| There is no denying that the sports business these | | | | tempting to muse if the story was about some |
| days is awash in bright lights ...Quite often, though, | | | | incident after a play was 'long dead,' only a hardcore |
| the same can't be said for the people or practices | | | | Winter Olympics maven would recognize that a |
| involved.The passage of time, the fading of origins | | | | coach for the headfirst sledding events is in some |
| and the constant superseding of slang can combine | | | | sort of trouble. The sleighs involved in that discipline |
| to cause some curious contemporary contexts.To | | | | acquired the name 'skeleton' by a logic that was |
| start, have you ever really thought about how | | | | similar to that of the resultant term for putting a |
| pedantic the word 'quarterback' is? When the | | | | player a quarter of the way between the fullback |
| innovators who metamorphosed rugby into gridiron | | | | and the center: the sled involved is literally a |
| football were telling players where to stand, it was | | | | bare-bones equivalent of a bobsleigh or a luge, and |
| only logical to have someone placed all the way | | | | the engineers must have gotten to it before the |
| behind the line called a 'fullback.' By then, soccer | | | | marketers did. Of course, if you've ever seen this |
| already had two defending positions which used that | | | | sport in action, you could easily believe that its |
| term, so they surely provided the acceptable sporting | | | | moniker was derived from what was left of an |
| frame of reference. For the gridiron game's founding | | | | athlete if he ever lost control of his sled at |
| fathers to next place another player halfway | | | | 70mph.Given the apparent discord between sports |
| between the fullback and the linemen and call him a | | | | terminology and the perception of those same words |
| 'halfback' made sense, too. But, perhaps they overdid | | | | and phrases by the rest of the world, it's not |
| this theme by sticking a third player halfway | | | | surprising that sometimes, ordinary words can be a |
| between the halfback and the linemen and arriving at | | | | cause of confusion to those who have spent their |
| the unfortunately obvious titling conclusion.It only | | | | lives in the sporting arena.In the late 1960s, two |
| figures that such a mathematically correct --- but | | | | former gridiron football stars-turned-broadcasters --- |
| verbally clumsy --- location of a player would turn out | | | | New York Giants great, Pat Summerall, and |
| to describe the most important position in the game. | | | | Philadelphia Eagles receiver, Tom Brookshier --- were |
| Any sports fan has heard that word a thousand | | | | covering a game involving the Washington Redskins. |
| times and surely doesn't think twice anymore about | | | | At the time, those two were better known for |
| what it means or how silly it sounds. The rest of the | | | | socializing before the game than for preparing |
| salient world, though, is left to wonder what minds | | | | themselves for the broadcast. Brookshier, especially, |
| like those had named their kids.On the other hand, | | | | seemed to depend on the depth charts and player |
| the venerable game of cricket doesn't even think the | | | | profiles laid before them in the booth, rather than |
| word 'silly' sounds silly. Players' positions in that game | | | | doing his own research.During the course of the |
| are also defined by their location, and they actually | | | | game, a kickoff came to a relatively unknown |
| have a series of spots called 'silly point,' 'silly mid-off' | | | | Redskin named Herb Mul-Key. He got a couple of key |
| and 'silly mid-on.' In this case, it's truth in advertising. | | | | initial blocks, found a seam and scampered for a |
| That's because they're placed so close to the | | | | substantial return. It definitely warranted a comment |
| batsman that solid contact from a full swing could | | | | from the analyst, which was Brookshier's |
| result in serious bodily harm from a scorching line | | | | role.However, he clearly didn't know anything about |
| drive, which means that someone would have to be | | | | Herb Mul-Key. All he could do was look for something |
| absolutely foolhardy to play there. Or, maybe just | | | | of note on the player-bio card, and he thought he |
| silly. (Just so you're aware that all cricketers aren't | | | | found something."I see," he announced, "that Mul-Key |
| that crazy, the 'silly' locations are only occupied when | | | | went to No-Knee College. I've never heard of that |
| the fielding team believes the batsman will only take | | | | school."Summerall's pause was extended. Finally, with |
| defensive swings to protect his wicket.)Certain topics | | | | subtle exasperation, he finally made the correction."I |
| just weren't discussed in public a century ago. So, a | | | | believe the word is 'None,' Tom."Brookshire was truly |
| gridiron position like 'tight end' or a rugby position like | | | | a man trapped in sports. I guess that meant, to him, |
| 'hooker' never gave anyone a second thought. That | | | | the cue card had something in common with the |
| was then. I'm assuming those athletes frame their | | | | term for another rugby position:It was a tight head |
| conversations with non-fans more carefully | | | | prop.J Square Humboldt is the featured columnist at |
| now.There are times when even the sports media | | | | the Longer Life website, which is dedicated to |
| should think deeper about their choice of words. | | | | providing information, strategies, analysis and |
| Sports fans often have to do a double-take at | | | | commentary designed to improve the quality of living. |
| headlines being thrust before them. Here's a recent | | | | His page can be found at and his observations are |
| offering from ESPN.com:"Panel to Look at Claims | | | | published three times per week. |
| Against Skeleton Coach."While it might have been | | | | |