Free Republic

WLS sports anchor Mark Giangreco responded to a tweet about Donald Trump by saying America has been exposed as country full of “simpletons” and by also calling Trump a “cartoon lunatic.”

MASSIVE SHAKE-UP with the L.A. Lakers ... Jeanie Buss just FIRED General Manager Mitch Kupchak and booted her brother, Jim Buss, from his role as Exec. Vice President of Basketball Operations. Magic Johnson is the new President of Basketball Operations. YOU HEAR THAT? MAGIC JOHNSON IS CALLING THE SHOTS!!!! Jeanie -- the Governor of the Lakers -- explains, "Today I took a series of actions I believe will return the Lakers to the heights Dr. Jerry Buss demanded and our fans rightly expect." "Effective immediately, Earvin Johnson will be in charge of all basketball operations and will report directly to...

In making the case for limited government, free-market proponents often mention the concept of the civil society, an idea from ancient Greece that the ideal state is one in which people dedicate themselves to the common good. There are many examples of people coming together with no push or help from the government to address a public problem. Sometimes a solution just evolves, as it did for Khali Sweeney of Detroit when he started teaching his teenage son how to box. “We didn’t have any recreation centers in my immediate area. We didn’t have places for kids to go. And...

Have you ever wondered what happens to a fighter when he spontaneously breaks out in dance in the middle of an MMA fight? In Saturday’s British Challenge Mixed Martial Arts (BCMMA) 18 event, Joe Harding attempted to taunt Johan Segas in this manner, and it ended just as you would expect.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The NBA is warning Texas over a proposed "bathroom bill" targeting transgender people that is similar to a North Carolina law that prompted the league to move the All-Star Game out of that state. The NBA on Friday joined the NFL in suggesting that Texas will be overlooked for future big events if lawmakers pass a bill requiring people to use bathrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate. NBA spokesman Mike Bass says an environment where people are treated "fairly and equally" weighs heavily when the league chooses host locations. Texas has three...

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans has issued an ultimatum to the people who propose to build a professional soccer complex in exchange for the “Fail Jail” site in downtown Detroit. Evans said that the project must not cost taxpayers any more than simply finishing the jail as originally planned would. That’s simply not good enough. While Evans’ defense of his constituents’ interests is laudable, he and the Wayne County Commission should go further. They should prohibit any and all subsidies, incentives, tax breaks or other public funding for the proposed stadium project. Public subsidies of professional sports stadiums don’t benefit...

Considering the times in which we now live, maybe it’s not such a good idea for presidents to invite sports teams to the White House, suggests Mitch Albom.

"Mike Lupica is being blamed for the cancellation of “The Sports Reporters” after the show’s run of nearly 30 years on ESPN. The Daily News columnist was a panelist for many years on the Sunday morning show, on which he and other print reporters such as the Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan and the Detroit Free Press’ Mitch Albom discussed the week’s hot-button issues in sports. When longtime host John Saunders unexpectedly died at 61 in August, Lupica jumped at the chance to replace him. “He was a total diva,” one insider said. “He was abusive to people, and mean to...

<>4-year-old cricketer dies after he was hit by a stump thrown by an angry batsman during a friendly game A 14-year-old cricketer has died in Bangladesh after he was hit by a stump thrown by an angry batsman during a friendly game between neighbourhood teams, police said Monday. Faisal Hossain was fielding in the southeastern port city of Chittagong when the batsman was given out, assistant police commissioner Jahangir Alam told AFP. "The batsman was furious when he saw that he was stumped or bowled out. He grabbed a stump and threw it in the air. The stump hit part...

The NFL Players Association expressed its support Thursday for Muslim players in the league amid the controversy generated by President Donald Trump's immigration order. NFLPA officials said the union reached out to the families of Muslim players in the NFL at the behest of Eric Winston, the veteran offensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals who serves as the union's president. About 15 players and their families were contacted, a union official said.

Four reasons to boycott Super Bowl LI: * The cast of Hamilton (the Broadway play where one of the actors insulted then Vice President-elect Pence before a theater audience) will sing "America the Beautiful" in the pregame ceremonies. * "Lady" Gaga will perform the halftime show. A long time supporter of perverts, she appeared at a Hillary Clinton rally before the election. http://www.naturalnews.com/055936_Lady_Gaga_Nazi_uniform_Hillary_Clinton.html* Foreign owned Budweiser will run a commercial praising immigration to this country, specifically by the founder. Never mind he arrived legally, unlike many of today's immigrants. * Audi, another foreign owned corporation, will air a commercial plugging...

Doug Adler does tennis commentary for ESPN. Strike that. Doug Adler used to do tennis commentary for ESPN. After several years working matches for the sports channel, the former tennis pro was advised that his services would no longer be necessary. Full disclosure. I've known Adler for 20 years. Before two back surgeries and a shoulder surgery put my tennis-playing days out to pasture, I hit balls with him at a neighborhood club. More precisely, he would hit the ball to me, and I would attempt to return it. At the club, Adler was well-liked. If there were a bad...

During his MLB career, slugger Aubrey Huff was employed by five teams – so the man knows how to find a job. Huff just isn’t so sure those protesting the Trump administration have the same skill. The two-time World Series champ took to Twitter on Sunday night to rail against the people clogging airports around the nation during the weekend in response to President Trump’s executive order establishing certain travel restrictions. “I mean, seriously, what the hell is going on? If you have time 2 march, protest and riot. Maybe it’s time for something called a job!” Huff tweeted.

A devout woman, she credits her personal relationship with Jesus Christ for enabling her to keep competing. “The Lord keeps putting me together – I've broken every bone in my body, I have a titanium leg and I have a plate and screws in my arm,” she said. “I just follow the lead of the Lord and try to be obedient.” And, she added with a smile, “I don't want to retire, and I think I have the mount back on Blue (Haze of Fire).”

Apparently, sports media have joined the growing list of “comedian” entertainers attacking Pres. Trump’s young son, Barron. A Fox Sports reporter viciously accused Pres. Trump’s 10 year-old son of slaughtering “100 small animals.” Not only did Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn), a sports writer, fail to provide any proof - he didn’t even have enough respect for the president’s son to spell his name correctly, declaring: “Baron (sic) Trump has killed no less than 100 small animals.”

Carl Edwards remains a hot topic in NASCAR, two weeks after his abrupt retirement as a full-time driver. Terry Smith, a political science professor at Columbia College, speculated in a Wednesday piece for KBIA's Talking Politics that Edwards will challenge U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri next year. McCaskill, a Democrat, is in her second term. Edwards didn't exactly rule it out when reached by The Associated Press. He texted: "I believe firmly in the principles that the U.S. was founded upon. If I could help, I definitely would consider it."

Watching the Packer vs Falcons game on whatever network and listening to the WTMJ (Milwaukee) announcers.

There are two meaningful measures of success for a college football team: its win-loss record and its national ranking. In contrast, there are many ways to measure how well a team’s home state is doing. Among the most intriguing is its migration trend. Specifically, is your team’s state a place that attracts opportunity-seekers? Or is it one they flee? Every year the moving company United Van Lines publishes just such a “win/loss” record for states. Its records reveal how many people moved into a state versus how many moved away. A state which attracts many newcomers compared to people who...

A large share of fans responded to the NFL’s tacit endorsement of Colin Kaepernick’s anti-American message by refusing to tune-in to games, prompting a huge decline in TV ratings. Aside from his disrespect for the national anthem, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback also sparked outrage by donning socks embroidered with pigs wearing police uniforms. Early in the season, ESPN and network broadcasts never missed an opportunity to spotlight Kaepernick and his followers taking a knee during the pre-game ritual. Fans, though, saw Kaepernick’s protest as thumbing his nose at America. As a result, regular season ratings for 2016 dropped 8%...

Eery relationship is built on honesty, so the San Diego Chargers should hear this as their moving vans are chugging up the 5 Freeway on their noble mission of greed. We. Don’t. Want. You. The news broke Wednesday that Chargers owner Dean Spanos has informed NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell he is moving the team to Los Angeles, which is pretty much dreadful news for Los Angeles.