Bridging cultural divides in sports and in life.

A fascinating article in The Los Angeles Times about Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and his fully bilingual upbringing:

"Born in the United States to Mexican parents, Gonzalez is fluent and literate in English and Spanish, having been raised on both sides of the border in a blend of the cultures.

"I'm Mexican and I'm American," he says.

That's evident in his tastes. While he admired how former Dodger Fernando Valenzuela broke down cultural barriers, his childhood hero was San Diego Padres Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Gonzalez watches both football and futbol, supporting the San Diego Chargers and Mexican striker Javier Hernandez. He sings to his 13-month-old daughter in Spanish during the day and watches reruns of "The King of Queens" at night."

Very interesting, especially with the changing demographics in America today.

Jeremy Lin puts the ball in Asian Americans' court | LA Times

Great column that starts out with a very important fact:

"In the Asian American community even third and fourth generations must contend with being treated as perpetual foreigners. So it comes as no surprise that they have embraced the big pop culture bang that created "Linsanity" — a force that already has turned long-entrenched cultural stereotypes on their heads and made the Ivy League-educated point guard the most visible Asian American in the country, if not the world."