A poor choice of words
The real beer tosser!
A poor choice of words
Sam Donnellon, Daily News Sports Columnist
Hey folks, the real beer tosser has turned himself in.
Here's the link
www.suntimes.com/sports/1715030,cubs-beer-throwing-13.article
Most of what Shane Victorino has said about a beer being poured on him Wednesday night has been forgiving and refreshing. At first he jokingly commended the ``timing’’ of the throw, brushed it off as no big deal, laughed about it even.
But the Cubs and the city of Chicago? Not so much. Cubs front office personnel apologized personally to Victorino before Thursday’s matinee, Cubs manager Lou Piniella did after the game, and two Chicago cops took his statement after Wednesday’s 12-5 victory.
When Shane subsequently decided to file a complaint, his tone changed a bit too. He said, ``The guy should be held accountable’’, a sentiment slapped all over both Chicago newspapers Thursday.
That’s right. Even if Shane is just helping Chicago find the right guy and not all that outraged (as it seems), the hammer of the law needs to come down hard on these people, so it stops.
But this, uttered after he filed a civil complaint about the incident, was chilling, even if unintentionally so: ``If it happens on the streets, I don't think he'd be walking too far with something like that happening in the streets,’’ Shane said.
It was just less than three weeks ago that a spilled beer inside of McFadden’s Restaurant led to a fatal gang beating in a parking lot outside of Citizens Bank Park. No, it didn’t quite happen on the streets, but the ridiculous overreaction to the slight did, and it led to the death of a 22-year-old man, David Sale.
I’m sure the Phillies centerfielder wasn’t thinking about this when he made his comments yesterday. But he should be careful with his words. Pouring a beer on a centerfielder is unacceptable. So, too, is taking the law into your own hands.
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Comments (68)
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Sam - come on...you cannot be possibly be making a correlation about a great competitor's true comments (this guy WOULD take a beating on the street ANYWHERE if he poured an unprovoked beer on anyone), and that senseless homicide in front of McFadden's - those guys were nothing but Fishtown white trash that are going away for a long time. I really though you were a better journalist - this is nothing but reaction mongering.— CTL- Comment removed.
- Sam, go with decaf...relax.— cm3737
- For once I must say this article is dumb. He made a honest statement, and he didn't say HE was going to hurt anyone.— syrdude
- What a ridiculous stretch to make out of that comment. I seriously cannot believe you went through the trouble to write about something that no one but you would think of.— tutpsu
- It was lame comment. You know, most people don't resort to fist fights to resolve matters, believe it or not. Third-graders, yes, adults, no.— Jim C.
- You have GOT to be kidding me.— cmp1968
- What Shane is saying is if your in the stands and do something stupid, you pretty much get away with it.— Ken B
- I think the point that Shane was trying to make was that it takes a gutless person to do something like that when they know that the person on the other end can't do anything about it. No MAN would do something like that, the kid was a coward.....and Sam, you're just as low to try to make this connection. I guess it's because you're too lazy to do any REAL reporting.— baseball_fan
- The only possible reasoning behind this article is Donnellon had some big-time writer's block and had to write about SOMETHING.— riles1875
- And they wonder why the inquirer/daily news are going bankrupt??? this article/blog/reporter explains it all.— baseball_fan
- Sam, I like you, but I think that correlation was a poor choice of words. While I say that, though, I'm sure there are a lot of family and friends of David Sale who may disagree with me, but I hope not. There's spilling a beer on someone, throwing a beer on someone (which once provoke me into an argument-and the only time I've ever been thrown out of anywhere when someone threw a beer on a friend of mine at a Phillies game the last year at the Vet-that guy stayed at the game and I got thrown out with a friend who happened to wear a shirt that had the other teams colors-he just wanted to go to a baseball game and hang out, and didn't know anything about the other team.). Throw a beer, and you deserve to at least get thrown out of where you are-do it and hide behind a fat guy who took the blame for it-you shouldn't be allowed at any more games. Ever. Maybe Ozzie was right-Wrigley is just a bar. I understand where you're coming from Sam, but I think you may have stretched it a little too far. (Also-wasn't this the town that includes such father and son outings as "beat up the old man coaching first for the other team?")— Skwimua
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- There is a difference between accidentally spilling a beer on someone (which happened in the David Sales accident) and blatantly dumping a beer on someones head. Come on Sam— yer23
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- Good point Sam! He should be thinking about some obscure beating that happened at the ballpark weeks ago that the entire news community has forgotten about aleady. I know whenever I'm angry, I think to myself "What happened at Citizens Bank Park?" before I say anything!— Pedestrian
- this is a ridiculous article - classic blaming the victim and making him look bad— harris09
- i'm a teetotaling vegan. if i spilled soy milk on someone, would that get the same reaction?— kiwi
- sam your a joke.— theanswer80
- Sam - David Sale was NOT killed in a "fatal gang beating." You make it sound as if the Crips and Bloods were involved. Yeah, Sale was outnumbered, 3-1, but "fatal gang beating"? Are you kidding?— PhillyTheKid
- Sam Donnellon is such a tool. This article proves it.— fiveforone
- Sam, that's a big stretch...come on, man...— canada51stSTATE
- Sam...just hang-up the pink Apple laptop.— jlhocken
Sam, you officially are the biggest idiot in news. Time to think about a new profession.— Justicek- And another thing, the police are reporting that the guy who threw the beer on Shane booed Santa Claus and cheered when Michale Irvin broke his neck. See, I did the same amount of effort to report the news as you did.— Justicek
What an ill timed article.- Give me a break Sam. Try looking somewhere else for some controversy.— samtheman
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- Sam can't you get a job at the New York Post and leave us alone?— BobbyD
- Sometimes, my dog barks just to hear itself make noise. Seems like my dog and this writer have something in common.— zdog
- Sam's comments are his usual ivory tower rant. It's easy to sit back and judge other people's words, and twist them to whatever context he wishes. We live now in a society that sticks microphones in public figures faces every day. Sam is fortunate that his written words he puts out for public consumption are carefully-crafted and possibly edited by his paper. Public figures occassionally make mistakes from over-exposure from unscripted interviews where the content can't be controlled. Shane would have forgot the whole beer-throwing incident, however he appears to have been pressed by outside forces to file charges against the beer-throwing idiot to make an example of him. Sam needs to judge whether Shane was being intentionally malicious. Most people would believe that was not his intent, so Sam need not turn a molehill into a mountain. I wonder how Sam would like a microphone thrown in his face frequently even at times when you are tired and might say the wrong thing. However, Sam lacks empathy for the public figures because that's how people like Sam make their living. Be careful of nose-bleeds in your ivory tower, Sam.— RunningTheBases
- Funny, the thought of the McFadden saga never crossed my mind when I heard Shane's comment...... get your head out of your rear end, Sam!!!— joeolive
- How does the social liberalism get in the way sports writing? See this ridiculous post. Are you kidding me (us)? Talk about comparing apples to oranges and a stretch for even the most free-thinking minds. The only thing Shane was saying was that there are repercussions for doing something face to face as oppsed to a safe distance between the seats and the field. It wasn't social commentary and sure wasn't something that needed to be analyzed by some guy who consistently had his lunch money stolen from him every day of his childhood up until senior year of college. What a joke of a man you are.— phillyjeffsr
- You're assuming that Shane was making a threat to the guy, that he would kill him if it happened in the streets. Maybe Shane was only saying that those types of actions could be very dangerous and that if the guy had done it to someone in the street, like the guy at McFaddens, it would be a deadly situation, so the guy needs to learn to stop it before that happens.— atp2007
- Talk about missing the point! Shane was the victim and you try to blame him??? He is right -- this "man" would never throw a beer on a guy when he wasn't separated by a high wall. If he did --- he would get punched, as he well deserves.— maude
- Shane was totally saying that three guys should punch and kick this guy to death. Oh wait, that's right, he wasn't.— DS17
- "molehill into a mountain" is the perfect analogy here. Nice job Runningthebases.— phillyjeffsr
- Shane was stating a simple fact of urban life (tough streets) and Sam turns it into a rant that implies Shane needs sensitivity training. In my book Sam owes Shane a big apology. I'll beat that at every party Sam attended in college, some jock poured beer on Sam and the guy he was dating.— Delaware Jim
- Typo--Make that "I'll bet.— Delaware Jim
- Hey, the law will handle this...Fortunately Shane's okay and he did the right thing in filing the charges (I am sure the union suggested he do so). Sam, I am curious, you posted this hours after an extremely well pitched game by Cliff Lee. Philly.com homepage and sports page spoke very little about Lee's contribution to sweeping Cubs and extending the Phils win streak AND keeping their lead over the Marlins. The announcers made a big issue of the winds blowing out of Wrigley and Lee needed to pitch away to stay in the yard.hmm 1 run in 8 innings save bullpen, teaching Cole how to "pitch". That's worth writing about.— FanThru It All
- Sam - you are a bit oversensitive. Go pour a beer on Paul Jolovitz - it will make you feel better. Trust me.— laymank
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- sam must've been up against his quota for blog posts or something b/c this one is completely worthless. are you taking lessons from bob ford or something?— jazztafari
- Give me a break, Sam.— Eagles
- Try again, Sam. This makes no sense.— pizzmoe
- yer 23...you're absolutely right...my sentiments exactly...— johnhenry
- Sammy Say Stupid— djsaitta
- This is a ridiculous, nonsensical stretch. I regret reading this....— MikeInDE
- Sam, There's no way Shane knows about the spilled beer that led to the parking lot disaster. To publicly chastise him for that is weak, maybe even ridiculous.— defg0003
- I don't think Shane was condoning violence with his comments, but I think he was essentially pointing out the beer thrower's cowardice. Right or wrong, there would have been some sort of confrontation if he threw a beer on someone in another setting, but he tossed one at Shane because he was able to just slink into the crowd and act like nothing happened. He probably wouldn't have done it in a normal setting where he would have been confronted over it.— perfectcrime
- This was a stupid article.— ejbphila
- the last time im reading anything from this sam guy— broad
- I mean, seriously, I am really mad. This "article" belongs in a personal blog at best, not on philly.com. Can't you write about something useful and insightful, instead of twisting Shane's words around to create this garbage? What were you thinking?— ejbphila
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- I agree with you Sam. If Shane wants to think that, it is on him. But to say it and have it publicly out there how you feel, puts a bad taste in the mouths of people reading his comments. I think the guy should be held accountable, but I would have to stop there or say that I hope that justice prevails.— jmac1975
- Ridiculous. I agree with Shane 100%, if some punk kid walked up to someone he didn't know, let alone had a grudge with, and dumped a beer on their head, something would happen. At the very least they would be arrested and not "walk". For all you know that is what Shane was talking about, that if this happened on the street they would be in jail that same night, but when it happens in front of millions of people on live TV, they walk free. Of course, he could have also meant "If you assault someone on the street, prepare for a fight." which is fine too. I mean, come on, if you have the gall to THROW a cup full of beer at someone intentionally, then you shouldn't be surprised when they go upside your head. It's common sense man.— hypernetic
I know a lot of you writers don't like Victorino. He's got a little Curt Schilling in him--another gamer and fan favorite you guys used to love to hate. He speaks his mind as if he were talking straight to the fans and not to you writers. That really gets under your skin, so you love to knock him every time he gets caught stealing or is too impatient at the plate. Early last year you and your buddies openly mused one night on DNL that watching Victorino in center makes you realize how much we lost when Aaron Rowand left. Oh really??? One of you joked about how he "takes the longest route possible to catch a fly ball," as you all warbled in laughter. Maybe so but he's got a ring and he plays harder than 99% of the league. Don't be surprised if he racks up an MVP award in the next few years. Maybe then you'll write a complimentary article, such as you finally had to acknowledge with future Hall of Famer Curt Schilling. But only after he left town after begging for years to stay and build a winner. What foolish dreamers players like Schilling and Victorino are. That's why us fans loved them from day one.- Poor choice of words by you Samuel— philzfan1
- This is quite a stretch... and a yawn.— murray1
- Yo Sam, give your paycheck back because you don't deserve it. If someone throws a beer at me, they'd wish they hadnt. No ones saying he threatened get a crowd of cowards and beat someone to death. Mano-y-mano....those punks from kensington dont know what that means, but most do.— paul66
Wow that came out of nowhere. Besides the two incidents involving a beer I just don't get the connection.- I commented before reading everyone else's postings. I would like to retract my comment. There's no sense in kicking a man when he is down.
- how many games do we have to lose before Charlie gets the message that Brad Lynch should go back to triple AAA? Didn't he send Bret Myers back to get his head back on right?????— Therese R. Naylor
Oh what a wuss this columnist. Anyone would say the same as Victorino did, whether they'd back it up or not. What the fan did is a clear incitement to violence and indeed if he went around doing that on the street, he wouldn't last long.- There must be a shortage on things to write about.— KarenD
- why did you write that?— phillynupe4
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About this blog
Donnellon's career began in Biddeford, Me., in 1981, and has included stops in Wilkes-Barre, Norfolk, and New York, where he worked as a national writer for the short-lived but highly acclaimed National Sports Daily. He has received state and national awards at each stop and since joining the Daily News in 1992 has been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania and the Keystone Awards. He and his wife of 26 years have raised three fine children, none of whom are even the least bit impressed with the above. E-mail Sam at donnels@phillynews.com
Reach Sam at donnels@phillynews.com.
Sam Donnellon
Daily News Sports Columnist
Reach Sam at donnels@phillynews.com.
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