Kareem's Good News Announcement
I still enjoy winning.
Just wanted to share with my Substack community that I won my 8th journalism award on Saturday when I was selected Columnist of the Year at the 15th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
Writing a column is a weird experience because you never know how your words will be received. With basketball, when I jammed the ball through the hoop, I knew that would be received well by the fans. When I write, rewrite, and rewrite a few more times a sentence, it’s not followed by cheers from the stadium, but from silence. Very judgmental silence. Those silences are heavier than Bill Walton and Bob Lanier, but I still have to haul them up and down the page hoping for the best.
Awards don’t validate what I do, my readers do. They subscribe. They comment. They keep me going. So, thanks to the Los Angeles Press Club. And thanks to you readers.
Congratulations. What a joy it is to read your words. And congrats to the other winner tonight: Senator Warnock
Kareem. Most people don’t get the opportunity to excel on a world level at any activity. You were an extraordinary player. But you were so much more than that. But your brilliance as a player overshadowed the man. And the man is wonderful. Your writings are timely and insightful and get to the heart of the issue. You have the power of simplicity in that you point the issue and how to look at with out a lot of arm flailing.
You maintain grace through personal challenges and I am grateful for your being and taking the effort
Thank you and congratulations
B