“We didn’t run from where we grew up. We aren’t afraid to be associated with the people who came up with us. We brought some of our money back and started charities and tried to help out a few guys who were with us when we were nobodies.” – Richard Sherman
EL BARIO, BRONX – This was another busy week for moi. There were a couple of stories that stuck out for me, Sports Deacon Blaber, that are deserving of praise and attention from my Bully Pulpit: the quote by Richard Sherman… The first week of MLB Baseball and the NCAA Basketball Final Four.
Major League Baseball has the highest amount of games of all the 4 major sports and arguably the longest season. Yet, if a team stumbles out of the gate in this marathon, there always those fans that kill you; I overheard Yankee fans complaining about the Bombers’ poor start and tried to remind them that it has only been one week. They hurled a few bad words my way…
As a Mets fan my week was totally different. Bobby Parnell blew a save and now looks to have damaged his elbow. But the Mets staff (the same guys that have failed injured players before, including Matt Harvey) is hoping rest will fix it. And Travis d’Arnaud (lower case d!?!) makes you almost forget that this was the guy we got for Cy Young Winner R.A. Dickey. He makes me forget because he is so forgettable, I can’t even remember how we ended up with this kid. My Facebook page shows an invite from an ex-coworker and Mets fan about joining a protest page for Mets fans demanding a new owner. This is all in Week 1! It saddens me because the Mets will likely look serviceable for the first quarter of the season, then slowly fade by the All-Star Game, before falling apart completely thereafter. But many fans have moved the Tumble Time Table up for 2014 – to like next week. At least by the Summer I can do my Jerry Seinfeld impersonation and block rows to myself to hangout.
As the NCAA Final Four begins this weekend, the whole plantation system aspect of college basketball comes to the forefront. These kids need to get paid. No one will speak out about it because all the big wigs and announcers get their cut of the money. All the people not in college and not getting paid will get apoplectic. For all that talk about education, I want to remind people that John Calipari is still coaching. This guy’s recruiting violations followed him while at UMass, Memphis and Kentucky. I guarantee you when he leaves for UCLA or another storied program, violations will arise again. But UK has more than enough money to make sure none of that gets out before he moves on… Why is it that if you are on a full academic scholarship, you can go get a job to give yourself some funding, while you can’t if you are on a full athletic scholarship – playing ball is your job? Coaches can leave whenever they want but it is up to the kids to choose a school based on education. This whole process stinks to high heaven.
Finally… Richard Shermon, PR manager for the Legion of Boom, Super Bowl-winning cornerback and Stanford grad, came out this week to defend DeSean Jackson. There were questions over Jackson knowing gang members and being gang-affiliated. Sherman, who grew up in LA with Jackson and played youth sports with him, pointed out how the two are still in LA and have started charities. But being from their background, loads of friends became gang members. Sherman also pointed out how the Eagles got rid of DeSean Jackson, citing possible gang affiliation as a factor in their decision-making process, but re-signed N-word dropper Riley Cooper – with no second-guessing or hoopla. Cooper got a fine and treatment, while Jackson’s name is being drawn through the mud. The best/saddest part of Sherman’s argument is that the facts indicate that is what essentially happened and until we know more, this is all we have to go on.
Before we end today’s piece, I wanted to vent my disgust at the line of 10 people sitting in chairs outside the Foot Locker, waiting for it to open in the morning. It saw them at midnight on the way to the ATM. Two weeks ago, I wrote about my disgust for this practice.
That is it for now, feel free to comment below and come back tomorrow for the one and only, Cheesy Bruin.
P.s… If you want to read more of my ramblings as a Rugby Guy, you can find them on RugbyWrapUp.com and our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @RugbyWrapUp and @JunoirBlaber, respectively
