The Sporting Life category archive
Vaccine Nation 0
Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire:
Vaccine Nation 0
Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire:
In contrast: Speaking for the dumbest sex, Buffalo Bills anti-vaxxer, anti-masker Cole Beasley tweeted, “I may die of COVID, but I’d rather die actually living.” What a drama queen. One who sings in the key of me. The comic irony of NFL players avoiding vaccine needles is that in their line of work, they get shot up more often than race horses.
Yes, It Gets My Goat Too 0
Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire:
Money Ball 0
Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire:
Stray Thought 0
I used to look forward to watching college football on New Year’s Day. but the venality and corruption of the NCAA has cured me of that.
Now I spend my New Year’s reading (gasp) books.
But, if you want to wallow in the fascination of large men running into each other, check out AL.com.
It’s an excellent website, but it does indeed reflect Alabama’s fascination with corpulent collisions.
Trickle-On Economics: A Case Study 0
Bob Molinaro, sports-writer extraordinaire:
The First “Cleveland Indian” 0
The Bangor Daily News tells the story of the first Native American major league baseball player, a member of Maine’s Penobscot Nation. It is not pretty.
Here’s a bit; follow the link for the rest.
That legacy of racist language and iconography lived on after Sockalexis, and in 1915 the team that was known as the Cleveland Spiders became the Cleveland Indians — a name that the team and its fans claim was chosen to honor Sockalexis and Native people in general, but in reality had a far more complicated, racist origin.
Trick Play 0
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution follows the money.
False Idols 0
In the Des Moines Register, Kristen Greteman takes issue with the Iowa State University athletic director’s plan to sacrifice the arts, specifically performances at ISU’s Stephens Auditorium, on the altar of football to pay for the football team’s loss of revenue in these viral times.
Random Observation 0
My new Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap was delivered today.
I was afraid that the old one, seen from the wrong angle, might be mistaken for a MAGA hat.
I could not bear the stigma . . . .
School Daze 0
Sportswriter extraordinaire Bob Molinaro reflects on the reopening in these viral times (emphasis in the original):
Barely afloat: Schools that initially invited students back to campus are quickly discovering what they should have known. When dealing with easily transmissible viruses, dorms are cruise ships without the water.
Aside:
I was in college a long time ago and certainly did my share of partying. Nevertheless, other than concerts, sports events, large lectures, and some demonstrations against America’s Great and Glorious War for a Lie in Vietnam, I don’t remember participating in the sorts of mob scenes being reported from some colleges.
Sacrificial Lambs 0
Sportswriter extraordinaire Bob Molinaro:
Follow the link for the rest of his column for more sane observations about sports in these viral times.
Flag Daze, Reprise 0
At AL.com, John Goodman remarks on NASCAR’s recent decision to ban the Confederate battle ensign from its events and properties (while wondering how said ban will be enforced), but notes that we should not forget that NASCAR waged a long and enthusiastic campaign over many decades to associate itself with said flag. Here’s a bit:
When South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond and his Dixiecrats started waving the Confederate battle flag to associate it with their pro-segregation politics, Thurmond used NASCAR to advance his agenda. NASCAR was happy to help because it was a profitable partnership.
From the “No Self-Awareness” Dept. 0
Bob Molinaro, sports writer extraordinaire, catches the irony: