Andy Samberg Makes a Fine John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg
Today in sports: The New York Times Magazine gets silly for the U.S. Open, Sports Illustrated wants Miami to drop football again, and a tiresome sports debate is lampooned.
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The U.S. Open tennis championships begin next week in Queens, which is why Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg is dressed as John McEnroe and Bjorn Bjorg on the cover of the upcoming New York Times Magazine. We'll let the hardcore men's tennis fans fret about the health of a sport where a comedian dressed as two great players from 30 years ago has stronger newsstand appeal than a picture of any of the game's current top stars. We just think it's funny. A lesson for aspiring comedians and magazine photographers: you can never go wrong with puffy hair and athletic clothes from the 1970s. [Adam Sternbergh]
Sixteen years after Sports Illustrated's memorably sparse "Why the University of Miami Should Drop Football" cover, the magazine is once again calling on the school to stop fielding a football team. Like in 1995, the new request comes in the form of an open letter to the university's president from SI senior writer Alexander Wolff. This time at least he allows for some wiggle room, suggesting the move could only be temporary, giving the school time to address its problems and remake all of college sports in its new, improved image. It's a lovely thought, one with about as much chance of happening as Miami giving up football completely did back in 1995. [Sports Illustrated]
The question of whether college athletes should be paid is the Möbius strip of sports arguments. It loops back on itself every time there's a scandal involving boosters, or someone on local sports talk radio needs to fill two hours of airtime. Which is why we appreciated Yahoo Sports columnist Dan Wetzel's tongue-in-cheek look at whether Little League baseball players should be paid. Now all that's needed are similar pieces about whether to let steroid users into the baseball Hall of Fame, the pressing need for a college football playoff, and why Americans shouldn't find soccer boring. [Yahoo Sports]
