Sports
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Media, Sports, News Bites If the Shoe Fits Michael Jordan's Son Marcus . . .
Posted by Michael Miner on Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 11:58 AM
The Tribune’s David Haugh tried to do the impossible Saturday. He wrote a column invoking the old-fashioned values to explain why Marcus Jordan needs to knuckle under and wear Adidas sneakers on the basketball court of the University of Central Florida. Basketball, Haugh reminds us, is a “team sport based on unselfishness and sacrifice.” Jordan is challenging the “oldest rule in sports. What the coach says goes for everybody every time.” Haugh is bewildered. “How can the son of the man widely considered the best player ever in a team sport defy such a fundamental team concept?”
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Chicagoland, Sports This week in karma
Posted by Whet Moser on Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 6:15 PM
I think it's both just and hilarious that NFL owners think that Rush Limbaugh is too much of an asshole to share their elite club with, say, Dan Snyder. Not everyone agrees. Carol Slezak:
"I happen to believe that pro sports are a bottom-line business. If Limbaugh wanted to buy the company you worked for, you'd be hard-pressed to stop him. The NFL might be more high-profile than most industries, but the same basic rules should apply. You might not like Limbaugh — does anyone like Limbaugh? — but that's not the point. A lot of people don't like Vick, either, but he's back in the league."
Here's the kicker:
"Limbaugh might be a joke, but there's no NFL rule forbidding clowns from owning a team."
Argh. Not exactly true: "Prospective owners must be approved by 24 of the league's 32 teams." This does not prohibit clowns from being team owners, naturally. But it does cause problems for people who say things like "the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons."
Anyone who's followed the No Fun League should be fully aware that it's a rich, powerful media company that's obsessive to a fault about public relations, so the idea that a bottom-line business would be wary of Rush is neither surprising, unnatural, or bad for the bottom line.
Film, Sports The Athlete
Posted by Ed M. Koziarski on Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 12:18 PM
- "The Athlete"
When barefoot Ethiopian runner Adebe Bikila won the marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics, he became the first black African Olympic gold medal winner in history. A car crash during a 1969 student protest in Addis Ababa left Bikila quadriplegic, but he continued competing in archery and dog sledding after his injury.
Filmmaker Rasselas Lakew, who came to the US from Ethiopia on a tennis scholarship, plays Bikila in the biopic The Athlete. The film, which Lakew codirected with Davey Frankel, screens Tuesday 10/13 and Saturday 10/17 in the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Chicagoland, Sports And la la la la la la la la means I love you
Posted by Whet Moser on Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Pat Ryan's 2016 post-mortem: We lost because everyone liked our bid so much.
And just because:
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Chicagoland, Media, Sports Don't let the door hit you on the way out
Posted by Whet Moser on Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Phil Rosenthal: "The U.S. Olympic Committee is like the guy at the end of bar whose counter-argument to being called an angry drunk is always to start throwing punches."
Monday, October 5, 2009
Chicagoland, Media, Politics, Sports Moar 2016 post-mortem
Posted by Whet Moser on Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 1:28 PM
Below the fold, because we've all had a lot.
Politics, Sports, Clout City, News, Media We're Not Crying!
Posted by Ben Joravsky on Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 9:42 AM
Having been lifelong fan of the Bulls, I understand more than most how devastating a sports loss can be to one's psyche.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Chicagoland, Politics, Sports Of course
Posted by Whet Moser on Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 4:42 PM
The hair gel is seeping into David Shuster's brain:
"That was President Obama at the White House talking in the end there about the unemployment figures. The unemployment again rate shooting up to 9.8%, short of the 10% that some had feared. But the numbers were worse than expected. But the big news, of course, is that over the last 18 or so hours president Obama has been on this journey to Copenhagen and back. He lobbied hard along with the first lady Michelle Obama, for the Olympics ...."
Chicagoland, Media, Politics, Sports It's Not Just About Us
Posted by Whet Moser on Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 3:15 PM
"Why don’t we see the decision instead an affirmation of Lula, an embrace of Brazil, an endorsement of Rio de Janeiro? Because Obama’s critics and fans alike insist on making it about him and us, and they do this even when they are complaining that Obama inserts himself into everything. The problem here is as much our national self-absorption and continental provincialism as it is Obama’s politicking: most people criticizing Obama for this trip could not imagine losing out to the Brazilians, and it is even more unthinkable when the President involves himself."
Aside from the obvious - i.e. for the same reason that Cubs fans don't see the 2009 season as an affirmation of the St. Louis Cardinals (seriously, people, Chris Carpenter!) - it's a point well taken.
Or, you know, there's America's Newsroom, the Drudge Report: WORLD REJECTS OBAMA: CHICAGO OUT IN FIRST ROUND. THE EGO HAS LANDED.
Chicagoland, Lit & Lectures, Politics, Sports Why We Need Crime Novelists
Posted by Whet Moser on Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 1:35 PM
So most people, including me, were surprised that Chicago was eliminated in the first round of the IOC vote. Kevin Guilfoile has a (conspiracy) theory.
Update: Another theory: "it was made clear to us that Chicago was going to have some difficulty in gaining the selection for a number of reasons including that we have had a large percentage of games hosted here, but most importantly, that we do not have the best international reputation at this time, and it [sic] well known that it is a frustrating and difficult process compared to the other host countries for travelers to gain admittance into the US."
Having seen our music writers, Peter Margasak in particular (note his introduction to this year's World Music Festival guide), detail the problems international acts have had just getting entrance to play US gigs... seems logical. If true, though, it's a shame - maybe 2016 would have moderated and streamlined the process.
