Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sports, "Hunt's Grunts"
Fair in an unfair world
Hunt Archbold's look at sports this week, plus a Sportopia Poll
Maria Sharapova
Sportopia poll: Who’ll return to the NFL—Michael Vick or Pacman Jones?
OK, so Jones wants to again be known as “Adam,” which is what his teachers called him when he was a multi-sport star at West Lake High School at the beginning of the decade. But until the oft-troubled free agent cornerback remains quiet and out of the limelight for an extended period of time, he’ll continue to be known by his nickname. Because it’s not Adam Jones who appears Monday night on Spike TV’s “Pros vs. Joes” taunting and exchanging punches with contestants—no, that’s clearly Pacman’s doing. And while the Jets last week were clearly distancing themselves from a rumor that they were interested in signing Jones, Vick was packing up, saying goodbye to his friends in Leavenworth and preparing to begin the final two months of his sentence in home confinement in Hampton, Va. And yes, at BetUs.com, you can wager on who will make it back to the NFL first. Unfortunately, there’s no action as to who will be first to appear on “The Surreal Life.”By Hunt Archbold
Two weeks ago in this space, in addition to tossing out a cheap shot at Tar Heels hoops fans (sorry!), this writer touched upon our nation’s widespread job loss and how those affected should not wallow in self-pity, but instead rise up, stand tall and move forward despite difficult circumstances. Easier said than done, perhaps. The next day, the employment supervisor at this writer’s chief source of income phoned to inform me that the gig was up. Fudge. (My Sunday Paper gig, meanwhile, remains intact.)
And while the pink slip didn’t come as a total sucker-punch, it was accompanied with the added scissor-kick that “we’re not sure when we can pay for the work you did in April.” Ouch! Talk about now having to the practice what you preach! But it’s cool, even if it might not have been altogether fair.
But really, what is fair?
It wasn’t very fair of CBS golf analyst David Feherty to write, in the Dallas-based publication D magazine, that “if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi, [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there’s a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death.”
Granted, Pelosi’s waffling over what she knew about harsh questioning of terror detainees and when she knew it hasn’t been fair to the American people, either. And what’s fair and what’s not strikes at the heart of Washington politics, including the issue of who President Barack Obama should pick to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Several politicians and special interest groups have chimed in, with women, blacks and Latinos pointing out that 97 percent of all Supreme Court justices throughout history have been white men. (Although, really, shouldn’t the selection process be focused on the human with the best qualifications?)
One woman who appears to be on Obama’s short list, Sonia Sotomayor, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals from the Second Circuit, has already helped change the course of American sports—not once, but twice. First, she shut down the union-busting attempt by Major League Baseball in 1995, ending the 1994 baseball strike.
Then, a decade later, she stood up for the NFL’s age limit (players must wait three years after their class graduates high school to enter the NFL draft) against former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett. It’s debatable whether the age limit is fair to Clarett and others, but there are legitimate safety concerns: An 18-year-old fresh from high school could sustain life-threatening injuries in the NFL.
But what about basketball? Recently, California teen Jeremy Tyler announced he was skipping his senior year at San Diego High to play professionally in Europe for two seasons, whereupon he’ll then be eligible to enter the NBA draft. The 6-foot, 11-inch Tyler has been criticized for forgoing his prep career (he’s indicated he will get his high school diploma online) and for possibly paving the way for a wave of high school basketball stars to drop out and head for Europe.
Is that fair? You bet it is. Other sports, such as golf and tennis, triumphantly hoist their teenage stars to the tops of their fields. Maria Sharapova was only 17 when she won Wimbledon and became the face of tennis. And what about the entertainment industry? Miley Cyrus wasn’t old enough to get a driver’s license when she was listed among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Critics point out that Tyler and all high-school students need college to get ahead in life. Then again, according to a survey released by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, only 19.7 percent of 2009 graduates who have applied for jobs have landed one. That compares with 26 percent in 2008 and 51 percent in 2007.
So if Tyler wants to forgo his senior high school year to go to Spain, get paid six figures and work on improving his game for when he’s a top draft pick two years from now, more power to him. Get all you can, big fella. In a world of mounting layoffs and unexpected pink slips, it’s only fair.
Happy times … and is there a European league for professional sports scribes? SP