Late Nights with a Bad Team: Lakers Finally Win!

I had an entire post about the Lakers ready to go at the end of last week, bemoaning their 0-5 start to the season. But, I didn’t get it posted. In the mean time, low and behold, the Lakers go out last night and they have the nerve to win their first game of the season.

1-5, baby.

The first episode of the final season of HBO’s “The Newsroom” aired at 8PM last night, so naturally that took precedent over a winless team, so I missed the first half of the game. When I tuned in, LA was down nine to visiting Charlotte. Then, the Lakers played their best quarter of basketball all season in the third and cruised to a surprisingly easy victory. Carlos Boozer played fairly efficient basketball (which is ironic, because in the post that never was, I devoted some time to making fun of Boozer), and Jeremy Lin played by far his best and most efficient game of the season (21 points, 7 assists, 8-12 shooting). For the Lakers to be both mildly entertaining and mildly competitive, Lin is going to have to play like he played last night more often than not. I haven’t even mentioned Kobe yet, and that’s partly because he had a quiet game by his standards, but he definitely was a spark in that huge 3rd quarter that pushed LA past the Hornets.

There were still flashes of the real Lakers last night. There were defensive breakdowns, horrible offensive possessions that ended in even worse shot attempts. But, they were fun to watch last night. I need that. The team needed that. The fans in LA, I’m sure, needed that. Look, there are going to be more nights that look like the first five games of the season than the way things looked last night. But, is it too much to ask to win slightly, and I mean just slightly more than one time in every five chances? Can I get two?

Kobe went down in the third last night, briefly, after some knee to knee contact in the paint. When he was laying on the ground, I remarked to my buddy Ben that, if Kobe were to go down, 0-82 was a real possibility. Of course I was kidding, but only kind of. Thankfully, Kobe got up, knocked down a couple of free throws, and the Lakers avoided that historic fate.

1-5, baby.

Late Nights With a Bad Team: The Chronicles of my Inaugural NBA League Pass Experience

I’ve been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers since I was in elementary school. More accurately, I’ve been a fan of Kobe Bryant since then- when he broke into the League. The Lakers as a franchise sucked me in with that first three-peat from 2000-2002. There were some epic playoff series during that run, and my cousin Brenden, my brother Oren and myself watched as many of those games as we could at my Grandparents house, when the games were on cable. We watched them wherever we could when they were on network TV.

We would also play basketball out in the driveway, trying to re-enact some of the games or moments. My brother would be Kobe, my cousin would be Shaq, and somehow, I would always get stuck playing Arvydas Sabonis, the Blazers center who developed a brief rivalry with Shaq during that 7 game Western Conference Finals in 2000 (LA actually played Portland in the playoffs each of those three years). As a side-note, I have stronger, fonder memories of those conference finals, and Western Conference playoffs in general, during that three-peat, than those finals themselves. The Portland Series and the Kings series are especially big for me.

Anyway, living in Mid-Missouri, the Lakers obviously don’t play on local TV. I can watch my St. Louis Cardinals and Blues, I can watch my Missouri Tigers, I can watch the Chiefs and the Rams. But, the Lakers? I’ve always had to catch them Sunday afternoons on ABC, or on TNT and ESPN nationally televised contests (or back in the day on NBC). With the advent of NBA League Pass, the ability to watch the Lakers home broadcasts has been within my reach, but I’ve never pulled the trigger. I've never pulled the trigger in part because of the cost, and in part, because-deep down- I knew what my buddy Caleb Barron recently said is partially true: “Too much NBA regular season basketball is bad for the soul.”

But...to heck with that. Kobe Bryant is back, he’s taking way too many shots, and moving around somewhat like Kobe of old. And I love watch Kobe "Bean" Braynt play basektball.

So, I’ve purchased NBA League Pass to watch, if I wish, every single one of those LA Lakers games. Most people question the decision, because if you follow the league at all, you know LA will be terrible this year. But, my thought process is that I don’t know how much longer Bean has, and I want to watch him as much as I can before he goes away. He is, after all, one of my all-time favorite athletes, and by miles my favorite basketball player. I’ll put up with some bad basketball to watch him. Besides, the Lakers play in the rugged, uber-deep Western Conference, so they’ll be playing quality opponents a lot.

So, my dear friends, I am going to (try to) keep you updated on my blog with how this experience is going. The series is the same as the title, “Late Nights with a Bad Team”.

It began two nights ago, the Lakers second game of the season (they played on TNT night one, so League Pass wasn’t necessary). The Lakers were playing for the second straight night, in Phoenix, on opening night for the Suns. After trailing the entire first half, the Lakers closed the gap, cutting the lead to 9 at the break. They got to within 6 twice, early in the 3rd quarter, and that’s when the wheels came off. It wasn’t close to competitive after that. Kobe ended up with 31 point on 25 shots, so he’s doing his thing, but the rest of this team is abominable. Unless Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin suddenly learn what defense is, and unless Wesley Johnson starts playing Pippen to Kobe’s Jordan, it won’t get any better from a team perspective this season. At least when Nick “Swaggy P” Young gets back, that’ll provide an extra jolt of entertainment. It won't make them better, really, just more fun.

Kobe didn’t play the 4th quarter, so I didn’t watch the 4th quarter. The Lakers were down 25 points to boot, so I wasn’t going to stay up the extra time to watch a team that’s a dumpster fire two days into the season.

Stay tuned, though! We’ve got the Clippers tonight! Halloween, baby.

Baseball's All-Time Hit (By Pitch) Leader

Major League Baseball's all-time leader in Hit By Pitches, Hughie Jennings. Photo from wikipedia.com

The HPOD is back after weak five day stretch that saw just three posts. But we'll remedy that this week.

This time of the year, it's clearly football, basketball and some hockey that takes center stage in the sports world. But, this is also the time of the year where baseball's "hot stove" talk is heating up. The rumors give hope to fans who are desperate for their team to obtain that last piece, or two or three to make them a contender. So, while reading some off-season rumors of my own today, the HPOD subject came to me. Hughie Freaking Jennings.

Hughie Jennings was a professional baseball player and manager during a career that spanned from 1891-1925. He played for a club called the Louisville Colonels, so clearly a different era. He was primarily a shortstop early on in his career, but he suffered an arm injury while playing for the Orioles of Baltimore in 1898, so he had to move to first base. Following that injury, his playing days were very sporadic. His crowing achievement as a pitcher? Being hit by more pitches over his career than anyone in MLB history (2nd is Craig Biggio). He also is the single-season record holder for HBPs with 51 in 1896. While a player, Jennings attended law school at Cornell. The Ivy Cornell. He coached their ball club, but unfortunately he never finished his law degree, though somehow, he passed Maryland's bar exam and was able to practice law in the off seasons.

He took over as manager of the Detroit Tigers in 1907, a post he would hole until 1920. Connie Mack, one of the greatest managers of all time, said that Jennings was one of the greatest managers of all time...although at that point, "off all-time" wasn't that much time, as baseball's history was rather short. He was a pretty active, crazy manager, which fit with the rest of his personality. He would often yell nonsensical syllables while coaching 3rd base. During a game in 1912, scrub players were filling in for the regular team who had up and went on protest (it was a different time), so guys off the street and even the coaches played (again, a different time). Manager Jennings went up to pinch hit, and when asked by the umpire who he was batting for, Jennings advised the ump it wasn't any of his business, prompting the umpire to write on his lineup card "Jennings: batting for exercise".

My favorite Hughie Jennings tale is one that probably helps to explain why he died so young (along with all those HBPs). It was during his days as a law student at Cornell. He decided he wanted to dive headlong into a pool, so he did. No problem. Except for that the pool was empty. No water. I mean, GEEEZ. It's like something out of a cartoon. Apparently, there were a multitude of other incidents in his life that caused damage to his noggin, so he definitely lived on the edge, or had nine lives, or something. He passed away at the age of 58, in 1928.

Jennings was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for his playing achievements in 1945, with a lifetime average of .311. All in all, not too bad. I would encourage you to read more about the colorful life of Hughie Jennings, and for that matter many other of the early pro-basebal players. It's pretty wild stuff.

Black Elk: Warrior and Healer

The HPOD is back after a brief hiatus to catch up on non-leisure writing. Today, the HPOD introduces it's first, of what will probably be many, Native American subjects. This initial offer goes to Black Elk.

Black Elk is important for a number of reasons. He's one of the survivors of the Battle of the Little Bighorn (arguably the most famous battle of the Plains Indian Wars), he was a prominent and well respected member of his people, and was able to relate many stories and aspects of Lakota Sioux culture to John Neihardt, which he complied into the book Black Elk Speaks, which is a fascinating look at many things regarding plains culture and ideologies.

He was an Oglala Lakota. The Lakota Sioux are one of three groups of the Sioux nation, which are then further subdivided into specific tribes. The Lakota have seven such tribes, the Oglala being one. Black Elk was a medicine man, or a holy man. A man who had visions, and thus was well respected among his people. In the early 1900's, Black Elk converted to Catholicism but he was a firm believer in the similarities between Christianity and and Sioux rituals regarding the Great Spirit, so even after his conversion, he continued to serve his people as a healer.

There is a lot of talk and debate about whether or not John Neihardt falsified or embellished any of Black Elk's accounts in the book. Regardless, Black Elk still stands as a leader of his people, and a valuable part of preserving Lakota customs for future generations to learn about. He passed away at the age of 87 in 1950, leaving behind a legacy of leadership, and one future generations would come to admire. His spiritual stories would come to be a vital resource during the American Indian Movement, insuring that Black Elk's life work would have far reaching effects.

No Folly: A Brief Look at William Seward



William H. Seward- 24th US Secretary of State serving with Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. Photo from biography.com.



The administration of Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as one of the best in American history. Lincoln, of course, is regarded as among the best, if not THE best, president in our history. He was smart. He was the underdog choice of the new Republican Party when he won the nomination and subsequently the general election in 1860. Wisely, he surrounded himself with people, some of which were his rivals in the primary, and gave those people important roles in his cabinet (if you haven't read Doris Kearns Goodwin's "A Team of Rivals", I highly, HIGHLY recommend it). The man who became the anchor of Lincoln's cabinet is today's H-POD, William H. Seward.

Seward initially thought Lincoln highly unqualified for the job of President of the United States. Like a few others in the cabinet, he thought it should have been he that was sitting in the Oval Office. But it was Seward who would eventually become Lincoln's strongest supporter and probably his best friend and confidant in Washington. Seward too was smart, and more privy to the inner-workings of Washington politics and thus a very valuable assets to Lincoln who initially didn't have much experience in that realm (Lincoln, true to form, would quickly learn and become a savant in navigating DC's political circles). Prior to joining Lincoln's cabinet as Secretary of State, he had been a US senator from New York for twelve years. Prior to that, he had served as Governor of New York, so Seward did have quite a bit of experience that he brought to the table.

Another thing that Seward was always known for was his tenacity when it came to trying to end slavery in the South. He wrote and spoke much to that end, and even went so far as to say the unthinkable...that there is a "higher law" than the constitution which at the time still protected the institution of slavery. Beyond that, being anti-slavery was still a minority opinion among many people, north and south, so lots of credit goes to Seward for being proactive on the issue.

The evening that President Lincoln was tragically assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, the same group made an attempt on Seward's life, which he survived, but just barely. He wasn't aware until days later that Lincoln had been killed. Sadly for Seward, both his wife and daughter died within a year and a half of the attempt on Seward's life.

After a lengthy recovery, Seward stayed on as Secretary of State under Andrew Johnson. It was during this time that Seward was instrumental in purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867, famously termed "Seward's Folly" as it was thought Alaska was a barren, wild country that didn't provide any real resources of merit. How wrong we were. It wasn't until after Seward's death that the value of Alaska began to be realized.

Seward moved back to New York and passed away just a couple of years after leaving office. He had been a force in national politics for nearly thirty years, and had fought slavery when so many weren't. He was a major part of America being able to navigate and survive the Civil War as he was a key player, perhaps Lincoln's best friend, during Lincoln's administration.

So that's a little about William Seward, one of the earlier champions of civil rights and crucial player and close friend of Abe Lincoln.

Papa.

Papa and my cousin Brenden. Papa is a Veteran of the Korean War, Brenden is currently in the Missouri National Guard.

Seeing as how it's Veterans Day, I wanted to use the H-POD to write about a well-known American war veteran. I thought about Audie Murphy, WWII vet and America's most decorated soldier, I thought about multiple people who helped save the Union during the Civil War, I thought about some of the Revolutionary War heroes, and some from other conflicts all along the way; from the War of 1812, to the Spanish-American. I couldn't make up my mind.

After work today, I met my family for dinner here in Columbia where we were taking my Grandfather out for dinner since it was Veterans Day and he is a Veteran. That's when it hit me. Use Grandpa as the H-POD!

My Grandpa, Chester Bowden, known to us grandkids as "Papa", is a vet of the Korean Conflict. He worked his way up the ranks after enlisting, eventually making corporal before mustering out. He did actually serve in Korea during the war, rarely seeing much action. For a long time, it was tough to get him to open up much about his time overseas, but over the last six or seven years, I've been able to string together some information from talking to him.

While he didn't see the front lines much, he was there. And even now, I still don't know a ton about what his experience was like or what he saw. The story that has stuck with me the most is a rather tragic story that took place a way from the front lines, and as tough as my Grandpa appears (and he really is), I know this stuck with him and hit him hard. I could tell when he told me.

He told me off-handed one day about riding in a jeep with a few other soldiers on their way back to base when a little Korean girl ran out of nowhere in front of the jeep. The driver couldn't stop in time and hit the little girl, and that was that. A civilian casualty of war, miles away from the front lines. Granted, it was an accident, but a tragic one none the less.

Grandpapa eventually returned home and mustered out, but not before buying a few pieces of nice China overseas, some of which is still in our kitchen, the only piece of history we have from Papa's time in the Army while in Korea. He was a hard working guy and tough prior to the war, and the Army only strengthened those qualities. He came from a family where the traits were valued. He had a couple of older brothers fight in WWII. Every since Korea, he spent his life working hard to provide a good life for my Grandma, and eventually my Mother and her sister and brother. He is definitely tough with that old school personality, but underneath that rough exterior, there has always been lots of love for his family. Heck, as a new grandchild would come along, he'd soften up a bit. And, he's always there with a joke. Fantastic sense of humor, my Grandpa.

So, that's just a tiny little bit of Papa's life. There are so many more stories to tell, but not nearly enough time to tell them all. So, on this Veterans Day, I'm thankful for his service and so many other men and women today and all through the years.

Lewis & Clark Expedition Profile: Patrick Gass

I'm sure you've all heard of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. You know of the main characters; Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Sacagawea. But, the lesser known figures of the expedition aren't as known or talked about. Today we talk about Patrick Gass, a member of the expedition who would out live all the others.

Gass, who came from Scots-Irish stock, was a vital, and popular member of the expedition. When Sgt. Charles Floyd passed away (stunningly, the only fatality on the entire expedition that lasted over two years and had near 40 members), it was Gass who was chosen to take over his post. Gass was carpenter whose work was invaluable. The parts of the trip that caused the expedition to travel overland, the various hauling devices to carry gear and supplies were constructed chiefly by Patrick Gass. The best known example was when the expedition had to portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri River. Following the expedition, it was actually Gass's journal that was the first to be published (all of the officers were required to keep a daily journal detailing the Expedition's events).

Gass kept up his military service following the expedition. He fought in the War of 1812, which lost him an eye. My favorite post-expedition story regarding Gass comes at the outbreak of the Civil War. Gass was ninetey-one years old and still volunteered to fight for the union. His desire to fight was apparently so strong, he had to be forcibly removed while trying to sign up. Gass would ultimately live until the age of ninety-eight, passing away in 1870 in West Virginia, the last surviving member of the Corps of Discovery.