Portside

ubs in the World Series. Yes it could be! Who would have thought a Brooklyn-born socialist senator from Vermont, would win 13 million votes, capturing 23 primaries and caucuses; that a scrappy senior would inspire the youth of the country, and a whole country? Who would have thunk it? Can the Cubs also inspire their fans, and keep hope alive? Can the Cubs capture the spirit of the country as we prepare for the November elections? Yes we can has new meaning this year!

If Kaepernick had donated $1 million without the anthem protest, or if he’d stuck to venting on social media, then prominent columnists and TV yakkers wouldn’t be calling him an idiot. Nobody would be saying anything at all, because nobody would care. Kaepernick’s gesture worked because it was divisive.

"I've been very blessed to be in this position and make the kind of money I do, and I have to help these people. I have to help these communities"

Jackie Robinson, writing in 1972: I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag. I know that I am a black man in a white world. Jim Brown, the Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame running backin 2016 said he stands '100 percent' behind Colin Kaepernick. Further, Kaepernick 'made all the sense in the world' in explaining his position. This is part of a long tradition of athletes, especially African American athletes combining sport and protest. (* ESPN)

The defiant display of Palestinian flags in Glasgow last week by Scottish fans of the Celtic soccer team raised over $200,000 in donations online, all marked for two Palestinian charitable groups. Activist fans of Scotland's Celtics soccer team - the working-class, historically progressive community already facing punishment for flying Palestinian flags at a recent game against Israel to protest the Occupation - have launched the fundraiser.

White male privilege is why we laugh at Lochte and vilify Douglas. Pay close attention to the words being used to describe them. A small angry minority is often effective at appearing to be the majority opinion. And the truth is, they aren't. They don't represent the millions of others who support Gabby Douglas. There was then, and still is, so much love, inspiration and joy for you and because of you - as an athlete, a person, a black girl, a black woman.

“My teammates and I will continue to use our platform and raise awareness for the #BlackLivesMatter movement until the @wnba gives its support as it does for Breast Cancer Awareness, Pride and other subject matters”

Professional athletes have provided a flicker of hope during these agonizing days by speaking out against police violence. "Shut up and play" clearly doesn't fly when black bodies are falling at the hands of those whose job is to serve and protect. Now, after the filmed deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, athletes' statements - which have the potential to reach an audience far beyond the normal political blather - are starting up yet again.

Well before Title IX was taken seriously, well before there were record ratings for women's sports on TV, before there was the dominance of the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team or the sold-out crowds at the NCAA Women's Final Four, there was Pat Summitt. She turned a women's sports team into a national brand in the 1980s and 1990s. And she did it not by playing by the old, demure, ladylike rules of women's sports, but by crashing the boys' sports party.