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"Upton on Sports" Blog by Larry Upton

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TITLE IV - Great for "FANS" - bigger story than game itself....................
05/20/2013 @ 08:38 AM
You've heard the cry, "get into the game"- a few fans out there literally "get into the game" and become in one way or another as much a part of it all as the players themselves.

TITLE IV - Great for Sports "DUMBEST" ......................
05/19/2013 @ 09:28 AM
Which pro sports has the "DUMBEST" athletes? That the question I wanted n answer to......

TITLE IV - Great for OZZIE'S "MISTAKE"....................
05/17/2013 @ 08:48 PM
Former Marlin manager Ozzie Guillen said it was a "BIG MISTAKE"taking the Miami managers job.....he wants a job back in baseball.....

TITLE IV - Great for MLB - "JERK OF THE YEAR"..................
05/13/2013 @ 05:19 AM
Second rate New York Yankee pitcher takes offense at Mariano Rivera for being asked to tone the noise down while the star reliever was being interviewed in the dugout.....

TITLE IV - Great for "OUT OF SIGHT - OUT OF MIND"................
05/10/2013 @ 05:47 AM
An out of work NFL quarterback topped Forbes' list of America's Most Influential Athletes in 2013......weird.....

TITLE IV - Great for "THE CLOCK'S RUNNING OUT"...........................
05/09/2013 @ 02:49 PM
Police made it official...soccer in Europe and around the world's in serious trouble...the sports been corrupted with match-fixing....

TITLE IV - Great for Youth Sports - "HIJACKED" forever........
05/07/2013 @ 08:33 AM
Youth sports leagues across the country have been "hijacked" by grown-ups and it's time to throw them out of our parks and playing fields.....but with billions involved it can never happen.

TITLE IV - Great for "DEADLY CALL" ........................
05/06/2013 @ 09:52 AM
A ref in a recreational league soccer game in Utah is dead today because a 17-year old he called a foul on punched him in the head...

TITLE IV - Great for "BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?"..........
05/05/2013 @ 08:33 AM
Florida politicians on Friday said "NO" when the Dolphins asked for tax-payer money to refurbish their stadium......

TITLE IV - Great for "FORE" - on tax-payers dime......................
05/04/2013 @ 08:44 AM
Did you know the Pentagon runs a staggering 234 golf-courses with your tax dollars? They also run a ski lodge in the Bavarian Alps for non-golfers. Did you know that?


TITLE IV - Great for "Women" - "Sports" - "World".....................

Posted on 06/24/2012 @ 09:22 AM


Do you love watching college women play their softball tournaments on ESPN? I do.
Do you love watching women in the Olympics? I do.
Do you love just watching women display their athletic skills on the worlds stage? I do.
Yesterday was the 40th Anniversary of Title IX (9) - a law that many say was one of the most "important" pieces of legislation in the 20th century. Title IX, legislation that ensures equal access to both men and women in federally funded educational programs and activities. To understand the impact of Title IX we have to look back at what it has done since its inception. In 1972, when Title IX was signed into law, just one in 27 girls participated in high school varsity sports, that number has since increased to about two in five. In women's collegiate programs, the increase is more than 500%. The 1972 legislation was a tipping point for women's equality in "sports" and in "society." Title IX righted a wrong when it became law on June 23, 1972.
Pick up any newspaper this morning,(or any morning) in any corner of the world, and you will find stories about women in sports. In my own local paper this morning, the Miami Herald, featured a story about Title IX and its anniversary. The story title, "A game-changer for women." The story's on the first page of the Herald sports section and it's written by a "women" sports-writer, Nancy Armour of the Associated Press. On page 10 the story continues about Title IX's history, and its impact on society. Also on page 10 is a story called, "Helping to get the message out" - a story about one of our first greats of tennis, Billy Jean King getting help from present day tennis Icon Serena Williams, and former U.S.soccer star Mia Hamm as they try to keep girls involved in sports longer. Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champ is featured in national magazine ads that show her as a young girl whacking a tennis ball and the words, "If I walked away then, I wouldn't be here now." According to Title IX experts and studies, girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys by age 14.
Billy Jean King's foundation attempts to keep girls in the game longer through its youth programs, offsets messages focusing on looks rather than abilities, and help them become successful leaders. King says if girls are involved in sports or physical activity by age 10, they're much more likely to be active at 25. King adds, sports is also a way to fight obesity. She cites a Center for Disease Control and Prevention report that shows obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years among girls ages 6-19.

Billy Jean King spoke this past week at a Senate hearing on Title IX's importance and role parents should play in their children lives. King said in the past its always been the father that encouraged their kid's into sports, usually just sons. She wants more mother's to get involved urging and encouraging "daughters" into sports or physical activities. King was asked by reporters if her parents encouraged her to play sports. She said her Dad was a great influence. She told the story that at age 5 the boys wouldn't let her play with them. When they came over to her house her Dad would say, "Everyone, come over here. If you don't let Billy play, no one's playing. So let her play, she's very good - she can hold her own with you guys!" King added, "I was so embarrassed, but then I was so proud at the same time." King's story was also written by a women sport-writer, AP's Mellissa Murphy.
On page 11 is another story called "Chasing a Breeze" - a story about one of our local Florida women athletes seeking her second Olympic gold medal in sailing. A story also written by female sports-writer Linda Robertson, a local Herald staff writer. Title IX not only opened new doors for women athletes to walk through, the law smashed down the doors our male-sports-writers hid behind while they smoked their smelly cigars, drank their beers, and banged out story's about male athletes of the day. On page 11 you'll also find a second story by Linda Robertson about the second day of the U.S.Olympic Track and Field Trials underway in Eugene,Oregon.
After 40 years, women are also featured on local and national television/radio outlets as sports experts, analyst and have proven themselves to be as competent as any male sport reporter.

Title IX has proven women are equal to men. While it may have been one of the most important pieces of legislation in the 20th century, life in the 21st century is better because of it.
Title IX - Great for "WOMEN" - "SPORTS" - "WORLD" - "HAPPY ANNIVERSARY"............

Larry Upton
"Upton on Sports"-source: miamiherald/usatoday/