The Daily Fix

    A Life Column, with a Sports Problem

Making a documentary about Olympic champion swimmer Missy Franklin seems like a no-brainer. Just 17, Franklin was one of the shining stars at the 2012 London Games, winning five medals and quickly garnering millions of fans. Documentarians Christo Brock and Grant Barbeito were well ahead of the curve in betting on her as the winning horse, connecting with the Colorado high schooler more than two years earlier. But, it turns out, the project had as much to do with luck as it did with the veteran filmmakers’ foresight and preparation.

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Kevin Ware’s grisly leg fracture during Louisville’s run to the title was excruciating to watch for anyone—but especially so for NCAA athletes, who were reminded of how quickly and violently hopes of an eventual professional career can be put in jeopardy.

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The free throw. It’s either a basketball player’s best friend or worst enemy.

While shooting percentages of the uncontested 15-footer have steadily increased since the beginnings of the NBA—the league average is better than 75 percent in nine of the past 10 seasons—some of its best players still struggle with the shot.

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The December announcement by the NBA’s New Orleans franchise that they would officially change their nickname from the Hornets to the Pelicans for the 2013-14 season, with the new logos and color scheme coming on Jan. 24, came with plenty of speculation and commentary. What it should also signal though, is a slight, but inevitable, domino effect.

Call me a defender of animal rights, a proponent of PETA or a backer of the bug, but I for one say don’t allow the hornet to go extinct, not even for one season.

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By accepting the head coaching position with the Philadelphia Eagles last week, Chip Kelly also welcomed the rigors of running the preeminent team in one of the country’s toughest sports cities—the same place that infamously booed and threw snow at Santa.

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Before signing with the Cleveland Browns the day after Christmas due to a pair of injuries at the quarterback position, Josh Johnson treaded an uncertain path back to the NFL that was nearly a season long.

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The free throw is nearly as old as basketball itself. The shot dates almost as far back as when rules were first recorded at a gym in Springfield, Mass., by the game’s creator, Dr. James Naismith, in 1891. Added to the sport just a few years later, the shot was initially taken 20 feet away from the basket, before the distance was reduced to 15 in 1895. The rules governing perhaps basketball’s most idiosyncratic shot have gone mostly unchanged since.

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After the revelation of Lance Armstrong’s systematic doping offered yet one more example of widespread performance-enhancing-drug use in professional cycling, another popular international endurance sport is under heavy scrutiny: Tennis.

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The NFL and its referees association reached a deal late Wednesday night, ending a stalemate that began in June when their previous contract expired and the league officially locked out the refs by hiring replacements.

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LaDainian Tomlinson may be retired, but his impact on the field can still be seen in many ways, including stylistically.

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