sports author
Author of The King of Sports: Football’s Impact on America
PROFILE
Gregg Easterbrook
Guest
FROM Gregg Easterbrook
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
In Defense of Football The sport of football has its fans and foes. Probably more fans: last year’s Super Bowl was the most-watched TV show in history. Yet there are huge problems with the sport. Ex-players are suffering from chronic brain injuries and some current players are accused of domestic violence. And despite its billions, the NFL gets tons of public subsidies. Last year, Madeleine interviewed Steve Almond, who wrote a book saying why he can no longer — in good conscience — watch the game. Now, a rebuttal of sorts.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Would an NFL Team Be Good for L.A.? Twenty years ago, on Christmas eve 1994, the Raiders and Rams both played their last game in Los Angeles. Since then, the second largest media market in the country has not had an NFL team. But there sure has been a lot of talk of bringing a team back, and it seems to be heating up again. But what’s really in it for L.A. and its taxpayers?
Which Way, L.A.?
Should College Athletes Be Paid? Who works 40 or 50 hours a week without salaries? Student-athletes -- or athlete-students, as more have been calling themselves. Colleges say football and basketball players are "amateurs" who play for the love of the game, but they mean big business for major institutions. The holidays bring another season of bowl games, with a difference. TV contracts are into the billions. Top-level coaches make millions, but when Texas A&M's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Johnny Manziel, was suspected of selling his signature, he was briefly suspended by the NCAA. As America sits down for another season of bowl games, billion dollar TV contracts and embarrassing questions, are young people who risk career-ending injuries being exploited? (We invited the NCAA, several sports conferences and schools to participate, but they declined our invitation.)
To the Point
Should College Athletes Be Paid? Who works 40 or 50 hours a week without salaries? Student-athletes -- or athlete-students, as more have been calling themselves. Colleges say football and basketball players are "amateurs" who play for the love of the game, but they mean big business for major institutions. The holidays bring another season of bowl games, with a difference. TV contracts are into the billions. Top-level coaches make millions, but when Texas A&M's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Johnny Manziel, was suspected of selling his signature, he was briefly suspended by the NCAA. As America sits down for another season of bowl games, billion dollar TV contracts and embarrassing questions, are young people who risk career-ending injuries being exploited? (We invited the NCAA, several sports conferences and schools to participate, but they declined our invitation.)
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Farewell LA freeways, Peter Shire is back Angelenos don't want more freeways but we seem not to want mass transit either. Metro has killed the 710 freeway extension, and bus and train ridership is down across the region. What's the future of getting around in LA? And, Peter Shire is having a comeback. What attracts a new generation to his playful ceramics and furniture?
Bookworm
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.