MetaFilter posts tagged with sports

Danish Dynamite

reenum — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:20:20 -0800

The Guardian recently published a beautiful article about Danish Dynamite, the '80s Danish national soccer (football) squad. Rob Smyth and Lars Eriksen write about how the success and failure of the national team highlighted national traits that Denmark has. The writing about the matches is among the most inspired I have ever read. In addition to the film, a documentary about the team has also been made.

Commie Ball

reenum — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:08:05 -0800

Cuban players have long been a mainstay in baseball. After Fidel Castro made it impossible for people to leave the island, the flow of players stopped to a drip. That changed with the defection of Rene Arocha in 1991. The potential to make big money has led to more defections. Joe Cubas is the most prominent agent working with these players. Michael Lewis recently wrote a great article in Vanity Fair about the lives of baseball players in Cuba and looks at the saga of defector Yuniesky Betancourt and his agent, Gus Dominguez. Players are still defecting.

Fading Away

reenum — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:13:01 -0800

Mark McGwire was one of the most feared sluggers in the game during his career. In 1998, the home run chase between McGwire and Sammy Sosa helped baseball recover from the 1994 strike. But, when a reporter found a bottle containing andro in McGwire's locker, some chinks in his armor began to emerge. The andro story wasn't enough to overshadow McGwire and Sosa's record breaking seasons. McGwire received many accolades, from having a highway named after him to having cameos on TV shows. After it became well known that baseball players had engaged in widespread steroid abuse from 1990 on, a public outcry began to overshadow the sport. McGwire was not immune to these allegations. The saga culminated with Senate hearings in 2005, where McGwire refused to discuss his alleged steroid use. After his Senate testimony, McGwire retreated to his home in California and refused to speak to the media. Once thought to be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, McGwire received only 23 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility in 2008. With his recent hire as the Cardinals' hitting coach, McGwire will attempt to repair some of his tarnished legacy.

The Curious Case of Matt Harrington

reenum — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:24:45 -0800

When people think of the pitfalls of the baseball draft, it is hard not to remember the story of Matt Harrington. Harrington was drafted in the first round of the MLB draft by the Rockies and the Padres in successive years, only to go back into the draft after failing to reach an agreement each time. As the years went by, his stock kept falling. Harrington's flirtation with the majors ended in 2004 when he was drafted with the 1,089th pick by the Yankees. Joe Posnanski wrote about Harrington's saga in 2006, saying that this was a parable about athlete greed. ESPN wrote a piece about it earlier this year, showing Harrington's rapid decline in draft position and struggles as a result of the negative publicity he received. Harrington currently works at Costco for $11.50 an hour.

Nails Goes to Wall Street

reenum — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:54:21 -0800

Lenny Dykstra was lauded for his heroics with the Mets and Philles. After his career, Dykstra became well-known as a post-career athlete success story. Then the truth started coming out... Dykstra's post career exploits included making stock picks and starting a high end magazine targeted towards athletes. Then, in April of this year, it all came crashing down. In separate articles from GQ and ESPN, Dykstra's financial empire was revealed to be a house of cards. Dykstra subsequently filed bankruptcy in July. For a copy of Lenny's petition, you can go here (Warning: This link is a PDF). Lenny only sees these events as a minor speedbump, and promises to be back on top in no time.

14 who bucked "the Cowboy Way"

liketitanic — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:31:56 -0800

The airing of the upcoming PBS documentary Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons, will bring new attention to a protest event against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that raised important questions about free speech, the rights of student athletes, and the state of the Civil Rights Movement in the Mormon Church. On October 17, 1969, 14 football players at the University of Wyoming were suspended for threatening to wear black armbands onto the field in an upcoming game against Brigham Young University. The squad members, who were known as the "Black 14," were protesting the the Mormon Church's exclusion of people of African descent from the priesthood. Other student athletes whose teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference had refused to compete against Brigham Young that year, including eight Black track team members at the University of Texas, El Paso. Others, including athletes at San Jose State, would protest in support of the Black 14; protest later extended to the University of Washington. This was not the earliest anti-LDS student-athlete protest, nor were athlete boycotts a totally new general protest tactic; in 1968, Black student athletes participated in 130 protest actions. But this case was one of the best-known, in part because of the civil lawsuit Williams v. Eaton, which alleged an infringement of the students' First Amendment Rights. At Wyoming, the Black Student Alliance first publicized the idea of a boycott and protest of BYU on October 15; the group urged students and players to protest a matchup scheduled for three days later. Despite the warning of Coach Lloyd Eaton to each of the 14 that team rules prohibited participating in demonstrations or protests, they together decided to wear armbands as a sign of protests. In a meeting with Eaton on October 17, the day before the game, the coach berated them publicly, revoking their scholarships and suspending them. Eaton remembered the event as "simply a matter of discipline. Black or white, it didn't matter to me. They broke the rule and I told them they were no longer members of the team." Yet Eaton, almost in the same breath, evoked conspiracy theory: "Why haven't we had a demonstration before? . . . we've had Negro players here since 1960. I'll tell you why. This is the first year the Black Student Alliance has been on campus. Now they're organized and ready to act. The WAC was picked because of Brigham Young. And we were picked as the trigger because of our rule against demonstrations. It all fits." And other accounts allege that Eaton told them to "shut up," and that without his team "they would be out on the streets hustling." Game-day student protests (archival footage), a 17-1 vote in the student senate to support the players, and faculty support, which extended as far as 7 faculty members threatening resignation, were not strong enough to drown out Eaton's supporters, which included the University trustees and leadership. The 14, with the help of the NAACP, became plaintiffs in Williams v Eaton, a $1.1. million civil suit filed on October 29, 1969. The Federal District court, upheld on appeal, ruled against the players, arguing in support of Eaton's no-protest policy. A subsequent appeals decision, in 1972, ruled that their free speech rights had not been violated when Eaton and the University Trustees forbade armbands. Eaton resigned in 1971, after the protests were accompanied by a wave of losses (and a worse season the following year). Ten of the 14 players graduated from college, and players Tony McGee was the best known of the four who went on to play football professionally. The LDS Church would not allow blacks to ascend to priesthood until a 1978 Revelation received by President Kimball Spencer Kimball apparently extended the office through God's providence.

The "boy-killing, man-mutilating, money-making, education-prostituting, gladiatorial sport."

phrontist — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:55:54 -0800

Does american football unavoidably lead to brain damage over time? Does a culture favoring perseverance at the expense of well being begin in high school?

The regular people are in the 400s

yeti — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:09:54 -0800

"It began with a photograph. You've seen it. The new Yankee Stadium. The House Next To The House That Ruth Built. The picture showed the most expensive seats empty, with the rest of the stadium packed." Wright Thompson shares his experience splurging on a Legend Suite seat at the new Yankee Stadium. Yankees ticket prices over the years. The Onion's take on the slashed ticket prices in May.

The Power of One

MegoSteve — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:18:22 -0800

At age 17, Bonnie Richardson won the Texas state track team championship all by herself. Then she did it again.

The Mr. Olympia Contest

Joe Beese — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:03:26 -0800

(all links possibly nsfw) This weekend, Jay Cutler tries to win back from Dexter Jackson the greatest prize in professional bodybuilding - the title of Mr. Olympia. [You may have heard of one of them.] The best news coverage of the event will be at Bodybuilding.com. The liveliest fan discussion will be at the notoriously free-spoken GetBig. (previously)

High Jump Innovator

dhruva — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:57:15 -0800

The Revolutionary "Consider, then, the Fosbury Flop, an upside-down and backward leap over a high bar, an outright—an outrageous!—perversion of acceptable methods of jumping over obstacles. An absolute departure in form and technique. It was an insult to suggest, after all these aeons, that there had been a better way to get over a barrier all along. And if there were, it ought to have come from a coach, a professor of kinesiology, a biomechanic, not an Oregon teenager of middling jumping ability."

There are more days to come

entropic — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:30:36 -0800

On Any Sunday is a 1971 film about motorcycling. Narrated by Bruce Brown (director of The Endless Summer, it features Mert Lawwill (who later developed a prosthetic for amputee riders), Malcolm Smith, and Steve McQueen, among others. It can be viewed in its entirety on Hulu. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature in 1971, and reviewed by Roger Ebert in the same year.

Death Race

plinth — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:12:46 -0800

Death Race (NYT) - for the third year, Pittsfield Vermont has hosted a 10 mile endurance run. Just 10 miles, endurance? Yes - only 18 of 49 entrants finished (some entrants thought it was too easy this year). The 24 hour race includes having to carry 20% of your body weight in rocks up a steep course, splitting logs, crawling under razor wire. And then it gets rough. Video here. There is also an English version (previously).

Strange Games

feelinglistless — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:40:40 -0800

Strange Games "What do you get if you cross a large rubber ball used for physical therapy with the medieval sport of Jousting? Yoga Ball Jousting."

Flip Flop Fly Ball - Sports infographics.

Ufez Jones — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:35:04 -0800

Flip Flop Fly Ball - Baseball infographics and other visual treats. Highlights: How tall is the Green Monster?, Assembling and dismantling the '86 Mets, and Wu-Tang Clan vs. E-Street Band.

Is it the suit?

dame — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:35:53 -0800

Today FINA, swimming's international body, released a list of approved suits. And with that, swimming took its first step towards sanity or towards ruin, depending on where you stand. Since the approval of Speedo's LZR Racer before the Olympics and concomitant widespread destruction of world records, the swim community has been riven by the suits: Are they too much aid or are they just a technical improvement, like when tennis moved beyond the wooden racket? The debate is best catalyzed by the case of Fred Bousquet, first man under 19s in 50 yards and under 21s in 50 meters. Attacked by anti-suit zealot Craig Lord of SwimNews, Bousquet's coach fires back in a blog whose comments themselves do a great job of demonstrating the divide. (Lord responds.) Meanwhile, Bluseventy, whose suit took swimming by storm for being cheaper, more durable , and — in the lead up to the Olympic Trials — more available than the LZR is nowhere on the list at all. Did Speedo, main sponsor of FINA, have anything to do with that?

Cardboard Crack

The Devil Tesla — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:39:57 -0800

The Baseball Card Movie is a short documentary set in a baseball card shop frequented by collectors. Showcases the customers' different styles of collecting and the strange ways the card manufactures mange to sell packs for $100+. It's not for kids anymore, but it's not all bad. (Via)

The benches have been warned

kosem — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:59:48 -0800

At least one of these things is true, and possibly both: (a) This was the most tense game of baseball ever played; or (b) relations between Jews and the Klan have deteriorated dramatically since 1926. Bill Francis, a research librarian at the Baseball Hall of Fame, unearths a tantalizing newspaper clipping. No update as to how a cat named Flaherty ended up on the "Hebrew All-Star Nines" or, unfortunately, as to the result.

Bud Shrake, 1931-2009

Ranucci — Sun, 10 May 2009 14:00:33 -0800

Edwin "Bud" Shrake - journalist, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter - died early Friday in Austin. Shrake and Dan Jenkins attended Paschal High School and TCU together before going on to careers as correspondents for Sports Illustrated and as novelists. Shrake’s 1965 SI piece about LBJ and the Hill Country, "The Once Forbidding Land", has been called required reading for anyone setting foot in that part of Texas. His 1970 essay Land of the Permanent Wave", was about the destruction of the Big Thicket by timber interests. SI, whose parent company Time Inc. had a major East Texas lumber company as a stockholder, rejected the piece. Harper's Magazine ran the piece, and Harper's editor Willie Morris called it one of the two best pieces Morris ever published during his tenure at the magazine. Shrake’s novels Blessed McGill (1968) and Strange Peaches (1972) are arguably his most lasting works. In the fall of 1963, Shrake was a reporter for the Dallas Morning News and was dating the star dancer at Jack Ruby's Carousel Club. Strange Peaches, which features a lead character who is a TV Western star dating Jack Ruby’s star dancer, is renowned as an acidic look at Dallas in the Fall of 1963. Shrake may be best known for his three golfing guides he co-authored with legendary golf coach Harvy Penick, including Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, a golf guide that became the best-selling sports book in publishing history. As an "as told to" biographer, he wrote autobiographies of Willie Nelson and former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer. Shrake’s screenwriting credits include "J.W. Coop" (1971), starring Cliff Robertson; "Kid Blue" (1973), starring Dennis Hopper; and "Tom Horn" (1980), starring Steve McQueen. Shrake, whose archives are now part of the Southwestern Writers Collection at Texas State University-San Marcos, is also known for his longtime friendship with Jenkins and other Texas writers such as Larry L. King, Billy Lee Brammer, Gary Cartwright, and Peter Gent. He was also known to hang out with fellow Austinites Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson, Ben Crenshaw, and Tom Kite. Shrake was the former “First Guy” of Texas and will be buried next to his longtime companion, Gov. Ann Richards.

Not everyone is Magic Johnson

ThePinkSuperhero — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:42:26 -0800

How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.

"Sid Luckman was great. He was probably the greatest Jewish football player ever."

jonp72 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:55:07 -0800

Obsessed with Jews is a hilariously delightful documentary short about Jewish memorabilia collector, Neil Keller. Keller speaks effusively about Jews in basketball ("Ossie Schechtman, great story. Ossie Schechtman scored the first basket in NBA history.") and Jews in hockey ("The first Jew in hockey was Samuel Rothschild."), although contrary to the Chanukah Song, Keller provides a letter where Rod Carew explains he's not Jewish. The documentary is by Jeff Krulik, that mensch responsible for Heavy Metal Parking Lot. For more Jeff Krulik documentary shorts and a great article on Krulik's days in cable access TV, check the multimedia article here. (Click through the pages. It's worth it!)

March Madness 2009

woodway — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:44:15 -0800

March Madness is less than a month away, and sports fans are snapping up tickets to watch men’s and women’s NCAA basketball teams battle their way to the Final Four. Projected brackets are going online, with speculation about likely picks and the prospects of finding a Cinderella team in the field this year. Cheerleaders get their moment on screen before commercial breaks, but should these student athletes be considered members of a sports team, too? On court fashion generates debate, and mascots range from the obvious to the really odd. PETA continues its crusade against the use of live animals, but one overriding question remains: “What the hell is a Saluki?”

Mega Air

netbros — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:27:49 -0800

New Extreme Sports. Mega ramp skateboarding, ostrich racing, underwater golfing, pole dancing and pillow fighting are just a few of the innovative new sports you may see in future X Games. (via SpoFi)

Top 10 Star Wars Sports Crossovers

jon_hansen — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:30:36 -0800

Top 10 Star Wars Sports Crossovers. Chewbacca throwing out the first pitch at Fenway is priceless.

Speaking of sports...

Grrlscout — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:35:08 -0800

The Guardian is knocked for six by American sport references in British media Creeping cultural imperialism? The effect of internet media from foreign news outlets? Or just Guardian handwringing about something no one else notices? Is British media alone in this trend?