As a World War II and Korean War veteran in the U.S. Air Force, Daniel Bliss fought fear on behalf of others. He's now 95 years old, but he's certainly not done fighting. According to USA Today, Bliss literally dove into action when a boy at the local neighborhood pool was too scared to jump off the diving board. With [...]
Brian Boyle knows all about going the extra mile. As an Ironman finisher who has also tackled 100-mile ultramarathons, the 31-year-old from Washington D.C. is an accomplished endurance athlete. Beyond that, however, he's a fighter, a survivor of a horrific car accident and, with a "just-live-life" attitude, he's the perfect person to author a children's book about determination. That's why [...]
Purpose 2 Play is your home for the sports stories that deserve to be told and we want to add new contributors with a positive voice to the mix. Are you a passionate sports fan that feels there is another side of the game that is lost in the negative storylines splattered across most of the media giants? Do you feel like there are more inspiring [...]
There was no professional sports team more colorful than the Daytona Tortugas Friday night. That's because they hosted "SagerStrong Night," which honored the late Turner Sports broadcaster Craig Sager. Sager lost his life in December at the age of 65 to acute myeloid leukemia. The Advanced-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds partnered with the SagerStrong Foundation to pay tribute to [...]
Photo: MonicaGonzo/Twitter By Ana Aguilera-Juarez You may see her on ESPN as a soccer analyst and sideline reporter, but Monica Gonzalez's unofficial title is "Guardian of the beautiful game." That's because when not in front of the camera diving deep into rosters and game strategy, the former Mexican National Team captain known as "Gonzo" can be found [...]
NFL star J.J. Watt is always up to something good. Photo: Clayton County Register In his latest stand-up move, he donated $10,000 to a family who lost their father in a car accident. Jenni Steiner and her husband, Kirk U’Ren, were hit by a speeding driver on Highway 30 in Madison, Wisconsin on Feb. 12. Kirk was killed [...]
Photo: The Ad Council The NFL and the Ad Council created a great PSA for Valentine's Day called Fans of Love. As part of their Love Has No Labels campaign, they showed footage from the kiss cam at the NFL Pro Bowl in Orlando. The video features “real families, couples and friends across different races, religions, genders, sexualities, [...]
It's not all business here at Purpose2Play. Sure, we often feature serious athletes and their stories, but what happens when one of those athletes gets recruited for a fun prank? Kenneth Leverich is a 28-year-old CrossFit athlete who can throw 50-pound dumbbells around like footballs. That's why when Thrillist asked him to pose as an 84-year-old man, visit Muscle [...]
Aubrey Bledsoe of the Orlando Pride broke her fibula in mid-June during practice, which obviously costs her the season. That, however, doesn't mean the National Women's Soccer League goalkeeper still can't have some fun on the pitch. Aubrey's twin sister, Amber, was in town, so what better way to get your coach riled up than to play to old switcheroo [...]
We've seen runners race in business suits, but we haven't seen them toe the line in dress shoes. Until now. Juris Silenieks, 23, won Sunday's Hotlanta Half Marathon in 1:17:05 while wearing a pair of dress shoes. That's a blazing 5:53 mile pace. Pending review from the Guinness World Records, he ran the fastest half marathon in dress shoes. Silenieks [...]