Phil Mushnick
From Philly to L.A., our sports “culture” was on full review this week.
The Flyers were three goals up and minutes away from eliminating the Penguins last Sunday when, instead of a congratulatory chant of something like, “Let’s go Flyers,” the crowd chanted an obscenity toward Sidney Crosby.
In L.A., after the Artist Formerly Known As Ron Artest assaulted the Thunder’s James Harden with an atomic elbow, Artest, ejected, was cheered as he headed to the locker room — and to his third suspension of seven or more games.
Still, pandering to the bad acts is a specialty of modern society. Last May, days after the NBA bestowed an award for citizenship on Artest — apparently not being fined or suspended for a few minutes is deserving of a lollipop — he was suspended for a playoff game for clotheslining the Mavericks’ J.J. Barea.
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PEACE MAKER? Fans cheer Lakers star Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, after he was ejected, and later suspended seven games, after throwing an elbow to the head of Oklahoma City’s James Harden.
Hey, remember what those champs at Nike chose as its Olympic ad campaign: “You don’t win silver, you lose gold.”
More: Seeing how Fordham University has become noted for future sportscasters and newscasters, the school asked two professors to check in on ESPN Radio’s move to KISS 98.7 FM, which included R&B music.
Dr. Paul Levinson, professor of communications and media studies:
“The purchase [actually, the rental] of KISS by ESPN is indicative of the general shift of music listening from radio to the Web, which has been going on for more than a decade, but is still accelerating with iPhones and iPads as music-listening devices. Sports on the other hand, still has a powerful voice via radio.”
Dr. Mark Naison, professor of African-American studies, sees it far differently: “By contrast, I would say the generation of black people who listen to KISS-FM are dying off rapidly as a result of stress-induced illnesses that result from living in a racist (but post-racial) society.”
Really? Geez.
No mention from Dr. Naison, however, that this sustaining racism will allow ESPN 1050-AM to become New York’s first Spanish-language sports station.
And more: Good chat Wednesday between Howie Rose and Josh Lewin during Mets-Marlins on WFAN.
Rose noted that Marlin Logan Morrison was wearing No. 5, originally retired by the Marlins as a memorial to Carl Barger, the first president of the team who died suddenly few months before the Marlins played their first game in 1993.
The No. 5 was chosen, said Rose, because Joe DiMaggio had been Barger’s favorite. Unretiring that number, Rose said, “Rubs me the wrong way.”
Lewin agreed, saying it reminded him of when the Padres renamed Jack Murphy Stadium Qualcomm Stadium. Murphy, the brother of the late Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy, was a San Diego columnist who worked to have a big league team in town.
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Ron Artest, James Harden, ESPN, Howie Rose, Flyers
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