Gene Upshaw Dead at 63
Gene Upshaw, Hall of Fame offensive lineman and executive director of the NFLPA, has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 63. Upshaw played for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders from 1967 through 1981. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and an 11-time All-Pro, playing on two Super Bowl-winning teams with the Raiders. He was inducted into the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 21, 2008 09:36
2008 Election ‘Regular Season’ Kickoff
Although some of us have been obsessing about Campaign 2008 since, oh, November 2004, what's happened thus far is the political equivalent of the NFL's offseason. Both parties have completed their drafts and we've had some exhibition games but most people are waiting for the regular season to start before paying attention. That happens next week, with the start of the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 19, 2008 09:22
NFL Network Blackout Policy
I tuned in to the NFL Network a few minutes before 10 Eastern to watch the preseason opener between the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers only to find the game blacked out. Given that I don't live in either the Dallas or San Diego media markets, I thought it was odd. It turned out that the Washington Redskins, whose media ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 9, 2008 22:55
American Olympic Favoritism
Megan McArdle offers a defense of Americans from the charge that Americans are only interested in Olympic sports in which Americans are strong medal contenders, noting that we're a large country with established team sports loyalty and so forth. It's all true. More fundamentally, though, I reject the premise that Americans' America-centric view of sports is problematic. As Sir Paul McCartney, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 8, 2008 13:50
Brett Favre Traded to Jets
Our long national nightmare is over: Brett Favre is a New York Jet. The Brett Favre era in Green Bay officially came to an end late Wednesday night as the legendary longtime Packers quarterback was traded to the New York Jets, the Packers announced. The exact compensation wasn't immediately available, but it is believed to be a fourth-round draft pick that increases ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 7, 2008 07:32
Comic Book Foreign Policy (or the Batman Theory of Foreign Policy)
Readers may be familiar with the Green Lantern Theory of Geopolitics (short version: the US can do whatever it wants if it just has even willpower). Now, it appears we can add another member of the Justice League to our understanding of foreign policy. On Friday, author Andrew Klavan had a piece in the WSJ comparing Batman ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 27, 2008 17:47
Yet Another Blow to the FARC
Via the BBC: Farc 'co-ordinator' held in Spain Spanish police say they have arrested the representative of the left-wing Colombian rebel group Farc in Spain. Maria Remedios Garcia Albert, a Spanish national, was detained near Madrid, as part of a joint operation by the Spanish and Colombian authorities. [...] It is claimed that Ms Garcia helped co-ordinate the group's wider activities in ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 27, 2008 10:50
Caleb Campbell Re-Drafted by Army
Remember the feel-good story from the end of this April's NFL draft when West Point’s Caleb Campbell was selected by the Detroit Lions? (If not, click the link.) Well, the Army has changed its mind: Caleb Campbell will not get a chance to play for the Detroit Lions because of a change in military policy. Campbell was a seventh-round draft pick ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 23, 2008 17:40
New England Patriots Cheating Scandal
The New England Patriots have been caught using electronic means to steal signals and otherwise violate league rules, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has determined that the New England Patriots violated league rules Sunday when they videotaped defensive signals by the New York Jets' coaches, according to league sources. NFL security officials confiscated a camera and videotape from ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on September 12, 2007 05:49
Judge Rules Stadium Searches Unconstitutional
A Florida appeals court judge ruled that searches of fans entering sports stadia were unreasonable and therefore violate the fans' constitutional rights. Appeals court: No pat-downs at Sunday's Bucs game (AP) Fans won't be searched at this weekend's Tampa Bay Buccaneers game after an appeals court Friday lifted a temporary stay on an injunction that halted pat-downs at Raymond James Stadium. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 4, 2005 19:36
