The Real Athlete blog

Athlete Development

• Tamir Goodman is now in northeast Ohio using basketball as a tool to teach kids about life, sharing his story to inspire others. [Catching up with Tamir Goodman, aka 'The Jewish Jordan'] 

• The adventures of former Va Tech standout Zabian Dowdell as he tries to survive the NBA's 10-day contract. [10 Days To Live] 

Business

• Ngum Suh is the director of operations for the Ndamukong Suh Family Foundation and is also responsible for handling her little brother's business ventures, appearances and non-football related activities. [Sister leads 'Team Suh']  

• In case you missed the last episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, there were two really great segments. One was about pro athletes going broke and the other was about retired football players dealing with weight issues. [Short-Changed and Supersized Lineman]

• More about Luther Elliss, who made almost $11.6 million from 2000-04 in the NFL, and attributes his collapse to failed investments, ignoring financial advice, greed and overspending. [Ex-Detroit Lions lineman Luther Elliss files for bankruptcy, citing 'bad choices']

• Gilbert Arenas, who makes around $1.5 million per month, seems to be on the fast track for the next athlete to go broke 2 years into retirement. This article alleges that he drops exorbitant amounts of money on his house, pet sharks, and shopping sprees for toys. [Confidential document reveals details of Gilbert Arenas and Laura Govan's life together]

Human Relations

• Mike Bianchi from the OrlandoSentinel.com believes the problem with Twitter and Facebook is that athletes are on their own and don't have the media around any longer to clean up their message. [Maurice Jones-Drew, Will Hill show why social media like Twitter is evil]

• Before arriving at Berkeley, point guard Jorge Gutierrez had to endure a different life in Colorado, where he lived as a basketball star, a frightened foreigner, and a political lightning rod. [Cal's Jorge Gutierrez shaped by life-changing voyage from Mexico]