‘Saturday Night Live’ weighs in on Jeremy Lin story

New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin may already have a celebrity trash talker in his corner, but you know he’s the real deal when “Saturday Night Live”decides he’s no longer safe from late-night lampooning.

Following the ESPN.com headline fiasco and comments by Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock that were condemned as racist, “SNL” decided to make fun of all the puns that have been one of the hallmark features of Linsanity. The show’s writers also made up some of their own.

Lin’s unexpected rise from relative obscurity to NBA star has drawn plenty of media attention, and headline puns and nicknames are just part of the territory when it comes to a big story.

But as “SNL’s” joking points out, maybe all of this Linsanity stuff has lived too long a life.

Perhaps we should revert back to simply calling him Jeremy Lin and not give in to increasingly ridiculous nicknames and phrases that could be interpreted as stereotypical or racist.

After all, Lin can no longer be considered a temporary talent who’s simply had an amazing run -- he’s a legitimate NBA standout.

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