She was vibrant, funny and very sassy, pulling lipstick from her trouser sock to reapply before the cameras started rolling. And, for all you American Wimbledon fans out there, you should know that BJK says it's pronounced WimbleDON, not WimbleTon (as we Americans are so often accustomed to pronouncing it).
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For a trip down memory lane, check out this slideshow from the Huffington Post.
]]>I'm waiting for something that I know is coming, when a rival student holds incriminating information on an athlete and waits to unleash that information on the blogosphere in the week leading up to a big game. Can you imagine the ethical issues raised? What if a Michael Phelps-esque bong photo finds its way onto Facebook featuring a star quarterback? It rapidly disappears, but a rival fan has saved it. For a couple of months all is silent, and then that fan heads out to Las Vegas and drops a good amount of money on the line. Then he or she releases the photo online and waits for the inevitable suspension to ensue. Bang, he pockets the difference on the line, his team wins, and he walks away with a killing.I guarantee you that a story line similar to this will happen in the next three years. Guarantee it. Just wait.
What do you think? Should universities consider banning their student-athletes from using Facebook?
The debate revolves around a central disagreement: can cheerleading truly be defined as a sport?
The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) is responsible for reviewing emerging sports, and refers to a sport as "an institutional activity involving physical exertion with the purpose of competition versus another team or individuals within a collegiate competition structure. Furthermore, sport includes regularly scheduled team and/or individual, head-to-head competition (at least five) within a defined competitive season(s); and standardized rules with rating/scoring systems ratified by official regulatory agencies and governing bodies."
The traditional image of a cheerleading squad is the group of young women on the sidelines of a sporting event--traditionally a male sporting event--supporting the athletes that are competing and its "spirit squad" roots continue to define the female-dominated activity.
While at the college level schools have begun to differentiate between a "cheer squad" and a "spirit squad," at the youth level the two terms tend to be synonymous. In this context, that cheerleading is an activity taken on to do no more than support your local team as vocal booster, what would keep similar spirit groups from demanding varsity status?
School bands hold practices and often travel for inter-band competition. As do color guard teams. Can a mascot or trumpet player be considered an athlete?
I present the most elementary and literal argument: the verb form of cheerleading. When asking a cheerleader what sport they play, their response would have to be, "I cheer." Can "cheering" be a competitive sport? Ask a swimmer the same question, "I swim." Much more obvious.
But if intercollegiate athletics, and specifically Title IX, is meant to expand athletic opportunities to females, why dismiss the sport that young women are interested in? Research proves that young females are choosing cheerleading.
According to the annual participation survey of the National Federation of State High School Associations, competitive cheering is one of the top 10 girls' sports in this country. In 2002-03, 4,644 schools reported having competitive cheering squads, with 111,191 participants. It ranks 10th in terms of number of schools participating, and ninth in terms of the number of participants.
At the University of Maryland, College Park, an institution that granted cheerleading varsity status in 2005-06, the cheerleading squad is granted scholarships and athletic department support services while being held to the academic policies of the NCAA and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
According to the athletics Web site, the Terrapins' squad competed in nine organized tournaments this year, winning all but the National Cheerleaders Association Nationals, at which they earned second. They boast a roster of 36 athletes and four coaches, all of which are female.
The men's cross country team at Maryland only competed in eight races, one less than the competitive cheering squad.
Are we holding these women to unfair guidelines? Do you think that cheerleading should be considered a varsity sport?
Is there a place for cheering in competitive intercollegiate athletics? Do you think that a young girl participating in cheerleading will reap the same fitness, social and emotional benefits as a girl participating in more traditional sports?
Why support cheerleading financially when most of the Olympic sports are becoming extinct in intercollegiate athletics? Wouldn't we rather produce Olympians at the collegiate level?
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Chowan, located in northeast North Carolina, is the first non-HBCU in the Division II conference's 97-year history. The university will have 10 of its 12 athletic programs competing during the 2009-10 academic year and will hope to expand additional sports in the future.
What do you think of Chowan's decision to enter the league? Do you think this is a positive move for the CIAA? Do you think it is a positive move for Chowan?
"There's a tremendous amount of caffeine in these drinks," Jeanna Marraffa, a clinical toxicologist at the Upstate New York Poison Center told the paper. "I would say: know what's in these products, have a sense of how much you're consuming and realize they are not safe. Certainly you can have toxic effects from them."
Do you believe student-athletes are abusing energy drinks?
What should be done to ensure safety?
Fighting is ridiculous at any level, but it's particularly pathetic when it involves parents and sports.
A couple weeks ago a New Jersey youth baseball coach (in a police sponsored league) was arrested and charged with aggravated assault for head-butting a rival coach after a game.
According to the Star Ledger, the alleged attack took place during the traditional, post-game hand-shakes between the teams, a symbolic expression that connotes good will and sportsmanship. (Obviously somebody didn't get the memo.)
"Basically they had words, and this guy just head-butts (the Westfield coach) in the face," Capt. Cliff Auchter of the Westfield police told the newspaper.
I'm tired of reading stories about overzealous parents and coaches getting so caught up in the outcome of the game they forget what's really important.
Youth sports shouldn't be about winning, and it certainly isn't about the parents. A summer recreation league is about participation, having fun and learning the fundamentals of the sport.
What kind of example are parents setting for their kids when they're throwing haymakers after a game?
Just because parents act like fools at sporting events doesn't give kids a free pass to join them.
A brawl between two high school softball teams Monday night in Colorado Springs had to be broken up by police. The Denver Post reported, police had to be summoned to break up a fight involving more than 30 people, some armed with bats.
The fight started after a player was hit by a pitch and charged the mound. Of course it did. What else are you suppose to do when you get hit by a pitch ... walk to first base?
The softball game was cancelled, and both teams will likely to be reprimanded.
I hope the teams will look back at the brouhaha and realize fighting wasn't the answer, and it certainly didn't solve anything.
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The BBC is reporting that in years past St Mary's has allowed visitors to park on "graves of people whose descendants cannot be traced" and have donated the money to three designated charities.
A spokesman for St Mary's Wimbledon told the BBC, "Sadly, this year, some cars were parked in inappropriate places. St Mary's is investigating to see how this happened and no further car parking will be allowed in the churchyard.
"The vicar of St Mary's is sorry for any offence that has been caused."
And, if you believe Krzyzewski (and you should) he's not going anywhere, ever.
He told reporters: "I'm not going to the Lakers. They have one of the great coaches in the game. I don't know where that rumor started, but there has been nothing done like that, and I'm not leaving Duke. Whatever you hear about anything like that, I will never leave Duke until I leave coaching."
According to a press release, Huskie athletes racked up seven Top-10 finishes: Brad Walker (1st, men's pole vault), Aretha Thurmond (2nd, women's discus), Brown (3rd, men's 800m), Mel Lawrence (5th, women's steeplechase), Scott Roth (tie-8th, men's pole vault), Norris Frederick (9th, men's long jump).
Brown is the first Huskie to earn his way onto Team USA since Jim Seymour ran the hurdles in the 1972 Olympics.
Smith will succeed UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, who will be chair for the upcoming school year. Smith has been at Ohio State since 2005 and is in his second year as associate vice president.
"Being a member of the men's basketball committee is a prestigious honor that comes with incredible responsibility to our membership," Smith said. "I have the highest possible respect for the colleagues with whom I serve. There is a high level of admiration for the way past chairs have handled keeping with the mission of this committee, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue the important work of this group."
]]>Bates, a Dartmouth graduate*, coached against Tierney during his 10 year position as head coach at Drexel.
Check out the interview I had with Coach Tierney about his decision to head to Denver and what it meant for the national growth of lacrosse.
*Originally misreported
Public schools are finding higher enrollment rates, including an increase in out of state students with elevated tuition, as students are looking for a more affordable solution to education.
The Chronicle of Higher Education even pointed to the rare blessings found in rising costs. In the case of Hardin-Simmons University in Texas, the increase in oil prices is beneficial because they have oil interests and investments.
"It's a good time for doing construction," Glenn Carter, associate vice president for financial administration at Walla Walla University, told the Chronicle of Higher Education. "Contractors are hungry."
Schools that had budgeted for construction projects may be receiving more competitive rates in light of the decrease in demand.
With all the bad news surrounding our economy NACUBO managed to provide a bit of a silver lining.
This has to be a mistake, right? I mean, it's 2009.
Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs 36 years ago, proving that women have the power to attract attention for their skills, not something as shallow as their looks. We are the generation that witnessed the Williams sisters pummel the ball with as much (and sometimes more) ferocity as the men.
Isn't babe ogling a little passé? Shouldn't women be appreciated for their tremendous tennis talent and not their short skirts?
Apparently not, according the Daily Mail.
The paper reports that a spokesman for the All England Club (the venue which hosts the event) admits "physical attractiveness is taken into consideration" when determining who plays at Centre Court and what players are relegated to the other courts.
"Good looks are a factor," Spokesman Johnny Perkins told the paper.
For its part, a BBC source, which broadcasts the matches, said: "It's the Wimbledon play committee, not us who decides on the order of play. But, obviously it's advantageous to us if there are good-looking women players on Centre Court...Our preference would always be a Brit or a babe as this always delivers high viewing figures."
Of course, any woman that makes it to Wimbledon is tremendously talented. But, when you have Victoria Azarenka seeded 8th and Sorana Cirstea seeded 28th at Centre Court while second seed Serena Williams and Roberta Vinci are simultaneously playing on Court 2, priorities seem a bit skewed.
Are viewers really that stupid? It seems the BBC is doing their home audience a disservice by assuming they enjoy watching women play simply for prurient reasons.
Female athletes have always struggled to be validated for their skills and not viewed as sex objects. But, perhaps more than most sports, tennis seems particularly prone this type of sexualizing.
Take for example, Frank Deford's recent NPR commentary where he defends a female tennis players' right to make noise on the court. Is it free speech and expression Deford values?
Umm...I wouldn't say that:
"I always thought the best grunter of all was a Romanian player named Virginia Ruzici of the 1970s whose shriek reminded one and all, vicariously, of ecstasy," says the almost giddy Deford. He then goes on to say, "Give me a good grunt on the tennis court any day...Listen, I may not remember much about the sounds of sport of 30 years ago, but the sensual cries of the long-forgotten Virginia Ruzici still sound like music to my ears."
One word: Ew.
Idealist I may be, but I think it's high time the world of sport (especially broadcast media) start embracing women for the fierce competitors they are--not the sex objects TV hopes will bring in ratings.
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Check out Causecast if you get a chance. From their Web site:
Causecast is a platform where media, philanthropy, social networking, entertainment and education converge to serve a greater purpose.]]>People want to do good, want to be inspired, and want to inspire others to join them in giving back. Causecast makes this easy by providing users with means to CONNECT with people, leaders, charities, nonprofit organizations, and brands that inspire them.