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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: professional athletes

professional athletes stories: 18 news summaries
BUZZ BISSINGER

 NBA Age Limits Are a Scam 

Cynical 2005 move by pro basketball was all about the bottom line

Oct 27, 09 9:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - The NBA’s minimum draft age of 19, with one year of college—and a new proposal to make it 20—is nothing but a cynical ploy by pro basketball and the NCAA that “hasn’t helped players in any way,” Buzz Bissinger writes. Players can easily sail... More »

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NBA • NCAA • high school basketball • draft pick • Pro basketball • college basketball • H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger • professional athletes

 Ski Champ Concocts 
 'Smell of Victory' 

Michelle Roark loves the smell of rose oil
in the morning

Oct 15, 09 4:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ski champ and chemical engineer Michelle Roark has put together a line of perfumes she insists can give athletes the winning edge. Roark, the 2009 US freestyle skiing champion, credits her scents like "Confidence"—which includes grapefruit oil and rose oil—with helping her succeed. Other scents include... More »

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smell • skiing • perfume • Olympians • professional athletes • Michelle Roark

 Woods First Athlete 
 to Bank $1B 

On-course winnings, appearance fees, endorsement deals put him over the top

Oct 1, 09 7:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tiger Woods is undoubtedly saving what room is left in his trophy case for the majors he needs to pass Jack Nicklaus, but his latest accomplishment doesn’t come with a trophy anyhow: He’s the first professional athlete to earn $1 billion, Forbes says. The magazine calculated on-course winnings,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • Tiger Woods • Jack Nicklaus • PGA Tour • FedEx Cup • professional athletes • endorsement deals • trophy

OPINION

For Pro Athletes, Retirement Is a Nightmare


Aug 13, 09 8:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Steve McNair’s death was a grisly illustration of the nightmare that retirement can be for pro athletes, writes former outfielder Doug Glanville in the New York Times. Though players are often told they’ll be set for life, “the pleasure of a hammock at age 35 only... More »

MORE ABOUT:
football • retirement • athlete • Steve McNair • baseball • professional athletes

(Newser) - Sports fans love to grouse about athletes' salaries and bemoan the ever-rising prices of tickets, concessions, and merchandise. But “it isn’t some vague indefinable ‘they’ who pays the players,” writes Allen Barra for the Wall Street Journal. “It’s you, or rather, it’s... More »

MORE ABOUT:
MLB • baseball • sports salaries • professional athletes • sports fans • Bill James

 16-Year-Old 
 Quits School 
 for Pros 

Aims to get GED, qualifying him for 2010 draft

Jun 15, 09 12:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - A 16-year-old baseball player is skipping his last 2 years of high school to head to college—and hopefully a big-league contract, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Bryce Harper’s father acknowledges that “there are going to be critics” of the move, but says “Bryce is always looking... More »

MORE ABOUT:
high school • MLB • draft • baseball • professional athletes • Bryce Harper

(Newser) - Michael Phelps’ suspension ended today, and the swimmer is back in the pool preparing for a tourney next week in Charlotte, the AP reports. The Olympian said he was actually unaware of the end of the 3-month ban, imposed after photos emerged of him hitting a bong. “I had... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • competition • swimming • marijuana • professional athletes

Cups Runneth Over as Stacking Goes Big Time

Global sport gains ESPN following
and its own 'Tiger'

Apr 23, 09 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Stifle that laugh. Cup-stacking is a sport in its own right, complete with a championship tournament, an ESPN following—even its own Tiger Woods. That’s Steven Purugganan, an 11-year-old who so masterfully piles plastic cups into pyramids that fans and reporters chase him for attention. Last week’s tournament... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sports • Denver • professional athletes • youth sports • cup stacking • Steven Purugganan • sport stacking

New Procedure Uses Athletes' Own Blood to Heal Them

Practice could become standard orthopedics

Feb 17, 09 11:13 AM CST
(Newser) - Before the Super Bowl, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu got a dose of an exciting new medicine: their own blood. They join at least one Major League pitcher, 20 pro soccer players, and many more casual athletes as early adopters of platelet-rich plasma therapy, a shockingly simple new procedure that... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical breakthrough • Pittsburgh Steelers • blood • professional athletes • sports medicine

OPINION

 Sports World 
 Full of Obama Fans 

Usually politically quiet, sports stars come out in favor of new prez

Jan 21, 09 12:28 PM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama's powers of inspiration and unification reach beyond the political world: "All around the country, athletes responded to the new president," Gwen Knapp writes for the San Francisco Chronicle. The inauguration sparked tears from big men who take physical punishment for a living, and Obama's rise has... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • sports • Tiger Woods • Ray Allen • inauguration • professional athletes • US Olympic athletes • John Carlos • Tommie Smith

Eyes, Brain Make Cards' Fitzgerald Quite the Catch

Star receiver has rare visual skills and a souped-up onboard computer for analysis

Jan 16, 09 11:41 AM CST
(Newser) - More than height, speed, or jumping ability, highly developed eyesight and an extraordinary internal computer make Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald a top-tier NFL receiver, a scientist tells the Wall Street Journal. Fitzgerald’s optometrist grandfather put him through drills to improve his “visual dominance,” enabling him to take... More »

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NFL • Arizona Cardinals • brain • Philadelphia Eagles • eyes • Larry Fitzgerald • NFL playoffs • professional athletes • optometry • predictive control • hand-eye coordination

On Sports Exchange, 'Trade' Takes on New Meaning

Create a 'Sportfolio' and buy and sell shares in your favorite athletes

Oct 6, 08 3:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Trading baseball cards with your friends is so 20th century. A new website allows sports fans to trade shares in athletes and even teams, effectively wagering real money on the performance of pro and college athletes, reports Reuters. "I see the marketplace being enormous," says an early investor... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sports • stock market • gambling • fantasy sports • shares • college sports • professional athletes

NFL Defenses Tuning In
This Season

Radio hookup aims to keep foes (ie, Patriots) from stealing signals

Aug 28, 08 4:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - NFL defenders are hearing voices in their heads—often the screams of their coaches. An off-season rule change allows select defensive players to use the same helmet communication devices quarterbacks have long been using, USA Today reports. While kinks are being ironed out, the system means incidents like the Patriots’... More »

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sports • technology • NFL • New England Patriots • football • Spygate • professional athletes

Bull Durham No More: Minor Leagues Have Major Money

Once known for cheap thrills, baseball's lower echelons generating tidy profits

Aug 7, 08 7:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - If your impression of minor league baseball is still Bull Durham-era, Forbes has an update for you. Gone are dirt-poor players traveling to low-tech stadiums on creaky buses: The top 20 teams are worth an average $21.2 million each, and they pulled in $9.8 million per team last... More »

MORE ABOUT:
franchise • sports trade • minor league baseball • minor leagues • professional athletes

 10 Possible Teams for Favre 

The QB legend may play again, and he wants out of his Green Bay contract

Jul 12, 08 11:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - The maybe-not-as-retired-as-we-thought Brett Favre has asked the Green Bay Packers to release him from his contract so he can play elsewhere. It's far from certain the Packers will agree, but USA Today runs down 10 places he could go:
  • Baltimore Ravens: Favre's agent has placed players there before.
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NFL • Brett Favre • Green Bay Packers • retirement • contract talks • sports contracts • professional athletes

 Russian Soccer's
 No. 1 Fan?
 The Kremlin 

Russian nationalism plays out on the pitch, and politicians pay out off it

Jun 26, 08 8:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Russia's soccer team takes the field against Spain today in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals with an unlikely and ardent cheering section—the Kremlin. The team, resurging after years in decline, can thank the hefty monetary backing of an oil magnate afraid to run afoul of Moscow. And, as Josh Patashnik... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Russia • Vladimir Putin • soccer • Kremlin • Gazprom • Euro 2008 • professional athletes

When a Wealthy Jock Needs a Ride...

Macky Dancy has a Rolls or Lamborghini, even for a Mets pitcher

Jun 22, 08 12:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Macky Dancy has a deal for you, if you're a millionaire athlete with $200,000 to drop on an upscale ride, the New York Times reports. The 31-year-old salesman, based on Long Island, has delivered Rolls Royces and Lamborghinis to athletes like Allen Iverson and Zab Judah—yet admits he's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
dealership • cars • professional athletes

 Fortunate 50:
 Sports Elite in the Green 

Tiger, NBA stars top Sports Illustrated annual income ranking

Jun 5, 08 4:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Forget all the talk of economic uncertainty. Sports Illustrated has released its fifth annual Fortunate 50 ranking of top athlete incomes, and things are certain as they've ever been; the NBA pays the best, women aren't being paid enough and Tiger Woods is absolutely untouchable. Ranked by combined on- and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Kobe Bryant • LeBron James • golf • Tiger Woods • Phil Mickelson • Floyd Mayweather Jr. • sports contracts • Sports Illustrated • Pro basketball • professional athletes

18 Stories


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