Oos-Oos-Oos-ah!
By Devoney Looser
"In London, I was travelling alone, so I struggled with where to go to watch the match. I’d seen earlier rounds on television at home in Arizona, with my baseball-obsessed teenage son. He doesn’t like soccer of any variety. Inevitably, during the match, I’d find my eyes welling up with tears, and he’d ask me 'why in the world are you crying at that? Nothing is even happening!' It was hard to explain what it meant to watch these incredible athletes working together. It didn’t seem odd to him. Thinking about that moved me. This World Cup has shattered international television viewing records. I was talking about it with my colleague at Arizona State University, the history professor and top-level runner Victoria Jackson. We’re both fellows at ASU’s Global Sport Institute. (I play roller derby as Stone Cold Jane Austen, my academic specialism being Austen and the history of British women’s writings.) What gets Victoria about the women’s World Cup is 'every time the camera pans to young girls – and boys – in the stands'."
3 Stories: NBA Awards, IOC Changes, Augusta National
"International players swept the major NBA awards earlier this week. Nigerian-Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo took home MVP honors, Serbian Luka Dončić was named Rookie of the Year, Frenchman Rudy Gobert repeated as Defensive Player of the Year and Cameroonian Pascal Siakam was named Most Improved Player. Arizona State University Global Sport Institute CEO Kenneth Shropshire says this is a turning point for the league."
The healing power of pursuing a dream
"When Billy Mills beat the pack on a muddy cinder track in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, it was one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
The grainy black-and-white video shows his graceful, effortless stride in the 10,000-meter race. But those steps were part of a difficult journey that left Mills, an Oglala Lakota, so despondent that he almost killed himself before he won the gold medal."