Why Scoop's Vegas Column TRUMPS Whitlock's

Just who is Scoop's target demographic? In a way, that seems like a racist statement to say that Scoop needs to use ebonics and name-drop to reach his targeted "group." Frankly, I believe most people who are reading columns on ESPN or anywhere else prefer well-written, interesting and identifiable stories, regardless of race.

 

You nearly had me - until right about here:

 

the real question is, were you able to get that shitty taste out of your mouth there poop?

 

Scoop's the Tupac of web sports. Too bad he didn't get whacked in Vegas like his boy. By the way, does this make whitlock Biggie Smalls?

 

please. it is what is. and it doesn't need to be justified by pretending it has deep roots in africa. gimme a freaking break. it's slang. every culture has slang.... now go finish editing the source's next cover story and telling everyone how down you are.

 

some people try too hard to rid themselves from their SLAVE ROOTS it isn't funny. At the end of the day - your family was a SLAVE and your master was the White man and YOU continue to be a good house negro for a few choice scraps of steak (however in this instance - acceptance).

The problem is: THEY CUT YOU OFF!

now go edit your aol column and create new ways to "invalidate" blackmen.

 

People who define themselves primarily by race, Sportsbruh, do not have much of a life to define themselves by.

But I fully expect that truism to sail right over your head.

 

Spoken like a true whitey.

 

Put your stats to shame, buddy.

 

it has nothing to do with being "down" (trust me - i'm as white as it gets). it has to do with actually knowing a thing or two about sociolinguistics. yes, standard american english is receives much higher value in our society. yes, it would be in the best interests of anyone who grows up speaking ebonics (regardless of their race) to master the mainstream dialect so they can be taken seriously by the white majority. but any linguist worth his or her salt will tell you that ebonics is far more than just slang. of course any journalist worth his or her salt will tell you to abide by the grammatical rules of the standard american vernacular.

for many blacks who grew up surrounded by ebonics, that means they must conform to the majority in order to be successful. i think that's unfortunate, while many others may not. the bottom line is this - standard english is "proper" because whites, in the course of establishing this country, defined it to be proper. ebonics is considered inferior because whites defined it to be inferior. in the 18th and 19th century, the british viewed our english the same way we now view ebonics. it's all a matter of who is setting the rules.

getting back to scoop...i don't want to considered sportsbruh's right-hand man because i really do think scoop's espn.com stuff has been consistently mediocre, but i understand why they hired him. when he was at slam, his features were always worth reading. if nothing else, you knew he was going to piece some words together originally and impressively. he paid special attention to cadence and apposition, and that was refreshing. now, as for his reporting abilities, that's a whole different story...

 

Rhythmic crap is still crap

 

Who can ask for anything more?