A weekend of sadness

It has been a shocking weekend to say the least: Bernie Mac died Saturday morning at age 50, then Issac Hayes died Sunday at age 65.

Bernie Mac was not an overnight success, at least in the eyes of mainstream America. They knew him either from his television show or appearing in the two "Oceans" movies.

Issac Hayes reached mainstream America's consciousness after he won the 1971 Academy Award for best soundtrack. But he was more than the singer of "Shaft" or the voice of Chef in the obnoxious "South Park."

Black America knew both men, and knew them well.

Mac (1957-2008) accurately brought a slice of Black life to stage, screen and television. He closed "The Original Kings of Comedy" (2000), where he hilariously explained the difference between a noun and a verb. Another bit he did was the prelude to "The Bernie Mac Show," which aired from 2001 to 2006 on Fox, that featured him as an uncle raising his sister's three children. It won a Peabody Award in 2002. He was the rougher side of the Black father figure that Bill Cosby earlier protrayed on television, again showing that Blacks can be more than warm and fuzzy, yet caring.

Hayes (1942-2008) co-wrote "Soul Man" then embarked on a successful solo career, beginning with his 12-minute cover of "Walk On By," part of his four-song debut album, "Hot Buttered Soul" in which only one cut was shorter than five minutes. I discovered him back in the early 1970s on a now-defunct Detroit jazz station -- Hayes' songs were too long for the local AM Black stations at the time.

Hayes followed this classic with "The Issac Hayes Movement," another four-cut masterpiece, which featured a cover of the Beatles' "Something," and ". . . To Be Continued" before he released the "Shaft" soundtrack, when the rest of America finally discovered this man.

As great as these two men were, will they get the type of tributes they deserved.

Will Mac get the lengthy tributes that usually afforded White comedians when they leave for their eternal reward? Will Hayes be honored for his musical contributions as White musicians and singers do when they go?

The Clarence Thomas hearings sadly overshadowed Redd Foxx's passing.

More was said about Richard Pryor's use of profanity than his comedic genius -- it was just the opposite for George Carlin when he died earlier this summer.

Little was said about the late Robin Harris, who like Mac, also died suddenly and way too young. His "BeBe's Kids" told how unruly children can be without proper guidance and supervision.

Topper Carew's excellent documentary, "We Don't Die: We Multiply -- The Robin Harris Story" features Mac and other Black comics. It is a must-have DVD, and can be ordered on TopperCarew.com.

Hayes, who was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, was more than Shaft -- one of his best songs was "Part-Time Love" on his "Black Moses" double album. He also appeared in several movies, starring in "Truck Turner" and was a popular recurring character on "The Rockford Files," calling James Garner "Rockfish."

"Isaac Hayes is Memphis," Memphis TV reporter Kontji Anthony told CNN Sunday. He leaves to mourn and cherish his memories a wife and 12 children.

"My heart really goes out to his wife and (their child)," comic and friend Steve Harvey said on CNN. Mac married his high school sweetheart -- she, their daughter and their granddaughter are his survivors.

Mac and Hayes will be truly missed by White America, but Black America will miss them more because we knew them longer and best.

Angry is good

Sometimes in sports, a team has to get good and angry. The Minnesota Lynx played Saturday night like they were very good and angry.

According to Lynx center Vanessa Hayden-Johnson, they have been like this way for the last few days since the team's 73-67 loss to Atlanta July 9th.

"We've been beating the hell out of each other in practice," she admits. "We were hungry for a win."

Their hungriness paid off as Minnesota defeated Houston 85-71 Saturday at home. The victory snapped both an overall two-game losing streak, and a two-game slide at home as well, and brought the Lynx back to .500 (10-10).

"We needed to get back to .500," says Hayden-Johnson. "I think we all were under that pressure and were feeling it."

Seimone Augustus played hungry against Houston.

"I know that I haven't been aggressive since the Los Angeles game (a 88-70 road win on July 3)," she admitted. "I think my teammates feed off me being aggressive. I am going to try to do this more often on a consistent basis."

Augustus scored only six first-quarter points but they came off aggressive moves to the basket, which set the tone for her teammates to follow the rest of the night.

"Seimone was aggressive from the start," notes Coach Don Zierden, "and that what your best player and leader needs to do."

"She was focused," marveled Hayden-Johnson on the Lynx's top scorer. "She said, 'Let's play for us,' and that what we did."

Also, Augustus played mad all night as well. She led all scorers with 27 points. Perhaps she needs to get angry more often.

"My teammates says that when I get angry at practice, it's over with," she says proudly. "There were some calls that were made (Saturday), and some things happened in the game that really teed me off. It was a good thing that it happened."

Minnesota also got solid play from guard Anna DeForge, who finally looked like the player everyone previously hoped that she is -- a flat out outside scorer, scoring 17 points in the win.

"You tell shooters to keep shooting the basketball," Zierden says. This is what he has been telling DeForge to do all season -- when she shoots it, the team succeeds.

"We were executing both outside and inside tonight," says DeForge.

More importantly, the Lynx played with urgency. They took control midway through the opening quarter, after trailing early, and kept it up the rest of the way.

"We're (the coaching staff) serious about this, and they should be serious about this as well," says Minnesota Assistant Coach Jennifer Gillom. "We blew one of our chances against Atlanta -- home court advantage is very important at this point if we are going to make the playoffs. I think they understood that tonight."

The players were beginning to play like robots, says Augustus.

"We just wanted to play basketball (tonight)," claims Coach Z. "There wasn't any game plan."

Hayden-Johnson concurs, "We didn't have a set game plan, but he (Zierden) just told us to go out there and do our best.

"We played streetball," she continues, noting that the team successfully carried their practice intensity to the main court Saturday night.

"We were physically and mentally prepared," notes Lynx forward LaToya Thomas.

The Lynx showed this Saturday as they battled Houston, one of the WNBA's tallest teams, all night. They didn't win the rebounding battle (the Comets out rebounded the hosts 36-33) but Minnesota forced the visitors into 17 turnovers, and ultimately won where it counts -- the final score.

Rookie Nicky Anosike showed her might Saturday as she posted her fourth double-double of the season (12 points, 10 rebounds). Next to Augustus, Anosike perhaps was the Lynx's second aggressive player against the Comets.

"She is a fierce competitor," says Zierden of the 6-3 Anosike. "She's not 6-4, 6-5 but she works hard. It doesn't matter about how many points (she scores) but how (well) she defends and rebounds."

It was more Uptown Saturday Night against Houston than it was a few nights before, when it was "Down and Out in (Lynxland)" in the Atlanta loss.

"When teams make shots, they have energy on the other end of the floor as well," concludes the Lynx coach. "Tonight we made some shots that we haven't been able to make in other games."

Dream hand Lynx nighmarish loss

What bring a team crashing to a defeat faster than anything is missed free throws and missed layups.



These two things were exactly what happened to the Minnesota Lynx Wednesday in their 73-67 loss to Atlanta.



Allowing the first-year expansion team leave town with only its second win of their inugaral season wasn't embassing, but Minnesota's inablity to knock down free throws, especially in the game's deciding minutes was a shame.



The hosts missed eight free throws in the final quarter, including three of four in the final 1:37 of the contest, and the score tied at 66 apiece.



When a StarTribune summer intern asked Minnesota Coach Don Zierden was confidence the culpuit, "If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be coaching. I bottled it up and sell it to everybody," the coach deadpanned.



Then seriously speaking, Zierden responded, "You got to knock down (free throws) at crunch time, and tonight we didn't."



You also have to hit more than three shots, which the Lynx couldn't do in the final 10 minutes, going

All quiet . . . for now

It has been over a week and the Minnesota Twins clubhouse has been eerily quiet.

After the June 20th Minnesota-Arizona game, a rap song with endlessly rhyming "n***er" with bigger, blasted through the team's sound system. The room was full of reporters, mostly White, and two Black reporters. Only I got upset about it and argued against it with the team's only two Black players: Delmon Young and Craig Monroe.

You can read my entire column on this later today on www.spokesman-recorder.com.

Ever since the incident, Twins officials has been worried about what I would write. I don't know if I was more disturbed about hearing the N-word (I was), the causal attitude by the two players, especially Young, who played me off, or the team's vain attempt to squash my column by someone who barely speak to me.

The day after the incident, I get an E-mail from Molly Gallatin, Twins publications and media services. She was not in the clubhouse that night, but Monroe obviously went to her, complaining:

"Charles, I just spoke to Craig Monroe about his concerns over an interview you tried (for the record, I did more than try -- we talked for almost 20 minutes) with him the other night in the clubhouse regarding the music selection of the team. I would like to speak with you . . . and was wondering if you can stop by the office next time you're here or call me at work. Thanks. Molly."

I chose the latter, but I took my sweet loving time getting back to the same person whom I left a voice mail message last summer to request a one-on-one player interview, and have yet to get a phone call back from her. I later had to sent a formal complaint to Gallatin, and copied it to others in the organization, including Twins president Dave St. Peter, upon which I got a weak explanation for the obvious snub.

When I finally called Gallatin, whom I addressed as "Ms. Gallatin" -- I don't think someone who don't speak to me, suddenly think we are on first name basis -- she expressed Monroe's concerns about being "embarrassed" and when I was going to run the story.

I gave her no commitment, upon which Gallatin asked if I could give her a preview copy of my column. I quickly referred her to my editor and ended the conversation.

If Monroe had any concerns, he easily could have talked to me, instead of running to some White woman. If the veteran player was worried about being embarrassed, especially since he was trying to convince me that there is a difference on how the N-word is used:

"If you are saying "nigger," that's the word that is very offensive toward African-Americans. But if you're saying, 'What's up, my nigga' (it's OK)," Monroe argued. "I don't let it bother me with music because it is the expression of my people. I feel that we own that (word) and if we use it, I really don't see it as offensive."

It's funny that people like Gallatin can get to me right away on something like this, but can't speak to me when I am in the Twins press box. That entire media relations staff treat me like I am invisible. They'll speak to total strangers and talk around, over, and if they could, through me.

The only Twins employees, besides the players, who regularly speak to me are Peggy, the woman who fixes the press box hot dogs and Polish sausages; Art, the press box attendant, and Ray Cook, who guards the team clubhouse.

The Twins' press box is old-school, country club: I can only recall one time when there were maybe five Black media there. Most of the time, it is just me -- maybe another person of color.

I don't fit in the club. Oh, a couple of local Blacks are in the club because they laugh at the corny jokes, and easily engage in idle chat-chat. But they are only honorary members (these two don't realize it, perhaps) because the baseball media only hand out White privileges to full-time members, not wannabees.

I don't, and don't want to, qualify for membership because if I did, then Gallatin's failed mission to get me to not write something that might be negative toward her employers would have succeeded.

I don't want to be in a club that looks up and down at a fully credential press individual like they are intruding on some party. Or be a member of a club who thinks they know everything about sports.

Or, further yet, be in a club who didn't express the same outrage that I did about hearing the N-word that night. Remember that I said there was one other Black in the room besides me, and the two players -- he was standing in the group with me, when I was asking Monroe about it -- the honorary club member never uttered a word.

But WCCO Radio's Eric Nelson was upset.

"I knew I couldn't put this stuff on the air," he told me. Later on his show, he criticized the double standard some Blacks apply when the N-word is involved.

"I might be one of three or four White guys playing (pickup basketball)," Nelson says. "The African-American players -- not all of them but some of them would use the N-bomb toward each other and it was part of the dialogue of the game. But we (Whites) knew that we better not drop it.

"If you are going to be consistent, it shouldn't matter what color you are, should it?"

Ever since it's been quiet in the Twins clubhouse, musically speaking. Nelson praised me for my stand against offensive music played during open media access periods. It shouldn't be played at any time, I might add. He believes that the music was cut out after my concerns were expressed.

If this is the reason, then I am pleased.

For the record, it was Justin Morneau, a White Canadian who finally turned the music off. He switched it to a country song.

We don't know who put the N-word song on that night, but it's sad that the Twins' only two Black players couldn't see that it was wrong and acted like Spike Lee.

And did the right thing --- turned it off.

Twins tops interleague play

Minnesota's 6-0 win Sunday over the Milwaukee Brewers completes interleague play for the 2008 season.

The Twins finished with a 14-4 mark over National League opponents this season and improved to 120-90 overall. They joined the Oakland A's and the New York Yankees as the only three AL clubs with at least 120 interleague victories.

Manager Ron Gardenhire says his Twins don't have the big boppers that the Yankees or Boston have so his team aren't that overly affected when Minnesota plays in National League parks, where the designated hitter rule isn't used.

After Sunday's win, the manager offered the following explanation: "I don't have any theories on it. We don't have a team with a huge DH, so when we go into a National League park, we are not losing a player like (Boston's) David Ortiz.

"When we come home, (NL opponents) aren't really National League teams when they come in here because they have to use the DH," notes Gardenhire.

Later, "I don't know if you can put your finger on it," he says of the Twins' annual interleague success. "We actually have grind it out for runs -- we don't have big 3-4-5 (hitters), so it bodes well (against NL teams)."

Now with interleague play over, it's back to the AL Central -- Detroit will be in town for a three-game series.

"They are playing well again," Gardenhire says of the Tigers. "It will be a big series and a lot of fun," he concludes.

TWINS TIDBITS --

As some players, such as the Twins' Craig Monroe, have trouble adjusting from being an everyday player to the DH role, Jason Kubel seemingly has settled in it quite well:

"I think for Kubel, it is not that so much he prefers DH (but that) it just doesn't bother him," explains Gardenhire. "His mindset can handle it."

However, Kubel, who's hitting over .600 during this home stand, is not unlike any other player -- he wants to play everyday. But more importantly, "He loves to hit and loves to swing (the bat)," adds the manager. And the DH gets at least four times at bat -- every day.

First barometer

Don Zierden told his young Minnesota Lynx team prior to Thursday's game against Sacramento that the contest was a barometer game.

"Charles, what we challenge our players before the game (is that) if you want eventually to be a team that people are going to take seriously, you have to go toe-to-toe with the best," the coach admits.

Throw out Sacramento's sub-.500 record: the Monarchs, who won the 2005 WNBA title, will be in the Western Conference playoff hunt all season. They are tough-minded, tough on the board and tough shooters. In a word, just plain tough.

In their last meeting on June 12, Sacramento threw around both their experience and muscle and dropped the Lynx 82-78 at the downtown Minneapolis basketball arena. It's been over a year since Minnesota saw a win against them.

That drought ended Thursday.

In the shadow of the NBA Draft, where boo-hoo of reporters were all over the place -- and where Star-Tribune stone age columnist Sid Hartman, who once said he wouldn't be caught dead at a women's basketball game, was sitting corpse-like in the stands during the final minutes of the Lynx's 80-76 win.

It's too early to be the playoffs but the air surrounding Thursday's game, sure did smell like one.

Hard fouls given indiscriminately to anyone brave enough to drive to the hoop. Shots emphatically batted out of bounds -- both teams combined for six blocked shots.

Every basket was a premium: Minnesota shot just under 45 percent; Sacramento finished exactly at 40 percent. Every defensive stop was crucial.

The difference was that no Lynx player didn't waste a moment in doing something positive.

"We dug ourselves a hole last game," Minnesota guard Noelle Quinn says, pointing to her team's 19-point deficit, only to get back to within a point, before running out of gas.

This time, both teams were physically spent, but the host Lynx (8-6) had just enough to withstand the Monarchs (now 6-8) at every turn.

Without resulting to tired-old boxing references, I would say it was Minnesota's best game played so far because of its significance. But this didn't stop Zierden from doing so.

"I though we fought tonight all the way through," he notes. "Two or three times, they (Sacramento) made runs and tonight we found a way to keep fighting back."

"It was like a playoff game," remarked first-year center Nicky Anosike.

"Sacramento is in our conference," adds Quinn. "These games always are important."

Seimone Augustus, who battled an upset stomach all night, had 23 points to lead all scorers, including icing four big free throws in the final eight seconds to keep her team's distance to the never-quit visitors.

But according to her coach, it was Augustus' defense that was the game's star, as she held Sacramento's Nicole Powell, who finished with 20 points, to 5-of-13 shooting.

"We are not putting Seimone on a weak offensive player," explains Coach Z. He praised Augustus' "great (defensive) job on Powell. "We are challenging her."

But it was more than Seimone this night.

Candice Wiggins added 17 points, including shooting 50 percent (3-for-6) from the three-point line. The Stanford rookie chipped in a couple of hard fouls to boot.

Charde Houston hit only one shot out of six, but it came off a great Wiggins assists to give Minnesota a four-point cushion early in the fourth quarter, after Sacramento ran off five points to cut Minnesota's lead to just a basket. "Charde played with energy," says Zierden on the Connecticut first-year player, who got credited for only one steal but created several more deflections.

Anosike"played 35 minutes of hard defense," notes Zierden. "We've been on Nicky to step it up," he points out. Says the Tennessee rookie, "I definitely go through struggles every day, but it's getting more and more easier every time I step on the floor."

Kristen Rasmussen, the only Minnesota player who didn't score, "was big" with two rebounds and a steal, praised Zierden.

LaToya Thomas, newly acquired from Detroit last weekend, made her only shot attempt on an offensive tip-in.

Even Lindsay Harding, who still trying to get her legs under her, didn't register an assist, but the second-year point guard scored eight points and had two rebounds.

Despite picking up four questionable fouls, Vanessa Hayden-Johnson went 2-for-3 for four points in five limited minutes.

"Everybody who came off the bench did something positive," says Zierden.

It was Minnesota's first "barometer" game this season. Zierden's Lynx Thursday withstood the inside heat, stood their ground, and left victorious.

"There are many barometers to come," he predicts, starting with Saturday's game at San Antonio.

LYNX LINES --

Quinn has only 10 assists in her last six games, including two in Thursday's win against Sacramento. The second-year starting point guard admits that she must improve as a floor leader. "It's important for me to stay aggressive," she adds.

Guard Sharnee Zoll was waived after the game Thursday. The guard, who Minnesota picked up on waivers after being cut by Los Angeles just before the season started, only saw action in six games, averaging barely two points. The 5-7 Zoll, who was placed on the inactive list four of the last five games, last played against the Monarchs June 12 and hit one of two free throws.

Welcome back, D

In the late 1970s, it was "Welcome Back, Kotter." On Tuesday night at the downtown Minneapolis basketball arena, for the Minnesota Lynx, it was welcome back, defense.

The hosts held New York to 37 percent shooting, out-rebounded them by three, 33 to 30, and allowed only 14 and 13 points in the first and final quarters, respectively, to defeat the Liberty 91-69. Tuesday's victory snapped a five-game losing streak and Minnesota improved to 7-6.

"The first five wins, we were outscoring people, but when we lost, we had trouble scoring," notes Lynx guard Navonda Moore. Minnesota is scoring almost 82 points a game, but allowing opponents almost 80 points. "I don't know how we got away from it but tonight we got back to that base of what we have been stressing since training camp -- defense, defense, defense."

As a result, the Lynx tied a season-low in points allowed -- Chicago only scored 69 against them in a May 29 game earlier this season.

Guard Seimone Augustus offered another reason: "We trusted each other on the defensive end. In our past games, (there) wasn't (any) help side (defense). We get penetrated on up the middle and nobody was there to help.

"Tonight, you would see three or four people in the lane, swarming the ball whenever a player get inside. We contested the shots tonight."

In addition to crediting the players for the win Tuesday, Lynx Coach Don Zierden also gave kudos to Assistant Coach Jennifer Gillom. "Jen did a great job challenging our post players to play better defense, and they responded to that," he points out.

This, along with perhaps locker room quotes attributed to New York's Janel McCarville. In a published story in Tuesday's StarTribune on McCarville's thoughts about the Lynx not selecting her when she was in the 2007 dispersal draft. "I don't know if I have anything else to prove as to how they should have taken me. They (Minnesota) just didn't have faith in me after two years," McCarville was quoted.

"The motivation for the post players was (from) the comment (McCarville) made in the papers," believes Augustus.

McCarville didn't do much Tuesday to helped prove that Minnesota was wrong: she shot 2-for-7, and finished with four points in 27 minutes. While on the other hand, Nicole Ohlde went 7-for-8 for 14 points; Kristen Rasmussen added 8, and Vanessa Hayden-Johnson chipped in six points.

"Our post players had a lot of energy," says Augustus, who led all scorers with 21 points and nine assists. "Thank you, Janel."

When asked what he said to his team before Tuesday's contest, Zierden disclosed, "My pregame talk was if it means that much to get this (losing) streak over with, then you will get it done."

Minnesota outscored New York 2-to-1 in the first quarter, but allowed the Liberty to twice try climb back into the contest with a couple of runs, which ironically took place when Augustus went to the bench.

Says Zierden,"I was upset at when we took (Augustus) out early, and (New York) went on a four-point run, then I took her out the last two minutes (before halftime) and they went on a 10-4 run."

"We cut it to eight twice," says Liberty Coach Pat Coyle. "We didn't execute the way we needed to execute. They (the Lynx) took us out of our stuff."

"My message at halftime," continues Coach Z, "when we take Seimone out of the game, we can't go down 6-8 points every time. You guys got to step it up."

Zierden was especially pleased with Rasmussen's play Tuesday -- she and Nicky Anosike tied with a team-high six rebounds in her 21 minutes of action.

"She (Rasmussen) is a coach's dream," notes Zierden. "She is that one player that you can count on for (either) four minutes or 20 minutes. She gives you energy, defense and rebounding."

Now that the five-game skid, can Minnesota resume its upward climb into WNBA respectability?

"Nobody thought we've be 7 and 6 right now," says Zierden, adding that his young Lynx aren't quite world beaters yet.

"They got it done today -- now we'll see what they will do on Thursday (against Sacramento, their next opponent," the coach concludes.

Lynx Lines --

Early rookie wall hitting? A sportswriter asked me during Tuesday's game what is wrong with rookie forward Charde Houston. She was scoreless in Saturday's 72-65 loss to Houston, and made only one of three shots against New York.

Zierden said afterwards that the first-year player is going through the normal ups-and-downs most rookies go through.

"I think when she knows our game plan, and follows it -- sometimes she gets out of it, and she reaches, makes a careless turnover or a careless foul," explains the coach. "When she does that, we want to bring her back in, sit her on the bench, and teach her what is going on."

Houston is not alone -- Nicky Anosike, and even Candice Wiggins, sometimes exhibit their down times as well, says Zierden. "Nicky is a little bit ahead of where Charde is, but as a rookie, you are going to go through 3, 4, 5-minute stretches when you are not playing well. You have to do something positive.

"She played well in Detroit," he says on Houston's 16-point effort last Friday, "and she had a couple of rough ones. Hopefully she will come out (better) Thursday night."

Minnesota also broke a six-game losing streak against New York with Tuesday's win -- the Lynx last defeated the Liberty 64-60 on July 15, 2005 at Madison Square Gardens. It was the home team's first win over New York since a two-point victory on July 17, 1999.