Southern Resentment, Human Bondage and this Freedom Thing

And some basketball, too?

I kind of feel like maybe I am going to exorcise some demons here.

Or not.

Perhaps I am simply trying to open up a can of worms. And perhaps if enough people read this, maybe it might. Jason Whitlock I am not. But I have some cultural or racial or societal questions to grind as well.

Let's see if any of this makes sense to anyone else.

So here goes.

I grew up in southern Indiana, an hour south of Indianapolis, mere blocks from Indiana University. My parents are "Northerners" from the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

They are typical Massites in the sense that they are good at being color blind. Or should I say, they both base their estimations of others on the merits of their character rather than the color of their skin or other ethnic characteristics.

They lived in West Africa in the 1960s and always conveyed a love and appreciation for the people that they knew there, regardless of tribal differences, religious variants or economic disparites.

People are people world wide and we are "Born Free", like the sentimental film about the lions.

I honor them both for that example that they have left for me and mine. I honor all humanity everywhere, based on their honorable merits.

Growing up where I did, a mere 2 hour drive from former slave state Kentucky, and also surrounded by many southern Hoosiers who talked and often acted "southern", I did develop a prejudice against what had been the Southern United States, and briefly the Confederacy. 1861 to 1865.

A notion that "southerness" was negative.

I apologize. I was a kid. I know a lot more about the honor of the American South now, but it took me a while.

So, what got me thinking about the South lately?

The NBA. The league that I love.

Don't you?

Anyway, I was reading my fantastic book, "The Official NBA Encyclopedia". In the jacket of the front cover, it breaks down the years of ALL the NBA teams since 1946 until the year 2000.

One- year short stint teams were mentioned like the Indianapolis Jets in 1948, the Anderson Packers in 1949 as well as the Indianapolis Olympians the same year, or the Sheboygan Redskins, etc.

There were at least a dozen teams that came and went, some of them even more memorable, like Fort Wayne and Syracuse and Buffalo.

And then it hit me: a common thread ran through all of them.

They were all Northern. None in the south. OK, Baltimore, Louisville, DC and even St. Louis come close to being southern.

But much closer to the north. Especially when it comes to the American Civil War.

And yes, the American north was always more industrial and populated, one of the distinctions of the disjuncture between the two massive regions, a grand part of their differences leading up to their internecine conflict.

Cultural, economic and demographic differences, not to  mention climatological.

And I always resented the south for most of these differences.

I was born in 1970, at the beginning of the boom of the south we know today.

Now there are NBA and NHL teams across the south.

And industry, for that matter. Urbanity and cosmipolitanity.

Good sign.

We are one strong nation, under God.

And Garnett, product of the great state of South Carolina, represents the Boston Celtics.

The colonial town where Crispus Attacks was an American and black martyr of our land.

I call that irony.

I call this freedom, sweet freedom.

My mind is now unencumbered of most of the resentment I once held for my neighbors to the south.

I live in Northern Virginia. I am a southerner! Sort of.

And I love my freedom to love all my brothers and sisters, no matter how they talk or where they live.

Kobe is from the City of Brotherly Love (Philly), and even though I root against him, I am not slave to antipathy for him or the Lakers.

That would be sad. Wrong. Immature.

But I still want the Celtics...

Why? There is a ring involved, it symbolizes victory and liberty, freedom from bondage and defeat. Ray "Jesus Shuttleworth" Allen, Paul Piece et al...

Free KG! And I mean that on all levels.

Peace. Clinch.

Boston Celtic Legacy: The Ainge Impact

Most people who follow professional sports know that the Boston Celtics have won a total of sixteen championships during their stay in Beantown.

And I would rack up most of the credit to the visionary architect Red Auerbach. He was the coach and then general manager of the famed Celts, famously smoking a cigar upon adding ring after ring in the the 1960s, all the way to the last three of the 1980s.

Bird was the word.

But let me advance two other names that Auerbach foresaw that perhaps have forever changed the game:

Bill Russell and Danny Ainge. Among many other great players, of course, such as Havlicek and Cousy, KC Jones and Dave Cowens, Parrish and McHale...

Red made the big man, nemesis of the late great Wilt Chamberlain, his player coach. Bill Russell. Goateed court wizard. 11 rings.

Player. COACH.

Wow. I call that trust and foresight, visionary madness and greatness.

11 rings later, it proved prescient indeed.

And don't forget: Russell was a black man in Boston in the 1950s and 1960s. Think about that.

Fascinating. A real historical hallmark of our nation, in my opinion.

And what about Danny Ainge?

Surely Larry Bird was the keystone of the Boston renaissance of the 1980s.

But the last two had a lot to do with the feisty 6'5" former BYU guard and Toronto Blue Jay outfielder, Danny Ainge.

He was a perfect compliment to the best front line of all time.

He had the heart and will of a champion.

As he has now proved as the heir apparent to the late great cigar smoking Red.

And ironically, as life so often turns, Ainge is a teetotalling tobacco eschewing Latter-day Saint, i.e. Mormon.

And he is stormin' with KG, Paul Pierce and Jesus Shuttleworth, and a host of other role players.

Can he add number 17?

Or is it up to Kobe and Phil?

Phil wants 10. LA/Minneapolis have 14 in all.

Kobe has three. Bird has three. Ainge has two.

What drama.

I love the NBA.

Clinch.

I can't remember if I wrote the article in 2006 or last year, but I gave a formula to winning the NBA championship.

It was 2006, come to think of it...

I predicted in January of that year that the Mavericks would go to the championship and win it. Well, they were on track like clockwork until Gary Payton made his huge shot and then Dwayne Wade got untracked.

Of course, the Heat possessed the same factors for victory. One of the least of them not being Shaquille O'Neal.

Without going back to my original post yet, here is what I recall:

1. A floor leader who can distribute the ball excellently. Usually this is in the form of a superior PG but not always, or is a combination of a few players.

2. A front line that can defend, with a few back up helpers to spread fouls around, as well as alleviate with key minutes of rest.

3. A small forward that can really fill up the points when necessary.

4. Chemistry. People who know their rolls.

5. The ability to draw fouls.

Well, that may not be as long or as accurate as my original article included, but these are the essentials to winning the ring.

I will include the original post as a link if you wish to see my 2006 meanderings.

I have been a hard core NBA fan since 1986. I ama  student of the game and love its history.

Speaking OF history, I love American and world history, too.

Winning teams have chemistry.

So who will it be this year?

Boston? Detroit? Los Angeles? Utah? I don't think Houston can survive the Yao loss...

Peace, bloggerini...

Clinch rogers it to your PC. 

Here is the old post...MAY, 2006. MeanDovine responded to it, as my most valued remarker.

The NBA Title Formula: Winners Rise Because they Gel...   posted Saturday, May 13, 8:11AM