Eye on Performance.

This is not the first time Marc Gasol has dominated for a team in Memphis.

As a tall, chubby teenager, Gasol starred at Lausanne, a private school in east Memphis. He and his family moved to Memphis after his older brother, Pau, was drafted by the Grizzlies in 2001. Marc, who barely spoke English, dominated on the court. He was bigger than virtually everyone he faced, but he still loved squaring up from beyond the arc and draining three-pointers.

As a senior at Lausanne, Gasol averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds, six blocked shots and five assists.

"I was just having fun because everybody was so much shorter than me,” Gasol told the New York Times in a recent profile. “Honestly, my stats in high school were ridiculous. They made no sense.”

After graduating, Gasol moved back to Spain to work on his game. Over five years he transformed from a chubby, awkward big man into a legitimate NBA prospect. Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, an assistant during Pau Gasol's tenure in Memphis, remembers seeing Marc during the Grizzlies' preseason trip to Spain in 2003. He was blown away by how much the youngster had developed.

"I was like, 'Wow, that’s not the same kid,'" Hollins told the New York Times.

When Marc Gasol landed in Memphis, in a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers that included his older brother, the Grizzlies were beginning a rebuilding phase and many fans were upset to see the team trade away its star. But now, some six years later, the younger Gasol has come into his own. His Grizzlies are the surprise of the NBA playoffs thus far, upsetting both the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder en route to the franchise's first appearance in the Western Conference finals.

And the team's newfound success is in no small part due to the strong play of Gasol, the 2012-13 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. In five games against the Thunder, Gasol averaged 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 42 minutes. In Wednesday's series-sealing victory, Gasol hit a 19-footer to silence

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Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Pau Gasol

We have iPods, iPhones, iPads and now ... iBikes?

For the "One Motorcycle Show" in Portland, two guys from Instrument, a digital media company, created a motorcycle using parts of Apple products.

Justin Lewis, Instrument's director of strategy, and Tony Grubb, the associate creative director, began working on an old 1973 CB750 last fall. They took the bike apart and then built it up using different parts of a Mac computer.

For Lewis and Grubb, it was a nice change of pace from their day jobs.

"We're a digital agency," Lewis told Digital Trends, "we love to actually do things with our hands, we don’t always get to do that here with the work we do."

The gas tank on the bike is sculpted from Mac tower panels, while a Mac computer provided the parts for the power switch, USB port and stereo jack.

And the centerpiece of the bike is an iPhone on the front panel, with an app developed by Lewis and Grubb. The app allows the phone to serve as a speedometer, odometer and compass for the motorcycle. Down the road, it could even tell the rider how much gas is left in the tank.

Bill Roberson of Digital Trends writes that the app's potential is staggering:

"With a simple go-between module in the wiring harness similar to what is being used now to hack (or shall we say, “modify”) fuel-injection maps, the app could conceivably plug right in to the modern data path and show speed, RPMs and any number of other performance factoids floating around in today’s increasingly digitized motorcycles."

And, of course, in addition to all these features, the phone can also be used to listen to music.

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Apple, iPhone, Mac, Ride

Kayla Wheeler's parents always told her that she could do anything she wanted. They just might have to figure out a different way for her to do it.

So as Wheeler, who was born with only one arm and no legs, grew up, she stayed as active (if not moreso) than many of her peers. Now 16, Wheeler bowls, skis, plays baseball and is a champion swimmer.

When Wheeler was younger, a doctor recommended swimming lessons for her as a form of therapy. Wheeler's mother, Joyce, never thought her daughter would learn to swim, much less go on to become one of the best Paralympic swimmers in the world.

"As an infant she loved the water," Joyce Wheeler told ABC News. "I guess I never thought she would learn how to swim, but I just wanted her to be safe around the water."

Wheeler recently set the world record for the 50-meter butterfly, and last year she even qualified for the London Paralympics (she couldn't go because there weren't enough competitors).

"It's kind of indescribable," Kayla's mother, Joyce, told Fox 12 of the sensation of seeing her daughter represent her country. "When they announce her name and she's representing the United States I get goose bumps all over. I'm so amazed that's my child."

Wheeler is preparing for the International Paralympic World Championships in August in Montreal. But like many high school juniors, she's also getting ready to attend college. Wheeler is a stellar student at Edmonds Community College, and she's on the Rocketry and Robotics Team.

"I like being able to represent my country," Wheeler said. "That's amazing breaking records and getting medals, but I like being out there as a role model too."

KPTV - FOX 12

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Outperform, Outperformer, Paralympics, USA Swimming

ThePostGame recently caught up with former softball star and Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch. In addition to her work as an ESPN broadcaster, Finch is currently touring on behalf of the Capital One Cup, an NCAA Division I athletic award given annually to the top men's and women's college athletics program.

***

ThePostGame: I know this is one of the busiest times of the year for you. Were you able to spend Mother’s Day with your kids?
JENNIE FINCH: I was, yes. I got back from commentating at the ACC Softball Championship. So I was able to get home pretty early [Sunday] morning, which was nice.

TPG: What a hectic weekend -- the ACC Championship, Mother’s Day and the release of the NCAA tournament brackets.
FINCH: Yeah, [Sunday] was an exciting day. Lots of fun. I traveled in from Florida State, and I came home and actually dedicated my kids at church. I enjoyed the day with family, and then got to tune in to the selection show. An exciting, long day which started at 4 a.m.

TPG: What was your initial reaction after seeing the NCAA tournament brackets?
FINCH: It's exciting, a lot of good softball from coast to coast. We saw the Big Ten and Big 12 making a push –- Nebraska, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas. And then the SEC, a lot of teams there. I think they had nine schools from the SEC make it. And then the Pac 12 had eight of their teams make it.

This weekend’s going to be a lot of fun, and then on to Super Regionals, which I’ll be commentating on one of those. And then it all comes down to Oklahoma City.

TPG: There are a lot of of Capital One Cup points at stake here. Are there any teams which you think could shake up the standings?
FINCH: It's up for grabs, and that’s the great thing about the postseason. You never know what’s going to happen and who's going to win. Rankings mean nothing, it all comes down to that day and who comes out on top.

Whoever gets hot and whoever has that natural chemistry towards the end finishes it. There are a lot of teams in the push, there's actually 60 points given away for the Capital One Cup from winning the College World Series. So if you think about that, any school, even Michigan or LSU, Arizona, 60 points could put them up towards the top. Oklahoma, even. So, it'll be interesting.

Texas is making a run for it right now, Oregon is there, Stanford, Florida, a win can put them way at the top.

TPG: A few years after you graduated from Arizona you won a gold medal in Athens. Now, baseball and softball are fighting for a spot in the Olympics. Why do you think baseball and softball deserve a spot, and are you planning on helping out to advance their cause?
FINCH: Yes, I'm actually on the board of the World Baseball Softball Confederation. They just merged, it used to be the International Softball Federation.

We joined with baseball now to make one governing body. We’re going to push together, which I think will be the strongest push that we’ve made thus far. And I think, no doubt about it, baseball and softball should be in the Olympics.

There's over 140 countries that play the game, and we’re not sure why it was eliminated. There are a lot of factors that go into it. Now it’s a matter of keeping our campaign going and building awareness and helping to grow our sport all over the world.

We’ll know this fall if we get it back in.

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Jennie Finch, NCAA Softball, Olympics

A 20-year-old's quest to become the youngest person to fly around the world solo ran into a bit of a snafu this week: He forgot his passport.

Jack Wiegand, a California native, was in his first international destination -- Canada -- when he realized he was missing the important document, the Fresno Bee reported.

After a bit of a panic, Wiegand remembered that just a few days earlier he had done the responsible thing most travelers do: Make copies of his passport.

Luckily for him, it was sitting right where he'd left it.

"I told (my mom) to check the copy machine...sure enough, it was there!" he wrote in his blog. Wow. What a bittersweet feeling that was. At least I knew it was not stolen."

With some help from UPS, Wiegand got his passport and according to the Bee was scheduled to fly out on Friday morning.

"It was a mistake that I hope to not make again," he added on his blog.

In addition to making history, Wiegand's journey is benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters and International Agri-Center Ag Warriors.

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Amazing World Record: Man Planks For More Than Three Hours

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Jack Wiegand, Outdoors

Alyssa Wolfe made a name for herself this year with some stellar offensive contributions.

The junior outfielder at Ohio finished third on the team in runs scored, sixth in batting average and first in stolen bases. She was even named MAC East Player of the Week in February.

But when her team needed it the most, it was a defensive play for which Wolfe has become a viral sensation.

In the seventh and final inning of Ohio's MAC Tournament game against Miami (Ohio), Wolfe and the Bobcats held a 3-2 lead over the Redhawks. With a runner on base, Miami batter Brandi Hernandez represented the winning run.

Hernandez blasted a solid shot to deep center field. Wolfe raced toward the ball, caught it and tumbled over the center field fence. Because Wolfe's feet were in the outfield when she caught the ball, Hernandez was ruled out and Ohio won the game.

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Outperform, Outperformer, Softball

The Manitou Springs Incline in Colorado is one of the nation's most difficult hikes, even though it is less than a mile in distance. The challenge is making the climb of more than 2,000 feet in elevation.

Now imagine doing that with your hands.

Tyler Walker, a Paralympic ski champ who has no legs, can tell you all about it.

"Unfortunately, on your hands it's a brutal experience, because your arms are not designed to bear weight like that," Walker says Wednesday, four days after finishing the climb."I'm pretty strong already, but that -- I mean, I'm still feeling it."

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Excellence, Excellent, Paralympics, Tyler Walker

It's hard to tell what's most impressive about Jimmy Butler's stretch of success during the Chicago Bulls' impressive playoff run.

Perhaps it's the fact that the second-year swingman, who only started 20 games during the regular season, has effectively contained Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and LeBron James. Or maybe it's that, while guarding James in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Butler managed to post 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Or maybe, and this is most likely, it's that Butler has played every second of Chicago's past three playoff games. The 23-year-old Butler was just the fourth player in league history to pull off that feat. According to the NBA, only Moses Malone (1981), Nick Van Exel (1995) and Allen Iverson (2005) had done that before. Not bad company.

Butler's "complete game" run will likely end soon. But if the Bulls want to maintain any hope of knocking off the heavily favored Heat, they'll need Butler's excellent defense on James to continue.

"[Butler's] a tough kid," Tom Thibodeau, the always-understated Bulls coach, said about Butler's impressive streak. "He's mentally tough, and that's what we need him to do right now."

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Chicago Bulls, Jimmy Butler, LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA Playoffs

The NFL's best golfer is hanging up his clubs for the offseason, perhaps in an effort to focus on the sport that just earned him a $108 million payday.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is a skilled golfer who plays lots of amateur tournaments and has even tried to qualify for the U.S. Open. But ESPNDallas' Todd Archer is reporting that Romo is cutting back this year, skipping out on several tournaments in which he normally participates.

Romo played one tournament this offseason -- the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he did pretty well. But perhaps he's had a change of mind in the past few months, which may or may not be related to the six-year, $108 million extension he signed at the end of March.

At 33 and playing for one of the most demanding fan bases in the country, Romo knows he has to prove himself after the Cowboys missed out on the playoffs each of the past three seasons.

While Romo himself hasn't said his decision to avoid the amateur tournaments is related to a renewed focus on football, it is easy to see why some are making that conclusion. Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas, however, writes that Cowboys fans' questioning of Romo's work ethic is overblown:

"Romo has never really changed when it comes to his offseason work habits. He demands that his teammates pay attention to detail because that's what he does.

The Cowboys are overreacting to a fan base that is upset with his six-year $108 million contract extension. Jerry Jones has said that Romo will put in Peyton Manning-type time at Valley Ranch and that he'll have more input in the offense.

Romo is always involved. There's no need for Jones to pump up Romo's offseason work habits."

Whether his golfing was a distraction or not, Romo presumably has much more time on his hands now. And with the weight of a new $108 million contract resting on his shoulders, not to mention the expectations of a hungry fan base, Romo will likely be spending much of that free time on the practice field and in the film room.

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Dallas Cowboys, Golf, NFL, Tony Romo, Tools

If you're looking to take an extended trip on your motorcycle but don't have enough room to store all your luggage, you may want to look into a bagger.

The "bagger" is a motorcycle with built-in saddlebags on the back. A simple yet brilliant idea.

Baggers have exploded onto the bike scene over the past few years, with Honda, Suzuki and other manufacturers adding the bikes to their lines. The motorcycles have become so legit that they even have a magazine devoted to to them, Baggers.

"A bagger you could actually take across country and put your stuff in the saddlebags," Jordan Mastagni, editor-in-chief for Baggers, told KABC in Los Angeles, "you don't have to worry about jimmying up piece of luggage to the seat or a sissy bar or whatever."

From a style perspective, the addition of the saddlebags allows designers to play around with the bike's look. Last year dozens of cool and creative baggers were put on display at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

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Ride