Sports

Note: Every week, I pick games against the spread on the Michael Irvin Show on ESPN Radio, and I'm putting them on our blog. Sometimes things just don't go your way. It seems every season I have one week that I just get utterly, horribly wrong. That was last week, when I went 0-5 in […]

I won’t spend much time ranting about what a joke the Bowl Championship Series is, since the vast majority of fans would prefer a playoff and one won’t be coming for years. So we are left with another “championship” game that will not satisfy a large percentage of fans. If predictions hold, Florida and Oklahoma […]

Nigel Owens, the openly gay rugby referee, is releasing a new autobiography that reportedly reveals his fears of coming out and much of the support he’s experienced since doing so. He offered a great interview to the BBC in which, among other things, he talks about trying to kill himself before coming out. He’s now […]

Josh Smith was making a comeback from an ankle injury and the Atlanta Hawks are battling for first place in the Southeast Division, but no one in Atlanta seems to be noticing. Ball Don’t Lie has pictures from last night’s Hawks-Grizzlies game with a crowd that can be generously called sparse. (Picture after the jump) […]

Being fortunate enough to be able to put on a jersey of an NHL team comes with some standard guidelines. One is not using your ex-girlfriend and who she's dating to publicly build excitement for a game. Many say a suspension by commissioner Bettman and the NHL is excessive for the comments Avery made. I […]

I’m not much of a boxing fan, but throw in Oscar De La Hoya and I’m there. The Latin sensation, a fighter who transforms a boxing contest into a sports happening, goes up against a smaller but talented Manny Pacquiao on Saturday in Las Vegas. Pacquiao wants to become the new De La Hoya while […]

In an interesting article on how Michael Phelps came to endorse the protein drink of a Texas start-up company, the Wall Street Journal tells us that Phelps has let himself go since winning eight golds in Beijing. Gone, for now, are the insane workouts that included massive amounts of swimming along with weight training. The […]

It is great to hear about the cooperation being exhibited this week between USC football coach Pete Carroll and UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel, and how they gave the big middle finger to the NCAA. For years, both USC and UCLA wore their dark home jerseys in their annual end-of-season rivalry game. But the big, mean NCAA […]

Organizers of the two events are starting a refreshing new relationship of cooperation and friendship By Ross Forman Any bitter emotions still lingering from 2006, when the inaugural Outgames was held in Montreal about a week after Gay Games VII concluded in Chicago, are just that: history. So say organizers for the 2009 Outgames in […]

A charity auction at Penn State featured members of the swim and ice hockey teams going shirtless to jack up the bidding for their services. I was most impressed with what the swimmers were offering, according to the Daily Collegian. After enduring chants of “take it off!” for several minutes, the five swim team members […]

I’m not a big Michael Phelps fan, but even I would agree 100% with this selection. Sports Illustrated has named Phelps their Sportsman of the Year for his eight gold medals in Beijing and for his work with kids since the Olympics. I don’t know about all the “greatest Olympian ever” talk, but no athlete […]

Natalie Cook, (photo left) an Australian who won beach volleyball gold in 2000, has married Canadian Sarah Maxwell, her girlfriend and fellow beach volleyball player, the News in Australia reports. The wedding took people by surprise, the paper said, especially since Cook’s orientation had been largely unknown. While the wedding came as a surprise to […]

The National Hockey League has suspended Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery indefinitely. Avery has been blogged about a number of times here for both his on-ice antics (causing a rule change during the playoffs by waving his stick near the face of a goalie) and off-ice interests (interning at Vogue magazine). The reason for the […]

Cyd Zeigler spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Maine, where deer hunting was on the tongues of all the locals. After a conversation with a hunting gay friend in Manhattan a week before, Cyd was left wondering why do so few gay people hunt; It's got to be more than just the hideous orange jackets hunters […]

Week 14 of the NFL provided some atrocious games for a lot of AFC football fans this week. Pittsburgh made Matt Cassel look like the inexperienced kid he actually is and not the god that passed for 1000+ over the last few weeks. The Jets suddenly looked very mortal when the Broncos bullied them into […]

We here at Outsports reference no writer or sports journalist more than Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman. He has, at times over the years, thrilled us, frustrated us, informed us, and made us laugh. He is regarded (certainly on this site) as the most insightful NFL columnist there is. In an age when style-over-substance guys like […]

That Anderson Cooper, the newly muscular and somewhat openly closeted CNN anchor and “60 Minutes” contributor, would get topped by an Olympic athlete isn’t much of a surprise. But that it was Michael Phelps and it unfolded on TV last night in a pool with both in bathing suits and shirtless, provided a nice perk […]

My partner was asking me this morning, “How can anyone be so stupid?” It’s a great question, as details of the weekend escapades of New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress come to light. In case you hadn’t heard, the fool (allegedly) took a gun to a Manhattan club and (allegedly) accidentally shot himself in the […]

One New York teams keeps rolling, another stubs its toe; chances the Lions go 0-16; who is the MVP this season? How Cyd and Jim saw Week 13 in the NFL. E-mail Cyd Biggest disappointment. Lots of people point to the San Diego Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars as this season’s biggest disappointments. And they have […]

I was surprised to learn a few weeks ago from a former NFL player that not all guys in elite football wear cups, and that in fact there are many who don’t. I found my proof watching the Broncos-Jets game on Sunday. Capping off his career day, Denver RB Peyton Hillis reached down and grabbed […]