Column Archive

The Power of Buehrle’s Perfection

Thank you to Mark Buehrle. Thank you to DeWayne Wise. Thank you to the Chicago White Sox for rescuing all of us from the oozing swamp that dominates sports media coverage during the late summer.

Macalester Today: Can’t Find My Way Home

Some people go to college and become a Wildcat, a Blue Devil, or a Seminole. I was a Fightin’ Scot. But a recent lawsuit is making me ask what happened to the quirky school I once knew.

"Canary in the Mine Shaft"

Last Tuesday night, there were as many African-American presidents at the All-Star Game as players in the starting lineups. This may seem like a minor, irrelevant issue in the grand scheme of things, but sports sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards makes the case that it is a "Canary in the Mine Shaft" for a greater sickness ripping across the country.

Sexism on Centre Court

On Saturday, at Wimbledon's Centre Court, Serena and Venus Williams extended their generational dominance of women's tennis in electric fashion. They went head to head for the twenty-first time and Serena took an 11-10 lead in their sibling rivalry. But amidst the drama of watching two of the finest athletes of their era clash, the specter of sexism haunted the All England Club. Early in the tournament officials blithely admitted that for women players' "physical attractiveness is taken into consideration" when it comes to court assignments.

Who Will Break the Glass Closet... and John Amaechi's Response

As the movement for marriage equality and gay liberation gains momentum, we should peer with heightened expectation toward the world of sports. Yes, sports. Every movement for civil rights over the past century has seen the struggle for equality reverberate in the often quite conservative arena of sports.

Your Stadium or Your Life

Who will be the next to die because our cities spend money on sports stadiums instead of basic infrastructure? Two years ago, my former college town, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, was the site of thirteen needless fatalities when the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed. The tragedy occurred the same month that ground was broken on a $500 million stadium. Now, a mere ten minute walk from my home, two Washington, DC, Metro trains collided, killing nine and sending more than seventy-five to the hospital.

When Nuance Dies: Sammy Sosa and Phony Outrage

ESPN’s Howard Bryant is without question one of my favorite sports writers. His book Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball is one of the finest pieces of journalism I’ve ever encountered. That’s why his frothing take on revelations that retired Major League baseball slugger Sammy Sosa tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003 was both shocking and depressing. Call it “shock-pressing.”

Iran: It Aint a Soccer Riot

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has compared the protests following his country's recent sham election to the common scuffles that take place after a soccer game. The Iranian President said, “Some people are sentimental and become excited. As I said, I compared it to a soccer match. Their team has not won in the match....In the end, I don't think we'll have any serious challenges. Sentiments are high and sometimes they do some stuff on the streets, but in the end we had 40 million people participating and what is happening on the streets is like a football match.” Someone needs to let Ahmadinejad in on the differences between a soccer riot and the explosive expressions of dissent taking place across a country of over 70 million people, 70 percent of whom are under the age of 30.

Vick, Clarett, and the Right of Return

"The right of return." It's a powerful phrase that has been applied to both New Orleans residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina and Palestinian refugees. It means that forced displacement must be resolved with some sense of justice. Currently the National Football League is engulfed in its own "right of return" drama. The question is whether it should be applied to two very different players: Michael Vick and Maurice Clarett.

Let’s Go Lakers: Wanting a Loss for DeVos

If you choose to root for a team based on its owners, there is absolutely no contest: break out the lavender and gold and pray for a Lakers victory. It's not that Buss is any great shakes; it's the fact that DeVos operates the Magic like the sporting arm of a radical right- wing empire whose reach extends from makeup to militias.