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@2wheeltalk
life on two wheels
I'm moving all of my blogging activity to my companion blog, Perpe2ual Spin. I'll be sharing my life on two wheels and other random thoughts I may or may have not have had while cruising around on a bicycle. I hope a few of you enjoy the ride.
Cusco, Peru. Off to hike Machu Picchu via the Salkantay trek tomorrow.
Lima, Peru and a twisting and turning 21 hour bus ride to Cusco. Family across the aisle didn't fare well - both kids vomited for the majority of the 21 hours.
I attended Kansas University as an undergraduate and the University of Michigan for law school. The world - well, a few of my friends - has been asking: who will I be rooting for tomorrow night? Since a picture speaks one thousand words and I’m a lazy typist, I answer with the picture above. Even having been a KU fan since birth, I’ve never before meant these words with the same force as I mean them in lieu of tomorrow’s game: Rock Chalk Jayhawk.
The KU Alumni Association posted this gem of a fun fact: 56 years ago today, Wilt Chamberlain and the Jayhawks took down the UNC Tarheels in a triple OT national championship game (the only 3OT championship game in the history of college basketball). Although today only the Sweet 16 is on the line, it’s a great chance to enjoy the rich history that KU and UNC bring to college basketball, both individually and in the mere 10 (soon to be 11) times they’ve met.
Read the full story posted by the KU Alumni Association here.
Kincade’s, the KU bar in Chicago. Taken at the end of a stressfully precarious 1 v 16 game.
March Madness & "Work Productivity"
An oxymoronic topic for at least some of us. In any case, NPR talked today about what effect our favorite time of the year has on workplace productivity. The 4 minute spot includes an interview from yours truly. Listen to the story here: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/23/175132163/march-madness-good-for-fans-bad-for-business
Tumblr Tourney Blog
Over the next few weeks I'll be posting for Tumblr's group tournament blog. Tumblr has collected one person to blog on behalf of each school in the tournament - naturally I'll be blogging for the Jayhawks. Below is a copy of my first post in the group blog, which you can follow at sports.tumblr.com.
Hello sports world. My name is Lucas. I’m a lawyer by day and Jayhawk fanatic by night. I might not be in Kansas anymore, but I’ll be working hard to bring the Kansas Jayhawks to a computer screen near you – watch out for glare. I’m happy to be representing my alma mater and a basketball team whose genealogy traces directly to the inventor of the game of basketball himself, and KU’s first coach, James Naismith. If you like what you see, or if you just need to kill some time, follow me at hawktalker.tumblr.com.
I am excited about the chance this group blog brings for making the sports community smaller and more personalized. A lot of us watch games that don’t involve our favorite team, and may take pride in knowing what’s happening throughout the college basketball world – not just when it relates to our team. This group blog has the potential to bring that world closer to us by exposing us to fans from across the country. I’ve never met a Florida Gulf Coast or New Mexico State fan, as examples. I’m excited to get a diverse flow of fan perspectives in this blog in the coming weeks. That being said, I’m hoping I’ll be the only remaining blogger when it’s over.
In that spirit, I’d like to share a bit about my team: the Kansas Jayhawks. Formerly used to describe abolitionists, the term “Jayhawk[er]s” today refers to the basketball team with the longest running streak of NCAA tournament appearances (23). After bringing the game of basketball to Kansas (including some tough-spirited games against the Topeka YMCA), and racking up a record making Naismith the only coach in KU history with a losing record, Naismith handed the reins over to Phog Allen in 1907. Over one hundred years and 2,000 wins later, KU basketball now counts among its alumni some of the greatest coaches and players in the history of college basketball. Before becoming hall of fame coaches at Kentucky and North Carolina respectively, Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith donned Kansas uniforms as players. And before scoring 100 in the NBA – and even more outside of it – Wilt Chamberlain was a Jayhawk. Today, Kansas ranks second in all-time wins, behind Kentucky. With five national championships and 56 conference championships, our trophy case is always one trophy too empty.
KU fans camp out for days for every game, know that “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” is a nod to the campus’s perch atop a limestone hill, and are convinced that a “Jayhawk” is a real thing.
In short, we’re basketball crazy. I’m looking forward to sharing my favorite time of the year with you: March Madness. Rock Chalk!
In other news, I think it's time we start imposing a walking tax to make those freeloading walkers pay for the "roads" they use.
What's more confusing: isn't this the same party that denies that greenhouse gases cause global warming? It seems they want to tax their greenhouse gases and have them, too.
Rock Chalk, Adidas - my team glows in the dark, does yours?
SNL taught us that in some cases it’s OK if it’s a three-way. I’m not sure Adidas’ newest “alternative” jerseys are what Justin Timberlake had in mind - or Lady Gaga, for that matter. The new designs, which will debut in the Big 12 tournament, appear to be the product of a frightening sexual encounter involving swim-trunks, a zebra, and a neon highlighter. Explaining that the Jayhawks would sport these new jerseys in the Big 12 tournament, Self said that “sometimes you gotta be a team player.” It appears that our favorite team is quite loyal to a team of its own. Kansas fans, welcome to Team Adidas.
Before obsessing too much over sport fashion, we should probably take a cue from Elijah Johnson’s interview with the Kansas City Star: "They’re jerseys at the end of the day," Johnson said. "You can’t go out there with no clothes on. That’s all that really is. When coach say ‘put them on and go play’, we’re gonna put them on and go play.”
In the end, though, that isn’t entirely satisfactory. Shoe companies already exert incredible influence over youth sports through various channels, including AAU and “all-star game” sponsorships. Examples of the insidious impact of shoe manufacturer’s involvement in youth sports abound (see, as an example, “Sole Influence” by Dan Wetzel and Don Yaeger). When exactly does college – and youth – sports stop existing for the athletes and fans and start existing exclusively at the whim of shoe contracts? The answer probably isn’t when our team has to wear ugly jerseys, but Bill Self urging us to be “team players” is a good chance to reflect on the impact that the business of athletics has on kids not as lucky as Elijah Johnson and other players who are able to use basketball to get a free education and professional prospects.
In this case, our only hope seems to be that the sequestration (or the White House itself?) somehow affects the roll-out of these neon-zebra-trunks. Or that Gus Johnson finds his way to a microphone to offer some live commentary on Adidas’ odd new creation.
Bringing sports out of the closet... to the Supreme Court.
You may already be familiar with the open letter that Chris Kluwe, the Vikings' punter, wrote to Emmett Burns, Jr., the Maryland state representative who urged the Baltimore Raven’s owner to “inhibit” his players from expressing support of gay marriage. For Burns, sports exist strictly for “pride, entertainment and excitement,” with apparently no room for “pride” when it comes to gay people – or Oxford commas. I suggest Delegate Burns visit a pride parade before drafting his next homophobic letter about pride, entertainment, and excitement.
The battle for equality of marriage rights continues in the Supreme Court, and Chris Kluwe has again thrown himself into the fray. In his amicus brief, Kluwe makes a compelling case for the role athletes play as role-models in America and how athletes can affect how youth, and fans, treat their gay and lesbian neighbors or teammates. Kluwe's brief compared the struggle for LGBTQ rights and tolerance to the civil rights movement, drawing on examples like Jackie Robinson. He argued that Robinson helped “trigger a revolution that altered the sociopolitical landscape in America” in the civil rights movement, and that sports could – and should – play a similar role in opening the way for gay and lesbian people to be full, equal, and open participants both in sports and society as a whole. As fans, we should feel a responsibility to join that movement. We owe it to the players, our fellow gay and lesbian sports fans, and our children - who will ultimately shape the future locker-rooms in America.
Although this story is just one indicator that sports – and America – still has a long way to go with regard to race, it is time that American athletes and sports fans took on their part of the fight for gay rights in marriage, on the field, and beyond.
As an added bonus, Kluwe’s amicus brief isn’t a bad read, either.
UPDATE: PSU "upset" over Wolverines confirms B1G weaknesses
After losing 18 straight B1G conference games, Penn State "stunned" Michigan last night. This author was not stunned. Last night's game was delicious confirmation of what I wrote yesterday: "Overall, the B1G is packed full of slightly above mediocre teams who all play roughly on the same level. Because they play each other closely, it is easy to over-appreciate the “talent” the conference has to offer. This self-referentiality happens every year (see the Big East practically every other year), but it is particularly bad this year in the B1G, where the media has effectively decided that losses are not real losses in the B1G. There is almost no way to lose respect among the media when the popular opinion is that the team that beat you, even if they aren’t ranked, is probably a legitimate national title contender."
It's unclear how many wake-up calls the national sports media requires before they stop calling this the "season of upsets" and start questioning the quality of Big 10 competition itself.
The Big 10 is overrated and it’s time we all recognized it.
But what about your favorite team amongst these [academic?] powerhouses? Glad you ask. Let’s take a Sherman’s March through Big 10 hoops.
Indiana: Last night’s upset at the hands of Minnesota exposed Indiana’s lack of anything resembling a frontcourt. If you’re an 8 seed with anyone over 6’9”, you have a good chance to take down Indiana. Yes, that means the Baylor women and Brittney Griner could give them a run. That being said, last night’s game shouldn’t be blown out of proportion, as Indiana remains a credibly dangerous team, but they will likely find it difficult to progress far into the tournament with Zeller holding down the paint.
Michigan: This is essentially a power conference team that plays like a mid-major: chuck that three-ball. If you have an impressive enough attention span that you are able to watch Michigan games in their entirety, you have likely witnessed that unless Michigan is knocking down their threes, their “hold the ball, stand still, and chuck a three” offensive scheme doesn’t take them far. Without Burke, Michigan would be garnering as much attention nationally as they did from their own student section in years past (cue footage of an empty Crisler Arena). And although a talented scoring and passing threat, Burke also falls victim to Beilein’s offensive three-ball paralysis. This is especially evident in last possession situations in which Michigan has repeatedly settled for off-balance and/or guarded three-point attempts, regardless of the score. Michigan has talent, but is ripe for a tournament upset when their offense falters behind the arc.
Michigan State: Unlike most of the B1G, MSU is more dangerous in the tournament than in the rankings. One reason for this is that also unlike the rest of the Big 10, MSU plays a balanced offense with both inside and outside threats, while maintaining a defensive emphasis. As usual MSU’s inside game includes a B1G classic: the undersized, over-proportioned, ground-dwelling center in Derrick Nix. MSU’s balanced offense, which doesn’t rely too heavily on one player’s performance, helps make the Spartans the B1G’s most viable tournament contender. Expect to see them in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8.
Ohio State: Addressing the Buckeyes hardly seems necessary, especially from a Kansas fan’s perspective. Over just the past calendar year KU has made clear what position OSU holds in college basketball (Alec Baldwin knows who's on top). This top-bottom dynamic is complemented by a lonely 1960 national championship banner draped from OSU’s spacious rafters, memorializing a brief flicker of dominance. 1960: Nearly a decade before we stepped onto the moon and a half century before mobile phone technology enabled Greg Oden to sext the world a picture of his junk. Nonetheless, I feel obliged to note that Craft can’t score (until a rule change awards points for falling over), OSU still has no inside game (“still” because they didn’t with Sullinger either), and Thomas (their only viable scoring threat) is a glorified spot-up shooter. It is doubtful that you’ll be looking at a Buckeye jersey very late into March. That is, unless you’re a tattoo artist willing to barter.
Wisconsin: If you like Michigan’s offensive scheme, you must love Wisconsin’s. The difference: Wisconsin is somehow even worse at shooting, but also plays something that resembles defense, which is a marked improvement over Michigan. Still, it’s difficult to take Wisconsin seriously as a contender despite their relative dominance of the B1G. Yes, Bo Ryan finds a way to slow the game down and take talent out of the equation most nights. That’s why he’s able to populate the team with players who might have been that awkward, uncoordinated kid in PE class handball just a few years before and still consistently succeed in the conference. But in the NCAA tournament, everybody collectively decides to play defense, and Wisconsin’s fragile ability to even put up 45 points a night is suddenly in jeopardy. Don’t believe me? Consider that Wisconsin has been in the top ten in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings going into the NCAA tournament five out of the last six years. Not once have they advanced past the Sweet 16. Just last year practically the same team (minus Jordan Taylor—the one legitimate player of the year candidate Wisconsin has had in recent years) lost to the underachieving mediocrity that is Syracuse. Wisconsin’s one hope of going past the Sweet 16 this year is if Mike Bruesewitz somehow out-charismas the other teams they play and if, somehow, charisma can decide a game. That, in all of its sadness, is their most potent offense.
I’ll do the rest of the B1G a favor and kindly skip over their even more glaring deficiencies.
Overall, the B1G is packed full of slightly above mediocre teams who all play roughly on the same level. Because they play each other closely, it is easy to over-appreciate the “talent” the conference has to offer. This self-referentiality happens every year (see the Big East practically every other year), but it is particularly bad this year in the B1G, where the media has effectively decided that losses are not real losses in the B1G. There is almost no way to lose respect among the media when the popular opinion is that the team that beat you, even if they aren’t ranked, is probably a legitimate national title contender. After all, some may react to last night’s upset of Indiana as proof that Minnesota is now a team to watch. Likewise, they’ll chalk up Indiana’s loss as just a hazard of playing in the “best conference in America” rather than as a symptom of a defensively challenged team that has not been tested with something on the line all year. Don’t let yourself be fooled. Come tournament time, like in most years, Big 10 fans will likely be served up B1G disappointments.
Photo via Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
This is a picture of Elijah Johnson dunking. If you could dunk, would you? A lot of fuss has been made about EJ's end-of-the-game dunk against Iowa State. While I do enjoy sitting on my couch and stuffing my face full of simple carbs while I critique my favorite athletic-as-hell 19-21 year old's decisions on a basketball court, EJ's "unsportsmanlike" dunk is being blown out of proportion. For those of you who can't dunk, like me, I think it's time to STFU and enjoy the show. And for those who can, would you forgo the opportunity to stuff a big one on a conference opponent at the end of an OT game in which you torched the nets? Especially given the amount of criticism your fickle "fans" have thrown your way this year? Let's call this one a picture of EJ posterizing whiny KU fans. Photo via Reese Strickland, USA Today Sports
