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AP BY: Joseph Bottum Follow @@JosephBottum August 13, 2016 4:59 am Merl Eberly came out of high school in Clarinda, Iowa—population around 5,000—determined to make baseball his career. He got his chance, signed by the Chicago White Sox in 1957 and sent for seasoning to the minor-league farm team in Holdrege, Nebraska, where he lasted 43 games, batting .281. He was cut by the White Sox the next year. So…

When you hear the name of Ty Cobb, what comes to your mind? Perhaps it’s his .366 career batting average, the highest in the history of baseball. More likely, if you know his name, it’s as a vicious racist, a bigot who sharpened his spikes. As Charles Leerhsen demonstrates in his compelling biography, “Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty,” none…

It’s been less than a week since Tim Tebow announced his intentions to make a run at a career in baseball, but the former NFL quarterback is already transitioning from signing football equipment to baseball memorabilia. Tebow is hard at work signing bats and balls for the reported price of $125 per ball and $175 per bat. If you’re more into Tebow’s new book “Shaken” you can also get a…

Tim Tebow has yet to even take the field in a baseball game, but he’s already earning big money in the sport. ESPN reported Sunday that the former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback is signing baseball bats and balls. If you want one signed, it will cost $175 for a bat, and $125 for a ball. They’re available through TD Autographs. Tebow already signing bats & balls through @TD_Autographs, $125 for…

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson went at it all day on Sunday at the 2016 Rio Olympics as the International Olympic Committee handed out the first medals in golf in 112 years. After taking the most famous duel of the season at Royal Troon to win his first major championship, Stenson ceded this one to Rose as the two struggled back and forth to take hold of the tournament. Both…

RIO DE JANEIRO — Michael Phelps closed his career with a gold medal in a brilliant race, a 4x100m medley relay where his butterfly leg turned a half-second American deficit into a half-second American lead. He called the win “the cherry on the cake” of his career, a 23rd gold to further cement his status as the greatest of all time. And as he leaves his final press conference…

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Tonight three legends of swimming—Michael Phelps, Chad Le Clos, and László Cseh—turned in identical times to share silver in the 100m butterfly. Last night, Simone Manuel tied for gold with Canadian Penny Oleksiak in the 100m freestyle. Modern timing systems are capable of measuring down to the millionth of a second—so why doesn’t FINA, the world swimming governing body, increase its timing precision by adding thousandths-of-seconds? As it turns out,…

Max Gun, who worked at the student radio station at Bloomfield Andover High, has been calling games for the L.A. Dodgers High-A affiliate the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and other teams. His voice is becoming more familiar in pro baseball, and he hopes to move up to the majors one day.(Photo: Steve Saenz/Rancho Cucamonga Quakes) Max Gun was hoping someone would give him a shot. They did and he’s had quite…

AP BY: Joseph Bottum Follow @@JosephBottum August 13, 2016 4:59 am Merl Eberly came out of high school in Clarinda, Iowa—population around 5,000—determined to make baseball his career. He got his chance, signed by the Chicago White Sox in 1957 and sent for seasoning to the minor-league farm team in Holdrege, Nebraska, where he lasted 43 games, batting .281. He was cut by the White Sox the next year. So…

Former Major League Baseball player Billy Bean waves to baseball fans after throwing out the first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, in New York. Bean threw out the pitch on the first Mets Pride Night. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) NEW YORK (AP) — Billy Bean has come full circle,…

In the hours after the Washington Nationals announced the release of closer Jonathan Papelbon, fans took to the internet to mourn the departure of the fiery closer his teammates nicknamed the D.C. Strangler. Here are just a few of the passionate outpourings gathered from the far reaches of the internet: I’ve tripped & fallen into a well of sad Jonathan Papelbon pictures & I’m not sure I wanna be pulled…

x Embed x Share Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte tells USA Today Sports that mentally, he’s drained. USA TODAY Sports Ryan Lochte did not medal in his only individual competition, finishing fifth in the 200 medley.(Photo: Rob Schumacher, USA TODAY Sports) RIO DE JANEIRO — Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. swimmers were held up at gunpoint early Sunday morning. Lochte described the incident to NBC on Sunday afternoon. “We got pulled…

Forget the handshake that wasn’t — Israel is delighted with something much more unusual: international athletic success. While an Egyptian judoka’s refusal to shake hands with his Israeli opponent at the Rio Olympics reverberated worldwide, in Israel the focus is on national Olympic medals — something far more novel than Middle East tensions. The country entered the 2016 games with twice as many Nobel laureates as Olympic medalists. After defeating…

Media playback is not supported on this device Kenya’s Jemima Sumgong wins marathon Jemima Sumgong became the first Kenyan woman to win the Olympic marathon, beating Eunice Kirwa of Bahrain. Ethiopia’s world champion Mare Dibaba took the bronze medal as her compatriot and race favourite Tigist Tufa pulled out before the halfway mark. London Marathon winner Sumgong, 31, finished in two hours 24 minutes four seconds to end a run…

Numbers of openly gay athletes competing in Rio are said to have doubled since the 2012 summer Games in London, putting a global focus on the world of athletics, where identifying as LGBTQ does not always align with stereotypical notions of sporting. But openly LGBTQ athletes thriving in an environment sometimes thought of as homophobic or aggressive, can serve as role models to younger athletes, many of whom, may be…

Former Cardiff City midfielder Aaron Ramsey (R) starred for Wales at Euro 2016 Aaron Ramsey is an injury worry for Wales’ opening World Cup qualifier against Moldova on 5 September. Midfielder Ramsey, 25, came off in Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Liverpool because of suspected hamstring damage. The injury came after news that Crystal Palace midfielder Jonny Williams will miss Wales’ opening three qualifiers. The 22-year-old suffered an ankle injury…

I’m confused about this British swimming record, and how “It was Great Britain’s best medal haul since 1908″ (emphasis added) Aren’t there two more swimming events left? The Women’s 10km is on Monday, Men’s 10km Tuesday. Both of which are swimming events, unless they’re planning to walk somehow, or maybe waterski, or something. Indeed, if I were Keri-Anne Payne or Jack Burnell, I’d be pretty disappointed that British Swimming don’t…

Egyptian Islam El Shehaby in the contentious first round match with Israel’s Or Sasson. Forget the handshake that wasn’t – Israel is delighted with something much more unusual: international athletic success. While an Egyptian judoka’s refusal to shake hands with his Israeli opponent at the Rio Olympics reverberated worldwide, in Israel the focus is on national Olympic medals – something far more novel than Middle East tensions. The country entered the 2016…