There is something about sports fandom that makes us feel like kids. After all, childhood is when few things meant more than the results of one game or another. When we become adults, we are expected to focus on more grown-up matters, like jobs and money. In our hearts, though, the true sports fan knows that the games mean more than any of that. That’s why we get so worked up about a bunch of men chasing a ball. I am all for hanging on to that child-like focus, but there are limits. One area about which I struggle to know how I feel is college football recruiting. I follow it and read about it regularly, but I often feel like I should spend a lot less time on it. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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Vancouver is a beautiful city. I was only there once, and it was a very brief stay, but it made an impression.  My first moment seeing it was on a bus from Whistler, where I had been skiing. As we first came within view of the city, I was amazed at just how gorgeous it was. Beyond that, everyone there seemed so friendly. I have never spent much time in Canada, but I certainly have the idea that it is a generally peaceful place filled with nice, decent people. When it comes to sports fans, though, it appears that Vancouver is right up (or down) there with many other cities, as far as having a bunch of crazed lunatics rooting for its teams. The Vancouver Canucks lost game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. The scene on the streets of the city that night was horrifying, with rioting, fires, looting, and general lawlessness. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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NOTE: I’ve never been been one for blogging while on family vacations, not wishing to publicize how far I was from home, and how empty said-home was. So my ‘cruise posts’ over the week ahead – mockumenting the adventures of a West Texas desert-dweller in the middle of the biggest dang lake he ever saw – will be appearing one week after-the-fact.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 –The port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is slowly slipping from view, and we are now getting a chance to explore what will be our home over the week ahead. Plenty of topics for discussion among our new-found friends and acquaintances aboard the good ship Carnival-Freedom … “Where you from?” … “Is this your first cruise?” … “Do you get seasick?” … and, “Who’s going to win the NBA title?” Carnival Cruise Lines offered what I though was a splendid way to show our support, and I was sure to show my support for the Dallas Mavericks, early and often. [Read more →]

Tags: sports, travel & foreign lands by Jeff McDonald
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For a country that prides itself on the fact that its citizens enjoy freedom of speech, there seem to be a lot of instances where speech seems far less than free. In the world of sports, we are regularly reminded of the fact that speaking one’s mind can have all kinds of consequences. Whether it is criticizing refs, celebrating touchdowns with a bit too much gusto, or throwing gay slurs at fans, there are many different ways that an athlete can end up on the dark side of this basic freedom. Occasionally, the penalty for one of these violations has a direct result on the outcome of the event, which really puts a focus on the fairness (or lack thereof) of the punishment. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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Some people just like to hear themselves talk. I have been accused of this myself on occasion, and I can’t say that it has never been the truth. With this column, I at least try to make sure that I have something of value to impart to anyone who chooses to read my weekly missive. In the world of sports, particularly in this era, when there are so many outlets for just about everyone to make his or her opinion known, this problem seems to be particularly prevalent. This week’s example comes from the mouth of Scottie Pippen, the former NBA star who won a bunch of titles alongside Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls in the nineties. While appearing on the Mike & Mike show on ESPN radio on Friday, Pippen made the statement that Lebron James might be the best player to ever play the game of basketball, rather than his former teammate Jordan, who is widely considered to hold that title. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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The skies are looking ominous for cycling champion Lance Armstrong. One of the world’s best known athletes, Armstrong has long been dogged by accusations of doping during a career that produced seven victories in the Tour de France, cycling’s most prestigious event. He has firmly denied any wrongdoing, and has never failed a legitimate drug test. For some reason, I have always been inclined to believe his denials, even going as far as to defend him here when his disgraced former teammate Floyd Landis spoke out against him a year ago. Now, though, several more of Armstrong’s former teammates have claimed that he not only used performance-enhancing drugs, but that he encouraged them to do so as well. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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It’s hard to believe, but Donovan McNabb is under fire yet again. In an offseason dominated by labor strife and the question of whether or not there will even be an NFL season this year, we are somehow still talking about the supposed failings of McNabb. His antagonist this time is a familiar one: boxer and Philadelphia native Bernard Hopkins.  [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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After several years in which bigger and bigger penalties were being handed out for a variety of infractions, NASCAR decided that they were going to be a looser bunch in 2011. The sport’s governing body stated that it would allow the drivers to essentially police themselves, hoping that things would be kept under control without NASCAR having to play the heavy all the time. It is pretty clear to me that this new philosophy is not working. I know the crowds go crazy when they see one driver go after another, but it is totally unacceptable, from my perspective, and someone is going to get killed if it’s not brought under control. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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As a sports fan who sometimes dislikes certain athletes for no real reason, I always feel validated when one of those guys screws up and shows the world that my disdain may have something legitimate behind it. Kobe Bryant is one such athlete. Just a few months after angering the fans of the Denver Nuggets by calling them stupid for booing Carmelo Anthony, Bryant has made a much larger splash. On Tuesday, he was given a technical foul by referee Bennie Adams late in a Lakers game against the San Antonio Spurs. He responded by using a gay slur against Adams, which was caught on camera. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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Once a cheater, always a cheater. Right, Manny? In 2009, Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games after failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs. This week, a mere two years later, it was announced that he again tested positive during Spring Training. Rather than face the 100-game suspension that comes with a second positive test, Ramirez announced his retirement on Friday, effective immediately. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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Back on Selection Sunday, a wide array of basketball analysts and supposed experts argued the merits of the various teams that had been chosen for the NCAA tournament, and lamented the fate of the teams that were left out. The most common complaints seemed to center around large conference teams being overlooked in favor of smaller conference teams. In particular, I heard a lot of talk about the fact that Colorado, out of the Big 12, was not chosen, while Virginia Commonwealth, out of the CAA, was. VCU finished 4th in the CAA, and was the third team chosen from that conference this year, after George Mason and Old Dominion. Surely the Big 12 team was more deserving, right? Maybe not. With a ten-point victory over perennial powerhouse Kansas on Sunday, VCU made it to the Final Four for the first time in school history. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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The world has changed. The rise of social media has affected many aspects of our lives, giving us the opportunity to reconnect with many people we might have never otherwise encountered again. There are people who would argue that there is a reason you lost touch with certain people, and see no benefit in hearing about the daily minutiae of someone they haven’t seen since fourth grade. Although I am a fan of sites like Facebook, I do think that there are people who overshare. A number of professional athletes have been fined by their respective leagues after posting things on Twitter that violated rules or simply angered someone. This week, a man who had been hired to a football coordinator position at a major university ended up having the job offer rescinded after the hiring was revealed on his Facebook page. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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As I write this week’s installment of BSGS, I am watching yet another Eagles-free Super Bowl, this one being held in Dallas, the home of the Eagles’ biggest rival. Despite my favorite team’s continued non-presence, I have been able to enjoy a bit of schadenfreude this week, as I can’t imagine this was what Cowboys owner Jerry Jones envisioned when he won the right to hold the big game at his new pleasure palace. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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Some athletes just don’t get it. I guess it’s because of how far removed their lives are from those of the average fans. When you make millions of dollars a year for playing a game, it must be easy to lose sight of what it’s like to have to save to take your family to a game. That’s the only way I can explain comments like those made by Kobe Bryant this week, discussing the fact that Carmelo Anthony is being booed by his home fans in Denver. Bryant called the fans of the Nuggets “stupid” for daring to boo Anthony, the team’s star player who is trying to force a trade to the New York Knicks. Apparently, those fans should stay quiet about the giant middle-finger that Anthony is sending their way. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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It is very easy to complain about officiating. I have done so in this column several times. As a fan, it is much easier to blame a loss on a bad call than it is to accept that your team may just not be good enough. Occasionally, a call is so egregiously bad, though, that you can’t help but yell and scream and know your complaining is justified. One of these instances occurred in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. Considering the supposed offense, the point in the game at which it occurred, and the enormous significance to the game situation at the time, this was one of the worst calls I have ever seen. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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When kids are young and are playing sports, it is natural for adults to want to protect them from being embarrassed. If playing sports is not fun for a kid right from the beginning, there is little chance that he or she will grow up wanting to play. Organized sports for young children have developed ways to protect the participants from the harsh realities that will eventually hit them when they get older, as far as losing and not being good enough. Games are played without keeping score, rules are changed so that everyone gets equal playing time, and everyone gets a medal at the end. I am okay with these things as long as they are restricted to games involving only the youngest children. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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In the last several weeks, the NFL has made a lot of noise about penalties, fines, and suspensions for hits it considers to be violent or dangerous. Helmet-to-helmet hits, in particular, are being closely examined and are to be dealt with harshly. Many players have expressed concerns about what the new rules will do to their ability to play aggressively, and for many of them, non-aggressive play means non-successful play. A momentary hesitation when tackling can be enough to make the defensive player miss the tackle entirely. I appreciate the league’s position, as studies continue to show that the long-term effects of concussions are far worse than was previously believed. My assumption is that the players will adjust, finding ways to be aggressive and hit hard without leading with their helmets. Watching the Eagles-Colts game on Sunday afternoon, though, made me think that professional football may be genuinely damaged by this new focus. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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Intelligent professional athletes exist. They really do. Sometimes, though, it seems like the number of idiots in sports simply dwarfs the number of smart people. I guess that is because it is so much easier to write about the dopes. One such non-brain surgeon is Gilbert Arenas, a basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the NBA. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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I planned to lead with a Good Sports story this week, talking about the fact that football is back. I love football, and the start of football season is very exciting for me. I had plans to wax poetic on the beauty of the game, from the joy of watching a well-executed offense to the exhilaration of the jarring hits and intensity of a strong defense. I planned this even though both my college team (Penn State) and my pro team (the Eagles) were not expected to win this weekend. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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I am often amazed at the regularity with which the world reminds me that many other cultures are not at all like ours. It is easy to believe that those differences make others uncivilized or backward, and much harder to see them as simply different. I am sure there are many people out there who have a greater ability to see the beauty and value in variety than I do. Even those people, though, might have a little bit of trouble understanding what happened with the North Korean national soccer team this week. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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