2008 Bubbling Brown Sugar Highlights

Swing is alive and well in the hands of Richard Bell and his touring cast of "Bubbling Brown Sugar", which is now fresh off of a recent European engagement.
Richard,a baller in his own right, is the son of the beloved "Puggy" and Mildred Bell of Riverton. A "renaissance" man himself, he also co-produced the "feel good" seventies classic "Claudine".

Conversations with Mr Dinkins

Da Bigg Doggs Of Harlem

Nearly 20 years ago, across from "22 west" on a"hun thirty-fifth street" Al Gee started a Hoops tournament, later to be called the BIGG DOGGS of Harlem. In the tradition of educator/ mentors like the late greats Pelham Fritz and Holcomb Rucker and the living legends Cal Ramsey and Jon Isaacs , Al has provided a summertime recreational outlet to scores of Harlem youth. He needs four more solid teams to fill out the card this year........Are there any undercover basketball coaches out there??
Anyway Als' gettin' his props lately in the form of a prominent spot on a beautiful mural on the side of the Rozier Hansborough (The Bathhouse) Center on 135th street. Check it out for yourself.

Set It Off!!

Hey folks,the 2008 Riverton Park reunion plans are well underway. Glenn"Deisel"Hunter has been in negotiation with Riverton management and they have graciously consented to allow us the use of the premises on Saturday July 12th for our annual get together. Food & refreshments will be provided for all of our guests.
Because of the considerable expenses associated with the staging of such an event,(let alone the difficulties of purchasing for an unknown number of participants) it is necessary that we recieve some seed money to cover the expected outlay. Accordingly ,we need to raise $1500 as soon as possible to assure the success of the event. The cost per family is $25, and arrangements have been made to facilitate this by the use of the paypal button to the right of this blog entry. Alternatively, checks can be mailed to:
Glenn Hunter
2300 fifth ave suite 2e
New York, New York
HELP US OUT Y'ALL! WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT UPFRONT CASH COMMITMENT,WE CANNOT ASSURE THAT THE PARTY WILL BE HELD. SPREAD THE WORD!

Virtual Harlem

Here's a well executed bit of "geographically stylized" eye candy, compete with scholarly insights by Central Miissouri State Professor Bryan W. Carter . Hold onto your hat!

Our Friend, Our Governor

"Black Magic" A Pearl of a Picture

To those of us who were in the mix during the late sixties an early seventies Earl"The Pearl"Monroe was more than the iconic athlete whose statistical accomplishments were only exceeded by the grand style with which they were executed, Earl is and was one of us. With fellow Knicks Dick "Fall back Baby' Barnett, and Cal Ramsey in residence at the time, Earl was one of a litany of legends to have graced the Riverton Playground.
His story and that of the many incredible athletes who played for historically black colleges and universities in the pre-seventies era was the subject of the film "Black Magic" The film was produced by the hall of famer himself, and screened before a wildly enthusiastic audience last month at the Apollo.It will air in two parts on ESPN this coming Sunday and Monday. What follows is a well crafted narrative about the Pearl that I found on Youtube, it will have to hold ya' till Sunday!