A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2016
HeraldSports
90 years
of bridging
cultures
PERFORMANCE AT KENNEWICK
BIG
HIT
I
wasn’t sure what to expect.
Not in a bad way, like I was
walking into something
cringe-worthy, but I just didn’t
know. I had never seen the
Harlem Globetrotters in person
(seen them on TV), but their act
is far better in person, I knew, so
being there would be great.
I brought my friend Kyle, who
lives in Yakima and
went to high school
and college with me,
and we giggled and
laughed and pointed
at things we liked
while crammed into
the tight seating.
Sam
That was only
Barbee
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FROM THE
SIDELINES
I moved down
underneath the
basket for the second half to so
could use my camera, and he
stood and watched, not wanting
to mess with the unbearably tight
squeeze it was to get into our
seats.
As fun as they were to watch
inside the gym, it’s better close.
Perhaps that’s obvious. But
you can hear the things they’re
saying to each other, planning
their next gag or talking to the
other team to tell them what their
plan is. It’s interesting watching
a basketball game where the
score is irrelevant. They try to
bring in elements to serious
basketball talk — acknowledging
the Globetrotters are losing,
suggesting a couple ways they
could come back, etc. — but you
always know they’ll win. It’s a
show, after all, a performance.
But there was one thing I kept
thinking about, and it’s related to
the column I wrote last week. In
a lot of ways, the Globetrotters
are showing African-American
culture to people — largely not
black — and how much fun it can
be.
They aren’t throwing it in
your face. They aren’t holding up
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hop music plays during action.
The players dance and use slang.
More so, both coaches were
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All the Globetrotters and all but,
like, three of the World All-
Stars — the Globies’ opponents
who looked like there were a
million places they’d rather be
than getting paid to lose — were
black.
After the show, Kyle and
I were talking about what
we liked, and he noticed the
progressiveness that I wrote
about. He brought up the women
on the team — the 13th female
Globetrotter, we were constantly
reminded — as well as how many
African-Americans were involved
in the entire show.
I had another thought Sunday
afternoon. The past, present
and future all collide when the
Globetrotters perform. The public
address announcer still uses an
old radio microphone. This is the
90th year of the Globies, so they
wore really old-school uniforms
complete with striped socks and
short shorts (they changed to
their current duds at halftime).
The music, the jokes were of the
present. One man had “Hello”
by Adele lip-synched to him in
a funny gag where he also held
hands with a player and skipped
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was receiving her “stolen” purse
as a gift. The dances were current,
with a break to “Whip-It and
Naenae,” a popular dance making
its way around the Internet.
And then there’s the future.
The idea that people are just
people, with no physical features
that easily separate people. The
race thing. There was other stuff,
too, like how hard it must be to be
an active foil and how hard it is to
get paid to lose every night. But
The Harlem Globetrotters are a
treasure to our culture, and crucial
to our progress, as well.
— Sam Barbee is a sports re-
porter for the Hermiston Herald
and East Oregonian based out of
Hermiston. He can be reached by
email at sbarbee@hermistonher-
ald.com or on Twitter @SamBar-
bee1. Follow Herald Sports @
HHeraldSports.
Follow sports on Twitter
@HHeraldSports
STAFF PHOTO BY SAM BARBEE
Dunking specialist Beast Cunningham (23) hangs on the rim as Hi-Lite Bruton reacts during the Harlem Globetrotters’ performance on Sunday in
Kennewick.
Famed Harlem Globetrotters
entertain kids of all ages
By SAM BARBEE
Staff Writer
B
etween the third and fourth quarters at Toyota Cen-
ter in Kennewick on Sunday, music was blaring out
of the speakers. Players and children alike were on
the court, dancing to the classic “Y.M.C.A.” by the
Village People.
One toddler was sitting on the shoulders of 6-foot-
9 Hammer Harrison, beaming. Another youngin’
was being led by the hand, and was just as excited. The activi-
ty demonstrated the notion that the Harlem Globetrotters, one
of the longest-running and most famous sports teams of all
time, know what their target audience is. It’s children.
“It was an awesome family activity,” Echo resident Mike
Barzee said. “It was really cool that they brought all the little
kids out on the court and they were always keeping the show
going that well, having the little kids involved.”
The entire show was geared that way. The comedy is large-
ly slapstick — physical jokes that work really well with kids.
One gag involved a player “stealing” a purse from a court-side
spectator, only for the purse to be brought back in a box and
given back as a gift. The joke was funny, and it had all the
kids laughing.
Another gag had 5-foot-6 Rocket Pennington sneak onto
the rim while the audience’s attention was elsewhere, and
proceeded to comically misinterpret the instructions to “Get
down, now!” Instead of climbing down, he and his teammates
started dancing.
Globetrotters showman Hi-Lite Bruton (26) passes to Rocket
Pennington (8) behind the back Sunday in Kennewick.
See TROTTERS, A12
Hermiston hammers Hood River Valley
Padilla only scored two
points, but her work on the
glass and on the defensive end
Friday night — and the season
as a whole — have been a very
By SAM BARBEE
important part of Hermiston’s
Staff Writer
sixth straight CRC title.
Kynzee Padilla doesn’t usu-
“Kynzee Padilla has proba-
ally score the most points, and bly had seven of her best games
her contributions to the Herm- in our last seven,” Hermiston
iston girls basketball team coach Steve Hoffert said. “If
largely go unnoticed.
you watch her defensively,
But the junior forward is she’s been a very solid person
crucial to the Bulldogs’ suc- for our last seven games. Very
cess, as was the case in Fri- crucial. She’s one of those dark
GD\¶VZLQRYHUWKH+RRG horses. … Everyone needs to
River Valley Eagles in the pen- get credit where credit is due,
ultimate Columbia River Con- but sometimes I think she gets
ference game of the season. overlooked.”
Friday’s win was Hermiston’s
Padilla led the defensive
fourth straight by 40 points or unit that outscored the Eagles
more.
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Strong fi rst-quarter
defense lifts Bulldogs
Bulldogs run away
with district title
night. The Bulldogs started the
game in their trademark press,
and it’s only gotten better.
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quarter, Hermiston barely let
Hood River cross the timeline.
When they did, the Eagles ei-
ther threw the ball away or
forced up a tough layup, which
bounced out for easy Bulldog
layups.
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Hermiston scored 13 points,
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turnovers before Eagles coach
Scott Walker took a timeout.
It’s the exact kind of start Hof-
fert is looking for.
The Hermiston Bulldogs
placed 19 wrestlers on the po-
dium on Saturday afternoon to
boost the team to another Special
District 4 championship.
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place with 435 points, while Red-
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points and Bend at third place
with 233.5 points. The Pendleton
Buckaroos had a disappointing
performance at the tournament,
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points.
The Bulldogs were paced by
eight district champions with
Liam Tarvin (113 pounds), Andy
Wagner (126), Adrian Tuia (132),
See GIRLS, A11
See WRESTLING, A11