"Shut up and Dribble"

[dogtag]

Laura Ingraham's advice.
Go Home and Drool - my advice.
Both directed toward the dumb seven footers
who run back and forth for two hours taking turns
at throwing a ball into a net.
That's all they're good for so stay out of politics
about which they know only what they see on CNN.

http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know...with-nba-stars

[togor]

At least LeBron has a day job, something that is in demand, and for which he is highly skilled, and consequently earns a boatload of money. Laura is a TV talking head, which requires no skill at all except a bottomless capacity for mendacity.

Laura is unwed, a fact which might surprise no one who has experienced her media presence, and is raising 3 adopted children with no clear father influence.

LeBron by contrast has three children by the same mother, with whom he started a relationship back in high school. He is up front about wanting to be a good father to his kids, given that his own dad skipped out when he was young.

No doubt LeBron has a big personality, which rubs some the wrong way. I came to respect him when he pretty much single-handedly willed a USA squad to Olympic gold against the Spanish team with a fair number of NBA stars on it, including the Gasol brothers.

In my opinion Laura picked the wrong guy for a media fight. And her premise is wrong. Why should he shut up any more than she? What makes her pedestal in the public square more justified than his?

[clintonhater]

Laura is a TV talking head, which requires no skill at all except a bottomless capacity for mendacity.

Heretofore, you've said many things with which I disagreed (but aroused no anger), and quite a few with which I agreed wholeheartedly. But now, you've said something so outrageously false, so profoundly ignorant, & so idiotically idiotic, that only the fate of Red inhibits me from saying more. She's simply one of the most brilliant social & political commentators alive today--who can make mincemeat of any intellectual opponent. And what does her private life have to do with anything???

No doubt LeBron has a big personality...

Big? He's a 100%! Of what? Can't say it here, but I presume you're smart enough to guess.

[bruce]

Don't know James. Don't care one way or the other what he thinks. It's about like paying attention to the opinions of a football player, or a race car driver, or ... whatever. Don't know much about Ingram. Don't care one way or the other what she thinks. It's about like paying attention to the opinions of a talk show host, or a news caster, or a reporter. They just don't matter. Neither one can vote in the House or Senate. Most importantly, neither one is on the SCOTUS. Sincerely. bruce.

[togor]

Heretofore, you've said many things with which I disagreed (but aroused no anger), and quite a few with which I agreed wholeheartedly. But now, you've said something so outrageously false, so profoundly ignorant, & so idiotically idiotic, that only the fate of Red inhibits me from saying more. She's simply one of the most brilliant social & political commentators alive today--who can make mincemeat of any intellectual opponent. And what does her private life have to do with anything???

Hang on a sec, let me explain. First, I wouldn't presume to tell you who to like or not like on TV. Laura, Rachel, LeBron, Colin K., knock yourself out, one way or the other.

But there is to my mind a meaningful difference in how they make their money. Laura, Sean, Rachel, Keith (who Laura once dated I guess) make their money essentially as cheerleaders, playing to the fans. At some level it's just words for the target market for the day, and if the winds blow hard enough long enough from a certain direction, the words change. Tell me they don't have their fingers in the wind. That's their job!

Inside the lines, on the court, it's a different game. The ball doesn't care what your problems are, if you're having a good or bad day. The hoop doesn't care. Either you're good enough or you're not, and what the fans think of you one way or the other doesn't affect whether the ball goes in or not. And it gets done with someone in your face trying very hard to deny you. To me, that's an important difference. LeBron is a lunchpail, blue collar guy, who has logged a huge number of minutes in his career. Guys doing heavy labor in construction can make it into their 40's before the body gives out. Pro athletes are usually done by their mid-thirties.

Like I told my kid in years of playing baseball--the ball doesn't care. Either you find a way to bring out your best and get it done, or it gets done to you. I respect people take that proposition at face value and excel at it.

And one thing you and I can probably agree on. Her telling him to "shut up" was just a stunt for her base. She has no more right to the public square than he does, or you or I. The fact that she earns her living as a talking head has nothing to do with it.

As for private lives, you may have a point, but only if you're prepared to abstain from criticizing the private lives of people that you don't like. I was under the impression that you thought strong father figures were important, and so for that reason you'd be pleased to know that LeBron agrees with you.

[clintonhater]

The hoop doesn't care.

You rate skill at putting a ball through a hoop above thinking? You're obviously spouting off about her without ever, or seldom, having watched her razor-sharp mind in action.

Why does racism persist? SOBs like James are a prime reason. She said she'd have him on her show? I hope not--she'd degrade herself by being in the same room with such a POS.

[togor]

CH, here's the thing.

I work with highly educated people, lots of intellectuals. I've also coached and hunted and hung out with (and come from) blue collar guys. I've seen the limits of both. I've known smart people who would use that smarts to politely and conveniently excuse themselves from a fight if it came to it. And I've known hard working blockheads who won't acknowledge a good idea when they see one, but By God if they say they'll have your back in a fight, they will, end of story. By no means am I anti-intellectual, but I've seen that thinkery only gets you so far, and admit to a guilty pleasure of occasionally showing some pure eggheads what a blue-collar will to win (plus a maybe a little smarts) can accomplish. In their face!!

One thing to remember is that athletics more closely resembles the stuff our ancestors had to do to survive in a hostile environment than does sitting on a stool wearing makeup in front of a camera, or for that matter, sitting in front of a keyboard typing this post. They've studied people's brains while doing various physical activities, and to no real surprise it turns out that something as outwardly simple as running activates a huge amount of brain activity. I know I'd be stuck without it in my job, the extra problem-solving boost that comes with physical activity. So if Laura and LeBron sit down, it may not be as one-sided an exchange as some might think.

Again, like or dislike who you choose.