Some doors, like the front gate of the White House, are tough to walk through. The White House has one phalanx of security after another, and you simply don't get in unless you are wanted, unless you have clearance, unless you have an appointment.

Some people do get into the White House based on who they are. Some get in based on who they know.

On Sunday July 26, 2009, one of the biggest and most famous ...

Perfection, human perfection, is one of the rarest things on earth. The world of sports shows how rare, or short lived, perfection is for us. For example, last week (the week of July 20, 2009) as I walked out of the office and got into my car for my daily commute home, I turned on sports radio. The hosts were in the middle of an interview with White Sox ace Mark Buerhle, and they were excited. Soon ...

Resurrecting the Champ is based on the true story of up-and-coming sports reporter Eric Kerman (Josh Hartnett). After rescuing a homeless man (Samuel L. Jackson) from a dangerous fight with some rowdy teens, Kerman discovers that "Champ," as everyone calls him, might be boxing legend Bob Satterfield. Most people in the world of sports had long believed Satterfield had quietly passed away. After Kerman ...

When Johntell Franklin's mother lost her battle with cancer on February 7, 2009, no one was surprised to hear that Franklin, a senior forward for the Milwaukee Madison High School basketball team (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), was not going to play in his team's game that day against DeKalb High School (DeKalb, Illinois).

But then he showed up.

Midway through the second quarter, Franklin walked into the gym, ...

During one memorable at-bat the spring of my son's first baseball season, he repeatedly hit the tee instead of the ball. And it was obvious what the problem was. He wasn't keeping his eye on the ball; he was looking right at me instead. He was unable to get a base hit until finally I stepped out of sight.

We joked about that the rest of the season, but what the incident shows is the power of fatherly ...

For almost 10 years, Adam Bruckner, [assistant coach for the Philadelphia Kixx indoor soccer team], has made it his personal mission to help the homeless. Actually, "help" would be an understatement for what he does. Although he earns a modest income, he gives away practically everything. And when he decided that wasn't enough, he whittled his living expenses down to two items: gas for his car and ...

Professional football player Troy Polamalu, a three-time Pro Bowl strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has worked hard to maintain his Christian character since joining the NFL in 2003. Before winning his second Super Bowl championship with the Steelers in 2009, Polamalu agreed to an interview for the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). "Pride is tough," Polamalu said to the interviewer. "You ...

In February 2009, Alex Rodriguez, all-star third baseman for the New York Yankees and the highest paid player in baseball, admitted taking banned substances in 2001, 2002, and 2003. In an interview with ESPN baseball columnist Peter Gammons, Rodriguez said:

I did take a banned substance. … I do remember thinking in my bed in Arizona, it was like, What am I doing? Wake up. Stop being selfish. ...

Each year, video game developer Eric Zimmerman hosts a contest in which designers must come up with a plausible video game concept based on an unusual theme. According to Zimmerman, the purpose of the challenge is to push for video games that set themselves apart from the usual offerings based on monsters, street fighting, or sports. Well, it's safe to say that if any of the concepts presented in ...

$69 million: The University of Florida's athletic department budget for the 2006-07 academic year. The Gators won their second straight men's basketball championship on April 2, after clinching the national football title in January. The school's sports teams rely on private revenue without state or university funding.

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