I have the Viewpoint Column today on SI.com and it’s an extensive piece on painkiller abuse in the NFL. Here is an excerpt:

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Daniel Walsh of the Advertising Specialty Institute has a very thoughtful and comprehensive article on the litigation background of American Needle v. NFL and the impact of the decision on the sports apparel industry. The nearly 2,000 word article titled, “Reversing Field,” is unique because it looks at the decision partly from the vantage point of the sports apparel industry, as opposed to offering solely an antitrust or sports business perspective. Here is an excerpt:

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Today, August 8, is the 22d anniversary of the first night game at Wrigley Field, between the Cubs and the Phillies. Or at least the first attempted night game. Play was called because of rain after 3 1/2 innings–which many took as a sign from God–and the first official game was played the following evening, against the Mets. So the date still is appropriate, even if you do not read this until tomorrow.

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Jeff Eisenberg of Rivals.com has a very interesting piece on the New York Knicks hiring of its former head coach and president of basketball operations, Isiah Thomas, to be a consultant to the team. Thomas, who was fired by the Knicks in 2008, is currently the head coach of Florida International University’s men’s basketball team.

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The new Athletic Director of N.C. State, Debbie Yow, has a message for agents who intend to break NCAA recruiting rules while on the N.C. campus: if you do, and the NCAA punishes us with sanctions, we’ll be suing you. Ken Tysiac of the News and Observer has the story, which is excerpted below.

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ESPN’s Page 2 is seeking opinions, in the wake of the Title IX/cheerleader case, on what is not a sport and why. Join the conversation. more…

Over on Saving Sports, the official blog of the College Sports Council which advocates reform of Title IX, Eric McErlain argues on behalf of competitive cheer qualifying as a Title IX sport. He also takes issue with U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill‘s recent opinion in Biediger v. Quinnipiac University, where Quinnipiac was ordered to keep it’s women’s volleyball team in order to comply with Title IX. McErlain contends that the lack of international and professional competitions for competitive cheer should not impair competitive cheer’s chances for Title IX recognition since similar opportunties for softball are on the decline as well (and Eric cites Holly Vietzke post on our blog titled Is Softball on Life Support?). Eric also notes:
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