A Dream Come True

Photo. GolfDigest

Up late watching “SportsCenter” and their Picture of the Week contest comes up. The candidates included:

1) Tampa Bay winning the ALCS and celebrating a World Series berth.
2) A college football ref tackling a player, which was all over ESPN’s shows all week.
3) Tiger Woods caddying for some guy who won a “Caddie for a Day” contest.

So they asked the viewers to pick the most memorable image, and which one got it? I was sure it would be Tampa Bay, maybe the ref, but no … it was Tiger.

Now let’s see, this wouldn’t possibly have ANYTHING to do with the fact that you had the Black man who’s taken over golf (and married and procreated with a skinny blonde model in the process) playing the subservient role to a “regular” White dude, would it? To a certain segment of society, some of who will admit it and most of who wouldn’t, the image of Tiger caddying for one of their own is their idea of him being in his rightful place.

PETA vs. Aretha

Apparently these people haven’t been informed that Aretha Franklin can do whatever she damn well wants. From Yahoo Entertainment‘s “OMG!” files:

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has locked horns with a new celebrity fur-wearer, the Queen of soul, Aretha Franklin, who they have named the Biggest Loser in an online poll of 2008′s Worst-Dressed Celebrities.

The organization’s vice president, Dan Matthews, lashed out at the legendary songstress after she was spotted in a fur coat at the Grammys almost two weeks ago.

“Music lovers may think of you as a ‘queen,’ but to animal lovers, you are a court jester,” Matthews wrote in his letter to the star. “I’m sorry, Aretha, but your furs make you look like a clown.”

Matthews suggested Franklin should part with her animal-skin coats and give them to the needy.

“Why not shed the old-fashioned look that adds pounds to your frame and detracts from your beautiful voice? Won’t you donate your furs to the poor as ‘queen of compassion,’ Mariah Carey, did? You’ll get a tax credit for the donation, and we at PETA will all sing your praises,” he said.

But PETA didn’t stop there. On their blog, official PETA blogger, “Jack” referred to Franklin as looking like “a walrus in a cat” by wearing a white fur to the event.

See, this is why people can’t respect PETA. Even if their hearts are in the right place, they can’t help acting like a bunch of asses.

Hating on Vince Young

Why does ESPN’s Merrill Hodge hate on Vince Young so much? Before this week’s Titans/Jaguars game he was asking sarcastically, “How long is he going to be in this infancy stage?” Vince is in his SECOND YEAR as an NFL quarterback!! How many star QBs were killing in their second year? Carson Palmer didn’t even play in his first year. Admittedly, Vince has some games where his passing stats are weak, but as awful as the QB position is in general right now, why does Hodge spend so much time hating on one of the few QBs who can actually win games?

Why WOULDN’T they play?

ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” did a great story on the football non-rivalry between the University of Delaware and Delaware State University. Basically, it’s two small schools in a small state who for SOME reason have never played each other. Everyone at DSU — an HBCU — thinks it’s racial. And it’s hard to argue with them.

Watch the rerun if you can. The way ESPN showed the differences between the school’s atmospheres was hilarious.

The story of a famous Dog…

The same week they let Don Imus back on the air, “Dog the Bounty Hunter” gets pulled off the air. I only watched “Dog” once — at my uncle’s house since it’s one of his favorite shows. I don’t know much about him except he’s almost old enough to get away with the “That’s just how old people talk” thing, but not quite there. Just like the Imus case, I’m sure A&E didn’t consider yanking the show until it started costing them money; when Taco Bell and KFC and other started pulling their ads. It’s unfortunate that networks/radio stations only react when the advertisers get involved, but at the same time I’m glad that at least some of these major companies who have that advertising clout and taking a stand. Then again, maybe it’s just PR from them. The way Taco Bell exploits Latino culture, I’m pretty sure they’re not some bastion of racial harmony.