What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:
1
As word comes down this morning from the NCAA on what, if any, punishment the Oregon Ducks football team will be given for payments made to a recuiting service, Talking Points Central came up with a few ideas for punishment:
• Oregon has to tell its opponents when it will snap the football.
• Oregon’s offense will also have to huddle.
• Oregon will be limited to just two uniforms (1 home and 1 away).
• From our own Paul Valencia via Twitter: “I’m really hoping it’s so bad that SMU fans will say, ‘Dang, that’s pretty harsh.’ “
2
No one can accuse the Harlem Globetrotters for not branching out.
The popular traveling basketball team drafted WNBA dunking star Brittney Griner and New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-8 Griner had a stellar career at Baylor and became the first WNBA player to dunk twice in a game in her debut with the Phoenix Mercury after being taken with the No. 1 overall pick of the WNBA draft. The Globetrotters’ North American tour runs from December through April and would not overlap with the WNBA season.
The Globetrotters already have two female players, TNT Maddox and T-Time Brawner.
As for Rivera, well, his is an honorary draft choice.
Said the Globetrotters organization to ESPN: “In the fourth quarter, when the Globetrotters need to close out a game, who better than the best closer of all-time?”
3
A poll was conducted by The Washington Post … in Washington, D.C. … about the Washington Redskins nickname.
Can you guess how the locals feel about their NFL team’s name?
With a percentage just a tad lower than Robert Griffin III’s 2012 completion rate, 61 percent of those polled said they like the team’s name, and two-thirds indicated the team should not change it.
Home-field advantage? Maybe.
But as The Washington Post story pointed out: “Despite all of the public debate over the issue, around 8 in 10 Redskins fans and non-fans alike say changing the name would not affect their support for the team.”
For more Talking Points, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/talkpoints360
