We came across a sportswriter for the Nevada Appeal named Joe Santoro. After a quick scan through his column, we realized one thing. Santoro needs to have his poetic license revoked, or at least suspended. In the one column we looked at, Santoro made no less than three of the most off-base comments we have seen. Seriously, they were Freeman-esque.
(1) He writes: “ We understand that college basketball coaches never do anything wrong. Just ask Bobby Knight. But John Calipari owes everyone in Memphis and the entire state of Kentucky a huge apology. Calipari gave the NCAA Tournament title game away to the Kansas Jayhawks. Then again, we probably should have seen one of the biggest chokes in NCAA Tournament history coming.” (emphasis added)
Our comment: Why does Calipari owe Kentucky an apology? We’re pretty sure that Memphis is in the state of Tennessee, and we don’t think Memphis impacted Kentucky’s season this year.
(2) He writes: “The NFL players are reportedly about to get rid of union chief Gene Upshaw. Upshaw seemingly did a decent job all these years, especially in a sport where 90 percent of the players are merely interchangeable parts. The NFL is as strong as ever. Players are making more money than ever. If any union boss in sports needs to be fired, it is Donald Fehr. Fehr is the reason why performance enhancing drugs nearly turned baseball into pro wrestling.”
Our comment: So the player representative who gives the players guaranteed contracts and does not permit drug testing, thereby enabling them to extend their careers and hit more home runs, thereby making more money, is the guy who needs to be fired while the guy who was called a lapdog to the owners doesn’t? I wonder if this writer understands exactly who unions seek to protect. Here’s a hint: it’s not the fans, the owners, or Congress.
(3) He writes: “[Trent] Johnson won’t have all of those pesky Stanford academic hoops to jump through at LSU. And, let’s be honest, nobody even notices basketball in Louisiana until the Tigers’ football team is finished around the first week of January. It’s the perfect scenario for a hoops coach.
Our comment: Um, it’s a perfect scenario to coach at a school where no one cares about college basketball? What’s perfect about that? If you intend to be a failure of a coach and have no one notice, this is a great scenario. If you plan on winning and recruiting, it helps to have an interested fan base - we think.
Our final note on Mr. Santoro - we have a bridge we’d like to sell you just north of Memphis, Kentucky. Interested?
For the full article in all its glory, check here. And if you catch any more, let us know.