By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
With the simplest of sentences, NBA veteran Jason Collins set aside years of worry and silence to become the first active player in one of four major U.S. professional sports leagues to come out as gay.
Whatever damage was caused by the latest long NHL lockout, the league isn't feeling the fallout as it gets set to start this year's playoffs.
Beginning in 2013-14, the Caps will be in a yet-to-be-named division with the Penguins, Flyers, Rangers, Devils, Hurricanes, New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Sidney Crosby's overtime goal to beat the United States and win gold for Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics is one of the two or three most memorable moments in the history of the sport. Nearly 35 million viewers were tuned in to watch it, roughly twice the average audience for the Masters, the Daytona 500 and the NCAA basketball finale.
Three generations of the Ribble family hurried through a parking lot in suburban Detroit, eager to see the Red Wings practice when the lockout finally ended.
With hockey set to return after a four-month lockout, the NHL is apologizing again.
After rejoining his Buffalo Sabres teammates on the ice for the first time in some nine months, goalie Ryan Miller had a few lingering frustrations to get off his chest regarding the NHL lockout.
With the lockout over and training camps set to begin Sunday, the league and its players begin the task of trying to bring fans back. For the Capitals and many teams, fans will return, but the harm done to the NHL's reputation is hard to ignore.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman felt all the anger directed toward him as the lockout dragged on and threatened to wipe out the entire hockey season.
All that is left of the NHL lockout are a pair of votes by owners and players.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman secured unanimous ownership support for the pending labor deal, then apologized to everyone hurt by the long lockout and said he isn't going anywhere.
NHL owners will vote Wednesday on the tentative labor agreement reached with the players' union.
Now that a tentative deal is done, one big question remains: When is the puck finally going to drop on the long-delayed hockey season?
Flyers owner Ed Snider had a simple message on the day the NHL lockout ended:
Hockey is back, and it took nearly four months and one long night to get the game back on the ice.
For one day, hockey will enjoy a change of venue as the Capitals and Penguins shift what might be the sport's best rivalry _ even NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said so _ into one of the NFL's best-known stadiums.
