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rantnrave:// Is Colin Kaepernick the most important player in the NFL? His protest continues to influence the league. NFL teams were trying to sniff out potential protesters during interviews at the draft combine. Executives remain angry at Kaepernick. Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman writes that the reaction to the QB is politicizing the league itself. But the league can't control politics like it used to. Player empowerment has led to a decentralization of authority. Remember, in the NFL, personality is not a feature, it's a bug. Kaepernick exposed that like never before, creating a tempest the league could not control. Teams are trying to gain back their power. I doubt players will want to give it away. ... Women are strong as hell. ... The business elite shared some of their amateur sports highs and lows. ... NHL commissioner Gary Bettman vs. the city of Glendale. ... Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim vs. the city of Greensboro. ... The NFL's newest newsbreaker: Steve Smith, the retired wide receiver. ... I'll admit it. I shouldn't have turned off the Barcelona-PSG game in the 71st minute. Wow. ... Dan Barbarisi went from Wall Street Journal reporter to professional daily fantasy player to author. Look forward to reading Dueling With Kings. ... Bill Webb, the man responsible for your FOX MLB broadcasts and Mets games on SNY and a titan on the production side of sports television, died Tuesday night. He was 70.

Giving birth is probably the hardest challenge the body can undertake, but little is said about the incredible achievement of athletes who return to their sport after having children, or the huge strain it can place on a woman's career.

Emilia Bona | Vice Sports

Mark Cullen is a former athlete who feels he pushed his son, Aidan, too hard in sports. Aidan has been diagnosed with a disease partially caused by being pushed to play sports through injury.

Bill Plaschke | Los Angeles Times

Neuroscientists found that after six weeks of training, test subjects could memorize twice as much. Areas of their brains had begun communicating in new ways -- similarly to those of world memory champions.

Rae Ellen Bichell | NPR

Chris Collins' childhood took him many places, from being Mike Schmidt's neighbor in Philadelphia to Michael Jordan's personal shoe-lacer in Chicago.

Paul Skrbina | Chicago Tribune

Yeezys sell out nearly instantly due to backdooring, bots and resellers. Sneaker resellers are somewhat of a pariah of the culture; their occupation is taboo and they largely fly under the radar. Yuanrun Zheng, better known in his circles as "23Penny" or "Z," is the Sneaker Broker.

Benjamin Skipworth | Inkwell Films

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

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