The word is (sports) "curmudgeon"

     Had to look up how to spell "curmudgeon," knowing it might apply personally. OK, maybe -- maybe -- it does.
     From the Merriam-Webster.com dictionary definition that popped up on Google: 1. A crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man. 2. archaic: miser.
     Shut up.
     Before I looked up the spelling/definition, my roommate -- Beatrice -- guessed (correctly) at the "old man" part, and observed, "I have never heard a woman called 'curmudgeon.' "
     No comment. (Except, maybe I was a young curmudgeon, too. Still a miser.)
     The reason for this discussion, this blog, is a chapter I read in my current library read, The Best of Frank Deford, one of my favorite sports writers of all time.
      The book's subtitle is I'm Just Getting Started ... 
      Well ... now he's finished. OK, that's a bit harsh, but true. 
      This book was published in 2000, and so Frank's brilliant career can only be remembered. He died last May 28 at age 78, one of several journalism greats we lost in 2017.
      We loved reading Frank and listening to him, although I know of people who thought he was a pompous you-know-what.
      He was a Sports Illustrated superstar writer for much of 45 years and did commentaries for National Public Radio for 37 years, almost right to the end of his life.
      He also was editor-in-chief of The National, the first sports daily newspaper in the U.S., a short-lived (18 months) but excellent product. And he wrote 18 books, nine of them novels, including Everybody's All-American, which became a movie (can you say Billy Cannon?)  
      My favorite Deford book, which brought many tears, is Alex: The Life of a Child. Alexandra, Frank and his wife's daughter, was a brave cystic fibrosis victim who died at age 8 in 1980. Frank was national chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for years. 
      This book includes some of his best stories -- most for SI -- and 71 of his NPR commentaries (yes, I had to count them) through 2000.
      One commentary, which in this book follows Frank's rambling novel, far-too-long (18 pages) on the sport of bowling (bowling, Kent Lowe!), is titled "The Sports Curmudgeon."
      It resonated with me, and I found that Frank played this character repeatedly through his NPR commentary career.
      So I am going to plagiarize this particular piece, and share it with you. Frank delivered it on NPR in 1997, but I find myself agreeing with it and we could expand on it greatly in today's sports world. 
      Because "curmudgeon" defines how I feel about sports today. Like it less and less, daily, and not as interesting, and I'm not as interested in watching. (No NFL or NBA on the TV here, even less baseball and college football.)         
      Never thought I would get here. Wrote a blog on that  not too long ago. But I found in Deford's book that, even in 2000, he questioned much of what was happening, for instance, in college athletics and wrote/talked about the hypocrisy involved. He has several chapters discussing that. I think it's only gotten worse.
      Enough from me. Here's Frank, The Sports Curmudgeon, 1997. See what you think.
---
      Watch out! The Sports Curmudgeon is here, and he is angry. He has been locked up in a sports bar all year, reading the agate in the USA Today sports section and listening to sports talk radio, until this past week, when for four days running, he had to hear television announcers refer to The Augusta National Golf Course in the sacred tones reserved for Bethlehem, Mecca, the Wailing Wall and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
      So, The Sports Curmudgeon has had it up to here, and therefore now releases his Top Eleven list of things he can simply no longer abide in sport. (The reason it is a Top Eleven is because The Sports Curmudgeon is overflowing with so much bile that he can't restrict it to a Top Ten.) Herewith, then, from The Sports Curmudgeon.
       Number 1 INTERMINABLE LASER INTRODUCTIONS AT NBA GAMES      
       The Sports Curmudgeon asks: Has anybody but me noticed that the more the NBA devotes its energy to laser introductions, the more boring are the post-introductions ... or "games," as we used to call them.
       Number 2 VICTORIOUS FOOTBALL TEAMS WHO POUR GATORADE ON THEIR COACHES
       The Sports Curmudgeon says, okay, maybe it was funny the first time a dozen years ago. Maybe. Once. Maybe. Besides, how stupid are the coaches now not to expect being doused?
       Number 3 ANNOUNCERS IN ANY SPORT WHO SAYS THAT THE -- CHOOSE ONE: SHOOTER, QUARTERBACK, HITTER -- HAD "A GOOD LOOK."
       Fine women have good looks. The Sports Curmudgeon says: Keep good looks out of sports.
       Number 4 BASEBALL SCHEDULING GAMES EARLY IN APRIL IN PLACES LIKE MILWAUKEE AND DENVER.
       The Sports Curmudgeon says that baseball needs two things: a commissioner and a calendar. Or, a commissioner who can read a calendar. Okay, just a calendar.
       Number 5 MALE TENNIS PLAYERS WHO STICK THE SECOND SERVICE BALL IN THEIR POCKETS
       "Where has style in sports gone to?" cries The Sports Curmudgeon, bemoaning lumpiness.
       Number 6 FEMALE TENNIS PLAYERS WHO STICK THE SECOND SERVICE BALL IN THEIR PANTIES
       See same Sports Curmudgeon response, number 5. Only more virulently. Would Kathryn Hepburn stick a tennis ball in her panties? Would Emily Post?
       Number 7 AMERICAN SPORTS FANS WHO SCREAM "U!S!A!" "U!S!A!" WHEN WE ARE BEATING PARAGUAY OR SRI LANKA 75-3
       The Sports Curmudgeon says that patriotism is the last refuge of a rotten sports fan.
       Number 8 HOCKEY GOALIES WHO LEAVE THEIR LITTLE WATER BOTTLES ON TOP OF THEIR NETS 
       The Sports Curmudgeon says: We do not need littering on the field of play. What's next? Picnic lunches for the right fielder? A bad precedent.
       Number 9 MIKE TYSON
       Only The Sports Curmudgeon can't decide whether he disliked Iron Mike more when he was a bully, or now, when he is scared to death of old Evander Holyfield.
       Number 10 "SHOW ME THE MONEY"
       Next would-be funny guy who says "show me the money," The Sports Curmudgeon says: Show him the door.
       Number 11 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES WHO INVITE ALL WINNING TEAMS TO THE WHITE HOUSE
        The Sports Curmudgeon says: Go back to number 7. Presidents who do this are only looking for the votes of those jackasses. Hey, why not invite some good losers to the White House?
        Now, The Sports Curmudgeon is off to see the new Dennis Rodman movie, so he can start getting his blood boiling again.
        And to you and yours, he says, Have a good look!
---
         Thank you, Frank. See it still applies. We probably could do a Top Hundred, but haven't you suffered enough?        

About harassment and respect ... me, too

     It has taken many weeks, years, and thought to reach the point of writing this, and I was not harassed into doing it.
     That is not a funny line. And this blog piece is not about athletics.
      It is about an attitude, my attitude, toward other people, primarily women. And if you care to read on, I am going to trace that attitude to my last two years in elementary school, so that's only 60 years ago. 
      I can trace my "attitude" to a couple of women then -- a principal I respected greatly, a teacher I harassed constantly. It's the first remembrance I have of what was to be a lifelong pattern.
---       
     The #MeToo has my attention and it provides an everyday reminder: Don't be an ass.
      Yes, me too. I have been harassed -- but not sexually, just mostly verbally. BUT mostly, I have been the harasser. 
      Verbal harassment, both toward men and women. Far too often. Physical harassment ... it has happened. 
      Sexual harassment, yes, to an extent. Depends on how you define it. If inappropriate touching -- innocently touching an arm, a hand, a face, a hug, a rub of the shoulders, to seem friendly -- and out-of-bounds comments are part of it ... then, yes.
       Wrong place, wrong time: oh, yeah.  
       Sexual abuse? I don't think so, but where is the line on "abuse?" If it's verbal, I am more than likely guilty of crossing that line.
       You don't need the details; I don't feel like sharing publicly. Not yet, probably not ever. (But if you want to have a private conversation, I will consider that.)
        Let me assure this: It has been painful -- for me, for my family, some friends and co-workers, and for those who I offended. Cannot undo the pain and the consequences. There is shame and embarrassment.
        But had to move on, and start over, and think about it, and get counseling, and try to do better. Haven't always changed the pattern.
        Certainly not bragging about this. No, this is apologizing for crass behavior. I have had to do that so many times.   
       These were not "power" plays, not with any kind of hold on or real threats to the other person(s). No, mostly, this was stupidity, immaturity, recklessness. Not a good reputation to build or have.
        And so, here I am today, at 70, still having to be reminded every day -- my own reminders and the #MeToo reminders. 
        My reminder: Keep your mouth shut and your hands to yourself. Don't offend, don't be disrespectful, don't make others uncomfortable, don't be an ass.
---
       The women I mentioned above: Ruth Hughen, the school principal; Lyndall Tinnin, my sixth-grade teacher.
       Those of us who were kids at Sunset Acres all remember Mrs. Hughen. She was a legend. 
       She was an educator in Caddo Parish for nearly 50-plus years, the first principal at our school; she was there 15 years, but before that, she was principal at Parkview Elementary (a long foul ball from SPAR Stadium). In fact, I found a 1940 story and she was there then.
        Some who had her as a teacher will remember Mrs. Tinnin. 
        I wrote about them more than five years ago (see link at bottom) when remembering those Sunset Acres years. They are linked to this story.
        With the exception of the usual sibling squabbling -- my poor four-years-younger sister -- I do not remember being conscious of how to (not) treat others, male and female, until I was about 10 and, after a tough 1 1/2 years of adjustment from a foreign country to this one, going into fifth grade at Sunset Acres Elementary School.
         I was always a high-strung, nervous, temperamental kid, from early on. If it is what you grow up in, it's what you learn.
        (But let's be clear; I never learned harassment from my mother or my father. They were very respectful people.)
        In that fifth-grade year, I -- well -- kicked one girl (Pam) in the shin. Trip to the office. Got into a verbal spat with another girl (Diane). Trip to the office. Diane has never let me forget that one.
        But the teacher that year, Maxie Cooper, was a good one and took special care of a tiny, funny, zany, different kid trying to find his way in America. I liked her, respected her, minded her.
        On my trips to the office, Mrs. Hughen was a compassionate, calm counselor. She could read me, and she knew some of my family's background.
         Sixth grade, not so much fun. Mrs. Tinnin was a veteran teacher, and probably a good one. But we did not connect, and -- my fault -- I was a troublemaker. Talked too much, yelled too much, would not mind her, left the school ground a couple of times (the house was only a block and one turn away) ... and was sent to the office multiple times.
          I can remember her dismay and her often saying, "I beg your pardon ..."
         Again, Mrs. Hughen stayed cool and calm with my mother, who apologized profusely.
         Sunset Acres kids might be surprised because Mrs. Hughen had a stern outward persona. "I was scared of her," my friend Diane remembered last week, and I am sure that is how many kids felt.
        Anyway, I got through the year, but my harassment of Mrs. Tinnin was maybe the first example of how far a line I could cross.
        (Nothing sexual then, but at that time, my body was beginning puberty and I remember first being aware of "sex," a young man's fascination with the female body. So the mind went there often.) 
        It has taken a long, long, painful time -- and painful experiences -- to face up to a major issue.
---
         OK, here is my brain bounces. Knowing I have wanted to write about #MeToo and harassment for a while, I thought of this angle last week while Shreveport researching baseball history online (and on The Shreveport Times microfilm). Decided to try to find the obituaries for Mrs. Hughen and Mrs. Tinnin ... and did. It did not take long. They've both been gone for almost 25 years.
          I also found a March 24, 1985, story on Mrs. Hughen by Margaret Martin -- our old buddy from late 1960s/early 1970s days at The Times who is still writing interesting people-in-town/area stories/columns for the paper. 
          (I have included the two sections of the story).
          I knew the subject. I was there the night it happened. I told this story before, but it is pertinent here.
          Early in 1985, I saw in the paper that the Sunset Acres PTA was going to honor Mrs. Hughen with a "night." I was sports editor of the Shreveport Journal then, but I went to that night -- and she was as happy to see me as I was her.
          I thanked her again, best as I could, for being so kind and compassionate to me. So glad I got that chance.
          I was sorry that Mrs. Tinnin was not there that night. Don't think I ever saw her again after the spring of 1959, although she remained at Sunset Acres for another decade. 
          Never did apologize to her, and I should have ... many times. I saw in her obit that she has several grandchildren. If they somehow see this piece, please know that your grandmother was a good teacher and a fine woman (read the obit), and you should be proud. I am sure they are.
---
         So, harassment ...
         Darned right I am paying attention, and I identify, and (again) I apologize to those I offended. Don't know how to make it better other than to keep from repeating my actions. 
         We should not stop learning and never stop growing mentally, and that is a personal goal.
---
http://nvanthyn.blogspot.com/2012/10/it-was-elementary-at-sunset-acres.html
---
The obits: 
Mrs. Hughen (Nov. 15, 1992)

Mrs. Tinnin (Dec. 30, 1993) 

             

Time to film "Gamechanger: The Kenneth Harvey Story "

     Happy New Year to all, and a special salute to the people in Logansport, Louisiana -- one in particular -- because the first week of 2018 is going to be an exciting, interesting one there.

      It is time to begin filming the re-enactment scenes for Gamechanger: The Kenneth Harvey Story.

      Scene-shooting begins early Tuesday -- tomorrow, as this is being written -- and will continue through Friday.

      Starring -- who else? -- Kenneth Harvey. 

      Yes, more than 53 years after the football accident (brain stem contusion) that left him greatly paralyzed, he is still rolling through DeSoto Parish and Logansport, grateful for his long life, deeply devout, and about to play a huge role in the story of his life.
     And always an inspiration to all who know him.

      After a couple of years of community planning and fund-raising, Cynthia and Ben Freeman (the couple from Logansport now living in San Antonio) -- guiding forces for the project -- and producer/director Troy LeBlanc are ready for "action."

       LeBlanc is the founder and leader of Elyon Media, which -- as its website promotes -- is "a Christian, veteran-funded, Texas-based (San Antonio) multi-media production studio."

       They have the script ready. Last week LeBlanc was in Logansport for casting call meetings. The scenes will involve many people in the surrounding communities, etspecially for the crowd re-enactments (at a football game, at the "Kenneth Harvey Day" (October 30, 2009) and the dedication of the football stadium monument that honors him.

       Cynthia and Ben Freeman also were organizing leaders of that community endeavor, and -- with lots of help -- have pushed for this documentary.

       Kenneth, 70, has dealt with health issues that forced his move from his beloved longtime apartment in Logansport to an assisted living facility in nearby Mansfield. But he remains enthusiastic -- thankful for this attention -- and church-going. And now he's going to be a movie star.

       He, of course, will be featured near the end in the "Day" and monument-dedication scenes.

       But there will be several versions of Kenneth Harvey in the film, such as ...

       -- The 8-year-old learning to love basketball -- the Freemans' grandson Nico Senna (that's right, his name is Nico) coming in from where he and his parents live in California, can play that part because he is ambidextrous like Kenneth was early on;

       -- The high school student, a real star in basketball (his favorite sport) who decided to return for football in his senior year and was the Logansport Tigers' quarterback and a defensive back.

       -- The young Kenneth, going through a long, painful rehab process who, when he was reluctant, was goaded by younger brother Terry (who had physical disabilities) as "chicken."

       -- The middle-aged Kenneth, wheelchair-bound, a role that will be played by a 40ish Logansport man who also is wheelchair-bound and -- my opinion -- looks like Kenneth. 

       Ben and Cynthia Freeman will play themselves. John Russell, the Logansport bank executive who has been as much of a fund-raiser and organizer as the Freemans, has a role. 

       So does Linda Gamble, the late 1960s/early 1970s North Louisiana women's basketball legend -- a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee -- who befriended Kenneth when they both lived near Longview, Texas, in the 1970s. She is going to be "Mom."

         Another key role: Gay Straus, Kenneth's aunt -- his mother's sister -- who has looked after him for many years.

         Scenes will be filmed at Rusty's Diner in Logansport -- where Ben Freeman first thought of the "Kenneth Harvey Day" idea -- and the old Frosty Shop  hangout in town will be re-created. So will Kenneth's old home place and the basketball goal which his stepfather Hank set up for him.

         Old Logansport High burned, but the Central school of Grand Cane (not far away) -- Lin Gamble's high school -- looks like Kenneth's old school, so it will be used. 

Kenneth Harvey:
ready for a starring role

         For the fateful football scene, they will return to the old field where Kenneth and his team played -- long since replaced by a new stadium. And in a neat development, neighbor rival Many -- the opposing team on the night of November 13, 1964 -- will bring a delegation of players and fans (cheerleaders, etc.).

         So some scenes call for 1950s dress and cars, and plans are for a 1960s look in football jerseys and helmets.

         The producers want to fill the stands with people from the community. 

         The documentary film will be narrated by Rick Rowe, the KTBS-TV (Shreveport) feature reporter who has done slices-of-life pieces for almost four decades.

         If all goes well, the documentary film should be ready for its premiere in March, planned for the Rio Theatre in Center, Texas, about 20 minutes from Logansport.

          LeBlanc and the Freemans also plan to submit the film to the fifth annual Christian World View Film Festival in Franklin, Tennessee, in mid-March, with hopes that someone will be interested in further developing the story in a full-length feature film.

            So good luck to all involved and, Kenneth, play the role like the star you always have been. It's going to be a good year.