The New Orleans Saints say they have the experience and leadership to have productive offseason practices even without their star quarterback. New Orleans is holding its first three offseason practices, called organized team activities, Tuesday through Thursday. Drew Brees is still holding out for a new contract.
Caleb Lloyd, with the ball in his left hand, celebrates after catching the first of the back-to-back home runs that came his way Monday night in Cincinnati.
"That's just crazy," Cincinnati Reds fan Caleb Lloyd said Monday night after he ended up snagging two home runs balls — from consecutive batters — during the Reds' 4-1 win over the visiting Atlanta Braves.
For the second straight year, one of the NBA's greatest players is leaving the playoff party early. Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers are out. Last night, they lost their second round series against the young and explosive Oklahoma City Thunder, four games to one. The Thunder's big three - Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden - combined for 70 points in Oklahoma City's 106-90 win. NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman joins us now on the line.
When she hit the tape Sunday at the Powerade Great City Games in Manchester, England, Britain's Jessica Ennis hadn't only beaten Olympic heptathlon champion Dawn Harper.
Ennis had also run a personal best 12.75 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles — 0.04 of a second faster than she'd ever run that race.
It was her personal best, that is, until 2004 Olympic heptathlon bronze medalist Kelly Sotherton, also of the U.K., tweeted this question:
Over the weekend, Hikaru Nakamura won the 2012 U.S. Chess Championship in St. Louis, Missouri. He's the top-ranked chess player in the country, and is now 2 1/2 points away from beating Bobby Fischer's all time record. For Tell Me More's series, "In Your Ear," Nakamura talks about the music that gets him pumped up for competition.
Rita Benson LeBlanc will become vice chairman of the board of the New Orleans Saints and Dennis Lauscha will take over as president of the team.
Owner Tom Benson has announced Sunday that LeBlanc, his granddaughter, will expand her duties to include more management responsibilities in various Benson interests outside of the team.
If life is a ballgame, then NPR's Mike Pesca is the guy in the stands, carrying his own stat-sheet and searching out empirical evidence. Host Rachel Martin speaks with Pesca about what the numbers have to say about injuries.
