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i Argentina’s Lionel Messi reacts after losing 4-2 to Chile in penalty kicks during Sunday’s Copa America final in New Jersey. Julio Cortez/AP hide caption toggle caption Julio Cortez/AP Argentina’s Lionel Messi reacts after losing 4-2 to Chile in penalty kicks during Sunday’s Copa America final in New Jersey. Julio Cortez/AP Lionel Messi says it’s over. He’s retiring from Argentina’s national team. After losing three previous Copa America finals, Lionel…

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email print comment OMAHA, Neb. — On Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper wore a cap that read “MAKE BASEBALL FUN AGAIN.” The slogan took off, with merchandise flooding the internet — and it seems the College World Series has taken it to heart. Just look at the two teams vying for the national championship as proof. Cameras have been…

It starts with a man walking to a park to watch a baseball game. He doesn’t know why, other than the park is near his house. He has no connection to anyone on either team. He’s there for the most basic of reasons: It’s something to do. He figures this is where he belongs. He coaches a team that plays in this park, Peterson Park in Lakeland, Florida, and he…

Note: Don’t whiff on this special FanDuel offer. Win your first contest or get your money back (up to $10) to keep playing. Try FanDuel now! Normally it’s a bad move to fade Coors Field, so doing so when the Blue Jays are in town seems pretty silly. To be fair, that’s not exactly what I’m advocating. There are a few players I really like from that game. I just…

Media playback is not supported on this device Highlights: England 1-2 Iceland Roy Hodgson resigned as England manager after his side’s 2-1 defeat by Iceland saw them knocked out of Euro 2016. The 68-year-old had been in charge for four years after replacing Italian Fabio Capello but has won just three of 11 games in major tournament finals. Iceland – with a population of just 330,000 – were among the…

In the depths of Tropicana Field – between the Tampa Bay Rays and San Francisco Giants clubhouse and below a sea of more than 40,000 fans – a United States military veteran approached Billy Bean. Sidebar NBA, WNBA March in NYC LGBT Pride Parade » Major League Baseball’s ambassador for inclusion, Bean was talking to people all night the evening of June 17th. He threw out the first pitch,…

Lesa France Kennedy, CEO of International Speedway Corporation and Vice Chairperson of NASCAR, was named one of ADWEEK’S ’30 Most Powerful Women in Sports’ in their July issue, on newsstands now. This is the inaugural ’30 Most Powerful Women in Sports’ list.  ADWEEK’S annual Sports Issue will feature the list yearly. Kennedy is featured along with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Danica Patrick, and other elite athletes, league executives, sports…

Media playback is not supported on this device Wimbledon 2016: Novak Djokovic beats Britain’s James Ward Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer both made serene progress to the second round of Wimbledon with straight-set wins on the opening day. Defending champion Djokovic – trying to win a calendar Grand Slam – beat Briton James Ward 6-0 7-6 (7-3) 6-4. Third seed Federer, troubled by injury problems this year, saw off Argentina’s…

Good morning. As Cleveland sports fans nurse celebration hangovers, pundits are left to weigh the fallout of Cleveland finally winning a major sports title. Such as…which major American city now assumes Cleveland’s spot as the unluckiest spectator sports market? Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com, indulging his zest for sports analytics, devised a Sports Misery Index. When the point-tallying was done, the successor to Cleveland was, predictably, Cleveland West. San Diego, you…

Prepare yourself for the greatest staring contest in the history of sports. A boy attending a baseball game for the College World Series can’t resist the draw of the cameras. SEE ALSO: Sassy little girl keeps it honest for preschool yearbook shoot As soon as he sees himself on the screen, he immediately starts connecting with his newfound audience.  Be careful. His piercing stare might see into your soul. You…

Previously Mentioned Guys (Add Right Now if Not Too Late) Justin Bour, 1B, Miami Marlins A.J. Reed, 1B, Houston Astros Devon Travis, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays Trevor Bauer, SP, Cleveland Indians Seung Hwan Oh, RP, St. Louis Cardinals   Mixed Leagues Mark Teixeira, 1B, New York Yankees Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B, Kansas City Royals Max Kepler, OF, Minnesota Twins Brandon Nimmo, OF, New York Mets Daniel Norris, SP, Detroit Tigers  Lucas…

You’ll often hear a lot in the first few months of the season about “The Super Two Deadline,” but that’s kind of a misnomer. There is no deadline. There is no one date after which teams can just call players up without worrying about losing a year of cost-control, which is why there isn’t one day when we are inundated by a deluge of callups. Instead, it’s usually a trick;…

On Sunday, the sports world woke up to the awful news that the health of legendary women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt had become dire and that her family was “preparing for the worst.” The news came five years after Summitt announced she had early onset Alzheimer’s disease and a few months after she had been placed in a retirement center. Since then, support for the winningest coach in Division I…

Your teams. Your favorite writers. Wherever you want them. Personalize SI with our new App. Install on iOS (iOS or Android) On Sunday, the U.S. Olympic swimming Trials began in Omaha, where six Olympians were named to Team USA, a well-known veteran didn’t qualify in his first event and an American record was broken. Here are five thoughts from the the first night: 1. Ryan Lochte turns heads by finishing third,…

Blake Shelton performs as Clint Bowyer adds some air guitar during the opening of NBC’s new video for NASCAR coverage.(Photo: Photo courtesy Rick Kern, NBC) Clint Bowyer knew friend Blake Shelton would be relentless as soon as Bowyer read the script. “He makes fun of me terribly bad over air guitar,” the Sprint Cup driver told USA TODAY Sports. “We were sitting in the bus looking at the schedule and it was…

by Johnny Harris on June 27, 2016

Maya DiRado competes in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming at CenturyLink Center on June 26, 2016 in Omaha, Neb. OMAHA, Neb. — Coming into the final 100 meters of the 400-meter individual medley at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials…

Lawmakers in Salt Lake City recently approved giving the city’s NBA team, the Utah Jazz, $22.7 million in tax revenue collected from businesses in the basketball arena’s zoning district. The subsidy will be doled out over the next 25 years. The “reimbursement,” as lawmakers on the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City termed the gift, is expected to be used to help pay for the planned construction and renovation of…

Six days before Americans gathered to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial, attention was drawn to Detroit where 18 million viewers watching ABC’s “Monday Night Baseball” were first introduced to Tigers rookie pitcher Mark (The Bird) Fidrych when he faced the first-place New York Yankees. Though the game — Tuesday marks 40 years ago to the day — was blacked out in Detroit, 48,000 fans who packed into Tiger Stadium were treated…

Media playback is not supported on this device Lionel Messi scores sublime Argentina goal Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international duty after missing in a penalty shootout as Argentina lost a fourth major final in nine years. “It’s not meant for me. For me the national team is over. I’ve done all I can, it hurts not to be a champion,” the 29-year-old said after defeat by Chile at…