Taylor Swift Sports? Winter, Baseball and more – WFNY Podcast – 2015-03-08
March 9, 2015Cleveland Cavaliers to treat season ticket holders like gym members
March 9, 2015Happy Monday, kids. We’re firmly in the throes of NFL Free Agency, Spring Training baseball, and the home final full month of regular season NBA basketball. We’ll have some thoughts on all three over the coming hours, but While We’re Waiting…
Finally. Some long overdue comeuppance for Twitter trolls. We’re going on a week or so of this news, but it’s more than worth discussing in these parts as it’s something I’ve long been passionate about, this anonymity-fueled sense of Internet entitlement that frequents comment fields, message boards and Social Media. It was bound to happen eventually, and I couldn’t be happier to see how it all unfolded, while simultaneously having the utmost empathy for the victims.
For those unaware, long-time pitcher Curt Schilling sent a harmless tweet, congratulating his teenage daughter for getting into a college for which she can play softball. Schilling’s mentions flooded with some of the most vulgar and distasteful replies I’ve ever read—and this comes from someone who isn’t offended by much of anything. While I’ve long been uneasy about making a spectacle about these types of items, as I feel it oftentimes encourages more ill behavior for the sake of notoriety, Schilling not only put these people on blast, he listed their actual names and occupations. In doing so, Schilling got one of the individuals fired from his job as a part-time ticket seller for the New York Yankees. In addition, his fraternity from Montclair University, Theta Xi, spoke out against the inappropriate tweets. Another individual, Adam Nagel, has been suspended from Brookdale Community College, and the local police are looking into the matter.
Yes, it’s only two individuals in an entire sea of deplorable humans who feel its acceptable to speak to others in this manner (though it could be said that they’d never actually say it to his face), but it’s a start. Social media users could stand to have more consequences for their horribleness. While there are countless other athletes and celebrities and run-of-the-mill individuals dealing with this kind of nonsense on a daily basis, every trend needs a watershed moment. Here’s hoping this was the one that finally takes down the trolls.
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I can’t believe it’s been 18 years since the passing of Christopher Wallace, better known as Notorious BIG. As a 15-year-old kid in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, I don’t think I quite understood the magnitude of what was going down during the height of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry that was going on within the hip-hop scene. After all, when Tupac was shot in Las Vegas, a good portion of the community thought it was staged. We were connecting the dots to a faked death, trying to extrapolate things like album titles—Makaveli, Illuminati—and continue to bump posthumous songs that continued to be released at a pace faster than when the rapper was alive. Alas, when Biggie was killed, it felt like it was simply another act in the play.
Eighteen years later, having had the ability to listen to Biggie in his prime is one of the few things that make being 33-years old (and teetering on the brink of no longer being a part of the target demographic) somewhat less of a mental burden. Ask a hundred hip-hop fans about their emcee Mt. Rushmore, and there’s a huge percentage of them who would list Biggie.1 Sure, kids today who dare venture into 90’s hip-hop can bring him up on Pandora or Spotify or download his discography on iTunes, but none of these experiences will hold a candle to listening to “Ready to Die” or “Life After Death” for the first time as they were released.
Eighteen years… Kids who were born on the day he died can vote.
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Any chance these warmer temperatures will help melt the hot takes into oblivion? Here’s this week’s edition of #ActualSportswriting:
“The Man in the Van” by Eli Saslow (ESPN The Magazine): “The future of the Toronto Blue Jays wakes up in a 1978 Volkswagen camper behind the dumpsters at a Wal-Mart and wonders if he has anything to eat. He rummages through a half-empty cooler until he finds a dozen eggs. “I’m not sure about these,” he says, removing three from the carton, studying them, smelling them and finally deciding it’s safe to eat them. … This is where Norris has chosen to live while he tries to win a job in the Blue Jays’ rotation: in a broken-down van parked under the blue fluorescent lights of a Wal-Mart in the Florida suburbs.”2
“Mookie Blaylock’s downward spiral and the family he dragged with him” by Greg Hanlon (Sports Illustrated): “The answer to a music history trivia question: An ascending Seattle grunge band needed a name before going on tour as the opening act for Alice in Chains. During rehearsal lunch breaks they would buy basketball cards, and one day they got a chuckle out of the cute, melodic name: Mookie Blaylock. They were basketball fans and they liked Blaylock’s unselfish, fundamental style, so they took the name ‘Mookie Blaylock’ and went on tour. Soon after, they changed their name to ‘Pearl Jam,’ but they named their first album Ten in homage to Blaylock’s jersey number.”3
“What happened to Marshall Henderson? He’s playing basketball in Iraq” by Marc Spears (Yahoo! Sports): “Two seasons ago, before arriving in the Middle East, Henderson became one of the most colorful characters in college basketball at the University of Mississippi. He scored big, shot deep and talked brash, quickly turning him into one of college basketball’s biggest stars – or villains, if you were an opposing fan.”4
“Mike Tyson: Inside his first pro fight and sensational rise” Tim Layden (Sports Illustrated): “There was a notebook in my right hand, a tape recorder beneath it, running. Tyson had stormed out of the ring after a desultory sparring session and hissed that he wasn’t talking today, but here he was, talking just the same. Rooney waved me into the room. I was a familiar face… Uncertainty always hung in the air; Tyson could give you grunted single syllables or the history of boxing in the 1960s. You just never knew.”5
Happy Monday, you guys.
- He’s firmly on mine, next to Jay Z, Eminem and a shared spot between Talib Kweli and Andre 3000. [↩]
- If this story isn’t in 2015’s BASW, I’m not sure what will make the cut. Such incredible reporting, such an extraordinary story. [↩]
- This footnote in musical history is nothing compared to the rest of this story. [↩]
- Spears has been killing these stories of late, so I wanted to make sure I included him here. These types of narratives—specific to NCAA heroes and characters—can provide a wealth of opportunities for sports writers. This one was no different. [↩]
- Not only is this story terrific from the sense that it covers one of the more polarizing figures in recent sports history, it shares the details of covering him. Writers writing about writing is my vice. [↩]
23 Comments
What’s extra nice about the comeuppance Schilling administered was that he tracked the anonymous internet stalkers using the internet. Maybe enforcement will always lag behind ways technology enables people to cover their tracks, but it sure seems sweet that he was at least able to nab the low-hanging fruit, those who imagine that the space between their small, vicious minds and their keyboard is an impermeable shield.
My Mt. Rushmore is: Chuck D, Emimen, Ice Cube, and LL Cool J
We both know you can’t have a shared spot with Talib and 3000. It’s a horrendous copout. My Rapmore would have to be Blackthought, Eminem, Lupe Fiasco (pre-L.A.S.E.R.S.), and Brother Ali. I hate leaving guys like Blu, 3000, Mos Def, Chali 2na, Blackalicious and Nas off the list, but the line must be drawn somewhere. I obviously can’t speak to your taste in music, but if I were you, I’d boot J-Zee entirely and keep both Talib and 3000.
I feel like I would’ve appreciated Chuck D/PE more had I been a year or two older. Loved Cube, but I wouldn’t put him up there as an emcee/lyricist. But that’s the best part about these discussions—so many variables.
“It’s a horrendous copout.”
Guilty. Nas was a tough one to leave off for me as well. Perhaps it was my preference for Jay Z.
9/10 times the Internet plus sports fan equals disaster. Yeah maybe it’s my delicate sensibilities, but I can’t even stomach the comments of ESPN or the mass media sites. Just the dregs. I can barely tolerate Deadspin where the heartless snark is more often than not over the top.
The Internet can be a depressing place. I’ve found a general rule of thumb is “Don’t read the comments.” Every once in a while you find a gem with a worthwhile community, but they are almost always local/regional sites, or a forum dedicated to a hobby.
I’m with boom on Chuck D, There is probably no single more important in forcing white America to acknowledge that rap had become a socially conscious art form, and couldn’t be pigeon holed in the beat boxing Fat Boys genre that most white people called “cRap”. I think you were probably just a year or two too young to fully get WuTangs 36 Chambers as a debut but as a Junior in 93 that album left a smoking crater of what I thought music should be.
I’d go Chuck D, Rakim (most forgotten/underrated ever), the Wu, and Tupac.
I hate articles like the Blaylock one. Poor guy loses his family because Blaylock fails at the basest abilities of being a grown up (Not that I’m discounting the real struggles of addiction but like someone said “get a damn taxi man).
I wanted to like Daniel Norris, wanted to buy into his hippie earthiness… but… you post a picture twitter selfie shaving with an axe? Ugghh, not to be harsh but he should move his van to the Lowes adjacent to every Wal-Mart and keep the other tools company. I made the mistake of looking at some of his twittering which reads like Jaden Smith on a particularly nonsensical day.
Really I’m just sick of the beard thing, Like 2 months ago every single 21 year that walks into my bar is wearing 1 months worth of facial hair and a flannel and trying very hard to pretend like it was a personal choice not some awful fashion trend run amok.
I’m old, Harv take the day off I’ll yell at those kids for ya.
I didn’t stumble upon 36 Chambers until I was a freshman in HS (1995). Was incredible.
2Pac, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, and I cant settle on a 4th
So many worthy choices though. There’s really no wrong answer
Looks like Suge Knight celebrated by running over two guys on a location killing both. I saw the video on TMZ.
LOL, welp the other side of the coin is that those 2 guys were strapped up and Suge says he felt as though he was “in danger”. Intent is one of the hardest things to prove, and this video has both sides feeling as though the video is a help to them.
From all accounts though, Suge Knight is not a good person.
Redesigned MLB logos that look actually good:
http://thechive.com/2015/03/07/redesigned-mlb-ballpark-logos-to-start-the-new-season-31-photos/#8bGsRXez0IJiBckM.99
Saw this also on SI.com where a Browns fan who was a lawyer sending a note to the Browns about fans throwing paper airplanes…in 1974!!
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2011/02/regarding-your-stupid-complaint.html?m=1
agree. You can feel your IQ dropping as you start scanning the comments.
[puts feet up, closes eyes and sighs]
Dude, not sure when you became me but be careful
Yeah, there’s something fishy about the Daniel Norris story, and I don’t like it. I saw the piece on ESPN, but didn’t read this article (because it’s not all that interesting). Anyhoo, the ESPN bit noted that he lives in the van “while in spring training.” I mean, it’s not like he’s actually living in a van down by the river. Dude (with a $2 million signing bonus in pocket) just decided to sleep in his car (while working out, showering, eating, etc., at the team’s facility). That’s all. It’s a shtick. A way to get attention (along with the beard and the ax – that he clearly doesn’t use for anything). And I don’t like it. If Norris really wants to impress, he’ll drive that thing up into Alaska and try to survive in the wilderness . . . oh wait.
Any rap Mt. Rushmore that fails to include Tupac is immediately invalid in my book–the G.O.A.T. in my opinion. Can’t have the real Mt. Rushmore without Lincoln. But to each his own. Biggie is on there, Jay and Em as well. I’d make arguments for Method Man, Dr. Dre, Mos Def, and Rakim for sure, maybe even LL. The group version for me would be Beasties, Wu Tang, NWA, and Public Enemy (love Bone Thugs and believe them vastly underrated on a national scale, but they can’t quite break into that top four). Today’s rap is a joke compared to the kind of stuff these individuals and groups were putting out.
Vanilla Ice agrees
Tips at waitingfornextyear dot com
“Today’s rap is a joke compared to the kind of stuff these individuals and groups were putting out. ”
Especially the mainstream stuff. Like Run the Jewels is fantastic, but unless you’re really into hip-hop, you’re likely unaware. I love BTnH as well, but I’d put them behind The Roots on that list. Beasties were so ahead of their time its absurd. I was a big, big ‘Pac fan, but I could only pick four. He’d be right there for the fourth spot, but it’s a tough goes.
Well I’m glad to hear you’re an appreciater of Pac, and not a dismissing him outright (the number of people I’ve encountered who do that is disturbingly high).
And especially the mainstream stuff. Aside from Kid Cudi (who, Make Her Say aside didn’t exactly blow up, at least not down here), I can’t listen to much of it without cringing. Aside from catching some of the best ever during our youth (I’ve got a year on you, Scott), the depth of rap quality was just amazing. Snoop, Ice Cube, DMX (‘It’s Dark and Hell is Hot’ remains a favorite album of mine), Big Pun, early Nelly (for the younger crowd here, he’s the one rapping for cereal with a cartoon bee on tv now), Fabolous, Ma$e, Puffy, The Lox, The Fugees, Outkast…and that just scratches the surface really. Even acts that only got off one or two quality tracks were miles ahead of today’s stuff. Add in that we got to see Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Sublime, and a laundry list of great rock/alternative/grunge acts as well, and it’s tough to argue against our era as having been an all-timer for music overall.
The Roots were a tough exclude from my top list, as they are just continuously great. And agree wholeheartedly on the Beasties–absolute musical genius.