I often listen to sports talk radio, partly because I love sports, and partly because I need to keep up with what is going on for Sports Spectrum. Many times it is informative and often even humorous—but it can have a darker side. The degree to which people feel free to criticize, even to the…
Read More »In the 2003 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong was leading by 16 seconds over his arch-rival Jan Ullrich. Ullrich had been trying to win the TDF for years, but had always been beaten by Armstrong. As they were racing, however, Armstrong’s handlebars were caught in the strap of a spectator’s handbag—wrecking him. But, instead of…
Read More »The challenge to sexual purity in the midst of the modern sports environment is a huge issue. This challenge begins in middle school and high school and progresses through college and into the professional ranks. Opportunities for sexual activity run rampant, and the higher an athlete’s profile is, the more opportunities there will be. In…
Read More »Two of my favorite baseball movies are “The Natural” and “Field of Dreams,” and the two films share a common theme—that, to a great extent, baseball is about fathers and sons. In “The Natural,” Roy Hobbs is taught the game as a boy by his father, who then dies prematurely. When Roy reaches big league…
Read More »Sometimes, however, the effort to get to the top causes athletes to “cross the line” into areas that are gray at best, and outright forbidden at worst.
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