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Former NFL player Mark Rubin, who beat Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps in swimming as a kid, captured the title of "Wall Street's Best Athlete" on Sunday at the Wall Street Decathlon for the fourth consecutive year. Rubin, 29, is a futures and options trader who will be starting a new job at ICAP. He previously worked as a vice president at Barclays. In a span of four hours, Rubin and other athletes in the financial-services industry completed a 400-meter run, football throw, pull-ups, 40-yard dash, dips, 500-meter row, vertical jump, 20-yard shuttle, bench press, and 800-meter run. Rubin, a...

CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks are one win away from winning another Stanley Cup championship. But one of the team’s ambassadors can’t enjoy it, because he doesn’t know its happening. Hall of Famer Stan Mikita spent his entire 22-year NHL career in Chicago. He’s now 75 and suffers from a brain disorder called Lewy body. The disorder can lead to dementia, hallucinations, and memory loss. Mikita’s wife, Jill, tells the Chicago Tribune, “His mind is completely gone. I don’t like to use that term, but there’s no other way to describe it.” “He doesn’t know he’s missing out. He has...

You are barely out of your teens, and have been signed to a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract by a pro team. You can expect another $20 million to $30 million in endorsement deals, and are positioned to become a brand unto yourself: another LeBron, Brady, Kobe, Jeter. What’s even more incredible? If you were to find yourself in this scenario, you would most likely wind up dead broke, if not bankrupt and homeless, by the time you turned 40. “Lots of players are having ­financial trouble, but they won’t talk about it,” says ex-NBA player Adonal Foyle, author of the new...

A 16-year old boy was shot Saturday (June 13) during a struggle with a man who tried to steal his shoes in an eastern New Orleans apartment complex, New Orleans Police said. The victim was approached around 10 p.m in the 5100 block of Bundy Road by a man who said he wanted to buy the victim's shoes.

A U.S. woman attempting to cross the Pacific by rowboat has ended her solo attempt because of expected bad weather. Sonya Baumstein was rescued off the Japanese coast on Saturday after sending out a distress signal, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday. The 30-year-old Baumstein departed from Choshi, Japan, one week ago, hoping to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific. I’m afraid of losing my boat because I spent three years creating this thing,” Baumstein told NBC Bay Area before she departed. t She was headed for San Francisco but sent out the signal on Saturday...

The professional football career of Michael Sam hit another bump on Friday when he left the Montreal Alouettes training camp to return to Texas because of personal reasons. The team confirmed Sam’s departure in a statement. “Friday morning, Michael asked the team for special permission to leave training camp and return home for personal reasons,” it said. “Out of respect for Michael Sam, the nature of this decision will remain confidential.” It continued: “The Montreal Alouettes fully respect Michael Sam’s decision and we rally around him to offer all the support needed. The team has left the door open and...

Welcome to UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum Live Thread Main Card Broadcast: PPV (10pm ET/ 7pm PT/ 3am UK) Prelims Broadcast: FX (8pm ET/ 5pm PT/ 1am UK) Early Prelims Broadcast: UFC Fight Pass (7pm ET/ 4pm PT/ 12am UK) Main Card (PPV) 10pm ET / 7pm PT / 3am UK 265lbs- Cain Velasquez (13-1) vs. Fabricio Werdum (19-5-1) {Heavyweight Title Unification Fight} 155lbs- Eddie Alvarez (25-4) vs. Gilbert Melendez (22-4) 185lbs- Nate Marquardt (33-14-2) vs. Kelvin Gastelum(10-1) 145lbs- Charles Rosa (10-1) vs. Yair Rodriguez (4-1) 115lbs- Tecia Torres (5-0) vs. Angela Hill (2-0) Preliminary Bouts (FX) 8pm ET /...

Michael Sam's CFL career has hit a snag. The Alouettes released a statement regarding Sam Friday evening: "The Montreal Alouettes organization would like to clarify the situation surrounding international defensive end Michael Sam. Friday morning, Michael asked the team a special permission to leave training camp and return home for personal reasons. "With all due respect for Michael Sam, the nature of this decision will remain confidential. "The Montreal Alouettes fully respect Michael Sam's decision and rally around him to offer him all time and support needed. The team has left the door open and Michael is welcome to come...

This week, the U.S. women begin their quest to win the World Cup, a feat they haven’t accomplished since July 10, 1999. More than 90,000 people attended the match that day at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, while 40 million watched on TV. I watched, too, from a stuffy, third-floor apartment in a Somerville triple-decker; I covered my eyes as Brandi Chastain buried her penalty kick in the goal’s top-right corner, lifting the U.S. to victory over China. As a player, I didn’t have one thousandth of Mia Hamm’s talent, but how her team captured my imagination. Sally Jenkins,...

An updated book about the Grateful Dead includes a humorous excerpt of the band interacting — or not — with legendary San Francisco Giants players. The 20th anniversary edition of "Deadheads: Stories from Fellow Artists, Friends & Followers of the Grateful Dead" by Linda Kelly has just been released via Skyhorse Publishing. This book excerpt comes from Dennis McNally, who has been the band's publicist for 35 years and is a self-proclaimed Deadhead who has attended over 900 shows: "Among my favorite moments ever with Jerry Garcia was the day the Grateful Dead sang the national anthem for the Giants,...

Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia in the fall of 2012, his first season as the Colts' coach. By the end of that year his cancer was in remission but the experience -- and the outpouring of support -- gave him a unique perspective for others battling the disease. So it's no surprise that Pagano and the Colts would fully embrace Rita Hay, a huge fan who is dying of liver and lung cancer. Given six months to live by doctors, one of Hay's wishes was to see the inside of Lucas Oil Stadium. Bob Kravitz, a longtime Indianapolis Star...

Wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes died Thursday morning, the WWE confirmed on Twitter. He was 69. The pro wrestler, whose real name was Virgil Runnels was famously known as "The American Dream." The cause of death is unknown.

These are good times for United States national soccer teams of all genders and ages. 1. The U.S. women's team is on top of Group D (the Group of Death!) in the Women's World Cup after a 3-1 win over Australia. The USWNT is still one of the tournament's two big favorites. 2. The U.S. men's team just beat Germany (the reigning World Cup champions and No. 1-ranked team in the world) and the Netherlands (the team that finished 3rd at the World Cup) on the road in the same week, scoring six goals in the process. 3. The U.S....

[...] Early reports on Tebow out of the Eagles' OTAs have been overwhelmingly positive. Tebow is throwing the ball better than expected, and he attributes his improvement to his offseason work with House. Tebow said the pair worked “from the ground up,” focusing on “balance, posture, sequencing, timing," per John Gonzalez of CSN Philly. [...] Reporters at practice are not the only ones who have noticed the improvements that Tebow has made throwing the football. Kelly is excited with what he has seen so far. “Watch him throw,” Kelly said, per CSN Philly. “I think he’s improved. He spent a...

The NCAA threatened sanctions against the school, saying the nickname and logo were hostile and abusive and that UND was not endorsed by one of the state's two namesake tribes. The state Legislature put a moratorium on replacing the nickname until this year. The 15 names still in the running: North Dakota, Blaze, Cavalry, Explorers, Fighting Green, Fighting Hawks, Force, Green Hawks, Nodaks, North Stars, Pride, Roughriders, Spirit, Sundogs and Thunderhawks, WDAZ-TV reported (http://bit.ly/1GdnPJr). One possibility that was dumped Tuesday night was Flickertails, which the school used before adopting the Fighting Sioux nickname.

Word on the street is Miami Dolphins reserve defensive tackle A.J. Francis has good acceleration, an excellent motor and a high ceiling in his 2014 Dodge Charger. He's an Uber driver. Francis is under contract to earn $510,000 this year in his third NFL season, but paychecks don't start coming until July, and it's uncertain he'll make the team. He wanted some extra spending money, so in April he became a driver for hire with Uber, making $40 to $50 an hour. "I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket," Francis said following the Dolphins' offseason practice Monday. "Where...

The former Santa Cruz paramedic was brutally assaulted by two men on Opening Day at Chavez Ravine in 2011.Dodger Stadium attack victim Bryan Stow returned Wednesday to the Bay Area hospital where he made his miraculous comeback to thank the caregivers who helped save his life. Stow walked into Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose on crutches. It’s one of the few times since he was assaulted by two men outside Dodger Stadium in March 2011 that Stow has appeared in public without a wheelchair. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch this season at San Francisco Giants...

The Wall Street Journal has put together a cool split screen video comparing American Pharoah’s Triple Crown winning Belmont race to Secretariat’s historic Belmont victory in 1973. One of our favorite things to do in sports is to speculate about how current greats would have fared against past ones, or vice versa. But as the video shows, American Pharoah would be no match for Secretariat.

Pat Venditte, the Oakland Athletics' switch-pitching sensation, has the ability to live on land and in water, according to the East Oregonian. The little paper published out of Pendleton, Oregon, ran a headline on a story about Venditte touting him as "amphibious" rather than ambidextrous.