by Omid Fatemi

Last Sunday, I awoke with unusual optimism, as Iran opened their World Cup against México on a balmy afternoon in Nuremberg.

I sat in my equally balmy Brooklyn apartment, wearing my replica Ali Karimi jersey and savoring the the fact that it had been 8 years since I had been able to cheer for my beloved Team Melli in The World Cup, and nearly a year since I had seen my father and futbol enthusiast-in-arms. Like the team, he was also fresh from Tehran, the city of his youth and Iran’s immensely overpopulated capital. On Sunday, I had them both together, and no talk of nuclear embargoes, the axis of evil, or immigration issues could ruin the moment.

Everything leading to the Cup for me had been so wrong. My father, thanks to the great state of US – Iran relations, had been held up in Tehran for an extra two months due to a paperwork mishap and the inefficiencies in the Iranian civil service machine. For reasons that have nothing to do with a round ball, U.S. politicians had tried to pressure FIFA to ban the Iranian team from a tournament that most Americans don’t even care about. And, perhaps worst of all, my beloved Team Melli had drawn into a group with Portugal and México, and every announcer, analyst, journalist, and half-ass futbol fan had confidently written-off our chances of advancing to the second round.

But on that Sunday, the pundits could not stop the game from being played, and my father was no longer at mercy of bureaucratic paperwork. The air seemed suddenly full of possibility…

It lasts precisely until the 28th minute, when Pavel Pardo’s free-kick, nodded on by Guillermo Franco, and poked through at the back post by Omar Bravo dashes all my fragile hopes.

My father, a much more seasoned and resilient fan, reassured me that it was early, and considering the way we had been knocking the ball around, he confidently states, “don’t worry, our time is soon.” This being the only thing positive I could grab on to, I collected my head and forced myself to believe.

… 12 minutes later, my father’s soothing words become prophecy: Iranian defender Yahya Golmohammadi snuck in a goal after a sloppy Mexican clear of a corner kick. The match was knotted 1-1. My confidence and sense of national pride near an all-time high, as I jump around the room slapping sloppy high-fives with my pops, who calmly remains sunk into the couch sporting an “I told you so” grin.

All was seemingly well until 63 minutes into the match, when the Iranian side’s entire focus and sense of purpose seemingly disappears, like grains of sand in the desert wind, when our main man, Midfielder Ali Karimi, re-aggravates an ankle injury and is taken off field. Karimi a.k.a. “The Wizard of Tehran”, was the 2004 Asian footballer-of-the-year and is a regular first-teamer for Bundesliga power-house Bayern Munich. He is the Iranian team’s offensive maestro and heart and soul, and at this moment even my unwavering father acknowledges that we are in trouble.

The midfield is Mexico’s and Brazilian-turned-Mexican citizen Zinha turns the pitch into his personal playground, giving the Mexican team just the upper hand they needed. As he sneaks in to cut off a sloppy pass from Iranian goalkeeper Ebrahim Mirzapour and lays a beautiful through-ball for Bravo to easily finish, the taste of the pistachios my father had smuggled in from Iran lose the pleasant tanginess of saffron and lime, and suddenly tastes of defeat. 3 minutes later Zinha adds the nail in the coffin with a flying header. 3-1 is the final.

Despite our defeat, by the final whistle, I harbor no bitterness (ok, maybe slight bitterness), because a poignant World Cup moment dawned on me. My father and I were reunited, watching every pass, strike, and header with pure attention, like we had done every four years throughout my youth. And I realized that despite the ridiculousness of politics and socio-economics in the world today, the crisis in U.S. and Iranian relations, and a revolution that has failed, that there is something on a national level that people can embrace without reservations, despite our experience and allegiances. Only the great equalizer of futbol–governed by a uniform set of rules, but played with different styles around the world, can give a nation and it’s diaspora an unfiltered and unlimited source of hope and unity.

And on that note…..

Here’s to all the hopes and dreams of war torn countries and refugee communities who are provided 2 hours of reconciliation every time their national colors grace the pitch…

Here’s to all the moments that bring fathers and sons together.

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As a writer for London based magazine Dazed and Confused and one-half of the New York-based creative writing agency The Leadbelly Group, Omid Fatemi’s poisonous pen has taken him on assignment to Puerto Rico with Dizzee Rascal and The Great Wall of China with LeBron James. He is currently working with No Mas to develop a series of travel-based documentaries chronicling international sports culture.

So, this is it boys and girls. Game 7. Stanley Cup Finals: The sweetest collection of words known to mankind. Something tells me this one is going straight to the vault along with Game 7 of the 1954, 1971 and 1994 Finals. To be honest, if you would have told me a week ago that I should start getting mentally prepared to watch a Game 7 I would have laughed in your face. (And by the way, watching a Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 may be more exhausting than playing in one , I am almost convinced of this). The ‘Canes outplayed Edmonton in the first two games. The Oilers were even lucky to win Game 3 at the Rexall Place. Hell, even after Fernando Pisani’s amazing shorthanded, game-winning goal in Game 5, I thought the Oilers were just delaying the inevitable.

But then Game 6 came along and every Canadian began to ask: ‘Do Jussi what I see?” That’s because Edmonton’s backup goalie, Jussi Markkanen, the guy everyone, including myself, wrote off just one week ago single-handedly sent Canada’s team back to Tobacco Road. The bottom line is we MUST to win this one. No more Game 7 heartbreaks. Since the Habs won it all in 1993 this is the third straight time that a Canadian team has made it to the seventh game of the Finals. In 1994, The Canucks ran into destiny as they fell to the Rangers. Ten years later, the Flames failed to show up against Tampa Bay.

But this one will sting a lot more than those did. Maybe its because things looked so bleak just one week ago and now look so promising. Maybe it’s because the Oilers represent everything that is right about hockey. A time when no one complained about TV ratings and lockouts. When it was all about the Great One, Mess, Coffey and how many Cups that dynasty would end up winning.

Is this game important to my country? Words can not express. Just look at the video below. You don’t see that kind of love ANYWHERE in North American sports. So if things go as planned and the Oilers become only the second team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win it all – listen closely because you might hear an entire country breathe one big sigh of relief. And then keep on listening because you will probably hear a few million canes of Labbatt Beer opening simultaneously.

If you’re a Jewish soccer fan, like myself, these have got to be conflicting times. That’s because the World Cup, the greatest sporting tournament known to mankind, is taking place in Germany. I remember when I first found out that Deutschland was going to host the tourney in 2006. It really felt like a bad dream. If I could have chosen one country that I didn’t want to be forced to embrace – it was Germany.

Now, you have to understand where I am coming from here. I am not a hateful person. As a member of a nation that is despised by so many it would be incredibly hypocritical if I openly hated Germany. But I must admit that its truly hard not to have mixed feelings towards a country that, for all intents and purposes, tried to wipe my people off the face of the earth. I am trying to look at the positives, but its tough. And you could imagine how I felt when Iran played in Nuremberg last week. Talk about the past colliding with the present.

You see, this is the first time that my feelings towards Germany have been truly tested. It’s always been easy for me to say that I will never choose to travel there. It’s easy to say I would rather not purchase a German-manufactured vehicle. These are things I can control. But when you sprinkle my favorite sporting event throughout the country its impossible to look away. So, after years of trying to ignore Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, and pretty much the rest of Germany, I am now waking up early every morning to celebrate the splendor of sports along with them.

Maybe this is just what I need to move on. Maybe the beautiful game will help me realize that Germany really is a beautiful country with a dreadful past. At the same time, I don’t want to forgive and I can’t forget. Not when I have personally experienced the horror that still stands at the Concentration Camps in Auschwitz, Treblinka and Birkenau.

A few years ago, I traveled to Poland to learn more about the hell my people had to endure. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the mass graves, the piles of hair and the gas chambers. That trip made me even prouder to be Jewish than I ever was. It also strengthened and, in many ways, confirmed my beliefs that it’s too early to move on. So, are my feelings towards Germany a little harsh? Judge for yourself. If you feel that way I know what you’ll say because I have heard it time and again. Nevertheless, I have to live with those feelings in my heart and I am not ready to let them go. But what does it say about the power of sports that for the first time in my life I am open to seeing the beauty in a country I have forever tried to ignore?

I’ve watched about 15 minutes of this year’s NBA Finals… The Reason? ABC’s opening sequence featuring clips of past NBA Finals legends is SO DOPE that I don’t even want to stay tuned for the fake ass, video-game finals matchup between the Heat and Mavs. It leaves you in a state of yearning for the NBA of your youth, when Louis Orr was still around and Marv Albert’s toupee was still alive … I’ve been skeptical of the NBA’s TV coverage ever since it left CBS for NBC in the 1990′s, but ABC has been completely and utterly on point. ABC’s NBA Finals opening sequence is the best, most inspiring piece of nostalgia since Cosell shouted “down goes Frazier!!!” If you haven’t seen it, just imagine a collage of footage from the greatest champs ever edited to cover the NBA’s best eras. Luckily, the sequence happens right at 9pm sharp, that way you don’t have to endure uber-whitey Dan Patrick’s blathering. In addition the goosebumps and teary eyes I get from the opening (especially the part when Riles predicts back to back trophies), ABC also has my main Roman, Hubie Brown (peep his classic Caesar cut), and some funky ass, Temptations inspired background music straight from the 70′s. Too bad the games are as boring as Adonis Haslem’s game. Let’s bring back the Pistons, Celtics, Sixers, and Lakers please. You can keep Tommy Heinsohn’s drunk ass.

With the World Cup on, and football much on everyone’s mind, I thought I would kick off the No Mas Book Review Series with a look back at the greatest soccer book to ever spawn a terrible baseball movie , Nick Hornby’s ‘Fever Pitch.” I brought it along with me on my ill-conceived flight to Paris on Air India, and in that the general symphony of infant caterwauling during the flight precluded any sleep, I pretty much tore through the whole thing from Newark to Paris, stopping only to eat something that had been deceitfully described to me as curry, and subsequently to fart.

Hornby’s conceit, a moment of inspiration if ever there was one, is to tell the story of his life, and in some ways the story of England in the 70′s and 80′s, through the prism of a variety of football matches that he attended during those decades. Chapters are titled ‘Liam Brady,” and then subtitled ‘Arsenal v. Everton, 5.5.80,” etc., with the given match used as a jumping-off point to then ruminate, usually about himself, at times about the state of the nation, but always about the state of football, in particular, his beloved Arsenal.

Hornby’s main obsession is his own obsessiveness, which is unfortunate , after a while, the whole ‘what is wrong with me that I’m such a crazy fan?” cri de coeur wears thin. We get it mate , you fucking love Arsenal like Orpheus loved Eurydice, it’s a mystifying business. For all the criticism he likes to level at himself for what trouble his childlike football passions bring him, he seems on the whole awfully proud of his fanaticism. At times the tone veers off into what would later become Hornby’s hallmark: self-satisfied slacker smugness.

That said, the best of this book is rewarding stuff. He establishes himself as the poet laureate of The Suffering Provincial Sports Fan, does a hilarious job of parodying the dorkish male’s mania for statistics, and most impressively, finds in his football journeys a truly Wordsworthian narrative of loss, both in his own personal life and in England at large. His treatment of the Hillsbrough tragedy has particular gravitas. ‘Fever Pitch” the book is borne of an inspired idea, and at about 220 pages, it’s an engaging read easily consumed in the most dire of circumstances.

How on earth this book–an often moving account of one fervent Arsenal fan’s coming of age in Thatcher’s England – became a bullshit Jimmy Fallon/Drew Barrymore disaster of a movie about the Boston Red Sox I can’t begin to imagine. It’s shameful, the worst we have to offer the world as Americans.

words: Dave Larzalere

Words: Nick Strini and Chris Isenberg
Illustrations: James Blagden

1970 – Jim Bouton’s book, “Ball Four”, is published, exposing the public to the prevalence of drug use amongst professional athletes.

1970 – Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitcher Dock Ellis throws a no-hitter will tripping on LSD.
“The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn’t. Sometimes I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn’t hit hard and never reached me.”

1970′s – “Sweet” Lou Johnson sells 1965 World Series ring to cocaine dealer for $500.

1971 – MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces a long-term Drug Education and Prevention Program. According to the Program: “unproscribed possession and distribution of amphetamines and barbiturates (including greenies) is a violation of federal and states laws. Discipline will be considered by the Commissioner’s Office in cases of illegal involvement. Such matters will be handled on a case by case basis.”

1972 – Cy Young winner Denny McClain is charged with racketeering and cocaine possession with intent to distribute.

1985- Denny McClain was found guilty of federal charges involving racketeering, extortion and narcotics and sentenced to 23 years before the convictions are overturned.

1996- Denny McClain is convicted of conspiracy, theft, money laundering, and mail fraud. He is sentenced to eight years in Federal Prison.

1976 -1967 MVP Orlando “Baby Bull” Cepeda is caught claiming baggage containing 150 pounds of marijuana in a San Juan, PR. Cepeda spends 10 months in a Florida prison. He goes on to become a practicing Buddhist and to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1978 – New York Ranger Don Murdoch is arrested for possession of cocaine. He is suspended for the1978-79 season but reinstated after 40 regular-season games.

1980 – Texas Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins is suspended by Major League Baseball after he is arrested with cocaine, hashish, and marijuana, and convicted of narcotics possession in Canada. The Player’s Union files a grievance and the suspension is lifted.

1981 – Dr. Patrick A. Mazza, a former Phillies organization doctor, is cleared of criminal charges that he improperly prescribed amphetamine pills to Tim McCarver, Steve Carlton, Pete Rose, Larry Christenson, Larry Bowa and his wife, and the wife of Greg Luzinski. Mazza has his medical license suspended for one year.

1981 – “Confessions of a Cocaine Cowboy” by Dallas Cowboys Pro-Bowl linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson appears in the December issue of Playboy.

1983 – Henderson is arrested and charged with sexual assault and false imprisonment after he admits smoking crack with two teenagers in his apartment. He serves 28 months in prison.

1982 – When N.L. East favorite Montreal Expos finish third, team president John McHale blames cocaine: “We felt we should’ve won in 82. When we all woke up to what was going on, we found there were at least eight players on our club who were into this thing.” Rookie All-Star Tim Raines, the only user publicly identified says, “I had it in little gram bottles that I kept in my pocket, when I carried it in my pocket, I’d go in head first.”

1982 – Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star pitcher Steve Howe leaves the team three times for drug treatment and is suspended by the Dodgers. Howe goes on to be suspended for drug use a MLB record seven times.

1982 – Three-time Knick all-star Michael Ray Richardson traded to Golden State amid drug rumors.

1983 – Michael Ray is traded back east to the Nets. In camp, Michael Ray goes missing for three days; he then enters a drug rehabilitation program at NBA partner Hazelden Life Extension Institute.

1986 – Richardson fails his 3rd drug test He is banned from the NBA.

1987 – Richardson is denied reinstatement, a year later he moves to Europe to play professionally for the next 13 years. In 2003 Richardson returns to the U.S. and is named Denver Nuggets Community Ambassador.

1983 – The NBA introduces the first professional sports drug policy. The policy is aimed at stopping use of cocaine and heroin. According to the policy, Players who test positive in “reasonable cause” tests are banned from the league for a minimum of two years, when they may apply for reinstatement.

1983 – Utah Jazz forward John Drew misses 38 games for drug treatment.

1984 – John Drew voted “Comeback player of the Year” runner up.

1986 – Drew attempts to buy cocaine from an undercover police officer. He becomes the first player banned from the NBA under the leagues new drug policy.

1983 – Kansas City Royals Jerry Martin, Willie Aikens, and A.L. batting champ Willie Wilson plead guilty to attempting to buy cocaine and are sentenced to 3 months prison.

1983 – MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends convicted Royals, Martin, Aikens, and Wilson, from baseball for one year.

1983 – Montreal Canadiens Ric Nattress is suspended for the 1983-84 season for possession of marijuana and hashish. Nattress is reinstated after 40 games.

1983 – Chili Davis tells the New York Times he was approached by the FBI and Giants coaches, “The coaches whisper, ‘Hey, they think you’re on cocaine. You’re not getting mad when you make outs any more.’”

1984 – Pitcher Pascual Perez serves three months in a Dominican Republic prison after a conviction for cocaine possession.

1984 – A year removed from playing in the NBA All-Star game and a stint in drug rehab, Dave “Skywalker” Thompson falls down a flight of stairs at Studio 54 disco, effectively ending his career.

1985 – Curtis Strong, a Pittsburgh caterer, drug dealer, and friend to baseball players is tried on 16 counts of distributing cocaine in Pittsburgh from June 1980 to May 1984.

Players Lonnie Smith, Keith Hernandez, Lee Lacey, Enos Cabell, Rod Scurry, Dale Berra, Dave Parker, John Milner, Jeff Leonard, Tim Raines, Al Holland, Lee Mazilli and mascot Kevin Koch, known to keep cocaine in his beak during his work as the “Pirate Parrot,” are listed as government witnesses and granted immunity.

Parker tells the court he had made it possible for his “primary supplier” to get into the Pirates’ clubhouse at Three Rivers Stadium and to fly on the same plane with the Pirates when they traveled to other cities to deliver drugs.

Hernandez tells the court: cocaine was “the devil within me.” He recalls using cocaine, including playing a game high. Berra, subject to defense attorney Adam Renfroe Jr.’s questions during cross-examination, tells of drug use as a Pirate:
Q. “Where did you get them [amphetamine pills, or, ‘greenies’)?”
A. “From Bill Madlock. You could get them from Willie Stargell.”
Q. “So Willie Stargell gave you amphetamine pills?”
A. “Yes.”

Lonnie Smith tells the court, “The majority of the time, I hid it on me, had these Playboy socks with pockets in them and I’d stick it in there. I had ways of folding my clothes, 10, 12 pairs of pants in a suitcase. I learned it from a Latin friend in Venezuela. People who wanted to check wouldn’t take the time. We Federal Expressed it back and forth, I Federal Expressed the money, he Federal Expressed the stuff. He would use a phony address for his address. I thought it was kind of creative in a way. He’d send me newspapers from Philadelphia and tape the stuff inside the papers.”

In cross-examination, Milner testifies regarding his tenure as a Met: “Willie had the red juice.”
Q. “Willie who?”
A. “Mays.”
Q. “Willie Mays?”
A. “That’s right, the great one, yes.”

Strong is convicted on 11 counts and sentenced to twelve years in fed-eral prison.

1985 – John “Hot Rod” Williams is acquitted of charges that he took money and cocaine to fix Tulane basketball games.

1986 – Borje Salming of the Toronto Maple Leafs is suspended for the season for admitting use of cocaine in a newspaper article. Salming was reinstated after eight games.

Draft Class of ’86
#2 Boston Celtics – Len Bias (Maryland) dies of cocaine induced heart attack in his University of Maryland dorm room on draft night. Bias allegedly smoked “a pure form of cocaine free-base” with teammates, one of whom is reported to have said, “Hey Len, you’re hitting the pipe too hard.”

#3 Golden State Warriors – Chris Washburn, (NC State) is banned from the NBA for life in 1989 after failing his third drug test. 1991 Washburn is convicted of cocaine possession and sentenced to three years in prison. 1996 Washburn is shot by someone to whom he allegedly owed money.

#6 Phoenix Suns – In 1987 William Bedford (Memphis State), is named in an indictment that charged he either witnessed or knew of drug transactions by Sun teammates. In 1988 Bedford enters rehab, and returns to play in the NBA until 1993.

#7 Dallas Mavericks – 10/17/1991 The NBA bans Roy Tarpley (Michigan) for life after refusing a drug test, his third drug violation of league drug policy. 10/1/94 Tarpley is reinstated. 12/94 Less than a year after signing a six-year, $22 million contract Tarpley is banned again for drinking alcohol, violating his after-care agreement. 11/19/1997 Tarpley is arrested and charged with burning his girlfriend’s stomach with a clothes iron.

1987 – Dwight “Doc” Gooden’s friend and teammate Darryl Strawberry tells the New York Times, “I saw on TV last night that people were saying he had a drug problem in 1985. It’s not possible. As far as having a serious drug problem now, that’s not possible, either.”

1987 – In a voluntary drug test to “end the gossip” Mets pitcher Dwight “Doc” Gooden tests positive for cocaine and checks into rehab for 28 days.

1994 – Gooden is suspended for 60 days for violating his aftercare program and failing two drugs tests.

1994 – Dodgers announce Strawberry has a substance abuse problem and place him on the disabled list.

1994 – Gooden fails additional drug tests and is suspended for the 1995 season.

1995 – MLB suspends Strawberry for 60 days after he tested positive for cocaine.

1996 – Gooden throws a no-hitter in a comeback with the Yankees.

1999 – Strawberry is charged with possession of cocaine and soliciting a prostitute. Strawberry allegedly solicited an undercover officer for sex for $50. When searched, police find 0.3 grams of powder cocaine was inside of his wallet.
2000 – A Florida Department of Corrections report says Strawberry tested positive for cocaine on Jan. 19. Strawberry is suspended for one year, his third cocaine-related suspension from baseball in five years.

1987 – Waltergate: FBI gambling investigation leads to indictments for ten Phoenix Suns players on drug charges. James Edwards, Jay Humphreys, Grant Gondrezick, Garfield Heard, Mike Bratz, Don Buse, Curtis Perry, Walter Davis, William Bedford, and team photographer Joseph Beninato. Walter Davis, the key prosecution witness is “forced to turn on teammates.” No charges result in a trial.

1989 – Bob Probert of the Detroit Red Wings is suspended from the NHL for life for smuggling 14.3 grams cocaine into the U.S. Probert is reinstated in 1990.

1994 – The Chicago Blackhawk’s suspend Probert and he enters an NHL rehab center in California.

1991 – Phoenix Sun Richard Dumas tests positive for cocaine and suspended by the team.

1995 – Dumas is banned from the NBA for violating an aftercare agreement prohibiting alcohol.

1997 – Dumas tells the New York Times “If they tested for pot, there would be no league.”

1991 – USC star Todd Marinovich, groomed by his father, former Raider lineman Marty Marinovich, to be an NFL quarterback, is pulled over after barhopping in Newport Beach. Police find a half gram of cocaine and marijuana.

1996 – Marinovich is arrested for growing a marijuana plant in his house.

1993 – Tennis prodigy Jennifer Capriati is arrested in Coral Gables, Florida for marijuana possession. She agrees to six months of drug counseling. Capriati returns to form and wins the 2001 Australian and French Opens, earning the USTA #1 ranking.

1993 – Robert Parish, the oldest player in the NBA is arrested when police find marijuana in his home and in a FedEx package addressed to him. Parish and Alaa Abdelnaby are rumored to be called “Chief and Chong” by teammates.

1993 – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tom Browning is arrested for possession of marijuana.

1995 – Former Houston Rocket Vernon ‘Mad Max” Maxwell is found with marijuana when he is stopped for running a red light.

1996 – Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin is arrested with former Cowboy tight end Alfredo Roberts in a motel room with cocaine, marijuana and two topless dancers. Irvin is charged with felony cocaine possession. Prosecution witness Rochelle Smith described drug use and group sex with Irvin. Dallas police officer and Smith boyfriend Johnnie Hernandez is arrested when he attempts to hire an undercover police officer to kill Irvin. The NFL suspends Irvin for five games.

1996 – Portland police see Isaiah Rider smoke marijuana from a soda can and arrest him on possession charges.

1998 – NBA career leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is fined by customs officers in Toronto when found with marijuana.

2000 – Abdul-Jabbar is arrested in Los Angeles for driving under the influence of marijuana.

1998 – Lawrence Taylor is arrested in his New Jersey hotel room when police find a butane torch and other materials commonly used to smoke crack.

2002 – In his autobiography, “L. T.: Over the Edge”, Taylor admits he smoked crack cocaine before games and before his introduction to the NFL Hall of Fame.

2000 – Kevin Stevens of the New York Rangers is arrested for possession of crack cocaine and is admitted to the NHL’s treatment program.

2001 – Former Dallas Cowboys and 6 time Pro-Bowler Nate Newton is arrested in Louisiana when police find him driving a van containing 213 pounds of marijuana in a van he was driving.

2001 – While on bail Newton is arrested when police find him driving a van containing 175 pounds of marijuana. In 2003 Newton is sentenced to five years in federal prison.

2001 – Boxer Pernell Whitaker, a former champion in 4 divisions, is arrested on drug charges in Virginia Beach when police find cocaine among the boxer’s belongings when he is sentenced to four days in jail after pleading guilty to speeding and driving without a valid license.

2001 – Former All-Star Shawn Kemp checks himself into a drug rehabilitation program for cocaine abuse.

2002 – Damon Stoudamire is charged with felony possession of more than 150 grams of marijuana after police respond to a burglar alarm at Stoudamire’s house. Search later ruled illegal.

2002 – Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace found with marijuana during a traffic stop.

2003 – Stoudamire sets off an airport metal detector carrying more than an ounce of marijuana wrapped in aluminum foil.

2003 – Zach Randolph faces a DUI charge after a police officer said he smelled a “strong odor of burning marijuana” coming from his Cadillac.

2003 – Qyntel Woods is found with marijuana and driving without a license or insurance during a traffic stop.

2004 – Former MVP and admitted steroid user, alcoholic, and abuser of painkillers Ken Caminiti dies in the Bronx, as a result of what the New York City Medical Examiner calls “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine and opiates.”

The following are the first five pages of ten from the preview of the Mike Tyson unauthorized graphic novel biography featured in the No Mas Sports Issue. Click on each comic page to enlarge.

Ilustrations: Mickey Duzyj
Words: Chris Isenberg

Saturday June 10, 2006 – New York

For a number of reasons we ended up on 116th Street in Harlem crowded into a hole in the wall deli that also revealed itself to be a licensed single-chair barber shop and an African straight-to-video emporium,the Germany-Costa Rica match already available on DVD. Even standing on a couple packing flats of Nantucket Nectar it was hard to see the TV, but that was probably for the best since the élan, creativity and full force of the Argentine football birthright created holes in Ivory Coast’s defense to leave the score 2-0 at the half.

We regrouped at an Ivoirian restaurant down the block and as the Elephants did the same on the turf in Hamburg it was a bit of a shock to realize coach Henri Michel had both Aruna Dindane and Arouna Kone on the bench. Dindane was Drogba’s creative partner in the WC qualifying, and when he left January’s Africa Nations Cup following the sudden death of one of his twin daughters, Koné stepped up with his own brand of young gun excitement to bolster Drogba’s attack as the Elephants went all the way to the finals. As a coach Michel has steered several teams to the WC stage, so despite the cries of those crowded into Restaurant Farfina (‘International Calls and Hot & Cold Sandwiches”) you had to wonder if he didn’t have some kind of plan in waiting to put Dindane in at 55min and hold off til 77min to add Koné. An older distinguished gentleman wearing gold-rimmed glasses and dressed in the crisp manner of a retired doctor or taxi driver quietly floated this idea; he would say ‘D’accord, d’accord” after every missed scoring opportunity, but his voice was generally lost amid the groans and protests of his compatriots.

Argentina looked fresh and maybe even had a little fun pulling kits and sending guys to the ground in the second half. For his part Drogba was drenched in his effort but he never sweated out his perm as he pulled himself from the turf or languished in his zone waiting for a pass, and the rest of the team followed his lead in never losing their cool. At 82 min Drogba recovered from a wild header to cop a pass from Bakary Koné and send one in with his left foot: a pretty piece of poetry that suggests the team intends to play for more than pride in Germany.

The best analysis naturally came from Andrew, who was at the airport flying out to Paris for a day or two. It would’ve been good to watch with him, because he saw another game entirely: ‘Did you see the way we played them boys? Did you see Drogba’s goal? Amazing! For real, man,today we have shown we can play against the best in the world!”

He was right: today was real football and the Elephants looked good in their first ever World Cup appearance. Defender Arthur Boka boiled down that weird blend of confidence and optimism even further at the postgame press conference. ‘I think we played a little naively,” he offered. ‘And we were under pressure to win.”

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In addition to writing about music for Vibe and Spin, Knox Robinson is working with the London-based XL Recordings to create and curate GHETTO ARC, a series of music releases focusing on the sound of the global urban underground from Kingston to Baltimore to Johannesburg. As an editor at the Fader from 2000-2005, Knox travelled the world documenting the intersection between music, culture, and politics–from the violent, poverty fueled funk music of Brazil’s favelas to the afrobeat ghosts of Fela on the city streets of Lagos, Nigeria. GHETTO ARC allows Knox to combine his storytelling talents and his eye and ear for talent to help bring attention to music created off the radar of today’s commercial music monolith. Let’s Go Knox!

The African Game was written by Knox, photographed by Andrew Dosunmu, and executive produced by Lee Harrison of Us&Them creative. Lee was also instrumental in producing the No Mas’ gallery show, Fall Classic.

In fact it was kind of wack. On the heels of Tarver’s apparent schooling by Bernard last night (I didn’t see the fight, but you go Ex , you do Philly proud), I have to say Nadal’s four-set win over Federer in the French Open final today reminded me a little of Tarver/Jones I. Mostly because Federer is at that level that Roy was, where it’s literally shocking to see him out of his comfort zone, to see him at a loss on the court. And Federer’s a front-runner just like Roy was, highly unaccustomed to adversity. He does not take to getting hit very well. Meanwhile Nadal, like Tarver, is way too stubborn and taken with his own multitude of gifts to be intimidated by his larger than life opponent. Too young, too fast, and… let’s get it out in the open here… too pretty. Nadal is a brown-eyed handsome man and he be LOVIN on hisself out there.

Federer was landing some clean, heavy shots on that pretty face, though, had Nadal on the canvas a couple of times and then clinching for dear life after a first set 6-1 thrashing. Rog was jabbing, hooking, dancing, everything he’s doing working, and then, as you so often see in the ring, he got a little too confident and started to coast. At which point, Nadal, hotblooded, bullheaded, caught his breath and then caught Fed with a liver shot. Turn around and it’s a TKO in the fourth. Nadal retains the belt.

The other thing this match reminded me of was the 2001 U.S. Open final, when Hewitt frustrated Sampras into an embarrassing loss. I was at that match. You could see the same exasperation in Sampras that night as you saw in Fed today , how many motherfuckin winners do I have to hit at this son of a bitch? Next you thing you know, it’s in your head , you HAVE to paint the lines to win the point. And then you start spraying shit all over the place. I mean, that was just not Federer tennis out there today. Nadal clearly has his number.

It’s a shame it’s only on clay. Mary Carillo’s cheerleading aside, Nadal will not be winning Wimbledon anytime soon, and unless Andy Roddick’s mojo turns into a badass with a backhand instead of that pansy in the cowboy hat, ARod will not be winning the Open. Honestly I’d be surprised if Federer loses another match this year.

So, to all you men’s tennis fans out there, it was a fun season. Let’s agree to meet up again next year at Roland Garros. See if Fed fares any better in Federer/Nadal II than Roy did in Jones/Tarver II. You got any excuses for us tonight, Rog?

An own goal? One that provides the one-goal deficit in a loss to some gringos? A passionate Latin American nation rife with political instability and drug-fueled corruption? Sound familiar?

Colombian defender Andres Escobar was gunned down in Medellin after his own goal led to a 2-1 loss to the U.S. in the 1994 World Cup. Today, Paraguayan captain, Carlos Gamarra, headed a David Beckham free kick into his own net in the third minute of Paraguay’s game with England. It was the earliest own goal in world Cup history, and it turned out to be the only goal of the game – England held on for a tense 1-0 victory.

Twelve years after the Escobar outrage, let’s hope that cooler heads prevail.