- MLB’s All-Star game will be in Cleveland next year. The official logo has already been revealed–and the demeaning caricature Chief Wahoo is nowhere in sight. Just Cleveland’s tradition of baseball and the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Moreover, next year the hometown Indians will no longer feature a Wahoo logo on their uniforms.
But, no, Indians’ ownership didn’t finally do the right thing for the right reason across the board when it comes to Chief Wahoo. They were following PR protocol. Chief Wahoo will remain, alas, on Indians’ merchandise indefinitely.
- Baseball–from Little League to Major League–gets a lot of our attention right now. But there’s also softball. The U.S. just won the world championship in Japan. Most notably, the head coach was USF’s Ken Ericksen.
- For the first time, the NFL will feature male cheerleaders this season. Thanks, LA Rams and New Orleans Saints. Just what the NFL shouldn’t need: Another reminder that the erstwhile “No Fun League” is now as much about show business as it is about football.
- So, the NCAA is officially easing up on agent contact with athletes. It was inevitable. Too bad basketball and football don’t have serious minor league systems like Major League Baseball. That’s where most blue-chip 13th graders–shy of LeBron James and Kobi Bryant talent–should go instead of becoming oxymoronic “student athletes.”