37 Comments

To wake up with a cup of strong coffee and read - first thing - Kareem quoting Phil Ochs? I think I may actually have died and gone to heaven.

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Come on. Do yourself a favor and subscribe. It is fun to be able to write in the comments.

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A truer statement was never spoken! It's wonderful to be part of this intelligent, articulate, and compassionate community. Not to mention - all the wonderful comments from my fellow aged Lakers fans!!

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founding

For sure! I look forward to Kareem's commentary! It is always insightful.

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I’m proud to subscribe. I loved you as a kid and now I really love you and the way you use your voice for good.

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As a paid subscriber, I have been reassured often by Kareem’s “There but for Fortune” philosophy and commentary. Thank you, Kareem, for consistently reminding us of our social and political obligations toward the poor and underserved. America in 2022 can be brutal and callous toward the less fortunate. Compassion and kindness are consistent themes in your dispatches, Kareem— answers that are still blowing in the wind for those of us who retain our 60’s idealism.

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You were a great basketball player. Now at 65 I know you are an even better man. Thank you. Throughout my life you have taught me, from the court and your still, to 1983 when you're home caught fire and your reaction, to today and all this wonderful, thoughtful writing with passion and purpose.

Again, THANK YOU.

Carl

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Kareem's (and Coop's) podcasts alone are worth more than the cost to scribe. But his commentaries on social issues, music, sports, politics, and yes, even reality TV, are priceless. Pony up, people, you'll be glad you did.

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Both Phil Oaks and Kareem touch my heart. I used to hear him play in Central Park. What a gift to enjoy him with my coffee this morning! I am a subscriber and this substack is an important part of my life. Thank you.

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...once again, your newsletter opens up my mind...I never knew about Phil Ochs but thanks to you for opening up the door, and then to Wikipedia for opening up his short tragic life, and lastly to Apple Music as I download his everlasting, forever relevant songs of protest!

Thank you!

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For his birthday, give my 39-yr old son a Yankee hat in time for the ALCS (don't even get me started on the Houston Astros) OR gift a subscription to Kareem's newsletter. No contest: Kareem!! People, you gotta support this newsletter!

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Ummmm ... as a Dodger fan, all I can say is ... I am biologically incapable of supporting the Yankees. Otherwise I heartily agree.

When I was 8 years old (when dinosaurs walked the earth) and living in LA, I was engaged to Sandy Koufax. Sadly, he was never informed of the engagement.

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When our family moved from NYC to LA, I was a teenager. The only two things my friends and I did (besides hanging out) was to go the Lighthouse to hear jazz or go to Dodger Stadium. In those days, it was the Big Red Machine that gave us fits -- so, I know from bleeding Dodger Blue! A tense moment was in the 1977 WS: am I a Dodger fan or a Yankee fan? It became clear with the first pitch.

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The 1977 Series was a sad moment for me. I was in the middle of law school that summer. I remember researching all day at the LA Law Library, which was close to the stadium, stopping by the Japanese bakery down the hill, buying a box of mochi pastries, driving to the stadium, and sitting in the RF bleachers (the Reggie Smith gang), sharing the pastries with the regulars. That was my favorite pasttime on a summer evening. It was crushing when the Yankees won. And now Dusty Baker is the manager of the Astros.

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Phil Ochs long prose poem song "Pleasures of the Harbor" is a treasure.Thanks for remembering a beautiful soul who had a tragic end Kareem.

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author

That is also a favorite of mine. Musically rich and melancholy.

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I already subscribe but am too old to have friends. but I just re-watched one of my favourite segments. Avoid most of this, but if you haven't seen it, start at 36:00 and stay until 56:00. you won't regret it.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?26024-1/women-verge

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Your intelligence, grace, and commitment to excellence are only partial explanations of why I have committed to your column. Your cultural awareness transcends your writing completely. To cover the breadth of subject matter that you do with such commitment is a challenge, I'm sure, but you do it with creativity and a sense of humor. Basketball? Oh so yesterday....

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Renewing my subscription was my early birthday present to myself.

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Kareem, you have always been my favorite player growing up. Myself shooting skyhooks at the school basketball courts and always wore the number 33, and I have now really enjoyed your writing. So, I just subscribed. Your content is fantastic and all over the spectrum of the world. I look forward to more. Thank you. Go 33!

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I'm a paid subscriber who loves the newsletter, but please pay attention to your/you're and their/there/they're. I seem to have an eagle eye for usage mistakes. Not as rewarding as sinking a sky hook but that's the only game I got.

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As Lawrence Tierney says to Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs, "Never mind what you 'normally' would do. Just cough in your g**damn five bucks like everybody else."

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author

One of my favorite scenes in movies.

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Thanks, Cap!

Here's another favorite scene (bonus points if you can name the film):

"I've been hearing that cr*p ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!"

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