THE MONEY PIT: WHY ‘PROFESSIONALIZATION’ OF YOUTH SPORTS IS WORRISOME

The same science of sport that has allowed innumerable records to fall and the superhuman to become routine has also created a Frankenstein.

The knowledge provided by these sciences has spawned entire industries, employing practitioners who charge monster fees. But without that specific coaching, the nutrition training, the strength training and medical support, breaking through to the elite level is unlikely.

The resulting trend has been the stratification of sports: a level for the affluent, and one for most everyone else.

Postmedia News inspects three of the most popular youth sports — hockey, basketball and soccer — to see the models their athletes follow to achieve the elite level, and the pitfalls that threaten players along the way.

Vinay Menon: For the sake of peoplekind, Justin Trudeau needs to shut up

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a town hall meeting in Edmonton on Feb. 1.

Editor’s note: The opinions in this article are the author’s, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft.

If I were advising Justin Trudeau, I’d tell him to shut his piehole.

Requiem for a middleweight

He snores when he sleeps on his back.

His wife isn’t thrilled with the rumbling, he jokes. But he can’t do much about it even when she gives him a poke to roll over. The lingering effects of numerous shoulder injuries and four surgeries to put things back together in those joints have made it tough to drift off lying on his side.

But at least Kyle Hagel sleeps well now. It wasn’t always so easy.

For nine years, he would lie down for an afternoon nap before games as has been hockey tradition forever. Yet by the time his teammates were already dreaming, he’d often still be staring at the ceiling with his head spinning. Just as he’d done the night before.

Queen's Gaels claim Carr-Harris Cup in overtime thriller

KINGSTON, Ont. – Darcy Greenaway scored at 1:21 of overtime to give the Queen’s Gaels a 6-5 victory over the Royal Military College Paladins in an exhilarating 32nd Carr-Harris Cup Challenge.

Royal Military College of Canada: Taking It All In

No matter how many times I step on to the Royal Military College of Canada's campus, I am always stunned by its beauty and regalness.

The natural setting mixed with the historical architecture evokes nostalgia in me. I'm not sure where it comes from, but it shows up every time I'm there.

This time around, I captured several pictures.

You can see a sample of the photo set on my personal website: http://jamesalexandermichie.com/little-taste-royal-military-college-canada/

My Take on Sports Trades and Their Impact

Sometimes we forget that being a professional athlete is a job. It's a job performed by human beings. So when a trade occurs, it's easy to lose sight that a person just switched companies--moving from a place, a group of people, a city--and their life has been turned upside down.

Exploring Dueling Economic Philosophies

What's the best way to develop an economy--through government intervention or the invisible hand of a free market?