At the beginning of the NFL season this year, it didn’t take long for players, coaches and fans to cause a minor uproar. What was so egregious? The competition committee made a “point of emphasis” concerning a 23-year-old rule that prohibits defenders from landing on a quarterback with their full body weight or driving him into the ground with excessive […]

So did that really happen? Just about the time you think you’ve seen it all in sports, something new happens. Kaylee Foster likely accomplished something for the first time in high school football history. In case you haven’t heard, she became the Ocean Springs (Mississippi) High School Greyhounds homecoming queen and star of the football team on the same night. […]

Sports is all about competition. But not everyone can play at the same time. And there’s the rub. Everyone wants to play. When the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes as the No. 10 pick overall in the NFL draft two years ago, the writing was on the wall for Alex Smith, then the Chiefs’ top quarterback. Teams don’t draft […]

True confessions: I never played competitive football with helmets and pads. Some of the touch- or flag-football games I played in were pretty competitive, albeit far less physically dangerous. However, this isn’t another column about the dangers of playing football, concussions, etc. Rather, the cause of my headache is the all-too-frequent stories about the behavior of football coaches. Ever since […]

Suppose we could measure pride and humility in athletes today. Which trait would come out ahead? Would it even be close? I’m surprised some athletes (or politicians, for that matter) haven’t written a book titled “The 10 most humble people, and how I met the other nine.” Or, “Humility and how I attained it.” By definition, humility means meek, deferential, […]

As the seasons change, it’s time to address a number of topics quickly. I probably shouldn’t promise something for everyone, because when I officiated, I cringed when a coach told me, “They’re traveling every time.” I’d try to say something witty like, “Really, every time?” To which the coach would usually mutter something like, “Well, maybe not every time.” So […]

In my job as director of news and media relations at Wichita State University, I’ve often told reporters, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” That usually elicits a laugh, a smile or groan. Well, this week I’m going to take it one step further with my column, which falls in the midst of the so-called dog days […]

After my pastor gave a sermon on Romans 12:1-3 earlier this summer, the thought crossed my mind how unpopular this passage would be for professional baseball players. The context of what the Apostle Paul wrote wasn’t about baseball, but here it is anyway: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as […]

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 […]