Competition Blog
Notes on the Competition Life
College Sports Gambling: A Losing Bet For Schools, Teams, Players, And Fans–Part II
College Sports Gambling’s impact is pervasive. In college sports “beating the odds” was simply a figure of speech until a few years ago. It was the triumph of performing above expectations. Today it is becoming the motivation for every game, every play, and every stat. Unsurprisingly, its spawn of betting scandals, sandbagging, and inside information are warping the experience for players, coaches, fans, schools, and even leagues.
College Sports Gambling: A Losing Bet For Schools, Teams, Players, And Fans–Part I
College sports gambling is destructive. Part of the fabric of American life is the pleasure of college sports. Some of it is personal: a dream, an accomplishment, a memory, a tradition. Some is the excitement of pure sport. Disciplined young athletes striving to be their best. And let’s not ignore the amped-up, but fun, narratives of the schools, sponsors, and media. Are we throwing it all away on a bad bet.
The Beauty Of Grand Tour Cycling Is The Contest Behind The Glory
Grand Tour cycling races such as the Tour de France are a bit of a mystery to most Americans. Seeing the dynamics behind the leaders, however, reveals the strategies and tactics of the teams and the support riders. There is sacrifice, heroic effort, and anonymity. It turns out to be a lot like life.
The Virtues Of Sport Are The Virtues Of America
The virtues of sport: hard work, courage, resilience, and respect are virtues of competition that we can all be proud to herald as our country’s virtues as well.
Sports Betting Challenges Our Love Of The Game
There is plenty of discussion regarding the effect of sports betting on professional and college sports. But there is more conversation needed about its impact on the connection to sports for the rest of us.
Youth Sports Specialization: Fun, Pressures, Injuries, Burnout
Why do kids play the sports they do? Are they following their bliss? Living their parents’ dreams? Feeding the sports education complex? Why is there an epidemic of chronic injuries among student athletes? The answers reveal much about current pressures on kids, parents, and youth sports.
Theegala, Crenshaw, and Integrity When No One Is Watching
What is your integrity worth? How about a million dollars. In an era of dirty tricks and short cuts, some players can still honor the game with their commitment and inner strength.
Winning Isn’t for Everyone – Nike Should Know
"Does that make me a bad person?" Well, yes. Sadly. Nike tried to promote the 7 Deadly Sins to sporting virtues. And the public isn’t having it.
Nine Reasons We Love Cotton for Tees and Activewear
With so many fabric choices, cotton is still our favorite for t-shirts and activewear. Polyester, nylon, and other synthetics have some great characteristics that are ideal for certain performance situations. To our mind, however, cotton is still the all-around champion. Here are nine reasons why.
Save Sports from Politics and Sports Media
Is the drift of politics into sports media ruining the game? Here is a quick exercise contrasting sports and politics. Let us propose a dozen dichotomies. And then you can assign "Sports" and "Politics" to each of the opposing concepts.
Sport Is Love. Who Knew?
Sport is love. Yes, now we see it. There they were. Slope-side at the Beijing Olympics of all places. The same Olympics denounced as the “genocide games.” There they were: moments of truth about the emotion of sport.
And what was that emotion?
What Is Victory Without Sportsmanship
We think about this often. It is a story of character, purpose, and influence. It is a tale of an Olympian and kids; of obligations and sportsmanship. What are we given? What do we owe?