After Atalanta

Wrestling, of course. With Wimbledon on its day off, it's time to tackle other issues. Or rather wrestle with other issues. Found this interesting story about the group in Oregon, SOW (Save Oregon Wrestling), that attempted to bring some attention to its cause by buying ad time on ESPN and ESPNU. The group, which is suing the school for dropping the program and adding competitive cheer and baseball, bought spots to air during the DI wrestling championships. But ESPN execs turned back the ads saying they don't take ads that contain political advocacy or issue-oriented advertising. Wow--so many issues here. First, SOW is claiming that Oregon had no reason to drop the program: it costs less than the programs they are adding; the department was in compliance with Title IX (I haven't checked out the reality of this situation, though). And in general they seemed pissed off the the athletic director, a man without a college degree, seemed to make the decision unilaterally. Sounds ...

I was hopeful for about--well, a set--that Amelie Mauresmo would draw on something deep to overcome her injury, her opponent, and her lackluster season and pull out an upset over Serena Williams yesterday at Wimbledon. But I knew it was not to be because I had another Amelie dream. Seriously. It was a very good dream overall; I can't provide all the details even. But in the end I realized that while Amelie was kissing me in Paris (I was surprised, too--I never get that lucky--even in dreams) that she should have been playing Serena. And I said this to her. But I knew by her silence that it had meant she lost. On a related Amelie note that, once again, is all about me--I have a new nickname. I have been playing softball on this particular team for a season and a half now with no nickname, which was actually fine with me given some of the nicknames others have acquired (your name gets chosen for you). But the other night, one of my teammates was watching me bat and when I got back to...

The US Open starts its second round today in Edina, MN. A local television station in Minnesota covered the event by doing a story about the trend many female golfers seem to be setting and/or following: self-sexification. Seven of the women who qualified for the Open recently signed contracts with a NY modelling agency. And it has some people--players and fans alike--a little ticked off. Lorena Ochoa, not one to create controversy, said that being feminine helps to draw fans (ick!) and that there are different ways to go about it but that modelling is not for her. She wants to make her mark on the course. Apparently there was an incident during a practice round Wednesday when fans cheered a pretty bad tee shot Natalie Gulbis--who is the oft-cited example of the sexification of golf--just because she's Natalie Gulbis. Another player (who no one seems to be naming) admonished the fans for cheering for, basically, cheering for a face rather than talent. But an issue that I feel is be...

A while ago I noted that Alex Trebek had made some sexist remarks during an episode of J eopardy! when the clue was about sports. Since that time I have noticed that he seems to be pretty sexist generally. He frequently takes a very condescending or dismissive tone with the women on the show. How did I miss this? Why didn't anyone tell me to beware? Do I really have to stop watching Jeopardy! ? Last night was pretty egregious though when he said not once--but twice!--when the Final Jeopardy category of Heisman Trophy Winners (I am still waiting for the day when the Final Jeopardy category is Patty Kazmaier Trophy Winners ) was mentioned, that it looked like it would be a tough category for the two female contestants. Right, 'cause women know nothing about football. Well these two women did. Both got the answer correct (as did the male contestant). So nahnny nahnny poo-poo, Alex Trebek.

She put up an amazing fight against reigning French Open (but not as good on grass) champion Ana Ivanovic. I didn't get to see much of it because I was having a very nice local foods breakfast downtown with some new friends and I had to distress my coffee table so the scratches from glasses, computers, feet, keys, etc. seem as purposeful as the ones I created today with a hammer and screwdriver. But I digress (if you want more info on the process and/or project email me). It looks like they're going to re-air it though so I may see some of the good points and drama. But Diane at Women Who Serve has a good recap . I saw Dechy last year, obviously as the above picture attests to, on an outer court. I have always liked her game and the way she moves to the net. She actually uses her doubles skills to construct excellent singles points.

Since I have all these pics of Wimbledon just hanging out on my hard drive I thought I would see how many I can post this fortnight. And because in an excellent example of karma Amelie Mauresmo, who is r ecovering from a quad tear, beat Ashley Harkleroad today at Wimbledon. The lesbian should indeed always triumph over the Playboy model.

Last year at this time I was in London and getting ready to head to Wimbledon. This year I am at my usual place--the couch--watching it on television. *sigh* Oh well, can't be there every year. I don't have too much to say about who's going to win, prospects, potential upsets, etc. Diane at Women Who Serve provides that kind of detail. Mostly I just complain. I think I will start with the score graphics on ESPN2. I don't like them. The horizontal banner across the top of the screen is poorly laid out. Now on to the commentators. I heard John Feinstein this morning on NPR giving a preview of the Championships. He mentioned that defending champion Venus Williams is only seeded 7th because that is the position she currently occupies in the rankings and Wimbledon chose not to alter the seedings as they sometimes do to reflect experience, or rather, success, on grass. Feinstein seemed to think this meant she only has some outside chance of winning the title--or at least that...

Back in Boston. Well Cambridge which I know technically is not Boston though such thinking caused me a little trouble yesterday as I drove in to town. Because yesterday was the celebratory parade for the new NBA champions, the Boston Celtics. "But that's on the other side of the river," I thought to myself. And yet as I pulled up to the parking garage and found it full and then found myself in the midst of a green-clad throng of fans I realized it didn't matter that my destination was Cambridge and theirs was downtown. I am not sure if it helped that I too was wearing green yesterday--more grass than kelly. The fans were loud and represented a pretty diverse demographic: men and women of many races, parents, kids, older (no one past middle age that I observed though) and younger; preppy people and those sporting a more hip-hop style. This is what I like about Boston fans--they're diverse. But generally Boston fans scare me with their fervent fandom. And despite th...

So I had a dream last night about Amelie Mauresmo. She was leaving me to go back to France and I couldn't go with her and she didn't know if she was coming back. And I was so sad. (By the end of the dream she had turned into someone else but I'm not sure if that's significant.) I didn't think it meant anything other than that yes indeed I do have a crush on Amelie Mauresmo--not big news. But then I read over at Women Who Serve that Mauresmo retired from her match against Sam Stosur because of a quad tear. Her status for Wimbledon is now quite uncertain and it's more than likely she will withdraw. Is this the end of Amelie? Is she really leaving me and not coming back?

I do very much enjoy the sports I play, but I have to admit that I also enjoy the gear associated with the sports I play: for example my new silver Adidas, 6-racket (I only have 2) bag with backpack straps. Sure everyone makes fun of how big it is; one of my teammates referred to it as a hockey bag. But it's pretty cool. And it's probably a little intimidating too. It makes me look like a better player than I actually am. The intimidation thing may have had an effect on the woman I played last night who only won three games during our match. [More likely it was the extreme humidity that had a greater adverse effect on her than me.] Anyway this is all to lead into a discussion of the availability of gear for women, which, I know, I have done before. But this month Her Sports + Fitness has their first ever gear guide devoted exclusively to women's gear. I haven't seen it yet. Maybe someone who goes to Barnes and Noble a lot might pick it up for me. It reviews apparel, eq...

I usually do not watch men's golf but I kept company part of the weekend with someone who does so I caught the last few holes of the US Open last night. It was actually exciting. I was rooting for Rocco Mediate because he seemed to be having such a good time and just enjoying the experience. And because, frankly, I am over Tiger Woods. I don't have anything against him--well actually I am a little perturbed by his unwillingness to engage in activism. But mostly the whole dominance thing gets a little boring--and, again, I don't a bit about men's golf. But here I am cheering for Mediate. Because, after hearing some of his interviews last night, I thought he had great perspective and a great attitude and then I thought, "I think he's a little bit queer." I am not saying he is gay. I don't know anything about the guy except that he's 45 and ranked 158. But he seems a little outside normative masculinity. And I like that--especially in male athletes. I...

So I am in Cambridge this weekend, doing some research at Hahvahd* while everyone else is across the river at Gay Pride. *sigh* I love Cambridge though so it's ok. I even love the subway. I love people watching on the subway, which is where this story is going. A college-age female enters the car. She is wearing a UNH t-shirt which makes me smile. (That's my alma mater for anyone who doesn't know.) But I am not the type to say "Do you go to UNH? I went to UNH." which was a good thing because when said young woman got up to exit the car a stop ahead of me I got a glimpse at the back of the shirt: "Freshman girls. Get them while they're skinny." Oy. So what does this have to do with gender and sports. Well nothing really--I just needed to tell the story. Though she was carrying a tennis racket bag so she must have been an athlete, which just goes to prove what most of us already know--that female athletes are not necessarily the best feminists. In othe...

Usually I am quite on board with editorials and columns that bemoan the sexualization of female athletes. But there's the thing: it's not news anymore; it's not a new argument; sports and gender scholars are doing excellent research on the issue. So if you're going to say something about the sexualization of female athletes you better say something interesting and smart. That is not what Bernie Lincicome did in a column in Rocky Mountain News a few weeks ago. The piece, called " Female sports heroes vanishing ," signs a sad song about how all the good ones like Mia Hamm, Nancy Lopez, Billie Jean King and now Annika Sorenstam and Justine Henin, are leaving and there's no one to take their places. Oh wait there's Danica Patrick and Natalie Gulbis and Maria Sharapova all of whom Lincicome thinks are overrated because their results have not lived up to their looks. Wait, wait, wait--Maria Sharapova? I don't think winning 3 grand slam tournaments const...

I've posted about this petition to Congress to take federal actions to stop the use of Native American mascots. But there is a renewed push for signatures so I thought I would link to it again, especially in light of my post earlier this week. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/american-indians-are-not-mascots

This headline " Pro-Redmen group issues legal opinion " came across my Google alerts this morning and I thought, "please don't let this be what I think it is." But it was. A group called Redmen Forever Committee in Natick, MA has sought legal counsel because they are fighting the district's recent decision to stop using the nickname at Natick High School. Disappointed, to put it mildly, the Redmen Forever (I just can't get over that name--it so clearly indicates the the ignorance of this group) sought out a lawyer--an NHS graduate--to write an opinion assessing the legal consequences the district might face if it continued using the name. And said lawyer concluded that there isn't much risk, especially because at least 60 other high schools in Massachusetts use Native American imagery or nicknames. What was that your parents always said about everyone jumping off the bridge and how many wrongs equal a right?? So basically, Natick should not be worrie...

It was a weekend of tennis and golf. The French Open finished up this weekend and NBC covered it. I missed the women's final yesterday because I chose to go for a bike ride. I missed most of the men's final this morning because I had to teach spin. I did see the first few breaks in the first set. But I was quite surprised to come back home less than 2 hours later and find the match over and done with. Looks like I didn't miss much. But I was psyched that Federer and Nadal finished because with hours and hours of air time left, surely, I thought, NBC would replay the women's final between Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic* both vying for their first grand slam title, or at least show a few sets of doubles. After all, American Bob Bryan won the mixed. But no. They aired last year's Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal. I already saw that one! So that was more me whining that the network didn't really fit my schedule. Though I think one could make an argument t...

The Globe and Mail ran an excellent editorial by a Canadian athlete on the ski jumping controversy that continued last week when a group of mostly non-Canadian female jumpers filed suit against the Vancouver Olympic Committee. Though Laura Robinson does not think the suit will get very far because VANOC is not really the group that, in the end, is preventing the women from competing--it's the IOC--she doesn't really let VANOC or Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) off the hook. Because she sees VANOC's and the COC's protestations that they support women's ski jumping as ringing on the hollow side. ...this practice of claiming great sympathy for the rights of women, while at the same time declaring one's hands are tied, is tedious and irritatingly predictable. Robinson shares the history of women's ski jumping to show that those whose hands are currently tied had plenty of time--about eight decades to get on board with women's ski jumping. Because, yes, it...

Dr. Mary Jo Kane, and her colleagues, at the Tucker Center at University of Minnesota came out with the results of their study on the effects of the sexualization of female athletes last year, but the media seems to keep wanting to talk about it. Usually I pass over these articles, but this one is actually an interview with Kane. And since I keep citing her and her work on this blog I thought I would just link to it so you can read, directly from the source, exactly what happens when all those athletes pose all sexy with little to no clothing. And though the article/interview did not mention this, tennis player Ashley Harkelroad recently announced she will be posing in Playboy . So we can look at that announcement in light of the information Kane provides. I still find it stunning that Harkelroad is doing this given her very Christian ways--or at least once upon a time she had very Christian ways. She has talked about how she carries her Bible around with her on tour. And I always ass...

Tom Hanks made famous the first part of that with his line in A League of their Own and the Seattle Mariners establishment has made infamous the second just this past weekend when it admonished a lesbian couple for kissing at a game . Details are a little controversial. Apparently an usher told the couple that a mother with a young son (or maybe multiple children--details keep changing) had complained and that the couple should cease and desist or they would be asked to leave. They stuck around--to take pictures of all the heteros kissing without any interference from (pseudo)authorities. And to lodge a formal complaint. I can't figure out if Safeco Field has a "kissing cam" which pans the crowd and if it stops on you--you kiss. Other sports venues certainly do. Regardless of whose kissing is being promoted and whose is demoted, it was blatant discrimination. This is a pretty tired rant and I am pretty tired myself today so it might not have the full force of my cynicism...

Yep, I just heard from Beth Mowins, who is the lead commentator for the championship games of the WCWS, that the three man pitching staff of the US national team contains two lefties. How would those two lefties, Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman, and the rightie Jennie Finch feel if Beth Mowins came up to them on the street and called them men? Right. Then don't do it on television either.

I have my second tennis match of the summer season tonight. (I won the first one, thanks for asking. But it was ugly, ugly tennis. I am hoping tonight's match looks a little more like real tennis.) Last time we were the away team. Tonight we are the home team. That means that we bring the snacks. I am an excellent snack bringer. Besides my wicked backhand return, I think my team keeps me around because I bake. And I never bring the same thing twice. (Though I did make excellent peanut butter fudge oatmeal bars last season that I may bring back for a repeat performance at some point.) But as I thought ahead to buying jam for oatmeal raspberry bars, I came across some information about women's sports--their origins and some of the continued practices. I was reading Playing with the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal in Sport --because yes, I finally got past page 20.* And I read about how in the early days of competition in women's sports--mostly at women's colleges, the hom...

So I mis-wrote Florida's coach's name. It's Tim Walton. But the real reason for this post is something one of the commentators said this evening in the early innings of the A&M/Florida game (we're now in extra innings). I think it was Beth Mowins--it doesn't really matter, though--who mentioned that Florida has only been playing softball for 12 years. In other words, it's a fairly new program without a storied history like some of the other teams in the series. But then she said that the SEC has really grown softball when, in the early 90s, some SEC schools took their football money and started softball programs. Several problems with this statement. One, I'm not sure how true it actually is. It certainly is not true that the SEC just woke up in the 90s and said, "hey all this money we're making from football--let's give it the girls; just 'cause we like 'em." It's not a coincidence that softball programs grew at a time whe...

Lots o' softball on this weekend. My prediction about Arizona not 3-peating has proven true--not that it was that much of a stretch. Looked liked #1 seeds the Florida Gators might get knocked out but they have rallied and it looks like they are almost certainly going to push previously undefeated A&M (who have now become my favorites because UCLA got knocked out--note to coaches--find pitchers who can FIELD the ball, too) to a second game tonight. Head coach of the Gators, Tim Murphy, is not surprised at the success of his team, of course. He said the other day that the athletic department does an exceptional job supporting the softball program. He said they have just as many resources as the football team. Hmmm...interesting comparison. Now, I don't know what things are like in Florida, and most teams that make it to the WCWS have to be well-supported by their universities. But as well as the DI football program? I suppose it could be true--or at least the softball team co...