Just as the presidential contenders sneak away from the campaign trail to catch a ball game, as Mitt Romney did last weekend, sports team owners and executives are making a salvo into politics, shelling out big money to influence the 2012 election. sports are becoming big players in politics as well.

The professional sports industry poured more than $5 million into the last presidential election and is gearing up for a similar showdown this time around. But partisanship abounds as these kings of competitiveness coalesce around their chosen candidates.

The National Basketball Association has poured more than $2.2 million into elections since 2009, 61 percent of which went to Democrats. The National Football League, on the other hand, has heavily favored Republicans, with 58 percent of the $2.8 million that NFL team owners, executives and players have donated going to conservatives.

Here's a look at some of the sports teams who are picking sides in the 2012 election.

Romney, along with wife Ann, turned out to support the Boston Celtics in their playoff game Sunday night. But according to an analysis 49ersofficialnflauthentic.com/authentic-jimmie-ward-jersey.html by the Center for Responsive Politics, the Boston Celtics are not turning out to support Romney's presidential campaign.

From 2009 through 2011, individuals associated with the Celtics have leaned heavily Democratic with 96 percent of the $212,150 they donated to political campaigns during that time going to Democrats.

Romney has multiple ties to the Celtics. Besides being the former governor of their home state, Romney used to preside over Bain Capital, the company where Celtic's co owner Stephen Pagliuca now serves as managing director.

Pagliuca's $168,000 in political donations in the past three years made up the bulk of the Celtics partisan contributions. The co owner has given the maximum not only to President Obama's re election campaign ($5,000), but also to the Democratic National Committee ($30,800) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($30,800).

But the Celtic's president Rick Gotham put his money in Romney's camp, giving $1,000 to the GOP candidate. Danny Ainge, the Celtic's president of basketball operations, gave Romney $2,500.

The Houston Texans have been the most politically active team in the NFL for the past three years, according to an October 2011 study from the Center for Responsive Politics. As of March, the Texans have kept up their support for Republicans, with individuals associated with the team donating $192,000 to the GOP and its candidates so far in the 2012 election.

The team's heavily Republican leanings result in large part from team owner Bob McNair, the CEO of an energy production company in Houston. McNair gave $215,200 to political causes between January 2009 and October 2011, nearly every penny of which went to Republicans.

The billionaire executive maxed out to Texas Gov. Rick Perry's primary campaign, giving $2,500 in September and gave the same amount to former presidential candidate Herman Cain in May.

McNair, whom Forbes ranked as the 303rd richest man in America, with an estimated net worth of about $1.5 billion, also poured $100,000 into the pro Perry super PAC Make Us Great Again.

Texans' vice chairman Philip Burguires is also a big dollar Republican donor, having given the maximum $2,500 to Mitt Romney's primary bid last April and $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in January 2011. That month, Burguires also donated $2,400 to Cain's campaign.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban might not have given any of his estimated $2.3 billion fortune to support a political candidate, but it is no secret what side of the aisle he's on.

In an interview with ABC's Bill Weir last week, Cuban not only said he voted for Obama, but advocated for the president's plan to raise taxes on wealthy Americans such as himself.

"You're afforded all these opportunities in this country and there's a price to pay for it," Cuban said. "You have to adjust to the circumstances and I think in the current circumstances in this country, it's not a bad thing for people at my level of wealth to pay more taxes."

The Mavericks owner took a shot at Romney for trying to avoid paying his fair share by parking money in a Cayman Islands bank account. "I'm not trying to avoid any taxes down there, unlike certain Republican candidates are announcing," Cuban said, chuckling. "There's a price for success . You got to pay."

Of the 23 NBA teams that made political contributions in 2011, the Dallas Mavericks ranked as the 16th largest donor. About 89 percent of the Texas team's $45,000 in political contributions went to Republicans, according to the most recent analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Unlike the team's owner, its president and CEO, Terdema Ussery, put his money behind a Republican, former GOP candidate Tim Pawlenty to be exact, whom he gave the maximum $2,500 for his primary bid in July.

Mavericks guard Vince Carter, on the other hand, maxed out to Obama's campaign, giving the legal limit of $5,000 to support the president' re election bid. Carter also hosted a $30,000 per plate fundraiser for Obama and the Democratic National Committee at a private home in February.

President Obama is devoutly supportive of his home teams when it comes to sports, which might be why he picked his White House meeting with the 1985 Super Bowl winning Chicago Bears team as his favorite Oval Office sports team meet and greet.

"That was probably as good as it gets," Obama told podcaster Bob Sullivan in March, after a belated ceremony honoring the Bears.

The initial White House ceremony for their 1985 Super Bowl win was cancelled because of Carlos Hyde Kids Jersey the space shuttle Challenger disaster.

"To see how much they appreciated it, how much they had wanted that acknowledgment; it was a lot of fun," Obama told Sullivan.

Despite his deep ties to Chicago, the Bears have not donated to Obama's 2012 campaign. The only individual associated with the Bears who has donated to a political party or campaign is offensive coordinator Mike Tice, who gave $250 to Tim Pawlenty in April 2011.

Romney's comment that he Jimmie Ward Kids Jersey has "a lot of good friends" who are NFL team owners might not have helped him connect with the everyday American, but it has sure helped him raise money.

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has given his "good friend" Romney $2,500 for his presidential campaign, as have three of the team's other 49ersofficialnflauthentic.com/authentic-carlos-hyde-jersey.html executives.

Troy Vincent hasn't had the typical climb up the ladder in becoming a major NFL powerbroker.

The former defensive back was recently named executive vice president of football operations, promoted after serving four years as vice president of player engagement. In his new role, Vincent, 43, oversees officiating, player discipline, game operations and more. He previously focused on off the field issues.

NFLPA: New president Eric Winston Q by the way, he earned five Pro Bowl selections and NFL Man of the Year honors during a 15 year career that began in 1992 when the Dolphins drafted him as a first round cornerback (seventh overall) from Wisconsin. He has covered a lot of ground.

Excerpts from Vincent's extended interview with USA TODAY officialbuccaneersnflauthentic.com/authentic-akeem-spence-jersey.html Sports NFL columnist Jarrett Bell:

Q: You're making quite the transition from one crucial post in the league office to another. What's striking to you about your new position?

TV: "I'm back on the field. I'm in the weeds, the fabric of football. Over the last few days as I was looking over materials, it was, 'Ok, I'm back on this side of our business again.' I spent 14 years as a player evaluating why something worked or not. In talking to the coaches and GMs, there's been a lot of natural synergies."

Q. While with the NFL players union, you were often on the side of defending players with regard to NFL imposed discipline. Now player discipline falls under your umbrella as a key responsibility. So you've traded places, so to speak. What will that dynamic be like for you?

TV: "I have some thoughts. I'm having this data pulled right now: Tell me about my high risk players. Players that were fined previously. Tell me about those who are right on the edge of us having to take action. I want to visit with them, their clubs, their agents, and let's talk about how do we adjust? The objective is Austin Seferian-Jenkins Kids Jersey not to take your money. I've been there before. And defended you on that side. But let's talk about what you're seeing. Help me to assist you. Were you just out of place? Did you take the proper angle? Just sitting down and having that real conversation so that we can prevent taking that player off the field, but also driving the awareness that is the way we have to keep the game safe."

Q: It's no surprise that the NFL has outlawed dunking over the goal post, considering the game in Atlanta last season that was delayed a half hour after that hanging on the rim encounter featuring Jimmy Graham. How do you think that will go over with fans?

TV: "Friday night I get home, and it's the first time I see my family in 15 days. Everybody's home, all seven of us. Troy, Jr, says, 'Ok, Mr. EVP, what are you going to do next?' My middle schooler (Taron) says. 'Y'all are taking the fun out of the game. Why can't they dunk anymore?' The reason is the goal post gets off kilter, and the time of delay to fix it could be 30 minutes. My son said, 'Y'all didn't say that.' OK, learning moment. It's not about the celebration. And now we're adding 5 feet to the uprights. A delay wouldn't be good for the players, the fans at the stadium or the viewers."

Q: You hear that Graham has vowed to continue to dunk regardless of the penalties or fines?

TV: "I'd like to have that conversation with Jimmy, to understand why. It's not to take away his signature celebration. It's the time."

Q: I know they can make millions, but it has always seemed rather silly to me that some players have said they'd pay a fine rather than conform on some things. Ever wonder about players who don't care and will just throw away money like that?

TV: "I've had that same conversation in the locker room. I had a teammate like that on every team I played on. Why give your money away? Is it that important? When guys say it, though, it's often an emotional response when they get asked a question. My thing is, don't give up your Paragraph 5 (the section of the standard NFL contract that spells out salary). You've worked too hard to earn that."

Q: In your previous role, I'd think that an inherent obstacle was gaining trust of players to engage in league sponsored services. No matter how genuine the programs, they are still coming from the Mike Evans Kids Jersey employer. How did you deal with that?

TV: "That was a challenge coming in. There wasn't a lot of human engagement. We just moved it from a transactional to a relational engagement. Getting players to trust, you're always going to have elements of trust and mistrust. But getting the players to understand that we're here to support you is the key. I know we're on the employer side, but the services and the programs, they are for you and your family. So we had to gain the trust of one player, one family member at a time. Every family, every active or former player that we touched, they told somebody else. We just became the customer service center that we're supposed to be. When that phone rings, we pick it up It started with, 'Let's go get some former players to come in and start telling that story. The numbers have exploded. When I came in we were dealing with probably 200, 300 players in our whole entire universe, like on a monthly basis. Now, 20,000. Former players and all active players. So we are totally different from program usage, service usage. We're not even on the same planet from staff to engagement from where it was."

Q: Obviously, of all the off the field issues with players and their families to deal, a low point was the murder suicide case involving Kasandra Perkins and Jovan Belcher. What's the lasting impact of that sad case on you and others who deal with the support programs?

TV: "It stays with me on a daily basis. A family lost a daughter. A family lost a son. It hit home with all of us. It makes you look at the entire program, to become even more committed to make sure people are treated. He reached a point and lost it. I wish we could have done more to identify it. What else could we have done?"

Q: Has the cultural landscape changed in the NFL, like society overall, with regard to treatment for mental health issues?

TV: "We're becoming much more receptive. We're seeing the player population reaching out. People want assistance. In many cases, people don't know how to get it. All the experts have told us, the dialogue around it helps create change."

Q: How does the NFL environment for such matters compare to what it was like when you entered the league?

TV: "Night and day. It used to be, 'Don't talk about being depressed or mental anxiety.' We never even used the term 'mental health' between 1992 and 2006. Bipolar (disorder)? Depression? Today, we talk about it every day."

Q: People may not know how passionate you are about addressing domestic violence. Now there's a pending case involving Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. How troubling is this?

TV: officialbuccaneersnflauthentic.com/authentic-mike-evans-jersey.html "We should be held to a higher standard. There's certain behavior that is unacceptable. We've got to have deterrents, education, treatment. We have to be diligent, and if that means removing people from the playing field, then it is something that we must strongly consider."

Q: You've been a driving force for the Respect in Workplace initiatives that were discussed at the NFL owners meetings last week. As part of this, the league made a strong statement at the meetings about sportsmanship, which includes crackdown on abusive and improper language. What's up with that?

TV: "Sportsmanship is what it's all about. The great champions had a special way of competing, as well showing respect. I used a basketball analogy when I was talking (to owners), that we have that vision of Magic (Johnson) and (Larry) Bird competing. And when Tom (Brady) and Peyton (Manning) go at it, they're competing, but there's a level of respect. That's part of preserving our game. We can't lose that."

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Two members of the US Congress have called on the head of the largest professional American football league to support changing a team name they deem offensive to Native Americans. officialauthenticjaguars.com/authentic-allen-robinson-jersey.html

Senator Maria Cantwell and Congressman Tom Cole said the Washington Redskins name Allen Robinson Kids Jersey was a "racial slur".

In a letter dated Monday and obtained by the New York Times, Ms Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, and Mr Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, told Mr Goodell, "The terminology used by the Washington football team has been determined to be a slur."

"It is, in fact, an insult to Native Americans," they added. "We are calling on you and the National Football League to take a formal position in support of a name change."

Ms Cantwell is the chairwoman of the Senate Indian affairs committee, and Mr Cole, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, is one of only two Native American members of Congress.

'More important issues'

Mr Snyder has refused to change his team name, dismissing growing complaints it is offensive.

Mr Goodell has said he supports keeping the name, saying last month it "honoured" Native Americans. He also cited polling he said suggested the public opposed a name change.

But Ms Cantwell and Mr Cole said defending the name based on public opinion polling "flies in the face of our constitutionally protected government to government relationship with tribes".

"The National Football League is on the wrong side of history," they wrote.

Redskins spokesman Tony Wyllie defended the team name and officialauthenticjaguars.com/authentic-brandon-linder-jersey.html questioned the politicians attention to the matter.

"With all the important issues Congress has to deal with, such as a war in Afghanistan to deficits to health care, don they have more important issues to worry about than a football team name?" he told the Reuters news agency.

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