Sports and politics: The year in review

Dave Zirin, author of "What's My Name, Fool!" (about sports, politics and media) and the weekly "Edge of Sports" column, was interviewed on the Dec. 31 NPR show, "Only a Game," about what he sees as the ongoing corruption of the "athletic industrial complex." Zirin's argument is worth a read, and he weaves in stories of the rare athletes who've dared to become politically activist (a modern example: Etan Thomas of the Washington Wizards). Zirin's latest column is an interesting look back at the intersection of sports and politics in 2005 -- from "steroid-mania" to gender relations as played out in sports.