MITCH BLATT

After scoring 89 points in his first 3 games, the New York Knicks Jeremy Lin has created “Linsanity” online not only in America, but also in China. Since the NBA’s Chinese micro-blog account posted a status update yesterday highlighting Lin’s record-setting start, it has been forwarded over 16,000 times. Although Lin is not a Chinese-nation, Chinese citizens take much pride in his Chinese ethnicity, a fact that David Stern is certainly smiling about now that Yao Ming retired. Lin’s Weibo (China’s Twitter) account has 800,000 followers.

Although Asian countries have produced NBA stars before–most notably Yao and Yi Jianli–they have been more noted for their height than their athleticism. Lin breaks that stereotype, as quite a few netizens in both America and China have pointed out.

Yao Ming could put up 19 points per game and 9 rebounds throughout his career, but Americans don’t idolize the 7′ 5″ center. When Yao had the ball in the open court, he wasn’t exactly know for his speed or athleticism.

Keith Chow, a writer and San Francisco Chronicle contributor said in a discussion on sports and race,

It infuriates me whenever I hear criticism of Yao as being “robotic”. I get what analysts are trying to say, but to me, it’s code for “Asians aren’t athletic”.

– Transcript from Original Spin blog

Chow elaborated that, “The assumption of that on the part of coaches or recruiters that Asians are by nature incapable of improvising holds us back.”

Lin received no scholarship offers for college, then made the All-Ivy League Team twice (for whatever that’s worth) and went undrafted. Not being a basketball scout myself, I don’t know whether Lin looked good enough to justify receiving scholarship offers or being drafted highly, but clearly, if he keeps this up, the scouts missed something. Other journalists have certainly pointed to race as a potential factor that kept him overlooked.

This 2009 Time article points to recruiter bias as a potential factor. It also notes Lin typically faced racial slurs in college like “sweet and sour pork,” “Open your eyes!”, and at least one player calling him a “ch*nk.”

The viewpoint about Asians and their perceived athleticism isn’t lost on Chinese netizens themselves. It’s a big part of the conversation, i.e. this discussion at the popular forum Tianya.

Why didn’t he get a chance to play before?
——
There are some unwritten rules. NBA teams first consider whether you can compete aggressively. If you can compete, then you have a chance on offense or defense. The yellow race’s physical character is straight-up viewed as inferior in many people’s minds, so because Lin is Asian, although he was a star in college, they do not believe he can play at the highest level.

– Tianya discussion

Now Chinese netizens are taking pride in his athleticism breaking stereotypes:

Shows that one’s physical quality and one’s race has no relation… Hoping to see the NBA’s first yellow [Asian] superstar.

Not bad, proves that yellow people are also capable [in basketball].

– ChinaSmack

A few commentors said it was a pity he wasn’t a Chinese citizen, and one said, “It couldn’t be the NBA intentionally creating a star, could it…? To attract/capture the Chinese market?”

Jeremy Lin’s emergence runs deeper than just sports, though. That Lin has been heckled with racial stereotypes like “Orchestra is on the other side of campus,” speaks to the discrimination Asians and Asian-Americans face being perceived as nerdy and weak. According to a recent study, students of Asian descent are by far the most likely to be bullied in the classroom (54% for Asian-Americans to 38% for African Americans).

Due to Asian parenting styles, Asian-Americans are typically high-achievers in school and respectful of rules and authority, an attitude stemming from Confucianism.

As Moye at 8Asians notes,

More importantly, our parenting styles are different and occasionally, hold our children back. I speak for myself when I say that Japanese parents are stricter than most non-Asian families. If I ever told my parents about being treated badly in school, they would tell me to grin and bear it.

– 8Asians

Ying Ma wrote the book Chinese Girl in the Ghetto in 2011, in which she recalled growing up in Oakland and having to deal with racism and violent crime targeted against her based on a perception that Asians won’t fight back:

When non-criminal, racist behavior takes place in the ghetto frequently, without anyone batting an eye, one must ask: at what point does this non-criminal racism motivate a racist crime? In my book, I talk about getting into a fight with a Mexican girl in junior high school. I’m sure she wasn’t planning to get into a fight with a nerdy Asian girl like me; she was just being a racist and expected me to put up with it like every other Asian girl at our school. When I did not, violence ensued. So the question is: if you’re a teenager and you grow up in an environment where it’s okay to discriminate against Asian people, are you really going to think twice about punching a “Chinaman” for no reason? Probably not.

– Ying Ma Interview
(Related: A video of a 7-on-1 hate crime spread virally on YouTube in January.)

It would seem these kind of attitudes spread to the basketball court and mark Asians and Asian-Americans as “uncompetetive.” Hopefully “Brother Lin” can make these attitudes change, but, as Fung Brothers Comedy illustrates, a reversal in the opposite direction can also have negative consequences:

Watch Duke game-winning three point shot at Juiced Sports:

DAVID MEHRWEIN

David Mehrwein is a Yahoo! Sports contributor and the co-founder of WrapUpp, a West Coast sports blog. He is a guest blogger for Juiced Sports.

With the Super Bowl officially marking the end of the NFL season, the next event to look forward to is the NFL Draft in April. While many players have been touted as high draft picks, there are some players who won’t live up to their potential. We see it in nearly every draft. There are those who are ready to come into the NFL and produce and those who aren’t. So let’s take a look at the top college prospects who are NFL ready:

5. Michael Egnew, TE, Missouri
Michael Egnew is a sleeper. He is not projected to go until the late third or early fourth round despite being tagged as one of the best tight ends in the entire draft. His 6’6’’ 235 lb. frame means a big target for NFL quarterbacks. He has good hands as he reeled in 90 passes for over 750 yards in 2010; even though his numbers dipped in 2011 with only 50 catches for 523 yards. He is part of a new breed of tight end that has emerged; the oversized wide receiver. His blocking may be his weakness at present, but his size and speed will have most safeties and linebackers feeling frustrated while trying to cover him.

4. Jonathan Martin, OL, Stanford
Jonathan Martin spent most of the 2011 season taking care of projected No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck. Martin is projected as an early to mid-first round pick; with many analysts have him going in the top 10 of the draft. He has good footwork and blocks well on both passing and running plays. Those types of offensive lineman are often regarded as high value lineman and the 6’6’’ 305 lb. lineman has the ability to be a rookie sensation – while excelling in his NFL career.

3. Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
Quinton Coples had a nice year for the North Carolina Tar Heels and impressed many at the 2012 Senior Bowl. While his frame is intimidating at 6’6’’ 272 lbs. it is his speed that will terrify opposing linemen. His footwork and ability to create leverage makes him attractive to teams that employ a 3-4 defense. His role would be similar to that of Aldon Smith of the San Francisco 49ers. However, his size will also make him a formidable run defender. He is projected as a top 10 pick in the draft and will make an immediate impact.

2. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Andrew Luck has been slated as the “next Peyton Manning” ever since the Colts have earned the dubious honor of having the first pick in the NFL Draft. While the Colts have not directly said they will choose him No. 1, it looks as if to most he is the concensus No. 1 overall pick. He broke records at Stanford set by the great John Elway and has the advantage of having played in a pro-style offense at Stanford. His 6’4’’ 235 lb. frame gives him NFL size and his arm has the strength to compete in the NFL. Depending upon Peyton Manning’s health, Luck should make a big splash at the pro level with his skillset.

1. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
Justin Blackmon has to be one of the most impressive wide receivers since 2007 when Calvin Johnson came out of Georgia Tech. While size-wise he does not compare to Johnson – who is four inches taller – his ability to reel in catches has to be on par. Blackmon is a physical receiver who has the speed and strength to make it as a big time NFL receiver. Whatever team drafts the 6’1’’ 215 lb. receiver is going to get a player who will instantly be a nice target for his quarterback.

MITCH BLATT

The Super Bowl Village was fully packed to skin-on-skin capacity Friday night as LMFAO took the stage at a street that was probably too narrow for the band’s popularity. Parents were frantically trying to get their children out of the crowd before the concert started. Pushing began as the concert started, and there was nowhere to go. Many people ended up finding their way to the alleyway to get out of the madness. Elsewhere, ardent evangelicals thought the drinking and debauchery emphasized the importance of spreading their message at the Super Bowl. Some pictures from Friday night:

(They were taken with an iPhone, so the quality is lacking.)

People everywhere at LMFAO concert:

For an overhead shot of the concert crowd, check out WTHR.

The game is actually streaming for free at PPTV, courtesy of NFL China. The other means I tried didn’t work. Here’s a link to the broadcast: PPTV NFL Championship Games.

Schedule:
3 pm Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
6:30 pm New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers

NFL WRAP-UP

Matt Stafford threw for 520 yards–fifth most in history–5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 36-of-59 passing. Matt Flynn, filling in for Rodgers who sat out the final game, threw for 480 yards, 6 TDs and 1 INT on 31-of-44. The 1,000 total passing yards between both teams was the most ever, as was the 1,154 total yards. The Packers ended up winning 45-41.

Stafford is starting to put together a good track record of leading the NFL in weekly passing yards, though a Juiced Sports analysis shows that quarterbacks who throw for 400 yards in a game usually lose. Or maybe Stafford’s just unlucky. He apparently also loses when he throws for 500 yards and the other guy throws for 400. Carson Palmer also broke 400 yards, passing for 417 this week, and he lost, too.

Following Stafford’s 520-yard game, he finishes the season third in passing yards with 5,038. Drew Brees won the passing crown with 5,476 and Tom Brady finished second.

Matt Flynn set records for Packers passing yards in a game and TDs in a game. The record for passing touchdowns in a game is 7, last done in 1969 by Joe Kapp.

Read more about Flynns record-setting game.

NFL WRAP-UP

The Denver Broncos made the playoffs for the first time since 2005, becoming the AFC West champions today after the Raiders lost to the Chargers 26-38. The Broncos lost to the Chiefs 3-7 on the same day, leaving the Broncos and Raiders tied for the AFC West championship, but the Broncos won the division based on record vs. common opponents.

The Cincinnati Bengals held onto the second wild card spot despite losing to the Ravens 16-24. With that turn of events, Carson Palmer ended up missing the playoffs while the team he wanted to be traded from because he thought they sucked made the playoffs.

See the article Broncos lose to the Chiefs, make the playoffs anyway here (ESPN).

The Cincinnati Bengals held onto the second wild card spot despite ]]> http://juicedsportsblog.com/2012/01/tebow-timeplayoff-time-tim-tebow-and-the-broncos-make-the-playoffs.html/feed 0 http://juicedsportsblog.com/2011/12/some-people-are-descending-into-mad-anti-christian-hate-and-paranoia-over-tim-tebow.html http://juicedsportsblog.com/2011/12/some-people-are-descending-into-mad-anti-christian-hate-and-paranoia-over-tim-tebow.html#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:41:54 +0000 mhblatt http://juicedsportsblog.com/?p=5427 MITCH BLATT

The Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi expresses that position rather succinctly: “Tim Tebow’s hyper-Christian aw-shucks persona is not easy to like.”

But Taibbi isn’t descending into mad anti-Christian hate and paranoia. I reserve that position for Josh Hammerman, who writes for The Jewish Week. It’s a small publication, but nonetheless, Hammerman’s opinion expresses a view of Christians as terrorists and Tebow’s success as a potential cause of terrorism:

“If Tebow wins the Super Bowl, against all odds, it will buoy his faithful, and emboldened faithful can do insane things, like burning mosques, bashing gays and indiscriminately banishing immigrants.”

- The Jewish Week

“Burning mosques”? Is the American Christian population in general so opposed to other forms of religion that they would engage in acts of terrorism just because a particular quarterback is doing well? Making such generalizations about whole groups of people is dangerous and is the kind of thing that can lead to violence and hate.

The rest of the article rattles off a list of reasons why Hammerman doesn’t like political Christianity and social conservatism:

“A poster boy of the Christian right, Tebow steadfastly thanks Jesus after every game and, while in college, often inscribed biblical messages on his eye paint. … Trumpeting that decision, mother and son appeared in commercials for “Focus on the Family” during this past season’s Super Bowl.”
…
“The culture wars are alive and well, and, if the current climate in Washington is any indicator, the motors are being revved up for what will undoubtedly be the most cantankerous Presidential campaign ever.”
…
“While America has become more inclusive since Jerry Falwell’s first political forays, a Tebow triumph could set those efforts back considerably…”

I get it: Christians often express political viewpoints that the author disagrees with, and the author feels threatened by a Christian showing his faith on the field because he thinks it will translate to the political climate.

But contrast Tebow’s expression of faith to what we see all too much of in sports: Players getting arrested multiple times, rampant cheating in baseball, greed so deep that one-time stars like Latrell Sprewell burning through millions and going broke but so stuck up that they won’t even accept a $1 million contract to help pay for their possessions, not to mention athletes producing multiple children out of wedlock. Give me Tim Tebow and his chastity pledge any day over Calvin Murphy having 14 kids with 9 women.

If people become inspired by Tim Tebow to follow Christianity devoutly, that would be a much better outcome than if people were to hold some of the other non-role model athletes on a pedestal as their role models. Rather than terrorism and hate, we might see more love, honesty, compassion and charity. Oh, yeah–did anyone mention all the charity work Tim Tebow has done? Why is it the fear-mongering over incidents that haven’t happened rather than celebration of the hospitals he is helping to build in the Philippines?

When the game is on, I’m usually more focused on Tebow’s dramatic comeback victories rather than his religious or one-time political advocacy, anyway.

But for those people like the columnist who can’t let go of Tebow’s Christianity because of the real and perceived intolerance shown by some (“not representative”) population of devout Christians, I have just one thing to advocate to you: tolerance. Tebow wears his faith under his eyes and makes his on-field prayer displays every so often, but that’s just something you have to live with in a diverse country of many faiths like America.

Photo: Reuters

Week 14 Fantasy Football Leaders

Tony Romo, QB, Dallas – 321 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs
Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta – 320 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs
Brandon Jacobs, RB, N.Y. Giants – 101 yards, 2 TDs
Rob Gronkowski, WR, New England – 160 yards, 2 TDs, 6 rec.
Marques Coltson, WR, New Orleans – 105 yards, 2 TDs, 7 rec.
Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta – 104 yards, 2 TDs, 3 rec.

The leaders for kicking were:
Mason Crosby, Green Bay – 4/4 FG, 4/5 XP
David Akers, San Francisco – 4/5 FG, 1/1 XP
Mike Nugent, Cincinnati – 4/4 FG, 1/1 XP
Jason Hanson, Detroit – 2/2 FG, 4/4 XP

Some notable defenses were:
Detroit (vs. Minnesota) – allowed 425 yards, 28 pts., 4 sacks, 3 INT, 3 fumble rec., 2 defensive TDs
Philadelphia (vs. Miami) – 204 yds., 10 pts., 9 sacks, 1 INT, 2 fumble rec.
Denver (vs. Chicago) – 245 yds., 10 pts., 5 sacks, 1 fumble rec.
Baltimore (vs. Indy) – 167 yds., 10 pts., 4 sacks, 1 INT
Minnesota (vs. Detroit) – 280 yds., 34 pts., 5 sacks