Aroldis Chapman In Cinco de Mayo Commercial. He's Not Mexican

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman was involved in a Pepto-Bismol commercial recognizing Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo.

There was only one small problem. Chapman is Cuban, not Mexican. I don't mean to nitpick but shouldn't the makers of the product (Proctor and Gamble) get their facts straight.

   

Not a bad commercial though.

God's Gift Answers St. John's Prayers

St. John's basketball coach Steve Lavin announced today that God's Gift Achiuwa signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Red Storm in 2011-12.  The bruising post-player chose the Johnnies over Cincinnati and Washington.

This is the second big acquisition by Lavin during the spring signing period.  Last week Phil Greene, a sought-after guard from Chicago, signed with St. John's too.

The 6 foot-nine, 240 pound Achiuwa is a 2011 JUCO First Team All-American from Erie Community College.  He led the team to a 28-4 record and averaged 22.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.  He also shot 56% from the field and 35.7% from beyond the three-point line.

Besides having to live up to one of the great names in college basketball, Achiuwa will be playing under the New York media's spotlight.   Just picture the tabloid's back page headlines. The Nigerian minister's son seems ready for the attention.

"I am excited to come to St. John's and New York City," he said.  "They are a running team and that's what I like, fast paced basketball."

Achiuwa joins eight other top-rated recruits who have already signed with the Red Storm for 2011-12.  Standing out on St. John's No. 2 rated recruiting class (by ESPN and Rivals.com) may not be easy but, the Nigerian may be the most imposing body on a team that is already fast and big.

Lavin thinks heaven is the limit for his new signee.  "He's an ideal fit for our baseline-to-baseline attacking style of play," the head coach said.

Lavin, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer, continues to show no sign of letting it slow him down.  He inherited ten seniors in his first season as head coach of St. John's last year and lead the team to a 21-12 record and it's first NCAA tournament in nine years. The 2011-12 team will be Lavin's own team and it looks like it's ready for the rough-and-tumble Big East.

You might think the Red Storm have completed their stockpile of blue-chippers for next year but, the scary thing is, they still have two scholarship places left on the roster.

Dusty's Decisions May Have Doomed Harang

In the world of sports it doesn't take much for a player in any sport to lose it. Ask Jake Delhomme, Steve Blass, Jim Everett, Chuck Knoblauch, or Steve Sax. They were mental cases to say the least. Some are derailed by a strange coaching decision, like keeping a star player in a blow out game. San Diego Padres pitcher Aaron Harang was doomed by the latter.

When Harang was with the Cincinnati Reds, he says a relief appearance back in 2008 against, how ironic, the Padres, his current team. It was an extra innings game and Harang was summoned in by manager Dusty Baker, he of the weird pitching decisions. Harang pitched well in that game, but in his next outing, a start against the Pirates, he gave up six runs in four innings. You know Baker has ruined a pitcher before so this is nothing new.

Sometimes you need to conserve a pitcher for the long haul instead of using him for an early season extra inning game, especially if that pitcher is a starter that eats up a lot of innings for you. But you know Dusty, he consulted the wristbands and the wristbands told him to put in Harang.

"What it did," Harang said of the relief appearance to the San Diego Union-Tribune, "is fatigue me beyond the point of recovery. I started to change my arm angle to compensate for the fatigue and that’s when my forearm started to bother me. I feel like I’ve never been able to get back to the consistent, repetitive mechanics that I had," he continued. "The last couple of years have been, 'Try this, try that. Move your arm angle out a little.' I’ve had a couple of my old coaches call me, asking, 'What are you doing? You had so much success before doing the same thing. Now, all of a sudden, you’re turning your back on that?' "I got away from my main thing, which is throwing my fastball and throwing everything off that. I got to thinking I’m going to trick people and it just didn’t work."



I know the bottom line in sports in general is wins and losses. Sometimes you have to let one go early for long term success. The short term gain wasn't worth it for the Reds or Harang that season. Now Harang is working to get back to his old self while Dusty gets to possibly ruin Edinson Volquez or Aroldis Chapman.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/11/padres-harang-homing-return-dominance/

Gangstas Using Cincinnati Reds Caps For NYC Court Intimidation

By Tony Mangia

The Cincinnati Reds baseball cap has become a prominent fashion accessory in New York City courthouses and authorities are not happy about it.  This recent penchant for the Reds is not an affectionate nod to NL MVP Joey Votto or even a disrespect to the Mets.  The baseball cap with the iconic 'C' in the middle has become popular with Bloods gang members as a way to intimidate witnesses and show gang solidarity.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, more than a dozen men appear at Queens Supreme Court wearing the black-and-red caps with a red 'C' in the front.  Gang prosecutors claim that these young men are members of the Bloods---one of the most notorious and dangerous gangs in the nation.

Prosecutors say the Bloods gang members use the red 'C' on the cap as a poke-in-the-eye to their rival gang the Crips---who use blue as their wardrobe theme.  The members use other more subtle methods to show their gang red in other courtrooms, but are usually not noticed by anyone outside of the police.

Bloods consider the bright red 'C' a bitch slap to the Crips and a brazen message to testifying witnesses.  Officials attribute the high presence of Bloods in the Queens courthouse comes from the gang's stronghold in the nearby Far Rockaway housing projects.

Baseball caps as part of a gang's attire is nothing new.  The Raiders black-and-silver caps with a pirate's face was all the gang rage in Los Angeles during the '90's and the Pittsburgh Pirates hat is favored by the Latin Kings.  Right now the Reds cap is the color of choice by other gangs in Chicago and Indianapolis.

New York Yankee caps with gang colors were pulled from the shelves by manufacturer New Era in 2007.  The red or blue bandanna-patterned lids were lifted because of their gang-related colors.  Stores also removed others with a crown hanging from a gold 'NY' insignia after it became popular with the Latin Kings.  Regular citizens were afraid of being affiliated with the gang and beaten by a rival clan.

While the hats cannot be worn inside the courtrooms, court officers can only watch and let their own presence be felt.  A federal judge's 2003 decision to ban bikers colors in a Nevada courtroom was shot down and state laws are guided by it.

Court officers claim the gang members use their colors in other ways to make a silent statement.  They might wear red shoelaces or sneakers.  Even if they don't physically threaten witnesses inside the court, enough red-clad thugs staring one down could be enough to sway some one's memory or miss a court date.  What the glut of red says is 'We know who you are and why you are here.'

Not everyone who wears a Reds cap is a Blood.  Rapper Lil Wayne has made the hat (red with a white 'C') popular.  He wears it as a tribute to his son who was born in Cincinnati.  The Reds baseball cap is the third highest selling hat on the market.

Right now, the Los Angeles Dodgers cap is ranked the #1 gang-related sports cap, while the Reds is now #2.  Watch where you wear them.