LESAProject

Oscar Pistorius, the first amputee to compete in the Olympic Games, allegedly gunned down his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in cold blood. Given Pistorius' history and the fact that Steenkamp was shot multiple times inside the home, it seems far-fetched to believe there's an innocent explanation for the tragedy.Granted, stranger things have happened, and then there's the whole innocent-until-proven-guilty shtick, though South African law may be different. Suffice it to say, however, I'm part of the camp that's not holding its collective breath.We've seen this story before: A sensational athlete whose feats in competition are so profound, he or she gets miscast ...

Look at the rosters for Major League Baseball's 2010 All-Star Game and you'll see a pretty glaring trend. When all the shuffling due to player unavailability was done, the National League had 38 members and the American League had 39 for a grand total of 77 honorees. Of those athletes, 26 came to the diamond from outside the United States of America: Canada (2)—Justin Morneau, Joey Votto Dominican Republic (13)—Jose Bautista, Adrian Beltre, Robinson Cano, Fausto Carmona, Neftali Feliz, Rafael Furcal, Vladimir Guerrero, Ubaldo Jimenez, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Jose Valverde Japan (1)—Ichiro Suzuki Mexico (2)—Yovani Gallardo, Joakim Soria Panama (1)—Mariano Rivera Puerto Rico ...

The first official round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club is still more than a week away. That means we're still about six days from an abject furor that will descend upon the globe, the likes of which we may not be able to comprehend until it happens. When Tiger Woods' return hits high gear at his April 5th unscripted date with members of the media (ones who haven't been hand-picked), many eyes that will never see an iron or wood put to golf ball will be watching in slack-jawed fascination. Fans of the game must be awaiting Woods' first ...

The 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards are cashed, but there was far too much information consumed over the last few days to have gotten it all down before the climactic ceremonies. Consequently, there will be several more stories trickling out of my laptop regarding the subject. Since I've got 12 hours to kill in the Abu Dhabi International Airport before the one flight a day to Frankfurt departs (conveniently timed for 1:50 in the morning) and it's kind enough to offer free, lightning-quick Internet, I figured now's as good a time as any to relate one of the highlights of the trip. On ...

The 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards are officially in the book. Host Kevin Spacey opened the evening’s festivities with a bit of a grind, but hinted the real talent of an exceptional performer is the ability to fight through the ho-hums and keep going until the crowd is yours. The two-time Oscar winner peppered impressions of famous characters throughout the evening and, by the end, had the audience in his hand. His Morgan Freeman was all right; he cranked it up with Johnny Carson; pulled everyone’s ace in Christopher Walken; tossed in a little William Shatner;  broke out Katherine Hepburn; wowed ‘em with ...

"Sport has the power to change the world...Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair."—Nelson Mandela As most nationals do, I love my native soil. I won't pretend the United States of America is the best country in the world just because I call it home, but it's gotta be up there. Whenever I travel internationally and no matter how incredible the trip has been, it's always a relief to get home and see the Stars and Bars. She is by no means perfect, but the ol' gal offers a quality of life unrivaled in many (most?) other countries. Likewise, as gory as our social progression has ...

A refrain you hear quite frequently in the United States of America is the old saying, "it's only a game." To some degree, the phrase rings true. Nobody should be jumping off a bridge or sinking into a dark pit of despair because his or her team didn't win the big game. Peyton Manning shouldn't be moping around like someone took the jelly out of his donut simply because he didn't perform well with the bright lights amped up in this year's Super Bowl. No, individual games and performances are not hills upon which to die. However, widen the lens beyond an isolated game. Allow the ...

If poker, pool, and racecar driving are sports, then shouldn’t certain international flights qualify as well? These flights—and if you’ve been on one, you know exactly the ones I mean—require physical and mental stamina at least equivalent to flopping a full boat or driving in a circle at suicidal speeds. I mention this because it’s taken me roughly three days to completely arrive at the home of the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards . The festivities are being held this year in Abu Dhabi—one of the United Arab Emirates shining jewels of modernity on the Persian Gulf. The other gem is, of ...

"I told you, my name isn't Kenny. It's Butters."—Leopold "Butters" Stotch from South Park If you ever need a reminder to choose your friends carefully, Butters is your man . Judging from the plague of stupidity befouling the professional sports landscape (and many of its talent crops), the animated reminder is falling on deaf ears. Woe be to the man who surrounds himself with what he wants rather than with what he needs. But I'll get to that... As much as I love professional sports, it would be insane to argue any one is without its considerable warts. The National Football League is stubbornly ...

You'll have to forgive me for taking a tardy bite out of a thoroughly chewed upon subject, but I was on self-imposed hiatus when this already-surreal situation devolved into some cubistic trainwreck. It's just too absurd to let pass without comment. By "it," of course, I mean Tiger Woods' second public apology since naked, augmented skeletons started jumping out of his walk-in Florida closets. Yeah, yeah, his first mea culpa was the dictionary definition of "vague" and issued through his website. So what? This idea that the general public is entitled to an apology for personal sins that don't/shouldn't affect us is questionable; ...