Episode #14: Sherman Alexie on Kobe, Reservation Basketball, and Mascots
John Moe interviews fellow writer/podcast host/basketball enthusiast/Seattle SuperSonics mourner Sherman Alexie on this episode. Among the items covered:
- Kobe Bryant as Orson Welles in Touch of Evil.
- Their not-at-all hidden glee over Bryant’s Lakers getting steamrolled by the Golden State Warriors.
- Guys who say basketball is “just a game” NEVER think it’s just a game. (I can confirm this.)
- With the Sonics now the Oklahoma City Thunder, the authors’ reversion to “hate fandom” and their tentative outreach to the Portland Trail Blazers.
- Basketball as the sport of American poverty.
- The wonders of reservation hoops. (The poem referenced is here.)
- Why people are finally paying attention to offensive mascot names.
- The genesis of Sherman and Jess Walter’s A Tiny Sense Of Accomplishment podcast.
John also talks about power, in the person of new executive director of the NBA Players’ Association and all-around badass Michele Roberts and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and reads Rejected Super Bowl Halftime Show Proposals from his book, Dear Luke, We Need to Talk. Darth.