“Why am I not surprised?” – Competitor from one of my Fantasy Football leagues.
EL BARIO, BRONX – Your Righteous Deacon Blaber is happy the weekly Sports Bully Pulpit is back to its usual Saturday spot in the rotation. And we’ve got a lot to cover, including major topics like WNBA players getting engaged to minor topics like MTM Staff Achievements. So the gamut will include a the best name ever, the effects of WNBA players getting married, Fantasy football team names and the bits of news that slipped under the radar this week.
Cash Money: After press time last week, I got an article sent to me from a friend. Apparently there is Little League baseball player named Blake Money and his brother is called Cash. Growing up, they would only show the final but in this brave new world of cable, the need to fill time slots means almost all the games. Why parents with the last name Money would name their kid Cash is beyond me. The poor boy must now look toward a future in finance or banking or accounting. Though Cash Money, M.D. or Cash Money Esq. will be brilliant.
WNBA Weddings: Segueing into brilliantly named WNBA player Glory Johnson (So many jokes right there!), Glory now celebrates her Mornings with her new fiancée, fellow WNBA star Brittney Griner, whose last name needs to have a “d” inserted [ahem] immediately. This news caused a small uproar (as much as any WNBA news can make), as it was a first ever for a league of any kind. My question is: Was this good for the WNBA or women’s sports in general? And hold onto your hats because what’s coming isn’t politically correct but I believe this will only popularize the stigma that female athletes are gay. The WNBA is the longest lasting USA women’s basketball league, mainly because it is subsidized by the NBA. As a product, it is fun in terms of watching a team execute fundamentals, though not as dynamic and filled with dunks as the men’s version. But how is this sport to market this? And how will little girls get over the teasing and insults of trying to play sports when you have fresh fodder like same-sex players getting engaged. Should they play it down, not broadcast it or pull a female Rock Hudson? I don’t know. Maybe not blast it on social media. How can they hope to continue to lure the Mo’Ne Davis and Samatha Franklin’s of the world if there is more stigma attached to the sport. I want to make it clear this is my opinion and not MTM’s.
Fantasy Football: It is Fantasy Football draft season over the next week or so. There is so much to go over and figure out who to draft and when. My main problem is I will be in 3 leagues and I need a great team name. I am open to suggestions. In the league full of college rugby teammates, 4 of whom are in law enforcement, I am going with Ferguson County Crown Control. For the league with my fellow rugby rain men, I was thinking Lawrence of AraBronxia. In the third league – with my brother and his friends – I was going with Savour the Blaber, Now And Later.
In other news… There were 3 other things that grabbed my attention:
Metlife Trophy: This is the trophy that the winner of the Jets-Giants annual playoff game wins, since they now play in Metlife Stadium. This must be the Worst Trophy Ever. The amount of times the Jets beat the Giants in pre-season, yet poo the bed in the regular season, is more than I can count since 1988.
Mike Tomlin: LaGarrette Blount and La’Veon Bell got arrested for possible marijuana possession when leaving the Steelers’ facility on the way to catch a plan to their Thursday night game. Look at the angry dad face on Mike Tomlin – in this video – as he discusses it with the media.
James Foley and Steven Sotloff: We view ourselves as journalist of sorts but I want to take a moment to respect real journalists. The world was shocked and saddened by the execution of James Foley this week and the possible execution of Steven Sotloff. I often say that soldiers are made of a different material that allows them to put their lives at risk for the greater good. The same goes for these brave photojournalists that put their lives on the line to share an important viewpoint with you.
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
