I spent most of this week with my wife’s family in Nashville, Tennessee. More so than ever before, I was witness to a very odd phenomenon that goes against the very fiber of my being as a football fan. If you read this column regularly, you know I am a Philadelphia Eagles fan. In the last 7 years, I have also become a fan of the Tennessee Titans, due to the fact that my wife is from Nashville and was a Titans fan when I met her (and still is, although she also roots for the Eagles). Allegiance to a team is a personal thing. Some people are true fans, living and dying with their team, while others are casual fans. Titans fans, at least the ones I know, are a different breed entirely, and it’s all about Peyton Manning. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
5 Comments »

I can’t say I have ever been a fan of women’s sports. Aside from watching my daughters play basketball or run track, I usually stay away from that side of the sports world. Recently, though, as I have mentioned in other columns, I have found myself paying attention to the women’s volleyball team from Penn State. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

There is no arguing the fact that sports are big business in this country. Whether we’re talking about professional or college, the thought that it’s all just fun and games is naive. I love college football. I like to think that the mentality of the people involved in the coaching and management end of college football involves a desire to teach young men and women, beyond what happens on the field. Too often, though, things happen that remind me that I am being a bit too idealistic in my belief. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

I will preface this column by saying this is going to be a Tiger-free zone. I wrote about Tiger Woods earlier in the week, and the rest of the world is doing a fine job of covering the ubiquitous story. No more assistance needed from me.

On to some bad sports. Charlie Weis, former head coach of Notre Dame (I love writing that), decided to mouth off this week, talking smack about Pete Carroll of USC, stating that Carroll was having an affair with a graduate student. Mouthing off is nothing new for Weis, of course. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports, sports by Alan Spoll
5 Comments »

Throughout professional and amateur sports, a lot of attention is paid to each sport’s Hall of Fame. Every year, there are ceremonies and announcements to celebrate the newest inductees. In theory, the people being inducted are the best of the best, deserving of their permanent place in the sport’s history. For years, I have felt that the standards that were being applied to this selection process were being lowered, particularly in the major professional sports (football, baseball, and basketball). This week, though, I encountered something that really made me question the point of the whole endeavor: official public voting for the NFL Hall of Fame. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

For many years, the University of Mississippi band has played “From Dixie With Love” at the school’s football games. The song includes the lyric “the South will rise again.” In October of this year, the Ole Miss Associated Student Body voted to discontinue this chant and replace it with a taunt at LSU, one of their rivals. The change was meant to avoid the negative connotation of the chant, with regard to slavery and segregation. Sounds like a good choice to me. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

It is very easy for those of us who longed to play professional sports but didn’t have the talent to think that those who have reached those heights are indestructible. Beyond that, I think we naturally think that those people are the luckiest people in the world, and must love their lives. Sadly, that is often not the case. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

For a lot of years, I was a big fan of Allen Iverson.  To me, no one in the NBA was more exciting to watch. The Sixers didn’t always win, but Iverson rarely failed to excite. It was always clear, though, that he was a selfish player who cared more for his own statistics than he did about winning. Now, at 34 years old, his skills have eroded, but his attitude has not. That makes for a bad combination. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
1 Comment »

I am a big NASCAR fan. I may have mentioned that here before. The season is nearly over, and Jimmie Johnson has dominated the Chase, which means he looks likely to win his 4th consecutive Cup championship, which is something that has never before been done. You would think that Sunday’s race, with so much on the line, would have been exciting. Au contraire, mes amis. Four times a year, at Daytona and Talladega, NASCAR foists a wildly inferior product on us, the fans. Sunday’s race was a complete waste of time. One of these days, I may have to listen to my wife and just not watch, rather than sit and complain for four hours. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

Manny Ramirez is everything that is bad about sports. I could substitute his name for “Bad sports” in the title of my column, and people would still know what I meant.

There have been a lot of bad people in sports during my lifetime. Some are criminals. Some are drug addicts. Many are spoiled babies. Manny Ramirez is in a special class, though. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford had a magical redshirt sophomore year. He led the Sooners to a 12-2 record, winning the Heisman Trophy in the process. The NFL scouts loved him, and he was projected by most to be a high pick in the draft, if not the first overall. Instead, he chose to return to school, hoping to lead the team to a National Championship. Instead, his junior year has turned into a nightmare for him. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

The woeful St. Louis Rams are for sale. It says something about the money-printing power of the NFL that there are at least six different groups interested in purchasing the Rams, despite the fact that they are very clearly the worst team in the league, and have not been good for several years. One of these potential ownership groups includes Rush Limbaugh, the outspoken, controversial, and ultra-conservative talk show host. The NFL Players Association is displeased at the prospect, and has made it known to the league. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
2 Comments »

Over the past few years, the NFL has made a lot of rules aimed at protecting quarterbacks. A quick look around the league shows that there really aren’t enough good quarterbacks to go around, and so protecting them does make some sense. Late hits and helmet-to-helmet hits rapidly draw penalties and fines, these days, as they should. However, I believe the NFL has gone too far in its attempts to protect its players. This is still football. Tackle football. Unless they are going to start putting flags in players’ back pockets, they need to ease up on the ridiculous penalties being called in games this season. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

Have you ever attended a sporting event and been thoroughly disgusted with the performance of your team? Sure you have. It’s happened to me many times. It’s a bad feeling, made worse by the fact that you likely spent a significant amount of money to attend. After tickets, parking, overpriced food and drinks, and possibly travel expenses, you are in the hole by a pretty good amount. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

Delonte West, a guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was pulled over for speeding on his motorcycle in Maryland this week. The traffic stop became an arrest when police discovered that West had not one, not two, but three guns on him at the time. Apparently, he had a handgun in his pocket, another in his pant leg, and a shotgun in a guitar case strapped to his back. Seriously. I am not reading you the plot synopsis from Mad Max. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

Serena Williams lost her U.S. Open semifinal match on Saturday after being penalized for a vicious tirade directed at a line judge after being called for a foot fault. Williams wasn’t playing terribly well, and had already been penalized once in the first set for throwing her racket. The venom she spewed at the line judge went far over the line, though, including threats of physical violence. Her behavior really jumps out as bizarre because tennis generally seems to be a pretty civilized sport. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
7 Comments »

Shawne Merriman, of the San Diego Chargers, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly choking his girlfriend, Tila Tequila, of MTV fame. Merriman, who has been named to the Pro Bowl three times, was released after a few hours and charges are pending. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

On Wednesday, an announcement was made that there would be a massive demonstration outside of Lincoln Financial Field before the Eagles preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the game in which Michael Vick would make his on-field debut as an Eagle. No surprise there, right? Many people (myself included) were outraged by Vick’s signing. It was inevitable that there would be demonstrations. Reading deeper into the announcement, though, I discovered that this demonstration would be in support of Vick, rather than against him. Huh? [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

This week, the Associated Press published its first college football poll of the year, listing the University of Florida Gators as the number one team in the land. Of course, none of the teams in the poll have played a single game yet. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

I don’t imagine that there are too many people out there who have not heard that the Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick this week. I am not sure I have ever been as surprised by a piece of sports news as I was by this. The dilemma that has been presented to me is not one with which I know how to deal. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
2 Comments »