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Howard Bryant of ESPN.com is at the Wimbledon tennis championships and tells NPR’s Scott Simon about what he’s seen so far.

Jason Day made a pair of late birdies on a windy afternoon at Firestone for a 1-under 69 and a one-shot lead in the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. Day’s objective was to get in the lead and expand it. He took care of the first part Friday, though the world’s No. 1 player lost a chance at some separation with a three-putt bogey on the final hole. He was…

Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined Borussia Dortmund in 2013 Manchester United have had an offer for Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan accepted. The Armenia captain, who cost the German club £23.5m in 2013, is out of contract next summer. “Had we refused it, the player would be available for free in 2017,” Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told the club’s official website. Mkhitaryan, 27, is yet to have a medical at…

The first pitch of Friday night’s Sonoma Stompers baseball game was a breaking ball that went over the plate and into professional baseball history. The pitch itself wasn’t that special, but the called strike was thrown by a woman, one of two who started the game for the Stompers against the San Rafael Pacifics at Arnold Field in Sonoma. It is believed to be the first time in more than…

MLB — Banned the Boston Red Sox from signing international amateur free agents for one year, after the team broke rules on signing bonuses last summer. MLB — Named John Tumpane to the full-time Major League umpiring staff. BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Reinstated RHP Vance Worley and C Caleb Joseph from the 15-day DL. Selected the contract of RHP Chaz Roe from Norfolk (IL). Optioned RHP Oliver Drake and C Francisco…

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i Kelsie Witmore signs with the Sonoma Stompers. Sonoma Stompers hide caption toggle caption Sonoma Stompers Kelsie Witmore signs with the Sonoma Stompers. Sonoma Stompers The Sonoma Stompers say they are making sports history Friday. Stacy Piagno and Kelsie Whitmore are in the starting lineup, adding their names to a very short list of women who have played for a professional baseball team. In fact, with Piagno on the mound…

i Young beachgoers walk near a body part covered in a plastic bag, which was discovered on Rio’s Copacabana Beach near the Olympic beach volleyball venue on Wednesday. The Rio 2016 Olympic Games begin August 5. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Mario Tama/Getty Images Young beachgoers walk near a body part covered in a plastic bag, which was discovered on Rio’s Copacabana Beach near the Olympic beach volleyball…

Kelsie Whitmore only ever wanted to play baseball, so why pass up just about any opportunity to continue doing so at this point? That was the thinking behind the 17-year-old Californian’s decision to be one of two women to try their hand at the professional version of the national pastime. Both Whitmore and Team USA baseball teammate Stacy Piagno, 25, signed with the independent Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association…

CONWAY — When Coastal Carolina pitcher Andrew Beckwith stepped off the plane late Thursday night at the Myrtle Beach airport, he expected a few dozen people to welcome home the new NCAA national baseball champions. Beckwith, who was voted the most outstanding player at this week’s College World Series, got a whole lot more. The celebration lasted throughout the night and into Friday afternoon as more than…

Louisville Bats catcher Chris Berset (14) sits in the stands as he waits for the team’s morning workouts to begin at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky. April 8, 2015(Photo: John Sommers II/Special to the CJ) The first thing to note is, the salaries of minor-league baseball players are a joke. If McDonald’s paid its people what Major League Baseball pays its low minor-leaguers, nobody would ever get fries with…

x Embed x Share USA Today Sports’ Jeff Gluck looks ahead to the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway and the story lines that fans should keep an eye on during the week. USA TODAY Sports Empty seats during the AAA 400 Drive For Autism at Dover International Speedway.(Photo: Matthew O’Haren, USA TODAY Sports) For eight years, Lanette and Jim Williams of Missouri said they traveled to an average…

x Embed x Share USA Today Sports’ Jeff Gluck looks ahead to the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway and the story lines that fans should keep an eye on during the week. USA TODAY Sports NASCAR – like many sports – is trying to determine if empty seats like these at Bristol Motor Speedway show a decline in fan interest or a change in fan consumption.(Photo: Randy Sartin,…

A new crop of great American swimmers shined at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska, this week. Veterans like Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin were surprised by a series of fresh faces who gave the London Olympics stars a run (swim?) for their money. Among them is 19-year-old Lilly King, who won the 100-meter breaststroke – besting 2012 Olympian Breeja Larson and Jessica Hardy (who holds…

Kyle Busch had a scary moment Friday morning during practice for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Busch lost a right-rear tire on his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with nine minutes left in practice. Once the tire failed, Busch’s car turned right and he went nose-first into the SAFER barrier on the outside wall of the track. The car was heavily damaged, but Busch was…

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When Mario Xavier Cruz and Robert Jaime, baseball teammates at Sylmar High, look up into the sky on the Fourth of July and see fireworks bursting in the air, their thoughts may turn emotional. Jaime leaves July 11 for Army boot camp at Fort Jackson, S.C. Cruz leaves the same day for Fort Sill, Okla. Another Sylmar teammate, Erick Aleman, left June 20 for boot camp at Fort Benning, Ga….

For those who are unfamiliar with my thought process, I aim to add as many home run hitters as possible to my daily fantasy baseball lineups. One way of doing that is to look at a player’s isolated power numbers (ISO). The ISO statistic removes singles and provides a larger weight for each extra-base hit. I also use the weighted on-base average (wOBA) metric. This stat takes every positive outcome…

When Mario Xavier Cruz and Robert Jaime, baseball teammates at Sylmar High, look up into the sky on the Fourth of July and see fireworks bursting in the air, their thoughts may turn emotional. Jaime leaves July 11 for Army boot camp at Fort Jackson, S.C. Cruz leaves the same day for Fort Sill, Okla. Another Sylmar teammate, Erick Aleman, left June 20 for boot camp at Fort Benning, Ga….