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Florida Atlantic Football Joins The Prison-Industrial Complex
Florida Atlantic has been playing in its new on-campus stadium for two years, but has had a devil of a time selling the naming rights. No more, as the Owls plan to announce later today they've finalized a deal with The Geo Group, one of the world's largest operators of detention centers and for-prof...

Prosecutor: Oscar Pistorius Strapped On His Prosthetic Legs Before Shooting Reeva Steenkamp Through The Bathroom Door
The funeral of Reeva Steenkamp was held today at a private ceremony in Port Elizabeth, while 700 miles away, in a Pretoria court, Oscar Pistorius was charged with her murder. For the first time, Pistorius's lawyer officially offered up the defense he's going to use: that Pistorius mistook Steenkamp,...

Poor Son Of A Bitch Mat Gamel Tore His ACL For The Second Time In Two Years
It super sucks to be Mat Gamel right now. The Milwaukee Brewers' corner infielder, who was at one time a fairly promising prospect, will miss the entire 2013 season after tearing his ACL. Gamel's injury is all the more depressing due to the fact that he just finished a rehab stint after tearing the...

Jerry Buss, Surrounded By Boobs: A Tribute To The Greatest NBA Owner Ever
Jerry Buss died today. The 80-year-old was arguably the greatest NBA owner in the history of the league. He was also a world-class Playmate aficionado who frequently dated teenage girls and used to host his birthday party at a brothel. To put it in more appropriate obituary terms, the man was "known...

Why Your Children's Television Program Sucks: <em>Max & Ruby</em>
A look at the awful children’s programming you’re forced to endure before you can finally kick the kids out of the TV room to watch sports for eight hours. Illustration by Jim Cooke. ...

Time To Retire The Verducci Effect: What <em>Really</em> Predicts Pitcher Injuries?
Originally published in Baseball Prospectus....

Tim Lincecum Had A Very Zen Offseason
Now that spring training has officially kicked off, it's time for baseball writers to spend the next two months filling column space while absolutely nothing of consequence happens. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal got started today, asking various members of the San Francisco Giants to share their favori...

Alfredo Aceves Is In Mid-Season Form
Alfredo Aceves began tossing batting practice this morning, pretty standard procedure for this time of year. Alfredo Aceves does not know the meaning of pretty standard. So, instead of using it as a slow and steady way to ease into spring training and build arm strength, he used it as another opport...

Tiger Woods And President Obama Play Golf Together, Constitute Nightmare Scenario For Old White Dudes
On the list of Old White Dudes' nightmares, the President of the United States and arguably the best golf player ever both being black, spending too much time on vacation and leisurely playing a round of golf at an exclusive club, betrayed by one of their own, has got to just be the worst, right?...

High School Students Vote To Change Redskins Mascot Despite Protests From Parents And Alumni
In the Washington Redskins' fight agains the perception that their mascot, a racist caricature and slur, is a racist caricature and slur, they have enlisted the aid of various high schools around the nation who use the same mascot, mostly to act as a shield. This has been the defense for about a wee...

"I'm Gonna Tell You What I'm Gonna Do": What It Was Like To Guard Michael Jordan, According To Craig Ehlo
In honor of Michael Jordan's 50th birthday, we reached out to a man who, possibly more than anyone, understands the sneering greatness of Jordan in his prime: Craig Ehlo, the former NBA player (14 seasons with the Rockets, Cavaliers, Hawks, and SuperSonics) who was on the wrong side of "The Shot" in...

Michael Jordan At 50 Is <i>Citizen Kane</i> Without The Sled
The perfect Michael Jordan profile is some sort of journalistic unicorn by now—what's there to say about a guy about whom too much has been said already?—but Wright Thompson's story for ESPN is the closest we'll get to it....

You Know Spring Training Is Here When You Read Sentences Like "Denard Span Said He Started Screaming And Making Noises To Discourage The Bird"
There is no baseball, no real, meaningful baseball for another 44 days. But the dead zone of the sports calendar has quickened considerably by the advent of spring training. Camps in Arizona and Florida stir to life, as co-workers who haven't seen each other since September get back together for som...

Did The Movie <em>Heathers</em> Kill The Name Heather?
Welcome to Dataspin, a new weekly data visualization of whatever the fuck....

The Redskins Really, Really Want You To Know Their Team Name Is About Pride
Because the Redskins are relevant again, the periodic controversy about their use of a racial slur as a team name has flared up again. This time Dan Snyder and company have gone on the offensive, with a series of stories and statements about the name, and what it means to both the franchise and high...

Reports: Police Were Called To Oscar Pistorius's House Hours Before The Shooting, Reeva Steenkamp Was Shot Through The Bathroom Door
Oscar Pistorius appeared in a crowded Pretoria courtroom today, barely a day after he was arrested for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp, his girlfriend of four months. Steenkamp was found early Thursday morning in a puddle of blood, with four gunshot wounds to her head, chest, pelvis, and hand. A 9mm p...

<em>A Good Day To Die Hard</em> Is The Worst <em>Die Hard</em> of Them All
As far as action movie franchises go, the Die Hard films hold up pretty damned well. The first one is obviously a classic: Grierson summed up its enduring charms quite well over at IFC. But the way the movies worked never seemed a proper fit for a franchise. The greatness of Die Hard lies in large p...

Will Eating Decades-Old Athlete Candy Bars Kill You? A Taste Test
"You're not going to eat it, are you?" the eBay seller asked, after we had completed our purchase. "People have been asking me if they can eat it, and that's probably not a good idea."...

How One Man's Hard-Luck Journey Through The Indie Wrestling Circuit Ended Behind A Deli Counter
During his 10-plus year career, Nigel McGuinness, the former Ring of Honor World Champion, wasn't recognized much away from wrestling. There was that one time on the New York City subway, but he was commuting to a match and there were wrestling fans on the train. Being spotted in the Tampa delicate...

Valentine's Day Special: The Movie Couples That Don't Belong Together
We've never quite understood the appeal of going to movies for Valentine's Day. Movie-watching is, after all, a solitary activity in which a person sits in the dark staring straight ahead in silence for two hours. But people do it anyway. Perhaps that's because romance is the central activity of rou...