“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Mandela. His was a life filled with purpose and hope; hope for himself, his country and the world. He inspired others to reach for what appeared to be impossible and moved them to break through the barriers that held them hostage mentally, physically, socially and economically. He made us realize, we are our brothers’ keeper and that our brothers come in all colors. What I will remember most about Mr. Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge. He taught us forgiveness on a grand scale. His was a spirit born free, destined to soar above the rainbows. Today his spirit is soaring through the heavens. He is now forever free.”

Via CBS and ESPN

Calvin Johnson, who recorded an NFL-record 329 yards in the Lions’ most recent game, does yoga as part of his pregame routine. The specifics of it vary based on what he wants to stretch out, but he definitely believes it is beneficial. He was no stranger to yoga but started doing it consistently when quarterback Drew Stanton was with Detroit from 2008 to 2011. Stanton’s wife, like Raiola’s, was a certified yoga instructor.

With Stanton gone to Arizona, Johnson’s pregame yoga routine is now done in solitude with his yoga mat and a yoga video. Johnson, the best receiver in the NFL, now sees yoga as a way to maintain some flexibility and improve his overall health.

“Whatever I’m feeling, if I need to work on my hamstrings, if I need a full-body deal or if I just need to work on my hips, whatever needs work,” Johnson said.

“I’ve seen definitely a positive impact from just being loose in my hips, hamstrings,” Johnson added. “I know it’s something that worked for me. I’ve just been doing it ever since.”

Click to read more about Nate Burleson and Calvin Johnson benefitting from yoga. 

Image via Jason Miller/ESPN/Getty Images

For the full video from stadium prep to game finish (1 minute, 20 seconds) click — here.

Hat tip to Jason Kottke:

Lex Friedman details how to use DNS services (like AdFree Time) to route around region-specific content locks, so you can do things like watch all NFL games in HD from anywhere, change Netflix regions (for access to different content), etc.

Third-party services like AdFree Time offer up a DNS-based solution: Pay a monthly fee and use their DNS services, and the NFL’s website treats you as if you’re coming from Europe. You thus get to watch every NFL game streaming online in high definition, since the league offers that option to folks in Europe at no charge. Americans, usually, miss out. I could pay for DirecTV’s insanely overpriced Sunday Ticket, but I think it’s a ripoff when I’m only looking to watch about six to eight Eagles games that won’t show here.

This beats hate-reading the NFL TV maps every weekend.

For great data on where athletes are coming from, including college football per capita rates, check out FootballStudyHall 

There are arguments against athletes’ practicing yoga. The notion of developing flexibility seems contrary to developing the hard, strong muscles that some sports demand. But Rich Roll wishes he would have started earlier in his athletic career.

He has finished high in two ultra-man Hawaiian triathlons well into his 40s. The three phases of a triathlon are a long distance ocean swimming, bicycling, and marathon running. All phases are performed sequentially within the same time frame.

According to Rich, “every athlete – irrespective of sport or discipline – has the potential to enhance his or her ability by adopting a consistent yoga practice.”

(1) Core strength. A former college and club rugby player, kick boxer, and workout junkie has recently become a yoga instructor. He was pleasantly surprised that his core strength had increased during the course of his yoga practice.

For the most part, core strength involves the transversus abdominus, the muscular belt that wraps around the torso under visible muscles. This is not just abs. It’s deeper, and it includes back strength as well.

Usually, core strength is ignored. Certain muscle groups get attention according to an athletic endeavor’s demands. But core strength is vital for connecting the upper and lower body’s overall strength and energy.

(2) Body awareness. This same former hard hitting jock also had come to increased body awareness. He feels that it is helpful for enhancing performance and being able to read the body’s stress signals during competition. This leads to not overextending yourself and avoiding injury.

(3) Balance. Several yoga poses (asanas) focus on balance. Good balance is central to good coordination. Many good running backs in football are noticeably well balanced, spinning and weaving while avoiding being tackled, for instance.

Enhanced performance and agility can be achieved from practicing yoga for other positions and sports with an improved sense of balance.

(4)Flexibility. Strong, flexible joints have obvious performance benefits in any sport. Yoga helps increase joint flexibility with strength, which tends to decline with age. Except for swimming, most other sports are hard on knees, ankles, wrists, and shoulders.

Many athletes are forced into early retirement or at least sidelined from time to time with joint sprains and injuries to those joints with their associated tendons and muscles. Yoga can help prevent that.

(5) Relaxed mind and body. Unlike so many who undertake yoga lessons, Rich Roll considers the most ignored and taken most lightly asana (pose) the most important. It’s the last and most meditative, which occurs at the completion of moving into different postures. It’s called savasana or corpse pose.

He cites this pose as most helpful for eventually gaining control of the mind, which he considers what separates the winners from the losers. The corpse pose also allows you to eventually relax every muscle in the body completely.

Learning to eliminate tension is helpful in so many ways, in addition to feeling really good. Here are more details on how to do a proper savasana or totally relaxed corpse pose.

This article was originally published on Natural News

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/lebrons-odds-of-catching-jordan/?_r=2

Not the most lucid post in the world but fun nonetheless. Nate Silver has done fantastic work with prediction models over the past few years.

“One can forgive Jordan, who did not have anything left to prove. But to match him, James will need to win two or three more titles over the next several seasons while he still plays at an M.V.P. level, which will require good health and some good luck. Then he may need to chase the last couple of titles by being willing to play the right role with the right club.”

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9338962/when-beautiful-game-turns-ugly

Wright Thompson’s profile on racism in soccer and Italy.