Olympic gold medalist and outspoken Darfur activist Joey Cheek has had his visa revoked by the Chinese embassy, hours before the skater was set to fly to China.

As in any country, Chinese officials don't necessarily need a reason to revoke anyone's visa, although it could not be denied that they had several reasons to seize Cheek's.

He is, after all, the founder of Team Darfur, which is a group of 70 athletes who aims to raise global awareness of the human-rights violations in the Darfur...

By Diane M. Grassi

As Barry Bonds comes ever closer to breaking the National Pastime’s hallowed home run record, currently held by Hank Aaron at 755, the controversy regarding illicit performance enhancing drug use, which may forever taint Bond’s entire career, does accomplish taking the focus off of Major League Baseball (MLB) and its own shortcomings.

The scrutiny which has been paid, in only just the past two years, over drug use among MLB players, while having been a black eye...

By Diane M. Grassi


“We talkin’ about practice! Not a game. We talkin’ about practice, man. We ain’t talking about the game. But we talkin’ about practice!” No, we are not talking about the infamous press conference in May of 2002 and Allen Iverson’s response to questions as to why he missed practices with his Philadelphia 76ers teammates. Yet, in hindsight and compared to the esteemed wisdom of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Committee on Women’s...

Pedro Martinez's injury plagued season came to an end, less than a week short of the playoffs. The New York Mets learned Thursday that their ace pitcher is done for the year with a torn tendon in his left calf muscle.

Instead of pitching Game 1 in next week's NL division series, Martinez will be in the early stages of a four- to six-week recovery period. While surgery won't be necessary, there's no chance of the three-time Cy Young Award winner pitching again in 2006, even if the Mets make...

The New York Yankees won their ninth straight American League East division title Wednesday night. The Yankees lost 3-2 loss to theToronto Blue Jays but clinched the division title when the second-place Boston Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins 8-2.

The Yankees were still spraying champagne all over the clubhouse and dousing each other with beer when Derek Jeter, wiping the sting from his eyes, made sure to mention the big picture. "They should enjoy it, but also they should...

James Blake did his best Andre Agassi impersonation at the U.S. Open, donning Day-Glo spandex tights, hot pink vertical bars on his shirt, white bandanna atop his head. Before the coin toss for his...

Rain continues to be a major problem at the final major of the tennis season.

Of the 64 scheduled first-round matches Tuesday at the U.S. Open, only nine got under way, and all were suspended for...

By Diane M. Grassi

”I’m surprised at the number of elite athletes from around the world who are in the NBA as of 2006.” National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David...

Tiger Woods won his 50th PGA Tour title Sunday, shooting his fourth-straight 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Jim Furyk in the Buick Open.

Woods reached a season-low 24 under and made a...

Seemingly more defiant than the day before, eyes flashing and voice steady, Floyd Landis looked into the cameras Friday and said he would prove he "deserved to win" the Tour de France.

In his...