According to a study from researchers at the Boston University CTE Center, each year a person endures repetitive head collisions from playing football the risk of developing degenerative brain disease increases by 30 per cent. In addition, for every 2.6 years of play, the risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) doubles. This study quantifies…
Athletes can find opportunities amid the challenge of cancelled sporting events, say U of A master's student and sport psychology researcher
From the Olympics to rec leagues, in 2020 sporting events all over the world were cancelled due to COVID-19. But as athletes move on from the cancellations, many are seeking out the opportunities in the unprecedented. Lack of competition changed the way ultramarathoner Sara Szabo approached her sport this year. She transitioned from competing against…
Despite what Vince Lombardi said, if winning’s the only thing in sports, you’re going to be miserable a lot of the time
From time to time while flipping through a magazine or surfing the Internet, you’ll run across a list of Best Sports Quotes. These lists can be somewhat entertaining, as the quotes run the gamut from inspiring to funny. While glancing at one of these lists recently, I saw the Vince Lombardi quote that always seems…
This athlete-led movement needs a face – or two. Ideally, we have one Black sports figure and one white sports figure taking the lead
I was driving home recently and listening to a talk show about the social unrest in my country, the United States. The host was white and the guest was Black. After a couple minutes of discussion, the guest asked the host a powerful question. “Have you ever woken in the morning and started to worry…
This is a nice little car that’s fun to drive, nimble and nice looking
The phrase, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” can apply in spades to automobiles. We could also toss in “leave well enough alone” or “don’t mess with success.” Car makers have an annoying habit of taking a perfectly good model and altering or ‘refining’ it just because … well, just because. But with the…
The boxer was a prime example of the ascension of celebrity, perhaps rivalled only by baseball’s Babe Ruth
The case can be made that the Roaring ’20s actually began 100 years ago this month. On July 4, 1919, Jack Dempsey won the world heavyweight boxing title from Jess Willard in Toledo, Ohio. Waged in a purpose-built outdoor arena with an ambient ringside temperature of around 100F (37C), the fight is considered one of…
They may well be, but the game certainly isn't as compelling or entertaining as it once was
It’s a perennial baseball topic: Were the players from the past better or worse than today’s? It’s a fun topic, often debated in offices, in sports bars and on radio talk shows – especially come World Series time. There are points to be made on both sides of the question. We asked our followers for…
Sports are an ongoing battle between ego and soul. If you choose soul, both sides can succeed, no matter what the scoreboard says
Win-at-all-costs (WAAC) ethos greatly damage sports, which at their best are a great socio-cultural practice. The WAAC mentality sees sport as a metaphor for war, in which opponents are evil and must be conquered. It’s a mindset that sees only one thing of value in athletic competition: winning. Football coach Vince Lombardi was quoted as…
If you decide to indulge your boy/girl racer fantasies and want to fling this $150,000-plus baby around a track, it’s ready when you are
There’s one word for Mercedes’ AMG GT C: intimidating. But not for the reasons you might think. Certainly it has nosebleed-inducing performance and oh-my-god handling and braking. And yes, it has power in abundance and can dart from a standing start to freeway speed in less than four seconds, not to mention handling tight corners…