ESPN PUNS LINSANITY

The war of the words is hotting up, and it's not all nice. From the Jon Stewart "Daily Show" to late-night comedians and ESPN
headline writers, the Linsanity of Jeremy Lin's ascendance to overnight superstardom in the NBA has caused a stir fry. Not all of it nice.

First, ESPN broadcast a mistake that may have gone unnoticed if people didn't listen closely. On February 15, an ESPN analyst was discussing Lin's faults while commenting on the Knicks win against Sacramento and she said:. "If there is a chink in the armor, where can Lin improve his game?" she said,

Did she just say "chink", as in the racially offensive slur used against those of Asian descent? How did that pass by the FCC or ESPN overlords?
A lot of sensitive people want to know. Me, too.

Of course, this being America, land of the free and land of the quick apolo, ESPN moved quickly to apologize: "Wednesday night on ESPNEWS, an anchor used an inappropriate word in asking a question about Jeremy Lin. ESPN apologizes for the incident, and is taking steps to avoid this in the future.”

Then last Saturday morning, the mobile website for ESPN ran a headline about the Knicks' loss to the New Orleans Hornets, writing: "Chink in the armor." Oops. Chink? Chinaman? Kike? Wop? Greaser? Guinea? Wetback? Frog? Kraut? Slant-eyes? What's America's and ESPN's obsession with offending Lin and anyone who might think using the word "chink" as a lame pun in that headline? The news about the chink comment was
soon on all the TV stations in Taiwan, with local commentators talking on talk shows all day about the word, since most Taiwanese in Taiwan had never heard that slur before, since it's a very American and English word.

ESPN -- which stands for ''English Speaking Poop Network'' -- was quick to pull down the headline 30 minutes after it appeared and then issued apolo No. 2: "We are conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake."

Bad, bad, bad, bad. Said one commentator in NYC: "Oi. It's as if ESPN frat boy manning the terminals can't resist making a few immature jokes at the expense of a player whose last name has spawned countless bad puns and they think they can do better, maybe add a smirking joke in the copy. Let's hope whoever crafted that racist headline got a swift kick in the derriere, excuse my French, for degrading Lin, his fans and anyone of Asian-American descent."


So what does "a chink in the armor' mean as an idiom?

"An narrow opening and vulnerable area in one's armor that the
opponent will usually aim for. This term relies on "chink" in the
sense of "a crack or gap," a meaning dating from about 1400 A.D.and used
figuratively since the mid-1600s," says my dictionary, adding: ''A figurative term for a one's weakness, largest flaw or their
prevention of success."

Here's a sample sentence from a college frat party midterm exam paper: "Because of the chink in the armor of Sir Lancelot, his opponent was
able to break past his defense and inflict a dangerous flesh wound."

This Linsanity will go on. Be prepared for more bad puns, more racist insults, and more Asian bashing. It's now a ''free-for-all'', whatever that means!