Past Articles by Tom Goldman
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'Very, Very Courageous': Rick Welts On Jason Collins The president of the NBA's Golden State Warriors came out in 2011. He said Monday that Collins' announcement helped him avoid a traffic ticket. |
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'Very, Very Courageous': Rick Welts On Jason Collins The president of the NBA's Golden State Warriors came out in 2011. He said Monday that Collins' announcement helped him avoid a traffic ticket. |
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Giant-Killing Louisville Women Look To Keep Charmed Run Alive The Louisville women haven't beaten UConn in 20 years — including a 22-point loss to the Huskies in the 2009 women's national championship game. And Connecticut breezed in their last matchup in January. But as any tournament watcher knows, January is ancient history when it comes to March — and April — madness. |
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Giant-Killing Louisville Women Look To Keep Charmed Run Alive The Louisville women haven't beaten UConn in 20 years — including a 22-point loss to the Huskies in the 2009 women's national championship game. And Connecticut breezed in their last matchup in January. But as any tournament watcher knows, January is ancient history when it comes to March — and April — madness. |
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Old Guard And Fresh Faces Square Off At Women's Final Four In New Orleans Sunday night, it's the women's turn to put on a college basketball show at the Final Four. Traditional powers UConn and Notre Dame are facing off, while the presence of California against Louisville is proving to doubters that the women's game has depth — and some pizzazz, too. |
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Oregon's Arsalan Kazemi: From Iran To NCAA Hoopla Rebounding machine Arsalan Kazemi is the first Iranian-born player in Divison I men's college hoops. He's focused on helping the Ducks beat St. Louis on Saturday — and well aware of his role as a pioneer. |
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Oregon's Arsalan Kazemi: From Iran To NCAA Hoopla Rebounding machine Arsalan Kazemi is the first Iranian-born player in Divison I men's college hoops. He's focused on helping the Ducks beat St. Louis on Saturday — and well aware of his role as a pioneer. |
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Dominican Republic Wins World Baseball Classic The Dominican Republic team, which had a perfect run in the series, beat Puerto Rico in the championship game 3-0 Tuesday night in San Francisco. |
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World Baseball Classic's All-Caribbean Showdown Is A Winner Either Way The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will face off in tonight's championship game. Both teams distinguished themselves throughout the tournament, not only with great baseball, but great fun-loving, hip-swaying and plantain-waving passion, as well. |
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World Baseball Classic's All-Caribbean Showdown Is A Winner Either Way The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will face off in tonight's championship game. Both teams distinguished themselves throughout the tournament, not only with great baseball, but great fun-loving, hip-swaying and plantain-waving passion, as well. |
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World Baseball Classic Heads For Dramatic Finish Puerto Rico has qualified for Tuesday's championship game. The Dominican Republican and the Netherlands are playing Monday for the other spot in the final game. The classic may not be generating a lot of interest among U.S. fans, but some very good baseball is being played. |
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Pete Rose: A Living Legend, Off The Record Gambling kept Rose out of baseball's Hall of Fame, and years later, the fallout continues. Topps baseball cards has quietly removed his name from the backs of cards that note major achievements. But is it time to re-evaluate Rose's singular status as a Major League Baseball pariah? |
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Lawsuit, Investigation Loom Over Lance Armstrong A Texas-based promotions company has sued the disgraced cycling champion for more than $12 million, paid to him for several of his record seven Tour de France wins. And there's word Armstrong is under federal investigation, a year after a federal criminal inquiry ended without explanation. |
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Concussion Issue Attracts Pre-Super Bowl Attention Calls for better equipment and protection for players grew louder in the NFL this year. It follows growing evidence of the damage caused by repeated blows to the head, and some high-profile suicides by former players. |
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Dodgers Channel Close To Being A Reality The Los Angeles Dodgers and Time-Warner Cable are expected to announce a deal that would give the team its own channel. The cable giant would handle distribution and operations. The Dodgers channel would pay the team roughly $7 billion over at least 20 years. |
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Pa. Governor Sues NCAA Over Penn State Sanctions Pennsylvania's governor says he is suing the National Collegiate Athletics Association in federal court over harsh sanctions imposed on Penn State. Those sanctions followed a child sexual abuse scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, an ex-assistant football coach. The penalties included millions in fines, a four-year bowl ban and the forfeiture of 112 wins by its football team and were signed off on by the university. But Gov. Tom Corbett says the penalties are unfair and filed an anti-trust suit. |
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'Bowie Over Jordan': A New Look At The Pick That Still Haunts Portland NBA Fans The Trail Blazers chose Kentucky center Sam Bowie with the second pick in the 1984 NBA draft. Then the Chicago Bulls took Michael Jordan. Bowie's tenure in Portland was marred by leg injuries; Jordan became a legend. ESPN recounts it all in a documentary about Bowie on Thursday night. |
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Talks Resume In Nation Hockey League Dispute The two sides in the National Hockey League labor dispute plan to meet again Wednesday, following an estimated 10 hours of talks Tuesday. It's day 81 of the owner lockout of players. Games are canceled through Dec. 14. The time is approaching when no deal will mean cancelling the entire season. |
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Lance Armstrong And The Business Of Doping The story of Lance Armstrong's alleged doping is, in part, the story of an astonishing business enterprise. Here's how it reportedly worked. |
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Giants' Sandoval Joins Home Run Elite In 8-3 Win The San Francisco Giants hosted the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night. The well-rested Tigers couldn't stop the Giants, who were riding their momentum from a thrilling Game 7 playoff victory. The Giants won, 8-3. |
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Nike Drops Sponsorship Of Armstrong Over Doping Lance Armstrong is stepping down from his role as Chairman at his cancer-fighting foundation, Livestrong. He's also been dropped by Nike, which ended its relationship with him on Wednesday. |
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Head Injuries Rattle Even Devout Football Parents Parents of young players are increasingly anxious about concussions. Many continue to participate - albeit more cautiously. Others worry about whether the youth leagues will eventually halt altogether. In Texas, the risk of injury is putting families at odds with a sport many consider a religion. |
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Gaming The Games: The Rules That Got Bent In London Several times during these Olympics, there've been moments when the Olympic oath seemed all but forgotten - you know, the one at the opening ceremony where athletes pledged to abide by the rules and spirit of fair play. |
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Gaming The Games: The Rules That Got Bent In London Several times during these Olympics, there've been moments when the Olympic oath seemed all but forgotten - you know, the one at the opening ceremony where athletes pledged to abide by the rules and spirit of fair play. |
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Field For Women's 200 Meters Is Loaded With Talent, And Speed There's another star-studded track and field sprint at the London Games today, with the women's 200 meter race featuring a bevy of medal winners. The race is slated to start at 4 p.m. ET. |
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Field For Women's 200 Meters Is Loaded With Talent, And Speed There's another star-studded track and field sprint at the London Games today, with the women's 200 meter race featuring a bevy of medal winners. The race is slated to start at 4 p.m. ET. |
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U.S. Gymnast Raisman Wins Gold, Bronze Medals The "Fierce Five" have finished their run at the London Summer Olympics. That's the nickname given to America's female gymnasts. They started the games by winning the most important gold medal in the team event. They finished Tuesday with their team captain Aly Raisman finally getting the break that seemed so elusive. |
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U.S. Judo Athlete Delpopolo Disqualified Over Failed Drug Test American judo athlete Nick Delpopolo has been disqualified from the London 2012 Games, after failing a drug test, according to the International Olympic Committee. The 23-year-old Delpopolo tested positive for the substance THC, found in marijuana. |
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U.S. Judo Athlete Delpopolo Disqualified Over Failed Drug Test American judo athlete Nick Delpopolo has been disqualified from the London 2012 Games, after failing a drug test, according to the International Olympic Committee. The 23-year-old Delpopolo tested positive for the substance THC, found in marijuana. |
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Jamaica's Bolt Retains Title As 'World's Fastest Man' As he did four years ago at the Beijing Olympics, Usain Bolt won the men's 100-meter sprint. On Sunday, Bolt ran his second fastest time ever - an Olympic record - 9.63 seconds. |
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British Elbow Into An Exclusive Medals Podium There is still a week to go in London, but it's a good bet that after all the drama ends, Britons will look back on Saturday night as a moment the games turned in their favor. Team Great Britain snagged three track and field gold medals on the game's biggest stage. NPR's Tom Goldman reports. |
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Rumors Of Doping Swirl Around Chinese Swimmer What would the Olympics be without a doping controversy? The 16-year-old Ye Shiwen of China blew away the competition on the final lap of the women's 400m individual medley race. Her final 50m was faster than American star Ryan Lochte's final 50m in the men's version of that same race. A longtime U.S. swimming coach called the performance unbelievable. And it's prompted a debate over whether Ye is just the latest Chinese swimmer to excel because of doping. |
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Olympic Swimming Records Smashed, Hopes Dashed American Dana Vollmer blew away the field, winning gold and setting a record in the 100-meter butterfly. Her teammates in the men's 4-by-100-meter freestyle relay fell short in the final stretch, winning silver. And the crowd went wild for English superstar Rebecca Adlington's finish in the 400-meter free - good for bronze. |
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'Tremendous Honor': Dancing For The World At Olympics Opener Friday's opening ceremony marks the official start of the London Olympics. It's a wide-ranging ode to British history and culture called "Isles of Wonder," featuring music, dancing, live farm animals and 10,000 volunteers. |
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The Olympics Meet A Mall, And Make A Nightmare On the edge of Olympic Park, Westfield Stratford City Mall is the gateway to the London Games. As many as 70 percent of 10 million visitors are expected to pass through the mall. But what if you just need to get somewhere - and you have to walk through the mall? |
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Olympic Glitch Riles North Korean Players Before Soccer Match [VIDEO]   As the North Korean players were introduced, the jumbo screen flashed the players' pictures - next to a South Korean flag. |
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Lawmakers Call On Olympics To Honor 1972 Victims Increasingly, there are calls for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to have a moment of silence during the opening ceremony. The idea is to honor Israeli athletes killed at the Munich Olympics in 1972. So far, the IOC has refused. |
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40 Years On, Title IX Still Shapes Female Athletes The landmark Title IX changed the face of women's sports, becoming the most recognizable part of the federal legislation signed into law on June 23, 1972. But its guarantee of equal access in student athletics has not always played out, and the law has its critics. |
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Oklahoma City Rolls Past Miami In Game 1 The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Miami Heat 105-94 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. |
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Olympic Stars May Overshadow Other Athletes The Summer Olympic Games in London start in 93 days. Of the 10,500 athletes, the attention is on at least two of them: swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. |
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In Women's Title Game, Baylor Goes For History Notre Dame faces a juggernaut: the undefeated Baylor Lady Bears and their 6-foot, 8-inch, star Brittney Griner. If Baylor wins, the team will finish the season undefeated and be the first in NCAA basketball to win 40 games in one season. |
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Finally, The Payoff In Women's NCAA Basketball The NCAA Division 1 women's tournament gets criticized for not having enough true March Madness moments. Yet sometimes the elite teams gather, as they are in Denver, in such a show of force and talent that a fan tends not to miss the little guys. |
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A Shot At The Buzzer Caps NCAA Drama The madness marches on. Sunday holds eight more games in the NCAA Division 1 men's basketball tournament. On Saturday, thankfully, there were no major rip-up-your-bracket upsets, but there was plenty of drama. |
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Peyton Manning Is A Hall Of Fame Tipper Too When he had dinner in North Carolina the other night, the NFL quarterback added $200 to a bill that already had a big gratuity tacked on. But the 50 percent tip didn't work out so great for the waiter after he put a photo of the bill online. |
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108 Years Since Women Last Boxed In The Olympics, They Prepare A Return A resort in Spokane, Wash., is hosting Olympic trials for women's boxing. The last time women boxed in the Olympics, it was a "display event." But this year, it'll count. |
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Heartbreak And Victory: Kyle Stanley's Week On The PGA Tour Stanley became a poster boy for tough losses, only to come back roaring a week later. |
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Cash-Strapped L.A. Dodgers Shop For A New Owner Bids are due Monday for groups interested in buying the Los Angeles Dodgers, and looser regulations may mean more interested parties. |
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Broke LA Dodgers Shop For A New Owner Bids are due Monday for groups interested in buying the Los Angeles Dodgers, and looser regulations may mean more interested parties. Current owner Frank McCourt is being forced to sell, and we find out who's interested in being the team's next owner. |
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Penn State Football Legend Joe Paterno Dies At 85 Paterno coached at Penn State for 61 years and had a Hall-Of-Fame career that included two national championships and five undefeated seasons. But his long tenure ended amid a child sexual abuse scandal. He died Sunday after developing complications from lung cancer |
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After Scandal, Ohio State To Hit Football Field  In Ohio, college football enters a new era. Scandal forced a coaching change, and a number of players are benched at Ohio State for breaking NCAA rules. The Buckeyes' situation is providing a good case study for those interested in making big changes to college sports. |
