If you’ve lived very long and paid any attention at all to sports, you’re aware of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I’ve never handled defeat very well. I’m not proud of it, either. I don’t like losing, period, whether it’s checkers or whatever. However, losing was easier to handle as a student-athlete than as a fan. […]

If you were waiting for the hammer to come down on the University of North Carolina after a three-and-a-half year investigation by the NCAA, you’re likely disappointed but unsurprised by the outcome. In summary, here’s what we know: • The university sponsored fake classes for nearly two decades. • This was considered one of the worst academic scandals in college […]

Not everyone is cheating in college basketball. It just seems that way. The most recent scandal in the sport wasn’t uncovered by the NCAA. Rather, it was the FBI. As a general rule, if the FBI is investigating one of your major sports, it’s not a good thing. In the latest scandal, 10 people, including four assistant coaches at big-time […]

I was preparing to write a column about how dangerous it is to play football, but that’s nothing new. We know that in every high school, college and professional game, there’s likely to be a relatively minor or season-ending injury to someone. It’s the nature of the sport. It’s mind-numbing to think about the number of concussions resulting from contact […]

There’s a saying that united we stand, divided we fall. If that’s true, the United States of America is in trouble. I don’t know that the United States was ever fully united, but if sports are truly a microcosm of life, we’re less united than ever before. The divisiveness in America was evident before the most recent presidential election. But […]

There’s no way to prove that trying harder can actually be a disadvantage in sports, but plenty of experts will tell you that it is, especially in baseball. Every coach wants his or her players to give 100 percent effort, but there’s a fine line between giving a good effort and trying too hard. In sports and in life, trying […]

Many coaches are not big fans of preseason polls. And who can blame them? If their team is picked to win the conference, they are playing with a big bullseye on their back. If their team is picked to finish near the bottom, there’s probably a good reason and fans will be anticipating a long season. Tabor College was picked […]

Let’s play word association. When you hear the name Tim Tebow, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Heisman-winning quarterback at the Univer­sity of Florida? Former Denver Broncos quarterback who won a playoff game against Pittsburgh in overtime? Great all-around athlete who wasn’t good enough to stay in the NFL as a quarterback? Professional baseball player wannabe? All-around […]

The Hillsboro swim team has become a big deal in summer. It may have replaced softball and baseball as the sport with the most participation. Summer basketball camps, MAYB basketball and other activities have likely resulted in a decline of baseball and softball participation. I assume you could play summer ball and still be on the swim team though, since […]

There are a lot of arguments for speeding up the game of baseball, but I’ve rarely heard any for slowing it down. At the beginning stages of the game for young kids, there are time limits so games only last about one hour. If you’ve ever watched kids play, you’ll see that their attention span wanders early and often, especially […]