"What does she look like?
T.J. Quinn of the NY Daily News sounds off about the status of women, sexual harassment and the business of sports in "Looks Like We Still Have a Long Way to Go"
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T.J. Quinn of the NY Daily News sounds off about the status of women, sexual harassment and the business of sports in "Looks Like We Still Have a Long Way to Go"
Florida Today has a profile on golfer Paula Creamer, which is good, but they still have to throw this line in there "The girl with the cover girl looks ..." There always seems to be this need to throw in a physical description of a woman athletes if she's attractive. Yes, better looking usually means better endorsement deals, etc. But I'm not so sure why it is relevant for these references to be made in every piece. You don't see it with the men. Here is a piece in the NYTimes about Roger Federer who's on the prowl for big endorsement deals, etc. but no mention of how his looks come into play.
The Boston Globe has a good piece on Maine's Bowdoin College women's basketball team and their 62-win streak. Also a great photo slide show with it. My Mom was just telling me the other day how huge basketball, both men's and women's is up in Maine - especially the further north you go in the state (my parents live in the southeast part).
There was a great piece that aired last night on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" about racial incidents against black male soccer players during soccer games throughout Europe. The HBO Website isn't updated yet with info from this particular program - but it was shocking to me to watch video of fans screaming racial taunts and chants (a monkey sound), throwing bananas at black players, etc. Racial comments being made by coaches, etc. In the U.S., the media has reported at times on acts of "hooliganism" - but I've never heard any stories about this hateful enviroment these soccer players play in on a game-to-game basis- in major stadiums around Europe. Plus some of these stadiums have sections that are taken over by ultra-right groups waving their swastica flags, etc. And even more embarassing is that UEFA, which governs the sport in Europe, is barely doing anything to control it.
In the past, I have informally asked for feedback on this blog on how fans feel about the media coverage of women's basketball and received great comments and e-mails from fans with their opinions. Well, now I have put together a confidential survey. I'm writing a paper for a conference I will be attending in February and I'm looking at the role non-media Websites, blogs, and message boards play when it comes to the coverage of women's basketball. I've attached two versions of the same survey - one is an Excel file and one is a Word file. If you are familiar with Excel, this one is a bit easier to maneuver around and fill in the blanks. If you follow either the WNBA or women's college b-ball (or both) and have 10-15 minutes to spare, please complete a survey and e-mail to me at e.matson@neu.edu. If you are in the Boston area (a local call) and would rather print out and fax in, the number is 617-373-8773.
I know it's hard to find 10 minutes in a busy day. Thanks in advance to anyone who participates. If you have any questions or concerns, just send me an e-mail.
If you have a young girl in your household between the ages of 3-6, than you may have encountered princess mania. It hit us months ago and now that my daughter is 3 we are in full princess mode around here. And there is nothing you can do to stop it - it's an unbeatable force (thanks Disney!). Even if you try to keep a princess-free household, you will be infiltrated. So now I step on plastic tiaras strewn around the house and sing "Some Day My Prince Will Come" through gritted teeth. Yes, she does look cute in her tattered dress-up dresses, but I still feel compelled to drag her outside and kick around the soccer ball as often as possible (luckily we've been having freakishly warm weather around here). And the other day we found a children's book in the library the meets the debate half way - "The Princesses Have a Ball" -- a group of her highnesses who secretly play basketball behind the king's back and turn the ballroom into a basketball court, etc.
I would say Michelle Wie ranks up in the number one spot when tallying which female athlete gets the most press these days. A lot of it is generated from her playing in the men's tournaments - so from a PR strategy, her choice to do so is paying off from a press standpoint. Here's a looking into the future piece in Sports Illustrated. Golf Digest says the "honeymoon is just beginning", The Desert Sun says she's having "ups and downs", The Scotsman says she's "not ready to be one of the boys", MSNBA says she "has game, but needs momentum," The Charlotte Sun Herlad tells her to Go for it! And that's just a small sampling.
Ann Meyers-Drysdale, an ESPN analyst and former UCLA basketball star won the United States Sports Academy's Ronald Reagan Media Award - which honors work in sports journalism. Here's a piece from UCLA's Bruins site. She was the first woman to ever try out for an NBA team and the first woman drafted to the now defunct Women's Basketball League. Learning something new everyday - the award is named after Reagan because he was once a radio announcer for Chicago Cubs and U of Iowa football.
The USA Women's hockey game dropped a game against a boy's highschool team in Minnesota - losing 2-1. The ESPN didn't give too much background to this - not sure it this is a one time thing or if there are more female vs. male match-ups in the pipeline.
ESPN and Golf Digest have a brief debate between ESPN.com's Bob Harig and Golf World's Ron Sirak on whether or not Michelle Wie should still try to compete in men's tournaments.
