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Walking into a Major League Baseball clubhouse, James Sass knows what every player wants from him before anyone utters a word. “They’re all looking for the same thing,” he says. “The biggest barrel they can get with the lightest swing weight.” Mr. Sass, 50, is head of professional baseball sales for Louisville Slugger. He’s on the road at…

If there’s one thing that Narrows Baseball Club does well, it’s getting players noticed. The select travel-program, which primarily draws from the Gig Harbor area, but also as far as Silverdale and Olympia, puts its players on the radars of college coaches and scouts. “Our program is well enough known now, that we get a lot of colleges calling and coming out,” said Jon Fuller, coach of the 18U Narrows…

In the season’s biggest moments, Mundelein turned to its best player. Junior pitcher Brendan Murphy led the Mustangs (31-10) to the Class 4A state championship game with a 13-strikeout performance against Warren to win a sectional title, then tossed a complete game as Mundelein rallied past St. Charles North in the state semifinals for its first berth in the title game. The Arizona State recruit led Mundelein with a 10-2…

Welcome to today’s daily fantasy post! Remember that you can find our posts on the new DFS home page, as well as the fantasy page. Bookmark those sites now! Also, please scroll to the bottom of this article to see the latest tweets from Ryan Fowler (@FOXSportsFowler), D.J. Foster (@FOXSportsFoster), Adam Meyer (@FOXSportsMeyer) and me (@jhalpin37). That way, if information surfaces for any last minute changes, you can see our thoughts…

For baseball prospects, choosing whether to turn pro right out of high school or accept a college athletic scholarship can be one of the most difficult choices of their young lives. Though turning pro is a dream for almost all players, minor-league ball comes with never-ending bus trips and a paycheck often between $1,100 and $2,500 a month, in-season only. Players drafted in the early rounds usually receive a substantial…

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There are two ways to absorb the U.S.’s 4-0 pantsing at the hands of an overwhelmingly superior Argentina side. The first is fatalist, and is espoused by ESPN’s Doug McIntyre. It holds that this drubbing was so utter and so complete that there’s nothing constructive to take from the loss, no insight to be applied going forward, nothing to do but throw up your hands and say fuck! After getting…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Three men have been arrested for allegedly attacking and beating NASCAR veteran Mike Wallace and his daughter after a North Carolina concert. Motorsport.com reported that Nathan Lucas, 22, of Indian Trail; Paul Lucas, 29, and Randolph Magnum, 24, of Monroe, face charges in the incident. Mike Wallace was brutally beaten by the suspects after attending a Rascal Flatts concert with his daughter Friday in Charlotte, according to his…

What’s new in FIFA? There are three flagship features for FIFA 17: a new story mode, a revamped set piece system and a switch to DICE’s Frostbite game engine. First built for Battlefield, Frostbite now powers a vast number of EA titles, including Star Wars Battlefront, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, and the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda. The switch in engine has been hotly anticipated by FIFA fans, who have been playing…

Christen Press shows off why her body is perfect for soccer as she poses for ESPN The Magazine’s 2016 Body Issue. This is an online exclusive story from ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue 2016. Subscribe today! And for more from the 2016 Body Issue, check out espn.com/bodyissue, and pick up a copy on newsstands starting July 8. Don’t let Christen Press’ ear-to-ear grin fool you; the USWNT star is a lethal striker…

Welcome to today’s daily fantasy post! Remember that you can find our posts on the new DFS home page, as well as the fantasy page. Bookmark those sites now! Also, please scroll to the bottom of this article to see the latest tweets from Ryan Fowler (@FOXSportsFowler), D.J. Foster (@FOXSportsFoster), Adam Meyer (@FOXSportsMeyer) and me (@jhalpin37). That way, if information surfaces for any last minute changes, you can see our thoughts…

Rory McIlroy struggled in the U.S. Open at Oakmont last weekend, missing the cut. (Charlie Riedel/AP) Rory McIlroy withdrew from the Rio Olympics because of his concerns over the Zika virus Wednesday, a disappointing decision for a sport that is returning to the Games after a 112-year absence. The 27-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland noted in making the announcement that the risk of infection is considered low, but “is a risk…

Activists with the E.U. flag and the Union Jack painted on their faces kiss in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate as a protest of the British referendum to leave the European Union. (Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters) Leave or Remain? The polls predict a close vote on June 23, when United Kingdom voters decide whether they will stay in the European Union. While most British politicians are against a British exit (Brexit), the…

x Embed x Share Rich Garrison got the idea to start a hockey team for children with special needs after the injured veteran got energized from playing on the USA Warriors, a hockey team for injured vets. Rich Garrison, right, former Army Special Forces, was injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, ending his career as a Baltimore City fire fighter. Playing for the USA Warriors inspired him to create the York…

The United States men’s soccer team takes on Lionel Messi and Argentina tonight (June 21) at 9pm ET in the semifinal match of the Copa América tournament. Some are calling it “the most important game” in US soccer history—it’s a chance for the Americans to prove they can compete with arguably the best team in the world. The winner will face the winner of Colombia and Chile in the final…

Russia’s track athletes are banned from the Rio Olympics. We’ll look at the pushback on sports doping, and the future of the games. Russia’s pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva competes at the National track and field championships at a stadium in Cheboksary, Russia, Monday, June 20, 2016. (Nikolai Alexandrov / AP) Headlines all over the world last week: Russians banned from the Rio Olympics. The Russian track and field team, banned…

The starting lineup for the United States against Brazil in the semifinals of the 1995 Copa America. —BANDSports There is a first time for everything. When it comes to reaching the Copa America semifinals, that first time came for the U.S. men’s national soccer team in 1995. A year removed from reaching the round of 16 of the 1994 World Cup on home soil, a U.S. side that included national team stalwarts…

The United States men’s soccer team takes on Lionel Messi and Argentina tonight (June 21) at 9pm ET in the semifinal match of the Copa América tournament. Some are calling it “the most important game” in US soccer history—it’s a chance for the Americans to prove they can compete with arguably the best team in the world. The winner will face the winner of Colombia and Chile in the final…

An Indian Trail company says it’s being unfairly maligned on social media since one of its more than 70 employees was accused of participating in an assault on NASCAR driver Mike Wallace and his daughter Lindsey. “The efforts being made to disparage our business and negatively impact its hardworking employees is both disturbing and uncalled for,” Lucas Lawn and Landscaping said in a news release. Wallace posted on Facebook that…