Category Archives: Sports

Bring the World Cup back to America

The 2010 World Cup begins on June 11 in Johannesburg, with host South Africa playing Mexico. The following day the US kicks off its campaign against mighty England. This is going to be an exciting tournament, and if the US plays to its capabilities it should advance out of group play. A lot of folks are already look past this

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Ernie Harwell, RIP

The legendary Ernie Harwell, perhaps the greatest baseball announcer who ever lived, is dead at 92. Perhaps nothing ever written better encapsulates the sacred place of the national pastime in American life better than his 1995 essay, “A Game for All America,” in which he notes: Baseball? It’s just a game — as simple as a ball and a bat.

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This is not about Tiger Woods. It’s about Billy Payne. And Augusta National. And sexism. And racism.

You may have caught the story last week. Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne stomped the balls off Tiger Woods for … well, if you need to be told what for, then you probably don’t know who Tiger Woods is in the first place. Or Billy Payne. And you probably don’t know what the Master’s is, or where Augusta is, and

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Of tigers and dogs and the howling jackals of the press: what the Woods trainwreck can teach us about public relations

In case you missed it, Eldrick Tont Woods, the world’s greatest golfer, has been up against some pressing PR issues of late. Pretty much nobody is arguing that he’s handled it well. Begin with the official record. While it’s not yet 100% clear what touched off the fateful events of November 27, 2009, everybody is denying that Elin was trying

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Pole-dancing (and other proposed Olympic events)

The move is afoot to add pole-dancing to the Olympics. No, I’m not making that up, and no, I’m not talking about what happens every Saturday night in clubs all over Warsaw. If you’ve suffered through “athletic” competitions like synchronized swimming (Busby Berkeley choreography in water), curling (there’s a pregnant woman on the Canadian team) and ice dancing (really, wouldn’t

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Bode Miller, Lindsey Jacobellis, and an Olympic-Sized Lesson on What to Do When Opportunity Knocks

Complete this sentence: “When opportunity knocks, _________________.” I was pretty hard on Bode Miller after his no-show in Torino four years ago, about as hard as I’ve ever been on anyone who wasn’t in a position of political authority. Looking back, I don’t regret a word of it. He established himself as the archetype of American sports marketing, and his

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Today at 11 EST: the most important story in the entire world, live

Finally, after all these months, Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods is going to apologize. To you, to me, and to all the other people around the world that he cheated on. I know, I know, it’s not really his fault. He has an addiction. To cocktail waitresses (I think this is on page 486 of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual V,

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Can We Please Do Something About the Goddamned Moguls Competition?

Okay, help me out here. Last night I was watching the Men’s Moguls competition from Vancouver. Absolutely fantastic fun, lots of drama, the thrill of victory, apeshit Canadians, etc. But this particular event, probably moreso than anything this side of parkour, drives me bonkers. (No, figure skating and synchronized swimming aren’t sports. Anytime you can trigger controversy because your tutu

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Can we please do something about the goddamned moguls competition?

Okay, help me out here. Last night I was watching the Men’s Moguls competition from Vancouver. Absolutely fantastic fun, lots of drama, the thrill of victory, apeshit Canadians, etc. But this particular event, probably moreso than anything this side of parkour, drives me bonkers. (No, figure skating and synchronized swimming aren’t sports. Anytime you can trigger controversy because your tutu

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What Makes a Player the Greatest?

We’re having a discussion on one of my sports lists about who’s the greatest this or that, etc. You know the debate – you’ve had it a million times yourself. Kobe’s name came up, as it tends to in these kinds of conversations. Here’s what I said: One of my top criteria for “greatest” in any hoops discussion (and most

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