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In a newsroom full of baseball fanatics, who gets to review a book about fantasy baseball teams? Me. Who barely knows a baseball from a bat. I’m not sure what the thinking behind this was. A fresh perspective? An experiment in getting away from tried and tired sports writer cliches? No worries there.  I had already taken a shot at reviewing one sports-related book, and let…

Brandon McIlwain will spend parts of December and all of January and February with the South Carolina baseball team before his spring schedule is determined, head football coach Will Muschamp said Sunday evening. “At the end of the day, if we’re in spring ball and he has an opportunity to go and help our baseball team win games, that’s what he’s going to do,” Muschamp said. “That’s what we talked…

Kenseth, who topped the leaderboard for 55 circuits, landed 21st after the checkered flag fell, and was one of the four drivers eliminated. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch join him on that list. “Essentially, I guess I wrecked a teammate,” Busch said after the race. “I feel horrible about it … Right now, it feels really (expletive), but tomorrow it might feel a lot better. … The 20…

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According to a report by Motorsport.com’s Jim Utter, Monster Energy is one of the finalists to replace Sprint as NASCAR’s Premier Series title sponsor next year and beyond. Yesterday morning, I asked a NASCAR official about Monster and got a polite “no comment,” which is normal when negotiations are ongoing and a number of companies could potentially be in the mix. There have been plenty of companies rumored to be…

As the youngest of the kids who sneaked water from the well to create a hockey rink on the Vachon family’s dairy farm in tiny Palmarolle, Canada, Rogatien Vachon was destined to become a goaltender. Using homemade sticks, with a couple of lights illuminating the ice and cows as their audience, they’d play from morning until night. It was glorious: just them and the elements, no coaches to criticize them….

Justin Simmons produced a 126-inch broad jump and 40-inch vertical at the 2016 NFL draft. The analysis of such numbers tends to be overblown, but teams will tell you that they matter. And lest you doubt it, look no further than Simmons’s incredible play to help Denver swipe a win in New Orleans on Sunday. Seconds after Drew Brees threw a brilliant touchdown pass in traffic to Brandin…

Gregg Popovich began with an apology. “I don’t think my voice is that important,” replied the San Antonio Spurs coach when asked his views on the US election. But then, over the course of six impassioned minutes, one of the greatest coaches in the NBA history sank the verbal equivalent of multiple three-pointers from mid-court. “I’m sick to my stomach,” he sighed, his voice now quivering with anger and a…

“Fondue, you’re a half-orc too,” says Jeff Davis to Dan Harmon on the animated, live improvisational Dungeons & Dragons show “Harmonquest.” “We’re like buddies from Brooklyn,” says Harmon, whose character name is Fondue Zoobag, a half-orc ranger. “It’s like ‘Entourage,” says guest star Paul F. Tompkins. His character name is Teflonto. And so on. Yes, the experience of playing D&D invites silly, non-stop banter. Thankfully, shows like “Harmonquest,” which debuted this summer,…

Joey Logano won the drama-filled Can-Am 500 Chase elimination race at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, keeping his 2016 Sprint Cup title hopes alive. Logano held off a bevy of challengers on second green-white-checkered overtime finish to win the race at PIR in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Kyle Busch finished second to secure the only other available berth in the Championship 4 group that will race for the…

There was no shortage of star power on display Sunday in Pittsburgh. And the fans came out in record numbers to see the 7-1 Dallas Cowboys take on the Steelers at Heinz Field. The crowd of 67,737 was the largest in Pittsburgh history to watch an NFL game. With Cowboys rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott on one side and Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown on the other, the draw…

NEW YORK — A five-round battle that was later awarded ‘Fight of the Night’ at UFC 205 still had a slightly disappointing ending after Tyron Woodley and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson was declared a majority draw. One judge gave Woodley the fight 48-47, but the other two judges scored it 47-47, which means the fight was a draw. Woodley retains his welterweight title, but obviously he doesn’t get any real resolution with…

NEW YORK — Conor McGregor made history on Saturday night when he became the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history by knocking out Eddie Alvarez in the second round of their fight at UFC 205. All week long, leading up to the historic event at Madison Square Garden, McGregor had been asked numerous times about a huge announcement that he had teased, but he failed to address in his…

According to a report by Motorsport.com’s Jim Utter, Monster Energy is one of the finalists to replace Sprint as NASCAR’s Premier Series title sponsor next year and beyond. Yesterday morning, I asked a NASCAR official about Monster and got a polite “no comment,” which is normal when negotiations are ongoing and a number of companies could potentially be in the mix. There have been plenty of companies rumored to be…

At the conclusion of the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway today, we will be one race away from the retirement of Tony Stewart from the Sprint Cup Series. As the season has progressed and the news of Stewart’s retirement has been known throughout, his teammate Kevin Harvick doesn’t feel that the tracks and people around NASCAR have done enough to properly honor the three-time Premier Series champion. “It’s not…

The legend of Shohei Otani continues to grow. Otani, the best baseball player in the world outside MLB, managed to crush a baseball that got lodged in the panels of the Tokyo Dome roof Sunday. Japan was playing the Netherlands in a World Baseball Classic exhibition game. To the action footage: Alas, the ball was not ruled a home run. It was deemed a ground-rule double. It surely would have…

NEW YORK – UFC 205 will be remembered mostly for what happened in the cage. Conor McGregor made history with a brilliant performance against Eddie Alvarez, winning the lightweight title with a second-round knockout before a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. That made McGregor, who entered the bout holding the featherweight title, the first man in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously. But it should be remembered for…

RELATED: Race results | Chase Grid   AVONDALE, Ariz. — It was just another routine Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway for Kyle Busch. But nothing else in the Ticket Galaxy 200 was at all ordinary.   All the drama unfolded behind Busch, as eight drivers scrambled for four positions in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase’s Championship 4 Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway.   Busch led 190 of 200 laps on the…