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Yordano Ventura was punched in the face on Tuesday, and the Internet applauded. I’m not saying that makes it right. I’m not saying it’s anything but ghoulish to want another human being to suffer physical harm. Just pointing out the facts. If there’s a master list of disliked baseball players, Ventura is on it. He tends to hit other baseball players with baseballs. But his unpopularity might make him…

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 8, 2016) — NASCAR, in collaboration with broadcast partner NBC Sports Group, Kansas Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway, today announced adjustments to start times and network coverage for NASCAR XFINITY Series races at both tracks this fall. The Kansas Lottery 300 from Kansas Speedway on Oct. 15 will air on NBC at 3 p.m. ET, while the penultimate race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase from Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 12 will air…

RIO DE JANEIRO—Most hockey fans are fixated on the ongoing Stanley Cup finals between the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins. But at another competition a bit farther south, the members of Team Brazil—a group of misfits and weekend warriors mostly plucked from the country’s in-line roller-skating leagues—are focused on some of the simpler aspects of ice skating. Like, for instance, ice skating. “They all really struggle.” said Jens Hinderlie,…

KENNER, La. — Controversy is brewing surrounding a travel baseball league after racial slurs including the N-word were allegedly said during a Sunday game in Kenner. The story gained traction on social media, and now a group of parents said they want to see a coach benched for good. The City of Kenner confirmed travel baseball leagues lease out the park for games, and this past Sunday, two teams faced…

Two viewer-unfriendly themes dominated the opening weekend of the NCAA baseball tournament: rainouts and blowouts. The storms that soaked the southeastern United States affected the schedules of nearly every regional host site and pushed the deciding games of three regionals to Tuesday afternoon. Once the tarps came off each field, many games got ugly in a hurry. In all, 15 ended with double-digit margins of victory, including two decided by…

KENNER, La. — Controversy is brewing surrounding a travel baseball league after racial slurs including the N-word were allegedly said during a Sunday game in Kenner. The story gained traction on social media, and now a group of parents said they want to see a coach benched for good. The City of Kenner confirmed travel baseball leagues lease out the park for games, and this past Sunday, two teams faced…

How USA Soccer Soared To New Copa America Heights, Thumped Costa Rica In 2016 “Waste not, want not” applies to soccer perhaps more than any other sport. The United States men’s national soccer team roared back into Copa America 2016 contention Tuesday with a resounding 4-0 victory over Costa Rica. Clint Dempsey led the way with the goal and two assists in the first half, helping Jermaine Jones and Bobby…

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Getty Images The Browns have cobbled together a potentially mismatched mashup of football personnel, and a strong emphasis on analytics and sports science possibly conflicts with coach Hue Jackson’s more old-school, qualitative-over-quantitative approach. The first sign of a schism already has emerged, over the issue of padded practices in training camp. “Honestly, they got kind of mad at me,” Jackson told reporters on Tuesday regarding the sports science staff, via Mary Kay…

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There are a lot of “baseball fights” then there are BASEBALL FIGHTS. Manny Machado and Yordano Ventura got into the latter on Tuesday with Machado charging the mound and landing a couple shots on Ventura before wrestling him to the ground. Ventura was having a rough night. He’d allowed six early runs. Maybe this 99 mph fastball just got loose by mistake. Or maybe he had enough of…

The mayor was suspended, the ump underwent surgery and a group of 7- and 8-year-old ballplayers got an unexpected lesson in unsportsmanlike conduct. Umpire Tim Nelson says Mayor Jay Farquhar of south suburban Monee broke his jaw in two places with a punch after calling him a drunk as Nelson officiated the kids’ baseball game Saturday. Farquhar, who was coaching, said he was trying to defend himself after a “sarcastic”…

South Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said his team would have to handle adversity to make a run in the postseason. The Gamecocks overcame plenty in the Columbia Regional, finishing off a run out of the loser’s bracket with a 10-5 win over UNC Wilmington Tuesday afternoon to advance to a Super Regional. USC will host Oklahoma State beginning on Saturday, after the Cowboys won the Clemson Regional, needing two wins…

Time for your weekly edition of the Deadspin Funbag. Got something on your mind? Email the Funbag. Today, we’re covering Ali, pasta, vomiting, youth sports, and more. Your letters! Matthew: Advertisement Why do baseball players have to wear caps? In pretty much every sport I can think of, required head gear is there for legitimate protection (football, lacrosse, and hockey helmets; head gear for wrestlers) or to offer a strategic…

N.C. State’s baseball team talked a lot this season about putting last year’s painful NCAA tournament loss to TCU behind them. Coastal Carolina twisted the knife and added to the Wolfpack’s NCAA frustrations on Tuesday with a ninth-inning to win 7-5 and take the Raleigh regional. The Chanticleers (47-16) rallied for four runs in the ninth — in a game delayed three different times by rain, including for 14 hours…

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By Joe Minihane, for CNN Updated 5:09 AM ET, Tue June 7, 2016

Former soccer player Pele speaks with children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2014. The athlete’s auction of memorabilia begins today and a portion of the proceeds will go to a children’s hospital in Brazil. – YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images The auction of Brazilian soccer star Pele’s personal collection of soccer gear and awards started off with a big sale Tuesday — the boots he wore in a 1981 film sold for more…