Well, I guess I was wrong. While we didn’t get any Triple Crown drama today, the actual race at the Belmont Stakes was a thriller, as Union Rags came from behind to beat Paynter by a nose.
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The greatest horse in history was a “tremendous machine” 29 years ago at the Belmont Stakes. Secretariat won that race by a staggering 31 lengths to win the Triple Crown.
Unfortunately, we won’t get much drama today, as I’ll Have Another was scratched from the Belmont yesterday, depriving the horse from a chance at the first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. There’s plenty of questions surrounding the decision, but all we know is that we won’t get a race for the ages today.
This story is just ridiculous.
A summer class at UNC-Chapel Hill that lacked any instruction was enrolled exclusively with football players – and it landed on the school calendar just days before the semester started, university records show.
The records show that in the summer of 2011, 19 students enrolled in AFAM 280: Blacks in North Carolina, 18 of them players on the football team, the other a former player. They also show that academic advisers assigned to athletes helped the players enroll in the class, which is the subject of a criminal investigation.
The advisers also knew that there would be no instruction.
Other records show that football and basketball players made up a majority of the enrollments of nine particularly suspect classes in which the professors listed as instructors have denied involvement, and have claimed that signatures were forged on records related to them.
To a varying degree, these types of shenanigans take place all over college sports. There are many true student athletes, but the money involved in college football and basketball now make them virtual factories, using plenty of kids that have no business being on a college campus as a “student.” When you see Kentucky winning a national championship with a bunch of freshman who then immediately move on to the NBA, then you know that much of this is a joke.
Hat Tip: SportsByBrooks
With the Euro tournament about to start, soccer fans around the world are naturally excited. But unfortunately we have yet another story of racist chants aimed at black players, this time in Poland.
Concerns over potential racism from fans at Euro 2012 came to the forefront Thursday when black players for the Netherlands heard monkey chants at an open training session, one day before the tournament opens.
According to a report in British newspaper The Guardian, hundreds of the 25,000 people in attendance in Krakow, Poland, targeted players Nigel de Jong and Gregory van der Wiel with monkey noises and loud jeers.
The Dutch were training in Krakow before leaving to face Denmark in their Group B opener on Saturday at Kharkiv, Ukraine. After hearing the chants, the players moved their drills to the other side of the stadium.
“It is a real disgrace especially after getting back from Auschwitz that you are confronted with this,” Dutch captain Mark van Bommel told The Guardian. “We will take it up with UEFA and if it happens at a match we will talk to the referee and ask him to take us off the field.”
The first time a friend told me about monkey chants at games in England I couldn’t believe my ears. As Americans we’ve had to listen to Europeans lecture us about the racial turmoil in American history, as if they were somehow superior. This from a continent where ethnic conflict led to the deaths of millions over the centuries.
Based on this story, the problem with soccer fans and racism has not gone away. UEFA initially denied what happened, which makes things even worse. If they don’t take a hard line on this, they risk staining the entire tournament and European soccer in general.
They need to stop it and shame those who are responsible.
Who saw this one coming?
After Miami came back against the Pacers, we had to be ready for a possible comeback in game 6 against the Celtics. This team has played well with their backs against the wall. But this really wasn’t about the Heat. I’ve watched Lebron James enough in Cleveland and last season to noticed when he’s about to flake during a game, but he was locked in from the beginning last night. He wasn’t playful. He wasn’t emotional. He was just locked in and focused on basketball. All the talk about his supporting cast, Bosh’s injury or Wade’s play isn’t really relevant. The main variable in the potential success of the Heat has to do with Lebron’s head. If Lebron doesn’t flake out, the Heat easily win last year, and Lebron also could have won a championship with the Cavs. It all comes down on him.
Last night was a big night for Lebron, but he’s had a lot of big nights in the regular season and in the playoffs. None of this matters unless he also leads Miami to a win in game 7, and then plays well in the Finals. Also, his outside shot was falling last night, and we all know that Lebron is pretty much unstoppable when he can hit his outside shot. But when he cools off he sometimes goes into a funk.
The problem this year is that Lebron and the Heat will be running up against a team in the Oklahoma City Thunder that just may be better than the Heat, even if Lebron plays up to his ability and doesn’t flake out. Kevin Durant is a superstar, and he’s surrounded by a gang of young studs that can match up with the Heat when it comes to athleticism. Also, Durant doesn’t need a sports psychologist to get him through the Finals.
So there won’t be much room for error for Lebron if he makes it to the Finals. Don’t crown him king just yet.
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