You love him, but you know he’s got some problems.
Ezra Shaw / Getty
TMZ reports the former New Orleans Saints player was arrested on two charges of sexual assault last night.
Eric Hartline/US
NFL analyst and former NFL safety Darren Sharper was arrested in Los Angeles last night on two charges of sexual assault, TMZ reports. The alleged assaults reportedly took place once in October 2013 and again this month.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office said that 38-year-old Sharper, who played five Pro Bowls with the Saints, was arrested last night on felony charges and is out on a $200,000 bond.
Sharper, a Super Bowl champion who played on the Saints, Vikings and Packers, has a hearing set for Feb. 14.
28-year old Kevin Ogar has been paralyzed after a freak accident at the 2014 OC Throwdown . The CrossFit community isn’t letting him go through the struggle alone.
The 28-year old is an active member and coach in the Colorado CrossFit community with more than three years of experience.
According to a blog post on The Fittest Games, Kevin "missed a snatch at the 2014 OC Throwdown [which] came down on his back, severing his spinal cord and leaving him paralyzed from the T-11 vertebra down."
Since the accident he has undergone two surgeries.
A WOD is a "Workout of the Day." CrossFit posts a workout for each day that the community does either alone or at their gyms.
Cool Runnings 2.0.
Clive Mason / Getty
Sequels aren't ever supposed to eclipse their forebears, but with a medal in the Sochi Olympics, Jamaica's two-man bobsled team might make everyone forget Cool Runnings ever happened. (OK, that will NEVER HAPPEN, but you get the point.)
After missing the last two Winter Olympics, Jamaica's bobsledders were determined to return to competition this February in Sochi. So 46-year-old Winston Watts, who had already competed on three prior Olympic bobsled teams, was pulled out of retirement in 2010. He is nearly a decade older than any other bobsledder in Olympic history, and he had been living not in Jamaica but in Wyoming, where he was working at an oil field. Oh, and this years-long effort to qualify was overseen by Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation president Dudley "Tal" Stokes ... who was one of the original 1988 Jamaican bobsledders whose story Cool Runnings is based on.
Pretty good story, right? Unfortunately, the team's chances of medalling at the Games is likely slim-to-none, but the United States did win its first gold medal in four-man bobsled in 62 years when the Vancouver Olympics rolled around four years ago. Point is, bobsled can be a slightly more unpredictable sport than some of its Olympic brethren.
And as long as Watts and teammate Marvin Dixon can keep their times in contention, anything can happen.
In the statement, the network said it would “use the constructive feedback” it has received when covering “sensitive topics.”
A screenshot of the article on Grantland.
ESPN issued a statement Sunday in response to continued controversy and criticism over a Jan. 15 Grantland article about a transgender physicist and golf club inventor.
The story in question, "Dr. V's Magical Putter," profiled Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt, the inventor of the Oracle GXI smart putter club — and ultimately outed Vanderbilt as a transgender woman, against her wishes. At the end of the piece, author Caleb Hannan wrote that Vanderbilt killed herself.
Hannan and Grantland — an ESPN publication — faced much criticism in response to the story, both on Twitter and in analyses at several publications, including BuzzFeed. Days later, ESPN made the following statement to Sports Illustrated reporter Richard Deitsch:
"We understand and appreciate the wide range of thoughtful reaction this story has generated and to the family and friends of Essay Anne Vanderbilt, we express our deepest condolences. We will use the constructive feedback to continue our ongoing dialogue on these important and sensitive topics. Ours is a company that values the LGBT community internally and in our storytelling, and we will all learn from this."
LINK: Transgender People Are Paying The Price For The Media’s Willful Ignorance
It’s strength vs. strength. Let’s do this!
This afternoon the Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 26-16 to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in 15 years. Peyton Manning was flawless throwing for 400 yards and two touchdowns, while Tom Brady struggled early and was consistently under pressure the entire game. Brady is now 0-4 against the Manning brothers in the playoffs since 2006.
Elsa / Getty
Super Bowl XLVIII, which will be played in MetLife stadium in New York, will be the fifth time in eight years in which a Manning is starting at quarterback, this being Peyton's third. He and the Broncos will face the Seattle Seahawks who beat the San Francisco 49ers 23-17 Sunday night.
After a slow first half, the Seahawks were able to bounce back and eventually took a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. After an impressive drive by Kaepernick with the time winding down, he floated a ball into the corner of the end zone, where it was tipped by Richard Sherman and picked off to seal the win for Seattle.
Super Bowl XLVII is Sunday, February 2 at 6:30 PM on FOX.
“I’m the best corner in the game!”
With just under 30 seconds to go in the NFC Championship game, Seattle Seahawks defender Richard Sherman deflected a pass in the corner of the end zone, which was picked off to seal the victory for the Seahawks, who are now going to the Super Bowl. Afterward, Sherman called out 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree for his trash-talking and weak play during an interview with Erin Andrews.
"Well, I'm the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that's the result you gonna get! Don't you EVER talk about me."
"Who was talking about you?"
"Crabtree. Don't you open your mouth about the best. Or I'm gonna shut it for you real quick. L-O-B."
As the Winter Olympics rapidly approach, many Sochi residents are complaining that their living conditions are growing worse and the government is ignoring their grievances.
AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko
Some residents of the village of Vesyoloye have lived without running water and electricity for years. Now, a new $635 million highway has taken out their communal outhouse and cut them off from Sochi's city center.
AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko
AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko
The team will compete in the two-man event at the Winter Olympics after the Jamaican Olympic Association announced that it will pay all travel costs for the team. But the team still welcomes contributions on crowdfunding sites.
Robert Laberge / Getty Images
The Jamaican bobsled team is going to Sochi — with the help from the Jamaican Olympic Association, and an added assist from the internet at large.
Jamaica's governing Olympic committee announced Monday that it will provide all travel costs for the team to go to Russia.
"There's been so much uncertainty and so many up and downs, but for these moments today, it's worth it," Chris Stokes told BuzzFeed. Stokes — who competed in four different Olympics as a member of the team, including the famed 1988 Games, which inspired the movie "Cool Runnings" — will lead the Jamaican delegation in Sochi as the team's Chef de Mission.
"We're very thankful for the support we've gotten from so many people to finish this journey we've started," he said.
Fans rallied around the team after driver Winston Watts told The Telegraph last week that he wasn't sure if the team could raise the money to travel to Sochi. Organizers launched big campaigns on Crowdtilt and Indiegogo, both of which have raised thousands for the team.
Stokes said that while travel funds are secure, "there are very real cost considerations." The team still must pay for training camp and other equipment costs, he said, and they are in contact with both the Crowdtilt and Indiegogo campaigns.
Stokes said that they have future plans for the additional money: Keeping the team competitive and financially sound in non-Olympic years.
"We want to make the most of it and collect as much funds as we can," he said, "so that the next generation of Jamaican bobsledders can have a fair start."
But with the Games just days away, Stokes says the team has one goal in mind.
"We understand that we represent hope against the odds," he said. "We are going to do very well and have a credible performance in Sochi."
LINK: Jamaica’s Two-Man Bobsled Team Qualifies For Sochi Olympics
LINK: Internet Raises $30,000 In Dogecoins To Send Jamaican Bobsleigh Team To The Winter Olympics
First lady photobomb, y’all.
Last week, the Miami Heat visited the White House to celebrate their 2013 NBA Championship.
Ned Dishman / Getty
Along with presenting the president with a personalized "POTUS" jersey, the Miami Heat also had a little fun with the first lady.
Yep, that's Michelle Obama dunking a Nerf basketball on a backboard held by LeBron James, while Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen pretend to be interviewed by head coach Erik Spoelstra. Let's take another look at that monster slam.
Berkshire Hathaway will insure a $1 billion prize to anyone who accurately picks the winner of every NCAA tournament game this March as part of a competition from mortgage lender Quicken Loans.
Via facebook.com
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will insure a $1 billion prize from mortgage lender Quicken Loans to anyone who correctly predicts the winner of every NCAA tournament game in a contest it's holding this March.
Quicken Loans said today that an entrant with "the perfect bracket" in its upcoming contest can either get $1 billion in 40 annual installments of $25 million, or a $500 million lump sum, which will be shared if there is more than one winning bracket. By insuring the challenge, Berkshire, which Buffett is the CEO and chairman of, will backstop the payments from the Detroit-based mortgage-lender.
"Millions of people play brackets every March, so why not take a shot at becoming $1 billion richer for doing so," Buffett said in the statement. "While there is no simple path to success, it sure doesn't get much easier than filling out a bracket online. To quote a commercial from one of my companies, I'd dare say it's so easy to enter that even a caveman can do it."
The mortgage lender also said it will give $100,000 each to the top 20 bracket-makers for remodeling, buying, or refinancing a home.
But before you start counting the dollars and humming Travie McCoy's "Billionaire," the odds of filling out a perfect bracket are actually 1 in 9.2 quintillion, a nine with 18 zeroes behind it, according to USA Today. If you know something about NCAA basketball, that makes your odds slightly better...to 1 in 128 billion. Still dismal. (Quicken Loans says online that the odds of winning the grand prize are roughly 1 in 4.3 billion.)
The Hartford Courant noted last year that among the 8.15 million brackets submitted in ESPN.com's Men's Tournament Challenge last year, only 47 got all of the Final Four teams right.
Quicken Loans said the contest will start March 3.
The former hurdling star has earned her way to the Winter Games as a bobsledder. “I think any time you represent Team USA, it’s the biggest honor that I’ll have in my life.”
Former U.S. Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones called her selection to the U.S. bobsled team this weekend "a fresh start" during an interview with NBC's Today show on Tuesday morning.
"I know you can't change the past, but knowing I hit a hurdle, got fourth place, I wouldn't change it for the fact that I know that it led me here," Jones said. "It led me to meet a great group of female athletes, and we are truly united and bonded and ready to go to Sochi and dominate."
Jones now joins a group of eight other Americans who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Games, including fellow bobsledder and former sprinter Lauryn Williams. Jones ran the 100-meter hurdles in the two previous summer games, both times failing to come away with a medal. It was actually Jones' failure in the 2008 Games, when she memorably stumbled over the ninth of 10 hurdles, falling out of the lead to finish seventh, that catapulted her to stardom.
Since then, much discussion of the discussion about Jones has centered on whether the attention she receives is commensurate with her achievement (or lack thereof). She was criticized in June after posting a Vine video complaining about her bobsled stipend check; Jones later claimed it was a joke and apologized.
Jones, 31, was one of the three women selected Sunday from a pool of six for the "push" spots on the bobsledding team. She has previously part of a team that won a silver medal in a World Cup event last year. To transition to her new sport, Jones has added 30 pounds of muscle for the power needed to work as a push athlete.
"I think any time you represent Team USA, it's the biggest honor that I'll have in my life,'' she said. "You feel the weight and the pressure of a country behind you, and you know it's not only your hopes and dreams. You're fighting for other people back home, and so I carry that with a lot of responsibility and I hope to make everybody proud."
Love-LOVE, if you know what I’m saying. Get it??
ATP Rank: 14
Pros: Whatever is going on here.
Cons: Bad temper. Real bad.
Yuya Shino / Reuters
ATP Rank: 4
Pros: Vaguely Elf-from-Lord of the Rings-y in appearance; tall.
Cons: Whiny, presumably cannot be taken to the beach.
Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters
ATP Rank: 18
Pros? Cons?? This happened!
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
ATP Rank: 7
Pros: Looks like a Sweet Valley high boyfriend on a yacht.
Cons: What is he ever wearing? You can't take this one anywhere.
Bobby Yip / Reuters
It’s so cute I’m gonna die.
With the Sochi Winter Olympics less than a month away, get to know some members of Team USA in the most adorable way possible.
Who?: The favorite heading into the U.S. Nationals event in Boston earlier this month was chosen for the team despite a fourth-place finish at nationals. You'll be hearing a lot about her in the coming weeks.
Twitter: @AshWagner2010
NBC Olympics, April 2013
Who?: The 19-year-old from Indiana is the No. 1 ranked slopestyle skier in the world. He also enjoys "surfing, skating, and hanging."
Twitter: @NickGoepper
NBC Olympics, April 2013
Who?: The Minnesota native is the No. 3 ranked slopestyle skier in the world. She was a hockey player growing up.
Twitter: @KeriHerman
NBC Olympics, April 2013
Who?: The pilot of the 2010 Olympic gold medal-winning four-man sled — the USA's first since 1948 in the event. He'll pilot a two- and four-man sled in Sochi.
Twitter: @StevenHolcomb
NBC Olympics, April 2013
The Swiss king conquered Andy Murray to set up a classic showdown with Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semifinals.
"I'm back," Roger Federer said last night after a four-set win over Andy Murray.
Federer, who came to Melbourne as the sixth seed, showed critics and naysayers that he's still got it, performing like the untarnished, unwavering, flawless super-Federer of the past.
This takes twinning to a whole new level.
Unsurprisingly this didn’t work and Greater Manchester Police didn’t see the funny side of it.
And even if he did happen to be working part time at the police station last night, Sir Alex, who left the club at the end of last season, can't help them now anyway.
The Manchester Evening News now has the audio.
Phil Noble / Reuters / Reuters
The Christmas sweater of athletic uniforms.
Mike Stobe / Getty
Mike Stobe / Getty
AP Photo/Ralph Lauren
Short shorts, pumped up kicks, and dream teams. This truly was the Golden Era of Basketball.
bleecherreport.com / Via bleecherrport.com
2whitemencanjump.blogspot.com / Via 2whitemencanjump.blogspot.com
rad-dudes.com / Via rad-dudes.com
Warner Bros. / Via ilovefreeconcerts.com
