ESPYs

Ok, say what you will about the ESPY's, but I think they got two things right this year.

The Special ESPY for Teamwork went to New Orleans' John Ehret High School's boys basketball team.

(Ok, technically the school is in Marrero, on the city's Westbank)

The team was made up of 10 players from five teams that had nowhere to go and wanted nothing more than to play basketball, same as always. They started off slow, but got their stuff together and eventually won the boys 5A Championship against a powerhouse from Baton Rouge.

I've been to Ehret, and I would bet that for most of you out there, you would have been less than impressed with this school before it was wrecked by a hurricane.

Yes, it's sappy, but it's also a damn good story. And it's something that personally gives me hope that one day my city will be back to how it was. It will never be the same, but I hear these stories of the citizens themselves not being ready to give up, I know there's yet hope.

The people of New Orleans are a fiercely proud lot and it's things like this that show me that New Orleans hasn't given up. I think people have given up on them, but the people aren't going to let this go without a fight.



The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage went to two young women from Afghanistan who are doing something so groundbreaking - they are playing soccer. They're laughing, and learning, and breaking some rules and giving hope and opportunity to thousands of little girls all over their country. They practice behind walls with a miliray presence because many citizens would not approve. They are risking their lives - for the simple freedom of playing soccer.

That's what sports is about.