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There are two new trends in the world of sports betting that you might have missed: Entity betting and eSports gambling. Reports this week on both trends highlight the changing nature of the field. First, if you don’t know what “eSports” is, you’re not alone—it’s the latest in video games. And betting on the activity, which is basically placing bets on other people gaming, has grown to $8 billion in…

Joe Jares set out in the early 1970s to write a book about pro wrestling, relying on both his reporting skills and his childhood memories. His father was Frank Jares Sr., a villain in the sport’s early, black-and-white television heyday who fought as Brother Frank, the Mormon Mauler from Provo, Utah, and the Thing, among other aliases. Jares spent a college summer traveling the postwar wrestling circuit, assisting his father…

The Associated Press on Thursday announced that it is now covering Minor League Baseball games nationally using artificial intelligence and software from Automated Insights, and data from MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the official statistics provider for Minor League Baseball. Automatically generated stories cover games that AP Sports’ human writers weren’t reporting on or traveling to anyway, including: Triple-A, Double-A and Class A games, across 142 MLB-affiliated teams and 13 leagues….

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On the day last year when Brock Lesnar announced that he was officiailly retiring from mixed martial arts and instead signing a new long term contract with the WWE, he almost immediately regretted that decision It wasn’t any ill will towards the WWE or his life as a professional wrestler, but instead Lesnar’s own fighting spirit just wouldn’t allow him to walk away from the sport where he was champion…

Michael Phelps is still the best swimmer of his generation but he’ll need to be better in Rio. To a casual observer, Phelps accomplished exactly what he needed to in Omaha, Neb., qualifying for a fifth Olympics in his three individual events. Where several of his contemporaries failed to make the U.S. team at all, Phelps handled his business. He also enjoyed an emotionally gratifying week, celebrating his climb back…

In China’s eastern city of Hangzhou, Mr Li could barely watch as Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo lined up a penalty kick in a finely-balanced Euro 2016 group match against Austria. Li had reason to be nervous: He had bet tens of thousands of yuan on Portugal to win. With 10 minutes to go in the game in Paris, Real Madrid star Ronaldo hit the post, the game ended in a…

Brad Keselowski’s victory in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 was kind of a big deal for Team Penske, as it was the squad’s 100th NASCAR Premier Series triumph.  Penske won its first NASCAR race way back on Jan. 21, 1973, when Mark Donohue drove an ungainly AMC Matador to a victory back on the old Riverside International Raceway road course.  With the win, Penske joins Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush…

When they were students at Emerson College, Sam Mathius, Peter Karl and Petar Medjarac bonded through a mutual love of soccer. Now graduated, the group is once again tied together through the game, this time in a series of videos produced after a wide ranging tour of Central and South America. Known as the “American Futbol Project,” the group (joined also by fellow Emerson alum Austin Ahlborg) traveled more than 7,000 miles in 2014,…

Mario Gomez was substituted shortly after helping Mesut Ozil score against Italy Germany forward Mario Gomez will miss the rest of the European Championship with a hamstring injury. Scans conducted after Saturday’s quarter-final win over Italy showed a torn muscle for the 30-year-old, who has scored two goals in four games. A German Football Association (DFB) statement said: “Another appearance for the striker is not an option.” Midfielders Sami Khedira…

Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere: Chin Music Baseball heaps praise on Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter, a potential National League MVP candidate. SaberBallBlog breaks down which teams are the best at using their bullpens. Big Three Sports regards Ichiro Suzuki, not Pete Rose, as baseball’s true hit king. Baseball Hot Corner submits a few Red Sox trade ideas. The Point Of Pittsburgh (1, 2) runs down some trade…

Mario Gomez was substituted shortly after helping Mesut Ozil score against Italy Germany forward Mario Gomez will miss the rest of the European Championship with a hamstring injury. Scans conducted after Saturday’s quarter-final win over Italy showed a torn muscle for the 30-year-old, who has scored two goals in four games. A German Football Association (DFB) statement said: “Another appearance for the striker is not an option.” Midfielders Sami Khedira…

Lewis Hamilton collided with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg on the last lap before passing him to win a thrilling Austrian Grand Prix. The German turned into a corner late as Hamilton tried to pass around the outside and damaged his front wing, finishing fourth. And Rosberg is under investigation by race stewards for causing a collision and not stopping with a damaged car. It reduces Hamilton’s deficit to Rosberg to…

Former U.S. Marine Corps. sergeant Alex Stone wants to help young veterans catch the eyes of college athletic recruiters. And he’s left his job at Under Armour to make it happen. Stone spent five years at Under Armour as a development and product line manager before leaving last month to focus on his startup Athletes of Valor, which aims to connect recent military veterans who played a varsity sport in…

A new large-scale study has shown the important impact that taking part in culture, sports, and the arts can make on our health and well-being. Carried out by Nottingham Trent University, UK, the study analysed data from Understanding Society, a longitudinal study which questioned members of 40,000 UK households about a range of aspects of their lives, including age, income, and family situations. The team asked participants about their life and…

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ZINK: Whitmore makes professional debut; Inland Sports hot dogs it Share Pin It More Galleries RIVERSIDE – Each year, on Fourth of July Weekend, we celebrate American Independence and honor those who fought for our right to be free to pursue the “American Dream.” Saturday, on the Inland Sports radio show, we talked with Kelsie Whitmore, a 17-year-old Temecula Valley grad who recently signed to play professional baseball, becoming…