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It's hard to sum up the feelings I have about the passing of Muhammad Ali, a person who had transcended sports in the 20th century. Here was a man from humble beginnings in Louisville, Kentucky who went on to become arguably the greatest boxer in the sport's history with his incredible quickness as well as transforming combat sports with his ability to promote himself, to the point where everyone from Floyd Mayweather to Conor McGregor emulate him to some extent.
However, Ali's true greatness came outside the ring, where he stood for something he believed in at a time where athletes did not really have a voice outside of the realm of sports, particularly African-American athletes. He was willing to give up his livelihood for his beliefs, and he made it possible for athletes in the 21st century to have voices and opinions that they otherwise would not have had (your Arian Foster and Michael Sam's of the world).
When you are reading pieces on Ali's life over the next few weeks, remember that as great as he was in the ring, he was even greater outside of it. Now, on to the links.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Kent State, and Cleveland Metroparks launch learning app (PHYS.org)
Kent State professors lent a hand along with area parks to create an app called ParkApps, which is a digital map that alerts users of points of interest at these parks, as well as other cool features. It's a hiking/biking app that you Kent do without! *sees self to the door*
Central Michigan another UI hoops opponent (The Champaign News-Gazette)
The Chippewas will be making their way to Champaign, Illinois to take on Illini in men's hoops on December 10. All aboard the Chips' hype train!
Eastern Michigan, Oakland facing another penalty for tuition hikes (mlive.com)
Another loss for EMU as the state voted to reduce the school's funding by $400,000 after exceeding Michigan's tuition cap for the second consecutive year. However, Eastern Michigan will still receive a 2.5 percent increase in performance funding for 2016, which amounts to an increase of $1.8 million.
'I Just Wanted to Be Free': The Radical Reverberations of Muhammad Ali (The Nation)
If you're going to read anything about Ali this weekend, read this article, which looks deeper into how Ali affected culture.