Free Republic

Ray Lewis believes the tuck rule is the only reason any of us knows who Tom Brady is. Lewis told Stephen A. Smith on ESPN Radio that the Patriots getting the benefit of the infamous rule when Brady appeared to fumble in his first playoff start against the Raiders in January of 2002 is the reason he has a career today.

IN: The 49ers promoted defensive line coach Jim Tomsula to head coach. Vic Fangio is officially the 49ers former defensive coordinator. Fangio, 56, is among the assistant coaches who have been fired today, a day after the 49ers promoted defensive line coach Jim Tomsula to head coach, a source said. That group of assistants who have been released from their contracts also includes secondary coach Ed Donatell and linebackers coach Jim Leavitt ... Under Fangio’s oversight, the 49ers allowed the second-fewest points in the NFL and the third-fewest yards from 2011-14.

In light of record breaking ticket prices for this weekend’s NFC championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers, Seattle City Councilmember and Socialist Alternative member Kshama Sawant is calling for the creation of the “13th Man Now” initiative. “$500 for a ticket is an injustice to all the working Seahawks fans out there,” Sawant said at a rally on Capitol Hill Tuesday. “The dream of seeing a game in the Clink as a member of the 12th class is a false hope, attainable only by heirs of season ticket-holders.” “Not all of us were born with...

ESPN "First Take" co-host Skip Bayless has a history of delivering controversial statements and opinions to generate buzz and elicit reactions from viewers. He recently called Johnny Manziel an “alcoholic” and a “liar.” It was quite ironic when you think about it—being that Bayless once lied about his high school basketball career. But that’s not the only thing he’s fabricated, apparently.

All signs point to former Broncos coach John Fox, divorced from his old team on Monday, landing in Chicago. Would it be a good fit?Sure looks like it. Here's five things to know about this impending hire.1. Quick Turnaround: The 2001 Carolina Panthers were a horrible, horrible football team. They went 1-15, hired Fox, won 7 games the next year and promptly went to the Super Bowl the season after that (they lost to the Patriots thanks to John Kasay kicking the ball out of bounds and Tom Brady being superbly clutch).

The NCAA received another serious blow to its credibility today. In court documents filed Thursday in the Paterno lawsuit, Oregon State President and then-NCAA Executive Committee Chairman Ed Ray admitted to not actually reading the Freeh Report — the entire basis for the NCAA sanctions — prior to sanctioning Penn State in 2012. In his testimony in the Paterno Family’s ongoing case, Ray said he was unaware that he needed to prep for anything related to the Freeh Report before the organization’s executive board met to discuss possible sanctions on the University. Instead, Ray spent time in Hawaii where he...

Pro-life Bikers will join the March for Life in Dallas, Texas where the Roe v. Wade abortion case originated. The North Texas Ride for Life will take place on Saturday, January 17th at 3:00 PM. Last year, pro-life bikers brought electricity to marchers who made their way to the Earle Cabell Federal Courthouse housing the district court where Roe was first filed in 1970. Texas History: In March 1970, a suit was filed in Dallas on behalf of plaintiff Jane Roe and all other women “who were or might become pregnant and want to consider all options.” At the time,...

Cincinnati Bengals player Devon Still has been keeping us posted on his daughters battle with cancer through his Instagram account since they first got the news that doctors found a tumor in her abdomen. Last June the tumor was removed and she started chemotherapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells. A few days ago Devon took her to the hospital for a routine checkup and posted the heartbreaking results. Via Instagram: I wanted to hear so bad that my daughter’s cancer was gone and when I didn’t it hurt me bad. I couldn’t even bring myself to tell my family...

A deal is on the table for a super fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd in Las Vegas, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum told Kevin Iole Yahoo Sports. Arum says the Pacquiao has agreed to his the deal, as have Mayweather's "representatives." The way Arum frames it, all that's left is for Mayweather himself to agree to the deal. Iole reports that Pacquiao has agreed to a 60-40 revenue split where Mayweather would made an estimated $120 million and Pacquiao $80 million. The two sides have been unable to make the fight happen for the better part...

The Russian billionaire who owns the Brooklyn Nets has decided to sell the NBA team amid concerns about its financial losses and performance on court, according to reports. Mikhail Prokhorov, 49, has apparently retained investment adviser Evercore Partners to sell his share of the basketball franchise, which he bought for a staggering $223million in May 2010. The businessman, who is worth an estimated $11.1billion, currently holds 80 per cent of the Nets, as well as 45 per cent of the Barclays Center, the club's two-and-a-half-year-old arena in New York. Of these, only the team is for sale, two sources close...

Miami clobbered Virginia Tech 30-6 in Blacksburg Thursday night. That drops the Hokies to 3-4 vs. FBS teams on the season. Ohio State’s two-touchdown loss at home to them looks worse with each passing week. Tech’s continued slide could be devastating to the Buckeyes’ chances of reaching the playoff, despite their dominance of late. Here is a reasonable scenario if Ohio State wins out. Florida State wins out to get to 13-0 and is a lock for the playoff. Alabama wins out and wins the SEC claiming a second place. That leaves two places for a one-loss Ohio State (B1G...

DOVER, Del. — The NASCAR driver known as "The Outlaw" testified Tuesday he believes his ex-girlfriend is a trained assassin dispatched on covert missions around the world who once returned home in a blood-splattered gown. Kurt Busch, appearing in court again over Patricia Driscoll's request for a no-contact order, continued the push of his legal team to discredit his ex as a scorned woman out to destroy his career, portraying her as a character fit for a screenplay.

Minnesota adventurer has succeeded in becoming the first solo climber to reach the summit of Alaska's Mount McKinley in the month of January, his support team said Monday, citing a GPS tracking device. Lonnie Dupre, of Grand Marais, reached the 20,320-foot summit of North America's tallest peak at 2:08 p.m. Alaska time Sunday, said project coordinator Stevie Plummer. Dupre sent a text message saying "All OK, Doing Well," through a SPOT GPS messenger device that showed it was sent from the same coordinates as McKinley's summit. Plummer then posted on the expedition website and on Dupre's Facebook page a map...

Well, that escalated quickly. According to Vic Lombardi of CBS 4 in Denver, the “mutual parting” between the Broncos and coach John Fox has been chased by the release of the entire coaching staff. It was believed that defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was in trouble. Instead, everyone is gone. That includes offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who currently is under consideration for multiple head-coaching jobs elsewhere. So if the Broncos, who know Gase better than anyone, have just fired him, why would anyone else hire him to be the head coach?

I-O

John Fox is leaving the the Denver Broncos after four seasons as head coach. Fox is coming off a 12-4 season during which the Broncos earned the AFC's No. 2 seed, but a loss to Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs was apparently the death knell for a coach many perceived was underachieving with a roster built to win a Super Bowl. The two sides "mutually agreed to part ways," according to Adam Schefter.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama praised the sportsmanship of the San Antonio Spurs as "a great metaphor for what America should be all about." Obama hosted the Spurs at the White House on Monday to celebrate their victory in the 2014 NBA Finals.

Forty police officers were called to restore calm after chaos broke out at on Saturday night at the Darts Invitational Challenge, an international competition at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. Security guards at the stadium were unable to quell the violence. Daniel Andrews, the state premier in Victoria, said the incident was “very ugly” and authorities will reconsider whether to host other such darts events in the future.

The divisional playoff game between the Patriots and Ravens on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium featured a number of bizarre and unbelievable twists and turns. Among them was a rarely seen strategy employed by Tom Brady’s offense, one that helped the Patriots climb back to cut a 14-point deficit in half, and one that had Ravens head coach John Harbaugh furious on the sideline. The strategy in question involved Bill Belichick’s offense employing four offensive linemen instead of the standard five on a number of plays midway through the third quarter. Running back Shane Vereen lined up off the right...

Days before Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers even suited up for a recent game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an Irishman named Nigel Eccles had collected millions of dollars from people betting on Rodgers’ All-Pro arm. By noon on game day he was raking in $30,000 per minute. By the time Rodgers took his first snap, Eccles had collected $18 million. The action was happening far from the Vegas Strip or a Costa Rican website out of reach of U.S. law enforcement. Eccles’ company, FanDuel, is situated above a storefront in New York City’s Union Square, and its business...