Hole Punch Sports

As you’ve probably heard by now, the BYU men’s basketball team has suspended its leading rebounder, Brandon Davies, for the rest of the season for an honor code violation. The move comes as somewhat of a surprise in college basketball circles, as the Cougars are ranked No. 3 in both polls, and No. 1 in RPI. This is the best BYU team in years, and one that can hardly afford to lose such a key performer. Before tonight’s loss to New Mexico, the Cougars were regarded as a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which starts in two weeks. After watching Saturday’s win over San Diego State, I’ve taken the Cougars seriously as contenders for the national championship. Jimmer’s great, and they play with a poise rare amongst Cougar teams I’ve followed. However, the reactions of BYU fans are puzzling to me. I’ve seen more than one student there say how proud they are of the school. When said students aren’t basketball fans (and they haven’t been, so far), such expressions of pride under...

Seven years, seven months…actually, almost eight months, if you’re keeping track . That feels right, but also way too short. I started following the NBA around the 1996-97 season. I jumped on the Bulls bandwagon and will never regret it, but my favorite team was my hometown one, the Denver Nuggets. They went 21-61. The next year they were 11-71. I learned early on how few players actually made it big, even the most hyped. Antonio McDyess was one of the two real talents we had in those lean years, but his temperament and durability made him a disappointment. Still, I loved those teams: inside enforcers like Tommy Hammonds and Danny Fortson, the promising Bobby Jackson, the high-flying Darvin Ham, and even Nick Van Exel. The other talent was a young point guard named Chauncey Billups who I once saw, in person, hit a three from about halfway between the three-point line and halfcourt to beat the shot clock. Like it was nothing. I remembered pulling for us to get him in the draft, but wh...

It's no joke. It seems like the more devoted of a fan you are, the less the league cares about your continued patronage. The best example is the league's blackout policy, a wonderful gift from the league to its teams granting them added market pressure to charge whatever ridiculous amount they want for tickets. If a game doesn't sell out, the home market doesn't get to watch it on TV. (Basically, a 75-mile radius around the stadium doesn't get to see the game on TV if all the tickets aren’t bought first.) The NFL, like a needy girlfriend, says, "Hey, fans, you like us? Prove it." Then the league asks us to prove it again and again, week after week, year after year. I live within 75 miles of what should be John Elway Stadium, but Broncos fans are pretty much shielded from this stuff, right? Not all of them. One of my friends is as supportive a fan as the NFL can have: he's a Broncos season ticket holder and an NFL Sunday Ticket subscriber. That mean...