LeBron James comes Home: Why the Return?

Polarizing NBA superstar LeBron James is the epitome of the prodigal son after he returned to the Cavaliers after abandoning Cleveland for Miami for four years. Here's a great interview on why he decided to come home.

College Football Playoff: Sports are the Ultimate Reality TV

Cardale Jones is a football player who hasn't always been in the news for the correct reasons. As a third string quarterback at Ohio State University Jones tweeted:

Jones became the poster boy for what not to do as a professional athlete when it comes to social media and gave us all a good laugh. However everything change for Jones when OSU took on Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes, who already had a highly successful season after losing their starting quarterback Braxton Miller in the preseason, where defeating the Michigan Wolverines when their second string quarterback TJ Barrett broke his leg. The injury to Barrett was seemingly the nail in the coffin to many when it came to the Buckeyes' chance at making the College Football Playoff and playing for a National Championship. However has it always seems to happen, sports provided the ultimate medium for reality TV. Jones stepped into the game and didn't just play okay or well, but helped in the ushering of a 59-0 dismantling of Wisconsin, the 13th ranked team in the nation. Jones went from the butt of a joke to the MVP of the Big Ten Championship and vaulted OSU into the College Football Playoff jumping Big Twelve Conference powerhouses Baylor and TCU. It's the ultimate redemption story and sets up for quite the dynamic as the inaugural College Football Playoff gets underway this year.

Professional Athletes acting as Advocates: Can Athletes raise awareness for current issues in the Media?

Two recent interactions between African American citizens and police officers have raised eyebrows, to say the least, in recent months. Mike Brown and Eric Garner were both victims of police brutality recently that subsequently costed both of them their lives. Outrage in these men's communities have led to a review of conduct of law enforcement, as well as some public support from local professional athletes.

In the aftermath of Ferguson, MO multiple members of the St. Louis Rams paid tribute to Mike Brown when they were introduced into the game. The players walked out of the tunnel with their hands up, trying to raise awareness to the situation that costed Brown his life. The "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" raised questions to conduct of the police officer involved in Brown's death and also raised questions about if these athletes should be fined for their actions.

Professional basketball players like LeBron James and Derrick Rose recently dawned t-shirts that read "I can't breathe" during warm-ups in their NBA games. The idea behind the shirts is about raising awareness about Eric Garner who died in July after he was put in a headlock by a police officer. A video of the event show Garner in the headlock and you can clearly hear him saying to the officer, "I can't breath" to the officer.

The question is how well do these displays of activism effect the community and the viewers of these events? The answer will be determined in the future I suppose.

Professional Athletes Connecting with Fans that Need Them: When Athletes actually become Heroes

Recently sports media have been flooded with news of everything that's wrong with sports and professional athletes. In a world of negativity a few worthwhile stories have begun to take center stage and shine a positive light on the impact professional athletes can have.

John Wall, starting point guard for the Washington Wizards, recently cried in a post game interview after playing a game for a friend of his Mayah. She was a six year old that that Wall had connected to during the season who eventually passed away after a fight against cancer.

Travis Hamonic, a defensive-man for the New York Islanders, is putting aside the idea that hockey players don't have soft side. Hamonic meets with young fans after every game, win or lose, that have had a death of a parent effect their lives. Hamonic witnessed the death of his own father when he was ten years old and has a desire to help young people have a positive connection and understand how to better deal with death of such an important person in one's life.

Athletes have a unique ability to connect with fans who suffer from physical, mental or emotional pain.To avid sports fans a favorite team or players isn't just a logo or a jersey, they are a part of life. These are just a few of the professional athletes that are making positive impacts with their fans. A big tip of the cap to these heroes. 

Check out this link for the story of how an Auburn Wide Receiver made a difference in the life of a girl with leukemia.