Sports News Portal

There have been a lot of sports figures in the news recently as a result of drugs. Most recently, Alex Rodriguez has been accused of steroid use. This was a major story as he appeared to be one of only a handful of “clean” baseball heroes of recent times. Just prior to the Rodriguez scandal was the Phelps scandal. If you are one of the three people in the country that haven’t heard, he had been photographed smoking marijuana from a bong. And drugs and sports grabbing headlines doesn’t stop there, as recent articles on Fox Sports have discussed steroid use among the 70′s Steelers, and the recent arrest of Corie Blount, a former NBA player, who was allegedly caught with 29 pounds of marijuana. There was also the arrest of Jacksonville Jaguar former first round pick Matt Jones for cocaine possession early in last year’s football season.

An interesting article I read on the Phelps scandal was by sometimes controversial sports writer Jason Whitlock. In the article he challenges what some saw as a racial double standard, and even briefly discusses some of the issues with this country’s war on drugs. His article is related to some of the material I use in the course I teach on “The Psychology of Drugs and Drug Abuse.” I show highlights of a documentary called “American Drug War: The Last White Hope.” This film does a good job (although biased at times) of showing the dark side of this war on drugs.

As an example of America’s misperception of the drug problem, were you aware that tobacco kills more people than all other drugs combined, including alcohol? According to Hart, Ksir, and Ray, smoking is responsible for about 440,000 premature deaths per year. In comparison, alcohol is responsible for at least 20,000 accidental deaths per year, and up to 75,000 in this country when you combine accidental deaths (car accidents, boating accidents, falls, etc.) and deaths from the ill affects on the body (cirrhosis, heart disease, etc.). And these numbers far surpass the deaths from illegal drugs (10-20,000 per year). In fact, illegal drugs kill less Americans then the misuse of prescription drugs. (I had difficulty getting accurate data on prescription drug deaths as a result of misuse, but most articles and sources make it clear that prescription drug misuse causes more deaths per year than illegal drugs).

According to the documentary I mentioned earlier, some of the contributors to the war on drugs are the companies from the tobacco and alcohol industries. Additionally, this documentary uses interviews with former government officials to substantiate the claim that the war on drugs has been a colossal failure. Street drugs today are more plentiful, more pure, and cheaper. So what has the war on drugs accomplished? According to statistics, it has resulted in approximately 50% of the incarcerated population being jailed for non-violent drug crimes.

The point is that there are some real misconceptions about the substance abuse problem in this country. Perhaps we are paying attention to the wrong things. Rather than paying attention to cuts in funding for substance abuse rehabilitation, or to the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, we seem much more concerned with our appointed heroes gaining an advantage in a sport they get paid huge amounts of money to play. Or in someone we have chosen to put on a pedestal, (a 23y/o at that) for letting us down by using marijuana at a college party. We are worried about street drugs, including marijuana, when prescription drug abuse is causing far more damage. And we wouldn’t think of making tobacco or alcohol illegal, despite the fact it causes far more health and welfare problems than illegal substances.

Don’t we contribute to the sports worship issue? Don’t we make sports figures heroes and role-models, perhaps even more so than more worthy role-models? Don’t we make sports the business it is today, by buying the jerseys, paying the ticket prices, watching the games on television, and making sports the market that it is? Aren’t we quick to dethrone someone who makes a mistake, as if perfection is the only standard we’ll accept?

I am not pro-drugs. I am not sure if I am pro legalization; I would have to give the issue more thought, and I’m not even sure I’m qualified to voice an opinion. But I am certain we are looking in the wrong directions when we look at drugs in this country. I am hoping it is time for a change: a change which finds all individuals seeking self actualization without the need for a substance; a time where compassion rules, rather than self-righteous indignation. I don’t believe many of us are going to get self actualized or become enlightened watching sports on television. But it is a nice distraction sometimes. How about that Superbowl?

Not long ago a retired news anchor reminded me that the news is just what it is and nothing more, it is a pretend world of carefully chosen events making up a created reality, one which straddles between the status quo of perceived realities and current trends that are or interest or ironic in nature. But what is news really? And why do we put news personalities at the top of our celebrity lists?

The reason I ask is I met this gentleman in the Jacksonville Beach area, if you are familiar with the area, I was in Ponte Vedra Beach Country Club. The older gentleman was an older National TV Anchor Man, one I did not recognize, he was very surprised I did not recognize him or his name. We both decided it was because it was before my time. He was apparently quite famous in the 60s and 70s and said that my parents would surely know his name and told me to ask them.

Now we find a dear friend to many and TV Anchor man has died named; Tim Russert. It seems we have elevated his status in our minds because he is familiar and on our TV Sets always interviewing famous people. Many say he as a great reporter, but why do we see greatness this way. I mean there are several “Great Accountants” but they never get the same notoriety or fame? Why is that? Because they are not on TV talking to the rich and famous?

Do we assume that those who are reporters, TV Anchors or news celebrities to be better than all of us? Because if we were in the same profession who is to say we might not have done a better job or had better observation skills. Tim Russet appears to be a genuine nice guy from all the reports on TV about him after his very young and tragic death, but think how many other people died that week in the US and we didn’t even hear about them, while Tim Russert had countless hours of coverage for more than a week.

When you think of the month of February, there’s probably not much good that you associate with it. After all, the weather is cold, the sun goes down early, and there’s not too much to enjoy as the time passes.

While you may not be looking forward to the second month of the year, you should also keep a few things in mind that give you something to look forward to. The month isn’t as bad as people make it out to be.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of this month, as you might even be inspired by some of them. They’ll help to pass the time, and the month will fly by and be done with before you had a chance to think about it.

There are a few holidays during the course of the month, and holidays always help to make things interesting. While Groundhog’s Day, the first one to hit during February, isn’t too interesting, anyone who hates winter will appreciate it since it truly marks the impending arrival of spring.

If you’re a sentimental person, you’re probably already thinking about next Valentine’s Day. Still, anyone with someone special in their life should enjoy themselves this year, as the holiday falls on a Sunday. Perhaps a weekend getaway would make things interesting.

Later in the month, you may be fortunate enough to enjoy the day off for President’s Day. Depending on your job, you may get a weekday off, and hopefully you’ll make the most of this. Students at schools will certainly enjoy the week off that many of them give during the course of this month. If you’re in college, your spring break may even occur near the end of the month, as a warm destination could certainly await you.

I’ve focused on holidays so far, but there’s a lot more to be excited about too, especially if you’re into sports. As you may well know, the Olympics will take place during the month of February, and the coverage of the events should make this once every four years occasion really special.

If you’re a basketball fan, you’ll have the NBA All-Star weekend to look forward to during the second half of the month. Not only will you get to see the best players in the sport going head to head, but the slam dunk and three point contests should make things even more enjoyable.

According to the opposition, Spain under Zapatero will fall apart. I wonder whether it will ever go that far. What surprises me as a foreigner in Spain is the national pride broadcasted in the Spanish media.

This is most visible in Sports. Not so much during the Eurocup but in general, sports is shown on television (mainly) when Spain is involved. We get to see tennis matches (when Nadal or Ferrer are playing), Formula one (Alonso), the NBA of the US (when the Lakers are involved, or more in specific when Gasol is playing), etc, etc, etc. The presented sports news has always a Spanish component.

This is in line with the viewers point; for example in football, in Spain people watch the Eurocup in general when Spain is playing and much less when other national teams are broadcasted.

A newspaper like El Pais has reformed its structure recently and much of the change was to alter this image of a national newspaper, dedicated to report Spanish news with some global extras here and there. Now the global news is much more prominent.

But not all newspapers have followed this initiative. In many cases, when reading foreign stories, I wonder why the story was selected and very often the trigger was a Spanish involvement. Like for example in Mozambique:

- A Spanish nun is examining the trade of organs in Mozambique (Elmundo). Or, more recently a story in the newspaper ABC reports about malaria in Mozambique. In the end, having read the story it is not so much about the malaria problem in Africa or more specific in Mozambique, but about a Spanish investigator who is close to having found a vaccine against this disease. Indeed Spain has contributed much in the battle against malaria (one reads), but for the accidental foreign resident there are too many of such biased stories.

And then the question is “what is Spain” and how about the quest for independence of its communities? Because in many of those stories the Spanish involvement is reduced to a specific region. In the case of malaria in Mozambique the involvement came from someone of Barcelona, Catalunya…

In other cases the involvement is from someone from Mallorca, from Asturias, Andalucia or the Basque Country. And so far, that is all Spain (at least, perceived by the outside world).

H.J.B.

Breaking 1992 down into the biggest political, sports and entertainment news; here’s what happened…

The queen had both an expensive and an embarrassing year; early on announcing that she would bow to public pressure and pay income tax (the first time a British monarch had done so for over 50 years) and, at the end of the year, having her Christmas speech leaked to and published in ‘The Sun’ ahead of the big day. It was also a bad year for Manchester after the IRA exploded two bombs in centre of the city; injuring 64 people and causing millions of pounds of damage.

Politically, the government, led by John Major, made themselves unpopular on two fronts, by firstly signing Britain up to the ‘Treaty on European Union’ (many saw this as a loss of Britain’s identity); then secondly announcing it’s plans to close a third of Britain’s deep coal mines, with the loss of 31,000 jobs.

In terms of sport, 1992 saw Barcelona hosting the Olympic Games; it being the first time in 20 years that every country had been present (with no boycotts or bans in places). Linford Christie was the star of the event by becoming the oldest ever Olympic 100m champion (at 32 years old!). The year also saw ‘The Football Association’ launch the new ‘Premier League’, no-one at the time quite realising the revolutionary effect that it would have on the game.

Entertainment wise, the quirky, fast paced breakfast TV programme ‘The Big Breakfast’ made its debut. There was plenty of chaos and disorder on the show; Chris Evans being the one to lead the fun, games and competitions. The BBC were far, far less successful with their attempt at entertaining the public with ‘Eldorado’. Focusing on a community of ex-pats living in a Spanish fishing village, it was slated for its wooden actors and uninspiring storylines (later to be axed after just one year).

The big movies of the year were ‘Wayne’s World’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’. The first being about Wayne and Garth’s battling it out with a hot-shot TV producer to save their own low-budget TV show (and also win the heart of the lovely Cassandra!). The second being Quentin Tarantino’s story of a botched robbery and the hunting out of the ‘rat’ (was it Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Pink, Mr. Brown or Mr. Blue?).

Here are the biggest news, sport and entertainment stories of 1997…

Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris having apparently being pursued at high speed by photographers on motorbikes. It was thought that the driver of her car was drunk at the time but that was disputed by many; some believing that the whole event was a conspiracy plot involving MI5 and the Royal Family. Whatever the true cause of her death; the UK united in paying tribute to her and, after an unprecedented week of mourning, millions watched her funeral on TV.

Also causing much debate was the announcement of the birth of the world’s first successfully cloned mammal. Scientists in Scotland were responsible for the birth of Dolly the sheep and media around the world heralded it as one the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the decade. For some though, it raised moral dilemmas amid fears that the technique could be used to clone humans; church and animal rights groups stirring up most of the ethical controversy.

Politically, the Conservative Party finally fell after 18 years in power following a landslide general election victory by the Labour Party; Tony Blair becoming the youngest British prime minister of the century at 43.

One of the first changes the new government made was to ‘stub’ out tobacco sponsorship in the sports world; resulting in snooker, darts and cricket losing out on substantial amounts of advertising money. Formula One racing looked like being the biggest casualty but, a week after implementing the ban, Tony Blair specifically exempted that one sport from the new law (Anything to do with the ?1 million Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone had donated to the Labour Party before the general election?).

Elsewhere in sport, a lone yachtsman, Tony Bullimore, miraculously survived for five days at sea after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean. He sheltered in the upturned hull of his yacht and survived on chocolate and water until he was randomly spotted by a passing Australian navy ship.

Entertainment wise, 1997 belonged to the Teletubbies; Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po saying “eh-oh” to the nation for the first time. Made for toddlers, the show soon became cult viewing for children, students and adults alike; people finding much amusement in multi-coloured aliens running around in a dome. Such was its success that is also produced a chart topping single!

The cinemas saw another homegrown film take centre stage; low budget ‘The Full Monty’ being the big box office hit. The story told of a group of ex-steelworkers from Sheffield who transformed themselves into strippers in order to make money during hard times. It was equally popular on both sides of the Atlantic and was nominated for four Oscars.