In the movie '42,' a key scene involves Pee Wee Reese putting his arm around Jackie Robinson in a show of support on the field in Cincinnati. The only problem is ... that may not have happened. The truth is just as moving, if maybe too subtle for Hollywood. More»

Something has gone blank in college basketball's soul. It became sadly clear last March. I was done caring... until I watched Brett Comer with the ball. Who's Brett Comer? He's the guy whose subversive, improvisational style is saving this tournament. More»

Since at least the time of Aristotle, adults have been trying to figure out what goes on in the teenage brain. Now, thanks to new brain-imaging technology, psychologists are smarter about what leads to heinous behavior like that of the Steubenville defendants. More»

Jerry Tarkanian belongs in the basketball Hall of Fame. In 31 seasons at Long Beach, UNLV and Fresno State, Tarkanian's teams won 778 games. And he called the NCAA corrupt long before such thinking was fashionable -- but not without consequences. More»

California coach Mike Montgomery's shove of star player Allen Crabbe is an easy target for criticism, and he's been loudly condemned for it. But this type of minor incident is just a petty distraction from the NCAA's larger problems. More»

What this writer knew about Oscar Pistorius, everyone knew. We think we know the athletes we follow. But the shocking news out of South Africa about the double-amputee Olympian's alleged murder of his girlfriend exposes the truth -- we knew nothing. More»

London's Daily Mail has reported that Muhammad Ali is near death. Yes, Ali has Parkinson's disease, likely the result of brain damage suffered in the ring. Yes, sunrise has become sunset. Yes, time is a vandal. Yet a friend says he is still uniquely 'Ali.' More»

Some hoaxsters make up stories for money, others for pride or for glory. Whatever happened to making up stories just for the hell of it? We remember the Corbet Comets and the mighty Plainfield Teachers College football team. More»

They pay him to talk on television, so what was Brent Musburger supposed to do when they turned the camera on Miss Alabama, just stare? Well, maybe if you’re 73 years old, as Musburger is, and Miss Alabama is 23, as Katharine Webb is, maybe you don’t go all Hugh Hefner on her. More»

Why do nicknames like "Redskins" and logos like the "Screaming Savage" still exist in the sports world? You can bring up all the polls and surveys you want, but those words and images are derogatory, offensive racial slurs. More»

Jadeveon Clowney's tackle on Vincent Smith in Tuesday's Outback Bowl came at warp-speed from such a distant place in the universe that the Michigan tailback barely knew what hit him. It was also as pure a demonstration of football's truest nature as we’re likely to see. More»

Oscar Madison, the slovenly half of "The Odd Couple," was brought to vivid life by actor Jack Klugman, who died on Christmas Eve. Oscar gambled, drank, smoked. He was messy, crude and grumpy. He was a sportswriter's sportswriter. More»

I loved 2012. It was the year Lance Armstrong got his. The year all the lying, the cheating, the exploitation of cancer came to an end and Armstrong’s world collapsed. But we're still waiting for the former Tour de France champion to tell the truth. More»

Larry Merchant began, 35 years ago, talking like a man who’d been to every ringside in every city for every title fight and not only had heard all the answers, he’d asked all the questions. So he talked the same way at the end as he did at the start. More»

Grinnell point guard Jack Taylor scored 138 points. It's ludicrous. 'Maybe not a great shooter,' Taylor's coach, David Arseneault Jr., said. 'But a great scorer.' The 138 was possible because of Grinnell’s unique run-and-gun play. They call it “The System.” More»

No FBI agent, wearing a shirt or not, searched my email this week, but I did -- and I found two notes to Paula Broadwell, written on Aug. 31, before she became, yes, Paula Broadwell. I wanted to ask General Petraeus about Teddy Roosevelt. More»

Most concussions are the results of the accidental contact that is inevitable in a game of collisions. But hits like the one that the Texans' Tim Dobbins laid on the Bears' Jay Cutler are premeditated and vicious in their design and execution. More»

Darrell Royal, University of Texas legend, would shout out: 'Red light! Red light!' So you stopped and listened. Not because Royal made you, but because he was Darrell Royal and you weren’t. He had won all those games. He made Texas football big. More»

Why Notre Dame? The gold helmets. The fight song. Manti Te'o. Ronald Reagan as George Gipp in 'Knute Rockne All American.' Having the Irish back as the benchmark of excellence would finally restore order to the college football universe. More»