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by Amy Goodman, David Goodman
$5.58
By Gina B. Nahai
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By David Sirota — As high-profile events periodically prove, politics and athletics have long had a love-hate relationship.
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AP / Gene J. Puskar
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By Mark Heisler — Unfortunately, most people will insist they were the ones insisting this was a witch hunt all along, and believe it.
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Jeffrey Beall (CC-BY-SA)
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After negotiating various new agreements, Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN and DirecTV will altogether pay close to $6 billion a year to broadcast NFL games to a football-addicted America.
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David Weekly (CC-BY)
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A newly released police report says that the Kenyan long-distance runner who lost both of his feet after spending three days in the Alaskan wilderness may have taken off to literally run away from his problems.
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Gameface-Photos (CC-BY-SA)
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Professional basketball players Monday responded to NBA Commissioner David Stern’s ultimatum to accept a bad offer from team owners or face a worse one by dissolving their union in order to sue the league for billions of dollars. (more)
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Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune —
Posted on Nov 13, 2011
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AP / Matt Rourke
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By Mark Heisler — These days you don’t get due process of the law until long after you have gotten due process of us ... and the “us” isn’t our rational side, but our bloodthirsty one, as presented by media.
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AP / Carolyn Kaster
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By Eugene Robinson — Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said, “I did what I was supposed to.” In fact, nobody at Penn State did what basic human decency requires—and as a result, according to prosecutors, an alleged sexual predator who could have been stopped years ago was allowed to continue molesting young boys.
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Matt McGee (CC-BY-ND)
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By David Sirota — New analysis of statistics gleaned from baseball provides a larger lesson about conditioned behavior in our institutionally racist society.
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Sony Pictures
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By Richard Schickel — “Moneyball” is a good story and people who have little interest in baseball don’t need to fear it. On the other hand, it has its largely overlooked problems.
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Illustration by Peter Z. Scheer
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By Mark Heisler — For the last 32 years, I had been “Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times.” Before that, “Mark Heisler of the Philadelphia Bulletin” or “Mark Heisler of Somewhere” since June 1, 1967, when Gannett hired me at $125 a week. Suddenly, I was just “Mark Heisler.” Who in the hell was Mark Heisler?
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AP / Mary Altaffer
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By Mark Heisler — If bad times bring out the best in ordinary people, sports labor brings out the worst in the privileged lives of owners and players.
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Peter Broelman, Cagle Cartoons, Australia —
Posted on Jul 3, 2011
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By Steven B. Roberts —
The book lacks a narrative voice to set the scene, pull the reader along. Authors are not just tape recorders with expense accounts. They need to analyze, criticize, validate their characters. Here, they’re often missing in action.
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UltraRob (CC-BY-ND)
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By Eugene Robinson — If prosecutors are sitting around with nothing to do, why don’t they go after the remorseless profiteers who nearly wrecked the global financial system? Why not shut down a human trafficking ring or two?
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cheapnfljerseysauthentic.com
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The NBA fined Chicago Bulls big man Joakim Noah $50,000 for calling a fan “faggot” during Sunday’s Eastern Conference Finals game against the Miami Heat. Noah apologized immediately after the game. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers was fined twice as much in April for directing the same word at a referee. (more)
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AP / Chris Carlson
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By Peter Z. Scheer — I was just about to get over this whole Kobe Bryant thing when I hit the sports page and was reminded of his insulting non-apology.
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shibuya246 (CC-BY-ND)
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Tokyo has been through a lot, but the mega-city is aiming high in the reconstruction department by vying for the 2020 Olympic Games. Tokyo blew about $176 million on its failed attempt at winning the 2016 Games, but might have an edge this time around owing to ...
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By David Sirota — Lowell Bergman is the rare skunk who regularly finds his way into the power elite’s garden parties. In his damning special now available on PBS’s “Frontline” website, viewers are shown the side of “amateur” athletics that’s almost never discussed inside the beery bubble of sports media.
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Photo illustration from an image by Colin Grey
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Truthdig Radio is broadcasting nationally today, Wednesday, April 6. We put together a very special show on the labor movement, covering the gamut from farmworkers to teachers and even millionaire athletes. Hop past the jump to find listings and a rundown of our guests.
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AP / David J. Phillip
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By Mark Heisler — Let’s put it this way: If the NFL was in danger of flying too close to the sun, like Icarus whose wax wings melted, Commissioner Roger Goodell would have the orb repositioned beforehand.
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By David Sirota — The Super Bowl was a bewildering assault on the senses, to say the least—and nothing was more singularly mind-blowing than the NFL using a Ronald Reagan eulogy to kick off a sports-themed tribute to socialism.
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AP / Mike Roemer
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By Sandy Tolan — There’s probably no better time to confess it: I’ve built a good part of my life around the Green Bay Packers. I like to think it doesn’t get out of control.
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AP / Mike Roemer
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By Mark Heisler — In an age challenged by separating real life from reality programming or the absurdly heightened reality that comes from merely being on TV, no one seems to want to err on the side of compassion.
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AP / Koji Sasahara
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In the world of advertising, celebrity always equals money, and anything that these luminaries—whether from entertainment, sports or even politics—touch (even by accident) is tantamount to tangible, profitable product placement, right?
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Lakers / Jason of Beverly Hills
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The Lakers forward is known for his antics—such as showing up to a talk show in his underwear—but he’s becoming famous for talking about an issue that is often concealed: mental health. Artest is funding therapy and mental health awareness through the sale of his championship ring and possibly the donation of his entire $6.79 million 2011-2012 salary. ... (more)
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AP / Seth Wenig
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By Mark Heisler — If 24 percent of respondents ages 14-17 tell an Associated Press-MTV poll they’ve done naked sexting, you can imagine the implications for professional athletes.
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AP / Reed Saxon
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By Mark Heisler — The story of Frank and Jamie McCourt, who turned the Dodgers into their own piggy bank, lived a life of mortgaged royalty and then decided to destroy one another, is like something out of Tom Wolfe.
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AP / David Vincent
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FIFA announced Wednesday it has closed its inquiry into widespread reports that North Korea punished its soccer team and coach after their poor showing at the World Cup. (continued)
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AP / Disney / Matt Stroshane
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By Mark Heisler — In the 10 months from September to July, at least two of the four major leagues are playing. In July and August, we’re on our own and the Big Paparazzo does what it does when it has nothing ... guess at something, blow it up, project from it and comment on it.
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Flickr / Keith Allison (CC-BY-SA)
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The Rocket is headed for the docket. Roger Clemens has been indicted for allegedly lying to Congress about his steroid use. How foolish of Clemens to testify without first procuring an insurance company or a bank, or offering his services as a military contractor. Doesn’t he know how Washington works?
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AP / David Vincent
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By T.L. Caswell — The sport’s international governing body is looking into reports that the defeated players were exhibited in Pyongyang as targets of condemnation. Kim Jong Il must be confronted in this case.
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AP / Frank Franklin II
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By Mark Heisler — The Boss didn’t leave his heirs a baseball team but a financial empire that can never be rivaled, villains you can depend on and a legacy like Sherman’s to Georgia.
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iroquoisnationals.org
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The Iroquois nation may have invented lacrosse, but the national team wasn’t allowed into the U.K. to take part in an international tournament because British authorities insisted the Iroquois players use American or Canadian passports. Problem is the Iroquois don’t recognize the U.S. or Canada.
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Fake News by Andy Borowitz —
Based on the record ratings for its special featuring LeBron James’ announcement of his new team, ESPN announced that instead of airing NBA games, it would schedule two-hour specials showing the rich guy cashing his ginormous paychecks.
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AP / Bernat Armangue
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For the first time in the country’s history, Spain has won soccer’s coveted World Cup, defeating the Netherlands’ national team on Sunday in a tense match that ended after a late goal in extra time.
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ESPN
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By Mark Heisler — Going bonkers, lionizing winners and dumping on losers is fun, even if the cycle is accelerating to absurdity and beyond with modern 24/7 reportage. That’s today’s price of fame. Privileged as they are, today’s starry-eyed young athletes pursue their dream through a driving shitstorm.
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Have you heard of Paul, the German octopus of British extraction who has a perfect 6-0 record in predicting World Cup matches? Well, he chose Spain to win and, for his betrayal of the fatherland, some Germans are demanding he be turned into paella—or worse.
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Flickr / audrey_sel (CC-BY-SA)
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Competitive eating (aka food contests) is enough of a cultural phenomenon that the annual Nathan’s hot dog chokedown is broadcast on ESPN. This weekend Joey Chestnut took the honors, but his greatest threat (and some would argue the “sport’s” true champion), Japanese phenom Takeru Kobayashi, was barred from participating. (continued)
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Flickr / babasteve (CC-BY)
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Harper’s Ken Silverstein explains “why I hate Landon Donovan” in this feel-good post. “Tragically,” Silverstein concludes, “it appears the U.S. soccer team will likely continue to plague the Cup with its God-awful soccer.” Guess not everyone’s on the bandwagon.
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It’s about time that soccer came out of the closet, and the Onion’s shrewd satirical sports reporters are on that case like a horde of sweaty, brawny footie players on a polka-dotted ball. You doubt this timely news bulletin? Well then, two words for you: World Cup.
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Patrick Chappatte, Le Temps, Switzerland —
Posted on Jun 11, 2010
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Flickr / themikelee (CC-BY-ND)
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Professional sports have long had a disconnect between the players and management where diversity is concerned, so hats off to the NBA for setting an example for baseball, football and that weird boring ice game. The basketball league scores an A in both racial and gender diversity, with women sitting at 44 percent of the desks in league offices.
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Flickr / hyku (CC-BY)
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In a ruling that has implications for other professional sports leagues, the Supreme Court decided Monday that NFL teams are individual businesses that are subject to antitrust laws when they act collectively (via the league) to limit competition. (continued)
Posted on May 24, 2010
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