Catch Me If You Can

At one a.m. in the morning, it can be safe to say that most people are fast asleep.

But inside the 103rd Precinct, located in Jamaica of south Queens, its residents recently were awoken by the squeal of bagpipes and the thumping of helicopters flying by.

The purpose of all this clamoring was to pay homage to a police department hero who died in the line of duty.

Twenty years ago, February twenty-six nineteen eighty-eight, the New York Police Department lost a young rookie cop by the name of Edward Byrne. The policeman, who was in his first month on the job, was shot and killed. His orders were to stand guard and protect a witness who was sought after by a local drug lord.

Since November of two thousand and six, the citizens of this precinct have grieved for the loss of one of their own, with the much-publicized trial in the murder of a young black man, Sean Bell, well on its way.

Early that November morning, Bell was ambushed by a special division of the NYPD who fired fifty separate shots, killing him and wounding two of his friends.

The suspects on trial are currently employed by New York City’s finest and prior to the events of that night, they were operating inside Club Kalua, a strip club. The premise was a department-approved sting that required its officers to arrest would-be criminals who were involved in illegal drugs and prostitution that took place in and around the club.

The defendants are presently carrying charges of first-and second-degree manslaughter and one of the detectives is facing two misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment.

As this predominantly black community awaits the outcome of this very sensitive trial, a perception that Mr. Bell’s killing could be justified by the problems of the past is being portrayed by a wounded police department.

Lets face it!

The New York Knicks have their work cut for them.

With a seventeen and thirty-nine won-lost record so far this season, the Knicks have fallen second to last in the Eastern Conference and own the fifth worst record overall in the NBA.

Knicks head coach Isaiah Thomas now has only twenty-six games left in which he can salvage this most horrific season.

“It’s a slow phasing out of the big man, is what’s happening in this league, it seems like.”

Thomas was quoted when asked about his latest romance with supposed franchise player center Eddy Curry.

The last working rift cost James L. Dolan, the sole proprietor of the Knicks, ten million dollars.

Not to mention the enormous amount of negativity the National Basketball Association was forced to endure.

One positive for the New York Knicks; lottery pick.

In world news, former Cuban President Fidel Castro has decided to step down transferring the balance of power to his younger brother Raul.

Two thousand and nine would mark the fiftieth anniversary of the elder Castro’s socialist revolution. In nineteen fifty-nine, the world was introduced to plain-green fatigues and good cigars.

Cuba shares similar cultural novelties with another Communist country, North Korea, such as government-controlled media and inadequate public works. The citizens of these two nations have learned to compromise with their government’s concern on security while sacrificing a reasonable standard of living.

Am I drowning, or do I think I’m drowning?

The latest “break down” for this current U.S. administration involves an ongoing investigation into the practice known as “waterboarding,” an early form of interrogation that was deemed ill by past American courts.

But since the president has declared war, the CIA among others have been given free reign over all terror suspects who find themselves inside a legal bind.

If you happen to fall victim to interrogation and decide not to “come clean,” then you will be subjected to a subtle form of torture. An unknown source of water being poured over your nose and mouth creating a feeling of drowning will ensue.

Most recently, the Justice Department’s internal ethics office, the Office of Professional Responsibility or OPR, is preparing an unclassified report that will detail the trail of findings that led this recent American government to allow this sort of practice.

In regards to another investigation, Republican Senator John McCain’s ethics were tested once again as one of the chairman on his presidential campaign, Rick Renzi, was indicted by a federal grand jury on thirty-five counts of corruption. The senator has alluded in the past that Representative Renzi exercised “honesty and integrity” towards his legion of voters.

The forty-nine year-old representative of Arizona found out the hard way in trying to compete with the big boys by embezzling funds from his own insurance company’s trust accounts to finance his first Congressional campaign in 2001.

Got a thing for blondes, Senator?

There are reports coming out of the New York Times that Republican Senator John McCain was demanding more from a lobbyist than what was in the job description. As it turns out, the mysterious lobbyist was spotted numerous times with the senator during the two thousand presidential elections. In which case, she accompanied him at fundraisers and at times inside his office. The meetings became so common that Mr. McCain’s trusted aides had to commandeer a plan to deter her off course.

These subtle rendezvous’ were considered unethical and were quickly extinguished in hopes of prevented any further engagements between the two.

McCain, seventy-one and running for U.S. President, denies these accusations that he and a forty-year old lobbyist were romantically involved. Up until this point, Mr. McCain’s campaign was on cruise-control, he had just captured the Republican bid for president.

Reactions coming out of the McCain campaign centered mostly on the integrity of the New York Times. The publishers of this prominent New York news source reduced themselves to that of a political rag on a slow news day.

G.O.P. hopeful John McCain was left wondering, ‘doesn’t this story belong on Page Six of the New York Post.’

Go West Young Man

The top-tier teams of the NBA’s almighty Western Conference have finally tipped the scales.

Recent additions made by the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks should make for an exciting end to this year’s NBA season.

Future Hall of Fame guard Jason Kidd took his business elsewhere with hopes of fulfilling his dream of winning an NBA championship. But a change in scenery does not always bring greener pastures. Kidd, who is averaging almost a triple-double a night, has placed his reputation on the line as a good team player.

The most intriguing revelation to come out of these recent wheeling and dealings would have to be the direction in which the New Jersey Nets are heading. With a chance at the post season and the lopsided nature of the Eastern Conference, some experts closer to the Meadowlands say this may be a rebuilding year.

We will have to wait and see, as the season for New Jersey Nets unfolds, with questions on the strength of their coaching and if and when they will be re-located to Brooklyn.

In world news, the sovereignty of a little known land, Kosovo, has finally gained its independence. This area located in Eastern Europe, was previously part of the now defunct Yugoslavia. Muslim-held Kosovo ditched its sullen ancestors for the promise of Western standards.

With strong backing from the United States, Kosovo has agreed to compete for a spot inside the all-powerful European Union. Serbia, Kosovo’s neighbors to the north, has taken major offense to these latest developments calling for Russia to add some muscle that would counter the West’s influence.

Is it that Easy to Shoot a Gun?

The most interesting revelation to come out of this recent campus school shooting would have to be that Steve Kazmierczak, NIU graduate, and Seung-Hui Cho, self proclaimed bearer of bad news, happen to purchase their guns and ammo from the same arms dealer.

By witnessing these random acts of violence you begin to gain a sense of clarity. Perhaps, your neighborhood sports and tackle shops aren’t paying the rent selling bobbins and lures.

Local gun runners stubbornly refuse to put a stranglehold on gun licensing applications that guarantee a swift possession earning the right to bear arms. Of course, you can’t blame them you wouldn’t want to lose the sale. As in the first lesson you learn in selling is quite simply, “close the deal.”

If Mr. Kazmierczak’s weapon had arrived a day later perhaps he could’ve slept on it instead of re-enacting a scene from the Matrix and becoming a major distraction on the evening news.

In determining how he went about his business, his main objective was to thwart his adversaries by removing their innocence.

On that cold and wintry day in northern Illinois, the pain and suffering laid upon those unsuspecting victims should be cause for concern.

Welcome back, baby!

ESPN’s color-man Dick Vitale a.k.a. Dickey V is back in the broadcast booth. For most of this year’s college basketball season, he has been recovering from throat surgery. His first game back featured the Atlantic Coast Conference’s most intense rivalry, Duke vs. North Carolina.

“It’s gonna be awesome, baby.”

On the contrary, there was the departure of another perennial loud mouth. The all-time winningest college basketball coach Bobby Knight officially retired from coaching, handing the role of Texas Tech head coach over to his son.

The elder Knight was scolded on numerous occaision because he couldn’t keep his hands off his players. In one instance, when Knight was asked about his thoughts on rape, he replied, “I say, relax and enjoy it.” The General’s legacy was highlighted with three NCAA championship titles.

Most recently, news has been coming out of Bloomington, Ind. that Indiana head basketball coach Kelvin Sampson was met with allegations that he had participated in and allowed incessant phone calls to young athletes in hopes of luring them as recruits.

The Indiana Hoosiers basketball program was granted a seven-day window to try and shed some much needed light on these recent allegations. Officials from the NCAA all agree that this situation should be handled, for the time being, internally. The harshes of penalties fallen on them would most definitely be the inelegibilty of those beloved Hoosiers playing in the Big Dance come March.

To most, the NCAA is a well-respected organization. But with these recent reports it has reminded some college basketball historians of those disappointing years in which a towel biting former head coach known simply as “Tark the Shark,” Jerry Tarkanian, strolled the hardwood floor.

Will Barry Charm Those Super Delegates?

As the rigors of the Democratic primary continue to wage on towards an unforeseeable end, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is starting to show that her Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama is a much easier person to get along with.

Senator Clinton now leads by an even slimmer margin as Senator Obama has acquired more delegates by staging victories in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington State.

Senator Obama, who is gaining in popularity on a daily basis, refuses to deny his peers the chance to stand on his every word and believe in his convictions for change.

As we close the book on Obama’s now infamous memoir, in which he speaks outwardly about his recreational drug use and how he advocated for the derailment of investments handed over to South Africa during those harsh years of apartheid; it now seems increasingly clear that his best years are still to come and he should be considered a viable candidate.

Hopefully, his sincerity and genuine charisma will woo those super delegates.

Good luck Barack!

Who’s Telling the Truth

The main event was not the stomping of New York Giants linebacker Michael Strahan.

It was not the soft-spoken lather of New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, or the swirling trade talks surrounding alleged male chauvinist, New Jersey Nets All-star guard Jason Kidd.

Not even the introduction of Queens County’s newest representative, left hander and All-star Johan Santana could draw so much attention.

Among these exciting metropolitan events, there is the barking and barking of nationwide constituents.

When did ex-trainer Brian McNamee inject a needle into All-star right hander Roger Clemens’ buttocks?

McNamee publicly put his own ass on the line (so to speak) stating under oath that he could provide hard evidence. The type of evidence that can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the rear-end of seven-time Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens was stripped and violated.

As fast as Clemens innocently inquired from McNamee, “hey man is this stuff bad for me,” Clemens must quickly now be considering his plans for retirement and Hall of Fame legacy as this trial moves on.

New York Yankees left-hander Andy Pettite and former utility player Chuck Knoblauch’s cooperation with the latest celebrity watch dog, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, helped ease tensions and add some much needed water under that symbolic bridge.

We all well know by now, that the powers that be did not take lightly to the fact that this new breed of “performance-enhanced men” could defy God and cheat the American people of their beloved pastime.

Riding off into the “Sun”set

Other news that has stirred up some intrigue recently is the return of NBA center Shaquille O’Neal to the Western Conference. The Phoenix Suns traded for the aging O’Neal hoping to add some beef to its high-powered offense.