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Sweetness And Light
10:03 pm
Tue February 19, 2013

Reminders Flood In: Athletes Are People, Not Heroes

Originally published on Wed February 20, 2013 4:08 pm

These have certainly been dispiriting times for those who admire athletes, who proclaim that sports build character. The horrendous shooting by Oscar Pistorius is of course, in a category mercifully unapproached since the O.J. Simpson case, but the Whole Earth Catalog of recent examples of athletic character-building is certainly noteworthy.

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Sports
5:24 pm
Tue February 19, 2013

Spanish Doctor Accused Of Helping Athletes Dope, Botching Treatments

Originally published on Tue February 19, 2013 6:42 pm

Lance Armstrong's ex-teammate testified Tuesday at the trial of a Spanish doctor accused of masterminding one of the world's largest doping rings. Tyler Hamilton, who was stripped of his 2004 Olympic gold for doping, says he was a client of Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. He described secret meetings with the doctor at the side of a highway in Spain, and how he and the doctor used secret telephones to arrange blood transfusions. Hamilton told the court that one 2004 transfusion from Fuentes went bad, and turned his urine black.

The Two-Way
2:17 pm
Tue February 19, 2013

VIDEO: First 'Unassisted' Backflip By A Car?

Credit Thierry Guillot / Maxppp /Landov
Driver Guerlain Chicherit in his Mini Countryman, doing a backflip on Sunday in France.

Originally published on Tue February 19, 2013 2:53 pm

Remembrances
5:51 am
Tue February 19, 2013

Creator Of Lakers' Dynasties, Owner Jerry Buss Dies

Originally published on Wed February 20, 2013 9:16 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Jerry Buss died yesterday at the age of 80, a very important guy to sports fans here in Southern California. He transformed the Los Angeles Lakers from a good pro basketball team into a great one. During the 34 years Jerry Buss owned them, the Lakers won more games than any other NBA team and took 10 league titles. He also changed the Lakers into the NBA's glamour team, bringing modern showmanship to the league.

NPR's Ted Robbins has this remembrance.

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Remembrances
4:39 pm
Mon February 18, 2013

Longtime Lakers Owner Jerry Buss Dies At 80

Originally published on Mon February 18, 2013 6:02 pm

The man who brought Showtime to Los Angeles has died. Under Lakers owner Jerry Buss, the team won 10 NBA championships. His players loved him, and his business smarts helped market the team in ways the league had never seen before. Buss had been hospitalized recently and was undergoing treatment for cancer. He was 80 years old.

Sports
3:40 am
Mon February 18, 2013

Doping Trial May Reach Far Beyond Spain, And Cycling

Credit Dani Pozo / AFP/Getty Images
Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, accused of masterminding a vast doping network, has refused to name his clients. The case stems from a 2006 raid in which Spanish police seized some 200 bags of blood, in the "Operation Puerto" investigation.

Originally published on Mon February 18, 2013 6:42 am

Sports
6:13 am
Sun February 17, 2013

In Losing Olympics' Oldest Sport, IOC Earns Criticism

Last week, the International Olympic Committee voted to lose the sport of wrestling from its games by 2020. Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Mike Pesca to delve into whether there was any logic to the IOC's decision.

Sports
5:38 am
Sun February 17, 2013

Loss Of Olympic Prospects A Blow To High School Wrestlers

Credit Paul Sancya / AP
The IOC executive board decided last week to drop wrestling from the 2020 Games. The surprise decision removes one of the oldest sports on the Olympic program.

Originally published on Sun February 17, 2013 8:56 pm

The International Olympic Committee's decision to cut wrestling from the 2020 summer games came as a surprise to the quarter of a million high school wrestlers around the country.

At Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland, the Blair Blazers, ranked 7th in the county, are hoping for a good showing in one of the last big matchups of the season. But as they worked out this week, many of them were thinking beyond the tournament and to their wrestling future.

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Sports
7:05 am
Sat February 16, 2013

New Car Hits The Road In NASCAR Season Opener

Originally published on Sat February 16, 2013 10:05 am

NASCAR's new season begins Saturday, and there's something a bit different on the track: a new car. NASCAR says it's betting on the future of the sport with the introduction of this new ride.

NPR Story
6:33 am
Sat February 16, 2013

Week In Sport: A Track Star's Fall From Grace

Originally published on Sat February 16, 2013 10:05 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon.

Oscar Pistorius remains in prison, the athlete who mesmerized so much of the world last summer when he became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympic Games, has been changed with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Oscar Pistorius has been a hero in South Africa and lionized all over the world as the blade runner.

We're joined now by Howard Bryant of ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. Howard, thanks for being with us.

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