Freeman's column pretty much capsulizes what I detest about certain types of sportswriter. Wrote Freeman: "It is always interesting to observe what behavior fans and media will tolerate from athletes. A hard-working Jaguars safety asks for more money and a trade and it's Armageddon. Daly hasn't played but one or two decent rounds of golf lately, abuses his body, is accused of smacking women around and fans are lined up five rows deep outside the ropes to get his autograph. Remarkable." Freeman is either stupid, or he thinks his readers are. When a "hard-working safety" threatens to bolt the team, the outrage is directly proportionate to the quality of his play and the amount of money he wants, which is important because any raise he receives goes against the cap. Unless the Jags are ready to win a Super Bowl, more money for that guy will hurt the team. Giving in to that safety will allow the team to remain at the least at the same level, but with little hope for improvement unless they can spend more to upgrade other positions or his level of play improves. If Daly is waddling all over the golf course and missing cuts left and right, exactly who is it that he is letting down? His fans? Nonsense. His fans know who he is, and what they're getting when they hitch their wagons to his star. He's only letting himself down. And so what if he is? Who suffers if he can't rise to prominence again after winning two tour events and a truckload of perhaps undeserved attention? Nobody except him. TrimSpa will abandon him if he packs on more pounds after serving as the male Anna Nicole Smith, TrimSpa's other compensated endorser. If he double-bogeys every other hole in the opening rounds, there will be no reason for the Redneck people to pay him to screw up. I don't know if there is enough for Daly to prevail in a suit, but it's pretty clear that Freeman went out of his way to make Daly seem worse than he is -- especially with the comparison to Shawn Kemp, who is infamous for philandering and not paying support to mothers of his illegitimate children, not for being a multiple married father. A little bit of context to his last reported domestic violence incident also would have been useful; it was thirteen years ago. There are so many people who are printed on dead trees several times a week who look down on bloggers because we aren't "professional." The only thing that makes a pro a pro is that they get paid for what they do -- it hasn't a thing to do with quality. From what I read of Freeman, he's one of those guys who is employed in just about every Major League metropolis; the designated urinator, who writes mean things "just to sell papers," even when he can smell his own putrid breath and knows he's full of schtuff and nonsense.
Daly hasn't played but one or two decent rounds of golf lately In light of that, it was awfully clever of him to finish 5 under par, tied for 15th (earning 46,286 in the process) in the greatest championship in the world three weeks ago. ...who burst onto the scene because chicks dig the long ball. All those wasted years of practice, when it turns out your world ranking is based on what the 'chicks' love (suddenly got a lot more respect for Monty). I can't believe someone pays that nobber to write a column - grammatical errors aside (and I suppose an editor has to take some of the blame for those) - there's no story. It's like this Muppet just woke up the other day and thought 'Daly's a fat, alcoholic wife-beater and Duval's in a slump, and yet everyone still likes both of them more than they like me!' and then spewed out a mockery of a column about it.
mAybe it was this guy who tried to interview Kenny Roger's at the police station?
In other news, welcome to L.N. Smithee, an apparently thoughtful and learned new member! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to see if I have putrid breath. I already know about the being full of schtuff thing.
I guess Freeman's trying to say that talented sportsmen in golf like Daly and Duval get a free pass that others don't get. For example, rcade asks "on what does he base the idea that Duval isn't trying?" Very good and fair question, but also one that doesn't get asked when it comes time to bash athletes in football and basketball. Anyone familiar with media law will find that there's not much of a leg for Daly to stand on.
