What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:
1
Let’s be clear: We at Talking Points are big supporters of bringing Northwest League baseball to Clark County.
How big? Well, not big enough that we can fill the projected funding gap between the amount of money the owners of the Yakima Bears and the county have each offered to contribute to building a stadium.
But we can offer a few ideas (we understand that some of these might technically be legal only for non-profits, but hey, we’re talkin’ baseball):
• There’s the always-popular 50-50 raffle.
• Everyone likes a good car wash, right?
• Maybe a golf tournament at one of our fabulous courses. Or, a home run hitting contest staged by one of the local indoor batting facilities.
• And we definitely know some folks who’d be all-in for a poker tournament.
If nothing else, we’d be happy to hold a sign at a freeway ramp. But, come to think of it, Greg Biffle would probably raise more than we can.
Seriously, any good ideas?
Now is the time for them.
2
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday wrote that players in the Little League World Series should be paid.
“… Little League became Big Business a long time ago, and while the concept is sure to shock and outrage (it has when I’ve written it in the past), the truth is it’s long past time for a simple change.
“The players should be paid.
“Not every Little Leaguer, just the ones who play on television, where their innocence is packaged into a commodity. And, no, they shouldn’t make millions or even hundreds of thousands.
“They should get something, maybe several hundred per television appearance. If it made people more comfortable that the money went to a college savings fund or maybe into a trust that becomes available when they’re 18 or 21, so be it.”
We don’t think Wetzel is kidding.
And we happen to think he’s got a good point: The behemoth Walt Disney Co., is raking in profits from the efforts of unpaid child labor.
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