appic Page 56 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Vladimir Putin Warns Gay Olympic Visitors To "Leave Children Alone"
Good news, gays and lesbians planning to go to the Sochi Olympics! Russian President Vladimir Putin says you won't be arrested and thrown into prison as long as you keep your gay away from the children....

A-Rod's "Bribe" Of Tony Bosch Doesn't Look Much Like A Bribe
Among the many claims made against Alex Rodriguez in a one-sided 60 Minutes segment was that Rodriguez had attempted to pay off Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch when Bosch decided to cooperate with MLB's investigation. The CBS broadcast presented it as fact, and MLB COO Rob Manfred outright called it a...

Mark Cuban Wants One More NBA Fine Before David Stern Retires
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and NBA commissioner David Stern have a deep, expensive history. Cuban's publicly voiced his criticism of the league and its officials, and in turn, Stern has made him pay. With Stern retiring in a couple of weeks, Cuban's mulling one more pricy splash....

This Is The Best Thing Seahawks And 49ers Fans Have Ever Done
Seahawks fans! 49ers fans! Here is a way for you to one-up and trash-talk each other, without annoying the crap out of the rest of us: See which fan base can donate more money to a worthy cause in each other's city....


Greg Oden Played Basketball!
For the first time in more than four years, star-cross'd Greg Oden put on a uniform, entered an official NBA game, and dunked a basketball. His first thought? "It was a feeling of 'Get back on defense.'"...

How To Win At Electric Football, Using Pliers And A Cigarette Lighter
Adapted from a piece on Slate's Hang Up and Listen podcast. ...

Browns Owner Assures Fans Coaching Search Supposed To Take This Long
Early this morning, Browns fans received an email from owner Jimmy Haslam. It's not an apology for Cleveland not having a head coach yet, but it's not quite an explanation either....

Players Are Fainting, Puking, And Hallucinating At The Australian Open
It is fucking hot in Melbourne. Temperatures soared to 108 degrees today, weather unfit for human existence, let alone playing world-class tennis. A short compilation of bad things to happen to tennis players so far at the first Grand Slam event of the year:...

Scott Boras Says MLB's War On PEDs Is All Backwards
Baseball came down hard on Alex Rodriguez, seeking—and achieving--stacked suspensions for each violation of the joint drug agreement. But what if MLB is going about things all wrong? Scott Boras believes that to truly quash its drug problem, baseball needs to go after the dealers, not the users....

Pimp Sues Nike For Making Weaponized Shoes
Today in Frivolous Lawsuit Theater: Convicted Portland pimp Sirgiorgio Sanford Clardy is serving a 100-year prison sentence for, in part, stomping a john with his Air Jordans. Now Clardy's suing Nike for not labeling their sneakers as weapons....

Mike Tomlin Said "Obviously" 322 Times In Press Conferences This Year
We've noticed that Mike Tomlin likes to say "obviously" a lot, but just how much is a lot? Andrew McGill of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has crunched the numbers for the last four years of Tomlin pressers, finding that "obviously" was the coach's 25th-most used word, trailing only essential pieces of...

Peyton Manning Doesn't Light Up The Chargers; Broncos Win Anyway
The over/under was 55.5. This was supposed to be a nonstop shootout with two marquee quarterbacks. But Peyton Manning's touchdown factory didn't pile up points on the Chargers, instead holding just a one-possession lead at the end of a mostly mundane 24-17 game....

Derek Holland Injured His Knee Because His Dog Tripped Him
Rangers pitcher Derek Holland had surgery on his left knee Friday and could be out for half of the 2014 season, thanks to his overzealous dog....

The Secret Of The Seahawks' Defense? Fouling, Maybe
The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating look at the dominant Seahawks secondary, which seems to have been able to turn just about everyone into a star. Part of that is the remarkable amount of pressure they bring, but another part—perhaps—is as brilliant as it is simple. Maul receivers, because th...

How The Seahawks' NFL-Best Defense Runs On Pressure
The Seattle Seahawks have the league's most dominant defense, one that prides itself on brutality—usually legal, but not always—and turnovers. The catalyst for all those interceptions and fumbles is an uncommon defensive scheme that prioritizes one thing above all others: Pressure....

Everybody Now Hates J.R. Smith
Yes, the ongoing J.R. Smith miniseries is funny. The fines, the suspensions, the tweets, the missed shots, the contract, the drama. But with his latest shoelace-related fine and accompanying benching, something of a boiling point appears to have been reached—media has turned hostile and the Knicks w...

Yasiel Puig's Cousin Will Drive Him Around For Now
With two incidents of reckless driving in eight months, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig will apparently not drive any cars for the near future. Since Puig still has places to go, his cousin will be his hired chauffeur....

<em>Wall Street Journal</em>: Bill Belichick Smiled Seven Times This Season
Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a mumbling, taciturn grump when it comes to speaking with media. But what about those rare instances when he doesn't look like he'd rather be anywhere else? A visibly happy Belichick is a rarely occurring natural phenomenon, like a blue moon or Halley's Comet. Fortun...

Pennsylvania Man Filed Motion Against NFL To Put Steelers In Playoffs
Daniel Spuck felt that his Pittsburgh Steelers were screwed out of a playoff spot after officials overseeing the Chiefs-Chargers game didn't call a penalty that would have handed San Diego the likely loss, thereby giving the Steelers the final AFC postseason berth. Spuck took this bold stance agains...