in the mid-1960s from the combination of alcohol abuse, long stretches away from home, and the animosities his unwavering Civil Rights stance inspired. After the Supreme Court decision, he was bombarded with hate mail from fans who accused him of trying to destroy baseball; his teammate Bob Gibson estimated 'He got four or five death threats a day.'"

"Flood left the country and opened a bar in Majorca, Spain, frequented by American sailors. Plagued by increasingly debt, including unpaid child support, and guilt that he had been a bad father, Flood was finally admitted into a Barcelona psychiatric hospital. His sister sent him the money to return to the U.S. In one of the most moving scenes in the documentary, journalist Richard Reeves says, 'Being with him at that time was like poking your finger in an open wound. He was a broken man and bleeding.'"

It would be years after the emergence of free agency that Mr. Flood experienced the recognition that he rightfully deserved. Curt Flood sacrificed so much for his fellow professional athletes and he suffered alone. One of the special considerations about this story is the manner in which Mr. Flood really "put himself out there" when other baseball players (black and white) did not. The overwhelming majority of ball-players (and this is an especial consideration for black players who were only 20 or so removed from Jackie Robinson and were still experiencing discrimination in many ways) did not want to risk losing what they had, even in the face of blatantly unfair treatment. I respect Curt Flood so much for standing up and sacrificing a stellar career for what he believed in. Mr. Flood's actions have immensely benefited every American who enjoys any type of professional sport  from athletes to fans to (ironically) owners and corporations.

Yet how many of us know his name or are aware of his contributions?

Could you imagine professional American sports without Curt Flood's contributions? Could you imagine the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL without free agency? I can't. 

Thoughts on Yesterday's Football Happenings

A lot went down in the world of college football yesterday. Yesterday was the most action-packed, exciting, and thrilling NFL Championship Sunday in recent memory. The first title game, the AFC Championship Game, almost went into overtime and had all of the classic American sports archetypes including "the player with something to prove," "the grizzly, old veteran that we're cheering for," and of course "the goat." And boy, that second game - the NFC Championship Game - was the "Whole Freakin' Show!" That game was non-stop, action-packed as well, but here's the thing about that game: as a Redskins fan, I was asking myself, "why the heck could we not be in that position?" I mean, the Redskins beat the Giants twice in the regular season. Also, why did we get rid of Carlos Rogers (I'm happy for that dude and he really played the game of his life)? I'll get back to both of these games in a moment, but first I need to express my feelings on Joe Paterno's passing:

The Passing of Joe Paterno

I'll just say this regarding Joe Pa's role in the ongoing Penn State Child Abuse Scandal: Coach Paterno was in the wrong and he should have done more; he admitted this himself.

With that said, a person's entire life should not be defined by his or her worst moment. That's not to say one's missteps should not be dismissed, but rather they should not be all-encompassing when remembering a historic figure. And Joe Paterno is indeed a historic figure: two outright national championships, multiple coach of the year awards, 24 bowl wins (most all-time) 409 wins (most all-time in Division 1-A College Football). Joe Pa was on Penn State's coaching staff for 62 years - think about how many of young men he helped to mentor and develop... hundreds. Perhaps more importantly, this particular coach utilized football has a platform to promote education in that his players' four-year graduation rate regularly exceeded the national average and he often gave back to the Penn State community in the form of various donations, including helping to raise $13.5 million for the campus library.

My dad often tells me that before Joe Paterno, Penn State was just a "farm school." A lot of people say that Joe Paterno, was the reason that Penn State became a nationally recognized university - I'm not quite sure that this is the case. Instead, I'll just remember Joe Pa as a good coach and a good guy. My favorite Joe Paterno memory is the 2006 Orange Bowl: that game featured Joe Pa's Penn State Nittany Lions up against Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles and the Lions won in triple-overtime, 26-23.

Rest in Peace Coach.

The AFC Championship Game

"The agony of defeat" - Part 1: Billy "sorry-butt should be cut later today" Cundiff

If you haven't seen this EPIC FAIL yet click here.

Ray Lewis (the grizzly, old vet) is one of my all-time favorite players. The first Madden game I ever brought was Madden 2005 with Ray Lewis on the cover. Ray Lewis is best defensive player since L.T. Lawrence Taylor. It goes without saying that I wanted the Ravens to win this game so that Ray would have one more shot to win the big one.

Of course, everyone knows that the weak link for the Ravens is their offense. Before the game, I was thinking about whether or not their QB Joe Flacco would either hurt the team or be a non-factor. As it turns out, Flacco probably produced the performance of his career with 306 yards, two touchdowns, and only one interception. In fact, I thought the Ravens had it with Lee Evans' near touchdown catch (he really should have caught that ball, but the coverage was good). So on 4th down of that final Baltimore, we were probably all thinking that the Ravens would be able to send the game into overtime with a simple 32 yard field goal... boy, we're we wrong.

Billy Cundiff

In sports, there are certain cliches that have a strong possibility of occurring. In this case, this was an example of the "the kicker whose name we don't know (nor do we care) missing the most important field goal of his career, of the season, and in franchise history." I mean, how many of us were asking ourselves "how the (expletive) did he miss that?" Or saying to ourselves (or aloud) "what the (expletive)?" Now, we all know his name (Billy Cundiff) and have seen the clip a few times over. But the truth of the matter is that we all knew, it could happen and it did. For me, the worst part is that some great players, Torrey Smith, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Ray Rice, and especially Ray Lewis won't get the chance to play in the Big Game... what a shame.

Oh, and Tom Brady and the Patriots are going to their 5th Super Bowl. Yay for them (at least we get to see coverage of Gisele in the stands).

The NFC Championship Game

"The agony of defeat" - Part 2: Kyle "how did you drop that... I mean really how did you (expletive) drop that" Williams

Before yesterday's NFC Championship Game, I did not think that Ted Ginn Jr. had any real value as a football player. He didn't really work out in Miami has a wide receiver. I actually knew was a decent punt/kick returner, but nothing like Devin Hester. But after this EPIC FAIL (click here), I bet 49ers' fans were wishing it would have been Ted Ginn Jr. returning that punt instead of Kyle Williams here.

I feel bad for two groups of people here:

• The 49ers Fans: These guys have put up with a lot since the glory days of Montana, Rice, and Young including a bad QB in Alex Smith, a bad coach in Mike Singletary (I love the man as a former Bears lineback, but he went 18-22 in the NFC West), and an ownership that just didn't really care about winning. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jim Harbaugh comes in, Alex Smith becomes a decent NFL QB, and the team goes 13-3 into the NFC Championship Game. For a season to end on that note is awful.

And...

• The 49ers' Defense: These guys did everything that they had to do in order to win. The 49ers' defensive players made every single stop that they needed to make at the end of the game. I would say that these dudes played winning football.

When watching the Williams' dropped punt, we once again collectively asked ourselves "what the (expletive)?" However, upon further review, this moment is a bit more forgivable for two reasons: (1) it was pouring down raining in San Francisco meaning that the ball was probably going to be more difficult to handle anyways and (2) even after the muffed fumble, with the way the 49ers defense was playing, there was a good chance that they could make one more big stop.

Also, I need to give credit where its due: the Giants are a good, balanced team. The Giants' defensive line is still dominant, Victor Cruz has become a true #1 receiver, and Eli Manning,,, Eli is one of the "elite" QBs in the game. Eli plays a tough, old-school, never-say-die type of game and that's rare in today's NFL; even though I can't stand him (being in the same division as my Redskins), I respect the man and his game.

I feel bad here for former Maryland Terrapin Vernon Davis and former Redskin Carlos Rogers. Both of these dudes really came into their own this past season and played their hearts out throughout. It would have been nice to see them in the Big Game as well.

With that said, it'll be cool to see a rematch of sorts from one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played - Super Bowl XLII (it definitely had the greatest Super Bowl Play of All Time). Super Bowl XLVI (46) will also be a rematch from Week 9 earlier this season, in which the Giants defeated the Patriots 24-20. Tom Brady versus Eli Manning should make for a great QB showdown and the Giant defensive line will be a great test for the Patriots offense. This time around I'll take the same score, from that Week 9 game, but with a different result: Patriots over the Giants 24-20.

Thanks for reading! And let's get in just one more Billy Cundiff photo for good measure:

5 Random Thoughts and March Madness Picks

I just have to start with this video: Princeton Black and Orange Remix

Before getting to my March Madness picks, here's 5 Random Thoughts that are just on my mind:

1. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan. I'm also praying for all those involved in the rescue efforts and for a positive outcome for the nuclear situation.
2. What does it take to get some diversity on the Bachelor/Bachelorette? I mean honestly? Last night, the best thing on TV was the Bachelor season finale in which Brad chose Emily, but for years I've been wondering where are the minorities on this show? Not that I watch either the Bachelor or Bachelorette on a regular basis, but whenever I do the there are seems to be no black, Hispanic (I think some Latin American men have been featured), or Asians. Instead we have Flavor Flav, New York, Chance/Real, and Tila Tequila on VH1 - just saying.

3. The NFL Lockout is stupid. Here's my thing about the NFL Lockout: (1) We all know football is going to happen in September, but more important (2) There are everyday people who work for the teams (such as facilities workers and office staff) who are losing paychecks because of this situation - those are the people for whom I am most concerned. Besides, it's not like I'm craving my NFL football right now.

4. Lupe Fiasco's Lasers has nothing on Food and Liquor or The Cool. Lupe Fiasco is probably one of my all-time favorite rappers, but I'm just not going to listen to Lasers because it's not really his vision. I'm sure it's a good album but Lupe's first two albums were hip-hop classics.

5. I only have six more weeks of college left!

Alright time for my picks!