archive
Calling Foul: In Basketball, Crunch Time Goes Limp
March 14, 2012 At the end of games in most team sports, the excitement is ratcheted up when a team tries daring new tactics and gambles to win. Basketball seems alone in making the end of its games ugly and boring. And even the referees don't like it.
What Baseball Really Needs: Mr. Personality
March 7, 2012 In baseball, there were always a fair complement of coaching characters: old cracker-barrel philosophers, feisty wise guys and even a few sardonic intellectuals. But the oddballs are diminishing — with the exception of Bobby Valentine of the Boston Red Sox.
100 Points, One Game: A Basketball Record Turns 50
February 29, 2012 Fifty years ago, in an unimportant game, basketball star Wilt Chamberlain reached a milestone: 100 points in one game. At the time, it didn't even merit the front page in New York newspapers.
When There's More To Winning Than Winning
February 22, 2012 Cory Weissman didn't get a chance to play much basketball before suffering a stroke during his freshman year at Gettysburg College. But as a senior, for at least one game, the ball was in his court.
Looking For Lin In All The Wrong Places
February 15, 2012 Why are the so-called experts are always looking in the same places? Frank Deford wonders how many talented athletes like Jeremy Lin have been overlooked because of stereotyping.
For Love And The Game, A Star Shines In Delaware
February 8, 2012 Four years ago, Elena Delle Donne was the top basketball recruit in the country. But Delle Donne walked away from an elite college program — so she could be with her severely disabled sister and the rest of their family. Now she's the best college player in America.
Signing Day: Like Christmas For College Sports
February 1, 2012 On National Signing Day, high school seniors can officially plight their troth to a college football program. And that means grown-up college football zealots are acting like kids at Christmas: "Who will Santa bring to my alma mater's team?"
As A Coach, Paterno Was One Of A Kind
January 25, 2012 For a moment, put aside how Penn State's Joe Paterno — whose credo was "Success with Honor" — acted with regard to pedophilia, and consider Coach Paterno, which is what he still was barely 11 weeks ago. Will any college coach ever again possess the power he did over his university? It doesn't seem likely.
Take Your Ball And Go Home? How Dare You!
January 18, 2012 When Serena Williams said recently that she doesn't love tennis, many people gasped and clutched their pearls. When we see someone who achieved what we couldn't, says Frank Deford, we're all the more put out if they can blithely turn their back on it.
If You Pay For Cable, You're A Hostage Of Sports
January 11, 2012 In television, sports is where the money is. And whether or not they watch live sporting events, cable subscribers pay to subsidize that coverage, every month. ESPN now collects an average of $4.69 for every cable home –– four times more than any other network.
Why The BCS Is The Holy Roman Empire Of Sport
January 4, 2012 The Bowl Championship Series climaxes Monday with a game in New Orleans between Louisiana State and Alabama. But should the winner really be called the national champion? Just think how other sports would look if they were run by the BCS.
Dear NHL: Hit The Puck, Not The Players
December 28, 2011 Commentator Frank Deford suggests a New Year's resolution for the National Hockey League: No more fighting.
The NBA Is Bullish On Christmas, By Necessity
December 21, 2011 In 2010, Phil Jackson, then the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, complained about the NBA's scheduling of games on Christmas Day. It seemed, he said, that "Christian holidays don't mean anything" any longer. With its season shortened, the NBA can't afford to skip the holiday this year.
Look, Ma, I'm In The End Zone!
December 14, 2011 Frank Deford asks, is it time to seek a restraining order against football's end zone follies? The seemingly endless victory celebrations now seem to follow just about any big play.
For Some Marching Bands, Hazing Means Brutality
December 7, 2011 A story about violent hazing in the marching bands at historically black colleges and universities — HBCUs — detailed a problem, but no changes were made. So extreme has been the band torture at some schools that victims have had to be hospitalized.
