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THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2007
>> RACIST COMMENTS
Don Imus' MSNBC simulcast canceled
BY DAVID CRARY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — MSNBC said Wednesday it will drop its simulcast of the "Imus in the Morning" radio program, responding to growing outrage about the radio host's racial slur against the Rutgers women's basketball team.
"This decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees," NBC news said in a statement.
The announcement also was made on air.
Talk-show host Don Inmus triggered the uproar on his April 4 show, when he referred to the most black Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." His comments have been widely denounced by civil rights and women's groups.
The decision does not affect Imus' nationally syndicated radio show, and the ultimate decision on the fate of that program will rest with executives at CBS Corp.
In a statement, CBS reiterated that Imus will be suspended without pay for two weeks beginning on Monday, and that CBS Radio "will continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the situation closely"
JACKIE ROBINSON HONORED
Fewer blacks choose baseball
BY MIKE FITZPATRICK ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Rachel Robinson still has vivid memories of April 15, 1947, when her husband changed America forever.
As Jackie Robinson was getting ready to break baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rachel was hustling to ebbets Field to see it.
She waited a long time for a taxi because drivers routinely passed up black passengers. She worried their baby, Jackie Jr., would be cold because she had dressed
for spring.
And she stopped at a hot dog stand in the ball-park, where a vendor was kind enough to heat up the boy's bottle.
"It was an exciting, exhilarating
Only 8.4 percent of big league players last season were black, the lowest number in two decades. In 1995, 19 percent of major leaguers were black, according to Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports.
"Obviously, he would not be satisfied with where we are now," Rachel Robinson said, referring to the man she still calls Jack. "He would be disappointed, because he felt we were on the way toward some lasting change."
Has baseball betrayed Jackie Robinson?
"That's what it seems like to me
"That's what it seems like to me that all the work he's done is almost for nothing. Because look where we are. We should be progressing."
time, but it also was a stressful time," Rachel Robinson said.
TORII HUNTER
Minnesota Twins center fielder
Reform is rarely a breeze. Sustaining a legacy can be even more difficult.
As Major League Baseball prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Robinson's landmark achievement on Sunday, there are growing concerns about the sport's racial makeup.
— that all the work he's done is almost for nothing," Minnesota Twins center fielder Torii Hunter said. "Because look where we are. We should be progressing. We're regressing."
to be fair, baseball is undeniably diverse in certain areas.
To be fair,
More and more players are coming from Asia and especially Latin America. According to Lapchick, 29.4 percent of players last season were Latino and 2.4 percent were Asian.
That means 40.5 percent were minorities, just below baseball's alltime high of 42 percent in 1997.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jackie Robinson led the way for minorities to play in the major league. This year, which marks the 60th anniversary of when Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, only 8 percent of major league baseball players are black.
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NHL
NHL Coyotes fire GM, administrators, keep Gretzky as coach
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Coyotes cleaned out their front office, firing general manager Mike Barnett, director of hockey operations Cliff Fletcher and assistant general manager Laurence Gilman, a person with knowledge of the move said Wednesday.
The shakeup, which follows the Coyotes' worst season since the franchise moved from Winnipeg in 1996, was confirmed to The Associated Press by a team official who asked not to be identified because the announcement had not been made.
Wayne Gretzky, who owns a share of the team and is its managing partner, will return for a third season as coach next fall.
But the front office felt the fall-out from the team's third consecutive last place finish in the Pacific Division. The Coyotes finished last in the Western Conference for the first time since the franchise came to Arizona and their 67 points were the team's fewest since that move. Phoenix hasn't made the playoffs since 2002.
Barnett, Gretzky's close friend and his agent for 21 years, had signed a four-year contract extension before last season. He had been general manager since 2001, when Gretzky joined the organization as managing partner.
Fletcher, who entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, was hired as Phoenix general manager in 2001 and promoted to executive vice president of hockey operations the following year.
Associated Press
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