LESAProject

"I didn't have a gauge as to who was the worst outlaw. I just recognized allies: my people."—Hunter S. Thompson I joined the American Outlaws last summer, mostly to get the cool T-shirt and discounts, but also to get some sense of this supporters group that seemed to grow out of nowhere. I paid my dues and got my shirt in good time, then all I heard from them were emails announcing discount tickets and travel packages to Brazil. No biggie, we all hate bothersome associations, and the occasional “AO” emails didn’t clog my inbox. So I was surprised last week when I ...

The National Wheelchair Basketball Association holds its 64th annual national championships in Louisville, Kentucky this weekend. Yeah, THAT Louisville, Kentucky—home of the Kentucky Derby, Louisville Slugger and the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball champion University of Louisville Cardinals.  When I received the press release from the Louisville Sports Commission that over 1,000 athletes on 85 teams were coming to the biggest wheelchair basketball tournament ever, my curiosity got the better of me.  I’ve seen nearly every sport imaginable but I had never watched an actual wheelchair basketball game. Sure, I’ve seen video clips of celebrity games and brief bits of actual ...

U.S. Soccer fans have known Landon Donovan since he broke onto the international scene by winning the Golden Ball award in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship. We’ve known Landon through his early trials and tribulations in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. We groaned when he was loaned back to the nascent MLS league to play for the San Jose Earthquakes. Jeers turned to cheers when he led the Earthquakes to two MLS Cups. Confused and bemused we wondered how our best player could spurn the prestige of the European stage to slum for the LA Galaxy.  He made up ...

When will American soccer begin to overtake the big three American sports—football, baseball and basketball—and compete for America's best athletes?No discussion in American soccer carries the enormous implications of this question.  Soccer fans figure it has to happen, eventually. The soccer haters take it as a sign of the sport's impotence that we're still asking the question.After the 1994 World Cup shattered tournament attendance records, soccer fans were certain that the glorious rise of the beautiful game in America was imminent. Major League Soccer attempted to ride this wave of interest to re-launch professional soccer in the U.S.  However, MLS soon ...

It seems that Louisvillians appreciated the honor of hosting the 2013 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships and had a good time in the process.  An online poll at the Louisville Courier-Journal's website reveals that by a ration of 2.5 to 1, the folks in the metro area support the event.And why not? We're talking about a bona fide world class sporting event right there in one of their city parks.As I reported earlier, Louisvillians appreciate elite-level sporting events and are willing to put up with some inconvenience for a chance to showcase their fine city to the rest of the world. Louisville ...

Two days before the 2013 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships, USA Cycling gathered its top riders in each race category for a press conference at the race’s media center, set up in the building that houses the University of Louisville women’s rowing team.  Women’s rowing is one of the sports that colleges and universities added to comply with Title IX, which mandates equal opportunities for sports participation by men and women.  Soccer and cycling are also sports that saw a boost at the collegiate level as a result of Title IX. The general growth of women’s sports in the United States ...

At Thursday's press conference USA Cycling coach Marc Gullickson sat quietly at one end of the podium as his star 'crossers took the media's questions.I asked him his approach to coaching elite athletes on a national team when all of the 'crossers have their own coaches, trainers and racing teams in support. Did he approach it like Mike Krzyzewski and draw up the x's and o's or was his role more organization and support?"I guess I have my own Dream Team," he said with a shy grin.He spoke for a couple minutes about the support he and USA Cycling provide for ...

 A couple of hours ago, the UCI sent out a press release announcing a change to the racing schedule for the Cyclo-Cross World Championships.Here’s the reason: Forecast data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) project that high water levels in the Ohio River will cause Beargrass Creek to flood the low lying areas of Eva Bandman Park in Louisville, Ky, in the early hours on Sunday morning and that water level will continue to rise for the next 48 hours. As a result of this forecast, the UCI decided to reschedule the Sunday races for Saturday.  Racing begins ...

World championship cyclo-cross course designer: it sounds like the most awesome job in the known universe.You get to be outside telling people what to do while plotting sinister traps for the racers.  You and you alone are responsible for the success of the race and your design is the test that selects a world champion.This is what I was thinking as I walked the course at the 2013 UCI World Cyclo-Cross Championships two days before the event. What devious mind came up with these off-camber straightaways that I can barely walk on?  Who devised these seemingly normal steps that rise ...

The Louisville Courier-Journal ran an article last Sunday informing residents that "River Road...will be closed until Feb. 5 to accommodate two cyclo-cross events."   River Road runs out of downtown Louisville along the Ohio river.As I drove around this morning picking up bits of cold weather gear and some fat pens my gloved hands wouldn't drop, I chatted with a dozen or so locals about the event.  Everyone knew about the event and they all referred to it in some fashion as "that bike race that's closing River Road."  When I told them that it was a pretty big shindig, ...