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Michael Sam may not be a distraction this week at the St. Louis Rams training camp, but the same cannot be said about Tony Dungy. The former coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts found himself drawing criticism for telling the Tampa Tribune that, if he were still coaching today, he wouldn’t have drafted Sam “(n)ot because I don’t believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it.

San Diego Padres and Petco Park welcomed Agnes McKee to celebrate her 105th birthday in a very special wayAgnes McKee's birthday celebration wasn't just a first for her. It was also a first for Major League Baseball. At 105, McKee threw out the first pitch before Sunday’s San Diego Padres game and became the oldest person ever to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. “I haven’t thrown a ball in years,” she said before the game. “I do Wii Bowling which we do like this,” she said gesturing. “So it’s the same thing.” “Other than that, nothing on this scale...

During the ceremony, Michael gave an incredibly emotionally-charged acceptance speech Michael Sam became the hero of the 2014 ESPYs last night when he not only proudly walked the red carpet with his boyfriend, but also brought the audience to tears with his emotional and inspiring speech when accepting an award for his incredible courage.

Burke, who came out to team-mates in the 1970s and to the public in 1982, died of AIDS in 1995 aged just 42.More than two decades after Glenn Burke abruptly retired from Major League Baseball, the former LA Dodgers outfielder will be honored at Tuesday night’s all-star game as one of the few professional athletes to have come out. Burke's four-and-a-half year career is remembered for his charismatic attitude and the pressures he faced as a gay athlete in the late 1970s. Burke, who played for the Dodgers and the Oakland A's, was the first professional ball player to come...

All right, where's Vin Scully? He's the most iconic baseball announcer in the game's history, but has obviously been snubbed by the East coast liberal establishment. Where did Scully's career begin? With the Brooklyn Dodgers, but that STILL doesn't buy him a seat with the terrible announcers from back East at THIS All Star game. This is an outrage!

Police are investigating battery claims made from a South Florida man who alleges twin brothers and NFL Pro Bowl centers, Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, assaulted him during their annual birthday party. No police report is available yet for the alleged incident, which took place at Cameo Night club around 4:20 a.m. on Saturday. But according to Miami Beach Police Sgt. Bobby Hernandez, the department's detectives have taken a statement from the alleged victim, Ricky Vasquez, and are gathering all the facts involving the battery claims centering around the pair.

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...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- King James has reclaimed his throne in Cleveland. LeBron James stunned the NBA on Friday when he announced his long-awaited free agency decision, choosing to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and leaving the Miami Heat.

I tried plinking with my new Marlin 795 .22 semi auto about three months ago. Almost every round jammed, I even had to use a clothes hanger to punch some stuck rounds out of the chamber. Tried again yesterday after a thorough cleaning. Same thing. Thought, "Oh well, send it off to Marlin for repairs". By chance, I ran a few rounds of the same .22 long through a Puma revolver. Oddly enough, a bunch of the rounds didn't fit in the cylinder.. Now I get it.. I was using Aguila ammo, made in Mexico, bought for real cheap at...

Texas Tech suspended women's basketball player Amber Battle for the month of November for her involvement in an altercation with former football player Nigel Bethel, the school announced Friday. Battle and Bethel reportedly got in a fight during a pickup basketball game on Tech's campus. Bethel was dismissed from the football program last week, with the school saying "Texas Tech Athletics does not tolerate violence against women." Bethel also faces felony assault charges because of the incident.

The recent decision by an obscure administrative law board to cancel the Washington Redskins‘ trademark registrations came despite the fact the agency hadn’t received a single letter from a member of the public complaining about the team’s name, records show. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which is part of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, ruled last month that the name was disparaging to American Indians. The team is appealing that decision. Politicians, including President Obama, have waded into the team name controversy, with many saying the team should change its name. But despite widespread media attention and a...

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter believes that the country’s growing interest in soccer – fueled by Team USA’s success in the 2014 World Cup - is a sure sign of America's ‘moral decay.’ Coulter’s reasons for hating soccer include that individual achievement is not a big factor, it isn’t rough enough, and the fact that ‘it's foreign.’ As a conservative she argued that liberals only love soccer - and the metric system - because they're both 'European.'

The US has brought more fans to Brazil than any other country and this may be a genuine tipping point.... A recent ESPN poll found that among Americans aged 12-17, football was now neck and neck with baseball in terms of popularity, and well ahead of ice hockey. A Washington Times survey found that almost a third of Americans planned to watch at least some of the tournament. The New York Times has splashed the World Cup over its front page several times in recent weeks. Beneath the surface, the last four years have seen the emergence of magazines such...

Ex-Rep. Joe Walsh ‘kicked off the air’ over racist terms on radio Fri, 06/20/2014 - 3:37am Mitch Dudek According to posts on former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh’s Twitter account Thursday night, the conservative radio talk-show host was kicked off the air on WIND-AM (560) for using racial slurs while trying to have a discussion about racial slurs. In a series of tweets posted about 7 p.m., Walsh says: “Just got kicked off the air until further notice. Tried to have honest discussion about racist terms and management censored my language.” And: “I’m trying to have an honest, adult conversations about...

Anyone deemed politically incorrect is now outside the protection of the law. Like most people, I haven’t been all that interested in the controversy over whether the name of the Washington Redskins is offensive. Personally, I’m more offended that Washington, DC, has become the kind of megalopolis that can support an NFL team. If I had my way, it would go back to being a humid, swampy backwater with impassable mud roads. Pierre L’Enfant has much to answer for. But I think everyone should be terrified by the new ruling by the US Patent Office cancelling the team’s trademark. The...

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Washington Redskins trademark registration, calling the football team’s name “disparaging to Native Americans.” The landmark case, which appeared before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, was filed on behalf of five Native Americans. It was the second time such a case was filed.

Who would have thought Israel would dream the impossible dream, fight and beat the undefeatable foe not only in the fields of science, startup companies, art, or culture, but in those of sport? Its barely imaginable world victory was registered on May 18, 2014 when the Israeli basketball team, Maccabi Electra TV, won the Euroleague Basketball Championship. Maccabi beat Real Madrid 98-86 in Milan in overtime in the finals after defeating CSKA of Moscow and Emporio Armani Milan in earlier rounds. With its victory, Maccabi may have reached the moon, but its joy was not unalloyed. Maccabi supporters sang the...

A person with knowledge of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's legal strategy says his team of lawyers has hired four private investigation firms to dig up dirt on the NBA's former and current commissioners and its 29 owners. The individual, who wasn't authorized to talk publicly, says investigators were given a six-figure budget over the next 30 days to examine the league's finances, allegations of previous discriminatory conduct and compensation to past commissioner David Stern and current commissioner Adam Silver. They're also looking into whether other owners ever made any off-color jokes, or racist or sexist remarks....

A Democratic state representative wants to send a sportsmanship message to high school athletes and has authored a bill that would end some football games early. State Rep. Robert Kosowski, D-Westland, introduced House Bill 5605 last week, which would prohibit a public school from participating in an interscholastic football game unless the Michigan High School Athletic Association creates a rule to end games if one team has a lead of 17 points or more with a minute or less remaining. Rep. Kosowski Rep. Kosowski said the law would allow the game to be ended or the team with the ball...

Native Americans are sending a loud message to the Washington Redskins. A northern California tribe paid for a commercial to air in seven major U.S. cities during halftime of Tuesday's NBA Finals game, their latest plea for the NFL team to change its “racist” name and mascot.

University of Connecticut star basketball player Stefanie Dolson slips off the podium riser as U.S. President Barack Obama hugs head coach Geno Auriemma during a presentation in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on June 9, 2014. Obama honored both the women's and men's basketball teams....

The U.S. government-funded Radio Marti will broadcast the NBA finals live to audiences in Cuba. The Office of Cuba Broadcasting announced Thursday it will air play-by-play commentary of this year's matchup of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.

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.

BYNISHAD PADIYARATH | JUNE 01, 2014 , 8 : 35 PM GST Share Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on googleShare on emailMore Sharing Services Redha Taqi Al Lawati,general secretary - Oman Hockey Association. Photo - Supplied Muscat: The Oman Hockey Association (OHA) is studying a plan to increase the number of teams for the National Hockey League ahead of the new season. The 2014 edition of the league, which saw participation of just eight teams, concluded on Saturday night at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex with K.K. Poonacha-coached Ahli-Sidab clinching the title after overcoming Al Nasr via penalties. Revealing the...

The woman at the center of the Donald Sterling racism scandal, the ex-Los Angeles Clippers owner’s gal pal V Stiviano, was badly beaten up by two white men in New York City on Sunday night, her lawyer has confirmed exclusively to RadarOnline. Around 7pm, as Stiviano was leaving the Gansevoort Hotel in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, “two white men descended on her,” attorney Mac Nehorary said. “They were about 5’7 and they knew exactly who she was. They began to hit her and called her the N word. “Other disgusting slurs were made against her. She was able to run away...

I guess the PC sports press was hoping for a high-tech lyching of sorts, wherein Donald Sterling, the owner in limbo who is soon to be former owner of the National Basketall Association's Los Angeles Clippers, would be frog-marched out of his office and dumped onto Skid Row, never to be heard from again, for his undeniably racist remarks to his now ex-girlfriend about how he didn't want her bringing blacks to Clippers games while directing racial invective at other specific persons. It's not working out that way. In fact, quite the opposite. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is reportedly...

Donald Sterling is preparing to sue the NBA for $1 billion, according to a report from NBC News. The report comes a day after it was announced the Sterlings, actually via Shelly Sterling, had reached an agreement to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

His voice cracking with emotion, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice acknowledged Friday that he “failed miserably” and apologized for the actions that led to his arrest on assault charges. Rice was arrested following a Feb. 15 altercation in Atlantic City, in which he allegedly struck fiancee Janay Palmer. The couple married in late February, and both went to the stage at the team training complex for their first public comment since the arrest. “I failed miserably, but I wouldn’t call myself a failure because I’m working my way back up,” Rice said. Rice was accepted Tues­day into a diversion...

On Friday, Rush Limbaugh opened his radio show by diving into recent comments Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made about how own struggles with “bigotry” and “prejudice.” Limbaugh did not seem to have any particular problems with what Cuban said, but was rather offended by his subsequent apology to Trayvon Martin’s family for using a “black kid in a hoodie” as one example of who he would avoid on a dark street. “I know I’m prejudiced and I know I’m bigoted in a lot of different ways,” Cuban said at Nashville, Tennessee’s GrowCo Conference. “If I see a black kid...

Who knew holding the World Cup in Islamist hell would be a bad idea? Some mistakes are minor. Others are really big. It’s estimated that as many as 3,000 foreign workers will die in Qatar working in preparation for the totalitarian Islamist country’s big event. Most of the workers who have died already, died of heart attacks. And they probably won’t be the only ones because aside from being an Islamic dictatorship that sponsors terrorism, Qatar is also really hot. Blatter had earlier suggested that gay people just shouldn’t do gay stuff, which is illegal under Islamic law. Maybe now...

The question raised by NBA’s Stephen A. Smith, Spike Lee, and several NBA players, current and past, is “Why is it taking so long to fire Donald Sterling?” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was so strong and strident in his announcement that steps would be taken “immediately” to do just that. There was no ambiguity about whether they were going to fire Sterling for his racist comments against African Americans. It is a done deal. Commissioner Silver surely would not have made such a profound announcement without having consulted the other NBA owners. So why hasn’t the first shoe dropped? Like...

The Out Games are coming to St. Louis in 2016. The games, created by the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association, are held every four to five years.

Jackie Robinson is the blueprint, or at least that's what so many seem to believe. It certainly wouldn't be a bad example for Michael Sam to follow. Robinson broke MLB's color barrier by putting his head down and competing. He won over critics by winning games for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Just shut up and play. Jackie Robinson is an undeniable American hero for what he did. How he accomplished it was his choice. For him and his day, it was perfect. That day, though, was 1947. The suggestion Michael Sam – as he reported for duty in St. Louis on...

MIAMI — Roger Mason Jr. hasn't played for the Miami Heat, or any NBA organization, since his February trade to Sacramento to clear roster space. The veteran guard and Miami resident has remained in touch, and in tune, with team and league matters, however. He's frequently visiting the Heat locker room, when he hasn't been traveling the country in his role as vice president of the NBA players association, and he's remained close to several Heat players. That includes James Jones, another member of the players association's executive council, and LeBron James, who has been one of the most outspoken...

From Ray Leonard's facebook page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Hqwku_iHRv8

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Shelly Sterling said today that "eventually, I am going to" divorce her estranged husband, Donald Sterling, and if the NBA tries to force her to sell her half of the Los Angeles Clippers, she would "absolutely" fight to keep her stake in the team. "I will fight that decision," she told ABC News' Barbara Walters today in an exclusive interview. "To be honest with you, I'm wondering if a wife of one of the owners, and there's 30 owners, did something like that, said those racial slurs, would they oust the husband? Or would they leave the husband in?" Sterling...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) President Barack Obama congratulated Michael Sam on Saturday for being the first openly gay football player taken in the National Football League draft, the White House said in a statement. "From the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove everyday that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are," Obama said. He also congratulated the NFL and the St. Louis Rams, the team that drafted Sam. Sam, an All-American defensive end who played for the University of Missouri, made history when he was picked by the Rams in the seventh and final...

Green Bay — The Green Bay Packers were one player away from disaster Thursday night in the first round of the National Football League draft. Prospect after prospect the Packers held in high regard and held out hopes might be available at their No. 21 position had to be removed from their draft board. Finally, it came down to the slot just ahead of Green Bay. What would have been the reaction among the Packers' decision-makers if the New Orleans Saints would have selected safety Ha'Sean "Ha Ha" Clinton-Dix of Alabama with pick No. 20. "I would have been crushed,"...

So, here I am, still in Denver, a lovely city, but too high up. Herewith, a few lowly thoughts about Mr. Donald Sterling, his private conversations with his mistress, the media lynching of him, and the actions of the NBA sanctioning him severely for those private thoughts and comments. “It’s a slippery slope,” said billionaire sports club owner Mark Cuban when asked about the sanctions. I am not sure what he meant, but he’s right. Sterling is being punished for his thoughts. He is being punished for actions that make the NBA look bad even though they were not actions...

The NFL draft — the league’s Radio City-staged, nationally televised, endlessly hyped off-season spectacle — opens Thursday night, and for the first time an openly gay player will be waiting for a phone call. But it could be a long wait for Michael Sam, the University of Missouri defender and all-American who came out in February. Draft analysts say he might not be selected until the last picks are made on Saturday — and perhaps not at all. If that happens, Sam could still sign with a team as an undrafted free agent and play on Sundays this fall. But...

His comments when Jason Collins came out didn't square for team with gay president. ...I’ve often wondered how comfortable it was for Jackson and team president Rick Welts to co-exist in the same organization. Welts is openly gay, becoming the first high-ranking executive in professional sports to come out back in 2011...Jackson is a fundamental [sic] Christian, who embraces what some call “traditional values”. And he wasn’t shy about letting people know his views. ... When Jason Collins made his historic pronouncement last year that he was gay, Jackson’s immediate response came out sounding less-than-supportive.

HAVE you or Dan Patrick ever apologised for the years of lame sports-presenting imitators you set upon the world? For nearly 20 years I’ve acknowledged that if any of the world’s major religions are correct, I’ll be going not (necessarily) to hell, but I will be going to purgatory. Some bureaucrat will ask me if I had ever considered the implications of opening that particular Pandora’s box, and then he’ll tell me to go over and sit on the bench and think about what I did for a few thousand years. I’m hoping I can get a seat near the...

Donald Sterling may be down, but he’s not out and he’s out looking for a law firm to help him sue the NBA, who are attempting to force him to sell the LA Clippers. According to media reports the combative and controversial Clippers boss is preparing to sue the NBA and fight attempts to make him sell the lucrative franchise. The reports are not entirely authoritative, coming from TMZ, but they are likely true given the nature of Donald Sterling, 80, and his humiliation over what has occurred in recent times. For him, the issue is of his own making...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Was Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson fired for his Christian views on gay marriage? That's what Ann Killion is asking at sfgate.com, noting that Jackson's lukewarm reaction to the coming-out of Jason Collins, last year was something of a mismatch for the Bay Area, which is the global capital of gay politics and culture. Killion writes: Everything about Jackson was under scrutiny, which includes his very public persona as a religious man. It was probably not at the top of the list, but was probably on the list.... When Jason Collins made his historic pronouncement last year that...

Cable TV's sports costs are prompting a growing number of people to "cut the cord". Exhibit A: The $8 billion charged by the Dodgers for broadcast rights to their games knowing full well that pay-TV companies would have to pass along this sky-high cost to all customers. Time Warner Cable is the Dodgers' partner in crime. It paid that whopping sum for exclusive rights to distribute the Dodgers channel to other pay-TV companies, assuming, like the team, that it would get away with sticking both fans and non-fans with an extra $4 to $5 fee every month. The harsh reality,...

Donald Sterling’s reputation had a bad week, but his pocketbook has never looked better. The punishment meted out by NBA Commissioner Silver—the maximum league fine of $2.5 million—pales in comparison to the billion dollars Sterling stands to make from selling the Clippers. Ironically, the league’s nuclear option—a forced sale—could also end up lining Sterling’s pocketbook with millions in tax savings. Instead of his just deserts, will Sterling end up with a sweet tax treat? First, there’s never been a better time for Sterling to sell, financially speaking. The Clippers have historically been regarded as one of the worst teams in...

Los Angeles Clippers guard J.J. Redick says that owner Donald Sterling was hesitant to sign him last summer because he’s white. Speaking to USA Today, Redick went into detail about how his four-year, $27 million sign-and-trade deal almost fell apart despite being initially agreed upon. “I’ve been told both ways: one, that he didn’t want to pay me because I was white, and that he didn’t want to pay me because I was a bench player,” Redick, the former Duke University star told USA Today. “I didn’t know until after the face. I just got a weird phone call from...

If you think about it, most American sports involve an animal hide. Baseballs, basketballs and footballs are all made with leather. In Afghanistan, they don’t just use the skin — the game ball is a whole goat. Minus the head and hooves. Buzkashi, the name of Afghanistan's national sport, translates into something like "goat-grabbing." That's the object: Grab the headless, disemboweled animal carcass (sometimes a calf), circle the field and deliver it to the goal. It originated among the Turkic people of Central Asia centuries ago, and for generations they’ve been passing down the game, and the goat, relatively unchanged....

As the Donald Sterling mess was going down earlier this week, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made an interesting and prescient point. He said he’d rather that Sterling—who said that he didn’t want his mistress to bring black fellers to his basketball team’s games—was not a NBA owner but that he felt uncomfortable forcing a sale of the team for what amounted to the man’s thoughts. Here’s Cuban in the New York Daily News: “In this country, people are allowed to be morons,” Cuban said. “They’re allowed to be stupid. They’re allowed to think idiotic thoughts. … Within an organization...

It's Jew Vs. Jew as Battle Over Team Heats Up.Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Sunday he expects Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling to put up a “long, protracted fight” to retain ownership of the team after being banned for life from the National Basketball Association because of racial comments. Garcetti, appearing on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program, was asked about a potential boycott of Clippers games if Sterling balks and said, “I would certainly keep that arrow in my quiver.” Last week NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Sterling $2.5 million and imposed a lifetime ban after...