The 700-homer club is still one of the most exclusive in all of sports. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-a-special-night-st-louis-slugger-racks-up-homers-699-700-in-the-same-game">Until last Friday night</a>, it consisted of only three players: Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds*, and Babe Ruth. 
There’s still an undeniable romance and magic associated with the number 700. Even as prodigious home run totals were devalued in the steroid era — many still consider Aaron the true home run king, not Bonds — the homer is still baseball’s signature play.
It’s easy to forget, but 714 — Ruth’s career total — was once the most treasured number in all of sports. Hank Aaron’s assault on that record as a black man playing for a Southern team was a watershed period in American history, one that carried the sociological freight of a century of racial imbalance in America’s Pastime. 
Albert Pujols is a most welcome gatecrasher to the 700 Club, and the fact that he crossed the threshold as a Cardinal is a well-earned gift to the fans in St. Louis, whose civic identity is largely built around their beloved Cardinals. Aside from being the Gateway City or the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beleaguered-southern-city-seizes-murder-capital-crown-from-st-louis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">former murder capital</a> of the midwest, St. Louis is hands down America’s best baseball town. And that’s why it deserves this season’s feel-good story — the final act of the greatest Cardinal of them all, Albert Pujols.
The city that made legends of Stan &#8216;The Man&#8217; Musial, Bob Gibson and the Gashouse Gang exulted as home run number 699 and 700 sailed into the night sky some 1,800 miles away in Los Angeles. The appreciative Dodger Stadium crowd afforded its esteemed visitor, and former player, a rare road curtain call.
It’s a remarkable and fitting coda to a legendary career.
Pujols’ first 11 seasons as a Cardinal (2001-11) were some of the most productive in baseball history, waking echoes of Stan Musial, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio. Take Albert’s 12 seasons as a Cardinal, and you have a Hall of Fame profile — 466 homers, a .326 batting average and a .417 on-base percentage, numbers that are remarkably similar to Musial’s career totals.
Then came an ill-fated detour to Anaheim, where Pujols more closely resembled a Brewers-era Hank Aaron than a vintage Hammerin’ Hank. In nine-plus seasons as an Angel, Pujols’ on-base percentage was .311 and his batting average .256, shocking sub-replacement-level numbers that chipped away at Pujols’ aura while handcuffing the franchise thanks to a monstrous contract — a 10-year, $254 million deal that ended with the Angels meekly releasing Pujols in May of last year. 
Fast forward to the summer of 2022, and the baseball gods have smiled on Pujols and the fans in St. Louis. The man who is arguably the greatest first baseman in history signed a one-year deal to end his career as a Cardinal, providing a perfect ending to a Hall of Fame career. 
And then a funny thing happened: Sometime in late July, he started looking and acting like the old Albert Pujols. At the same time, he started reaching career milestones at a remarkable pace. He passed Musial for second all time in total bases, trailing only Hank Aaron, after having passed Musial for third place all time in extra-base hits earlier in the season. He reached 2,200 career RBIs, becoming the third player in history to do so. He homered off his 450th different pitcher, breaking Bonds’ record in that category. Since the All-Star Break, the man they once called The Machine has hit .315, with 15 homers and a 1.053 OPS.
Yes, baseball has lost its luster and fallen a few pegs in the American sports hierarchy. But there are occasional reminders of its long-gone status as a cultural touchstone. Pujols’ 700th home run, accomplished in a Cardinals uniform, was one such occasion.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

St. Louis Cardinals v Los Angeles Dodgers

The Spirit Of St. Louis: Albert Pujols Joins The 700 Club In A Cardinal Uniform

Baseball

Readers Pass

Sports

Yankees right fielder <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aaron-judge-ties-the-babe-with-60th-homer-on-verge-of-passing-roger-maris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aaron Judge</a> is having arguably the greatest offensive season in baseball history. 
As of this writing, he leads major league baseball in home runs, RBIs, runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, and WAR, and he leads the American League in batting average and walks. 
Judge is a lock to break Roger Maris’ 61-year-old AL home run record of 61 — a record set in 1961. More on the steroid-era home run derby later. Judge hit his 60th home run in his 147th game of the season while it took Babe Ruth 150 games to hit 60 in 1927. So no asterisks necessary where Judge is concerned. 
He’s poised to become only the second Triple Crown winner (league leader in batting average, homers and RBIs) since 1967 and only the sixth since World War II.
This season, Judge is towering over his fellow competitors like Ruth did a century ago. With apologies to two-way unicorn Shohei Ohtani, Judge stands alone as the game’s singularly dominant player.
The bow on this package of greatness? Judge goes about his business like a professional. Instead of look-at-me bat flips and poses of admiration as the ball leaves the park, as is all the rage among latter-day sluggers, Judge gently places his bat on the ground before commencing yet another home run trot. It&#8217;s the baseball equivalent of Barry Sanders tossing the ball to the ref after an impossible 20-juke touchdown run. Act like you’ve been there before, indeed.
In contrast to the steroid-marred power surge of the late 1990s and early 2000s, there’s never been a whisper of juicing associated with Judge, adding another layer of likability.
Judge is a happily married man of deep Christian faith whose <a href="https://www.aaronjudgeallrisefoundation.org/">Aaron Judge All Rise Foundation</a> is, according to the website, shaping children and youth into the leaders of tomorrow. 
So why isn’t Aaron Judge an American hero? Why isn’t this chiseled 6’7” adonis, a man of impeccable reputation and skill, adorning every magazine cover and leading evening newscasts in a nation starved for something positive?
I can think of two reasons.
One, the aforementioned steroid era simultaneously saved and ruined baseball. A sport teetering on the edge of national oblivion following a devastating strike and the cancellation of the 1994 World Series found temporary salvation in an unprecedented power explosion that saw 17 50-homer seasons between 1996 and 2002, including the memorable National League race between Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa in 1998 and Barry Bonds’ record-setting 73-run campaign in 2001. 
Sadly, the growth in homers was mirrored in the juice-induced growth of Barry Bonds. By 2007, thanks to the details revealed in the Mitchell Report of widespread steroid use in baseball, the power surge was retroactively rendered fraudulent. Robbed to an extent of sluggers on steroids, the MLB allegedly turned to juiced baseballs in the late 2010s to try to recapture the magic of the glory days, but all that did was accelerate the game’s transformation into a homer-walk-strikeout snooze fest.
In other words, home runs have lost their luster and conceptually remain tainted from the steroid era. Judge, through no fault of his own, is suffering the consequences.
Secondly, the game itself has lost its status as America’s Pastime, and much of that decline is self-inflicted. I’ve alluded to many of the factors already — the sullying effect of steroids; the over-reliance on home runs; labor strife that alienates the working-class fan base that has long been the foundation of the game’s prosperity. 
But even deeper problems exist. The MLB’s rush to bend the knee to the forces of political correctness — epitomized by Commissioner Rob Manfred’s absurd decision to rob Atlanta of the 2021 All-Star Game due to a common-sense election security law in Georgia — has furthered the game’s decline.
I happen to be in possession of a framed newspaper front page from October 1921. The top story on a page that’s crammed with noteworthy breaking news? The World Series results from the night before. Can you imagine? It’s almost shocking to consider, but baseball once captured the hearts and captivated the minds of Americans. Believe it or not, James Earl Jones’ cornball speech in “Field of Dreams” about baseball being America’s constant once rang true.
While MLB drifts toward the iceberg, Manfred and Co. are busy rearranging deck chairs.
And Aaron Judge, a worthy American hero, pays the price.

Detroit Tigers v New York Yankees

One Of Baseball’s Most Hallowed Records Is About To Fall. Do Fans Even Care?

Major League Baseball

New York Yankees

At times like these, the world of sports can seem inconsequential, providing little more than the circus portion of the “bread and circuses” craved by any late-stage empire.
With that said, though, we need to talk about Aaron Rodgers. The four-time NFL MVP might just be the best football player on the planet. He’s also one weird dude.
Rodgers briefly became a beacon of freedom and individualism amidst a lockstep league last <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11/05/aaron-rodgers-coronavirus-vaccines/">November</a> when he revealed his vaccination status (unjabbed) and then decried the woke mob that subsequently descended upon him with cancellation on their minds. Rodgers had described himself as “immunized” during a 2021 training camp interview. This was technically accurate, given that he had contracted COVID and had a degree of natural immunity. But the mob, sensing an opportunity for a prominent scalp, seized on that assertion as evidence that Rodgers had lied about his vaccination status and pushed for his banishment from polite society. 
In an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers eloquently responded by stating his case, cleverly appropriating the left’s “my body, my choice” mantra. “I’m not some sort of anti-vax, flat-earther,” Rodgers said. “I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body, not to have to acquiesce to some sort of woke culture or crazed individuals who say you have to do something.”
The Left promptly pounced and seized &#8211; something they’re always accusing the Right of doing.
An early-November <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/nov/06/aaron-rodgers-covid-interview-vaccine-hesistanccy">article</a> in The Guardian ran the headline: “Anti-vaxxer Aaron Rodgers’ spectacular fall from grace happened in record time.” That article closed with this triumphant assertion: “Rodgers will never compete for the title of most-liked player in the league again and he has nobody but himself to blame. Not all defeats in the NFL happen on the field.”
Three months later, Rodgers was hoisting his second straight NFL MVP award and fourth overall, even as the vaccine’s reputation for efficacy was imploding like a condemned Vegas casino. Some fall from grace.
Many on our side, so desperate for like-minded souls, adopted the Packers quarterback as one of us after seeing Rodgers’ brave stance as an oasis of sanity in a common-sense desert. And the passage of time proving the poor performance of the vaccine — embodied by our vaxxed, boosted and COVID-ridden commander in chief — have largely vindicated Rodgers’ stance.
But Rodgers is anything but a conservative standard-bearer. On the contrary — the guy is currently letting his freak flag fly. And as usual, conservatives’ knee-jerk embrace of a controversial figure on the basis of some minuscule slice of common ground has backfired.
Rodgers’ personal life, always a source of intrigue due to his estrangement from his family of origin, has taken a turn for the exotic and esoteric.
A serial dater of celebrities — such as Olivia Munn, Danica Patrick, and Shailene Woodley— Rodgers has, for the moment, eschewed the celebrity dating game in favor of a mystic woman named “Blu of Earth.” Blu is the founder of a “modern mystery school for women to reclaim the magical, radically authentic, wise, wild, unapologetic you.
He showed up to training camp looking like Nicolas Cage from “Con Air” and sporting a wildly elaborate left-arm <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/07/31/packers-qb-aaron-rodgers-elaborates-on-his-offseason-tattoo/">tattoo</a> that could be generously described as “mysterious” and less generously as “bizarre” or even “Satanic” — complete with Zodiac symbols and an all-seeing eye. To add a cherry to this eccentricity sundae, Rodgers recently <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2022/08/03/aaron-rodgers-opens-up-about-psychedelic-use-ayahuasca-mental-health-podcast">opened up</a> about his experiences with the psychoactive drug ayahuasca, citing it as an important component in his journey of healing and self-love. Alrighty then.
So what to make of Rodgers? Icon of freedom or self-absorbed weirdo?
First of all, there’s no denying that Rodgers is great at what he does. He makes throws that no other quarterback can make. While he may suffer in comparisons with Tom Brady due to a relative lack of postseason success, he has labored for his entire career in the NFL’s smallest market (by far) with a franchise that hasn’t exactly broken the bank to surround him with weapons. His excellence has allowed him to pile up the honors — he’s one MVP award shy of Peyton Manning’s record of five — while earning the undying respect of his peers and opponents.
And yes, he did take a stand for freedom at some degree of risk to his professional and personal reputation.
My suggestion: Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater when people like Rodgers are concerned. Embrace those points of agreement where they exist, but don’t fall into the Left’s trap of equating common ground with total endorsement.
Aaron Rodgers is a phenomenal football player and a supporter of personal freedom. That’s enough for me. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Daily Wire.

Wells – NFL’s Aaron Rodgers Is One Weird Dude

He’s A Four-Time NFL MVP And One Weird Dude

Aaron Rodgers

Unvaccinated

Vaccines

The first step on the path to recovery from addiction, or any sort of personal shortcoming for that matter, is admitting you have a problem. Today, I make one such admission: I’m a fan of NFL football.
I know. As a conservative, I should abandon a league that has long since abandoned me — a league that has coddled anthem-kneelers and flag-disrespecters; a league that celebrates any and all assaults on traditional American values while virtue-signaling to its leftist friends more vigorously than any wine-soaked, suburban Karen; a league whose leaders, advocates, and journalists practice selective outrage like it’s a bodily function. And there’s really no escape — woke messaging <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-nfl-c10867c92924cc9a59c99e220c8ee84e">decorates</a> every NFL end zone. Sports as a respite from politics is a thing of the past.
But I just can’t help it. As a season-ticket holder, I’m whiling away the sun-baked summer doldrums by welcoming the start of training camp and dreaming of eight trips to my local coliseum (notice that I’m not counting preseason games; I’m not that hopeless) to gather with my fellow addicts for a primitive celebration of tribalism and head trauma. Frankly, I can’t wait. 
The thing is, I’ve grown comfortable in my addiction and don’t want to be cured. Much in the same way that I enjoy the work of leftist actors and musicians by separating art from artist, I can’t help but revel in watching the world’s greatest athletes play my favorite sport at the highest level, no matter how frequently or thoughtlessly they insult me. 
I know people who have given up NFL football over its anti-American transgressions, but really, those people weren’t hard-core fans to begin with. And those people choose to ignore the glimpses of Americana that still exist at NFL stadiums — the heartfelt celebration of the anthem (no matter what the players are doing); the emotion of the occasional <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv_6qiFAoP0">pregame flyover</a>; the full-throated celebration, usually accompanied by standing ovation, directed at the <a href="https://www.nfl.com/causes/salute/">troops</a> any time they appear on the jumbotron or get recognized by the public address announcer. These are all examples of the real America, still in there somewhere, fighting to free itself from the zip ties of political correctness and leftist groupthink. 
There are still players who gather to <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1324452-a-former-nfl-players-perspective-on-the-gameday-fans-dont-see">pray</a> on the field after games as well as players like J.J. Watt who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dont-sell-your-shoes-j-j-watt-steps-up-offers-to-help-a-fan-pay-for-her-grandpas-funeral">give generously</a> and mostly keep their politics to themselves. For every headline about a player who’s run afoul of the law, there are many untold stories of quiet selflessness and good citizenship. 
The sport retains its power to unite people of varying races, economic strata, and political viewpoints like few other things aside from religion can. Just in my little section of the stadium, there is a diverse mix of individuals — black, white, Asian, rich, middle class (admittedly, not many poor; the tickets are too damn expensive), suave urbanites, unsophisticated rednecks, boomers, zoomers — who unite as one in support of the guys in the home jerseys. At kickoff, differences don’t matter. 
And as for the games themselves, the quality of football being played has never been higher. 
My advice: If you’re a football fan, don’t deprive yourself of the NFL as part of some quixotic quest for ideological purity in your entertainment options. Life’s too short. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Readers Pass – Wells – Confessions of An NFL Apologist16x9

Confessions Of An NFL Apologist

There’s nothing quite as depressing as seeing our sports heroes succumb to the ravages of time. Those inevitable periods of decline elicit a painful amalgam of melancholy, nostalgia and an acknowledgement of our own mortality. Not exactly the kind of escapism that sports typically supply; more like a reminder that sometimes, life sucks and then you die.
Tiger Woods’ recent displays of mere mortality are the latest reminder that, in the world of athletic pursuits, only Father Time has an unblemished record. In fact, given the lingering effects of Tiger’s near-fatal 2021 car crash, Father Time is just running up the score at this point.
After pouring every possible ounce of preparation into this year’s 150th British Open &#8211; the ancestral home of golf &#8211; Woods plodded around St. Andrews on a reassembled right leg looking in vain for echoes of past glories. Ultimately, he missed the cut by a mile and, in an ignominious footnote for the week, was dusted by 56-year-old sideshow John Daly.
Woods may yet muster his considerable skills for a last hurrah or two. We’re just a year removed from Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship win at just shy of 51, after all, and golf has a looser age restriction on competitive excellence. But Tiger’s best is clearly far in the rearview mirror, and all of us who wished otherwise were living in denial. Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors seems eternally secure.
Woods is only the latest example on the long list of legendary sportsmen whose last gasps have graced our TV screens. Those of us of a certain age remember a flabby, late-30s Muhammad Ali, already showing signs of Parkinson’s, staggering around the ring getting dominated by Larry Holmes &#8211; and then Trevor Berbick &#8211; the way a young Ali once dominated an aging Floyd Patterson. (The fact that Ali was still putting his life at risk because he needed the money, only added pathos.)
Painful as it is, we remember Willie Mays struggling to make routine plays as a 42-year-old Met, or Hank Aaron playing out a couple of ceremonial seasons with the Brewers. We recall the sad comeback attempts of Bjorn Borg, Mark Spitz and Jim Palmer, and the embarrassing, stubborn refusal of Brett Favre to retire gracefully. Heck, even Michael Jordan struggled to scrape together 20 points per game as a Washington Wizard.
Of course, there are exceptions, players who have left us wanting more and spared us from watching them waste away. Jim Brown retired from football at the height of his seemingly limitless powers, lured by the siren song of Hollywood stardom, his on-field legend unassailable. Ted Williams hit a home run in his last career at-bat, ducked into the dugout, eschewing a curtain call, and walked away from his playing career for good. (Ted’s frozen head, properly thawed, could probably still go 2-for-5 with a double.)
Then there’s Tom Brady, that rarest of beasts — half GOAT, half unicorn. Surely, somewhere in one of his sprawling properties, there is stored a decaying Brady portrait. There’s no other explanation for the fact that Brady has thrown for more yards and touchdowns in his 40s than he did in his 20s. 
Brady aside, careers end, and greatness fades. Tiger’s tearful walk up 18 at the Old Course was perhaps the most poignant reminder of all. 
“It got to me,” he said afterwards. Join the club. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Readers Pass – Wells – Tiger Woods, Twilight of The Gods16x9

Tiger Woods And The Twilight Of The Gods

Golf

Tiger Woods

If you’re of a certain age, you remember the 1978 movie “Midnight Express,” which was the terrifying (though highly dramatized) account of the arrest and incarceration of American Billy Hayes for a drug offense in Turkey. The harrowing portrayal of Hayes’ ordeal introduced the term “Turkish prison” into the American vernacular as a synonym for “hellhole run by sadistic degenerates” and scared a whole generation straight, at least when it came to overseas hashish trafficking. It probably didn’t do much to help the Turkish tourism industry, either.
Being left to rot in a nightmarish prison in an America-hating country for a minor offense is more than a ’70s movie trope; it’s a current reality for American WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has languished in Russian custody since February for possession of a small amount of cannabis oil. Griner has pleaded guilty to drug charges and faces up to 10 years in a Moscow prison.
Let’s set aside any temptation toward feelings of schadenfreude toward Griner. In spite of her quite apparent disdain for the U.S. national anthem and other celebrations of American greatness, she is now in a position of begging her country for help. Let’s examine how this incident underscores the differences between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and how this situation is being handled. Does anyone doubt that, if Trump were still president, Griner would be safely home and free to denigrate the U.S. at her leisure? Or that his opponents would be using his success as a cudgel to bash him as Putin’s pal?
One of the conveniently forgotten successes of the Trump era came in a similar situation. Three UCLA basketball players were arrested in China in 2017 on shoplifting charges; Trump demanded their release during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who granted the request.
The players thanked Trump (who had wondered publicly if they would do so), but the usual suspects used the occasion to assert Trump’s cozy relationship with dictators, and claim that Trump had nothing to do with the players’ release. Of course, it didn’t help that Trump proceeded to get in a social media slap fight with LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of one of the players, for being insufficiently grateful &#8211; the kind of petty stuff that has long been baked into the Trump soufflé, for better or worse.
Setting aside Trump’s unseemly appetite for credit, the point is this: His brand of diplomacy — equal parts bluster, cajolery, and craftiness — is ideal for dealing with today’s brand of strongman, while Biden’s authentic D.C. gibberish has never been more clearly laid bare as utterly ineffectual. 
This is a developing story, and there’s always a chance that the administration could save face through some sort of prisoner swap involving notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout (talk about a Pyrrhic victory). But that’s cold comfort for Brittney Griner, who is now in her fifth month of incarceration thanks to one of Joe Biden’s many glaring failures. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Daily Wire.

Readers Pass – Wells – Griner (Title TBD)16×9

WNBA Star Waits On Biden While Facing Time In Moscow Prison

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

WNBA

In one of its most important times of the year, the game of golf is at war with itself.
The Saudi-funded LIV Golf series debuted this month to an uneasy combination of fanfare and open-mindedness on one side, ridicule and disgust on the other. A few big names — among them major champions Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, all of whom couched their decisions in grow-the-game platitudes — couldn’t resist the massive wads of cash the Saudis were flashing at them to play pressure-free, no-cut 54-hole tournaments where even the last-place finisher still earns $120,000. The new league also addresses the complaints that some golfers have with the PGA Tour, allowing players to leverage their status and fame into bigger paydays, while the Tour remains a strict meritocracy where payouts correspond to performance alone.
Rather than welcome the competition — and seize the opportunity to point and laugh at the WWE-style shenanigans of the upstart league and its shotgun starts, cavalcade of no-names and has-beens and cheesy <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/golf/news/liv-golf-team-names-logos-meanings-cleeks-niblicks/ls0p1kstp05c1fxy79tg7sx7">team names</a> like Fireballs and Majesticks — the PGA Tour dug in its heels and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pga-tour-to-punish-players-jumping-to-saudi-backed-liv-tournament">suspended</a> the 17 PGA Tour regulars who had taken the Saudi money.
The whole affair cast an ominous shadow during last weeks U.S. Open, when the focus should have been on the game and the players and not on Greg Norman’s &#8211; The CEO and Commissioner of LIV Golf Investments &#8211; <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/24/sports/greg-normans-long-running-beef-pga-tour-back-spotlight-over-proposed-saudi-league-ban/">long standing</a> grudge against the PGA Tour.
Amid the chaos, there has arisen a self-righteous Greek chorus of naysayers and armchair critics: the golf media, who have spent <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/golf/article/liv-golf-clearly-is-sportswashing-now-its-up-to-the-public-to-take-a-stand/">the last few weeks accusing</a> the Saudi regime of “sportswashing” (using sports to launder one’s reputation and deflect attention from a miserable human rights record) and the participating players of accepting “<a href="https://sportsnaut.com/phil-mickelson-slammed-for-liv-golf-blood-money/">blood money</a>” from the butchers in Riyadh. Sounds sort of admirable on the surface, but let’s dig a little deeper.
While giving lip service to the fact that 17 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals, these scribes and pundits seem to have focused most of their outrage on the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. At the risk of being accused of whataboutism — the go-to response of leftist hypocrites everywhere — let’s look at some uncomfortable facts regarding this selective outrage.
Judging from much of the rhetoric, you’d think Saudi assassins had stormed the newsroom of the Daily Planet and dragged out cub reporter Jimmy Olsen. The reality is that, while his murder was heinous, Khashoggi was a complicated figure — a moderate, yes, but also a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/f6d02c4d90ac9d00f3fea5d29c7400db">Muslim Brotherhood member</a>, paid propagandist for the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jamal-khashoggis-final-months-an-exile-in-the-long-shadow-of-saudi-arabia/2018/12/21/d6fc68c2-0476-11e9-b6a9-0aa5c2fcc9e4_story.html">Qatar regime</a> and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9709545/Jamal-Khashoggis-close-friendship-Osama-bin-Laden-Murdered-journalist-cried-died.html">friend to Osama bin Laden</a> (although, to be fair, <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/i-just-fell-apart-crying-heartbreak-to-you-a-murdered-journalists-yearslong-relationship-with-osama-bin-laden-090022641.html">he did decry</a> bin Laden’s turn toward radicalism while not exactly renouncing the friendship).
And if you’re so concerned about the safety of journalists, where’s the outrage over the fact that the most dangerous country in the world today for journalists is Mexico, where 145 journalists <a href="https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/murder-journalists-mexico-threat-democracy/">have been killed</a> since 2000, 11 this year alone? Lest the sanctimonious scribes forget, the International Federation of PGA Tours snatched the WGC-Cadillac Championship <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/01/donald-trump-doral-golf-course-lose-wgc-event-mexico-city">away</a> from Trump Doral and handed it to Mexico City in 2016 for purely political reasons. The Tour currently runs two <a href="https://wwtchampionshipatmayakoba.com/">events in Mexico</a>, and the <a href="https://www.pgatour.com/la/en/tournaments/schedule.html">PGA Tour Latinoamérica</a> has several events in that country. The equally woke NFL will be playing its <a href="https://ninerswire.usatoday.com/2022/05/04/49ers-schedule-cardinals-international-game-mexico/">fifth game</a> in Mexico in 2022.
As for the accusation of accepting “blood money,” let’s get real: All money in today’s intertwined global economy has bloodstains to one degree or another. The obvious elephant in that room is <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33938932/nba-owners-mum-china-relationship-more-10-billion-invested-there">China</a>, which has elevated sportswashing to an art form to the considerable benefit of the NBA and to the detriment of the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-details-torture-cover-ups-china-s-internment-camps-revealed-n1270014">victims</a> of its concentration camps. Nor should we forget that LIV critic Rory McIlroy’s <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ermqGMJlc8abpgDJBfLji_T_gGey7atkPcIzstikhHE/edit?disco=AAAAbKMPcgw">duds</a> are splashed with Nike logos sewn into place by child laborers in Chinese <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siminamistreanu/2020/03/02/study-links-nike-adidas-and-apple-to-forced-uighur-labor/?sh=30607fc01003">sweatshops</a>, or that golf columnists type their diatribes on machines assembled under horrific conditions in Chinese manufacturing plants that at least until recently were adorned with <a href="https://www.wired.com/2011/02/ff-joelinchina/#:~:text=The%20nets%20went%20up%20in,has%20slowed%20to%20a%20trickle">suicide prevention nets.</a>
My suggestion regarding the LIV? Let the free market run its course. Quasi-monopolies, like the one imposed on the game until now by the PGA Tour, stifle innovation and improvement. If the LIV is as ridiculous and outrageous as its critics say, it will die a natural death once its benefactors grow tired of it. In the meantime, PGA Tour, up your game a bit.
As for the outrage addicts — spread the wealth, won’t you? There are plenty of atrocities to go around.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

LIV Tour

‘Blood Money?’: What To Make Of The New Saudi-Funded Golf Series 

At the 1987 Orange Bowl, Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth, who at the time was serving a suspension for a positive steroid test, stood on the OU sideline sporting a T-shirt that rendered the letters “NCAA” as an acronym for “National Communists Against Athletes.”
Sure, the Boz was ultimately a cartoon character and failed NFLer who is best remembered for being trucked by Bo Jackson on Monday Night Football, but on that occasion, his T-shirt tapped into a larger zeitgeist. Nothing brings people together like contempt for the NCAA.
In an era marked by division and discord, our nation briefly came together this week to dunk on an organization built on exploiting an entire underclass while producing nothing of value itself — and in this case, I don’t mean the U.S. government. 
In a unanimous 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court declared that the NCAA is running afoul of antitrust laws in restricting compensation for student-athletes. Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion, stating that “to the extent [the NCAA] means to propose a sort of judicially ordained immunity from the terms of the Sherman Act for its restraints of trade—that we should overlook its restrictions because they happen to fall at the intersection of higher education, sports, and money—we cannot agree.”
But it was Brett Kavanaugh’s fiery concurrence that has garnered the most attention. He wrote: “The bottom line is that the NCAA and its member colleges are suppressing the pay of student athletes who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenues for colleges every year. Those enormous sums of money flow to seemingly everyone except the student athletes. College presidents, athletic directors, coaches, conference commissioners, and NCAA executives take in six- and seven-figure salaries. Colleges build lavish new facilities. But the student athletes who generate the revenues, many of whom are African American and from lower-income backgrounds, end up with little or nothing.”
That’ll leave a mark. And it should. 
The nation joined the court in a nearly unanimous rebuke of the NCAA. Twitter, usually a cesspit of division and hatred, rejoiced in unison (with the organization’s representatives providing a lonely voice of dissent). Liberals who had condemned Kavanaugh a year and a half ago as a sexual assaulter hailed his opinion, even as they couched their praise in terms of a stopped clock, blind pig, etc.
Commentator Jay Bilas, a college athlete himself and a lawyer by training, has long been one of the NCAA’s harshest and most eloquent critics. He tweeted: “Hey NCAA: If you’re constantly in litigation over your restrictive policies on athlete compensation, perhaps the athletes are not the problem. Perhaps your policies are the problem. Perhaps you should change them to allow athletes the same economic rights as everyone else.”
And further: “Athletes having economic rights isn’t ‘chaos.’ It’s just business. The NCAA’s intentional inaction makes it seem chaotic. This is multi-billion dollar industry, and athletes deserve to participate in it. It’s a civil rights issue.”
As is often the case, the South Park guys — modern-day prophets and heralds of societal decline — had long since nailed the ongoing absurdity of the NCAA business model with their 2011 episode “Crack Baby Athletic Association” in which Cartman dons the attire of an antebellum slave owner and seeks information from the University of Colorado president on how to exploit the image and likeness of unpaid labor. The episode also depicts the head of EA Sports, a co-conspirator in the NCAA’s corrupt exploitation racket, as a cigar-chomping plantation owner. 
I had long maintained that a four-year scholarship accompanied by free room and board constituted significant payment to student-athletes, and that simply caving to the demands of a vocal minority and treating football players as employees violated the spirit of intercollegiate athletics. But that was naïve thinking. 
I’ve come to see the entire NCAA model as a metaphor for our corrupt age: A cabal of do-nothing oligarchs buoyed by a bloated bureaucracy prospers, while the producers are exploited. 
It may prove to be a mere speed bump on the highway to hell that the country is currently barreling down, but the fact that the court and the nation as a whole have come together to reject this line of thinking has filled me with that rarest of feelings: hope.  
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Mississippi v Xavier

OPINION: Opposition To The NCAA Has Unified The Country Like Few Things Could

NCAA

New York Giants’ wide receiver David Tyree pins the ball to

What’s The Greatest Super Bowl Ever? Every Game Ranked Worst To First

Super Bowl

Who had Bill Belichick on their 2021 Unlikely Virtue Signaler Bingo Card? Come collect your winnings. 
That’s right — the Lord Vader of the NFL’s Evil Empire has publicly rejected a Presidential Medal of Freedom because being in the same room as Donald Trump is apparently too icky.
Here’s his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/belichick-rejects-medal-of-freedom-from-trump-statement">statement</a>, in part: “Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom and democracy. I know I also represent my family and the New England Patriots team. One of the most rewarding things in my professional career took place in 2020 when, through the great leadership within our team, conversations about social justice, equality and human rights moved to the forefront and became actions. Continuing those efforts while remaining true to the people, team and country I love outweighs the benefits of any individual award.”
Translation: I coach in the NFL, and standing up to the mob is risking career suicide, even for a six-time champion, and I’m going to use the “riot” as an excuse to weasel out of going to the White House.  
Et tu, Bill? You would think that resistance to bending the knee would be in his DNA. The guy’s GAF (Give a f***) meter has been pegged at zero since I’ve been paying attention. He shuffles into press conferences in his cut-off hoodie looking like he just missed last call and is pissed about it, mumbles a few occasionally coherent thoughts and leaves, apparently unconcerned with protocol, decorum or even personal dignity. 
But not even Bill Belichick is immune to the woke virus rampaging through pro sports. Roger Goodell is NFL Commissioner in name only; Colin Kaepernick apparently calls the shots.  
As with any former Republican president who garners a Strange New Respect for not being as bad as his successor, the announcement has given Belichick some unexpected cachet with leftists, who celebrated it as “the latest rebuke to Trump from the sports world.” Deadspin’s headline blared: “Bill Belichick has some integrity, turns down Trump’s Medal of Freedom.”
To his credit, hard-core leftist Mike Florio of NBC Sports saw the announcement for what it probably was: a cynical reading of the room at Patriots HQ and attempt to deflect the guilt-by-association that has haunted Belichick since he supported Trump in 2016. Florio wrote, “This was not a deathbed conversion. It was an effort to avoid what would have been the death knell for Belichick’s coaching career.”
Of course, it follows a certain twisted logic that the author and instigator of Deflategate and Spygate, a win-at-all-costs, whatever-it-takes NFL Machiavelli, would align himself with those who would consider cheating Trump out of an election (whether it actually happened or not) a moral necessity. 
My thoughts on the matter? Get over yourself, Belichick. These Medals of Freedom are often nothing more than a chance for the President, whoever he is, to fangirl over his sports and pop culture idols. Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Lorne Michaels and Robert DeNiro — all Medal of Freedom recipients during the Obama years — are the kind of company Belichick would be keeping. A good reason to turn down the award, now that I think about it.  
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Pittsburgh Steelers v New England Patriots

Belichick Bends The Knee

Bill Belichick

Cancel Culture

New England Patriots

With the news that the Cleveland Indians have decided to follow the Washington Redskins off the PC cliff and erase decades of tradition, we thought we’d scan the sports world for similarly offensive nicknames. How long can these last in the face of the scorched-earth tactics of today’s tireless social justice warriors? 
Wait a second — warriors? Isn’t that offensive to and/or appropriative of Native American culture? For shame, SJWs, for shame.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. If the stupid grows ever stronger, here are some names that belong on the chopping block. 
Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Braves
If “Indians” is verboten, then these two are no-brainers for history’s ash heap. Never mind that these franchises have worn these nicknames as points of pride, not derision. Good night, Chief Noc-a-Homa, wherever you are. 
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
This one actually is a pretty blatant stereotype — the Irishman as drunken brawler. Working in the nickname’s favor is the fact that Irish people are white (aren’t they? It’s hard to keep up any more) and therefore stereotype-able. 
New Zealand All Blacks
Tradition says that the nickname is a reference to their jerseys, but how have the wokescolds who run New Zealand, personified by progressive princess PM Jacinda Ardern, allowed this atrocity to stand? 
Orofino (Idaho) High School Maniacs
Insensitive much to the mentally ill? Come on, Orofino. Be better. And haven’t you heard? Here in Wokeistan USA, we celebrate our mentally ill; we don’t label them with pejoratives. Of course, the Orofino Individuals Living with Mental Illness probably wouldn’t fit on the banner. 
Freeburg (Ill.) HS Midgets
I am actually a little shocked that this one has survived. “Midget” hasn’t passed PC muster since before Herve Villechaize was a thing. Of course, little people have taken a prominent place in pop culture, so celebrating them is encouraged. Maybe change it to the Peter Dinklages? Or the Tyrion Lannisters? 
Yuma (Ariz.) HS Criminal
Celebrating criminality isn’t a good idea, is it? Of course, isn’t a so-called criminal just an individual forced into his or her (or their) actions by centuries of oppression? If used in this way, to shine an ironic spotlight on injustice, we’ll allow it.   
Glenville (Ohio) HS Tarblooders
A tarblooder was apparently a railroad worker who laid ties and secured them with tar. So the nickname is a tribute to America’s working class, i.e., deplorables. Can’t have that. 
Salesianum (Del.) HS Sallies
This one’s a Mobius strip of offensiveness: It offends those whose masculinity is called into question by being called Sallies; and that perception in turn offends those who think masculinity is a patriarchal construct to begin with. Got it? 
Montgomery Biscuits
The Tampa Bay Double-AA affiliate baseball team is stationed in the one-time capital of the Confederacy and named for a Southern delicacy, a two-fer of shame worthy of banishment from polite society. Put more succinctly: Paula Deen makes biscuits. Paula Deen once used a racial epithet. Cancel. It’s just as well — hot, buttery and delicious is no way for a sports team to go through life. 
Honorable mention: Butte HS Pirates
Do with this what you will. (Yes, I know it’s pronounced Byoot. And I know I have the emotional intelligence and maturity of a toddler.)

Atlanta Braves v Minnesota Twins

11 ‘Offensive’ Team Names Next To Be Canceled

Mascots

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what a cesspit Twitter has become. What was once a promising platform for the immediate dissemination of information has devolved into the preferred hangout for bullies, bots, trolls and mean girls. And if you’re conservative? Twitter boss Jack Dorsey has higher regard for the debris in his quarantine beard than he does for you. Instead of offering a free and open forum for varying opinions, he’s more than happy to de-platform or shadow ban those with whom he and his henchmen disagree. 
Twitter is still where news breaks — but it’s usually broken beyond recognition, irretrievably tainted by the bias of the messenger. Sports Twitter is no different. It’s where you’ll find the pro-China, anti-Trump musings of LeBron James, or the anti-cop, pro-cop killer ruminations of Colin Kaepernick — not to mention the historically illiterate reflections of sportswriters for whom leftism is truth and history began yesterday.
All that said, I haven’t given up on Twitter quite yet. There are pockets of sanity, decency, cleverness and common sense that are worth seeking out. There are still those using it for good rather than evil. 
So, now that I’ve thoroughly denounced and discredited the forum, let me present 10 sports figures who are worth following on the world’s worst social media platform (except for all the others). 
Jay Bilas (<a href="https://twitter.com/JayBilas">@JayBilas</a>)
Yes, he’s opinionated, but college basketball’s most intelligent analyst backs up his opinions in a reasoned, coherent fashion — not much flamethrowing, but a lot of common sense. Gets extra points for his frequent beclowning of the NCAA. His signature “I gotta go to work” tweets showcasing rapper and urban philosopher Young Jeezy are a morning source of inspiration. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Prеacher told me I need to live my lifе with grace. Lawyer wanted twenty before he even touched the case. I gotta go to work.
&mdash; Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayBilas/status/1330466135154810881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
David Feherty (<a href="https://twitter.com/Fehertwit">@Fehertwit</a>)
Golf’s wittiest analyst has provided much of the soundtrack to the Tiger Woods era. His compelling personal story — he’s overcome addiction and mental illness — adds to his Twitter appeal. He’s also a tireless supporter of the troops defending his adopted home country. 
Kirk Herbstreit (<a href="https://twitter.com/KirkHerbstreit">@KirkHerbstreit</a>)
College football’s top analyst was basically run out of Columbus for not being an Ohio State homer, while simultaneously being accused of Buckeye homerism by OSU haters. A tough spot to be in, but one that Herbie has handled with aplomb by deftly refuting both sides. Plus, the guy just knows and loves college football.  
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Such a GREAT message for people to hear. Especially hope kids see this-feel like many kids feel such pressure to be perfect in all as aspects of their lives. It’s not realistic-being frustrated and more determined after a failure is a huge life lesson. Have a great weekend. <a href="https://t.co/N59VuXQqGv">https://t.co/N59VuXQqGv</a>
&mdash; Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) <a href="https://twitter.com/KirkHerbstreit/status/1324701722133045254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Chad Johnson (<a href="https://twitter.com/ochocinco">@ochocinco</a>)
His career as a social media influencer may have eclipsed his former career as a highly productive, if eccentric, wide receiver. That eccentricity only adds to his Twitter appeal, and he knows it. The erstwhile Chad Ochocinco may be the funniest athlete on Twitter.
Lane Kiffin (<a href="https://twitter.com/Lane_Kiffin">@Lane_Kiffin</a>)
The well-traveled, oft-reviled college football coach has used humor to ingratiate himself with college football fans, who are now more apt to forgive his professional and personal shortcomings thanks to his amusing Twitter presence, which proves that he’s in on the joke. Example: Fined $25,000 for criticizing the refs, Kiffin took to Twitter to try to figure out how many pennies it would take to pay the fine.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Where can I find 25,000 pennies??
&mdash; Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lane_Kiffin/status/1320904303838699520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Phil Mickelson (<a href="https://twitter.com/PhilMickelson">@PhilMIckelson</a>)
Lefty has the hang of this Twitter thing, using his 280 characters for humorous self-deprecation and witty observations. His posts far outshine the sanitized, sterile, corporate output of his rival, Tiger Woods.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Just when I think I’ve arrived ( I was the answer to tonight’s final Jeopardy question) I realize I still have a ways to go (they all got it wrong ):
&mdash; Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhilMickelson/status/1309674188534210560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Shaquille O’Neal (<a href="https://twitter.com/SHAQ">@SHAQ)</a>
Folk hero, pitchman nonpareil, and, as he puts it in his Twitter tagline, very quotatious. Shaq uses the platform to promote causes he supports and companies he does business with, but he does it with a light touch that belies his Paul Bunyan frame. 
Tim Tebow (<a href="https://twitter.com/TimTebow">@TimTebow</a>)
Decency hasn’t been entirely eradicated from Twitter. Exhibit A is Tim Tebow, who might just be the most encouraging presence on the internet. Just don’t dig through his mentions and replies, where the haters reveal themselves. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sometimes it seems easier to just give up on people, or to shut down emotionally ourselves. This is just fear talking. 
God is bigger than our greatest fears.
&mdash; Tim Tebow (@TimTebow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimTebow/status/1330640839605882889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Clay Travis (<a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis">@ClayTravis</a>)
Whoever thought that a lawyer who voted twice for Obama could become the face of the counterculture center/right? With his partner Jason Whitlock, the “Outkick the Coverage” founder is a lonely but essential voice of reason in the monolithically leftist world of sports journalism. Travis’ stubborn pushback against the COVID fearmongers, whom he has dubbed “coronabros”, earns him extra points.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
There hasn’t been a single case of covid spreading from one team to another during a game in the entire world. Not one. Wearing masks during games is absolute idiocy. <a href="https://t.co/oqa7c4dAiS">https://t.co/oqa7c4dAiS</a>
&mdash; Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1329894178076168198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Jose Canseco (<a href="https://twitter.com/JoseCanseco">@JoseCanseco</a>)
There’s a place for the insane in this world, and it’s on Twitter. Canseco is the entertaining kind of insane, covering topics ranging from vampirism to Bigfoot to aliens to steroids in sports. He’s a leftist of sorts, but he has enough disdain for both sides that we’ll allow it. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
all we need is a dollar from everyone in this country who wants change to finance my running for president
&mdash; Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoseCanseco/status/1269025007797071874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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Mark Wells