Only two of the Final Four teams were supposed to be in the Sweet 16, and none were supposed to make it to the Elite 8. But here we are, with the most upside-down Final Four I can think of. 11-seed Virginia Commonwealth; 8-seed Butler; 4-seed Kentucky; 3-seed Connecticut. It’s such a shocking Final Four [...]
Posts under ‘Coaches’
Hockey coach suspended for striptease
The Central Hockey League has suspended Colorado Eagles assistant coach Greg Pankewicz for 14 games after he did a partial striptease in anger over officiating. Pankewicz took off his tie, jacket, shirt and shoes, but left on his pants. The stripping begins at the 1:15 mark (thanks to a reader for the tip): Share on [...]
Gay couple defend Iowa St. women’s basketball
ESPN the Magazine has an important and timely article out about homophobia in women’s college basketball (“On homophobia and recruiting”). It addresses the subject of “negative recruiting,” a topic we have written about regularly at Outsports. The story opens by dealing with the program at Iowa State, where inferences are drawn. It is attracting criticism [...]
Rex Ryan’s foot fetish video and site profile?
Just when you thought the NFL season had gotten as strange as it possibly could, a foot-fetish video allegedly featuring Rex Ryan and his wife, Michelle Ryan, hits the Internet…and Deadspin! It certainly sounds like Ryan, and it certainly looks like his wife, but Ryan isn’t trying to keep it a personal matter, as he [...]
Penn State volleyball coach is gay-positive
Penn State women’s volleyball coach Russ Rose was recently profiled by ESPN.com. And out of the blue he talked about his welcoming position on gay players. I’m different than a lot of other people. I’m not judgmental in any way on anything. People might avoid kids that don’t look like they play well with others [...]
Lesbian coach out after revealing pregnancy
Lisa Howe, women’s soccer coach at Belmont University in Tennessee lost her job after she told the school she wanted to reveal that she and her female partner were expecting a baby (her partner is pregnant). According to her players, Howe was given the choice by school officials to quit or be fired. While school [...]
Northwestern coach makes players hold hands
Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald has had enough of in-camp fighting between his team members, and the Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein reported on Fitzgerald’s unique way of dealing with it. Via Twitter: Funniest moment from #Northwestern practice: Two players scuffle, take some swings at each other’s helmets … You guys are idiots!” Fitz (head coach Pat [...]
New Zealand school must pay fired gay coach
A New Zealand school that fired a coach for being gay must now pay him undisclosed compensation, according to the Associated Press. Middleton Grange School in Christchurch fired the girls netball coach, whose name was withheld, when they discovered he is gay. The board of trustees must also attend a human rights awareness class. The [...]
NCAA hit wrong target with USC sanctions
The NCAA has found that Pete Carroll, Reggie Bush and the USC football program cheated in the early 2000s. Bush apparently got benefits he should not have gotten. And now that Carroll and Bush and virtually everyone else who benefited from it are gone, the NCAA has punched the new players and coaching staff in [...]
Oregon State fires brutal LaVonda Wagner
Talk about a program in disarray. The Oregon State women’s basketball program has been ravaged by the departure of 23 people in the last four years, all apparently because of the alleged brutal actions of head coach LaVonda Wagner. According to the article and a great analysis by Pat Griffin, she is accused of… • [...]
Many in the AFL say Akermanis is wrong
Jason Akermanis has been called a lot of things in the day since he said gay athletes should stay in the closet. But the most powerful thing he’s being called is “Wrong.” Akermanis’ own club, the Western Bulldogs, immediately distanced themselves from Akermanis in a statement: The club do not agree with the views expressed [...]
Should women (and gays) coach football?
It’s a small sorority, only a handful strong. But the number of women coaching high school football increased by one two weeks ago when Natalie Randolph was named the head football coach of a high school team in Washington D.C. It brought to mind a question I remember asking some fraternity brothers of mine who [...]
Jim Tressel interview getting good reaction
Last week we ran the full article of an interview with Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach Jim Tressel, conducted by Outlook (an Ohio-based gay magazine). The editor of the magazine had asked us to run the article and we happily obliged, since it is (as far as we know) the first time a top-tier [...]
College lacrosse captain comes out as gay
When Oneonta State University lacrosse player Andrew McIntosh contacted Outsports a couple weeks ago, it was to thank us for all of the coming-out stories we had featured on the site. Today, his story joins the list. It continues to surprise me how welcoming so many college sports programs are for gay athletes, and McIntosh’s [...]
Petty Don Shula roots against Colts, Saints
One of the more annoying “traditions” in the NFL is the 1972 Miami Dolphins popping champagne corks as soon as the last team loses each year. This way, the Dolphins can keep their distinction of being the only team to have gone through a season unbeaten (17-0). The coach of that team, Don Shula, admits [...]