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rantnrave:// Mental health isn't talked about much in sports. There are sports therapists and team psychologists and mindfulness sessions, but open discussions about mental health are rare. For every Royce White, who is frank about his experience, there is a question: Did his honesty cost him an NBA job? Larry Sanders is back in the NBA now, two years after he left, and the first thing I wonder is what has changed? He was open about his mental health, admitting he dealt with anxiety and depression. Is he in a place now that can help him and nurture him and will be good for him? Is the NBA capable of conceiving of athletes in terms other than toughness and grit? There are reasons why we can't talk about specific players -- it's hard to balance a right to privacy in a public discussion -- but there's no reason we can't talk about how and why sports leagues should help and care for their players. Why aren't we? ... When a wrestler leaves a company, who owns the rights to the character and the storyline? There's a lot at stake if it's a successful brand and it pops up on a competing show. The Hardy Boyz know this gray area too well. They constructed their characters for Impact Wrestling but might not be able to keep them. This isn't intellectual property in the simplest sense. Wrestling is performance art and sport and entertainment. How do we untangle this web? ... @Titanichoops. ... Go ahead and try to make sense of Joe Maddon's Game 7 lineup card. ... Team Israel -- big in the U.S., not so much in Israel. ... Adidas has a new way of pronouncing Adidas. ... The 2017 Minnesota State High School All-Hockey Hair Team. ... R.I.P. Ed Whitlock, one of the greatest marathoners ever.

With a coaching style that's more about Zen aphorisms than zone defenses, Jay Wright has built a powerhouse at tiny Villanova. Now, as his Wildcats enter the tourney as defending champs, he's confronting a new koan: What happens when the underdog is on top?

Larry Platt | GQ

You are looking live ... at a broadcasting legend now doing a streaming show out of a Vegas casino.

Adam Kilgore | The Washington Post

Jerry Seinfeld once joked that in modern pro sports, players change teams so frequently that we basically root for laundry. But that's not completely true anymore. Many of us barely look at the laundry. Many of us root for our spreadsheets, and it's hard to dispute that more mainstream sports coverage should reflect that reality.

Mike Sielski | Philadelphia Inquirer

Charlotte 49ers defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi overcomes weight issues through hard work and a family's love. Now he's among the top NFL draft prospects at his position.

Jourdan Rodrigue | Charlotte Observer

The Hardy brothers are the latest to run afoul of the push and pull over creative control in pro wrestling, and theirs is shaping up to be a particularly ugly clash.

Ian Williams | Vice Sports

"It's not enough to be smart. You have to be curious."

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