By Cat Ariail Tonight, the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers will tip-off the Unity Game. Instead of preseason basketball, “celebrating multiracial groups, diverse populations and organizations committed to improving relations among different groups” will assume priority. A day of community service preceded the game and the half-time ceremony will feature an address by the CEO…
Hoffmann, Melody L. Bike Lanes Are White Lanes: Bicycle Advocacy and Urban Planning. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. Pp. 210. Notes, bibliography, and index. $40.00 hardcover. Reviewed by Cat Ariail Although a slim book, Melody Hoffmann’s Bike Lanes are White Lanes is powerfully relevant. Hoffmann, a communication studies scholar (and avid bicyclist), critiques the…
By Cat Ariail After returning from the 1948 Olympic Games in London, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) sought feedback from athletes, presumably to use such information to improve logistics for future international competitions. Frances Kaszubski, a shot putter and discus thrower, took full advantage of this opportunity. She composed a ten-page letter, detailing the indignities…
This week we’re offering our thoughts and reflections on the recently completed Rio Olympics. Today is part two of our roundtable. It features a Q&A with four of our contributors — Cat Ariail, Josh Howard, Andrew McGregor, and Lindsay Parks Pieper — about their views on the Rio Olympics and its legacy as both scholars and sports fans. Feel…
Last night NBC aired the Closing Ceremony of the Rio Olympics, officially ending the Games of the XXXI Olympiad. The contributors to Sport in American History watched many of the 306 athletic events over the past 19 days with enthusiasm and interest. This week on the blog we offer our thoughts and reflections as both scholars…
Swanson, Ryan A. and David K. Wiggins, eds. Philly Sports: Teams, Games, and Athletes from Rocky’s Town. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2016. Pp. 330. Notes and index. $24.95 paper. Reviewed by Cat Ariail This past spring, the Philadelphia 76ers “won” the NBA Draft Lottery, earning the right to select Ben Simmons with the…
By Cat Ariail At the upcoming summer Olympics in Rio, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will attempt to win her third consecutive gold medal in the 100 meters. Her countryman Usain Bolt also will have the opportunity to accomplish the feat in both the 100 and 200 meters. If they three-peat in the 100, Fraser-Pryce and Bolt…
As part of ESPN’s 30 for 30, O.J.: Made in America examines O.J. Simpson’s movement through the American cultural, political, and social landscape of the past five decades. The five-segment documentary explores the significances of race, gender, celebrity, and violence in Simpson’s football career and later criminal trial. The Sport in American History blog will…
Colás, Yago. Ball Don’t Lie!: Myth, Genealogy, and Invention in the Cultures of Basketball. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2016. Pp. 226. Notes and Index. $79.50 cloth, $19.95 paperback, $19.95 ebook. Reviewed by Cat Ariail The Golden State Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers Finals rematch has reinvigorated debates about whether Steph Curry has surpassed LeBron James as the best…
On May 25-27, 1973, scholars gathered at Ohio State University’s Center for Tomorrow for the first North American Society for Sport History (NASSH) convention. The inaugural group was largely comprised of scholars with physical education backgrounds and an interest in sport history. Not surprisingly then, the first convention showcased thirty papers with ancient Greek athletics,…
Sport in American History 