basketball

BS: Jeremy Lin.

Obama: — doing good. And I knew about Jeremy before you did, or everybody else did, because Arne Duncan, my Secretary of Education, was captain of the Harvard team. And so way back when, Arne and I were playing and he said, I’m telling you, we’ve got this terrific guard named Jeremy Lin at Harvard. And then one of my best friends, his son is a freshman at Harvard, and so when he went for a recruiting trip he saw Lin in action. So I’ve been on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon for a while.

BS: Are you taking credit for “Linsanity”? It kind of feels like you are a little bit.

Obama: I can’t take credit for it, but I’m just saying I was there early.

BS: I’m surprised you didn’t steer him toward the Bulls. [Laughter.] He was floating around and getting waived by teams.

Obama: Well, we’ve got this pretty good point guard on the Bulls as well. So he might not have gotten as much PT as he did.

But look, it’s a great story. And what’s interesting is the fact that somehow folks were missing it in practice. I mean, that’s what’s interesting. Because you got to assume that during scrimmages he was running that pick-and-roll pretty well. And it is a terrific story. He seems like a wonderful young man. And, look, it elevates this great sport all around the world. It can’t hurt ratings for basketball in China.

A short interview with the writer Jamilah King from Colorlines who talks about the leagues.

New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin’s rise was guaranteed to eventually incite hate from both teams. It should come as no shock then that boxer Floyd Mayweather voiced his own criticisms of the Point Guard on the Twittersphere. After all, Mayweather released his own homophobic and racist rant against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao on YouTube in the past. To his credit, he at least toned down his rhetoric (profanity wise) concerning his opinion towards Lin.

“Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he’s Asian,” Mayweather tweeted. “Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.”

Alas, this entry isn’t about Mayweather so much as what swiftly followed.

Jenny Hyun–co-writer of Kpop group Girls’ Generation’s “How Great is Your Love” and Chocolat’s “One More Day”–pulled a Kenneth Eng and combated racism with more racism. Her following tweets called for the genocide of African Americans among other things.

It’s safe to say, her response wasn’t met with much praise and got to a point where she locked her Twitter account. She delivered a not so sincere apologized on her blog, all the while defending her inflammatory remarks.

She deleted the apology. In its place stands a seemingly more sincere one written by a third party explaining that she suffers from a psychotic episode and is undergoing treatment at a hospital. Whether or not this was the subtle work of a hacker is yet to be revealed. However a closer inspection of her blog reveals that she identifies as Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, and Humanist. With a synchronicity like that, my bet’s on insanity.

Lin Shuhao trademarked in China in 2010 which means legit Jeremy Lin products will probably emerge. It seems like challenging these in China is a tough business. Perhaps he can just make his own bootlegs and beat the real thing. (WSJ – Lin TM)

Asian league basketball through the ages hasn’t produced too many stars on the court. I even played a season in Japanese American league basketball, only to realize that I sucked. In my first season, I scored 1 basket and it happened in the last game. I often wondered why did we have a segregated league, and what happened to the very best players. In the past, most of the best players went to high school and never tried out for the high school team. Instead they were content starring in a league of players – some of who were like me. Now it’s changing, players are taking that step and kicking ass on their own high school teams. It’s happening more with the females who are playing in college and the rare ones making it to the WNBA.

It’s pretty obvious why an article like this is pertinent today. (Colorlines – bball)

A little interview with Kobe Bryant about Basketball in China. He’s become well spoken and isn’t licking his lips so much anymore. Yes, he’s a grown up with grown up problems too. For a minute, he seems down with the cause. (LA Times – Kobe)

Knicks MSG Network makes a graphic and strikes out. Is it ok to include an African American player and watermelon? ribs? fried chicken? White player and cornbread? milkbottles? trailers? Mexican player and sleeping dude at a cactus? C’mon!

Jeremy Lin watch is on. It’s happening by Asian Americans everywhere. Like the photos and imagery of people watching games or huge events at a TV shop showroom window, it happening on iPhones, bars, and everywhere. Last night, the Lakers played the Knicks. In LA, everyone’s a Laker fan, but for this one game, Asian Americans routed for just 1 player over their own local heroes.

Below, I watched part of the game through the barred window at a barber shop in Echo Park. The folks inside routed for the Lakers, us Asian Americans outside, it was for Jeremy Lin. One customer emerged and talked about how the Lakers weren’t playing well, oblivious to the fact that we didn’t care.

Jeremy Lin Starting for the New York Knicks as they face the Jazz tonight. Of course the photo that SBNation.com used below is a martial arts reference. How is this a basketball photo? He does have a martial artists physique. (sbnation – Jeremy Lin)

Here’s a long clip of Jeremy Lin playing some serious minutes with the NY Knicks just yesterday. It was a career game and an Asian American in the NBA? Sure. His line: Jeremy Lin: 25 Pts, 5 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl

Jeremy Lin article. Yes, he’s in the D League after being on the Knicks and getting no playing time. He did score a triple double in a recent game and is looking strong. What does it mean to do well in the D League if you don’t get playing time in the NBA? Sometimes nothing unfortunately. Hope it matters this time. (NBC - Jeremy Lin)

It was a matter of time. The man who played with power, grace and fairness for a 7 foot 5 inch Chinese man in the NBA, is now in politics. At 31, he’s in a political advisory group for Shanghai and will surely climb ranks if he chooses. He’s probably the most popular athlete in the history of China.

The people at reddit often find interesting things. Check this close up out of the Kim Jong Il funeral. A man, about twice as tall as the other men. Jokes about the malnourished people’s heights in North Korea aside, there is a freak at the funeral. It must be the 7’9″ North Korean basketball player, Ri Myung Hun.

It’s awesome that Jeremy Lin is on the NY Knicks, but… from the first Asian American in the NBA to the most recent, you’d think Lin would contact him back! This is a story you almost don’t want to hear, but might as well know about.

From ESPN:

“Misaka said he hasn’t met Lin yet, but he once tried to get in contact with him. When Lin was signed by the Warriors in 2010, after going undrafted and playing well in the Las Vegas summer league, Misaka wrote him a congratulatory letter to wish him good luck.

“He didn’t know me, but I thought that he might have heard about me and maybe would get a little encouragement from words from me,” Misaka said. “I’m wishing that he gets some playing time and gets some fans out there excited about a local boy kind of making good.”

Misaka never heard back from Lin, but he would like to add one more word of encouragement: “Ganbare.”"

A meeting or photo op will happen one day especially after the ESPN mention. Wat Misaka keeps it classy regardless. (ESPN – Misaka)

So much for the Houston Rocket stint. Jeremy Lin gets cut. Will anyone pick up Jeremy Lin? (chron.com – Jeremy Lin)

UPDATE: The NY Knicks picks up Jeremy Lin.

Houston Rockets Claim Jeremy Lin after Golden State waives him. So far the news is just a tweet from ESPN’s Marc Stein, “NBA teams indeed notified that Rockets have claimed Lin off waivers after his release by Golden State”

“Oh no…” they’re thinking, the NBA is going to start and the folks who thought of leaving are now unable to come back. Their families, friends, and ex teammates will be playing ball on the networks and getting new endorsements, meanwhile they’re in China trying to do the same and getting acclimated to their new lives and new foods, and… no friends. They’re having mixed results, but it’s great to see that Wilson Chandler, a player that’s either underrated in the NBA or misunderstood is having a kick ass year so far averaging 32 points a game. Stephan Marbury an already well liked player in China has found a new home. It looks like the players who are there this season, are there. (WSJ – NBA Players in China)

Natalie Nakase is coaching the Saitama Broncos in Japan. She once played point guard for UCLA and at 5’2″ she’s not an imposing, but will need to pack a punch to battle with a new team that’s doing just alright. (LA Times – Natalie Nakase)

Yao Ming is in college. After being like a freedom fighter for all of China sports, he’s now back to zero. He’s at school taking two classes and getting some special tutoring. He’s 31 and a freshman. (Time – Yao Ming College)

A short post about Yao Ming. It’s true he won’t be replaced by anyone and can’t be. He was too good of a diplomat, had a great patience and played elegantly. He had a sense of humor and quickly ran a team even though he was a foreign player. Yes who else will rep basketball to China? There are other Chinese players who can’t be like Yao, so that’s out. It’ll end up being a Kobe or a Lebron, or perhaps some kid on a playground in China. (Washington Times – Yao Ming)