A treasure trove of clips available from tonight’s “Hannity & Colmes”—from Dick Morris suggesting Cheney may have been hammered and that the secret service and other members of the hunting party are covering up for him (which I guess we can attribute to “Post-traumatic Clinton Syndrome” and Morris’ propensity to see everything through the lens of political calculation) to Alan Colmes’ Spike Lee moment, where he argues, along with NPR’s Juan Williams, that Bryant Gumbel’s objectively racialist (though perhaps tongue in cheek) comments on HBO’s “Real Sports” about whites and the Winter Olympics cannot be racist because Gumbel is black, and blacks, holding disproportionately less power in this country, lack that requisite condition for racism.
Here’s what Gumbel said (h/t Bearing Drift):
[…] try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention […]
Both Colmes and Williams rejected the argument of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise’s Robert Woodson that Gumbel’s remarks were analogous to, say, John Madden broadcasting to a Superbowl audience that “the game looked like a NAACP convention”—insisting that there was no double standard in the two statements (Colmes on the risible grounds that Madden hadn’t said any such thing, so the point is moot. Which, well, perhaps Rush Limbaugh would like to weigh in from the realm of the non-hypothetical…)
Predictably, Hannity was outraged at the political suggestion that the GOP is lily-white. To me, the real outrage is the suggestion that we can’t be witnessing the world’s greatest skiers, skaters, snowboarders, etc., simply because blacks haven’t taken up those sports.
Perhaps Dems can convince Barack Obama to introduce legislation that would make it mandatory for young black athletes to develop an interest in the luge.
Or maybe not. Hell, they’re sun people after all, the black folk are—so can we really expect them to get all, like, bundled up in Gortex and go sliding down an icy hill…?
Rather than John Madden, I would suggest a more apt comparison as Bob Costas comparing the Summer Games – especially the Track and Field competition – to a hip-hop concert, and then pronouncing them as boring to the average TV consumer but still relevant in that special, er, “cultural” way.
Yeah, boyyyyyyyyyy
Gumbel has a valid point. Some of the best athletes on Earth, though never having stood on a snow board before, would make for some very interesting competition.
Say man…….like, when do I get to be a victim. I’m tired of always being the opressor.
TW: “soon”
Fuck me!
Gumbel’s comment has a Title IX feel to it…I was unaware African American’s were not allowed at snow facilities centers and winter sporting goods are kept from them. That’s pretty bad.
I stopped watching after the first night, listening to these idiots screaming inanities into their microphones, while we missed what was going on with the actual athletes.
I’m white, and I’m now a minority in my town. I’m waiting for my free government cheese!
fwiw, I think the ‘paucity of blacks’ in Winter Olympics events just makes “the blacks” seem smarter in comparision to their peach-colored brethren.
It’s cold out there on the ice and snow.
Damn cold.
.
The “competing guest” was correct.
The “MaddenCruiser” bus would have been taken out of commission permanently fer sure; but Gumbel’s Rolls is safe behind the gates.
Well, coming from their side of the aisle, it was pretty funny. Let’s face it, we’re not mad that he joked, we’re mad because there’s a double standard.
Hmmm.
Frankly, as a guy who grew up in a heavy snowfall area, I always thought blacks were too damn *smart* to live in places like that. Only white people are crazy enough to live in places where the snow reaches the eaves.
As for Dick Morris; he’s taking the line that the NYT is pushing. That the Sheriff sent a Deputy to the ranch who was then denied entry and was thus unable to interview Cheney. On the other hand the Sheriff stated on a tv interview that he sent his Deputy around the ranch on Sunday morning and that it wasn’t a big deal.
Personally I think the NYT is pushing this to generate some smoke, and cover, for liberals to make accusations while everything is still a bit muddy.
Bravo! Well put.
Niggers on Ice!
[ed- I’m not outraged. But if you are going to post stuff like this, as a joke or an allusion (I seem to remember something vaguely Mel Brooks about this), be a brave soul and put your name to it. Thanks.]
Right. Because it doesn’t snow at all in Chicago or Detroit.
I remember the Mel Brooks thing too. What was that?
As an NBA fan, I can almost sympathize with Gumbel.
If not for commissioner Stern, an island of financial connivance and unattractive, schlubby baldness that I can identify with in that otherwise featureless sea of fashionably coiffed, free-spending, testosterone-spraying black men, I might feel alienated, too.
[Mel Brooks defense]
Gumbel may not be racist, but no one should claim what he said was NOT racist in the same way Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder’s comments about how blacks are better athletes because they were “bred” that way and have bigger thighs.
Gumbel should be treated the same way as Snyder, regardless if he is a racist or not.
‘tis only fair
Oh… notice too in the full quote
HOMOPHOBE!
<objectively racialist (though perhaps tongue in cheek) comments on HBO’s “Real Sports†about whites and the Winter Olympics <i>cannot be racist</i> because Gumbel is black, and blacks, holding disproportionately less power in this country, lack that requisite condition for racism.</blockquote>I honestly had no idea that a guy like me has more power than someone who gets paid millions of dollars to do a weekly show on HBO.
To paraphrase Mel, “It’s good to be the oppressor.” I guess.
Stupid tags. Grr.
Um. But I thought liberals got to make fun of Bryant Gumbel because he’s not “black” enough to be considered a real black person. And all this time he just had to spew some racist shit to work his way back into the liberals’ favor? I guess lefties just love black people when they’re oppressed and pitiful. Aren’t they adorable when they’re angry?
WTF is all the constant fussin’ and carryin’ on about truths spoken. When a truth comes from a man who’s an obvious or even admitted racist, is it less true? Thighs are bigger (BTW=that aint all), they’re better athletes, they’re better basketball players and on…..! Duh! Look at the results offered by history to date. Is DNA a racist? To say disparaging things could be and I say could be, thought of as racist, but if it’s a truth, is it no less true. Never to say anything about the upside of a particular race for the purpose of “keepin’ em down” is racist. There’s a difference in reality, truth and FEEEEELINGS! My black buddies in the corp hated the damn snow, it’ a fact. If I say blacks hate snow am I a racist?
I get a lot of racist treatment here, depending on where I am. Some know better and others don’t. Some need educating and sometimes, though rare, I have been known to provide it. It isn’t usually physical, but that option is on the table. You choose your battles and don’t throw down on every SOB on the face of the earth, simply because of your inability to maintain control. Can we stop pussy footin’ around the usual suspects and give these jokes like the ACLUless, their walking papers. They are never going to be part of this solution, because it doesn’t serve THEIR needs! Do not be fooled by these self serving professional equivocators!
Darleen sez:
All Gumbel is saying is that Jimmy the Greek was right. Is that so wrong? I wonder if he called Jimmy to give him some ups way back when. You know, a little bit of “I got your back, Dawg!”
tw: just
Of course it isn’t.
Looks like Colmes is doing his job.
Being a contrarian? Yes, he is. Is he a hero of yours?
Ski Detroit!
Yup. The foxnews-type liberal.
He doesn’t do anything heroic.
Ski Chicago!
First you wax her back, cause rollin it over …..ah, never mind. It’s an old Helen Thomas joke. Speaking of skiing in strange places behind of and occasionally on top of dogs, can you ski from Chicago to Detroit?
……and what a great cast it was, Gomer!
Life is like a bowl of cherries. Unless you’re BLACK.
wouldn’t want this place to be unbalanced, now would we?
In other words, the HOUSE SLAVE!
God forbid the man should draw a paycheck from a highly-rated opinion show that draws millions of viewers every night. I mean, DemocracyNow! and Pacifica radio are probably paying just as well, right?
As long as their pledge drives can attract enough cash, right?
Cobb: I didn’t get your point. Care to reiterate?
The Olympics is just the tip of the iceberg. Let us not forget the discrimination against America’s first Blackstranauts and the Old Negro Space Program.
Call me crazy, but could the paucity just maybe have something to do with the fact that a huge percentage of African-Americans live in the southeastern states? You know, the climate of Georgia or South Carolina not exactly providing much in the way of prime powder for would-be Appalachian skiers? I’d assume it’s the same reason we don’t see a lot of Mexican-Americans in the Winter Olympics either. I imagine the hockey ponds in Texas and Arizona aren’t worth a damn.
Yes, there are many blacks in northern states, but most of the population is in the southeast and the overwhelming majority of blacks in northern states live in major cities. It may come as a shock to someone with Gumble’s inexperience with sports, but most of the games in the Winter Olympics aren’t exactly easy to set up in urban areas. City authorities are likely to frown on ski jumping or slalom courses in the middle of town.
I can’t think of much that would be more racist than assuming that the tiny fraction of the US black population living in rural areas of northern states should be dominating the much more numerous white athletes from those areas. I’m willing to give Gumble the benefit of the doubt and assume he was just dumb, though.
Me: The Mel Brooks thing came at the end of History of the World, where he had clips such as “Hitler on Ice!” where Adolph was figure skating.
Of course “Jews in Space” was pretty funny too.
Anybody seen Cool Running, speaking of unlikely pairings of athletic ambition and geographic fact? I haven’t (even after all these years), but would love a review. It looked fun.
Kirk’s:
…or for that matter who’ve never stood on a surfboard before, or who’ve never executed a platform dive at all, let alone one of any difficulty, or who’ve never run a 10K for speed rather than training, or put on boxing gloves… I see a (rather dangerous) reality show in the making. But it ain’t the Olympics.
* It may come as a shock to someone with Gumble’s inexperience with sports, but most of the games in the Winter Olympics aren’t exactly easy to set up in urban areas. *
Hah like facts matter when an african-american is talking about racism.
“GEORGE BUSH DOES NOT CARE ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE”
Personally, I think we should blame Bush for not sending more black athletes to the winter games- the federal government should start extensive programs to force blacks to train for the winter games, in the name of diversity.
Even more ironic is when Gumbel says that Tiger Woods is the first black man to dominate in the PGA while Vijay Singh could loan young Eldrick some pigmnent and still come out looking like Yaphet Koto.
I mean HOLY SHIT! Vijay is as black as they come, yet he is not considered a black golfer. LOOK AT HIM!!! HE’S SO BLACK. AND HE’S GOT MAD GAME!!!
wierd.
Obviously we need a government program to start sending blacks to areas that get cold AND have the necessary terrain. Here in Detroit – yes it is cold, but we lack those bumpy things to ski, or bobsled, down. We have ice, but it is all being used for hockey. It seems to me, that the majority of these winter gamer types come from areas w/in driving distance of a decent resort. Ketchum, Idaho, for example. Which, if I have my facts straight, is the home-away-from-home to many Hollywood types. They should LOVE this – being hands-on in the effort to equalize society.
Poor Vijay. All that melanin and he STILL can’t get no respect from the brothers. Damn caucasian oreo.
Don’t you know that ‘black’ doesn’t mean ‘Black’? It means ‘liberal opressed American of African descent’.
So Vijay misses out
And Condi
And Thomas Sowell
And Walter Williams
And ….
Well, you get the picture.
Patricia â€â€
Move on out to Los Angeles! My town government cheeses me off all the time!
Boxing with the stars I would probably watch.
Since when is Bryant Gumbel black?
Hey Charlie,
You’d think Veej could get an honorable mention, since he’s blacker than all those folks you mentioned – combined. Sheesh!
An aside: when Vijay plays in the practice round at the Memorial, he stops and signs everything between holes. He throws a wicked party at his home course as well. You know, chicken, ribs……pineapple, whatever “those people” eat.
Thanks Fuzzy.
“Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcom X.”
Negrodomus 2003
I don’t know if he does it for the money. He does play the type quite well. Don’t know how natural it is for him.
Sad that it makes you think of slavery.
– The only thing I’ve found interesting in reading a bit on the games thus-far, is that Kazakhstan has a hockey team. I thought that region of the balkins/steepes was basically mud huts and goat farmers, or did we finance that team too. ‘nothing wrong with that, just interesting in the same way the Carribian bob sledding team was.
– Seems like at least once or twice a year, someone in the public spotlight experiences a sudden impulse to say something thats patently obvious to everyone else, but so un-PC that we immediatly transform into a nation of Roman Emperors, killing the messenger.
– I so want Condi to win in 2008. Watching the way the race baiters would handle that event would be first class entertainment a hell of a lot more interesting that the snow boarding maniacs.
TW: Ones racism is only important when you have the temerity to speak the truth,,,,
I remember one day I heard an NPR announcer talk about his upcoming show talking about the “racism” of major league baseball. No whitey is not at fault here…he was criticizing too many “Latinos” and not enough blacks! I laughed–thought it was a parody, but it was Warren Olney.
Time to dig out one of my old t-shirts:
Front: “White Men Can’t Jump”
Back: “Black Men Can’t Ski”
Yeah, from the movie. Racist.
I saw a Vegas show called “Nudes on Ice” once. Two folks who could skate (but weren’t nude), a half dozen girls in Vegas showgirl outfits who could barely stand on their skates, but were “nude” (rhinestone bikinis with underwire tops but no cups, nice tits though).
Best prestidigitation I ever saw in between “nude” scenes, though.
Lot’s of Russians in Kazakhstan (and the other former Soviet Asian “Republics”), probably enough to make a decent hockey team. I think there’s an ice dancing pair from Kazakhstan, Russians.
Ketchum, Idaho, for example. Which, if I have my facts straight, is the home-away-from-home to many Hollywood types.
Quite right, Carin. We have a place in Sun Valley (heading up there in a couple of hours as a matter of fact) and have spent a lot of time in the area for over 20 years. To say there aren’t meny blacks in the area is an insult to understatement but there is a surprisingly large black ski group that travels to various resorts and came to Sun Valley a few years ago. Took over the entire River Run Lodge.
Thus, I should add that a t-shirt emblazoned with: Black men can’t ski, is mostly but not completely true.
Oh, and some (not all) of the ski attire?
Visualize: Pimps on skis.
Now if you’re like me and not particularly interested in finding stupid sniglets of ‘racism’ under every rug, you get to the heart of the matter. Byrant Gumbel’s show is called ‘Real Sports’. Righteous. When I grew up we used to have debates about whether or not something was a sport or an activity. Remember that? Well I’m sure Gumbel had that in mind when he named his show. Now consider some common sense observations:
All that makes sense and we could get a discussion going here. But I think the question has already been settled by ESPN when they did their Degree of Difficulty study. In that famous evaluation, 60 sports were ranked in ten categories: (Endurance, Strength, Power, Speed, Agility, Flexibility, Nerve, Durability, Hand/Eye and Analytic Ability). I happen to think it takes more nerve than 4.38 to play Lacrosse, but other than that I find the results very satisfying.
In that list, Ice Hockey and Alpine Skiing make the top 15. Also Figure skating and Speed skating make the top half as do Bobsledding and Luge, just ahead of Badminton. Ski Jumping is in the bottom half, but it is rescued by the second highest score when it comes to Nerve. (The highest goes to Rodeo). Snowboarding didn’t make the list, nor did Skeleton. And Curling is right near the bottom where it belongs, below Cheerleading.
Now I don’t follow Hockey close enough to know whether or not anyone takes Olympic Hockey seriously as compared to the NHL, but my guess is that other than the US vs Russians, nobody cares. So when it comes to keeping it real, Gumbel is dead on it. Now I suppose we could go ask the Nielsen people if more people watch March Madness than the Winter Games, but my guess again is no contest and the NCAA wins hands-down, not to mention the NIT. (According to my Google Toolbar ‘NCAA Basketball’ gets 7.5million entries and ‘Winter Olympics’ get 2.8million Case Closed).
I’m not going to dignify the squirrel chatter about Bryant Gumbel’s remarks being racist, just like I’m not going to ask what kind of beer Dick Cheney drinks. Some people need to grow up. As for the Winter Olympics.. eh. I’d rather watch the new Tour of California.
BTW, Haven’t any of you heard of the National Brotherhood of Skiers?
Would you consider sucking all the humor from a thread a sport?
I didn’t get the “Gumbel is a racist” vibe as much as I got the “Gumbel is and always has been a moron” vibe.
Gumbel a moron as compared to.. Keith Olbermann? John Madden? Katie Couric? Scott McClellan?
Sucking humor is the function of the bloggers. We call it Fisking.
Gumbel a moron as to all morons. Gumbel is an Olympic Gold moron.
You betray quite a bit of elitism when you claim there is authority to determine what is and what is not a sport.
I think if I bet Big Roulon 5 bucks a hole at the muny, I come away with $90. Then he throws a Granby on my ass and puts me in a figure 4 till I cry like Al Michaels at a ratings meeting.
you got me there. i’m an elitist. keeps me away from morons.
I’d agree that wrestling, boxing, kickboxing and other forms of fighting are the only true sport if the only way one could win was through knockout, submission, or unable to continue due to injury. Otherwise, someone has to decide the winner by judgement. The reality is, though, that all sports must have rules, the rules must be followed, someone must judge that the rules have been followed, therefore there are no true or not so true sports, just sports with varying degrees of subjective and objective scoring.
are you sure?
So you don’t hang out with Gumbel, eh Cobb?
I try to stay away from “Greatest Athletes” and go with “Different Athletes”.
Have you ever seen Charles Barkley’s swing? Hideous.
How’s his triple Salkow?
Not as tight as he would like it to be. In fact he’s been known to back it down to a double when the pressure’s on.
Come hang out with me some Saturday night in the pits of our local dirt-track, then tell me auto-racing ain’t sportin’.
So it’s not the height, but the rotation? Does that hurt him with the new scoring system?
Not as much as the puffy-sleaved shirt and the eyepatch he likes to wear as he ice-dances to the theme from Pirates of the Caribean.
bad choices.
Did anyone see the short profile of the gold medalist of the new snowboard cross event? Off season he goes to Alaska to snowboard down the sides of mountains. On one clip he gets caught in an avalanche and rides it out. Talk about balls.
B Moe,
I got a guy who has a motocross track on the next road over with a 30 ft table. You’ve got to have the big brass ones for that. I wouldn’t do it (at the risk of giving away both the size and material of my balls)
I liked the snowboard cross. I think they should allow a little bit of pushing to make it more like the NBA.
Seriously, it was cool.
You know what else is a great sport?
Crapping in a bag and putting it on a porch and lighting it on fire and running like hell.
I believe it hits all the factors in the Cobb scale:
Endurance, Strength, Power, Speed, Agility, Flexibility, Nerve, Durability, Hand/Eye and Analytic Ability.
Damn straight! Especially if the owner of said porch is a half-crazed redneck weilding a 12 guage shotgun with rock-salt loads.
In the words of whoever wrote these words for Chris Farley, I have seen a lot of things in my life, but that…was…AWESOME!
Re: Gumbel, am I the only whitey who watches sports like rugby and speed skating and says, “When the brothaz discover this sport, we’ll never lose ever?”
Damn straight! Especially if the owner of said porch is a half-crazed redneck weilding a 12 guage shotgun with rock-salt loads.
And if you’re not leaving your crap-bag on the above-mentioned type of porch, then you’re just playing in the minors.
Actus-holus-
God forbid the man should draw a paycheck from a highly-rated opinion show that draws millions of viewers every night. I mean, DemocracyNow! and Pacifica radio are probably paying just as well, right?
Interesting that a Marxist like yourself would equate “slavery” with paid employment in organizations like “DemocracyNow!” and “Pacifica Radio”- both of whom’s raison d’ etre is to capitalize on the stupidity of all the “pseudo-marxist” morons in the world like you…
T/W:few— How few braincells does it take to believe this sh!t?
One day later, it comes to pass.
I must be from the future!
Fuck. Swimming’s not a sport? How about track and field? Can you picture, the javelin and discus throwers as the defensive team? How about the water polo teams as defense?
This guy had better not be serious, because that would point strongly toward that he’s a complete idiot. Anyone who doesn’t think racing events involve ALL of Endurance, Strength, Power, Speed, Agility, Flexibility, Nerve, Durability, Hand/Eye and Analytic Ability to some extent or other hasn’t ever been on the starting blocks. Or if he has, just hasn’t ever been very good; one can be ON the blocks, after all, as a non-contender.
I’ve gained a bit more appreciation for football players (AKA tire-biters) since the high school days, but I still don’t regard it as inherently more of a sport than swimming, even if ESPN’s little ad hoc rating scale has given it an edge.