Column Archive

Adrian Gonzalez Will Attend the 2011 All-Star Game. We Should Not

Adrian Gonzalez Will Attend the 2011 All-Star Game. That’s very good news for Major League Baseball and many fans. But it’s bad news for immigrant rights activists who have looked to Gonzalez to boycott the game because of Arizona’s horrific “papers please” immigration law SB 1070.

Understanding Vancouver's 'Hockey Riot'

Is there more than meets the eye to the riots that followed Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, or less?

Lebron James and the Quote Heard Round the World

The most polarizing athlete in sports, playing for the most polarizing team, just gave us the most polarizing post-game quote in living memory.

Let Them Play: Behind FIFA's Decision to Ban Iran's National Women's Team

The Iranian Women's soccer team isn’t being allowed to take the field as long as they wear Muslim dress. Something stinks in FIFA land.

Tennis Anyone? What Li Na's Grand Slam Win Tells Us About China

Li Na's victory at the French Open is a cause for celebration. Just don't think all of China is equally ecstatic.

The NCAA and Jim Tressel: Giving Eric Cartman the Moral High Ground

In the process of leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to annual glory and becoming the highest paid public employee in the state, Tressel gave the appearance of a humble, God-fearing small-town Ohio coach who had somehow landed his dream job. But Tressel is just a symptom of a far bigger rot at the core of "amateur" athletics.

Joakim Noah, the NBA and the 'New F Bomb'

There are two conclusions we can draw from this unprecedented recent collision between the National Basketball Association and the politics of LGBT rights. The first is that the Phoenix Suns organization is stepping up to challenge homophobia. The other conclusion is that while outbursts of invesctive are still very much a part of the vocabulary of professional sports, more and more players are saying this is not acceptable.

Why Lance Armstrong Will Survive 60 Minutes and the Feds

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is now up against former friends, teammates and the federal government. I wouldn't bet against him.

Santana is Booed for Using Baseball's Civil Rights Game to Speak Out for Civil Rights

Atlanta was a brutally awkward setting for Major League Baseball's Civil Rights Game because Friday saw the Governor of Georgia, Nathan Deal, sign HR 87, a law that shreds the Civil Rights of the state’s Latino population. Fortunately Carlos Santana was there.

Brick by BRIC: How Global Sport Has Declared War on Brazil's Poor

The Olympics and the World Cup are coming to Brazil. For the poor living in the favelas, the message should be clear: be afraid, be very afraid.