July 29, 2010

By BRAD PYE JR.

Notes, quotes and things picked up on the run from coast-to-coast and all the stops in between and beyond.

How about the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 22-year-old rookie right-hander Kenley Jansen? Jansen just arrived from the minors and came on in the ninth July 25 against the New York Mets to save a 1-0 victory for the Dodgers on the eve of their big series with the National League West-leading San Diego Padres.

In his major league debut, Jansen was perfect as he struck out two.

Two black Major League Baseball managers recently had their teams in second place of their division — the Mets’ Jerry Manuel (NL East) and the Cincinnati Reds’ Dusty Baker (NL Central). Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers’ Ron Washington were in first place in the AL West, and Ozzie Guillen, a Latino, had his Chicago White Sox in first place in the AL Central.

If there’s one man who should have been inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame July 25, along with the Montreal Expos’ Andrew Dawson, it is Buck O’Neil of the Negro Leagues. O’Neil played a key role in getting so many Negro League players into the Hall of Fame. He wasn’t only a great player and crusader but, for years, he kept the Negro Leagues alive. In this respect, O’Neil was the Jackie Robinson of black baseball.

And the beat continues…

The title of Venus Williams’ new book is “Come to Win,” but she also writes about losing:

“Losses have propelled me to even bigger places, so I understood the importance of losing. You can never get complacent because a loss that you are in is always around the corner. It’s in any game that you’re in — a business game or whatever. You can’t get complacent. You have to stay on top and learn from mistakes.”

And the beat continues…

Blake Griffin, the L.A. Clippers No. 1 pick in 2010, missed last season because of a knee injury which required surgery. Griffin sat and watched the Clippers play in the Las Vegas Summer League. However, Griffin says he’ll be ready to shake, rattle and roll when camp opens.

Check out what the Lakers’ Derek  Fisher in response to the fact that Las Vegas odds makers are predicting the Miami Heat will win the NBA championship title: “That’s fine,” the L.A. Times quoted him as saying. “That doesn’t change (anything) with us.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, perhaps the greatest player ever coached by John Wooden, says of his famous mentor in the August 2010 issue of L.A. Magazine:

“The world will remember John Wooden most as one of the greatest basketball coaches in history. Future generations Googling his name will be presented with a long list of his amazing coaching accomplishments. But those of us who knew him personally, and were lucky enough to be coached by him, will remember him not just as a great coach who changed basketball but as a great man who changed our lives.”

And the beat continues…

Jerry Edwards, owner of the Flying Fox bar on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, was inducted into the Prairie View Interscholastic Hall of Fame along with NFL stars Otis Taylor (Kansas Chiefs Super Bowl star) and Mean Joe Green (Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl hero). Edwards played on a Wheatley High state championship team and Green started at West Texas State. The honorees were also saluted with a parade, according to Edwards.

Prediction: Some NFL team will pick up controversial wide-receiver Terrell Owens before 2010 is history.

When NFL camps open soon, a total of five blacks will start as quarterbacks. They’re the Washington  Redskins’ Donovan McNabb, Jacksonville Jaguars’ David Garrard, Oakland Raiders’ Jason Campbell, Tennessee Titans’ Vince Young, and Tampa Bay Bucs’ Josh Freeman. The Eagles’ super sub Michael Vick could beat out Kevin Kolb for the Eagles’ starting job. Vick and Young could still be suspended by Commissioner Roger Goodell for some off-season activities they were involved in.

With Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suspended for a handful of games, a black man could be his sub — Byron Leftwich. Coach Mike Tomlin has two other black quarterbacks at his disposal — Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch.

And the beat continues…

The University of Southern California let down retiring Athletic Director Mike Garrett easy after Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and basketball star O.J. Mayo brought shame to themselves and the university in some major scandals.

USC has brought in quarterback Pat Haden, the All-American quarterback and Rhodes Scholar and his Trojan teammate J.K. McKay as athletic director and assistant athletic director, respectively, to clean house, according to incoming Trojan President Max Nikias.

And the beat continues…

As a member of former Supervisor Yvonne Burke’s Aquatic Foundation, I nominated Pat Haden as a Salute to Champions recipient. Haden graciously accepted the honor and made an unsolicited $3,500 donation to the foundation to help provide free swimming to less-fortunate youngsters in South L.A.

And the beat ends.

Brad Pye Jr. can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .