Ravens vs. Steelers final score: Pittsburgh offense flatlines in loss to Baltimore

Remember to tune into BTSC's postgame show, Steelers Final Score, about 10 minutes after the game ends.You can listen in by clicking on this link, and call in at (347) 850-8581.

Remember to tune into BTSC's postgame show, Steelers Final Score, about 10 minutes after the game ends.You can listen in by clicking on this link, and call in at (347) 850-8581.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers committed too many penalties on defense and didn't make enough plays on offense during a 30-17 wipeout by the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC wild-card playoff matchup Saturday night at Heinz Field.

Ben Tate got the surprise start at running back for the Steelers, but Josh Harris also played. Neither made an impact, although Tate had a couple decent runs and then fumbled. The Steelers converted two third-down plays during their opening drive, but a third-down sack kept them out of field-goal range.

Punter Brad Wing pinned the Ravens on their 7, and Joe Flacco couldn't get out of his own way. He missed three open receivers on first down, tripped and fell for minus-5 yards on second down and then was forced to run on third down. Sam Koch's punt of 49 yards was not returned, but the Steelers had the ball on their 40 and were ready for a second possession.

A 22-yard pass to Martavis Bryant on third-and-five got the Steelers to the red zone, but that's when they bogged down. A dump-off to Harris went for no gain, and Dri Archer was buried by Terrell Suggs for a one-yard loss on second down. Elvis Dumervil sacked Ben Roethlisberger to force Shaun Suisham to kick a 45-yard field goal, but it was good.

The Ravens decided to go deep immediately on the ensuing possession, and it paid off. Cornerback Antwon Blake stayed with Jacoby Jones and made a terrific play on the ball, but free safety Mike Mitchell countered that with a dumb play. He launched himself into Jones, and was penalized for the unnecessary high hit. An 18-yard pass from Flacco to tight end Owen Daniels and several big runs by Justin Forsett, including a 14-yarder to the 5, set up a short scoring run by Bernard Pierce. The eight-play, 80-yard drive in 4:01 gave the Ravens a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.

The Steelers came right back with a 12-play, 82-yard drive that lasted 6:48, but they had to settle for another field goal from Suisham after faltering again in the red zone. Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for 18 yards and escaped a stop behind the line to find Heath Miller for 30 yards. That play shifted field position and got the Steelers to the Ravens 38.

On third-and-one, Brown was wide open in the end zone, but Roethlisberger took too long and hung the ball up. Brown made the catch, but he was shoved out of bounds. Suisham came on for the 47-yard field goal, but 12 men on the field for the Ravens gave the Steelers five yards and a first down. On a swing pass to Tate, the Ravens were called for a personal foul. Rashaan Melvin actually hurt himself on the late hit. The nine-yard penalty made it first-and-goal at the 10, but Roethlisberger was sacked on the next play and the drive stalled after a 12-yard pass to Bryant on third-and-16. Suisham kicked a 22-yard field goal.

The Ravens answered with Justin Tucker's 28-yarder to take a 10-6 lead with 2:41 remaining in the first half, but the 10-play, 70-yard drive took just 2:59. Flacco completed passes for huge chunks, 23 yards to Steve Smith, Sr. and 19 to Daniels, but Jason Worilds punched a Ravens player for 15 yards to switch field position. Pressure by James Harrison disrupted Flacco's rhythm and the Ravens drive to force a short field goal.

The Steelers got the ball one more time in the first half and had a little more than two minutes to score. Roethlisberger hit Miller for 11 and Bryant for 14 to get things going. He surpassed Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw in playoff completions by a Steelers quarterback with the one to Bryant.

Roethlisberger also connected with Darrius Heyward-Bey for six yards and Markus Wheaton for 11 to get into field-goal range, but that was about it. After two incompletions and a four-yarder to Miller, Suisham had to kick a 47-yard field goal to get the Steelers within one, 10-9, at halftime.

Baltimore's opening drive in the second half began inauspiciously, but a 17-yard hookup from Flacco to Smith, Sr. converted a third-and-14. And a 32-yard pass-interference call on Antwon Blake changed field position. But a strip-sack by Sean Spence turned into a 13-yard loss to set back the Ravens. However, the Steelers did not recover the ball, and Flacco later hit Smith, Sr. for 14 yards on third-and-long to get into field-goal range. Tucker's 45-yarder into the open end zone gave the Ravens a 13-9 lead and capped a nine-play drive in 4:54.

The Steelers picked up just one first down on the ensuing possession and hoped for a pass-interference (it could have been called) on a deep pass, but didn't get it. So, Wing was forced to punt. And it didn't take long for the Ravens to go the length of the field, six plays and 69 yards in 3:25 to score and take a 20-9 advantage with 4:13 remaining in the third quarter.

A 40-yard pass to Smith, Sr. and nine-yarder to fullback Kyle Juszczyk got the Ravens into the red zone. Flacco capped the drive with an 11-yard toss to a wide-open Torrey Smith in the end zone. James Harrison nearly sacked Flacco, but he whiffed and the secondary couldn't stay with Smith.

The Steelers had some drama with time running out in the third, as Roethlisberger hit Wheaton for 12 and converted on fourth down with a three-yard run by Harris. But another short run, an incompletion on a long bomb and 12-yard sack ended the Steelers drive and just about stalled them for good.

There was still a full quarter to play, but too many defensive penalties and no big plays on offense appeared to doom the Steelers. However, Forsett fumbled after running into his own player, and Stephon Tuitt recovered it at the Ravens 45. On first down, Roethlisberger went for it all and connected with Brown at the goal line. He fell into the end zone, but was called down at the 1.

David DeCastro had a false start on first down to set the ball back to the 6. But Roethlisberger made up the difference with a toss to Bryant for the touchdown. The Steelers went for two and didn't get it, so the Ravens led 20-15. It was a back-shoulder toss, and Bryant beat Lardarius Webb for the score.

Another penalty, a 15-yard late hit by Shamarko Thomas, highly improved the Ravens field position on the ensuing kickoff, after two good defensive plays the Steelers gave up a 23-yard completion to tight end Daniels to get past midfield. On third down and one, the Flacco just missed connecting with Torrey Smith for a touchdown, but Tucker came on to kick a 52-yard field goal to make it 23-15 and just about cement the victory.

But there were nearly nine minutes remaining, so the Steelers had some time. That didn't matter when Roethlisberger was blitzed and intercepted by Suggs on a pass that clanked off Tate's hands. Game over.

Flacco sealed it with a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Crockett Gillmore.

The Steelers Thomas blocked a punt with 1:56 remaining, and it went out of the back of the end zone for a safety to set the final score.

Source: http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/nfl-pittsburgh-steelers-news/2015/1/3/7489217/steelers-ravens-final-score-recap-summary-afc-playoffs

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Michigan State's Cotton Bowl win named third most unlikely bowl comeback in ...

Just how unlikely was Michigan State's 20-point comeback win over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl?

At one point, the Spartans had a 0.4 percent chance of winning the game, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

The network ranked the 10 most unlikely bowl comebacks of the last decade based on win percentage, and the 2015 Cotton Bowl came in at No. 3.

Michigan State's lowest chance of winning came with 1:05 left, when Baylor lined up for a 43-yard field goal that would have put the bears up nine points. At that point, Baylor had a 99.6 percent chance of winning the game.

But the rest of the game is history: a blocked field goal by Marcus Rush, long return by RJ Williamson and a touchdown pass from Connor Cook to Keith Mumphery with 18 seconds left gave the Spartans the win.

That sequence completed a 20-point fourth quarter comeback, the largest bowl comeback in Michigan State history.

In the past decade, only two teams have come back after having a lower percentage chance to win, according to ESPN: Idaho in the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl and Boise State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Two spots behind the Cotton Bowl came the other 2015 bowl in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With former Spartans defensive coordinator and new Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi watching on the sideline, Houston recovered two onside kicks and came back from 25 points down to beat Pitt Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.

DownloadtheMSU basketball on MLive appforiPhoneandAndroidDownloadtheMSU football on MLive appforiPhoneandAndroidFollow Mike Griffith and Kyle Austinon TwitterLikeMLive's Michigan State Spartans Facebookpage

Source: http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2015/01/michigan_states_cotton_bowl_wi.html

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And suddenly TV is back, with Galavant leading the charge

Heres whats up in the world of TV for Sunday, January 4th. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Galavant (ABC, 8 p.m.): There is very little explaining this seasons weirdest new show Galavant! (exclamation point ours), so here are the facts:

• Galavant! is a series set in a medievalish fairy tale world featuring original songs from Disney veterans Alan Menken and Glenn Slater;
• Galavant! is the brainchild of Dan Fogelman, creator of the late alien sitcom The Neighbors and Tangled;
• Galavant! is also the name of the dashing white guy protagonist;
• Galavant! is airing two episodes back-to-back tonight, because ABC realized it had no earthly clue how to market Men In Tights: The Television Series;
• Galavant! could either be an awkward disaster on a community theater level or a hilarious joy. For professional opinions on the matter, we turn to our an overarching TV Review from our own Kate Kulzick, while our weekly reviews go to A.V. newcomer Dan Caffrey (which explains that smell of fresh meat)
• Oh, right: Galavant! also co-stars John Stamos as devastatingly handsome knight Jean Hamm, like so:

But if we were writing Galavant!, itd look a little more like

Also noted

Downton Abbey (PBS, 9 p.m.): The BBC soap celebrates the beginning of its fifth season with a 75-minute premiere. Manners will be taught. Tea will be drunk. Class tensions will be pushed down into the deep dark corner of the British soul that refuses to feel feelings unless it involves Manchester United, the Royal family, or last call. Joshua Alston gave the season the full review treatment, while our new weekly Downton correspondent Emily Stephens is currently taking bets on whos will be the first this season to use a fainting couch.

The Simpsons (FOX, 8 p.m.): The Simpson family goes to Dizzneeland and end up rocketing through the galaxy to become part of another planets zoo/restaurant, also known as The Simpsons take shrooms at Disneyland. Dennis Perkins has certainly never done such a thing, no sir.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX, 8:30 p.m.): The gang retreats to Boyles family cabin for a detectives-only getaway, where Gina attempts to get type-A Amy drunk and Rosa gets advice on how to send romantic texts to Nick Cannon. As always, we turn to LaToya Ferguson to tell us how many sexts involve eggplants and/or peaches. (Red Siren Light, Girl Crossing Arms, Fire, Knife, Knife, Knife, Knife, Skull, Octopus.)

Family Guy (FOX, 9 p.m.): Stewie and Brian are taking the time machine for an educational spin in what the show is calling, Stewie, Chris, & Brians Excellent Adventure. We think Eric Thurm will be the judge of that, Adventure.

The Good Wife (CBS, 10 p.m.): Cary and Alicia both hire consultants, but since Carys in prison and Alicias preparing for a States Attorney debate, were assuming these are consultants of a different nature. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya wishes someone at The Good Wife would consult her on Kalindas leather:boots ratio already.

Tomorrow in TV Club

Molly Eichel will have a look at the new Terrence Howard/Taraji P. Henson music drama Empire, while various A.V. TV critics will weigh in on this whole Friends hitting Netflix thing. Also, various A.V. critics from multiple sections will reveal t heir most anticipated pieces of entertainment for 2015. Also also, an in-depth look at midreputable T.V. If youre confused as to what that means, youll just have to come back tomorrow (and thats what we call a tease)!

What else is on?

NFL Special: AFC Wild Card Game: Cincinnati at Indianapolis (CBS, 1:05 p.m.): A wild card game with a very long title, not to be confused with

NFL Special: AFC Wild Card Game: Detroit at Dallas (FOX, 1:05 p.m.)

Madam Secretary (CBS, 8 p.m.): Madam Secretary Tea Leoni returns to arrange an extradition deal, but the biggest casualty may be her 25th wedding anniversary. Can she have it all?

The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo, 8 p.m.): Were only highlighting this because the episode is called 50 Shades Of Shade and we cannot believe this is the first time were hearing this joke, is Twitter asleep or something?!

Finding Bigfoot: British Bigfoot (Animal Planet, 8 p.m.): In case none of the above grabs you, delve into the strange and mysterious world of British Bigfoot, who deviates from the American Bigfoot by going to the lift with his shopping trolley full of corgettes and aubergines and jammy dodgers, probably.

Steve Austins Broken Skull Challenge: Welcome to h**l (CMT, 8 p.m.): The only thing worse than the entire concept of this show title is that this is, in fact, a second season premiere.

The Apprentice: May The Gods of Good Pies Be With Us (NBC, 9 p.m.):

Oh look at that, we spoke too soon. (Our apologies to Steve Austin.)

In case you missed it

Doctor Who (Classic): In an otherwise deserted weekend, Christopher Bahn forged ahead with his Classic coverage of Doctor Who and its simply but brilliantly titled, Robots Of

Source: http://www.avclub.com/article/and-suddenly-tv-back-galavant-leading-charge-213404

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Baylor Defensive End Shawn Oakman Is An Enormous Man

While watching yesterday's Cotton Bowl, many of us learned that Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman is a gigantic person who does not look real. This screengrab might benefit Oakman a bit, but he is still listed at 6-foot-9, 280 pounds. He is a big dude.

@THEKIDMERO n***a looks like the final boss in NCAA 15

Log off... (@RobinVanDamn) January 2, 2015

Ref: Pass interference, defense

Shawn Oakman: That was offensive

Ref: Yeah you right I thought he pushed off pic.twitter.com/XuLuY1WEvx

Jimmer Pandolfo (@jpandolfo16) January 2, 2015

For breakfast this morning Shawn Oakman had 3 human beings and a honeybun pic.twitter.com/ZzncEeKr41

Sam Garrison (@gare_bear413) January 1, 2015

Oakman p****d off Michigan State players before the Cotton Bowl by describing Big Ten football as "not interesting." That's a coincidence, because Oakman previously played at Penn State before he was kicked off the team for attempting to steal a hoagie and a juice from a convenience store. It's hard to believe that one sandwich would be enough for that guy.

Oakman seems like a softie at heart, though. Here he is planting a drive-by kiss on teammate Spencer Drango:

Aw. Oakman claimed he'll stay at Baylor for his senior season, so we'll have to wait one more year to possibly watch this man eat an NFL quarterback on the field.

Source: http://deadspin.com/baylor-defensive-end-shawn-oakman-is-an-enormous-man-1677048760

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Homework assignment: Finish application for college aid

For the past three years, Teresa Piraino of South Milwaukee has diligently filled out the federal application for financial aid for her son Anthony, who is studying criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

In the next few weeks, the Pirainos will scramble to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid again this time for two kids, as daughter Jessica plans to study nursing at Alverno College in the fall.

"I want to get right on it," Teresa Piraino said of the online form known as FAFSA, which becomes accessible every Jan. 1. "The stakes are high and I want to get the most we can because I can't give them the money they'll need."

With the cost of college escalating and with it, student debt no one wants to leave money on the table.

But for many families, procrastinating on filing FAFSA may mean missing out on thousands of dollars in Federal Work-Study, low-interest Federal Perkins Loans and the Wisconsin Grant for state residents all need-based aid awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. When the limited pool of money is gone, students who otherwise would qualify are out of luck, and are left with higher-interest federal and private loans that can pile up debt.

A low-income student potentially could leave more than $6,000 on the table in first-come, first-served money that doesn't have to be paid back or that can be repaid at a lower interest rate than other available loans, according to financial aid officials at several Wisconsin universities.

Students who don't file FAFSA at all could also miss out on Federal Pell Grants scholarships of up to $5,645 that they do not have to pay back.

About 2 million students who would have qualified for a Pell grant missed out a few years ago the most recent data available because they didn't file FAFSA, according to data from the 2011-'12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study.

Of those students, 1.3 million would have qualified for a full Pell grant valued at $5,730 for the 2014-'15 academic year, according to Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president at Edvisors Network and author of "Filing the FAFSA."

FAFSA also is required for middle-class families who may qualify for scholarships or school-based financial aid at colleges that don't use their own supplemental aid forms.

FAFSA, which must be filed every year financial aid is requested, requires copies of income taxes and asks for information such as the student's Social Security number, family income, family size and the number of family members attending college.

Many don't file the 10-page, 108-question online form early enough or at all because they find it intimidating, they're procrastinators or they assume they earn too much money to qualify for financial aid, according to financial aid directors.

Two key federal lawmakers charged with overseeing the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in the U.S. Senate last summer proposed simplifying the federal student aid system, including reducing FAFSA to a form the size of a postcard that would ask only about family size and household income from two years ago.

"That's going overboard," said David Ehlinger, an accountant who lives in Evansville and has twin daughters in Wisconsin public colleges. "There are other questions that need to be answered," he said, "such as whether it's earned or unearned income, and do you pay child support, which is not on tax returns but is taken into consideration by FAFSA."

For those eager to tackle FAFSA, the form can be filed with estimated 2014 income tax information.

Some schools, including UW-Madison, prefer families wait until after they have filed their tax returns so they don't have to revise the FAFSA numbers later.

Those not eager to pay the government money owed in income taxes can still fill out tax returns early to complete FAFSA. They have until April 15 to pay any tax money owed.

Active outreach

UWM, which awards aid to about 80% of its 30,000 students, is among the schools that award on a first-come, first-served basis.

This year, UWM is trying something new to get more students to file FAFSA by March 1. A campus call center set up for admissions representatives to reach out to students who have been admitted will also encourage FAFSA filing.

Continuing students who file by March 1 will be eligible for a raffle with prizes such as a financial aid grant. Less than half the university's continuing students who apply for financial aid do so by March 1, according to Mark Levine, interim director of financial aid.

UWM awarded $2.6 million in Perkins loans to about 1,800 undergrad and graduate students for the current academic year. The maximum award is $2,000 a year, Levine said.

"We could probably give out double that number, in terms of who qualifies," Levine said.

UWM gave out $1.6 million in work study to about 600 students, averaging $2,500 per student.

"There are a lot of students who are eligible for all three Perkins, work study and Wisconsin Grant," Levine said.

The Wisconsin Grants for state residents are capped at $2,384. UWM this year awarded $12.8 million in Wisconsin Grants to about 6,650 students, Levine said.

Those needing help filling out FAFSA also can attend College Goal Wisconsin sessions at several locations throughout the state for free information and assistance on Feb. 7, 14, 21, 25 and 28. (Check out www.collegegoalwi.org for more information.)

Lawrence University contacts families who haven't filed FAFSA by a certain date to make sure they don't miss out on aid, said Ken Anselment, dean of admissions and financial aid.

In September, the university announced it had received an anonymous $25 million matching gift to establish an endowed scholarship to help meet its goal of providing 100% of the unmet financial needs of future Lawrence students. It's the largest gift in the university's history.

Deciding factor

The Zaffiros of Milwaukee aren't leaving anything to chance in their college search or the quest for the best financial aid.

They planned to tackle FAFSA right after the Badgers' Outback Bowl game on Thursday to be among the first in line for whatever financial aid Emily Zaffiro, a senior at Pius XI High School, qualifies for at the college she chooses to attend.

"It's going to play a role in her decision about where she's going to college," said Emily's dad, Jim Zaffiro. "I don't want her to have a huge amount of debt."

UW-Madison won't start awarding financial aid until final income tax information from 2014 is available, typically mid-February through mid-March. The flagship university awards aid in waves so later applicants don't miss out.

About 60% of UW-Madison's students receive some type of financial aid, according to Susan Fischer, the school's financial aid director.

Fischer said one way to reduce the pressure for financial aid dependence is to discuss family finances long before a student applies to colleges.

Universities have net price calculators on their websites to offer an estimate of financial aid families can expect.

"Parents need to talk to their high school kids early to be realistic about what they can afford," Fischer said.

For tips on filling out the college aid application, go to the U.S. Department of Education blog, called Homeroom, at: www.ed.gov/blog/

Help with FAFSA

You should not need to pay someone to fill out the FAFSA for you. The government provides a real-time private online chat option at the www.fafsa.ed.gov website to answer individual questions. Plus, the website lists answers to frequently asked questions. FAFSA also has a Twitter account: @FAFSA

Source: http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/homework-assignment-finish-application-for-college-aid-b99418513z1-287433231.html

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Film about Selma march takes America back to the future

David Oyelowo, center, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King in Selma.(Photo: Atsushi Nishijima Paramount Pictures)

We cannot leave 2015 as we have entered it.

But to become changed, we must focus on what we keep doing over and over and stop doing it.

We must focus on those things in the circle of history that remain unchanged in any monumental way as we pass from century to century, from decade to decade. Yes, life is better for black Americans almost everywhere. But yes, racism and discrimination still exist.

Yes, there is a problem with the way authorities treat some black men, treatment that, too often, ends in death.

Now, we must decide, each of us, who we will be no matter our color and the role we will play no matter our color in doing what America has never done: Resolve our issue with race so that we can make our cities, our country, our families, better.

And things will not get better unless and until we actually meet each other where we are, and as the people we are. We cannot dismiss each other's thoughts or presence because our skin color differs. We cannot dismiss each other's point of view or history or culture because we are more comfortable reciting only our own.

Anyone who needs help understanding this concept can get it from a powerful new film, "Selma, which director Ava DuVernay uses to help us see each other as people. In "Selma," she recounts three civil rights marches in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., to demand voting rights for black Americans. On March 7, nearly 600 demonstrators were attacked and beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Those attacks on the marchers, who were brutally rebuffed under the orders of Gov. George Wallace, were captured on television and awoke a nation to the injustice it had had the luxury of ignoring until that point. Two days later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a second march, but halted it to avoid violence. Two weeks later, President Lyndon Johnson called in the Alabama National Guard, which protected about 4,000 marchers on the 50-mile journey for a third time. Nearly 25,000 amassed at the State Capitol to hear King speak. Four and a half months later, Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Marchers cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. On March 7, 1965, nearly 600 demonstrators were attacked and beaten as they marched for civil rights, the first of three marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.(Photo: Atsushi Nishijima Paramount Pictures)

Before the act, only 130 of 15,000 black Selma residents were registered to vote. Selma changed lives. And many leaders played a role. What DuVernay, in making the first feature film about King, does successfully is recount a piece of history that wasn't just about black people, or about just one man, but was about a country still at war a hundred years after the death of President Abraham Lincoln. She found a single moment in time that changed them all black, white, young and old. Film critics have praised making black people real and not just a color.

DuVernay said some didn't get the point.

Director Ava DuVernay, center, on the set of Selma. As a very little girl in Compton, my Aunt Denise used to take me to the theater at least once a week to see movies, movies of all kinds, and I just caught the bug, she said.(Photo: Atsushi Nishijima Paramount)

"When I read (reviews of the film and critics) talk about 'Wow, it's colorless or it's lovely to just humanize black people, I'm kind of like, 'It's not colorless. It's colorful. It's filled with color. It's just that we don't have to talk about it every single minute of the day.' "

She said her goal with this film as well as the one before it, "Middle of Nowhere" was to offer a different perspective, something Hollywood is sorely missing.

Background, from left: Tessa Thompson as Diane Nash, Omar Dorsey as James Orange, Colman Domingo as Ralph Abernathy, David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Andre Holland as Andrew Young, Corey Reynolds as the Rev. C.T. Vivian and Lorraine Toussaint as Amelia Boynton in Selma.(Photo: Atsushi Nishijima Paramount Pictures)

"There is something radical about seeing black history as told through a black filmmaker's lens," she said. "That's why there is a difference between '12 Years A Slave' and films we've seen previously. That's why it's important that Lee Daniels was able to tell the story of 'The Butler' or why Ryan Coogler could make a film like 'Fruitvale Station.' There is a thing to be said for perspective. It's not better. It's not worse. It's just that films about people of color have long been made by people who are not people of color, and that is something I intend to challenge. There is something very textural, there is something energetic, there is something emotional about having the perspective of a person that's actually within the story. So that's what I try to do."

DuVernay, who grew up in Compton, Calif., loved films as a child and cited a relative's influence for her breadth of knowledge.

"Some people love music. Some people love books. Some people love sports. I was always a film geek," she said. "As a very little girl in Compton, my Aunt Denise used to take me to the theater at least once a week to see movies, movies of all kinds, and I just caught the bug."

DuVernay became a publicist and a familiar fixture on the sets of movies she was helping to promote. But one day, something changed and she suddenly saw herself behind a camera.

"Something about being in proximity to filmmakers on their sets, traveling with filmmakers around the world, talking to them, seeing the process of crafting the film. ... I thought, 'You know, this is not magic. This is hard work.' And I work hard."

But working hard also meant working smart. And when you're making a film about one of the most famous and revered men in history, it means finding a way to tell the story that hasn't been told and, for DuVernay, serving a higher purpose.

"King is this ambient in my household," she said when asked when she first became aware of King's power. "He was part of the atmosphere during my growing up with my great-grandmother.

"She had a picture of Jesus and King on the wall," DuVernay recalled with a laugh. "It's the same thing. Jesus is not higher on the wall. It's just the two. And from my great-grandmother who lived until I was 6 years old to my grandmother to my mother to my father, who's from Alabama, King was a part of households in the black community."

She said her job, particularly as horrified and fed-up residents in cities across America have taken to the streets and to die-ins to protest the deaths of black men at the hands of police officers, was to show that a person who stood up to lead in crisis was just a man, an imperfect, troubled, sometimes scared man.

"My primary goal was to deconstruct King," she said. "I was not at all interested in making a story about a speechmaker or a statue or a street or initials or a catchphrase or a holiday or all the things he'd been reduced to. It's unfortunate because he was a very dynamic man, a very charismatic man, an intellectual. He was a man of faith. He was unfaithful. He was guilty. He was oppressed. He had an ego. He was a prankster. He loved to laugh. He loved to eat. He was a human being."

To show the human being rather than the caricatured symbol, she chose tiny ways that make big statements, such as shooting him from the back when he was speaking or from his feet up.

"It was important to look at all the photographs of King from that time," she said. "Almost every picture you see of him, he's center frame. There's a camera in front of him, whether it's the 'I Have a Dream' speech or anything else. So to deconstruct that, the idea of that myth, I had to move the camera to places you're not usually standing, behind him, places you're not usually seeing, like in the scene when he turns around on the bridge."

In that scene, King halts the march, before anyone can be injured, by simply turning his back on baton-wielding law enforcement officers and walking back through the crowd. Slowly the crowd turns and follows him.

In another scene, DuVernay deals with King's infidelity in a single moment, in a single exchange between King and his wife, Coretta.

"I've heard other approaches in scripts that never got made, male filmmakers who were interested in seeing the act, seeing the deed that is being described by Coretta in the scene," DuVernay said. "My job as a woman filmmaker is 'What did your wife say when you came home.' That is a perspective of a woman filmmaker. That is why it's important to have different people behind the camera, different people telling the story."

We cannot leave 2015 as we entered it. We must work tirelessly to help people see people, not color, whether we're black, white, brown or yellow.

Perhaps when people see perspective and humanity, they can soon see leaders and friends.

Contact Rochelle Riley: rriley@freepress.com

'Selma'

Opens Friday; screenings Thursday night in some theaters

Rated PG-13 for disturbing themes, violence, a suggestive moment and language

2 hours, 7 minutes

'Selma' is based on the true story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights marches of Selma, Alabama. David Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King, Jr. VPC

Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1IaADif

Source: http://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/rochelle-riley/2015/01/04/nationwide-protests-recall-selma-march/21202191/

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Paul McCartney plus Kanye West minus racial politics on 'Only One'

For at least the third time, Sir Paul McCartney has teamed up with a young African American man for a hit. McCartney and Kanye West just released Only One, a tribute to Wests deceased mother, on iTunes and Wests Web site.

Hello my only one, just like the morning sun, West sings over the former Beatles keyboard vamping. Youll keep on rising til the skyknows your name. The ballad runs 4:42 and ends with abouta minute of McCartney tickling the ivories solo in Lady Madonna mode.

A somewhat mystical statement issued with the song described what happened when the Walrus and Yeezus teamed up.

Kanye sat there with his family, holding his daughter North on his lap, and listened to his vocals, singing, Hello, my only one, a statement reported by Rolling Stone read. And in that moment, not only could he not recall having sung those words, but he realized that perhaps the words had never really come from him.The process of artistic creation is one that does not involve thinking, but often channeling. And he understood in that moment that his late mother, Dr. Donda West, who was also his mentor, confidante, and best friend, had spoken through him that day.

This is arguably the first of McCartneys duets with young black men not infused with racial baggage, overt or encoded. First, there was Ebony and Ivory with Stevie Wonder, released in 1982. Key question: Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony side by side on my piano keyboard oh lord, why dont we?

The following year saw the release of Say, Say, Say, McCartneys duet with Michael Jackson the video for which, some say, referenced minstrel shows.

One academic thought McCartney and Jackson toyed with blackface without taking it on.

The sequences of Say, Say, Say will initially dismay anyone concerned with the fate of peoples culture, wrote Smith professor W.T. Lhamon in Raising Cain: Blackface Performance from Jim Crow to Hip Hop. What a loss that the whole cycle of blackface performance should funnel down to these capers in a cross-racial attraction played out among stars ashamed to utter its name aloud in public?

Lhamon also found fault with the video becauseMcCartney as Mac helps Jackson as Jac into a wagon.

In a just world, Jackson should be pulling McCartney onto the wagon, not the other way round, Lhamon wrote.

Though Only One is not about race, McCartneys alliance with West theauthorof New Slaves who said George Bush doesnt care about black people puts him in the studio with a performer whose provocative take on racial politics seems part of a different universe than those of previous collaborators Wonder and Jackson. McCartney, 72, cant beaccused of using young black performers to stay relevant. Even more than Elvis Presley or bandmate John Lennon, the man is arguably the most influential performer in the history of pop music, and need not polish his legacy.

However, McCartney has had to respond to accusations of racism in the past. In 1969, a version of the Beatles song Get Back known as No Pakistanis surfaced.Dont dig no Pakistanis taking all the peoples jobs, McCartney said on the recording.

In 1986, McCartney said the comment was not meant as a slight.

There were a lot of stories in the newspapers then about Pakistanis crowding out flats you know, living 16 to a room or whatever, McCartneysaid, as Salon reported in an exhaustive piece about No Pakistanis.

He added: If there was any group that was not racist, it was the Beatles. I mean, all our favorite people were always black.

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Justin Moyer is the deputy editor of the Morning Mix.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/02/paul-mccartney-plus-kanye-west-on-only-one/

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