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K Eids Tomorrow, July 2, is the middle day of the year! sTHE SCORE by Fred Bowen
They were teen sensations T
he Washington Wizards picked University of Kentucky guard John Wall as the No. 1 pick in
the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft last week. Wall is an exceptional athlete. He is super-quick and a great passer. Wall may be what the Wizards need at point guard. But there’s something else that
makes Wall unusual in pro sports. He’s just 19 years old; he will turn 20 in September. I know lots of kids dream about be- ing sports stars. But at the highest levels, sports are tough and competi- tive. Not many young players make it. Very few teenagers are stars. Let’s take a look at some of the greatest teenage stars:
Pelé: A World Cup soccer play- er becomes famous these days for scoring one or two goals. In the 1958 World Cup, a 17-year- old forward named Edison Arantes do Nascimento scored six goals, including five in the final two games to lead Brazil to victory. The player, who became known to the world by his nickname, Pelé, won two more World Cups with Brazil and be- came the greatest soccer player of all time.
Wayne Gretzky: The legendary hock- ey player was 18 when he started play- ing in the National Hockey League in
PELÉ PHOTO FROM THE WASHINGTON POST
GRETZKY FROM UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL;
WASHINGTON POST; FELLER PHOTO FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS;
1979 PHOTO OF AUSTIN BY RICHARD DARCEY/THE
1979. Some fans thought the skinny center might not be able to stand up to the rough-and-tumble NHL. Boy, did Gretzky prove them wrong! He scored 51 goals, dished out 86 assists and was named the league’s most valuable play- er (MVP). By the end of his 20-year ca- reer, Gretzky, known as the Great One, won nineMVP awards and rewrote the NHL record book for scoring.
Tracy Austin: Women’s tennis has had a bunch of teen sensations, in-
cluding Chris Evert, Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati. Tracy Austin won a professional tournament when she was 14 years old and the United States Open in 1979 when she was 16. Austin won a second U.S. Open as a teenager in 1981. Those were Austin’s only Grand Slam singles titles. Her ca- reer was cut short by injuries.
Clockwise from above: Tracy Austin won the U.S. Open tennis tournament twice in her teens; pitcher Bob Feller began his major league career as a 17-year-old; hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is now known as the Great One; Pelé is the greatest soccer player of all time.
Bob Feller: A hard-throwing right- handed pitcher, Bob Feller was a 17- year-old high school senior when he made his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians in 1936. Feller struck out 15 batters in his first start. Feller also led the American League in strikeouts when he was just 19. Feller finished his major league career with a record of 266 wins and 162 losses. He would have won more, but like many old-time baseball stars, Feller volun- teered to serve in the Navy during World War II (1941 to 1945).
In basketball, LeBron James was a
sensation as a 19-year-old rookie, aver- aging more than 20 points a game. Wizards fans would be delighted if their young star turn out to be another LeBron. Or Pelé. Or Gretzky. Or Tracy Austin. Or Bob Feller.
Fred Bowen is the author of 14 sports books for kids, including “Soccer Team Upset” and “Dugout Rivals.”
KLMNO FRAZZ
THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010 JEF MALLETT
TODAY:Mostly sunny and nice!
HIGH LOW 80 62
ILLUSTRATION BY ERIN DONINGER, 7, BRISTOW
TODAY’S NEWS
PETE SOUZA/WHITE HOUSE PHOTO
Top finishers in a national math competition got to visit with the president in the Oval Office.
Math excellence adds up to meeting the president
President Barack Obama met a group of impressive middle- schoolers in the Oval Office on Monday. The students were all top finishers in the annual Ray- theon Mathcounts National Com- petition, led by 13-year-old cham- pion Mark Sellke of West Lafa- yette, Indiana. Mark, whose father is a statis- tics professor, beat 223 other stu- dent “mathletes” at the event in Orlando, Florida, in early May. More than 100,000 students took part in math competitions across the country.
Obama congratulated the stu- dents and reminded them that they will come to rely on their problem-solving skills. Meanwhile, next week keep an
eye on other bright students who will be competing during Kids Week on the television show “Jeopardy!” The shows begin Monday. Caroline Evans, 12, of Bethesda and Kyle Ziemnick, 11, of Purcellville are contestants.
TODAY AT THE FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL
After a two-day break, the Folklife Festival continues with a full schedule of concerts, demonstrations, discussions and food. This year, the free celebration on the Mall spotlights Mexico, Asian Pacific Americans and ongoing Smithsonian projects. Thursday night at 6, comedian George Wallace makes a special appearance to discuss the Apollo Theater. For information, call 202-633-1000 or visit
www.festival.si.edu.
SMITHSONIAN INSIDE OUT
THE COMMONS 11 a.m. Moving Beyond Earth 11:45 a.m. Smithsonian Jeopardy 2 p.m. Tools for the 21st Century: The Hirshhorn “Bubble” 2:45 p.m. Research and Outreach: Heritage Months* 3:30 p.m. Tales From the Vaults: Smithsonian Networks 4:15 p.m. Working Together: NMAH and B&O Railroad Museum* 5 p.m. My Smithsonian: Long and Rich Careers
MEXICO
EL SALÓN DE MÉXICO 11 a.m. Los Verdaderos Caporales de Apatzingán Noon Mariachi Tradicional Los Tíos 1 p.m. Chinelos de Atlatlahucan 2 p.m. Cardencheros de Sapioriz 3 p.m. Hamac Cazíim 4 p.m. Encuentro: Los Verdaderos Caporales and Grupo de Fandango LA FONDA Noon Palo Volantín Ceremony 1 p.m. Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough* 2 p.m. Trío Santa Quilama 3 p.m. Mariachi Tradicional Los Tíos 4 p.m. Palo Volantín Ceremony 4:45 p.m. Cardencheros de Sapioriz LA COCINA 11 a.m. Tortilla Workshop Noon Candymaking: Dulces de Santa Cruz Acalpixca 1 p.m. Xochimilco-style Cooking: Tlaxcales 2 p.m. Bolim: Téenek Ceremonial Tamal* 3 p.m. Wixárika Cooking
4 p.m. Mayan Cooking: Cochinita 4:45 p.m. Jalisco-style Cooking: Enchiladas CUENTACUENTOS 11 a.m. Conversation With Radio Bilingüe Noon Fishing Traditions* 1 p.m. Agricultural Traditions Through the Generations 2 p.m. Singing and Song Traditions 3 p.m. Teotitlán del Valle Weaving 4 p.m. Xochimilco Candymaking* 4:45 p.m. Conversation With Ariedna Garcilazo Rosas and Sara Carolina Pool Matu
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS
ASIAN FUSIONS 11 a.m. Sikh Music 11:45 a.m. Buddhist Monk Ordination: Burmese American 12:30 p.m. Hindustani Song 1:15 p.m. Chinese American Opera 2 p.m. Celebratory Music: Making Connections 3:30 p.m. Song and Performance: Making Connections 5 p.m. Teachings 6 p.m. Evening Conversation: Crackin’ Wise — George Wallace Remembers the Apollo TALKSTORY 11 a.m. Conversation With an Immigrant Family
11:45 a.m. Muslim Americans From Asia 12:30 p.m. Finding Spiritual Identity 1:15 p.m. The Interfaith Community* 2 p.m. Conducting Business Across Cultures 2:45 p.m. Margin to Mainstream: Bruce Lee and Ravi Shankar* 3:30 p.m. Religious Center as a Community Center
4:15 p.m. Learning the Punjabi Language TEA HOUSE 11 a.m. Indian/Caribbean American Cooking 11:45 a.m. Indonesian American Cooking* 12:30 p.m. Sikh Cooking 1:15 p.m. Burmese American Cooking 2 p.m. Cooking With Coconut: Making Connections 3:30 p.m. Salads: Making Connections 5 p.m. Dessert *American Sign Language-interpreted program
MOVIE REVIEW
INDUSTRIAL LIGHT AND MAGIC/PARAMOUNT PICTURES VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS BEND THIS:Noah Ringer is woefully miscast as Aang, a messianic child with the power to manipulate the elements. It’s easy to drift away from ‘Last Airbender’ by Michael O’Sullivan
I’ve been getting e-mails for weeks complaining about the casting of “The Last Airbender,” director M. Night Shya- malan’s live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon cartoon “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” The writers are upset that most of the actors, with the exception of British-born Indian actor Dev Patel, who plays bad guy Zuko, are white. They should be upset with the casting, but not for the reason they think. Newcomer Noah Ringer, who plays the title role of Aang, a messianic child with the power to manipulate the ele- ments, is woefully miscast. Not because he’s white, but because the kid can’t act . Embarrassingly amateurish, he gives new meaning to the term lightweight, and it has nothing to do with his charac- ter’s ability to float on air. Playing a hero who’s meant to be
something akin to the young Dalai La- ma, Ringer brings less than zero gravi- tas to the role. He makes the kid who plays Gibby on “iCarly” look like Sir Lawrence Olivier. Aang has run away from the monas-
JACQUELYN MARTIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS CONTINUING CELEBRATION: The Folklife Festival resumes Thursday.
tery where he was being groomed for his role, before he had mastered control of water, earth and fire. So it’s almost plausible that he comes across as such a
neophyte. Making matters worse are Ringer’s young castmates. Playing Katara and Sokka, Nicola Peltz and Jackson Rath- bone are stiff and awkward. Short of a screen test, it’s hard to imagine less con- vincing line readings. Even Patel, of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame, is one-dimensional. Zuko is hop- ing to capture Aang so that his people, known as the Fire Nation, can suppress the Earth, Air and Water tribes. He’s been banished by his father, the Fire Lord Ozai (Cliff Curtis), until he returns with the prize. In other words, Zuko is seeking redemption and reconciliation with an emotionally withholding father. But judging by the look of his constant scowl, all he really needs is some ibu- profen.
Noah Ringer gives new meaning to the term lightweight, and it has nothing to do with his character’s ability to float on air.
The grown-ups don’t fare much bet-
ter. As Commander Zhao, Aasif Mandvi delivers a histrionic, eye-rolling per- formance. Only Shaun Toub, as Zuko’s wise Uncle Iroh, manages anything close to subtlety. As for the special effects, the bending of the elements is, I’ll admit, kind of, sort of cool. Walls of dirt rise up to repel fireballs. Oceans surge and turn to ice. And Aang rides around on a hang glider that unfolds from a staff he carries. Af- ter a while, though, all the fighting be- tween people hurling rocks, flames, wa- ter balloons and blasts of air at each other starts to resemble, as a waggish friend noted, one long game of rock, pa- per, scissors. It gets real old real fast. Too bad you can’t say the same for the
immature and unseasoned cast.
osullivanm@washpost.com
The Last Airbender B
(95 minutes, at area theaters) is rated PG and contains martial arts and mildly violent action.
ON WASHINGTONPOST.COM To read a Q&A with director M. Night Shyamalan
go to
washingtonpost.com/celebritology.
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