Posnanski at it again

Dynamite article on Red Klotz of Washington Generals fame. Posnanski hits another one out of the park.

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/01/05/a-basketball-carol-2/

 

Tremendous stuff, as per usual, with Joe.

Found one typo:

Red: Everyone has lost at one time or another.
Me: So we are all losers.
Red: No. We’re not losers. We all lose.
Me: What is the difference?
Red: What is the difference between and winner and loser?
Me: Yes.
Red: A winner is someone who can tell the difference.

 

Epic beyond belief.

 

What a great read. THAT's an example of what there is to love about journalism.

 

Great story. Old enough to have watched the great Red Klotz play a few times. Reminded me of the old guys you would see in pick up games at the "Y" - great passer and dead on two handed set shot.

I probably first got to see him when I was around 7 and the Globe Trotters played the Generals. Next time the Generals played The Shamrocks and I thought Klotz had been traded.

As side note article shows that the U Conn 89 game record is nothing compared to Globe Trotters win streak.

 

I have read a few Red Klotz stories in my day (as I am fascinated by the Globies/Nationals dynamic ...) and this was by FAR the best.

JoePo uses all the same keys on the keyboard that I get, and yet I couldn't do that in a million years ... SIGH.

rb

 

Great work, terrific subject.

Several years ago, I did a little feature on Klotz. We talked for more than an hour, and he was pure gold. I was given 15 inches and was only able to use a fraction of a fraction of all that great stuff. Story turned out OK, but I felt horribly cheated.

 

ok, nwannabe: since you insist. we'll try it on this thread, too, and, no, this should not devolve into a wayne barrett vs. posnanski throwdown. joe does incredible work, too, and he tells a great story here. but it's a nice piece about a nice old man; it has nothing to do with my idea of journalism's original mission: speak truth to power, afflict the comfortable, etc. this piece takes great talent and ear and writing chops to put together, but it doesn't take great balls or reporting, and if that's all that it took to do great "journalism" that we can "love", i think the nation would suffer some. barrett's work was all about digging, going after the most powerful people in the snakepit of politics, holding them accountable, and that's work that is getting rarer to find these days.

joe p's stuff is almost always about WHAT WE LOVE. it's not a small gift; i'd say it's invaluable, in fact. being able to articulate what we love about sports, cutting through easy cynicism to the core of what originally entranced us -- without somehow being corny or pollyanna -- is, i think, where joe lives. but given a gun-to-the-head choice between the two? i'll take barrett.

 

AD Isn't there room for both in journalism? Isn't our profession big enough to both speak power to truth and to tell fun stories about nice old men?

 

absolutely. mine was a response to nwannabe's declaration of pos as his example of what to love in journalism -- answering my thread of praise for barrett. i happen to fall on the other side of the fence, but i like the view over there, too. as i said, what joe p. does is invaluable...and unique.

 

Wonderful story, and so good, that I have a new quote for my profile.

 

That was a great read. I didn't know much about Klotz or the Golbetrotters really - so it was very entertaining.

The story also reminded me about one of my favorite Simpsons moments. Krusty the Klown bets on the Washington Generals and loses. (He thought they were bound to win a game sometime).