THE DAILY each Friday offers our take on the performances over the past week of people and entities in sports business. Here are this week's newsmakers:
WIN: RICK WELTS – One of the most respected executives in sports received overwhelmingly support for his decision to reveal that he is gay in an effort to "pierce the silence that envelops the subject of homosexuality in men’s team sports.” Welts refuses to stop with his own revelation, going a step further and stating that he wants to mentor gay people questioning careers in the sports world. After 40 years in NBA circles, Welts' decision clearly wasn't arrived at easily, and hopefully it will prove to be a defining moment toward developing a better workplace atmosphere for homosexuals in sports.
LOSE: FOX -- Cross-promotion went awry last Saturday when comedienne SARAH SILVERMAN brought her raunchy brand of comedy to Fox' MLB booth during a Red Sox-Yankees telecast. Silverman opined on the benefits of LSD for pitchers, leaving TIM MCCARVER speechless and forcing JOE BUCK to flat out state that the network does not condone such use. After incidents with ARTIE LANGE and now Silverman, it seems like Buck hasn't had much luck with comedy since his Budweiser commercials with Leon.
DRAW: DAVID KAHN -- Definitely a case of it being best to leave comedy to the professionals. After missing out on the No. 1 pick in the NBA Lottery, the T'Wolves President of Basketball Operations hints with reporters that the process is fixed. After the entire sports media world publishes Kahn's remarks, he is forced to backtrack and say his comments were misconstrued and meant to be lighthearted. Watching video of the interview, one can see Kahn meant it to be a joke, but on paper the comments look like accusations toward the NBA, and that is something the league never takes lightly.
