League of Fans

By Ken Reed

The NFL and NHL have similar concussion problems, and similar approaches to the concussion issue: denial and avoidance behavior.

For years, the two professional leagues denied they had a significant problem related to concussions. Then, as the concussion issue came to light and the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) began to […]

By Ken Reed

As we’ve pointed out many times on this site, and in my book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan, virtually all problems in sports can be traced to either win-at-all-costs (WAAC) or profit-at-all-costs (PAAC) mentalities and policies.

Baylor University is providing a case study in WAACYness and warped […]

By Ken Reed

I’ve written often in the past about the silliness of the macho man culture in hockey, including the tolerance for fighting, gratuitous cheap shots, and the presence of thugs with limited hockey skills on NHL rosters.

The Neanderthal culture in the NHL has to go.

But the same holds true for baseball, […]

By Ken Reed

Allen Barra recently built a compelling case that Dick Allen should be in the Hall of Fame. Allen, known for a good part of his career as Richie Allen, was one of the dominant hitters of his era. In fact, for the 10 seasons from 1964-1973, a strong case can be […]

By Ken Reed

Stand up for something.

In my view, that’s Muhammad Ali’s most important legacy.

Through the years, I agreed with a lot of Ali’s statements and disagreed with others. But I always admired his courage, his bravery, his willingness to seemingly always be true to himself and his convictions in the moment.

“Beginning […]

By Ken Reed

In the May 23 issue of Sports Illustrated, Steve Rushin takes on all the junk that sports fans have to deal with in order to support their favorite teams — including, having to pay for the stadiums and arenas their teams play in.

“Just because Holder paid for this ticket, a handling […]

By Ken Reed

Following a long sexual assault scandal, and pressured by ESPN’s Outside the Lines and other media outlets, Baylor has fired head football coach Art Briles and demoted school president Kenneth Starr. (For some reason, Starr is being allowed to stay on as chancellor and law professor. How rich is that?)

It […]

By Ken Reed

The shoe and apparel arms race in big-time college sports has jumped to a new level.

UCLA signed a record $280 million deal with emerging shoe and apparel giant Under Armour today. That comes on the heels of Nike’s $252 million deal with Ohio State and $250 million deal with Texas. […]