Bryant Gumbel lets into women's sports

We didn't get a chance to put this up last night (you know, the delights of having a two-week old in the house), but you gotta love when Bryant Gumbel speaks his mind.  This time, it's on women's sports and Team USA's loss in the World Cup Finals.  Here it is from HBO's Real Sports...

“Finally tonight, can we stop coddling women in sports?  Are we now so fearful of being labeled sexist that we can’t objectively assess the efforts of female athletes?  Those are both valid questions that have come to the fore in the wake of the patronizing reactions that have followed the USA’s loss to Japan in the Women’s World Cup soccer final.

For the record, in the final, a very determined but unheralded Japanese team won the championship, upsetting a U.S. team that was heavily favored and ranked number one in the world of Women’s Soccer.  En route to the loss, the American women failed to cash in on a wealth of early scoring chances, twice blew late leads with sloppy mistakes, and then got badly outclassed in penalty kicks.

Had a men’s team turned in a similar performance, papers and pundits nationwide would have had a field day assailing the players, criticizing the coach, and demanding widespread changes to a men’s national team that flat out choked.  Yet the common reaction to this ladies’ loss were simply expressions of empathy for the defeat of the unfortunate darlings and pride in their oh-so-heroic effort.

Look, I have no desire to see anyone assail the women’s game or their athletes unfairly.  But if the definition of true equality is treating folks honestly, without regard for race or gender, then it’s time we started critiquing women athletes in the same way we do the men.  I’m sure some won’t like it, but blind praise is worthless in the absence of fair criticism.”

Real Sports returns Tuesday on HBO

From HBO Sports -

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL PRESENTS AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE HARBAUGH FOOTBALL FAMILY; TELLS THE STORY OF INJURED WAR VETS PLAYING COMPETITIVE SOFTBALL; TAKES A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT THE RUNNING OF THE BULLS; AND RECONNECTS WITH GUINNESS WORLD RECORD HOLDER ASHRITA FURMAN WHEN THE EMMY®-WINNING SHOW RETURNS JULY 19, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL presents more enterprising features and reporting when its 172nd edition, available in HDTV, debuts TUESDAY, JULY 19 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: July 19 (3:20 a.m.), 21 (5:00 p.m., midnight), 24 (9:00 a.m.), 26 (10:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.), 28 (1:00 p.m., 1:45 a.m.) and 30 (10:30 a.m.), and Aug. 4 (8:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: July 23 (6:30 p.m.), 25 (1:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.), 29 (5:00 p.m.), and 31 (12:30 p.m.), and Aug. 2 (11:00 p.m.) and 5 (11:30 a.m.)

HBO On Demand availability: July 25-Aug. 15

Segments include:

*All in the Family. Manning. Griffey. Ripken. These are some of the multi-generational families in sports that are household names. But a new family is set to make history, not as players, but in coaching. The Harbaugh boys, John and Jim, have followed in their father’s footsteps and are the first brother act to serve simultaneously as head coaches in the NFL. Jack Harbaugh coached college football for 45 years and taught his only sons the ins-and-outs of the game from an early age. His eldest son, John, is the Baltimore Ravens’ head coach and has led the team to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons at the helm. Jim, after a successful NFL career as a quarterback, reenergized the Stanford University football program and was hired in January to take over the underachieving San Francisco 49ers. And later this year, when most families will be gathered around the TV watching Thanksgiving Day football, the brothers are set to face-off at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. In this REAL SPORTS/Sports Illustrated report, correspondent Andrea Kremer joins the family on vacation to find out what makes them tick and why they have so much to be thankful for.

Producers: Joe Perskie, Josh Fine.

*Wounded Warriors. Often the hardest part of an athlete’s career is battling back from injury, but nothing can compare to challenges faced by members of the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. All of these men have endured near-fatal injuries and excruciating rehabilitation to return to the ball field from the battlefield. The current team is made up of 15 Army and Marine vets who suffered leg, foot or arm amputations while heroically serving their country. Despite their individual handicaps, they face able-bodied teams and have a .500 record. In this feelgood comeback story, REAL SPORTS correspondent Frank Deford goes on location with the Wounded Warriors Softball Team to show that they are the same focused, physically capable men they have always been.

Producer: Nick Dolin.

*The Original Extreme Sport. Hundreds of years before skateboarding, BMX biking and water skiing, the original extreme sport was the running of the bulls, wherein people test their bravado by racing bulls through barricaded streets to a corral at the end of the course. According to Spanish lore, the custom originated in Spain around the 14th century, and it was made world-famous by American author Ernest Hemingway’s first novel, “The Sun Also Rises.” With extreme sports comes extreme danger, however, and since record-keeping began in the early 1900s, 15 people have died, while scores are injured every year. REAL SPORTS correspondent Mary Carillo travels to the Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona to meet some of the top runners and provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse at one of the most dangerous events on earth.

Producer: Tim Walker.

*Record Breaker. In Oct. 2009, REAL SPORTS profiled Ashrita Furman of Queens, NY, who held the Guinness World Record for holding the most world records, with 245 records overall and more than 100 simultaneously. He finds spiritual fulfillment through the constant pursuit of physical challenges and world records, which is why he continues to hold on to his title. Furman has set 355 world records since 1979 and currently holds 130. REAL SPORTS correspondent Bernard Goldberg reconnects with Ashrita Furman, who has set exactly 100 new records since the last time they got together.

Producers: Zehra Mamdani, Tim Walker.

Bryant Gumbel slams the USGA and the US Open

In tonight's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO, Mr. Gumbel, as usual, pulls no punches as he slames the USGA and the US Open. Read and enjoy...

BRYANT GUMBEL CLOSING COMMENTARY

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL EPISODE #171 AIRS TONIGHT (6/21) @ 10:00 PM ET/PT

“Finally tonight, the U.S. Golf Association should be ashamed of itself. The same folks who like to claim they’re the caretakers of the game took a national championship that has always been revered, and this past weekend, made a mockery of it. Instead of setting up a U.S. Open course, as they always have, to identify the best player. They seem to have sought only to identify the most viewers.

Yes, the course they laid out was nominally long, but as even those who regularly shill from the game noted, they played the tees up, they thinned the rough, and they placed many of the pins in bowls that allowed many balls that were hit to a green to simply funnel to the hole from all directions.

In no way does this discredit the impressive and likeable Open winner, Rory McIlroy. That he finished with a score of 16-under par is remarkable, but that so many made it look like a local pitch-and-putt is an embarrassment. On Sunday, 20 golfers finished this U.S. Open under par. Twenty! That’s as many golfers that have finished under par in the last 12 Opens combined.

Look, as a rule, I don’t buy conspiracy theories. I don’t subscribe to suspicions about Roswell, the grassy knoll, and fake lunar landings. But I do believe USGA honchos sold out this weekend. Knowing the absence of Tiger Woods would cost them audience, I believe they decided to try to make up for it by enabling anyone who teed it up to go low in the hopes that lots of birdies would mean lots of viewers. That their Open plan instead generated lousy TV ratings that were down 26%, suggests that karma’s alive and well in the world of golf.”

HBO's Real Sports takes on Tiki Barber

From HBO Sports -

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL PRESENTS TIKI BARBER’S FIRST EXTENDED TV INTERVIEW SINCE HIS COMEBACK ANNOUNCEMENT; TELLS THE STORY OF FORMER NO. 1 NBA DRAFT PICK LARUE MARTIN; REPORTS ON SAADI QADDAFI’S STINT IN PRO SOCCER; AND RECONNECTS WITH BOXING TRAINER ANN WOLFE WHEN THE EMMY®-WINNING SHOW RETURNS JUNE 21, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL presents more enterprising features and reporting when its 171st edition, available in HDTV, debuts TUESDAY, JUNE 21 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: June 21 (2:45 a.m.), 23 (9:30 a.m., 7:00 p.m.), 25 (10:00 a.m.) and 28 (noon, 8:00 p.m.), and July 3 (8:15 a.m.), 7 (5:00 p.m., midnight) and 11 (2:00 a.m.)

HBO2 playdates: June 22 (11:00 p.m.) and 26 (7:45 a.m., 9:30 p.m.), and July 1 (1:00 p.m.), 5 (7:00 p.m., 2:25 a.m.) and 16 (12:30 p.m.)

HBO On Demand availability: June 27-July 18

Segments include:

*Tiki. Rarely does a great athlete walk away from competition at the peak of his abilities, but in 2006, after ten seasons with the New York Giants, Tiki Barber hung up his cleats to pursue a career in network TV. The Virginia native landed at NBC as a sports analyst and “Today Show” correspondent, but after his TV career fizzled and his marriage fell apart in public, Barber was transformed from prince of the city to tabloid casualty. Now, at age 36, he’s seeking redemption with a return to the gridiron next season. In this REAL SPORTS/Sports Illustrated collaboration, correspondent Armen Keteyian goes one-on-one with Tiki Barber in his first extended TV interview since announcing his NFL comeback.

Producer: Nick Dolin.

*The Big Bust. There is an exclusive club reserved for first overall picks in the NBA draft, including names like Magic, Shaq and LeBron. LaRue Martin, another member of the club, is famous for being the biggest bust in draft history. Selected first by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1972 draft, the former Loyola University (Ill.) center averaged a disappointing five points a game and retired after only four years in the league. Martin began drinking heavily and struggled for years with shame and depression on his rocky path to redemption. REAL SPORTS host Bryant Gumbel returns to De La Salle High School in Chicago, where he and Martin were schoolmates, to tell the story of how LaRue Martin went from dejected basketball retiree at age 26 to successful UPS executive.

Producer: Maggie Burbank.

*Saadi Qaddafi. As the turmoil continues in Libya, REAL SPORTS chronicles the strange quest of Saadi Qaddafi, third son of Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi, to become an international soccer player. Although his skills were limited, Saadi used his family’s wealth and power to buy his way onto some of the world’s best soccer teams. Sparing no expense, he recruited a team of professionals that included everything from a nutritionist to a physiotherapist, but nothing could transform him into a pro-caliber athlete. After a failed drug test, he eventually returned to Libya and now serves as commander of special forces in his father’s regime. REAL SPORTS correspondent Jon Frankel travels to Italy, where Saadi Qaddafi played on several clubs, to tell this bizarre story.

Producers: Chapman Downes and Josh Fine.

*Ann Wolfe. Ann Wolfe dominated women’s boxing for almost a decade after turning pro in 1998, holding world titles in four different weight classes simultaneously. However, she suffered devastating blows outside the ropes, including a stretch of homelessness. When HBO’s cameras previously caught up with Wolfe, she was about to become the first woman in boxing history to train a man for a world title. Those plans were derailed when her fighter, James Kirkland, went to prison for 18 months. When Kirkland returned from his stretch behind bars, he hired a new trainer, but in April was knocked out in shocking fashion, suffering the first loss of his pro career. REAL SPORTS correspondent Andrea Kremer reconnects with Ann Wolfe, who is back in James Kirkland’s corner, as they set out to make history together.

Producers: Zehra Mamdani, Nick Dolin and Chapman Downes.

REAL SPORTS has won the Sports Emmy® for Outstanding Sports Journalism 14 times, in addition to being the first sports program honored with the duPont Award for excellence in broadcast journalism. On May 2, the program received the 2010 Sports Emmy® for Outstanding Sports Journalism for last August’s report revealing the scientific link between sports concussions and the onset of ALS. Overall, REAL SPORTS has collected 22 Sports Emmys® in 16 years.

Johnson Family profiled on HBO's Real Sports Tonight & Bryant Gumbel's Closing Commentary

Don't forget to watch HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel tonight (10pm, HBO) for a profile on Red Sox first base coach/former PawSox manager Ron Johnson and his courageous 11-year old daughter Bridget, who had her leg amputated after an accident last summer.

Here's Gumbel's closing commentary thanks to our friends at HBO Sports...

BRYANT GUMBEL CLOSING COMMENTARY REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL

EPISODE #170 AIRS TONIGHT (5/17) @ 10:00 PM ET/PT

“Finally tonight, did you ever feel like not making a big deal out of something, because it shouldn’t be, but you mention it anyway? That’s kind of how I feel right now in extending some praise to Sean Avery, when I doubt he even wants it. Avery is a veteran hockey player who recently recorded an endorsement for the legalization of same sex marriage, which in the macho world of pro hockey, proved to be a very big deal indeed.

Avery’s stand, combined with the recent announcement by Phoenix Suns President and CEO Rick Welts that he’s gay has me wondering just when such news items in sports will become commonplace. It’s 2011. Folks in politics, entertainment, business, education and every other aspect of life have already moved past dramatically caring about someone’s sexual orientation, so why is the sports world still lagging when the law says it needn’t be and logic says it shouldn’t be?

Look, I know it’s easy for me to sit here and hope for the day when someone else sticks their neck out, but amid estimates that perhaps two-to-six percent of all guys are not heterosexual, it is sad and absurd to think of just how many athletes today might be feeling compelled to essentially hide in plain sight at games we all enjoy – simply because of their sexual orientation.

Jocks don’t like to talk about homosexuality and when they do it’s often in crude terms. That could have changed long ago, but so far it hasn’t and it’s time it should. Which is why Sean Avery is to be applauded for showing some courage on this issue and for not making a big deal out of something that shouldn’t be.”