Keeping Score

Kuronya vs. USA Boxing and more

Something must be in the water over at the Boston Globe - because today they had a variety of  coverage of women's sports. The first was a cover story on Lisa Kuronya, who lives in Maine and won the 2006 USA Boxing Women's National Championship and the 2006 National Golden Gloves Championship. She is suing the US Amateur Boxing for gender discrimination and civil rights violations.

There is also a profile on Kristine Lilly, U.S. Women's Soccer veteran - the story also touches on the future of women's professional soccer.

And most of the pre-marathon coverage section was devoted to women runners - from the past to today's contenders. The print edition ran that great 1967 photo of Kathrine Switzer being tackled by two race officials (women weren't allowed to run then, and she entered with just her intials, they discovered her around mile 4).

And speaking of marathon - I sent all my best wishes to you folks running - it's going to be  a doozy with that wind!

"Best female fighter in the world"

ESPN boxing announcer Joe Tessitore profiles fighter Ann Wolfe.

Amateur boxers in India

We're discussing digital photography in my online journalism this class and while preparing for class - I came across this photo gallery of amateur women boxers in India. The pics were submitted for the World Press Photo awards.

Women boxers

PittsburghLive.com has an article from the local Leader Times - Boxing Gains Popularity with Local Women

Also, pro boxer Ann Wolfe is scheduled to fight Bo Skipper in Las Vegas on October 15th. She was suppose to fight another male fighter in August but that event was canceled. This woman vs. man fight is generating a lot of debate - the general consensus seems to be so far is that women vs. men in golf in one thing, but boxing is violent and another thing all together. Here are some recent articles ...

"Boxing hits new low with coed circus" - Associated Press piece appearting on TheState.com (South Carolina)

"Ann Wolfe 'This is not a circus act for me'" - Doghouse Boxing (Canada) - Q&A interview with Wolfe

Teens and professional sports

Fifteen-year-old Michelle Wie's pursuit for PGA play has put the spotlight on super teen athletes, particularly female ones - raising questions such as: Is it too much too soon? Can they handle the pressure? Should they even be in the professional arena? How much will this hurt college teams -- an issue in recent years in men's basketball. Here's some recent opinion pieces by sports writers on the subject ...

"Teens buoyed by recent strong play" - on EPSN's Website, Golf World magazine's Ron Sirak looks at the teen women golfers - compares to women's tennis when the Williams sisters arrived on the scene.

"Wie doesn't need to be in a rush" - Jon Saraceno of USAToday focuses on Wie's accomplishments, noting that it's not a matter of "if" but "when" with her, but also questioning why the rush when she is so young?

"Phenoms or Not, Kids Should Be Kids  --  Most of the Time" The Washington Post's Sally Jenkins says that the question is not whether someone like Wie should be in a men's tournament (she's proved she can), but whether kids should be in pro competitions.

The LATimes is running a five-part series on a 10-year-old girl, Seniesa, who dreams of being a professional boxer. Only Part I and Part II have run so far.

Should she fight a man?

In today's Boston Globe, Ron Borges discusses the Mississippi Athletic Commission's decision to let boxer Ann Wolfe to fight relatively unknown fighter James Johnson in a column titled "In all fairness, pick another fight."  I have conflicted feelings about this one. Borges is very fair to Wolfe in his piece - doesn't blame her for wanting this fight - it means money and as Selena Roberts of the NYTimes wrote two weeks ago -- there's more money and media exposure for women athletes when they take on their male counterparts, unfortunately.

Borges blames the Commission for allowing the fight. Borges is one of the top boxing writers and he knows Wolfe's solid career. He raises a lot of good points. If you read the column, the reasons Wolfe wants to fight are sad and reflected of the situation for some women athletes who are trying to make a living from their sport. On the other hand, why can't a woman and a man slug it out in a boxing match? We're seeing women play men in golf, compete against men in car racing, etc. Is it because boxing is so raw and so violent, that this match-up somehow this crosses the line? I've been mulling this one in my head all day long.  I don't know what the answer is, but I will closely be watching to see how the media plays this one.