Women's basketball: NCAA rethinks battle of sexes

MPLS (Red) Star Tribune ^ | 1/.2/07 | Jerry Zgoda

[Juana la Loca]

Viewership and ratings have nothing to do with defining an activity as a sport, but does have everything to do with defining it as a business.

If you don't enjoy watching women compete, so be it, but don't denigrate these athletes by saying their hard-work and love of competition doesn't rise to the level of "sport."

And for the record, this decision about not being allowed to use male practice players is ridiculous, and an example of the ill-conceived social engineering that the feminists in the baby boomer generation keep trying to foist on the rest of us. Unfortunately, they are firmly entrenched in academia, and that includes the NCAA.

[Recon Dad]

I was not referring to "Beach Volleyball" but that's ok too. I hate to say it, but I really wasn't thinking of the beach stuff.

[Recon Dad]

I do like the tennis garb a whole lot, but I was thinking of team sports.

[Valin]

There's another kind of vollyball!
/dirty old man

[Mr. Jeeves]

It's like they don't want to let it go and are bitter because the young girls aren't as pi$$ed as they are about it.

I just cannot put it into words correctly.

Here's a try: "The fight" has become a part of their identity, and women playing basketball against men seems to these hoary old lesbians like fraternizing with the enemy. ;)

[Howlin]

That works for me; it certainly puts into words what I was thinking but couldn't find the right words to express.

They remind me of the Ellen Jamiesons from The World According to Garp.

[art_rocks]

I wonder how much money ESPN is losing by broadcasting all those Womens Basketball games that NOBODY WATCHES!

But ESPN has to fill those 72 hours a day with some programming.

[jimfree]

"Yeah, you pretty little ladies can go off and practice by yourselves." In the interest of equal opportunity we don't want anybody having an unfair advantage.

Title IX is almost the definition of the law of unintended consequences.

[PzLdr]

BEACH volleyball!

[RFH]

I had to add what I just read from the Chronicle of Higher Education (dated Jan 9):

"Jennifer Warmack-Chipman, an assistant director of athletics at Muhlenberg College and a member of the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics, told attendees that the committee opposes the use of male practice players, a strategy many women's programs use to improve the skills of top female players. (Teams often bring in men who played in high school who are bigger and faster than second-string women's players.)

The committee believes that the approach impedes female participation, Ms. Warmack-Chipman said, and "reinforces the implied notion of male pre-eminence."

Wouldn't want to reinforce the implied notion of male pre-eminence. Almost like reinforcing the notion of wet water, round earth, gravity...

[Oberon]

...Batboy...

That's...um...Robin. Robin. Not "Batboy."

This is Batboy:

[Jaysun]

GOD! That things gives me the creeps.