Keith Strudler

Having done several sprint triathlons over the years in Key Biscayne, I am well familiar with the challenges of summer sporting events in Miami. Even with a 6 a.m. start time, it felt like racing through a furnace and the air was nearly as wet as the ocean. And beyond the morning, it pours pretty much every afternoon, followed by a weather condition best described as steam. So even evening outdoor sporting events feel like a wet sauna.

As for Archie Manning, the incoming freshman quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, he’s in the game. That’s what he announced this week, on Twitter, of course, with the help of his Super Bowl winning uncle Eli Manning.

There is nothing new about the concept of nepotism. It’s usually something people look down upon, unless it’s you or your own kid that benefits. Still, more often than not, we accept that quite often, people in positions of power might help their family get a leg up in their career, either at the entry level or towards the top of the pyramid.

Sports, like life, isn’t simply an uninterrupted timeline, but rather a series of consequential moments connected by time and space. So even though the clock never stops, some moments are more important than others.

For the sake of clarity, I will not pretend to be a longstanding fan of the WNBA or someone with deep knowledge about women’s basketball, pro or college. I say this in no way as a value statement, but because I don’t want to pretend I bring decades of insight and context, other than what I can offer as a sports fan and sports academic. To be honest, I’d say the same thing about pro hockey or boxing. My perspective is fairly distant, and I don’t want to be perceived as an interloper.

For an organization that seemingly went unchanged for well over 100 years, the NCAA does seem to be evolving quickly. Perhaps it’s the classic lily pad phenomenon. Even though you only see a few lily pads on the surface, the reality is that the pond is about to be completely covered. So even though it seemed like college sports was barely ever going to change, in reality, a seismic shift was long underway.

If you’re a fan of the American version of the TV show The Office, you likely remember an episode where Michael Scott makes all his employees do a celebrity roast of him. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t go as planned and ends up something of an unmitigated disaster with a lot of hurt feelings.

There’s a lot of Premier League soccer talk at out house, mainly because my two teenagers are really into soccer. One of them roots for Manchester United, or Man U, which I’ve come to learn is perhaps the most popular team in the world.

Commentator Keith Strudler offers deep thoughts on the wide world of sports.