I guess some parents really DO want their kids to go to college

[bambam1729]

Is it bribée or bribee?

[xw]

Probably the prestige value of having his children go to Harvard is too important for this guy. Anyway this case has eastern Asian flavour written all over, that as well as the way he bribed by buying the bribée's house at an inflated price, lol.

[18.99s]

Maryland CEO paid former fencing coach $1.5 million in bribes to get his sons accepted to Harvard, feds say

That amount of money would do more to improve their financial futures if it was put into a trust fund or used to start a business, after they attended a very-good-but-not-Ivy-League university where they could get accepted on their own bona fide merit.

[TN1965]

Maryland CEO paid former fencing coach $1.5 million in bribes to get his sons accepted to Harvard, feds say

A Maryland businessman paid Harvard University's former fencing coach at least $1.5 million in bribes, including payments for a car and a house in the suburbs, to get his sons admitted to the Ivy League school, federal prosecutors saidin a criminal complaint released Monday.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/16/us/co...ard/index.html

[Atticus]

Squash is a lot tougher. It also hurts a lot more when you get hit with the ball in the back of your head.

I played it all thru HS and had the back, arm, and leg welts to show for it. The sound of the ball hitting the tin used to give me nightmares. That's why I like racquetball better - you can hit it as low as ya wanna.

[KDFINE]

It's been around since the mid 1800's. Raquet game played (at least currently) in a 4 wall setting similar to paddle ball. I think the main difference between paddle ball and squash is that the ball in squash is hollowed out so it doesn't bounce all that well.

"Anyone" can pick up a paddleball racquet and get a good workout playing four wall. Squash is a lot tougher. It also hurts a lot more when you get hit with the ball in the back of your head.

[Cooter Brown]

This is a wild story...


The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports Among Ivy League–Obsessed Parents

Where the desperation of late-stage meritocracy is so strong, you can smell it


https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...poTFJxXaed-Bxo

Well, it turns out that article was a work of fiction...

Washington Post Writer Who Debunked Atlantic Story Says ‘Fencing Injuries’ Tipped Him Off

Erik Wemple, the Washington Post media critic who first questioned the accuracy of Ruth Shalit Barrett’s now-discredited story in The Atlantic, said he first grew suspicious when he read about a well-heeled 12-year-old girl’s “fencing injuries.”

The article: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...002324977.html

[tandfman]

Headline - Lori Loughlin begins 2-month prison sentence in college admissions scandal

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1245434

[TN1965]

Felicity Huffman wants passport returned as she completes college admissions scandal sentence

As Lori Loughlin readies for prison in the college admissions scandal, Felicity Huffman is close to completing her sentence — and wants the government to return her passport.

Attorneys for Huffman filed court documents Wednesday requesting that the United States Probation and Pre-Trial Services Department return the Desperate Housewives star’s passport as she “will shortly complete the period of supervised release the Court imposed on September 13, 2019.” She was sentenced to one-year of supervised probation.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...144939647.html

[Dave]

I have no problem with the niche sports. They come close to being amateur than the big ticket sports. Of course, I understand that without football and basketball, the other sports likely don’t exist.

[Atticus]

Now that they've built strong reputations in swimming, track & field, football, and basketball (women's in particular), those other niche sports have become less important for maintaining their sporting prowess.

We'll see. Places like Michigan/Ohio St, UCLA/USC, Florida, Texas, UNC, Ore/Wash, etc. are licking their chops now.
It made no sense for Stanford to cut the niche sports - it can NOT be about the money, as they said. It's flush with money that keeps growing from all the intellectual property they have their fingers in. Alumni could easily fund the budgets of the cut sports.

My only (poor) guess is that they want to extort that money out of boosters, but couldn't look like that's what they're doing. This way, they cut the sport, alums cry and pony up, and S looks like the good guys by reinstating them when the donations roll in.

[18.99s]

Stanford built its athletic 'reputation' (a zillion Sears Cup trophies as the 'best') on these niche sports, which is why I was so surprised that they cut most of them.

Now that they've built strong reputations in swimming, track & field, football, and basketball (women's in particular), those other niche sports have become less important for maintaining their sporting prowess.

[Atticus]

Stanford built its athletic 'reputation' (a zillion Sears Cup trophies as the 'best') on these niche sports, which is why I was so surprised that they cut most of them.

[bambam1729]

I should have used the word "introduced" instead of invented. These sports were not available to most high schoolers 50 years ago. Why do you think rick, white folks push their kids to these sports? The article even talks about a parent bankrolling a college program for $20 million.

Maybe "popularized among rich, white folks" would be the best term, which I would agree with

[Bruce Kritzler]

They hardly invented them for that reason. Soccer is older than football, basketball. Of course, track is the oldest sport (along with wrestling). Tennis and golf began to be played competitively at around the time American football in colleges started. Rowing pre-dates all of them, and so does lacrosse. Water polo came about in the late 19th century. So rich, white folks have not been inventing them recently because their kids can't compete.

I should have used the word "introduced" instead of invented. These sports were not available to most high schoolers 50 years ago. Why do you think rick, white folks push their kids to these sports? The article even talks about a parent bankrolling a college program for $20 million.