Advantage Disadvantage (16 page)

High school teachers did well, but a slush fund
could help Coach Venturi pay money to street agents to discourage
the flight of good NAU players to parochial teams. By encouraging
better players to move into East End’s school district with a “war
chest”, Scott hoped to achieve the recognition he craved. Bobby G.
tried to shake him down many times, but Scott never had the scratch
to pay him.

Marcus Imari might want to help with the bookmaker’s
plan, Bobby G. thought. Marcus had been out of work for so many
years and his “free ride” with the Handelairs had to end. If Marcus
might go along, maybe Jamal could be reeled-in too with enough
money to pay for going to any college – forgetting the
scholarship.

Bobby G. called his new partner on the phone. “I’m
so excited about our plan”, Bobby G. gushed, “we’re gonna rock the
house. My version of Advantage/Disadvantage – we create the
advantage, we take money from the disadvantaged. We have already
talked about your job in this. I want to lay out the rest of the
plan to you now so you will stop asking questions for a while. OK,
here it is. In the beginning of the season, I will be betting on
East End, accepting wagers from all those homers willing to bet
against me. I will easily build up winnings because East End will
be so underrated that they will regularly beat the point spread. I
will keep the gangs happy by helping them beat the homers with bets
on other schools. Near the end of the season, East End will be
overrated and I will wager all my winnings against them for a huge
score. I will open the betting to homers and gangbangers for this
select game, and they will all lose lots of money. Then it’s you
and me bro, phat city.”

“Now I see,” said his accomplice. “I’m in!
Advantage/Disadvantage…I like it.”

“OK, remember my code. When you call me, you ask for
‘Jack Benny’. If I do not hear that, I hang up. You need a code
name to use when I call you. How about using one of my all-time
favorite comic’s names, ‘Red’ as in Red Skelton?”

“Whatever! Anyway, the plan sounds good. I like it.
Alright Jack, I’ll see you during hoops season.”

“Yep Red. We’re going to make some real money this
b-ball season.”

Chapter Twenty-two. Windy City Daily’s Board of
Directors

Summer was always a tough time for the newspaper.
People vacationed and circulation dropped. Advertisers went on
hiatus. When the leaves started to turn and the crisp fall air
arrived, for Frank hope sprang eternally. Football season meant
summer was over and it was back to school. It became open shopping
time to buy clothing, shoes, school supplies, and books. The paper
swelled with ads and revenue picked up. However, for this paper,
November brought on high school basketball season – the most
profitable time for the Windy City Daily. Sitting around the
boardroom at the Windy City Daily were the majority shareholders
represented by Robert Arthur, III, chairman of the board of
directors. He was a businessperson by trade, not a reporter. Nancy
Kapist was reviewing the past quarter’s income statement and future
projections. As she told an optimistic story, the chairman
interrupted the numbers chart and zoomed ahead to personnel.

The chairman asked, “What plans does that prep
sports writer-geek have for the basketball season?”

“Well Mr. Arthur. Frank Worrell plans a bigger
coverage year than ever before. His pre-season articles will focus
on headline breaking recruiting rumors and commitments. He will
appear on television twice a week reviewing plans and summer
wrap-ups before the season starts. Moreover, during that period, he
will publish our annual pre-season high school basketball poll
pullout section. As you know, that pullout derives the highest
revenue per page of anything we put out. During the season, Frank
will have excellent coverage leading to the state finals and
concurrently he will continue his appearances on the cable TV show
sponsored by our paper. I’d expect more than our fair share of
scoops and insights to drive paper and ad sales, better perhaps
than even the past few years.”

“Nancy that all sounds great, and I know Worrell has
delivered in the past but didn’t I hear that he has been talking to
the Tribune about a job?” asked Chairman Arthur.

“Yes sir, he has come through for us. It is not even
the seven-year itch for Frank. This comes up every year!”

“It will cost us and you dearly if he leaves, you
know.”

“Yes, Mr. Arthur. I will make sure he has the right
frame of mind to deliver this year. I’ve got him under control,
sir.”

“You better, Nancy. He means a lot to our bottom
line. Would it help if we shine his apple next board meeting? Maybe
create a made-up award to stroke him?”

“I don’t think so, sir. I know how to take care of
him.”

Chairman Arthur responded, “Nancy I am holding you
personally responsible for this guy. If he leaves the Windy City
Daily we are screwed – make sure he stays and has a productive
season.”

Far away from the board meeting, Frank was
interviewing Marcus and Jamal about East End’s team. Frank wanted
to verify his understanding of what seemed to go wrong with Coach
Venturi’s summer team. Jamal explained that the Coach used the
summer for several reasons: the backup players got serious minutes
but would mostly will be on the bench in-season; Coach Venturi
experimented with different alignments to see what kind of schemes
suited the team; and he also probed at some of the teams that also
would be on the regular season schedule. They put an emphasis on
conditioning and fundamentals, not winning.

The Imaris confirmed Frank’s suspicions. The Coach
was dumping games to better prepare the team for the season.
However, one thing bothered Frank.

“Jamal, may I ask you something?” asked Frank.

“Yup,”

“Nearly every other premier player has announced a
commitment to offered scholarships. You are one of the few holdups.
Why wait? Once the season starts, the NCAA prohibits you from
signing a letter of intent until April.”

“What’s the problem with that?” Marcus asked.

“Maybe it’s not a problem. However, if you string
recruiters along, they will continue to hassle you throughout the
year. Why risk a university reneging on a scholarship offer?
Something does not make sense. Look, my information is solid. Do
not take offense, but I understand that while you have a few
schools looking; only EPSU has offered you a full-ride. Why screw
that up? I don’t get it.”

Marcus and Jamal looked at each other trying to
figure out what to say. Should they tell Frank the truth? He seemed
always to know more than he let on. Sensing their reluctance to
talk, Frank sweetened the pot.

“Jamal, how’d you like to be one of the featured
players on my TV pre-season show? I have complete latitude to pick
players to highlight.”

“Sure I would. Awesome”

“Well, then. Well then, just fess up. Tell me why
you have not accepted your scholarship offer yet.

Marcus jumped into the conversation. “Frank, this is
confidential. You did not hear this from us. Venturi is a good guy.
He allows me to be an assistant coach and statistician for the
team, which I love, but he is a real control freak. He’s asked us
in no uncertain terms to not accept EPSU’s offer until he said it
was ok.”

“Why does he care?” asked the reporter.

“I can only guess that it’s one of two things - he
wants to orchestrate a big announcement and use it for
motivation.”

“That can’t make sense because he’s running out of
time. In two weeks, the season starts and you will be on an NCAA
signing freeze. Or, what?” asked Frank.

“Or … it’s that he’s trying to work a package deal
for Jamal and a coaching job for himself,” said Marcus.

“How would you feel about playing for Venturi at
college?”

Jamal replied, “I don’t care. I’m kind of anxious to
get the announcement over and have fun this year, without
recruiting pressure.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what. I will let you know when
I can have you on the pre-season show. It is best if you wear your
uniform on TV. It probably will be a week from Friday.”

“Dude, I’m in.”

Frank left the meeting without learning too much
new. He already deduced that Coach Venturi was dumping summer
games, now he understood why. He also heard that Jamal secured the
EPSU scholarship offer and he knew that the coach was officially in
the running for the coaching job.

Chapter Twenty-three. Love is in the Air(ball)

Nancy Kapist was nervous after the board meeting.
The chairman reiterated the whole paper’s dependence on Frank’s
contribution and that Nancy was completely responsible for him. She
figured that she needed to secure his promise for the year, his
full commitment to writing with excellence. She needed to inject
her magic on Frank to keep him in line, like a booster shot to keep
immunized.

“Hello?”

“Hi babe,” the editor replied, “how have you
been?”

“Good, I guess. I am a little depressed. You know
how I always feel at the start of the fall basketball season, about
being stuck covering high school sports. It’s an old story –
previously plowed ground.”

“We talked at length about you at the board
meeting,” she told him as she launched into her fully dishonest,
manipulation-mode. “The chairman understands your contribution to
the bottom line of the paper. I brought-up my desire to transfer
you to another department. He wishes he could authorize me to move
you over to the crime desk right now, but with general paper
revenues down, the paper needs you for this year doing what you
do.” She marveled at her own ability to lie to Frank. She blew
smoke rings as she puffed on her tapered cigarette waiting
indifferently for Frank’s response to whimper back through the
telephone.

“We’ve had this discussion every year. Can you tell
me when I’ll become a real writer?”

“Ronnie, you forget about the following you’ve
developed. You get tons of fan mail from your TV show. You make a
lot more this year than ever before. I know, you have told me it is
never enough money. Trust me, Sweetie. I can make it happen, just
not right now, kid.”

“I hate when I’m being lied to,” Frank whined.

“Babe, my hubby’s travelling. Why don’t you come
over for dinner and help me look at the stars,” she seduced.

Her invitations always melted Frank’s career
problems away. He was putty in the editor’s literal hands. Frank
knew Nancy was a master of manipulation but could not resist. He
jumped in a cab headed for her penthouse.

Meanwhile, another affair had been struggling to
survive in the suburbs. Scott and Elizabeth had gone from white
heat to one-sided dependency. Elizabeth, long separated from
Marcus, craved Scott’s attention. As the season approached, Scott
found himself making many excuses to avoid her. She simply did not
understand the level of his commitment and desire to have his best
season ever, leaving no stone unturned. He watched tape endlessly
and his pre-season plan book was bulging with drawings of plays and
opponents’ tendencies.

They were walking in a remote suburban park holding
hands when Marcus jogged nearby. He looked, took a double take and
approached. Elizabeth and Marcus’ best friend, Scott Venturi, were
locked in a kiss like teenage lovers in a kiss. He was as shocked
as they were when he confronted them.

“What the fuck is this?”

No one answered.

“Scott, I might have expected this from her, but
you? I thought you were my runnin’ mate. I mean, good, solid
friends?”

“Marcus, we are, man. I thought you split from
Elizabeth … a long time ago?”

“Fuck you. This makes me wonder how long you two
have been at it. Has this been going on for what – a year or
two?”

“Marcus, this just started in the summer, long after
you and I called it quits,” begged Elizabeth.

“Well, you learn something new every day. I guess we
are officially quits now. News to me! What a chump I am. In
addition, both of you could not wait until Jamal finished high
school. What would the fuckin’ school board think of this?”
threatened Marcus.

“Take it out on me Marcus. However, do not ruin it
for Jamal. Please, your son is a great kid. Why should any of us
hurt him?” Scott begged.

“I gotta think about this – I’m so pissed. I am not
sure what I’m going to do, or who I will tell. Both of you … stay
the fuck away from me. Scott, find another chump to be your team
statistician and assistant coach. Elizabeth, you already found your
chump.”

Chapter Twenty-four. Television News

Time was running out before the high school
basketball season began. EPSU was putting tremendous pressure on
Jamal to commit to the university, while dodging Scott’s calls.
Everyone was frustrated, especially Jamal. Marcus tried to calm him
down on the ride to the television studio to appear on the Windy
City Daily Prep Show, featuring Frank Worrell. Although Jamal was
used to large basketball crowds, this was citywide cable TV.

Frank began his show with some film highlights his
crew shot during the Olgesby summer camp. Jamal was getting ready
in the green room. This was going to be exciting. Marcus’ advice
was for Jamal to be positive, but not arrogant, be humble and nice,
and vocally support his teammates and coach.

Coach Venturi arrived at Elizabeth’s house to watch
Jamal on TV. After dinner, they sat on the couch excitedly
anticipating Jamal’s first television interview.

The new segment on Frank’s show began, “A sleeper
team in the near suburbs is East End High School. Under Coach Scott
Venturi, this team has steadily improved over the last three years.
They play in a tough league and they have had some rough spots in
summer league, but they seem ready to be competitive in their
league. We are thrilled to have with us the captain of East End’s
basketball team. He is 6 foot 5 inches and an imposing force on the
hard court, and he has earned a 3.2 GPA. Please welcome Jamal
Imari.”