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According to a popular maxim, hitting a baseball well is the most difficult art in sports. There is something close to miraculous about a ballplayer connecting with a round ball, using a round bat, despite only having a minuscule amount of time in which to think and react. However, one group of players are often overlooked: those who can do from both sides of the plate what most people can…

U.S. swimmers won 31 medals at the 2012 Olympics, of which 16 were gold. There were 11 individual gold medals won, but not all of those swimmers will return for the 2016 Olympics in Rio – partly because Team USA has 30 Olympic rookies on its 47-strong roster this time around. Newcomer Leah Smith (who will swim the 400m and 800m freestyle, plus the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays) perhaps…

With a deft touch requiring fortitude and a keen understanding of his surroundings, Brad Keselowski thoroughly controlled Saturday’s Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. A familiar sight was seeing Keselowski protect his lead by swooping high to prevent the outside line from passing, then veering to cutoff the momentum of the low line. He did this almost continuously throughout the Coke Zero 400. It wasn’t revolutionary how…

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With the sports world going crazy over the news of NBA free agents striking it rich this week, it’s a good time to take a look at some of the blockbuster NASCAR free-agent signings of this century. Unlike other major sports, the dollars and terms of driver deals are not public information, so we don’t exactly who makes how much money. Still, there have been some huge surprises over the…

It’s a warm June Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario, and a small strip of Roxborough Avenue is cordoned off. There are yellow bollards and diversion signs at either end. In the middle, blue fences mark out a rough oval shape, about 100ft long. This is the city of Hamilton’s official street hockey rink – or, at least, the first stages of it. It was Sam Merulla’s idea, the city councillor who…

Posted Jul. 4, 2016 at 11:04 PM

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A Southern California community was opening its arms to a young baseball team from central Mexico, which was suddenly stranded without a sponsor. The teenagers came to California as part of their league play this summer, but said their sponsor in Mexico was no longer paying their expenses. They’re staying at the De Paul Evangelization Center in Montebello but were in need of meals and rides to their games through…

BETHLEHEM, N.Y. (NEWS10) – More than 100 baseball fans in Bethlehem celebrated America’s birthday on Monday by enjoying America’s favorite pastime. But the game they watched was not played as it is today, rather, it was played the way baseball was in 1864. On Monday, it was the New York Mutuals versus the Bethlehem Braves. “This is our eighth year up here,” Mutuals Captain Thomas “Dirt” Fioriglio said. “Part of our…

Despite being the social-media savvy guy that I am (what’s Snapchat again?), sometimes I am woefully unaware of some well-known people out there (this is not necessarily a bad thing). Case in point: Zack Hemple, who is known as Foul Ball Guy. As his Twitter account notes, he is a baseball collector. On Sunday, he tweeted this: That’s Hemple at the Marlins-Braves game played Sunday at Fort Bragg, N.C. As…

Baseball fans Sharon DeWulf, of Colona, and her daughter, Jennifer DeWulf, of Moline, pose for a photo Monday at the Baseball Hall of Fame Tour at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport.

From the time Frank Menendez was introduced to ultimate Frisbee in the parking lot at a Grateful Dead concert in the 1980s, the sport has made a steady ascent up the collective sporting consciousness. In 2014, the U.S. Olympic Committee recognized it as an official sport, paving the way for possible entry in the games as early as 2024. Participation has risen to around 5 million people in the U.S.,…

After this most tumultuous and savagely unpredictable of summers it was reassuring to find a national institution on which Britain can rely. This was supposed to be the toughest test of Andy Murray’s Wimbledon so far. Instead it became a dazzling a concerto of his talents, which appear to be widening even as his 30th birthday looms into distant view. Long before the end his opponent, Nick Kyrgios, looked beaten…

A quandary for the sporty ladies: If you’re going to the beach, and you want to be active, what do you wear? This summer, you don’t have to choose between rocking a cute bikini and staying secure in a sports bra, because swimsuit and athleisure companies are bringing you both in one. Presenting… the sporty two-piece! For A-B cups, we recommend… Lululemon Lululemon Free to Be Bra H20: $58; Be…

From the time Frank Menendez was introduced to ultimate Frisbee in the parking lot at a Grateful Dead concert in the 1980s, the sport has made a steady ascent up the collective sporting consciousness. In 2014, the U.S. Olympic Committee recognized it as an official sport, paving the way for possible entry in the games as early as 2024. Participation has risen to around 5 million people in the U.S.,…

The Oklahoma City Thunder have no choice. They have to do it. They have to trade Russell Westbrook as soon as possible. Now that Kevin Durant is gone, there’s almost no chance that Westbrook, who will be a free agent next summer, re-signs with the Thunder. Yes, he’d be walking away from more money, but without Durant, Oklahoma City will not be a title contender. Westbrook is a supernova of…

The highest court in sports will use a fast-track procedure to hear Russia’s appeal against the ban on its track and field athletes from the Olympics, saying Monday that a ruling would be issued on July 21. The Russian Olympic Committee and track and field’s world governing body, the IAAF, said Sunday that Russia’s appeal on behalf of 68 athletes would be heard July 19 at the Court of Arbitration…

From the time Frank Menendez was introduced to ultimate Frisbee in the parking lot at a Grateful Dead concert in the 1980s, the sport has made a steady ascent up the collective sporting consciousness. In 2014, the U.S. Olympic Committee recognized it as an official sport, paving the way for possible entry in the games as early as 2024. Participation has risen to around 5 million people in the U.S.,…