Celebrating 15 delightful and fun-filled years in 2008!
And don't forget about WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SPORTOPIA
Plans announced for Sportopia fundraiser for the Arthur Griffith Foundation at Mr. C's Bar & Grill...full details coming soon!
After successful runs on the College Television Network, Atlanta's
People TV and Wetair.com, Sportopia For The People is pleased to
announce a new chapter in its long-running existence...
We're very excited about our future with Super Deluxe, the ad-supported online
broadband service provided by Turner Broadcasting. The service
focuses on "television-quality'' programming according to Super
Deluxe senior vice president and general manager Drew Reifenberger.
It's also be available on video on demand, wireless devices and
personal media players.
Sportopia looks to be part of an exclusive programming family at Super Deluxe
that will allow artists the ability to share concepts and
performances in a forum that will be more akin to watching one's
favorite TV show with friends.
"I am very excited about the possibilities that this new Turner Broadcasting
service will bring to the entire Sportopia family,'' said Hunt
Archbold, President of Sportopia Entertainment, LLC. "The Sportopia brand name continues to grow by leaps and bounds and we expect 2008 to be the most highly-profiled and successful year ever as we continue to spread the good will of Sportopia across the globe. The relationships that
we were able to cultivate during our years at CTN and Wetair.com
benefited us greatly when it came to reaching this relationship with
the folks at Super Deluxe.''
In other news: SPORTOPIA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED!
Selecting a person or man of the year has been a popular rite of passage for several publications throughout
the years. For 2007, Time magazine tagged Russian President Vladimir Putin as its Person of the Year. Sports Illustrated
singled out Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre as its Sportsman of the Year. But while these are all solid choices,
Sportopia's 2007 Personality of the Year would have to be Henry Louis Aaron. Sometimes honors are given for lifetime
achievement, and with Hank Aaron, I might be doing such. But then again, as he has done so many times, Aaron again
rose above unmitigated criticism in 2007 to demonstrate why he is a true American hero.
I’ll never forget the first time I met
Aaron. It was here in Atlanta and it was Father’s Day at my school. I had a classmate who for a long time we knew only as
Ceci Williams. But Ceci’s mother, local television personality Billye Williams, married Aaron in the offseason before he hit
his record-breaking 715th home run. When the fourth grade year began, Ceci Williams had become Ceci Aaron, and since
the class was seated alphabetically, suddenly Ceci and I were seated side by side. When Father’s Day rolled around, there
was the home run king of all time, sitting directly beside me all morning long. You can imagine my excitement that day.
I’ve interviewed Aaron a few times since, and as with our first encounter, he has been nothing short of kind and gracious
whenever we’ve talked.
Of course in 2007, Aaron was unwittingly thrust into the national spotlight as Barry Bonds closed in
on Aaron’s career home run mark, which he’d held for more than 33 years. When Aaron eclipsed Babe Ruth’s record on
that 1974 April eve at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the first thing he uttered into the microphone was, “Thank God it’s
over.’’ During those final three years of chasing the record, Aaron tried in earnest to downplay the pursuit, all the while
enduring death threats and receiving thousands of racially charged hate letters. So it’s understandable that it was neither a
special time for him nor a special place in his mind he enjoys revisiting.
When Aaron told the world this past summer that
while he recognized Bonds’ achievements, he had no plans to be present when Bonds broke the record, he was vilified by
many, most notably Mobile Press-Register columnist Paul Finebaum. Several years back, when I was covering SEC sports
for a newspaper in Alabama, I appeared several times on Mr. Finebaum’s radio program. I always found him to be very
much an egomaniac who would say or write anything to get his name in the news. So I wasn’t surprised last spring when,
in Aaron’s hometown paper, Finebaum wrote:
“However, from this standpoint, as vile as he may appear at times, Bonds is
showing no less class than Hammerin’ Hank, who just can’t let bygones be bygones. He continues to wear bitterness on his
sleeve after all these years and will likely sulk all the way to the grave. I feel sorry for Hank Aaron. Really.”
Later, in a
radio interview, Finebaum stated his assertion that Aaron is in MLB commissioner Bud Selig’s back pocket, calling him
Selig’s “house boy, his cabana boy.” Yes, racism still exists, folks, and I hereby give the 2007 Un-Sportopia Sports Hack
of the Year Award to Paul Finebaum.
The fact of the matter is that Aaron didn’t want to be needlessly dragged into the
conversation about Bonds and steroids. In his 1991 autobiography, “I Had a Hammer,” Aaron gave a glimpse into his views
on cheating. “I had always taken a strong stand against anything that wasn’t within the spirit and rules of the game,” he
wrote. “I believed in the integrity of the game as strongly as anybody.’’
Besides, at age 73, the idea of Aaron following
Bonds around the country (Bonds did endure homer-less streaks of 19 and 15 days this year) seemed both taxing and time-
consuming. This is a man who, since retiring from baseball, has been an eloquent ambassador of the sport, an outspoken
leader on the issue of minority hiring in baseball, and a successful business figure in the community. He’s got things on his
plate. When Bonds did eclipse Aaron on that August night, as soon as Bonds touched home plate, there was the now-
former home run champ congratulating his successor in a taped message on the JumboTron.
“I move over now and offer
my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement,’’ Aaron said. “My hope today, as it was that April
evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams.’’
Raised poor in the
segregated South, Aaron learned how to play baseball in a pecan grove. He grew to become one of the game’s greats.
Now, as then, he represents a life that can be viewed as dignified, admirable and a model of class.
Happy times … and
thanks, Hammer.
Stay tuned folks...Sportopia is for the people.
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SPORTOPIA® FOR THE PEOPLE
