Apparently, Michael Oher doesn’t care for the movie based on the Michael Lewis book about his transition from impoverished teen to DI football phenom:

Baltimore tackle Michael Oher has been invited to appear on Oprah twice. He’s been invited to the Academy Awards. He’s been asked to be in the audience at the ESPYs.

No, no, no and no.

Seems Oher is not very happy with how he was portrayed in The Blind Side movie. He thinks he was made to look like a simpleton who knew nothing about football before he was picked up off the Memphis streets and taken to live with a wealthy family. Seems he has no interest in furthering that public image, so he’s concentrating on one thing: being a football player.

via Brad Childress has no regret after begging Brett Favre to return – Peter King – SI.com.

This reminded me of the AV Club review of the film:

Sports movies have a long, troubled history of well-meaning white paternalism, with poor black athletes finding success through white charity. But The Blind Side, based on Michael Lewis’ non-fiction book, finds a new low. In the character of “Big Mike” (real life success story Michael Oher, played by Quinton Aaron), a poor, undereducated teenager later groomed into a top-tier offensive lineman, the film suggests a gentle, oversized puppy in need of adoption. (The family that takes him in literally picks him up from the streets during a rainstorm, like a stray. All that’s missing are the children pleading, “Mom, can we keep him?”) Given his background and 0.6 GPA, there’s no question that Oher was well behind his peers, but casting him as a big-hearted simpleton makes him seem subhuman, more mascot than man.

via The Blind Side | Film | Review | The A.V. Club.

Soccer. Boxing. Football.

Players of these sports are affected by ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) at much higher rates than the general population. Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel correspondent Bernie Goldberg profiles researchers who may have found a link between concussions and ALS.

My friend Jonathan Carroll over at Class is in Session is an educator, swim coach, tri-athlete, father and husband. The preventable and tragic drowning deaths of the 6 Louisiana teens in the Red River has everyone thinking about water safety and Jon, posting from press row at the  2010 USA Swimming National Championships, is no exception:

Data from a study done by the University of Memphis in partnership with USA Swimming indicates that FEAR is one of the biggest factors keeping parents from involving their kids in swim lessons. While I understand the initial hesitation, I would humbly direct those parents to the example of my mother, who doesn’t know how to swim, but was adamant that all three of her chidren (and now her grandson) learn how to swim. The fear of watching your little ones go through lessons is nothing compared to the lifetime anxiety you’ll feel every time you’re near a pool or open water with the knowledge that your loved ones can’t swim. For the ethnic families that worry about the damage that chlorine does to relaxed hair, go with braids for a summer, or au natural until the kids are water safe. The sad reality is that cities large and small will continue to cut pool time from their recreation budgets as long as the public does not make use of facilities. Swimming has been too good to me for me to look at it as a sport that is killing members of my community.

via Class Is In Session: Getting Over Fear of the Water.

Jonathan and his wife Nkechi also recently interviewed USA Olympic Gold Medalist Cullen Jones for the upcoming 2nd season of their talk show A Breathe of Fresh Air With John and Nkechi. Click here to support USA Swimming and Jones’ Make a Splash safety initiative. You can sponsor or donate a swim lesson and also support parental water safety education.