HOME ABOUT US CONTACT US SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE SITE MAP
|
|
HOME ABOUT US CONTACT US SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE SITE MAP |
|
|
 |
|
Friday TIME: US | UK WEATHER: US | UK HOME THE NEIGHBORHOOD "Life in the UK" American Groups Essential Contacts Money Education Driving WHAT'S ON US Group Events Diary Dates Music Live FEATURES Politics blog SPORTS Features Sideline blog NFL Draft THE AMERICAN MAGAZINE ONLINE |
SIDELINE ARCHIVE Unnecessary Hits To The Pocket / Upset: BYU October 17, 2008 Romo's Pause / Seattle Seahawks October 15, 2008 Weekend Prep: Red River and More October 10, 2008 College Football's 'Crossroads' Weekend October 9, 2008 Gramatical Error October 7, 2008 Turning The Page September 30, 2008 So Cal 'Quizzed — But Who Will Answer? September 26, 2008 3rd Tuesday Panic Button / Forté Yard Dash September 23, 2008 Two and Oh; Oh and Two September 22, 2008 No More NCAAffeine September 11, 2008 Week 1 College Football September 6, 2008 How To Spell Heisman / Chad Ocho Cinco September 1, 2008 Why the Favre story STILL won't go away August 18, 2008 Olympic Notes / Ricky's Still Relevant August 14, 2008 Committee Meetings August 9, 2008 Let the QB Battles Begin August 8, 2008 Slinging The Slinger — More Favre August 6, 2008 Welcome to the 2008 season July 28, 2008 Plus One May 27, 2008 Draft: The Morning After April 28, 2008 Draft: Thinking the Unthinkable April 25, 2008 Draft: Ready For The Long Haul April 23, 2008 Sofa–bound Sport April 16, 2008 Post–Winter Wonderland April 11, 2008 Six Impossible Things February 4, 2008 Brady's Misdirection Play February 3, 2008 Colorful Language January 23, 2008 Let the Romo–bashing begin: Dallas lost January 14, 2008 Bowl Bites: The Wrap January 10, 2008 All About The Coaches January 1, 2008 Bowl Bites 3 and A Communication Breakdown December 29, 2007 Bowl Bites 2 December 27, 2007 Bowl Bites 1 December 23, 2007 The Empty Chair - Coach Situations Vacant December 22, 2007 For Some, The Playoffs Are Now December 15, 2007 A Certain Lack Of Welcome December 13, 2007 Unrelated Notes November 29, 2007 Two Thanksgiving thoughts November 22, 2007 Halftime: NFC November 9, 2007 Halftime: AFC November 8, 2007 London, Part 2 / A Tale of Two Chads / A Game of Intimidation November 4, 2007 Damp Squib / Other London Notes October 29, 2007 Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em / Dolphins – The Aftermath October 23, 2007 The Dolphins Did What? October 18, 2007 Notes on the Defenses October 13, 2007 Habits to be Broken October 12, 2007 Overtime October 13, 2007 This Week's Starters October 6, 2007: USF: Covering The Spread / Fantastic Football September 27, 2007: Grossman: The Final Act? / McNabb, the Epilogue September 24, 2007: Eagles QB in Slight Controversy September 21, 2007: Leftwich's Parting Gift to Jacksonville? / Boos cruise September 18, 2007: Notre Dame M.I.A. September 16, 2007: Looking Beyond NFL Wk. 1 September 12, 2007: Best Hope For Heisman September 10, 2007: Coaching Hot Seats / AP Poll Feeling ’Appy September 7, 2007: The NFL’s Prime Cuts September 5, 2007: Michigan Falls to Killer Apps September 3, 2007: Look Out Couch / The Taint's On You, Bud September 1, 2007: |
|
SPORTS SIDELINE 
Observations, Opinion & Occasional Silliness by Richard L Gale Writer, Plus One Peter King of Sports Illustrated regularly finishes his Monday Morning QB column with a 'non–football thoughts of the week' section, sometimes including entries on his daughter's softball exploits. I've tried to avoid a similar gathering of flotsam and jetsam in Sideline, but with the birth of a daughter coinciding with the arduous football void between the draft and preseason, King–style non–football thoughts are an inevitability, even if a sporting ramble suits me better than a numbered list... I think I finally see the point of baseball. Now, I realize that sentence would be semi–sacrilegious from the mouth or fingertips of a true American, but as a 'citizen of the world' — and a football nut to boot — I've never been able to dedicate myself to 5am bedtimes year–round. I chose a sport that has a season lasting very nearly a season. I never fell in love with the relentlessness of soccer seasons, and pretty much the same goes for baseball. But baby Natasha in arms, baseball is finally finding its place in my life as 3am viewing, as we vacate the upper deck of the house to let Mrs Football catch some sleep. With baseball, it hardly matters that I have the 150–decibel wail of a newborn in one ear, or that when she is settled, I'm only half awake. The bar at the top of the scream — sorry, screen — is as much as I need to know, without the critical minutiae of football's subplots. Ah yes, this is baseball. Perfect for lazy days and sleepless nights. The low hum of Summer rather than the caffeine buzz of the Fall. Of course, I'm supposed to feel something similar for cricket, but Oh I'm sorry. I must have dozed off. That's pretty much been my experience of cricket all my life, though it felt a little different back in my English public school days with that small red rock being thrown at my head. If you've never played cricket (and I suspect a few of you haven't) don't imagine that there's any bounce in that leather projectile they use — the only reason it flies up at the batsman after contact with the earth is because the Earth itself momentarily bounced off it. A baseball bruise is pretty mild by comparison to the carnage a cricket ball can cause, let me assure you. Yet, despite the threat of broken bones and lost teeth, it still manages to be, for many people, one of the dullest games on the planet. The growing popularity of 20twenty cricket may change all that, now that cricket has realized that a 3–hour format may fit TV schedules slightly better than a 5–day endurance test. It seems like madness to say it now, but there could come a day when cricket rivals soccer as the world sport, stretching beyond its colonial past. But I'd still rather watch lacrosse than baseball or cricket. I have a tremendous affection for lacrosse, the American sport that pre–dates America. Any sport that can be invented by Native Americans, renamed by French Canadians and end up being played on the fields of posh girl's schools in England is an admirable survivor. It is also expanding in popularity in US colleges, with 44 states represented in a competition that was once contained to the Iroquois–influenced states and territories of North America. This past week, NASN offered the annual glimpse of NCAA lacrosse as Syracuse beat Johns Hopkins 13–10 to become the all–time leader in championships with 10. As usual, I marveled at the passing skill, at the accuracy of the shots. Johns Hopkins' Paul Rabil strikes me as a talent as big in his own sport as Sidney Crosby is for ice hockey, with six goals and an assist in a final played before almost 50,000 at Foxboro. He's the kind of player who can draw viewers with him to Major League Lacrosse, taking his sport to the next level, the way Red Grange did for football. He's that good. Happily, it looks like we'll be able to take that journey with him: NASN is carrying ESPN's Major League Lacrosse coverage this year. This is exciting, this is skilled, this is full–contact. This is... considered a girl's game here in the UK? I hope you're paying attention, baby Natasha. |
  |