Even the most staunch opposition opinions to climate change can’t deny what’s going on when you look at Yorkton in the last six years. 2010 was called the Flood Of The Century, yet we’ve had about three more similar storms since then. While most of this area is fortunate in that Sunday’s tornado destroyed just one home (and that’s devastating for the unlucky family affected), I foresee a day soon where much greater damage is incurred. The extreme weather seen in the southern United States because of the hot, humid conditions is now a factor in southern Saskatchewan, with the only exception being that our season is much shorter. I think it will become normal for new homes being built in Saskatchewan to be done without a basement. It’s the best way to stay dry.
The landscape of sports media has changed a lot in the last few years. It’s changed so much that it’s hard for me to go back and put my finger on when it actually started to move towards public relations for teams and marketing vehicles for athletes as opposed to real journalism where reporters did actual work to tell a real story. I use the example of Major League Baseball’s trade deadline over the weekend where I watched, with great interest, the drama unfold that was Jonathan Lucroy, the catcher traded from Milwaukee to Cleveland, only to have that move refused, and then later to Texas. You see Lucroy has a limited no-trade clause in his contract whereby he can block a trade to eight teams. Cleveland was on the list. Lucroy, a couple of times this year, has told reporters that he would like a trade out of Milwaukee because he feels playing for a contender and competing for a World Series is what every player dreams about. Well the Indians just happened to be tied with the Rangers for the best record in the American League. They are as close to a sure thing for a playoff spot as you will get. Yet, Lucroy balked at the trade and didn’t really say why. Here’s what we know: Lucroy wants out of Milwaukee, and wants to play for a contender as that’s been his childhood dream. He just doesn’t want to do it with Cleveland. He didn’t know a trade to Texas would materialize, but he gets his way regardless as the Rangers weren’t on his list that he could block. And, Lucroy is from Louisiana, so going to Texas is, somewhat, of a homecoming. I’m betting if the Rangers were in third place, Lucroy would have been happy. What shocked me was how many sports reporters backed Lucroy for exercising his ‘rights’ to block a trade. Nobody investigated why or called him out on the fact that he wanted to play for a contender, yet refused to when given first opportunity. In fact, he was applauded, in many corners, for being smart in trying to leverage his situation. To me, if you are a competitive athlete, yes you want to make as much money as you can, but what drives your competitive nature is winning. If you don’t want to be in a winning environment (and it’s possible he could have stayed in Milwaukee) then I really have serious questions about your desire to win.
Another example of how sports media has changed was the way Toronto media covered Toronto’s acquisition of Francisco Liriano from Pittsburgh. They blasted the guy moved to the Pirates (Drew Hutchison) in a critical way not seen while he was a member of the Jays, and despite Liriano’s stats that indicate he was a lot of work to do to make himself an effective pitcher once again, the media instead focused on his numbers with Russell Martin as his catcher (which was the case a few years ago in Pittsburgh). Liriano is owed a ton of money and if he pitches like he has this year while with the Jays for the next year and a half, this will be an incredible blunder.
But, I guess how can I criticize media people for not being journalists or risking stepping out from towing the company line. I see in Brandon, Manitoba; their long time play by play voice (Bruce Luebke) has parted ways with the radio station after calling games for 23 years. I won’t pretend to know everything that went on, however it wouldn’t take much to get me to side with the employee on this one. I know how broadcast operations work and they can be some of the worst employers out there. Without getting too much into things, imagine being a salesman for a Ford dealership and having a customer come in and ask for a good vehicle and your manager steps in and sells that a Chevy. The credibility of the salesman and the brand he’s selling is shot to zero. Yes, I’m writing in code, but apply it to a radio station and the shoe still fits.
Nice person mentions: Brendan Wagner, Connie Olm, Jackie Gamble, David Collingridge, and Jennifer Gillis.
