Overview for sports

The Voice of the Celtics

With the NBA season finally upon us, I find myself thinking about an NBA legend who never laced up the sneakers – legendary Celtics announcer, Johnny Most. I’ve written about sports voices before, those I loved (Dave Zinkoff) and those I hated (John Sterling). With Johnny Most, I had trouble …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday December 30, 2011

Where Are the Honorable People in Sports?

Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory” describes a man with all of life’s blessings who mysteriously commits suicide. Numerous less famous poems by Robinson similarly suggest man’s impenetrability. Many of his poems take place in the imaginary town of Tilbury, a quaint place whose …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Saturday December 10, 2011

Frazier and Ali: Embodiments of Willpower

As has been widely noted by Joe Frazier’s eulogists, it’s almost impossible to discuss Frazier apart from Muhammad Ali. What two athletes are as closely linked in the public imagination? Maybe Russell and Chamberlain. Conceivably Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Yet despite their joint identity, …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Saturday November 26, 2011

New Laws Won't Stop the Next Sandusky

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett says he wants new laws to stop crimes like those that Jerry Sandusky is alleged to have committed. He’s wrong. Terrible as former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s alleged crimes are, there’s no case for new laws. In fact, insofar as Pennsylvan…

Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday November 14, 2011

What if the GOP Candidates Were Athletes?

Some months ago, my column compared GOP presidential wannabes with famous athletes. The comparison that received the most attention was Sarah Palin/LeBron James (glitzy superstars tarnished by quitting). But the presidential field looked different then. Indeed, of the politicians in the piece, …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday October 21, 2011

John Sterling: The Adolescent Radio Announcer

The New York Times recently ran an enormous and mostly favorable article about the Yankees’ controversial radio announcer, John Sterling. The article quotes Sterling, who has a staggeringly high opinion of himself, as saying: “I never hear any criticism to my face.” This wasn’t always the …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Saturday October 15, 2011

No, The Red Sox Did Not Choke

It didn’t take long for the mob to start spewing venom over the Red Sox’s collapse. On the morning after the team’s season-ending defeat Wednesday night, the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy cut to the chase: “The greatest choke in baseball history ended the only way it could have ended, with …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday September 30, 2011

An Easy Change for Faster Baseball Games

Recent four hour affairs between the Yankees and Red Sox triggered another round of complaining about the ever-increasing length of baseball games. It isn’t just the fans who grouse. Newspapers quoted Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira sounding dyspeptic: “It’s brutal. I can’t stand playing a …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday September 9, 2011

Are There Any Good People Left in Baseball?

Recent issues of Sports Illustrated implicitly raised and perhaps answered an intriguing question. The August 15 issue features a cover story on Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Tom Verducci presents Pedroia as combining off-the-charts ability with an off-the-charts attitude. Pedroia lives …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday August 26, 2011

Gays Don't Need a League of Their Own

Whatever one thinks of gay sports leagues, we should hope that, before long, they become entirely unnecessary. Just a few days after New York’s historic approval of same-sex marriage, the Onion ran a piece about a lawsuit against the North American Gay Athletic Alliance alleging discrimination …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Saturday July 9, 2011

Can You Define What A Sport Is?

What counts as a sport? Two key criteria are physical exertion and competition, which leaves in bowling and competitive cheerleading. In a recent interview I gave to Gelf Magazine , I was asked: “Are the following ‘sports’: gymnastics, golf, archery, bowling, cheerleading, weightlifting?” …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday June 17, 2011

Hockey's Zen Master

The tough Philadelphia Flyers of the 1970s may have been the "Broad Street Bullies" but their coach was a master of human psychology. Sports Illustrated recently ran an article on the Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup teams of the 1970s without so much as mentioning the team’s coach. Granted, …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday June 3, 2011

For the Pros: The Pain is Worth the Gain

Rajon Rondo played most of the Celtics-Heat playoff series with torn ligaments in his elbow, illustrating the courage and pain threshold of athletes. But was it worth it? Rajon Rondo played most of the Celtics-Heat playoff series with torn ligaments in his elbow, illustrating the courage and …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday May 27, 2011

Palin: The GOP's LeBron James?

Each of the GOP’s leading 2012 contenders seems to have a strangely similar counterpart in the sporting world. Back in 1979, my late law professor, Robert Cover, wrote a much-cited piece in the New York Times twining Supreme Court Justices and baseball players. For example, John Marshall was …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday May 6, 2011

Can We Prevent Sports Blowouts?

Recently, a high school baseball game in Texas was halted by the mercy rule after one team went up 57-0. But is there a better way to prevent crushing, lopsided defeats? Earlier in this the cruelest month, a high school baseball team in Texas won a game 57-0. You read right – that’s baseball …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday April 15, 2011

Why Did Baseball Diss the Duke?

In the 1950s, Duke Snider was seen as the equal of Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. But since his playing days, they've received all the attention. When Duke Snider passed away last month, his obituaries noted the raging debate during the 1950s over the three great New York City centerfielders – …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday March 25, 2011

The Olympic Games Money Pit

Back in 2009, the media was quick to criticize Obama’s failed pitch for Chicago’s 2016 Olympics bid. However his failure has turned out to be a lucky break. Back in 2009 the media was fast to lash out against Barack Obama’s failed pitch for Chicago’s 2016 Summer Olympics bid. However Obama’s …

Written by Robin Tim Weis on Monday March 7, 2011

NBA Fans Need to 'Melo' Out

Carmelo Anthony's trade from Denver to New York has created a panic amongst NBA fans afraid that smaller cities won't be able to compete for the title. Carmelo Anthony’s trade to the New York Knicks just before the February trading deadline has occasioned much hand-wringing. Anthony forced the …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday March 4, 2011