Days from the NCAA Tournament, and the Madness is spreading. But not all of it’s good. Out with the bad and in with the good, in this week’s Sports Dump.
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There’s a certain TV show on a certain four-letter entertainment and sports network that is doing its best to ruin sports and conversations about sports. The Good Men Project Sports Team is committed to changing the way people view sports and masculinity and this television show is doing its best to embolden every and any negative stereotype that has ever been linked with the people who enjoy sports as well as sports in general.
We will not give the name of the show nor its gossip hosts’ credit.
We will just say, it’s sickening. Where does this network draw the line. How many incendiary comments must be made before they realize this is the mockery of the industry? Or should we ask what’s the dollar amount and start a kickstarted campaign?!
If you want to know why we cheer for sports, and why the games themselves are such a big part of America and the world, look at Georgetown University.
From Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post:
Georgetown Coach John Thompson III gathered his men’s basketball team after practice Thursday afternoon, ready to share a secret. Two days before senior day at Verizon Center, Thompson told his players he didn’t believe in the standard tradition of starting seniors in their final home game and that all of the Hoyas seniors already had started at some point this season, anyway.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeAnd then the coach paused and turned to Tyler Adams.
“But we’re going to make an exception for Tyler,” Thompson said. “You’re starting.”
Adams was born with an irregular heartbeat. For most of his life it never impeded on his life or his athletic career. Months into his Georgetown tenure, Adams felt chest pains and told a trainer he needed to go to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed an arrhythmia. After discussing his condition with his family and his coach, Adams felt it was in his best interest not to play.
In the cutthroat world of college athletics, many coaches and athletic departments use prep athletes as pawns in their quest for more dollars and more championships. College scholarships are given and rescinded, requests to transfer schools are sometimes denied out of fear they can hurt a team’s chances for a title. In this instance, Thompson put Adams ahead of everything else.
He honored Adams’ scholarship even though he would never suit up for the Hoyas.
“I know there’s people in life who have worse issues than I have,” Adams said. “You can’t trade a Georgetown degree for nothing.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FgH3xI8KEQ&feature=youtu.be
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Sports Dump #2:
While we gear up for another fantastic finish to the college basketball season, the play on the court has been anything but stellar. Scoring is at near-record lows, fouls are at an all-time high, attendance is dropping and television ratings are losing to Chip Kelly Watch 2015.
OK, that last one may not be entirely true, but ratings are down. Attendance has dropped for seven straight seasons and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Get ready for a true wake up call the next couple of weeks as the entire nation tunes into watch games that consistently average in the 50s rather than the 70s and 80s we used to see in the sport’s hey day.
Just a thought, but maybe the NBA and NCAA could work together and prevent kids from leaving early when they have yet to develop their skills. When the top players are leaving each year as freshmen and sophomores regardless of whether or not they’re ready, what you are left with is a diminished product where coaches focus more on defense to make up for the lack of all-around skills—and an ugly game.
While the game suffers on the court, coaches are doing their best to improve the talent both on their team and the fans that cheer.
Watch this:
Maybe that’s why Virginia Tech won’t be dancing this March.
Vine of the Week: Chef Curry…are you kidding me!?
https://vine.co/v/OEpxmj3zEwq
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Photo Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
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