Category: General Sports

Before you look to see “Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32” on this list, let me state that I predicted Michigan to win by 10 (41-31) in a game that I believed the Mountaineers to have a tremendous opportunity to win if Michigan came out flat. I didn’t think they would win, but I was by no means totally surprised. I was surprised, but not overwhelmed.

I saw weakness in the Michigan defense and I knew that Appalachian State had a D-1-caliber offense. The only thing that surprised me was how well the Appalachian State defense held up for most of the game.

That said, here are the 25 most surprising sporting occurrences of the last 25 years according to me.

Oh, by the way, I was wearing my Appalachian State shirt during the game at the official Ohio State alumni bar of Houston. A lot of people offered to buy me a drink after the game.

Let’s talk about, arguably, the biggest joke in professional sports, girls prep basketball on steroids, an all-you-can-eat buffet for sexist men. Let’s talk some WNBA. Why not? It’s their postseason, after all.

When the WNBA formed in 1996, it narrowed — albeit barely — the athletic gap between men and women. They proved a point: Girls can play, too. But women hoopsters don’t have equality when it comes to respect. Case in point: the league gave away tickets to this year’s All-Star Game. Heck, there isn’t even a WNBA topic option on this web site.

The difference, I think, boils down to entertainment. Not that the WNBA doesn’t have action and drama. But men posses superior athleticism, enabling them to give more captivating performances. For your money, would you rather watch Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Becky Hammon, and Deanna Nolan? Watch them give a strikingly accurate imitation of seventh grade girls game, where 80 points indicates a shootout, shotput-like shooting form makes “chucking up a prayer” seem fundamental, and free throws are expensive?

Or do you opt for Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, or other muscle-bound ariel artists and their rim-rocking slams? Check out cold-blooded snipers like Ray Allen and Gilbert Arenas knocking down 30-footers? Or watch Western Conference teams score points like they’re bowling?

It’s an obvious choice, really. But there has to be something that can shrink the gap. Well, here’s an idea…

With the first half of the season over, Alex Ferguson thought it was high time to grade the teams on their performance thus far in what hasn’t been an exactly memorable Major League season.
First up, it’s the American League. The National League will follow soon

I have tried to hold back. God knows I’ve tried. But this has gone too far.

Earlier this year, the University of Florida announced that it would add women’s lacrosse to its array of varsity sports by the end of the decade. This came after a lengthy study by the University Athletic Association to determine what sport, if any, should be added.

We are now more than a third of the way through the baseball season. The N.L. West is suddenly the best division in baseball, the last two world champions are struggling, and the Yankees are making their inevitable surge. Time to revise my preseason picks. Let’s see how they stack up.

–My pre-season picks are the ones that stand throughout the season; this is just the picks I wish I’d made at this point. Preseason picks are in italics. And all stats and numbers are through Tuesday, June 19.–