Dec 24th, 2008 · Her bandmates have called her the best player in their group. But Bobbie Lee Nelson is content to hunker down in front of her piano, hidden by her big black cowboy hat, backing up her brother Willie. She had to be tricked into recording her solo debut, Audiobiography.
Dec 18th, 2008 · President Bush's quick reflexes spared him getting hit by a shoe hurled at him in Baghdad. But shoe throwers around the world can take their turn at the president's likeness. In a new online game called Sock and Awe, players aim a brown topsider at a ducking President Bush. It's much like a carnival game with a moving target, with the President's face popping up from behind a wide podium. Players earn a point for every shoe that makes a direct hit.
Dec 16th, 2008 · In Jan. 1958 — more than a decade after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier — Willie O'Ree became the first black player in the National Hockey League. Now, 50 years later, he is the Director of Youth Development for the NHL's Diversity program.
Dec 9th, 2008 · Since September, Damon Weaver has been creatively finding ways to get Obama's attention for an interview — even enlisting Miami Heat basketball players' help. The fifth-grader from Pahokee, Fla., who has interviewed Joe Biden and Caroline Kennedy, tells NPR what he would ask Obama first.
Dec 5th, 2008 · Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Our Delight, a new album by saxophonist James Moody and piano player Hank Jones. It's their first recording together in over 50 years.
Dec 4th, 2008 · N.Y. Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg at a Manhattan nightclub last weekend. His future with the team is in jeopardy, and he's looking down the barrel of two weapons charges. But the incident may be rooted in a string of violent attacks on NFL players.
Dec 3rd, 2008 · The economic downturn may force pro sports leagues to re-examine their business model, says commentator Frank Deford. And the leagues might look to Hollywood for inspiration: Top athletes would still command huge contracts, but lesser players could see their salaries reduced.
Nov 24th, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama is expected to announce the top players on his economics team Monday. Among them is Tim Geithner, the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, as Treasury Secretary. Steve Inskeep talks with David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, for more on the team.