Sports
October 13, 2019 — John Hinderaker
Americans may be ill-informed about many things, but they know a lot about sports. So, ironically, it could be the NBA’s enforcement of Red China’s strictures on unapproved speech that, more than anything else, educates Americans on the nature of the Chinese regime. This happened on Wednesday, but I just saw it via InstaPundit. At an exhibition game between the Washington Wizards and the Guangzhou Long Lions at Capital One
»
October 7, 2019 — Scott Johnson
I learn from the 10-point guide to today’s Wall Street Journal by Matt Murray that “The NBA’s carefully plotted strategic emphasis on China was jolted off course by a tweet Friday night” (WSJ story posted here). Murray’s email newsletter condenses the WSJ story: The league scrambled to contain an escalating crisis in China after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for Hong Kong’s mass protests against Beijing’s authoritarian
»
September 6, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
President Trump honored NBA basketball legend Jerry West by awarding him the Medal of Freedom. If athletes are to be given this award, and presidents from both parties have done so, then West clearly deserves it. West is underappreciated. When folks talk these days about great guards of the 1960s, the focus is always on Oscar Robertson. Robertson is an all-time great, but so is West. He averaged 27.0 points
»
August 21, 2019 — Scott Johnson
The Cleveland Indians are in an intense divisional race with our Minnesota Twins. The Indians seem to have helped themselves by adding right fielder Yasiel Puig to their roster. Puig is a recently acquired power hitter who solidifies the middle of the Indians’ lineup. Having come over to the Reds after six years with the Dodgers, Puig was traded again to the Indians in a three-team deal just before the
»
July 20, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
For years, ESPN indulged in left-wing politics. I wrote about this here and here. But John Skipper, under whose direction ESPN took this unfortunate turn, is no longer running the network. It turned out that he had an addiction problem. Also, ESPN was hurting financially. ESPN’s new head, Jimmy Pitaro, issued a directive — stop doing politics. To my knowledge, it has been followed. Earlier this week, however, an ESPN
»
July 6, 2019 — Scott Johnson
We waited out the rain in Minneapolis to watch the Twins play the Rangers at Target Field last night. Getting into the stadium was a miserable experience. We stood in the rain in a line with no visible movement for over half an hour to make it into the stadium. Once the game got underway, however, the Twins made it worth the wait. They beat the Rangers 15-6 and played
»
May 2, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
I doubt that English Premier League soccer generates many hot takes on American sports gabfest shows. But the second tier of English soccer garnered some recently after a bizarre match between Aston Villa and Leeds United presented an outbreak of good sportsmanship. Aston Villa and Leeds United are two of English football’s blue bloods. Villa, the preeminent team in the Midlands, won a European championship in the 1980s. Leeds, the
»
April 30, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, the NCAA champion Baylor University women’s basketball team visited the White House to be honored by President Trump. Unlike their male counterparts from the University of Virginia, and various other sports championship teams, the “Lady Bears” were willing and, it seems, happy to accept an invitation from Trump. Coach Kim Mulkey is no stranger to the White House. She took championship teams there during the George W. Bush and
»
February 22, 2019 — Steven Hayward
I’m not much of an NBA fan (I prefer college hoops) but I did always enjoy watching Charles Barkley—”the round mound of rebound.” At only six-foot-six, Barkley always played like he was 6’10” around the rim. I even more enjoy listening to him talk. I remember when he was on the US Olympic “Dream Team” in the early 1990s, and a TV reporter asking him about their first round opponent,
»
February 4, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Everyone is complaining about yesterday’s supposedly boring Super Bowl game — that would be Super Bowl LIII, if you’re counting in Latin. With the rules of the game having been recalibrated continually to favor never ending offense, I appreciated the return of defense. If the halftime show was concededly a lowlight, the singing of the national anthem must be deemed the highlight. Out strolled Gladys Knight to sing the anthem.
»
February 3, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
This morning, the Washington Post’s sports page featured an article called (in the paper edition) “The inexperience advantage.” The sub-title was “Rams’ 33-year-old McVay embodies national trend of unseasoned leader bringing fresh ideas to job.” Sean McVay’s success as a 33-year-old NFL coach is a remarkable story. The fact that his Rams lost the Super Bowl tonight doesn’t diminish it. But the claim by the Post’s Kent Babb that McVay
»
January 20, 2019 — John Hinderaker
Is there any corner of our lives into which politics does not intrude? It doesn’t seem so. Now it’s high school basketball. The Star Tribune reports: Jordan [High School] has pulled out of an invitational basketball event scheduled for Monday — Martin Luther King Day — being hosted by Minneapolis Roosevelt. Why? The fallout continues from last week’s dispute over a Donald Trump re-election flag being displayed by fans of
»
December 31, 2018 — John Hinderaker
We were surprised when Nike launched a major advertising campaign featuring former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and even more surprised when it seemed to work. Nike’s sales went up, and the company attributed the increase in part to Kaepernick chic. The tag line of Nike’s Kaepernick ad was, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Of course, Colin Kaepernick didn’t sacrifice everything by taking an anti-American stance–only, at most,
»
November 29, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Reuben Foster is a linebacker who starred at the University of Alabama and was a first-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers. Battling injury, he played in 10 games for the 49ers last year, his rookie season, and 6 games so far this year. In February, Foster’s girl friend accused him of domestic violence. Police arrested Foster. However, she later recanted, claiming that she made up the allegations to
»
August 27, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Jemele Hill, the sports highlights presenter who fancies herself a political pundit, is finally out at ESPN. The network will buy out her contract, reportedly worth $2.5 million. Hill is best know for idiotically calling President Trump a “white supremacist.” Thereafter she continued to offer hack left-wing political commentary on Twitter, in violation of company policy. ESPN’s new president, Jimmy Pitaro, reportedly wants to get the network out of political
»
August 24, 2018 — John Hinderaker
Yesterday on the Laura Ingraham show, I interviewed Clay Travis, the only person to have been banned by both ESPN and CNN. Travis is one of the country’s best-known sports commentators–the host of a Fox radio show and founder of Outkick the Coverage. Travis is the author of a brand-new book, Republicans Buy Sneakers Too: How the Left Is Ruining Sports With Politics. I had time only to skim the
»
July 30, 2018 — Scott Johnson
I’d never heard of Adam Greenberg before I went to see him speak three years ago at Temple of Aaron in St. Paul. From an early age Adam was a gifted athlete and driven competitor. He excelled at three sports — baseball, basketball, and soccer — but baseball was his first love. He played baseball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a junior in 2002, he
»
