It is a sure sign that you’ve reached middle age when you no longer can identify pop-culture celebrities, and you’ve stopped trying. Who cares if you have no idea who the host of Saturday Night Live is (forget about the musical guest)? It’s not like you can stay up late enough to watch theshow anyway.
Perhaps that’s why I’m perfectly happy to accept the loose definition of “celebrity” being applied to tonight’s Greater Springfield Pro Am Basketball League Celebrity All-Star Classic basketball game. The game, to be held at the Basketball Hall of Fame at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30), is part of the Living Legends Adult Basketball League.
According to a press release from the office of Mayor Domenic Sarno—one of the celebs who’ll hit the court tonight—the league’s mission is “to recognize and honor legendary players, coaches and contributors to the game of basketball in the Greater Springfield area. The LLABL is dedicated to the promotion of these individuals’ achievements and efforts as pioneers, mentors, and ambassadors of the game of life.”
Among the local luminaries joining Sarno on the court will be state Rep. Ben Swan; Channel 22 news anchor Rich Tettemer; Channel 40 reporter Jim Cline; Carlos Gonzalez, head of Mass. Latino Chamber of Commerce; and Dee Brown and Kevin Whitted, the head and assistant coaches, respectively, of the Springfield Armor. (While the initial press release from Sarno’s office only announced the mayor’s participation, press aide Tom Walsh quite gamely chased down the rest of the names for me—and clued me in on the identity of the one person whose name I didn’t recognize.)
As an Advocate reporter and third-wave feminist, I would be remiss if I didn’t note the complete absence of female names on the list. What, was Kateri Walsh busy? How about activist Karen Powell, whose lack of height would no doubt be more than compensated for by her extreme feistiness? Or what about the very peppy woman who does the economic reports on Channel 22?
And while I’m composing my own Dream Team, how about a pure politics game—perhaps Sarno and his backers (his most loyal department heads, his biggest campaign contributors) versus his biggest critics (City Councilors Tim Rooke and Jimmy Ferrera, the guys who own the Skyplex nightclub)? Or even better: a one-on-one match-up between the mayor and School Committee member Antonette Pepe, who recently went public with charges that the mayor tried to “blackmail” her in exchange for his vote to make her the committee’s vice chair. Or perhaps that one’s best settled in a boxing ring.
