Even after looking at the eclipse, I still can see all these haters. | | | | A matador before the bull.
(Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “Even after looking at the eclipse, I still can see all these haters.”
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| | rantnrave:// If a league is a reflection of its commissioner, what does that mean for the NFL? ROGER GOODELL is getting a contract extension and it's a reward for making the league in his image. It's thriving financially and endlessly controversial. The league's become a law-and-order organization under Goodell; no commissioner has been more willing to serve as judge and jury. But the results are mixed. The league's domestic violence policy has yielded uneven punishments and caused havoc. Nobody seems to know what each case will bring and every suspension brings fresh scrutiny. Even when Goodell seems to make the right call, like suspending EZEKIEL ELLIOTT six games, the league is on its heels. But the biggest stain on the NFL's shield under Goodell has been its handling of COLIN KAEPERNICK. It hasn't made the NFL into a running joke like DEFLATEGATE, but it has revealed what the league's owners truly believe and what Goodell will tolerate -- not free speech, apparently. Players are wary of voicing their opinion in the conversation Kaepernick started. The implication is clear: Talk and you might lose your job. While Goodell is willing to put his foot down with players, he's been mostly silent and hands-off with teams as the apparent blackballing of the QB continues. Is Goodell running a cynical operation? An NFL that prints money and doesn't care what anyone on the outside thinks. Has that made the league less fun to watch than it used to be? There are weeks I'd rather watch SPENCER STRASMORE on TV than TOM BRADY. Is that good for the NFL? Does it matter?... Give the WNBA props. The league is empowering its players and allowing them to express themselves in response to the violence in CHARLOTTESVILLE. Sunday, the MYSTIC and FEVER stood arm in arm during the national anthem. No fines. No punishments. The WNBA changed its anthem policy to make it happen. As GREGG DOYEL writes, that's a brave choice by a league that doesn't have the audience of the MLB or NHL and risks losing customers. And by players who make a fraction of what NBA players make. The league has something to say and it's not using the fear of public backlash as a muzzle... There are two kinds of college coaches: those who let their teams see the eclipse and those who didn't... Photobombers are the worst... Nailed it... If MRIs offered frequent-flyer miles, the METS would be GEORGE CLOONEY in UP IN THE AIR. | | | - Mike Vorkunov, curator |
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 | SB Nation |
| I am asked often about Moneyball in college football. Usually, that refers to advanced stats’ proliferation within the sport. But the term came from Michael Lewis' book about the Oakland A's and their attempts to exploit inefficiencies and win big without big money. By that definition, college football's Moneyball story already exists. This summer, I went to Boise to hear it. | | |
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 | MMA Fighting |
| In eight years, former UCLA football player Audie Attar has gone from neophyte MMA manager to Conor McGregor’s agent in perhaps the biggest money combat sports event of all time. | | |
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 | The New Yorker |
| In St. Louis, he faced off against the younger Russian player Sergey Karjakin, favored by Putin, three times. | | |
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 | Maisonneuve |
| As Benjamin Hertwig reports, the Edmonton Oilers’ new arena has revitalized the city’s downtown--and displaced its most vulnerable residents. | | |
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 | David Lagana |
| Before Drew McIntyre became NXT Champion beating Bobby Roode at "WWE NXT Takeover Brooklyn," see the three days before Wrestlemania and Drew's return to WWE. When we started shooting, we had no idea the life changing phone call Drew was going to get on the last day of shooting. This is your fly on the wall look into a transformational three days in a superbly talented pro wrestler. | | |
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 | Deadspin |
| This weekend, Heinz Kluetmeier will become the first photographer to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The longtime staff photographer at Sports Illustrated is undeniably hall-worthy. | | |
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 | ESPN |
| Good thing college football's top quarterback performs best under pressure, because Sam Darnold has returned USC to L.A.'s most glaring spotlight. | | |
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 | 1843 Magazine |
| If you want to understand how China is changing, look at the boom in running. | | |
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 | Sports Illustrated |
| "I dug myself a hole, but it’s not a coffin." O.J. Mayo tries to save his NBA career after being banned for drug use. | | |
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 | Longreads |
| A swimming instructor for ten years, Matt Grant learned the most from his most challenging student. | | |
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 | The Boston Globe |
| Many in a NASCAR crowd said they feel more permission to be outspoken on issues once viewed as sensitive, like race. | | |
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 | The Bill Simmons Podcast |
| Bill Simmons brings on Ringer editor-at-large Bryan Curtis and "Wall Street Journal" columnist Jason Gay to discuss Mayweather-McGregor media hype, politics playing a role in every sports conversation, the NFL's desire to control everything, LeBron's power in the NBA, writers weighing having a platform and getting paid, the problem with the "pivot to video", and more. | | |
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 | The Indianapolis Star |
| As NFL's Colin Kaepernick knows, WNBA, Indiana Fever anthem stand risky. | | |
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 | D Magazine |
| It's time to listen -- really listen -- to Tiffany Thompson's account. | | |
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 | Salon |
| It's time we talked about how colleges let affluent white students be supported by African American student labor. | | |
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 | Bloomberg |
| The U.S. bicycle industry needed protection once. Now it might be too late. | | |
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 | Wired |
| Cord-cutting is not cheap or easy, and there's not much hope of improvement on either front any time soon. | | |
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 | Yahoo Sports |
| To make the whole charade even more farcical, the umpires seemingly didn’t realize white wristbands are often worn in support of people who suffer from blindness. | | |
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 | The Washington Post |
| Boxing promoter Rock Newman recalls how the comic’s ‘roots and garlic’ played a role in the 1992 win over Evander Holyfield. | | |
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 | The Undefeated |
| The mixed martial arts fight that lives in infamy. | | |
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| | | | | Clipse ft. Pharrell Williams |
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