How do you feel about Candace Parker's C-cup being referenced in this lede?

Bullshit. Every story on David Beckham mentions how hot he is. Every story on Sean Avery mentions his internship with Vogue. Every picture of Andy Roddick shows his shirt flying up.

Sex is a part of any top-selling athlete. That's the way it is. Patrick Ewing was never a top-flight endorser because the mofo was ugly as hell.

 

The examples you cite, I could have written for any editor I've ever had. I could never have written about a player's C cups. It's not just my imagination. Could not have gotten it past the desk. I think there is a difference between Shaq's feet and Parker's breasts, even if it's ESPN the Magazine writing about her marketability.

And to address your next post, it's one thing to say someone is hot. It's another to get specific about body parts and measurements. In this regard, too, there is a difference between a man's feet and a woman's breasts. If that weren't true, this thread wouldn't exist.

 

Candace Parker is beautiful. Breathtaking. I mean, there is probably someone, somewhere, masturbating to a picture of her right now. Go ahead. Take this article and disappear, if you're so inclined. We wouldn't blame you. She has flawless skin, endless legs, and a C cup that could fill out a sports bra like a job application. Did we mention her ass? Great ass. You know you'd hit it in the worst way. Parker may have even had orgasms at some point. Close your eyes right now and picture it. Maybe she's wearing a Tennessee Vols uniform top and Pat Summit is barking out orders from the other side of the bedroom. There might even be a whistle involved. She is sweet and nice, but that's not as important as her ability to plan one-on-one, if you get what I'm hinting at. And if you don't, let me spell it out: Candace Parker would be a great lay. So watch the WNBA and dream of the possibilities.

 

Not having read the story yet, I will refrain from comment, except to ask this: Do you think she feeds the moose when they play at Seattle?

 

Wouldn't the use of a word like "curvaceous" or "buxom" or a reference to an hourglass have gotten the same point across just as well?

Perhaps the fact that we are talking about something that appeared in ESPN Magazine is enough of an accomplishment for it and the article's author. Sad, but quite possible. Some people write for the right reasons, other people write to get noticed.

 

When an athlete (like Beckham) makes a major effort to show 'hot' it's fair game. Gabrielle Reese naked? Fair game. Danica sprawled on the hood of the car? Uh-huh.

This is a pregnant woman who, according to the story, 'never flaunts' her Cs.

And back to the MJ comparison: He had every opportunity to flaunt himself as a sex symbol, and never did. All those Hanes ads, with pro athletes posing in underwear? He refused. Never posed shirtless (although some would say that was because he has a fraternity scar burned into his skin), never sold himself as a sexy guy. Can a woman do the same? Probably not....hard to hide those C cups, I guess.

 

Yes. This is closer to being the equivalent of IJAG's "Beckham is hot" than are the two references to C cups.

The writer, with possible encouragement from an editor, is veteran and talented enough to understand that it's better to say a live oak than simply a tree. But in this case, specificity was not the better choice.

 

Ijag, perhaps my view is skewed because male athletes are written about 10 times more than female athletes, and when you read about a female athlete it is more likely than not to include some reference to her "marketability" than not. You don't read about a male athlete's ability to draw new interest to the sport because they look a certain way.
Though I concede, I'm probably tone deaf when it comes to male athletes being marketed on their sex appeal.

 

A thorough, hard-hitting investigation of her underwear drawer while Candace was in the bathroom?

 

"John Daly is proud of his C-cups"

 

Excellent reference!

 

I also agree with this sentence. It made me wonder if a writer for a sports magazine in Europe, where topless beaches are the norm, not the exception, would have written this lede complete with two references to C cups. I doubt it, despite the absence of our Puritan freak-out-edness about breasts in this country. It just seemed unnecessary, and I say this as someone who appreciated C cups long before he knew what they were called.