War on trans girls in sports grows; Uproar over Fanatics-made MLB jerseys; DC tells Leonsis to kiss off with arena bid

When I was in school, I had a friend who was a fantastic athlete (she still is). She was tall, thin, wore her hair short and could keep up with any of the guys in gym class and outperform 90 percent of them in just about any sport. She didn’t wear makeup and her wardrobe consisted mostly of gender-neutral athletic apparel. We played on a few teams together and, once the other team (and, sadly, their parents) realized how superior her athletic abilities were, the taunts inevitably would begin. “Is that a BOY they have playing out there?” “Are we sure this team is ALL girls?” It wounded her, deeply, and her teammates watched, helpless, as her self-esteem took hit after hit after hit. I think of her often these days and I’m grateful that she played sports before the trans kid witch hunt that is sweeping conservative states today. - Julie DiCaro Read More

The stadium/arena swindle in pro sports has been going on for a couple decades now, but that kind of history couldn’t save Ted Leonsis’s plan for a new arena in Virginia for the Capitals and Wizards. Even with numerous studies and proof that publicly funded arenas or stadiums have no public benefit and only give rich billionaires more money while handcuffing state or local funds from doing something of public benefit, state and local governments usually roll over for this kind of thing. Perhaps no mayor or governor wants, “Team X left on my watch,” and given the brackish pool that most voters reside in, on some level it’s understandable how that could become a decisive issue in any upcoming election. - Sam Fels Read More

We know that MLB owners have no problem making their actual product worse, because it’s cheaper. They’ve expanded the playoffs, making more teams comfortable simply aiming for barely .500. Many teams will use the facade of a rebuild to never actually try, and others will join them to avoid signing any free agent of note. - Sam Fels Read More

The big takeaway from Sunday night’s Super Bowl is that creep in your DMs might just be The Messiah. But then, that’s not really all that surprising, is it? Given what’s been done in his name lately? - Sam Fels Read More

Perhaps you’ve played cornhole during a backyard BBQ, or at a tailgate before a college or pro football game.

There’s even a professional league that has aired on ESPN.

Now, it will be a collegiate sport.

High school seniors Jaxson Remmick and Gavin Hamann signed letters of intent to play cornhole at Winthrop University, a Division I school in North Carolina. - Mackenzie Meaney Read More