The NFL can’t get out of its own way when it comes to the national anthem. Last year’s controversy about how players were sitting or kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest had waned, only to have the NFL devise a policy on how players should behave. By season’s end, protests were at a minimum. No one […]

My agent, I.M. Slick, took exception to my recent column on what’s right and wrong with baseball. It’s not that he disagreed with everything, but he thought I didn’t go far enough. Slick: Every so often you have a good idea, but then you waste the opportunity. Joe: I’m flattered that you think I have good ideas, but I’d like […]

A perfect sport doesn’t exist, although some are better than others. Baseball is America’s most popular summer spectator sport, but it isn’t without a few warts. Here’s an abbreviated and admittedly incomplete list of what’s right and wrong with baseball…. What’s right: Unlike football and basketball, there’s no clock that runs out on either team. Both teams get 27 outs. […]

Nothing says “childhood memories” quite like the NFL, NBA and MLB draft. Before you think I’ve lost it, hear me out. If you’re 60 or older, you may remember with fondness or dread the way we chose teams to play games in PE or for recess. The teacher would ask two of the more athletic kids to pick teams. The […]

In sports, when the home team plays well, fan noise follows suit and the sound can be deafening in large stadiums and arenas. At most high school and small college events, the cheering is left for the patrons to decide if any cheering is warranted, with the help of some cheerleaders, naturally. At the Division I level of college athletics […]

Not many teams can win national championships. That’s why they’re so special. They’re very hard to come by. Even KU basketball in the Bill Self era, for all of its amazing and ongoing success, has found that winning it all is hard to do, even with some built-in advantages, such as getting to play games in the Sprint Center whenever […]

Nineteen years is a long time to be a varsity coach at the collegiate level, or any level, for that matter. Amy Ratzlaff concluded that 19 was enough as the head volleyball coach at Tabor College. Her record at Tabor was 368-227 overall and a remarkable 266-84 in the KCAC, including eight regular-season conference championships, four post-season conference championships, three […]

Regardless of how your favorite team did in this year’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, here are some things we learned or relearned: 1. Being seeded high is no guarantee of success. 2.,n fact, being a No. 1 seed is no longer guaranteed a win over a No. 16 seed, thanks to UMBC’s victory over Virginia. 3. UMBC showed that even a […]

The wannabes are dropping like flies. It’s one thing to make the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Winning it is another matter entirely. Cinderella is a good and fun story, but more often than not, Cinderella works better as a fairy tale than on the hardwood. Watching the major conferences duke it out in conference tournaments is fun, but what does […]

Sorry, coach. We’ve all heard your tired story before, and frankly, it’s getting old. Hearing you criticize officiating after a loss is as sure as death and taxes, and it’s a whole lot easier than blaming yourself or your players. But what if the calls are so lopsided that you might actually be right? Sorry, as a former official, I […]