LESAProject

Sports connect. Sports unify. Sports foster community. These unique properties of sport render it one of the most important form of ritual in American society. For some, the "big game" is more highly anticipated than Christmas. In many ways, major sporting events have taken to a holiday of sorts. For proof, look no further than the Super Bowl. Essentially, sport watching breeds an ecosystem. Each and every individual gathered around a television set—be it at a local bar, a friend's sweet big screen, or a college dorm room—brings something different to the table. Just like the sport itself, those watching ...

  The author in no way means or intends to offend any sports fan from the beautiful state of Ohio. He went to school there and retains some of his fondest memories from his experiences.     Way up north on the banks of a river, where the cold winds blow and the skyline's a mess. Where all the teams lose and the weather makes you shiver, lies a dreary dull city starved of success.   Lake Erie screams out, its shore cries in vain, for a win that will rid her of this "curse"! But her lament doesn't help, it increases the pain, and the sport just continues to get worse.    Do ...

Just when we thought those nasty greedy capitalists couldn’t get more annoying, they stick their hand in the cookie jar and snatch the last treat away from the general golfing public; Ray Halbritter announced last week he would grant himself a sponsor’s exemption to play in next week’s PGA Tour event. Halbritter’s company is the title sponsor, so he’ll of course argue that he has the right to grant a sponsor's exemption to whomever he may wants and, being an avid golfer himself, why not give it a go? “It’s just a dream,” Halbritter ...

About three weeks ago, a story emerged that was more shocking than Paul Gydos’ 59 and far more interesting than LeBron’s decision to ditch Cleveland for the shores of Miami. At the U.S. Women's Open, Kelli Shean, a 22-year-old amateur golfer from South Africa, is competing against the best lady golfers in the world, with her boyfriend Chandler Rackley on the bag. Now I pride myself on being an open-minded, non-traditionalist kind of guy, but on this issue, my mind is staying decidedly closed. I’ve been lucky enough in my golfing escapades to play in some note-worthy amateur tournaments and have, in the ...

UEFA is waiting for match reports from the officials for Liverpool's Europa League qualifying game against FK Rabotnicki, where there were claims of racist chants from the Macedonian fans. The English side won the match 2-0 in Macedonia with help from two goals by David Ngog. In pictures after the game it emerged that the Rabotnicki fans appeared to be directing their "monkey taunts" at Liverpool players, such as Ngog and teenager David Amoo. UEFA are therefore going to make a decision whether to take disciplinary action against Rabotnicki, after looking at all the evidence. A UEFA spokesperson said, "We are aware of the matter, but we are waiting for ...

It's amazing to me that in 2010, we've become so politically correct that Sonnen's awesome trash talk, and one sided efforts to promote a fight have been earmarked as somehow racist or xenophobic. Now don't get me wrong, Sonnen has made some comments that are blatantly false, such as stating that he's never been beaten by a middleweight (Demian Meia and Paulo Filho would disagree) or that his uncle won an NBA championship with either the Jazz or Suns (Neither of which have won NBA championships). But to blast Sonnen as somehow making this about race, when it's obviously about Anderson ...

How do they make between $20 million and $400 million and end up broke? The next 10 athletes will show you how to attain—and lose—the seemingly impossible. Begin Slideshow

Facial hair is something that can separate the men from the boys. A good mustache can take an ordinary man to legendary status (see Tom Selleck and Burt Reynolds). Begin Slideshow

In the recently released movie Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Dominic Cobb is able to enter other dreams to extract information (basically). What if the ability to do that was real? Has this or could this happen in sports? Many times in sports we ask how did a certain athlete perform they way they did. History tells us it can be the star of the team, a key reserve, or a player that stepped up out of nowhere. These are all players that surprised us with their performances. These athletes exceeded expectations and had near out-of-body experiences, just like Cobb’s ability to enter dreams. These ...

The sports world is no stranger to eccentricity. Bizarre pregame rituals, odd batting stances, and outlandish superstitions can often define a team or a players persona, as these quirks provide a sense of individuality amongst an industry that is heavily reliant on formality... and uniforms. Some athletes however, have taken this sense of individualism a little too far. And unfortunately for us, the result is sometimes downright appalling. Here are the top 10 craziest fashion statements in sports. We may never recover from these aesthetic horrors, but at least these athletes have gone great lengths to raise the common person's self-esteem. ...