My comments on TCB about the ICRM fiasco and more

The question was "Do you support the city taking over the Intl. Civil Rights Center & Museum?"

My comments:
I selected unsure because the spat has quickly turned into a battle between two elite cliques–the old money types and the east Greensboro power brokers. I remember when the city operated the Generals and how disastrous that was as said team folded one year after the takeover when nobody would step up to own the hockey team. I don’t know that a city takeover would be any better than what has happened for most of the museum’s existence.

On the other hand, how many times was the ICRM’s opening delayed due to whatever excuse Skip & Earl came up with? It’s clear to me that what happened to Lacy Ward was akin to Pat Riley pushing Stan Van Gundy out of Miami: Ward was turning the ICRM’s fortunes around and the two cofounders were jealous about that.

Expanded section (not on the site)
Skip & Earl represent an even bigger problem: They are perpetually stuck in the '60s. This mindset is also the reason why blacks of my generation and younger continually shut them out. For another thing, these old school leaders aren't interested in passing the torch to new blood and then they wonder why younger blacks are disengaged.

The decision to fire Ward wasn't about him adding members, it was about the fact that an outsider was running the ICRM much better than the so-called leaders could ever have.

Secession Olympics

Political and cultural schisms seem to be the rage. Belgium set a record for political instability when it couldn't form a government for 536 days between 2010 and 2011 due to rifts between French-speaking Wallonia and Flemish-speaking Flanders. Closer to home, Quebec may or may not hold yet another secession referendum over the next 5-10 years. And there's America with its blue states vs. red states narrative. Given that Scotland is set to vote on secession from the United Kingdom next Thursday, I'll take a look at how these secession movements could affect sports.

U.S.

Here in this country, the rift between so-called blue and red states has widened. If tensions make unity impossible, then the following will happen:

• American dominance in the Summer Olympics would come to an end as China would take over. Meanwhile, the Blue and Red Zones could spend more time trying to one up each other and rooting against their ideological opposites
• Based on how many conservatives railed against the World Cup 2-3 months ago amid the possibility of the United States embracing soccer on a wider scale, the Red Zone would not field a competitive men's team on the worldwide scale and would only play a spoiler role in terms of World Cup qualifying, but, it would field a very viable women's team due to the strength of certain colleges. The Blue Zone would field very competitive men's and women's teams and the latter would create quite the rivalry for the Women's World Cup
• The NBA, NFL, and MLB could either split up into separate Red and Blue Zone Leagues or remain as is
• The NCAA would remain in the Red Zone, creating a mess for all of the colleges who field major sports teams. Bowl games and the NCAA basketball tournament could get very dicey every December and March

 

UK

The nation has for decades fielded four separate national teams for non-Olympic competition. When it comes to the Olympics, Scottish secession could be quite big. When the Summer Olympics were in London two years ago, Scotland claimed 13 of Britain's 65 total medals (20%). Earlier this year in Sochi, the Scots won half of Great Britain's four medals. Speaking of the Winter Games, all of the curlers hail from Scotland, so future British teams may not even qualify for the Olympics.

The Open Championship would no longer have the fabled St. Andrews golf course

Canada

The Great White North has its own problems with secession brewing. An independent Quebec could quite possibly spell the end of Canada because Ontario isn't connected to any of the Atlantic provinces. Out west, some or all four of the provinces could either form their own independent nation, remain with the other English-speaking provinces and territories, or join the U.S. The Atlantic provinces would most likely have to join the U.S. since they'd be too small to make it on their own.

The dissolution of Canada would mean the following for its sports:

• All of the federal government's efforts to make Canada more competitive in international sports would evaporate overnight
• The tension between Quebec and what's left of English-speaking Canada would run deep in the Winter Olympics--especially in hockey and curling
• Speaking of hockey, the NHL would basically become an American league or splinter off into separate American, Quebec, and Canadian leagues. There would be multiple new leagues depending on how deep the split is following Quebec's departure from the Dominion. The hockey leagues would be so distinct that the Stanley Cup may revert back to its original position of a competition between the champions from each league
• There's a chance that an English-only Canada could still field a competitive soccer teams on both the men's and women's sides, but if the English provinces and territories are too splintered, there's no chance on the men's side. Quebec wouldn't field a competitive team at all

Continental Europe

Spain's government is threating to block a referendum Catalonians are holding November 9. The secession effort is a threat to the Spanish state because if there's an independent Catalonia, then the Basques will be next ones to ask for independence. Barcelona--currently Spain's largest city--is in Catalonia. The breakup would be a potentially devastating blow not only to the Spanish state but also to soccer as La Liga would lose two of its money making teams.

The breakups of Spain and Belgium could result in more soccer leagues and Olympic teams because other nations could then follow. This map on Europe is a mark of what the most radical secessions could do.

Racial politics in NC

Given that North Carolina is home to the only coup in American history, it's quite understandable why blacks don't want anyone else interfering in our political matters. That said, it's up to us to hold elected officials accountable when they become ineffective.

Greensboro
In 2007, there was a failed recall effort against District 1 Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small which ended up saving her political career.

High Point
Last year, the six white councilmembers ganged up on Mayor Bernita Sims and Ward 2 Councilman Foster Douglas due to the former's legal trouble and the latter's unwillingness to pay legal fees to the city.

The real issue is competence
Those were two examples of the black community giving politicians a pass. If I recall correctly, wasn't blogger Ben Holder the driving force behind the recall petition? In any case, the tactic backfired and Bellamy-Small remained in power for another six years when she was very likely en route to a defeat after two terms because she was at odds with Greensboro's black establishment. Bellamy-Small was known for her belligerence, refusal to get along with other councilmembers, and not getting any meaningful legislation passed in her decade as a councilwoman.

But because Holder--or whoever--made the push to oust Bellamy-Small and ex-Councilwoman Florence Gatten's attacks in early to mid 2007 (Note: all Gatten had to do was to keep her mouth shut and Milton Kern would have never made it to November since it would have been Johnson-Gatten), black power brokers and ordinary East Greensboro residents alike perceived things from the viewpoint that "those white people are interfering in our business" and turned conventional wisdom on its head until Sharon Hightower ousted Bellamy-Small last year.

Unlike the Gate City, the Furniture City's black establishment and Old Money factions have showed no real signs of being in tandem, so there could have been a deep racial divide that would've taken a long time for High Point to heal.

Months before that failed effort to oust Sims, the odds of her being reelected weren't good based on the City Council's efforts to move municipal elections back to odd-numbered years and reinstate primaries (it'll now be up to us voters to decide). Given that both attempts passed along racial lines (6-3), Sims could have gotten some real big sympathy votes if she had run for a second term--not to mention the racially charged quotes mentioned in the Yes! Weekly article.

Instead of being humbled by her personal events, Sims said this:

If it wasn’t for pursuing that seat, I probably would have run again, and I feel very comfortable that I probably could have won again. I don’t have any doubts about that

Running for a State Senate seat in 2016? How about getting your personal house in order before resuming (what's left of) your political career, lady? I voted for her in 2012 but wouldn't have done so this year if she were even more delusional into running for a second mayoral term.

The REAL state of the Furniture Capital

This city's morale is at its lowest, primarily due to the split between newbies and longtime residents. The former have much more in common with Winston-Salem or Greensboro than their own city while the latter have all but given up on local leaders and cite a high cost of living. This new-old rift could lead to north High Point becoming its own city just how south Baton Rouge is trying to--minus the racial implications.

Over the last 14 months, much has been made about Ignite High Point and architect Andres Duany. Even though the street diet plan has been problematic and is IMO, a nonstarter, young entrepreneurs like Ryan Saunders are doing their best to revive parts of the city like the Pit downtown. On July 14, Saunders and company held an event at the Pit to demonstrate just how a center city revival could work.

This picture that I snapped on the 7th says a lot about the city's true attitude towards entrepreneurs.

 

Just when someone is trying to do something creative, the city decides to attach more red tape. Keep it up, and High Point will be like a big city up north with the vast majority of the youth gone.

That's right, folks, Dinner with a Side of Culture could have been shut down at any time. The Pit has been around since the 1970s, and nobody with the "right" connections has been able to make the collapsed parking lot productive? And the people who are supposed to lead this city wonder why downtown's moribund.

Then, there's this gem from Jordan Green's article last week:

Some council members were angry that the event was held without obtaining permission from the city.

Monica Peters, a member of the grassroots group We Heart High Point, volunteered during the committee meeting that although she did not organize the event, she signed a city-issued event permit to prevent the event from getting shut down. Interim City Manager Randy McCaslin said that he had the authority to order the police to arrest people for trespassing, “but we decided to handle it the right way.”

These sentences tell me that those councilmembers were likely upset that they were deprived of the chance to (gleefully) tell Saunders and/or Peters no.

The city can largely blame itself for downtown's decline and nonrecovery because it made the decision back in 1995 to zone most of the CBD in favor of the furniture industry once Chick-Fil-A and Sears fled to Oak Hollow Mall. It shouldn't have been surprised that some of those same furniture companies threatened to pull out of the High Point Market had the City Council adopted the Planning Commission's idea of rezoning parts of downtown that would have allowed development via a Market District in 2009. If there were any foresight 19 years ago, there would have been no need for Uptowne after the Market districting plan fell flat. Instead, the center city was all but lost in '95.

It seems as though some city leaders are more than willing to bet High Point's future on the furniture industry likely due to the Vegas threat being neutralized a few years ago when the High Point and Las Vegas markets fell under one roof in the wake of the Great Recession.

I have reached the conclusion that there are some elected officials and unelected power brokers who have the mindset that it isn't in their best interest to revive the decaying parts of town because they figure they'll be long gone by the time High Point resembles a Rust Belt city and that it'll be up to their children and grandchildren to handle the fallout.

The final reason why this city's morale absolutely sucks is due to the heavily publicized legal and financial troubles of embattled mayor Bernita Sims and Ward 2 councilman Foster Douglas. At one point last year, those events took a nasty turn and could have been turned into nasty racial issues. Fortunately for them, the noise died down as citizens' ire shifted to revitalization. It's also a good thing that neither one is running for reelection.

Unless this city can elect people who aren't entrenched with the elites who are largely responsible for High Point's split personality or a bunch of austerity hawks who will say no to anything creative, the Furniture Capital of the World will either resemble Baton Rouge (split into two cities where the new city thrives at the older one's expense) or Detroit (decayed urban core with better off suburban areas) in the next 25-50 years.

WBF 2014 update

At this year's World Bodypainting Festival, Cheryl Ann finished 12th in the Brush and Sponge category (not bad for a first-timer), Madelyn won in the UV category, and Scott took home the trophy for Classic Face Painting.

The Triad has now won five trophies at the WBF four years in a row and its bodypainters have garnered national and international attention. The problem is locally. No news publications have talked about these accomplishments in detail. It would behoove these publications to pounce on something special while it's happening in their own backyard.

The latest ACC news

The ACC backed away from a plan to add a ninth conference game in football in exchange for its teams to play at least one major nonconference game against a power conference--including Notre Dame. If the playoff committee holds this against the league in the event that the ACC champ is tied with a school from another conference that didn't play for or win its league crown, blame your own ADs, John Swofford.

On the basketball front, the ACC Tournament is being moved up a day so that the championship will be played Saturday night instead of Sunday afternoon. This move has everything with the ACC wanting to push the Big East out of Madison Square Garden so that it can hold its tournament there because Brooklyn (2017 & 2018) is nothing more than a consolation prize. Anybody with half a brain needs to realize that the ACC has not given up on the ultimate prize that is Manhattan.

Should the NBA dump one and done?

Recently, new NBA commissioner Adam Silver expressed his desire to raise the minimum age limit from 19 to 20.

 

The biggest reason to raise the age limit is also the biggest reason against doing so: The rich will get richer. IOW, the major conferences stand to gain the most because it’s no secret that ever since the one and done era that midmajors and select autobids have narrowed the gap.

 

If a baseball-like rule is adopted by the NBA, here are other side effects:

·         If this is about high schoolers going straight to the pro, the purpose is defeated

·         Some talent may only need one year to sharpen their tools

·         Other players may pull a Brandon Jennings by going overseas—and be more successful

 

For me, this is about the fact that Silver’s predecessor marketed the D-League very poorly. The D-League should be split into two 15-team leagues and the NBA should add the third round back into the draft to handle such players.

 

Barring any easy solutions, the best solution may be for things to go back the way they were before 2005.

Furniture City musings

One would have thought that when High Point University bought Oak Hollow Mall that the school would have had its ducks in a row and least have quietly resolved outstanding issues with Dillard's and Sears. Even though previous owner CBL ran the mall into the ground, it was HPU's responsibility to get the two department stores to agree to let the university have total ownership of the mall as a condition for CBL no longer running Oak Hollow Mall. Now, Montlieu Avenue residents will be inconvenienced by HPU's failure to buy the whole mall.

When it comes to Montlieu Avenue, I'm glad that a poster on the High Point Enterprise's website brought up the possibility of renaming one of the soon to be disconnected segments after MLK, Jr. because it would put an end to 22+ years of failed attempts--including another one that happened last week--to name any street in honor of the slain civil rights leader. However, the proposal makes too much sense to city leaders who aren't known for "rocking the boat."

UNCG's shift

UNCG's expansion into the Glenwood neighborhood could be a sign of a socioeconomic shift. Students who have opposed the plan talk about tuition being expensive and flat-to-declining undergraduate attendance and steeply declining graduate school attendance. The end result is that the university is shifting from being a blue-collar school to being North Carolina's second Public Ivy. It is completely within the realm of possibility that a decade from now that UNCG will be the place for Greensboro's elites to send their children when they are unable to get into Chapel Hill.

Three years ago during the unsuccessful attempt to save the popular wrestling program, a professor wrote to the News & Record that if the school were really feeling the brunt of statewide budget cuts that UNCG would have saved money by taking the Spartans back to Division III. However, there is a big problem: As I read in Once Upon a City, ex-mayor Jim Melvin pumped a lot of money into UNCG in the 1990s as the school was moving up to Division I. As a result, there's no way that UNCG  is going to go back down--not when neighboring High Point University and Elon are in Division I.