Sports Studies Commons^™

Ron Zook And The Bull Gators, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

He never had a chance, although he certainly knew what hit him. Ron Zook was fired yesterday by the glorious football machine at the University of Florida, the one in Gainesville, the one with the Gator as the mascot.

A Storied Alcs, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I certainly don't want to belittle the significance of what happened in the American League Championship Series this past ten days, but I would like to cast some doubt on the universal praise gushing through the baseball media emanating as it does from the Northeast. Certainly one cannot doubt that the achievement of the Boston Red Sox in coming back from a 0-3 deficit to win the series is factually the greatest comeback in post-season baseball history. You can look it up, as Casey used to say.

The Nhl Lockout, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

One of the most exciting times in the sports calendar comes when baseball is into playoffs and moving toward the World Series, the NFL and college football are beginning to hit stride and pick up the levels of excitement, and then as with frosting on the cake the NHL and the NBA open their seasons. Mid-October carries a special excitement when all these sports are going at once.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 80, No. 14, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Reed, Lindsey. Health Services Staying Crowded
• Buckman, Josh. New Gadgets Lead to New Cheating Methods
• Clark, Ashlee. Faculty Finds New Ways to Combat Plagiarism
• Fisher, Lee. Forum Addresses Gay Marriage Issues
• Richardson, Kelly. Students Learn from Debate Watch
• Wilberding, Beth. Plus/Minus Issue Still Undecided
• Wilberding, Beth. Students Discuss Academics During Forum – Student Government Association
• Squash the Hate & Let’s Desegregate
• Henze, Adam. Editorial Cartoon re: Flooding on Campus
• Sainlar, Lindsay. Just Click Your Heels Together Three Times & You’re Home
• Stoess, Jacquelyn. It’s Time …

Trouble In Cubdom, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There was a time when being a Cub fan was one of the easiest callings in the world. You would begin in spring training reciting all those spring training mantras like "We're all in first place on April 1st," or "This isn't the same team that finished at the bottom last year," or in the more unfortunate words of Leo Durocher, "This isn't an eighth place team." Leo unfortunately had a lapse of memory as the National League had expanded to ten teams. But I digress.

The Expos To Dc, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It is one of the great cities of North America. It is a city that loves its sports. It is a city that loves baseball and has a rich baseball history. On Wednesday the last Major League game was played at Olympic Stadium before an angry crowd of just over 30,000 fans.

Espn's 25th, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

When the history of Sport in America is written several decades from now ESPN may well be regarded as the most important development of the 20th century.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 80, No. 4, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Stoess, Jacquelyn. Voting 101 – Kentucky Constitution
• Sebastian, Kandace. Convention Draws Student Voices – Iraq Revolution
• Clark, Ashlee. Ceremony Encourages Freshmen Involvement – MASTER Plan
• Wilberding, Beth. Student Government Association Reacting with Changes
• Buckman, Josh. Transportation Unit Expected
• Clark, Ashlee. Global Project to Include Africa – Physics & Astronomy
• Sainlar, Lindsay. This Little Piggy Watched the News
• Henze, Adam. Editorial Cartoon re: Dining Services
• Shepherd, Justin. Former Opinion Editor Has Another Opinion
• Campbell, Philip. George Bush Supporter Empowered by Act of Stupidity - Vandalism
• Bogard, …

Amateurism, Eligibility, And Doublespeak, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It's difficult for me to acknowledge that in the case of Mike Williams of the University of Southern California the NCAA may finally have done something right. Williams applied for reinstatement of his eligibility to play football at USC following the federal court decisions that virtually overturned the lower court decisions allowing underclassmen to make themselves eligible for the National Football League Draft.

Athens: The Beauty Of Playfulness, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Amidst the controversies, the crass commercialism, and the artificiality of the staged teledrama of the Olympics, the main point can too easily get lost. This is a sporting event involving athletes seeking to perform at the highest level, individually or as a team, as they compete against one another, themselves, and the challenges of the sport. What this offers is a drama of its own, showcasing the sporting spirit and offering each of us a window on the possibilities of human achievement.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Ua1b2/1 Big Red's Buddies, Jason Brown

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

Powerpoint presentation regarding the history of WKU athletics, research methodologies and sources used.

Ua1b2/1 Clearance Jeanette Interview, Riley Jones

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

Paper describing research process and preparation for oral history interview with Clearance Jeanette.

0733: Harry Clagg Papers, 1935-1963, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Scrapbooks and papers related to Clagg's years as a football player, coach and principal in Cabell Co., W. Va. schools: football programs, photographs, playbook, diagrams.

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

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

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

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

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

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.