Yardbarker
x
Sports & Politics Intersect: Presidential sports coverage from coast-to-coast
Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Sports & Politics Intersect: Presidential sports coverage from coast-to-coast

"Who could forget the amazing Jose Altuve? Where's Jose? He's much taller than I thought." - President Donald Trump 

It's been a busy sports week for U.S. presidents, present and former alike.

On Monday, Donald Trump welcomed the World Series-winning Houston Astros to the White House as per tradition. The event doubled as a celebration to the city of Houston and tribute to the many Good Samaritans who stepped up to help their brethren; the Cajun Army and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, who opened his furniture stores up to those seeking refuge, were also both honored. The visit was largely incident-free, though Jose Altuve did cause a stir thanks to his resting pitch face. His alleged scowl quickly became an internet meme, so much so that the Venezuelan beisbolero had to issue a clarification. That same day, Trump's personal aide, John McEntee, was fired for an "unspecified security issue." We would eventually learn that the former college quarterback – McEntee briefly played for UConn between 2011-2012 – and YouTube trick shot artist was fired for gambling.

On Tuesday, Trump headed out west to Southern California, starting his day in San Diego before trekking north to Beverly Hills for a fundraiser at the mansion of Shari and Edward Glazer, the co-chairman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and owner of Manchester United. The following morning, Trump, who stayed at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Los Angeles – all the way across town, shutting down traffic during peak hours and while it was raining – left the next morning, choppering out of nearby Dodger Stadium to LAX.

Elsewhere, Barack Obama continued his annual tradition of unveiling his presidential March Madness bracket. Regardless of what you think of him or his politics, Obama knows his college hoops. Last year he correctly predicted that North Carolina would win it all. He's already got some misses this year, incorrectly predicting that Arizona would easily take care of Buffalo in the opening round (he also had the Wildcats in the Sweet 16), though no one could fault him for that. Much to the chagrin of just about everyone – except maybe the NCAA – no one thought Arizona would flame out like that.

Don’t worry, the Buffalo players are already roasting 44 for his pick.

Need to know now: 

  • Demand for college basketball reform grows louder - With the men’s NCAA basketball tournament underway, calls for the NBA to repeal its age limit on American-born players are being made by NCAA members themselves. NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he has no issue with college athletes being paid beyond athletic scholarships. A Pac-12 panel went further by calling for a separate enforcement body independent of the NCAA. Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, who presides over the FBI’s ongoing corruption case, is upset about the many leaks being reported in the media.

  • March Madness is about the ladies, too - With most eyes on the men, it’s likely the first chance many sports fans have had to notice that the women have their own tournament as well with the nominal coverage of women’s sports year-round. Generally, the uptick of interest in women’s sports usually comes from nationalism during the Olympics.  

  • Even amateur athletes need money to win - Just a few years ago the Wichita State Shockers were unranked; now they’re (a swiftly dispatched) four-seed in the tourney as the deep-pocketed Charles Koch, generally known for campaign spending, has poured donations into the program

  • Potential buyers of the Carolina Panthers - We already knew that Sean “Diddy” Combs and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry (a Charlotte native) we’re interested making a bid for the NFL team, but the big-money names in their potential ownership group now include Fanatics owner Michael Rubin and Alibaba's Joe Tsai. (Rubin will have to sell his shares in the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils.)

  • NHL dives into esports - The NHL is the latest ball-and-stick league to dip its toe into esports, but it hopes to find success with pushing individual play over team play. Meanwhile, the city of Arlington, Texas, will develop just the third esports stadium in the country. As for players themselves, they are attempting to unionize.

  • Frayed relationship between ESPN and the NFL? - Tension between America’s most popular sports network and its most popular sports league has grown over the last few years, something that new ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro will have to focus on quickly. His predecessor, John Skipper, revealed that his shocking resignation in late 2017 stemmed from an extortion plot.

  • ABC shelves sitcom episode on athlete protests - An episode of the popular sitcom “Black-ish” was scrapped due to “creative differences” between the network and producers. A portion of the episode covered an argument over the rights of football players to kneel during the national anthem.

  • Bernie Sanders, meet Yasiel Puig - Sanders, the senator from Vermont and former presidential candidate, visited the Los Angeles Dodgers during spring training, meeting star outfielder Yasiel Puig in the process. Sanders, who himself left Brooklyn a few times before settling in Vermont, lamented the team’s departure for the left coast 61 years ago.

  • MSG using face-scanning tech - “The World’s Most Famous Arena” has quietly used facial recognition technology “to bolster security and identify those entering the building.” Perhaps James Dolan is that scared of Charles Oakley.

  • NBA, players union announce mental wellness initiative - On the heels of revealing stories from DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Love and Kelly Oubre, the NBA and the NBA Players Association announced that they are close to launching a new mental wellness program for players, with hopes to add components for the G League and WNBA.

  • Upheaval in the BIG3 - Roger Mason Jr. was fired as commissioner of the BIG3 after allegations of corruption had emerged. Mason said he was fired in retaliation for accusing the league of a breach in his contract and an allegation of racism by co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz. Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, who coached in the league last summer, takes over as league commissioner.

  • Putin ordered plane shot down before Sochi Olympics - In a new documentary, Russian president Vladimir Putin said that he gave orders to shoot down a commercial airplane that was initially believed to be used in a terror plot at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. (Thankfully, it was a false alarm.)

  • Belgian rapper dropped from World Cup song - Belgium’s national soccer body “mutually agreed” to end a collaboration with Damso after protests from women’s groups and politicians about his lyrics, which were deemed sexist. In 2014, gendered insults and sexist intimidation were outlawed in the country.

  • Jury awarded former women’s hockey coach in Title IX suit - Shannon Miller was awarded $3.74 million by jurors, who found that the University of Minnesota-Duluth was guilty of gender discrimination when deciding to not offer the five-time national champion coach a new contract.

This week in sports and politics history: Cardinals fans should beware the Ides of March 


Nate Fine/Getty Images

"Deep down in my heart I'm a Cardinal fan. Once a Cardinal fan, always a Cardinal fan. I still look for the score but it's been hard to follow them closely in St. Louis and you do lose interest." - Roland Benda, Chicago Cardinals fan 

The month of March was seemingly designed for the emergence of spring, college basketball and the Cardinals making huge franchise changes.

One of the NFL’s charter members, the Cardinals are the oldest continuously run professional football franchise in the nation, according to the team’s website. They were founded in 1898 but have seen myriad significant changes since their inception 120 years ago.

The team got its start in Chicago and went through two different names before landing on the Cardinals. While the name was able to stick over the decades, the team’s city did not. In 1960, the team moved from Chi-Town to St. Louis by way of a unanimous vote from the owners, which devastated fans in Chicago. Even up until the late ’80s (when the team would move again) some fans in Chicago still rooted for the Cards over the Bears.

In 1988, the team would pick up and leave St. Louis and head to Arizona following the Raiders’ move from Oakland to Los Angeles (1982) and the Colts’ move from Baltimore to Indianapolis (1984).

The connection tying all of these moves (and the team’s name change from the Phoenix Cardinals to the Arizona Cardinals) is that they happened in mid-March, so if you see a nervous Cards fan this week, it's either due to the franchise's March history or the fact the Cardinals have hitched their wagon to the oft-injured and always expensive Sam Bradford.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.