“If us accepting the money makes (the team and its owner) sleep better at night, then fine, I wish them a good night’s sleep. What matters is our kids get to enjoy a new playground. And how can that be bad?” – Mike Sangrey, of the Chippewa Cree Tribe, on taking money from the Washington Redskin’s Original Americans Foundation.
EL BARIO, BRONX – The weekly Sports Bully Pulpit got a late text message to be ready a day early. So here we are, blurry-eyed and typing as fast as possible, in a race against the sun. Your Righteous Deacon Blaber will look at the Washington Original Americans Foundation and it’s bribing of Native American tribes. We will scratch the surface of the flurry of baseball trades, then we give our thoughts (and our thoughts alone) on the Ray Rice situation.
Washington Original Americans: Dan Snyder is a successful businessman and you don’t get to be a successful businessman by letting things like the opinions of Congress and the general public stop you from making money. In response to pressure from politicians and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office‘s banning of the Redskin name and image, Snyder created the Washington Original American‘s foundation that claims it has 145 projects in the works with 40 different tribes going on.
Of course this has created a huge divide within the Native American communities in this country. Chippewa Cree Tribe Chairman, Rick Morsette says, “I have no problem with the name and if they’re willing to help our youth, that’s good too.” Meanwhile Fort Yuma Quechan (Kwatsan) tribe member Kenrick Escalanti says, “We know bribe money when we see it.” But the abject poverty that exists at these reservations make it a tough call and not something that should be easily judged as an outsider. Some tribes are the poorest people in their state. For the full details, click HERE. It is an interesting debate, as those that refuse Snyder’s $$$ make sure to go out of their way not to insult those that choose to take the money.
Now to something really important…
Baseball Trades:
David Price went from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Detroit Tigers. John Lackey and Class A lefty Corey Littrell to the St. Louis Cardinals for struggling slugger Allen Craig and pitcher Joe Kelly – who has 25,691 fans with the same name in Boston… The Sawx also dealt the late-blooming Andrew Miller to the Orioles and J.D. Drew to the Yankees, in a rare inter-division deals. With their huge such a flurry of movement, only time will tell if the Red Sox have come out ahead but once the dust settles – and they could bring back Lester. For the teams seeking immediate help, Angry Ward’s Mariners look to have addressed exactly what they needed in getting Austin Powers Jackson and Chris Denorfia, two much-needed righty batters… In a week or so we’ll see which teams have improved their performance or wilted… Oh, and about the Yankees: they got Chase Headley, Brandon McCarthy, Gerardo Parra and Drew for a box of baseballs. Meanwhile the cross-town Mets did make one HUGE TRADE, reported by the MTM Tweetisphere:
MLB Breaking News! #Mets Make Deal!!! GM Sandy Alderson trades Fan Enthusiam for Status Quo. @meetthematts/m
— Meet The Matts (@MeetTheMatts) July 31, 2014
Ray Rice: Yesterday, I stood up to defend the Ray Rice decision and I was booed from Stamford to Stanford . Well, I am back to reiterate that the NFL is a business – a business that has to deal with unions. And just like it is with Teachers, it is difficult to fire someone that is part of union. In case you missed it, Ladies and Germs, Rice is part of a union! So, Roger Goddell couldn’t throw the book at Rice-err-Roni because the Players Union would not stand for the Goodell Two Shoes being a version of Judge Dredd. 
That would open too many troublesome doors. Also, the owners know that a fair few of their players could end up with a domestic abuse charge – or three – and they don’t want to start seeing play-makers and game-changers missing games and costing them money. Finally, it has be said that occasionally some of these women/player wives dip their toe into a shark-infested pond. A man is not suppose to ever hit a woman but is there a code of conduct for the woman?! Apparently she can insult you, your manhood, your ego and you loved ones and that is all good. Is this not the age of equality?!
Finally before I go, I just heard that in the ESPN Magazine, the Body Issue, they have a photo of Hawaiian surfer sensation Coco Ho. I heard her name and I laughed like a high school kid. So… how about we all laugh?
That is it for now, hope you enjoyed the article and hope to hear from you below.
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
