Comment Space aliens (Score 1) 253
Scott Sigler has it about right in his Galactic Football League series (http://www.galacticfootballleague.com). Use science to explore the known galaxy. Recruit talented members of the appropriate ecospecies to fill the positions they're naturally suited for. Drugs, genetic mods and/or implants not permitted, but you've got sports medicine developed to the point where just about anything short of a severed head can be patched up and rehabbed in a couple-three days to get the player back on the field.