Robert Smith is Bryant Gumble's Daddy

I don't follow all the pro-sports gossip anywhere near as much as I used to, but there is one juicy tidbit making its rounds lately that I really like...

Before last season, the NFL (aka the most popular sports league on this continent) was facing a potentially serious labor dispute. The players' association (headed by Gene Upshaw) wanted more money, the owners didn't want to give the athletes more money, yadda yadda yadda. An 11th-hour deal was struck... a deal widely hailed as a big victory by the players' association. The season went on, the players made their money, the owners made thier money, the general public attended games and watched games and bought bookoo merchandise, and the entire sports-loving country was content.

To make a long story short, the league has a new commissioner as of a few weeks ago. During a recent TV show, Bryant Gumble (broadcaster on cable network) opined that the old commish needed to show the new commish where the old commish kept Gene Upshaw's "leash". Essentially, Gumble's opinion is that the players' association has no real power and that the commissioner is The Man who holds the players in the palm of His hand. Of course, this is nonsense, as Upshaw recently negotiated a deal more favorable to the players than any prior deal ever was.

I knew someone would step up and give a clearer opinion on the topic, but I didn't necessarily think it would wind up being an all-out assault on Bryant Gumble. Here is a magnificently-crafted quote from retired Minnesota Viking running back, Robert Smith. Please now always refer to Mr. Smith as "Bryant Gumble's Daddy":

"Bryant Gumbel has fallen in recent times. He's desperate to have a respected, national voice again, but the problem is a lot of people aren't listening anymore. So you've got to say something like that to get attention for yourself. But he's misinformed.

"To me, this is Gumbel's Dan Rather-type mistake. He's someone who has been around for a while and has some credibility, but who wants to believe a certain perception. I believe part of it with Gumbel is that Gene is a much more powerful black man than he is. And he's jealous of Gene's power and position. I think Gumbel's even jealous of where his former co-host Katie Couric is, and how she's moved on to a more powerful position and he still hasn't.

"Bryant Gumbel, when he puts himself out there like that, to admit (he's) wrong, it's the worst of all fates for people like that. (He's) not going to do it, because (he) needs to feel power, and to feel like (he's) still heard. I really wonder how much of this is a racial thing, and about somebody losing some power."