The Chicago Bears have never been a personal favorite, but I salute them on a venue moniker that will never go out of style. It speaks of strength - like old footage of Dick Butkus and his bloody hands.
Yankee Stadium is another keeper. The pinstripers should be applauded for resisting a venue name change - not to mention the corporate money that would come with it.
Friday shed light on a different kind of dilemma involving a venue name. What if the man you name your court after finds himself in an embarrassing predicament?
Montana Tech's basketball digs are named in honor of Kelvin Sampson, who parted ways with Indiana after being accused of NCAA violations for a second time in his coaching career. Sampson guided the Orediggers from 1981-85, garnering adoration from many Montanans.
“He's a great man and did a tremendous amount for our university,” Joe McClafferty, Montana Tech athletics director, said last week. “For me, especially as a player here, I learned life lessons from him I'll never forget. He'll always be someone I think of fondly in my heart.”
At a time when Sampson is being butchered by the national media - he's been called everything from a “cheater” to a “very bad man” to “flat-out dumb” - McClafferty's loyalty is intriguing.
“Our court will stay Kelvin Sampson Court,” McClafferty said. “We still love the guy and if he wants to come back, we'd sure take him.
“He came here, thought he was taking a job for $1,100 a week, and it was actually $1,100 a month. He took over a program in shambles and within one season he turned it into a winning program.”
Throwing famous people under a bus has become a popular form of entertainment in our society. It's hard to find a morning radio show - talk or otherwise - that doesn't blast off on Britney Spears semi-regularly.
To them she's almost sub-human; trailer trash that deserves the trouble she encounters. But I see her as a confused young person who has fallen victim to addiction and may suffer from mental illness. I don't see the humor.
Imagine the cracks if the late Janis Joplin were dealing with her addictions in today's society. Fortunately the world wasn't so vicious back in the 1960s.
Sampson got what he deserved for breaking rules. He'll serve his time in college basketball purgatory, perhaps even as an assistant coach somewhere.
But McClafferty wants us to know about the positive impact Sampson has had on Butte. Just last May he donated $50,000 for a Tech facelift.
We all have our ideas about how seriously the ex-Hoosier head man messed up. Why someone so adept would use such poor judgement is a mystery.
But McClafferty won't change his mind about Sampson Court. No matter what you think.
Such unconditional loyalty may be hard to understand, but compassion is not a crime.
Talk about a friend in need.
Columnist Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.
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