Sports
July 28, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
You might think that white supremacists would be the ones to inject race into discussions of African-American gymnast Simone Biles cracking under the enormous pressure of these Olympic games. For all I know, white supremacists might be doing so. However, the only piece I’ve read that puts a racial twist on this subject is by Candace Buckner, a Black sportswriter for the Washington Post. According to Buckner, exceptional Black women
»
July 25, 2021 — John Hinderaker
I have always been a fan of the Olympics, ever since the first games that I remember, 1960 in Rome. I still remember some of the stars of those games, like Wilma Rudolph and Rafer Johnson. I have followed all of the Olympics since, with varying degrees of interest, and I attended the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid for a few days. But this year, my interest approaches zero.
»
July 24, 2021 — John Hinderaker
A lifelong baseball fan, I abandoned the game this year after MLB sided with the Democratic Party in its campaign against ballot integrity in Georgia. It wasn’t just that: my home town team has put a “Black Lives Matter” sign and a memorial to George Floyd in right field. If I can’t escape politics at a baseball game, I’d rather go somewhere else. For the first time in decades, I
»
July 16, 2021 — John Hinderaker
Contrary to popular belief, Twitter isn’t all bad. Every now and then you see something like this: This is the funniest thing I’ve seen on here I think pic.twitter.com/TNtrm06xGo — beng (@kicknyrgios) July 16, 2021 It is true that “dudes” can have a fine time talking about sports, but I am not sure why this is a sign of psychological deficiency. This is the guy who became briefly famous over
»
July 11, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Rachel Nichols covers NBA basketball for ESPN. Her long-running show “The Jump” is devoted exclusively to the the NBA, I believe (I’ve never watched more than a few minutes of it). Nichols is White. Maria Taylor is a sideline reporter and presenter for ESPN. She appears on broadcasts of football and basketball games, and maybe some other stuff. Taylor is Black. Until last season, Nichols had hosted ESPN’s NBA Finals
»
June 24, 2021 — Scott Johnson
I missed the moving rendition of the National Anthem by Nicole Raviv with an inspirational assist from the crowd before the Islanders’ June 9 Stanley Cup playoff game against the Bruins (video below). If the Minnesota Wild had been able to make it out of the first round, I might have kept up with the playoffs and caught it at the time. The Wild’s elimination in the first round is
»
June 21, 2021 — John Hinderaker
Today the U.S. Supreme Court decided an antitrust case, National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston, on a 9-0 vote. In its opinion, the Court rejected the NCAA’s appeal of a 9th Circuit decision that invalidated the NCAA’s restrictions on colleges’ education-related benefits for athletes. Some are interpreting the decision, and especially Justice Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion, as representing a sort of death knell for the NCAA, a view that I think
»
June 3, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Naomi Osaka is one the best female tennis players in the world. She’s also a vocal political activist who promotes the BLM movement (including on the tennis court, where she has worn on her shoes the names of people killed by the police). Osaka doesn’t like talking to the press after matches. When she refused to do it at the French Open, in violation of the rules, officials fined her
»
May 15, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Our descent into madness, hatred, and thought control continues apace. The Washington Free Beacon’s Alex Nester has the exclusive story “Virginia Little League Coaches Must Attend ‘Antiracist’ Training.” Subhead: “Positive Coaching Alliance charges up to $10,000 for diversity and inclusion training.” Ms. Nester reports: Little League baseball coaches in Alexandria, Virginia, will be required to take a diversity, equity, and inclusion course this month. In an email to coaches on
»
April 16, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Earlier this week, two Washington, D.C. high school football powers clashed on the gridiron. But the game between St. John’s and Gonzaga did not take place in D.C. Nor was it played outdoors. Instead, the game was held at an indoor facility across the river in Northern Virginia. Why? Because Muriel Bowser, the mayor of D.C., did not allow the teams to square off in the city. I’ve tried to
»
March 20, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
The South Dakota legislature passed a bill banning individuals who were male at birth from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, both at the high school and the college levels. However, Governor Kristi Noem has refused to sign the legislation as passed. Noem favors the ban as applied to high school sports, but not as applied to college. Accordingly, invoking her power to make style and form changes to the
»
March 7, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Two recent examples are worth noting. First, Creighton University’s excellent basketball coach, Greg McDermott, is suspended from coaching his highly-ranked team as it bids for glory this month. McDermott’s suspension stems from a comment he made to his team after a very disappointing loss. Calling for unity, McDermott said: Guys, we got to stick together. We need both feet in. I need everybody to stay on the plantation. I can’t
»
January 22, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
In his first day as president, Joe Biden had something for almost everyone in his far-left coalition. For the climate alarmists, he signed an executive order revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. For the radical LGBT crowd, he signed an executive order that I read as calling on schools across the country to allow transgender athletes to participate in the sport of their gender identity. (It says, “Children
»
January 18, 2021 — John Hinderaker
I haven’t followed sports much since everything shut down, but last weekend, not being busy, I checked in on all four NFL games. Apart from the 60 Minutes commercials, it was a fun experience–excellent games and not much politics. I have been a Tom Brady fan since 2006 (I think), when I was participating in an event at the Kennedy School and staying at the Charles Hotel, and we got
»
January 8, 2021 — Steven Hayward
Growing up in the LA area in the 1970s, I bled Dodger blue and loved Tommy Lasorda, who was a welcome upgrade in enthusiasm over the somnambulistic Walter Alston (though I gather Alston is considered to have been a great baseball manager—I’ll leave it to Paul for the final verdict). That was back when baseball offered continuity from season to season before free agency ran wild and scrambled lineups every
»
December 28, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Even if you hate the NFL and its woke corporate stupidity, you have to love J.J. Watt. While the malleable personas running the NFL have the backbone of an overripe banana, Watt is a man of character. He has proved it in a variety of contexts. Yesterday he showed it in comments directed to his underperforming teammates. I love watching professional teams getting blown out. As a long-time Vikings fan,
»
December 17, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
They are, according to this article in the Washington Post. And why wouldn’t they be? As a result of shutdowns and lockdowns, teenagers are not going to school, not playing sports, and not hanging out with friends. That’s a formula for depression and, in too many cases, suicide. The Post’s article, which appears in the sports page, focuses on the denial of opportunities to participate in sports: For many teens
»
