Sports in the News
World Congress of Women's Golf hailed as success: The three-day World Congress of Women's Golf conference (May 20-22) held at New York's Waldorf-Astoria was an unqualified success as nearly 150 women and men representing 19 countries and 33 golf associations around the globe achieved major strides in pledging to work together on a variety of issues impacting the advancement of women's professional golf. The World Congress of Women's Golf clearly outlined a growing support for meaningful global collaborations and partnerships.
iseekgolf.com: Thursday, May 27, 2004
Olympics: Two Afghan girls will make history in Athens: More about the first two Afghan women to compete in an Olympic Games (see below: May 19, 2004), but this time from the perspective of the women themselves.
The New Zealand Herald: Thursday, May 27, 2004
Working off their daily bread: Employers in companies like Hayes Lemmerz are using company-sponsored team sports, prizes, competitions and general wellness programs to encourage physical fitness among their employees. This article refers to studies that cite the benefits of increased employee fitness, including better decision-making and workforce efficiency as well as decreases in health-care costs and medical insurance claims.
The Muskegon Chronicle: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
For Afghan women, Olympics mean opportunity: Sprinter Robina Muqimyar will make history in Athens this summer when she and a judo player become the first two Afghan women to compete in an Olympic Games. As Afghanistan puts itself back together after quarter of a century of war, the country is slowly reviving its sports culture. Anwar Jekdalek, a former national wrestler who heads the Afghan Olympic Committee, believes the inclusion of women on the team is an important symbolic event. Under the Taliban, most sports were banned and women's freedom was severely restricted. In order to field criticism from powerful conservative leaders who still object to women competing in public or on television, Muqimyar runs with a headscarf knotted under her chin and says she will wear long pants -- not the shorts commonly worn by sprinters -- at the Greece games.
Pak Tribune: Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Future writ in red-and-gold: This report claims that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) bosses’ failure to fathom the power of television is only now being redeemed. In this "cricket-crazy country", the reinvention and repositioning of East Bengal (football club) as a marketable product has been a structured initiative off the beaten track. Plans include fan merchandising with apparel sponsors Reebok, promotional films on satellite TV and lessons in public and media relations for the players.
The Telegraph, Calcutta, India: Saturday, May 15, 2004
Sports sponsors are turning our kids into junk food freaks: An emerging new culture in children's sports equates junk food with exercise. Encouragements awards by McDonalds reward children with high-fat foods, while Cadbury's 'Get Active' campaign encourages schoolchildren to buy chocolate bars and collect wrapper tokens to exchange for free sports equipment for their school. Not only is childhood obesity continuing to rise at an alarming rate, but a recent Australian study has shown that an unhealthy lifestyle is causing hardening of the arteries in children as young as six. Endorsing junk food in the "healthy" context of sports is making it increasingly difficult to address the childhood obesity problem.
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia: Wednesday May 12, 2004
Danger sports see rise in rescues: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has warned that increasing numbers of inexperienced sailors and dangerous sports enthusiasts has prompted a corresponding rise in inexperienced enthusiasts getting into danger. They believe that this is linked to a rise in credit card culture.
Norwich Evening News: Tuesday May 11, 2004
New world order brings new demand from sports entertainers: Changes in America's culture and values are charted through the rise and fall from popularity of the nation's sports, from horse racing and baseball in the 1930-50s to automobile racing and professional wrestling in the 21st century.
Snitch Newsweekly: May 11, 2004
Teacher was soccer violence 'general': Football hooliganism is a world social problem and, as this news report shows, hooligan leaders are active in directing operations. The arrest of an English teacher in such a leadership role clashes with popular notions of football-related violence and the root causes of its production as typically espoused in the media and by politicians.
The Daily Telegraph: Saturday, May 08, 2004
The Death of Fame: Daniel J. Boorstin, who examined the phenomenon of celebrity in his classic work, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, died last week at the age of 89. Boorstin’s observations have relevance in today’s sports world where heroes are more often than not celebrities.
Kansas City Chiefs: Thursday, May 06, 2004
A tangled web?: Major League Baseball has agreed to replace the traditional baseball diamond with a spider-web pattern as part of a promotion for the release of Sony Corp.'s "Spider-Man 2" next month. MLB executives say they respect baseball's traditions but need to attract younger fans. However, MLB's willingness to alter the field is part of the larger pressure across sports to accommodate sponsors.
Daily Herald: Thursday, May 06, 2004
Fleeting flies in to inspire Arsenal: A hat-trick from Julie Fleeting maintained Arsenal's reputation as a team for the big occasion when they secured the women's FA Cup for a sixth time in 12 years. This report of the match from sport.telegraph, May 04, 2004 is supplemented by a commentary on the status of women's sports in the Leicester Mercury.
Historic sport of fencing finds new popularity: The 500-year-old art of fencing appears to be enjoying a surge in popularity. Its associations with swashbuckling romance may appeal to younger people, while its intellectual challenges help to keep the mind alert in people from older generations. A fencing master with a degree in clinical psychology claims that fencing allows him to 'interact with healthy people in a therapeutic way.'
Alameda Times-Star: Monday, May 03, 2004
Confident Dowie is playing mind games: Iain Dowie, manager of Crystal Palace, outlines his approach to sports psychology and claims that it has helped his team win 13 of his 20 League games in charge, transforming them from relegation candidates to play-off contenders.
Evening Standard: April 29, 2004
Rugby: Mind Games: This news item claims that you need more than top physical fitness to play today's game of rugby. Sports psychologist, Eric Blondeau believes that the power of positive thought should be harnessed to encourage players to concentrate on their strengths and talents as well as on their weaknessess.
The Belfast Telegraph: 25 April 2004
Leafs fandom in full bloom: Fans of the Maple Leafs in Toronto are renowned for their joyous street celebrations of even the smallest victories. This contrasts sharply with a more usual reluctance to celebrate by other teams' fans until the final, big championship is clinched. Sociologists link this hesitation to a fear of failure but believe that extravagent street events are a potent means of fuelling a sense of community in the spectacular growth of spectator sports.
Toronto Star: April 25 2004
Area soccer players take Freddy in stride: The apparent professionalisation and rejection of the 'recreational model' of youth soccer in the US sees the rise of 14 year-old Freddy Adu. Having recently signed a deal with Nike and the biggest contract in Major League Soccer, his fame risks inciting the jealousy of contemporary teenage players striving for similar fortunes in the world of sports.
Contra Costa Times, CA: Sat, April 03, 2004
Malta takes advantage of globalisation: A review of foreign player influx and how it affects the local sports scene in Malta. Whilst agreeing with a move towards globalisation in sports, the writer argues that clubs should also actively encourage young, home grown talent.
Malta Today, 10 June 2001
