Cheap Seats
He’s got a point
Two weeks of Wimbledon, two weeks of British reporters and Anna Kournikova are enough for Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom, who questions both Kournikova’s regard for the press and its coverage of her.
Mainly, its coverage of her uncoverage.
Writes Albom: “Kournikova may not be the world’s most sympathetic figure … but none of that means she deserves this treatment by the media. It’s fine to enjoy a player’s looks, but leading your sports stories with it is absurd.
“For one thing, if a man does this, it’s damned unfair, since when was the last time you read a sports story by a woman that began, `Michael Jordan, with sweat running sensually down his high cheekbones and bulging biceps, kept the female fans panting as he rose like a phoenix, his shorts riding high on his thighs … ”’
Yes, we hear you. But we’ll run her mug shot anyway.
The end result
The host of Seattle radio station 107.7 The End’s morning show, Andy Savage, will put to the test the statement that there is not a bad seat at the Seattle Mariners new ballpark SAFECO Field.
Starting at 6 a.m., Tuesday, Savage will stage a marathon sit-in. Savage’s goal is to become the first person to sit in every seat in the 47,000-plus capacity ballpark.
“Everyone in Seattle is absolutely pumped about the opening of SAFECO Field, including the staff and on-air team at The End. We have heard there isn’t a bad seat in the house. But, just in case, we want Andy Savage to confirm this rumor for us. Sitting in every seat, while raising money for a good cause, sounds like a winner to me,” said The End’s program director Phil Manning.
KNDD listeners are being asked to pledge $10 and guess how long it will take Savage to sit in every seat. The winning guess gets a pair of tickets to the July 15 Inaugural Game at SAFECO Field.
Our guess? Too long.
That’ll be the day
“Do you think we’re all trying a little too hard when it comes to this women’s World Cup soccer thing?,” writes Rick Morrissey in the Chicago Tribune.
“It seems a bit overdone and a bit excessive, like a Mickey Rooney film festival. We seem to be telling ourselves that if we blow it up big enough, women’s soccer eventually will become big.
“I’ve heard all about Mia Mania, a condition marked by red, white and blue fingernails and the type of shrill screaming normally reserved for Leonardo DiCaprio. But let me say this: The day Mia Hamm becomes as popular as Michael Jordan, as some suggest will happen, Richard Simmons becomes the national spokesman for Skoal chewing tobacco.”
It never hurts to dream
Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Rosenbloom received a fax from Peg Wolfe, who had just heard Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson say Kobe Bryant reminded him “a lot of Michael Jordan.”
Wrote Wolfe: “Sure, just like Madeleine Albright puts me in mind of Pamela Anderson Lee.”
The last word …
“And by acting now, he got a lovely highlights film and a football phone.”
- Gary Shelton, of the St. Petersburg Times writing about Tex Cobb’s $10.7 million judgment against Sports Illustrated.