Blog

The notion that athletes shouldn’t have sex before they compete – as it could negatively affect their performance – is one of the longest-held superstitions in sports, but that myth has just been thoroughly debunked. According to a new study that looked at hundreds of published papers examining the links between sex and sport, there is no plausible research that suggests sportspeople shouldn’t get their freak on before game time….

Nadine Hernandez, a Los Angeles Police Department detective assigned to the Derrick Rose rape investigation, has died after being found with a gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles Times. She was 44.  Police in the L.A. suburb of Whittier responded to a call of an attempted suicide at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. Hernandez was taken to a hospital and died at 3:27 p.m., according to the Times.  Whittier lieutenant Steve…

The notion that athletes shouldn’t have sex before they compete – as it could negatively affect their performance – is one of the longest-held superstitions in sports, but that myth has just been thoroughly debunked. According to a new study that looked at hundreds of published papers examining the links between sex and sport, there is no plausible research that suggests sportspeople shouldn’t get their freak on before game time….

  A St. Francis High School soccer coach who wore a clown mask for a photo at the team’s final practice is fighting to get his job back. Ben Hildre, a volunteer coach for the junior varsity girl’s soccer team, received a letter from district Superintendent Troy Ferguson on Friday relieving him of his duties after a photo of Hildre wearing a clown mask on school grounds circulated on social…

Cities used to covet the Olympic Games. Hosting them meant glamour and prestige. Not anymore. Rome became the latest city to abandon a bid for the 2024 Summer Games when it withdrew on Tuesday because of worries over the cost. Budget concerns have led city after city to drop their Olympic dreams in recent years. Hamburg, Germany, previously bailed on 2024. Stockholm and Krakow, Poland, pulled the plug on bids…

To save articles or get newsletters, alerts or recommendations – all free. Don’t have an account yet?Create an account » Subscribed through iTunes and need an NYTimes.com account?Learn more » Need to connect your Home Delivery subscription to NYTimes.com?Link your subscription »

Paolo Bruno/Getty Serie B, Italy’s second-highest professional soccer league, is unveiling a new initiative to promote sportsmanship among its players: the green card.  On Friday, the AP reported that after a game’s final whistle, refs will award green cards to those players who demonstrated good sportsmanship over the course of the game. Admit a goal kick when the refs called a corner? Green card. Help your opponent off the ground?…

Tim Tebow warms up before his first practice in the Arizona Fall League. (Rick Scuteri/AP) The Scottsdale Scorpions got their first real-game taste of Tebowmania Tuesday, and they darn near got the total package. The 29-year-old former quarterback, now a Mets prospect making his Arizona Fall League debut, got his first real-game taste of the outfield wall with a memorable face-plant while chasing a hard-hit ball. Oh, and he also laid his hands on…

(The Sports Xchange) – Chase Utley’s RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-5 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, leveling the National League Division Series at 2-2. Utley singled off reliever Blake Treinen (1-1), allowing the Dodgers to force a decisive Game Five in Washington on Thursday. Daniel Murphy went 2-for-3 and had four RBIs for…

The notion that athletes shouldn’t have sex before they compete – as it could negatively affect their performance – is one of the longest-held superstitions in sports, but that myth has just been thoroughly debunked. According to a new study that looked at hundreds of published papers examining the links between sex and sport, there is no plausible research that suggests sportspeople shouldn’t get their freak on before game time….

The narrative around Clayton Kershaw is more entrenched than deserved. Has he been stellar in his postseason career? Hardly — not by his incredible standards, at least — but his postseason performances haven’t been all terrible, either. This is a guy who won Game 4 of last year’s NLDS with a three-hit, one-run outing, after all. Still, the best pitcher in the world had something to prove in Game 4…

SAN FRANCISCO — Game 5, couldn’t you just see it happening? Johnny Cueto starting for the Giants, against a Cubs team that he dominates. Madison Bumgarner stomping out of the bullpen, the way he did in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. The entire city of Chicago babbling about curses, staging a massive freakout at Wrigley Field. “It would have been really tense, to put it mildly,” Cubs president…

The club’s new digs will be at an old fish camp, and club leaders believe the new facility will help them greatly expand rowing’s popularity in the Gainesville area. By Justin Ford Correspondent As storm clouds threatened and steady rain rolled in, fishermen and strollers at Powers Park rolled out, leaving the glassy surface of Newnan’s Lake to Gainesville Area Rowing’s master class. Rain or shine,…

Tim Tebow warms up before his first practice in the Arizona Fall League. (Rick Scuteri/AP) The Scottsdale Scorpions got their first real-game taste of Tebowmania Tuesday, and they darn near got the total package. The 29-year-old former quarterback, now a Mets prospect making his Arizona Fall League debut, got his first real-game taste of the outfield wall with a memorable face-plant while chasing a hard-hit ball. Oh, and he also laid his hands on…

If you’re following major league baseball this season, you’re watching a game that has gotten more powerful recently. After the MLB put its foot down on performance enhancing drugs in the early 2000s, the league saw a serious drop in the number of home runs hit, but the power hitter seems to be back: players hit a lot more home runs than usual this season. And the rise of the…

To save articles or get newsletters, alerts or recommendations – all free. Don’t have an account yet?Create an account » Subscribed through iTunes and need an NYTimes.com account?Learn more » Need to connect your Home Delivery subscription to NYTimes.com?Link your subscription »

It depends on who’s wearing them. We’re not going to be like those awful magazines and smug websites that try and impose their stupid style commandments upon the world and then judge those who deign disobey their decrees. You know what I’m talking about – the folks who say men can’t wear shorts (especially of the cargo variety), jerseys, shoes without socks, etc. Nonsense. Hey, you do you, fellow men…

Unless you’re a teacher or work for the government, you probably won’t be getting a pension. And even if you’re in a union and will be getting one, it probably won’t be for hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. But if you’re a Major League Baseball player who’s managed to stick around in the big leagues for a while,…

Cities used to covet the Olympic Games. Hosting them meant glamour and prestige. Not anymore. Rome became the latest city to abandon a bid for the 2024 Summer Games when it withdrew on Tuesday because of worries over the cost. Budget concerns have led city after city to drop their Olympic dreams in recent years. Hamburg, Germany, previously bailed on 2024. Stockholm and Krakow, Poland, pulled the plug on bids…