Sports Genius Trump Sends Military Cadets to the NFL

Donald Trump is a football expert. He once owned a signed Tim Tebow helmet he bought with $12,000 of his charity’s money, so that should prove it. Not only that, he’s the former owner of the failed New Jersey Generals of the US Football League. In just a few years, Mr. Trump managed to tank the entire USFL.

Not content with those pro sports triumphs, now that he’s president, Mr. Trump has ordered that sports star graduates of our country’s military academies, educated at taxpayer expense, can defer their military service until after the end of their pro sports careers, so America can be defended by worn out and injured ex-jocks. Make the NFL Great Again!

More:

“President Trump orders new policy for service academy graduates pursuing professional sports,” Ava Wallace, Washington Post

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Image (“Commander-In-Chief of the Jersey Generals”) by Mike Licht. Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

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Surf’s Up — Inland

Surf’s up at the Surf Ranch, a hundred miles from the nearest ocean. Bryant Gumbel explains.

More:

“Surfing goes inland: Kelly Slater’s artificial waves push pro tour into uncharted waters,” Alex Dick-Read, The Guardian

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Skateboarders Conquer the World

“After decades of commandeering streets, sidewalks, parking lots and public sculptures, skaters entered the mainstream. Now New York City, the United States, and the world at large have all seen a surge of skate park development. With skateboarding entering the Olympic Games in 2020, the international growth of skate parks is likely only beginning.”

“Skateboarders Won,” Jeff Ihaza, New York Times

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Image (“Woman with a Skateboard, after Fernand Léger”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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The Ball

Meet the 2018 World Cup football.

“This year’s World Cup ball is called the Telstar 18, a nod to the original design. While the panels have changed to just six propeller-shaped pieces to make the ball even more spherical, the black-and-white checkered design is back.”

A Vox video.

More:

“Satellites and microchips: the surprising tech behind the World Cup ball,” Marc Chacksfield, TechRadar

“From Russia With Lough: Adidas Telstar 18 Is Specifically Designed to Stop Dip & Swerve,” Sports Illustrated

“World Cup 2018: Adidas boffins produce ball specially designed to stop Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kicks,” Duncan Wright, The Sun

“Fifa World Cup 2018 ball: Adidas Telstar 18 football ‘a problem for goalkeepers,'” Jamie Teather, Evening Standard

“Telstar 18: From satellites to microchips – The tech behind FIFA World Cup 2018 ball,” Manas Tiwari, Financial Express

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Baseball: Keeping Score

Darryl Wilson keeps the score straight at Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs’ ballpark has a manually-operated scoreboard that tracks eight different games at once. Video via Great Big Story.

More: 

“Inside Wrigley Field, The Scorekeepers Stay True To Baseball’s Beginnings,” David Schaper, NPR

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NCAA Claims Unpaid College Athletes Are Like Prison Labor

It’s almost March, when America’s thoughts turn to college basketball. NCAA March Madness alone earns $900 million for the NCAA, and big university athletic programs and their coaches reap lucrative rewards from sports, but collegiate basketball and football players are unpaid, being considered “student athletes.” In answer to a pending lawsuit, the NCAA justifies this situation by citing the clause of the 13th Amendment that allows unpaid prison labor. This jaw-dropping argument is compounded by the fact that the purpose of the 13th Amendment was the abolition of slavery in the United States, and Division 1 college athletes are overwhelmingly African American.

The suit against the NCAA was brought by former Villanova receiver Lawrence “Poppy” Livers on behalf of all athletic scholarship players, who are required to play in sports by the terms of their agreements. A previous suit failed because it also included “walk-on” players without such binding scholarship agreements. Livers vs. NCAA claims sports scholarship athletes, like students in work-study programs, should be considered university employees and compensated.

More:

“The NCAA Says Student-Athletes Shouldn’t Be Paid Because the 13th Amendment Allows Unpaid Prison Labor,” Shaun King, The Intercept

Related:

“Four Years A Student-Athlete: The Racial Injustice of Big-Time College Sports,” Patrick Hruby, VICE sports

“Your March Madness Bracket Is Exploiting Student-Athletes,”  Dave Zirin, The Nation

“When will NCAA be done exploiting athletes?” Editorial Board, Charlotte Observer

“The NCAA Must Change the Rules in Order to Solve College Basketball’s Existential Crisis,” Andy Staples, Sports Illustrated

“Let High School Players Go Straight to the NBA Again,” Sean Cunningham, RealClearLife

“The NCAA,” Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, 2015 (20:53)

“What Would Happen if the Players Ran College Basketball?” Ray Glier, Ozy

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Top image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Soccer Trial In Brooklyn: Guilty

Two former officials of the South American soccer association were found guilty in U.S. Federal Court on Friday of accepting millions of dollars in bribes. The jury will deliberate on a third defendant next week. 24 other people tied to FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, have pleaded guilty, and 15 more charged in the racketeering  and money-laundering probe are fighting extradition to the U.S.

More:

“2 Top Soccer Officials Found Guilty in FIFA Case,” Rebecca R. Ruiz, New York Times

“Fifa trial: two ex-soccer officials found guilty on multiple charges of corruption,” Oliver Laughland, The Guardian

Update:

“Fifa trial: ex-president of Peru soccer acquitted of corruption charge,” AP via The Guardian

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‘March Madness’ Leaves North Carolina Over Bathroom Bill

North Carolina’s “Bathroom Bill” has cost it two rounds of 2017’s “March Madness” Division I men’s college basketball tournament games. The National Collegiate Athletic Association has relocated those games and six other championship events out of the state due to the North Carolina state law known as HB2, which requires people to use public bathrooms based on their sex as designated on their birth certificates. The law, which also nullifies local laws protecting the civil rights of LGBT citizens, had already lost Charlotte the NBA All Star Game and millions of tourist dollars. The NCAA decision is arguably a bigger blow to the Tarheel State, where college basketball has deep roots and a wide following, and Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are legendary contenders. This won’t help North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory’s reelection bid, either.

Here are the NCAA championships North Carolina is losing to bigotry:

• 2016 Division I Women’s Soccer Championship, College Cup (Cary), Dec. 2 and 4.
• 2016 Division III Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships (Greensboro), Dec. 2 and 3.
• 2017 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, first/second rounds (Greensboro), March 17 and 19.
• 2017 Division I Women’s Golf Championships, regional (Greenville), May 8-10.
• 2017 Division III Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships (Cary), May 22-27.
• 2017 Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship (Cary), May 26 and 28.
• 2017 Division II Baseball Championship (Cary), May 27-June 3.

More:

“NCAA  Moves Championship Events From North Carolina, Citing Anti-Gay-Rights Law,” Marc Tracy and Alan Blinder, New York Times

“NCAA had enough of NC inaction on HB2,” Luke DeCock, Charlotte Observer

Related:

“North Carolina’s HB2 Is Not Just a ‘Bathroom Bill,'” NotionsCapital

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New Olympic Sport

Let’s face it, not every sport in the Olympics has the excitement of race walking or horse dancing. There’s definitely room for something new at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Here it is:

The Boy Who Learned to Fly

The Boy Who Learned to Fly, an animated film based on the life of Usain Bolt. Directed by Limbert Fabian and Jacob Wyatt for Moonbot Studios and Gatorade.

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