The curling shuffle: USA Curling’s High Performance makeover
John Shuster won Olympic gold. Jamie Sinclair made the World Championship semifinals, won a Grand Slam event and stands ninth in the Order of Merit. Then the seniors earned silver (women) and bronze (men) at the World Championships. USA Curling had a big year. But there’s usually a bit of turnover after the Olympics, and so the teams in the High Performance program, which supports the select few who’ve shown an aptitude for winning things, will be shuffling a bit. The full comparison is at the bottom, but I’ll got into a bit more detail than that press release. … Continue reading The curling shuffle: USA Curling’s High Performance makeover
Drafting “The Ultimate Fighter”
On The Luke Thomas Show this week, Luke and Marissa went through each season of The Ultimate Fighter as if they were evaluating a draft. What better excuse do I need to go back through the spreadsheet I compiled for Inside The Ultimate Fighter? I only covered the first 16 seasons, which may actually be for the best. For later seasons, I felt like they were giving a “yes” for anyone who is still in the UFC. In this spreadsheet, my disagreements are noted in yellow … Continue reading Drafting “The Ultimate Fighter”
Review: “Last Days of Knight” is flawed but essential
Cross-posting at mostlymodernmedia.com ESPN is gambling these days. The new “30 for 30” documentary, Last Days of Knight, gambles on three levels: It’s being shown exclusively on ESPN+, the company’s new pay service, a good way to draw attention to it but not the best way to get this film the wide audience that many previous 30 for 30 entries have found. It tells the story of a journalist, CNN’s Robert Abbott, who pursued the story for months. As an Awful Announcing review says, the film attempts to tell Abbott’s story and Knight’s, and it sometimes falls between the two stools. A lot … Continue reading Review: “Last Days of Knight” is flawed but essential
Ultimate boycott for gender equity
Want to go a step farther than Title IX? How about this: Title 9 3/4. And a boycott by players — mostly male — until each team in your league either plays mixed-gender games or fields an equivalent women’s team? That’s the story I wrote for The Guardian today. And here it is: 'It doesn't seem fair to me': Ultimate players strike for gender equality https://t.co/dFxBX6ZR2b — Beau Dure 🗯️⚽👨👦 (@duresport) April 5, 2018 Continue reading Ultimate boycott for gender equity
U.S. men win curling gold — how it happened
If you’re a little tired of curling coverage that tries way too hard to explain the sport without telling you anything that’s actually happening on the ice, this post is for you. This is what happened. If you don’t know … Continue reading U.S. men win curling gold — how it happened
UPDATED — USA in Pyeongchang: How bad is it?
Updates are in italic. Things have taken an upturn. We’re at the middle Sunday of the 2018 Olympics, and the USA has … 10 medals. The Netherlands have 13, perhaps an advantage of picking one sport and getting really, really good at it. They only have four athletes at the Olympics who aren’t speedskaters. Canada has 16 medals in seven different sports, and we haven’t even hit the hockey medal rounds yet. Germany has 18. They slide, shoot and ski jump quite well. Norway has 26. Basically, if it involves skis, the Norwegians have medaled. They’ve already equaled their total … Continue reading UPDATED — USA in Pyeongchang: How bad is it?
2018 Winter Olympics: A concise viewing guide with stars, medals and flags
Each day during the Olympics, I’ll be telling you what to watch and making a few predictions. You can also find my daily previews at Bleacher Report. Time difference and schedule/streaming options: The Pyeongchang schedule is … Eight hours ahead of a … Continue reading 2018 Winter Olympics: A concise viewing guide with stars, medals and flags
On Twitter, advocacy, hostility and objectivity
My Dad was an intellectually rigorous man. He majored in philosophy, racing through college so he could lead a platoon in Korea, then returned from the war to get his doctorate in the emerging field of biochemistry. He remained in the Marine Reserves, rising to the rank of colonel, and was a stern but beloved faculty member at the University of Georgia for more than 40 years. At one family holiday gathering, he demanded to know everyone’s views on abortion. The answers ranged from the biological (we had one doctor in the room) to the theological (one Episcopal priest) to … Continue reading On Twitter, advocacy, hostility and objectivity
Upcoming coverage/career plans
Mid-major announcement to start with: Ranting Soccer Dad now has its own site. I’m not married to the design yet, but it should stabilize in the next few days. This site and podcast will be my top work priority for some time to come. I’m even planning a related book. Stay tuned. Ranting Soccer Dad deals primarily with youth soccer, but it ties into everything in the soccer world — U.S. Soccer politics, the national teams, the pro leagues (men and women), etc. Even if you think you’re not interested in youth soccer, check it out. You’ll find some interesting … Continue reading Upcoming coverage/career plans
The best post-T&T pro-promotion/relegation argument
Predictably, Soccerocalypse has brought out the usual arguments from the promotion/relegation crowd: Youth development will be so much better! Players will be under constant pressure! If anyone could turn their attention away from Twitter long enough to read something longer … Continue reading The best post-T&T pro-promotion/relegation argument
