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Since he was old enough to play organized sports, Zach Schwartzenberger has bounced back and forth between baseball and football as his top athletic priority. The Saline senior is preparing to make that transition one last time this fall after announcing his commitment to play college baseball in 2017 at the University of Toledo. “I thought about waiting to see how my senior football season goes to see if I…

Look: None of this means to diminish the otherworldly talent of young Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who enjoyed a historic offensive season at age 21 in 2015 and certainly ranks among contemporary baseball’s best and most charismatic players. But even Harper — a fan and student of the game — probably thinks this is absurd: In its list of the All-Time Top 100 MLB players, ESPN put Harper at No. 85….

(Photo: The Associated Press) The Latest on the Russian doping case (all times local to Rio de Janeiro): 2:30 p.m. Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says he welcomes the International Olympic Committee’s decision to open investigations into allegations of Russian doping. A day after a World Anti-Doping Agency report accused Russia — and its sports ministry — of covering up hundreds of doping cases, the IOC opened investigations into top…

(CBS) It’s no secret across baseball that the Yankees are leaning toward selling at the fast-approaching trade deadline and that they also are enamored with Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber, who’s out for the season with a knee injury. So naturally, speculation has ensued as to whether the Cubs — in need of bullpen help — would entertain the thought of parting with Schwarber to acquire lights-out lefty reliever Andrew Miller from the Yankees….

Alongside a two-lane highway by the quarry just outside of the small town of Cool, California, Ronnie is dying in a ditch. An hour earlier, I had been driving with Katherine, taking a lazy Saturday away from studying or making wine to go see the foothills of the Sierra Nevada’s. It was a simple enough thing to do on an April day. Yet, on the way home, as I…

Stacking can be a controversial topic in many daily fantasy sports, but you can count baseball as a glaring exception. Here, it’s universal. Using multiple players on the same team on a given day presents you with the opportunity to double dip. If one of your players hits an RBI double, there’s a good chance he drove in another one of your guys. When you get the points for both…

reader comments 78 A former executive for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, Christopher Correa, was sentenced Monday to 46 months in prison. In 2013, he successfully guessed a password to access an online database for confidential data held by another baseball team, the Houston Astros. Correa pleaded guilty earlier this year to five counts under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a notorious 1980s-era hacking statute. “You have made it harder…

EVESHAM — The job never got too big. A third-place showing in pool play meant it would take three wins, not two, to capture the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament championship. A couple of slow starts meant the Marlton Reds would have to come from behind twice in Monday’s play. A four-run rally by Kimberton, Pennsylvania, in the semifinal meant a berth in the championship game would go to…

Erika Nardini, former chief marketing officer of AOL, has been hired as CEO of Barstool Sports — the churlish, sports-and-smut website for males that’s majority-owned by Chernin Group. Her hiring, announced Tuesday, may be a bid to blunt Barstool detractors who have criticized the site for its unapologetically sexist tone. Barstool Sports will now operate under the leadership of Nardini “while still maintaining its anti-establishment nature,” according to the company. Barstool Sports,…

(Photo: The Associated Press) LONDON (AP) — International Olympic officials will “explore the legal options’” for a potential total ban on Russia from the games in Rio de Janeiro, and are taking measures to punish athletes and officials involved in the state-run doping conspiracy. The IOC executive board announced steps on Tuesday following a scathing report by a World Anti-Doping Agency investigator who accused Russia’s sports ministry of overseeing doping…

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On 4 July 2007, Vladimir Putin arrived by private jet in Guatemala City ready for the 119th session of the International Olympic Committee. Russia was one of three nations bidding to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, along with Austria and South Korea. The bookmakers had Sochi down a distant second in the betting, way behind Pyeongchang. Russia had failed to even make the IOC’s shortlist to host the 2002 Games…

The overwhelming news in the lead up to the 2016 Olympics has been about the rampant dysfunction of the host city, Rio de Janeiro, and for good reason. The stories are gruesome and sensationalistic, filled with the kinds of pulpy details that make a mental imprint deeply difficult to dismiss. There have been police officers greeting people arriving at Rio’s international airport with a banner reading “Welcome to Hell,” as they fight…

(CBS) It’s no secret across baseball that the Yankees are leaning toward selling at the fast-approaching trade deadline and that they also are enamored with Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber, who’s out for the season with a knee injury. So naturally, speculation has ensued as to whether the Cubs — in need of bullpen help — would entertain the thought of parting with Schwarber to acquire lights-out lefty reliever Andrew Miller from the Yankees….

The Case for More Challenges in Baseball We want the tantrums over balls and strikes Getty Images I imagine that Major League Baseball still uses a lot of fax machines. I don’t know this for a fact, but I like to think that for every dugout phone, there is a big, gray box nearby constantly cranking out missives from commissioner Rob Manfred; that if you walk into the league’s New…

reader comments 53 A former executive for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, Christopher Correa, was sentenced Monday to 46 months in prison. In 2013, he successfully guessed a password to access an online database for confidential data held by another baseball team, the Houston Astros. Correa pleaded guilty earlier this year to five counts under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a notorious 1980s-era hacking statute. “You have made it harder…

On 4 July 2007, Vladimir Putin arrived by private jet in Guatemala City ready for the 119th session of the International Olympic Committee. Russia was one of three nations bidding to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, along with Austria and South Korea. The bookmakers had Sochi down a distant second in the betting, way behind Pyeongchang. Russia had failed to even make the IOC’s shortlist to host the 2002 Games…

Cities is supported by Rockefeller Foundation The run-up to every Olympics is marked by anxiety and controversy, but Rio de Janeiro has arguably outdone all of its predecessors on this score. Against a backdrop of economic recession, the impeachment of Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff, a Zika epidemic, resurgent crime and water pollution, the city’s officials are not only having to fight off accusations of corruption, incompetence and unbalanced priorities, they…

x Embed x Share A mile from the site of the Rio Olympics opening ceremony hides a drug-riddled apocalypse. USA TODAY Sports’ Martin Rogers reports on the Cracklands of Rio de Janeiro. USA TODAY Sports “Joao” smokes crack on a street in Rio de Janeiro, less than a mile from Maracana Stadium, where the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics will take place on Aug. 5.(Photo: Sandy Hooper, USA TODAY Sports)…

(CBS) It’s no secret across baseball that the Yankees are leaning toward selling at the fast-approaching trade deadline and that they also are enamored with Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber, who’s out for the season with a knee injury. So naturally, speculation has ensued as to whether the Cubs — in need of bullpen help — would entertain the thought of parting with Schwarber to acquire lights-out lefty reliever Andrew Miller from the Yankees….