Edge of Sports Recent Columns

Edge of Sports Recent Columns http://www.edgeofsports.com/ Edge of Sports is the home of political sportswriter Dave Zirin en-us Copyright 2012 Edge of Sports, Inc. All rights reserved. Wed, 16 May 2012 04:03:02 EST Wed, 16 May 2012 04:03:02 EST Edge of Sports - Latest Columns webCOMAND http://www.edgeofsports.com/archives.html 60 Edge of Sports Recent Columns http://www.edgeofsports.com/images/rssfeed.gif http://www.edgeofsports.com/ 1329 204 "Drones, Missiles, and Gunships, Oh My!" Welcome to the 2012 London Olympics http://www.edgeofsports.com/2012-05-14-729/index.html As many as 48,000 security forces. 13,500 troops. Surface to air missiles stationed on top of residential apartment buildings. A sonic weapon that disperses crowds by creating "head splitting pain." Unmanned drones peering down from the skies. A safe-zone, cordoned off by an 11 mile, electrified fence, ringed with trained agents and 55 teams of attack dogs.One would be forgiven for thinking that these were the counter-insurgency tactics used by U.S. army bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, or perhaps the military methods taught to third world despots at the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning Georgia. But instead of being used in a war zone or the theater of occupation, they in fact make up the very visible security apparatus in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 EST What if Kobe Bryant was an Imprisoned Palestinian Soccer Player? http://www.edgeofsports.com/2012-05-10-728/index.html Imagine if a member of Team USA Basketball - lets say Kobe Bryant - had been traveling to an international tournament only to be seized by a foreign government and held in prison for three years without trial or even hearing the charges for which he was imprisoned. This is what has happened to Palestinian national soccer team member Mahmoud Sarsak. Sarsak who hails from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, was seized at a checkpoint on his way to a national team contest in the West Bank. Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 EST Adam "MCA" Yauch: Our Ambassador From Atlantis http://www.edgeofsports.com/2012-05-06-727/index.html In the '60s they said, "don't trust anyone over 30." When it comes to remembering Adam "MCA" Yauch, who died on May 4, I don't trust anyone under 30. Adam Yauch and the Beastie Boys stood for more than just hip hop and their personal sounds of science. They repped the soul of a city that no longer exists. The Beasties were global ambassadors from a lost New York City since smothered under the weight of police violence and gentrification. It was a city that churned out hip hop and basketball legends with arrogant ease. It was a city where the question what do you do was less about your job than what you did after work. It was a city where the clubs you could get into were less important than the neighborhoods you could get into - and out of. It was a city where if you could see over the counter, you were getting served. It was a city where a scuffle on 42nd and Broadway might spark and you would not even blink. Sun, 6 May 2012 00:00:00 EST Junior Seau's Family Will Allow His Brain To Be Studied and the NFL Holds Its Breath http://www.edgeofsports.com/2012-05-04-726/index.html Today brings news that the family of Junior Seau, the former 10-time All-Pro NFL linebacker who took his own life earlier this week, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-junior-seau-brain-study-20120503,0,1280862.story" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: rgb(17, 85, 204); ">will be donating his brain for study. </a>They want to know if brain injuries sustained during Seaus 20-year career may have contributed to his suicide. The ramifications are incalculable. Fri, 4 May 2012 00:00:00 EST 20 Years Later: Want to Understand the '92 LA Riots? Start with the '84 LA Olympics http://www.edgeofsports.com/2012-04-30-725/index.html If you dont light the fuse, the bomb wont blow. But striking the match and lighting the fuse is only the final step in a process of creating a deadly explosion. The match that started the 1992 LA Riots was struck when a videotape showcasing the brutal beating of African American motorist Rodney King by five police officers was released to the public. It lit the fuse on the bomb when a near all-white jury (10 whites, one Latino, one Asian) in Simi Valley found the officers innocent of all charges. The blast then spread over the next five days in the form of the largest urban uprising in the history of the United States. When the shrapnel had stopped flying, the damage amounted to one billion dollars, 53 deaths, and thousands of injuries. Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EST