Associated Press 11/5/11
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Journey of Senegalese players offers uplifting basketball story
Marcus DiNitto Sporting News 10/21/11
As wealthy NBA players and even wealthier owners remain embroiled in a nearly four-month old lockout, here’s a story that will make you feel good about basketball again.
In Dakar, Senegal, sits SEEDS Academy, an institution for the best young basketball players in the country. The young men at SEEDS are put through a disciplined curriculum of academics and athletics, and the best and the brightest move on with full scholarships to United States prep schools. The academy was founded by Amadou Gallo Fall, a former scout with the Dallas Mavericks who now serves as vice president of development for NBA Africa.
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Elevate, a documentary from first-time filmmaker Anne Buford opening in New York on Friday, follows four of these West African teenagers on their journeys to the U.S. Buford is the sister of San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford, who is intimately involved in SEEDS (Sports for Education and Economic Development in Senegal).
While many of these young Senegalese have aspirations to play in the NBA, they remain grounded, realistic of their own athletic abilities and focused on academics.
“Amadou graduated from college magna cum laude, so education is very important to him,” Anne Buford told Sporting News. “And he tells all the boys, ‘I hurt my wrist my senior year in college, I couldn't finish playing.’ So he prepares them all to think that they’re not going to the NBA.”
“I hope to become a professional basketball player, like Dikembe Mutombo, like Kobe Bryant. But my main objective is to become a doctor,” Dethie Fall, a SEEDS alumni who went on to South Kent in Connecticut and then to Roanoke College in Virginia, says in the movie.
Andy Vadnais, the headmaster at South Kent, also had lofty expectations for Dethie. “At the end of the day, when you graduate from here, I will feel good if you go to the best school for you,” Vadnais tells Dethie. “I have expectations that I would like for you. I would like, for selfish reasons really, to see you go to Princeton. We’ve not been able to put someone in Princeton for many years. And I am hopeful that you will be the first of many students for us (to go there).”
Ultimately, Dethie’s SAT scores were short of Princeton standards, and his struggle to get into the college at the top of his list is just one example of how the experiences of these young Africans sometimes mirrors those of any student athlete in an American high school. Throughout the film, we see them dealing with injuries, girl problems, losing streaks, trying to impress college scouts, locker room infighting, learning how to drive a car and, of course, academics. We even see Dethie and his Senegalese teammate at South Kent, Assane Sene, lose their coach in the middle of the season—frustrated with his team, coach Rafael Chilious leaves the school for a job at Nike.
Living in the United States as a young African presents its unique challenges as well.
“It is very hard to come to another place that is different from home,” Dethie says. “You’re doing everything by yourself. You’re thinking by yourself. It’s all you. ... I’m not used to being an average student. I’m used to being the top student everywhere I’ve been. It’s hard.”
There’s also the language barrier. In one of the movie’s humorous moments, Aziz N’Diaye and some teammates bump into a group of girls on the campus of Lake Forest Academy near Chicago. One of the girls asks Aziz, “Are you having fun.” Aziz, looking somewhat confused, answers, “No.” He then asks one of his buddies, “Why did she ask if I had a phone?”
But the story told in Elevate is really one of opportunity. It's the story of how a person—not from a place of particular advantage—can, with the right guidance and discipline, move on to a brighter future. It’s also about how these people can show the way for others.
”There’s an unwritten rule about not forgetting where you came from,” Amadou says as the film concludes. “You’ve got to have an interest in sending back the lift so others can take it back.”
R.C. Buford stresses that Senegal is just one of many places where the NBA and its players, through the Basketball Without Borders program, strive to provide opportunity through the game.
“The NBA’s involvement isn’t just limited to SEEDS,” Buford told SN. “Many of its players have been doing this around the world in several different venues each year. The NBA and its players have visited Argentina and Brazil and China and India (to name a few). So there’s good work that oftentimes doesn’t get recognition.
“SEEDS has become the beneficiary of a lot of guys’ in the NBA—whether it be front office people, coaches and players—connectivity to programs like this. … Masai Ujiri, the Nuggets general manager, has taken a similar approach that Amadou has in Nigeria, where he’s from, and created a great deal of awareness for Nigerian kids."
Among the players who have come through these programs in Africa and gone on to play in the NBA are Solomon Alabi, who now plays for the Raptors; Mouhamed Sene, who was drafted in 2006 by the Seattle Supersonics and now plays in Spain; and DeSagana Diop, who had a 10-year career in the league.
The movie’s four main subjects don’t appear to be NBA prospects, but are all playing in college—Assane is at Virginia, Aziz is at Washington, Dethie is at Roanoke and Byago Diouf is at Carroll College in Idaho. And again, making it to the pros isn’t really the point.
After opening in New York and Burlington, Vt., on Friday, Elevate will hit theaters in Los Angeles, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Houston, Arlington, Va., Seattle and Phoenix over the next several weeks. If you have a heart, you’ll be moved by it. This viewer was either smiling, laughing or crying through the entire 90 minutes.
While many of these young Senegalese have aspirations to play in the NBA, they remain grounded, realistic of their own athletic abilities and focused on academics.
“Amadou graduated from college magna cum laude, so education is very important to him,” Anne Buford told Sporting News. “And he tells all the boys, ‘I hurt my wrist my senior year in college, I couldn't finish playing.’ So he prepares them all to think that they’re not going to the NBA.”
“I hope to become a professional basketball player, like Dikembe Mutombo, like Kobe Bryant. But my main objective is to become a doctor,” Dethie Fall, a SEEDS alumni who went on to South Kent in Connecticut and then to Roanoke College in Virginia, says in the movie.
Andy Vadnais, the headmaster at South Kent, also had lofty expectations for Dethie. “At the end of the day, when you graduate from here, I will feel good if you go to the best school for you,” Vadnais tells Dethie. “I have expectations that I would like for you. I would like, for selfish reasons really, to see you go to Princeton. We’ve not been able to put someone in Princeton for many years. And I am hopeful that you will be the first of many students for us (to go there).”
Ultimately, Dethie’s SAT scores were short of Princeton standards, and his struggle to get into the college at the top of his list is just one example of how the experiences of these young Africans sometimes mirrors those of any student athlete in an American high school. Throughout the film, we see them dealing with injuries, girl problems, losing streaks, trying to impress college scouts, locker room infighting, learning how to drive a car and, of course, academics. We even see Dethie and his Senegalese teammate at South Kent, Assane Sene, lose their coach in the middle of the season—frustrated with his team, coach Rafael Chilious leaves the school for a job at Nike.
Living in the United States as a young African presents its unique challenges as well.
“It is very hard to come to another place that is different from home,” Dethie says. “You’re doing everything by yourself. You’re thinking by yourself. It’s all you. ... I’m not used to being an average student. I’m used to being the top student everywhere I’ve been. It’s hard.”
There’s also the language barrier. In one of the movie’s humorous moments, Aziz N’Diaye and some teammates bump into a group of girls on the campus of Lake Forest Academy near Chicago. One of the girls asks Aziz, “Are you having fun.” Aziz, looking somewhat confused, answers, “No.” He then asks one of his buddies, “Why did she ask if I had a phone?”
But the story told in Elevate is really one of opportunity. It's the story of how a person—not from a place of particular advantage—can, with the right guidance and discipline, move on to a brighter future. It’s also about how these people can show the way for others.
”There’s an unwritten rule about not forgetting where you came from,” Amadou says as the film concludes. “You’ve got to have an interest in sending back the lift so others can take it back.”
R.C. Buford stresses that Senegal is just one of many places where the NBA and its players, through the Basketball Without Borders program, strive to provide opportunity through the game.
“The NBA’s involvement isn’t just limited to SEEDS,” Buford told SN. “Many of its players have been doing this around the world in several different venues each year. The NBA and its players have visited Argentina and Brazil and China and India (to name a few). So there’s good work that oftentimes doesn’t get recognition.
“SEEDS has become the beneficiary of a lot of guys’ in the NBA—whether it be front office people, coaches and players—connectivity to programs like this. … Masai Ujiri, the Nuggets general manager, has taken a similar approach that Amadou has in Nigeria, where he’s from, and created a great deal of awareness for Nigerian kids."
Among the players who have come through these programs in Africa and gone on to play in the NBA are Solomon Alabi, who now plays for the Raptors; Mouhamed Sene, who was drafted in 2006 by the Seattle Supersonics and now plays in Spain; and DeSagana Diop, who had a 10-year career in the league.
The movie’s four main subjects don’t appear to be NBA prospects, but are all playing in college—Assane is at Virginia, Aziz is at Washington, Dethie is at Roanoke and Byago Diouf is at Carroll College in Idaho. And again, making it to the pros isn’t really the point.
After opening in New York and Burlington, Vt., on Friday, Elevate will hit theaters in Los Angeles, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Houston, Arlington, Va., Seattle and Phoenix over the next several weeks. If you have a heart, you’ll be moved by it. This viewer was either smiling, laughing or crying through the entire 90 minutes.
10/11/11
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10/09/11
Love Should Never Leave You Black & Blue
October is Domestic Violence awareness month, I must admit it this was news to me, however with the recent case of Barbara Sheehan who was acquitted of 2nd degree murder for fatally shooting her abusive husband a former NYC policman, I stopped to think about the dynamics involved with domestic abuse. First and foremost is how do you get to the point where you begin to breakdown the person you profess to love. Abuse mental as well as physical will wear even the strongest among us over time so why is it that some choose treat their wives as if they were nothing more than an object they can use for stress relief. Some woman have lived under conditions that are so bad that they would rather die than to continue to suffer, others like Ms. Sheehan decide that they have had enough and they strike back. In her case the solution was permanent and now she is left with the burden of knowing she killed a man even if society agrees he got what he deserved. Black eyes,broken bones and lie after lie about how they happened are not part of till death do us part, the cowards who feel the need to control his or her spouse in this way is not worthy of their love and support in the first place. Ms. Sheehan by all accounts is a good person who was suffering abuse at the hands of a husband who loved her 17 years, it seems to me that she realized that one day her husband was going to love her to death good thing for her she beat him to the punch.
10/07/11
A Man Always Stands Tall
Yesterday Marked the passing of a giant in the field of technology, and while his death at a realatively early age (only 56) may be a devastating blow to the future of apple inc, history is yet to tell the complete storyof his impact on world we live in. Yesterday we also lost a man who I think had a far greater impact on society by in large and the deep south in particular. Rev Fred Shuttlesworth also passed away at the age of 89. Many people do not know the importance of this fiery individual who help found the civil rights movement. Shuttlesworth who along with Dr. King help found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) grew up in segregated Birmingham Alabama. He fought many battles against the racist policies in the south at that time and was jailed on numerous occassions for his activities. His chief rival was none other than the the public safety commissioner of Birmingham Eugene (Bull) Connor. In may of 1956 he challenged the practice of segregated busing. In December of that same year (Christmas night in fact) his home was bombed uneffected by this the following day he led more than 200 people onto buses in Birmingham. In 1957 he and his wife were injured while trying along with their two daughters to integrate an all white public school. It is said the Doctor who treated Shuttlesworth marveled at the fact that he had not suffered a concussion, Shuttlesworth replied the Lord knew I lived in a hard place so he gave me a hard head. Perhaps the most well know event that took place in Birmingham during this time was the bombing of a church which killed four little girls. Director Spike Lee did an award winning documentary on it a few years ago. Rev Shuttlesworth continued to work diligently to rid the south of it's segregated ways, organizing sit ins and demonstrations throught the city all the while he kept encouraging Dr. king to become more aggressive in the movement. Pressure from marches like the one on selma and others prompted the 1964 drafting of the civil rights legislation by President Kennedy who said had it not been for Shuttlesworth and king's actions in birmingham we would not be here today. Dr. King was certainly the face of the civil rights movement but a large part of the ground work was done by Rev Shuttlesworth, in fact King once called him the most courageous civil rights leader in the south. Mr Shuttlesworth spent well over 60 years in the struggle for the rights of others with little regard for what may have happened to him as a result. He may not have invented a computer or an iphone, but your freedom to walk into an establishment and purchase one....well now thats a different story.
Fred Shuttlesworth
03/18/22 - 10/05/11
Fred Shuttlesworth
03/18/22 - 10/05/11
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10/03/11
Red Sox PlayMoney Ball
We have had the live ball era the steriod era and now it seems we are in the money ball era of Major League Baseball. All across the league young executives like Theo Epstein and Billy Bean who is the subject of the current movie entitled Money Ball are being enlisted by ball clubs for their aggressive business sense. This has resulted in many teams using the free agent market as if they were managing a fantasy league team. These GM's have been putting teams together (some have had success) without any regards to the chemistry or lack thereof. The latest victim of this era is Terry Francona formerly of the Boston Red Sox. Tito as he is called by many is a solid baseball man and more importantly a he is a solid human being. The Sox September collapse aside he did an excellent job over 8 seasons in Beantown he guided the Sox to their first world series title since 1918 and 2 overall in his tenure. Now he is a sorry footnote in the way this business is being run where many Owners and GM's are only concerned with filling skyboxes and corporate stadium naming rights and such. This almost seems shocking, but the list of managers who have been let go by these egotist are starting to mount up, Remember the Mets bungling of the Willie Randolph firing and then there was Hank, Hal and Cashmen who ushered Mr Torre out of the Bronx (something I don't think the real Boss would have approved of) the Ozzie mess in Chicago and of course now Terry in Boston. The prevailing thought is that Francona had lost the clubhouse, meaning his players did not respect him any longer the one notable player to speak up for him is not a surprise to me it was Dustin Pedroia a hard nosed throwback type player who said he and the manager maintained a good rapport throughout. But other players most of whom were starting pitchers are said to have been less enamoured with the manager. He reportedly was very fustrated with the staff for among other things drinking beer in the clubhouse between starts. I am sure someone who cares about the game of baseball as much as Francona did not enjoy being around a frat house type locker room, in fact things must have gotten to the point where he said to himself why should I continue to put up with this nonsense. The good thing for him is he does not have to, the bad thing for the Red Sox nation is they will have to pay for Money Ball.
10/02/11
Cheney Says Obama Owes Bush Administration An Apology
Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he thinks President Obama should apologize to the Bush administration for comments he made two years ago about the countries response to to the events of 9/11, while under then president Bush. Cheney made this statement after first praising the President for the operation that involved the use of drone aircraft strikes that killed Anwar al Awlawi an American born muslim cleric and Samir Khan also an American of pakistani origin. Both of these men are suspected of terrorist activities along with publisihing an online magazine called inspire which is said to encourage muslims to commit to jihad. Mr Cheney stated he thought the strikes were justified but that he is waiting for Obama to correct statements made about the bush administration. Cheneys' daughter Liz was even more critical saying she thinks the President has done tremendous damage " I think he slandered the nation and I think he owes an apology to the American people". Republican critics claim it is hypocritical for Obama to approve the killing of Americans without due process, while critizing Bush officials for signing off on the use of so called "enhanced interrogation techniques" such as water boarding. These techniques have been banned by President Obama.
New Book Labels Sweetness As Bitter
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Hall of famer Walter Payton Who died in 1999 of bile duct cancer is the subject of a new book by Jeff Pearlman, one in which he paints a very vivid picture of the former NFL star as a adulturer and a drug user. In the book he quotes many close to Walter saying that they witneess and or participated in using nitrous oxide (laughing gas) with him. He is reported to have an addiction to several painkilling drugs such as Vicodin and others, and was once so careless in his pursuit of perscription drugs that a pharmacy called the police to inform them of his behavior. The results of which found the cops at his home to question him. There is also talk of him cheating on his wife and thought of suicide.
Most people including myself would say why, Why this book, Why now and what is to be gained by destroying the reputation of someone so many people have looked up to for years. Walters football career is without question as prolific as anyone before or since his playing days. We marveled at his abilities and praised his gentlemenly persona. I can not recall anyone in and around the game of football ever saying anything negative about Walter as a player or a person in fact many like his fomer coach Mike Ditka and ex teamate Ron Rivera are outraged by this book calling Pearlman untruthful and guttless. I realize that there is probably a lot of truth among the embelishments in this book but the question remains WHY?
Most people including myself would say why, Why this book, Why now and what is to be gained by destroying the reputation of someone so many people have looked up to for years. Walters football career is without question as prolific as anyone before or since his playing days. We marveled at his abilities and praised his gentlemenly persona. I can not recall anyone in and around the game of football ever saying anything negative about Walter as a player or a person in fact many like his fomer coach Mike Ditka and ex teamate Ron Rivera are outraged by this book calling Pearlman untruthful and guttless. I realize that there is probably a lot of truth among the embelishments in this book but the question remains WHY?