Been an interesting week of sports my friends, what with the NHL Playoffs heating up, all the mock drafts leading up to the actual draft on May 8-11, and now the released taped phone call of David Sterling, speaking with his mistress (mistress, girlfriend, lady in waiting, whatever) ranting about race, and why she should not cavort in public with African Americans, specifically, not to post pics to her instagram, Facebook, et al accounts showing her hanging out with them, and to most definitely not to bring them to any of HIS games.  The amount of WTF moments in this recording is unreal, the whole thing is bizarre and surreal, not just because of how he shows his true colors for how he feels about minorities, but that he actually praises them at the same time.  he says he loves them, he has hired them as coaches, front office personnel, and oh yes 12 of his 15 players are African American as well. 

Sterling has a right to his opinion of course, as the 1st amendment guarantees him that, but what he doesn’t have freedom from is the ramifications of that free speech.  His players made that known yesterday at the start of their first round playoff game against the Warriors, as they took off their warm-up jackets, threw them on the floor at center court, revealing the warm up jerseys underneath to be inside out and backwards.  not only that but they wore black socks, black armbands and black undershirts.  It is a sad narrative when an owner of an NBA franchise, a league in which the majority of its players are African American, someone who makes Millions per year off the sweat of these players and has been honored in the past by the NAACP and was slated to receive yet another lifetime achievement award from them in May (which has since been rescinded) can actually have this opinion of minorities. 

When I see comments like this from people in the public eye, not just in sports, but also in Politics, entertainment, or any other public forum it makes my blood boil.  as the step son of a racist, it makes me even angrier because it feeds that narrative, and makes for tense conversation during the holidays. I love my Father, only because he has been more of a father to me than my actual father ever was, but it hurts to know that this person I love so dearly could have these opinions, and there is nothing I can say or do to change his opinions.  I can only do so much, and for years I have tried, but have come to the realization that nothing will change his opinion, so I accept him as he is, love him for what good things he has taught me, done for me, and for the gentle way he has treated my mother for the last 30 years.  He truly is a good man, but the one dark side of him comes out every so often and it just saddens me. 

For those that missed it, The weekly Sports Nerd Spreecast last night was new territory for me, in that I flew solo for the entire 90 mins. of the show for the first time since it started.  With my fellow nerd Bob The Beer man” Pizor being laid up due to a car accident for the last couple of months, and my good friend Brian “Scooter” Cullen out sick last night I had to keep the conversation going the whole time.  I had a great time doing it, and was told that I did a good job by those that attended.  I thank all of my loyal viewers for their support (all 9 of them…lol) and am doing all I can to promote and get the word out.  If you haven’t been to one of the shows, please watch a recording and if you like what you see, follow me on Spreecast, bookmark the page and join me on Sunday nights at 7:30pm eastern time.  The subjects are not limited to only sports, as we talk about a wide range of subjects, and there are times when we just talk about any and all subjects that come up.  We never have a planned script or agenda for these shows, we just kind of go with the flow and see where it takes us.  Oh I have a few items that I want to talk about, but for the most part we just fly by the seat of our pants, and that has resulted in some of the best shows we have ever done.

Some great Hockey is being played right now, the first round matchups have been exciting, and if this is any indication of how the rest of the playoffs are going to go, I Cant wait for the second round.  those teams that have advanced thus far are Montreal, Boston, Anaheim, and Chicago, with the first matchup of the second round being set between Boston and Montreal.  I know a certain Boston fan and a Habs fan that will be doing a LOT of trash talking this coming week, I look forward to those two making their banter public, and will get the popcorn ready for the fireworks that will ensue.  The Habs and Bruins have met 33 times in the playoffs in their storied history and there is pure hate between these two franchises.  It will be physical, intense and probably some of the best Hockey of the playoffs.  Gonna be a great series. 

Well I hope this post finds all of you well, have a great week, and remember as always…

Get in the game, Or ride the bench…  the choice is yours

Scott “The Sports Nerd” Wright