THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 1994 TAG: 9412140573
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
The first person who observed that money is the root of all evil must have been a sports fan.
Open a newspaper. Switch on the tube. Hardly a day goes by that we aren't assaulted by the news that money is being wasted on ungrateful athletes.
Whether it's Tonya Harding's attorney fees or the millions shelled out at golf greedfests, a lot of the money that was thrown around in 1994 could have been put to better use.
The games and matches, tournaments and races - not to mention the court cases - receive more media coverage than ever. But by year's end, it is always the same sport that gets most of the attention.
It's called Moneyball.
An NBA rookie settles for $60 million, and we shrug.
The Fox Network spends billions so that Terry Bradshaw can blather for their affiliates and we say, ``Why not?''
We hardly noticed when golfer Fred Couples won $750,000 in November for playing a series of made-for-TV exhibitions.
One way or another, fans subsidize this sort of madness. And what do they get for their trouble? Nothing but aggravation.
Strikes. Lockouts. Drug scandals. The contempt of owners and players alike.
Money does not always print a pretty picture. But sometimes it can, especially when we contribute to the Joy Fund.
Every year at this time, the Joy Fund asks for donations so that underprivileged children in our communities will have presents to open on Christmas morning.
The millionaires who are paid to play games and appear in commercials are supposed to be there for the kids, their truest fans.
They often aren't.
The Joy Fund always is.
Last year, because so many of you cared enough to give, the Joy Fund raised $370,000.
This season, the program is expanding to the Eastern Shore. The new goal is $400,000.
That's not a lot of money for a middle reliever or a first-round draft choice, but you'd be amazed at the good it can do.
After knocking off Larry Donald the other day, heavyweight fighter Riddick Bowe wasted part of his purse on a $275,000 Rolls Royce.
It's another reminder that we do not look to sports for examples of fiscal responsibility.
Possibly, $400,000 is not enough to pay for all the lunches the baseball players and owners have been eating when they should have been negotiating.
It is not enough money to jump-start the NHL season.
In time, it might not be enough to cover Dennis Rodman's fines.
You couldn't make one of those annoying sneaker commercials for $400,000, even if you wanted to.
Before taxes, Darryl Strawberry can make that much signing autographs.
It's money enough, though, to make a big difference. It's money that will give Christmas to 32,000 children.
'Tis the season when the baseball and hockey players are striking over a salary cap.
We can't do anything about their problems. But we can see to it that, in our own communities, there won't be a cap on joy. MEMO: Mail Joy Fund contributions to: The Virginian Pilot/The Ledger-Star, 150
W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk 23510.
KEYWORDS: JOY FUND by CNB