Dexter's Vantage Point!

The whitening of the Indiana Pacers continues. Now it’s extended beyond the court and into the front office. The Indiana Pacers recently fired Director of Player Personnel Mel Daniels. Reportedly Daniels had problems with the general manager, Larry Bird and head coach Jim O’Brien. President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird issued the following before showing Daniels the door. "Mel was a great basketball player who helped make the Pacers a well-known basketball franchise. We wish him well." Daniels has been involved with the Indiana Pacer franchise for the last 40 years. To be fired in this manner is simply classless by the organization. With the firing of Daniels coupled with a roster that includes Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Josh McRoberts, Travis Diener, Jeff Foster and first-round pick Tyler Hansbrough one has to wonder if the Indiana Pacers are meticulously making the organization too white. Are they? The Pacers drafted Tyler Hansbrough with the 13th pick overall. Was ...

ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips has reportedly been suspended for a week amid allegations of an affair gone wrong with a 22-year old production assistant named Brooke Hundley. Phillips, who is married, tried to keep his infidelity quiet but to no avail. Phillips recently decided to end his dealings with the young lady who invariably lost control. Burkes’ erratic, which included writing a letter to Phillips’ wife prompted him to get the police involved. This situation reminds me of another ESPN baseball analyst who was unfairly accused of sexual harassment Harold Reynolds. Reynolds wasn’t suspended for a week like Phillips though: he was promptly fired for an incident which happened in 2006. Why was Reynolds fired? Reynolds was accused of sexual harassment because he gave a female production assistant “an improper hug” at an Outback restaurant. Charges were filed by the woman. Before any of the allegations could be thoroughly substantiated by ESPN Reynolds was gone with the wind af...

The St. Louis Cardinals surprisingly made Mark McGwire their next hitting coach yesterday. Despite alleged steroid use the Cardinal family has lured McGwire out of hiding and welcomed “Big Mac” home with open arms. Ever since his career ended in 2001 McGwire has been in extreme incognito mode. The only significant appearance he’s made was when he pulled a Fred Astaire and danced around the question of whether he took steroids as he stood before Congress March 17, 2005. This is obviously a ploy to get the Paul Bunyan look a like into the Hall of Fame. Giving McGwire a job puts him back in the limelight. It also allows him a chance to subliminally seduce writers into forgiving him with his mere presence. Remember Alex Rodriguez lying on national television about taking steroids in an interview with Katie Couric? During spring training he called a press conference and kind of apologized for lying about his steroid use back in 2003 while a Texas Ranger. We don’t remember that now. We ...

Though the final score was 34-27 it doesn’t show how thoroughly the Notre Dame Fighting Irish was dominated throughout most of the game by the USC Trojans. The Trojans came from the sunshine of California to frigid weather in Indiana to a once Golden Dome and claimed another victory. The tough-talk from the “Great White Hype” surely hasn’t translated into victories hasn’t it? Yesterdays loss brings head coach Charlie Weis’ record to 0-5 against the Trojans. Has the time finally arrived to show Weis the door? Weis hasn’t won a meaningful game since he’s been at the helm. Weis softened his schedule to a point this year where he’d really had a one game that meant anything which was against USC. True to form Weis’ Irish lost the game like most knew they would. So what’s the excuse now? Weis was brought in to restore dominance to a once proud institution of higher learning with a tradition of playing great football. The Irish now sport a 4-2 record. Looks good on paper but they just got exp...

Recently several NFL players have been very outspoken against Russ Limbaugh becoming an owner in the NFL. Players have suggested they’d never play for an owner who has racist attitudes towards African Americans. New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott stated the following about Limbaugh, “It’s an oxymoron that he criticized Donovan McNabb,” Scott said. “A lot of us took it as more of a racial-type thing. I can only imagine how his players would feel. I know I wouldn’t want to play for him. He’s a jerk. He’s an (expletive). What he said (about McNabb) was inappropriate and insensitive, totally off-base. He could offer me whatever he wanted, I wouldn’t play for him……I wouldn’t play for Rush Limbaugh. My principles are greater and I can’t be bought.” Then there’s defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka of the New York Giants. Kiwanuka was very forthright about his feelings about Limbaugh. He stated, "All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in (President) Obama' America, white kid...

Rush Limbaugh wants to become the owner of the lowly St. Louis Rams. Yes, you read that correctly. Are you kidding me? How can the NFL allow someone like Limbaugh to own a team when he’s against all the great concepts that American sports stand for? Sports are about inclusion, harmony, teamwork, and rallying around a common goal. Should someone who is divisive be allowed to become an NFL owner? Limbaugh is a flaming conservative racist who doesn’t have high regard for African Americans in society or sport. It would be a serious conflict of interest for the NFL to allow a devout racist to become owner of a franchise where approximately 75 percent of the leagues players are African American. If I were a player I wouldn’t play for St. Louis Rams if Limbaugh was an owner. If I became a free-agent and they offered me the moon I wouldn’t play for the St. Louis Rams. In short, there wouldn’t be any set of circumstances where I’d associate with a franchise with a flaming conservative racist as...

Let’s see. This past summer the Cleveland Cavaliers were picked by many experts to win the NBA Championship last season. Instead they got beat in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Orlando Magic. No LeBron versus Kobe. A dejected LeBron James stormed off the court and acted like a sore loser instead of being humbly professional. Then there’s Cleveland wide receiver Donte Stallworth, who gets hammered in Miami Beach and kills a man who was crossing a busy street in the wee hours of the morning. Stallworth was partying with teammate Braylon Edwards before the unfortunate incident took place. Now Stallworth sits at his place on house arrest. Last week, after a woeful baseball season Cleveland Indian manager and Fort Wayne, Indiana native Eric Wedge gets a pink slip from management because the team wasn’t able to live up to expectations. Days ago I witnessed the Cleveland Browns drop an overtime game to the Cincinnati Bengals putting their record at 0-4. Head coach Eric Mangini was broug...

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Browns fell to 0-4 after losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on their home turf in overtime. Despite the loss and playing their best game of the season it wasn’t enough to stop head coach Marvin Lewis and his Bengals from getting the win. Browns quarterback Derek Anderson threw the ball well. He completed 28-46 passes for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Running back Jerome Harrison rushed for 121 yards on the ground. Muhammad Massaquoi caught 8 passes for 149 and the defense played better. Even with the marked improvement it wasn’t enough to win. Some of the Browns faithful have requested owner Randy Lerner replace Eric Mangini. Probably not likely to happen to soon but if the Browns continue to lose Mangini’s seat will continue to get hotter. Typically when there’s a coaching change organizations look to upgrade the franchise. Was Mangini the best guy for this job? Is Mangini doing a better job than the guy he replaced? Shakespeare once wrote, ...

There’s a flicker of hope that suspended Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount will play this season. Blount was suspended for the entire season after punching a Boise St. player Byron Hout a month ago. As Blount was walking off the field Hout taunted Blount who in turn decked him. After “the punch” all hell broke loose with verbal sparring from fans, players and the coaches. Blount was so angry he had to be restrained by security and teammates. After Blount calmed down he promptly issued an apology in the locker room but it wasn’t enough. Public pressure all but ensured his fate was sealed. Many think Oregon head coach Chip Kelly pulled the trigger too quickly and made the wrong decision to suspend Blount for the season. Is it too late to right a wrong here? Kelly reportedly has had recent talks with Jon Gruden and Tony Dungy about Blount’s situation. Kelly outlined that Blount must take specific academic and behavioral steps if there’s a chance for him to play this season. It’s good ...