Minnesota Sports Media
We have our crummy writers (Sid Hartman, Bob Sansevere, Jim Souhan). We have our columnists who like to make fun of the home teams and/or their fans (Tom Powers, Patrick Reusse). And we have our sports radio hosts who like to make fun of people for liking sports too much (Dan Barreiro, Dan Cole). Is this just a typical market?
“I’m real happy about Brown, son, but I need to talk to you about Gilroy”
The Twins are going to the playoffs; they can still win the division. Since I haven’t rooted for the Twins or paid attention to baseball in any meaningful way since Kirby Puckett retired, this means little to me: I guess I’d rather have a Minnesota team winning than not winning.
However, there’s a chance that if the Twins win their division and their first round series goes to 5 games, a Sunday afternoon Viking game gets moved to Monday night. I’m a live and let live kind of guy, but I can’t stand for anything to mess with my viewing of Viking games. If the Vikes’ game gets moved to Monday night, I have yet a third conflict this season between watching the Vikings and teaching class.
So, I’m real happy for you, Twins and Twins fans. But please don’t mess up the Vikings’ schedule.
Jason Whitlock
Some people complain that Whitlock brings up issues of race too much. I don’t agree with that assessment, but let’s assume for a minute this is true. If EVERY black sportswriter wrote about issues of race in EVERY story or column he/she wrote, what percentage of the sports discussion would be about race? Here are some numbers from Whitlock himself:
“But of more than 300 newspapers surveyed, 90 percent have white, male sports editors (head coach). There are just five black men (1.6 percent) leading a sports section. Of nearly 300 sports columnists (quarterback), 84 percent are white males and only 7 percent (22) are black males. White women and Latino males fare slightly better than black men in terms of being sports editors, and they fare slightly worse in terms of being sports columnists.”
My take: we need some writers to bring up issues of race, lest those issues be forgotten from sports discussion completely.
i feel like race should just be brought up when it is an issue and left out when it isn't an issue. wouldn't this be a fair standard?
ReplyDeleteexample: when bonds talks about media not wanting him to pass ruth b/c of race, then it is an issue. or when it takes romeo crennel an eternity to get a head coaching job but charlie weiss gets an immediate giant extension, then it is an issue. in contrast, when culpepper gets benched and harrington starts, it won't be about race, but rather about culpepper being terrible.
p.s what did you think of childress' tantrum at the press conference?
oh, another example: when art shell gets fired again it will be for being a terrible head coach and not b/c of his race
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ReplyDeleteThat's fair, but there might be disagreement about when race is an issue. Sometimes things at least need to get into discourse to allow for the possibility that race might be an issue.
ReplyDeleteI am still at the "Brad Childress could come to my house and eat my kitten and I would be pleased with him" stage.
Race is somehow always an issue. It is in inescapable reality that was socially and epistomologically constructed and until the underlying power games that fuel it are named and defeated it will continue to be an inescapable reality.
ReplyDeleteHow about some Twins talk? How will they do in the playoffs?
ReplyDeleteSorry, mini me, I don't watch baseball. I'll be happy for the Twins and Twins' fans if they win the World Series, but won't be allowed to take any personal enjoyment in it.
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