After Atalanta

So because I usually give ESPN a hard time about...well everything, I thought I would give them a shout out for the little piece that aired during tonight's coverage (on ESPN2) of the Baylor v. Oklahoma game. There were interviews with a couple of NBA players (I don't remember who because I have next to no familiarity with current NBAers) who talked about how they tune in to watch Baylor's Brittney Griner play. One of them sets a DVR alert to make sure he doesn't miss it. They think she is exciting and talented. One even said she should come play for the NBA when she's done at Baylor. She can dunk; she can rebound; she can knock balls down like no one else in the college game. And she scores points too! I thought this was especially appropriate given that the Women Talk Sports network published a question on their Facebook page today: Agree or disagree: "People don't watch women's sports because they aren't as exciting as men's sports." It ...

...for all this football madness. I don't know how I missed hearing about this story when it happened in June but it's being retold now, perhaps because college football season has begun. It's obvious to even the casual observer that superiority in football is equivalent to superior masculinity. And this extends to fans. Masculinity is proved in the stands by the guy who can yell the loudest or stand the longest bare-chested in 20 degree weather. But Oklahoma fan Allen Beckett proved his masculinity by emasculating--literally--a Texas Longhorns fan, Brian Thomas, in an Oklahoma bar. Well almost literally. Beckett did not quite succeed in castrating Thomas but pulled hard enough at his crotch to leave Thomas's testicles hanging outside of his body. Sixty stitches were required to put them back. The events leading up to the near-castration are in dispute but there was trash talking going on. Some interesting points to note: 1. Neither man actually attended the school he s...