Can't Wait For The SmackDown: USA Versus Spain

Chalk this up to a can't miss game because not only do I finally want to see my team recapture the gold - but let's think about it for a moment - even if you're not from the U.S., who would you rather be rooting for:

Lebron and Co.



Or the I don't see how what we're doing offends anyone, this is absurd to call it racist Pau Gasol team from Spain?



It's kind of a no-brainer.

Contacts: Pau, Calderon, Nike, And The NBA

While I hope management, advertisers, etc., of the players and teams from the Spain photo debacle have already been thinking about the PR implications and how to best handle them - like dropping them - more pressure never hurts.

Here's a list of places to contact (thanks LC for sending this on by):

Main NBA Contacts:

David Stern
The National Basketball Association
Attn: Fan Relations
645 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022
E-mail form: http://www.nba.com/email_us/

Los Angeles Lakers Contacts

Los Angeles Lakers
555 N. Nash Street
El Segundo, CA 90245
USA
Phone: (310) 426-6000
E-mail form: http://www.nba.com/lakers/contact.html

Pau Gasol & Nike Contacts

Web site: http://www.paugasol.com/

Nike World Headquarters
One Bowerman Drive
Beaverton, OR 97005
Phone: 1-503-671-6453
E-mail Form: http://www.nikebiz.com/contact/

Jose Calderon & The Toronto Raptors Contacts

Web site: http://www.josemanuelcalderon.com/
E-mail: email@josemanuelcalderon.com

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
40 Bay St., Suite 400
Toronto, ON
M5J 2X2
CANADA
E-mail Form: www.nba.com/raptors/contact/index.html

List Of Management/Owners For The Toronto Raptors
http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/mlsel_management.html

A Quick Letter To Pau Gasol

Dear Pau:

While I was going to just let this drop after my last post, I can't help but not write you a little something after I read in the Sporting News that you thought it was "absurd" people were calling the gesture racist you and the Spanish basketball team posed for, and that it was really just supposed to be "funny".

I mean I know you're soft (we all do now after seeing you play in the Finals), but to be honest, I really didn't think that extended to brain tissue, and even though I know what you meant by funny - a bunch of white guys making fun of us chinky bastards - I'm still a little confused on the "absurd" comment.

Did you mean absurd as in "It's really absurd Anne Frank would hate the Nazis" absurd, or absurd as in "It's absurd that Phil Jackson calls me a weenie and I'm getting booed by millions of Asian American Lakers' fans who are calling for me to be traded" absurd?

Just let me know when you have time,
Slanty