by Roxanne Jones (CNN) -- I fell in love on a Monday night. Now, many may say a teenage girl can't know about such things. But that night as I watched Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett roll downfield 99 yards for a touchdown, I fell head-over-heals in love with the NFL. It was January 3, 1983 -- Monday Night Football, Dallas vs. Minnesota. I'd never seen anything so inspiring. Dorsett was so free, so graceful and so powerful to me. He was focused and determined. Watching him break free of his competitors, those who wanted to bring him down and stop him from reaching his goal, I was in awe. And I knew then that his run capsulized all that I wanted to accomplish in my life.
Super Bowl Champion and BECOME ONE athlete Hines Ward crosses the finish line during the 2013 GoPro IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013. (Marco Garcia/AP Images for GoPro Ironman) by Karin StantonAssociated Press Writer KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) - Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Hines Ward added a new title to his resume Saturday. Not content with being a football and dancing star, Ward now is an Ironman.
Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson makes his way off an NFL football practice field at Winter Park in Eden Prairie, Minn., Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. Peterson said he is certain he will play Sunday despite a serious personal matter that caused him to miss practice earlier this week. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Elizabeth Flores) by Dave CampbellAP Pro Football Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Adrian Peterson was 7, he saw his older brother die in a bike accident when he was hit by a drunken driver. For Peterson's teenage years, his father was in prison. He grew up poor in east Texas. Shortly before the Minnesota Vikings drafted him in 2007, a half-brother, was shot and killed. Long before Peterson began running through the NFL record book, he learned to turn tragedy into fuel for an exceptional career. Football has always been his escape, and now he's dealing with more off-the-field strife.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, left, runs with the ball before being brought down by Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith, 22, during the NFL football game against at Wembley Stadium, London, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) by Dennis Waszak Jr.AP Sports Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The Pittsburgh Steelers are in stunningly rare territory. They're winless through four games and off to their worst start since 1968, leaving them searching for answers. Ben Roethlisberger even declared the Steelers one of the league's sorriest team after their last game two weeks ago.
Zena "Chief Z" Williams, unofficial mascot of the Washington Redskins, signs autographs during fan appreciation day at the Redskins' NFL football training camp at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) by Jesse WashingtonAP National Writer The name of a certain pro football team in Washington, D.C., has inspired protests, hearings, editorials, lawsuits, letters from Congress, even a presidential nudge. Yet behind the headlines, it's unclear how many Native Americans think "Redskins" is a racial slur. Perhaps this uncertainty shouldn't matter - because the word has an undeniably racist history, or because the team says it uses the word with respect, or because in a truly decent society, some would argue, what hurts a few should be avoided by all.
This combination of Associated Press File photos shows six prominent figures on Twitter. From top left,Oprah Winfrey, the Dalai Lama, the Bronx Zoo’s once missing Egyptian Cobra, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.. President Barack Obama, and Pope Benedict XVI. (AP Photo/File) by Barbara OrtutayAssociated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) — People don't just watch TV anymore; they talk about it on Twitter. From the comfort of couches, they share reactions to touchdowns and nail-biting season finales —and advertisers and networks are taking note.
In this photo taken Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, President Barack Obama speaks during an exclusive interview with The Associated Press in the White House library in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) by Julie PaceAP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Defending the shaky rollout of his health care law, President Barack Obama said frustrated Americans "definitely shouldn't give up" on the problem-plagued program now at the heart of his dispute with Republicans over reopening the federal government.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin walks the sideline as his team is losing to the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013, in Pittsburgh. The Steelers lost 40-23. (AP Photo/Don Wright) “I’ll see you at stadiums in the fall,” Mike Tomlin bristled this past March when responding to the very idea the Pittsburgh Steelers were in decline. He called the very notion “March Talk”. Mike en the reality of a decline for ourselves. The Steelers won 12 games in 2011, dropped to 8 in 2012 and currently in 2013 they sit at 0-4. That doesn’t even include the losses in all 4 of their pre-season games either. See you at Stadiums in the fall.
