AltWeeklies Wire
St. Louis Puts Lipstick on the Pig to Clean House for MLB All-Star Gamenew
St. Louis has undergone a substantial facelift in the hope of impressing visitors to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. And, like a pretty-but-pimple-faced girl primping for prom night, the makeup is being applied in layers.
Riverfront Times |
Keegan Hamilton |
07-10-2009 |
Sports
NCAA Puts Alabama Football Back on Probationnew
The NCAA has levied a three-year probation against the University of Alabama athletic department and forced the school's football team to vacate 21 past victories as punishment for a wide-scale scandal involving student-athletes and textbooks.
Birmingham Weekly |
Matt Hooper |
06-23-2009 |
Sports
What's the Count? Anything and Everythingnew
Numbers, numbers, numbers. Major-league baseball swims in them, and 21st-century technology makes it all too easy to raise the numerical sea level. The latest milestone got us wondering which stats are really worth the obsession.
Shepherd Express |
Frank Clines and Art Kumbalek |
06-12-2009 |
Sports
Colorado's Parkour Pioneers Are Running With Itnew
Thanks to a concrete fountain in Skyline Park and other celebrated parkour hot spots like Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the University of Colorado at Boulder campus, Colorado has become a destination for the parkour community across the country and beyond.
Memories of Stan Van Gundynew
"Beleaguered" would be the perfect word to describe Stan Van Gundy's brief career in Madison as the University of Wisconsin's men's basketball coach, if "disheveled" wasn't also available. But now he stands on the brink of redemption.
How to Jump on the Pittsburgh Penguins Bandwagon in Stylenew
With Stanley Cup fever having taken hold in Pittsburgh, even folks who've never watched a game in their lives are getting into the action. So we've asked a few rabid Penguins fans for tips on how to behave yourself while watching the game.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Aaron Jentzen |
06-08-2009 |
Sports
Alabama Baseball and a Long Night's Journey into Daynew
Two sports reporters' heroic efforts to liveblog the eleven-inning Alabama/South Carolina baseball game during the SEC Tournament, featuring references and metaphors ranging from Aqua Teen Hunger Force to the works of Joseph Conrad.
Birmingham Weekly |
Matt Hooper |
06-02-2009 |
Sports
Daryl Strawberry Confronts His Demons in Buffalonew
This past weekend was no ordinary one at Buffalo's Coca Cola Field. Daryl Strawberry came to town to make an appearance. Predictably, his presence made quite a splash.
Despite Ridicule, Cup Stacking Continues to Pile up Fansnew
Sport stacking, or speed stacking, seems a bit Napoleon Dynamite at first. Stackers use a dozen 10-ounce plastic cups to build a series of pyramid patterns while "racing" against the clock.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Amanda Lundgren |
05-26-2009 |
Sports
Tags: Andy Retting, cup stacking
DC Sports Franchise Owners Need a PR Makeovernew
Imagewise, Washington Redskins owners Dan Snyder and Ted Lerner are the local equivalents of Enron and ExxonMobil. And that was before last week's issue of Sports Illustrated, in which both were named to a short list of the worst owners in sports.
Washington City Paper |
Dave McKenna |
05-21-2009 |
Sports
Sonny Vaccaro Is Harming Youth Basketball and Those Who Play Itnew
Those inside the basketball world know Sonny Vaccaro for his hucksterism that built a youth-basketball dream world populated by ridiculously spoiled kids and their even-more-ridiculous parents. It's an ugly place, one that manages to suck the fun out of what should be a celebration of movement, athleticism and teamwork.
Tucson Weekly |
Tom Danehy |
05-20-2009 |
Sports
Tags: Sonny Vaccaro, basketball
The Twins' Mike Redmond is Minnesota's Catcher in the Rawnew
A cutup and a flake, a gritty player seemingly impervious to injury, Redmond has survived on talent spiked with determinism. And while no one was looking, he emerged as one of the greatest backup catchers ever to play the game.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
David Hansen |
05-14-2009 |
Sports
Skateboarding Down the San Francisco Baynew
John Eppard is going to skateboard the length of the San Francisco Bay — from Richmond all the way to San Jose — again. And if the persistent punk rocker happens to lose a leg or other appendage in the process, he can find comfort in the fact that the three-day trek is a fund-raiser in part for a nonprofit for athletes with prosthetic limbs.
East Bay Express |
Cassie Harwood |
05-13-2009 |
Sports
Behind the Scenes at Boyd Tinsley with Carly Gullicksonnew
Trying to rise in the ranks of worldwide tennis, dozens of professional athletes, including Carly Gullickson, descend on the Boyd Tinsley USTA Women's Pro Championship.
C-Ville Weekly |
J. Tobias Beard |
05-06-2009 |
Sports
How Bad Was that Lane Kiffin Hire?new
Fans across the country are still scratching their heads as to why the University of Tennessee hired Lane Kiffin to replace the legendary Phil Fulmer as head football coach. But is he the worst hire in the modern era of the Southeastern Conference? Let's break it down and find out.
Birmingham Weekly |
Matt Hooper |
05-05-2009 |
Sports
