Courts of Dreams
… on the eve of the annual “senior night” game - held in the students’ final year of high school - the team’s coach handed J-Mac, as he is known, a shirt with 52 sewn on the back, having told him he would try to get him into the all-important game at some point. Come the final few minutes, Jason was duly sent onto the court. As his team-mates fed him the ball, Jason calmly took aim and made seven hoops from 13 shots, scoring five points a minute and breaking school records. Athena beat their rivals Spencerport by 79-43. At the final whistle, spectators carried Jason off the court on their shoulders. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Fortunately for J-Mac, his basketball triumph was captured on film and sent about the Internet until it eventually reached the sports cable network ESPN, making the autistic teenager the national hero that he is today. Film companies, publishers, basketball superhero “Magic” Johnson, and even Oprah Winfrey are now bidding for his attention.
When Jason McElwain entered the game and immediately flubbed the first basket, his coach prayed. That prayer was answered seven times thirteen, as the young autistic student of Monroe County, New York made headlines by scoring twenty points in four minutes at his high school basketball game. The unlikely teen-age champion, J-Mac, has even become a hero to President George W. Bush who traveled to New York to present him with an award. If you missed the heart-warming story, “RofaSix” has posted the video of the basketball game in which the young man starred. WATCH!




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Mr Bush hopes that being photographed with Jason will help his sinking approval ratings, now at an all-time low.
Yes, I’m sure PRESIDENT Bush had no intention of encouraging the thousands of autistic children and their families who struggle with this condition every hour of every day, much less this one particular youngster, by recognizing him with an award. The nerve!
/sarcasm off
Comment by flora mcdonald — March 15, 2006 @ 9:05 pm
You are correct, Flora. In fairness, I am going to edit my post, as I really have no way to read the President’s mind or to discern his true motives. Maybe Mr. Bush even did the honors for the country - as we can all benefit from such a heartwarming story of unexpected accomplishment. Nevertheless, I still believe that the President and his team need to get their act together, as the Dems are gaining the upper hand in public perception.
Comment by Kerfuffles — March 15, 2006 @ 9:35 pm
Confession time: I work as little as possible but when I do, it is with mentally handicapped adults so I have a built in bias.
I, too, am very concerned about the PR from the White House or rather the lack of good PR. Something has got to change the sooner the better.
Comment by flora mcdonald — March 15, 2006 @ 10:58 pm