Courtside Post

American tennis fans are fighting mad that the United States best hope for a U.S. Open title bowed out of the tournament, and a couple of them came to blows last night in Flushing. Ok, perhaps it is not lingering bitterness over the exit of Andy Roddick, but last night’s rumble in Flushing has become [...]

Clips of the late George Steinbrenner on Seinfeld and Larry David’s famous impression.

Post your best photoshop job of Lebron in a number 6 Heat jersey…

According to a tweet by the co-author of the upcoming ESPN “The Book”, Erin Andrews will be staying with the network. James Andrew Miller tweeted:
“Erin Andrews will be staying at ESPN, and no, I didn’t get it from the network.”
ESPN has responded saying that nothing is official, but it seems that a deal is close [...]

by Raphael Perahia

A wave is currently taking place throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Football fever has taken its grip. So, why road-trip across the United States for the duration of the World Cup?

by CSP Guest Writer Richard Cato

As early as next year we may see an increase to 96 teams in the annual March tournament. Rather than an expansion of conference representation, it is estimated that the NCAA-owned NIT tournament will be shut down and the selection process currently in use expanded.

by CSP Guest Writer Yael I. Friedman

A recent study, showing the growing disparity in graduation rates between white and black college basketball players, casts the perennial March spotlight on the tensions underlying college basketball. Likewise, each March brings out a chorus of leading educators and civil rights activists calling for measures to compel colleges to do a better job of looking after their athletes’ academic well-being. Yet what role should academics play in the development of a basketball player with a probable career in the NBA? Should the focus remain on stressing academic accountability or rather acknowledging the shift away from the NCAA as a farm system for the NBA and focusing instead on structuring the development of players in a non-academic context?

By Carson Tigges

If you heard a lock turn and a key jingle at the bottom of a trashcan Friday, it was the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers locked up their superstar Kobe Bryant with a three-year contract worth a reported $90 million that will keep him in purple and gold through the 2013-14 season. Coincidentally, Bryant’s running mates Pao Gasol and Ron Artest are signed through the same season while the team holds options for Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum for the 2012-13.

Check out this video of Erin Andrews doing the foxtrot with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, whom she has denied having a romantic relationship with. So far, the couple has earned a score of 44 through two rounds. Only two groups have higher totals then them.

by CSP Guest Contributor Andrew S. Rockoff

Ted Leonsis is not a politician and doesn’t have anything to do with public policies, our health care situation or even education, but he is on his way to becoming one of the most powerful men in Washington DC. Is it good or bad for any single sports market to be owned by one man, especially in a city like DC?