Category: Sports

Video: President Trump Booed at NCAAF National Championship

When a Republican President is booed in the a Deep South, that’s not a sign of popularity.


The Titan Joins The Gods

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is dead.

At 74.

I remember him boxing. I remember Howard Cosell.

From the New York Times:

Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing champion who helped define his turbulent times as the most charismatic and controversial sports figure of the 20th century, died on Friday. He was 74.

His death was confirmed by Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman.

Ali was the most thrilling if not the best heavyweight ever, carrying into the ring a physically lyrical, unorthodox boxing style that fused speed, agility and power more seamlessly than that of any fighter before him.

But he was more than the sum of his athletic gifts. An agile mind, a buoyant personality, a brash self-confidence and an evolving set of personal convictions fostered a magnetism that the ring alone could not contain. He entertained as much with his mouth as with his fists, narrating his life with a patter of inventive doggerel. (“Me! Wheeeeee!”)

And Peace be upon him.


IHSA Disqualifies H-F Girls Basketball, Says Coach Is A Cheat

So it turns out cheaters will not win this year, at least one in particular from H-F.

I especially feel bad for the kids affected, and, again, for those who were honest from the get-go.

From Joe Biesk at the Sun-Times:

Homewood-Flossmoor’s girls basketball team was scheduled to play T.F. North Wednesday. Instead, the Illinois High School Association has disqualified the team from the state playoffs over bylaw violations.

The Homewood-Flossmoor girls basketball team and its acclaimed first-year coach Anthony Smith were top contenders for the state title this season. Now, they won’t even play a game in the tournament. In a decision Wednesday, issued about an hour before H-F was to play its opening game in the tourney, the Illinois High School Association dashed all hopes of the team’s postseason glory. Citing several violations of its bylaws, the IHSA banned H-F from competing and forfeited its 21 victories this season. The Vikings, ranked No. 1 by the Sun-Times, was scheduled to play T.F. North at 6 p.m. in Calumet City.

Read more here.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Just hours before the top-ranked Homewood-Flossmoor girls basketball team was to take the floor to begin its playoff march, the state high school athletic association delivered a bombshell Wednesday, suspending the entire team and its highly regarded coach for rules violations.

The sanctions by the Illinois High School Association come just weeks after a lawsuit rocked the highly touted program, accusing coach Anthony Smith of improperly recruiting star players from other school districts in his first season at H-F. That prompted the school district to conduct an internal investigation that led it to acknowledge it had violated rules, though none for improper recruiting.

More here at the Trib


Watch: US Olympic Speedskater Describes Having to Rely on Food Stamps

From DemoNews.org:

Yes, you’ve read that right. Things have gotten so bad in America that even our Olympic athletes are receiving “poverty stipends” in order to help them make ends meet as they struggle to represent our country in the Olympics while putting food on the table.

In this very telling video, Emily Scott, representing the United States in Olympic speedskating, fights back the tears as she recalls having to apply for food stamps due to her Olympic stipend being cut from $1950 per month to only $600 per month, less than the minimum wage.

More


Video: Texas Sports Anchor Delivers Jaw-Dropping Speech On Gay NFL Players



Hat Tip to the Huffington Post:

Sports broadcasts are typically known for their punchy lists of best plays, epic goal countdowns and testosterone-fueled commentary.

Which makes Dale Hansen’s address Monday night all the more remarkable. The Dallas sports anchor for ABC local affiliate WFAA took a break from the standard script to address the issue of Michael Sam, a defensive lineman poised to become the first openly gay player in the NFL.


For Steeler Nation: The Pain. Oh, the Pain.

This will be a long, long season for Steeler Nation.

The pain, Will Robinson. Oh, the pain.


Suffer the Soccer Children: Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta is a Real Piece of Work

Village of Crestwood

First the water, now the vindictive mayor.

It wasn’t too long ago we were all saying, "If you go to Crestwood, don’t drink the water."

Now?

"If you go to Crestwood, beware the mayor."

Especially if you play soccer.

Play soccer in a league that has been in existence for more than 40 years.

A league that is its own not-for-profit (NPF).

Do you get that?

An independent corporation.

In existence for more than 40 years.

Feel so, so very sorry for this Illinois village, stuck with a mayor hell-bent on stepping on children for political gain, clawing his way to the headlines, making a name for himself as a perpetrator of political vendetta.

The mayor wants to see the books.

The mayor wants a cut of the pie.

The mayor has a political vendetta.

Suffer the children.

Here’s some background from Phil Kadner’s recent contribution to the Southtown Star, Kadner: Mayor picks fight with soccer club.

I like and enjoy reading Phil Kadner. Please make a point of reading him.

Ahem. Yes. The background, from Phil Kadner:

At issue are the soccer fields just south of 138th Street and Lavergne Avenue, which are on ComEd land overlooked by high-tension towers.

According to soccer club board members, 32 years ago former Mayor Chester Stranczek agreed to let the club use the property rent-free after the village signed an agreement with the utility company for use of its easement.

Volunteers with the soccer club leveled the land by hand, raised money to construct a $22,000 fence and gate, more money to buy soccer goals and an additional $13,000 to build a garage to house equipment.

The village cuts the grass on the field. But, for 20 years, the field has been in use by the not-for-profit Crestwood Soccer Club, composed of "more than 500 children signed up for its fall season; about 70 percent Crestwood residents and the rest from the surrounding suburbs," according to Kadner.

Seventy percent is an amazing figure for a club, and political suicide for anyone to mess with. Especially a 20-year agreement.

But why should that stop Lou Presta?

There are 40 recreation teams and five travel teams in the club.

That’s amazing.

So why, pray tell, is the mayor, Louis Presta, messing with this fine organization, and the 500+ children (70% from Crestwood) who are members?

First, Crestwood Trustee John Toscas is president of the not-for-profit (NFP) Soccer Club.

And Toscas, it appears, is not a strong-enough supporter of the mayor.

The proposed solution?

Again, from Phil Kadner:

A proposed village ordinance would create a new seven-member parks commission appointed by the mayor, and create a new position of director of parks and recreation.

Presta told me the position would be filled by a current village employee at no increase in salary.

But the ordinance says compensation for the director “shall be established by the board of trustees annually.”

Get this straight.

Crestwood does not own the land. ComEd owns the land. Kids play under high tension wires. ComEd leases the land to Crestwood.

Now Presta wants to call that land a park.

A village park.

Even though Crestwood does not own the land.

And there’s more, and it’s about money:

Not only that, Presta indicated he wants the soccer club to share the money it raises with the rest of the village’s recreational programs.

“Some recreation programs make money and some don’t,” Presta said. “I believe the money should be spread around so that those that make money can help support those that don’t to provide opportunities to everyone.

Of course. So this private corporation must now open its books to the village.

And pay, pay, pay.

Because Lou Presta, mayor of Crestwood, is a real piece of work.

A real, real piece of work.

Please read Phil Kadner’s entire column here.


DVE Mario Douchebag Jagr (Hilarious Audio)

From WDVE in Pittsburgh.

Enjoy.

Hilarious.


Marc-Andre Fleury Gives Up 3 As Penguins Lose In Finale Minutes to Boston

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The Penguins blew a two-goal lead and fell for the third time in as many games without All-Star center Sidney Crosby, 3-2, against the Boston Bruins tonight at Consol Energy Center.

Crosby has a concussion.

The Penguins outshot Boston, 14-6, in a scoreless first period.

Just watched the third period of this game.

Sh*t. Sh*t. And Sh*t.


Poll: Roethlisberger’s Scandals Still Linger With Some Fans

From TribLive:

Ten months after a Georgia student claimed Ben Roethlisberger raped her, a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review poll finds that a fourth of local fans dislike him.

But 54 percent of Western Pennsylvania residents hold a "favorable" opinion of the Steelers’ quarterback, according to the Dec. 21-22 telephone survey conducted by Susquehanna Polling & Research in Harrisburg. The poll’s margin of error was 3.24 percent.

After a night of drinking in bars in Milledgeville, Ga., a 20-year-old accused Roethlisberger on March 5 of assaulting her in a restroom. Lacking evidence of a crime, investigators condemned his boorish behavior but punted on prosecuting him. That left National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend Roethlisberger for four games.

A separate lawsuit is pending in Nevada, where a woman claims Roethlisberger raped her.

My son wore his Roethlisberger jersey to the Steelers game last Thursday night. And I was fine with that.

Just sayin’.

I may wear my jersey some day soon.