Sports

Marcus Lattimore retired from the NFL Wednesday, ending his hopes of returning from a knee injury to play for the San Francisco 49ers.

49ers Running Back Retires From NFL, Without Playing A Snap

6:47pm November 05, 2014

by Bill Chappell

Running back Marcus Lattimore, 23, retired from the NFL Wednesday. He says he chose a higher quality of life, citing a lingering knee injury. Lattimore reportedly has a $1.7 million insurance policy.

Sports

2-Day Appeal Hearing To Consider Ray Rice's NFL Case

11:58am November 05, 2014

by Joel Rose

An independent arbiter in New York on Wednesday begins hearing Ray Rice's appeal of his lifetime ban from the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to testify, as are other key executives.

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Charlotte's College Of Faith Lacks A Campus But Not A Football Team

11:58am November 05, 2014

by Michael Tomsic

Normally, colleges create their football teams. But now we have the story of a football coach who created a college. It's an online school called College of Faith in Charlotte, N.C.

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Judge In Ray Rice Appeal Known For Being 'Down The Middle'

6:32pm November 04, 2014

by Joel Rose

A profile of Barbara Jones, the independent arbiter who will preside over Ray Rice's grievance hearing this week. The former running back for the Baltimore Ravens is appealing his indefinite ban from the NFL for striking his fiancée in an elevator.

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Harvard evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman has studied the evolution of running.

What Makes Kenya's Marathon Runners The World's Best?

5:57pm November 04, 2014

by Mary Brophy Marcus

Kenyan distance runners won both the men's and women's divisions of Sunday's New York City Marathon. A Harvard evolutionary biologist suggests some possible reasons why.

Vikings' Adrian Peterson Pleads No Contest In Child Abuse Case

3:43pm November 04, 2014

by Krishnadev Calamur

The star running back avoided jail time after being indicted in September for using a wooden switch to punish his 4-year-old son. The case reignited the debate over corporal punishment in the U.S.

This sample image from Second Spectrum shows the company's data visualizations for the NBA. They crunch game data — past and present — to show live statistics and information during games.

Sports

New Players In The NBA: Big Data, User-Controlled Jumbotrons

6:36pm November 02, 2014

by NPR Staff

We're way beyond instant replays. Last year, the NBA began tracking the movements of players in every single game, and this season, new tech gadgetry is popping up on some arena's big screens.

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Protestors march outside TCF Bank Stadium before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins, on Sunday in Minneapolis.

From Bad To Worse: A Tough Day For The Washington Redskins

5:03pm November 02, 2014

by Scott Neuman

It began with a bus crash and protests over the team's name and ended with a 29-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Wilson Kipsang of Kenya celebrates on the finish line after winning the men's division of the 44th annual New York City Marathon in New York on Sunday.

Kenyans Wilson Kipsang, Mary Keitany Take NYC Marathon Titles

3:16pm November 02, 2014

by Scott Neuman

Kipsang has also won in Berlin and London in just over a year. Keitany, a one-time London Marathon champ, was running in her first 26.2-miler since giving birth in 2012.

Sports

Some NBA Teams Are Bad, And Some Are Just Awful

10:04am November 02, 2014

It's easy to pick basketball's frontrunners. But Slate.com's Mike Pesca tells NPR's Rachel Martin the interesting story is about the worst teams in the NBA, and why being bad might be a good strategy.

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