Sports

Dear College Presidents: Break The NCAA's Vise Grip On Athletes

7:37am February 27, 2013

by Frank Deford

Student-athletes are really sucker-athletes under the organization's structure, says sports commentator Frank Deford. Will no college president speak the words that will break the organization's spell?

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The Media Frenzy Surrounding Oscar Pistorius

2:52pm February 25, 2013

South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in their Pretoria home. The trial has set off a media frenzy and the coverage varies widely around the globe and in sports publications.

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Sports

Week In Sports: The NFL Begins Hunt For New Talent

11:55am February 23, 2013

Scouting began this week, and in the spirit of evaluation, Weekend Edition guest host Don Gonyea takes an abbreviated Wunderlic test. Plus, NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman chats with the infamous Pete Rose about being erased from this year's set of baseball cards.

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Fans Pitch Bids For Former Red Sox Pitcher's Bloodstained Sock

10:26am February 22, 2013

by Bradley Campbell

Baseball fans and collectors are bidding on baseball history: a bloodstained sock worn by Curt Schilling in the 2004 World Series. The sock had been on loan to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but Schilling was forced to put it up for auction after his video game company went bankrupt.

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Sports

Sunday's Daytona 500 Kicks Off NASCAR Season

6:02am February 22, 2013

For the first time, the race will start with a woman at the front of the pack. Danica Patrick's claim of the pole position is a shot in the arm for NASCAR after a few down years. Linda Wertheimer talks to Jeff Gluck, motorsports reporter for USA Today, about Patrick's milestone, and how the rest of the field is shaping up.

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Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, gets out of his car after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona on Feb. 17.

NASCAR Champ Finds Fans With Beer, Tweets And Bangin' Fenders

6:11pm February 20, 2013

by Michael Tomsic

The brash, young champion Brad Keselowski will begin defending his racing title this month. Candid and funny, he has a knack for connecting with both blue-collar fans and savvy, young Twitter users. And some of the sport's executives say he's the key to NASCAR's future.

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Oscar Pistorius, seen here at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, made history as the first double leg amputee to race in the Summer Olympics. He now faces charges that he murdered his girlfriend.

Reminders Flood In: Athletes Are People, Not Heroes

4:08pm February 20, 2013

by Frank Deford

We often put athletes on a pedestal. But after the latest accusations of bad behavior — accusations that include a murder charge against Oscar Pistorius — it may be time to lower that pedestal several notches, says Frank Deford.

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In Bail Hearing, Pistorius Says Girlfriend's Death Was Accidental

9:41am February 20, 2013

Renee Montagne gets an update from New York Times correspondent Lydia Polgreen on the bail hearing for South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius. He is charged with murdering his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

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Sports

Longtime Lakers Owner Jerry Buss Dies At 80

6:02pm February 18, 2013

by Ted Robbins

The man who brought Showtime to Los Angeles has died. Under Lakers owner Jerry Buss, the team won 10 NBA championships. His players loved him, and his business smarts helped market the team in ways the league had never seen before. Buss had been hospitalized recently and was undergoing treatment for cancer. He was 80 years old.

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Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, accused of masterminding a vast doping network, has refused to name his clients. The case stems from a 2006 raid in which Spanish police seized some 200 bags of blood, in the "Operation Puerto" investigation.

Doping Trial May Reach Far Beyond Spain, And Cycling

6:42am February 18, 2013

by Lauren Frayer

A famous doctor is on trial in Spain, accused of masterminding one of the world's largest sports doping rings. Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes' client list is believed to include at least one former teammate of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong. The doctor says he treated athletes from other sports, as well.

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