This is an amusing article about a columnist for Runner’s World magazine who happened to tell his Navy SEAL in-law that his goal, sometime in the distant future, was to get to the point where he could run a half-marathon. His Navy SEAL in-law basically says, “Let’s do that tomorrow, then.  And I won’t let you fail.”

I don’t think this spoils the end, but, with the SEAL’s encouragement, the author did not fail.

Here’s the opener:

I will be accused of exaggerating, but I assure you I’m not. Except for the part about underwater snakes snapping at our calves, everything that follows happened exactly as described without any embellishment.

I was holding a beer in one hand and fried chicken in the other. This was a summer family reunion. I was standing in front of my niece’s husband, who is a Navy SEAL. Navy SEALs don’t like to be written about, so let’s call him Bronco. Bronco is a muscle—a ripped, blond-haired, blue-eyed dazzler who looks as though he could incapacitate a man with a strategic finger thrust. As if that weren’t enough, he is easily one of the smartest guys in any given room.

“I heard you went for a run yesterday,” I said to Bronco. I took a bite of chicken and nodded. What I’d actually heard is that he had run mile repeats pushing a car, did a five-mile cooldown jog wearing a 100-pound pack, and finished off with an hour of sustained kickboxing. “I’ve been running a little myself,” I continued. I took a sip of the beer. His eyes narrowed and grew serious. “So, you know, I’d love to join you at the end of one of your workouts if you’d let me tag along.” He shifted to face me and lowered his head.

“What are your goals?” he said.

I made a squawk of some sort and began to stammer. If you’re suddenly asked what your goals are by someone who is not joking—whose eyes are pinned to yours, who is a Navy SEAL—you’re abruptly thrust into a lightning-round assessment of your entire life that leaves you giggling in a high, unattractive way. “My goals?” I said. I looked at my beer and chicken and thought about how I’d like to lose weight. That would sound stupid even if my hands were empty. No self-respecting guy tells a Navy SEAL he’d like to fit into smaller jeans. I struggled to say something. I could tell him I’d like to try to be mighty. I would like to be a little more epic, every now and then.

“Okay,” I said, finally, “in the fall, I was thinking—and this is only if I can get there because I have a long way to go—I was thinking in late fall, literally months from now, I might try and you know. . . complete a half-marathon.”

“Let’s do that tomorrow, then,” he said. I stared back at him as the walls around us began to slant and close in. I wondered how I had let this happen. I covered my mouth with my wrist and swallowed a beer-burp. The lesson, I guess, is that unless you’re special in some way, you probably shouldn’t poke a stick at a guy who pushes cars around for workouts. “I won’t let you fail,” he said.

The rest here.

Monday’s 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers puts Manchester United 5 points clear of their closest (in two senses of the word) rivals, Manchester City. Subsequently, a United-supporting bookie, BetFred’s Fred Done, has taken the unusual step of paying out on the bet that his team will retain the title (which would be a historic 20th domestic league championship for Man U).

But this isn’t the first time Done’s paid out early. Back in 1998, he was confident that United would win the championship when they were 12 points clear of Arsenal, paying out £500,000. However, they went on to lose the title by one point. In response, United’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, told him to never pay out early again. Done, though, is confident that United will win this time.

He’s not the only one who is certain that Manchester United will win the domestic league this year. A group of United supporters have started selling jerseys that are emblazoned with CHAMP20NS and that also poke fun at Manchester City — the world’s richest club — with a wry “Money only gets you so far . . .”

Come May, they may either be jumping with delight, or ridiculed.

Um, yeah. Naming a shoe “The Black and Tan” might stir some emotions in the Irish community. From Wikipedia:

The Black and Tans (Irish: Dúchrónaigh) was one of two ad hoc paramilitary units, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland (the other body being the Auxiliaries[1]). The unit’s nickname arose from the colour of the improvised khaki uniforms initially worn by its members. Although established to target the Irish Republican Army, the Black and Tans became notorious through their numerous attacks on the Irish civilian population.

The fact that nobody at Nike knew this and thought the name only referred to a beer is even more disturbing.

However, it is a pretty good looking shoe, no?

As much as pro athletes are maligned for their

“I hope the younger generation who know my background will be more comfortable talking to me,” Adibi says, dressed in full uniform for our day-off interview.”There is this gap I’d like to bridge between the police department and the young.”Adibi’s background is football. He was an All-American at Phoebus High and an All-Big East defensive end at Virginia Tech. A fifth-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004, Adibi never found steady NFL work, in large part because he sustained a broken right hip in 2005 while practicing with the Seattle Seahawks.Adibi worked tirelessly to rehab, but the injury essentially ended his career. What to do?With a degree in residential property management, Adibi pondered real estate. But first, he accompanied his younger brother, Xavier, to Houston after the Texans drafted him in 2008 as a linebacker out of Virginia Tech.There, a careless undercover FBI agent led Adibi to law enforcement. Sort of.

As much as pro athletes are maligned for their

“I hope the younger generation who know my background will be more comfortable talking to me,” Adibi says, dressed in full uniform for our day-off interview.”There is this gap I’d like to bridge between the police department and the young.”Adibi’s background is football. He was an All-American at Phoebus High and an All-Big East defensive end at Virginia Tech. A fifth-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004, Adibi never found steady NFL work, in large part because he sustained a broken right hip in 2005 while practicing with the Seattle Seahawks.Adibi worked tirelessly to rehab, but the injury essentially ended his career. What to do?With a degree in residential property management, Adibi pondered real estate. But first, he accompanied his younger brother, Xavier, to Houston after the Texans drafted him in 2008 as a linebacker out of Virginia Tech.There, a careless undercover FBI agent led Adibi to law enforcement. Sort of.

Times of India:

Cricket again came under a cloud as the Sunday Times, London, carried out a sting operation on a Delhi-based bookie who claimed last year’s World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan at Mohali was rigged.

The man, identified as Vicky Seth and described as “one of Delhi’s most influential bookmakers”, made a slew of “revelations” during a drinking session with an undercover Sunday Times reporter, who videotaped the conversation. The reporter had in 2010 exposed three Pakistani cricketers, who were later convicted, for indulging in “spot-fixing” in the News of the World newspaper.

India had won the semifinal match in which the number of catches dropped by the Pakistan team had become a talking point. However, the International Cricket Council denied to TOI that it was launching an inquiry into these claims although it could not be ruled out that there was an ongoing probe into some of the issues raised by the bookie.

The rest here.

From the network that brought you Keith Olbermann, I present this:

The B.S. Report made a special road trip to the White House yesterday to make podcast history: the first-ever podcast with a sitting U.S. President. Take that, Marc Maron! Even if we only had 25 minutes, Grantland editor-in-chief Bill Simmons and President Obama covered a bunch of sports-related topics, including how the President manages to make time to follow sports; his feelings on Linsanity and the Bulls’ title chances; whether he considered getting involved with the NBA lockout; the wisdom of a college football playoff system; his feelings on concussions and the NFL; what it’s like to throw out the first pitch before baseball games; his favorite White House visits from championship teams; coaching his daughter’s basketball team; the pearls of wisdom he recently dispensed to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin; and his answers to two “greatest ever” questions (one basketball, one television).

It’s technically not ESPN.com, but the story is linked on ESPN.com’s front page.

Not taking the wind into account, a goalkeeper in an Israeli amateur soccer team takes a spot kick, but can do nothing when strong winds blow the ball back into his own net. Technically, it is not an own goal, according to FIFA’s Laws of the Game, “A goal may be scored directly from a goal, but only against the opposing team.” Such was a goal by Tim Howard several weeks ago for his team Everton.

Rule number one: don’t hit parked trucks on the track. Rule number two: especially if they’re trucks loaded with jet fuel. Watch as drive Juan Montoya slams into the track dryer:

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo again displayed why he is considered one of the best soccer players in the game today. Not just for his goal scoring ability, but for the cheekiness of the goals in his repertoire. In Real Madrid’s 1-0 win against Rayo Vallecano, Ronaldo scores an unbelievable backheel goal after receiving the ball from a corner kick. Going away from goal, he surprisingly backheels the ball past defenders and the goalkeeper. After the match, he admitted that “a backheel is always difficult,” and modestly continued, “It was a great goal but I’m not sure if it was the best of my career — I have to see it again on TV.”

For all who saw it, including the announcer, it was one of the best of our soccer-watching lives.

Don’t know how real this video is, or the bottle of beer broken on the stands, but it is just to watch. Imagine if Budweiser or any other American beer company purchased the naming rights to a stadium stand and then decided to celebrate by swinging a huge bottle of beer at its inauguration to be smashed against it. That’s exactly what Danish lager company Carlsberg did when they purchased the naming to a stand at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium. Clean up in Aisle 3!

Brazilian team Flamengo’s Deivid misses a sitter right in front of goal in his team’s semifinal defeat to Vasco da Gama. Ronaldinho’s pass to the striker in the 35th minute should have ended in a straightforward goal in front of an open goal mouth, however, he shot it right at the post which, for Vasco da Gama, was a relief as they went on to score in 78th minute to win and advance to the final of the Guanabara Trophy. Pity the striker.

To celebrate the 100th birthday of the Oreo cookie, behold! The Tony Stewart-Oreo car:

CBS/AP:

KABUL, Afghanistan – Besides going after a medal in the boxing ring at the London Olympics, Sadaf Rahimi will be taking a few punches in the fight for equal rights for Afghan women.

There are female Afghan success stories, yet most women in Afghanistan remain second-class citizens, many cloaked from head-to-toe in blue burqas, some abused or hidden in their homes.

Rahimi, a determined 17-year-old student, wants to become the new face of Afghan women, gaining honor and dignity for herself and other women in here war-torn country and improving their image worldwide.

She will get her chance this summer in London, where women’s boxing makes its Olympic debut.

Afghan female boxers begin fight for Olympics

“When we participate in the outside competitions, there is pressure on us,” Rahimi said while training in a makeshift gym in the Afghan capital. “But I will try to show that an Afghan girl can enter the ring and achieve a position for Afghanistan.”

The rest here.

Amid all of the terrible news that has emanated from Egyptian soccer in the past two days, at least this video of the worst penalty ever can bring a smile to viewers’ faces. Al Ahly’s Amir Sayoud trips while taking a penalty and is then booked for what is deemed an illegal spot-kick.

TV Newser reports:

Former NBC “Dateline” anchor Stone Phillips is returning to the world of TV news, only this time his reports will be online.

Phillips, who left “Dateline” and NBC nearly five years ago, has launched a website, StonePhillipsReports.com, and has posted his first investigative piece for the site, “Hard Hits, Hard Numbers,” a look at head injuries in youth football.

“This is a big week, this is Super Bowl week, a lot of people are thinking about football,” Phillips tells TVNewser. “There are 2,000 NFL players, there are 3.5 million players ages 6-13. When you think about the number of people playing the game, and where we need to be focused in terms of safety and exposure to risk, certainly more work needs to be done here.”

Agreed. Here’s the link to his report.

AP:

In what was called one of the worst incidents of sports violence in Egypt in decades, dozens of Egyptians were killed after a soccer match in Port Said on Wednesday when unruly fans flooded the field after a match against rival teams, the Egypt’s Health ministry said.

Reuters reported that at least 73 people were killed and 1,000 injured during the melee. The report said that television footage showed Cairo Soccer Stadium on fire. 

“This is unfortunate and deeply saddening. It is the biggest disaster in Egypt’s soccer history,” deputy health minister Hesham Sheiha told state television, according to Reuters.

After the incident, Egypt’s Football Federation delayed league matches indefinitely, the report said. 

A security official and a medic said fans of the home team, Al-Masry, swarmed the field after a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly, Egypt’s top team. They threw stones, fireworks, and bottles at the fans and injured some players.

A medic at a morgue in Port Said, a city on the Mediterranean coast, said some of the dead were security officers. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

The rest here.

Details here.

On Saturday, Clint Dempsey became the first American to score a hat-trick in the English Premier League. During his team’s 5-1 victory over Newcastle United, the Texan scored his second professional hat-trick in as many weeks, scoring his first in Fulham’s FA Cup win over Charlton Athletic. His goal count in the current campaign has now risen to nine, and considering that he scored a total of 12 goals in the 2010-2011 EPL season, it should come as no surprise if he surpasses last season’s tally come May when the current one finishes. They love him in London – note the Texas flag behind his boot.

AP:

Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke died Thursday, nine days after crashing at the bottom of the superpipe during a training run in Utah.

Burke, who lived near Whistler in British Columbia, was 29. She was injured Jan. 10 while training at a personal sponsor event at the Park City Mountain resort.

Tests revealed Burke sustained “irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest,” according to a statement released by Burke’s publicist.

A four-time Winter X Games champion, Burke crashed on the same halfpipe where snowboarder Kevin Pearce suffered a traumatic brain injury during a training accident on Dec. 31, 2009.

As a result of her fall, Burke tore her vertebral artery, which led to severe bleeding on the brain, causing her to go into cardiac arrest on the scene, where CPR was performed, according to the statement by publicist Nicole Wool.

The rest here.