Football
October 17, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Two years ago at this time, we (and many others) were writing about the decline in television viewership of the National Football League. Back then, the NFL was reeling from controversy sparked by some players kneeling during the National Anthem. The League’s critics included President Trump. Two years on, players are no longer kneeling, Trump is no longer criticizing, and NFL viewership is on the rise. According to Pro Football
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September 30, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the 1919 World Series, the one that was fixed. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox (or was it really just seven) threw the Series so crooked gamblers could cash in on a Cincinnati upset win. Cincinnati did win the best of nine series, five games to three. Harry Stein has a good account of it in this article for City
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September 6, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Jim Langer died late last month at the age of 71. Langer was the center for the great Miami Dolphins teams of the 1970s, including the unbeaten 1972 team. Langer played defense at South Dakota State. He was not selected in the 1970 draft, which lasted 17 rounds, but he signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent. They promptly cut Langer, but Don Shula picked him up and
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May 21, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
There’s a disconnect between how leftists view the treatment of African-Americans by our criminal justice system and how they seem to want African-American athletes who have brushes with the law to be treated. Consider the case of Reuben Foster. Foster, a linebacker who starred at the University of Alabama, was drafted in the first round by the San Francisco 49ers a few years ago. As a pro, he has had
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February 3, 2019 — John Hinderaker
Rumor has it that we’ll see anti-American kneeling during the halftime show of today’s Super Bowl. My guess is we will also see obnoxiously liberal, “social justice”-oriented ads aired throughout the game. Football isn’t what it used to be! But why should we be surprised? America isn’t what it used to be. Corporate human resources and marketing departments are almost monolithically liberal, and the bigger the company, the more likely
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January 14, 2019 — Steven Hayward
President Trump today hosted the Clemson Tigers NCAA football championship team, and served them fast food in the Oval Office: Trump really is a genius, because faster than you can say C. Everett Koop, a leftist was triggered. In this case it is David Roberts of Grist and Vox, who writes some really excellent energy articles on Vox, but suffers from an advanced case of Trump Derangement Syndrome: Um. .
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December 5, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The answer from a football standpoint is maybe. From a personal standpoint my answer is I hope they don’t. First, some background. When last we looked in on the 2018 Redskins, their quarterback, Alex Smith, had suffered a horrible leg break. Longtime Skins backup QB Colt McCoy had assumed command. No one questioned McCoy’s elevation. But McCoy needed a backup. For that job, Washington selected Mark Sanchez. In doing so
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November 19, 2018 — Steven Hayward
Now that was some kind of football game, so long as you think defense is nearly an afterthought in the NFL these days. I tweeted in the 4th quarter that we ought to just call tonight’s Rams-Chiefs game the Super Bowl and skip the postseason this year. But for my money, the greatest game I ever saw remains the 1981 overtime playoff between the Miami Dolphins and the San Diego
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September 10, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The NFL kicked off its 2018 season last Thursday with a game between Philadelphia and Atlanta. Despite the attractiveness of the matchup, television ratings were down 8 percent from last year’s opening Thursday night game. And last year’s rating were down 12 percent from the previous year’s. This prompted President Trump to tweet: Wow, NFL first game ratings are way down over an already really bad last year comparison. Viewership
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May 23, 2018 — John Hinderaker
The NFL has unanimously adopted a policy that is intended to end the controversy over players protesting the national anthem: players are not required to be on the field while the anthem is played, but if they are on the field, players (and staff) must stand. This is an instance of actions speaking louder than words. A lot of nonsense was said and written last season about the anthem protests,
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April 28, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
JK Scott is the punter for last season’s national champion University of Alabama football team who, during a recent team visit to the White House, initiated a prayer for President Trump. He described it this way: I said ‘Hey, Mr. Trump, would you let me pray over you.” “He said ‘Yeah, come on.” From there, Scott put one hand on Trump’s shoulder and the other on his chest. “And I
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April 12, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
On Tuesday, the University of Alabama football team visited President Trump at the White House. Trump honored the team for winning another national championship. The visit featured an impromptu prayer: Shortly after President Trump delivered his remarks, a group of players approached him and, after exchanging a few words, began to pray. The huddle showed the president bowing his head while a player placed his hand on Trump’s shoulder as
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March 28, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
A reader and friend informs me of an omission from my list of all-time great University of Michigan basketball players. The omitted Wolverine is Bennie Oosterbaan. I don’t know whether Oosterbaan rates among Michigan’s twenty best basketball players, but he’s arguably the school’s best athlete ever. Oosterbaan earned All-American recognition five times; twice in basketball (1927 and 1928) and three times in football (1925, 1926, and 1927). He earned nine
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January 9, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Bo Scarbrough is the second string running back for the University of Alabama. Or maybe third string. During the regular season, he had the second most carries of any Crimson Tide running back, but last night he had the third most (four carries in all). To be fair, the second or even third string running back at Alabama would probably vie for all-conference honors at many a school. Moreover, Scarbrough
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October 17, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Hoping to bring an end to kneeling during the National Anthem, NFL owners are meeting with the players’ union. To smooth the way, the League has endorsed legislation that would mean lighter sentencing for drug felons. It’s unlikely that the NFL’s endorsement counts for much at this juncture. For one thing, it’s widely understood that Roger Goodell has enough trouble managing his own business without branching off into the nation’s.
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October 16, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post wants to create that impression. Its story on the subject is called (in the paper edition): “Trump may have bolstered kneelers’ legal position.” No sound argument supports this notion. The Post’s Tracy Jan who, according to the paper “covers the intersection of race and the economy,” peddles the view that Trump’s talk about revoking the NFL’s tax breaks means that the government is now infringing free expression.
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October 9, 2017 — John Hinderaker
Jemele Hill is an on-air ESPN personality. In the last few years, ESPN has become notorious for emphasizing politics over sports; Ms. Hill is part of the problem. Last month, she denounced President Trump as a “white supremacist” after he criticized NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem. After that incident, she apologized for “letting her colleagues and company down” with the white supremacist tweet. She did not, however,
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