MLB Inner City Academy

LOS ANGELES, CA - With baseball all but dead in inner cities, Major League Baseball has decided to make an aggressive push to attract urban youths to the game. That's why they're building and sponsoring a new, state-of-the-art basketball facility in south central Los Angeles. The facility, dubbed '"The Official Major League Baseball Basketball Academy" is expected to attract thousands of inner city kids each year, luring them with basketball while familiarizing them with the Major League Baseball brand name.

"This is our way of telling inner city kids that baseball has a hip, urban sensibility," said Commissioner Bud Selig. "By sponsoring a basketball academy, we're showing that MLB cares about city kids and wishes to be a part of the urban landscape."

The academy, a sprawling, 25-acre facility housing a dozen basketball courts and three indoor gyms, will have the MLB logo emblazoned on every surface. Kids who attend the academy will be given official MLB T-shirts and hats, as well as free tickets to select Dodgers games.

"This is really a great idea," said Jimmie Lee Soloman, MLB's senior vice-president of baseball operations. "It's ingenious, if I do say so myself. We're using basketball as a vehicle to communicate baseball's commitment to urban areas. This will make baseball more popular among these kids without forcing them to actually play it."

Despite the optimism of the league, the response elsewhere has been lukewarm. Jesse Jackson, who has pleaded with Major League Baseball to reach out to young black kids, applauded the good intentions but questioned the effectiveness of using basketball to sell baseball.

"Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron - these are just a few of the thousands of blacks who have made an indelible imprint on the game of baseball," said Jackson, head of the Rainbow Coalition. "But where are the Frank Robinsons of tomorrow? They are on the city streets of LA, New York, Oakland, and Chicago. They are all over America. All they need is a place to play and receive instruction. But this is a basketball facility. I don't see how that's going to help them learn about baseball."

The building of the new facility has generated much excitement among the residents of south central L.A.
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Many are singing the praises of their new best friend, Major League Baseball.

But will the plan infuse the big leagues with more African-American talent? Some have their doubts.

"I fail to see how this is going to solve the problem of not enough blacks in baseball," said Hall of Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson, now a member of MLB's diversity committee. "We're supposed to be competing with basketball, not promoting it. If anything, this will probably make matters worse. This is why black people hate baseball. It's run by retarded people."

But Solomon vehemently defends the league's diversity record.

"Hey, we have plenty of minorities in our league. They may not be black, but they are minorities. You know, Dominicans, Mexicans, Cubans, Venezuelans. Venezuelans! Can basketball boast that? I don't think so. So we don't have a lot of African-Americans. They seem to be doing just fine with basketball and football and frankly, they have a lot more respect for Major League Baseball now that we're providing them with a safe, cheap, and fun place to play basketball. After all, we can't put a gun to their heads and make them like baseball. If we could, our problems would have been solved a long time ago."

"We're supposed to be competing with basketball, not promoting it. If anything, this will probably make matters worse. This is why black people hate baseball. It's run by retarded people."

Reggie's remark is priceless!!! It's not the real reason blacks aren't playing but it's spot on for Reggie to point out the stupidity. I also wonder if the disabled special interests are going to complain about the use of the word "retarded" by Jackson.

The idea of using basketball to encourage baseball is so stupid only Bud Selig could be behind it.

As long as there is one white man playing in any sport, it is a "problem" that needs to be dealt with. It makes me sick to read articles like this, it really does.

If they want a non white league so bad why don't they bring back the Negro Leagues and let us have our own. Hypocrites.

Selig, Solomon. Something funny about those names........

solomon actually made a good point about the leagues diversity at the end

Actually the article is a put-on from www.thebrushback.com, but can easily be mistaken for truth in these times.


An inner-city basebal academy is not a bad idea, there are blacks with the talent to play in the major leagues. But, it should be funded and run by Jesse jackson, Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters, etc. They are capable people and should not have to extort money from well-meaning whites to fund it. If they do, there's always Bono. He should show some concern for baseball.


Notice. The following is a put-on, but has enough of the the ring of truth to it to seem credible (and kinda fits in with the theme of the post):


BALTIMORE, MD--U2 lead singer Bono toured the devastated Baltimore Ravens locker room Sunday after the team's 21-9 loss the Bengals, speaking with players and coaches along the way. He saw first hand the decrepit condition of the offense, and the total lack of morale on defense. Afterward, he appealed for help on behalf of the pathetic group of losers.
"The world needs to open its eyes to the conditions on this Baltimore Ravens team," Bono told reporters, wearing his trademark wraparound sunglasses. "While other teams enjoy competent coaching staffs, skilled quarterbacks, and functional offensive lines, the Ravens are suffering needlessly with this dogsh*t of a roster. Somebody do something. The inaction of the global community is shameful."
Bono decided to pay a visit to the team after being alerted to the crisis by Ravens fans. What struck him most, he later said, was the shocking incompetence of the offense.
"I've seen a lot of hardship and turmoil in my life, but nothing that could prepare me for the unparalleled clusterf**k that is the Baltimore Ravens offense," he said. "From the quarterback to the running backs to the offensive line, there is a complete lack of cohesion. It's almost like a college team. The only good thing that's happened to them this year is me stopping by to visit. I see another Nobel prize in my future."
During his visit, Bono met with head coach Brian Billick to discuss the team's most immediate needs. Afterwards, Billick called the meeting "productive."
"It was a frank, honest, and productive meeting," Billick said. "Bono really does care about this team and this city. He's also very honest. Still, no matter how much concern he showed, no matter how much compassion he offered, I still could not bring myself to forgive him for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. If he wants to alleviate suffering in the word, he should stop making records like that."
The visit did very little to lift the team's spirits. Many of the players didn't even recognize him. The ones that did couldn't figure out what he was doing in their locker room.
"Um...what the hell was Bono doing in here?" asked receiver Derrick Mason. "I swear I saw him earlier walking around talking to reporters about how sh*tty we are. He was making his way around the whole room. Then we he got to me he patted me on the back and said 'Hang in there, Derrick. We're gonna get you some help, you hear me?' Yea, right. He's going to get us some help. That's what they all say. He'll just end up abandoning us like everybody else. "
Another player nearly lashed out at Bono after the singer made a disparaging remark about him.
"I was sitting at my locker getting dressed and Bono came over surrounded by a bunch of reporters," said running back Jamal Lewis, who has struggled this year since returning from a suspension. "He pointed at me and said 'This is one of the team's most pressing needs. The poor bastards have had to get by with this flimsy excuse for a running back.' Then he wiped his eyes and started choking back tears and said 'Nobody should have to live like this.' That was it. That was the last straw. I got up and walked away and hid in the men's room. Taught him a lesson."
Still, Bono's visit was a fruitful one since it did manage to call attention to the Ravens' plight. The singer said he would return next year to monitor the team's progress.


"I have seen the depths of human misery today, but I have also seen something else: hope," Bono told reporters outside the locker room. "The hope of a coaching staff, the hope of the fans, and the hope of the players who, against all reason and logic, continue to take the field every week. That is a stirring example of human endurance. With their resilience, these players make the Sudanese refugees look like total pussies. Of course, they also have it much, much worse than those people."


http://www.thebrushback.com/Archives/bono_full.htm