Need a little more baseball water cooler talk? Feel like the playoffs will never be here or have you already started thinking college football and the NFL? This is the time of year where the true baseball fans stand out. With one of the longest regular seasons in all of sports, Major League Baseball is in the final stretch and there is still plenty of drama.

The National and American League have the chance to rejuvenate their teams with young talent and veteran rehabbers from their minor league system as of September 1^st. The September call-ups allow some teams to add to their already potent lineup while other teams are trying to piece together a team to fight their way into the playoffs or just end the season in a respectable manner. All teams, whether they are in playoff contention or not, get this opportunity to preview their future. Continue reading →

Share on Facebook

Cleveland Synergy Foundation, the group granted the right to host the 2014 Gay Games until the Federation of Gay Games stripped them of that right in July, filed a lawsuit today against the Federation of Gay Games. The City of Cleveland and two other defendants are also named in the suit. The FGG is being sued for alleged breach of the license agreement between the FGG and Cleveland Synergy, interference with contractual and business relations, civil conspiracy, false light and defamation. Cleveland Synergy is demanding a jury trial. You can read the formal complaint here.

Cleveland Synergy has also released a statement through their attorney, which you can read after the jump. We have reached out to the FGG for comment and will bring you that as we receive it. Continue reading →

Share on Facebook

Many people don’t realize that Gay Games founder Tom Waddell had a child who was conceived around the time of the first Gay Games. Jessica Waddell Lewinstein (right, with her mom) is the daughter of Waddell and Gay Games co-founder Sara Lewinstein. She is the ultimate Gay Games love child.

The San Francisco Chronicle caught up with Jessica to celebrate her 27th birthday. It’s also the 28th anniversary of the first Gay Games, which took place in San Francisco Aug. 28-Sept. 5, 1982.

Share on Facebook

Andy Roddick did his best John McEnroe impression Thursday en route to a second-round exit at the U.S. Open, losing to 44th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4). The whining came in the third set when an official called a foot fault on the 9th seeded Roddick. Roddick protested, complaining that the official thought it was the wrong foot that committed a fault (she said it was his right foot when it was his left foot). His berating of the official stopped short of Serena Williams’ infamous harassment, but all reports say he went too far.

Roddick continued to complain about the foot fault after the match, even though video clearly showed he committed a foot fault.

Share on Facebook

With college football starting this week, the Wall Street Journal looks at what it terms “college beefcake photos,” which have become more widespread thanks to the Internet (see gallery below). What’s missing is any discussion of the homoerotic aspects of the photos, though there is some discussion about “sending the wrong message.”

At some schools, as many as half the players, sometimes more, will strip to their uniform pants, lather up with oil and flex their pectorals while posing with an ever-more-eclectic array of props including chains, sledgehammers, hard hats and, in one recent case, a $120,000 orange Lamborghini Gallardo. These unofficial photos aren’t widely distributed. They’re printed in small quantities and given to players to hand out to friends and family as evidence of their progress in physical training.  Continue reading →

Share on Facebook

Two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner is one of the big names announced for the next season of Dancing with the Stars. Arizona Cardinals fans still holding out hope that Warner will come back to the team this season are crying today! Former Boston Celtic and Los Angeles Laker Rick Fox will also hit the dance floor for the show; I guess that acting thing isn’t working out so well for Fox. The show seems to attract an NFL player just about every season, with Jerry Rice, Emmit Smith, Chad Ochocinco and Michael Irvin coming before Warner.

Other notables are fag hag Margaret Cho of Drop Dead Diva, Florence Henderson of the Brady Bunch, and Bristol Palin of…Alaska.

Share on Facebook

One more reason rugby player Ben Cohen is one of the coolest athletes in the world: He donated a signed jockstrap for use in a fund-raiser for GMFA, a British gay men’s health charity. It was auctioned off at the annual Gay Sports Day in London on Monday and fetched $460 (300 British pounds), according to a fan on his Facebook page. He also donated a framed T-shirt, though I could not yet determine what it went for.

Said Cohen before the event: “I am happy to support this year’s GMFA/RVT Gay Sports Day. Sport is an important part of my life and it’s great to see a community come together and enjoy sport in such a fun and accessible way. Plus it raises vital funds for the important work carried out by GMFA and the other charities which will benefit from the day. I would encourage everyone to form a team and take part or show your appreciation by making a donation on the day. I will personally be donating items that will be part of an auction at the end of the event. Best of luck to all the competitors and have a fantastic day.” Continue reading →

Share on Facebook

Believe it or not, the men’s basketball world championships are taking place right now and the American team has already played three games! After slipping by Brazil yesterday, 3-0, Team USA is poised for a run at a medal. But gold isn’t a given, because this is not the “Dream Team” of some past Olympics: It’s a mish-mash of mostly second-tier players that wouldn’t get a shot at the team if all the true all-stars opted to play. Yes, Kevin Durant is a star and without him they would be 2-1 at best. And yes, they have Derrick Rose and Rudy Gay who are both very good – but the American team is not the best we have. Other countries are missing stars like Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), and defending-champion Spain is missing Pau Gasol.

With the “development league” feel, it’s a little tough to get into the tournament. It’s even harder calling it a “world championship when either of the NBA Finalists this past season would take the tournament with ease.

Share on Facebook

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady hates the New York Jets and refuses to watch them on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series. That’s fine with Jets coach Rex Ryan, who doesn’t like Brady and hate the Patriots. But Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez says of Brady, “I love you Tom.”

It’s all part of an NFL rivalry that has been dormant but never gone away between the Jets and Patriots. Ryan and his loud-mouth boasting, plus the Jets going further than the Pats in the playoffs last year have rekindled the hate-fest, which makes it highly entertaining for fans with the season kicking off in 10 days. Continue reading →

Share on Facebook

Longtime Outsporter Layne (aka Mariner Duck Guy) has put together a college football pick-em, and he wants you to join! Many other Outsporters are playing, and we’d love to see you be a part of it! It’s the closest thing to a gay BCS championship we have! We’ll have ocassional updates on the pick-em standings here on our blog.

Click here to join the “Illegal Use of Hands” college football pick-em. You have to register at ESPN.com to do so; to join, the league password is: outface.

Share on Facebook

For many Americans, the start of college football and the NFL signals the the beginning of autumn. But for many others, it’s the U.S. Open that ushers in the changing of the seasons. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal will try for the second year to complete a career Grand Slam; But Roger Federer won last week’s big tune-up for the Open. On the women’s side, with three-time champion and world No. 1 Serena Williams out, Serena’s sister Venus (a two-time champ in Flushing Meadows) will try to outlast a bunch of talented Europeans.

My biggest complaint about the U.S. Open: The men’s final is always on the opening NFL Sunday. I’ll bop back and forth between the tennis and football, but it does interrupt my enjoyment of both.

Share on Facebook

Equality California will host a Malibu-based swim event on Sept. 25, and to kick off the final month of fundraising for the event they are hosting a pool party this Labor Day Weekend! The event is Saturday, Sept. 4, from 12noon-4pm at a gorgeous private home in Palm Springs. Tickets are $40 if purchased in advance. The event is organized by Michael Holtz, a former swimmer who hosted a similar swim event on Fire Island last summer. Find more information and purchase tickets at their Web site.

Share on Facebook

The Milwaukee Bucks star pays off a bet by dancing to Lady Gaga (video below), but lest anyone even wonder if he’s gay, he tweets this:

@SHANCIEE NAw A bet is a bet……… I’M A MAN ABOUT IT!!!! I STILL GOT MORE GIRLIES THEN U Continue reading →

Share on Facebook

In the last week we’ve heard of male athlete characters coming out of the closet on three shows: Degrassi, Glee and 90210. All of these shows target teens and twentysomethings. Why is this new trend taking hold now, and what effect can it have on our culture? We talk about the growing presence of these out jocks on scripted television.

Listen to our latest podcast here.

Share on Facebook

Tyson Gay is having an identity crisis, and it has nothing to do with his last name. The American was supposed to be the great sprinter of his time. Then along came Usain Bolt. Gay has talked a lot about how he’s going to beat Bolt and regain the world’s-fastest-man title. And when Gay beat Bolt at a meet in Stockholm a few weeks ago, he finally had something to crow about (of course, he wasn’t talking about his sub-par time of 9.84, the fact that Bolt never races well on that track, or that Bolt was injured).

Now Gay is talking about running the 400m. Why? Ten bucks says it’s to move his legacy away from Bolt. Gay knows he will always be a footnote in the career that is one of the greatest sprinters of all time. So what better way to build his resume than to be the incredibly rare sprinter who competes in the 100m, 200m and 400m? Michael Johnson won the 200m and 400m. But all three? It’s just not done at the World Championship level. Since Gay will never break Bolt’s world-record times, and since he will never accomplish what Bolt did at the Olympics, it’s his only shot to get out from Bolt’s shadow. Continue reading →

Share on Facebook