“What I Think About LeBron Breaking My NBA Scoring Record”; “Why We Love Kobe Bryant: He Took the Shot”; “Jordan B. Peterson’s DIY Cult”; With New Introductions to Each Article
You are actually inspiring me to write more and be more discerning in my word choices and whether my thoughts and/or opinions pass as logical! It is damn hard to write about complex issues and express complex opinions! You are damn good at it! And I thank you for your hard work and dedication! ❤️
So much to ponder. But I am very pleased to be introduced to Helen Lewis. I will be looking for more information about her. I do agree that we need to guard against banning people. Free speech is foundational. Thank you, Kareem, for such insightful musings and intelligent words about our world.
Quick note to Kareem about heroes. Today I told my Surgeon the truth about his amazing gift. He is my hero, 5 months ago I was crippled and unable to walk, today I walked, ran and skipped through the parking lot to my waiting family. Ecstatic and happy that i was cleared 100%. To completely be able to walk again, is amazing, I never thought I would be pain free and today I am. I just want everyone to know that athletes are great, and they do lift us up and makes us strive to do better. But also, there are heroes out there every day doing the dirty work or running into a burning building, caring for a sick child. I just want to say thank you Kareem, you should be incredibly proud of my hero today.
Thank you so much for doing all the hard work of ingesting all the garbage and then allowing me the privilege to hear your commentary. Agreement is never assumed but often obtained upon completion. Humorous seriousness is your amazing authoring skill. Like the sky-hook you perfected, you have created writing perfection and the many that partake of your gift are truly blessed to know you. Thank you for being so giving of your heart, mind and soul.
Kareem, have you ever read "The Topeka School" by Ben Lerner? It helped me understand people like Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson a little bit better. Part of the book is how debate contests were judged changed in the 80s and 90 (pretty much "if you can't impress them with facts, baffle them with bull sh*t"). I look forward to your substack every week.
I join everyone else in congratulating you for your well-deserved nominations. I have 4 paid Substack subscriptions and, while I thoroughly enjoy them all, I find yours to be the most stimulating/interesting. Thank you!
Congratulations on your well-deserved nominations. I very much enjoyed revisiting some of the old columns and your piece on Jordan Peterson has held up well.
I have only recently discovered your writing, and am delighted. I particularly enjoyed your letting the air out of the pompous Jordan Peterson. Your clear thinking and writing have relieved me of the last traces of a prejudice against the intellectual potential of athletes. The world is not divided between “jocks” and “brains” as was thought in my football-mad high school, many years ago. Write on!
My goodness, no wonder these articles have been nominated! Congratulations! My husband and I are newcomers to your essays and greatly enjoying them. My husband, who is 82 has been blind since 29 and is a recording artist, but his first love was and always will be basketball. He brags he had a 37” vertical jump. In fact, he played against you once in a pick up game at Power Memorial in either ‘64/‘65. He can’t recall the exact year. Anyway, I read several Substack articles with him each morning. It has become a morning ritual, and he really enjoyed the basketball articles today,
The third one for me? Not so much. Because that idiot represents my field. I had no clue who he was and when prior to reading the article, asked Alexa, I literally buried my face in my hands. What an embarrassment! Still a well written article, but I wish I hadn’t found out someone like him was out there making the rest of us look so bad.
You should win all the journalism awards! Can you publish all your Substack articles in a holiday gift sized read..? (I would buy and give away 10 easily- keep a few on coffee tables etc
After re-reading your observations, I realized why you are more of a role model (or should be) than many of the self-aggrandizing athletes today. Routine plays in our major sports (e.g. dunk, football score, home run).are celebrated out of proportion to their value to the game, to the sport, let alone to society. Re-reading your story reminds me that few of today's athletes would agree with your writings.
This column is my favorite read on substack or elsewhere. The writing (and the ideas),week after week, just wonderful and thought-provoking.
Worth it? Kareem, you are always worth it, so worth it. Thanks for not resting on your laurels and calling out things that need to be called out.
Spot on. You have articulated that which should be obvious to most….but unfortunately is just not that common.
Cap,
You are actually inspiring me to write more and be more discerning in my word choices and whether my thoughts and/or opinions pass as logical! It is damn hard to write about complex issues and express complex opinions! You are damn good at it! And I thank you for your hard work and dedication! ❤️
So much to ponder. But I am very pleased to be introduced to Helen Lewis. I will be looking for more information about her. I do agree that we need to guard against banning people. Free speech is foundational. Thank you, Kareem, for such insightful musings and intelligent words about our world.
Quick note to Kareem about heroes. Today I told my Surgeon the truth about his amazing gift. He is my hero, 5 months ago I was crippled and unable to walk, today I walked, ran and skipped through the parking lot to my waiting family. Ecstatic and happy that i was cleared 100%. To completely be able to walk again, is amazing, I never thought I would be pain free and today I am. I just want everyone to know that athletes are great, and they do lift us up and makes us strive to do better. But also, there are heroes out there every day doing the dirty work or running into a burning building, caring for a sick child. I just want to say thank you Kareem, you should be incredibly proud of my hero today.
It is Kareem’s son Dr. Amir Abdul-Jabbar who is my hero
16 months later and I am running and walking and doing great.
Thank you so much for doing all the hard work of ingesting all the garbage and then allowing me the privilege to hear your commentary. Agreement is never assumed but often obtained upon completion. Humorous seriousness is your amazing authoring skill. Like the sky-hook you perfected, you have created writing perfection and the many that partake of your gift are truly blessed to know you. Thank you for being so giving of your heart, mind and soul.
Kareem, have you ever read "The Topeka School" by Ben Lerner? It helped me understand people like Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson a little bit better. Part of the book is how debate contests were judged changed in the 80s and 90 (pretty much "if you can't impress them with facts, baffle them with bull sh*t"). I look forward to your substack every week.
I join everyone else in congratulating you for your well-deserved nominations. I have 4 paid Substack subscriptions and, while I thoroughly enjoy them all, I find yours to be the most stimulating/interesting. Thank you!
Congratulations on your well-deserved nominations. I very much enjoyed revisiting some of the old columns and your piece on Jordan Peterson has held up well.
I have only recently discovered your writing, and am delighted. I particularly enjoyed your letting the air out of the pompous Jordan Peterson. Your clear thinking and writing have relieved me of the last traces of a prejudice against the intellectual potential of athletes. The world is not divided between “jocks” and “brains” as was thought in my football-mad high school, many years ago. Write on!
My goodness, no wonder these articles have been nominated! Congratulations! My husband and I are newcomers to your essays and greatly enjoying them. My husband, who is 82 has been blind since 29 and is a recording artist, but his first love was and always will be basketball. He brags he had a 37” vertical jump. In fact, he played against you once in a pick up game at Power Memorial in either ‘64/‘65. He can’t recall the exact year. Anyway, I read several Substack articles with him each morning. It has become a morning ritual, and he really enjoyed the basketball articles today,
The third one for me? Not so much. Because that idiot represents my field. I had no clue who he was and when prior to reading the article, asked Alexa, I literally buried my face in my hands. What an embarrassment! Still a well written article, but I wish I hadn’t found out someone like him was out there making the rest of us look so bad.
Looking forward to many more mornings with you!
You should win all the journalism awards! Can you publish all your Substack articles in a holiday gift sized read..? (I would buy and give away 10 easily- keep a few on coffee tables etc
Mahalo for warning me/us about Jordan Peterson. What a piece of work, and for me, not worth any more time/space in my head.
After re-reading your observations, I realized why you are more of a role model (or should be) than many of the self-aggrandizing athletes today. Routine plays in our major sports (e.g. dunk, football score, home run).are celebrated out of proportion to their value to the game, to the sport, let alone to society. Re-reading your story reminds me that few of today's athletes would agree with your writings.
Wonderful to re-read the first two, and read for the first time the last. Thank you and congratulations.