Promoting Grassroots Participation while Building the Brand: To What Extent are NHL Teams Community Institutions?

March 2, 2013 by Leave a comment

Image from: http://pittsburghpenguinselite.pointstreaksites.com/img/news_article_images/505/57352_raw.jpg

Yesterday’s Globe and Mail ran an interesting article by James Mirtle about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ contributions to grassroots hockey in Western Pennsylvania. For the past four years, the Penguins, and in particular captain Sidney Crosby, have been extremely active in promoting hockey amongst Pittsburgh youth by providing free equipment and on-ice instruction. The initiative, while obviously having a major commercial motivation in terms of growing the Penguins’ business in the long-term, is an interesting example of how professional sport franchises can be more than simply entertainment spectacles and commercial enterprises, and actually invest socially in their local communities.

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Weekly Links: Homophobia in hockey; Fallout from Cam Janssen comments; The politics and economics of hockey arenas

July 17, 2012 by Leave a comment

Image from: http://media.nj.com/devils_main/photo/11299189-large.jpg

[Editor's Note: This post is two days late. Apologies that I was not able to get it posted on the weekend.]

Welcome to Hockey in Society’s Weekly Links post. This feature highlights articles or blog entries that are related to Hockey in Society’s areas of interest and that may be of interest to the site’s readers.

Hockey Links

  • Tyler Shipley published a great piece about homophobia in hockey in light of the criticism received by Brian Burke for his decision to march in Toronto’s Pride Parade rather than man the phones to make free agent signings on July 1. A great read. [Left Hook]
  • Meanwhile, Steve Dangle has a good interview with Patrick Burke about the You Can Play Project, which continues to gather momentum to fight homophobia in hockey. [Leafs Nation]
  • Cam Janssen of the New Jersey Devils unleashed some extremely sexist and homophobic comments on a radio show last week. He also stated that his role on the ice is to hurt players, to catch them with their heads down and injure them. Needless to say this sparked a huge amount of controversy. [SB Nation]
  • Not surprisingly, Janssen quickly apologized. While many people vilified Janssen for the comments, Patrick Burke reached out to him over the homophobic comments and appealed for people to forgive Janssen for the mistake. [Backhand Shelf]
  • Ellen Etchingham had a scathing critique of Janssen and one-dimensional goons, discussing his comments about injuring players and his very limited on-ice role with the Devils. [Backhand Shelf]
  • Ryan Lambert also weighed in on Janssen’s comments and role as an NHLer. [Puck Daddy]
  • I recently wrote about the construction of legacy in relation to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Ellen Etchingham has a great post in the same vein about Harvey Jackson, who starred for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1930s but who had off-ice issues (including alcoholism and domestic assault) that created a rift with Leafs’ owner Conn Smythe and kept him out of the Hall for many decades. An interesting discussion about what the Hall represents, what characteristics it should honour, and how it whitewashes the controversy that surrounds many hockey players and events. [Backhand Shelf]
  • Former USSR and Canada players are preparing for a friendly game that will be rematch of the 1972 Summit Series. The game, celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Series, will take place in Moscow in September. While the article overdramatizes the impact of the Summit Series, it is notable politically as both Vladimir Putin and Stephen Harper will be part of the ceremonies. [Globe and Mail]
  • A new reality show will feature young Aboriginal men trying to earn a shot at advancing in hockey and performing before scouts. It will air on the Aboriginal People’s Television Network. [Ottawa Citizen, via Puck Daddy]
  • Ken Campbell argues that, while it has temporarily increased their local popularity, winning the Stanley Cup will not have a serious long-term impact on the Kings’ place in the Los Angeles sports market. [The Hockey News]
  • Lots of arena news last week. To start, Lighthouse Hockey has an update on the latest political wrangling over the fate of the Nassau Coliseum, home of the New York Islanders. [Lighthouse Hockey]
  • Meanwhile, could the Islanders move to the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY? [Puck Daddy]
  • David Ebner reports on David Katz’s attempts to get a downtown arena built for the Edmonton Oilers, and his veiled threat to move the team if the arena deal does not go through. A good read on the politics of sport venues. [Globe and Mail]
  • Another story about a Canadian NHL team’s arena: the Vancouver Canucks are planning to construct rental apartments adjacent to Rogers Arena in the city’s downtown. [Globe and Mail]
  • Also lots of labour news, as the NHL and NHLPA begin negotiations over a new CBA. Greg Wyshynski examines the hypocrisy of Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, who three months ago was claiming that salaries were causing him to lose money on the team and who then approved the signing, for a combined $198 million, of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. [Puck Daddy]
  • Also on Puck Daddy, The Player – an anonymous NHL player/blogger – explains what the players’ issues are in the labour process. [Puck Daddy]
  • Interesting post about expansion in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), including new Women’s Hockey programs at Nipissing (North Bay, ON) and Ryerson (Toronto, ON) Universities and a new hockey program for both men and women at Laurentian University (Sudbury, ON). [Eh Game]

General Sport Links

  • Hockey in Society contributor Courtney Szto has a couple good pieces up on her blog, The Rabbit Hole. This one discusses Serena Williams and the myth of “colour-blindness” in sport. [The Rabbit Hole]
  • And this post discusses double-amputee Oscar Pistorius, who will be competing in the London Olympics this summer. A great discussion of how society constructs disability. [The Rabbit Hole]

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Weekly Links: Brian Burke criticized for marching in Pride Parade; Who was hockey’s first goon?

July 7, 2012 by Leave a comment

Image from: http://thestar.smgmedia.topscms.com/images/24/14/96bf21534dea83c90c04ab408f32.jpeg

Welcome to Hockey in Society’s Weekly Links post. This feature highlights articles or blog entries that are related to Hockey in Society’s areas of interest and that may be of interest to the site’s readers.

Hockey Links

  • Interesting historical piece by Iain Fyffe looking at the emergence of the “goon” or “thug” in hockey, in which he argues that it was the Broad Street Bullies who first brought the role of pure goon into the sport. [Hockey Historisis]
  • Brian Burke’s decision to march in Toronto’s Pride Parade, instead of man the phones on the first day of Free Agency, has drawn criticism. [Globe and Mail]
  • Meanwhile, Burke spoke in support of the You Can Play Project about the prospects of a gay hockey player playing in the NHL. [TVO]
  • Ken Campbell reports that NHL players will be much more engaged in this summer’s CBA negotiations than they were in the 2004-05 labour process, and the NHLPA will be “more active [and] organized.” [The Hockey News]
  • Edmonton Oilers prospect Nail Yakupov has been criticized by the Edmonton media for excessive celebrations in a rookie camp. Justin Bourne urges media and fans not to crush the fun out of creative and exuberant players. [Backhand Shelf]
  • A controversy may be brewing, as blue-chip prospect Jacob Trouba was reportedly offered $200,000 to forgo his commitment to Michigan University in order to play for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. [United States of Hockey]
  • His family has released a statement denying the allegations. This may be the end of this issue, but the topic of illegitimate payments (or offers) by CHL teams to junior players should certainly be an important topic to keep an eye on in the future. [United States of Hockey]
  • Alex Radulov has left the Nashville Predators and returned to the KHL. Dmitry Chesnekov wonders: is this the end of his NHL career? [Puck Daddy]
  • This post is from March, so apologies for not posting it until now. But Nathan Kalman-Lamb’s post about Sidney Crosby and injury is definitely worth a read. [Nathan Kalman-Lamb]
  • Raffi Torres of the Phoenix Coyotes has had his precedent-setting 25-game suspension, which was given during the playoffs for a headshot to the Chicago Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa, reduced to 21 games by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. [Puck Daddy]

General Sport Links

  • Elena Chou has a strong piece about racism at the recent Euro 2012 tournament and in soccer more generally. [Left Hook]
  • Interesting post about militarism in Major League Baseball. [Runs Batted Out]
  • South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius has qualified for the London Olympics, and will be the first amputee to ever compete in the Games. [CTV]

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Weekly Links: Ownership and CBA issues; Rob Zombie to make Broad Street Bullies film; Why are NHL teams wary of Russian players?

June 23, 2012 by Leave a comment

Image from: http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptcajuniorhockeyexperts/Mikhail-Grigorenko-went-12th-overall-to-the-Buffalo-Sabres-Getty-Images.jpg

Welcome to Hockey in Society’s Weekly Links post. This feature highlights articles or blog entries that are related to Hockey in Society’s areas of interest and that may be of interest to the site’s readers.

Hockey Links

  • With the NHL Draft being held this weekend, there was lots of talk about NHL teams’ aversion to drafting Russian players and the possible xenophobic underpinnings of this decision. Damien Cox explores the cultural and business issues affecting the declining numbers of Russians in the NHL in light of the draft and Evgeni Malkin’s recent Hart Trophy win. [The Star]
  • Cam Charron looks at the perceived risk of drafting Russian players in the first round. [Backhand Shelf]
  • Meanwhile, Dominik at Lighthouse Hockey raises lots of interesting questions about judging “work ethic” in 18 year-olds – an issue that contributed to Russian prospect Mikhail Grigorenko slipping over a number of months from being the consensus second pick to being selected 12th overall. [Lighthouse Hockey]
  • Joe Pelletier writes that, unlike when the players were cast as villains in the last NHL labour dispute, the owners will be the villains if this summer’s CBA negotiations do not go smoothly. [Greatest Hockey Legends]
  • Meanwhile Roy MacGregor pessimistically cautions that there may be no NHL season in 2012-13. [Globe and Mail]
  • The New Jersey Devils could, like the Phoenix Coyotes, be bought by the league if the current owner cannot pay back the team’s debt or a new owner cannot be found. [Puck Daddy]
  • Speaking of the Coyotes: Greg Wyshynski also explores whether a referendum by Glendale voters could derail the latest bid to purchase the team. [Puck Daddy]
  • The NHL will not allow Bell and Rogers, co-owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs, to co-purchase the rights to Hockey Night in Canada when they are negotiated next summer. Good news for the CBC and its efforts to hold on to the program. [Globe and Mail]
  • Musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie has announced that he will produce a film about the infamous Philadelphia Flyers teams of the 1970s, AKA the Broad Street Bullies. [Backhand Shelf; IMDB]
  • Ken Dryden reflects on the career of Montreal hockey journalist Red Fisher, who recently retired after nearly 60 years. [Globe and Mail]
  • Interesting story on the one year anniversary of the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots: the Museum of Vancouver has a public exhibit displaying the art and messages that Vancouverites drew on the boarded-up windows of stores that were damaged in the rioting. [Puck Daddy]
  • Finally, a good read from Ross Bonader about homophobia in hockey and what it will take for the first openly gay player to come out. [The Hockey Writers]

General Sport Links

  • Courtney Szto discusses the murky area of athlete migration and national identity in an era of elite sport and globalization. [The Rabbit Hole]
  • Jerry Sandusky has been convicted for the many sexual assaults he perpetrated while an assistant football coach at Penn State. [Globe and Mail]
  • Dave Zirin takes journalist Brent Musburger, who infamously slammed Tommie Smith and John Carlos for their civil rights protest at the 1968 Olympics, for never apologizing for his irresponsible and slanderous reportage of the protest. [Edge of Sports]

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Weekly Links: Hockey culture’s fear of personality; The impact of a Stanley Cup win in non-traditional NHL markets

June 16, 2012 by Leave a comment

Image from: http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/sports/photos/2012/06/14/940-brown-dustin-8col.jpg

Welcome to Hockey in Society’s Weekly Links post. This feature highlights articles or blog entries that are related to Hockey in Society’s areas of interest and that may be of interest to the site’s readers.

Hockey Links

  • In light of the Los Angeles Kings’ recent Stanley Cup win, an interesting post by Mike Chen about the impact of a championship on the fan base and grassroots hockey participation of non-traditional hockey markets. Chen looks back at the impact of the Tampa Bay Lighting (2004) and Carolina Hurricanes (2006) wins on those teams’ local success. [SB Nation]
  • Harrison Mooney has an excellent article about hockey culture’s suspicion of personality, with the examples of Ilya Bryzgalov and Tim Thomas as evidence, and how this could militate against a gay player coming out. [Puck Daddy]
  • Meanwhile, more NHLers have joined the You Can Play campaign. Check out the new PSA featuring Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks and Dustin Byfuglien and Tanner Glass of the Winnipeg Jets. [You Can Play]
  • Thomas Drance also has an excellent post about hockey personality, in this case looking at Roberto Luongo’s anonymous Twitter account and how he is able to craft an alternative image through his new media interactions. [Canucks Army]
  • Speaking of new media: check out this awesome infographic about the frequency with which NHL-related topics were mentioned on Twitter during the 2012 Playoffs. [Backhand Shelf]
  • Gary Mason reflects on the memory and legacy of the Vancouver’s Stanley Cup Riot one year after it occurred. [Globe and Mail]
  • Michigan Stadium, a dry venue given NCAA rules, has received a temporary liquor permit for the 2013 NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. [Wood TV 8, via Backhand Shelf]
  • The New Jersey Devils’ playoff run brought the team a handsome profit, but it pales in comparison to the organization’s debt. [Puck Daddy]

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Weekly Links: Reactions to Twitter racism against Joel Ward; Examining cultures of hitting and violence in hockey; Where in the world were NHL players born?

April 29, 2012 by Leave a comment

Where NHL players were born.

Welcome to Hockey in Society’s Weekly Links post. This feature highlights articles or blog entries that are related to Hockey in Society’s areas of interest and that may be of interest to the site’s readers.

Editor’s Note: Apologies for the lack of Weekly Links over the past month. It has been a very busy time personally, and I have not kept up with my posting. This Weekly Links post therefore contains some of the best reading from the past three weeks. I hope to be more diligent in my posting over the next few months!

Hockey Links

  • This is very cool: A map showing where every NHL player was born. Hover over the city and it lists the players who were born there. Am I the only one who finds the globalization of hockey a fascinating, fascinating topic? [view the map; created by @theycallmemorty; via Backhand Shelf]
  • Lots of reaction to the racist insults hurled at the Washington Capitals’ Joel Ward by Twitter users, from Harrison Mooney, Chris Peters, and Brian Floyd respectively. [Puck Daddy; United States of Hockey; SB Nation]
  • Meanwhile, Greg Ezell reflects on belonging to a Boston Bruins fan-base that is now being characterized based upon the actions of a few. [Days of Y'Orr]
  • The always thoughtful Ken Dryden discusses three hits from different eras in order to illustrate changes in hockey culture and the role of the NHL in enforcing discipline. [Globe and Mail; h/t to Luke for the link]
  • Ellen Etchingham also had a great take on the culture of hitting in the NHL. [Backhand Shelf]
  • Paul Busch with an excellent historical overview of changes in the NHL, particularly in the 1970s, which he argues established the “culture of violence” in which many of today’s NHL decision-makers (coaches, GMs, etc.) were socialized. [It's Not Part of the Game]
  • Adam Proteau with an optimistic look at the likelihood of a gay hockey player coming out in the NHL and a discussion of the You Can Play project. [The Hockey News]
  • Interesting read about the Los Angeles Kings’ attempts to market the hockey team and maintain relevance in an entertainment-saturated city. [Globe and Mail]
  • After the 2012 Women’s World Hockey Championship, in which Switzerland captured the Bronze Medal, is international women’s hockey moving closer to parity? And what steps are being taken to develop the game globally? [Globe and Mail]
  • Interesting news from the KHL. A blog post by the wife Kevin Dallman, a Canadian superstar on Barys Astana in Kazakhstan, has led to the family being kicked out of the country. Apparently the Kazakh government found the post too critical of alleged corruption in Kazakhstan. [Puck Daddy]

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Weekly Links: Hockey’s Changing Nature; Patrick Burke on the “You Can Play” Project; More Criticism of Hockey Fighting

March 10, 2012 by Leave a comment

Image from: http://www.faceoff.com/6223753.bin

Welcome to Hockey in Society’s Weekly Links post. This feature highlights articles or blog entries that are related to Hockey in Society’s areas of interest and that may be of interest to the site’s readers.

[Note: Apologies for not writing a Weekly Links last week. I was under the weather and did not get the chance to put up a post last weekend.]

[Edit: Three links added (March 11, 2012, 12:09 AM)

Hockey Links

  • Fantastic post by Ellen Etchingham about the changing nature of hockey: "There is no essential spirit of hockey, no single tradition to refer to, there is only the hockey we knew as children and the hockey we know now. It is not one thing. It has never been one thing. It evolves, in ways technological, cultural, and wholly accidental." [Backhand Shelf]
  • Bruce Dowbiggen with a fascinating article about Canadian NHL clubs’ unhappiness with Hockey Night in Canada and the CBC. A must read. [Globe and Mail]
  • I wrote earlier in the week about Patrick Burke and the You Can Play project. Burke participated in an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit yesterday. [Reddit, h/t to Hockey in Society reader Alison for the link]
  • Puck Buddys concluded its series of interviews with an anonymous teenage gay hockey player, in which the player reveals his identity and speaks about his experiences in hockey and at high school. [Puck Buddys]
  • Ryan Lambert critiques the NHL for promoting dangerous hits, such as the one made by Niklas Kronwall on Jakub Voracek earlier in the week, which NHL.com declared to be a candidate a “hit of the year.” [Puck Daddy]
  • Paul Busch with an open letter to the NHLPA, urging it to support a ban on fighting in hockey. [It's Not Part of the Game]
  • David Johnston, Canada’s Governor General and a former hockey player at Harvard University, voices his opposition to “fighting and goonery” in hockey. [Globe and Mail]
  • Chris Peters on why banning fighting in junior hockey will be a good thing. [United States of Hockey]
  • As the Province of Ontario threatens to eliminate a tax break to professional sports teams, the Ottawa Senators cry poor and threaten to fold. (Sssssh! No one mention that Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is one of Canada’s 100 richest people, with a net worth just under $1 billion.) [National Post]
  • Interesting piece from Adrian Dater about the former prevalence of smoking in the NHL. Times certainly have changed. [SI.com, via Puck Daddy]
  • A new study suggest that outdoor shinny may soon be a thing of the past, given the effects of climate change. [Globe and Mail]
  • The New York Times reports that the NHL and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund will provide hockey scholarships to students at historically black colleges in the United States, with the long-term aim of increasing African American participation in the sport. [Slap Shot]
  • Via Puck Daddy, two responses to a Sports Illustrated gallery of “puck bunnies” – that is, female hockey fans who were inaccurately assigned this pejorative label – that defend female fans and dispute the puck bunny label. [Hockey Broad; Aerys Sports]
  • Bob McKenzine reports that Saskatoon is looking to acquire an NHL franchise, and has a proposal in place to upgrade the Credit Union Centre to make it appropriate for NHL hockey. [TSN]

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“If you can play, you can play”: New campaign targets homophobia in hockey

March 7, 2012 by 2 Comments

Image from: http://blogimages.thescore.com/nhl/files/2012/03/patrick-brian-burke-590x331.jpg

Earlier this week, the You Can Play Project launched with a PSA video that preaches acceptance for LGBT hockey players. You Can Play was co-founded by Patrick Burke, the brother of the late Brendan Burke and an activist for gay rights in sport. The organization, whose board includes Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke (father of Brendan and Patrick and gay rights advocate), has the following mission statement:

You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.

You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, only by what they contribute to the sport or their team’s success.

You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit.

This project appears to have a lot of promise in challenging the homophobic locker room culture that typifies hockey. The involvement of high-profile NHLers such as Rich Nash, Duncan Keith, Claude Giroux, Daniel Alfredsson, and Dion Phaneuf should help legitimize the campaign within hockey cultures. More promising is that the organization, though currently focused on men’s hockey, is reaching out to female athletes and athletes in other sports in hopes of spreading the movement.

After the jump, check out the PSA video and some reactions from media and bloggers. Read more of this post

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Weekly Links: Gender Disparities in Media Coverage of Hockey Injuries; Winter Classic Alumni Game Participants Don’t Get Paid; Are the Montreal Canadiens Still Relevant?

January 21, 2012 by Leave a comment

Image from: http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/389937_254637651271355_254445231290597_650290_1409697099_n.jpg

Welcome to Hockey in Society’s Weekly Links post. This feature highlights articles or blog entries that are related to Hockey in Society’s areas of interest and that may be of interest to the site’s readers.

Hockey Links

  • Detroit native E. Martin Nolan had a busy week! In addition to his post considering the Toronto Maple Leafs as a public institution, he also wrote this great piece criticizing the (likely) possibility that the 2013 Winter Classic – featuring the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs – will take place at Michigan University in Ann Arbor instead of in Detroit. [E. Martin Nolan]
  • Dr. Nicole LaVoi, a Professor at University of Minnesota and associate director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, critiques the disparity in media attention given to severe injuries suffered in separate incidents by high school hockey players Jack Jablonski (male) and Jenna Privette (female). [MPR News]
  • And Chris Peters offers a rebuttal to LaVoi’s piece. [United States of Hockey]
  • I am working my way through the many excellent posts on A Theory of Ice. The most recent that I have thoroughly enjoyed is a critical look at the World Junior Championships and the effect that it has on the teenage boys who are the tournament’s stars. [Theory of Ice]
  • Puck Buddys is running a series of interviews with “Zach” – a gay high school hockey player in the US – about his experiences in youth and high school hockey. Parts 1 & 2 have so far been posted. [Puck Buddys: Part 1; Part 2]
  • Gare Joyce wrote a lengthy piece about the decline of the Montreal Canadiens’ relevance that, despite its flaws, points out some of the complexities of the team and its social/cultural significance in Quebec. [Sportsnet]
  • Speaking of those flaws… well, Canadiens fans were quick to critique Joyce and, in the process, produced a number of excellent posts that both take down Joyce’s arguments and provide some fascinating insight into some of the nuances that he glosses over. [Habs Eyes on the Prize; A Theory of Ice]
  • The alumni game between former members of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers that preceded the Winter Classic drew over 45,000 spectators and generated a reported $4 million in profit. Players were not paid beyond airfare and accommodation. In other words, as the always insightful Justin Bourne puts it, they “got completely and utterly hosed.” [Backhand Shelf; Puck Daddy]
  • It is easy sometimes to forget that sports injuries have serious ramifications in everyday for more than simply the injured player. Lauren Pronger, wife of Philadelphia Flyer Chris, reminds us that the effect of injury spreads far beyond the arena. [SB Nation]
  • Ken Dryden writes about headshots and concussions, and wants to see more “fight” (as in tenacity within the rules) and less “fighting” (as in pugilism and dangerous checks). [Grantland]
  • Great post by Travis Hughes about pirated internet streams of hockey games and how the NHL’s policy of blacking out local games in its online package may be driving fans to these illegal feeds. [SB Nation]
  • Justin Bourne consider what “we” means to hockey players, in terms of the team, the fans and the media. Interesting stuff about identity around professional sports teams. [Backhand Shelf]
  • Interesting infographic showing how the camera placement in sports arenas that TV networks use to get their game action shots. The representative hockey infographic is for Joe Louis Arena, the home of the Detroit Red Wings. [Puck the Media]
  • Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke has won an award for his activism in support of gay rights. [The Star]
  • Crime fiction meets hockey in The Code, the debut novel of sportswriter Gare Joyce. [Globe and Mail]
  •  On the 54th anniversary of his NHL debut, a look at the career and life of Willie O’Ree, the first black player in the league. [Puck Daddy]
  • A positive review of the upcoming movie Goon, that is somewhat of a counterpoint to Courtney Szto’s post about the film. [Jerseys and Hockey Love]
  • After a hazing incident that involved teenagers getting drunk and being forced to cross-dress, a Michigan high school hockey coach is fired. Except, according to the coach, it wasn’t hazing: “”It’s not hazing,” Montrose told WDIV. “This is something like a right of passage. . . . It’s more like team building.”"  [Prep Rally]

General Sport Links

  • I definitely recommend that you check out York University PhD student Nathan Kalman-Lamb’s new blog. In this post he looks at the Penn State scandal and examines where the blame should be placed. [Nathan Kalman-Lamb]
  • Why reform of the flawed NCAA system is unlikely. [Inside Higher Education]

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