Sports Archives - Granite Grok

BRADLEY: Oh, Baseball World Series Time Again!

November 2, 2025 Charles Bradley

Oh, Baseball World Series time again! Seventy years ago, baseball was America’s favorite pastime. As little boys, on our way home from school, we ran to the Chevy dealership on Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware, to watch the game. Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Moose Skowron were the stars we hoped to see win … Read more

TYSON: Give Me Sports or Give Me Death!

August 30, 2025 Kevin P. Tyson

Judging by the passion in the room, you might conclude that sports, not literacy, are the real core mission of public education.

Bowl Mania: Too Much College Football!

January 2, 2025 Michael Moffett

The college football season finally ends on January 20 with a national championship game. Finally. Recall that college football games used to cease after the New Year’s Day Bowl extravaganzas featuring Rose, Cotton, Sugar, and Orange. Then, there’d be a poll to determine the national champion. Times have changed. Inevitably, there was controversy over those polls. Sometimes, … Read more

“Playing Like a Girl: The House That Rob Built”

December 27, 2024 Michael Moffett

There’s a sports documentary out there that’s a “must-see” for basketballers. And it’s not from ESPN, or Netflix, or HBO. It’s from PBS—our Public Broadcasting System. Yes. The same network that gave us Ken Burns’ Baseball. It’s a basketball documentary entitled Playing Like a Girl: The House that Rob Built. Completed in 2020, this Emmy Award-winning production chronicles … Read more

Autocratic Coaches, Belichick and Knight (And George Patton)

December 13, 2024 Michael Moffett

A recent FOX NFL Sunday pregame show featured former New England Patriots Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Julian Edelman together on the panel taking questions and having fun. It was great to watch. Former Pats coach Bill Belichick’s name naturally came up and the former New England stars were asked about rumors that Belichick was looking at … Read more

Olympic Women’s Boxing: Never let a good crisis go to waste

August 4, 2024 Ian Underwood

There is a perfect opportunity presenting itself at the Paris Olympics right now. Men are beating up women in the boxing events. At least some of the women are bowing out of their fights, correctly fearing for their lives. Why don’t the women organize an alternate boxing tournament (Herlympic Boxing?), featuring the women who qualified … Read more

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Title IX, College Sports, and Joe Biden

May 25, 2024 Michael Moffett

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” – Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972.

Sales Taxes and Stadia

December 28, 2023 Michael Moffett

Oklahoma City voters approved a proposal for a new sales tax to fund a $1 billion downtown arena that will keep the NBA’s Thunder in that city through 2050. Interesting. I’m sure Oklahomans who don’t care for basketball or sales taxes are less than pleased.

Traditions, Troops, and Hoops

December 8, 2023 Michael Moffett

I recently received a text from an old Marine Corps buddy who now teaches history at Clemson University. “What’s up with the Celtics floor at the Garden? No more parquet?”

Chess, Trans Athletes, and Free Markets in Sports

September 23, 2023 Op-Ed

Transgender athletes are becoming increasingly more common in athletic competitions, and this has spurred a great deal of criticism from the right side of the political aisle. Their argument is simple: men have a distinct advantage when it comes to sports.

Biden, Belichick, and Fastballs

September 2, 2023 Michael Moffett

In our sports vernacular, the expression “losing your fastball” is a euphemism for no longer being able to perform to previous standards. After fireball-throwing Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton lost his fastball in the 1960s, he threw knuckleballs to extend his career.

Jim Nantz image - facebook video interview

The Luckiest Man In Sports

April 10, 2023 Ray Cardello

I am taking a step away from politics today. After over 800 straight days of writing about the issues of the country and world, we all need a break- I know I do. I sometimes think about what I would do if I had a chance to hit the reset button. In the real world, I can see myself as a prosecutor.

Where Can Residents of New Hampshire Head to Watch Soccer Live?

January 24, 2023 Guest Contributor

Here are some of the best places residents of New Hampshire can visit to watch live soccer matches from some of the major soccer leagues around the world.

Tennessee Takes the Next Step To Protect Girls Sports

April 28, 2022 Steve MacDonald

Tennessee passed a law in March that requires students to participate in school sports based on sex, not gender identity. SB1861 creates a disincentive for schools to ignore that requirement.

Will now Lia Thomas Facebook before transition

Why Aren’t Women Screaming

March 21, 2022 Ray Cardello

I am sickened on many levels as Lia Thomas continues to mock women’s sport. Thomas is destroying collegiate swimming, but how long will it take before this dilemma hits the Olympics, professional, or even high school athletics?

Coach K screen grab from Coach K dot com

Is Coach K the End of the Road?

March 19, 2022 Ray Cardello

Sports used to be so much more important in my life than today. We emulated our sports heroes because they were bigger than life. We would be at the ball field in summer hitting balls like Yaz, and in the winter, we would be on frozen ponds stickhandling like Bobby.

A Night Away From The Real World

March 13, 2022 Ray Cardello

I am suffering from news overload. I have been sleeping little and watching war too much. Ukraine is like a car crash you cannot avert your eyes from. I have been glued to the reports of Benjamin Hall, Trey Yingst, and Mike Tobin. These three men are not human.

“Protect Women’s Sports”

March 4, 2022 Skip

I am a woman, a lifelong athlete, former Dartmouth College athlete, professional soccer player, mother, and lawyer. I have played sports competitively and successfully my entire life.

soccer ball original Photo by Connor Coyne on Unsplash

Against the Athletes – There Is No Scientific Basis for Vaccinating Those with the Strongest Immunity

March 20, 2022January 13, 2022 Kensley Vitoria

Sports and athletics. This is a major global industry that has defined the course of the planet. Our collective global civilization has championed sports for the past century. These games and pursuits have become predominant leisure activities and interests for billions of people.

Excellence and Exceptionalism Should Be Embraced

May 21, 2021 Michael Moffett

During a recent golf outing with my friend Tom from Manchester, the conversation turned to the demise of youth sports in the Queen City. My buddy grew up there and once played on a Class L state championship basketball team as a Manchester kid.