The Top 5 of the Week

Here's a roundup of this week's top 5 badass moves (aka moves towards Beautiful Rebellions) taken from the sport news of the week.

#5. FIFA has begun to release the list of candidates for its annual Ballon d'Or awards. Canadian soccer phenom Christine Sinclair is up for Player of the Year while Canadian National Team coach, John Herdman, is up for Coach of the Year. Sinclair was the top-scorer at the Olympics this summer and led her team with a hat trick in one of the best soccer games the world has seen, a 3-4 semifinal battle with the USA. Herdman inherited a squad shortly after they placed dead last in the Women's World Cup in 2011 and transformed them in under just one year to earn a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. No Canadian has ever won a Ballon d'Or ... winners will be announced at the gala event in January. (Spotted on FIFA.com where you can see list of all candidates. Male candidates will be released 29 October.)

#4. This man has run 300 Marathons in 100 Countries, and an average of one marathon a month for 30 years, absolutely wild! It's no wonder he's nicknamed "Maddogg". (Spotted on Healthynomnics)

#3. No Shave November (aka Movember) is just around the corner - the one month of the year when rocking facial hair could be considered a sport. My husband has a beard, so what can I say, I love beards. If any one knows how to buck convention it's hip-hop and the online mag Highsnobiety has profiled how they've taken that attitude to their facial hair, Icecube included. (Click here for a beard-travaganza that includes Mutton Chops, French Fork and the Fu Manchu).

#2. The Indiana Fever were crowned WNBA Champions for the first time in franchise history. Next season the Fever will be partnering with Finish Line, as the team's jersey sponsor. Jersey sponsor? Yep, taking a cue from international sports, where jersey sponsors are standard, the WNBA are an inspiring example of how organizations can innovate their way into financial viability. Jersey sponsorships are rare in North American sports but the league realizes that the additional real estate the jersey provides for logo placement can bring great value. No doubt the players don't mind being moving billboards if it means they have a league to play in. (Spotted on Twitter @ClareZovko) Also this week in basketball, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced his retirement in 2014 - he will be 72 years old. His progressive leadership has impacted the league in countless ways over his 30 year tenure, that saw massive changes in globalization, media and technology. My personal off-court favourite is how he has promoted the league's charitable efforts with NBA Cares and Basketball Without Borders. (From NBA.com)

#1. Sprinters Lolo Jones and Tianna Madison are diversifying their sporting resumes by being named to the US Bobsled Team this week, just two months after they competed at the Summer Olympics. They will transition their athleticism, speed and competitiveness to the ice while gunning for the Winter Olympics. If successful in landing a trip to Sochi 2014, they will join rare air - only a handful of athletes have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Just five athletes ever have captured a medal at both Games, most recently Canadian Clara Hughes in road cycling and speed skating. (Spotted in the HuffPost)

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