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Saturday, 6 a.m.
Looking at the Siege the Poncho Bucs game the other night got me thinking--Gary, what horrendous weather sporting events do you recall having to attend?
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cranking. I honestly thought that if I had to walk back to the stadium, I would die.
And, how did the term Tommy John elbow come about?
Scott, I'd go a millions years. I'd just offer $1 a year.
Seriously, I'd be so careful with pitchers' contracts. The first thing I thought of when David Price signed his megadeal was "He only has one left elbow." The problem is, if your Boston and really, really want this guy, you think this guy can put you over the top, well, you signed that contract or you watch him go to, say, Toronto.
That said, I'd be very hard-pressed to go beyond four years. The player would have be sturdy and special.
But I agree with you. The years are so much more important than the cash.
Me? I'd prefer to pay the guy per quality start with bonuses for ERA and batting average against. I think the players association might have a problem with me.
Now that Tampa Bay regrettably has it's own " cop kills unarmed black man " issue, how much longer will Coach Koetter, the Bucs,and the NFL be able to keep their players, (75% of whom are persons of color), standing for the anthem with that lame " we do it to support the military " line? Don't you think these educated, aware players know that anthem is a racist, pro slavery poem authored by a Washington DC lawyer who was a supporter of Andrew Jackson, a slaveholder, anti-abolitionist, fierce prosecutor of abolitionists, and influential in the Supreme Court's pro slavery Dred Scott decision? Don't you think the third of four verses to the poem,which vilifies the 6000+ runaway slaves of the Colonial Marines in opposition at Ft. McHenry, with the stanzas:
no refuge could save the hireling or slave
from the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave
is known by these college educated current "slaves" of the NFL? Do you agree, or disagree that this issue will continue to be a growing problem for the white masters of the league, just as it continues to be the overriding stigma on the democratic experiment of the USA?
Richard Wade
Richard, with all due respect, I couldn't disagree with you more.
The NFL seems to realize it's a different day than when Vince Lombardi lined his players up along the sideline. No one, not Dirk Koetter, not Bill Belichick, is "keeping their players standing." If a player wants to protest, he protests. No one has even attempted to sway Kaepernick from his stance.
As far as the anthem, I don't know if Francis Scott Key was a racist. Let's say, for stake of argument, that he was. (A lot of people supported Jackson. I assume it's why he won.)
But the anthem today hardly represents Key's view of life. It has indeed come to be a symbol for a lot of men to shed blood for it, and I don't find anything lame about that. My son served. My father and my father-in-law served. There are the paying customers here, so let's not take them lightly. Even Kaepernick has clarified his original stance.
I've said this before, but I've heard hundreds of anthems at the Olympics. And I stood for everyone out of respect for those who loved their anthem. I certainly wasn't approving of China or Russia as I stood.
But the key to this protest, if it's going to resonate with people who can affect change, is not to make less of the anthem. It's to make more of the arguments.
Nothing is lame about the anthem as it plays today. Ask a vet what he thinks about the anthem. We aren't at Fort McHenry anymore.
Again, where we really disagree is that you think Koetter, a man who has never won an NFL game, could order a millionaire man of conscious to stand. But have you heard the response. A lot of black players and former players think Kaepernick is wrong. A lot of white players and former players think he has a point. Meanwhile, there is dialogue. That, I think, is good.
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