Chicks Dig Sports And Romance
Welcome to the source for everything sports, romance, and can’t-put-down fiction that merges your favorite topics. Watch for a new sports romance, Because Another Wept, coming 2012! Connect—@RobynMRyan on Twitter, Robyn M. Ryan on Facebook. © 2011-12 Robyn M. Ryan, All Rights Reserved
Read MoreShould Have Listened to Willie: Heroes Should Always Be Cowboys
Gaining hero status involves more than just being a good guy. Few athletes reach the status of hero—this goes well beyond the ability to dunk a basket, sink a shot, hit game-winning home runs, or ride a bicycle beyond normal limits of human endurance. Hero status requires overcoming the odds, making a difference in the lives of others, performing great deeds off the field. For many, Lance Armstrong achieved that status. Everyone knows the story—beating cancer when the odds were stacked against him, then coming back to win the most grueling sporting event, not once, but seven consecutive times; funding a foundation whose mission equates survivorship with a cancer diagnosis; raising hundreds of millions of dollars for that cause while giving hope to millions...
Read MoreBetween a Puck and a Hard Race
Day 74 of the NHL Lockout. “Negotiations” going about as well as the “Fiscal Cliff” debate—in other words, nowhere. Posturing, PR campaigns, Twitter, and media interviews comprise the “weapons” of choice in the courting of public opinion. If two sides don’t talk directly—or if one or both sides refuse to consider compromise—the standoff will continue until the NHL throws itself over a Fiscal Cliff of its own choosing. Actually heard the novel idea of bringing in Replacement Players in an effort to force the NHLPA to break ranks. That was worth a good chuckle, thinking back to the ill-fated Replacement Players who were to play the 2005 MLB season. That worked about as well as those NFL Replacement Refs that began...
Read MoreNHL Hockey Self-Destructs; But, We’ll Always Have Dale Jr. and the NASCAR Chase
With one sentence, the NHL effectively sealed the fate of the 2012-13 hockey season. The league’s marquée event, The Bridgestone Winter Classic will not propel hockey into the spotlight New Year’s Day. No game in “The Big House,” no Original Six cross-border rivalry, No Season. Last winter NHL commissioner Gary Bettman crowed that the NHL “owned” New Year’s Day TV. Do hate to be the one to break the news to him, but the lock-out, canceled games, and no Winter Classic will cost the League its “ownership” of New Year’s Day. Sure don’t get it. This is the same Commissioner who bragged at the Stanley Cup championship about the soaring profits, the unprecedented TV coverage in the United States,...
Read MoreSay It Ain’t So, Lance… or About That Crack on Those Rose-Colored Glasses
It’s absolutely no secret that Lance Armstrong ranks super high on my All Time Heroes List. Been a fan, an admirer, a supporter since he beat the odds, defeated the cancer he was given little chance of surviving, then conquered the most arduous sporting event in existence—not once, but seven straight times. When he retired in 2005, we remained cycling fans—though, it just was not the same. Enjoyed the Spring Classics, followed former teammates such as George Hincapie, and discovered new young talent that kept “Le Tour” a must-see each July. When Lance announced his comeback in the Fall of 2008, cycling suddenly grew more exciting, the anticipation building. Could he come back after three years and treat us once again to a Tour to...
Read MoreLeft My Heart On Turner Field… or Infield Fly Rule Causes Mayhem at The Ted
Any Atlanta Braves fan can tell you the easiest way to get a prickly response from Skip Caray on his pre-game call in show involved asking one of two questions: What do the signs that say “No Pepper” mean? What is the Infield Fly Rule? Got to be a good-humored shared joke between Caray and the fans, pre-screened callers slipping the question in, irritating Skip. Good fun. Last night while watching the first-ever (and hopefully the last-ever) one-game Wildcard Playoff Game, couldn’t help but wish that Skip were here to explain that rule once again. If you haven’t seen the play, you can find it linked below. Here’s Braves’ legend Dale Murphy‘s as-it-happened tweet: @DaleMurphy3: Oh my… Not believing...
Read MoreBreaking Up Is Harder than We Thought; Chipper Jones’ Last Home Game
Friday night, September 28 is Chipper Jones’ last home regular season game…. Chipper Jones Night is a complete standing-room only sell-out, as expected. Of course, Braves fans are hoping to see him through the post season and deliver a second World Series Ring. Nice book-ends to a Rookie Season that saw the ’95 Braves capture the title. Chipper is in his traditional September groove, delivering clutch hits, scoring runs, playing like the kid we all remember. Every park Chipper visited this year honored the future Hall of Fame member with video tributes, special mementos, and rousing standing ovations from the fans… yes, even the Mets’ fans. Friday it’s Atlanta’s turn to thank Chipper for the hustle, leadership, spectacular...
Read MoreThis Chick’s Fantasy Team—Or What to do While Waiting for My iPhone 5
Confession time. Probably should admit that my absolutely favorite sport is staying on the front edge of whatever new technology Apple gifts the universe. The newer, the more out of the box the concept, the better. Got a collection of Apple relics that could create a nice display… digital camera from early-90′s, the Newton, every generation of iPod since the very first model. Friends scoffed—who was going to pay $.99 per song when you could get them for free on Napster? Stood in line for the very first iPhone on the day before we were going on vacation in 2007…at 7:00 p.m. got the very last iPhone in stock. Again, friends scoffed. What idiot pays that much for a phone? Just smiled. Steve Jobs had provided a glimpse of the future, and...
Read MoreDefinitely Not Digging NHL—Three Lockouts and This Chick is Out—But Dale Jr.’s in the Chase, Baby!
September 15, 2012. With apologies to Charles Dickens, for this fan it’s the worst of times and it’s the best of times. First the worst occurred at the stroke of midnight today. Really do not have the heart to waste much energy over the NHL owners’ determination to destroy professional hockey just when the game is riding the crest of an enormous wave of popularity and poised for a even more exciting season this year. Greed and confidence that the league can bring the players to their knees in capitulation as it did after the 2004-05 Lost Season, Commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners who pay his $8-million salary act like over-confident bullies. Believe they have grossly miscalcuated the players’ response and the fans’ willingness...
Read MoreNot in NASCAR’s Dictionary: Lockout, Work Stoppage, Collective Bargaining Agreement
With the September 15 deadline looming for the expiration of NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and a threatened player lockout by the League, hockey fans everywhere are getting that sinking feeling they know all too well—at best, a shortened season; at worst no season at all (2004-05 redux). Just like the NFL and NBA last season, negotiations between League Owners and the Players Association center on everything except what matters most—the folks who buy the tickets and make it possible for pro sports to exist—the fans. Maybe it’s because of NASCAR’s southern roots, but there are no Drivers Unions, no driver or team salary caps (or floors), and no League of Team Owners expecting successful teams to help prop up those floundering....
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Robyn M. Ryan's new sports romance, Because Another Wept.
To an observer, they had it all. A golden couple basking in the glow of their love and the high-profile lifestyle of a professional athlete. Nothing could keep them apart… Read More