Bethlehem Says

July 8th, 2011

Feloni, Nicki Minaj lyrics/rumors, bounce, prison.

Those are all things you won’t find in my July XXL feature on homophobia in hip-hop. If you want, blame space limitations, ignorance on my part, or things I simply didn’t feel comfortable getting into as a straight white male who barely counts as a rap fan anymore. However, the piece is also pretty specific: On the most basic level, have attitudes changed, and who will admit to it? We probably could have gotten some more queer voices in here, but a large part of this was seeing what straight people would say on the record. We all know homophobia is a problem; how is it seen by those on the other side? (PS: Dave Bry is an awesome editor.)

July 2nd, 2011

I only have two facial expressions … Smiling Kobe and Intense Kobe.

Kobe Bryant, from Mike Sager’s 2007 Esquire feature on him. Kobe also opines that not training dogs should be a crime, like child abuse. I rediscovered this in Best American Sports Writing 2008. Will such a volume even be able to exist for 2011? Or will it be replaced by a monopoly venture?

June 23rd, 2011

http://theclassicalnbadraft.blogspot.com/

Sort of like a live-blog, with a bunch of friendly names on board. Check it out!

June 14th, 2011

I have long admired your publication” becomes “I love the stuff you guys are doing”; I use capitalization, and labor over word choice, in a chat about people who are dicks. I find myself replacing the stately italics with all-caps in a for-pay piece of writing. Exclamation points and emoticons crop up where there’s no guarantee the audience will get the irony behind them. We’ve all had the experience of typing in the wrong window; instead of mechanical errors, though, these are instances of bringing the wrong person to the window.

“Personality Seepage”, a very modern problem that I diagnose on The Awl today.

May 31st, 2011

I write everywhere: GQ.com NBA Finals preview/Good Men Project piece on those talkin’ basketballs/GQ slideshow on sports streaks.

May 20th, 2011

Busy day for me on the web of fright. First, it’s your boy and David Roth, with our weirdest GQ NBA Playoff Kibitz yet. Where else do you get this kind of material … for free?

David Roth: Which Mavericks player looks oldest to you? Shawn Marion always played kind of funky and hunched, but he is strictly septuagenarian to me at this point.

Bethlehem Shoals: Is this like “what member of En Vogue are you?” Here is something that I bet got said on Twitter: “Father Time wears a Mavs jersey”. Actually, who is older, Father Time or the Grim Reaper? Or, in Marvel terms, Eternity or Death? As for your question, I will answer J.J. Barea, because Middle Earth was a long time ago. Jason Terry looks kind of like my great-grandmother the last time I saw her.

Yes, there was a question that sparked that. Also, my new column at SportsFeat continues to be new, and renew itself. This week’s picks involve Chico Corrales, a possum, and Mark Jacobson. The theme is home and fans and expectations and other things we will never forget. I really enjoyed writing it. READ IT.

May 9th, 2011

…while there is only one Durant—a frighteningly multi-dimensional player who can wreak havoc at just about any spot on the floor and from whom we have yet to see at his very best!—there are always a few guys like Westbrook kicking around. And those flashy point guards get traded when it’s time to actually win—just ask Jason Williams.

Tom Scharpling Demands That You Exalt Kevin Durant (via nbaoffseason)

He said it, not me. And I love Westbrook.

Reblogged from NBA Off-Season

May 6th, 2011

Zoom

Busy day, and I haven’t even had the web working till now. First, check out the latest NBA Playoff Kibitz at GQ.com, starring David Roth and myself. Then, after you’ve indulged our Young Dro on a horse analogies, float on over to AlterNet, for my piece on the Bill Russell statue, Osama Night athlete tweets, and how much we still have to learn from each other. Also, FREE PAUL FLANNERY.

May 2nd, 2011

Zoom

Second round previews for GQ. It all fits together, really, and I’m more than a little scared.

April 29th, 2011

[Jrue] Holiday also taps right into the part of the brain designed to geek out over point guards—he’s got that level of control that allows him to take what otherwise might count as risks. That’s one thing in a scorer, but when a player does that with the entire team at his disposal, it’s one of those rare times when responsibility is bad-assed.

Me, on Jrue Holiday, from the second weekly Playoff Kibitz on GQ.com. Oh, and before that door slams shut for a while … #jruedown!

Bethlehem Says

Feloni, Nicki Minaj lyrics/rumors, bounce, prison.

http://theclassicalnbadraft.blogspot.com/

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