OUTSPORTS: The Site for Gay Sports Fans and Athletes

Updated: April 5, 2000
TOP OF THE WEEK
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

O'Neal, a mortal lock as the NBA's MVP, showed why Sunday against
the Knicks with 34 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and five blocks. We also like his Size 22 shoes. The Lakers had won 28 of 29 games and should bring the first NBA title to LA since the Showtime days of the '80s.

Yeah, we know there was a ``Hoosiers''-like quality to this band of scrappy no-names making it to the Final Four. But then we had to watch them play. Ugly! There win over Purdue to make the Final Four set basketball back 50 years and it was no better in the semifinal game against Michigan State. Fortunately, sanity (and talent) prevailed and we were spared the Badgers in the Final. CBS' ratings were already low enough.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

A GAY COACH'S TERRIFIC STORY

Eric Anderson is an articulate, good-looking, thoughtful 32-year-old now working on his PhD at Cal-Irvine's Department of Sociology. He's also a terrific track coach, specializing in distance runners. And he's gay.

It was these last two facts-an openly gay high school track coach-that forms the basis for his upcoming book ``Trailblazing.'' due out next month. For anyone interested in the nexus of gays and sports it's a must read.

``Trailblazing Through Hell'' might be a better title. Anderson, who spoke Monday at a meeting of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, told an often harrowing account of verbal and psychological abuse upon not only him but his brave athletes who were labeled ``fags'' because of their coach's orientation. The nadir came when one of his best runners had four bones broken in his face after an awful beating by a 250-pound football player who kept pounding the runner saying ``It's not over until he's dead.''

Through it all his amazing athletes stuck by him. Anderson was such a respected coach that five runners transferred to Huntington Beach High School so they could learn from him. They came despite Anderson telling them of the daily turmoil they would face from the many homophobes on campus.

Without spoiling the ending, let's say that in the end courage, hope and determination overcame much of the hatred. ``I'm not the hero,'' said Anderson, who now coaches at Pacifica High in Orange County. ``The heroes are the kids who chose to fight this fight.''

We'll keep you posted as to the book's release and the author's book tour. Plus, later we'll have some details on Anderson's doctoral study of 42 gay high school and college athletes.

Eric has a cool Web site dedicated to distance running, gay athletes, and gay teens.

A HIGH SCHOOL LINEBACKER COMES OUT

Corey Johnson was the co-captain of his high school football team in Massachusetts. He came out to overwhelmingly positive support. His story, reprinted courtesy of Bay Windows, can be found at www.outsports.com. An excerpt:

``Later in the season the (team) defeated Weston High School. On the bus ride home the team sang. `Somebody said let’s sing a song for Corey.' They started singing the Village People's `YMCA' and later, ‘It’s Raining Men.’ Then they started chanting ‘GSA!’ (Gay-Straight Alliance). I got up
and bowed and everyone started laughing.''

This wasn't the most scintillating weekend of men's and women's college basketball.

Michigan State, the only No. 1 seed in the men's Final Four won easily over Wisconsin and Florida. With a slim lead at halftime during their ugly game with Wisconsin, Michigan State was bummed.

Said coach Tom Izzo: ``I knew we were getting frustrated. The players were a little down. We didn't have our normal halftime. It was more of a kiss-and-hug thing.'' The group bonding session worked like a charm as the Spartans dominated the second half.

Connecticut-Tennessee was billed as a great women's final. But only UConn held up its end of the bargain. The Huskies so dominated play that one ESPN official said he was amazed the TV rating was as high as it was since ``it was over before the second TV timeout.''

Back from his ... uh ... honeymoon, Steve Young says that he wants to come back to the Castro ... er ... San Francisco 49ers.

Says his agent, Leigh Steinberg, "he'd been focused on other areas in his life, and he's now gone through a thought process."

After a near-career-ending concussion last season, though, 49ers coach Steve Mariucci and GM Bill Walsh aren't so sure they want Young back on the field. Maybe he'd be better off staying home and letting his
wife take care of him ... or, maybe that's why he wants to get out of the house.

HOCKEY-TENNIS LOVE AFFAIR

He's back on the market! Just weeks after the announcement of the engagement between the Florida Panther's Pavel Bure and tennis player Anna Kournikova, the NHL stud is taking a step back from the altar.

"A wedding isn't entering into my plans just yet," said Bure, the NHL's leading scorer, whose Panthers are presently fifth in the Eastern Conference. We're hoping he just wants to spend that much more time with
his teammates.

TENNIS

The hot Davis Cup match to watch just cooled off.

Two of tennis' hottest studs have withdrawn from the matchup between Germany and Australia. Germany's Tommy Haas, Outsports' #2 "hot tennis stud," withdrew Sunday due to a hip injury; Australia's Mark
Philippoussis is sidelined due to a calf injury.

DEPT. OF RICH JERKS

Mike Ditka was a loser as the New Orleans Saints head coach and he's a whining loser at the craps tables.

Ditka has been banned for three months from Harrah's casino for throwing a cigar and cursing a pit boss, according to the Associated Press. Ditka was pissed that one of his dice ended up on a pile of chips, forcing the pit boss to make a ruling that Ditka claims costs him thousands of dollars.

Who's he to be bitching about being ripped off. Here's a guy who basically stole millions from the Saints by impersonating a football coach the past three years as his awful Saints went 15-33. He then got fired, but will still collect a couple of million for doing nothing. Can we get this kind of job?