Cultural History Commons^™

Baseball's September And Postseason, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is difficult to think of any sport that could provide more than baseball has delivered over the past six months. Sure fire winners have tanked. Big payroll teams have missed the playoffs. Small payroll teams have gone to the wire and beyond. Improbable scenarios driven by individual stars have developed over the last six weeks in Milwaukee and Los Angeles. A dismal team playing in a dismal ballpark has gone from last to first passing the two most powerful teams in the American League. Two ballparks with substantial histories in New York have closed as both of their occupants …

Silly Season Miscellany, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Ohio State Football Inc. announced that Jim Tressel will be getting a raise of over $1M to $3.5M next year. That was before he went out and hammered the formidable Youngstown State Football Inc. on Saturday, 43-0. Certainly this drubbing will require another raise this week or next.

The Beijing Olympics, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The Olympics in Beijing has been a great disappointment. No one has collapsed into a coughing fit from the air pollution. This seemed a certainty from all the reports leading up to the opening of what are so quaintly termed “the games.” The American cyclists who arrived in the Beijing Airport wearing face masks seemed to have made it through the opening ceremonies without contracting “black lung” or suffering a terminal case of “ring around the collar.” I feel I have been let down yet again by the press.

Uggla's Ugly Adventure: The All-Star Game, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Some will remember it as Uggla’s Ugly Adventure. Others will remember it for its record length in both innings and time. Some will remember it as nearly replicating the game of 2002 in Milwaukee when the managers ran out of players and someone (the Commissioner) had the good sense to stop the game. That was the infamous tie. Tuesday night it was beginning to look as though another tie, the third in All-Star History, was in the offing. In fact it was probably only an inning away.

The Cubs And The Rays, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

We have arrived at that moment in mid-summer when baseball takes a break for the All-Star Game. I read the other day that Wednesday will be the only day of the year in which there is not a major professional sporting event taking place in the United States. That is a fact worth some thought and contemplation and may lead to some conclusions about overkill and saturation. Rather than that, I would like to make a few observations about the current baseball season which I have found to be strange and maybe even portentous.

Williams Vs. Williams, Federer Vs. Nadal, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was a magnificent tennis match. Two evenly matched players, who admired each other’s game, competed as they had done many times before. It turned out to be the best tennis match that each had ever played against the other, and it was on the Centre Court of the All England Club for the Championship at Wimbledon.

The Death Of Jules Tygiel, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Yesterday the long and courageous struggle of Jules Tygiel ended. For the last several years Jules has been battling cancer with considerable success against high odds. In the past several weeks the options for treatment began to close down, and from his last health update two weeks ago it was clear that the battle was coming to its tragic conclusion.

Martin Luther: Perceptions Of The Reformer In Popular Culture And Historical Scholarship, Kathryn R. Cross

History Theses & Dissertations

Martin Luther's remarkable life, his impressive body of written work, his dynamic and charismatic personality, and his impact on the world have long been a source of interest in the world of academia and of popular culture. This thesis examines the affect of the scholarly historical research of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries regarding Luther and its affect on perception of the reformer in popular culture as presented by the media.

The opening section of the thesis presents an examination and evaluation of Lutheran scholarship and how historical trends have affected the reformer's image in the academic world. Documents …

Big Brown And The Troubled State Of Racing, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Big Brown's victory at The Preakness yesterday has set the stage for a possible Triple Crown winner. At Belmont Park on June 7, and in the three weeks leading up to it, there will be much excitement and speculation in anticipation of Big Brown's big race. Ten horses have made it to this stage over the past three decades only to fall short at the Belmont Stakes. Nearly all of these ten, and now Big Brown, were felt to have an excellent chance to join the elite group of Triple Crown winners.

Annika Sorenstam And Justine Henin, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I have been trying to remember a time when two players who dominated their sport retired within a day of one another. Two of the most significant people in sport have walked away well before time demanded. In the case of Justine Henin the fact that she is only 25 adds to the surprise, while even with Annika Sorenstam at age 37 it seems as if she is leaving early.

The Draft, New Bowls, Army, And Sportsmanship, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

This is always a difficult time of year for me. I am never sure which leaves me with a greater numbness of the brain, the NFL Draft or grading final exams. This is a question that will have to be resolved by greater minds than mine, particularly in my current mental state.

Ncaa Greed And West Point Football Favoritism, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

When dealing with the NCAA you can be certain that there will never be a shortage of hypocrisy. As March Madness gives way to April Sadness two wonderful examples came flying out of the NCAA cupboard.

Loving March Madness In Spite Of It All, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Have you caught March Madness? The television ratings thus far indicate that there is a greater chance this year than last that you have not.

Ereck Plancher And Tragedy, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It has been about two weeks now since the news came that Ereck Plancher, a University of Central Florida football player, had collapsed and died following a grueling conditioning workout leading up to spring football practice. He was nineteen years old and an honor student in high school. He was just starting his second year at UCF. Having graduated from high school one semester ahead of schedule, he enrolled at UCF early hoping to establish himself academically with a 4.0 GPA before starting football.

Bizarre Sport Nuggets, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I must admit that my head is still spinning. In the last few weeks one bizarre piece of news after another seems to be emanating from the bowels of Sportsworld, and no one with a plastic bag seems to be following along to clean up the unsightly nuggets left behind.

Looking Back On Bobby Knight, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The resignation of Robert Montgomery Knight, The General, The Jerk, The Psychopath, is a troublesome development. The coaching profession is one of those socially useful categories in which a society can place a dysfunctional and dangerous sociopath and give them the appearance of filling a socially useful or semi-harmless role.

Super Bowl Xlii And The Culture Of Excess, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

"Nothing succeeds like success."

Congress Takes On Peds, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I have been distracted for the last few days contemplating the fact that the United States has 2.7M candy bars in Iraq and 1.6M cans of soda. Is this "the surge" that has been much discussed over the past few months?

Bowls And The B(C)S, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The New Year in Sport has begun with the usual deluge of bowl games. Watching all those January 1 games is like eating too much chocolate, leaving one queasy and disoriented by sometime late in the Rose Bowl.

Bobby Petrino Gets Going, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

He has been found. Call off the search. We now have the new poster boy for College Football.

Bcs, Coach Buyouts, And Overtimes, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As the college football season comes to its close, there are any number of absurdities and idiocies to contemplate. As usual they will be remarked upon by the fawning press and then passed over in favor of the more serious issues such as, who is number one?

Bonds Parallels The Black Sox, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There are times when it seems as if those people who live and work in and around baseball have developed flagellation into a high art form. The reaction to the indictment of Barry Bonds has been an interesting combination of glee mixed with lamentation. There is even a slight note of shock expressed over these developments. In many ways, it reminds me of the hypocritical and overblown reaction to the Black Sox Scandal of 1919 following the indictment of the eight players accused of fixing the World Series.

Don Imus, Isiah Thomas, And The Nba, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

My, how time flies. It was seven months ago that Don Imus made his remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team and found himself on the receiving end of a considerable amount of heat from a wide range of critics. In less than a month Don Imus will return to the airwaves, not nationally, but in New York City, and his show will not be simulcast on Cable television. So after being away for eight months, being the subject of considerable criticism, and collecting $20M for his troubles, the I-Man will return. I am already feeling the Christmas spirit.

Dying For Football, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the last several months, the newest revenue stream in college athletics appeared in the form of a life insurance scheme. Oklahoma State led the way with this idea which involved taking out $100,000 life insurance policies on major boosters. The idea was to generate a new source of revenue from those boosters dying to help produce winning athletic teams. Other institutions of higher athletics have rushed to put such a program in place on their campuses.

The Cub Century, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Cubs’ fans are a hearty lot. Now only a year away from a "Century of Futility" one gets the strange feeling that two historical forces will collide next baseball season and the result could be of cataclysmic dimensions. Will the Cubs continue in their futility, or will they trump their own futility in a transcendent futility by denying themselves a distinctive badge of symmetric futility inherent in a perfect century of failure?

The Braves And Tbs, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I doubt that many people were watching late Sunday afternoon as the Atlanta Braves ended their disappointing season notching one final loss. I doubt if very many, other than longtime Brave followers, knew the significance of the moment. It was in fact the end of an era.

Greg Ryan And The Goalkeepers, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is sometimes called second-guessing. In this case, it was first-guessing. From the moment that U.S. Women's Soccer coach Greg Ryan announced that he would replace Hope Solo in goal with Briana Scurry for the semi-final match in the Women's World Cup, there was a outpouring of astonishment mixed with criticism directed at his decision. It defied belief then, and it defied belief even more after the fact as the U.S. Women suffered their worst defeat in World Cup play.

Tiger Woods And Roger Federer, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

In these first few weeks of college and professional football, upsets seemed to be the rule rather than the exception. There are two sports where upsets these days are as rare as a Cubs’ World Series victory. In golf and tennis, it is nearly always Tiger, Tiger, Tiger and Roger, Roger, Roger. These two athletes have established an astounding dominance in their sports as both enter the prime of their careers. They are both on pace to rewrite the record books and end their careers as the greatest players in the history of their sports.

Late-Summer Wackiness, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

After a break from writing this column for several weeks, I am at a loss as to where to begin. The last few weeks have been full of stories from the wacky world of sport, and with the beginning of college football, the number of stories of crime and corruption have increased geometrically, although in fairness, the colleges have no monopoly on these.

Baseball Milestones: Barry, Alex, And Tom, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over two weeks ago before taking a short vacation to escape the heat and humidity of Florida, I saw the Barry Bonds home run that tied Henry Aaron. That same day Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run and all those fans with steroid anxiety suddenly discovered a new hero. Even before Bonds had officially passed Aaron, A-Rod became the Great Clean Hope who would surpass "Mr. Bonds," as Bud Selig so warmly called him, and bring the home run crown back to the kind of people who hold it by divine fiat. The next day Tom Glavine won his …