Katrina Inc.

I have ranted previously about the lip service pro sports pays to the re-building of New Orleans.

Now it's someone else's turn. Click here to read Buck Harvey's take on the NBA's PR campaign in New Orleans this weekend, as part of its All-Star Game festivities.

After reading the story, it seems like a lot of the players do want to help and do something, while the corporate side of the NBA doesn't care as long as it looks like its athletes are helping. But don't take my word for it. Below is an excerpt from Buck Harvey's column.

But that's part of the disconnect about this weekend. The NBA had its dunk contests and opulence, and at the same time the league wanted to portray itself as a civic partner.

The league helped post-Katrina New Orleans just by bringing the All-Star Game here. But the "NBA Cares" program has always had the sincerity of a political-campaign photo op, and a marketing idea added to that. Then the league mailed work gloves to the media, when a house in the 9th Ward could have been rebuilt for the price.

The gloves were to promote a Day of Service, which involved putting millionaires to work with cameras nearby. A picture of Jason Kidd on ESPN.com summed up the so-called service; standing on a ladder, Kidd was surrounded by, among other devices, a boom mic.

But some athletes like to be involved, and Yao Ming was...

Click here for the whole story. Oh yeah, and Spurs rule.

Rant Emily is Sick Of #893909

Is anyone else bothered by the commercials Visa has been running designed to make the use of cash seem obsolete, old, and lame? These ads have been bothering me for a long time. I know Emily has seen them, because she has been listening to me rail agaisnt them everytime we see one.

Well apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. Click here to read exactly why these ads bother me. It mirrors the rant I would have written, only the link provided is written in a much more concise and informed fashion.

The ad that really bothers me is one that features the New Orleans Saints. The ad shows a bunch of football fans in New Orleans marching around alive and well. New Orleans is back! Life is good!

Nevermind that New Orleans' post-Katrina population is less than 60% of its pre-Katrina level. Apparently we are all supposed to feel things in New Orleans are going GREAT because they have a pro football team. So New Orleans is now some feel good story just because it has pro sports and conventions. Doesn't that trivialize and gloss over the fact that city has a long way to go before it can be put back together again. Or the fact that in 2005 freaking corpses were floating in the streets?

END RANT HERE