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Full-Text Articles in Cultural History

The All-Star Game, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2006

The All-Star Game, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Baseball's All-Star Game is coming up Tuesday in Pittsburgh and is the first All-Star Game held in the new ballpark in this once proud baseball city. It is, however, the fifth time Pittsburgh will host this showcase of baseball talent. There are hopes that the return of the game to Pittsburgh will help to renew interest in the game in the former Steel City.


Midseason Baseball Roundup, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2006

Midseason Baseball Roundup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The baseball season thus far has been a strange one, although perhaps no stranger than most. Normal is not a word that is often associated with baseball, or for that matter with most sports. Before the season started, the specter of steroids stalked spring training. Barry Bonds was written about almost as much as T.O. had been written about before the NFL season started last fall. Sports writers, sportscasters, and the fanatics on talk radio couldn't match the T.O. hysteria, but they gave it a good try.


Jason Grimsley And Hgh, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2006

Jason Grimsley And Hgh, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Up to this point in his less than distinguished major league baseball career, Jason Grimsley was best known as the player who crawled through a ceiling passage in the visitor's clubhouse at Comiskey Park to get Albert Belle's corked bat from the umpire's room. It was July of 1994 and the umpires had confiscated Belle's illegal bat.


A Remarkable Weekend, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2006

A Remarkable Weekend, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is difficult to remember another weekend like this in the world of sport. The words "feast," "cornucopia," and "festival," all seem inadequate to describe the variety, quality, and significance of this weekend's sports menu.


Playoffs In The "New" Nhl, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2006

Playoffs In The "New" Nhl, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

This is for all those out there who have been watching something other than the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Whether you have been mesmerized by American Idol, following the fortunes of the NBA, or been caught up in the new baseball season, the time has come to abandon these minor matters and focus on the Stanley Cup Finals. The new NHL has arrived. What is really new are not just the rules, but the fact that the same rules applied by the referees in the regular season are being followed in the playoffs.


Barry Bonds Hits No. 715, Richard C. Crepeau May 2006

Barry Bonds Hits No. 715, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It pains me excessively to admit this, but Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig and I agree on something: Barry Bonds' arrival at the number 714 and 715 in home runs is not the occasion for celebration.


Gambling And College Sports, Richard C. Crepeau May 2006

Gambling And College Sports, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It has been a longstanding assumption among historians of sport that gambling is an essential element in the appeal of sport, and that from the first competition it was likely that a wager was involved. It is also generally conceded that, without gambling, sport would experience a marked decline in public interest. The gambling industry in America is huge and largely illegal, while the gambling industry on other parts of the planet is huge and legal.


The Ultimate Non-Event: The Nfl Draft, Richard C. Crepeau Apr 2006

The Ultimate Non-Event: The Nfl Draft, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is the biggest non-event in sport. It saturates the sports talk shows, the sports pages, the sports magazines, the sports web sites. It is the orphan adopted and promoted by ESPN and turned into a monster of the television world. It is the sports version of "Let's Make a Deal" as audience members dress up to catch the camera eye. It is the sports television equivalent of a nuclear explosion leaving behind a wasteland of irradiated viewers.


Keith Hernandez On Women In The Dugout, Richard C. Crepeau Apr 2006

Keith Hernandez On Women In The Dugout, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Each time I hear the name Keith Hernandez I am taken back to March of 1989 when, at the New York Mets' spring training facility, Darryl Strawberry threw a punch at the first-baseman. It was one of those forgettable moments except for the line that someone got off about the incident: "It was the first time that Strawberry ever hit the cut-off man."


Amateurs And Professionals In College Sports, Richard C. Crepeau Apr 2006

Amateurs And Professionals In College Sports, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

During this past week, The New York Times published two stories concerning the eligibility of tennis players to participate in NCAA competitions. The point of contention has arisen over a very high number of international players who have been dominating championship play over the last few years. Last year, in the NCAA national championships, 38 of the 64 male competitors and 33 of the 64 female competitors were international players, and one estimate is that half of these players were professionals under NCAA rules.


Bud Selig And Steroids, Richard C. Crepeau Apr 2006

Bud Selig And Steroids, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is spring. Time of optimism and renewal. The flowers are in bloom. Spring training is over. Opening day of another baseball season is upon us. Everyone is in first place. Dreams of pennants in October are yet to be crushed. What possibly could dampen the mood as another baseball season opens? In so many ways it is the best time of year. Could it possibly last?


Scandal At Indiana, K-State, And Duke, Richard C. Crepeau Mar 2006

Scandal At Indiana, K-State, And Duke, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

In this month of madness, March is going out like a crazed lion. The Final Four has offered excitement at the level of delirium. While off the court the dark underside of intercollegiate athletics had found numerous modes of expression pointing to levels of madness of another kind.


Madness In March: Steroids & Point-Shaving, Richard C. Crepeau Mar 2006

Madness In March: Steroids & Point-Shaving, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Welcome to March Madness, or rather the Madness that is March. I will not use "March Madness" because CBS Inc. and the NCAA Inc. own the phrase "March Madness" and I wouldn't want to face a lawsuit for using this copyrighted phrase. So in deference to CBS, the NCAA, and their all-star team of corporate lawyers, I will not risk their wrath and will speak only of the "Madness that is March" rather than "March Madness."


The Death Of Kirby Puckett, Richard C. Crepeau Mar 2006

The Death Of Kirby Puckett, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

What to say when a friend dies? It is always a difficult moment for the living. For anyone who was a fan of the Minnesota Twins and of baseball that moment is here again because Kirby Puckett, a great friend to all Twins fans, died yesterday, just a day after suffering a stroke. He was 45. To fans like me he was the archetypal baseball player, and although I never met him, he was the friendly round man in centerfield who did so much for the struggling baseball franchise in Minnesota. He was a friend to anyone who ever saw …


European Hockey To The Fore In Turin, Richard C. Crepeau Mar 2006

European Hockey To The Fore In Turin, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Before leaving the Olympic Winter Games behind I want to make a few closing observations on what might be regarded as the downside.


The Quest For Perfection At Turin, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2006

The Quest For Perfection At Turin, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

With the XXth Winter Olympics now in the books, I want to reflect on a few of the many extraordinary occurrences of the past two weeks. Some of these I saw on television and some I read about. Most of these observations concern the second week of competition as I have already written about the first week.


Surprises At The Winter Olympics, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2006

Surprises At The Winter Olympics, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As the second week of the XXth Winter Olympic games begins the surprises continue to mount. Some are truly surprises while others are simply a tribute to the slim margins of difference among elite athletes. Still others are rooted in the misplaced expectations of the press.


Turin Winter Olympics, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2006

Turin Winter Olympics, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Here we are only five days into the Winter Olympic Games and already there have been several disappointing and magnificent moments. From the departure of Michelle Kwan to the always beautiful and astounding pairs skating, this Olympics is off to a very fast start.


The Xl Super Bowl, Richard C. Crepeau Feb 2006

The Xl Super Bowl, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Sunday is Super Bowl XL in Detroit. In the Roman Empire the XL denoted the number forty. In a fortuitous parallel within the American Empire the XL carries the meaning, "Extra Large." No doubt Super Bowl XL will be both extremely large and as decadent as one would expect of a Roman orgy in the time of Caligula, the Emperor who, in a post-modern gesture, appointed his horse to the Roman Senate.


T On Tom Penders; Daly Shoots 69, Richard C. Crepeau Jan 2006

T On Tom Penders; Daly Shoots 69, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I think it was Wednesday. I was cruising the channels when suddenly I was brought to a complete stop by what I saw. There it was, live, football practice for the Senior Bowl. I have seen a lot of dreadful non-events on ESPN through the years, but this one represented a new low. Cheerleading competitions are considerably more interesting, and indeed more significant.


Cuba, Bush, The Ibaf, And The Wbc, Richard C. Crepeau Jan 2006

Cuba, Bush, The Ibaf, And The Wbc, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It seemed like such a good idea, one whose time had finally come. Then in one sweeping ruling the Bush Administration dealt what could be a fatal blow to another of Bud Selig's dreams. The World Baseball Classic scheduled for March may well end in a shambles. Only a nod from the man who once seemed destined to be Commissioner of Baseball can save Selig's dream. One can only wonder what would have happened if George Bush had become Commissioner of Baseball. The implications for baseball and the world are mind-boggling.


The Passing Of Abc's Monday Night Football, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2005

The Passing Of Abc's Monday Night Football, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

At the end of its thirty-sixth season, ABC's Monday Night Football will pass into history, sort of. It certainly has been an institution of historical significance for broadcasting and for American popular culture as well as sport. It will not exactly disappear but will migrate to Sunday night, while ESPN's Sunday night football will move over to fill the void on Monday night.


Far Reaches Of The Holiday Bowl Lineup, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2005

Far Reaches Of The Holiday Bowl Lineup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Several years ago the good people at the Miller Brewing Company put together the Miller Lite Survey of Sport in America. The survey, greeted by many with a roar of disbelief, found that bowling was the most popular participatory sport in the nation. We are now about to enter the Bowling Zone, a sixteen-day run of college football games with little or no meaning except to close family and friends of the participants, with a few notable exceptions. This is not the kind of bowling that was found in the Miller Lite Survey. These are not events featuring a hard …


Forgiveness For Lou Holtz And George O'Leary, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2005

Forgiveness For Lou Holtz And George O'Leary, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. Many saintly people through the years have espoused its practice. In sport, if you know where to look, you will find that forgiveness is extensively practiced. It can also pay dividends and in the calculus of the modern world that is all that really counts.


Vic Power Dies, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2005

Vic Power Dies, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

On Tuesday Victor Pellot died at age 78. This may not mean all that much to many baseball fans, but if that sentence is modified to read, "On Tuesday Vic Power died at age 78," it would have considerably more meaning. Vic Power was a first baseman who came to North America from Puerto Rico in 1950 to play baseball. He started in Class D ball in Ontario and a year later was signed by the Yankee organization. In 1952 he was assigned to the Yankee farm team in Kansas City where he hit .331 and drove in over a …


George Best Dies, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2005

George Best Dies, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

George Best died on Friday in London. For most Americans this simple fact of death has little meaning. For soccer fans across the globe it is a fact that is neither simple nor without meaning.


Thanksgiving, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2005

Thanksgiving, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have announced yet another new agreement on drug policy. It may even be the final such policy agreement of the year. As such we can now relax and know that drug use in baseball is under complete and total control. We also know that democracy is spreading across Iraq and throughout the Middle East. And Santa Claus is coming to town.


A New Mlb Steroid Policy, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2005

A New Mlb Steroid Policy, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have announced yet another new agreement on drug policy. It may even be the final such policy agreement of the year. As such we can now relax and know that drug use in baseball is under complete and total control. We also know that democracy is spreading across Iraq and throughout the Middle East. And Santa Claus is coming to town.


The Ncaa: Mascots And Minorities, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2005

The Ncaa: Mascots And Minorities, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is here! "ESPN Mobile" has arrived. It will join ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Radio, ESPN International, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Original Entertainment, ESPN Merchandise, ESPN Zone, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN Now, ESPN Extra, ESPN HD, and Sports Ticker Enterprises, in the ESPN family.


Incentives, Swoopes, Pink Lockers, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2005

Incentives, Swoopes, Pink Lockers, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

While I was on the road much of the last two weeks a number of things happened that caught my attention and now that I am back at my desk I would like to discuss a few of them. First, and indeed most curious, was the announcement from the NCAA that they would be offering financial rewards to those institutions whose student athletes actually perform as students. What a concept!