Jul
29
2008
|
By: Sarah
|
|
Tuesday, 29 July 2008 |
 By now most of the blogosphere has been subjected to the trainwreck that is Fantasy Sports Girls on FanHouse. Some of our favorite bloggers have voiced their opinions, including this one , this one , and this one . And after looking at the introduction video twice (once in horror, twice in disgust), it's clear that the powers that be at AOL have completely lost touch - and are clearly touching themselves in the process.
Beautiful girls with shapely bodies talking about football? Sexy. Skanky girls with silicone bodies reading cue cards without a clue? Absurd. Now, I'm not going to scream about how offensive this is or how it's degrading to women. Those points are quite clear to anyone with an ounce of common sense. The realization that a major media outlet trying to maintain relevancy in a rapidly changing medium to think that this was a good idea is stunning.
What was great about AOL FanHouse at it's inception was that it toed the line between mainstream media and bloggers. It was one of the first big name outlets to embrace bloggers, and understand that fan driven content was where the sports market was headed. But as other blogs evolved FanHouse stayed static and one by one, those who had their fingers on the pulse of what works left. And now, we have the joke that is Fantasy Sports Girls.
What's sad is that to FanHouse, this wasn't a joke. This was a serious attempt to entertain readers and gain publicity. It got publicity alright, but not the kind that they wanted. I, for one, think it has done irreparable damage.
The thing is, there's room for women in sports. You want to see attractive girls talking about sports and taking themselves seriously? You'll find it here on this site.
|
|
Jul
29
2008
|
By: Sarah
|
|
Tuesday, 29 July 2008 |
 Former Rutgers tennis player Jay Kanetkar is mad as hell and he's not going
to take it anymore. The school has spent additional money for women's
sports after cutting other sports programs, in a move that Kanetkar
calls "a complete waste ".
I mean seriously. Why waste money on the women's sports. It's not like
they win or anything . And they cut programs like Heavyweight Crew! I
don't even know what that is, but it sounds cool. I mean, fat guys in a
little boat rowing? I'll take two tickets to that, please.
Kanetkar (who graduated almost 20 years ago) claims that the athletes were commended for their high grade
point averages days before their programs were cut. I can pretty much
tell you how that conversation went. "OK guys, here's the thing. You're
in the fencing program. I think we all know none of you are going pro.
I mean, the WNBA is big time! Let's give those girls a shot, huh?"
Yes, the school has admitted that Title IX played a part in the
decision making, but let's be real. I guarantee you that none of the
programs cut were big money makers for the school. You can't expect to
be handed money by the school if you're not contributing money back.
I'm not a fan of Title IX as a theory, but these programs aren't for
shits and giggles. They exist to bring money to the school and help
increase student enrollment through reputation. I don't think anyone's
choosing to apply to Rutgers to go watch Men's Tennis. Women's fencing however, is a total fan-favorite.
|
|
Jul
29
2008
|
By: Sarah
|
|
Tuesday, 29 July 2008 |
 Michelle Wie has been receiving criticism lately from her female colleagues. Again. The criticism? She sucks.
Wie has decided she'd rather play with the boys, even though she's not even good enough to play with the girls. By opting to play in a men's tournament instead of qualifying for the Women's British Open, Wie has cemented her place in Anna Kournakova-like irrelevancy to her sport. With smaller tits.
Anika Sorenstam, who in 2003 was the first woman in 58 years to play with the boys and has 73 career titles, had this to say:
"We have a major this week and, if you can't qualify for a major, I don't see any reason why you should play with the men."
Fellow golfer Helen Alfredsson blames Wie's parents. "I feel sad for her and for the guidance that she seems not to have in the right direction." she said to BBC.
But while it has become trendy to blame creepily overbearing parents for their celebrity kids' failures (David Archuletta, anyone?), at 18, Wie is more than capable of making her own bad choices. And her recent disqualification for forgetting to sign her scorecard shows that she needs to review the basics of her sport before she can even think about competing successfully at a pro level.
It seems that Wie, who has no professional wins, should concentrate on learning to play the game properly before trying to break gender barriers. Not sucking would be a great place to start.
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
| Results 22 - 24 of 24 |
