Anyone who has ever attended an event at either the Fleet Center (I know it has a new name, but I'm not calling that gentrified monstrosity of anything that includes the word "Garden" in it) or Fenway Park is acquainted with the gentleman who stands at the entrance way and announces to one and all that the end of the world is nigh.
After recent events, I'm starting to think he may not be that crazy after all.
Those familiar with Sports Illustrated know its signature "This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse" piece. If recent actions in the world of sports are any indication, however, the Day of Judgment may have already come and gone.
It seemed like things couldn't get any worse after five members of the Duquesne basketball team were shot after leaving a party in September.
But a massive brawl during Saturday's football game between Miami and Florida International resulted in the suspension of 31 players and just may have raised the bar for violence in sports. In one of the more horrendous actions, Miami sophomore safety Anthone Reddick charged across the field and beat another player with his helmet. Punishments for the players have ranged from indefinite suspensions to two players on FIU's team being dismissed.
This event comes on the heels of another despicable act. Barely two weeks ago Tennessee Titans' defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was ejected after smashing his spikes into the face of Dallas Cowboys' center Andre Gurode, who's helmet had come off during the previous play. Gurode could have lost his eye, but all Haynesworth received was a five-game suspension.
During Saturday's Miami-FIU melee, Hurricanes analyst and former player Lamar Thomas was fired for his comments during the fight, including his contention that the FIU team got what it deserved, claiming "You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked."
Incredibly, Thomas' comments were not the dumbest thing to come out of a sports commentator's mouth this month. No, that honor goes to Steve Lyons. Lyons truly earned his nickname "Psycho" for the comments he made during Game 2 of the Dodgers-Mets series. Lyons, along with fellow idiot-savant (minus the savant) Thom Brennaman, berated a Mets fan in the crowd who had an odd looking device on his face.
The two hypothesized on what the contraption could be, with Brennaman offering "a Psycho-meter" and Lyons quipping, "Maybe he's in virtual reality [and if he is] he should stay there." Lyons then one-upped himself with the suggestion that it was a "digital camera stuck to his face."
The routine lasted for 53 seconds, but the joke was on Lyons, as the "Psycho-meter" turned out to be a magnifying device for the 64-year-old man who was blind except for peripheral vision in one eye.
Now, in Lyons' defense, he is a moron. Brennaman later apologized for the insensitive comments, but it seems "Psycho" can't keep his mouth shut, as on Oct. 13 he insulted ... well ... anyone with common sense, by mocking Lou Piniella on-air for "hablaing Espanol" after Piniella used several Spanish phrases during Game 3 of the ALCS. Even FOX had to acknowledge Lyons' idiocy, and it finally did the world a service and fired him.
Violence and stupidity are necessary evils of sports. They provide balance; you can't have a Roberto Clemente without also getting a Jose Canseco. And for all the charitable acts that sports stars do, there's always a Ray Lewis or Jayson Williams trying to kill somebody.
But the violence that is plaguing sports is indicative of a society that is moving towards dire straits. Suspensions and dismissals are only dealing with those individuals stupid enough to throw a punch or make an insulting comment. The environment that promotes these actions, however, endures.
Somewhere, Bobby Knight is choking a player and shedding a tear.
Andrew Bauld is a senior majoring in English and political science. He can be reached at andrew.bauld@tufts.edu.
