Ten-nial Celebration

What you are reading right now is the tenth edition of Extra Innings. In honor of this milestone, I’d like to look back and reflect on some points that I’ve previously addressed. I thought it would be cool to have ten points – but I don’t have that much space. So here’s five. In an order that makes sense to me.

5) I’m sorry about the Seneca Park Zoo’s loss of the baby elephant. Earlier on in the year I made the comment that they’d be “birthing some more elephants” and that we could borrow them for elephant polo. I felt kind of bad looking back at that. So, I’m sorry, elephant lovers of the world. I’m a Republican, so it touched me too.

4) I proposed that our football team should challenge USC. In the end, our season didn’t turn out exactly how we wanted it to but hey, neither did USC’s. On top of that, they basically lost the entire team to the draft. At least we still have a lot of our guys for next season. Ha. We’re still going to get you, Mount Union. You just wait.

3) Hockey got a raw deal. This is probably one of the hardest working club sports at Fisher and deserves to either be made an official sport or get better funding. I know that it’s a club’s responsibility to get funding but it’s an expensive sport and it really isn’t logical to expect them to foot the bill by themselves.

2) I still stand by what I said about the mascot. Update or overhaul. It’s a cardinal, not the Phanatic.

1) I recently commended the school for naming the basketball court in honor of Bobby Wanzer, the founding coach of the game here at Fisher. I praised the administration for refusing to succumb to monetary desires and for recognizing an integral part of our history.

I take it back.

I found out that for the court to be named after Wanzer, a group had to raise $100,000 in his name.

Ten grand.

Is that what it takes to honor someone here at Fisher? Money? Where’s the honor in that? What’s next? Rich Uncle Pennybags Presents Bon Appetit? Richie Rich Hall? Montgomery Burns Park-N-Ride?

I’m sorry, Bobby Wanzer, but despite all the pomp and circumstance you saw at the ceremony unveiling the court, the school insulted you. And we all owe you an apology for letting that happen.

And with that, here’s to another ten.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 10; March 5, 2006)

The Bigger They Are . . .

I just wanted to quickly weight in on the current state of affairs of the NFL. Labor disputes between the owners and the players. Revenue sharing problems between the owners and the owners. Years of a cap system about to get shredded and thrown aside.

Beautiful.

Now, I love football as much as the next guy. Don't think I don't. It's just that I've grown tired of hearing how the NFL is the greatest sports league in the world - the archetype of what a professional league should be.

And I'm tired of hearing that.

Especially as a baseball fan. After the strike of '94, baseball lost its hold on being the national pasttime and allowed football to slide in. But now, now everyone will be able to see that not even football can hold it together.

The NHL lost a complete season and dropped out of the Big Four national sports, leaving a triumvirate of MLB, NFL, and NBA. That's not going to happen to the NFL. But a labor dispute will hurt the NFL. Teams are cutting players that normally they wouldn't have to only since they have no idea what's going to happen. And as a sports franchise, that's not a good place to be in. Just take a look at the Washington Nationals. They don't even know if they're allowed to call themselves that.

All in all though, I'd be glad to see the NFL brought back down to Earth. Now it's time for leagues like MLB to play up the fact that it's been over ten years since the last stoppage or labor dispute. This is the opportunity for baseball to move back up the pasttime ladder.

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