Just wait until J.R. Smith T’s up Joey Crawford. It only a matter of when.

Spike Lee is in London popping off about the Knicks now that he’s done messing up Oldboy. There’s no reason to remake that movie.* I don’t know how he found the time to do all of this in between telling us how Django Unchained isn’t worth seeing even though he hasn’t seen it. Apparently it’s an insult to our ancestors. I’m sorry. We didn’t cover that in the last black people meeting and it wasn’t in the newsletter. Maybe I should read the individual emails instead of cruising the digest.

I can’t entirely blame Spike as it’s mainstream media that repeatedly runs to the same people for their opinions on all things black as though we’ve appointed them to be our spokespeople. Sometimes they just appoint themselves like Katt Williams. No doubt he’s a great filmmaker (Spike not Katt). It’s fine if he has beef with Tarantino or just doesn’t want to see it. That’s his choice but I don’t want to hear that I shouldn’t see it because it’s on the Negro Politburo blacklist. They may send Blackwatch after me when they find out that I like hockey and Aussie Rules Football. I dug Silver Linings Playbook (not because Chris Tucker was in it although he was solid) and loathe Tyler Perry movies. Torche, Fidlar, Merchandise and Jessie Ware? Regular rotation along with yacht rock. On the other hand, I think mayonnaise was created by the CIA to keep the black man down. I heart all the Clans, X and Poison. I believe that only Mannie Fresh can bring back the Cash Money magic. I agree that hip-hop is on its death bed due to mainstream radio and major labels. 2 Chainz and Waka Flocka are disgraces to the rap game and Trinidad James is an abomination. He needs to be in the black people penalty box. Five minute major. Chief Keef is also terrible but I’m fascinated by him. It’s just because I wonder how long he has until he gets killed. It’s when not if. I’m a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma encased in chocolate. Either that or just annoyingly complicated and long-winded. I digress.

Spike, in London for the Knicks game, is up to his usual rah-rah thing which is usually harmless. However he made some interesting comments which caught my eye. He believes that Africa should embrace the Knicks since soccer is the #1 sport in Britain. Huh?

British fans have embraced the NBA, selling out game after game at the O2 Arena, the same venue that hosted the Olympic basketball final last year. But with soccer firmly entrenched as the No. 1 sport in the country, Lee appealed to Africa.

“I want all my brothers and sisters in the continent of Africa to support the New York Knickerbockers,” Lee said. “The New York Knickerbockers are Africa’s team. I just said that. Orange and blue.”

This country seems to be full so I’ll just take this continent. If Taylor Swift could place Africa on a map, she’d do a remix called Africa Will Never Ever Support The Knicks. You know why? No Africans. Africans don’t support teams without Africans. It’s a fact. How many times do I have to hear relatives tell me that no African should like Liverpool because they have no Africans and that means they don’t want them?

Africans also like winners except in their own governments, militaries and police (family excluded). The Knicks may have been New York’s team but they can’t even dominate the whole city anymore. Perhaps they should worry about that, JR Smith up the club until 5 AM and Melo waiting by the bus because LaLa tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios. They’d rather support the Bulls even though Michael Jordan isn’t there and wears mom jeans accented with a Hitler mustache. General Motors is a better GM than him and they went bankrupt. Spike Lee needs to just… PAUSE. See what I just did there? …I’ll get my coat and see myself out.

* Great foreign movies are rarely honored when they’re remade (read: dumbed down and censored) for American audiences. The Oldboy hallway fight scene is ridiculous and the ending? Forget it. Floored. See it. If you’re still up for the remake, you’re probably excited about another season of The Killing.

David Stern likes to act as though he has the best interests of the NBA in mind. He portrays himself as the keeper of order and decorum. Dress like a thug? Dress code. Fight? Suspension. Insult gay people? Minuscule fine and a slap on the wrist. Amar’e Stoudamire and Joakim Noah were fined $50,000 and Kobe Bryant $100,000 for their comments. When it comes to homophobia, the NBA is the equivalent of UEFA and FIFA. Thankfully a Swedish soccer team has shown real courage when it comes to dealing with this issue.

Swedish seventh division team Sörskogens IF fired their whole first team after they made homophobic comments to another team during a match.

During the match, players from Sörskogens were heard saying “you suck cock for 50 kronor”, “all of you have HIV”, and “we’re probably going to get infected”, among several other homophobic remarks, the local Mitt i Huddinge newspaper reported.

“It was a little unpleasant when we went into the dressing room after the game. One of our players was also threatened after things got a little heated on the pitch,” Snipers coach Christoffer Smitz told SR.

The team was fined 5,000 kronor ($755) by the Swedish Football Association and the team officials had to attend sensitivity training. However they went a step further and fired the whole first team.

“We had no choice but to suspend the entire team. That kind of language isn’t appropriate for football or anywhere else,” club chair Torp told Mitt i.

The Local also refers to the players being suspended. Maybe something is lost in translation but either way it’s a better move than most teams or professional league have made when dealing with issues of homophobia.

Ah the hell with it. David Stern, Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter could all learn something from this. FIFA and UEFA also have issues dealing with homophobia but racism gets more play due to the fact bias against gays is more accepted in sports worldwide. The usual penalties (if any) are monetary in amounts that would make any halfway-decent player or country association laugh.

The NBA is no better. The incidents involving Bryant, Stoudamire and Noah were opportunities for Stern and the NBA to make a statement but they took the easy way out by issuing fines that probably didn’t make any of them blink. Stern obviously isn’t concerned with player opinions so that’s not a reason for such a weak response.

LGBT organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign called the league out but curiously complimented Stern on fining the players. Really? Others praised the league for their actions too. This is setting the bar way too low. Strong actions by leagues and teams would set an example for players and fans to show certain behavior won’t be tolerated. Suspending a player for a certain period of time or even releasing him depending on the gravity of the offense would send a message. It’s impossible to change people’s opinions overnight but it needs to start somewhere. Teams also shouldn’t wait for leagues to take action. They should investigate and take action on their own within the scope of collective bargaining agreements and their respective leagues should back their moves.

The MLS took a much stronger stand by banning the Houston Dynamo’s Colin Smith for three games and fining him for insulting a ball boy with an anti-gay remark during a game. He was also forced to attend diversity and sensitivity training. Consider how much less MLS players make than players in other major professional leagues and the amount of games in the season. That is a much stronger statement. Could more be done? Absolutely but it’s more than most are doing right now.

It’s also refreshing to see individual players taking stands such as the NFL’s Brendan Ayanbedejo and Chris Kluwe in the face of opposition or mockery even within their own locker rooms. Racism is more of an issue in European sports than it is in the US but homophobia is something that still prevails on both sides of the Atlantic.

H/T to 101 Great Goals

“It’s MSG, gentlemen. The gods will not save you.” Apparently that’s the job of James Dolan’s hired goons.

Did you know Carmelo Anthony wanna bump and slump with Kevin Garnett? That’s also what Isiah Thomas called his MSG sexual harassment style but that’s neither here nor there. KG almost found out how the City That Bleeds get down when havoc broke loose at the Garden on Monday night.

The breakout star of Stop Snitchin’ took offense to Garnett mistaking him for a foreign player and things quickly went downhill from there.

‘Bows were thrown, words were said and that was the end of it. Well there was the small matter of Melo waiting for KG at the vistors locker room and following him to the Celtics team bus before being forced to stand down by MSG security, NYPD and Mike Woodson.

Anthony, according to eyewitnesses interviewed by the Daily News, waited for Garnett near the Celtics bus following Boston’s emotionally charged 102-96 victory on Monday night.

A potentially volatile scene was defused by Garden security personnel, five New York City police officers and even Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who rushed to the scene unfolding near the Garden ramp and ordered Anthony to leave peacefully.

A source on the scene claimed that Garnett seemed somewhat surprised and confused by Anthony’s presence and acted as a peacemaker as Celtics security ushered the All-Star forward onto the bus.

…Anthony could be in more trouble since, according to the MSG Network, the All-Star forward initially waited for Garnett outside the Celtics’ locker room immediately after the game ended.

Poor “surprised and confused” KG. One can imagine the thoughts running through his mind as he tried to figure out why the person coming at him was dark skinned and speaking native English instead of a romance or Slavic language.

Doc Rivers made things better when he commented on the hilarity that ensued after the game.

“If it were a playoff I’d tell on him, but since it’s not I’m just going to be quiet.”

Who knew Doc was such a fan of Melo’s film work? He may just rock a “big penny” around his neck when the Knicks visit the Celtics in Boston.

Wait there’s more. Rasheed Wallace apparently played the voice of reason by telling Melo that it wasn’t worth it. What was down is now up cause ball don’t lie.

Your musical reference: Rosa Parks by Outkast