Free Republic

Indians defeat the Blue Jays 3-0 to take ALCS four games to one.

Odell Beckham Jr. [NY Giants] punctuated a magnificent game Sunday against the Ravens by taking one knee — no, not during the national anthem — and pantomiming a proposal to the kicking net, his old enemy.

Surveying the ratings landscape for Monday Night Football and the NFL this season, you wouldn’t be blamed for mistaking it for the barren wasteland of the Mad Max movies rather than America’s most popular sport. Back in early September, MNF posted its lowest numbers ever (8.3 rating) for a Week 2 game since ESPN acquired the rights in 2006. Then, going against the first presidential debate late last month, Monday Night Football set an all-time ratings low with barely 8 million total viewers. Now, last night’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers has scored MNF‘s lowest...

Montgomery County Board of Education President Patricia O’Neill asked the county’s state legislators Wednesday if they could help eliminate tolls for county school buses that drive on the state-operated Intercounty Connector. A Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman said in an email Friday the school system spends nearly $18,000 per year on ICC tolls. Buses that typically use the ICC include those for cross-county special education routes and sports trips, according to spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala. “It would help us a great deal to make a more efficient transportation system for the 100,000 students we transport every day if we could use...

The issue of Donald Trump's candidacy for the White House has been discussed in NFL locker rooms. Some players say there have been low-level confrontations while others say friendships have ended. Here is a straw poll of 43 NFL players on how they plan on voting in the election: •20 of 22 black NFL players plan to vote for Hillary Clinton. •2 of 22 black NFL players plan to vote for Donald J. Trump. •21 of 21 white NFL players plan to vote for Trump. “A lot of black players believe saying the first black president isn’t really American is...

LeBron James, who last season led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first N.B.A. championship, endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on Sunday. Mr. James announced his decision in an op-ed article in Business Insider, saying that Mrs. Clinton understands the struggles of childhood poverty and as president would enact policies that would build on the legacy of President Obama. He also said he believed Mrs. Clinton would champion causes for children, provide more educational opportunities and “address the violence, of every kind, the African-American community is experiencing.”

Heckler gets putt on the spot. He turns embarrassment into awesome victory.

Arnold Palmer, a seven-time major winner who brought golf to the masses and became the most beloved figure in the game, died Sunday, a source close to the family confirmed to Golfweek. He was 87. Reaction poured in from “Arnie’s Army” of admirers in the world of golf. “We loved him with a mythic American joy,” said Palmer biographer James Dodson. “He represented everything that is great about golf. The friendship, the fellowship, the laughter, the impossibility of golf, the sudden rapture moment that brings you back, a moment that you never forget, that’s Arnold Palmer in spades. He’s the...

Through the first two weeks of the regular season, the league's premiere game, NBC's "Sunday Night Football," is down 12% in viewership compared to last year; ESPN's big game, "Monday Night Football," is also down 12%; and CBS' first "Thursday Night Football" game fell a whopping 26%, according to Nielsen data.

---SNIP--- Eagles safety Jenkins, 28, plans to continue his protest Sunday when his team faces the visiting Steelers. Regardless of heated, visceral reaction from some fans, he said he feels the issue of racial inequality is too important for him to be silent.

<p>Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger has been suspended for criticizing Black Lives Matter and President Obama.</p> <p>“BLM is pathetic once again! Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals!” the backup catcher tweeted out about the riots in Charlotte.</p>

Colin Kaepernick has yet to throw a regular-season pass, but the 49ers' backup quarterback's decision to kneel during the national anthem to protest social inequality has made an impact that extends well beyond a football game. As Kaepernick continues to protest, he has been joined by other NFL players, and athletes -- both professional and amateur -- in other sports. It has become a divisive topic nationally, especially in light of recent shootings of African-American men by police officers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Charlotte, North Carolina. On Friday night, Kaepernick was in Oakland at Castlemont High School, where he...

A Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives has proposed legislation to make it legal to play online fantasy sports for money and bet on the March Madness basketball tournament, as long as the prize is less than $3,000. Rep. Aaron Miller, R-Sturgis, introduced House Bill 5849 on Sept. 8 to decriminalize these activities. Miller said people from all facets of life are involved in fantasy sports and filling out NCAA basketball tournament brackets. “Winning $100 for winning your league – that shouldn’t be a crime,” Miller said. Miller said he didn’t expect the bill would be acted on...

The NASCAR Hall of Fame has been looted overnight in Charlotte, NC. Windows shattered, signs hanging through glass on $195 million dollar museum. A state of emergency declared on the city, the home of NASCAR. no lie pic.twitter.com/GWeZqlDsPU — Katie Peralta (@katieperalta) September 22, 2016 Keith Lamont Scott, father of 7, was killed Tuesday, at the hands of police. Another black man killed by police had the Black Lives Matter community taking to the streets demanding justice or proof of justified action. Police claim Scott was reaching through the window of his vehicle for a gun. However, photos of the...

This past week the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) pulled all championship events out of North Carolina for the 2016-2017 season simply because that state passed a law, known as HB 2, which requires men and women to use the restroom or locker room corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate. In essence, the North Carolina legislature said men use the men's room and ladies use the ladies room. By doing this, North Carolina was simply protecting women and children from sexual predators and voyeurs. Along with punishing North Carolina, the NCAA is forcing all potential championship host sites...

San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick says the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in Tulsa is "the perfect example" of what he's protesting when he refuses to stand for the national anthem at 49ers' games. Kaepernick said Tuesday that "everybody's eyes" will be on Tulsa as authorities investigate the fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher. He says criminal charges should be filed in the shooting death.

Why are people so angry over an NFL player that refused to stand for the National Anthem?    Hundreds of thousands of words have been written on the subject and I won't rehash any of them, but I'd ask you to consider the reason people are outraged and why it matters. Sports fan is a shortened form of the original term, sports fanatic.  Fanatic is defined as a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal (great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective), especially for an extreme religious or political cause.  A religion can be defined as a...

Seattle Seahawks players say the team might boycott the national anthem during an upcoming game with the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, September 11 — the anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil.

Each year the NFL minimum salaries increase by $15,000, up to $435k for a rookie in 2015. A player’s minimum salary is determined by his years of experience (YOE), ranging from 0 to 10 or more. The chart below shows the minimum (P5) salaries a team can contract a player to based on Years of Experience (credited seasons).   Yrs. 2015 2016 2017 2018 0 $435,000 $450,000 $465,000 $480,000 1 $510,000 $525,000 $540,000 $555,000 2 $585,000 $600,000 $615,000 $630,000 3 $660,000 $675,000 $690,000 $705,000 4-6 $745,000 $760,000 $775,000 $790,000 7-9 $870,000 $885,000 $900,000 $915,000 10+ $970,000 $985,000 $1,000,000 $1,015,000  Veteran...

U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem Sunday night before the Seattle Reign’s game against the Chicago Red Stars “in a little nod” to NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the anthem to protest racial injustice and minority oppression came to public notice when he remained seated on the...