Police in Washington City Banned From Personalizing Equipment in Settlement Over Shooting Black Man
The city of Olympia, Washington, will pay 0,000 to the family of Timothy Green, a Black man shot and killed by police, in a settlement that also stipulates that officers will be barred from personalizing any work equipment.The settlement stops the display of symbols on equipment like the thin blue line on an American flag, which were displayed when Green was killed. The agreement also requires that members of the police department complete state training “on the historical intersection between race and policing.”
City Elections Officials Explain Ranked-Choice Voting
Portland voters will still vote by mail, but have a chance to vote on more candidates.
PCC Celebrates Black Business Month
Streetwear brand Stackin Kickz and restaurant Norma Jean’s Soul Cuisine showcase the impact that PCC alums have in the North Portland community and beyond
Unusually Cold Storm That Frosted West Coast Peaks Provided a Hint of Winter in August
The calendar briefly skipped ahead to November as the system dropped out of the Gulf of Alaska, down through the Pacific Northwest and into California. Mount Rainier, southeast of Seattle, got a high-elevation dusting. Central Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor resort did, too. A spokesperson at the resort says it was exciting to see the flakes flying. Far northern California's Mount Shasta also wore a white blanket after the storm clouds passed, and the Yosemite high country received a dusting.
RACC Launches New Grant Program for Portland Art Community
Grants between jumi,000 and ,000 will be awarded to support arts programs and activities that show community impact. ...
Oregon Company Awarded Up to $50 Million
Gov. Kotek Joined National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie E. Locascio in Corvallis for the...
Greater Vancouver Chamber Announces Finalists for 2024 Business and Leadership Awards
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US National Parks Are Receiving Record-High Gift of $100M
The National Park Foundation was created by Congress in the 1960s to support national parks. It will receive the donation from...
3 dead after small plane crashes into row of townhouses in Oregon, TV station reports
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three people were dead after a small plane crashed into a row of townhouses Saturday morning in a neighborhood east of Portland, setting the homes ablaze, authorities told KATU-TV. Officials earlier in the day had said the plane was carrying two people and that...
Workers breach key Klamath dams, allowing salmon to swim freely for the first time in a century
Workers breached the final dams on a key section of the Klamath River on Wednesday, clearing the way for salmon to swim freely through a major watershed near the California-Oregon border for the first time in more than a century as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history nears completion. ...
Brady Cook, Luther Burden III show No. 11 Missouri's potential in opening 51-0 rout of Murray State
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — It was hardly surprising that Missouri's Brady Cook looked for Luther Burden III on the first play of the season. How far the No. 11 Tigers go will the rest of the way will depend largely upon them. Cook, the senior quarterback, and Burden, his...
Brady Cook, Luther Burden III lead No. 11 Missouri to season-opening 51-0 rout of Murray State
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Brady Cook threw for 218 yards with touchdowns running and throwing, Toriano Pride Jr. returned an interception 25 yards for a score, and No. 11 Missouri routed Murray State 51-0 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. Luther Burden III had a...
As consumers struggle to cope with mounting debt, a new economic report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York includes an unprecedented glimmer of hope. Although debt for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and more increased by billions of...
Carolyn Leonard - Community Leader Until The End, But How Do We Remember Her?
That was Carolyn. Always thinking about what else she could do for the community, even as she herself lay dying in bed. A celebration of Carolyn Leonard’s life will be held on August 17. ...
‘Deepfakes’ Require a Real Federal Response
The stakes of November’s election are real. Campaign communications should be, too. ...
California lawmakers pass landmark bills to atone for racism, but hold off on fund to take action
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers this week passed some of the nation’s most ambitious legislation aimed at atoning for a legacy of racist policies that drove disparities for Black people, from housing to education to health. None of the bills would provide widespread...
On the first day without X, many Brazilians say they feel disconnected from the world
SAO PAULO (AP) — The blocking of social media platform X in Brazil divided users and politicians over the legitimacy of the ban, and many Brazilians on Sunday had difficulty and doubts over navigating other social media in its absence. The shutdown of Elon Musk’s platform started...
Brazil blocks Musk’s X after company refuses to name local representative amid feud with judge
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through its mobile app after the company refused to comply with a judge’s order. X missed a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice...
Book Review: 'Swallow the Ghost' a promising but uneven exploration of memory in internet age
In many ways, Eugenie Montague's “Swallow the Ghost” feels like three separate novels. That's what makes her debut novel so imaginative — and also so frustrating. The story's center is Jane Murphy, who works at a New York social media startup on an internet novel that's become a...
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 1-7
Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 1-7: Sept. 1: Comedian-actor Lily Tomlin is 85. Singer Archie Bell of Archie Bell and the Drells is 80. Singer Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees is 78. Drummer Greg Errico of Sly and the Family Stone is 76. Talk show host Dr. Phil is 74. Singer...
Book Review: Technology and chaotic government programs doom family farms in 'Land Rich Cash Poor'
Brian Reisinger's “Land Rich Cash Poor” emerges as an anthem to the family farm in America, romanticized despite the never-ending work even in good times, which have been sparse in the last century. The book follows a procession of efforts by other authors laboring to explain...
Catholic diocese sues US government, worried some foreign-born priests might be forced to leave
For more than a year, religious organizations have lobbied Congress and the Biden administration to fix a sudden...
Japan wants its hardworking citizens to try a 4-day workweek
TOKYO (AP) — Japan, a nation so hardworking its language has a term for literally working oneself to death, is...
Error messages and lengthy online queues frustrate fans scrambling to secure Oasis reunion tickets
LONDON (AP) — Some Oasis fans celebrated like a champagne supernova, while others looked back in anger on...
When the US left Kabul, these Americans tried to help Afghans left behind. It still haunts them
The United States' longest war is over. But not for everyone. Outside of San Francisco, surgeon Doug...
Ukraine somberly marks 33 years of independence as war with Russia rages on
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine somberly marked its 33rd Independence Day on Saturday, setting the usual fireworks,...
6 people hurt in a knife attack on a bus in Germany. No political or religious motive seen
BERLIN (AP) — Police arrested a 32-year-old woman after six people were hurt in a knife attack on a bus headed...
Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns (12) shoots against Notre Dame's Zach Auguste (30) and Pat Connaughton (24) during the first half of a college basketball game in the NCAA men's tournament regional finals, Saturday, March 28, 2015, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Two weeks ago I wrote about the history of the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team going from an all white American college squad under Coach Adolf Rupp from the 1930s to the 1970s, to a nearly all Black team under Coach John Calipari in 2015. Calipari’s team is presently chasing an undefeated 40-0 record and an eighth national championship. However, on late Saturday night, I rooted hard for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to take Kentucky down.
Why? For inspiration sake. Kentucky has been viewed as the big Black Goliath of the 2014-2015 season, with four players at 7 foot tall and several more who are less than six inches away. The oversized basketball team reminds me of Alabama football, where the Crimson Tide recruits the biggest, strongest and meanest young guys from across the country to “roll tide” over the competition.
Well, what fun is that for a real sports fan? I want to see athletic competition that inspires me to scream, “Yesss!” for the overachievers to win. That’s the “American way,” where we all feel like we have a legitimate opportunity to be victorious. Who wants the deck stacked against them with no chance before you even play the game?
Not even Vegas likes those odds. The bookies challenge us to hit the lottery by choosing the “Davids” of the world and not the giant favorites. I’ve always rooted against Goliaths in sports, including a historical distaste for the Dallas Cowboys, the Boston Celtics, the New York Yankees, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers and the Miami Hurricanes, to name a few. I even hated the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls teams.
Yes I did. I didn’t want Mr. Jordan to go 6-0 in his NBA Championships with 6 MVP’s. I wanted Clyde Drexler’s Portland Trailblazers to win one. I wanted Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp’s Seattle Supersonics to win. I even rooted for Patrick Ewing’s New York Knicks to find a way to take Jordan’s Bulls down after rooting against Ewing and his dominant Georgetown Hoyas teams in college.
Memorable victories in sports have always been about the little engine that could. I loved it when Sugar Ray Leonard retired Marvin “Marvelous” Hagler in boxing or when the USA hockey team took down the mighty Russians in the Winter Olympic Games. I even love the tiny island of Jamaica getting the best of us Americans in track and field. The classic upset is what makes the games interesting.
“That’s why they play the game,” says Chris Berman, host of “Sunday NFL Countdown”. Anything can happen. Great sports events are supposed to be real “reality TV,” and as unscripted as they come. So when a juggernaut like the Kentucky Wildcats pop up with everyone’s expectations of a cake walk to an eighth NCAA basketball championship, I begin to root for the opposition, including Hampton, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Duke, anyone.
Remember how refreshing it felt last year when the undersized “Hungry Huskies” of UCONN took on the touted, All-American freshman of Kentucky and won? Even though UCONN is not exactly your average underdog -- with 4 national titles of their own and doubled that for the woman’s team -- I rooted like crazy for UCONN’s young men last year, and I couldn’t sleep when they won. I listened to every interview and sports commentary about the victory that I could find on TV. It was inspirational and a great story.
The Seattle Seahawks annihilation of Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos in the 2014 Super Bowl was just as exhilarating. That’s not to say I hate Peyton Manning, because I genuinely like that guy, especially as an Indianapolis Colt. However, when he became a Bronco, the expectations were raised way too high for him to win everything, which made the joy of rooting for Russell Wilson that much stronger.
Now it’s the Kentucky Wildcats turn to go down… again. Only, the Fighting Irish made some crucial mistakes down the stretch and forgot how to win as a team by sharing the ball, just as the 2014 Seahawks made some crucial mistakes down the stretch in this year’s Super Bowl against the dreaded New England Patriots, another overpowering empire I love to hate.
So I’ll be rooting now for Wisconsin, Duke or Michigan State to take Kentucky down and keep my interest going. Then I’ll move on to root for another Cinderella winner in the NBA, like Seth Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Wouldn’t that be awesome? However, Kentucky going 40-0 with an eighth title won’t be an amazing achievement to me, because it’s already expected. And that becomes boring… and un-American.
Omar Tyree is a New York Times bestselling author, an NAACP Image Award winner for Outstanding Fiction, and a professional journalist, who has published 27 books, including co-authoring Mayor For Life; The Incredible Story of Marion Barry Jr. View more of his career and work @ www.OmarTyree.com