Day 979: A (Football) Tale Of Three Cities

originally published September 5, 2014 Fans of American football are no doubt giddy with delight in the afterglow of last night’s victory by the Seattle Seahawks over the Green Bay Packers – the first actual game we have seen in seven months. Non-fans of American football most likely stopped reading this article after the headline, […]

Day 940: The Fists That Punched The Olympics

originally published July 28, 2014 The morning of October 15, 1968, just four days of sun-bathed pomp and cheer into Mexico City’s Olympic games, was perfect for a foot race. Australian speedster Peter Norman blasted through his 200-meter quarterfinal race like a sugar addict in the opening throes of a pixie stick; he finished in […]

Day 926: Cleveland Rocks! (As Long As You Aren’t Talking Sports)

originally published July 14, 2014 Like a vintage facial scar or a controversial Foghorn Leghorn tie, I am proud to wear my fandom for Cleveland sports teams, boldly and without a micron of hesitation. While my tootsies have yet to come in contact with Cleveland soil – in fact, I’m not certain any member of […]

Day 896: When Footy Gets Kooky

originally published June 14, 2014 Chances are, if you’ve even so much as sneezed in the same room as a computer connected to the internet this week, you’ve absorbed some snippet of World Cup fever. The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world – more so than the Olympics, the Super […]

Day 883: The Starlet Of The Sports Pages

originally published June 1, 2014 “It would be much better if she and her ilk stayed at home, got themselves prettied up and waited for the phone to ring.” So said sportswriter Joe Williams of the New York Herald-Tribune. He was writing a critical (and overtly misogynistic) piece about Babe Didrikson-Zaharias. Babe’s name is anything […]

Day 764: Happy Super Day!

originally published February 2, 2014 As you may have noticed by the disturbing lack of available Doritos at your local corner store, today is among the most revered and holy days in western culture. No, not the groundhog thing – around here that’s just a joke anyway. I live in a town where six more […]

Day 736: Returning To The Frozen Tundra Of Lambeau Field

originally published January 5, 2014 If you’ve been anywhere near the sports pages this week, then you have probably heard all about the weather in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The hometown Packers, the tiny-market, publically-owned NFC North champs are hosting a playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers in wind chills that could smack that wretched […]

Day 735: Real Winners Come From Harlem

originally published January 4, 2014 When I was eight years old, my dad took me to watch the Harlem Globetrotters play. I don’t remember much of the game (I suspect they won), but I’ll never forget the lesson they taught me about comedy: nothing is too sacred to become fodder for a laugh. Athletes pour […]

Day 716: Football With A Future – The 1920 Teams

originally published December 16, 2013 As football fans, we can all feel the hot breath of impending playoffs breathing upon our collective neck, as tonight two more teams – the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens – struggle to overcome their mid-season screw-ups for the opportunity to suit up in January. I’ll spare everyone my predictions […]

Day 699: Fumbling The F**ked Up – Worst TV Part 6

originally published November 29, 2013 My American readers are no doubt burping through the last of their tryptophan intake from last night, or else slipping on their spiked cleats so they can better trample over their fellow Walmart shoppers in search of the Greatest Deal Ever. My Canadian readers are scowling in their cubicles, wondering […]