Celebrate being Last?!

The famous individual to the left is Elijah "Pumpsie" Green. He's the first black man to ever play for the Boston Red Sox. As I was reading ESPN's front page looking for news, I happened upon Howard Bryant's article about this man who's name I didn't know and why he is wearing a Red Sox jersey. The reason he isn't well-known is because as Bryant says he's the last black man to integrate a professional baseball organization. Boston was honoring his 50th anniversary as the first black man to ever adorn the Red Sox uniform.
Are you kidding me? The stories of Boston's prejudice are well documented but to honor an anniversary such as this is a waste of time in my opinion.

As a southern female, I expect situations such as this to happen down here because we are still stuck in a time-warp, bubble, or any other form of medium that keeps us stuck in the pre-Civil Rights era. For a city as cultured and pioneering in the form of integration and progress, this sickens me. How could you even think this is worthy of celebration? Being the last team in Major League Baseball to integrate. Especially 12 years after Jackie Robinson made his impact.

Most of what I've said is pretty much covered in Howard Bryant's article but I do want to say no matter how embarrassing as it should be to Red Sox nation, it's still a great achievement for him regardless of how late it was. He's still saying they took a chance and they chose me to do it.

I salute you "Pumpsie" but I feel as a pioneer you should have more respect than that because it did not make mainstream news nor did I know of your accomplishment.

Tennis grunts distracting?

Former No. 1 women's tennis pro Chris Everet was recently interviewed by Reuters saying that the grunts by the tennis players today are becoming a bit much. According to Reuters, Everet said, "It comes before they hit the shot. That's the first thing you hear and you are kind of like thrown off guard as a player and then before you know the ball gets past you."
Is it just me or has Everet admitted to letting the other players throw her off her own game? Tennis, for the most part, is an individual sport. Everything starts and ends with you. The coaches can't even coach you while you're playing. It's up to you to take what they have taught and put it into practice.
As a former athlete of mostly team sports, when there is a loss, there is enough blame to go around. Somebody didn't rebound, somebody else had an off shooting night and somebody else wasn't covering their man. My point is, in team sports, there's always some one else to blame. In individual sports, there's just you and the opponent.
I said that to say, if the opponent gets you off your game, it's your fault. It's your job to practice game like situations. What's to stop you from having someone grunt at you while you practice? If you ask me, Everett is like the chick who stands up for her solo on Sunday mornings sayings she has a cold and asking the church to pray with her as she does the song. What they're really saying is "if I eff this up, it ain't my fault!"
When I was throwing shot and discus, if I didn't place well, it was MY fault. Not the big chick who could throw the damn things a mile. It was all mine. Maybe I didn't train hard enough or maybe I just sucked, but it was no one's fault but mine. So, Everett, accept it, you suck under pressure. Move on, start to commentate. Get a real job, just make sure you're not under pressure.
You'll suck at it!

Michael Jackson the athlete?

Michael Jackson is known for so many things, and although not an athlete in the traditional sense, the energy and dedication it takes to put on the performances he did, takes being an athlete to the next level. Sista Sports wanted to take a moment to share this classic footage of Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan playing a little 1 on 1.

REST IN PEACE MICHAEL JACKSON. YOU WILL TRULY BE MISSED!!!