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  • The Soccer Star and the President
    9 November 2005 par (Open-Publishing)

    by DAVE ZIRIN
    If there were a Mount Rushmore of international soccer, Diego Maradona’s face would adorn it. In 2000 he was named by FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association), along with Pelé, as the greatest player in the history of the sport. But in his native Argentina, Maradona is a lightning rod for love, hate, brutal criticism and passionate defense. He is Muhammad Ali in 1968—if 1968 lasted for twenty years.
    Maradona was in the eye of a media storm last weekend, (…)

  • Sheryl Swoopes: Out of the Closet—and Ignored
    5 November 2005 par (Open-Publishing)

    by Dave Zirin
    What’s the sound of a good story smothered? Ask Sheryl Swoopes. Swoopes is the most prominent women’s basketball player of her generation: a five-time all-star, three-time Olympic gold medalist and the WNBA’s only three-time MVP. And in a tribute only corporate America could render, Swoopes is the only female player to have her own basketball shoe: Nike’s Air Swoopes.
    The 34-year-old Houston Comet veteran just delivered what could be the most significant body blow to (…)

  • Maradona to interview Castro for TV show
    27 October 2005 par (Open-Publishing)
    5 comments

    Argentine soccer hero Diego Armando Maradona appears to have landed a big interview in his new career as TV showman: Cuban President Fidel Castro.
    An employee at a Havana health retreat where Maradona lived for four years struggling against cocaine addiction said the football legend was back in town with a team of producers to interview the Cuban leader.
    "Maradona arrived yesterday and looks like a young boy he is so thin," said the source at La Pradera health spa.
    The man once hailed (…)

  • Our Employers, Ourselves
    18 October 2005 par (Open-Publishing)
    1 comment

    By Eric Hellweg
    IBM once set one of its Linux commercials on a basketball court. But other than that, the worlds of Big Blue and professional basketball have rarely crossed lanes. This month, though, they were linked by what promises to become one of the most volatile workplace issues of the next decade: genetic testing.
    After it was revealed that Chicago Bulls star center Eddie Curry had a heart arrhythmia, the Bulls said he’d have to take a DNA test before the organization would tender (…)

  • Sports and Resistance in the USA
    8 October 2005 par (Open-Publishing)
    3 comments

    An interview with progressive sports writer Dave Zirin on Muhammad Ali, the ’indentured servitude’ of the NCAA, and why politics and sports can’t be separated.
    By Elana Berkowitz
    In 1960, at the tender age of 18, Cassius Clay tossed his Olympic gold medal into the Ohio River. He had just been denied service at a restaurant in Louisville when he tried to order a hamburger only weeks after winning boxing gold in Athens.
    The rest of the story has become a classic, as Clay, now Muhammad (…)

  • Why Lance Must Break With Bush
    27 July 2005 par (Open-Publishing)
    3 comments

    Why Lance Must Break With Bush
    By Dave Zirin
    To all the haters that don’t think cycling is a sport, and the Tour De France ranks just below watching an apple turn brown, let’s be clear: Lance Armstrong has earned the love. The cancer-surviving cyclist ended his career with a record seventh straight Tour De France victory. Immediately the accolades rolled in, and he has earned every dollop with an athletic tenacity and compelling personal story that’s touched the lives of millions.
    But (…)

  • Fox whore on London attacks: "blow up Paris, and who cares?"
    12 July 2005 par (Open-Publishing)

    Fox’s Gibson on "golden opportunity" missed: If France had been selected for 2012 Olympics, terrorists would "blow up Paris, and who cares?"
    The day before the July 7 terrorist attacks on London buses and subways, Fox News host John Gibson stated that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "missed a golden opportunity" because, if France had been selected to host the 2012 Olympics, terrorists would "blow up Paris, and who cares?" Following the London attacks, Gibson reiterated that the (…)

  • Wallace v Duncan, Pistons v Spurs Game 5 Strategy Session for Live TV Culture Jam
    19 June 2005 par (Open-Publishing)
    1 comment

    The significance of what could happen Sunday night in Detroit is mind-blowing. Imagine, just one player, a Wallace or Duncan realizing the true power they have. As athletes on the world stage, they are [former] working class joe’s with a chance to speak out to the world on live tv. If just one superstar were to... interupt the game, STOP life as normal- if only for a few minutes... STOP the game and tell America on Live tv, "The Downing Street Memo is the smoking gun! Impeach Bush!" it could (…)

  • Reggie White’s Mixed Legacy
    29 December 2004 par (Open-Publishing)
    30 comments

    by Wayne Besen
    Reggie White, a former football star and preacher who took part in a 1998 ad campaign that said gay people have short life spans, died this week. He was 43 years old.
    According to most news reports, White was the equivalent of Mother Teresa in football pads. His beatification includes gushing testimonials about how he was a wonderful “Man of God” who was a great role model to children.
    “As great a player as Reggie was, he was a better person. Every life that he touched (…)

  • When The Fiends Cry, "Kill!"
    7 September 2004 par (Open-Publishing)

    By Sheila Samples
    09/06/04 "ICH" — ...So I’m sitting here with a sack over my head, trying to come to grips with reality. Facts just don’t compute anymore. For example, it’s a fact that on Sept 7 the New York Yankees turned in the worst loss in their entire century of kicking baseball ass. It’s a fact that the Yanks lost 22-0 to the Cleveland Indians — but is it logical? Believable? Is it reasonable?
    My friend Bernie says stuff happens, even if only once a century and — sadly — even to (…)