LESAProject

Floyd Landis, former friend of cyclist Lance Armstrong, has once again accused him of cheating. Landis, in an interview on ABC's "Nightline", once again said that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. Landis said Armstrong—his former teammate and friend—transfused his own blood, a banned practice that gives athletes an advantage by increasing their red blood cell count and, therefore, their endurance. Look, this is nothing new, for athletes have been cheating in all sports since the beginning of time. Yet the implication that Armstrong was somehow impervious to this cheating is what is so interesting. For some, it shatters an illusion. For ...

Look, it's hard enough to be a rookie in the majors. But to have to shoulder the burden of being the guy who brings interest in baseball back to the African-American community is taking this a bit too far. Meanwhile, I do get it—Heyward is a very talented young black player coming along at a time when Major League Baseball is trying to encourage more African-American participation in baseball. But there are other good, young black players in baseball that can help carry that mantle if it does indeed need to be carried. Don't force it on a rookie; they have enough ...

The apology on Tiger Woods' Web site says a lot more than simply the confessions of a star athlete proving human. For me, the bigger story is the stark reminder that, as Charles Barkley once pointed out, athletes aren't role models. In other words, Tiger's transgressions may just be the final straw that breaks the back of those of us who still believed in heroes. I like to consider myself a realist, someone who understands that sports is a game and a business concurrently, but that no one player is perfect. Yet, I must admit that I ...

The tragic shooting at Ft. Hood, Texas on Thursday and the shootings in Orlando, Florida on Friday make me realize that there is a sort of irony in sports. That is, while events like these remind us just how unimportant sports are as compared to real life situations, it is also the time when sports are needed most of all.  We often use sports as an escape from the real world. Not to remove focus from grieving families, but to take our minds off of the depressing world around us, and allow us to find some joy in an otherwise crazy world. Gunmen who rampage and kill innocent ...

"When you become the cheating baseball player, it becomes who you are, and nobody wants to walk around with that." - Steve Phillips So what about if you're a cheating ex-GM who spouts incredible wisdom to ESPN audiences on a regular basis? Do you become the cheating ex-GM or the cheating ex-ESPN analyst? Inquiring minds want to know, Steve. Ah, Steve Phillips. Now here's a guy who talks about the impact of cheating in the sport of baseball when, all the while, the moron is cheating on his wife. Nice. Phillips was fired by ESPN after he confirmed an affair with a 22-year-old ...

So Chicago failed to gain the votes necessary to host the 2016 Olympic games. Instead, Rio will have that honor, that privilege, that...expense. You see, I have mixed feelings about today's decision from the IOC. Sure, in many ways I would have liked to see the games in the U.S. and my home town of Chicago. It's truly one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I would have welcomed the opportunity to show it off to the world. But this is a city that is hurting financially. And while the Games would have brought additional jobs to the ...

“When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer, Superstition ain’t the way.” - Stevie Wonder   Sorry, Stevie, but superstition is very much the way in major league baseball. Ballplayers certainly can be described as creatures of habit.   No, not that kind of habit.   (If you’re old like me, you may recall an episode of the television series M*A*S*H , where “Hawkeye” once said to “Klinger”, “warning – dressing like a nun may be habit forming.”)   Instead, the purpose of this diatribe is to examine some of the strange behavior of the typical major league player, and attempt to get inside their head and ...

Yes, never judge a book by its cover...for on Thursday it was determined that South African running champion Caster Semenya is a he. No, wait—he's a she. Actually, she's both. Man, this is confusing. Semenya has been dogged by questions about her gender since easily winning the 800-meter gold medal last month in Berlin at the world championships. A test has since confirmed that Semenya has both sets of sexual organs. That's right, as Ripley would say, believe it or not, this 18-year-old has both male and female organs. Yep, if someone told Semenya to go screw herself, I suppose she actually ...

"I know most of the coaches in the country are rooting for us to beat Notre Dame," "Charlie gives this talk, 'We do something special at Notre Dame,' and (the players) get up and they do this little cheer ... this little faggot dance."   Those were the comments that Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin said at the Western Athletic Conference's annual football media preview this past week, according to Q-Tip.com. For that comment, Coach Mack was suspended for 30 days without pay and has volunteered to take an additional seven percent pay cut from his $1.1 million salary Seemingly everyone—from Hawaii’s Governor to ...

"I know most of the coaches in the country are rooting for us to beat Notre Dame," "Charlie gives this talk, 'We do something special at Notre Dame,' and (the players) get up and they do this little cheer ... this little faggot dance."   Those were the comments that Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin said at the Western Athletic Conference's annual football media preview this past week, according to Q-Tip.com. For that comment, Coach Mack was suspended for 30 days without pay and has volunteered to take an additional seven percent pay cut from his $1.1 million salary Seemingly everyone—from Hawaii’s Governor to ...