I mean.ĬORNISH: I don't even know what that means. IZRAEL: I mean, that's where I am on that. And that makes me sound like an awful person, and I'll be that dude. And I live in the home of the Cleveland Indians. In their most recent ruling, they rescinded the team's trade mark registration, saying it's, quote, "disparaging to Native Americans." And, of course, the team is appealing the effort. Audie?ĬORNISH: Yeah, I mean, basically, the team's been going back and forth with the Patent Office for a while over this. And they're trying to hit him where it hurts - his pocketbooks. Patent and Trademark Office is upping the ante. He's dug in on keeping the team name even though critics say it's a racial slur. Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, that infamous team, has a new problem on his hands. IZRAEL: But speaking of people hitting the ground, you know, let's talk about some real, American football. I just hit the ground, like.ĬORNISH: It's also popular in basketball, right? I remember some news stories going by, complaining about people's flopping. You know, I was kind of running a little low. I had to flop during the defense of my MFA, man. IZRAEL: No, no it has other applications. A.C., real talk - I mean, that works in real life 'cause, you know, I had.ĬORNISH: That's called insurance fraud, Jimi. But it really turns me off, as a casual fan, to watch these fantastic athletes with otherwise perfect body control just collapse in a heap.ĭADE: Well, to be fair, they are trying to cut down on that.ĬORNISH: You guys are all assuming everyone knows what flopping is, all right? So flopping is when, basically, conveniently near the official, you, like, manage to fall or. And then, man, you've really got an advantage. If you flop and there's a yellow card, and you flop and do it again there's another one. It's much worse than what's going on in the NBA because the stakes are higher. MINKOFF: I mean, it's much worse than the heat. And they run this gigantic field for two, 45 minute stretches with very few, if any, stoppages. And then you see these soccer guys, and they're - you know, they don't sub out. And we think of NBA players as maybe being the best athletes in the world. You know, we just came off the NBA Finals. You know what, you've got my attention, bro. IZRAEL: So, Doctor Neil, I understand you're into flopping. MINKOFF: Well, that's what it's all about, right? actually ties, or God forbid, wins, then, you know, ESPN and the American media - they're just going to blow their lids. But what is interesting is if Ronaldo is actually hurt or he doesn't play for Portugal on Sunday and the U.S. MINKOFF: To be fair, they've gone from absolutely terrible to, like, kind of mediocre, to OK-ish, to decent-ish.ĭADE: Now, their surprise win in Ghana only sort of supports that notion. They have chances this year to really advance. Every year, they - every year there's a World Cup or the Olympics, you know, they take any little thing and try to extrapolate it into something big. But really, sort of the more interesting angle so far - and I always trip out about this - is the American media's effort to sort of hype, or overhype, the American soccer team, team USA. So that sort of explains their tie to an inferior team in Mexico. But the way they're playing right now, it's like they're forcing it. They're, of course, you know, the dominant tradition with World Cup victories. For starters, Brazil, you know, because they're hosting, you know, the huge expectation in that country is that that team takes it.
I think - two things are standing out for me. Dade, are you down with the cup, bro?ĭADE: I am. OMAR: (Speaking with English accent) It's disgusting. IZRAEL: (Laughing) Who let Monty Python loose in the studio?
OMAR: (Speaking with English accent) We've been embarrassed again on football's grandest stage. OMAR: (Speaking with English accent) Typically, England really - isn't it? Sham bullock (ph) defending, lost track of Luis Suarez in the area. OMAR: Yeah, well, you might know I was born in England. You're feeling down about the poor English - the English guys - the World Cup lost, man. You know, soccer really isn't my game or match - but hey, oh. At NPR, the home of all your radio fun on your FM dial. Anyway.ĬORNISH: I feel like I should drop a hit or a remix or something after that. Shout out to Anowi Means (ph), Kyle Williams (ph), Jamie Dickson, Doctor Scope (ph), Paul Cox, John Cursy (ph) and Kristin Crane because those are my fam. First of all, before we get started I got to shout out some people. studio, contributing editor for The Root, Corey Dade.ĬORNISH: And along with Ahmad Omar, he's NPR editor with Morning Edition. Neil, I don't expect a robust hello, but how are you?ĬORNISH: And in here in our Washington, D.C. CORNISH: Healthcare consultant and contributor to National Review Online, Neil Minkoff.