Thoughts and Issues on a Friday

1. I was flooded with hate mail from WNBA fans for Wednesday's The WNBA is Over. Thank God, a post that had the potential to be much worse than it turned out to be. Apparently, I'm a negative for the feminist cause because I have a "a sizeable and loyal primarily male audience" and I "choose to sell out women" with my "chauvinistic views and opinions" when I could actually be doing women some good. Five people questioned whether I had a mother, as no woman could raise a girl that 1) "thinks like you do" and 2) "is so incredibly misguided and lost." And others concluded that if I do have a mother, she is not an athlete and my opinions were shaped by a dominant male figure. In addition, a few suggested that I'm "obviously a homophobe" (not to mention one with "intimacy issues") and a couple believe that I'm actually in the closet. So I should probably clear some things up:

a) I'm a feminist. I believe in the full social, economic, and political equality of women and making that a reality. But I never said anything about shutting down the WNBA or wiping women's hoops from the face of the earth. What I said was that the lack of talent and athleticism makes the league unwatchable. If 300 Diana Taurasi's played, I wouldn't opt for Law & Order: SVU on a random Monday night. Being a feminist doesn't mean I have to be a radical. I'm not going to get militant unless the Raiders or Yankees are playing and the only time you'll see me picketing is when I'm trying to get Norv Turner fired. I'm not rooting for women just because they're women, and I'm not going to keep my mouth shut when the ability of 75% of the players to walk and chew gum at the same time is extremely suspect.

b) Though it's true that I'm a Daddy's girl, my mother, is, in fact, alive and well. She rowed crew and played field hockey at Oxford University and loves sports but she'd rather watch a racquetball tournament than the WNBA.

c) I'm not a homophobe nor am I in the closet. According to The Gay-o-meter, I'm a "perfectly balanced hetero-babe" at 50% gay. But I will admit that a girl walked up to me at a party once and kissed me. I either didn't care for it or was too drunk to enjoy it. I'll also admit that if Salma Hayek propositioned me, I'd be all over her like the ship was goin down. By the way, I never said a word about the sexual orientation of some players or the league's willful blindness to the fact that their primary market is the GLBT community. Get over yourselves. Idiots.

2. Tyrone Willingham is not only a fraud, he's also completely insane.

"I did speak out about the situation (his firing from Notre Dame). My problem is I didn't say what somebody else wanted to hear. ... I haven't bit my tongue. I said exactly what Tyrone Willingham wanted to say. The world's not ready for what I wanted to say." - Willingham being insane

Uh... So is what Tyrone Willingham wanted to say different from what "he" wanted to say? I'm lost. I try not to harp on this issue too much for obvious reasons but what is it that the world isn't ready to hear? Is he gonna tell us that Notre Dame ran him out in a racist conspiracy between a priest and a CEO in the midst of a coup? That's what most of the misinformed world already believes. I don't know what more could shock the world unless Willingham reveals that he's actually the T-1000, sent from the future in the original form of Bob Davie in order to drive Notre Dame into the abyss of mediocrity and destroy the world. That would spin me out.

A message to Ty: Stop sounding like the Sphinx from "Mystery Men." Stick to getting blown out by 30+ once a season. It's what you're good at, you bloody stroker.

3. NFL Game of the Week: No, it's not the Diva Bowl between Oakland and Philly. I never look forward to times when I'll be a mess of tears and huddled in a corner. I'm itching to see the San Diego Chargers at home against the New York Football Giants on Sunday Night Football. I have to believe that Eli making a fool of their organization and fans is going to come back to haunt him in truly unpleasant ways this Sunday.

"It's insulting. And mark my words, it's going to come back on him. You start thinking about a guy like Pat Tillman, who turned down millions to go fight for his country. Then you think about Eli crying about where he wants to play football, and it just puts everything into perspective." - LaDainian Tomlinson

Meanwhile, Eli Manning prepares back in New York...

4) To Dave Smith from Tampa, the individual that left the comment in the previous post inquiring about my racial identity -- You were right on both accounts but if you ask the census, my school records, my driver's license, or any other document that records my racial status, I'm of an "ethnic persuasion," as you so eloquently put it. But a question for you -- what the hell does it matter? Cheers and thanks for stopping by.

[picture via The Hater Nation]