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Superstition Might Improve Sports Performance

No Author — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:54:00 CST

Don't scoff at those lucky rabbit feet. New research shows that having some kind of lucky token can actually improve your performance - by increasing your self-confidence.

"I watch a lot of sports, and I read about sports, and I noticed that very often athletes - also famous athletes - hold superstitions," says Lysann Damisch of the University of Cologne. Michael Jordan wore his college team shorts underneath his NBA uniform for good luck; Tiger Woods wears a red shirt on tournament Sundays, commonly the last and most important day of a tournament. "And I was wondering, why are they doing so?" Damisch thought that a belief in superstition might help people do better by improving their confidence. With her colleagues Barbara Stoberock and Thomas Mussweiler, also of the University of Cologne, she designed a set of experiments to see if activating people's superstitious beliefs would improve their performance on a task.

Open Letter to Fans from Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert

No Author — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:55:00 CST

Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

"Man-tasking" Has Become A New Sport

No Author — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:12:00 CST

(NAPSI)-If you're the type of person who will call a friend while you're watching a game and then glance at your laptop to check a few scores or follow the opinions of your favorite player on Twitter, you're actually taking part in one of the latest trends for sports fans. It's called man-tasking.

The need to be able to multitask is increasingly common in today's fast-paced world and sports fanatics are not exempt, especially during major sporting events such as the NCAA basketball championship tournament, the World Cup, the World Series and the Super Bowl.

Getting extra sleep improves the athletic performance

No Author — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:27:00 CST

Getting extra sleep over an extended period of time improves athletic performance, alertness and mood, as per a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 8, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

Results indicate that football players' sprint times improved significantly after seven to eight weeks of sleep extension. Average sprint time in the 20-yard shuttle improved from 4.71 seconds to 4.61 seconds, and the average 40-yard dash time decreased from 4.99 seconds to 4.89 seconds. Daytime sleepiness and fatigue also decreased significantly, while vigor scores significantly improved.

"Sleep duration appears to be an important consideration for an athlete's daily training regimen," said main author Cheri Mah of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory in Stanford, Calif. "Furthermore, sleep extension also may contribute to minimizing the effects of accumulated sleep deprivation and thus could be a beneficial strategy for optimal performance".

Tiger's Ex-Coach Leaves Project for Another, By Nick Canepa

No Author — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:03:00 CST

RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. � It was just seven weeks ago that swing coach Hank Haney was at Augusta National, helping famed client Tiger Woods get through the Masters after Tiger's sex-driven run at Wilt Chamberlain's scoring record.

It was just over the weekend that swing coach Hank Haney was here at Morgan Run, trying to get who now is his only client, famed comedian Ray Romano, to break 80 in Drew Brees' Cox Celebrity Championship.

Well, a quarter of one, two bits of the other. Look at it this way: Ray is much funnier than Tiger, although most people are funnier than Tiger. Maybe Romano can't golf with Woods, but he doesn't have the paparazzi chasing him, nor has he run over any fire hydrants lately.

World Cup Chances Slip Away for Davies , By Mark Zeigler

No Author — Sun, 16 May 2010 22:18:00 CST

Kofi Davies grew up in Gambia, a sliver of a nation on Africa's West Coast that is wedged into Senegal like a toothpick. It is the smallest country in Africa, roughly twice the size of Delaware. It has 1.7 million residents, or about 1.3 fewer than San Diego County.

Davies now lives in San Diego and hasn't returned to his homeland in 35 years, but he had grand plans for this June. First, he'd take the family to South Africa to watch his son, Charlie, play for the U.S. national team in the first World Cup on the African continent. Then they'd go to Gambia for a week and introduce his family to their heritage.

There's No Lying in Baseball, by David Harsanyi

No Author — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:07:00 CST

Boston Mayor Tom Menino recently delivered one of the most atrocious speeches in the history of oration when, during a dedication to hockey great Bobby Orr, he not only referred to Boston sports greats as "ionic" instead of "iconic" but also followed it up by reminiscing: "Havlicek stole the ball, Fisk waving the ball fair. Flutie launched the Hail Mary pass, Varitek splitting the uprights."

Now, for those of you who aren't sports fans � or who never would feign to be sports fans or can't afford a speechwriter with some tenuous familiarity with being a sports fan � Jason Varitek was the catcher on two Boston Red Sox championship teams, a franchise that went nearly a century without a title and, being a baseball franchise, one that has no interest in splitting uprights or winning Super Bowls.

When Sports & Politics Don't Mix by Elisabeth Meinecke

No Author — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:10:00 CST

One of the cardinal rules of sports organizations is that it always boils down to the fans. That�s why mixing politics and sports, like the Phoenix Suns organization did Wednesday, is tricky.

The Suns decided to wear their �Los Suns� jerseys�which they�ve done before�on Cinco de Mayo for their playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs. In a statement Tuesday, the Suns� owner Robert Sarver explained the decision was to honor �our Latino community, and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation.� But then he said, �The frustration with the federal government�s failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law. However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question,� referring to the new Arizona immigration law.

April in Paris? By Tim Sullivan

No Author — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:51:00 CST

DEL MAR, Calif. � Jenny Craig's April in Paris was abbreviated.

Three weeks into a two-month rental near the Musee National Picasso, the dieting diva left the City of Light last week in order to keep a two-minute appointment in Louisville, Ky.

When you have a horse that can take your breath away, what is the Louvre but a lot of stale still life? Where is the canvas whose colors are as vibrant as Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of May? What is there anywhere that remotely resembles the Kentucky Derby?

"Who could not love hearing 'My Old Kentucky Home?'" Craig asked Monday afternoon at her beachfront home. "Every time they play it and we all sing it, I get teary-eyed. There's something about that race track."

A Quarterback's Bad Calls, by Susan Estrich

No Author — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:56:00 CST

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a bad guy. He may not be a rapist, in the sense that it can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he had nonconsensual sex, but not being guilty of a crime doesn't mean you're innocent. In my book, this guy should pay.

Twice in the past two years, Roethlisberger has faced accusations that he engaged in nonconsensual sex. A civil suit is pending based on a 2008 incident.

Most recently, the 28-year-old quarterback appears to have had sexual contact with a college coed after providing her and her sorority sisters with shots of alcohol at a Georgia bar. First he gave them drinks. Then his bodyguards reportedly "escorted" the drunken young woman into a small bathroom with Roethlisberger.

A SPORTING VIEW By Mark Vasto

No Author — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:11:00 CST

A Hog Loaded for Bear?

Things can move pretty quickly in the world of sports, and nothing can change the landscape of one's favorite team quicker than a sudden trade -- particularly to one's division rival. Such is the case at the Pennsylvania and Maryland border these days. Donovan McNabb has hit the Beltway, and Philadelphia isn't sure what's hit it yet.

Donovan McNabb was to the Philly fan what Patrick Ewing was to the Knicks fan -- both were larger-than-life stars who possessed enormous talent but, alas, couldn't bring home the championship. No matter what they accomplished during their lustrous careers, without a ring McNabb will be known as "the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl," just like Ewing, one of the greats of his era, will be remembered for "the finger roll."

Tiger's Just a Different Cat By Nick Canepa

No Author — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:21:00 CST

Maybe I'm old fashioned. OK, I am old fashioned. I've had it up to the top of my Eisenhower tree with Tiger Woods' transgressions and machinations. I no longer care how many women he's been with, how many parking lots he's used as a boudoir, how many lovers he's paid off to clam up or how many times his wife whacked him with a golf club (although, if true, it probably wasn't enough).

The world's greatest golfer was a baby and a jerk long before his exposure as a Lothario, a sexual glutton and one of the greatest adulterers since Moses made space for the commandment on one of his tablets.

"He is a jerk," says Dr. Charles "Mac" Powell, shrugging..

Tiger Woods� Favorables Down, But Most Expect A Tournament Win This Year

No Author — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:26:00 CST

Embattled golfing great Tiger Woods will hold a press conference yesterday in Augusta, Georgia as his favorability ratings among Americans nationwide stand at their lowest level yet.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows only 30% of adults now share a favorable opinion of Woods. Most (61%) view the troubled golfer unfavorably. Those numbers include just 11% who view Woods very favorably and 25% who view him very unfavorably.

His favorable rating is down from 36% in February and 38% in December. Just after his fateful car accident in November 56% viewed the golfer favorably. In 2007, 83% of Americans held a favorable opinion of Woods.

Women share a slightly less favorable impression of the golfer than men. However, men under 40 view him more favorably than those over that age.

A SPORTING VIEW By Mark Vasto

No Author — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:09:00 CST

Put Up or Shut Up

This is the part of the season when sportswriters are supposed to earn their paycheck.

Anyone can write the Super Bowl and NCAA Tournament stories. The Brothers Grimm would make a killing with credentials. They easily could have filed the stories you read about winners and losers and upsets and adversity. Cinderella this, David and Goliath that, slap on the byline and hit the buffet. (Just once I'd like to see a team that wins ugly referred to as the tournament's "Rumpelstiltskin.")

As we wait for the never-ending NBA and NHL regular seasons to shuffle into their never-ending playoff schedule, the NFL Draft and the start of the new baseball season dominate the heart and mind of the typical American sports fan. As luck would have it, expert journalists and talk-show hosts are standing by. They're the ones able to tell you about the kid's high-school career, how fast he ran the 50-yard dash, how he hit in the Turks & Caicos winter league and, of course, his marital status and mistress count.

Control Freak Tiger Can No Longer Control the Story - By Tim Sullivan

No Author — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:01:00 CST

Tiger Woods has been living a lie, and it is that he's not as boring as he wanted us to believe.

He has not been a quiet homebody, but a world-class hound. He has been as single-minded as any athlete of his time, but only in the sense that he behaved as if he never got married. Beneath the polished veneer and the superlative skill lay the Lothario of the Links, an insatiable, depraved and degrading kink monster disguised as the world's greatest golfer.

Woods was chasing not only Jack Nicklaus' records, it turns out, but also Wilt Chamberlain's. Yet the real shock of his unraveling myth is not the sex, but the sloppiness; the astounding extent to which he failed to cover his libidinous tracks.

The Tiger Woods who responded to a few questions this week following nearly four months of self-imposed seclusion and prepared statements was pretty much the guy we know that we don't really know.

A SPORTING VIEW By Mark Vasto

No Author — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:05:00 CST

Does Anybody Like Mascots?

I never liked mascots, and it's unlikely I ever will. Now, it appears, I have good reason. Not only are they often annoying, they are a menace to society.

We take you to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, home of the Royals -- now a crime scene (and no, I'm not talking about the lineup). Last September, John Coomer of Kansas sat in the sixth row behind the dugout on the third-base side. The Royals mascot, "Sluggerrr" -- described as a lion wearing a Royals' home jersey and a crown -- was witnessed by several thousand fans shooting hot dogs into the stands with an air cannon. According to Coomer, when Sluggerrr finished with the air gun, he climbed atop the dugout, motioned toward him and threw a hot dog at his face, hitting him and causing "physical pain and discomfort." Coomer claims he suffers from cataracts stemming from a detached retina.

A SPORTING VIEW - By Mark Vasto

No Author — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:33:00 CST

It's Not War, It's the Olympics

You can learn a lot -- and argue a lot, too -- watching the Olympic Games, and that was certainly the case with this year's Winter Olympiad.

Really, the Olympic Games are the greatest things that the world does in concert. Some would argue the World's Fair or World Cup, but taken in its entirety it cannot match the pageantry or the sheer spectacle the Games provide. The World's Fair ceased to be relevant at around the same time the ice-cream cone was invented, and a city chosen as a World Cup venue doesn't feel the impact either economically or psychologically that an Olympic host city experiences. The only time you see the world come together, all at once, holding the flag of their country and smiling is at the Olympic Games. The only other time the human race comes together en masse holding a flag, it's a war -- and they're really there to shoot you.

And, unlike war, the cities aren't pillaged. Most cities use the Olympics as a springboard to civic improvements.

Tiger's Mistresses Gather at Yankee Stadium for Press Conference - By Andy Borowitz

No Author — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:26:00 CST

With Tiger Woods' much-anticipated press conference set for Friday morning, thousands of the golf legend's mistresses converged on Yankee Stadium to watch the proceedings on the stadium's giant Jumbotron.??

Traffic snarled for miles as vehicles filled with cocktail waitresses, restaurant hostesses and Playboy models clogged the streets leading to the storied baseball venue.?? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the gathering "a first-class headache" and said that he regretted authorizing it.?? "You have thousands of angry women in one place, anything can happen," he said. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather host Khalid Sheikh Mohammed."??

Shandi Shanoyne, a former Tiger mistress and thong publicist who organized the Yankee Stadium event, said that the thousands of women at Yankee Stadium were anxious to hear what Woods has to say.

Death Gives Us Pause in Our Race for Thrills - By Tim Sullivan

No Author — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:27:00 CST

Maybe the show must go on. But the stage should never be set in stone.

When death disrupts our games, as it did last Friday at the Whistler Sliding Centre, it is incumbent on those in charge to welcome change; to come to grips with the causes of their grief and to take steps to slow the sprint to the cemetery.

In a more perfect world, the search for sporting speed would always be subordinate to the interests of safety. But try telling that to the risk-tolerant thrill-seekers who take icy turns at 90 miles per hour in pursuit of Olympic gold, or to the NASCAR gladiators who feared their races were trending too tame since Dale Earnhardt's 2001 death at Daytona.

A SPORTING VIEW - By Mark Vasto

No Author — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:11:00 CST

Twin Titans

A few weeks back, a few of you may remember, I put together a list of the decade's best athletes, seen from a sporting view.

Yes, we overlooked a few off-field indiscretions while making our list (Tiger Woods' sizzling sex life and Michael Phelps smoky socializations come to mind). And we had little choice than to overlook an on-court one (Serena Williams is too good to kick her off a decade's best list for cursing out a ref). But there were two glaring omissions in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

It was my fault, of course ... I wrote the column. After a few sleepless nights, I consulted my editor and we decided that rather than do a third column, let's just pretend they were both implied. I was able to sleep after that because really, it's true. Anyone who doesn't think those two are among the best ever -- let alone last decade -- probably isn't reading the sports section or this column anyway.

Besides, I knew I'd get a chance to write about them both again.