Free Republic

The Inglewood City Council unanimously approved St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s prospective stadium at Hollywood Park on Tuesday. The $1.86 billion, 80,000-seat, closed-roof structure, to be opened in 2018, would become the world’s most expensive stadium. Chris Meany, vice president of the Hollywood Park Land Company (HPLC), partners with the Kroenke Group, commented, “It’s just the next step, but it’s a very important step.”

Sunday -- March 1-- begins the 25th annual recognition of Irish-American recognition month as recognized by the United States Congress. Why, St. Patrick's Day parades have been going on in Boston for over 275 years to the delight of crowds' cheers and whistles. And, for these past 40 days, it appears a distinct type of whistle-blowing has entered the New England landscape: Whistle-blowers of alleged East Coast NFL shenanigans have been turned up to high volume. The pursuit? To discover if any roguish tricksterism by Brady & his Boston-based Patriotic Leprauchans these past eight years might be evidenced by “the...

The Deflategate controversy took another strange turn Thursday when Colts general manager Ryan Grigson revealed he had alerted the NFL the week before the AFC Championship Game about concerns the Patriots were underinflating footballs. Grigson’s revelation, which came during a press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, appeared to contradict league officiating director Dean Blandino’s strong denial the NFL had conducted a “sting” of New England during the title game. “Earlier in that week, prior to the AFC Championship Game, we notified the league about our concerns,” Grigson told reporters Thursday. “We went into the game, we had...

ESPN on Tuesday suspended Keith Olbermann for the remainder of the week after he made insulting comments about Penn State students on Twitter.According to multiple reports, a Penn State alum tweeted to Olbermann the phrase "We Are!" and a link to an article about students raising more than $13 million to fight pediatric cancer. Olbermann replied "...Pitiful."Penn State students and alum rallied on Twitter and pressed Olbermann, who refused to back down, saying he was referring to Penn State students in general and not the fundraising.On Tuesday, ESPN said in a statement that "it was completely inappropriate and does...

Lisa Aiello DeLeon just wanted to show Keith Olbermann that there was more to Penn State than the Jerry Sandusky scandal. When she read that the university's annual THON dance marathon had raised more than $13 million over the weekend for pediatric cancer research, she thought of the ESPN host.

Watching the Cards and Cubs on FOX Sports Midwest tonight and the announcers mentioned that Olberman was in the truck. Not sure if he is a producer or what. My, how he has fallen.

ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann will not anchor his show for the rest of the week after a series of tweets directed at Penn State students. Olbermann, who was most recently critical of Penn State on his ESPN show in January after Joe Paterno's vacated wins were restored, was told on Twitter by a user about the $13 million raised by Penn State students for pediatric cancer. He responded to the tweet with a response of "pitiful." "We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect...

"“We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the views of ESPN. We have discussed it with Keith, who recognizes he was wrong. ESPN and Keith have agreed that he will not host his show for the remainder of this week and will return on Monday.”" "I apologize for the PSU tweets. I was stupid and childish and way less mature than the students there who did such a great fundraising job."

K-State stuns KU as fans storm court Have you seen this video? This is going to get worse. I think it is time to put an end to storming the court except for championship games.

A sophisticated tunnel has been discovered near a major sporting venue and a university in Toronto, reports said Monday, with Canada on edge over the threat of possible extremist attacks. A municipal worker was walking through woods near York University and the Rexall Center last month when he spotted a piece of corrugated metal on the ground, lifted it up and found a passageway, the public broadcaster CBC said. The tunnel was about 23 feet long and 22.5 meters tall and was lit by an electric generator. The walls and ceilings had been reinforced and tools had been left inside....

The Iron Dog Snow Mobile race started yesterday from Big Lake at 10:00 AK time. This year's race is being called the “water & dirt” race because snow is lacking on some major portions of trail and the race route had to be changed to avoid open water on the Yukon. Through slush and muck, soggy Iron Dog snowmachine racers head north Todd Palin and partner Tyler Huntington (Team 11) are in this year's race and have made it to the McGrath Airport checkpoint as of Sunday night (Feb. 23) – last year, they were early out of the race...

UFC Fight Night 61: Bigfoot vs. Mir Live Thread

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kyle Busch will miss the Daytona 500 after suffering a broken right leg and left foot following a hard crash into an interior concrete wall during an Xfinity Series race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. Kyle Busch was stretchered off after his car slammed into an infield concrete wall during the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Busch needed assistance getting out of his car after it slammed into a wall that did not have an energy-absorbing steel-and-foam energy reduction (SAFER) barrier. His right leg was placed in an air cast before he was transported...

Two years ago, long-time Phillies catcher Darren Daulton was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer the American Brain Tumor Association characterizes as being "highly malignant." He had successful surgery to remove a pair of brain tumors in July 2013. Daulton, now 53, has undergone extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment in the 19 months since the surgery. On Thursday he passed along some good news:

On the field, the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders have had as bitter a rivalry as any in the NFL but in a sense, they’re now partners. The teams will officially announce Friday that, while they work on stadium deals in their current cities, they will jointly pursue a shared, $1.7-billion NFL stadium in Carson as an alternative. While theirs might seem to be an unlikely pairing -- the Silver & Black and the Powder Blue -- the Raiders and Chargers have actually been closer over the years than many people might think.

Some fighters seize the public’s imagination with awe-inspiring one-punch knockouts. Others bedazzle with bursts of supersonic speed. A few grab headlines with their retina-burning attire, their inspirational life stories or their inflammatory trash talk. Onetime light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson, who died Thursday morning at 86, didn’t take any shortcuts to earn his greatness. He was a solid citizen in a sport saturated by crazies, criminals and characters. He was the guy who clocked in every day and did his job in such a classy, dignified manner that one couldn’t help but admire his excellence. Johnson was a beautifully proportioned...

Monday night on RAW, WWE Superstar and current Mr. Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins, took some shots at Jon Stewart, calling The Daily Show "unwatchable." Bad move, Seth. Now Stewart (a massive wrestling fan) has fired back in this pitch-perfect A-plus promo.

Political discord increased Tuesday between the San Diego Chargers and Mayor Kevin Faulconer over whether the city will build a new stadium to keep the team from moving to Los Angeles. The two sides exchanged increasingly pointed barbs accusing the other of not dealing in good faith to solve the volatile issue.

According to Florio, who cited a league source with knowledge of the situation, the New England Patriots notified the NFL about an issue with the special-teams ball after scoring the first touchdown of the game. Scott Miller, the league official who was fired, called for the football — which was marked “K1″ by game officials before the game started — following the opening kickoff, Florio reported. Video evidence shows Miller collecting the ball. Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/02/report-patriots-notified-nfl-about-issue-with-ball-fired-league-employee-named/

The unapproved kicking ball that sources told "Outside the Lines" that a Gillette Stadium officials' locker room attendant tried to introduce into the AFC Championship Game was handed to the man by an NFL employee, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

Jerome Kersey, a 17-year NBA veteran who played in two NBA Finals with the Portland Trail Blazers, died Wednesday, two people close to him told CBSSports.com. He was 52. Kersey played 11 seasons for the Trail Blazers before spending time with the Warriors, Lakers, SuperSonics, Spurs and Bucks. He was a member of San Antonio's 1999 NBA championship team.

The incredible impressionist read A-Rod’s letter as actor Morgan Freeman and ESPN’s Jon Gruden and Chris Berman.

Multiple sources say it's a done deal that World Cup 2022 will take place in November and December of 2022 in Qatar. A FIFA task force will meet in Doha next week and make that recommendation, and the FIFA Executive Committee is set to make the decision final at its meeting in Zurich next month.

There is never a shortage of ardent NFL fans and with that comes the desire to improve the sport as we know it. Deeyung Entertainment took this a step further by creating new helmets for all 32 teams. The designs are futuristic, and some of them very cool -- but old school fans won't be pleased.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – It's been more than three decades since his landmark goal became the centerpiece of the U.S. Olympic hockey team's Miracle on Ice. For 60-year-old Mike Eruzione, it still seems like only yesterday. Eruzione says he's doing something every week that's associated with 1980, the year he scored a game-winning goal against the Soviet Union in the medal round at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. It was a bunch of college kids matched up against one of the best teams in hockey history. The United States triumphed with an improbable comeback 35 years ago.

The Ruger Police carbine was designed by as a companion long arm to go with their P series pistols. This was to cash in on the trend of many law enforcement departments adding a carbine as an alternative or an addition to a shotgun for patrol cars. Ruger P series pistols use the same magazines and were offered in both 9mm and .40 caliber chamberings. Ruger made these carbines for 10 years, 1996 to 2006, marketing them to police departments but selling them to private buyers as well. The carbine is externally a traditionally styled long arm with a manual...

A BYU football recruit is accused of sexually assaulting an alleged prostitute. Charles West of Coppell, Texas was arrested last week—two days after Signing Day. Police say West called a female escort to his family’s home, held a knife to her neck and demanded sexual favors. He is also charged with drug possession. West chose to play for the Cougars in October after receiving a dozen offers from other universities.

George Washington. Famous for being first, but hasn't done anything in centuries. RUTGERS John Adams. Sort of forgotten and small and lost to Thomas Jefferson so...WAKE FOREST Thomas Jefferson. Bought Louisiana, had zero scruples, drank hard, and invented the disgraceful sex scandal. LSU James Madison. Tiny, but punched well above his weight, and lasted way longer in the game than he had any right to via craftiness. BOISE STATE James Monroe. Known for having financial difficulties. MARYLAND John Quincy Adams. Thorny bastard who swam naked in rivers for fun and had big-ass sideburns. WEST VIRGINIA Andrew Jackson. Completely insane. Noted...

Lance Armstrong has been ordered to pay $10 million (£6.5m) to SCA Promotions, the Dallas-based company that paid him around $12m in bonuses during his career. Armstrong won seven Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005 before being stripped of all of them in 2012 for doping. The dispute with SCA dates back to 2005 when the firm withheld bonuses due to concerns that the Texan had cheated. SCA eventually reached an out-of-court settlement with Armstrong, paying him $9.5m plus $2.5m in costs. After ­Armstrong’s cheating was exposed, SCA sued to get its money back. The company has a separate...

Like many of our readers, I am now limited to my closest ranges being indoor. Drives me nuts when I have to zero a rifle for 3-gun and the longest range I can get too quickly is a scant 15 yards. (I can drive 45 minutes to some good long-ranges, but getting at least three hours free can be difficult).

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State wrestling team set the stage — literally — thinking upset over four-time defending national champion Penn State. After the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions picked up pins in two of the first four matches, the seventh-ranked Cowboys rallied with wins in four of the final six matches to pull off a 21-18 victory. Fifth-ranked Austin Marsden sealed the outcome with a 4-3 win over Jon Gingrich at 285 pounds. The action took place with the mat elevated on a stage, providing a unique atmosphere much like the NCAA championship finals, in front of 6,491 fans at Gallagher-Iba...

Former NHL defenseman Steve Montador died at age 35, as first reported by TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. The Mississauga News reports that he was found dead at his home at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. Police do not suspect foul play. Montador last performed in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011-12. He played 571 regular season games spread out between the Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins and Blackhawks. Many may remember him most from his time when the Flames, as he appeared in 20 postseason games during Calgary’s memorable run to the 2004 Stanley...

Russell Wilson has had a solid career so far as an NFL quarterback but his career as a movie critic has gotten off to a rocky start. The Seahawks quarterback went to see 50 Shades of Grey on Thursday night and by Friday morning, his review of the movie was in.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam claims he didn’t know of Johnny Manziel’s lifestyle when he drafted the former Heisman Trophy-winner last year. “I don’t know how much of Johnny’s personal life was known by everybody then,” Haslam told a press conference on Friday. Manziel currently sits in a rehabilitation facility to transition from his party lifestyle to a sober one. Manziel slipped to the 22nd pick in the 2014 draft based largely on the concerns that Haslam now suggests were largely unknown last spring. College Station police arrested the Texas A&M quarterback on alcohol-related charges after a late-night fight in 2012...

Out-of-work running back Ray Rice has issued a statement thanking the Baltimore Ravens and apologizing for his actions in a February 2014 elevator incident with his now-wife that struck a serious chord with the nation a year ago. Rice's high-profile case was the signature incident of a horrific domestic-violence swell among NFL players last season, and it raised awareness of what appeared to be a growing problem in the league. For his part, Rice apologized for his actions and thanked the city of Baltimore and the team, which released him last season once the full tape of Rice hitting his...

LSU played with one hand tied behind its back in 2014, and that one hand happened to belong to its quarterback, which made for some trouble for the Tigers. It was excruciating trouble, actually. The Tigers had the top-rated defense in the SEC and still lost five games. They were 14th out of 14 SEC teams through the air in the regular season, gaining just 1,967 yards with a muted passing game that looked like it belonged in the year 1967. So the familiar refrain around LSU, the two words you hear most often: If only… If only LSU had...

Any lingering notions of a smooth ride to Vancouver faded away with each French pass in Lorient on Sunday. France delivered the United States women's national team an inescapable dose of reality to accompany the rhythmic dissection. The gulf between the two sides on the day gave the French a deserved 2-0 victory and left the Americans with plenty to ponder ahead of their trip across the English Channel. "It's a big wake-up call for us," USA forward Christen Press told reporters after the game. "We like to win, we don't like to have these kinds of performances, but we...

If you care at all about the players on the Jackie Robinson West Little League team, don’t call them champions. They aren’t. Wednesday’s announcement by Little League International that the team has been stripped of its U.S. title and all its wins from the 2014 Little League World Series tournament is all the proof you need. These are not champions. To say otherwise is a disservice to these kids, and they’ve already been handed a disservice big enough to last a lifetime. So don’t say, “It’s OK, kids, you’re still champions in our eyes.” Don’t say, “We don’t care, you...

Rev. Jesse Jackson, the polarizing civil rights activist, is calling for Little League International to return the U.S. championship to the 12-year-olds from Jackie Robinson West, mere hours after Little League stripped the team of its title. And if that doesn't happen, Jackson said Wednesday afternoon, he may take legal action. Jackie Robinson West — consumed in a vortex of allegations involving ineligible players and illegally redrawing its league boundaries — became a feel-good story in Chicago and across the country on its run to the Little League World Series. An all-black team that was supported by MLB players, Jackie...

Tarkanian, 84, had been hospitalized since Monday for a a respiratory ailment and infection.The towel-chewing coach, dubbed Tark the Shark, had been hospitalized three times in 10 months.He had a second heart attack last April and was treated for pneumonia in November.

Last summer, nearly 23 years after he lost one of the most famous tennis matches in history to Jimmy Connors, Aaron Krickstein finally made the phone call he had always been too nervous to make. He and Connors hadn’t spoken since Labor Day 1991, when Connors beat Krickstein in five raucous sets at the U.S. Open. The match has lived longer than any other in tennis, with annual rain-delay reruns and a recent ESPN documentary. Krickstein decided the time had come for a rematch—and a new beginning to a friendship that went kaput when Connors won. On Tuesday here, Krickstein,...

CHICAGO (AP) — Little League International has stripped Chicago's Jackie Robinson West of its national title after finding the team falsified its boundary map. The league made the announcement Wednesday morning, saying the Chicago team violated regulations by placing players on the team who didn't qualify because they lived outside the team's boundaries. Little League International also suspended Jackie Robinson West manager Darold Butler from league activity.

The Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin offers $220 million towards a new Bucks arena, if Gov. Scott Walker changes his mind about a Kenosha casino

Retired NFL great Brett Favre has some advice for current NFL great Peyton Manning who is considering whether or not to retire before next season. “I think the numbers he’s put up the last few years are staggering. Can he do that again? I guess that’s a question these teams have to ask if he chooses to play.” “Initially he said this is gonna be a quick decision and it hasn’t been so quick,” said Favre. No one knows better than the NFL great how tough it is to decide to retire following a legendary career. The multiple-MVP quarterback is...

Big Ten mascots, you’ve done it again!When it comes to sticking together and joining forces on fun projects, few conference’s mascots rival the Big Ten’s. There’s this, this and this. And, who can forget their “Call Me Maybe” parody? Actually, we’re just going to go ahead and say the Big Ten boasts the best mascots.New proof of this fact surfaced Monday, when the mascots – all but Testudo, Willie the Wildcat and Nittany Lion – released their entertaining “Shake It Off” parody.For those of you who don’t know, “Shake It Off” is Taylor Swift’s catchy and highly addicting new hit.

Dean Smith, the coaching innovator who won two national championships at North Carolina, an Olympic gold medal in 1976 and induction into basketball's Hall of Fame more than a decade before he left the bench, has died. He was 83. The retired coach died "peacefully" at his North Carolina home Saturday night, the school said in a statement Sunday from Smith's family. He was with his wife and five children. Smith had health issues in recent years, with the family saying in 2010 he had a condition that was causing him to lose memory. He had kept a lower profile...

NEW YORK -- Ed Sabol, the NFL Films founder who revolutionized sports broadcasting and reimagined pro football from an up-and-coming league to must-watch theater, has died. He was 98. Sabol died Monday at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, the NFL said.

The domestic-abuse case against Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy was dismissed on Monday because the court's witness refused to testify. Hardy was convicted at a bench trial on July 15 of misdemeanor charges of communicating threats and assaulting a female. The decision was immediately appealed and a jury trial date was set for November. After a continuance, Hardy's trial was rescheduled for Monday, but the court was never able to convince Hardy's ex-girlfriend to testify.

Survivors described it as a corridor of death: a narrow route of high, chain-link security fences and barbed wire that thousands of soccer fans were filing through before entering the stadium to watch their team play. Then, mayhem broke out. Those at the front of the line were turned back by police. Those in the back continued to press forward. Jittery police fired tear gas into the middle of the crowd, creating what survivors said was "like a whirlpool" — sucking people into a crush of bodies with no way out. The stampede killed 22 people Sunday night at the...