The NFL and Volleyball

The day following the end of the NFL regular season has come to be known as “Black Monday” as it is the day that head coaches of poorly performing teams are fired. I would suggest that some consideration be given to changing the term to “White Monday” because the firing of coaches has resulted primarily in the opening of head coaching positions to white coaches. On another coaching front, a similar story, but this one based on gender was highlight recently by The New York Times. Since the passage of Title IX, women’s sport has experienced considerable growth. At the NCAA Division I level, women playing volleyball outnumber men by a ratio of ten to one. At the recent finals of the NCAA Volleyball Championships, there were no women head coaches of the final four teams

Christmas Gift List for Sports Celebrities

With Christmas just a few days away it\u27s time to put together a Christmas gift list for the wonderful people of sportsworld who seemingly have everything

The America\u27s Cup

I have a confession to make. I enjoy the America\u27s Cup. I watch it on television. It is neither exciting nor rollicking fun, but I find it interesting, and at times filled with tension. Apparently unlike most sports fans I am not bored by it

Great Moments in the Last Two Weeks in Abundance

In the last few weeks there has been an usual abundance of great moments in the games we love, a deluge of achievements and drama and struggle: Moments that have been historic and moments that have reached those heights of athletic achievement that make us all feel privileged that we were witnesses to greatness, as well as moments that demonstrate the best of human possibilities

When We Were Kings

The year was 1974 and the place was Zaire. The event was the Rumble in the Jungle. The principal characters were Muhammad Ali, Don King, and George Foreman. After nearly twenty-three years the documentary of that happening has made it to the big screen, and indeed it won the Oscar for Best Documentary of the year

Rice Decision

How surprising was it when the arbitrator in the Ray Rice case ruled that Roger Goodell had acted “arbitrary in his discretion,” and had punished Rice twice for the same offense? In addition when Goodell claimed that Ray Rice misled him about the severity of the incident, the arbitrator found otherwise. Goodell was fully apprised by Rice as to the severity of the incident

Bowl games, Peyton Manning, Reggie White

It seems to me that the parade of bowl games has become endless. It\u27s as if there has been some creeping growth over the past several years forming bowl games in the same way kudzu expands on its own in warm humid climates. What once was the Twelve Nights of Bowl Games has turned into the National Football Coaches Bowl Game Telethon sponsored by the National Association of Insomniacs

Hoop Dreams

It is unusual that a documentary would be named as movie of the year. It is astounding when the subject of the film of the year is sport. Both have occurred and starting tonight you can see Hoop Dreams at the Enzian Theater in Maitland

Commercialism Runs Amok at the Olympics :Uberroth\u27s Legacy

Question: What one-hundred-year-old institution has become the biggest marketplace in the world? Answer: The Centennial Olympic Games

Title IX Turns 30

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the passage of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 whose section, Title IX, transformed sport in America. After thirty years the achievements of Title IX are impressive, while the controversy over it has been growing steadily especially over the last few years