Eye on Performance.

By now, Kellen Moore knows the drill.

The promising young quarterback with staggering, mind-boggling statistics enters a new phase of his football career only to be defined by the fact that, at the end of the day, he still only stands 6 feet tall.

Don't bother asking Moore if he figures things would be different if he had a couple extra inches of height at his disposal -- if he were only 6-2 or 6-3 -- would that make a difference?

Doesn't matter, he'd say, falling back on a line that he tends to revert to when he's asked all of that what-if type of questions.

It is what it is.

But before you cast Kellen Moore into the "what you see is what you get" category, forget about the fact that he's a 6-foot NFL rookie trying to make a go of it in a league in which nearly all of his quarterbacking counterparts are literally head and shoulders above where the former Boise State star stands.

Just forget about it -- because Moore did a long time ago.

"It's not some shocking new thing," Moore says, standing in front of his locker at the Detroit Lions' training facility.

***

That's right. Kellen Moore has been here before.

Before Moore traveled from his hometown of Prosser, Wash., to Boise State, where he established a new NCAA record with 50 career victories and where he threw for 14,677 yards and 142 touchdowns while winning all but three of the games he started in four years, he was passed over.

His lone offers came from Idaho and Eastern Washington. He was offered a tryout at Oregon State only to learn after he had driven 278 miles that the Beavers were only interested in quarterbacks that stood 6-foot-2 or taller.
Moore took another tryout -- this one at Boise State -- where the characteristics that are often linked to him began to overshadow the fact he is undersized. Coaches called him cerebral and smart. They liked the way he prepared and the way he could absorb hits.

Moore quickly converted doubters to believers.

"As far as quarterbacks go, he's the toughest one I've ever been around. The kid has taken some hits and he bounces right back up," former Boise State quarterbacks coach Bryan Harsin told the Detroit Free Press.

"You're just thinking there's no way in hell he's going to survive that, he's going to come out, and he's right back in the game."

So perhaps, that's why when Moore was overlooked again -- this time in last month's NFL Draft, the episode didn't unravel the 6-foot over-achiever.
Kellen Moore has been here before.

***

Moore watched the draft at his parents' home back in Prosser. Despite the 50-3 record, despite the 24 straight wins he strung together with the Broncos and despite remaining in the Heisman Trophy conversation for four straight years, Moore wasn't expected to pop up on a lot of team's radars.full story >>

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Boise State Broncos, Detroit Lions, Kellen Moore, NFL

Last Thursday, 21-year-old Christopher Gilmore put aside his allegiance for one day. At 2K Sports' first ever eight-man single-elimination live MLB 2K12 tournament, the Red Sox fan chose the Yankees as his designated team.

Was it worth it?

Talk to the $1 million check.

Gilmore, a Brevard Community College student from Melbourne, Fla., had the third choice of team at the tournament in New York City. After the first two players picked the Tigers and Rangers, Gilmore pulled the Yankees off the board.

"I had to pick them," he told Florida Today. "It's about strategy."

Donning a pinstriped Yankee jersey, Gilmore rode the Bronx Bombers to three straight victories. He trailed only once, down 6-3 in the fourth inning of his first game, but a 10-run outburst ended the scare. In the final, Gilmore defeated No. 1 seed 25-year-old Charlie Bates of Conway, Ark., (insert Mighty Ducks joke here), 10-1.

Ironically, Gilmore earned the trip to New York by defeating the Red Sox. To qualify for the tournament, players needed to record not just a perfect game, but the most "points" during that perfect game. Points are earned based on the talent of the pitcher, the talent of the opposing team and the pitcher's performance. According to Forbes, 2K sports used an algorithm in which individual perfect games were ranked on degree of difficulty (opposing team's offensive skill and pitcher's skill) and level of perfection (number strikeouts and pitching efficiency).

Gilmore won by sending Kyle Drabek of the Blue Jays to the hill against the Red Sox. "I had to do it, but I am still a big fan," Gilmore said.

Drabek's gem posted a total of 800 points. It was one of Gilmore's four recorded perfect games during the qualifying phase. Note: In his one outing against the Red Sox in 2012 on April 10, Drabek tossed 5.1 innings and allowed one earned run for a win.

Gilmore's point total gave him the third seed at the event, thus the reason for getting the third choice of team.full story >>

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MLB, Video Games

Obviously the thought of having to finish a marathon is a nightmare for many of us, but imagine getting it done after being paralyzed from the waist down?

That's exactly what one valiant woman is doing in Britain.

Claire Lomas is paralyzed from her chest down after a terrifying horse-riding accident from 2007. However, she's not letting that stop her from becoming the first person to finish the London Marathon in a bionic suit.

For the most part, this sounds like it fell directly from the pages of a science fiction book, except this is real life.

Lomas, 32, is wearing a revolutionary $69,500 robotic suit ($43k pounds), that according to the BBC allows people with lower-limb paralysis to stand, walk and even climb stairs.

"Crossing the roads make it so much more difficult. I can't feel my legs, so looking down just to see where my feet are, how much I need to tilt, which I find quite challenging," she told ITN News.

Motion censors are activated when Claire tilts forward, and her legs start moving with her partner behind her the entire way.

The Independent (U.K.) reports Lomas is expected to finish the 26.2-mile course Tuesday.

Despite this historic odyssey, the scrooges which run the London Marathon won't be giving her a medal. They say all runners must finish the race in 24 hours. However she's had plenty of people willing to give her a prize. "I've been offered a lot by the very kind runners. I might end up with more medals than I can cope with," Lomas declared to ITN News.

All things considered, it's a remarkable sojourn, and Lomas has already raised over $113,000 for spinal research during her gutty journey.

-- Follow Ben Maller on Twitter @BenMaller.

ThePostGame brings you the most interesting sports stories on the web. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to read them first!

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London, Marathon, Performance, Sports Medicine, Sports Science

By Sugar Ray Leonard
SugarRayLeonard.com

There's no doubt, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao is one of the most talked-about fighters, today. In my interview with Manny, I had the chance to talk to him about his personal and professional accomplishments, his family and the one request he must fulfill before he retires. Check it out:full story >>

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Boxing, Manny Pacquiao, Performance, Sugar Ray Leonard

In early April, Gerry "Bubba" Watson won the 2012 Masters Tournament on the second playoff hole. His second shot, to essentially sew up the Green Jacket, was arguably the most clutch shot in major championship history, and certainly a shot that no one other than Bubba himself would have attempted, let alone executed to perfection.

That week was the first that many were introduced to the fidgety 33-year-old from Baghdad, Fla. Some knew that he was self-taught, having never had a formal lesson. Others recognized him from the now infamous "Golf Boys" video, while others learned that he is the proud new owner of The General Lee from the television series "The Dukes of Hazzard." Watson is certainly the most well-known of the unconventional golfers, but he’s not the only one. There's a 15-year-old girl looking to fill his shoes. She's one of Watson's biggest fans, and her name is Lyberty Allexis Anderson.

Anderson is the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Christle Anderson, and despite what you may be thinking, she does not live in stately Wayne Manor. Far from it. Like Bubba once did, she is growing up in a loving, modest blue collar Southern home with her parents and younger sister, Jurnee. Her mother owns and operates a cleaning service, and her father owns and operates a collision center. As you might imagine, Anderson's blue collar is not popped, and the traditions of golf are not her thing. The country club life hasn't been the Andersons' style.

Like most kids, Anderson was introduced to the game of golf when she tagged along with her father. Wayne, as he prefers to be called, put a sawed-off (seriously) club in his daughter's hand when she was 5. The rest is history.

After a year of showing real promise with makeshift clubs and no formal lessons, Wayne entered his daughter into the U.S. Kids World Golf Championship State Qualifier in Virginia. Anderson shot 48 and missed qualifying for the World Championship by one stroke.full story >>

Tags:

Boxing, Golf, MLB, Outdoors

Being 7 feet tall, Steven Adams has blessed with the body built for basketball. His background, though, is less hoops oriented. Adams was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, and didn't play competitive basketball until he was 13, after the death of his father.

"I just realized that I needed to work hard at something and be the best at it," Adams says. "I decided to make something out of playing basketball."

Adams, one of 18 siblings, arrived in the United States last year to finish high school, and was surprised to find how basketball players of his caliber, even at his age, were already being treated like full-fledged celebrities.

"It's super weird," he said, "especially for a kid my age. At home you only get this treatment if you're a super celebrity."

To Adams, the difference is staggering between how he's treated in the United States and at home where he rarely gets requests for autographs or interviews.

"Ever since I've been here, it's just been media, rah rah, media; I'm still getting used to it," he said. "At first I was real nervous, mumbling; I didn't know what to say. I never thought it would be like this. It's crazy."

Participating in events like the Jordan Brand Classic, an annual high school all-star game now in its 11th season, has helped Adams acclimate to the culture here and even learn to enjoy it.

"It can be quite fun," he said, "but sometimes I think it's too much attention for people my age. We're still high school players."

Adams played just 17 minutes in the Jordan game -- the least of any player
on either team -- but managed 4 points and 9 rebounds, as well as a steal and a block, for the victorious West.

Adams, who will attend Pittsburgh next season, said he is more focused on improving his game with the Panthers than eyeing the NBA and enjoying the life of a student.

"I'm making sure I don't miss anything now," he said.

ThePostGame brings you the most interesting sports stories on the web. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to read them first!

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Steven Adams

Looks like swimming the English Channel was just the beginning for Philippe Croizon, a French athlete and quadruple amputee. Two years after that 21-mile, 14-hour swim, the unstoppable Croizon has announced plans to swim around the world.

According to Fox Sports, Croizon and his friend Arnaud Chassery, an accomplished swimmer, plan to start their feat this May, beginning in the northern hemisphere with a swim between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Next, the two friends will cross the Red Sea between Jordan and Egypt. Their journey will take them to the Strait of Gibraltar between Africa and Europe, before a final swim across the Bering Strait between America and Asia in August, with the goal of encouraging tolerance around the world.

"We will be campaigning to encourage a different attitude to disability, especially in the undeveloped world," said Croizon, quoted in The Independent.

You might be wondering how Croizon, 44, has become such an accomplished swimmer. Five years after he was electrocuted while changing a TV antenna on his roof, he was determined to start swimming. He engineered his own method with short leg prostheses and flippers, combined with upper-body strength. He had dreamed about swimming the English Channels childhood. No one thought he could do it, but in 2010, with the help of his new friend Chassery, Croizon became the first limbless person to swim the English Channel.

Still, it wasn't enough.

"When you've had a high dose of that sort of feeling, it becomes a drug, you can't get over it," he said during a press conference. "When the Channel's over, you say 'Blimey, I'm not going to back to the sofa, I don't want to go back there, I got up from the sofa. I don't want to become a sofa-bound athlete.' That's how the new adventure started."full story >>

By Darren Rovell
CNBC.com

In 2008, San Jose State defensive end Jarron Gilbert was leaping up the draft boards thanks in part to a video posted on YouTube that showed him jumping out of a pool. Gilbert, who has only played in four games to date, was selected in the third round of the 2009 draft by the Buffalo Bills.

Slideshow: Money-Making Athlete Wives

This year's video that is making the rounds comes courtesy of Justin Bethel, a defensive back from Presbyterian, who can be seen here jumping onto boxes that are said to be stacked five feet in the air.

"That night, we were showing how our weightlifting coach, coach Taylor, had helped us get stronger," Bethel told CNBC SportsBiz. "We were just showing off to the fans, the local people. We had some volleyball players in there and they had seen me work out before and they had seen me do these box jumps."

The next thing Bethel knew he was being asked to do it in front of a crowd. "I'm like, 'I guess I'm going to go ahead and do it," Bethel said. "I didn't know how high the boxes were."full story >>

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CNBC, Darren Rovell, NFL Draft

Amar'e Stoudemire, who has kept a low profile since being sidelined with a bulging disk in his back, told ThePostGame that he will be back in the Knicks' lineup Friday in Cleveland.

Out since March 24, Stoudemire went into greater detail about his status and the Knicks in a video he released at the same time.

The Knicks have four games left in the regular season, and they will likely be either the seventh or eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. That means a first-round matchup against Chicago or Miami. Stoudemire says the opponent doesn't matter in terms of basketball. But he does have a preference when other factors are considered.

"As far as weather and city, I'd rather be in Miami," he says.full story >>

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Amar'e Stoudemire, Comeback, NBA, New York Knicks

Scary.

It can describe the future of a world-class athlete after a diagnosis that could've ended her track days. Instead, Sanya Richards-Ross pushed past the pain to win a gold and bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Now scary describes her potential.

Six months ago, Richards-Ross began working with a new doctor who believes that her diagnosis of Behcet's Syndrome five years ago was incorrect.

"I've been treated for a different disease and I'm doing a lot better," she says. "I don't want to say I have a new diagnosis yet, but I'm very optimistic that this doctor is right."

Now off the Behcet's medication and on a new treatment regime, the fatigue and other symptoms that hindered her training and sapped her energy before big meets are under much better management.

Richards-Ross says there is nothing that will prevent her from putting her all into making the U.S. Track and Field team that's headed to London this summer.full story >>

Tags:

Bechet's Syndrome, Olympics, Sanya Richards-Ross