:10—Did you really think the NFL was going to let 50 billion dollars go down the drain? C’mon man! BILL NEAL :09—And know this, I don’t know what or how, but they made money on this holdout, I am telling ya. Rich people don’t get rich and stay rich by accident. :08—Ok, I’ve been holding back but now it’s time to shout it from the steel mills to Forbes Field … LET’S GO BUCS … yes Little Johnny your Pittsburgh Pirates are for real! :07—Shout out to the ladies in the meat department at the Penn Hills Giant Eagle. Barbra and Mariah. Keep smiling ladies.
PRE-GAME NOTE: EDDIE JEFFERIES GET WELL SOON. WE LOVE YOU MAN! :10 By now you are fully aware of the passing of Armon Gilliam, one of our area's all time greatest champions. What you may not know is that not one of the local TV stations or major daily newspapers covered his funeral. The only media on hand was your New Pittsburgh Courier. Armon was a15 year NBA superstar; No. 2 NBA draft selection; UNLV College All American and Hall of Famer; tremendous financial giver to local charities and no one thought his funeral was worthy of coverage…C’MON MAN !!! You need to put this paper down right now and call those media outlets mentioned above and ask why they didn't cover the passing of this great man. Remember, if they disrespect him they will disrespect you. BILL NEAL
It is in fact like what they say in the movies, it's as though life passes before you in slow motion…everything seems to slow down and you begin to ask yourself what's real and what’s not. But now we know the reality of a life lost far too soon is very real. Armon Louis Gilliam left the court July 5, doing one of the things he loved most, playing basketball. I say one of the things he loved most because unbeknownst to many of us he loved doing many things and was quite accomplished in other areas. REST IN PEACE—Family and friends of Armon Gilliam leave gravesite after interment, July 13. (Courier Photo/Rossano P. Stewart)
“The sports industry is not just a signature aspect of the American way of life, but has also become a major component of the American economy. What distinguishes sports from other industries is the nature of its raw material: For the past fifty years, the prime raw resource in has been Black muscle. The work of the industry is to extract those bodies from where they primarily reside—in the Black neighborhoods or rural and urban America—and put them to work.” (William C. Rhoden, ‘The Forty Million Dollar Slaves’ pg 174) My friend sports writer extraordinaire John Harris loaned me a signed copy of ‘The Forty Million Dollar Slaves’ by William C. Rhoden of the New York Times to read a couple of years ago. I just got around to reading it. How appropriate this piece of literature is in regards to this current NFL work stoppage. The book caused me to look at the NFL owners almost as if they are modern day slave traders.
by Rod Beard DETROIT (AP)—Shanté Higgs spends some of the school day thinking about throwing punches. When school is over, she does her homework and then looks for someone to fight—boy or girl, doesn’t matter. Most of the girls her age are afraid of Higgs, 15, so she normally fights boys. She doesn’t get in trouble because of her fights, though. In fact, it’s encouraged as part of the daily routine at the Downtown Boxing Gym, a small training club near Eastern Market in Detroit. WAITING PATIENTLY—Fifteen-year-old Shante Higgs waits for her turn to spar at the Downtown Boxing Club in Detroit. The gym offers a youth program that serves about 30 students ages 8-18, who get valuable after-school academic tutoring and boxing training—all for free. (AP Photo/Detroit News, David Guralnick) The gym offers a youth program that serves about 30 students ages 8-18, who get valuable after-school academic tutoring and boxing training—all for free. It’s the brainchild of trainer Khali Muhammad and Scott Smith, who work with the students from 4-6:30 p.m. each day.
:10 An All-State wrestler, yea I said wrestler, out of Bethel Park High School. Basketball, he would say was his third love after football. :09 Little known to most of us until the summer of 1979 when Connie Hawkins came over to me behind the score table at East Hills Park and said “Neal, see that big guy standing on the hillside. He wants to get on a team.” To which I said, “Hawk, where can we put him. The league is jam packed” and Connie said, “I don’t know where but find him a spot…He’s going to be a superstar someday!!” Longer story short we found a spot for ARMON GILLIAM. When we next saw him the following summer, Armon had become “THE HAMMER.” BILL NEAL
BALTIMORE (AP)—John Mackey revolutionized the tight end position, his incomparable ability to catch passes off the line of scrimmage helping to usher the NFL into the pass-happy modern era. After his retirement, Mackey remained on the forefront of change in professional football. He pushed for better health care and championed the cause of former players, even as he battled the dementia that ultimately forced him into an assisted-living facility. LARGER THAN LIFE—This Aug. 26, 1970 photo shows Baltimore Colts Hall of Fame NFL player John Mackey on the practice field. (AP Photo/File)
Exactly one week ago today the Pirates held their annual event at PNC Park celebrating the life and legacy of the man who shattered the color bar of MLB, the late great Jackie Robinson. When I was anticipating penning this column I had to really dig deep to bring something meaningful to you because I have written over one hundred articles on Jackie Robinson. I labored and thought about what I could say and out of the clear blue sky the lyrics from EWFs ‘Shining Star’ leaped on me like “white on rice.”
by Malik Vincent For the first time since 1990, the Pirates sent three representatives to the 2011 All-Star game that took place at Chase Field in Phoenix July 13. It was announced July 9 that third year centerfielder Andrew McCutcheon, who wasn’t originally picked, would replace Milwaukee Brewers’ outfielder Ryan Braun to represent the resurgent Bucs. ALL-STARS—The Pittsburgh Pirates three All-Stars, closer Joel Hanrahan (52), center fielder Andrew McCutchen, center, and starting pitcher Kevin Correia (29) are introduced to fans between innings of a game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park, July 10. McCutchen drove in five runs in the 9-1 Pirates win. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) The team ended the first-half of this season on a roll with a 47-43 record—which is their best franchise mark since the 1992 season. They are currently just a game behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brewers in the National League Central division. “We don’t want to be known as the team that has to have someone to represent the Pirates,” McCutcheon said to a reporter from MLB.com. “We’re going to have people there to represent the Pirates because they deserve to be there.”
by Jim LitkeAssociated Press Writer (AP)—He never quite believed it himself. At least that’s what Lorenzo Charles always said—from the second after he flushed one of the most dramatic baskets in the history of the college game all the way to the end of his life. Sadly, that came June 27, when the charter bus that Charles was driving crashed along Interstate 40 in Raleigh, N.C. He was 47. TRAGIC ACCIDENT—This April 4, 1983 photo shows North Carolina State's Lorenzo Charles (43) dunking the ball to give N.C. State a 54-52 win over high-flying Houston, whose destruction of the field justified the moniker "Phi Slamma Jamma” in the NCAA Championship game in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/File)
