the Southerners I met were astounded that we could figure this stuff out AND that we cared to.


It's not like it's that hard to figure out. Maybe the South you experienced wasn't as ethnically diverse as it is further north, so there'd be less curiosity. Less difference/less curiosity?

Perhaps. Maybe too as I suggested a curiosity about different things.

Maybe the South you experienced wasn't as ethnically diverse as it is further north, so there'd be less curiosity. Less difference/less curiosity?

FWIW, I've noticed less interest in this stuff in "the south I've experienced" as well, and I don't think it's because of less diversity.

In response to # 231: After winning his first Masters, Tiger is allowed to pick the main menu items for next years Master's banquet that's traditional for all participants. Fuzz stated "we'll probably have fried chicken and watermelon..." and he immediately lost his long time sponsor KMart. Like KMart is the most PC corporation around. Tiger and Fuzz were friends and Tiger did NOT take offense to the comment(s). But, KMart, thinking ONLY of their personna, took action against Fuzzy, just like FOX did with Lyons.

Hypocrite corporations. Period, all this is.

But whereas everyone I grew up w/would immediately speculate as to ethnic background ("Oh, a Flynn" "Oh, Southern Italian, right?"), the Southerners I met were astounded that we could figure this stuff out AND that we cared to.

Where exactly did you grow up, JC? Because I didn't grow up in the South (*), and I don't recall ethnicity coming up at all, let alone right after meeting someone.


(*) Well, it was south of the Mason-Dixon, but it sure as heck wasn't The South.

It wasn't the culture they grew up in. Maybe they cared more about class, or color, I don't know. But whereas everyone I grew up w/would immediately speculate as to ethnic background ("Oh, a Flynn" "Oh, Southern Italian, right?"), the Southerners I met were astounded that we could figure this stuff out AND that we cared to.

Interesting. I spent about 15 years in the South and I can agree with this. But I also spent about 15 years in the Midwest, and I could count on one hand the number of times I've heard someone ask about another person's ethnic background.

I don't think I've ever asked, aside from perhaps making a half-joke inquiry into the origins of a particularly tongue-twisting last name. Like that guy the Cubs picked, Jeff Samardzjia (and I'm sure I butchered that spelling) - that's kind of interesting. Eastern European, maybe?

But Pinella? Never. I'm not surprised Lyons didn't know (assuming that's the truth, which I think it is), mor am I surprised that he never asked. Frankly, I'd find questions about someone's ethnic background kind of personal, like asking someone what their religion is. Not something I'd do upon first meeting someone.

Eastern European, maybe?


Southern Bend I think

Tiger's reaction to Zoeller's remarks were not as you described. His attitude may be different now, but at the time, he was miffed.

Moreover, Fuzzy Zoeller was paid a sizable fee by Kmart to be likable Fuzzy Zoeller. It wasn't because of his golf skills, which were not particularly sharp and hadn't been for quite some time. When Zoeller was no longer the warm and fuzzy Fuzzy, at least to a substantial number of potential customers, he was no longer worth Kmart's millions. They had every reason to drop him.

As for the South's indifference to ethnicity, that sounds like an admirable condition to me.

Southern Bend I think

Good point. I suspect he's not Irish, though.

Wikipedia says it's Serbian. So now I know (assuming that's correct).

But Pinella? Never. I'm not surprised Lyons didn't know (assuming that's the truth, which I think it is), mor am I surprised that he never asked. Frankly, I'd find questions about someone's ethnic background kind of personal, like asking someone what their religion is. Not something I'd do upon first meeting someone.

Only a Zoroastrian would say that.

Freddy Mercury?

Lyons was never a favorite of mine but it sort of sounds like even Piniella was NOT offended and the comments were about him.

"(Rick) Barry was one of the most disliked players in the league."

That is true. He was. Probably the most disliked player by his opponentsin his day. That was due to a combination of his personality, his extraordinary ability and the extremely aggressive way that he played.

"The refs hated him... "

Do you have any kind of source for this charge? I think you are wrong. I saw Rick play about a dozen times (though admittedly, I was quite young, then) and never saw any conflict between him and the refs. He was a whiner, but not too different from how Magic Johnson was a whiner. Unlike Magic, Barry never assaulted a ref. Rick did, though, get the calls. Barry was not just the best free-throw shooter in the NBA, he was an expert at charging in the lane and drawing a reach foul. He needed the refs on his side to get those calls.

"... most of his teammates disliked him... "

Again, unless you have a source, I'm going to have to call b.s. on this charge. I have heard almost all of his old teammates on Rick Barry's (former) radio show. He is very obviously friends with those guys. I've never heard one who suggested that back in the day their relations were not amicable. When one of his old teammates died a few years ago, the widow asked Rick to give the eulogy.

"... and many of his coaches hated him."

Rick spoke of his dislike for one of his early coaches. It had to do with a very Allen Iverson-like problem: practice! Rick explained that he was playing 40 minutes a night. He didn't need to go hard in practice. And yet this coach (far before Attles), kept after Rick for not working hard in practice. I don't know of any other coaches that Barry had a problem with. However, it wouldn't surprise me. It's common for head coaches and superstars to not get along. Each wants to have the control.

"Maybe he and Attles made up but they were on very poor terms when he left the Warriors."

Again, I'd like to see a source. I wouldn't be surprise to know that at one time Rick and Al did not get along. Superstars can be dicks, and Rick often was. But they are clearly very close friends, now. They were not just coach and player, but they were teammates on the Warriors for a long time. In other formats, I've heard Al Attles speak highly of Rick Barry.

Only a Zoroastrian would say that.

Discordianist.

How do Rick Barry's kids feel about him? Heheheh.

DMN: I was born in Staten Island and grew up there and in NH (though around NYers). "Immediately" is a bit strong, but it's certainly a thing most of us would put together and discuss.

Frankly, I'd find questions about someone's ethnic background kind of personal, like asking someone what their religion is. Not something I'd do upon first meeting someone.

Of course it's personal. It's about getting to know someone.

Welcome back, BL.

Good to see you as well JC.

I think you're all missing the point. This firing allows Fox Sports to get rid of Lyons, while allowing the Fox News talking heads to complain about oversensitivity. It's a win-win situation.

List of famous Arab thieves.

1. Ali Baba.

Ali Baba wasn't a thief. Anyway, don't forget the Barbary Pirates, whom we actually went to war with.

Ali Baba wasn't a thief. Anyway, don't forget the Barbary Pirates, whom we actually went to war with.

Not to get all racially exclusionist, but I wouldn't call Berbers Arabs. Sure they want to call themselves Arabs, but they don't have much Arabic blood, they mangle the language, they have strange customs - frankly I think they are at least as much African as they are Arabic. On the other hand I don't want to seem snobbish.

And Ali Baba was most certainly a thief. He stole the thieves' treasure! It's much more questionable as to whether he was an Arab, but all the characters in 1001 Nights are viewed in the West as Arabs (even Aladdin, who is meant to be Chinese)!

Not all of the Barbary Pirates were Berbers. Many were Moriscos.

Not all of the Barbary Pirates were Berbers. Many were Moriscos.

Others were Velvet/Plush

Olbermann just got around to reporting this, and the angle he decided to take was mocking the "I didn't know he was Spanish" line as though it was all Lyons had to say about the subject. Keith Olbermann, today's Worst...Newsman...in the World!

Backlasher Posted

Hey, a Backlasher sighting. Hope you will be around more.

Since no one answered my question about how Rick Barry's kids feel about him, I will.

One of them doesn't speak to him, IIRC. Brent, maybe? Or Jon? Not sure which one. But that goes to his being a prick. When your own kid won't speak to you, that's damning.

As for the South's indifference to ethnicity, that sounds like an admirable condition to me.

Motive matters a bit.

If you don't care about ethnicity because you think it doesn't matter where a person come from, that's fine. If you don't care because you lump all differing ethnicities into a category of "inferior folk," it's not so admirable.

I have little long-term experience outside of the Northeast of this country, so I make no particular general judgment on Southerners. I think there is plenty of exclusionary behavior in even (gasp!) ultra-diverse NYC, so it would be silly to throw stones.

One things for sure, though. People from Micronesia are ignorant, backwater slobs and should be barred from entering the sacred grounds of other decent countries.

Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Lyons still can't find his chopsticks.