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College Sports News: International Edition

In a tribute to how lousy it is in March in New England, this blogger just spent a half hour of his leisure time watching the world's oldest college sports event, the Oxford-Cambridge boat (crew) race, which was initiated in 1829.

Oxford won. It was heavily favored, because Cambridge makes a point of using English rowers, which apparently is like Jim Calhoun recruiting strictly inside the Connecticut state lines. Oxford had Yanks, Australians, and a German in its shell. Oxford' rowers were bigger, stronger, and older. WAY older.

When the TV feed gave us the lineups of the two crews, the most startling fact of the race was revealed. One guy on the Oxford crew, a Yank as it happens, was a little past the expiration date for the average U.S. college athlete. Or, for that matter, the average U.S. professional athlete. This dude was 36 years old. Let's hope he's a graduate student.

Man, just think what Jerry Tarkanian could have done with British Collegiate Athletic Association rules.

posted by Michael Gee @ 12:44 PM