Category Archives: Score Keeper

Written words on sports.

RIP Rubin “HURRICANE” Carter

Rubin Carter

He was the inspiration for the last great political song of Bob Dylan’s career.  He was a man who never gave up the fight to clear his name. He was an American who showed us how to fight injustice. He was the Hurricane! RIP Rubin Carter.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/10811853/boxer-rubin-carter-dies-76

http://vimeo.com/53933900

Hurricane by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy

Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out, “My God, they killed them all!”
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin’ that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world

Three bodies lyin’ there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin’ around mysteriously
“I didn’t do it,” he says, and he throws up his hands
“I was only robbin’ the register, I hope you understand
I saw them leavin’,” he says, and he stops
“One of us had better call up the cops”
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin’
In the hot New Jersey night

Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin’ around
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that
In Paterson that’s just the way things go
If you’re black you might as well not show up on the street
’Less you wanna draw the heat

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin’ around
He said, “I saw two men runnin’ out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates”
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said, “Wait a minute, boys, this one’s not dead”
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men

Four in the mornin’ and they haul Rubin in
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin’ eye
Says, “Wha’d you bring him in here for? He ain’t the guy!”
Yes, here’s the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin’ that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world

Four months later, the ghettos are in flame
Rubin’s in South America, fightin’ for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley’s still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin’ the screws to him, lookin’ for somebody to blame
“Remember that murder that happened in a bar?”
“Remember you said you saw the getaway car?”
“You think you’d like to play ball with the law?”
“Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin’ that night?”
“Don’t forget that you are white”

Arthur Dexter Bradley said, “I’m really not sure”
Cops said, “A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we’re talkin’ to your friend Bello
Now you don’t wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow
You’ll be doin’ society a favor
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin’ braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain’t no Gentleman Jim”

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
It’s my work, he’d say, and I do it for pay
And when it’s over I’d just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse

All of Rubin’s cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance
The judge made Rubin’s witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
And though they could not produce the gun
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed

Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder “one,” guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool’s hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell
That’s the story of the Hurricane
But it won’t be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he’s done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world

Copyright © 1975 by Ram’s Horn Music; renewed 2003 by Ram’s Horn Music


Read more: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/hurricane#ixzz2zTZWhFXR

Duke Redhawks

Devilish Redhawks Will Play for ACC Championship

The Duke Blue Devil’s secured a spot in the ACC Championship game with their thrilling 27-25 win over North Carolina.  The football game was one for the ages and culminated in Duke’s first-ever 10 win season.  While Tarheel fans are dismayed by this development, I have reason to cheer.

Two of my former U.S. History students, Jamison Crowder and Issac Blakeney, played prominent roles in the Duke victory.  These two gifted student-athletes have the entire Monroe High community beaming with Redhawk pride.   It has been a thrill watching them compete all season.  While Jamison and Issac’s names are relatively new to those that follow college football, many who know them from their high school days are not surprised by their success.  Their athletic abilities on the football field and basketball court has never been in doubt.  What makes the two men even bigger stars is that at Monroe High they always put student before athlete when it came to academic achievement.  They were two of my best history students.  In my classroom, they never once let their athletic development get in the way of their educational goals.  This is why I believe they were exceptional role models at Monroe High.

Their success is in large part due to the support of their parents and their high school coach, Johnny Sowell.  I have learned a lot over the years from Coach Sowell about building relationships and inspiring student athletes.  It is no surprise that the Monroe High football team finds itself again competing for a chance to win an elusive state football title.  A victory against Parkwood High this week will get them into the title game on December 13th in Chapel Hill.  It is my hope that Monroe High, and Coach Sowell, will add a football state championship to the basketball state title Jamison and Issac helped the school win in 2010.

Until then, there will be plenty of Redhawks in attendance as Duke takes on Florida State for the ACC title in Charlotte.  This is as close to a homecoming as one can get.  The excitement in the stands will be electric come December 7th.   While I cannot wait to see how Jamison, Issac and the Blue Devils perform, they are already legitimate heroes to the Monroe High community.  Go Redhawks!

Best Score:  Finally, a Duke-Carolina football game for the ages (Luke DeCock)

Gotta Love Those Baby Heels!

Tarheel Marcus Paige
Tarheel Marcus Paige

North Carolina’s victory over third ranked Louisville Sunday was extra special because I was able to enjoy it with my new baby Tarheel and his Uncle B.   It’s amazing the difference a week can make.  The day baby-boy was born all of Heels Nation had the Belmont blues.  On the following Sunday the Heels looked mature beyond their years.  Needless to say, the outstanding performance bodes well for the team’s prospects and it’s fans for the next two seasons.

As my brother and I labored to hang pictures in the baby’s nursery, we took our own series of timeouts to run down the hall to check the score.  Not wanting to jinx the Heels or our marriages, we kept this ritual up throughout the second half.  Once I reviewed the box score I realized the size of the win.  Marcus Paige (ACC Player of the Week) reminded the Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parkers of the world that college basketball has some great players that are not freshmen-phenoms.  Paige’s 32 points on just 12 shots delivered a message that the Heels have their own stars that can hold their own against this year’s elite teams.  Speaking of stars, Kennedy Meeks put on an outlet passing clinic.  It was a great effort by a player that was less than stellar against previous opponent, Richmond.  I have attached the video for your viewing pleasure.

The only thing left to say is “Welcome to the ACC Cardinals!”  Starting next year Louisville will have to win on Tobacco Road if they want to hang an ACC or National Championship banner.  By then my Baby Heel and the Baby Heels that dominated Saturday night will be older.  I for one cannot wait to see how this team develops and what the next two seasons will bring.  I hope Rick Pitino and his team are ready the next time we meet.  After Sunday’s contest, I know this North Carolina team and my little Baby Heel will be game.

Best Score:  A Team Win (Adam Lucas)

RGIII is on the Run from Media Controversy

RGIII runs from the Eagles
RGIII runs from the Eagles

It looks like the terms Washington Redskins and sports media controversy are interchangeable.  The latest incident, Robert Griffin III’s Philadelphia post game comments, has the sports media keeping score on whether Griffin can handle the starting job.  I suspect RGIII is merely experiencing the same growing pains Cam Newton experienced in Charlotte.  The media market in the Queen City has been prone to criticize the young quarterback at every turn.  In fact, the local sports radio personalities owe Cam several royalty checks. Without him they would not make a living.  Cam conversations pretty much dominate most of their airtime (even when the rest of us in NC are more focused on Tobacco Road and college hoops!).

As far as I’m concerned I think hindsight will reveal that RGIII’s second Redskins season was his NFL maturation year.  In music, this is often called a sophomore slump.   I’d be willing to bet RG’s future campaigns will produce plenty of stellar records.   Griffin will survive this latest controversy.  As for the  Shanahans, I’m not so sure.  Dan Snyder’s meddling has been on hiatus for far too long and I suspect having a franchise QB might inspire him to up his involvement.  And so we come full circle . . . the Washington Redskins and sports media controversies will always be one in the same.

Best Score:  Robert Griffin III’s postgame comments create a schism (Doug Farrar)