You Put Your Politics Into My Sports!

Listen to Anthony Fisher and Matt Welch talk about the bloody intersection between policy and sports on Sirius XM channel 121 at noon ET

ESPN

Today on SiriusXM's Insight Hour (channel 121), instead of talking about how the political arena is a den of vituperative stupidity, we'll instead discuss starting at noon ET how the political arena has annexed waaaay to much of our sporting arenas. Along with resident Reason sports fanatic Anthony L. Fisher, I'll be talking about:

1) The betting, ethics, and joys of March Madness.

2) Why Cubs Manager Joe Maddon is a voice of libertarian sanity in a nanny state world run amok.

3) How the White Sox bungled take-your-kid-to-work-everyday day.

4) How baseball owners are bravely risking their own livelihoods (or not) by opposing Donald Trump.

We may also get to football concussions, and—if there aren't enough sports callers at 877-974-7487—how capital-L Libertarians (and the rest of us) should feel about #NeverTrumper conservatives seeking to hijack the nearest available Third Party to deny The Donald his riot-free prize. Turn on your satellite!

Comments

[Old Man With Candy]

My wife screams at the TV every time Bob Costas comes on. "SHUT UP, YOU SANCTIMONIOUS GUN-GRABBING PIECE OF SHIT!"

I do love that woman.

[Crusty Juggler]

Costas, that narcissistic doofus, sported (and probably still sports) a horrible dye job. Laughing at his hair is fun.

[An Innocent Man]

Seriously. Is there a more useless person in sports than Costas?

[GILMORE?]

He was the first broadcaster to increase female viewership.

or so i've been told. its something like that. Costas helped usher in the "kinder, gentler side of sports", and consequently he is loathed by everyone.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

To be fair, he was (is?) damn good at his job.

Now, I could do without his politics. They all sound like they just took up political philosophy as a hobby.

[wareagle]

I'm going for was. He has become on those folks who takes himself far too seriously, who forgets that he's covering sports - SPORTS - and who wants desperately to be seen as something far more than that.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Tony Romo.

[Marginalized. And LOVING it!]

Lovie Smith?

[Playa Manhattan.]

You have a child bride?

[Swiss Servator]

Would he have any other kind?!

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Bob Costas has fancied himself a real journalist ever since that Pulitzer fell into his lap

[Crusty Juggler]

The Presidential seal is on that bracket.

[Hugh Akston]

It will be in the Presidential Library some day. Or maybe part of a National Archives exhibit about the moral embarrassments of the 20th and 21st centuries.

[Crusty Juggler]

Has he even bothered to give a press conference yet this year?

[Citizen X]

Why should he deign to show himself before us smallfolk? It's not like he can run for the presidency again. I bet he doesn't even get out of bed before 10 anymore, except on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are fun.

[Swiss Servator]

ESPN - Salon with score updates.

[JWW]

The Elite's Sports Progressive Network

[Swiss Servator]

Alternatively, Eastern Sports Pride Network

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I completely cut ESPN out of my diet. Lord me, they're annoying.

[Rhywun]

baseball owners are bravely risking their own livelihoods (or not) by opposing Donald Trump

If baseball owners are against Trump then I'm for him.

[Matt Welch]

I'm going to read this on-air.

[Citizen X]

Jesus, Matt, like Rhywun's head needs to get any more swole up.

[Crusty Juggler]

3) How the White Sox bungled take-your-kid-to-work-everyday day.

This is such a strange story. I assume Williams spoke to LaRoche because other players had complained. The kid was there almost everyday, both home and on the road, and had his own locker! It is so peculiar. However, I am on the side of the White Sox, because Chipper Jones is on the side of LaRoche.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman are also on the side of LaRoche.

LaRoche was a class act while he was here in Washington, and I was definitely sorry the team let him go. The idea of walking out on $13M to spend more time with your son is just mind-boggling to me (though not a parent yet, maybe i'll fee differently in August), but the man knows his priorities. I don't begrudge him that.

[Swiss Servator]

He will have to get by on the $71,000,000 he made before this year.

[Idle Hands]

baseball reference is awesome.

[Idle Hands]

I was kind of happy he left, I had a feeling he was going to regress terribly. But yes he seemed like a decent person.

[Crusty Juggler]

He was not good last year, and I am sure the Sox are happy to get out from under that thirteen million they owed him.

[Swiss Servator]

Regress from hitting .207?!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I saw his stats yesterday which only added to my 'dude, you got that money hitting barely above two bucks and you leave?'

This is borderline 'I wish I had your problems' stuff.

[Marginalized. And LOVING it!]

Yep, it certainly falls under the "rich man's problem" category.

[Idle Hands]

when he was a national he was good.

[Crusty Juggler]

I do not think it is as simple as "spending time with his son." He had a handshake deal, apparently, with the White Sox that allowed his son to be with the team as often as he liked, and the kid (I think he is 13 or 14), was there everyday. He was in the locker room, and on road trips, etc.

The White Sox management asked him to cut it back a bit, say, from 100% of the time to 25% of the time, and LaRoche said no, and quit.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Yeah, he had a similar arrangement when he was in Washington

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Bah. Shouldn't the kid be in school or something?

$13 million over two years (was it?) at, say, 5% return is some coin to leave on the table over such a matter. Yeh, I get this whole bond with my son stuff and the handshake deal but man, that's some decision.

[Marginalized. And LOVING it!]

a handshake deal, apparently, with the White Sox that allowed his son to be with the team as often as he liked

And who would expect a grown man to want his teenage kid at his side 100% of the time, when nobody else has done it when making the same request? Yes, I'm accusing LaRoche of misleading Williams.

[Rhywun]

the man knows his priorities

Fair enough but I wouldn't want other people's kids hanging around me every day at work either. One or two days a year is bad enough.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

His character, from what I gather, is unquestioned and it's to be commended for sure.

"But would it have been bad to say, 'hey kid. Love ya. But you see, daddy still has a job and, well you see, the team is giving me all this crazy money and I'd, well, hey you know your mom loves to vacation at the Cadillac Ranch, right? That classy stuff doesn't pay itself! So, lemme play this out and get this money that will afford us an even better lifestyle! It's not like you're banned or anything. You still get to be a part of this amazing job 99% of the population will never ever get to see and you've already seen a lot!"

/ruffles kid's hair.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Sorry for the opening quotes in the wrong place.

[Marginalized. And LOVING it!]

Kinda makes you understand why Papelbon tried to strangle Harper.

[Marginalized. And LOVING it!]

It was not almost every day. It was every single moment dad was at the park.. Home AND road.

The White Sox sucked ass 3 years running and the boss took away some perks. AKA, shape up or ship out. AKA, we finished in last place with you, we can finish in last place without you.

I think it's funny that LaRoche is being portrayed as a "family man" when it's obvious he's just a narcissistic pussy and a lousy teammate.

[GILMORE?]

i'd tune in to listen to Welch & Co. hem and haw about almost anything...

...but i draw the line at baseball. Isn't it the !@*(& off-season? is it ever the off-season for baseball people*?

(*noted = all my friends who currently love baseball? were the kids who never played sports in highschool. Why that is, i don't know. but it seems to be something that happens to dorks when they hit their 30s = they become baseball fanatics)

You'd think there'd be *something* of broader appeal worth killing an hour on.

Like = "Zumba = The New Forbidden Dance of Afghanistan", or "Anne Frank House: Now a Theme-Park/Ride"

[Hugh Akston]

It's spring training for MLB right now.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Hey! Some of us dorks who didn't play sports in high school have been baseball fans since well before our thirties, thank you very much!

[Mickey Rat]

It is not the off season. Baseball is in spring training. That sport does have an absurdly long season though.

[GILMORE?]

"" Baseball is in spring training""

Maybe you and Hugh should flip cards or something.

[Hugh Akston]

These masturbation euphemisms are becoming etc etc.

[Rhywun]

Is "spring training" what every other sport calls "preseason", or is it something else?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Why that is, i don't know. but it seems to be something that happens to dorks when they hit their 30s = they become baseball fanatics

Stats.

[Crusty Juggler]

You leave Fangraphs reader alone!

[GILMORE?]

It sure as hell isn't because of the *action packed dynamism* of the game.

[Hugh Akston]

The average MLB game features 18 minutes of action in a three hour game, compared to the fast-paced and action-packed NFL, which features an average of 11 minutes of action over a three hour game.

[GILMORE?]

Thus proving that baseball fans obsess about statistics and hate real sports.

[Hugh Akston]

What exactly constitutes a real sport? A bunch of dudes in tights on a pile grinding on each other?

[GILMORE?]

A bunch of dudes in tights on a pile grinding on each other?

between this and the masturbation comment, you're getting a little creepy.

[Aloysious]

...a den of vituperative stupidity

Nice. I'm borrowing this.

[Swiss Servator]

Great....the new Name for H&R?!

[Citizen X]

Postrel's been calling us that for years.

[GILMORE?]

Awkward silence

[GILMORE?]

Confession = yeah, i'm listening

That guy doesn't sound like he's (originally) from Georgia

but he raises good points about the craziness of the amateur-to-pro eligibility dynamics in the US

I personally think there might be something to learn from the way the UK/EU does sports which from a mostly-outside perspective is more "free market".

They have those 'farm leagues'. kids from the age of 16 are basically prepped to become pro soccer plays.

I might not fully understand it, but my impression is that because there's no real "big market" for college sports in the EU, that everything is run more like a business, and there's a wider range of 'employment'

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Confession = yeah, i'm listening

Siriusly?

::hangs head and awaits narrowed gaze from Swiss::

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

So is the race still between Trump, Cruz and the other guy?

[GILMORE?]

Its a race between America and DOOM

[GILMORE?]

Matt advocates a slippery slope of permissiveness = first we allow baseball players to dip tobacco, next we'll have airmen guarding nuclear weapons snorting crystal meth on the job

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I listened yesterday for the first time since I happened to be in the car. Nice to hear you extremists on air.

[GILMORE?]

I'm just glad Matt and Anthony got past the whole "kids in locker rooms" and "twigs and berries" comments without taking callers.

[GILMORE?]

Athletes who have endorsed Trump

Clay Buchholz, Major League Baseball baseball player
Zeb Colter, professional wrestling manager
John Daly, professional golfer
Johnny Damon, retired MLB player
Ted DiBiase, former professional wrestler
Mike Ditka, retired NFL player, coach and television commentator
Bill Elliott, retired NASCAR driver
Chase Elliott, NASCAR driver
Hulk Hogan, former professional wrestler
Frank Kaminsky, current NBA center/forward
Bob Knight, Hall of Fame basketball coach
Jerry Lawler, professional wrestler
Matt Light, retired NFL offensive tackle
Nick Mangold, All-Pro NFL center for the New York Jets
Mark Martin, retired NASCAR driver
Shawne Merriman, retired NFL linebacker
Ryan Newman, NASCAR driver
Paul O'Neill, retired MLB baseball player
Tito Ortiz, former UFC light-heavyweight champion
Terrell Owens, retired NFL wide receiver and television personality
David Ragan, NASCAR driver
John Rocker, retired MLB baseball player
Dennis Rodman, retired professional basketball player and television personality
Latrell Sprewell, retired NBA All-Star basketball player
Mike Tyson, professional boxer
Herschel Walker, retired NFL running back
Chris Weidman, former UFC middleweight champion[

I sense a lot of anger, WWE, and NASCAR

[GILMORE?]

I mean seriously....what does it say that the people who endorse you share certain...notable personality characteristics?

- Mike Tyson, Dennis Rodman, John Rocker, Latrell Sprewell, Paul O'Neil, Bobby *@_#@#)@# Knight,.....??

It sounds like a "Monsters of Anger Management"-World Tour

[Marginalized. And LOVING it!]

One man's anger is another woman's social justice.

[Swiss Servator]

I don't even bother with ESPN for hockey anymore... I just go to NHL.com

[Hugh Akston]

I guess? I mean maybe you experience the same sense of cognitive deadening and the ebb of precious life as it slips away that I do when people discuss football or, Galt forbid, the World Cup/Olympics. But I love baseball.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

No fair! I'm telling!

WEEEELCH!!!

[Swiss Servator]

The only good thing about baseball is sitting in a minor league park on a pleasant early summer day, having a beer and relaxing. On TV, it is best a background thing...on radio....*snore*

[GILMORE?]

The only good thing about baseball is sitting in a minor league park on a pleasant early summer day, having a beer and relaxing.

Yes. as an excuse to drink beers outdoors on a summer evening, its a decent one.

[Citizen X]

I bought a house with a big, nice porch specifically so i wouldn't have to go to baseball games to do that.

[Citizen X]

He said "real sport," not "Canadian sport."

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Nothing, I mean NOTHING beats overtime hockey in the playoffs and extra time in a critical one-off in soccer. A tennis marathon maybe.

The intensity is off the charts.

[GILMORE?]

what are the Russians and the Scandinavians? pickled herring?

i'm not really a hockey fan, but claiming 'internationalism' makes something more of a sport (or purely-American sports being the only genuine ones) would mean either having to accept that Cricket is more legitimate than baseball... or that baseball is more-sporty than Rugby. Both options are unacceptable.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Why did you leave the Finns, Czechs, Swiss, and Slovaks out, hm?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

The only Scandinavians who play hockey well are the Swedes.

[GILMORE?]

because i don't really know shit about hockey