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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. The death of Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight champion known as much for his political activism as his boxing brilliance, triggered a worldwide outpouring of affection and admiration for one of the best-known figures of the 20th century. Ali, who had long suffered from Parkinson’s syndrome which impaired his speech and made the once-graceful athlete almost a prisoner in his own body, died on Friday at age 74….

It’s better to be famous than infamous when it comes to your value in the sports memorabilia market. Whatever you do off the field cannot hurt the value of your rookie card, but run afoul of the rules and no one wants your autograph, according to a new study. While scuttlebutt about marital infidelity (hello, Tiger Woods) or accusations of murder (like former football player O.J. Simpson’s trial) may grab…

More in Presidential races Sanders: You can’t praise Ali and disparage Muslims Read more »

Join Carson Palmer in celebration of high school sports on Sunday at the Orpheum Theatre.(Photo: The Arizona Republic) It’s finally here. The Arizona Sports Awards, presented by Valley Chevy Dealers, begins at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix. The night will celebrate the best in Arizona high school sports, from the student-athletes who compete at the highest level to those who propel their success. For the…

Last orders for sports clubs as they’re being replaced by ‘sportsvilles’ Kevin Jenkins – chairman of Poneke Football Club The traditional rugby clubrooms, a community oasis where victors and vanquished come together to toast wins and drown sorrows, could soon be a thing of the past. Rugby, football, cricket and netball clubs are being forced to join forces to cope with skyrocketing costs and dwindling player and volunteer numbers.  To cope with rising maintenance…

LONG POND — During a rain delay at Pocono Raceway on Friday, the flat screens inside the Media Center showed a documentary called “The Perfect Storm” on the 1979 Daytona 500. That’s the race that supposedly began the popularity surge of NASCAR. It was the first 500-mile race ever shown on live national TV in its entirety (the Indy 500 was shown on tape delay) and also featured the famous…

PHOTOS: Best at-track pics Saturday from Pocono Caution came out for rain on Saturday at Pocono Raceway on Lap 52 of the scheduled 100 laps in the Pocono Green 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race. Kyle Larson was leading at the time of the caution in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. The race was red-flagged after 53 laps and called after nearly two hours of delay. Larson was declared the winner of the first-ever XFINITY…

More: Gymnastics Donnell Whittenburg leads bunched crowd at P&G Championships Gabby Douglas on Zika: ‘I don’t care about no stupid bugs’ Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas ease into Olympic selection meets at Secret Classic Aly Raisman opened the Olympic selection season just as she did four years ago — with an all-around victory at the Secret Classic. The three-time London 2012 medalist totaled 59.25 points in Hartford, Conn., beating an all-around field that…

The historic season for the Green Hope baseball team ended with a slip-up Saturday afternoon. The Falcons had a two-run lead and a cruising Chris Joyner on the mound heading to the seventh inning, and looked destined to force Game 3 of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A baseball championship best-of-three series with North Davidson. However, two costly errors led to five unearned runs for the Black Knights (30-2),…

East Carolina had Virginia on the ropes so many times Saturday, it seemed only a matter of time before the Pirates would land the knockout punch. Travis Watkins finally did. The junior catcher hit his fourth home run of the season, a three-run walk-off shot to left off UVa closer Tommy Doyle, to cap a five-run rally and propel the third-seeded Pirates to an improbable 8-6 victory over the top-seeded…

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. The death of Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight champion known as much for his political activism as his boxing brilliance, triggered a worldwide outpouring of affection and admiration for one of the best-known figures of the 20th century. Ali, who had long suffered from Parkinson’s syndrome which impaired his speech and made the once-graceful athlete almost a prisoner in his own body, died on Friday at age 74….

The 2015-16 spring season for high school sports concludes the 31st year of The San Diego Union-Tribune All-Academic Team. The names of 7,790 student-athletes appear on these pages. For the 2015-16 school year, about 16,000 All-Academic Team certificates were awarded among the approximately 160,000 high school students in the San Diego Section. Share Photo All-Academic Team Badminton Baseball Softball Boys track Girls track Boys lacrosse Girls lacrosse Boys tennis Boys…

RELATED: Drivers pay respects to Ali Boxing and cultural icon Muhammad Ali, who passed away Friday at age 74, has a direct connection to NASCAR — specifically, to Hall of Famer Bill Elliott. Yes, “The Greatest” and “Awesome Bill” have a history that dates back to 2001 when Elliott sported a likeness of Ali on his No. 9 Dodge while driving for Ray Evernham. The special paint scheme was revealed at historic…

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will serve as a guest driver analyst in the FOX NASCAR television booth for the XFINITY Series race at Michigan International Speedway on June 11, FOX Sports announced Saturday during the broadcast of the Pocono Green 250 event at Pocono Raceway.   The driver of the No. 88 will offer commentary for live coverage of the Menards 250 presented by Valvoline (June 11, 1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), joining announcers Adam…

But Amir Attaran, a law and medicine professor at the University of Ottawa, who is among those leading the campaign to postpone or move the Games from Rio, accused the WHO of acting “irresponsibly”. He is one of the co-authors of an open letter to the WHO signed by 150 international experts, which last week argued the body was rejecting such calls due to its official partnership with the International…

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The historic season for the Green Hope baseball team ended with a slip-up Saturday afternoon. The Falcons had a two-run lead and a cruising Chris Joyner on the mound heading to the seventh inning, and looked destined to force Game 3 of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A baseball championship best-of-three series with North Davidson. However, two costly errors led to five unearned runs for the Black Knights (30-2),…

There is a reason, after all, Marvin Ridge is part of this 3A state championship series. After dropping Game 1 Friday night, the Mavericks needed a win to keep their season alive. They needed pitching, or more runs, or both if they wanted to repeat as state champions. On Saturday morning, they got both, dominating Topsail 10-0 and forcing a deciding Game 3 between the teams later Saturday. Jason Cornatzer,…

There’s still some postseason magic left at Founders Park. South Carolina reserve catcher Hunter Taylor doubled off the third-base bag in the ninth inning to score the go-ahead run and lead USC to a 4-2 win over Duke Saturday afternoon to avoid elimination. “We didn’t play beautiful baseball by any stretch,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “I’ve got to get our guys to relax and enjoy playing the game.” Taylor…

On Friday, boxing legend and cultural icon Muhammad Ali passed away at the age of 74. As you would expect following a death of such significance, ballplayers and baseball figures joined the chorus of those paying tribute to Ali. Here’s a sampling of the baseball and baseball-inspired reaction to the passing of the Greatest. First, here’s how fellow sports luminary Vin Scully announced the sad news during the Dodgers broadcast…