Sports Studies Commons^™

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 …

Corruption And Transcendence In Sport, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The last few weeks for sports fans have been particularly difficult ones. The stories of corruption are so overwhelming that it is a wonder that anyone can keep their focus on sport.

Dogfighting Culture, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It's difficult to know what to say about the Michael Vick story, and it might be wise to say nothing just yet. It does, however, bring to the forefront some interesting bits of history concerning what constitutes sport, the relationship of sport to gambling, the confluence of sport and masculinity, the evolution of what is seen as civilized and barbaric behavior, and the ways in which people react to that behavior.

The 2007 All-Star Game, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Baseball's All-Star Game is coming up tonight at the baseball facility formerly known as PNC Park, and the home of baseball's current leading villain, Barry Bonds. In a surprise to many, Bonds was voted to the National League starting line-up by the fans, who allegedly are disgusted by the poster boy for performance enhancement. The cheers tonight will be thunderous as Barry is introduced in the only ballpark where he remains a great hero, and even a beloved personage. The cheers will be even louder when baseball honors Willie Mays. These cheers will be echoed across the land for one …

Williams, Federer, And Nadal At Wimbledon, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

At the beginning of play in the Gentleman's Final at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Sunday, I believed that at the end of day Rafael Nadal would be crowned new champion and heir to the mantle of Roger Federer.

Barry Bonds At 750, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It has been a summer of milestone achievements in baseball, with the promise of more to come. Sammy Sosa reached the 600 home run mark two weeks ago and Frank Thomas reached the 500 home run level this past week, on the same day that Craig Biggio reached the 3000 level in hits. Alex Rodriguez will reach the 500 home run level sometime in the next month and Ken Griffey should reach 600 home runs before the end of the season. Gary Sheffield will reach 500 home runs late this season or early next season. These are exclusive clubs in …

Billy Donovan Redux, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Billy Donovan, who accepted the Orlando Magic head coaching position for the cool sum of $27.5M last Friday, has backed out of his contract. Is there anything to learn from this not very unusual turn of events? The idea that Billy Donovan has broken a contract carries very little meaning in sport, that is if you are an owner, general manager, or coach of a team.

Lebron James; Billy Donovan, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

In less than twenty-four hours, between Thursday night and Friday morning, the NBA produced two major stories. One concerned the essence of sport, the other the distorted values of modern sport. I am writing about the performance by LeBron James against the Detroit Pistons in game five of their Eastern Conference final and about the signing of Billy Donovan as the new coach of the Orlando Magic for over five million dollars a year. Both are jaw dropping performances in their own right, but that by James represents sport and the one by the Magic represents commerce and its twisted …

Bowie Kuhn, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Bowie Kuhn once said that he wanted to be remembered as the Baseball Commissioner who presided over a time of tremendous growth in the popularity of the game, and a time when no one questioned the integrity of the game. I read these words over and over again a few weeks ago in many of the obituaries published at the time of the former Commissioner's death. I cannot say that this is how I will remember him, and I do not know how history will remember him.

Use Of Psychological Skills Training By Ncaa Softball Teams, Angie Kenney

Graduate Theses

The purpose of the study was to determine if there were significant differences in the use, administration, frequency, and coaches’ perceived benefit of psychological skills training (PST) among NCAA Division I teams that qualified for a regional tournament, teams that did not qualify for a regional tournament with .500 or above wining percentage, and teams that did not qualify for a regional tournament with below .500 winning percentage. No significant differences were found between more and less successful NCAA Division I softball teams in the use, administration, frequency, and coaches’ perceived benefit of PST based on performance with the season …

Insuring Mr. Booster, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

They call them revenue streams. You can fish in them but there are no fish to be caught, at least the kind that has gills and fins. Some athletic directors have nightmares in which the streams dry up. Others have dreams in which they discover new streams where no one has fished before. This is the Athletic Director's wet dream.

Ncaa Bans Text-Message Recruiting, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Every day in every way my admiration for the National Collegiate Athletic Association soars to new heights. Who could not but admire the latest blow delivered by this august organization on the behalf of the purity of intercollegiate athletics?

Jackie And Eddie Robinson, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

This weekend marks the Sixtieth Anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first appearance in major league baseball. It comes at the end of a week in which another Robinson is being mourned across the nation. The tale of the two Robinsons, Jackie and Eddie, is a tale of courage and struggle and the story of how race shapes lives and society in America. It is also a story of gain and loss across the two Americas.

Imus, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Anyone who has watched and listened to "Imus in the Morning" over the past several years cannot be surprised by the comments that were made last week in reference to the Rutgers Women's Basketball team. The only surprise may be the extreme tastelessness of what was said.

An Examination Of Sport Commitment Of Windsurfers, Jung-Hwan Jeon

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Much research over the past decade has been conducted for understanding the commitment of sport participants. While many different subjects have been examined, there is no study which examines windsurfers through the Sport Commitment Model (SCM) (Scanlan, Carpenter, Schmidt, Simons, & Keeler, 1993). The present study examined the sport commitment of windsurfers and the relationship between windsurfing commitment and the following variables: demographic characteristics, participation frequency, and purchase behavior.

The survey instrument included items from the SCM Questionnaire (Scanlan, Carpneter, et al., 1993) and the Modified SCM questionnaire (Casper, 2004). A total of 173 questionnaires were distributed during two windsurfing …

Leadership And Recruitment: What Leaders Can Learn From Coach Robert Montgomery Knight, Peter A. Maresco

WCBT Faculty Publications

The article discusses the leadership style of coach Robert Knight that can be adapted by business leaders in recruiting and managing their employees. Background information about Knight is presented. It is said that Knight believes that coaching is motivation and leadership and understanding human nature. According to the author, Knight is concerned with creating an environment where helping co-workers work to their fullest is the norm. Some additional insights into the leadership philosophy of Knight are presented.

Homophobia In Sport, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The last ten days or so has seen a convergence of seemingly unrelated events which illuminate or cast a dark shadow around the subject of gender and sport. The most high profile of these events was the announcement by former NBA player John Amaechi that he is gay, an announcement tied to the release of a book. As it turns out, the revelation is only one occurrence in a cluster of discreet moments related to the topic of gender and sport and sexuality, a subject that is seldom dealt with in a graceful manner in our society.

Super Bowl Excesses, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past week I have revisited several years of Super Bowl columns. After re-reading each of them three questions have haunted me. What are the greatest moments of the absurd and sleaze kind in the history of the Super Bowl? Is it possible for anything associated with the Super Bowl this year to achieve the lofty heights set by previous Super Bowl Experiences? Is it possible for the Super Bowl to continue to grow in scale as it has done every year for the past forty years? These are the pressing questions that cry out for answers on the …

Handling Immediate Medical Care At Aquatic Facilities: Do We Need Different Levels Of Lifeguard Certification?, Leland Yarger

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The first-responder and professional-rescuer training materials and training programs consider lifeguards to be first responders in emergencies (Aehlert, 2005; American Red Cross, 2001). This article asks readers to consider whether our agency lifeguard-training programs reflect a philosophy that truly view and prepare lifeguards as first responders. If not, I challenge readers to consider whether we should alter our hiring, staffing, and in-service training procedures at aquatic facilities based on the scope and need for providing adequate emergency care at those facilities.

Factors Influencing Baseball Fans' Brand Loyalty: A Comparison Of Florida Marlins And Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Yun-Tsan Lin

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Factors influencing Major League Baseball fans' brand loyalty is important because these fans bring significant financial benefits to the industry every year, and stimulate economic growth in the United States. An intercept and quota sampling plan resulted in a sample of 285 Florida Marlins fans and 213 Tampa Bay Devil Rays fans for this comparative and correlational study. The purpose was to test for an explanatory relationship among fans' characteristics, influencing factors, and the loyalty of fans to a winning team and to a losing team. Comparative and multiple regression analyses tested hypothesized relationships among fan characteristics, brand association attributes, …

Escape And Rescue From Submerged Vehicles, Gerald M. Dworkin

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

No abstract provided.

Mcgwire & The Hof; Urban Meyer & Nike, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I assume that you are sleeping better knowing that the baseball writers of America have sent a message. What that message might be, I am not certain, but there is comfort in knowing that a message has been sent. This week's announcement of the Baseball Hall of Fame voting saw Mark McGwire, once regarded as a Hall of Fame lock, receiving only 23.5% of the votes from the writers.

New Year's Roundup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is difficult to know where to begin after being away from this column for the past few weeks as there are so many bizarre and interesting things that have happened that seem worthy of comment.

Endorser Source Credibility: Redefining Spokesperson Influence Through Development Of The Celebrity-Hero Matrix, Joshua Shuart

WCBT Faculty Publications

Endorsement of sport and non-sport products by athletes is an extremely popular method that corporations use to drive sales and advertising. Traditionally, celebrity endorsement research has focused on the physical attractiveness of the endorser; while this makes sense, it provides only a partial explanation why consumers purchase athlete-endorsed products. Several other components of source credibility, as well as previously unexplored elements such as "heroic" traits, prove to be stronger predictors of intent-to-purchase. A 3-phase research study of Americans aged 18-35 was conducted, with a Celebrity-Hero Matrix© (CHM) developed and several marketing recommendations made based on the findings.

Heroes In Sport: Assessing Celebrity Endorser Effectiveness, Joshua Shuart

WCBT Faculty Publications

The use of celebrities, and particularly athletes, to influence consumers and sell products is not a new practice, but one that is gaining considerable steam in the sports marketplace. However, many academics and practitioners have long questioned the means by which celebrity endorsement is measured and evaluated. Through the use of validated surveys among US students and the inauguration of the Celebrity-Hero Matrix (CHM), some of their questions are answered. Being labelled a 'heroic' athlete does, it seems, have tremendous power for marketers, and provides endorsement clout for the athlete.

Women's Basketball Media Guide 2007-2008, Indiana State University

Intercollegiate Athletics

No abstract provided.