US sports leagues reward inferior teams and routinely deny their best teams the championship. Richard Allen Smith and I have argued from time to time about the merits of the BCS vs. the NCAA basketball tournament. Rich defends the BCS, while I point out its unfairness and corruption. He argues that the BCS does (did) a good job at getting
Read moreI don’t always see eye-to-eye with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, but I’m 100% down with him on this one. DENVER — Mayor Michael B. Hancock joined mayors and city leaders whose cities host National Hockey League teams across the country to call for the NHL owners and players to return to the bargaining table and end the lockout. “This is about
Read moreToronto GM Brian Burke misses the good old days. And just the other day, he got all misty about having to send his enforcer down the minors because, well, he couldn’t find a dance partner. Or something. “If you want a game where guys can cheap-shot people and not face retribution, I’m not sure that’s a healthy evolution,” he said
Read moreHere’s the chronology: During a preseason game between the Flyers and Rangers last night, Philly’s Wayne Simmonds and New York’s Sean Avery engaged in some predictable contentiousness. I say predictable because Avery is without question the most annoying little fuckhead in hockey history and there’s always contentiousness when he’s in the building. At one point, Simmonds is alleged to have called
Read moreI’ve been noting the National Hockey League’s fundamental cluelessness regarding the state of its game for some time now. I suspect I’m not the only one who’s voted with his wallet, either – I’ve spent barely a fraction as much on hockey, as much as I love it, since the league’s impotent response to Todd Bertuzzi’s attempted murder of Steve
Read moreWe watch sports for a variety of reasons. To revel in the thrill of head-to-head competition. To marvel at the athleticism. To root for the home team, in which we have somehow invested a piece of our own identities. To mark our place in the timeless ritual. To learn, even. With the NBA, there’s one more reason: to see which
Read moreI love sports. Always have. I grew up playing all the usual sports and eagerly tried out a lot of others when I got older. I’ve always been a big spectator, too, watching everything from football, basketball and baseball to soccer, track, cycling, volleyball, water polo – whatever was on, you know? But these days I watch less sports than
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lullaby pit 