Other History Commons^™

The Seventeenth Winter Olympics, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The Seventeenth Winter Olympics at Lillehammer roll on with moments of high drama, high controversy, and great disappointment. There were many highlights and several events, individuals, and trends that stand out at these games.

Tonya Harding Story, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

If you have been waiting for the other shoe to drop, the sounds being heard over the last week are starting to resemble an avalanche at the Tom MacCann factory. I'm talking, of course, about the Tonya Harding Story, or is it the Nancy Kerrigan Story, or perhaps the Three Stooges meet Tonya.

Winter Olympics History - Speed Skating - Figure Skating Russian Pairs, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

For nearly a week now the Seventeenth Winter Olympics has filled television screens across the world. In the United States CBS and TNT have carried countless hours of competition, and Norwegian television is offering a first, the Olympics in 3-D.

Orlando Magic, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

With the NFL having concluded its annual business in Hawaii, the pitchers and catchers about to report to spring training, and the Winter Olympics ready to open in Lillihammer, I want to pause this week and take a look at the Orlando Magic.

Super Bowl: Corporate Excess And Roman Numerals, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It's that time of year once again. One of America's premier sporting events is about to take place. The one which identifies itself using Roman Numerals. It is less than forty-eight hours from Super Sunday, and there probably hasn't been this much Yankee pillaging in Atlanta since Sherman's troops were in town 130 years ago.

Ncaa Scholarship Cuts And Black Coaches Assn.- Nfl Conference Finals, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The NCAA decided a year ago to cut the number of scholarships for men's basketball from fifteen to thirteen. Two weeks ago that body in convention rejected an attempt by a number of coaches to restore one of the two scholarships. This produced cries of pain from several of the coaches, and from one coaches group, the Black Coaches Association. They claimed racism, and threatened a boycott. The threat was withdrawn when the Congressional Black Caucus and the Justice Department displayed some interest in the subject. One can only speculate that the NCAA would have preferred a boycott to the …

Harding And Kerrigan Followup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Winning isn't everything, its the only thing. The words of course of that great American philosopher Vince Lombardi. I was reminded of them once again this week as the bizarre story of the attack on Nancy Kerrigan unfolded. And as it unfolded the nature of this commentary changed dramatically.

Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, And Dangers Of Celebrity - Nba And Gambling, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The sportsworld has been full of wild and crazy doings over the last few weeks and days, and it is difficult to know where to start in discussing the current scene.

Sugar Bowl Fans, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is fascinating to be in the middle of a sporting event and to be surrounded by thousands of people who are rabidly involved, and to be in a position in which you are essentially indifferent to the outcome. The most startling thing about this experience is the realization that human beings could get worked into a frenzy by something of such little significance, while knowing that you yourself would be in the same state if it was your favorite team that was involved. In some ways it is a sobering experience.

Winter 1994, 90.9 Wmpg Fm

WMPG Program Guides

No abstract provided.

Summer 1994, 90.9 Wmpg Fm

WMPG Program Guides

No abstract provided.

Bowl Mania And Naming Rights, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Amidst the incessant whining and babbling about who is number one, comes the endless parade of bowl games, in which millions of dollars are spent on advertising, game production, and team payouts. This is matched in the realm of conspicuous waste by the binge of spending indulged in by participating institutions of higher learning to entertain boosters, legislators, and assorted hangers-on who haunt the halls of athletic departments. FSU dropped three-quarters of a million dollars on one recent trip.

More Sports Books For Christmas, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As I mentioned last week, sports books are often considered to be the perfect last minute Christmas gift, and as promised, today I will offer several suggestions of sports books as gifts to add to last week's baseball book list. For those hearing the evening broadcast these are literally last second suggestions.

Sports Books For Christmas, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Every Christmas the sports book becomes one of those items that people resort to as a last minute gift. But the sports book can be a thoughtful and excellent gift for sports fans and for those who simply like good books and good writing. This week I am recommending nine books which come from a list of nominees for an award as baseball book of the year. Next week I'll recommend several non-baseball books.

Nfl Expands To Jacksonville - Bob Woolf Obit, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The Jacksonville Jaguars are the newest entry into the major sports explosion in Florida, as Jacksonville was awarded an NFL franchise a little over a week ago. Jacksonville joins Charlotte as the latest cities to be anointed by the power brokers in the National Football League. For the privileged Jacksonville has already spent several million dollars to secure the franchise, and now ownership will pay out $140M in franchise rights, while the people of Jacksonville will donate $121M for renovation of the aging Gator Bowl. In addition the new franchise owners will receive only one-half their share of the television …

The Cult Of Number Oneness - More Strange Motivational Technique, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Who is number one? Numero Uno. Primero. The Top Dog. The Best. The Greatest. This is the issue. This is the prime topic of all those sports talk shows that moan on and on through the long night of multiple time zones across America; Or on the twenty four hours of endless babble networks.

Football And Thanksgiving, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The History of Thanksgiving and of Football both go back into the Middle Ages, and so it may not be so strange that the two would become intertwined in modern America.

Don Shula's Career Highlights, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Don Shula had his 325th coaching victory in the National Football League last Sunday. He now has one more than George Halas. That's one more than Papa Bear, one of the founders of the NFL who seemed to have coached for centuries.

Odd Stories From The Past Few Weeks, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

At times things seem to get out of focus. Maybe its just the fact that with the World Series over, and the NFL not yet in a full sprint to the finish, and neither basketball or hockey getting much attention, it is just a slow news day, but whatever it is, there seems to be more than the usual amount of goofiness in the air.

The Sports Scene In Russia, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

This is the first year since 1964 that I have not been in the United States for the World Series. This year I left the country in the middle of the series, missing Games Five and Six. Unable to hear or see the final games I settled for BBC radio reports which I heard last Friday afternoon and Sunday morning in Moscow. The reports were sketchy but I did know that Curt Shilling had shut out the Blue Jays 2-0 on Thursday to send the Series back to Toronto.

Proposition 48 And The Black Coaches Association, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Forty members of the Black Coaches Association met in Washington on Tuesday with the members of the Congressional Black Caucus. They addressed such issues as the declining number of scholarships available for basketball, the lack of `black administrators in intercollegiate athletics including the NCAA, and the rising academic requirements for eligibility to compete in intercollegiate athletics.

Baseball Scorebook From Ty Cobb's 1904 Season In Anniston, Alabama, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The baseball scorecard is one of the wonders of the sportsworld. On two small pages the basic skeleton of a baseball game, inning by inning, is laid out in some detail, and anyone going to it can reconstruct a significant portion of a game. These and other devices, such as the box score, are the essentials of baseball record keeping. A few weeks ago Robert Rivers of the Art Department at the University of Central Florida dropped one such scorecard on my desk, and when I began to explore its contents, I was amazed.

Toronto Blue Jays Seek To Defend - The Greatness Of Dave Stewart, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

When the Toronto Blue Jays went on their pennant drive in September and quickly pulled away from the pretenders in the Eastern Division, it was apparent that they were ready to make a serious run at defending their World Championship, something that hasn't been done since the 1977-78 Yankees. They now have taken the next step in that process by eliminating the Chicago White Sox four games to two, winning all three games played in Chicago.

Baseball Season Ends With Drama - Achievements Of The Season, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

After 161 games the San Francisco Giants entered game 162 knowing that they must win or go home and watch the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs and World Series. They fought back valiantly from their disastrous collapse in early September to win nine of ten games. They were on the verge of sweeping the Dodgers in a four game series, something they had not done since 1923.

Michael Jordan And Baseball, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was the opening of the American League Championship Series; the first time the Chicago White Sox had been in the playoffs for ten years. Michael Jordan threw out the ceremonial first pitch. It should have been a great night for the White Sox, Chicago's neglected team. Instead, in the seventh inning word spread across America and across the stadium that the man who threw out the first pitch was about to retire from the Chicago Bulls and the NBA.

Fal 1993, Wmpg 90.9 Fm

WMPG Program Guides

WMPG program guide for Fall 1993

Includes notes from Program Director, information on shows and events, and schedule.

Nfl And Notable Holdouts -Olympics Awarded To Beijing, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The National Football League is heading into its fourth week and I haven't mentioned it yet. This is because Pete Roselle is no longer the Commissioner, and as a result the League has lost some of its majesty. Roselle always had the appearance and bearing of a deity, and this radiated to the League itself. With Pete gone, the NFL looks like just another bunch of mortals making big bucks off the boredom of the populace and the sweat of gladiators. The piety is no longer there.

Mlb Realignment And Expansion, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The vote was 27-1 with only the Texas Rangers against the proposal. And so next season, if the players agree, there will be three divisions in each league in baseball. Realignment will have been achieved, and there will be another round of playoffs. Player approval is likely, as it was the Player's Association who suggested that it was time for realignment, rather than a second tier of playoffs involving second place teams.

U.S.Tennis Open - James Gordon Bennett Jr., Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The 1993 U.S. Open comes to its conclusion this weekend in New York. When it opened nearly two weeks ago it looked like it would be most notable for the people who were not there.

College Football Scandals: Auburn, Washington, Miami, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Last Saturday you could hear the chant that goes with the tomahawk chop on two networks, and if you were quick with the remote control you could even get them into sequence. The Atlanta Braves were on CBS, while over on ABC the Florida State Seminoles were putting on a clinic for Kansas to open the college football season. As always, Keith Jackson was there with his now familiar, nearly anesthetizing, call of the game. College football and Keith Jackson are nearly one.