First is the Worst, Second is the Best

Here in Japan, it's impossible to escape the latest stupid figure skating rivalry, or lack thereof, between Japanese clear and obvious silver medalist Mao Asada and South Korean clear and obvious gold medalist Kim Yuna.  And I say that inclusive of huge margins for error, because I mostly consider figure skating to be a popularity contest, or perhaps more accurately, Asian Tots and Tiaras on ice.

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Asashouryuu: Sumo's Crucifixion

Recently, 29-year old Sumo phenom Asashouryuu was forced to retire for bad behavior.  He allegedly assaulted a man outside of a nightclub in Tokyo, then tried to cover it up.  While to Americans accustomed to bad behavior from athletes ranging from Mike Tyson abusing then wife, Robin Givens, to Mike Tyson complaining that the count on Buster Douglas was too slow, to Mike Tyson allegedly fixing matches, to Mike Tyson claiming that Evander Holyfield cheated, to Mike Tyson biting off Evander Holyfield's ear, to Mike Tyson trying to break Francois Botha's arms, to Mike Tyson going to jail again for assaulting two motorists after an accident, to Mike Tyson almost getting banned from the U.K., to Mike Tyson testing positive for marijuana, to Mike Tyson facing sexual assault charges for a second time, to Mike Tyson saying he wanted to "eat Lennox Lewis's children", to Mike Tyson getting banned from Japan, to Mike Tyson retiring mid-match because he didn't have "the fighting guts or the heart anymore", to Tiger Woods banging out pancake waitresses, Asashouryuu's behavior may seem relatively minor, the Japanese sport of Sumo holds its practitioners to higher standards.  It is both sport and cultural institution, or perhaps neither at this point.

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Lessons from Chicago's Loss: Reevaluating America's Tourism Policy

I. A Gentle Pugilist

Joseph Louis Barrow was born in 1914 in rural Alabama, the seventh of eight children.  His parents were share-croppers and the children of former slaves.  When Joseph was two, his father was confined to a mental institution, and Joseph would never see him again; for the rest of his childhood he was told his father had died.  Joseph spoke very little until age six, and suffered from a speech impediment.  His mother eventually remarried to a local contractor, but in 1926, when the Barrows were threatened by the Ku Klux Klan, they relocated to Detroit, where Joseph's brother worked at the Ford factory to support the family.  Joseph was enrolled in a vocational school where he was to learn cabinet-making.

When the Great Depression hit, cabinet-making work became few and far between, and Joseph started spending time at the local gym.  He practiced boxing and changed his ring name to Joe Louis so his mother wouldn't find out.  For two years Louis mounted an impressive amateur record of 50 wins and 4 losses, with 43 knockouts.  When it came time to try a career as a professional boxer, he signed a restrictive long-term contract, forfeiting half of his winnings to management and agreeing to live a "clean" lifestyle, which included never having his picture taken with a white woman.

In 1935, Joe Louis became a national hero when he knocked out Italian former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera.  Tension had been mounting between the forces of freedom and the forces of authoritarianism in the world, and Louis's victory over Carnera was seen as a symbolic victory for America and her allies over Mussolini and fascism.  However, at the time, White America was still largely repulsed by the prospect of a black heavyweight champion.  The recent experience with Jack Johnson's "reign of terror" created a boxing culture that conspired to keep blacks out of contention.

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