“I hate these word crimes
You really need a
Full time proofreader
You dumb mouth-breather” – “Weird” Al Yankovic, from his latest track Word Crimes.
EL BARIO, BRONX – This week’s Sports Bully Pulpit required some real scrambling. The mid-season MLB All-Star game break creates the absolute slowest week in sports. There is nothing to talk about unless you want to talk about the MLS or the WNBA and I gave them their year’s worth of coverage last week. In the search for sports news, the Righteous Deacon Blaber discovered an update on the Ed O’Bannon v NCAA case, the search for Bud Selig’s replacement, the ripple effect of Lebron James’ return to Cleveland, and my new favorite “Weird” Al Yankovic song.
O’Bannon v NCAA: For those of you not familiar with this case, former UCLA Bruin and college Player of the Year, Ed O’Bannon, has been the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit by former college athletes, demanding the NCAA pay its athletes. O’Bannon and his fellow ex-jocks were dealt a huge blow months back when it was ruled that the results of this case, should it favor payment of college players, would not be retroactive. O’Bannon and his co-horts were effectively told that they would not see one cent of this money, only the future sports athletes at university’s all across America would. Ever the newly polished hero, O’Bannon said that was irrelevant, as long as this corrupt process was changed and the kids got paid. Well recently, with the case in deliberation by a federal judge, the NCAA has eliminated a much-debated name-and-likeness release from the set of forms Division I athletes signed annually, as per USA Today. This is a clear indication that the NCAA is feeling the heat. Will this change the modern day plantation system run as collegiate athletics?? Only time will tell.
Bud Selig’s Replacement: Does the name, Steve Greenberg, ring a bell? If you are thinking Mahoney from Police Academy, sorry you are incorrect. That guy is Steve Guttenberg. This guy is a former MLB deputy commissioner and son of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg (easily the greatest Jewish athlete ever!). According to Greenberg, “It’s a 24/7, 365-day schedule that the commissioner has to keep to do it right. The three years I spent in the commissioner’s office was exhausting.” That uncompromising work schedule sounds far less forgiving than his current gig as managing director of investment bank Allen & Company. Apparently Selig has asked and Greenberg said no. Owners have asked and he said no. Apparently this guy refuses to take the job so MLB owners and Selig have to look elsewhere. Which circles us back to Thursday, and Mets GM Sandy Alderson calling in on Meet The Matts Radio to lobby for the job. Listen here.
LeBron Ripple Effect: As we mentioned last week, LeBron leaving Miami for Cleveland had a huge impact on the league. It has led to Carmelo heading back to New York (Boooo!!!). Carlos Boozer will be out of Chicago and allegedly in Los Angeles. Apparently LeBron has the gotten Mike Miller to come on board to Cleveland. Which is no big deal because Miller follows LeBron around like a lost pup, chasing wins and championship rings. The big news is that Minnesota won’t let Kevin Love go unless Cleveland adds Andrew Wiggins to the deal. Minnesota knows they have Cleveland over the barrel and will maximize it. The almost-forgotten aspect is that Love wants out of Minneapolis desperately! Love is a born and breed West Coast guy and hates the Minnesota winters (kind way of saying super long losing streaks). He is also stuck on a team going nowhere after dedicating 6 seasons to the Wolves, Love is leaving Minnesota, even if he has to shot his way out and take hostages. I promise you, if not now then by the trade deadline.
#WordCrimes: One of the most consistent arguments offline at MTM is Micro-Matt arguing with the staff about the quality of their articles. Micro is a bit of a grammar Nazi. I thought it was him just being a Richard for a Richard’s sake. However, once I became the lead corespondent at Rugby Wrap Up, I understood the pain of proofreading. So with that said, I saw this video this week and could only think of the Minuscule One.
That is it for now, hope you enjoyed the article and hope to hear from you below. 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
