* If Scott Walker stays in the top tier of GOP presidential candidates for the next several debates, it’s likely some opponent will bring up the sports-related bill he recently signed off on. It has big-government overreach all over it. The bill that the Wisconsin governor signed allows government to subsidize a new basketball arena for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. Say what you want about economic synergies and a jumpstart for downtown renaissance, another arena-shakedown (without it, the Bucks will seriously consider moving to Seattle or Las Vegas) scenario is nothing a Republican candidate would want to defend during primary season.
* While we all wish his departure had happened in a classier fashion, who among us would begrudge Joe Maddon early success in his first season as manager of the Chicago Cubs? And he’s been having it. Look for the Cubs to make the playoffs and then, who knows, maybe that 106-year-old, World Series drought will end on his watch. In the meantime, T-shirts with a halo of white hair, black glasses and the words: “A Shot & A Beer” are big sellers outside Wrigley Field.
In a brief interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Maddon, who still has his offseason home in South Tampa, was, well, Maddon. “I really enjoy living there,” he said. “I miss the people that we worked with a lot. …To be very honest, I don’t miss the Trop at all. I just hope they get a new ballpark.”
Here’s a recent New York Times take on Maddon: “He is 61, with a shock of white hair and gristle, and black-frame glasses that could pass for hipster if not for the thickness. He loves to bike around town and chat up fans. He is a beatnik bear comfortable in his own fur.”
* For Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, it was a teachable moment. The All-Pro with two Super Bowl rings has gone public in his criticism of trophies awarded his two young, elementary-school-age sons for their participation in an athletics event run by a former teammate. He said just “showing up” didn’t “entitle” them to trophies–and he is returning them. Here’s hoping others will notice. (Here’s also hoping he made a convincing case to his kids.) Perhaps it will help make the case against the standards-diluting, self-esteem-curriculum movement that too typically rewards participation as much as accomplishment.