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First it was Jim Boeheim, Syracuse’s legendary basketball coach. Then, it was Pat Kelsey. Who? Winthrop (S.C.) University’s basketball coach. Most people never heard of him. And most people probably never would have — if it were not for the 26 victims slain Dec. 14 at a grade school in Newtown, Conn.
The right to bare arms (and other body parts, too): Miss USA Olivia Culpo is the new Miss Universe.
After his team’s loss Tuesday at Ohio State, Kelsey concluded his press conference with some remarks about the tragedy and taking steps for a safer America. It’s not surprising for a person to be against the murdering of 26 people — including 20 youngsters — who were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It’s quite another for a coach, whether high-profile or otherwise, to express unsolicited views.
Coaches tend to be conservative. Kelsey even said he did not vote for Barack Obama to be president. But Kelsey, a father of daughters age 4 and 5, realizes the need for steps to ensure safety.
Could more coaches come out and voice similar sentiments? Of course, they could. Perhaps some will. Could college athletic departments take steps to deal with gun violence? Of course, they could. Perhaps some will.
Banning players on a team from possessing guns is a possibility, even if gun-rights advocates might howl. Playing a sport is not an inalienable right (even if it might be in the pursuit of happiness). Codes of conduct are hardly new or uncommon. A coach, an athletic department, a university can say: No guns. Such a policy would not solve all the problems, but it would be a step — one that would make people sit up and notice. A step that could lead to other steps toward a safer society.
It’s worth a shot — the kind that doesn’t come from a deadly weapon.
In the never-ending effort to be a vital source of Chicago Crave coverage (well, it’s unclear how much coverage there will be in the Bikini Basketball Association, but you get the picture), your humble correspondent tuned into “The Purple Girl Show” Wednesday night. The program, hosted by Mz. Que Johnson on blogtalkradio.com, did produce something newsworthy: There will be a second tryout for the first-year team. Building on the success of the first (Dec. 16 at Lifetime Fitness in Orland Park), the second will be held on Jan. 6, 2013, at a site yet to be announced. So said Crave owner/CEO Korie Kellogg, who appeared on the program.
When we find out where the tryouts will be, you’ll find out where they will be. Tryouts are open to females 18 and older. The tryouts will last from noon-3 p.m. If the first tryout is any indication, it will run efficiently with a DJ providing music to help pump up the players and an abundance of happy helpers in Crave T-shirts to help things run smoothly.
Here is some video from the first tryouts (and there are more where these came from):
Loop Rock Girl 2013 Shannon.
In that today is Thursday (provided that you are reading this on Dec. 20 or a subsequent Thursday), it is time once again for the weekly “Sports & Torts” interview session with co-hosts David Spada and Elliott Harris. The highly acclaimed show (certainly in the Spada and Harris households, as well as reportedly elsewhere), which is broadcast at noon Chicago on talkzone.com, has an impressive array of talent for the Dec. 20 edition.
Guest will be 2013 Loop Rock Girl Shannon and Pro Football Hall of Famers Dan Dierdorf and Steve Largent. For those unable to tune in to the live show (or those wanting an encore performance), the program will be available later in the day on podcast for posterity. Which hopefully means for decades to come — unless the Mayans were right about the end of the world being Dec. 21, 2012. In which case, we still will be happy to have had Shannon come in to the studio for an interview.
Isn’t this the spot where we go for video? Indeed. And a friendly reminder that there is very little (if anything) that the editorial staff would consider gratuitous (as if anyone cares about that). OK, off we go to some video:
And, no, we did not forget about the Miss Universe pageant. Miss USA Olivia Culpo won the competition. No word whether Donald Trump, who owns the event, wanted to see her birth certificate. Anyway, a little of the scenery from Las Vegas:
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