TRAILER: Back On Board: Greg Louganis

Debuting Tuesday, August 4th on HBO.

LIVE VIDEO: New York City Throws Ticker Tape Parade For World Cup Champions

New York City To Host Ticker-Tape Parade For Champion Women's World Cup Team

Via Gothamist:

The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team will be honored with a ticker-tape parade on Friday to celebrate their recent World Cup championship. On the heels of a growing petition and entreaties from the Manhattan Borough President and others, Mayor de Blasio's office announced today that the parade will kick off at 11 a.m. on July 10th. The parade will start near the World Trade Center and continue down Broadway and the famous "Canyon Of Heroes" between the Battery and City Hall. According to the Mayor's office, "all are invited to celebrate along the parade route highlighted on the map below, and there are limited places available for those who would like the chance to attend the ceremony at City Hall upon the conclusion of the parade."

This will be the first-ever ticker-tape parade for a women's team. The last solo female so honored was 55 years ago after figure skater Carol Heiss took the gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics. New York City's first ticker-tape parade, a spontaneous event, took place in 1886 for the dedication of the Statue Of Liberty. Stock ticker machines became obsolete in the 60s and while the "ticker-tape parade" name survives, shredded office paper and commercial confetti is now thrown from office windows and rooftops. Friday's will be the 206th such parade in New York City history. Wikipedia maintains a list all previous parades.

USA Wins Women's World Cup, Champion Abby Wambach Rushes To Kiss Her Wife

Via SB Nation: "For the first time in her career, Abby Wambach is a World Cup winner. And after the final whistle blew in the United States' 5-2 win over Japan, she sprinted over to the stands to find her wife, Sarah Huffman, who was sitting in the front row with the rest of the American supporters."

Wanda Sykes On Gay Domestic Violence

Via Indie Wire:

A regular feature on the HBO series "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," Wanda Sykes stepped behind the "special commentary" pulpit to deliver a tongue-in-cheek, biting critique of violence within the LGBTQ community - specifically, where professional athletes are concerned - as only the comedian can. It's what she refers to as "the gay perspective on sports headlines."

CANADA: Michael Sam Signs Two Year Deal With Montreal's CFL Franchise

Via The Score:

The CFL's Montreal Alouettes have signed former NFL defensive end Michael Sam to a two-year contract. Sam, who made headlines as the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, never played a regular-season snap in the league. Sam was released by the St. Louis Rams at final cuts prior to the 2014 season and later spent time on the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad. The 25-year-old was out of football last season. He competed at the NFL's inaugural veteran combine this spring but managed only a 4.99-second 40-yard dash.

The Canadian Football League was founded in 1958 and has nine teams. Its championship Grey Cup game is Canada's most-watched sporting event. (Tipped by JMG reader Dave)

WNBA Suspends Newly-Married Players In Wake Of Their Domestic Violence Arrest

Via the Associated Press:

WNBA stars Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson were suspended seven games each Friday for their domestic violence arrest last month — the league's longest ban in its 19-year history. WNBA President Laurel Richie said the league "takes all acts of violence extremely seriously" in handing down a suspension that represents more than one-fifth of the 34-game regular season. Richie called the players' actions "unacceptable." "Brittney and Glory's conduct is detrimental to the best interests of the WNBA and violates applicable law," Richie said in a statement. "We also understand that people make mistakes, and that education and training are as important as imposing discipline." The punishment comes at a time when sports leagues around the country are reviewing domestic violence policies following high-profile cases involving the NFL. Richie said she consulted with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and a variety of experts.

The couple was arrested in late April following a fight in the home they recently bought. They married in Arizona last week.

Michael Sam Eliminated On DWTS

Via the New York Daily News:

He’s been cut from the National Football League, and now he’s been ousted from "Dancing with the Stars." Viewers and judges on ABC’s celebrity dance competition Monday made the NFL’s first openly gay draft pick the third contestant kicked off this season. Sam, 25, dedicated a rumba dance to his estranged father, but the performance set to “I’m Not My Father’s Son” garnered a score of only 30 out of 40 from the judges, People magazine reported. The gracious Sam,who got engaged to boyfriend Vito Cammisano in January, thanked dance partner Peta Murgatroyd and described the defeat as “bittersweet” in an interview with Access Hollywood. “I thought my last dance was my best dance,”Sam told the TV show. “And I would like to leave on my best dance instead of my horrible dance.”

Here is his final dance.

Jason Collins Signs With Yahoo Sports

Outsports has the announcement from Yahoo:

At Yahoo Sports, we're always look to guide our readers to the best, most relevant, original content we can. And today I'm happy to welcome the latest addition to our lineup, former NBA player Jason Collins. Jason will provide original video programming for the Yahoo Sports studio including basketball analysis for both the upcoming men's NCAA basketball tournament and the NBA. Jason played 13 seasons in the NBA. During his career, he competed at center and power forward for six franchises: the Brooklyn Nets and New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies. Jason was an All-American at Stanford University and played in the Final Four his freshman year. Jason will debut on Yahoo Sports "Tourney Bracket Live" show on March 15 at 7:30pm ET.

Michael Sam Will Dance With The Stars

Details.

Coca-Cola Takes On Internet Haters With Super Bowl Ad Starring Michael Sam

Via AdWeek:

If you've spent more than three seconds on the Internet, you know it can be a pretty horrible place, swarming with cyberbullies and trolls who've turned comment sections into rotting hate-fests and people's own personal social pages into sources of despair. Coca-Cola hopes to change all that—or at least, steer things in a different direction—with its 2015 Super Bowl campaign. Four longer online videos will roll out this week starring teens and celebs who've experienced online negativity (racecar driver Danica Patrick and football player Michael Sam will star in two of these) or who are devoted to spreading happiness online (Kid President stars in the one of these.)

Other clips are at the link.

(Tipped by JMG reader Lynda)

POLL: 73% Back Gay Athletes

Via the Public Religion Research Institute:

Roughly three-quarters (73%) of Americans say they would support a professional sports team signing a gay or lesbian athlete, while about 1-in-5 (19%) say they would oppose this action. There is broad support for a professional sports team signing a gay or lesbian athlete across demographic and political groups, including 66% of Republicans, 75% of independents, and 79% of Democrats. A majority of all religious groups would support a professional sports team signing a gay or lesbian athlete, although white evangelical Protestants register lower levels of support. Roughly 8-in-10 white mainline Protestants (77%), Catholics (78%), minority Protestants (66%), and the religiously unaffiliated (84%) favor teams signing gay and lesbian athletes. In contrast, a significantly smaller majority (54%) of white evangelical Protestants say they would favor a team signing a gay or lesbian athlete, while 36% would oppose such a move

Embiggen the image above or go here for more..

NBA's MLK Spot Features Jason Collins

Michael Sam Proposed....At The Vatican

TMZ is calling it "an act of defiance."

REPORT: Michael Sam Is Engaged

Unconfirmed by Sam, but here's what TMZ is saying:

Finally, some good news for Michael Sam -- HE'S ENGAGED!!! It all went down in Europe where the 25-year-old football player has been vacationing with his college sweetheart Vito Cammisano ... the man Sam famously kissed when he was drafted into the NFL last year. Unclear who asked who ... but one of Vito's friends (who was on the University of Missouri swim team with Vito) is already congratulating the couple about it on Twitter ... and Sam "liked" her post.

Martina Navratilova Gets Married

Lovely bit from the BBC: "A role model still for millions of aspiring players, today she is something more private, more romantic. She is a bride."

HomoQuotable - Michael Sam

"If I had it my way, I never would have done it [come out] the way I did, never would have told it the way I did. I would have done the same thing I did at Mizzou. Which was to tell my team and my coaches and leave it at that. But since I did tell my team, word got out.  People think the word didn't get out. It did. Or it did and it didn't. They kept it confined within our family. But the recruiters knew, and reporters knew, and they talked to each other, and it got out. If I didn't have the year I did, nobody would have cared. But I did have that year. And a lot of people knew. Someone was gonna ask me, 'I heard you told your team a secret.…' Well, I was comfortable with who I was, and I wouldn't have denied it. And then I wouldn't have been able to control the story. But I have no regrets. Some people can argue that I had the potential to go higher in the draft. But I think everything happens for a reason. It looks good to see me in the position I'm in now, because I can show the world how good I am and rise up the ranks. I'm at the bottom now. I can rise up, show I'm a football player. Not anything else. Just a football player." - Michael Sam, speaking to GQ Magazine.

Jason Collins Retires From NBA

"It has been 18 exhilarating months since I came out in Sports Illustrated as the first openly gay man in one of the four major professional team sports. And it has been nine months since I signed with the Nets and became the first openly gay male athlete to appear in a game in one of those leagues. It feels wonderful to have been part of these milestones for sports and for gay rights, and to have been embraced by the public, the coaches, the players, the league and history.

"On Wednesday at the Barclays Center, I plan to announce my retirement as an NBA player. The day will be especially meaningful for me because the Nets will be playing the Bucks, who are coached by Jason Kidd, my former teammate and my coach in Brooklyn. It was Jason who cheered my decision to come out by posting on Twitter: 'Jason’s sexuality doesn’t change the fact that he is a great friend and was a great teammate.' [snip]

 "There are still no publicly gay players in the NFL, NHL or major league baseball. Believe me: They exist. Every pro sport has them. I know some of them personally. When we get to the point where a gay pro athlete is no longer forced to live in fear that he’ll be shunned by teammates or outed by tabloids, when we get to the point where he plays while his significant other waits in the family room, when we get to the point where he’s not compelled to hide his true self and is able to live an authentic life, then coming out won’t be such a big deal. But we’re not there yet." - Jason Collins, writing for Sports Illustrated.

Michael Sam Is A GQ Man Of The Year

Via the Washington Post:

This fall, GQ magazine found room for an athlete on its annual list of celebrities who have left a mark on pop culture. This isn’t any athlete, though. It’s Michael Sam, the first openly gay player taken in the NFL draft last spring. Sam joins “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Chris Pratt, comedian Dave Chappelle, actors Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley of “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Foxcatcher” star Steve Carell. The magazine revealed all six covers Monday, with a story on each honoree being rolled out daily this week. Sam was drafted by St. Louis Rams and he quickly crossed from a sports story into a cultural one when he kissed his partner in celebration.

Sam was cut by the Dallas Cowboys last month and remains unsigned.

LA Galaxy Sign Out Soccer Star Robbie Rogers To Multi-Year Contract Extension

Via press release:

The LA Galaxy announced today that the club has signed defender Robbie Rogers to a multi-year contract extension. Rogers, an MLS veteran and former U.S. Men’s National Team member, joined in Galaxy in May 2013 and has made 30 appearances and 22 starts as a member of the Galaxy. “We are excited that Robbie will remain a part of our organization going forward,” LA Galaxy Head Coach and General Manager Bruce Arena said. “He has proven to be a dynamic player in our League and an integral part of our success this year. We look forward to his continued contributions in the years to come.” Rogers, 27, has made 15 appearances for the Galaxy this season in addition to recording two assists. After making the move to defense full-time with a start against Chivas USA on June 8, the Galaxy have gone 10-2-7 in all MLS competitions in which Rogers appeared, including MLS Cup Playoffs.

(Tipped by JMG reader Benjamin)

RELATED: Last month ABC green-lighted a sitcom based on Rogers' life. The show is tentatively titled Men In Shorts.