other
by Trevor Freeman
Have you ever had a bad case of writer’s block? So much so, that it was beginning to affect your overall personality? All day Sunday I was trying to write a good sports article. I wrote a bunch of first paragraphs on a variety of topics but could never close the deal. I was the “buzzed” guy at the bar at 1:00 A.M. who had chatted with five different women during the night, but hadn’t made his move on one and now was desperately trying to salvage some poontang.
It would be such a great life to be able to wake up every morning and to know that you are being paid to play a sport that you absolutely love. It would be great to just have the opportunity to play the sport you love before a national audience. It would be great to get that adrenaline rush from a game winning shot or run. It would be a great life playing a professional sport.
By Rob LaBrie
While baseball (or football depending how you look at it) may be America’s national past time at the pro level, golf is becoming America’s “Every Man” game. Ever since the emergence of Tiger Woods made golf cool again, people all over the country have been picking up the game. I, myself, am an avid golfer. I take my 10-handicap to my local golf course, Beaver Meadow, almost everyday during the summer. There’s just something about being around good people, nature, and the relaxing atmosphere that makes the game irresistible.
Unfortunately, every once in a while you come across someone that nobody wants to play with. Becoming one of these “Singletons” is actually very easy. Just follow this simple advice and you won’t be playing with other humans for a long time.
Smails takes on the week that was. I re-cap some of the top stories, and blast away at those that need blasting. An entertaining look at the week in sports.
This past Tuesday, I had the extreme pleasure of watching my Philadelphia Flyers, in a Philadelphia sports bar, end their season the “right way,” by losing 7-1 to Buffalo. As I sat watching the game, with my hands clenched and my face red, I had time (in between cursing the Flyers during the seven Buffalo goals) to get in some good “people” watching. I know you have heard of “people” watching. It’s the sport of watching people, who watch sports. A sports fan, especially a Philadelphia sports fan, is an interesting person to watch because there are many different categories that the person can fit into.
by Frank M. Henkel
There was a time in these United States, perhaps a generation ago or more,
when sports resided in A.M. radio, and in the hearts of those who listened. Back
then; when the call was as important as the moment, the Kentucky Derby was one
of the most anticipated events of the year. That time may have passed, so does
that mean that we should scrap the Derby altogether? Absolutely not!
By David J. Cohen
Da da da dadadum dadadum dadadadum, da da da dadadum dadadum dadadadum. Welcome to the 132nd Kentucky Derby.
With the playoffs having at last arrived for the NHL and the NBA, it is again time to speculate how meaningful the regular season has been when more than half of all teams qualify for the playoffs. True, at least the very worst of teams have now been exiled from our viewing landscape. Beyond this welcome respite, however, the whole point of the regular season seems unclear. Suppose that, instead of the current system, all teams qualified for the playoffs. The odds in Vegas would still be very high against any team beyond the top eight in a conference winning the championship anyway. So, again, what then really was the point of these lengthy 82-game seasons?
Of course, having a better record entitles a playoff team to have home court/ice advantage in a playoff series. But even this relatively minor perk can be largely removed by the opposing team merely being the first to win a road game. With a view to making the regular season much more meaningful, I propose a simple but radical change in the way in which playoff match-ups are arranged: Let teams choose their own opponents.
I have this English teacher, and against my usual inclination, he got me thinking. Basically, he trashed sports, disregarding them as a mere figment of our imaginations, where life’s very real complications can be broken down into fantasy, where a champion isn’t so much delivered but demanded by a public with nothing else to do.
Last season, Duke reached the national finals of men’s lacrosse before losing 9-8 to Johns Hopkins.
But the Blue Devils, ascending the national ranks on the strength of six consecutive wins to open the year, won’t be playing for a championship in 2006.