Blurring the Lines Between Sport and Entertainment

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Jun 28, 2005 4:26PM

Chicagoist is all for sports video games, but they certainly shouldn't take the place of actual sports! Fortunately, Northern League Commissioner Mike Stone changed his mind and overruled an earlier OK that would have had two innings of a minor league baseball game played by gamers representing the Kansas City T-Bones and Schaumburg Flyers. Chicagoist thought minor league baseball was all about the purity of the game, at least on the field itself. Letting Xbox pixel players on the stadium scoreboard help determine the outcome of the game? That's exactly the message we need to be sending kids. Will schools start replacing PE class with video games, too?

Not that the Flyers haven't blurred the line between real sports and entertainment before. Among the pitchers on their roster is Nigel Thatch, better known as Leon -- the self-centered football player in the Budweiser commercials. Thatch has made three appearances for the Flyers, including one start. In those three games, Thatch has posted a 16.88 ERA in 2.2 innings pitched. Leon better stick to the gridiron... ain't nobody payin' to watch that playin'.