Back in the 90’s my sister laughed when I told her I’d been hired to be a sports writer – and not just because of that nasty “can’t spell to save my life” thing. No, it was because she couldn’t stand sports and the thought anyone earning a living off such silliness was simply hilarious. Then she joined an NFL pool at her work. Suddenly I became “cool.” Such is the impact of wagering on the NFL. Forget the great…
The most famous person in the world right now is the new American President, Barack Obama, but just a few days before Election Day, it was another young man of mixed ethnicity, Tiger Woods. A co-inky-dink you think? Not really as it was athletes like Tiger who helped pave the way for America to get over itself and elect a visible minority to the White House. It really started just over 70 years ago when Jesse Owens demonstrated to Her…
Before we start – a confession… Former NHL player, coach and general manager Mike Milbury once had my sports network banned from access to the New York Islanders players and coaches because of something I wrote about him. (I compared the size of his brain to “a BB in a boxcar.”) His team locking us out got me in some serious hot water, so when it comes to Milbury, I may be a wee bit biased. Now back to our…
Taking in the 16 days that compromise the Olympics takes a lot of effort, because between the incredible highs, there are many almost unbearable lows – and numerous, “what the hell am I watching?” moments… I love the Olympics because I know someone on the national field hockey team meaning I had to stay up until three to watch the game. I hate the Olympics because he never got into the game, they lost – and I am sleepy. I…
For the sixteen days of the Olympics I was immersed in all things China, and from the opening ceremonies to the close on Sunday the overall impression that was left with me was, “Man, that was a wee bit creepy!” Sports Minister Liu Peng started the strangeness off when he sad, “To achieve Olympic glory for the motherland is the sacred mission assigned by the Communist Party central.” Say what? So far removed was I from the “red menace” since…
One day after Peyton Manning was named the NFL’s MVP, the league let him down with a toss of a coin. It has been a long-time rule that tied NFL playoff games end in overtime with the first score. After Saturday, that rule has got a lotta folks all upset like. San Diego took the ball after regulation and then proceeded to march down the field and score on their first possession of overtime allowing the Chargers to move on….
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the NFL season which opens this week for the 88th time: Either the league will conquer North America as it usually does between Labor Day and Valentine’s Day and all other sports leagues will look on drooling with envy, or as many wags, pundits and writers are insisting, its days as the “Teflon” sports league are now officially over. So – which is it gonna be? Astronomically speaking the dog…
This time of year is supposed to be everyone’s downtime. Nothing is supposed to be going on because after Tuesday’s MLB All-Star game, Wednesday is officially the deadest day of the year sports-wise. Yet there are a bunch of huge things going on concurrently that are all competing for stories of the year – and dammit, it’s cutting into our downtime. Thankfully the merciful end to the World Cup should still be a big deal, but it’s not. Already an…
Once upon a utopian time, broadcasting a sport was just about that sport. Now? Not so much. Now it is increasingly becoming about celebrity. Our culture has been programmed by Hollywood to be celebrity obsessed. Since the first commercial films were produced early last century, the moguls running the studios understood that mass marketing of their “stars” made the sheep fans lineup at the movie houses. Moviegoers were programmed into thinking the lives of those they were seeing up there…
I guess we’ll all have to look for a new Cinderella now that George Mason is out. Last March everyone’s new-found favourite Patriots ploughed through the likes of Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn before finally falling to the eventual national champion Florida in the semifinals. This year they won’t even make it into the tournament after losing to Virginia Commonwealth in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game Monday night. Now the big question is, who are we gonna get…