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The Latest Work From Michael M. Rapaport
Jun 5, 2005 -- The Rap: 6/1
 | This is the first Rap I’ve written in a long time and there are things I’d like to comment on. First, allow me to wish all my readers a very happy Memorial Day holiday and a safe one as well. It is one of the most meaningful American holidays and probably ranks second to only Thanksgiving as the ones where we show our appreciation and gratitude for being Americans.
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May 26, 2005 -- Braves Rap: 5/26
 | Hi again! I’m back from my self-imposed hiatus and revving up to write about our Braves and so many other issues. The site is undergoing an enormous remodeling but I’m confident the faithful readers will enjoy the changes and find the site to be more accessible and informative.
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Mar 29, 2005 -- Braves Rap: 3/29
| Due to the personal challenges I’m facing I feel obliged to put some of the valuable collectibles I have of the Braves on sale. Those readers who are involved at Braves Beat’s message boards have shown some interest but wanted to see what they looked like. I didn’t have any photos because I didn’t have a camera. I just realized yesterday that I could use my new cell phone that includes one. The photos are not of the highest quality but should suffice in exhibiting a good idea of what they look like. Some pieces are probably of greater significance than others and their price will reflect that.
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Mar 29, 2005 -- The Rap: 3/29
| I didn’t want to write a column regarding the Terry Schiavo case because I was going to simply insert it into a Sports Rap. However, I remembered that I had committed not to mix politics with sports and then that led me to write an entire column on what is a vital, yet embarrassing, subject. I hold to the belief that this devastating tragedy has wrongly become part of the public domain. Bush and his gang must be out of their minds for interfering with what is a most personal situation. I’d like to begin with one question to ask the Shrub:
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Mar 29, 2005 -- Sports Rap: 3/29
 | I can’t imagine that any of you out there didn’t see the Barry Bonds interview he gave sitting side-to-side with his 15 year-old son. God knows, ESPN, Barry’s greatest shill, repeatedly played it for days. If you didn’t then all I can tell you is that it was possibly the most pathetic exhibition of a lack of character ever seen on the tube. I described it, on another venue, as if we were watching a spoiled and petulant child who got caught red-handed with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
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Mar 13, 2005 -- Sports Rap: Fantasy Projections
| The following article is Rap's 2005 Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings and Projects.
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Mar 13, 2005 -- The Rap: 3/13
| I think most of my readers know that I am the son of two people who came to this country after being in concentration camps, dad was in Buchenwald, mom in Auschwitz. In fact, many who know me well, also know that my mom watched the infamous Dr. Mengele at Auschwitz murder her mother and four-year-old sister right in front of her. There are many more true stories about what happened just to my family and they are part and parcel of the overall genocide, known as “The Holocaust,” perpetrated by the Nazis against my people, among a select few others.
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Mar 6, 2005 -- The Rap: 3/6
| The cartoon above is an old English one in which the man in the foreground represents the unemployed of the land while those behind him are the British lawmakers who go to meeting after meeting while the subject they’re meeting about shrivels away because of a lack of their action. What follows has been jumbling around in my mind for quite a while so I thought I’d share some things with you. I have concluded that the specific word above is used for insidious purposes in our country and I’d like to take the opportunity here to explain what I mean.
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Feb 27, 2005 -- The Sports Rap: 2/27
| Barry arrived at Giants’ training camp in Arizona yesterday and everyone, including a ton of media folks, anxiously awaited his first press conference of the new season. There were parameters set forth by Barry’s people which stated that no one in the press could ask him any questions about steroids or anything to do with the BALCO situation. It was said that this was all on the advice of Barry’s attorneys.
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Feb 27, 2005 -- Braves Rap: 2/27
| This column will be focused on only one subject this time, on John Smoltz, the beloved pitcher of every fan that follows our team. The reason is because I’d like to explain why all of us fans have to take a realistic approach when we think about what he will do this year.
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Feb 20, 2005 -- The Rap: 2/20
| I guess it’s time to open up again. Keep in mind that if Iraq is a truly democratic and free society a decade from now, without a significant American presence, that I would credit Bush and his gang for being right and having done the right thing. However, my earnest belief is that the chances of that becoming a reality are about equal to hair growing on the palm of my hand.
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Feb 13, 2005 -- The Rap: 2/13
| This is a short but special Rap column. It is dedicated to two great human beings that passed away this past week. It’s not a statement of grievance but one of celebration, as we should rejoice in the lives of this pair that died at a ripe old age.
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Feb 13, 2005 -- Sports Rap: 2/13
| The idea for this column came to me while I, like so many others, was in the midst of doing a ton of research in building my baseball fantasy teams for the upcoming season. It’s obvious that if you had ALL those listed below that you would easily win a championship in just about any type of league in which you were participating. I favor playing CDM Diamond Challenge games because they’re professionally set up and implemented. If there are any readers out there who also play CDM DC games, please let me know so we can possibly exchange information that could be mutually beneficial.
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Feb 6, 2005 -- Braves Rap: 2/6
| Many Braves fans are wondering if our team is set for the upcoming season. The additions of Raul Mondesi and Brian Jordan as what one could justifiably call “necessary stopgap measures” seems to have put the final frosting on our cake.
My belief is that we may still see some movement as we set up this year’s bullpen. Danny Kolb is definitely the closer and Chris Reitsma, Kevin Gryboski, Roman Colon, and Gabe White comprise the core of relief for us. I don’t include Tom Martin simply because his status with us is somewhat shaky after flopping after he was acquired late last season. I believe the Braves may give some kids a shot at some spots and might acquire somebody from another club as well.
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Jan 30, 2005 -- Braves Rap: 1/30
| Braves fans everywhere should stop, think, and then thank John Schuerholz for the great general manager that he has been and continues to be. He is proving his amazing talent as he adapts to a new cost conscious mentality imposed on him by the suits in the corporate structure above him. Let’s examine the latest moves and sit in wonder at what he did:
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Notes: Michael's works are broken down into three types of articles:
Braves Raps, featured on BravesBeat.com (Archive)
Articles focused squarely on Braves and baseball.
Sports Raps, featured on The Rap Report (Archive)
Articles focused squarely on the Sports Genre.
The Raps, featured on The Rap Report (Archive)
Articles focused squarely on whatever Michael chooses.
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