LESAProject

While there might be more competitive marathons in the world, there are few more popular than the New York City Marathon.Runner's World named this event the favorite marathon of the United States and of the world. The course goes through all five boroughs and gives runners and spectators a great scenic tour of one of the most beautiful cities on Earth.Due to the race's worldwide popularity, many celebrities choose to compete to benefit various charities. These are the biggest names that will be running to make a difference on Sunday, November 4.Begin Slideshow

What happened to Ben Wilson could have happened to anyone.The difference is that Wilson was the top high school basketball player in the country before he was shot and killed on Chicago's South Side in November 1984."Benji," the latest in ESPN Films' 30 for 30 series, painted a haunting picture of a young life, full of promise, cut short. It shows how fragile life is, whether you are a budding star on the basketball court or not.Here was a kid with a wealth of potential. Wilson was the pride of Chicago, and led Simeon Vocational High School to its first ...

While many Americans were sitting on their couches watching NFL football, Felix Baumgartner was breaking the sound barrier. Yes, you read that correctly. Baumgartner, a daredevil of sorts from Austria, jumped out of a capsule 128,100 feet above ground in space. To put that into perspective, that’s four times the height of a flying commercial airline. He landed after four minutes of free fall, but not before making the highest, fastest jump in history on Sunday afternoon. On his way down, the Austrian reached the speed of 833.9 mph, also known as Mach 1.24, supplanting the speed of sound.In terms ...

In an era of so much uncertainty on the NFL issue of player safety, the Detroit Lions are setting the right example by erring on the side of caution in the handling of RB Jahvid Best's concussion issues.It was meant to be determined on Friday whether Best could be removed from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and be declared active on Monday. However, the test results have yet to conclusive, according to a report by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.Best has sustained three concussions that have been officially diagnosed, but the definition of a concussion is ...

When first base umpire Jim Joyce missed a safe/out call at first base during Game 3 of the Cardinals-Nationals NLDS, the seemingly unwonted occurrence—ESPN once estimated umpires miss 20 percent of all close calls—exploded into a national headline that even The Associated Press saw fit to distribute.The first sentence of the AP release?It's another umpiring call that went the St. Louis Cardinals [sic] way this postseason.Ah, there's the rub.Implying that umpires, referees, judges and other sports officials are conspiring for or against certain teams is nothing new as fans often blame a team's misfortune on an impartial third party.As I previously wrote, scapegoating ...

Following China's magnificent success in the London Games, People's Daily Online, the most authoritative news site in China, recently made the country's first English-language Chinese sports documentary series — Beyond Gold, which soon received global recognition. Meanwhile, following a lasting dominating reign in the Olympic squared circle, Shiming Zou, China's most talented boxer, recently made it official that he decided to retire from amateur boxing and step into a professional career, a decision that soon attracted global attention. Among those who have shown interest in these two events above, few have more authoritative opinions on both subjects than Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, who ...

It happened the instant M.D. Jennings’ cleats struck turf. Before Packer Nation could howl, or Golden Tate shrug, or Aaron Rodgers blinker, or Commissioner Goodell shudder. It happened the moment striped arms rose in error—Monday Night Football had succumbed to politics. The beast stirred. The presidential candidates began prepping their spin. And who’s surprised? Big money and old names, crises of leadership, influence pedaling and constituents are as shackled to sports as to politics. Pitchers and presidents have lied to congress. Health care is a shared flashpoint. Birther conspiracies and crotch-texting have their place.  But while democracy may degenerate into a carnival—in an election year at least—sport ...