That's the basketball + Trump news. In football + Trump news, there's: "NFL Stars Erupt In Anger Over Donald Trump’s ‘Son Of A Bitch’ Speech":
During what was supposed to be a stump speech for Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), Trump drifted away from campaigning to ask members of the crowd if they’d “love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired?’”Here's the video:
ADDED: On a fashion note, what's up with the peppermint candy necktie?
পোস্টগুলি
২৭৩টি মন্তব্য:
273 এর 1 – থেকে 200 আরও নতুন» সবচেয়ে নতুন»Great distraction from the health care bill bombing and Trump stumping for a losing candidate.
Maybe America should take its anthem back. The National Football League should maybe give some thought to which "Nation" they are referring to. I understand Brazil is looking for a football league. They never had any slaves in Brazil.
You know Bill, I think that whole Deflategate thing was fake. You and Roger made it all up for ratings.
"Hmmm."
You know Roger, I think that whole Deflategate thing was fake. You and Bill made it all up for ratings.
"Hmmm."
Enhancing the contradictions.
NFL is between a rock and a hard place.
NFL knows very well that the bulk of their audience dislikes politics in the game, especially that which comes from their enemies; their funders (advertisers) are fine with politics of that sort as it aligns with the sort of politics they would like to more openly push, and pro sports is just another messaging venue.
It is yet again the people versus the powerful. Its been there for years, seething. Trump just blows away the smokescreens.
France is a nice Nation. Little Colin K would surely not feel compelled to take a knee when they played the Marseillaise.
Colin to large person next to him - "Why are we standing up for a song about a sandwich spread?"
They never had any slaves in Brazil.
@Jupiter, like Hell they didn't. Here is the money quote from the Wikipedia article "Slavery in Brazil":
"During the Atlantic slave trade era, Brazil imported more African slaves than any other country."
The tie is Crimson in a neutral kind of way.
Unpresidential. But instead of cringing, I'm getting used to it and, strangely, now that I can anticipate where his boundaries are, for the first time am beginning to enjoy it even. For a peasant, he's okay. Never thought I'd say that.
Jupiter said...
They never had any slaves in Brazil.
I presume this is intended ironically. Slavery wasn't abolished in Brazil until 1888.
Since sports teams seem to hate America, American ax codes should eliminate all tax breaks that allow these teams to exist and pay obscene salaries to losers. Ban all government support to build stadiums. Tax codes can end these attacks by America haters.
I think Trump would have been better off letting Golden State decline, which I fully expected they were going to do. In the unlikely case they did go, I was expecting some BLM stuff, which would have backfired spectacularly.
We won't get to find out now.
Sorry Big Mike and Tyrone, but slavery was invented in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson, at a meeting with a bunch of white guys in Philadelphia.
Didn't either of you attend public school?
Basketball is something else.
I gather it is a much more Democratic-party aligned sport than football, based on the makeup of their fans.
Btw, the local Ptb in CA would never permit a local basketball team to deal cordially with Trump. He directly opposes their interests.
These conflicts are now in the open, no longer hidden.
"During the Atlantic slave trade era, Brazil imported more African slaves than any other country."
Sarcasm these days is getting harder to recognize.
The NFL is heading for the toilet accompanied by ESPN.
The players demonstrating have one characteristic nobody is going to mention. And it isn't college degrees because most of them don't have one.
Just like so many actors mouthing off don;t have high school diplomas.
I'm disappointed in Curry and think that lot of these guys are more concerned about peer pressure than about their own principles. Or about their ad contracts. I've been a big NFL fan since I was eleven but I'm losing interest fast. College football is still OK.
Baseball, which is made up of largely foreign-born players who apparently appreciate the opportunity to play in MLB hasn't yet succumbed. These angry players are shooting themselves in the foot. Dallas QB Dak Prescott commented that [referring to combat veterans], "these guys come back with no legs and here we are getting paid to play a game we love". Wish there were more like him.
I'm sort of with sodal ye. Unpresidential, but growing on me. The media, the left and identity politics are so biased against him, I sort of understand the politics of him making the statements.
The NFL is in a tough spot. The fans mostly hate it. The advertisers largely support the left wing politics or at least are afraid to criticize. The players who do it are making a mistake, hurting their value and the popularity of their sport. The NFL is pretty mercenary already in terms of tossing players to one side. The kneelers speed up their own demise. Kap is exhibit one of how players will cost themselves millions. The worst part is Kap and most others are unable to say anything intelligent and truthful to explain their conduct.
I like the tie
President Trump should evaluate each individual athlete's position on political issues and only invite those with political beliefs Trump likes.
Trump set Goodell up to either stand or kneel.
Goodell kneeled.
I am Laslo.
Laslo, please. Knelt.
I have stopped watching most regular season sports. I mostly focus on the Olympics, World Cup and other international soccer, and the four major golf tournaments. The only league I watch somewhat regularly is the EPL, with games in the morning on the weekend. I check in to sports websites to see scores, but that is mostly habit, and is diminishing as well. Frees up a lot of time to do more productive things.
Wonder what on the field protest an NFL player have to do to get disciplined?
I bet speaking publically, off the field, in favor of Conservative values would get you suspended quick.
Has anyone noted that Ann never acknowledges that it is deranged for the Pesident of the United States to say things like "son of a bitches"? Ann is quick to latch onto the outrage his comments generates in others.
That tells you a lot about what is Ann's heart.
Ann is quick to join in the chorus that Dems pander to minorities. But Ann does not say a peep about Trump pandering to and inciting the majority.
That tells you a lot about what is in Ann's heart.
Yep.
mockturtle said..."I've been a big NFL fan since I was eleven but I'm losing interest fast."
Me too, but for a different reason; so many players get hurt nowadays it's hard to generate interest in the rotating cast of characters. It doesn't help that a lot of the players act like prima donnas.
I have a solution that kills two birds at once; double the size of the roster, but keep the team salary cap the same.
Good for Trump. For way too long, celebrities (including sports celebrities) and the political elite have told the people who pay the bills and make them rich and famous to go fuck themselves. They were quite used to the Bushes of the world who did nothing to defend themselves or the people who support them. Trump, on the other hand, is willing to tell them they can go fuck themselves too and there is a price to be paid. The NFL statement is whiny and shows that they are not used to someone throwing the bullshit flag on them.
Curry is thinking poorly. If he has a gripe with Trump, go to the White House, look him in the eye and tell him. Otherwise, you’re acting not just immature but unmanly.
“Pandering to the majority”. Is that even possible in a democratic Republic?
Why is it deranged?
That is a bit of assuming your conclusion, which is not good reasoning. There is no generally acceptable understanding of "deranged". So you need to carefully define it and reason to it from first principles, if you can find any.
Since there no longer exist (as per the academic consensus) any sort of defense of morals, ethics, or even cultural standards, it is quite difficult to object to anything anyone does, as there are no first principles.
Yes "Now..". It's almost like people chose a different path this time.
So sad we don't have Hil' kissing endless Social Justice ass.
I don't understand why the NFL (or individual team owners) don't simply declare that those players who do not want to stand respectfully during the National Anthem, can remain in the locker room. I don't think that a player has any more right to be on the field kneeling than he has to be on the field carrying a protest sign.
NFL CEO said Trump is disrespecting the NFL.
Why does anyone owe the NFL any respect? And what justifies that attack on the President?
Jack Wayne--the Framers of the U.S. Constitution were most concerned with demigods like Trump coming on the scene and pandering to majorities.
He is an extremely well paid employee of a California sports team and he gets his money ultimately from enemies of Trump.
He cannot be seen dealing cordially with Trump, whatever his personal opinions are. If the situation were different, and it were in his paymasters interests that he go and be cordial, he would, in spite of his opinions.
Right buwaya...funny how moral relativism is so selective...
Good on Trump to call BS.
Disappointed in Steph, the one player who could truly rise above the acrimony unscathed, making his own point while being gracious.
Looks like the left really does want to poison every single institution, even the most mundane entertainment, so that there's nothing for patriots to be patriotic about, at which point progs will be ready to take over for good.
With the NFL and NBA and ESPN becoming ever more annoying, the EPL will have to do.
Actually, it was the Anti-Federaists who were most concerned about an Imperial Presidency, not the Federalists.
The framers were most concerned with governmental overreach.
Rugby, man.
" But Ann does not say a peep about Trump pandering to and inciting the majority."
That's what democracy looks like, you dope. "Pandering?"
Take a Civics class.
Now I Know! said...
"Ann is quick to join in the chorus that Dems pander to minorities. But Ann does not say a peep about Trump pandering to and inciting the majority."
I don't recall Althouse (she prefers to be referred to as Althouse) saying anything about Dems pandering to minorities, ever. But if you regard Trump's speech as "pandering to the majority", well, that is what this post was about. So, wrong on both counts. That would be 100% incorrect. Anything else?
"NFL CEO said Trump is disrespecting the NFL."
The NFL Commissioner is just pandering to the players (and how's that going for them?)
The NFL has clearly indicated that it wants to play the National Anthem at the start of games. Trump is simply asking why the owners do not fire those players who will not do what the NFL wants done.
In a way, Trump is really asking why the NFL doesn't respect itself enough to demand that its employees abide by its work rules.
The NFL plays the National Anthem at the start of games because it believes (correctly) that's what the fans want. Trump is simply asking the fans for further clarification of what they want.
"Take a Civics class."
In this day and age? Not going to have the result you're imagining.
Perhaps when the average football player's salary is on a trajectory toward the minimum wage and the major TV networks suffer losses in the hundreds of millions, these football playing folks who couldn't get a regular good paying job will reconsider their protests. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs...
Michael K re one characteristic:
They don't swim very well?
"I took you for a kneeler." Maddie Ross
The players demonstrating have one characteristic nobody is going to mention.
They don't know who their fathers are?
I'm pretty sure that the reaction of Trump and of the fans doesn't turn on the color of the players skin or the reason for the protest. If a white player knelt during the National Anthem and declared he was doing so to protest congress's failure to repeal Obamacare, I'm fairly certain that Trump and the fans would be okay with firing that guy, too.
I'm liking this chap Trump. He has sand.
Damn right, Original Mike. Rugby is the best sport in the world. Skip the grandstanding, get straight to bleeding on the field.
The mutual masturbatory practice of sports and entertainment figures being wined, dined, and photo-opped with the President, at public expense, was one of the more disgusting aspects of the Obama and Clinton epochs.
Thought the guy went there to drain the swamp. Best to have not invited them to begin with.
'Has anyone noted that Ann never acknowledges that it is deranged for the Pesident of the United States to say things like "son of a bitches"?'
"Deranged" is musing (no matter how casually) about blowing up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay as a pretext for invading Cuba and deposing Castro. Granted, that was the Attorney General and not the President (his brother).
" I've been a big NFL fan since I was eleven but I'm losing interest fast. College football is still OK."
I'll admit that I have never understood the sentiment that college football is OK compared to the NFL. In the NFL the players are compensated and represented by a union. In college, football players are put to similar health risks while being explicitly prevented from making income by the NCAA. Any tuition reimbursement they receive from schools is basically useless because even if the player had the smarts for college (some do, some don't), they don't have time to actually learn anything with the workouts and games that the colleges require of them. And colleges know full well that they are neither compensating nor educating the primarily minority students, and they know full well that hardly any of them will ever play professionally. It's basically pure exploitation so far as I can tell.
And DJT needs to start paying ESPN rent. 2 of their 6 Top Headlines at this moment are about Trump. I suspect there are sports contests taking place at this very moment, but they seem to care less and less about the actual games.
He's not "inciting" anything. He's just voicing what so many are thinking...which is his "schtick". Guess what? That's no longer "unpresidential".
I'll admit that I have never understood the sentiment that college football is OK
You obviously don't live in the South. (or are a Kentucky fan)
On a fashion note, what's up with the peppermint candy necktie?
It's a big "Fuck you!" to everyone that needs a big "Fuck you!"
Man, I love this guy. Slay those sacred cows, Trump!
All this because Kaepernick forgot how to play football. IIRC, when he first kneeled, it was a preseason game and he was pretty close to being cut from the team completely and kneeling cuz he was looking at unemployment and depressed/bummed out/distracted b/c of that. Then when he got called on it, he pulled the protest card out of his ass cuz he didn't want to admit he wasn't going to be the 49ers qb anymore.
I may be wrong about the timeline, but I guarantee his first kneeldown wasnt a protest.
And DJT needs to start paying ESPN rent. 2 of their 6 Top Headlines at this moment are about Trump. I suspect there are sports contests taking place at this very moment, but they seem to care less and less about the actual games.
Watching a baseball game on ESPN is a joke. What you see, instead, is three announcers in the booth who think they are more amusing than the game. It's bad enough to listen to these assholes we shouldn't have to look at them, as well.
And then there are the women announcers...another issue.
IgnatzEsq said...
"It's basically pure exploitation so far as I can tell."
Well, at least they don't make the players take out stupendous loans that can't be shed by bankruptcy in order to receive a degree in Unemployability Studies. But yeah, the business model of the 21st Century American University is based upon taking advantage in every possible way of the ignorance and idealism of the young people they prey upon. They are utterly corrupt,essentially evil, and their pernicious influence is felt in ever-widening circles.
Laslo, please. Knelt.
HURRAH!
(Sorry, Laslo. Nothing personal. I just have this thing for irregular verbs.)
I bet speaking publically, off the field, in favor of Conservative values would get you suspended quick.
I remember when Reggie White made the comment that homosexual behavior was a sin in God's eyes and lost his ad contract with Campbell's soup. I wrote to Campbell's and told them I would never buy another can of their soup and I never have.
Note that he did not make these remarks while in uniform or in the context of the NFL.
NFL players are asking the league to join them in a month of social justice awareness. Yep. Hope this happens. Maybe halftime shows on BLM. Very appealing.
Now I Know! wrote: Has anyone noted that Ann never acknowledges that it is deranged for the Pesident [sic] of the United States to say things like "son of a bitches"?[sic]
I must have your brain for my collection
If colleges follow suit with this kind of demonstration there will be hell to pay with the alumni.
@Twilight
Spot on. Kaepernick was about get cut and came up with the kneeling idiocy to create a reprisal type incident. His right but he was pretty much done as a football player. He has made himself toxic (probably not his intent when he started, he was just trying to pressure 49ers to keep his job). No one is interested in a washed up QB guaranteed to hurt attendance more than the hits it is already taking.
And judging from the NFL players reactions, they are all in on insulting the fan base with their political histrionics until the only people who show up are antifa and BLM types. Oh well. At least when the NFL goes down they will go down together.
WHat a shame.
I'm looking forward to the winter Olympics--especially the downhill skiing--whether France is there or not.
Blogger Tari said..."Damn right, Original Mike. Rugby is the best sport in the world. Skip the grandstanding, get straight to bleeding on the field."
I was watching an NRL game (Australia, Rugby League) recently and the announcers were seriously griping that they had stopped play for an injured player. "The play wasn't anywhere near him; why did they stop play"?
According to some records, 21% of NFL players are criminals.
The minimum salary for an NFL player is $465,000 (even if career is spent on the bench).
Just 50% of NFL players have college degrees
78% of NFL players are bankrupt, divorced or unemployed after 2 years in retirement
These men complain about "injustice" while making 6 figures or more for playing a game
And we should listen to these people why?
Forced respect isn't respect, it's submission, as the saying goes.
Try to call out the mob's smartest voices rather than its dumbest.
Blogger Original Mike said...
"Take a Civics class."
In this day and age? Not going to have the result you're imagining.
Good point.
Blogger Roughcoat said...
The players demonstrating have one characteristic nobody is going to mention.
They don't know who their fathers are?
Actually, most of them come from intact families. The ones who don't know are mostly in prison or the streets.
I think they are being manipulated by others.
"I must have your brain for my collection."
I'll give you fifty quatloos for it.
Someone should have told Trump most Alabamans are Yuge college football fans but they are not really big pro football fans.
And I don't get why Trump brought this up ? I support Trump but it seems like a dog whistle to me.
Rugby is the best sport in the world. Skip the grandstanding, get straight to bleeding on the field.
Bleeding on the field? You want Irish Hurling EVERYONE has a stick shaped like an ax.....what could possibly go wrong?
Blogger TwilightofLiberty.com said...I guarantee his first kneeldown wasnt a protest.
--
Right. Juat ask Nessa.
If colleges follow suit with this kind of demonstration there will be hell to pay with the alumni.
Ah, if only that were true... Every pernicious trend in American culture started at our colleges and universities. Alumni associations have struggled for thirty years trying to encourage decency and banish the insanity of the left with little result. In spite of our efforts, the rot is only accelerating. I wrote a series of indignant letters to the Board of Trustees of Duke in the naive hope that the infamous 88 would be either fired or otherwise disciplined. None were, but a few did leave — to higher paid positions at other universities — but most are still at Duke gushing their venom like geysers.
Rugby is the sport of the upper classes in England while football of the middle and lower. Watching a match at Twickenham is to be in the midst of posh.
"Soccer is a gentleman's game played by hooligans. On the other hand, rugby is a hooligans game played by gentlemen."
And I don't get why Trump brought this up ?
The NFL is a major American industry. Why shouldn't the American President gives them a heads-up to fix thing before they commit suicide? A good part of the owner think that fans boycotting support Kaepernick. You can't fix the problem unless you know what it is.
The SAN FRANCISCO 49ers were the ones that cut Colin Kaepernick. That's right - SAN FRANCISCO. So obviously this was a pretext, because SAN FRANCISCO is so terrible this year.
SAN FRANCISCO is obliviously racist and prejudiced against black Quarterbacks. They should be investigated as to why they are so racist.
That was fun, DBQ. Is it ever on television here?
I'll give you fifty quatloos for it.
Throw in the green-haired bint and we have a deal.
mockturtle said...
"Watching a baseball game on ESPN is a joke. What you see, instead, is three announcers in the booth who think they are more amusing than the game. It's bad enough to listen to these assholes we shouldn't have to look at them, as well."
Serious suggestion: Turn the sound off and stream the local sports radio cast of the game. Usually much, much better, especially for baseball.
things...owners
Problem with "s" on keyboard.
I used to have a teeshirt with the slogan Rugby Players Eat Their Dead.
End the stupid White House visits permanently.
Nobody gives a shit about them anyways.
I was referring to Laslo. Now I know doesn't know.
The NFL is just turning themselves into a pro version of the University of Missouri. Fuck em!
So folks who are paid big bucks to play a game decide to make a highly controversial political statement and are surprised and outraged when a politician calls them out on their BS. Got it.
If you want to get in trouble in the NFL, hit a woman or don't wear pink in October.
AJ Lynch said...
"And I don't get why Trump brought this up ? I support Trump but it seems like a dog whistle to me."
Colin Kaepernick goes on national television to say that the USA isn't good enough for the likes of him, and you don't know why the President of the USA might find the matter worthy of comment?
Serious suggestion: Turn the sound off and stream the local sports radio cast of the game. Usually much, much better, especially for baseball.
I tried that once. There was a confusing digital delay between what I saw on the screen and what I heard on the radio.
Since then I've given up television completely (well, not completely visiting friends and visiting taverns exposes me somewhat). I am much less confused now.
Original Mike - well, if the injury didn't affect the play, they're kinda right. Even HS refs don't stop the game in that instance, most of the time. At least from what I've seen.
DBQ - that sounds like fun! But probably hard to get a youth league started, especially with all those helicopter parents out there. A shame. :-)
tcrosse, if I had a dollar for every time my boys have quoted that to me, I'd be a very happy woman. I do like the 3rd half tradition in rugby a lot. You should always break bread together after trying to kill one another.
Why does the White house even invite these highly privileged people who already get plenty of recognition and praise for performing an entirely non-essential service playing a game? The White house should be honoring the regular people throughout his nation who really make it work and pay the bills. Welders, plumbers, construction workers, nurses, garbage men, resturant workers, butchers, linemen, etc, etc - people of real value to the rest of us who otherwise get little praise or note while providing us real essentials every single day.
Trump, of all presidents, should be putting the spotlight on them, and then let the privileged whine about being ignored. That is how you shut up these spoiled brats. Let them highlight and cling to their ingratitude and their selfish need for attention.
My husband played rugby at university. He was amused at and derisive of the body armor of the American football players, calling it a 'sissy' sport by comparison. I have never actually seen a rugby match but the 'scrum' sounds a bit suspect.
Hurling is big in Ireland. I don't think I've ever seen it on TV but in some areas of the US, with large Irish contingents, it is played. Tari is right. Too much fun and a bit too much danger to allow the kids to play :-(
You already get paid a fortune for playing a damned game. You are not some wise paragon of virtue. Most of you would be broke and on assistance if you didn't have the luck of god-given physical ability. Just say thanks, and play ball.
You want Irish Hurling EVERYONE has a stick shaped like an ax.....what could possibly go wrong?
Leave it to an Irishman to play with an ax-shaped stick. A Scot would play with an ax-shaped ax.
Irish Hurling happened to me once after my introduction to white pudding.
I think part of Trump's "nationalism" is the idea that we Americans are all in this together and need to stand together. If you think that your group is getting the short end of the stick, e.g., police shootings, you should call on your fellow Americans to help you solve the problem (and your fellow Americans should answer your call). The last thing you should do is separate yourself from your nation (e.g., by dissing the national flag, national anthem, etc.). I don't mean Trump has thought all of this through with all its ramifications, but it's part of his world view (die Weltanschauung).
Quaestor says: Since then I've given up television completely (well, not completely visiting friends and visiting taverns exposes me somewhat). I am much less confused now.
More Bach and Mozart and less television--->happier state of mind.
I have never actually seen a rugby match but the 'scrum' sounds a bit suspect.
Not nearly so suspect as "tight end" and "wide receiver".
Blogger bagoh20 said...Why does the White house even invite these highly privileged people who already get plenty of recognition and praise for performing an entirely non-essential service playing a game?
--
I agree. But sports are almost religion to some folk and pols till now figured it was well worth doing for the photo ops, sound bites etc. A tradition with no controversy, only upsides...and a way to get the "regular guy" connection with those who really don't follow politics.
Hey..wonder how Clock Boy is doing.
Not nearly so suspect as "tight end" and "wide receiver".
;-D
At this rate, I should be able to walkup at Lambeau and get tickets by about 2023. Sad, actually. I used to care about NFL football (I had season tickets for about 15 years) but the entertainment product started to get in the way of the sport, both live and on TV.
Now they're just acting suicidal. And all this is as unlikely as Donald Trump being elected president, if you use the perspective of 2008 or so. I think all the sports guys are competing for the eyes of Barack Obama, because they know he's watching. I genuinely think it is in the back of their minds whether they are aware of it or not.
Hurling is a disgusting sport. The lads drinks huge amounts of Guinness and then compete to see who can projectile vomit the furthest.
mockturtle, it's worse than that - in every scrum there are 2 hookers. :-)
The Dems have to get behind Colin Kaepernick. When Hillary runs again in 2020, she should have him appear on the podium with her as much as possible. He's an even more potent vote getter than Michael Brown's mother.
Historically, for 3 hours every week American men could escape from the issues of everyday life watching their favorite NFL team play. Many of those who watch football are patriotic. They value veterans, the flag and the American dream. Roger Goodell is stupidly siding with the forces that want to make the NFL political, removing the 3 hour escape. The left demands that all aspects of life be political, even sports.
This will end badly for the NFL and for liberals.
Trump should cancel all such pro sports photo ops, and replace them with regular American recognitions of common man heroes, etc. Then let some criticize him for it. That would be a soft pitch right over the plate that he could knock out of the park.
I'm with Trump...going to the White House is an honor, and if you are going to be an asshole, you don't deserve to go.
As for standing for the national anthem...you have the legal right to disrespect the US, and your owner has the right to fire your ass, as Kapernick has discovered. I feel no sympathy for the asshole, and if I had a team, I'd cut or trade anyone who showed such disrespect.
You're getting paid millions to play a game. You're getting that money because people want a distraction from shit like politics. Bringing politics into sports is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
If I hear that lame, talking head expression "dog whistle" one more time might need to call for a 15 yard penalty or ejection from game.
"Historically, for 3 hours every week American men could escape from the issues of everyday life watching their favorite NFL team play."
Yes, and you could do it with people of all political stripes in one room together enjoying each other's company. Now you have to think about who to invite so that it doesn't get ugly. Once again it's worth noting that the left ruins everything it touches, and it can't keep its grubby hands off of anything.
As for standing for the national anthem...you have the legal right to disrespect the US, and your owner has the right to fire your ass, as Kapernick has discovered. I feel no sympathy for the asshole, and if I had a team, I'd cut or trade anyone who showed such disrespect.
Kaepernick wasn't fired for protesting. He was on the cut list because he was a nonproducer all season. But teams should have the right to demand certain behaviors from their players while they are in uniform. And one of those demands should be a show of respect [genuine or not] for the flag and the anthem.
But teams should have the right to demand certain behaviors from their players while they are in uniform. And one of those demands should be a show of respect [genuine or not] for the flag and the anthem.
It's attitudes like this that probably makes players glad they have a strong union.
mockturtle said...
"But teams should have the right to demand certain behaviors from their players while they are in uniform. And one of those demands should be a show of respect [genuine or not] for the flag and the anthem."
Teams do have that right. They have chosen not to exercise it. Maybe the players should start trash-talking the owners' wives and mothers. You know, something they actually care about.
Don't fall for the PR bullshit. Originally Kapaernick was just sitting on his ass and looking at his feet while the anthem was playing. The "kneeling" didn't start until later. Some PR flack thought it looked better then sulking.
Lol! Trump is such a bitchily petty teenage little girl!
As for the tie, I think old outspoken codgers start getting into the color red late in their lives. My grandpa, eminently affable by all accounts, had a goofy red suit that he loved wearing into his eighties.
@Tari - Well, this guy was so hurt they ended up carrying him off the field, but the announcers were scandalized they had stopped play.
re: The scrum: In NRL it has become sytlized. They don't even compete for the ball. Strange. I much prefer Rugby Union.
Why do sporting events even have the Star-Spangled Banner played or sung, and why is the flag a part of the proceedings? It's just a sporting event...completely unimportant and having nothing whatsoever to do with "America" or US patriotic rituals.
Trump, of course, showing, as always, he is the smallest man in the room.
The ole hands up gesture was much more specific.
Kneeling to the anthem is a pretty broad FU and directly antagonizes fans who do stand.
Bad strategery.
Hey Freder, have their unions been intervening/defending? On what grounds do they do that in this case?
Field Marshall Freder: "It's attitudes like this that probably makes players glad they have a strong union."Another schmuck who understands nothing about how collective bargaining agreements lock in the owners advantages.
But when you opt into sheep status voluntarily it shouldn't surprise you that is the outcome.
Trump should call for congress to revoke the NFL's anti-trust exemption. Remind the NFL that they exist as they because of the whims of congress.
Tari said: mockturtle, it's worse than that - in every scrum there are 2 hookers. :-)
:-O
"completely unimportant and having nothing whatsoever to do with "America" or US patriotic rituals."
Cookie prefers the Internationale.
Yes, and you could do it with people of all political stripes in one room together enjoying each other's company. Now you have to think about who to invite so that it doesn't get ugly. Once again it's worth noting that the left ruins everything it touches, and it can't keep its grubby hands off of anything.
This.
Football is a dying sport. Outside the South, how many pee-wee leagues do you see? I see way more soccer clubs than football clubs for young kids.
Lol! Trump is such a bitchily petty teenage little girl!
He's so full of anger, and he insults anyone who disagrees with him. What an asshole !
William reports: Hurling is a disgusting sport. The lads drinks huge amounts of Guinness and then compete to see who can projectile vomit the furthest.
In the UK, especially after a weekend, you can see the results on the windows of shops and restaurants all over town. Yechh!
"Cookie prefers the Internationale."
I don't care for any songs intended to arouse feelings of patriotism or group solidarity or whatever the various national or international anthems are intended to do. They serve to define "us" as different/better than "them," when "we" must all live on the planet together.
But your quip doesn't answer my question: why patriotic symbols, songs and rituals at sporting events?
Well the tweeter in chief has let his racism and lack of understanding of our right to protest do more to unite those who believe he disrespects the office with his clownish behavior
"Once again it's worth noting that the left ruins everything it touches, and it can't keep its grubby hands off of anything."
"Doin' right ain't got no end".
Michael K said...
Sarcasm these days is getting harder to recognize.
Methinks that's because parody is running less then a step ahead of reality, and in a few published cases, has fallen behind.
When I was but a wee one, two men marrying would have been somewhere in a joke. Oh, wait... it still is, but must be treated as reality because of an imperial judiciary.
Haven't seen much rugby. I do remember channel surfing one day and hearing "So and so is headed towards the blood box..." A channel or two later,my wife asked "Blood box? What's that?" So we flipped back. And it's where rugby players are sewn back together before being sent back out on the field. Without stopping play....
I don't care for any songs intended to arouse feelings of patriotism or group solidarity or whatever the various national or international anthems are intended to do. They serve to define "us" as different/better than "them," when "we" must all live on the planet together.
Aw, c'mon, Cookie! You know that this one stirs the passions of your heart:
USSR National Anthem
It must be tough for con homeschoolers to keep updating the curriculum they teach their kids.
Pussy grabbing, retard mocking, pre-propositioning ten year old girls, deriding POWs, bragging about walking in on unclothed beauty contestant girls, saying you'd like to date your daughter, pigs/ugly/losers/bleeders/you have to treat ’em like shit = gals, athletes are sons of bitches.
Presumably these are still all bad things for the homeschoolers, but now there are a bunch of 'buts' to explain why it's okay w/ POTUS. At some point the kids are gonna see through all these carve out exceptions. It may be easier to come up w/ a catchall: 'Everything we claim is important, isn't.'
"Aw, c'mon, Cookie! You know that this one stirs the passions of your heart:
USSR National Anthem"
Personally, I've always really liked it.
Very Flawed, no President in my lifetime, nor probably in the history of the US, was as disrespectful of women than was JFK. He even said he was never through with a woman until he had 'had her three ways'. The press was in his pocket and covered for him. Clinton was nearly as bad and LBJ much cruder than Trump. These are Democrats, Flawed. Get a clue.
I don't care for any songs intended to arouse feelings of patriotism or group solidarity or whatever the various national or international anthems are intended to do. They serve to define "us" as different/better than "them," when "we" must all live on the planet together.
M'kay then...you're gonna hate this one then March of Cambreadth
:-D
Ever read the lyrics to La Marseillaise
Kneeled or Knelt...
Understand the Language Police, but both are acceptable nowadays, according to various sites, including Merriam. Although 'kneeled' may be the short-pants equivalent.
For me, there always feels like a difference between the two: that 'knelt' contained an aspect of respect, while 'kneeled' seem to be submissive.
He knelt in front of the cross.
He kneeled in front of his interrogator.
Realize that is not standard, but that has always colored my usage.
I am Laslo.
Extraordinary how easily Trump is turning the identity politics shtick on its head. In his framing, the identity group he wants to rally are those who identify as Americans and celebrate their American-ness. The NFL and the Dems are picking a fight they are likely to regret.
Shiloh doesn't realize how fast homeschooling is growing.
"He was amused at and derisive of the body armor of the American football players, calling it a 'sissy' sport by comparison."
Maybe he would've enjoyed watching the WOMEN's Rugby team at my college.
But that irrelevant quip aside, its a common feeling among Rugby players that the NFL/College football players are wimps who need all that armor.
But there's a big difference between the two sports. You don't "block" in Rugby there's a scrum where you push each other. And you're only supposed to hit the guy with the ball, and main point is to bring him down so he releases the ball, not "Cream him" with a great tackle. Further, American football has players getting hit from all angles and all sides (cf: Wide receivers or QB's), most Rugby hits are straight on tackles.
Bottom Line: If you played NFL football without all the helmets and armor, you'd end up with 1/2 the league on the disabled list in six weeks. People got killed and maimed when they just played in light pads and a leather helmet.
Mock,
Ha.
I don't think that DJT's problem is that the media won't keep a lid on what he says behind closed doors. Except for the pussy grabbing, everything else is purposefully OTR.
The example you point to that did get contemporaneous coverage was Bubba, and it was something he had to lie about, which is an acknowledgement that it was wrong, otherwise why lie? Shame is good.
That's the point I was making. W/ current POTUS openly and proudly shoving this stuff in our faces, cons are forced to explain it away to their kids. I don't think that's a good thing from the inculcation of morality POV. Shamelessness is bad. IMHO.
Trump not only saved us from Hillary, and might actually do some good things, but he's been more entertaining then a barrel full of monkeys.
Pushing back against the unpatriotic Golden State warriors, and left-wing S.O.B's like Kapernick was brilliant. You'll notice none of Republican Senators/Congressmen had balls -or the brains - to say something the NFL's lack of patriotism. Wouldn't be dignified, old man.
The Left-wing sports writers are already pushing back
"Trump is racist"
Yawn.
Exactly the right reaction to Curry and the NFL.
God, I love the guy.
And ..... FUN !
It's just a sporting event...completely unimportant and having nothing whatsoever to do with "America" or US patriotic rituals.
Cookie's brain is going on my Self-Lobotomized shelf.
Allons enfants de la patrie, le jour de gloire est arrive!
Contre nous de la tyrannie,...
Aux armes, citoyens! Formez vos battalions!
Marchons! Marchons!
Que sang impur!"
Ok, that's all I remember from memory.
Ok, that's all I remember from memory.
Google is my memory, too.
GoodPerson_VeryFlawed said...ons are forced to explain it away to their kids.
--
Like parents haven't encountered this with Clinton, Inc.
More likely they will highlight that it's not about a perfect candidate, but the one that will represent your views the best.
Original Mike, a non-contested scrum is a sad thing. Last year my younger son had to play in 2 rugby league games - the British School here will not play by any other rules, and his school was gracious enough to play them anyway. The boys were bored to death by the rules, but still beat the British by a mile in both games. All other youth rugby here in Texas is Rugby Union, thankfully ... although we don't have a blood box (sorry Gospace!). It's a (brutal but) beautiful game when it's played well.
College Football is a better game by far. The No Fun League is so busy going Global with a London team etc that they could care less about a mere American flag honoring Ameriican military strength. In fact they obviously hate it. To hell with their slimey game.
(addendum)
...including a discussion on the importance of SCOTUS appointments.
Jupiter:
The topic and the timing, to me, seemed dumb. Trump has had two pretty good weeks re UN, Hurricanes, NK etc and he goes off on this which lets lib media bury UN goodwill etc and talk about nothing but race and national anthem.
The wife beaters are OK, but as soon as an athlete exercises his G_d given right to free speech, then the radical conservatives get hysterically triggered. By going after Black athletes, Trump sends a signal straight to his racist base that he's got their back while maintaining plausible deniability. It's not a dog whistle, it's a regular whistle that everyone can hear loud and clear. This is how he cheaply sells his peeps out on his promised Obamacare repeal/replace and the Mexican funded wall to nowhere.
Patriotic songs "serve to define 'us' as different/better than 'them,' when 'we' must all live on the planet together." And when "them" come after you, and you look around for help, you'd be damned glad to see "us" behind you, and damned sorry to find that "us" have taken a knee.
Funny how dog whistles can only heard by Democrats and supposed "racists".
I doubt Republicans can hear the racist dog whistles, but the Left-wingers sure can!
AJ,
The timing here is the best criticism, methinks. But then, it comes on the heels of Maxine Waters hijacking a funeral to spout off.
I speak as the 1957 Norwalk CT Babe Ruth League batting champion. It is long past time for baseball to be returned to the status of America's Pastime. If Trump can help that along, he gets my vote. Now if only they'd put a time limit on between pitches and get the games over in under two hours like the ought to instead of the three hours plus now. Who has time for any of these sports now?
Anyway, the photo of the half empty stands at some recent NFL games makes my heart sing.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/10/49ers-rams-open-seasons-empty-stadiums-photos
Hey, NFL, the customer is always right you know.
The wife beaters are OK?? Really?
mockturtle said...Ever read the lyrics to La Marseillaise
Like the US, the French version is longer than is normally sung. Most people get bored after a few stanza's.
We had to learn the lyrics in my French class, and all I remember is it contained the hardest words, because you don't ever use them.
Plus, French has been simplified after 1850, and the song predates universal French.
But I like the kill them all, and take no prisoners, while watering the fields with their blood part.
Boudreaux: "Does this wine taste funny?"
Thibodeaux: "It tastes like German blood to me."
Boudreaux: "Oh OK, mine has kind of an off-taste like Italian slut or something..."
Howard,
Have you engaged in political protest where you work?
I was in a suburban sports bar last Sunday to watch the NFL games. When the anthem played a black player on the Chiefs remain sitting. One of the guys at the bar joked, "The blacks are going to ruin the NFL, just like they did to my old neighborhood". There was a silence, then the two black gentlemen sitting at the bar burst out laughing.
Diogenes of Sinope said...The wife beaters are OK?? Really?
--
Of course. Don't you remember the fans in the stands wearing them in support?
But you know, when women exiting Trump rallies were beaten up, I don't remember the media upheaval over that.
It's almost as if they were "hacks".
When I was in high school, the sidelines were off-limits to everyone except coaches, players, water boys, and the school nurse.
You look at the NFL games now, and they have 250 people picking their ass, and getting paid for it.
As far as I'm concerned, it is a game for millionaires, and I see no reason for peasants to participate.
Trump is having fun with these idiots. It's not like you can hurt their feelings, anymore than you can hurt the feelings of a hedge fund manager.
We had to learn the lyrics in my French class, and all I remember is it contained the hardest words, because you don't ever use them.
Me too.
But some of those words are fucking awesome. Like sanglant, for instance. "Bloody."
That's just sublime. You know the word for blood, sang. And this is sanglantifying it. Bloodying it.
As for your steak sanglant next time you ever have the opportunity to order one in French. Which I'm not sure is a scenario that could ever really exist. Do they even eat steaks?
Inside France's Fading Love Affair with Horse Meat - MUNCHIES
https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/.../inside-frances-fading-love-affair-with-horse-meat
Mar 12, 2017 - Shrink-wrapped horse steaks continue to have a place on the supermarket shelf between the beef and the lamb, and my local boucherie chevaline—with its horsehead mascot—still does a moderate trade in horse meat. But horse isn't something that frequently rears its head on restaurant menus or my French in-laws' table.
First off, French very steak positive, I do assure you. Eat a lot of it. Vegs/vegans not happy in France, at least not about the eating you do when on business travel to the foreign mothership. The entertainment and dining out will be meat heavy.
Options exist, this is Paris, but Paris ain't Abilene, and of waiting Abilene in Paris takes effort which is not always available forthcoming.
I'd have to agree with rcocean on the football vs rugby question. I was a middle linebacker in college before the rules changes, I also played rugby after my football career one summer. Rugby can be brutal, but it doesn't compare with the brutality and violence of football. Rugby was a walk in the park in comparison, I don't mean that to disparage ruggers, they're tough.
Meanwhile,
Tyrone Slothrop said...
Jupiter said...
They never had any slaves in Brazil.
I presume this is intended ironically. Slavery wasn't abolished in Brazil until 1888.
9/23/17, 12:17 PM
Just think of that! The South could have avoided war all by themselves. They didn't even need Congress to buy them out for the value of their slaves. They could have just sold them all to Brazil!
Win-win-win-win-win, right? Because it must have been better to be a slave in Brazil than in the US, so there's no downside!
The NFL is notorious for the fact that the NFLPA is the weakest players association of all
Professional sports. They are the lowest paid and their contracts except for a few are not guaranteed.
Somebody has no idea what the fuck they're talking about.
Robert Cook: I don't care for any songs intended to arouse feelings of patriotism or group solidarity or whatever the various national or international anthems are intended to do.
Noted. But obviously lots and lots of other human beings do.
They serve to define "us" as different/better than "them," when "we" must all live on the planet together.
"We" do? Since when? "We", as in "human beings", have always occupied the planet on an "us vs. them" basis. Lots of "thems" have been wiped from history by other "thems" who weren't terribly interested in co-existing, and expressed that preference via group-solidarity and esprit de corps harnessed and channeled into superior lethality. Your finger-wagging "must" has been rather impotent over the course of history.
"Groupishness" is part of human nature, and it's not going away. Anybody who wants to reduce inter-group violence and wants human beings to live together in some semblance of co-operation must understand human nature, which has precious few points of overlap with sappy Lennon lyrics. Odd that you're grumbly about attaching patriotism to sportsball events, though. That's exactly the kind of artificial group-identity one would think that avid fans of de-naturing humans would promote as way to wean people away from fundamental attachments to family, place, and culture.
(And I don't believe for a minute that you don't think of yourself as belonging to some "we" that you consider "different/better" than some "them". E.g., the "we" that sneers at patriotic sentiment. Or shall we say, the "we" that purports to know what real patriotism is, as opposed to those song-singing knuckle-draggers.)
I'll order a steak then if I go back. Been forever since I was anywhere near Paris, aside from a more recent train trip through Nord-pas-de-Calais.
As a believer in actually solving problems (instead of just talking about them for a few generations) I have the answer to the NFL's problem. Stadium announcers say: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please stand...or sit...or kneel, as you see fit...to honor America for the playing of our Natioal anthem." QED.
As a kid, we always watched ABC's Wide World of Sports every Saturday afternoon. They mostly showed the usual, but every now and then there'd be ski jumping or speed skating from Norway, hurling or rugby, Aussie rules football, with their hilarious referees in their white lab coats...it was great! And we learned the people across the world all have their own games and contests. Then there was Shell's Wonderful World of Golf with matches between famous pros staged on courses all over the globe. Good stuff.
"The wife beaters are OK, but as soon as an athlete exercises his G_d given right to free speech, then the radical conservatives get hysterically triggered."
You do realize we can boycott something for more than one reason, correct? That it's not an either/or proposition, correct?
And last time I checked, both the Obamacare repeal and funding of the wall fall under the purview of Congress.
But of course we knuckle-draggers don't know that because we've been distracted by Trump's racist dog whistles.
Or something.
You're getting paid millions to play a game. You're getting that money because people want a distraction from shit like politics. Bringing politics into sports is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
It may come to the goose becoming a square meal soon. What if this concussion business is serious and they, I don't know what would they do, outlaw the sport? Make everybody play in three feet thickness of Styrofoam? How much longer are people going to want to watch a sport where they perceive the players as killing themselves and each other? How many athletes will want to play at that risk? How much a part of the culture will it be? Bloodsport is cliche to identify with America, but in strict fact I presume boxing is a much smaller subculture than when Sugar Ray and Jack Dempsey had nightclubs on Broadway.
Per rcocean: Funny how dog whistles can only heard by Democrats and supposed "racists".
I doubt Republicans can hear the racist dog whistles, but the Left-wingers sure can!
Dog whistles can be heard only by DOGS!
"retard mocking"
You mean bowling like it was the Special Olympics or something?
That kind of retard mocking?
Flawed contends: That's the point I was making. W/ current POTUS openly and proudly shoving this stuff in our faces, cons are forced to explain it away to their kids.
I doubt that kids today need many explanations.
If you can hear the whistle, you're the dog.
… he goes off on this which lets lib media bury UN goodwill etc and talk about nothing but race and national anthem.
Trump doesn’t “let” the MSM do anything. Trump trolls the MSM for fun and political profit. And we Trump supporters LOVE it when the MSM prattles on about “race and national anthem,” thereby hastening the MSM’s loss of credibility. The more fake outrage the better.
Goodell should have allowed Trump’s remark to pass without comment. Getting into a PR war with Trump is NOT the best way to prosper. I wonder – what would be a good verbal kill-shot for Goodell? “Fraidy-cat Goodell?”
Long term, the NFL has a bigger problem than a few disgruntled millionaire employees using their employers’ worksites for their stupid protests. My son and I have agreed that my grandson will never play football. Brain injury, destroyed joints – it’s not worth the risk. I believe many other families will do the same.
"How much longer are people going to want to watch a sport where they perceive the players as killing themselves and each other?"
Like I said upthread, I'm really getting tired of all the injuries. After a few games, the team on the field is not the one you came to see.
Just imagine this scenario: No NFL, no college draft. No college draft would mean that college football would be played for fun by [gasp!] real students!
Blogger The Toothless Revolutionary said...
I'll order a steak then if I go back. Been forever since I was anywhere near Paris, aside from a more recent train trip through Nord-pas-de-Calais.
9/23/17, 4:59 PM
F yeah. Pick me up a pack of Gauloise unfiltered while you're there.
Be ready to be unconventional because the French butchers, or meat cutters, section the meat differently than American butchers doing IMPS/NAMP, IIRC, the classic French cut will be a whole muscle eg the onglet, aka our hanger steak, that they make so nice as steak frites in any, any bistro.
In other words it will be hard for you to recognize some of the names and correspond them to your usual sirloin or ribeye. For instance you will see onglet, entrecote, tournedos, and there's even a steakhouse chain or three, you might find a sister of this place
Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecote New York
590 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022
(212) 758-3989
https://g.co/kgs/nymUUT
Have fun, and if any terrorists show up while youre there, represent! ;)
I think the famous breed of cattle is Limousin but a nice place will send you home happy. Have you ever been to Peter Luger's? In Brooklyn or in Great Neck?
"Robert Cook said...
"Why do sporting events even have the Star-Spangled Banner played or sung, and why is the flag a part of the proceedings?"
Believe it or not, there was a time when most Americans felt a warm glow from seeing the flag displayed and singing our national anthem. In short, people liked it.
If you don't believe me, remember that George M. Cohan always used to close his shows with "It's a Grand Old Flag," because it ensured applause and cheers.
Avoid the street vendor crepes..think that was the source of a food poisoning episode.
It is almost like the athletes think visiting the WH is a right rather than a privilege....
Yeah, just cut it off.
"No college draft would mean that college football would be played for fun by [gasp!] real students!"
I've always thought college football should be limited to real students.
"I've always thought college football should be limited to real students."
SC is winning games this season with a freshman non-scholarship kicker. Three FGs today.
Democrats have a vital interest in keeping Blacks impoverished. It does seem wrong for Trump to goad one of the few pockets of Black wealth into destroying itself.
You got it, BL. Haven't been in Great Neck lately although was in Red Hook in Brooklyn. Speaking of which, one of the best foods in the region period I had was at the Red Pheasant in Cape Cod - specifically the Long Island Duckling. That's a dish you'll never forget.
"Little Christian children let's gather around for today's homeschool lesson:
Very fine people = white folks who join in w/ a group of self identified white supremacists w/ torches.
Sons of bitches = black folks who kneel to silently draw attention to lingering effects of racial bias in America (e.g. the very fine white folks w/ torches).
Now let's pray so that we can ask Jesus for tax cuts for job creators."
I'm not a real sports fan just a Packers fan. But from the outside it looks very bad for the future of major league football. The players have told the fans to shove it, being sure that the fans are so hooked on football that they will put up with anything. Trump has pointed out that the players openly disrespect the fans. The fans are meeting in small muttering groups discussing their response. A response will ruin the fun. But so will no response.
Maybe a cooling off period, 2017 The Year Without THE GAME?
"Very fine people = white folks who join in w/ a group of self identified white supremacists w/ torches."
It's just gotten so tediuos.
Between the protests and the brain injury issue, the NFL is losing viewership for multiple reasons. Too bad..since I'm gearing up to milk that cash cow.
Trump goes to Alabama, the heartland of American racism and both models and encourages retaliation against black men exercising their right to speak out on matters of public concern. Ugly and wrong but not surprising.
""Very fine people = white folks who join in w/ a group of self identified white supremacists w/ torches."
It's just gotten so tediuos."
It's POTUS calling these folks very fine people. That makes it impossible for y'all to deny institutionalized racism is still here, as before:
https://www.theroot.com/jackie-robinson-in-1972-i-cannot-stand-and-sing-the-an-1790856572
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