AfterEllen.com reader heygirlhey recently brought to my attention the plight of women who spend their free time doing this:

Karla Keck

Yes, I'm talking about that other misunderstood and rejected minority group: women who ski jump. (For fun, I mean, not because they're racing away from an avalanche.) I'll admit I think they're slightly crazy, but I spend my free time watching bad lesbian movies, so who am I to judge?

And it is pretty cool watching them do this:

Lindsey Vonn

But that's the problem — you can't actually watch women ski jump, at least not at the Winter Olympics, because Women's Ski Jumping was rejected for inclusion in the 2010 Winter Olympics. In announcing the decision in 2006, IOC vice president Gunilla Lindberg said, "In our analysis, there are not enough athletes and not enough countries [participating]."

But as the Wikipedia entry on ski jumping notes, "Currently there are 135+ athlete competing on an international level [in women's ski jumping], which is more than snowcross, ski cross, bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge" All of which are Winter Olympics events open to both men and women, while ski jumping and nordic remain open only to men.

IOC president Jacques Rogge has stated that they don't allow women ski jumpers in the Olympics because, "We do not want the medals to be diluted and watered down." … continue reading

Comedian Kate Clinton talks about Title IX and the Seattle Storm, playing the gender card, and the importance of sticking together during the campaign.

She also mentions how much she likes playing the card game UNO. I used to love playing that as a kid! I'll have to pick it up again one of these days...

Hi, my name is Siege, and I'm a sports addict. I'll admit it. If I didn't, my better half would surely scold me. I don't like when she scolds me. I love watching sports of almost any kind. Baseball, football, golf, tennis and of course hockey. Basketball is the only one I don't tend to get all excited about. I think my dislike stems from my inability to do anything remotely coordinated on a basketball court.

I used to feel the same way about soccer. I didn't understand it. I couldn't get my limbs to do what I wanted them to do while trying to play it. That all changed in the summer of 1999. In fact, I remember the exact moments that made me fall in love with soccer, particularly women's World Cup soccer.

Moment number one: Michelle Akers leaves it all on the field.

I remember watching Akers literally collapse in exhaustion on the field. I remember hearing of her suffering from chronic fatigue. And I remember her triumphantly returning to the field for the celebration, having basically defied team doctors to be with her teammates. Who says women aren't tough?

Moment number two: Briana Scurry makes the save. … continue reading

Is anything more queer (I mean that both ways) than roller derby?

If so, please tell me what it is so that I can replace the cobbled-together poster on the back of the bathroom door. Oh, wait, did I say roller derby? I meant Women's Flat Track Derby Association and its participants. My bad, mea culpa, all apologies. This is no fly-by-night women's sports league: There are teams in 20, count 'em, 2-0 states, from Seattle to New York City and everything in between. Texas seems to have particularly embraced this sport, with six different leagues registered with the WFTD Association and two in Dallas alone. I do have to say that even I find Dallas' Assassination City Roller Derby to be a bit over the top in its marketing scheme. But then I discovered that this is the norm, as most of the WFTDA leagues display a scathing, if not completely wicked, sense of humor and an unabashed appreciation for the absurd.

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For those of you saddened by the end of the 2007 U.S. Open (congrats to Justine Henin, btw), rest assured that you can still watch women's sports on national television. And, no, I'm not talking about the Women's World Cup (most popular sport in the world, blah, blah ...) I'm talking about bowling! Set your DVRs now; ESPN will broadcast the 2007 U.S. Women's Open on five consecutive Sundays at 1:00 p.m. ET. According to the USBC (that's United States Bowling Congress) e-mail I received, "[t]he best women bowlers in the world will battle for the $25,000 top prize and prestigious U.S. Women's Open crown."

Why do I get USBC emails, you ask? Well, I have embraced the sport of the sedentary and am captain of a bowling team in a local GLBT league (emphasis on the G). Every week I head to Leisure Time Bowl in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan with my pink and black bowling shirt and my hot pink bowling ball (both inscribed "ACE"; yes, it's as classy as it sounds). It's kind of like the Pink Ladies and T-birds (circa Grease 2) redux: … continue reading

I've been loving every minute of the U.S. Open. (OK, maybe not Serena's pouty press conference, but never mind that for now.) From Marion Bartoli's insanely intricate serve preparation — isn't she kind of adorable, by the way? — to Venus Williams' intense battle with the acrobatic Jelena Jankovic, it's been a great couple of weeks so far.

But this post isn't really about tennis. It's about Tina. Because my favorite part of the U.S. Open broadcasts has been the new American Express commercial featuring Tina Fey. Every time I think I couldn't possibly love her more, she does something like this.

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You know how the conversations get started. You're cavorting with your friends when someone decides to take things in a direction that's a bit less lighthearted and a bit more thought-provoking. A game of 20 questions goes from silly to sincere in the blink of an eye. When the tone shifts, I like to bring up the subject of women I'd like to meet. I think it's enlightening to know who my friends would like to sit down with for coffee and a bit of chit-chat if they could choose any woman, living or dead, for their own little game of 20 questions.

My problem with such questions is that I would have a tough time narrowing it down to just one. I love women who break barriers or defy odds. I adore women who tell it like it is without apology. My standard choice has generally been Maya Angelou.

Much as I like that choice, I decided the other day that I needed to expand my horizons, branch out to new territory, find another bright, witty woman I don't know with whom to have a little sit-down. After scouring the net for likely candidates — in a completely non-stalkerish way — I learned something important. I don't know enough women. What I mean is, there are amazing women out there, in all kinds of places, and I had never heard of them before. And that's just wrong. So I wanted to let you in on some of the amazing women I discovered.

First, you should know what got me started down this road in the first place. There's a little slide-show article over at msn.com called "10 amazing women you've never heard of" (thanks Mo!). It's an outstanding list of smart, beautiful women including Nobel prize winners, doctors, teachers, and the first plus-sized super-model, Emme Aronson. It includes women like Safiye Amjan, an Afghan woman who defied the Taliban to continue educating girls in her homeland. It includes women like Waris Dirie, a Somalian woman who has led the crusade to end female genital mutilation after suffering the atrocity of it herself. It includes women like Kelly Perkins, a heart transplant recipient who climbs mountains both literal and figurative. It's a list you should definitely check out.

It's also a list that leaves a lot of room for additions. Here are five women who would be on my list. I'd love to engage any of them in a little coffee talk. … continue reading

I used to have a crush on Serena Williams' arms. I mean, have you seen them?

But now I'm developing a crush on the whole woman, not just her arms or other admirable parts. The whole is much greater than the sum. Serena has the killer bod, but she also has the killer attitude to go with it. The new Nike campaign perfectly serves her sassiness:

And then there's her infectious smile and the way she still gets all excited when she sees someone she knows in the crowd. … continue reading

I look forward to the end of summer every year — cooler weather sets in, school supplies go on sale, and dozens of women with serious balls (tennis balls, that is) descend upon Queens to play in the final Grand Slam event of the season, the U.S. Open. Although the crowd at the top is sadly out-lesbian-free this year (get well, Amelie!), there's nothing else sad about it: Powerful players and no hands-down favorite should make for a terrific tournament.

If you're a tennis fan, you're probably as excited as I am — and if you're not, take a gander at these phenoms and you just might change your mind.

No. 1, Justine Henin (Belgium)

Her size can be misleading, but her stats aren't — 2003 U.S. Open champ Henin is the world No. 1 for good reason. As a Mauresmo fan, I feel that I shouldn't root for Henin on principle, and since she is the top seed a win may be anticlimactic, but she's so much fun to watch that I won't be disappointed if we see her for the full two weeks. … continue reading

Tonight at the U.S. Open, the U.S. Tennis Association will honor Althea Gibson (1927–2003), who is sometimes called the Jackie Robinson of tennis. It's the 50th anniversary of the historic victory at the U.S. National Championships that made her the first African-American title holder in tennis, and as part of tonight's ceremony she is being inducted into the U.S. Open Court of Champions (an honor based on the result of an international media vote).

Not only was Gibson the first African-American athlete ever to enter the U.S. championships in 1950, but she also won 11 grand slams during her career, including five singles titles in a three-year period and doubles titles at Wimbledon with different partners three years running. (No wonder she's called one of the mothers of women's tennis.) As part of the opening night tribute, the USTA is holding a "Breaking Barriers" celebration honoring the careers of trailblazing African-American women. Aretha Franklin will be lending her vocals to the festivities. … continue reading

I love women’s basketball. My friends would say “love” is an understatement. One of them, in fact, comes to basketball watching parties not to watch the game, but to watch me watching the game. But how could anyone not love moments like this?

The WNBA play-offs, which started Thursday night (no spoilers ahead), are full of such moments. Even the most casual WBB fan remembers Teresa Weatherspoon’s miraculous half-court buzzer beater in game two of the 1999 championships. (I’d love to post a video of the shot, but wnba.com seems to have deleted it. Why would anyone want to see the greatest moment in WNBA history?)

Of course, if any great moments happened in the first half of Indiana vs. Connecticut last night, I missed them because ESPN2 felt like the Little League World Series was more important. Not U.S. teams, mind you — Taipei vs. Japan. Finally, the WNBA game was moved to ESPN Classic. I bet that baseball game is still going on.

SI.com posted an overview of the play-off teams Wednesday — a good way to catch up if you haven’t followed the season but plan to watch the postseason. And if you like numbers, USA Today has a nice breakdown of the match-ups in the East and the West. I’ll leave predictions to the experts, but will happily provide some suggestions of women to watch during the WNBA play-offs. … continue reading

I admit it; like many around here, I'm a sucker for a good sports film. No matter how formulaic the plot (The underdog wins! The team doesn't win but learns a valuable lesson!), win or lose I'm usually choked up by the end of the Big Game. So I was excited to read about Chak de India, a new Bollywood film that has both box office and critical success. The sports movie genre is rare for Bollywood, as is showing its leading ladies in sweaty, dirty conditions. But this film is loosely based on the true story of an Indian women's field hockey team and its coach.

And how great is this image?

In the movie, the girls must find a way to unite despite their differences and overcome obstacles such as class, ethnic, and gender bias. The movie is also about a nation as underdog. The team plays its way to a championship in an international field where the girls must earn respect for their country, and it's no coincidence that the film's release date coincides with the 60th anniversary of India's independence from British colonial rule.

Here's one promo. I couldn't find this particular version with subtitles, but one beauty of sports movies is that you can always tell what's going on anyway. … continue reading

The WNBA postseason starts tonight with Indiana vs. Connecticut at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and San Antonio vs. Sacramento at 10 p.m. ET on NBA-TV (with simultaneous webcast on WNBA Broadband).

Here’s one thing I hope not to see tonight.

Tamika Catchings, who has been on the Fever bench with a foot injury since July 20, doesn’t know yet whether she’ll play tonight. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

For more on tonight’s games, wnba.com has a preview.

I was in Portland last week (and my, what a beautiful state you Oregonians have) and happened to catch a spectacular lighted photography display set up on the streets of the downtown.  It was the roving Illumé photo exhibit, the result of a (Red Bull-sponsored) photography competition designed to interest people in action/adventure sports and photography. 

Besides thinking "Pretty!" and "If this were set up in my hometown it would already be graffitied!" I hadn't wandered too far up the row of lighted displays before I noticed a theme: chiseled male torsos.  Now, I can appreciate these on an aesthetic level, but with each new display I wondered, with increasing crankiness, where are the ladies?  Surfing was a favored subject, so I was really hoping to see, say, Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich or Australian Stephanie Gilmore illuminated across an eight-foot cube.

… continue reading