After Atalanta

There have been many, many article about the potential effects of the Women's World Cup on the WPS. I haven't even bothered to blog about them or to even read all of them. They basically boil down to: 1) the WPS will benefit from the very exciting WWC, 2) cautious optimism about the benefits, 3) Americans still don't like soccer and they certainly aren't interested in watching women play it. There may be other categories or subcategories that I am unaware of. But it seems like attendance at games post-WWC is up. Way up in some venues. Yay! And it also appears that the WPS is not just pleasantly riding this wave of popularity. They are working that wave. I just hung up with someone from the Boston Breakers asking me if I am coming to Harvard stadium for the last two home games. I explained that I cannot because I am busy those days. And I was a little curious as to how they got my cell phone number...But good for them for making personal phone calls. I am sure some poor ...

Is it possible? Are American women's life spans going to dip below those of our mothers' because we don't work out? Apparently it is possible, according to a study out of the University of Washington. Not good news for American women. This study follows a report out of Britain a few years ago which showed a dearth of sporting activity among girls and women. So what's it all about? According to this article , time and money. Because even while we promote Title IX and advocate for equal opportunities for girls, when adulthood hits, exercise is one of the first things to go. Assuming it was ever there at all. But this article says that even adult women who were once quite active, sacrifice exercise when things (i.e. motherhood plus work plus domestic duties plus attempt at salvaging a social life) get busy. And then when mid-life hits, the effects of a less active life really come into play. While I sympathize with the issue of making time for exercise when a woman becomes...

...who has some reservations about how this WWC is going to dramatically change the women's sports landscape in the US. WaPo columnist Petula Dvorak talks to some of my favorite people, Mike Messner and Nancy Hogshead-Makar, about how and why the surge in fan interest in women's soccer post '99 and for women's professional sports generall kind of petered out. The difference, for soccer, is that the WUSA started 2 years after that world cup ended. Too much lag time. The WPS is already in place this time. Hopefully, this will make a difference. But I too have been skeptical about all the rah-rahing. Some of us have been following women's soccer all along, in the so-called down time--you know when the US won the Olympic gold medal. I worry about fair weather fans. But I worry about no fans at all, too. Boston Breakers 2009

I've been lukewarm on ESPNW since its inception for many reasons. Now I have one more: this article about how fat baseball players are . Well, not exactly an article. It is listed as an opinion piece. Still... So in light of MLB's All-Star Game and based on some observations, writer Amanda Rykoff is pointing out how large some baseball players are--as in overweight. An additional motivation, as stated in the opening paragraph is "to laugh and poke fun at some absurdities in the sports world." Let me just own up to the fact that I was observing a young guy in the gym the other day who has clearly bulked up in the last year. He was wearing a UMass Baseball t-shirt. And it made me think "is he too big to play baseball effectively?" Of course he could simply be a fan and not a player. And he isn't fat--just bulky. Still, I thought about how/why larger players can and are prized in baseball. I have theories about the focus on home runs and some masculinity is...

Finally got to watch the Brazil v. US match this morning. I knew the general outcome because the second I got back across the border (from Canada) and had my data plan back, I checked Facebook. I also got the hint that it was a dramatic game, though I refused to check for a score or details. Even knowing the outcome, it was a pretty enthralling game. So here are my thoughts (in case you were wondering): 1. When you watch a recorded soccer match and fast forward through some of it in the interest of time and getting on with your work day, the ball looks like a ping-pong ball, which just makes you appreciate the distance it travels and the abilities of the players to control it. 2. Abby Wambach: still super cute and now with some goals under her cleats. (Because those uniforms don't have belts--thankfully. Though I'm not sure it would make them any worse.) 3. And speaking of Wambach...the Girlfriend noted this morning "that those short-haired girls are making things really i...

I've been accumulating thoughts about the WWC as I watch--just haven't gotten a chance to get it down. So I saw--last week--Equatorial Guinea's first game of the tournament. Kudos to the commentators on ESPN for actually mentioning the allegations that several players for the team are men. I have heard other media outlets (NPR's Only a Game, for example) also talk about it. So that's good. Alas one of the ESPN guys, after noting in the pre-game commentary that two of the three accused players were not playing this tournament, urged us all to put that all aside to think about the soccer. There were other interesting moments in that pre-game; and they seem to involve Brandi Chastain. First, on the shallower and more catty side of things, what's up with the hair? Someone needs to start a blog that deconstructs all of the Chastain's hair-dos this tournament. During this pre-game: several French braids ending in a long ponytail. She looked like a high school soft...

OK. So I know the outcome of the US's game against North Kore in that I know who wins. I do not know the score. But I had to get work done while the game was airing live and while I would ESPN3ed it while at the coffee shop, ESPN3 was having technical difficulties. So here I sit watching the recorded version. But I made the mistake of going on Facebook during the game. And since I am friends with Dr. Pants, well...I got the gist of it. No matter. There is plenty to say. The Girlfriend keeps trying to fast forward through the commentary. But then realized that all the good blog fodder comes in the commentary. So she lets me rewind--and offers her own commentary as well. So first things first. Holy crap Abby Wambach! Sorry. But I mean...wow...that haircut. She is looking hot. And I had thought I was over my Abby Wambach deeps-sighs-of-longing crush. But it's back. Interesting this more butch look to Wambach. Kind of resembles Amy LePeilbet's hair. She hasn't seemed to hav...

I have been somewhat lax in my posting recently, and I know I promised three tales of gender identity and discrimination a while back. My first tale was related to the Women's World Cup and the accusations against Equatorial Guinea based on--apparently--too much skill and "too much" masculinity in some of their players. Second tale is one that was recounted to me. Thus, technically, it is hearsay. But I also do not think it is that unusual of a situation. Thus it could be completely hypothetical--which it isn't--and still a valuable thought exercise. So here it is. I changed details, just in case, though I don't believe many know about this specific situation. An intercollegiate women's field hockey player has decided to use male pronouns and change his name to something more conducive to his identification as a non-woman. The player attends a DIII school in the west. He approaches his coach to ask that his new name be used on the roster, announced at games, a...

The NYT's Jere Longman has a very good article today about homophobia in women's soccer in Africa. He focuses on Nigeria, which was one of the teams that accused Equatorial Guinea of using male players. When I first read the headline, "In African Women's Soccer, Homophobia Remains an Obstacle," I thought to myself "we shouldn't be hierarchizing homophobia in women's soccer." And we shouldn't conclude that everything is exponentially worse in Africa. After all, homophobia remains a problem internationally. As I recall, I posted something last week about members of the U-22 German women's team posing for Playboy in an attempt to counter the butch image of female footballers. That is also homophobia, folks. But things are pretty bad in Africa--maybe not all of Africa--but definitely in Nigeria. When I read about Nigerian coach Eucharia Uche's actions and statements, I thought "wow, she's worse than Rene Portland." Uche, li...

Wimbledon starts today. Kim Clijsters has pulled out with a foot (not related to the ankle) injury. Bummer. But both Williams sisters are present this year. Serena played a warm-up tournament but lost in the second round. She did earn the 7th seed at Wimbledon this year based on her prior accomplishments there. Here is ESPN's Top 5 storylines to watch on this year. Thank goodness the local strawberries have just arrived in my neck of the woods. And that someone (not me) had the wherewithal to buy some heavy cream!

These pictures show the unbelievable amount of destruction and violence after Boston's Stanley Cup win over the Canucks.

Or "Things that make me go Ugh." Members of the German women's U-20 team are appearing in Playboy to promote the Women's World Cup. Also they want to show people that female footballers are not all "butch." Five of the women ages 19-22 posed for the publication which approached them directly--not through the national team or their respective professional teams. This is the last line of the HuffPo piece: Whether or not there's any backlash over these photos remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure: they definitely helped spread the word on the Women's World Cup. 1) I doubt there will be "backlash." And 2) not sure this helps spread the word that the World Cup is happening. I mean are the people picking up Playboy and seeing these women and saying, "Oh, women play soccer? And they have this big tournament? Maybe I'll watch."

...and so much dissertation left to write. But when things happen in threes, well it's a sign I have to write about them. So the three recent gender controversies are ones that I have heard about in the past two weeks. Some have been ongoing. Some are one-time events. The one I am writing about today is about the Women's World Cup and is somewhat ongoing. [The other two are more personal for me. I am going to present them with some of the details altered to protect the innocent. But they are both based on real-life events.] So today is about the Equatorial Guinea women's national soccer team . People are accusing the captain--and others--of being a man. This is not a new accusation that has arisen in light of Equatorial Guinea's qualification to the WWC. Last year, the Nigerian soccer federation filed a complaint (after their national women's team lost to Equatorial Guinea) with the Confederation of African Football. They accused the winners of having two men on the...

The University of Tennessee announced last week that it will be merging its formerly separate men's and women's athletic departments. Tennessee was one of the remaining DI institutions that had retained separate departments. Most schools combined departments years and years ago as a way to cut costs. And most schools, in doing so, made the male athletic director the head of the merged department and the women's athletic director--who was almost always a woman--got demoted. This was not always the case. When my own alma mater, University of New Hampshire, merged athletic departments in the 1990s, the female athletic director took over the whole department. And now Joan Cronan, head of women's athletics at Tennessee, is taking over the merged department. Well, temporarily. She is the first female AD in the SEC. But Cronan doesn't want to the job permanently. She's just going to oversee the transition. Her title is interim director. She will later serve as an advis...

THREADS OF HER JOURNEY Raymond Foss A tapestry is being stitched story by story, step by step, thread by thread Pictures of her life come alive with threads of gold, of silver, of royal purple, of hope, of faith, of love her story unfolding in the fabric, the knitted tapestry of her life

I like to see/read stories on women in the so-called non-traditional sports; as in non-traditional for women; not non-traditional as in Ultimate Frisbee (which is not an insult--I like non-traditional sports or sports done in non-traditional ways; check this out ). And so I do read the stories about women playing American football with interest. This one was not the best I have ever read. But it raised a few interesting points. 1. I think the title is a little misleading: Women Thriving in Traditionally All-Male American Football. Perhaps personally as some of those quoted in the story recount. But also noted in the article is that several of the dozen or so leagues have folded. Also of note but not mentioned in this particular piece is that a lot of these leagues are semi-professional and the level of funding is not so good. Players incur all kinds of costs from equipment to travel. 2. The ability of sport to change one's mental attitude was a good point raised during a discussio...

I don't have too much to say over the conundrum in Buckeye Land. I do think OSU President Gee's comment about firing Tressel was telling. He said he hoped Tressel didn't dismiss him . This was disappointing from Gee given that he was responsible for eliminating Vanderbilt's athletic department (during his tenure as chancellor) and incorporating it into the Division of Student Life. This move drew both criticism and cheers--from then-NCAA president Myles Brand in fact. Guess things must be different at OSU. Still it's disappointing that Gee, who reined things in at Vanderbilt, seems more comfortable letting things get out of hand at OSU. Anyway, two anecdotes related to this situation. One, this past winter/spring in a new gym (for me) I frequently saw a 20-something guy lifting large amounts of weights and often sporting OSU football gear--t-shirts, shorts--all worn (i.e. not crisp and new). He clearly knew what he was doing in terms of form and routine. He also had...

It begins with a scene from the gym and talks about wine and poetry. Perfect poem! Whack Report KIM ADDONIZIO A woman at the gym today said to her friend, Most people are whack. Whack meaning crazy, displeasing, undesirable, stupid, of poor quality, appalling, masturbatory, laid off, weird, or dead. Most poets, as it turns out, are generally pretty whack as in mentally ill. Anne Sexton, for example. Robert Lowell, also quite whack. I myself am whack about sixty-seven percent of the time, not counting nights and weekends, when it's more like eighty-two percent. But let us focus on the beautiful wine glass, eighteen percent full of sane, delightful, and intelligent fruit and acid. A whiff of rose petals. Black cherry, pomegranate, cassis, devil's food cake. And limestone. Drink me and taste my ooids, my hot buttered toast. For we must be ceaselessly whack as in deranged said another whack poet who became a whack gun runner. Guns are whack. Much of the world population experiences...

Even my cynical, questioning-of-all-things-teleological self was impressed by this report about the increase in the hiring of minority female coaches in women's basketball. Three years ago the group Black Coaches and Administrators began tracking the hiring of minority women* with the help of Richard Lapchick of University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports. Lapchick and the Institute are known for the issuance of various report cards, which detail how well or poorly various sport associations (professional, intercollegiate, etc.) are doing in terms of creating and maintaining racially diverse and welcoming environments. There are now 23 minority coaches in women's DI basketball; up from 8 three years ago when the hiring report cards started. Eighteen of those 23 coaches are women. What the article did not say and I am somewhat interested in is how many of those hirings are of women who were already head coaches at the DI level, versus at diff...

IF I EVER MISTAKE YOU FOR A POEM No body was ever composed from words, not the hipsway of verse, the iambic beat of a heart. Yet inside you, a sestina of arteries, the villanelle of villi, sonnets between your shoulder blades. If I were more obsessive I'd follow the alliteration of age spots across your arms. But I have exchanged my microscope for a stethoscope as I want to listen inside you, past your repetition, your free verse of skin. How easy it is to fall for your internal organs. Your arrhythmia is charming hidden in the ballad of body, your gurgling stanzas, your lyric sigh. Kelly Russell Agodon