Great Jonathan Bender story

Quick: What's the first word that comes to mind when thinking of Jonathan Bender? Was it "bust"? It was for me...until now. I love the game of basketball. But let's face it. There are more important things in life than basketball. That's why "bust" is no longer the first thought when Bender's name is mentioned.

Anna Katherine Clemmons ran a great story about Jonathan Bender in ESPN The Magazine. Bender, a phenom who skipped college to go straight to the NBA, scored 10 points in his first-ever NBA game to become the first-ever high school draftee to do so. Basketball-wise, it seemed to go down hill from there.

He averaged 5.6 ppg and 2.2 rpg throughout his career. His best year was the 2001-2002 season when had career-high averages of 7.4 ppg and 3.1 rpg.

But his NBA career pales in comparison to his budding philanthropical and entrepreneurial career.

...in New Orleans, with the Gulf Coast still struggling two years after Hurricane Katrina, he established the nonprofit Jonathan Bender Foundation and the for-profit Jonathan Bender Enterprises. With both, Bender's idealism has manifested itself through initiatives like adopting elementary schools, building real estate ventures and offering free finance classes for some of New Orleans' poorest residents.

...When Bender's Foundation adopted Joseph S. Maggiore Elementary School, Bender bought and distributed Christmas presents to the 430 students. But he also plans to establish an after-school program he named "Being Busy and Cool After School," where students will have 30 minutes of tutoring followed by lectures from professionals discussing their careers..."

"It's such a pleasure to see the things he's doing and how he's giving back," Willie Mae [Bender's mother] says. "I never thought I'd learn so much from my son."

Now when I think of Jonathan Bender, a different word comes to mind. Hero. Charles Barkley once said that athletes shouldn't be role models and I agree in general. But Bender is different. Like his mother says, we can all "learn so much from her son."

Josh Howard the Patriot

I think I've reached the point where I now just wonder what stupid thing Josh Howard will do next. After disclosing his preference to smoke pot in the "off-season" during the playoffs last season and being charged with "speeding (94 mph in a 55 mph zone), careless and reckless driving, and speed competition", he's in the news again.

For those who didn't see the story, Howard...decided Iverson's event was the appropriate venue at which to express his disdain for the anthem. Speaking to a cell phone camera while others around him respectfully stood in recognition, Howard provided an on-camera cameo that went something like this: "'The Star-Spangled Banner' is going on. I don't celebrate this [expletive]. I'm black …"

Now he's known these days as the franchise's resident idiot, someone who is gainfully employed solely because of his ability to bounce and shoot a basketball. A character seemingly destined to embarrass his way into exile from a league that's garnered him millions of dollars because he won't stop perpetuating his ignorance and hostility to the masses, simultaneously casting an ominous shadow over his contemporaries.

Mark Cuban had an interesting take on it all. He posted on his blog e-mails he received from others and included their e-mail addresses.

I thought it was important to point out the hatred and ignorance of so many who quickly judge people they have never met, based purely on soundbites and headlines. If you think you know any public figure based on what you see on TV or read on the internet or in newspapers, you are sadly mistaken.

I wanted to point out the irony of them experiencing the onslaught of attention from suddenly and unexpectedly being placed in the media spotlight from a throwaway comment.

I still have a low opinion of Josh Howard, not because an "11-second soundbite", but because there has been a history of idiotic things he has done. I think Mark Cuban is a great owner, especially since so many owners care only about the bottom line and not the team's success.