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Arizona State University football player Edward "Chip" Sarafin has come out as gay, according to Compete Magazine. In the magazine's August issue, the offensive linebacker said he told his teammates last spring. "It was really personal to me, and it benefited my peace of mind greatly," he said. Serafin told Compete, he told his teammates mostly for himself and because he wanted them to hear it from him instead of the college rumor mill.

Afederal judge ruled Friday that the NCAA cannot stop college football and basketball players from selling their likenesses

Baltimore Ravens fans gave running back Ray Rice a standing ovation as he jogged onto the field during training camp practice on Monday, according to the team's website. Rice acknowledged the cheering fans by pointing to the crowd. Rice was seen on video in February dragging his then-fiancée out of an Atlantic City casino elevator. He was charged with third-degree aggravated assault after Janay Palmer, whom he later married, was left unconscious following the incident. Rice agreed to enter into a diversion program to avoid a jail sentence. More: Lenient penalty for Ray Rice troubling proof of where NFL's priorities...

KISS star Gene Simmons says sports reporters hold morally upright athletes like Tim Tebow to a different standard that those who find trouble wherever they go. "It's interesting to me that media often picks on the good guys and lets the bad guys get a pass," says Simmons, the entrepreneurial rocker who recently expanded his empire to include a professional sports team.

Floyd Mayweather has been cashing multi-million checks for his fights for more than a decade. He banked at least $25 million for each of his past nine bouts going back to 2007 when he defeated Oscar De La Hoya in the most watched fight in the history of boxing pay-per-view events. Mayweather has earned almost $400 million in the ring since he turned pro in 1996 after the Olympics, but he has never had a year like this past one. Mayweather earned $105 million during the past 12 months for 72 minutes of work in the ring for fights against...

Neymar has been ruled out of the World Cup after Brazil's team doctor confirmed he suffered a broken vertebra late in Friday's quarterfinal victory against Colombia.

Voting for the starting position players for the MLB All-Star game ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern). The final rosters will have 34 players on a side, with all teams being represented. Factors I weigh in making my choices (in descending order): 1) How the guy is doing this year. 2) How he did last year. 3) How he did the last two or three years. 4) The guy's whole career. Here then are my choices, starters listed first, followed by backups: NATIONAL LEAGUE C: Lucroy, Molina, Posey 1B: Goldschmidt, Freeman, Rizzo, Morneau 2B: Utley, Murphy SS: Tulowitzki, Ramirez 3B:...

The media are poring over each and every detail of the life of U.S. soccer team’s heroic goalkeeper. Here’s one they probably won’t mention: Tim Howard is a Christian. Beating the U.S. soccer team in a 2-1 game, Belgium eliminated the U.S. from the World Cup, on July 1. Despite that, the U.S. team still boasted a win: goalkeeper Tim Howard made 16 goal saves during the match, the most in World Cup history since 1966 (when record-keeping first began). ABC, CBS and NBC noted the champion’s popularity – but failed to mention his faith. During the morning segments after...

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- FIFA has banned Uruguay striker Luis Suarez from all football activities for four months for biting an opponent at the World Cup, ruling him out of the rest of the tournament and the start of the upcoming Premier League season. The ban also covers Uruguay's next nine international games, which goes beyond the next four months and rules him out of next year's Copa America. FIFA also fined the Liverpool striker 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,000).

Tony Gwynn, the left-handed right fielder who starred at San Diego State and then for the San Diego Padres, passed away Monday morning after a four-year fight with salivary-gland cancer. Gwynn's death comes a day after he received a contract extension to coach the San Diego State Aztecs baseball team. The fifty-four-year-old San Diego legend had been on medical leave. The bowling-ball shaped hitting machine batted .338 in twenty major league seasons, all with the Padres. He finished with 3,141 hits. In addition to his eight batting titles, Mr. Padre also collected seven Gold Gloves patrolling right field. The fifteen-time...

Dan Marino has sued the NFL, claiming that playing professional football left him suffering from concussion-related injuries, Nathan Fenno reports for the Los Angeles Times. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia last week, according to the Times. Fourteen other players joined Marino in the suit.

Boston is trying to become the first city to provide health-care and educational rights to college athletes beyond what the NCAA requires. Legislation has been enacted or proposed at the federal and state level for a “College Athlete Bill of Rights.” But Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim has taken the unique step of going local. He filed a pair of ordinances Friday related to the educational and health rights for athletes who play college sports in Boston. Among the potential laws for Boston universities:

Wiping away tears before sharing a passionate kiss for the cameras, new NFL pick Michael Sam and his boyfriend were the picture of joy on Saturday. As the photograph of their embrace quickly spread across the internet, Sam celebrated being the first openly-gay player drafted to the NFL - and viewers wondered about the identity of his man. He has now been named as Vito Cammisano, a 23-year-old fellow University of Missouri alum, who starred on the school's swim team - and who apparently comes from one of the state's most infamous mobster families. Online records indicate that he is...

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Michael Sam made history Saturday afternoon, as the St. Louis Rams made him the 249th overall choice in the 2014 NFL draft. The Missouri defensive end becomes the first openly gay player to be drafted in league history and seeks to be the first openly gay player ever to play in the NFL. Video of Sam receiving the call from the Rams and coach Jeff Fisher revealed the player's emotion while surrounded by friends, family and his boyfriend. "In a world of diversity we live in, I am honored to be a part of this," Fisher...

Johnny Manziel to Dallas?

National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver had no choice but to come down “hard” as some judged the punishment on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for his stellar racist performance, captured on audio tape. I laughed at the punishment. “Banned for life” on an 80-year-old man? Maximum NBA fine of $2.5 million for a racist billionaire’s conduct is equally laughable. Nevertheless, I believe Commissioner Silver would have imposed a greater punishment if allowed under NBA rules. Commissioner Silver’s press conference deserves no more than a C+ grade due to the lack of his leadership experience in the fight...

Fox News' host Bill O'Reilly has devoted many broadcasts of this TV show, "The O'Reilly Factor," to what he believes are problems in the black community. O'Reilly, who has blamed black crime on black, unwed mothers, interviewed Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach John Calipari last night about controlling his black players, notes Salon.com (video below). According to New York Magazine, during the interview, O'Reilly asked Calipari, "I don't know if you listen to this rap stuff and the hip-hop stuff, but it has coarsened. Has that changed their attitude? How do you impose discipline on kids who are gonna do what...

'Back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts'

Tiger Woods will miss the Masters after undergoing back surgery earlier this week for a pinched nerve that has been hurting him for several months, the world's No. 1 player said Tuesday on his website. It will be the first time in 20 years that Woods will not play in the event. The microdiscectomy was performed Monday by neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Rich in Park City, Utah. The statement said Woods will begin "intensive rehabilitation and soft-tissue treatment" within a week, and the goal is for him to return to competition "sometime this summer."

Going forward, every NATO member state must step up and carry its share of the burden. — President Barack Obama, March 26, 2014 On Wednesday, addressing an assembly of young Europeans, President Obama issued a challenge. Faced with a resurgent Russia, he said, and in view of the shaky global economy, Europeans must spend more on defense. His sentiment is well founded. Let’s be clear: EU defense spending is woefully inadequate. Excluding Britain, France, Germany, and perhaps Italy, the EU states are fundamentally incapable of full-spectrum operations. And the military of America’s greatest ally, the British, is being forced...