The historian Taylor Branch, who in October published a lengthy excoriation of the N.C.A.A. in The Atlantic, comparing it to “the plantation,” was only the most recent voice to call for players to be paid. Like most such would-be reformers, however, he didn’t offer a way to go about it.
That’s what I’m setting out to do here. Over the last few months, in consultation with sports economists, antitrust lawyers and reformers, I put together the outlines of what I believe to be a realistic plan to pay those who play football and men’s basketball in college. Although the approach may appear radical at first glance, that’s mainly because we’ve been brainwashed into believing that there’s something fundamentally wrong with rewarding college athletes with cold, hard cash. There isn’t. Paying football and basketball players will not ruin college sports or cause them to become “subcontractors.” Indeed, given the way big-time college sports are going, paying the players may be the only way to save them. -
Joe Nocera, Let's Start Paying College Athletes [more inside]
posted by beisny
on Jan 2, 2012 -
61 comments
Serum hemoglobin is related to endurance running performance. Smoking is known to enhance serum hemoglobin levels ... alcohol may further enhance this beneficial adaptation.
A
recent paper by Kenneth Myers in the
Canadian Medical Association Journal reviews the potential benefits of smoking for endurance atheletes.
[more inside]
posted by nangar
on Nov 26, 2011 -
35 comments
Here's the deal: If you don't play for, or you are not an employee of, the team in question, "we" is not the pronoun you're looking for.
"They" is the word you want.
Why
"We" is the most overused term in sports.
posted by The Gooch
on Oct 20, 2011 -
154 comments
Embarrassment alert: some would say Channel 4 hired the
wrong man (Youtube) to host live coverage of the Athletics World Championships. The
consensus seems to be that Channel 4 are to blame.
posted by nthdegx
on Sep 4, 2011 -
50 comments
The Aeronautical Pentathlon Has Six Events—and Flying Doesn't Count. Aeronautical pentathlon—which inexplicably has six events—is a riff on the modern pentathlon at the Olympics. Created 63 years ago, the military pilots' version has pretty much flown under the radar.
And though the sport is based on flying, the nonflying parts of the competition determine the winner. While it is exclusively practiced by air forces, it was always excluded from the military Olympics—called the World Military Games—until last month's event in Rio de Janeiro. ... and the
home team wins.
[more inside]
posted by caddis
on Aug 18, 2011 -
8 comments
In 2006, Joss Naylor ran 50 miles up and down seventy
Lake District fells, ascending more than 25,000 feet in 21 hours. Not his best performance, but to be fair, he was 70 at the time.
Cumbrian shepherd Joss Naylor (warning: Youtube link; Cumbrian accent, impossibly adorable sheepdog) is one of the greatest British athletes most people have never heard of, and perhaps the greatest competitor ever in a sport most people have never heard of either: fell-running.
[more inside]
posted by reynir
on Nov 20, 2010 -
25 comments
Kelly Kulick just won the
PBA Tournament (warning automatic video starts with this link). She is one of the first female professional athletes to ever win a prominent national sporting event against the best males in the sport.
Interesting article questioning why she isn't being given more national recognition.
posted by bove
on Feb 25, 2010 -
71 comments
US Pole Dance Championships 2009 (no nudity, but possibly NSFW)
It’s significant to understand that pole dancing is not stripping. This misconception prevents pole dancing from becoming something every woman should be able to enjoy. Pole dancing is a sensual athletic dance form that demands coordination, flexibility and physical strength. Like the Jane Fonda workout combined with Cirque du Soleil.
posted by ColdChef
on Apr 20, 2009 -
52 comments
My eensy-beensy alma mater in eastern Wisconsin currently has
the only undefeated men's basketball team in the nation. This is not just in the NCAA, but in the NAIA as well. It's a Division III team, and its only loss this season didn't count--it was to Division I UW-Madison in an exhibition game.
Like most Division III schools, Lawrence offers no athletic scholarships whatsoever. Its immediate past president, Richard Warch, in a 1987 speech at the NCAA national convention, controversially called for abolishment of all athletic scholarships.
posted by gillyflower
on Feb 24, 2006 -
15 comments
On sunday, Rush Limbaugh commented that Donovan McNabb, quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, was overrated and was only seen favourably by the media because they want to see a black quarterback do well.
McNabb responded, and earlier tonight
Limbaugh resigned from his post on ESPN's pre-game show. N.D. Kalu, one of the Eagle's defensive ends, offered this choice quote: "He speaks well, he's well-read, but he's an idiot."
posted by The God Complex
on Oct 2, 2003 -
100 comments
Great feat, but not a great athlete. Let the Cyclist bashing continue.
As a follow up to the pointless
Bicycles and cars don't mix column, Ron Borges over at
MSNBC wonders if Lance Armstrong is even an athlete.
He says Athletes must do more with their bodies than pump their legs up and down. For his money, being the greatest athlete in the world involves strength, speed, agility, hand-eye coordination, mental toughness and the ability to make your body do things that defy description.
Anyone who has ever been in a bike race (Road or MTN) knows it does indeed take all that and more. Anyone who writes about sports, rather than participating, would of course have no clue it takes more than moving your feet up and down.
posted by Blake
on Jul 26, 2002 -
48 comments
Run faster, jump higher. What happens when you cross stilts and pogo sticks? The next 'extreme sport' on the verge of the big time, or a new and fun way to really injure yourself?
posted by KnitWit
on Mar 29, 2002 -
12 comments
Gymnast vaults into gender-equity flap. "For more than two decades in Massachusetts, boys have been allowed to compete on girls' teams (and vice versa) if their school doesn't have a team for their gender. But everywhere else in the region, they're still banned."
posted by idiolect
on Mar 16, 2001 -
1 comment
