Second Thoughts

NCAA President Mark Emmert finds himself in the sarcastic sights of the Class A Lake County Captains.

NCAA President Mark Emmert finds himself in the sarcastic sights of the Class A Lake County Captains.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Emmert isn't caught up in minor details

NCAA President Mark Emmert managed to make a new enemy during his testimony last Thursday in the Ed O'Bannon case that centers on amateurism in college athletics: the Lake County Captains, the Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.

In response to Emmert's comments dissing minor-league sports and the fan experience, the Captains have announced plans for "Mark Emmert Fan Appreciation Night" on July 2. Specifically, the faux-celebration is a response to a remark Emmert made during his testimony.

“You don’t become No. 1 by finishing 25th every week. You’ve got to just keep knocking on the door, and that’s kind of what I do best.”

— Stacy Lewis, the No. 1 women’s golfer in the world

"To convert college sports into professional sports would be tantamount to converting it into minor-league sports," Emmert said. "And we know that in the U.S., minor-league sports aren't very successful either for fan support or for the fan experience."

So what is Mark Emmert Appreciation Night?

Some of the elements of the spectacle that will "honor the great fans of Northeast Ohio in a way that only Emmert would find to be acceptable" include:

• Fans will be permitted to move from their seat location designated by their ticket, subject to a one-inning waiting period, if they desire a different view.

• Lucky participants who take part in the Captains' in-game promotions will not be rewarded for their efforts. Rather, they will have the satisfaction of just having the opportunity to participate.

• At the end of the game, a promotional participant will be crowned that evening's BCS (Big Captains Superstar) champion through a subjective vote taken by members of the media and a computerized scoring algorithm.

In other words, the Captains won't have to give its fans anything at all.

Chew on this

From Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: "This just in: World Cup coaches have ordered players to strike 'Bite me' from their vocabularies against Uruguay."

A case of whine

Brad Dickson of the World-Herald in Omaha, Neb., after an Oregon high school won a three-game baseball series by a combined score of 127-1: "In a sign of the times, the losing coach blamed all three losses on bad calls by the umpires."

Welcome home

Former Texas Rangers player Ian Kinsler waved to his former teammates after he belted a home run off Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis on Tuesday night in the Detroit Tigers' 8-2 victory.

"It was nothing personal at all. I was just saying hi," Kinsler said, insisting he was motioning to no one in particular. "I mean, it was my return home, and I get lucky enough to square one up like that and have it go over the fence, it was a good feeling. I was just having fun."

There wasn't much of a reaction from the Rangers dugout to Kinsler's antics, and there was no retaliation later in the game despite the lopsided score.

In today's overly sensitive baseball world, that's actually notable.

Sports quiz

Name the six major-league players who have hit at least one home run in 40 major-league stadiums.

Sports answer

Sammy Sosa (45), Ken Griffey Jr. (44), Fred McGriff (43), Ellis Burks (41), Mike Piazza (40) and Gary Sheffield (40)

Sports on 06/26/2014