Flashing Back to Jon Gruden Washington Team Name Debate Take

October 13, 2021 By 1 Comment

jon gruden

In the wake of the news surrounding Jon Gruden this week, we felt it might be interesting to flashback to some of the rare past occurrences where he actually did give his take on social issues. It seems pretty crazy right now, doesn’t it- a man who seemed to love absolutely everyone and everything, was Mr. positivity as an announcer, is actually a deplorable person on the inside.

During an ESPN Monday Night Football media teleconference, several years ago, Gruden even said, with great self-awareness: “people think I’m too positive, I love everybody!” Turns out it was just a character he played on television.

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Filed Under: Las Vegas Raiders, News and Current Events, NFL, Politics, Social Issues

VIDEO: Actual “Black Sox,” White Sox-Reds 1919 World Series Footage

August 5, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Editor’s note: re-publishing this from May 2014 as the Field of Dreams game unveiled their special uniforms today.

The Black Sox are one of the most compelling stories in Chicago sports history. The eight members of the Chicago White Sox ex-communicated from baseball forever for throwing the Cincinnati Reds comprise as intriguing and multi-layered scandals as you’ll find anywhere in sports history.

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Filed Under: Chicago White Sox, Entertainment/Media, History, MLB, News and Current Events

Meghan Markle Becomes Hero to Italy Fans in Euro 2020 Final

July 12, 2021 By 1 Comment

meghan-markle

Can’t say I saw this one coming, but it is true that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As you’ll recall earlier this year Meghan Markle, who made a Brexit from the British Royal Family, pointed out just how epidemic racism is in the United Kingdom.

Markle opened up about the racism that is omni-present within the Palace itself, and as you might have guessed, the royals were in denial about it. As Italy took on England in the Euro 2020 they embraced Markle as one of their own, and if watched the match yesterday with Italy fans, it was not uncommon to hear one of them dedicate their victory to Meghan Markle.

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Filed Under: Entertainment/Media, Football/Soccer, News and Current Events, Politics, Social Issues

New Northwestern A.D. Derrick Gragg Helped Create Tulsa Legacy Game

June 7, 2021 By 1 Comment

Northwestern announced their new Athletic Director yesterday, Dr. Derrick Gragg, the NCAA’s senior vice president for inclusion, education and community engagement. The former Eastern Michigan and Tulsa AD assumes his new position on July 1.

Gragg has a long list of achievements, and his hire is very timely for a multitude of reasons, but perhaps of particular relevance and poignance is the fact that he helped conceptualize the Tulsa Legacy Game, designed to pay tribute to the survivors and descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, widely recognized as one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history. The first Tulsa Legacy Game took place last year, and as May turned to June, the centennial of the Tulsa massacre was observed.

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Filed Under: College Football, college sports, History, News and Current Events, Northwestern Wildcats, Social Issues

Indianapolis 500 Ramps Up Extreme Nationalism, Over the Top Jingoism

May 31, 2021 By 3 Comments

american military

Make no mistake about it, my favorite color is a three way tie between red, white and blue. Just look at the colors of this website. Take a look at the photo below to see how I dressed to attend the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500. See the American flag emoji in my Twitter profile too.

However, there is patriotism, and then there is nationalism, and then there is patriotism and nationalism combined, on steroids and multiplied to the 10th power, which we usually call jingoism. This is a very hot topic right now, as the NFL decided last week to take the Star Spangled Banner issue and go full on #MAGA #AmericaFirst with it. The National Football League decided to completely pander to the lowest common denominator.

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Filed Under: Business, Entertainment/Media, News and Current Events, Politics, Social Issues

Most Memorable Merica and MAGA T-Shirts Seen at Indianapolis 500

May 31, 2021 By 1 Comment

american-flag-star spangled banner

As has been well documented, especially so on this site, the patriotism gets ramped up to jingoism and then some at the Indianapolis 500 every year. Actually take that jingoism and square it, no wait- take it to the tenth power.  On one hand, we get it- this site’s colors are red, white and blue for a reason.

It is the nation’s biggest Memorial Day weekend gathering, as it draws over 300,000 people each year. On the other hand, come on- spare us the native advertising for the armed services; sponsored by Chevrolet. People showed up for an auto race, not a recruiting pitch, and certainly not for more Chevy ads.

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Filed Under: Entertainment/Media, History, News and Current Events, Politics, Social Issues

Members of Illini Baseball Squad Embracing Cryptocurrency Craze

May 12, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Bitcoin. Dogecoin. Ethereum. The cryptocurrency craze is currently sweeping the nation, and it’s absolutely huge among college kids. This past weekend, Doge true believer and advocate Elon Musk hosted Saturday Night Live, and by doing so took general interest in crypto to new heights.

This comes on the heels of the NFL Draft, where the first overall pick, Trevor Lawrence, partnered with an app that paid his signing bonus entirely in crypto. Zoomers are really into it, and that includes family members of mine who are currently enrolled at the University of Illinois; as well as their friends.

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Filed Under: Business, Illinois Fighting Illini, News and Current Events

Yankees 3B Coach Phil Nevin Has Covid-19 ‘Breakthrough’ Positive

May 11, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Fully vaccinated New York Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin has tested positive for Covid-19. This is what is known as a “breakthough positive” case. While the vaccines all have a very high efficacy rate, they’re not 100%, so these things do happen.

Nevin, who began his professional baseball career as the first overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft, is currently in isolation while the team continues contact tracing. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the tracing doesn’t involve any players, and he expects the game tonight at the Tampa Bay Rays to go on as scheduled.

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Filed Under: Health and Fitness, MLB, New York Yankees, News and Current Events

Northwestern A.D. Hire Met with Strong Backlash, Planned Protests

May 6, 2021 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to the Northwestern Athletic Director position, post Dr. Jim Phillips, indeed what a long, strange trip it’s been. After Philips left to become ACC Commissioner, the A.D. search received only a minimal amount of media coverage, and the school did a great job of keeping information from leaking out.

And despite the search dragging on for multiple months, NU decided to just go in house, and promote Mike Polisky, Northwestern’s deputy athletic director for external affairs since June 2010. Phillips, having been passed over for the Big Ten Commissioner job that he had strongly desired, took the ACC gig in December, and completed his term at NU in February.

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Filed Under: College Football, college sports, News and Current Events, Northwestern Wildcats, Social Issues

Ronaldo Rape Accuser Kathryn Mayorga Demanding £56M in Damages

April 30, 2021 By Leave a Comment

kathryn mayorga

Kathryn Mayorga, the woman accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 has now set a  demands. According to court documents released this week, the former model and schoolteacher from Henderson, Nevada is seeking £56million ($77.4m, 64.5 EUR) in punitive damages.

Ronaldo has strongly and consistently denied the serious allegations against him. The case became public knowledge in October of 2018, when it was reopened at the request of Mayorga’s attorney. In July of 2019, a judge ruled that Ronaldo would not face criminal charges.

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Filed Under: Business, Football/Soccer, News and Current Events, Social Issues

Yankees, White Sox Set Great MLB Example Regarding COVID Vaccine

April 11, 2021 By Leave a Comment

As the COVID-19 vaccine continues to rollout across the country, some Major League Baseball teams are doing a much better job with the process than others. Obviously, MLB players, for the most part, are not typically in the categories and demographic classifications that are high risk, and therefore prioritized in the rollout.

However, at this stage in the game, most states have opened up or will soon open up to all adults, regardless of health or employment status. And while we don’t have time to go team when it comes spotlighting who’s doing right, who’s doiing wrong and who is a mixed bag. Let’s start with the New York Yankees, who are on the right side of history here.

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Filed Under: Chicago White Sox, MLB, New York Yankees, News and Current Events

Cubs Detail COVID Safety Protocols at the Ballpark this Season

March 31, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Are you ready to return to the Friendly Confines, Chicago Cubs fans? If so, you better stay safe, wear a mask and keep your social distancing up. Tomorrow is opening day at Wrigley Field, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and weather wise, it’s going to be a character builder.

The forecast calls for an air temperature of right about freezing (33 degrees F) around the time of first pitch. If you’re getting up early to “pregame,” you’ll “tailgate” in temps that hover around the mid to high 20s, so bundle up! It’s going to be nasty.

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Filed Under: Chicago Cubs, MLB, News and Current Events, Social Issues
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