tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187191402011-04-21T21:24:20.455-04:00Not necessarily a blog, but a collection of essays, papers, research, reviews, compilation lists, and journal entries. Subjects include sports, sport history, sport in society, politics and culture, history, and film.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-25729245091826369312008-01-22T23:21:00.000-05:002008-01-23T12:28:20.410-05:00

A cross-disciplinary paper in support of a Master’s degree performance project focusing on newspaper archives and indices. The candidate would like to thank his defense committee and primary source interviewee in advance for their cooperation and time.IntroductionWhile studies show that newspaper circulation has steadily declined since the widespread arrival of television in the late 1940s, it

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-6393388877639199882007-03-25T22:44:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:08:14.810-04:00

Finally released on DVD in December, Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1970 masterpiece, The Conformist, offers a fascinating character study with key themes of sexual repression, a haunting from the past, and of course, conformity. But more importantly, it closely examines the nearly-forgotten, though imitated, political ideology of fascism. With the creepy use of shadows, spacious shots and decor,

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1157227158282123912006-09-02T15:52:00.003-04:002008-03-12T14:41:53.426-04:00

*January 6, 2008 Editorial note: This column was published locally in August of 2006. I stand by the overarching opinion within: that the Southeastern Conference, to that point in the decade, had been wildly overrated. Perhaps it served as inspiration; in the two seasons that have followed, SEC teams have dominated their non-conference opponents and the SEC has clearly been the strongest league,

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1143091423363651452006-02-21T21:18:00.002-05:002008-03-11T11:44:00.804-04:00

As Sports Movies Go…Walt Disney Pictures’ latest sports story to hit the big screen delivers a great narrative of American sports history, but Glory Road suffers from some of the same ailments that so many other sports movies do. The typical sports movie ailments range from the over-romanticizing effect, or hit-over-head sentimentality, to historical inaccuracy to, most commonly, the horribly

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1143090860771839662006-02-01T21:40:00.000-05:002007-03-29T10:14:11.757-04:00

So, the cat’s out of the bag – this football fan isn’t much of a contemporary NFL fan, but rather longing for the days of student body left, tough-nosed defenses, and games in the driving snow. That’s not at all to say that the NFL postseason, as we currently know it, doesn’t bring this cynic some moments of joy – surely some can be had in the crown jewel of American sport. However, there is

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1135921012168129592005-12-30T00:27:00.000-05:002007-03-29T10:14:34.906-04:00

While the practice of manufacturing, selling, and consuming illegal moonshine whiskey doesn’t seem to be a key feature of contemporary Appalachian life, it is no doubt an archetypal characteristic of Appalachian history and lore. Indeed, illegal distilling operations, the government’s efforts to regulate and tax them, and the passionate resistance of such regulations are very much a part of the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1132385419240258152005-12-24T00:29:00.000-05:002007-03-29T10:14:57.217-04:00

Still angered that my New Year’s Day was relegated to watching two drab NFL games instead of college bowl games, here is what I’m sure is a minority opinion and destined to draw the ire of some – a list of things that make college football better than the NFL (in honor of Super Bowl 40, only the first 40 are included). Credit where credit is due, this is an homage to Thomas Boswell's 1987

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131406629881611292005-10-02T18:33:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:11:57.429-04:00

John Sayles’ historical drama Matewan tells the story of an early effort to unionize the West Virginia coalfields, culminating in a fierce gun battle which has since become legendary and forever marked this tiny area of Appalachia as “bloody Mingo.” This account of violent labor strife takes place in 1920 Mingo County, West Virginia, where local coal miners, tired of being treated as “equipment”

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131388277153216142005-07-18T13:28:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:15:33.021-04:00

On July 31 the National Baseball Hall of Fame will enshrine its class of 2005 – Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs. While both Sandberg and Boggs are clearly deserving, a list of usual suspects once again failed to receive the needed 75 percent of votes to be enshrined.Boggs, a career .328 hitter and one of only eight players to win at least five batting titles, is a first-ballot selection while

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131387945574724542005-07-03T13:20:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:16:08.041-04:00

The Major league Baseball All Star Game, what was once one of the sport’s crown jewels and one of the highlights of every summer, will be played July 12 in Detroit with about the same amount of fanfare that is hoist upon all star events in the NFL, NBA, and NHL. MLB’s midsummer classic, this the 76th version, does have an advantage in history and tradition over the others, but there is no doubt

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131390069863043692005-05-18T13:39:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:16:33.483-04:00

IntroductionIn the final days before the 2004 presidential election, one of the few certainties was that George W. Bush would win an overwhelming majority, if not completely sweep, the states which comprise the traditional geographic South. The same scenario presented itself days before the 2000 election when Governor Bush of Texas, as the Republican nominee, was facing incumbent Democratic Vice

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131387402704878182005-05-10T13:13:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:17:03.061-04:00

Something every fan knows is that Major League Baseball is a sport like no other in terms of numbers and statistics. Avid fans don’t just know the meaning of a six-four-three double play, they also know the importance of certain career milestone numbers that have uniquely served to ensure baseball immortality over the years. Numbers such as 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, 300 pitching wins, a .300

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131387189977799412005-04-19T13:04:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:17:45.494-04:00

Perhaps it’s due to my lack of a real rooting allegiance, but I’ll have to admit that I don’t find the NFL draft entertaining or exciting. I’ve never understood why the draft is a two-day televised event like I’ve never understood why we have radio stations dedicated to 1980s popular music. That’s not to suggest that either can’t be interesting under my cynical scrutiny. For me, this year’s NFL

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131386551942528072005-04-10T12:58:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:18:14.852-04:00

Since yet another NCAA Tournament has passed without any true mid-major team getting past a regional final, isn't it time to separate the men from the boys? The NCAA should follow the same path with men's basketball that it did with Division I football back in 1978, when it was split into the sub-classifications of I-A and I-AA.For a quick history lesson, NCAA members were classified as Divisions

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131404799099780402005-04-02T17:31:00.000-05:002007-04-02T00:11:38.166-04:00

Here is a Top 25 list I have compiled of the greatest teams in NCAA Tournament history. I am only including tournament champions on the list, and several repeat champions are included as one team (UCLA 1967-69, 1970-71 and 1972-73 as three separate teams for example, and 1991-92 Duke as one team). If you sense a bias against pre-1960 teams, you may be correct, but I have done my best to

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131816270978527612005-04-01T12:19:00.000-05:002005-12-30T00:45:19.436-05:00

In conjunction with my list of the 25 greatest teams, here is a list of the 25 best teams who failed to win a national title during the NCAA Tournament era.1.) 1991 UNLV -- Lost in Final Four.The defending NCAA champs, who had won the 1990 title game by the largest margin ever and hadn't been beaten since midway through the previous season, still remain as the last team to enter the tournament

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1132113528008753572005-03-10T22:43:00.000-05:002007-03-29T10:19:22.203-04:00

IntroductionAs Western thought and culture shifted from modern to postmodern in the second half of the twentieth century, postmodernism began to affect professional fields and academic disciplines alike. Although it was largely ignored and did not seem to interconnect with archival practice or the role of archivists as it did with so many other fields of intellectual study, postmodernism has

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1131407163895313742005-02-09T18:43:00.000-05:002007-04-02T00:02:35.113-04:00

Barbara Kopple’s 1976 award-winning documentary film Harlan County, USA documents a 13-month coal miner’s strike against the Brookside mine and Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky, which took place in 1973 and 1974. Although Kopple’s filmmaking clearly chooses sides as she lives among the miner’s families and attends their meetings, her documentation of this explosive situation in

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18719140.post-1132117456763508152005-01-22T23:58:00.000-05:002006-04-04T17:40:33.626-04:00

Clark Kerr’s The Uses of the University is a detailed description of the modern American research university. Preceded by his original Godkin Lectures of 1963 in the first three chapters, and three additional essays written in the following three decades of the twentieth century, this fifth edition of Kerr’s work includes a new chapter which compares the situations in 1963 and 2000 and looks

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18030980137360368517noreply@blogger.com