Maybe they should just go to NATS. Perhaps that would be easier for them to spell.

They would spell it NADS

maybe this link’ll work http://i.cdn.turner....

I believe this was discussed previously — the San Antonio player whose luggage was misdirected and had to wear an inside-out Bullets jersey.

“The good news is that Middlefield Cheese is a local operation, not a giant corporate monolith, but this is still completely ridiculous, especially at a high school facility, which should be as advertising-free as possible”

Just about every high school scoreboard at a football stadium has Coke or Pepsi on it. Sheesh.

Shawn said:

Well, I intentionally included the smiley to indicate half-joking-ness, but there’s no denying that ESPN is one of the most ubiquitous, farthest-reaching, self-promoting commercial entities on the planet. I didn’t mean to imply that your working for them was somehow unethical or hypocritical. I just meant that I get a kick out of the irony of the situation.

I don’t really see the irony. This web site runs advertising as well — so is that ironic too?

If you don’t see the irony, there’s nothing I’m going to say that’s going to show it to you.

Shawn said:

For the 18 gazillionth time: I’m not opposed to advertising per se. I just think there are places where it doesn’t belong. A high school is one of them.
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That’s what school taxes and booster drives are for. Can’t raise enough $$$ thru those methods? Then maybe your school doesn’t get to have the fancy-shmancy electronic scoreboard, and what’s so bad about that? It’s supposed to be about the game, not the frills.

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I’m not quite sure what “reputable” means in this context, or how you assess or measure it. But in any case, the purpose of Little League is to play baseball. The purpose of a school is to provide an education. The baseball (or football, or whatever) is secondary. I know a lot of people think school athletics are really, really, really important. Personally, I don’t. I’m not against them, mind you — I think they can be a great thing for the school and the community — but I don’t think they’re particularly high on the list of what a school is supposed to be doing, and I think they can often detract from, and divert resources from, the other things on that list.
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It’s not about the total amount. It’s about the notion of a school as a sanctuary that should be an ad-free zone, or as ad-free as possible (i.e., I realize the kids’ jeans will have a logo on the pocket, I realize textbooks have the publisher’s logo on the spine, blah-blah-blah). There are lots of things that are allowed outside the school that are not allowed inside. I feel advertising should be one of them.

You make some good points, but some of them are a bit contradictory. You’re simultaneously saying sports aren’t essential to education, but at the same time, the rules applied to a classroom should also be applied to am extra-curricular ball field.

That’s the very reason youth sports should have sponsors: we (hopefully) concentrate the majority of the taxpayers’ and parents’ resources on more important things. I’d much rather see a team play in “Middlefield Cheese Stadium” than see money that could be spent on new history books be spent on field-marking paint–in this particular case, for a recreational league to boot–instead.

Shawn said:

Your responses were all excellent — thanks for the good give and take.

I appreciate that.

I know a lot of people think school athletics are really, really, really important. Personally, I don’t. I’m not against them, mind you — I think they can be a great thing for the school and the community — but I don’t think they’re particularly high on the list of what a school is supposed to be doing, and I think they can often detract from, and divert resources from, the other things on that list.

This is why college sports suck, IMO.