nit Page 226 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Antonio Valencia's Screwball Goal Was A Work Of Odd Beauty
A brilliant defensive performance by Blackburn Rovers was ruined when Manchester United's Antonio Valencia sliced in a strike that caught keeper Paul Robinson out of position and floated into the goal. Don't let Robinson's failure detract from the ridiculous spin Valencia put on the shot, though;...

How A Career Ends: Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky's Great Dunking Guard, Quit Because Of 9/11
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Jeff Sheppard, two-time national champion and one of the best dunkers in Kentucky history. ...

How A Career Ends: George Lynch Was Finished Off By Sore Feet
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: George Lynch, all-purpose star for the University of North Carolina....

What The Hell Does "Linsurgery" Even Mean?
Do not ask for whom the bell tolls Knicks fans, it tolls for thee's playoff hopes. This little Cinderella story has finally come around to the part everyone always forgets: when Cinderella misses the remainder of the regular season with a "small, chronic meniscus tear" that requires surgery and a s...

How A Career Ends: I Went For A Rebound And Realized All The Hands Were Above Mine
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Luke Witte, Ohio State center and on-court stomping victim. ...

Why Should Several Big Schools Pay A Company $10K A Year To Monitor Their Athletes' Twitter Accounts?
Pete Thamel has a story in the New York Times about a spunky, depressing new company called Varsity Monitor. Its motto (emphasis Varsity Monitor's):...

Diego Maradona Got Into A Fight With U.A.E.-League Fans, Allegedly Over His Girlfriend
Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona has been off the international radar somewhat since accepting the manager position of Al Wasl FC in the U.A.E. football league last year. Al Wasl hasn't done a whole lot under his leadership, either—they currently sit in sixth place in the 12-team league....

How A Career Ends: John Wooden's Pyramid Of Success Led Me From Belgium To Real Estate
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: guard John Vallely, who won national titles with and without Lew Alcindor at UCLA. ...

High School Makes Fancy Video Asking Jeremy Lin To Speak At Graduation, Lin Says No Thanks
One of the main duties of New York's Stuyvesant High School's senior class president is to line up the commencement speaker. So, with the help of students and faculty, he put together this video begging Jeremy Lin to be that speaker. (Warning: there's rapping. Of course there's rapping.)...

Ray Lewis Is A Better Motivational Speaker Than You
Here is ageless football-playing machine Ray Lewis giving a bit of a pep talk to the Stanford hoopsters before Tuesday's NIT matchup. The Cardinal then went out and defeated UMass, 74-64....

How A Career Ends: I Made 11 Threes In An NCAA Tournament Game And Hit Rock Bottom Overseas
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Jeff Fryer, teammate of Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble at Loyola Marymount and a record-setting NCAA tournament sharpshooter. ...

Chow Fun: Jeremy Lin Has A Pleasant Lunch With "Chink In The Armor" Headline Writer
Anthony Federico, the former ESPNer who wrote the "Chink In The Armor" headline for which he has been apologizing to anyone who'll stand still long enough, tells Newsday: "We talked more about matters of faith [and] reconciliation. We talked about our shared Christian values and what we're both tryi...

How A Career Ends: I Blew Out My ACL In A Pre-Draft Tournament And Was Never The Same
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Ricky Blanton, undersized postseason hero for the 1986 LSU Tigers. ...
![A Stoppage-Time El Salvador Goal Brought An End To The Olympic Dreams Of U.S. Men's Soccer [UPDATE]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/Image_Not_Found_1x_qjofp8.png)
A Stoppage-Time El Salvador Goal Brought An End To The Olympic Dreams Of U.S. Men's Soccer [UPDATE]
The United States will not field a men's soccer team at the London Olympics after this stoppage-time goal by El Salvador's Jaime Enrique Alas forced a 3-3 draw in the CONCACAF U-23 qualifying tournament....

How A Career Ends: Uwe Blab Tried And Failed To Price Himself Out Of Basketball
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Uwe Blab, the 7-foot German import who manned the pivot for the Indiana Hoosiers in the early 1980s....

How A Career Ends: I Ditched Basketball For The Decathlon
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Rick Wanamaker, a center for the Drake Bulldogs, who in 1969 provided one of college basketball's great "holy shit!" moments when he blocked Lew Alcindor's sh...

Here's A Briefcase-Wielding Zombie Invading The Set Of The U.K.'s Channel Four News
I don't care to fathom much explanation for this. It's weird, and sometimes weird things are best left up to their own interpretations. (But, seriously, anyone heard anything from the Brits lately?)...

How A Career Ends: The State Of Iowa Begged Me Not To Go Pro
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Dolph Pulliam, defensive leader and emotional catalyst for the 1969 Drake Bulldogs....

Jeremy Shockey Gets Sean Payton To Clear His Name
Jeremy Shockey is going to great lengths to prove that he's not the snitch who notified the NFL of the Saints' bounty program, including texting Sean Payton, and posting that conversation for everyone to see....

Courtside Sixers Fan (Possibly) Yells Racist Slur At Jeremy Lin
As the Knicks were closing out their 82-79 win over the Sixers in Philadelphia tonight, Jeremy Lin headed over in the direction of the scorer's table and a courtside Sixers fan yelled ... something in his direction. Initial conclusions seem to point to "hey, chink". I can't make heads or tails of ...