culture

Despite the government assistance being given to Citigroup, the bank will still maintain its contract with the New York Mets for naming rights of their new ballpark. The New York Mets signed a 20-year contract with Citigroup binding them to forking up $20 million each year for their new stadium’s naming rights. The deal was…

The economy is, prehaps, the most pressing issue facing President-elect Obama. The team that he builds will be crucial to his success as a president and our climbing out of this hole, as a country. In a press conference today, Obama and VP-elect, Joe Biden, announced the people whom they’ve trusted to serve as their…

To regulate, or not to regulate—that is the question: Whether it is nobler to let the banks suffer a horrible fortune, or to take arms against this sea of debt. Nobilty and rhetoric aside, the U.S. has largely doubled back on its free market philosophies. As the Washington Post reports, the Treasury Department, the Federal…

Dear Readers, Can you believe The Root is approaching the end of its first year? And my, what a year it’s been! As we’ve kept pace with the news and issues that matter to you most, providing you with insightful, provocative and witty commentary that you can’t find anywhere else, we’ve also been listening to…

Nov. 21, 2008—Folks down with the number crunchers at sites like 82games, Basketball Prospectus, Baseball Prospectus and Football Outsiders, mutter these three little words—small sample size—as if it were a mantra and for good reason. Even those fans with no appetite for algebraic gymnastics with their sport can easily recall some otherwise ordinary player who had…

Nov. 21, 2008—Sometimes I like to shut off my iPod, turn on the radio and see what kind of tripe is filling the FM airwaves. It’s subversively entertaining to me. And since I hold popular radio in such low esteem, there’s not much that can alarm me—not even cuts like “My Neck, My Back” or…

What better way to think of an eco-friendly Thanksgiving menu than to recycle one from last year? Bryant Terry is The Root’s resident eco-soul chef, and his Thanksgiving feast is sure to satisfy any appetite. The original article is reprinted below. You might have noticed that harvest celebration née Thanksgiving is this week. If you have…

I’ve always wondered why and how rappers got away with bragging about illegal activity without any legal reprecussions. I always figured they were either lying,  there was nobody around to substantiate the claims in songs, or no one cared enough to investigate. Well, when one rapper spit the whole truth on his track, his lyric,…

Martha Stewart terrifies me, and Rachael Ray makes my teeth hurt. I don’t ever plan on attempting Stewart’s cranberry ginger jelly or shouting “Yum-o!” like Ray. I am a Turkey Day first-timer. And at 28, I thought it was time to bite the drummette and finally do a grown-up Thanksgiving. Something that goes beyond the…

What comes to mind when seeing the bald eagle? The United States, I’m sure. Patriotism? Probably. An endangered species? Maybe. But, thoughts of a racially divided history? I doubt it. South African leaders are debating the decision to change the country’s rugby team emblem, the Springbok. This deer-like animal symbolizes grace and athleticism for the…