Archive for the 'Scoop Jackson is an idiot' Category

Oct 18

[SCOOP JACKSON] Scoop Jackson Would Like To ‘Clarify’ His Idiocy

BJ Upton, Scoop Jackson is an idiot Cork Gaines No Comments »

Earlier this week we took exception to some comments made about BJ Upton by Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com. Among the most egregious statements made by Mr. Jackson was the suggestion that inner-city kids will relate better to Upton because he is occasionally “lazy”.

At some point yesterday, a “clarification” was added to the column.

In my column about B.J. Upton, I wrote something that sparked a reaction.

The paragraph read: “The fact that Upton’s not perfect makes him perfect. His propensity to be lazy (as witnessed in August when he ‘decided’ not to run hard on three different occasions), the fact that [Joe] Maddon literally pulled him off the field after not running out a double-play ground ball, the meaningless error in the seventh inning of Game 4 that allowed questions about his lack of focus to surface. All display a flaw in him that almost works to his advantage when kids and wannabe baseball players look at him and say ‘I’m not perfect either, but look, he’s still standing.’”

For some readers, my choice of words created a misunderstanding. When the word “lazy” appeared in the context of a story about black youth, some concluded I was implying African-American kids would find the flaw of Upton being “lazy” acceptable and endearing.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Upton has survived and triumphed despite numerous flaws. I mentioned several, in an attempt to show that it is his collection of imperfections that make him so publicly “human” — something not always so clearly visible with athletes today. That is also why I chose to finish the paragraph with the image of a kid — any kid, regardless of race, color or creed — who might identify with that humanity, realizing “I’m not perfect either, but look, he’s still standing.” My point is to highlight that we — as humans — can often identify with somebody through both their strengths and flaws, both of which are apparent in the new “hero.” And regardless of the color of any kid’s skin, flaws can be overcome.

Mr. Jackson says he “mentioned several” flaws. We have read the piece many times and the only flaws Scoop mentions are “laziness” and “lack of focus” which could be interpreted as being equivalent. In fact, this was our concern from the beginning. Why focus on laziness. Upton is a great baseball player and an incredible athlete, so finding flaws may not be as easy as say finding flaws in a Scoop Jackson column, but certainly Mr. Jackson could have come up with something else…anything else.

Mr. Jackson then goes on to say that he ends the paragraph “with the image of a kid — any kid, regardless of race, color or creed — who might identify with that humanity.” Mr. Jackson is suggesting that he all of the sudden stopped focusing on inner-city African-American kids and switched his focus (without telling the reader) to create an “image” of a kid, devoid of a specific “race, color or creed”? If this is true, my 9th grade English teacher would call that a “Vague Antecedent”.

Thanks to everybody that brought this to our attention.

Scoop Jackson Thinks BJ Upton Will Be A Hero To Inner-City Kids Because He Looks Ghetto And Doesn’t Hustle [Rays Index]
The true meaning of B.J. Upton [ESPN]

Oct 16

[BJ UPTON] Scoop Jackson Thinks BJ Upton Will Be A Hero To Inner-City Kids Because He Looks Ghetto And Doesn’t Hustle

BJ Upton, Scoop Jackson is an idiot Cork Gaines 7 Comments »

Before we give this ESPN column the toilet paper treatment, we should point out that the premise is spot-on. BJ Upton is the type of player that could bring young African-Americans back to baseball. But like many of Scoop Jackson’s columns, the execution was perfectly flawed.

As one of the central players in the Rays’ remarkable turnaround, Upton has elevated himself during these playoffs as the face and future of “urban” baseball. A face that has been slowly disappearing in the game…In Upton’s case, he has unknowingly become the one player that Torii Hunter and Joe Morgan have been looking to who can bring the game back to the hood in a way no other young black player in the game has been able to do.

Upton could very well be the “face and future of ‘urban’ baseball”, but it seems a little strange that Scoop needs to stereotype Upton into the role. While we don’t know the entire story of Upton’s upbringing, what we do know paints a picture of a typical middle-class upbringing, be it black, white, Latino or Asian. Upton’s father has been a basketball referee in the ACC for the past 15 years. Upton and his brother graduated from Greenbrier Christian Academy, a private Christian school in Chesapeake, Virginia. Nothing says “hood” like a private christian school. [Ed. note: This old ESPN column has more on Upton's upbringing (thanks Carey)]

He has put on display…the look of the game that resonates with those “young’ns” who have decided that basketball and football provide a brighter future…his style, his slight build, his mannerisms, his persona, his presence, his swag.

In other words, Scoop thinks Upton looks ghetto.

Maybe not on the same level, but with similar reverence, Upton might become to African-Americans in baseball what Dice-K has to Asian players or what Papi has to players in the Dominican Republic.

This is just a strange correlation: Nevermind that “Asians” turning to baseball because of Daisuke Matsuzaka is about as silly as saying young kids in Tampa will gravitate towards basketball because they feel a kinship to Canadian Steve Nash. But was there an absence of young Asian and Dominican baseball players before Matsuzaka and David Ortiz? Baseball has been the national pastimes in Japan and the Dominican since before either player was even born. And while both players are heroes in their native countries, there is no shortage of other players that Japanese and Dominican children worship.

The fact that Upton’s not perfect makes him perfect. His propensity to be lazy (as witnessed in August when he “decided” not to run hard on three different occasions), the fact that Maddon literally pulled him off the field after not running out a double-play ground ball, the meaningless error in the seventh inning of Game 4 that allowed questions about his lack of focus to surface. All display a flaw in him that almost works to his advantage when kids and wannabe baseball players look at him and say “I’m not perfect either, but look, he’s still standing.”

Fuck the heck!?! Could you imagine Scoop Jackson’s reaction if Peter Gammons had written that paragraph? Scoop Jackson just said Upton is a role-model to young African-Americans because he is lazy. Why in the world would anybody ever look to this as a positive quality. This is insanity! And it may be borderline sociopathic. Good lord Scoop. We don’t mean to yell, but did you eat paint chips when you were a kid? Of all the positive things Upton does on the baseball field that are worthy of emulating, Jackson picks laziness as why inner-city kids will gravitate to the Rays center fielder. Jesus, this pisses us off…and we’re white!

“He roamed well,” Maddon said after the out-of-nowhere 13-4 Game 4 victory that placed the Rays one win away from the World Series. “And we got to see his arm strength.” Meaning: In an unnecessary time in the game, Upton showed off his skills for the heck of it.

%@#$%!!!! Steam just came out of ears. Seriously. Actual steam just came out of our ears and the sound of a steam-whistle could be heard 10 blocks away. In baseball a team does not win the game until they record at least 27 outs. There is no clock, and in an ALCS game in Fenway Park, there is no such thing as an “unnecessary time” to try and throw out a baserunner. And to say that Upton was just “showing off” his arm is lunacy. Upton may be the only center fielder in baseball that could have made that throw from deep center field to first base on the fly in an attempt to double-up a baserunner. And the amazing thing is the play was actually close. Just when we thought Scoop couldn’t write anything dumber, he totally redeems himself.

He’s the role model, he’s the torchbearer, he’s the savior…Jackie Robinson should be proud.

Is Jackie Robinson the Elvis Presley of the African-American community? Did Scoop see Robinson in a Michigan Burger King recently? We thought Robinson passed away, so shouldn’t that say “would be proud” or do we need to throw a [sic] after “should”?

Upton’s emergence can help rewrite the game, preserving a part of a history on the verge of being lost.

We understand that the number of African-Americans in baseball is at the lowest percentage in 20 years, but we have a funny feeling baseball is not going to revert back to the pre-Jackie Robinson days. Hyperbole is apparently Scoop’s friend.

Again, we have zero problem with the issue at hand. If Upton can bring inner-city kids back to the game of baseball, we are all for it and certainly can see the potential. But for Scoop to stereotype Upton into that group just because he is black and for Scoop to paint African-American children as lazy and as more interested in showing off than of winning, is not only idiotic, it is borderline ignorant.

Then again, Scoop Jackson knows as much about the ghetto as Paris Hilton.

The true meaning of B.J. Upton [ESPN]