Free Republic

LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been heavily criticized after saying that he didn't think he should necessarily have an opinion on Trayvon Martin's shooting just because he is African American. During an interview for a profile piece in the New Yorker, which will be published on April 4, the 35-year-old said also took the opportunity to pour scorn on Lebron James and the Miami Heat for posting a photo of them wearing hoodies in the aftermath of Martin's death at the hands of George Zimmerman. Asked about that, Bryant said he took exception to any idea that Africa-Americans should...

CNN apologized on Friday for falling for a Twitter hoax and declaring that soccer legend Pele had died. "#BREAKING Brazilian former soccer player Pele dies at 74," CNN's @NewDay Twitter account tweeted to its 54K+ followers. Pele, to use a phrase coined by conservative writer aficionado Emily Miller, was only "TwitterDead," and not really dead, which CNN reporters found out after speaking to Pele's representatives after the initial Tweet was blasted out.

Recently Home Soldier Disguises Himself As A Football Player To Surprise His Son On The Field Get those hankies ready

An awful 146-word term paper littered with grammatical errors that is barely even readable has become a potent visual symbol of the University of North Carolina's fake classes scandal. The one-paragraph essay on civil rights icon Rosa Parks earned an A- and was exposed by former UNC professor Mary Willingham, who spent 10 years teaching UNC's athletes before she turned whistleblower on alleged classroom corruption. The shocking essay came to light during an ESPN documentary timed to coincide with the March Madness basketball competition. It contains allegations that UNC athletes in danger of failing were encouraged to sign up for...

Kuala Lumpur Race Date: 30 Mar 2014 Circuit Name: Sepang International Circuit First Grand Prix: 1999 Number of Laps: 56 Circuit Length: 5.543 km Race Distance: 310.408 km Lap Record: 1:34.223 - JP Montoya (2004) Friday Rain 34C Saturday Rain 32C Sunday Rain 33C

ENJOY :D http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=abbott+costello+who%27s+on+first&FORM=VIRE2#view=detail&mid=59DA5B851BD62484BBA059DA5B851BD62484BBA0

NORTH LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Travelers introduced their final mascot for the upcoming 2014 baseball season today, Gary the Rabid Raccoon. After a long search conducted by Arkansas’ minor league baseball club, the Travelers settled on three characters that grew up in Travelers lore.The first two mascots, Ace and Otey, were unveiled yesterday. Today in a special ceremony they introduced the captain of the new mascot team, Gary. All three mascots hold deep connections to the franchise they will now represent. “We are so excited to introduce Gary to our fans. I think the kids will really love him,”...

CHICAGO — Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan were among 22 players selected Wednesday to the United States national men’s soccer team for its April 2 game against Mexico in Glendale, Ariz. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann chose 19 players from Major League Soccer, including Dempsey, a forward for Seattle, and Donovan, a midfielder for Los Angeles. Absent for the game will be goalkeeper Tim Howard, who plays for Everton in the English Premier League. The match does not fall on an international scheduling day. Bayern Munich forward Julian Green has been released by his club to participate in what could be his...

Just days before local rivals Louisville and Kentucky face off in the Sweet 16, the state's senior senator, Mitch McConnell, released an ad for his reelection that called out "socialist notions" and climaxed with a quick clip of a blue-and-white basketball team celebrating its NCAA championship. It was Duke. "Obviously we were horrified by the error and quickly changed it," said UK alumnus and McConnell spokesperson Allison Moore. But the new edit failed, too. A second version featuring star freshman Julius Randle dunking was quickly swapped in, only to be hit with a cease-and-desist from the University of Kentucky for...

The future of the Sochi Olympic venues is unclear. Alexander Valov, a Russian reporter for BlogSochi, visited Sochi's "coastal cluster" — a site that includes six venues, the Olympic Village, and the Olympic Park, all built from scratch on an undeveloped plot of land — and he took some eerie photos this week. He called the area around the Olympic Village "Dead City." The photos are a reminder that much of what was built for the Olympics has no long-term use. While a few arenas and other buildings have plans going forward — the media center is being turned into...

Crazy Boat Racing Wicked at Web Slough. Webb's Slough, located in St. John, Washington, a unique venue carved into the beautiful Palouse hills of Eastern Washington.

Bayern Munich defeated Hertha Berlin 3-1 to become the earliest Bundesliga champion in 51 years of the league Tuesday, when the defending champion claimed its 24th German title. The result ensures Pep Guardiola’s side wraps up the title with seven games to spare in the Spaniard’s first season as coach, beating the mark set in last year’s record-breaking campaign by one game. “Praise has to go to the coach and the team,” Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer said. “Pep Guardiola suits this team. He’s not only an expert, he’s also a fantastic guy.” It was Bayern’s 19th consecutive win, its...

Very long interview with O'Brien that Texans fans will certainly want to read - especially w/ regard to the draft. Hard to read him, but I get the feeling that if they draft Johnny Football, it will be an upper management decision, not a Bill O'Brien decision. I obviously liked a few of his remarks about Penn State as well.

Richard Petty's wife passes away from cancer.

The NFL announced Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson died Tuesday. He was 95 years old. Wilson was the last of the original AFL owners. He founded the Bills in 1959 for the start of the league. The Bills moved to the NFL when the two leagues merged in 1970. Wilson was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. The Bills were AFL Champions in 1964 and 1965, and they won the AFC Championship four years straight from 1990 to 1993 under Wilson. He was the longest tenured NFL owner.

In July 2013 MediaTakeOut.com broke the story that basketball star J.J. Redick had initiated an “abortion contract” with then girlfriend Vanessa Lopez to abort their baby. The contract stated the couple would attempt to ”maintain a social and/or dating relationship” for one year after the abortion, and if Redick reneged he would pay Lopez $25,000. Redick and Lopez signed the abortion contract the morning of her abortion, September 13, 2007. Lopez was never to see Redick again, but she never attempted to collect the $25,000. Paparazzi discovered the abortion contract in court documents. Neither Redick nor Lopez had anything to...

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov on Monday reiterated plans to relocate the company that owns the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets to Russia as Washington and Moscow continue to trade sanctions. The comments come as the Kremlin has called on Russian businessmen to repatriate assets to help offset the economic and financial penalties from West. A law approved by the Kremlin last year prohibits Russians who are seeking top government posts from holding bank accounts or direct shareholdings in companies abroad. “A Russian company will own the basketball club,” Prokhorov said on Monday, according to Reuters. “This (move) does not violate any NBA...

Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly is preparing for another surgery related to his oral cancer. ... On her personal website, Kelly’s wife wrote that “the cancer’s back, aggressive, and starting to spread.”

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban elaborated on his controversial opinion that the NFL "is 10 years away from an implosion" in a 1,585-word Facebook post published Monday night, upping the ante to include player safety and behavioral issues as additional threats to pro football's future. Cuban's comments about the NFL on Sunday night focused on what he perceives as "greed" by the country's most popular sports league. He contended that the oversaturation of the NFL's expanding television package would eventually turn off fans. That subject was the third of five points in Cuban's Facebook post to explain his prediction for...