“A lie travels halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” — Winston Churchill.
But the truth, at least, once had a chance.
PART I: The Associated Press this week reported Curt Schilling will return to ESPN during its MLB postseason coverage 💙following his suspension for “anti-Muslim tweets.” Yep, matter-of-factly reported as a matter of fact🐷.
And not that such a “fact” needed AP’s approbation to become one; it already had. It had already entered into Schilling’s permanent CNN, Huffington Post, Inter✱net search engine record. He’s “anti-Muslim.”
And so the t♛ruth, not that it matters to easily frightened and selectively indignant ESPN nor other mass-media outlets, has been deva🌺lued to the sum of zero as it travels completely around the world.
While I’m no fan of Schilling, the talk-games-to-death analyst — “Death to America’s baseball telecasts!” — his permaಌnent staining and defaming is just plain un-American, cruel but no longer unusual punishment.
In fact, Schilling’s tweet was not anti-Muslim; it addressed Muslim “extremists,” comparing them to World War II Nazis — both masꦺter race murderers eager to commit re🍌ligion-driven genocide — which, as a matter of historical fact, is a solid comparison.
Yet, ESPN, which regularly hires pre-est🃏ablished me-first creeps and braggarts because that’s ESPN’s sense of both sports and appeal🐟 to the omnipotent young male wise-guy demographic, could not suffer such Schilling’s fact-based opinion.
It suspended him with this: “Curt’s Tweet was completely una𓄧cceptable, and in no way represents our company’s perspectiv🦹e.”
Although ESPN didn’t explain its “per𓆉spective,” do we assume it’s supportive of Islamic extremists or just believes themജ a lesser threat to civilized civilization than were Nazis?
Schi൲lling, his career o♑n the line and broke from rotten investments, was forced to apologize.
Here’s another fact that won’t make history’s cut: Many ESPN employees were appalled by ESPN’s reaction to Sc𝔍hilling’s words. Of course, they can’t speak out publicly for fear of reprisals.
PART II: This week, the NFL Players’ Association became the latest to make a deal with ꦛa “fantasy league” (real lost money) bookmaker, signing for NFL players’ cross-promotional presence and piece of DraftKings’ rake and 🧸take.
As subjugated truths go, consider that therඣe is not one team owner in any pro sport, not one pro league commissioner, not one players’ union executive who has openly declared what many-to-most know to be true:
Gambling on their sports and/or players is not someth♕ing♎ they should be part of, let alone encourage. They know it’s wrong.
They know it’s predicated on the public being suckered into losing their money, their sense and their good sense of theꦏ games played. They know that beyond ill-gained potential profits, there is no upside. And wait until consumers discover that despite the ads’ endless parade of young, male-adult, big winners, these are bad bets, with long odds and poor payoffs.
But the truth sits gagged and guarded by money. MꦡLB’s Steroid Er⛦a renewed. Everyone who stood to profit — Bud Selig as the CFOs for the team owners, the players’ unions and the players — knew it was wrong, saw it was wrong.
But money bought their silence and their souls. Don’t rock that money boat. Why Congress only subpoenaed playe👍rs, and not team owners and GMs to explain how they didn’t notice tha𓃲t spray hitters, over night and well into their 30’s, became muscle-massed sluggers, well, too late to pursue such truths.
So don’t rock this onshore gambling boat. Even if the weight of the gold — 🍰the all-abo🔯ard greed — will send it to the bottom.
Heck, Wednesday’s Channel 4 six o’clock news was sponsored by DraftKings. Bet daily, nightly, go, go, go! Big winners everywhere! Everyone into the pool! Missing, though, is unadvertised term of engagement: Lose as 🍌much as possible as often as possible.
PART III: With Larry Brown’s SMU program slapped hard by the NCAA for l🎃ying and cheating, count another Basketball Hall of Famer enshrined despite clear evidence that genuine integrity is a disqualifier. Brown, inducted into the Ha𝐆ll of Fame Class of 2002, by then had failed two NCAA stink tests, first at UCLA and was then at Kansas.
At UCLA, the program’s 1980 title-game appearance was vacated and it was place on probation for two years after it was discovere🐷d players were given improper benefits.
At KU, even the conspicuously shameless 💖was green-lighted. In 1983, Brown somehow was able to land the nation’s top recruit, Danny Manning, who lived in North Carolina.
But the Manning family was about to relocate to Kansas. Why? Danny’s father, Ed, former NBAer, was hired by KU as B✨rown’s assistant coach. Small world, eh? As another Larry, “Larry The Cable Guy,” advocates, “Git ‘er done.”
Fascinating, how the most selfꦦ-evident truths escape those who run sports. Must be none of their business.
More of Francesa’s fallacies
Sept. 11, 2013, a soulful Mike Francesa speaks: “There’s a way people should be treated, and that’s really important to me. And it’s something I’ve done on this show … I’ve always tried to give you a very classy show.”
Mike Francesa, Sept. 28, 201෴5: “Mike in New Haven; what’s up, Mike?”
MINH: “I want to talk about that Nationals situation, but before I do, I was at the Yankee game yesterday, and got to take a tour of the field after the game … ”
Francesa, annoyed, interrupts: “No one cares about the Yankee game. That’s not high on our list. What else ya got? I don’t wanna hear about your tour. What else? Come on. Wanna talk about t﷽he Nationals? Go 𒀰ahead.”
Shaken, MINH, begins to talk about the Nati♏onals. Francesa cuts him off, doesn’𓃲t allow him to finish a sentence.
Also, as supplied by Francesa m𒉰onitor @RNs_Funhouse, Tuesday, the all-knowing Francesa, had no idea tꦏhat Larry Brown and SMU were even under NCAA investigation — a months-old story — let alone sanctioned, several hours before.
Same show: Francesa twice authoritatively stated, 🧜“There are years when thဣe Yankees have entered through the wild card and won the World Series.” Never happened, not even once.
If you’re sco🥃ring at home, another 5-F — Fabulous, Fabricated, Fraudulen𝔉t Francesa Fact.
And with an ugly storm, Joaquin, yesterday threatening, we were reminded of Francesa’s meteorological prowess, his knowing, lost-tape tout that Hurricane Sandy would be no more than a steady drizzle. Reader Bruce Christoffersen: “He couldn’t predict th༺e weather in a snow globe.”
Reader Frank Giffone on growing up watching Yogi Berra play for the Ya🎃nkees, speaks for many: “I was fortunate to be a kid when I wa𓆉s a kid.” Amen.