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But citing basketball as the reason for a decline is just scratching the surface. Youth sports participation is down among almost all games and all races, according to a Wall Street Journal article . From 2000-2013, baseball took the biggest hit, falling from 8.8 million players aged 7 to 17 to 5.3 million, a decrease of almost 40 percent. Economics also play a significant role when examining African-American youth participation…

Cole Hamels, Rangers – In a weak slate of starting pitchers (I’m not using Jake Arrieta since he plays in the lone early game), Hamels might be the best option. On the road this season, he is 9-3 with a 2.57 ERA. Chris Archer, Rays – He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in six consecutive starts and has struck out at least six batters in 11 of his past…

3. Chapman finally has company in the 100-mph-for-a-season club. Mauricio Cabrera, 23 years old, 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, arrived with the Atlanta Braves on June 27. And all he’s done ever since is average 100.1 mph on his fastball, the fastest palindrome possible. Just as impressive, Cabrera has the biggest changeup in baseball, averaging 91 mph. How hard is that? It’s faster than the average fastball of 169 pitchers who have…

Mira Nair’s inspirational chess drama Queen of Katwe is remarkable in the simplest but most profound way: it’s an American film about Africa that doesn’t feel like it was made by tourists. The film, based on the life of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi, was partially shot in the Kampala slum of Katwe, where Mutesi grew up. Nair, the Indian-born, New York-based director of Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake, has…

x Embed x Share USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Gluck looks ahead to the Bad Boy Off Road 300 and the story lines that fans should keep an eye on leading up to this weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. USA TODAY Sports Martin Truex Jr., bottom, and Jimmie Johnson, top, shown here in 2015, failed post-race inspection at Chicagoland Speedway, but NASCAR decided not to penalize them.(Photo: Matthew O’Haren,…

Carli Lloyd’s long climb to global soccer stardom has been neither quick nor easy. And she’s seemingly had as many people rooting against her as she’s had cheering for her. But don’t take my word on that. Ask Lloyd. Or better yet read her book, “When Nobody Was Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey to the Top of the Soccer World,” which goes on sale Monday. In the book, written with Wayne…

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Instead of kicking back and making the most of his time off, Williams posted the above video on Twitter Thursday of him working up a sweat on a rowing machine.  But to do so, he’s strapped his protected left leg onto a longboard — which moves back and forth as he pounds the exercise equipment. Williams sustained the injury while representing New Zealand in the 7s tournament at the Rio…

After a disappointing performance at the Rio Olympics an Indian government think tank has come up with a strategy to help the country achieve 50 medals at the 2024 Games. India sent more than 120 athletes to Rio de Janeiro with hopes of exceeding the six medals won at London in 2012, but returned with a silver in badminton and a wrestling bronze. The National Institution for Transforming India Aayog…

Image copyright PA Image caption Mike Ashley founded the company and has come under pressure to reform working practices The founder and majority owner of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley, has stepped in as chief executive at the retailer after the surprise resignation of Dave Forsey. The company has been under fire over zero hours contracts and disclosure that staff at a warehouse were paid less than the minimum wage. Independent…

<!– FOOTBALL GOSSIP Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers complains at so-called “trial by TV”, saying broadcaster BT Sport showed a challenge by his goalkeeper Craig Gordon on Alloa’s Greig Spence 14 times and one by Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko on Inverness midfielder Ross Draper 26 times. (Various) Rodgers plays down the issue of who is his number one goalkeeper – Dorus de Vries or Craig Gordon. The Northern Irishman says he…

Media playback is not supported on this device Manchester United v Leicester: Ranieri dismisses talk of Mourinho feud Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri says Jose Mourinho “is a fantastic person” and any issues between the two are “prehistoric”. The champions play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday, with the two managers having clashed in the past. Mourinho called Ranieri “a loser” after replacing him at Chelsea and also insulted him…

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Media playback is not supported on this device Manchester United v Leicester: Ranieri dismisses talk of Mourinho feud Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri says Jose Mourinho “is a fantastic person” and any issues between the two are “prehistoric”. The champions play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday, with the two managers having clashed in the past. Mourinho called Ranieri “a loser” after replacing him at Chelsea and also insulted him…

TORONTO Ralph Krueger stood at the podium talking hockey but thinking soccer. As the chairman of Premiership side Southampton FC, Krueger’s mind was on a far away Europa Cup match that was just getting underway against Sparta Prague. As head coach of Team Europe, his focus was on the World Cup of Hockey and his team’s tournament opener the next day against the United States. It would be a good…

The NASCAR community is poorer this week with passing of two legends of the garage, reporter Bob Margolis and long-time insider Herbert Ames, both of whom were fixtures in the sport for many years. Margolis was a first-rate writer and reporter, someone who called it exactly like saw it. And he was someone who never said no to a young reporters trying to navigate the complicated NASCAR landscape. In that…

Islamic State militants reportedly beat six boys to death for playing soccer in central Mosul,  The Mirror newspaper reported. It is unclear when the boys were handcuffed and beaten with welding irons in front of a crowd, but the report said ISIS claimed that the boys were part of a resistance faction in the city. “The execution took place in Mosul in front of a large gathering,” one…