She Has Equal Right to Break the Rules
Athletic Director Teresa Phillips of Tennessee State became the first woman to coach a Division I men’s college basketball team Thursday, filling in for a coach who had been suspended after a bench-clearing fight during a game.
It was a historic moment, but not in the way that would have mattered most, writes Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune:
“We’ll know women truly have arrived when they’re the ones doing the cheating, the brawling and the carrying of firearms. They have a lot of catching up to do, felony-wise. But this will have to do, and it’s an important step when a woman can preside over a mess like the one at Tennessee State, even if she had nothing to do with it.
“So there was Phillips stalking the sidelines for the Tigers, yelling out instructions, providing encouragement and inquiring whether the referees had quite possibly missed their most recent optometrist appointments.
“That raised the obvious question: Doesn’t this lady know how to throw a chair?”
Trivia time: What former Southland high school standout was the first major league player to win batting titles in three decades?
Hot air: Greg Cote of the Miami Herald questions the practice of sports figures being paid large sums of money to share their principles of success:
“Today’s athletes and coaches are one championship or perhaps one crafty marketing agent from a lucrative side career in inspirational books, motivational speaking and other spoon-sized psychobabble tailored for the aggressively gullible.”
More Cote: “Pat Riley, Lance Armstrong, Phil Jackson, Magic Johnson and Joe Torre are among the crowd-wowers commanding at least $50,000 per speaking appearance.
“Perhaps your company is financially strapped? Well, for a negotiable 30K-plus you can get the likes of Billie Jean King, Don Shula, Tommy Lasorda or Rick Pitino. As little as 20 grand gets you Pete Rose, who makes up in controversy what he undoubtedly lacks in oratory polish.
“Johnny Bench? A steal for as little as $10,000, which also gets you the real ‘Rudy’ from Notre Dame. Below that and your company is desperate for motivation, my friend.”
Bidding his time: A recent check of eBay showed more than 450 LeBron James items for auction, including a light-switch cover with the Ohio high school basketball star’s photo on it.
Looking back: On this day in 1978, Leon Spinks won a 15-round split decision over Muhammad Ali to take the world heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
Trivia answer: El Segundo’s George Brett, with the Kansas City Royals in 1976, 1980 and 1990.
And finally: Nebraska Wesleyan has been told by the U.S. Olympic Committee to stop using the name “Rat Olympics” for its annual class project for behavioral learning principles in which rats are taught to perform in competitive events.
The USOC called Wesleyan officials and told them the Olympic name is protected under federal law. A Wesleyan spokesperson said until a new name is chosen the competition is being called “the event formerly known as the Rat Olympics.”
-- Rob Fernas