American League

Pride

"We need a place to pitch...we need a mound..."

Jay-Z - American Dreamin'

Its mid-July, and while it may not cause you to do anything other than turn the air conditioner up...it also means that baseball season is at the halfway mark, as the MLB All-Stars played last night in St. Louis.

National Treasure

The National and American League big names squared off in the mid-summer night classic as the AL defended their stretch of wins dating back to 1997, by defeating the NL 4-3.

President Obama was on hand to throw out the first pitch and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carl Crawford saved the game by stealing what would have been a homerun...Curtis Granderson scored the tie-breaking run in the 8th inning...which lead to the Yankees closing ace Mariano Rivera for his record, 4th All-Star save in the 9th.

Home field advantage stays with the AL for the World Series once again, which last season didn't matter as the Phillies captured the crown...and by the way Philadelphia signed Pedro Martinez last night too, so things could continue to repeat.

Photo: AP

Bryant on Broadway

61

Will power

"Trust me on this one, I'll detach you..."

Jay-Z - Takeover

New York, NY - February 2, 2009 - Black History Month continues here on GAME TIME, as Kobe Bryant took the liberty of making his-story on the biggest stage in basketball.

Second to none

I haven't been in New York since the summer, so when an opportunity arose to travel to Gotham City to cover the Knicks versus the Lakers...I didn't hesitate. My career in pro basketball started in Madison Square Garden, with the New York Knicks, and Liberty. I did my internship with those teams, the summer before my senior year at Temple University. There is a saying that has something to the effect of "if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere...", and the city that never sleeps is tough, but I was able to learn, and grow, as well as make a name for myself there. With that experience, I've been able to build on that success to have a solid career in journalism.

I made sure to arrive early so I could catch Bryant during the afternoon shoot around. I noticed that he and assistant coach Brian Shaw were on one end of the court while some of the other guys on the team were shooting around and joking on the other side. Kobe was in one of his more focused moods, but after he was finished he walked over and addressed me and then the media. Once he was done with the media availability I walked with him down the hallway to the elevator...I told him that I'd heard from his sister on facebook, and I asked him what he was doing with his shoes after the game?

What would happen a few hours later, would be a lasting memory that I am sure my children will hear about one day. My friend and coworker Audie, mentioned a few times throughout the day that Bryant would have a BIG game against his hometown Knicks. Side note about the Knickerbockers, I am really impressed with Danilo Gallinari, he is a decent player that will only get better. It was interesting to see him and Kobe speak with one another during the game, in Italian no less. Trust me on this on Gallinari is legit.

Before the game began, people from the Garden not only remembered me, but they also showed a genuine love and respect for me. That made me feel really good, as I know that I did my best during the time I worked there. Once the game started, I saw the stars were in attendance, as Mariano Rivera, Jay-Z, Spike Lee, Whoopi Goldberg, America Ferrera, and John McEnroe, watched KB go on such an offensive tear that I figured this would become one of his many 40-point games. What I didn't figure, was that it would be the most historic night offensively in the current Madison Square Garden, which was built in 1968. 

He scored 61 points, as he made a perfect 20-20 from the free-throw line. It was the 4th best offensive outing for his career, which was good enough for the best since Bernard King scored 60 points on December 25, 1984. 

With 18 points in the 1st quarter and 34 by halftime, the Garden was electric as I would have to agree that it is the most hollowed place by far to play a basketball game in. Bryant had 12 points in the 3rd quarter, and evened everything out with 15 in the 4th. It was truly an amazing game, and afterward I had an opportunity to interview Kobe...however I forgot to ask him if his shoes had anything to do with it, as he was wearing his new Nike Zoom Kobe IV.

Kobe after throwing his very own "Garden" party, answered questions (click on the link to see Kobe, and listen for my questions at the end) for several minutes, and as he made his exit...he and I walked and talked about his team, and Black History Month.

He is the final score on our conversation:

Talk about this team and how things are a year later, after making the NBA Finals:

"Better prepared..better prepared, you know a lot of guys, it was their first time, you know Pau [Gasol] it was his first time out of the first round, and he goes all the way to the Finals...so a lot of things were new, so I think having a year of experience, and also...you know, learning a lot from that series, 'cause we learned a lot, so now we take those lessons and apply them to this season."

What are your thoughts on Black History Month, because a lot of people don't mention sports in that?

"Sure, sure...well it's a celebration of all of it, it's a big time of the year for us, and Martin Luther King Day, and having [President Barack] Obama being inaugurated the day after that, and now we have Black History Month...it's great, it's a great year for us."

With all that you have done, and then scoring 61 points tonight in Madison Square Garden...you have made a mark within Black History Month:

"Man it feels incredible, it feels incredible, and we obviously have to take the responsibility as African-American athletes and we try to do our best to live up to that."

True Story

Fred, AG. and Paulie in NYC

"If we stay strong, we can get paper longer than Pippen's arms, plead the 5th when it comes to the fam...I'm like a dog, I never speak, but I understand..."

Jay-Z - Never Change

In these historic days after the landslide election of Barack Obama, it's important for me to document it in my own way. GAME TIME with AG. is a sports blog, however special times, call for special measures, so with that said I found it interesting how a few friends of mine got involved with the message of HOPE and Change. 

I attended Temple University, and one of the many things I did as an undergraduate was to join a fraternity. The organization that I belong to is Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, which is host to millions of members around the globe. Luckily for me, I have a group of brothers that are like family to me. 

Membership has its privileges, and during my internship with the New York Liberty, it came in handy for me and the team. 

8-years ago, two of my fraternity brothers Fred and Paul, appeared in the TRUE campaign for BUDWEISER, and on the heels of their success I invited them to join the NY Liberty fans to cheer the team on to victory during the WNBA Playoffs. It was such a great idea that they took my invitation further and created an original in game spot for  Madison Square Garden, making me look like a genius to my superiors. 

The Liberty won that game, and 8-years later some things have changed while others have not. I'm now a college graduate and professional journalist...the NY Liberty were back in the playoffs...Fred Thomas and Paul Williams are well, and back on the scene...this time using the TRUE advertisement to raise the awareness and importance of voting in this election. 

The more things change, the more they stay the same...except in the White House.

Full Count

J-Roll - the 2007 NL MVP

Rollins patrols the infield

"Okay if knowledge is the key, then just show me the lock, got the scrawny legs, but I move just like Lou Brock...with speed, I'm agile, plus I'm worth your while, 100% intelligent, black child."

Q-Tip - Check The Rhime

Baseball is a numbers game, which is interesting because I'm not a fan of math. The game however, is built on statistics, from batting averages and RBI (runs batted in), to ERA (earned run average) and OBP (on base percentage).

The schematics of baseball are intriguing, but its the decrease of black players that concerns me more than home runs, or wins and losses. In my childhood approximately 20 years ago the number of black players in the big leagues hovered around 30%. Currently that number has plummeted to 10%, making the following interview with Philadelphia Phillies Shortstop paramount to GAME TIME with AG.

Aesthetically, Citizens Bank Park is an amazing place for a baseball game, and the club house is just as beautiful fit for a championship team. I had a few minutes with the reigning MVP as he sat at his locker Nike footwear and apparel for he and I. (Would an aluminum bat and a pair of Hyperdunks be too much to ask for...)

Below is our conversation of baseball, admiration, numbers, change, and Nike:

Nike is a very prestigious brand talk about your affiliation:

"I'll put it this way...first of all I used to always buy Nike growing up...you know with Michael Jordan and all. And then one day the powers that be...even before I got called up to the big leagues...I got called up in 2000...there was a Nike representative that contacted my agent because they [Nike baseball] came out with a new equipment, glove, sun glasses and all that stuff. I was asked to try it, and I was like 'hey its Nike...sure, I used to pay for it, and now I'm getting it for free? Sure I'll try it! So when I tried the glove, it was okay, I was able to make some adjustments to it, and I didn't even sign with them yet, but we were in talks, and they let me have influence on their products. I was one of the first guys to wear the sun glasses and then I was given a head to toe deal with all the equipment, all the gear up to a certain amount, and its been on ever since 2000...2001."

Talk about competing against Ken Griffey Jr.:

"I met Ken Griffey Jr. back in 1996 as I was going through the draft and I was just hanging out in the clubhouse...and he didn't have to come up to me at all, but he decided to come over and give me some words of wisdom that I still remember. It helped me get through the minor leagues, and he told me 'I've never seen you play, and I don't even know how good you are, but you are here for a reason, and along the way you are going to have coaches, trying to tell you this and trying to tell you that, and some of it is going to make sense...some of it isn't, but whatever you do, continue to do, because that's why you're here now. So from right there whenever I saw him I was like a kid, I used to wear his shoes and everything. That really made it personal to me and from that point for the next 4 years I was waiting to get to the big leagues just to ask him if he remembered that, and he cracks up, because he actually does. But if you look at him, he has transcended the game if you look at the way he plays center field by being The Kid, being that personality. He was something that baseball needed, and look what he did with Nike. He has his own shoe and now we are going to surprise everybody soon with the SWING TEAM."

What is the significance of your number?

"Well actually the number 11 was my basketball number and the number 6 was my number for baseball. When I first got here Doug Glanville was wearing 6, so I went with my second favorite number from basketball. It was a number in basketball that I had success in, I was a good defensive player, I had good seasons wearing it, I liked it, it felt good, it fit me, it looked good...I'm short and the 1's are vertical so they make me to appear a lot taller, so it looked good on my back. When I did switch over to 6, people said it made me look short and round, and why did I switch? It was just an opportunity to get my number back, but everybody had grown to know number 11. Then there is my nickname J-Roll, with the two LL's, the 11, and Rollins, every thing is symmetrical and made me look taller. Its a great number, Isiah Thomas wore it and he won championships, Barry Larkin wore it, Ozzie Smith wore number 1, so that number is a good number in sports period."

What does the Negro League mean to you?

"I remember when Soul of the Game came out, back in '95 or '96...I was still in high school, I probably watched that special on HBO maybe 20 or 30 times, I mean over and over, and over again, because you can never get tired of hearing the stories and trying to imagine what it was like for them playing ball. When I grew up, there was still racism but there was no segregation. I could eat the restaurants, I could make a reservation to sit in a particular area of the restaurant, and they had to go to the back door or walk through the kitchen, and sometimes they had to get the food delivered to them because they weren't allowed in the restaurant. I think about how they had to go about and play the game separate from Major League Baseball, even before that, the barnstorming leagues, and they went through a lot for us to step onto the field. Not only that, look at the way they changed society, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball...it gave blacks a sense of pride, that they could change things and that they can make a difference. If you look at that, you can see how it changed America. It gave black people opportunities to do things in this country and in the world...like run for President. We have Barack now, so the world has definitely changed. It started with a vision, and now we are starting to seeing the fruits of the labor."

Extra innings -

Remember those red Nike contact lenses...did you wear them?

"They were like real sun glasses expect they were contact lenses. I had the auburn color first, and I wore them on a Nike trip to Hawaii. Now I had never worn contacts before, and I was fine having someone else to put them in, but when you are trying to put them in yourself...I was having trouble [laughs]. Once they are on they are really cool, no irritation to the eye and it was like wearing glasses, without wearing glasses. That technology is off the chain, and that's why they [Nike] are one of the biggest companies in the world."