Let this injury-plagued NBA postseason serve as a reminder to us all of the importance of paid sick leave.
Anyway, here’s a review of everything from Undrafted this June, in case you missed it:
Naomi Osaka Doesn’t Want to Talk: My initial reaction to Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open, which turned into a dissent from what seemed like the conventional wisdom at the time—that the French Open would regret pushing Osaka out. Osaka has since withdrawn from Wimbledon as fine, and ratings for the French Open were unexceptional but basically fine.
Don’t Forget the “Systemic” Part: The racist Bob Brenly comments about Marcus Stroman served as a useful case for looking back on what’s happened to the phrase “systemic racism.”
Hating the Media is Easy… Too Easy: In which I warn against the temptations to bash the media, since it is so often exploited by reactionary charlatans.
“More NBA, Fan Unrest, and Naomi Osaka”: Another episode of the Lefty Specialists, in which James and John broke down the first round of the NBA playoffs and compared Osaka to Marshawn Lynch.
How Sticky Stuff is Different From PEDs: Pretty self-explanatory: I go over how baseball’s foreign substances scandal differs from the PED debate of the 2000s.
“Coach K, Socialist Hero?”: A Lefty Specialists episode in which John tries to claim that Mike Krzyzewski’s career has actually been good for the Left.
Rules Are About Power: More thoughts about the sticky stuff debate, this time inspired by Tyler Glasnow.
“Baseball!”: A midseason baseball check in for the Lefty Specialists.
“Bobby Bonilla Day” is Anti-Labor: This was a fun for me, since I finally got to make the case that the fuss surrounding Bobby Bonilla’s contract—which was actually a good deal by the Mets!—is a subtle way of demonizing players for making money.