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Articles 301 - 330 of 820

Full-Text Articles in Cultural History

Paul Hamm, Trevor Graham, And Others, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2004

Paul Hamm, Trevor Graham, And Others, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It seems as if at every Olympic games there comes a point when there is a meltdown of one sort or another. In these games which are designed to produce international cooperation and understanding, nationalism more often than not raises its head in anger. Designed to promote friendship and good sportsmanship there is often a moment, or several moments, in which sportsmanship seems to leave the venue entirely.


The Athens Olympics Open, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2004

The Athens Olympics Open, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There is no doubt what I will remember most about the 2004 Olympic Games. It will not be the opening ceremonies, nor the historic setting of Athens, nor the amazing performance by Paul Hamm in the Men's Gymnastics all-around when he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and left the arena with a gold medal. Unfortunately, it will be Hurricane Charley that left myself and many of my fellow Orlandoans without power and therefore unable to see the opening ceremonies. For some it is still not possible to see the games, as they remain without power in the sweltering …


Father's Day, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2004

Father's Day, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

(This piece was first written for Father's Day of 1992 a few weeks after the death of my Father. As has been my custom I am sending it out again on this Father's Day)


Paid Vacations, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2004

Paid Vacations, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

What is the difference between getting a paid vacation and being suspended from your job with pay?


The Lightning's Stanley Cup, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2004

The Lightning's Stanley Cup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup. The Canadian Holy Grail of Sport now resides in Florida where on the day of the final game it was over 90 degrees, with high humidity, a veritable tropical paradise. The Lightning are coached by an American, have three American players, three Czechs, two Russians, and one player each from Sweden, Slovakia, and the Ukraine on the roster along with fifteen Canadians. They defeated the first Canadian based team to appear in the Cup Final in a decade. Eat your heart out Don Cherry!


The Belmont Stakes, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2004

The Belmont Stakes, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

A few decades ago when a powerful team played a very weak team in any sport and the result was lopsided there was a phrase to describe the event: "They beat the Little Sisters of the Poor." On Saturday the Little Sisters of the Poor got beat again but it was the powerful team, or in this case horse, that lost. "Smarty Jones" was supported by an entire nation, including the Philadelphia convent of The Little Sisters of the Poor where the sister of Smarty's jockey had parlayed the power of prayer and the two-dollar bets of the God Squad.


Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2004

Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the last twenty-four hours much has been made of the connections between former President Ronald Reagan and Sport. As is typical of many American politicians Reagan associated himself with the symbols of victory and those who achieved it. Unlike some, President Reagan's associations with sport were real and in many key ways a determinant of his personal political style.


The Ncaa And Its "Control" Of Bowl Games., Richard C. Crepeau May 2004

The Ncaa And Its "Control" Of Bowl Games., Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was more than a bit amusing to read that the Knight Commission has called on the NCAA to retake control of the bowl games from the television networks and the conferences. This is akin to telling the U.S. Senate to retake control of American Foreign Policy from the Executive Branch. It is not going to happen and even if it did it wouldn't make any real difference. The die is cast, the damage is done, and a reversal of history is not possible.


Crunch N’ Munch; Non-Analytical Positives; Stanley Cup Finals, Richard C. Crepeau May 2004

Crunch N’ Munch; Non-Analytical Positives; Stanley Cup Finals, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It's time to head to rewrite. The Yankees have sent Cracker Jack packing from the House that Ruth Built. "Crunch 'n Munch" will replace the traditional baseball snack because, says Yankee spokesperson Jason Zillo, it tastes better. Yankee Stadium's Director of Hospitality offered another more compelling reason for the move. Cracker Jack is eliminating the box in favor of a bag. Well, that certainly explains it. No one has mentioned what "Crunch 'n Munch" is paying the Yankees for their new status in the national pastime.


Fish Shooting, Richard C. Crepeau May 2004

Fish Shooting, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Fishing is a sport that has never caught my fancy, except for ice fishing which is largely about drinking rather than fishing. Growing up in the state of Minnesota where fishing is akin to a religious experience it may seem strange that I have not joined the faithful. In addition, over the past three decades I have been living in Florida, the Bass Fishing capital of the universe, where high stakes fishing is considerably more popular than the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here too I have resisted the allure, or is it the lure.


Roger Bannister; Michelle Akers, Richard C. Crepeau May 2004

Roger Bannister; Michelle Akers, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past week the world of sport has been remembering one of the most significant achievements of the past century, Roger Bannister's running of the first sub-four-minute mile at Oxford on May 6, 1954. Bannister's time was 3:59.4. The current record is 3:43.13 set in 1999 by Hicham el-Guerrouj of Morocco.


Rain, Money, Eligibility, And Gordon Gee: All Problems, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2003

Rain, Money, Eligibility, And Gordon Gee: All Problems, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I tuned in Thursday night to see how bad the weather was in Virginia. I wasn't so much interested in Virginia Beach or Pat Robertson's bunker as I was the situation in Blacksburg. Sure enough the Virginia Tech/Texas A&M game was going ahead in wind and rain, not hurricane force, still and all a fairly formidable downpour.


Overtime In College Football: The Latest Idiocy In Sport, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2003

Overtime In College Football: The Latest Idiocy In Sport, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Would someone please, please, stop the dismal spectacle of overtime in college football!


Heavy Drama At The U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2003

Heavy Drama At The U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The opening of the football seasons, both college and professional, can mean only one thing. It's time for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.


The Cesspool Of Intercollegiate Athletics, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2003

The Cesspool Of Intercollegiate Athletics, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Should it now be a requirement that anyone using the term "Intercollegiate Athletics" precede it with the words, "In the cesspool that is . . .?" The events of the past few weeks would indicate so.


Herb Brooks: A Tribute, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2003

Herb Brooks: A Tribute, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Sports Illustrated considers the Miracle on Ice the sports event of the 20th century. For an American it would be difficult to argue otherwise. The victory over the Russians at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games is considered by many, including myself, the greatest sports upset of the past half-century.


The Tour De France, Lance Armstrong, And The Rumors Of Drugs, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2003

The Tour De France, Lance Armstrong, And The Rumors Of Drugs, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Lance Armstrong once called the Tour de France "a contest in purposeless suffering." In a different mood Armstrong dubbed the Tour as "the most gallant athletic endeavor in the world." He may well have been right on both occasions.


Kobe Bryant Case - The British Open Fabulous Finale, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2003

Kobe Bryant Case - The British Open Fabulous Finale, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The avalanche has begun. Over the next several months we will be buried in media coverage of the Kobe Bryant Case. We will get double coverage with misinformation flowing from the news outlets and the sports outlets. By the end of this weekend numbness was already beginning to set in every time I heard the word "Kobe.”


Baseball's All-Star Game: Some History, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2003

Baseball's All-Star Game: Some History, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Baseball's All-Star Game is coming up tomorrow at Comiskey Park (a.k.a. US Cellular Field) in Chicago. This is the fourth All-Star Game hosted by the White Sox and the seventh game to be held in Chicago.


Randall Simon's Sausage Assault, Mascots, And The All-Star Game, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2003

Randall Simon's Sausage Assault, Mascots, And The All-Star Game, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Randall Simon is a very lucky man. When he took his bat to the nearest sausage it was blind luck that it was not the Bratwurst that was within his strike zone along the railing of the Pirates dugout. Those of us who have called Wisconsin home at one point in our lives know that, although Italian sausage may be savored by many, it is only the Brat that has sacred iconic status in the home state of the late Senator Joseph McCarthy. There are many other places that claim to hold a Bratwurst Festival but the annual event in …


The Good And The Ugly In Larges Doses In One Day In Sportsworld, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2003

The Good And The Ugly In Larges Doses In One Day In Sportsworld, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

When I opened my newspaper Tuesday morning I knew I was living in both the best and the worst of times in sportsworld. On the front page of the Orlando Sentinel was the picture of the Orlando Magic Mr. Nice Guy and all around great guy, Darrell Armstrong. The model of the community had been arrested at 2:30 a.m. outside an Orlando nightspot for battery on a police officer and resisting arrest.


David Beckham Sold Off To Madrid, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2003

David Beckham Sold Off To Madrid, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The sale of David Beckham by Manchester United to Real Madrid must be the highest profile transnational sports transfer since Wayne Gretzky was shipped out of Edmonton to Los Angeles. There were moves in the Canadian Parliament to designate the Great One as a national treasure to prevent that sale from completion and Canadians went into a period of national mourning. Neither Tony Blair nor his Minister of Sport suggested such an action at Westminster but still there was considerable reaction among British football fanatics.


Larry Doby: Greatness Overlooked In The Shadow Of Robinson, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2003

Larry Doby: Greatness Overlooked In The Shadow Of Robinson, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Wednesday evening Larry Doby died at age 79 in Montclair, New Jersey. Thursday afternoon in Yankee Stadium there was a tribute to Lou Gehrig on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Sometimes there is an odd confluence of events, and this is one of them. Although they played in different eras and under very different circumstances Larry Doby and Lou Gehrig shared one characteristic. The exceptional careers of both men were played out in the shadows of those around them.


College Sport Just Keeps Getting More Bizarre In Its Excesses, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2003

College Sport Just Keeps Getting More Bizarre In Its Excesses, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

In the past two months I have come to an entirely new appreciation of intercollegiate athletics. I now see how it serves the aims of higher education and builds character. It is clear that it is not about the money and that coaches are true educators guiding young men and women to a life of the highest ethical and moral standards. I have been wrong and I am willing to stand tall and admit it. This is clearly an institution within the institution of higher learning that is worth protecting, preserving, and cherishing.


Sosa's Corked Bat: Much To Do Over Not Much, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2003

Sosa's Corked Bat: Much To Do Over Not Much, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is so. It is also Sosa.


50th Anniversary Of The Everest Conquest And The Everest Obsession, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2003

50th Anniversary Of The Everest Conquest And The Everest Obsession, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The second of June is the anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of England. On that same day in 1953 news arrived in London that Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay had reached the summit of Mount Everest a few days earlier on May 29th. It seemed like a fortuitous convergence of events celebrating resurgent British Imperial power. In fact it was but an illusion, a false echo of past glory for a fading empire economically drained by the ravages of war.


Politics And Sports, Richard C. Crepeau Apr 2003

Politics And Sports, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was a quick war and as wars go a relatively easy one for the victors. In an age of mass media, endless cable news coverage, and embedded reporters there was a kind of faux realism to it all. In fact the two favorite words in the reporting were "surreal" and "robust."


Toni Smith, The National Anthem, And Sport, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2003

Toni Smith, The National Anthem, And Sport, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is all over the papers, the television news, and the talk shows. Toni Smith, the Manhattanville College senior basketball player has been turning her back on the flag during the playing of the national anthem for the past several weeks. In recent days as America gears up for a war the protest against her protest has been growing. Last weekend Toni Smith was confronted on the floor by a Vietnam veteran toting an American flag that he shoved in her face.


Outing Athletes - Death At Spring Training And Dangerous Supplements, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2003

Outing Athletes - Death At Spring Training And Dangerous Supplements, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Baseball is back in the news this week with two stories attracting considerable attention. One involves drugs and one involves sexuality, one involving a marginal young pitcher and one involving a Hall of Fame pitcher. Both stories have gotten considerable attention, and the focus in both cases seems to be off the mark.


Lebron: High School Professional And Phenom, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2003

Lebron: High School Professional And Phenom, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The name LeBron James was one that I saw occasionally on the ESPN.com site during my time in London last fall. I paid little attention to it having lived through the Amare Stoudemire buzz in Orlando last winter. I had no idea what a major story James had become in Dickvitaleland and how big a celebrity he is across America. He is so popular he may be the only high school student in America today who is known by his first name only.