The Global Game: February 2011

IN THIS ISSUE:

-- MIDEAST TURMOIL CONTINUES

-- TGG READER COMMENT OF THE WEEK
FROM "J.B. IN D.C."

-- GOP: OVERREACHING IN WISCONSIN AND DC?

-- HOW THE RICH KEEP GETTING RICHER,
CHAPTER 2

-- IS OLD SCHOOL BETTER THAN NEW SCHOOL?

--TGG "OLD SCHOOL JAM OF THE WEEK"

-- THE NBA: CONSPIRACY THEORIES REVIVED

-- "THE DEATH OF COOL"

-- SPECIAL READER COMMENT
FROM "BUCKEYE JIM"

-- "25 MOST UNCOOL ATHLETES OF ALL TIME"
(FEATURING THE FUNNIEST VIDEO EVER)

Make no mistake about it --- as upheaval continued last week across the Middle East, we are witnessing one of the most historic --- and dramatic --- epochs of recent history. As the people of an entire region demanded self-determination, the rest of the world could only wish them the best in their brave and blessed quest to throw off the yoke of authoritarianism and dictatorship.

Last week's focus turned to Libya, where to no one's surprise Strongman Muammar Khadafy resorted to violent attacks against his own people in a desperate attempt

to cling to power.

Not to be deterred, the Libyan people resisted and even found new and creative ways to show their contempt for Khadafy and their determination to chart a new course....

In The New Libya,
Every Dog Will Have His Day

Meanwhile, in a bizarre public rant, Khadafy blamed the insurrection on outside agitators and the forced drugging of Libyan youth...

"I Have Completely Lost My Mind"

The Libyan strongman appeared to have lost all touch with reality...

And made people around the world, including in the U.S., come to a new appreciation that events in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere had not turned out for the worse.....

One of the positive results of the uprisings was that the rest of the world was being forced to re-examine its long-held assumptions about the region, and very importantly, remove its head from the sand and stop acting like the people in the Middle East were either all one and the same or could be taken for granted.

The Hindustan Times, for example, asked

Why Isn't Libya like Egypt?

Looking ahead, the New York Times provided the analysis behind its prediction that the region's monarchs (Saudi Arabia) were more likely to survive while its presidents (Egypt) are more likely to fall:

'"Arab presidents pretend to be democratically chosen, even though most of their elections are rigged. Their veneer of legitimacy vanishes when pent-up grievances in their societies explode. Most of the presidents oversee more populous countries without the oil wealth of the gulf monarchies, which would enable them to placate their populations with tax cuts and pay raises like the kings of Saudi Arabia and Jordan have done recently."

It remained unclear whether the Obama Administration had figured out a strategy consistent with both the national interest and the best of America's values.
Reader "J.B. from D.C." incisively sums up the issues in

The Global Game's

READER COMMENT OF THE WEEK:

"Question for you: do you think the Obama Administration is missing - or just way behind - an historic opportunity in the Middle East?

It's remarkable what is happening in so many countries, following Egypt. Yet the question I hear most from middle America is: "Is this good, or bad, for us?" I don't think people know. They want to side with protesters who are peacefully assembling for basic human rights. But they also sense

something could be insidious about the whole movement - a theory being pushed daily by folks like Glenn Beck (that the Muslim Brotherhood is behind it, knowing that just putting the word Muslim in any group name is enough to scare Soccer Mom).

Shouldn't Obama be in front of a movement that

we have waited for since the end of the Cold War, if not earlier, strongly pushing for democratic reforms, supporting the people but firmly and definitively stating that America will do all it can to make sure that radical Muslims, Al Quaeda and the like, who seek to destroy Israel and the United States will not be allowed to fill the void?

It just doesn't seem like they want to break out of old relationships, stable, comforting alliances - even with dictators. The opportunity is there to really change things forever in the Middle East. It seems to me the Obama Administration would rather sit on the sidelines and watch, while the American people are confused, and the conservatives criticize him and sow fear in the general

public. It appears that social networking has the ability to change the world - maybe for the good - but it really depends on what fills the void.

Can't the Administration find some way to take advantage of that and help spread democracy (a goal for 100 years) in these countries? If I were China's leadership, I'd be very, very afraid that they could be next.

There's way too many people, with too much technology, especially in that country, to live under that type of government much longer. This could be a seminal moment in American foreign policy and we just seem so timid."

Other analysts were taking the Administration to task, specifically asking why Obama seemed so hesitant to use force on behalf of liberation movements.

"In Libya, Obama Strikes (Not) Again," noted Leon Wieseltier in The New Republic:

"Why is Obama so disinclined to use the power at his disposal? His diffidence about humanitarian emergencies is one of the most mystifying features of his presidency, and one of its salient characteristics. These crises—in Tehran two years ago, in Cairo last month, in Tripoli now—produce in him a lame sort of lawyerliness. He lists the relevant rights and principles and then turns to procedural questions, like "those consultations.

Back at home on the domestic front, Mother Jones magazine, in a piece entitled,

"It's The Inequality, Stupid" brought remarkable clarity to the dangers of the growing gap between the super-rich and everyone else:

A Harvard business prof and a behavioral economist recently asked more than 5,000 Americans how they thought wealth is distributed in the United States. Most thought that it’s more balanced than it actually is. Asked to choose their ideal distribution of wealth, 92% picked one that was even more equitable.

Average Income by Family, distributed by income group.

Nevertheless, under the heading of "Facts Are Dangerous Things," GOP governors across the country, led by Wisconsin's Scott Walker, intensified their drive to bust public employee unions, and the GOP (Tea Party) Caucus in the House of Representatives continued to press for budget cuts the likes of which had never been seen in modern U.S. history.

Many Democrats actually thought that the overreaching in Wisconsin and other statehouses and by GOP/Tea Partiers in Washington might be exactly the wakeup call that progressives needed.

In fact, when the House GOP threatened to cause a government shutdown on March 4th over the budget, Democrats could not believe their good fortune. Was history bound to repeat itself so soon? Had the Republicans not learned their lesson from the Newt Gingrich-led shutdown in 1995, which brought Dollar Bill Clinton back into the good graces of the American public?

"Apparently Not"

In fact, in one of the most remarkable political developments of recent years, Gingrich wrote an Op-Ed piece for this Friday's Washington Post

whose title said it all:

"If It Comes To A Shutdown, The GOP Should Stick To Its Principles"

How'd That Work Out For You

The First Time, Newt?

America soon tired of the continual partisan bickering, and as it waited for Sunday's Academy Awards, turned to ponder more pleasurable --- if not deeper --- thoughts, like
"Is Old School Really

Better Than New School? "

Apparently America had not been paying close enough attention to Issues 1-4 of

The Global Game, or else it would have known the answer to that question without even

a second thought.

To put the debate to rest for once and for all, TGG remembered its 7th grade science class, where it was introduced to

"the scientific method."

"To be termed scientific, a method must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning."

Accordingly, The Global Game turns to the scientific method and "observable, empirical and measurable evidence" to answer the question:

"Is Old School Better Than New School?"

CAST OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE SHOW -- NEW SCHOOL

CAST OF AMERICAN'S FAVORITE SHOW --

OLD SCHOOL

STEVE McGARRETT --

NEW SCHOOL

STEVE McGARRETT --

OLD SCHOOL

GOOD COP, BAD COP --
NEW SCHOOL

New Jack Tough Guys

GOOD COP, BAD COP --
OLD SCHOOL

Old School Tough Guys

"I Have Serious Questions About Our Legacy,
Dan-O, Like..."

"Were The Original McGarrett and Dan-O Spray-Tanned, Moussed-Up Pretty Boys Who Adjusted Each Other's
Pretty Ties In Public?"

"I Think Not, Jefe' "

Which leads us, inevitably, to The Global Game's Old School Jam of The Week:

(Think About It For A Minute....)

No, Really. Think About It....

You Guessed It, Right?

The Best. Theme Song and Intro. Ever.

NEXT: CONSPIRACY THEORIES?

Of course, the oldest of Old School is, in the memorable words of The Sugar Hill Gang's "Rappers Delight", "[having] a color TV so [you] can watch the Knicks play basketball." But only if the Knicks matter, as they did Back In The Day. With this week's blockbuster acquisition of Carmelo Anthony,
the Knicks matter once again.

And while The Global Game is no believer in conspiracy theories, how could it be that on the very first Sunday after the trading deadline, the Knicks were playing the Miami Heat in a TV matchup made in heaven? For years (remember the Pat Ewing draft lottery "coin flip" won by the Knicks), the rest of the league thought that the NBA office pulled strings to favor New York. Commissioner David Stern fiercely denied the accusations. Fiercely.

Still, we're just sayin'.....

Garden Party

"So Let's Get This Straight.
The First Sunday After The All-Star Break,
The Knicks Are
Bringing Their Talents to South Beach?"

"Funny How Things Just Worked Out Like That"

All of this just played into the American sports fan's continuing unease, a feeling that somehow, something just wasn't right. Whether NBA conspiracy theories or threatened NFL lockouts, who couldn't think that there might be Trouble In Paradise?

It didn't help that for whatever reason, the sports heroes of today didn't seem like those we remembered.
They just weren't as, well --- "Cool."

The San Francisco Chronicle's Scott Ostler broke it all down in a piece entitled

"The Death of Cool"

"Cool is dying, at least in sports. Newspapers prepare obituaries for the famous, and in The Chronicle files, I found this pending obit for Cool.

Cool (1957-?). Passed away after a long struggle against opposing forces. On and off the field, Cool was the elusive and rare quality that embraced elements of grace, swagger, style, originality and mystery. He died quietly and ... coolly.

Cool was born in 1957 in the title of a Miles Davis album, "Birth of the Cool."

It became a hallmark of a select few athletes whose manner of competing and living set them apart and made them the object of admiration, even adoration.

Cool's health declined in recent years because of wounds suffered in battle with its mortal enemy, Uncool. Contributing to Cool's demise were the social media, reality TV and widespread knuckle- headedness.

Cool is survived by a distant cousin, Pseudo Cool, who attended the memorial service wearing headphones, shades, clothes you can't afford and a bored expression. Uncool sauntered past screaming fans without acknowledging them..."

Of course, in an NBA-like scheduling coincidence, TGG itself had run a piece last week on "The 25 Coolest Athletes of All Time"

The piece generated perhaps more comment than any other in our brief history.
We appreciate all of the reader feedback (note to "Joe in Fresno" and "Little G": there may indeed be a few cool golfers and hockey players, but not for the Top 25. Maybe next year we'll do a "Top 50.")

As a public service to our readers, however, we run reader "Buckeye Jim's" comments in their entirety:

1. Fly Williams - a solid, and solidly obscure, choice. In a similar vein, you may also have considered James "Trouble" Hardy, running mate of Bill Cartwright on those USF Dons.

James "Trouble" Hardy
It Generally Is Not A Good Thing If
Your Nickname Is "Trouble"

The Dandy Dons

2. Pistol Pete Maravich deserves consideration, based on his collegiate career alone. 44.2 PPG career scoring average. His game films have been replayed and analyzed with a 3 point line superimposed - with the college 3 pointer intact his numbers would have jumped to about 57 PPG.

Pistol Pete

3. Despite your ban on Boston Celtics you include Bill Walton and Tiny Archibald, both of whom spent time with the Celts. Walton played only 2 seasons or so, but did win a ring, and he considers Boston his team to this day. Good to cite the Big Redhead/Deadhead's 21 for 22 night in the UCLA-Memphis State championship though - the best college basketball performance I've ever seen. Tiny spent 5 highly productive seasons in Boston, surpassed only by his Cincinnati Royals/KC-Omaha Kings run.

4. Scott Ostler is right - Hollywood Henderson doesn't deserve a mention. The only "best of" list he merits consideration for is "The 25 Biggest Fools of All Time." Hollywood is lucky Terry Bradshaw hasn't grabbed one of his four Lombardi Trophies and beaten him with it. In all fairness though, Thomas has turned his life around since court ordered rehab and a 2 year prison stint for some combination of coke possession-threatening an officer with a gun-sexual assault. He also won $28 million in the Texas lottery about 10 years ago and has given a lot of money to charities since then. When asked by a reporter what he does all day since winning the lottery he replied, "Not a damn thing, and I don't start that until after lunch." So there is hope for Hollywood - but he still doesn't deserve a spot on your list.

5. Alberto Juantorena - a truly inspired pick. One of my 4 favorite track and field athletes of all time - the others being Edwin Moses, Steve Prefontaine and Jesse Owens. Speaking of which:

6. No Jesse Owens? C'mon, G$! At the 1935 Big Ten Track and Field Championships, Owens broke three world records and tied a fourth, in a span of 45 minutes! Perhaps the greatest athletic performance ever. And oh yeah, the next year he collected 4 gold medals in front of Hitler at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, spoiling the Fuhrer's celebration of Aryan superiority.

American Hero

A Great Moment In Sports History

7. Walt Frazier. Clyde is a no-brainer for this list or for anything else pertaining to cool. "Rockin' Steady: A Guide to Basketball and Cool" is a must read and classic treatise on 1970's basketball, Manhattan nightlife and cool. Always a man of the people, Clyde rode the E Train to the Garden on game nights. Plus, his later work as a TV analyst for Knicks games is priceless.

8. Pat Riley?? Please. An empty Armani suit.

9. Michael Jordan is a tough call in my mind. Clearly the best and coolest baller ever (with apologies to Dr. J). But his post-basketball life has exposed him as bitter, petty, mean-spirited and basically a prick. What's cool about that?

10. I'd have to include Roberto Clemente, one of the greatest "5 tool" baseball players ever and the pride of Puerto Rico. Collects hit number 3,000, wins the World Series MVP, then dies in a plane crash while flying food and supplies to earthquake survivors. A legend.

Roberto Clemente

Baseball's "Big Three"

11. Cristiano Ronaldo clearly merits a spot on the list, for exploits both on and off the pitch.

The most popular other reader nominations for selection as #25 of
"The 25 Coolest Athletes of All Time" were:

George "Iceman" Gervin
San Antonio Spurs
NBA
1974-1985

Gee Money (G$)
Cash Money Brothers
Rucker League
1991

And with that, without further ado, we bring you what we know you have really been waiting for --- The Global Game's

"25 MOST UNCOOL ATHLETES
OF ALL TIME":

(Tie) 25. JOHN DALY AND

JAMARCUS RUSSELL

Big Boys

The United Colors of Benneton

The United Colors of Wack

Insert Your Own Caption

Talk About Smokin' One Off The Tee...

Not A Pretty Picture

It All Started Off So Well....

And He Even Looked Good In The Silver and Black

But Neither Peyton Nor Gisele Bundschen's Husband Would Ever Roll Like This....

"Ya Think?"

24. CHRISTIAN LAETTNER

Star of "That One Shining Moment"

Celebrating His Last Second Shot
To Beat Kentucky 104-103
In The 1992 NCAA East Regional Finals

He Later Became Known As A Cheap-Shot Artist
and Prima Donna

He Also Always Seemed To Be Saying,
"It's Good To Be Christian Laettner" --
Even When No One Had Asked

We Were Rooting For The Shark
(Just Kidding)

23. DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DANCE AFTER A TACKLE

This One's Called The "Look At Me, I'm A Knucklehead"

"This One's Called The "Look At Me, I'm An Egomaniac"

This One's Called The "Look At Me, I'm Crazy"

It's Your Job, Fellas.
Just Go Back To The Huddle.

22. LANE KIFFIN

First Trojan Front Man of the Salary-Cap Era

"See It Works Like This. I Lose At One Job,
And Then The Next Year I Get A Better One."

21. JOE THEISMANN

"Rhymes With Heisman"

The QB Class of 1970
The Golden Boys With The Golden Arms
Jim Plunkett (Stanford), Rex Kern (Ohio State),
Archie Manning (Ole Miss), Joe Theismann (Notre Dame)

If Only....

With Frequent Companion Actress Cathy Lee Crosby:
The Most Insufferable Couple Ever?
(Hint: See A-Rod and Madonna Below)

"I Have A Really, Really, Really High Opinion of Myself"

20. PLAXICO BURRESS
Clubgoer

Not A Good Look

Bling Is Not Really Such A Good Idea In Prison

He Is Not Going To Disneyland

19. BRIAN ("The Boz") BOSWORTH
Self-Caricature

A Hairstyle Knows as "The Mullet"
Was Popular During The 1980s

In Retrospect, 1986 Was Clearly A Very, Very Bad Year

Ice, Ice, Baby?

When Bo Jackson Ran Him Over At The Goal Line During a Monday Night Football Game, The Boz Would Never Shake Down His Image As A Fake Tough Guy...

He then went into acting...

The Worst Movie Ever?

18. (Tie) THE TRACK STEROID SCANDAL BOYS

Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis

"I Don't Know Why People Think I'm Strange"

One of Them Is From Another Planet

17. ADAM ("Pac-Man") JONES

Meterologist

Poster Boy For The NFL's Image Problem

Making It Rain

16. JOHN TERRY
Idiot

As Captain of England National Team and Chelsea Football Club, inexcusably had affair with French Model Vanessa Peronncel, girlfriend of Chelsea and England Teammate Wayne Bridge (and mother of Bridge's children),disrupting England's runup to the 2010 World Cup. Forced to publicly apologize after taunting American tourists at Heathrow Airport in the wake of 9/11.

One of Soccer's Biggest Whiners

After Bridge left Chelsea for Manchester City, He Famously Refused to Shake Terry's Hand at the Next Premier League Match. TGG agrees. Treat a punk like a punk.

15. THE COUNTRY OF EAST GERMANY

In quest for Olympic gold, injected hundreds of its young men and women with steroids in the 1970s and 80s, leading to health problems for many in later years.

14. THE BASEBALL STEROID BOYS

("ALLEGEDLY")

Facing The Cameras -- Then

Facing The Cameras -- Now

Really?

The McGwire Brothers

The Bash Brothers

Before and After

Before and After

Target Practice

Flaxseed Oil?

Rocket Man

He Blamed The HGH on His Wife's Wanting To Get Fit
For a Swimsuit Photo Shoot.
No, Really.

13. ROBERTO DURAN

Quitter

Moments After Duran Had Said, "No Mas"

The Italian Stallion and Hands of Stone

Relive one of the most notorious moments in boxing history right here:

12. DAVID BECKHAM

Male Model and Husband of Posh Spice

We're Guessing It Takes The Beckhams A Long Time
To Get Ready To Go Out

The Many Looks of David Beckham.
Not Many of These Looks Are Good Looks.

His Foolish Red Card In The 1998 World Cup Round of 16
Match Against Archrival Argentina
For Kicking An Argentine Player Who Was On The Ground
Probably Cost England The Match
And Is Regarded As One of The Low Points
In English Soccer History

But if anything, TGG cuts Beckham some slack for participating in the funniest interview ever with Ali G for a charity benefit. Wife Victoria Beckham (aka "Posh Spice") also gets much love for being such a good sport. Do not skip this. It is the funniest 5:57 you will ever hear. Some topics may be, well, a little bit risque'. (Note to any USC or Yale graduates we may have among our readership:

that's from the French, and loosely translated means "verging upon impropriety; dangerously close to, or suggestive of, what is indecent or of doubtful morality;

as, a risque' story."

11. VARIOUS DUKE POINT GUARDS

Bobby Hurley

Pop Quiz: Which One Of These Two
Turned Out To Be A Baller?

Greg Paulus

"I'm Mad Because I Know Duke Players Have
No Chance of Making It In The NBA"

Steve Wojciechowski

"I'm Mad Because No One Can Pronounce My Name"

Tommy Amaker

"I'm Quiet, But I'm Still Mad That I Played
In The Tight Shorts Era"

10. A-ROD
A-Hole

"Could I Really Be This Much of an A-Hole?"
(Answer Hint: "Yes")

How To Be Cool, Rule No. 1:
It Is Generally Not Considered Cool To Pose For A Picture Kissing Your Own Reflection In The Mirror

"Please Don't Ge Mad When I Trade You In For Madonna"

"Maybe They Won't Recognize Me If I Keep My Head Down"

"Cold Busted! What's The Best Way To Lay Low
For Awhile?"

This Is Probably Not The Best Way, Amigo

To quote that immortal philosopher,

Keyshawn Johnson, "somehow [we] just have a feeling that this is not going to turn out so well..."

But What's A Lonely Young Yankee to Do

In Cold, Cruel Gotham City?

So Sing Along With Us, Now, A-Rod.....

"Can't You Hear My Heart Beat.... For The Very First Time?"

9. TONYA HARDING

Ice Princess

There Was A Lot To Cry About Back Then

She Took Up Boxing Later In Her Career

We Are Guessing In The Heavyweight Division

TGG Is At A Loss For Words

8. STEVE GARVEY
Giant-Killer

Nicknames: "Mr. Clean" and "Captain America"

Mr. Clean and Wife Cyndy
We Think We Are Going To Be Sick

The Short Answer?: "Yes."

All-American Boy Garvey later admitted to fathering children by two different women "out of wedlock"
as they used to say in quainter times.

7. PETE ROSE
Liar

Nickname: "Charlie Hustle"

This Was Not A Good Look Then.
It Is Not A Good Look Now.

"You Betcha!"

6. DANICA PATRICK
Go Daddy Spokesmodel
and
Occasional Racecar Driver

Maybe Someday

We're Rooting For The Officer In This One

Maybe Things Would Go Better If
She Spent More Time IN The Car

TGG Is No Expert On NASCAR, The Indy Circuit,
Or Anything Having To Do With Motor Sports, But
We're Guessing That This Is Not Really A Good Way
To Gain Credibility In A Male-Dominated Sport...

5. KOBE BRYANT

Faker

"If You Play It Smart, Dude, You Could Win Like, 10 Rings"

"If We Play It Smart, Dude, We Could Win Like, 10 Rings"

"I Didn't Really Play It Too Smart"

End of a Dynasty

Not All Of Kobe's Running Mates Left Him

But The Sudden Appearance of "The Kobe Face"
In The 2010 Playoffs Was Truly Bizarre

Would The Black Mamba Ever Truly Find Peace?

4. THE OL' GUNSLINGER

Amateur Photographer

Things Were Really Not That Relaxed In Wrangler Country

Moral of The Story: Quit While You're Ahead

"Text Me"

Mississippi Blues

3. ISAIAH THOMAS

Whiner

Organized The Notorius "Freezeout" of Michael Jordan at 1984 NBA All-Star Game

Agreed with teammate Dennis Rodman's incendiary and ridiculous comment that Larry Bird was "very overrated" by saying, " I have to agree with Rodman. If he were black, he'd be just another good guy."

Led Pistons teammates in walking off court without shaking hands after Bulls finally dethroned Pistons in

1991 Eastern Conference Finals

And much, much more.

So many transgressions in so many different ways, the only Global Game subject ever to warrant his own link to Wikipedia:

Isiah Lord Thomas