Dave Zirin: A Writer Every Sports Fan Should Read

By Mike Takeuchi

As someone whose natural curiosity often goes to the depths of ridiculousness, I here are few sportswriters/columnists that really focus on stories with depth-often writing more for the subject or worse yet, for themselves as opposed to their readership. While George Vescey and Bill Rhoden, two true gentlemen from the New York Times still capture my fancy, very few contemporary scribes (Jeff Pearlman and Jeff Passan of Yahoo! are the only two I can think of off the top of my head), elicit contemplation.

However, the one writer that brings out the passion towards sports in me more than any other is Dave Zirin. Not at him mind you. Dave’s a good guy. But like the HBO show “Real Sports”, his work often inspires ire towards the subjects he writes about.

I first met Dave a few years ago for an interview in a coffee shop near the independent IMIX bookstore in Eagle Rock. As a typical avid viewer of ESPN (a network I loathe now btw), I thought I knew the inside of sports pretty well until I spent an hour with Dave. He literally opened my eyes to look critically at the entities that surround the games we love. And since then, when given the space and finding the subject, have tried to emulate myself.

Below is a previously published book review on his latest book-"Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love".

BAD SPORTS: HOW OWNERS ARE RUINING THE GAMES WE LOVE

Nonfiction

By Dave Zirin

Scribner, $25

Having been called everything from dangerous to a thorn in the sports establishment's side (by those who like him, no less), sportswriter Dave Zirin has ventured where most imbedded sportswriters refuse to go to become the definitive expert on the inseparability of sports and politics. In his latest offering, "Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love," he takes on the subject of the individuals who offer us the games we love at a cost that is high in more ways than one.

Often appearing on television whenever a political issue in sports comes up, this Tom Joad in the press box has been called "the conscience of American sports writing" by The Washington Post. The author has published four other books, including 2008's "A People's History of Sports in the United States: From Bull-Baiting to Barry Bonds," and is now the only sportswriter in the 145-year history of The Nation, the longest continually run magazine in the country.

In "Bad Sports," Mr. Zirin's voice resonates to anybody who has spent hundreds of dollars a pop to attend sporting events with family and worried about it during the game. He critically looks at sports czars who manipulate the system through political and civic connections, the entities their teams belong to, and, yes, even the media in getting new publicly funded stadiums, uprooting teams to new towns over the protestations of local residents, and, ultimately, making even more money than the public record states.

The book pulls the reader in immediately when it addresses the plight of the communities of three tax-subsidized stadiums — the Louisiana Superdome, Target Field in Minnesota and Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. All three were built at the expense of needed metropolitan infrastructure and were later hit with man-made disasters — the New Orleans levees breaking after Hurricane Katrina (2005), the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapse (2007), and two D.C. Metro trains colliding in 2009 that killed nine people, respectively.

While attacking a serious subject, Mr. Zirin keeps the reader enthralled by writing in a style without the effect of the corner zealot on a soapbox and often with an intelligent humor ("It would be like putting Jon and Kate in charge of a day-care center.") that elicits knowing chuckles.

Because Mr. Zirin's reputation precedes him, the one thing missing is commentary from the owners themselves. Only Ed Snider, CEO of Comcast, parent company of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's Flyers, is willing to go on record. It would have been interesting to hear the thoughts of colorful owners like basketball's Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban or the Raiders' Al Davis.

Then again, getting the sports bosses to talk may only reveal sound bites or double talk that fans hear in press conferences or reported by defacto shills for the respective teams (read ESPN). It is more definitive in the actions of ideological opposites such as the decidedly politically liberal NBA commissioner David Stern and staunch Reaganite Clay Bennett who conspire to move the Seattle Supersonics to Mr. Bennett's much smaller hometown or Oklahoma City, despite protestations from an entire city of Sonics fans.

At first glance, the average sports fan who lives for the insipid sound-bite coverage may not want to read "Bad Sports," because even if they agree with it and complain about it, quite frankly, they need to go to games. But upon closer inspection, the reader will find that Mr. Zirin's book is for anyone who has complained about high ticket prices or even paid $15 for parking at Dodger Stadium. Heck, it may encourage them to park outside the stadium and walk in with food from home in tow.

Avery Brundage: The Enigmatic Man Behind the Modern Day Olympic Movement

Reprinted article by MIKE TAKEUCHI

Made a minor change on this in August 2012. Thank you for reading! 

"No Monarch has ever held sway over such a vast expanse of territory." International Olympic Committee President and onetime Montecito resident Avery Brundage in 1960.
Among the myriad descriptions of Avery Brundage -- champion of the amateur, dictator, shrewd businessman, womanizer, art collector, anti-Semite, generous donor, Nazi sympathizer -- one thing is certain: The controversial man was the most powerful sporting figure in the 20th century, and during his reign, he lived much of his time in the Santa Barbara area.
From 1946 to 1973, the president of the International Olympic Committee became a local fixture by owning several properties, including the Montecito Country Club, collecting rare Asian art, picking up civic awards, and enjoying high society. While simultaneously, as president of the International Olympic Committee, he was given unflattering nicknames like "Slavery Avery" for his iron-fisted rule when he lorded over his minions -- the athletes themselves.
Local resident and 1960 Olympian Jeff Farrell looked back on Mr. Brundage's life with mixed emotions. When Mr. Farrell won two gold medals for swimming in the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay and the 4 x 100 medley relay, he alternately expressed pride in having Mr. Brundage award him with the medals, while expressing some rancor at the same man for preventing him from earning any money while training.
"He was the last caretaker of the thought that ... athletics should be for the wealthy," Mr. Farrell said.
In his recent book "Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World" author David Maraniss wrote that Mr. Brundage believed "that the Olympic movement in its reach and meaning, far surpassed any government, religion, or philosophy." And Mr. Brundage, in his roles first as leader of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and then later the IOC, was the one who wielded the iron fist to obsessively ensure that the Olympics were free from professionalism. He also later tried to bar women from competing and cancel the Winter Olympics. Both attempts were unsuccessful.
Born in Detroit on Sept. 28, 1887, Mr. Brundage was a fine athlete in his own right; he competed in the decathlon in the 1912 Olympics -- dropping out after eight events en route to a 16th-place finish.
The gold medal winner that year was none other than Jim Thorpe. After it was found that he played professional baseball, Thorpe was subsequently stripped of his medals. As an Olympic official, Mr. Brundage would later uphold the Native American athlete's ban.
While living in Chicago, Mr. Brundage's success as a construction and real-estate magnate paralleled his rise in world sport. The foundation for his rise in power occurred prior to the 1936 Berlin Olympics where Adolph Hitler wanted to prove his country's and the Aryan race's superiority. A young African American sprinter named Jesse Owens would resoundingly dispel the German dictator's theory.
Less known was Hitler's desire to exclude Jewish athletes and officials from the Games -- causing cries for a boycott from the United States. While stating publicly that this couldn't happen and that athletes of all races would get equal treatment, Mr. Brundage, who at the time was the U.S. Olympic Committee president, took a fact-finding mission to Germany where he was wined and dined by Hitler while being "convinced" that Jewish athletes wouldn't be excluded. Mr. Brundage later stated that he found no wrongdoing in Berlin -- an act that still rankles the Mr. Maraniss, a Pulitzer Prize winning writer.
"He was most reprehensible in his anti-Semitism," Mr. Maraniss wrote in an e-mail. "Opposing the boycott is certainly defensible, but his actions were not. When I found letters he wrote to German officials beforehand bemoaning the 'Jewish cabal' and urging them to find positive articles about Hitler and the Nazis to overcome the negative stories that U.S. journalists were sending out of Germany -- that was too much."
Two years later, his company was awarded the building contract for the German Embassy in the United States because of "sympathy toward the Nazi cause."
A decade after Berlin and two Olympics cancelled because of World War II later, Mr. Brundage and his wife Elizabeth purchased the "Escondrijo" (Hiding Place) estate on Ashley Road in Montecito and renamed it La Pineta or The Pines. In a 1980 Sports Illustrated story by William Oscar Johnson, the home included zebra skin rugs, Olympic flags, priceless Asian art, and jade dishes. The home would later be destroyed in the 1964 Coyote Fire. The couple later moved to the Brunninghausen Estate on Hot Springs Road.
In 1946 he purchased the Montecito Country Club, followed in later years by the El Paseo and the Presidio areas in downtown Santa Barbara, as well as the Montecito Inn. While he enjoyed moderate success in his local businesses (he sold the Country Club in 1973 for over $4 million), much of his money was made from construction around the country.
Along the way he amassed Asian art from the Neolithic Period to the Ch'ing Dynasty -- most of which he donated to the City of San Francisco starting in 1959. The 7,700 piece collection, (which museum spokesperson Michele Dilworth declined to value) is housed in that city's Asian Art Museum.
During his residence here, he was showered with adulation, positive press and numerous awards. In 1949, Mr. Brundage was given the now discontinued Chamber of Commerce Excelentisimo Senor de Santa Barbara Award by Semana Nautica president, R.F. MacFarland. In accepting the award, Mr. Brundage lauded the summer sports festival for maintaining its dedication to amateur sports -- an irony not lost on an athlete like Mr. Farrell, who later served as the summer sports festival's president for several years.
"Mr. Brundage had banned an athlete (miler Wes Santee in 1956) for only taking expense money," Mr. Farrell said. "I remembered being worried that I was going to get in trouble for making five dollars and hour to teach swimming. Apparently it was OK to make money life guarding, but it wasn't okay to make money on swimming."
A 1968 article stated that "Mr. Amateur Sport" and the rest of the IOC board never charged the Olympic Committee a dime in expense money. At that time, he was worth more than $20 million.
"The executive committee members came from the ruling class -- millionaire, dukes, princes, and such," Mr. Maraniss said. "It was easy for them to talk about the purity of amateurism and how no one should be paid for sport -- because they didn't need the money."
Although he ruled with a strong hand, Mr. Brundage had his weaknesses. Among them were women. Many of his local deeds, including La Pineta, were put in the name of his lover and business partner Frances Blakely. While his wife stayed at home, he had many trysts, including fathering two children in 1951 and 1952 with a woman in Redwood City. Two years after Elizabeth Brundage died in 1971, he married Princess Mariann Charlotte Katharina Stefanie Reuss, a daughter of a prince of a German principality, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
Thirty six at the time, Princess Mariann was as vibrant as Mr. Brundage was sickly (exacerbated by the stress from the 1972 Olympics massacre) and lived a lavish life in Montecito and Germany.
"She was as nice as he wasn't," said an acquaintance who did not want to be named.
Mr. Brundage spent the remaining years of his life in poor health. He died in Germany on May 8, 1975, with considerably less money than he had prior to his second marriage. According to a Sports Illustrated story, Princess Mariann, at this time living with local insurance millionaire Donald Pate, successfully defended a Superior Court suit (presided by Judge Patrick McMahon) brought on by his longtime friend and chief financial adviser, Frederick J. Ruegsegger on expenditures made after Mr. Brundage's death. It was a fitting end to what Mr. Maraniss describes as a complicated man.
"I found Avery Brundage to be one of the most contradictory characters I've ever written about," Mr. Maraniss said. "He was not especially likeable, yet the fact that at some points in his career nearly every faction hated him for some (reason) or other seemed to me like a bit of a saving grace. There is something to be said for a person like that."
"His devotion to the Olympic Movement was greater than his belief in anything else. He truly believed that the Olympic Movement was greater than any ideology or religion. Perhaps this was a form of egomania, but at times it served him -- and the Olympics -- well. If nothing else, he kept the Olympics alive during the very difficult middle decades of the 20th century."

Real Madrid=Real Futbol...ahem, Soccer

Edson Buddle discusses Real Madrid (Photo by MT)

By Mike Takeuchi

Pasadena-Despite a 2-0 halftime lead over one of the world's best soccer clubs, I am sure the Los Angeles Galaxy knew that the deluge would be coming. After all, despite being the best domestic team in this country, the Galacticos were playing Real Madrid, one of the world's best soccer clubs. And sure enough, Real Madrid exerted its talent and will in the second half in a 3-2 friendly win before 89, 134 fans at the Rose Bowl.

Like a cat playing with its prey before the inevitable, Real Madrid gave the Galaxy hope in building a 2-0 lead on first half goals by Todd Dunivant and Landon Donovan, and then came back to win a match that was not nearly as close as the score indicated.

Despite having started their preseason fairly recently, the Spanish team showed their superiority in spurts. Two goals by Argentina's wondrous forward Gonzalo Higuain, and the game-winner by Pedro Leon (according to the Real Madrid Web site and not Xabi Alonso as originally reported) in, were the result of a constantly pressing second half spent almost entirely in the Los Angeles zone, particularly by Portuguese superstar Christiano Ronaldo.

Even without injured Brazilian striker Kaka', with the players skill, speed, pace, and precision that Real Madrid exhibited, the fans got an up close view of European soccer at its finest in the second half. Even Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena who arrived with no delusions on a win, yet came away impressed.

“I think the fans enjoyed the game and certainly the exhibition by Ronaldo and Higuain was something special,” the former U.S. National Team coach said. “Our motivation in the game was to put on a good show and to allow the people in L.A. to see this fabulous team Real Madrid. The result is not that important as much as putting on a good exhibition and allowing the fans to enjoy the show.”

After watching a TIVO broadcast of the game upon my return home, I noticed that the cameras couldn't capture the true nature of how impressive Real Madrid was. Time and again, the Spanish club's players would beat even the fastest Galaxy players down the field, Plus, the chemistry between Ronaldo and Higuain, or, Pipa, two players who had as many World Cup goals (five) as Galaxy and National Team members Donovan and Edson Buddle had in games played in South Africa, reminded this writer of the Lakers Magic Johnson and James Worthy in their prime.

“Their pace and movement were very impressive,” Buddle said.

Equally impressive was Real's ability to quickly recover on change of possessions to make it a real easy second half for goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The only time that Casillas, Spain's National Team hero and the No. 1 ranked keeper in the world, touched the ball, is when his teammates pulled back to regroup and kick the ball to him.

Their talent wasn't limited to play on the field.

After the game, as Higuain, Ronaldo, Alonso, and Casillas exited the locker room amidst the din of the phenomenon of the mix zone, a fenced off area where reporters vie with fans in trying to get players attention, they exhibited the same skills on the field as they escaped questions to get on the bus. But these players didn't seem to be running away as much as they were running towards home to start a season in which they will try to topple La Liga Barcelona.

Au Revoir Clint

Saturday's match also marked the retirement of longtime National Team staple Clint Mathis. The former Mohawked coiffed forward is best known for his goal for the U.S. in their 1-1 draw with South Korea in the 2002 World Cup.
Nice gesture by coach Bruce Arena and the Galaxy in selecting retiring forward Clint Mathis to be the captain. In addition to presenting him with a jersey signed by the team, he presented the team crest to Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos prior to the game. Mathis received a standing ovation when he walked off the field in the 27th minute.
“It was special, 90,000 people out there,” Mathis said. “Not too many American soccer players get to play in front of crows like that. But it was a special night for me, I thought it was great.”

The Cape is Heating Up Thanks to UCSB's Tom Myers

By Mike Takeuchi

(*Note a truncated version appeared in another publication)

Thanks to a local, “the Cape” starts heating up today. The Santa Barbara Foresters aren’t the only collegiate team area residents are following this week as Tom Myers, the associate head coach for the UCSB baseball team, will lead the Brewster Whitecaps into the first round of the Cape Cod League playoffs today against the Orleans Firebirds.

Myers manages a team that plays in the venerable summer wood bat league that was established in 1885. In addition to its longevity is its prestige-the Cape Cod League has produced over 70 Big League all-stars over the past 30 years, as well as Hall of Famers like Pie Traynor.

“It is special to be part of such a rich tradition in baseball,” Myers said. “It’s even greater to be able manage in their playoffs.”

Established in 1988, the team plays at Stony Brook Field in Brewster, Massachusetts, a town of about 10,000 that is located 85 miles southeast of Boston. Team alumni include Major League players Troy Tulowitzki, Billy Wagner, and Ryan Braun. Under Myers, the Whitecaps have reached the league playoffs for the first time since 2006 and hope to win another championship they last won in 2000. After a steady season attendance of over 1,000 per game, General Manager Ned Monthie said that playoff fever is hitting their area.

“After missing out on the playoffs by (one win) last year, we are very excited to be back in the playoffs,” Monthie said. “And it’s not just the players and the organization, but the entire town.”

And Monthie thinks he has the right guy to lead the team.

“He relates well with the players and is just a solid individual,” Monthie said.

After being ranked No. 1 in the country by PG Crosschecker for most of the summer, an eight-game winless streak at the end of July dropped them down to fifth. By winning four of their last five, the Whitecaps finished second in the east division at 26-17-1, one half game behind regular season champion the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

In games scheduled today, Saturday, and if necessary, Sunday, Brewster will host the first and final contest of the three-game series, with the winner advancing to face the winner of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (a team that UCSB’s Mario Hollands and Jesse Meaux pitched for ) vs. the Harwich Mariners in another best-of-three set. The survivor of that series will go on to face the western division winner.

“Hopefully we will have some momentum going into the playoffs,” Myers said. “But it’s going to be a challenge because from top to bottom, the league has a lot of talent, especially the arms.”

Initially blessed with high quality pitchers like LSU ace and 39^th overall Red Sox draft pick Anthony Ranaudo, as well as Georgia’s Mike Pallazzone and Cal State Fullerton’s Daniel Rencken, his staff has whittled a bit due to players leaving for school or the pros.

“That’s the nature of summer ball,” Myers said.

But he added that he still liked his chances with Matt Larkins from UC Riverside throwing tonight, and then Long Beach State’s Andrew Gagnon on Saturday. The Whitecaps are led at the plate by Memphis University’s Drew Martinez who has a .359 average, 52 hits, 22 stolen bases, and 18 RBI. Other run producers include Andy Burns (University of Arizona, 18 RBI and 25 stolen bases), and Danny Oh (Cal, 15 RBI). Taylor Ard is swinging the bat well in a rivalry that is not as fierce as one would suspect a top league would have.

As Myers was going over his team, his Friday opponent’s manager Kelly Nicholson briefly took over the conversation.

“Ask him how he plans to pitch to the Firebirds,” Nicholson shouted into the phone. “Ask him how those (expletive) will try to get us out!”

“We all get along pretty well here, especially Kelly and (Yarmouth-Dennis manager) Scott Pickler,” Myers laughed. “Because Kelly coaches at Loyola Marymount and Scott coaches at Cypress College, we have a nice California connection. Those guys really took me under their wings at first. But that’s the way it is out here. Beat each other up on the field, but go out to dinner afterward.”

Friends in the Summer, Rivals During the School Year, Potential Major Leaguers in the Future(?)

(From Left: Rice University's Matthew Reckling, Jeremy Rathjen, and Michael
Ratterree "seriously" face off against Santa Barbara Foresters teammates
and University of Texas Rivals Hoby Milner and Sam Stafford)

Reprinted Article by Mike Takeuchi

Original Photo by Eric Isaacs of EMI Photography (emiphotography.com)


Over the last year, Sam Stafford and Jeremy Rathjen have gone from being mere acquaintances to rivals, to training partners, and roommates during their second stint with the Foresters. They hope to one day be colleagues in the major leagues.

And if Rathjen, an outfielder from Rice University, and University of Texas left-handed pitcher Stafford do make it, they may have each other to thank — much as they would hate to admit it publicly.

"We push each other pretty hard," Rathjen said. "Even though he lifts weights like a pitcher."

"I admit he can lift much more in the upper body, but he makes what, two, maybe three throws in a game?" Stafford said. "I accept that I have to do lighter weights. He's the one with the ego. I just check mine at the door."

The 20 year olds are part of a contingent of Foresters from the Houston area — including Rice teammates Matthew Reckling and Michael Ratterree, Keifer Nuncio, a teammate of Stafford's at Texas, and Texas State outfielder Jeff McVaney.

Stafford and Rathjen hit it off immediately after meeting in 2009. Their love of baseball and desire to get to the game's highest level have produced a strong bond — but one often filled with good-natured trash talk.

This summer Stafford and Rathjen have been counted on by the Foresters to being major cogs in the team's efforts to win the National Baseball Congress World Series. Dos Pueblos alumnus Chris Joyce takes the mound today against the Casa Grande (Arizona) Cotton Kings in the teams' tournament opener, and Stafford is expected to start game on Thursday. Rathjen will start in center field.

"Sam and Jeremy are two of our key guys to help us win this thing," Foresters manager and Angels scout Bill Pintard said. "Because of their talent, positive attitude, and the willingness to work hard, they are also two guys who have a legitimate chance to play at the next level."

In starting all 63 games for the Conference USA regular-season champions Rice, Rathjen hit .317 with 13 home runs and 69 RBI. He has followed that by hitting .320 with 26 RBI for the Foresters despite starting the season late due to his team's NCAA Regionals appearance.

"Jeremy has improved by leaps and bounds as a player, and is becoming a star-classed player," Rice coach Wayne Graham said in a phone interview. "We need to get to (the College World Series in) Omaha, and I think he is one lead us there."

Foresters hitting coach Gary Woods raves about Rathjen's skills on the field and in life.

"He is a legitimate five-tool player," Woods said. "But he is also a superstar person, someone you'd want for a son or the type of guy you'd want your daughter to marry. The same with Sam."

Stafford started seven games for the Longhorns and went 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. He has ramped up his potential this summer by using a 94 mph fastball and wicked curve to go 3-0 in five starts with an eye-popping 0.33 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 28 innings.

"Sam has the drive, the arm, and the potential to go a long way with us," Texas coach Augie Garrido said earlier this month.

Foresters pitching coach Dan Yokubaitis has seen how that motivation has helped Stafford improve between his two stints with the team.

"Last year, Sam would be pretty good, but he always seemed to have that one bad inning each game," Yokubaitis said. "But this year, he hasn't had one bad inning total. His velocity has jumped up, as has his fire."

While roommates at the home of their host parents, Rick and Cindy Jackson, Rathjen and Stafford make daily workouts where their competitive juices flow.

"Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you. Jeremy is probably the most competitive person I know," Stafford said. "Cards, video games, weightlifting, anything. The guy bench presses 295 pounds... . He is over-the-top."

"I am competitive, especially in the gym because I feel I have to push Samuel," Rathjen replied.

Stafford does have one thing he can boast about to Rathjen — head-to-head match-ups. As Stafford chest pumped up in jest, he recalls the time when he got the best of his roommate. Rathjen's grounder up the middle was picked by current Texas and former Foresters shortstop Brandon Loy to rob him of a hit in a game the Longhorns won, 5-1.

"One at-bat, and it took one of the best shortstops in the country to help him" Rathjen said, rolling his eyes.

While the two joked like those old cartoon crows Heckle and Jeckle and consumed large amounts of food at Petrini's restaurant, their tone changed when talking about playing together.

"On the field he plays as hard as anyone," Stafford said. "In one game I had a guy on first and gave up a single. With the runner going to third, Jeremy charged it and just hosed the guy at third for the out to get me out of a jam. He is as good as they come in center.

"Plus, he has a calm demeanor that helps the dugout. While some guys might get down or mad, he keeps it light."

Rathjen, however, credits Stafford for making defense easy.

"I don't really move in center field when Sam pitches," Rathjen said. "One time I told him I wanted to go an entire game without moving, and sure enough, the only time I ran was from the dugout out into the field and back when the inning was over. That's it.

"I have enjoyed watching him, especially from this side of the field. His other pitches are good, but his fastball is just unfair."

While they don't talk about Rice's elimination at the hands of Texas in the NCAA Regionals in June, they do discuss playing against and with each other.

Wherever they end up, competition will trump friendship ever so briefly.

"The only time I really root against him is we play them," Stafford said. "If he hits the ball hard and it's on the warning track as long as it's an out, that's fine."

"Sam's going to be a weekend pitcher (where teams line up their top pitchers) at Texas this year, I'm sure of it," Rathjen said. "And we will probably only play them in a mid-week game. But if we do meet up in a regional or even the College World Series, I think I may have to take him deep a couple of times."

"We will have to wait and see about that," Stafford said. "Indeed."