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Gabby Douglas: Impact Far Beyond Sports
(The Root) — Truth be told, we weren’t that inspired by Olympians like Michael Jordan and Carl Lewis. While they dominated their sports like few have ever done, it’s commonplace to see African Americans conquer basketball and track and field. This is by no means a putdown, but seeing Jordan and Lewis excel in their…
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NBA Vet's Book on Fatherhood a Slam Dunk
(The Root) — Etan Thomas is on a mission. While the 6-foot-9 forward would like to resume his 11-year NBA career after sitting out last season, his new quest has nothing to do with rebounds and blocked shots. It’s about affection and connections. Thomas, a poet who also blogs for the Huffington Post, grew up…
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Penn State Edict Won't Change NCAA Culture
(The Root) — In penalizing Penn State for its role in the child sex-abuse case involving Jerry Sandusky, NCAA President Mark Emmert sent a message to other schools whose approach to sports might be off-balance. While most cases involve infractions such as payments to athletes, bogus class work or recruiting violations, the underlying theme is…
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LeBron Wins Title and Proves Critics Wrong
(The Root) — As the clock wound down Thursday night, with the outcome clear, LeBron James let everything out. All the grief he took for leaving Cleveland. All the hate he received for going to Miami. All the criticism he endured for failing in the NBA Finals last year. The only “crimes” were his over-the-top…
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Deion Sanders Puts Personal Drama on Blast
Earlier this month it was Washington Redskins wide receiver Jabar Gaffney. He went on an epic Twitter meltdown, unleashing a stream of expletive-laced tweets about his estranged wife and his cousin NFL cornerback Lito Sheppard. One example from the since-deleted account read: “Ain’t nobody [bleeped] my wife but for anybody saying any slick [bleep] better…
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Ochocinco Reduced to Forgotten Man
As a player who starred on his own VH1 reality show, founded his own news network, performed on Dancing With the Stars and became one of the NFL’s most flamboyant personalities, Chad Ochocinco always seemed tailor-made for Super Bowl Media Day. Except this year, the first season he reached the big game and his first…
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Longevity and Worship Worked Against Paterno
We’ll probably never see another Joe Paterno, someone who spends his entire adult life at the same school, including 46 seasons as the head coach. And it’s probably best if we’ve seen the last coach-for-life model, even though Paterno accomplished more good than bad since arriving as an assistant at Penn State in 1950. There’s…
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US Olympic Squad Still a 'Dream Team'
USA Basketball has announced its preliminary 20-man roster for the 2012 Olympics, and once again, it’s quite an impressive list. Among the players with a shot at representing the United States in London are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. We’ve come a long way since the 2002 World Championships…
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Chicago Bears Receiver a Would-Be Kingpin?
By most accounts, Sam Hurd was just a nice guy. Teammates said he was well-liked and low-key and often sang gospel songs to himself. One former teammate said Hurd struck him as “a family guy.” All of that could be well and true. But federal agents said there’s more to Hurd, a side that could…
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Girl Football Player Sits for Team's Sake
Females who play tackle football against males are rare and usually found at a particular position: kicker. That keeps them from virtually all contact, but it doesn’t ensure their acceptance or safety, as evidenced by the ordeal of Katia Hnida, who in 2003 became the first female to score in an NCAA football game. Eighth-grader…
