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RELATED: Full injury timeline | Junior out for 2016 DARLINGTON, S.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. is continuing to make progress in his recovery from a concussion, and the Hendrick Motorsports driver says he has every intention of returning to competition once he receives medical clearance. That, in a nutshell, was Earnhardt’s message during a visit to Darlington Raceway, site of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500. HMS officials announced the NASCAR…

Tony Stewart appeared to deliberately cause Brian Scott to crash during Sunday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Scott was four laps behind the lead and just ahead of Stewart when he bobbled and drifted up the track and into the path of Stewart, who was running on the same lap as leaders at the time of the incident. Stewart had to slow to avoid hitting the rookie, then…

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each…

Former U.S. soccer star Lauren Holiday has been diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant, and her husband, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, is taking indefinite leave from the NBA club to care for his wife, the Pelicans said Sunday. “We are all praying for a healthy delivery of their first child and a successful surgery for Lauren,” Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said in a prepared statement…

CHICAGO — U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem Sunday night before the Seattle Reign’s game against the Chicago Red Stars “in a little nod” to NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the anthem to protest racial injustice and minority oppression came to public notice when he remained seated on the bench before a preseason game against Green Bay. On Thursday night in San Diego,…

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each…

In a finish that looked like something straight out of a Hollywood movie, John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer got into a fight following a close result in Sunday’s NASCAR Truck Series race. Nemechek crashed Custer to win the race, then Custer retaliated by tackling Nemechek as he waited to receive the checkered flag from officials. Nemechek was trailing Custer entering the final corner at the Canadian Tire Motorsport…

Every time Trea Turner hits a home run, Elliott Avent texts him with the same message: Bunt for a hit in your next at-bat. The North Carolina State baseball coach repeats the suggestion facetiously. He knows his former star shortstop loves hitting home runs and possesses sneaky power in his wiry frame. He just doesn’t think Turner, the fastest college baseball player he has seen in his 30-plus years, utilizes…

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each…

Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Sunday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT: – AUSTIN, Texas – Unsettled at quarterback and stung by off-field troubles in training camp, No. 10 Notre Dame opens the season at Texas, where coach Charlie Strong is facing a pivotal third year. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Starts 7:30 p.m. – NEW YORK –…

The nation’s richest athletic departments — those in the Power Five conferences — pulled in a record $6 billion last year, nearly $4 billion more than all other schools combined, according to an Outside the Lines analysis of NCAA data. The gulf between college sports’ haves and have-nots has never been greater. Powered by multimillion-dollar media rights contracts and rising ticket-sales revenue, the richest schools have spent aggressively: on private…

He doesn’t like sports. I don’t know why. I don’t care. I can guess, but really, that’s not the point. The point is that he doesn’t like sports, so when people ask him which sports he plays, it takes that moment of, “Yes, you see me; I am part of this world,” and crushes it into another uncomfortable, and quite honestly, annoying moment.

Sports Direct is braced for a fierce investor revolt at the company’s annual shareholder meeting this week as another influential City investor declared it would vote against the reappointment of chairman Keith Hellawell. Hermes Investment Management, which manages and advises on £215bn of assets, is the latest to call for Hellawell to go, saying it will vote against his reappointment on Wednesday. A year ago, the UK fund manager had…

4 Images  Find News Near Me Fayetteville, N.C. — Two men were arrested Sunday afternoon after one person died early Sunday following an assault in a Fayetteville parking lot. Around 12:30 a.m., officers with the Fayetteville Police Department responded to an incident at 301 Wingz, a sports bar located along the 400 block of North Eastern Boulevard. At the scene, they determined that two men had assaulted Michael Mansfield, 52,…

Anze Kopitar helped Slovenia punch its ticket for the 2018 Winter Olympics. USATSI We don’t know if the NHL will be releasing their players for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, but NHLers were a big part of this week’s Olympic qualifying tournament at three different European sites. Germany, Norway and Slovenia each topped their groups in the round-robin format to solidify their spots at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South…

Former U.S. soccer star Lauren Holiday has been diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant, and her husband, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, is taking indefinite leave from the NBA club to care for his wife, the Pelicans said Sunday. “We are all praying for a healthy delivery of their first child and a successful surgery for Lauren,” Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said in a prepared statement provided…

x Embed x Share USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Gluck breaks down the Bojangles’ Southern 500 and the story lines that fans should keep an eye on at Darlington. USA TODAY Sports Cars race around Darlington Raceway during the 2015 Bojangles’ Southern 500.(Photo: Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports) DARLINGTON, S.C.  — It’s NASCAR race day at Darlington Raceway, and we’ve got some essential information you need to get ready for Sunday’s…

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each…

The modern baseball broadcaster provides a public service to sports fans everywhere: He receives our hatred; he’s a magnet, or a receptacle, for our frustration. To talk for three-plus hours extemporaneously, particularly during a game as leisurely and mannered as baseball, is to invite listeners to pounce on every poorly researched remark. Each year the baseball site Fangraphs.com asks its readers to rank all 30 teams’ announcers; perhaps the nicest…

RELATED: Race results | At-track gallery | Standings | Chase Grid SHOP: Sadler gear DARLINGTON, S.C. — Elliott Sadler had a passenger for Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway — in spirit at least. After a breathtaking battle against Denny Hamlin over the closing laps, Sadler crossed the finish-line .454 seconds ahead of Hamlin to win for the first time at the Lady in Black — and immediately…