How crazy was it that ping-pong played a role in opening China? We try and find common themes and commonalities, and baseball has that between the U.S. and Cuba.
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Go. (Jaro Larnos)
Wednesday - March 23, 2016 Wed - 03/23/16
 
 
rantnrave:// Watching my first baseball game of the year is one of my favorite sports moments, an annual ritual of hope, renewal and belief in the impossible. My first this year was yesterday and it was extra-magical and extra-impossible: the TAMPA BAY RAYS vs. a slightly outmatched CUBAN national team, in HAVANA, with presidents BARACK OBAMA and RAÚL CASTRO sitting side by side (for a couple innings anyway) and a strong wind blowing toward left field. Not everyone in these divided ESTADOS UNIDOS is on board with the politics behind this international friendly, and not everyone in CUBA is going to wake up feeling good today. But no matter your feelings about the past or your opinions about the current leadership in either country, I don't know how you could watch those nine innings of baseball and not feel optimistic about the innings to come... While the current U.S. president was using baseball for diplomacy, one of the men who wants to replace him was publicly threatening to take out ads saying the owners of the CHICAGO CUBS are doing "a rotten job." Two things about that. 1) Seriously? 2) Wouldn't that money be better spent on ads about your hometown NEW YORK KNICKS?... INDIAN WELLS CEO RAYMOND MOORE is, rightfully, out of a job. NOVAK DJOKOVIC still has questions to answer. Late on TUESDAY, NOVAK set out to "clarify," which is several feet wide of "I'm sorry")... Thoughts and prayers to CRAIG SAGER.
- Matty Karas, curator
alphago
Scientific American
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Yahoo! Sports
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The Atlantic
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The president's historic trip to Cuba concludes with an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team.
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Forbes
How Women Are Reforming FIFA's Brand Crisis
by Alana Glass
This is the story of the world's most popular sport -- football -- that spans more than 100 years. It is treasured and unites generations of fans. However, over the years, its governing body which is responsible for the regulation and promotion of the sport worldwide has struggled to maintain the integrity of the beautiful game.
Huck Magazine
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Skating in Cuba is still a huge challenge that requires dedication and hustle. Director Amberly Alene Ellis’ new documentary profiles Cuba’s female skaters, pushing through obstacles even bigger than for their male counterparts.
deep blue
These Football Times
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His retirement marks the end of not only a remarkable career, but of a whole breed of striker.
The Daily Beast
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The NFL’s threat to re-evaluate Georgia’s Super Bowl dreams has the governor thinking twice about signing a controversial bill that would allow faith-based organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation.
Unofficial Networks
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Vocativ
The Life Of A March Madness Cinderella Star, After The Dance Is Over
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Mercury News
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Vice Sports
From The NBA To Hip-Hop: Martell Webster's Next Act
by Quinn Russell Brown
Martell Webster isn't afraid of life after basketball. A decade ago, the 6-foot-7 small forward was an All-American high-school athlete. He skipped college to go pro in 2005-the last year an 18-year-old could do that-and bounced around the NBA for the first 11 years of his adulthood.
Soccer By Ives
NASL expecting expansion as league evaluates new, old markets
by Ryan Tolmich
The 2016 NASL season is set to be headlined by the introduction of three new teams, but commissioner Bill Peterson is already looking ahead to further additions. Speaking on a conference call on Tuesday, Peterson said the league is expecting several expansion-related announcements throughout the year.
The Cauldron
Guilt, Sadness And March Madness
by Joseph Gill
So much of the NCAA Tournament is about being in the moment, but what happens on the court can conjure feelings long laid dormant.
The Atlantic
'Boys Among Men' and the NBA's High-School Boom
by David Sims
Jonathan Abrams’s fascinating new book looks at the success stories (and the failures) of basketball’s “prep-to-pro” era.
Vice Sports
'The Bronze' Is A Funny, Mean Movie About Gymnastics, And No One Saw It
by Tom Keiser
Lost amid the wasteland of March film releases is a movie that dares to wonder what happens when the glory fades for an Olympic medalist, and also asks an unusual follow-up question: what if that same athlete was a total a**hole?
MUSIC OF THE DAY
via YouTube
"Go!"
Santigold (feat. Karen O)
 
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