I'm not indicting all newspapers, but I'm betting that most front pages of sports sections around the country look a lot like the one in this morning's Sacramento Bee. (Monday 31, 2017)
The following are the four front page articles: #1: NBA Kings hire an assistant GM. #2: Baseball' Hall of Fame Inductions. #3 Arik Armstead, Offensive tackle for the 49er looses a bunch of weight and can run faster. #4 The Dodgers kick the sh-t out of the Giants.
Of the four articles headlining the front page, only one deserved that exclusive position: men inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame. I enjoyed the read. Congratulations for long and worthy careers.
The other three, are you kidding me? An "assistant" on the front page? A porker loosing weight so he a can "tag" a quarterback in the first couple of days of practice. Do I really care? Does it mean, he'll be able to "tackle" a quarterback in a real game? Not a given. And a bunch of looser loosing to a a hated rival. The Giants' are in last place. Read my lips, LAST place. Who gives a sh-t?
These three articles took the place of the following sports news: Caleb Dressel won his 7th gold medal of the world aquatics championship in Budapest, Hungry. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. He's the first swimmer, ever, to win 3 golds in one night in a major swimming event. Dressel's seven golds tie a record set by the illustrious Michael Phelps. I would have liked to read more about the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. There were a bunch of women swimmers competing and taking golds. And, an American won the 27 meter high dive. I think the Aquatic World Championship is far more interesting than Armstead shedding pounds, so he can be quicker off his feet.
Two other stories deserved front page news that wound up on the back pages. The women's soccer team came from behind in spectacular fashion to beat Brazil and move into the final round of the Tournament of Nations. Bernard Langer won the Senior British Open for his record-extending 10th senior major title and 5th in the last 10. Come on, don't those two accomplishments sound a hell of a lot more interesting than news of the basement dwelling and desultory Giants or the King's hiring an "assistant."
One might ask, why did the Bee give preference to an "assistant", to "weight loss" and to an "ass-kicking?" Here's the answer. Sports editors pander to the so-called "major" sports. The Giants don't deserve front page news. The 49ers were the second worst team in the NFL last season. How do you spell "worst.?" Not best. Not even mediocre. You tell me why Armstead's conditioning deserves to be on the front page and Julie Ertz is relegated to a couple of sentences in the back of the section. Ah, man, are we back to that tired, old gender thing?
Sports sections should devote their front pages to sporting accomplishments - to deeds worthy of our best dreams..
Here's a thought in honor of Bernard Langer, who is becoming more famous as a professional golfer in his senior years. It's the last four lines of Alfred Lord Tennyson's Ulysses. In the poem, Ulysses, the Greek epic hero, is growing old and wants to go out on one more adventure. He's exhorting his old sailors and comrades to join him, but they are reluctant.
How dull it is to make an end,
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use,
As though to breathe were life.
Bernard Langer is not simply breathing, as he grows old, he's doing, like Ulysses, setting an example for all of us seniors to follow.
