Sports
Weekend America's Sports Coverage
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Letters: Race, Money, and Sailing
It's time to open the Weekend America mailbag and hear your responses to recent shows. This week, host John Moe learns about whether there's any way to determine world records in endurance sailing. Also we hear your responses to last week's segments on race and forgiveness at a Michigan church, and our essay from a college teacher forced to sell her books to buy food.
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The Schooner Anne
In April 2007, Reid Stowe and Soanya Ahmad set out from New York harbor on an ambitious sailing voyage. Their goal was to sail for 1000 days without touching land, carrying all their provisions with them. They aimed to beat the world record of endurance sailing, which currently stands at 658 days. Saturday is day 538 of the voyage. We wanted to know what they were listening to to pass the time on their trip.
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Urban Cowboys
New York City and cowboys. They have nothing in common, right? Different landscapes, different characters, different values. Well, a group of New Yorkers have figured out a way to live the cowboy lifestyle in the most urban environment. The Federation of Black Cowboys' stable sits just feet away from the noisy Belt Parkway near JFK airport.
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Army Ultimate Fighting
The Army says mixed martial arts fighting - a mix of boxing, judo, karate and wrestling - is tailor-made for combat. But mixed martial arts fighting is not just a training strategy. Since the sport is also wildly popular among 18- to 25-year-old guys, it's a useful tool for the Army to attract new recruits. This weekend, the Army's best fighters will compete for the title of All Army Combatives Champion.
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A Baseball Dilemma
Weekend America host John Moe wonders if he's committing baseball adultery by rooting for a new team now that his beloved Seattle Mariners are on a losing streak.
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"Shotgun"
It's time to listen to your weekend soundtrack. The songs that bridge the gap from Friday to Monday. Our latest story comes from our engineer and Ironman Triathlete Tim Bomba. Tim lives in Los Angeles, and he told us that his weekend soundtrack is "Shotgun" by Junior Walker. He spoke with Bill Radke.
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Retracing a Wartime Bike Ride
In 1940, Sasha Aslanian's grandmother, Asta Ladstein, biked across Norway with her husband. They did it when Norway was under German occupation. They took a ferry from their island off the southwest coast up into one of the fjords. Then they pedaled over the mountains through Telemark. They went over 200 miles, just to visit Asta's sister. Their two-year-old daughter came along in a handlebar basket. This summer, Sasha Aslanian and her husband Leif Larsen retraced their journey.
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College Football Mania
This weekend the air is becoming brisk. And if you listen closely, you can hear the sound of marching bands playing football fight songs. For college football fans, die-hards, true believers, the months between January and September are months of darkness, joylessness and patient waiting for the season to begin. Nowhere are fans more rabid than in the South. Georgia, Oklahoma, LSU, Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and of course, the Crimson Tide of Alabama.
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Grunt It Out
Tennis fans have migrated east this weekend to watch the U.S. Open. If you listen closely, you can hear the chair umpire at Arthur Ashe stadium try to calm down the New York fans. Maybe a Bronx cheer would work a little better than the standard "Quiet, please." Of course, there are other sounds that come to mind whenever gladiators of the court gather.
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How To Ride A Bike
The 1970s and '80s were a more laissez-faire parenting time. When leaning how to ride a bike, adults pretty much stayed out of the way. You try, fall, try, crash, try and succeed. Not anymore. As technology brings us car seats, padded playground surfaces, and Web pages devoted to bad nanny sightings, we do the modern urban-parent thing when it comes to teaching bike-riding: we outsource it.
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World's Greatest Athlete
As the 29th Olympiad finishes up, we've witnessed athleticism at its finest. We've even been witness to history, as the American swimmer Michael Phelps became the greatest Olympian ever, winning eight gold medals in a single game. For most us, the closest we'll ever get to the Olympics is from the comfort of our own couches, feet propped up and a snack or two by our sides. But not Weekend America's Charlie Schroeder. He likes the Olympics so much he wanted to do more than just watch.
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Forty Years Later
The Olympics are often seen as a place where tension and strife are set aside in favor of the purity and joy of athletic competition. But it doesn't always work out that way. Forty years ago, John Carlos was a track and field athlete. He won the bronze in the 200-meter at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. When Carlos stood on the podium at the medal award ceremony, he and fellow American Tommie Smith raised their black-gloved fists, showing the Black Power salute.
