Steven A. Smith – Stick to Hoops

First off…Stephen A. is usually RIGHT ON when it comes to his perception of things large and small – and I recognize that he is a Steeler fan. His principal area of expertise is basketball. He’s been doing this at a high level for years. This morning, I heard the man step over the line in discussing the Steelers new hire for the position of head coach.

Smith envisioned the word “mediocre” in contemplating te hire of former Minnesota Vikings coordinator Mike Tomlin. Smith didn’t blast the hire – but noted that there were a slew of other candidates with better credentials – and that is was worth noting that a job which might traditionally be granted to a white coach, instead, went to a black coach. Aside from the fact that many of those coaches with “better credentials” are mere retreads, the question of mediocrity must come to the center.

Tomlin is certainly inexperienced, but his Vikings were first in the league against the run (and last against the pass). This combination is not all that unusual since strong run defenses often force teams to pass.  The Vikings, however, were also ranked 5th in the entire league in passer rating.  That’s a tough double to pull off and none of this suggests mediocrity. By any statistical measure, the Vikings defense was well above average.

Stephen A. is usually on the money…but this was a big miss.  Tomlin’s success is not guaranteed, but neither is his professional mediocrity in evidence.  A top-ranked defense deserves a little respect.  If it’s enough for Dan Rooney, it should be enough for that humble sports reporter from Queens.

Blueprint for Black Power: Leadership

Excerpt from Amos Wilson:

“For Afrikan Americans, all the promises of the Civil Rights Era have been betrayed, everything has been reversed.  The more Black officials have been elected the worse the Black electorate has fared; Black homelessness became a national scandal during the tenure of a Black Secretary of Housing; the Black community was overrun with AIDS, drug addiction, tuberculosis, all sorts of diseases and maladies during the tenure of a Black man as Secretary of Health; Black nations were overrun by the imperial armies of the United States while a Black man was Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the more Black judges appointed to the bench, the more Black men fill America’s prisons and the more Black-on-Black violence ravages America’s Black ghettos.  While some 60 distinguished Black men and women sat on some 165 major corporate boards, Blacks were the only ethnic group who suffered net employment losses in major American corporations.  At the same time when Afrikan Americans suffered net losses in employment and other minority groups and Whites achieved net increases, Black conservative men presided as the heads of the Equal Economic Opportunity Commission.  At the same time when the masses of Blacks are ghettoized in America’s declining cities and no longer live on, own or work the land, a Black man presided as Secretary of Agriculture…”

“In light of the foregoing discussion we think it more appropriate and productive to critically look at the ideological orientation of certain types of leadership establishments which prevail or are emergent in the Afrikan American community today, than to critically analyze the individual leaders and their politics.”

The politics of race are not the same as the politics of face.  Wilson treats these issues more broadly in the context of his book.  I’ve provided this snapshot as a tool to understand the impact of broader forces – the impact of structural issues that minimize (though not negate) the power of Black individuals operating within national and international scenarios.

The challenge for this and future generations of leaders appears to be connected to building institutions with clear ideological orientations, and an operational commitment to Black people.

Blueprint for Black Power: Black Banks

Excerpt from Amos Wilson:

“It is encouraging to note that of the Black-owned banks which survived the Great Depression, five are still operating today.  These include Consolidated Bank and Trust Co. of Richmond, Virginia (1903); Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Co. of Nashville, Tennessee (1904); Mechanics and Farmers Bank of Durham, North Carolina (1908); First State Bank of Danville, Virginia (1919); and Citizens Trust Bank of Atlanta, Georgia (1921).   It should also be kept in mind that the failure of many Black-owned banks were paralleled by the failure of many White-owned banks at the same time and much later.”

The future of financial institutions serving Black folks have grown tremendously in the years following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  In his last years, he modified and broadened his civil rights strategy to combat structural economic discrimination.  Today’s firms face the challenge of building wealth for owners, while providing a bridge in terms of resources and/or investments for those still facing an uphill climb.

Larger Black institutional leaders often express the importance of building intergenerational wealth: the kind that can be protected and grown.  That type of wealth requires financial education.  What do you have?  What do you know?

The Black Revolution and the White Backlash – 1964?

An excerpt from the late Harold Cruse’s classic “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual”:

“During the month of June, 1964, members of the Association of Artists for Freedom debated some leading white libersals at New York’s Town Hall on the theme: “The Black Revolution and the White Backlash.” This debate revealed that the Artists for Freedom, as a representative group of Negro intellectuals, were agreed among themselves on only one cogent idea – an almost unanimous derogation of white liberals. Of course many Negroes had, long before then, been severely critical of white liberals. Indeed, James Baldwin, the leading literary spokesman, had previously complained that they were “our affliction.”

Question from Charles Silberman to James Baldwin: “Mr. Baldwin, since you said that there is no role for the liberal, could I ask you how this radical reconstruction of American society that you insist is necessary can take place? Are the white conservatives going to do it?”

Baldwin failed to answer the question at all. He could not because in order to do so one must indulge in precisely that “sociology and economics jazz” that Baldwin eschews. This failure to discuss the racial conflicts either in terms of possible practical solutions, or in terms of American economic and sociological realities, made Baldwin’s assault on white liberals a futile rhetorical exercise; it was further weakened by the intellectual inconsistencies, incoherence and emotionalism of his line of argument.”

James Baldwin was not alone in his inability to propose solutions for the complex problems afflicting Africans in America. Indeed, the challenge of positing, envisioning and proposing a future has not been met by an entire generation of black folk since arguably the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement. The Black Power Movement, for all of its energy and vision, lacked the institutional and organizational power to replicate itself over time and space. Neither the 1980’s or 1990’s gave birth to new national political movements by Africans. Perhaps the strongest engagement had been around the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa. Nonetheless, there is a vacuum…not merely of charismatic individuals, but of organizations centered around coherent strategic approaches to difficult issues.

The Black Revolution never came. The White Backlash to a nascent form of rebellion certainly did arrive. Today, 40 years later, I am looking back and considering what might have been if those persons at the head of the chorus were able to answer these critical questions.  The task for me and my generation is to answer those questions with a legacy of work, community and commitment that is replicable and sustainable over time and space.  That is the direction of this blog for 2007.

DeMeco Ryans

Former Alabama LB, DeMeco Ryans wins NFL Rookie of the Year.  Ryans, drafted in the second round by the Houston Texans, quickly emerged as the league’s top defensive newcomer.  I had some thoughts about him around this time last year.  I may have overstated the case for his timed speed, but his game speed is at an elite level.  Also, I left a few players off that list (like Maurice Jones-Drew, A.J. Hawk, Santonio Holmes and others).  It’s not that they weren’t impressive.  It’s simply that Ryans, Russell and Peterson seemed larger than their competition in every game I watched.

It occurred to me that Ryans and Jonathan Vilma may be the two best young middle linebackers in the league.  The selection of Ryans was a brilliant decision.  Both of these players should be locked in their respective positions for a decade.  Ryans, like Vilma, performed as well in the classroom as he did in anchoring an elite college defense.  Both players were highly touted and became the focal points of defenses that had struggled before their arrival.  Both attended schools with great traditions at the position – and both are fundamentally different from the signature defensive players at their schools.  Vilma is cut from a different mold than Ray Lewis – as Ryans is cut from a different mold than the late Derrick Thomas.  Lewis and Thomas are/were supremely gifted athletically and became great students of the game.  Ryans and Vilma began their careers as students of the game – and appear to have drawn great inspiration from the examples of Lewis and Thomas.  These two players are the keepers of the flame at one of the league’s most demanding positions.

Ryans won the Ronnie Lott Award last year, but as the draft approached, his stock went down a bit because of concerns over his speed.  Ryans is a smart player with a great ability to read offenses and trust his instincts.  He is seldom out of position and plays with great technique.  When your fundamentals are sound, you do not need 4.3 speed to play middle linebacker.  Moreover, when your instincts and commitment are this strong, you often look like you have 4.3 speed.

Congrats to a smart student of the game with a clear commitment to excellence.

Embarassment, Thy Name is USC

What a blowout.  Michigan did its best impression of Notre Dame (kidding) and took a nasty L from USC.  Uguh-lee!!  SC deserves the props.

Marty Schottenheimer – 200 Wins

San Diego Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer won his 200th regular season game this week. He joins the smallest of clubs in the league. Only Don Shula, George Halas, Tom Landry and Curly Lambeau have won as many games. Of course, Schottenheimer is the only one of these coaches not to have won a Super Bowl or league championship.

Prior to coaching the Chargers, Schottenheimer led the Washington Redskins for a brief stint. He has also served as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and mostly famously as leader of the Cleveland Browns. Schottenheimer’s Cleveland Browns lost two epic battles to the Denver Broncos (led by Tom Landry’s protege Dan Reeves) in 1986 and 1987. Schottenheimer, for all of his success, have never even coached a team to the biggest game.

Last year, he watched one of his former charges, Bill Cowher and the Pittsburgh Steelers, win it all. For the past five years, he has also watched other pupils of his struggle to get to the big game: Tony Dungy (Indianapolis, Tampa Bay) and Herman Edwards (NY Jets, 2006 KC Chiefs). Schottenheimer became infamous for an ultra-conservative brand of football derisively branded, “Marty Ball.” This 3 yards and a cloud of dust approach to offense was also typified by conservative approaches to defense and special teams play. Interestingly, Cowher broke from this tradition in the postseason of 2005 for the first time. The Steelers opened up their offense and surprised teams like the Bengals, Colts and Broncos by passing early for scores in playoff games.

“Marty Ball” remained a staple of Schottenheimer teams until an early regular season in Baltimore to the Ravens. The Ravens were able to bottle up many of the Chargers most explosive players, including league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson and emerging QB Philip Rivers. After the loss to the Ravens, Rivers was unleashed and allowed to throw 30 to 40 passes while leading a high-powered dynamic offense. The Chargers announced the unofficial death of “Marty Ball” and proceeded to post the best record in the AFC. The Chargers have a bye and they earned home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

It remains to be seen if Marty can keep the genie out of the bottle and follow in the footsteps of Bill Cowher. Both the Chargers and Steelers feature young QBs drafted in the 2004 season, tenacious, pressure-packed 3-4 defenses, solid kicking games and speedy running backs. That formula was sufficient for the Steelers to win three road games en route to the Super Bowl. This year, the Chargers need only win two more home games to take Coach Schottenheimer where he’s never been before. This should be an interesting ride. Aside from the Baltimore Ravens, one might say the only thing is Marty’s way will be his own legacy of conservativism.

However this season ends for the Chargers, their coach deserves congratulations for joining such an exclusive club.