professional athletes

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Pro Baseball Has Never Seen Another Like Alexis Hopkins

Team picks a female catcher in the Atlantic League draft

(Newser) - In what the Atlantic League is promoting as "the best story in sports," the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes made history Wednesday by drafting catcher Alexis "Scrappy" Hopkins with the eighth overall pick in the league's annual draft. CNN notes that the Atlantic is a partner league...

Dennis Rodman's Daughter Now a Pro Athlete

Trinity Rodman picked 2nd overall in National Women's Soccer League draft

(Newser) - Trinity Rodman was selected as the second overall pick in the National Women's Soccer League draft on Wednesday, cementing her entrance into professional sports, just like her father before her. The daughter of basketball legend Dennis Rodman, Trinity Rodman, a standout forward on the US women's under-20 national...

Super Bowl Winner Convicted of 'Unconscionable' Crime'

Dana Stubblefield faces 15 years to life for raping disabled babysitter

(Newser) - A former Super Bowl winner and NFL defensive rookie of the year has been found guilty of raping a developmentally disabled woman following a nine-month trial. A jury in Santa Clara County convicted former San Francisco 49ers star Dana Stubblefield of rape by force, oral copulation by force, false imprisonment,...

They Came Upon a Crash. The Next One Was Worse

3 professional Frisbee players dead in Michigan

(Newser) - The tight-knit community of Ultimate Frisbee is in mourning after three professional players suffered fatal injuries in a car crash in Michigan over the weekend. Kevin Coulter, 29; Andrew Piet, 28; and Michael Cannon, 24—all members of the Detroit Mechanix, which is to begin its season in the 22-team...

Pro Skier Falls to His Death in Crevasse

Dave Treadway had 2 kids and another on the way

(Newser) - "Don't let a bit of warm weather trick you into hanging up your skis … The snow's great up high right now," Canadian professional skier Dave Treadway wrote in an April 4 Instagram post . Less than two weeks later, the 34-year-old died doing what he loved....

Rob Gronkowski Hasn't Spent a Dime of NFL Millions

Patriots tight end says he lives 'off my marketing money'

(Newser) - Sean Avery could take a page from Rob Gronkowski's book—literally. Gronkowski of the New England Patriots has raked in more than $16.3 million in signing bonuses and contract money over five seasons in the NFL and, incredibly, hasn't spent a penny of it, according to an...

How Being a 'Lark' or 'Owl' Affects Performance

Study: Time one wakes, plays has a dramatic impact

(Newser) - If you're an early riser, your peak performance is earlier in the day, typically around lunchtime. If you're a night owl who prefers to sleep in, your prime time is closer to 8pm. One's internal body clock, which influences everything from alertness to risk of heart attack,...

Bowling's US Open Canceled—Due to Disinterest

No one will sponsor the big tournament

(Newser) - Just how bad have things gotten for professional bowling? So bad that the sport's governing body just canceled one of its biggest tournaments for the second year in a row because they couldn't find anyone willing to sponsor it. The 2014 US Open had already been canceled, but...

Players Sue: NHL Promoted 'Extreme Violence' for Profit

It's the second suit against the NHL since November

(Newser) - The National Hockey League is being sued by nine of its own, who claim the league "intentionally created, fostered, and promoted a culture of extreme violence" with an eye on profit, the suit reads. Ex-players brought a similar suit against the NHL in November , but the New York Times...

What Some Olympic Athletes Eat Is Insane

A whole pizza, an entire pint of ice cream ... and that's just for starters

(Newser) - Some Olympic athletes maintain their prime physical condition by ... eating an entire cheese pizza and a full pint of Ben & Jerry's? Believe it. The New York Times takes a look at the outsize dietary needs of top athletes, who, as one doctor explains, can burn as many as...

Hey, Fans: Players Don't Care as Much as You

For most, it's just a job: Bill Plaschke

(Newser) - For all the Patriots fans out there still crying in the beer and assuming their favorite players are doing the same, sportswriter Bill Plaschke has a "dirty little secret" to reveal: "The players don't care as much as you do," he writes in the Los Angeles ...

Real-Life 'Jerry Maguire' Files for Bankruptcy

Super agent Leigh Steinberg is millions in debt

(Newser) - The sports agent who inspired the movie Jerry Maguire is now probably very unhappy with said movie's catchphrase. Leigh Steinberg is "several million dollars" in debt and has filed for bankruptcy protection, reports the AP . "I just lost track while I was in rehab," he tells...

Angry Semenya: I'm Coming Back

Says her human rights have been violated

(Newser) - Tired of waiting around for the results of the IAAF tests that will determine her eligibility to compete as a woman, Caster Semenya is returning to competition, and she's angry. The South African runner said yesterday that investigations following her 800m win at last summer's World Athletic Championships have "...

A Call for Separation of Church and Sports


 A Call for Separation 
 of Church and Sports 
ANALYSIS

A Call for Separation of Church and Sports

Football players leave much to be desired as Christian role models

(Newser) - Christian evangelicals must be pretty amped up by the high profile of their religion in professional sports, David Gibson writes, but the "cozy coupling" of church and sport has its dark side. First, there’s what commentator Shirl James Hoffman recently called the “cheap grace” of athletic faith....

Shut It, Athletes; Just Tweet
 Shut It, Athletes; Just Tweet 
OPINION

Shut It, Athletes; Just Tweet

Then Frank Deford won't have to listen to crazy guarantees and apologies

(Newser) - Frank Deford doesn’t want to hear your outrageous predictions or tearful faux-apologies, athletes, and he doesn’t want to read about them in the papers, either, reporters. “Come on, guys, just because some jock babbles incoherently, you don't have to pass it on,” he admonishes his fellow...

Worst Sports Excesses of the Decade
 Worst Sports 
 Excesses of 
 the Decade 
Aughts in review

Worst Sports Excesses of the Decade

Pacman Jones' strip club behavior typifies the sad new culture

(Newser) - American sports culture descended into sheer decadence this decade, and no single incident sums it better than Pacman Jones' "making it rain" with cash in a Vegas strip club in 2007, writes Clay Travis for Fanhouse. The chaos that ensued after he tossed around the money—reportedly about $100,...

NBA Age Limits Are a Scam
 NBA Age Limits Are a Scam 
BUZZ BISSINGER

NBA Age Limits Are a Scam

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

(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...

Ski Champ Concocts 'Smell of Victory'

Michelle Roark loves the smell of rose oil in the morning

(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...

Woods First Athlete to Bank $1B

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

(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,...

For Pro Athletes, Retirement Is a Nightmare
For Pro Athletes, Retirement Is a Nightmare
OPINION

For Pro Athletes, Retirement Is a Nightmare

(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 lasts...

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