The Sporting Life category archive
Cheaters Do Prosper . . . 0
. . . but, for once, not tonight.
Super Stray Thought 0
It’s not that contest’s stated purpose, but nothing illustrates the inanity and vacuousness of television sports commentary more than comparing it to a segment or two of The Puppy Bowl.
The Stink 0
I have wondered before in these electrons which is most corrupt, the IOC, FIFA, or the NCAA.
My question has been answered.
Tales of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0
Trumpling basketball in Cincinnati.
Some of the players identified themselves with phony names such as “Knee Grow” and “Coon,” which opponents believed were intended as racial slurs.
A Sign of Sporting Sanity 0
The Austrian state of Tyrol, which contains the city of Innsbruck, has voted against bidding to be the site of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Olympics long ago went from being a celebration of athletic prowess to become a branding frenzy of corporate greed, in the process morphing into more trouble than they are worth.
And then there’s the tantalizing question of which is more corrupt, the IOC, FIFA, or the NCAA.
Illegal Procedure Move Along Now, Nothing To See Here
0
For years, the University of North Carolina ran phony classes to help athletes maintain academic eligibility.
The NCAA has decided that it is incapable of enforcing any penalities against the UNC because argle-bargle. Mostly it has looked for reasons to not see what was right in front of it.
Dan Kane comments on the argle:
(snip)
Stuart Brown, an Atlanta lawyer who specializes in NCAA matters, said the committee followed its rules in making its decision. But he said the public is right to be concerned about the NCAA’s inability to act.
“If the NCAA can’t adjudicate this kind of issue, what is its real purpose?” he said. “Carolina institutionally used these sham courses for years and years to assist and maintain the eligibility of student athletes who then competed on behalf of the university and [UNC] gained advantage over schools where this course work, so to speak, was not available.”
UNC-Chapel Hill escaped NCAA sanctions, in what was one of the longest-running academic scandals in college sports history, in large part by refusing to identify as fraudulent 18 years of classes that had no instruction and were graded by a secretary.Follow the link for the bargle.
Afterthought.
I think the answer to Mr. Brown’s question is quite clear. The NCAA’s deeds betray it.
The NCAA’s purpose is marketing broadcast rights to media outfits.
Setting an Example of Sportsmanship 0
Peter Iappelli, 50, of Closter (New Jersey–ed.) approached the teenage coach during a peewee game at Westwood Middle School on Saturday morning, Detective Warren Morrell said. Iappelli grabbed the boy in a bear hug that turned into a chokehold, Morrell said.
According to my local rag, the assault was prompted by Iapelli’s son being rotated out of the position of quarterback.
He has been banned from the league.
Peewee football is first- and second graders, folks.
Plus ca Change 0
Don’t think that this is anything new.
Here’s a bit of historical perspective for all you youngsters out there.
The Professional Is the Political 0
Responding to a Wall Street Journal article whose author wistfully yearns for the good old days of “apolitical” big time sports, Justin Levin points out that such times exist only in Never Never Land. He explains why the national anthem is played before every pro baseball and football games (hint: it was a politicized decision). An excerpt:
Pete Rozelle, the commissioner of the NFL, and Spike Eckert and Bowie Kuhn, the commissioners of baseball, worked to put their sports on record in support of the Vietnam War, while laboring to silence those in the game who disagreed. While many believe that before the protests of the last year, the national anthem and other patriotic elements of sporting events symbolized unity, they are actually remnants of this campaign to interject sports into a bitterly divisive political debate.
“Illegal Procedure” 0
I suspect that Donald Trump’s decision to energize NFL players, teams, coaches, and owners to protest his petty potty mouth will not work out well for him as he tries to move downfield.
Aside:
My two or three regular readers know that I have lost interest in big time football, primarily because of how players are exploited in the NCAA and mistreated in the big leagues (think CTE).
This does not mean that I cannot admire and respect individuals who participate in those endeavors.
“The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Delete” 0
It would appear that the International Olympic Committee has given up all pretense of being about anything other than mammon. Bob Molinaro reports:
Gluttony Games 0
Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire, observes:
Barnum Was an Optimist 0
He thought that there was only one born every minute. Bob Molinaro, sportswriter extraordinaire, reports (emphasis in the original):
Football uber Alles 0
Signe comments on the NFL Draft’s invasion of Philadelphia this past weekend.
Honest to Pete, from all the hullabaloo, you’d think football mattered.
Football uber Alles 0
For once, football’s “winning is the only thing” invisible plastic shield proved vulnerable.
After nearly 12 hours of deliberation, a Dauphin County jury of seven women and five men found Spanier guilty of a misdemeanor count of endangerment. He was acquitted of a second endangerment count, as well as a felony conspiracy charge.
That it’s a misdemeanor is irrelevant. That it’s a conviction is everything.
Meanwhile, in related news of “Get Out of Jail Free” cards . . . .
