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CONCORD, N.C. — Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick have more in common than being long-time car owners in NASCAR. Both men have seen their teams win multiple championships. Both have fielded entries for some of NASCAR’s most talented drivers. And both are going into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2017. Their friendship has been built on respect for each other’s accomplishments as well as years…

(Photo: The Associated Press) CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Lee Greenwood’s patriotic anthem was almost lost to bad timing. Greenwood was at Charlotte Motor Speedway to sing his anthem, “God Bless The USA” before the start of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night. He said that when the song was out its first year on the “You’ve Got A Good Love Comin’” album, its release missed a natural tie in with…

Time and history have long since confirmed Maxim Gorky’s dim view of the Soviet Union. So perhaps we ought to pay a little more attention to something the Russian novelist said about sports. “Sport,” Gorky wrote in 1928, “has a single clear purpose: to make people even more stupid than they are.” (Before anyone asks,…

Beginning this fall, low-income student-athletes will not be able to get grants to offset the cost of playing sports, because legislators did not reauthorize a sales tax exemption on tickets for high school sporting events. Legislators did not include the comparatively minuscule measure in the chaotic final days of the legislative session, where it got lost amid proposals for billions of dollars in spending and borrowing. Gov. Mark Dayton said…

Texas A&M won an SEC Championship in baseball today almost three months after clinching the regular season title for basketball. That only adds more pressure on Kevin Sumlin.  Athlon Sports came out with its early predictions on arguably Sumlin’s most important season. In the article, the Aggies are picked to finish 5th in the SEC West. In addition, Athlon Sports previews A&M’s offense, defense and special teams as well as what to expect this…

Andy Murray beat Roger Federer to win Olympic gold in London in 2012 Andy Murray will seek medical guidance on the Zika virus before travelling to Rio for the Olympics. The 29-year-old British defending champion said he had been influenced by recent reports of scientists saying it was “unethical” for the summer Olympics and Paralympics to go ahead. “I will speak to a couple of doctors about it and see…

Olympic chiefs have announced 23 competitors at the London 2012 Games have failed retrospective doping tests. Those athletes are from five different sports and six different countries. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) retested 454 selected doping samples from the 2008 Games in Beijing and a further 265 from London 2012. It said the retests, conducted using the latest scientific methods, were focused on athletes who could take part at this…

Mexico City –  Alan Pulido, a striker for Mexico’s national soccer team and Greek top side Olympiakos, was reportedly kidnapped early Sunday in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of the violence-plagued northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The abduction was initially confirmed to local media by state officials and to sports website MedioTiempo by Pulido’s brother Armando, who is also a professional soccer player. “Yes, it’s true that Alan was kidnapped,” Armando…

CORVALLIS – On a day when Oregon State accomplished a feat not seen in the 110 years since its baseball program launched, Luke Heimlich could only think about the coming days. The sophomore pitcher fired his first career complete game Sunday in a 6-0 win over UCLA to conclude the regular season at Goss Stadium. In doing so, the Beavers held their opponent scoreless in a three-game series for the first time in…

Time and history have long since confirmed Maxim Gorky’s dim view of the Soviet Union. So perhaps we ought to pay a little more attention to something the Russian novelist said about sports. “Sport,” Gorky wrote in 1928, “has a single clear purpose: to make people even more stupid than they are.” (Before anyone asks,…

Alexander Rossi celebrates after winning the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports) INDIANAPOLIS — Running on fumes on the final laps of the race, rookie Alexander Rossi ran out of fuel coming out of Turn 4 — and still managed to win the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. Rossi, a 24-year-old native of California, coasted to…

USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Gluck previews the story lines for NASCAR’s upcoming Coca-Cola 600.

Federal and state forces mounted a big search operation Sunday for Mexican soccer star Alan Pulido, who was abducted in the crime-plagued northern border state of Tamaulipas. The 25-year-old Pulido is a forward for Olympiakos of Greece and was part of Mexico’s 2014 World Cup team, though he wasn’t called up for the Copa America tournament that starts this coming week. “We have information that he was intercepted by armed…

Michael Phelps speaks to the media at a press conference during the 2016 Team USA Media Summit on March 9, 2016.(Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports) MESA, Ariz. — There are two things to know about Michael Phelps as he stands about one month until U.S. Olympic swim trials, and with almost two months until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro: 1) He is svelte, sleek and powerful, and feeling as…

Update: The Beavers shut out UCLA 6-0 Sunday afternoon to complete the three-game sweep. They now await their NCAA Tournament fate Monday morning at 9 a.m. Stay tuned for a full game story. Check the comments section for a live updates recap and analysis. UCLA at Oregon State Where: Goss Stadium at Coleman Field When: 11:00 a.m. On air: Pac-12 Network Records: UCLA (25-30, 12-16 Pac-12) at Oregon State (34-19, 15-14 Pac-12) Pac-12 standings: Oregon State is…

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Caption Close CLEARWATER, Fla. – Joe Davis hit his third home run of the tournament, but the University of Houston produced little else at the plate in a 7-2 loss to Connecticut on Sunday in the American Athletic Conference championship game. The loss likely ends the season for the Cougars (36-23),who entered the game on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament. The AAC is expected to receive only three…

Texas A&M beat Florida 12-5 on Sunday to win the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover. See how the game unfolded. LIVE SCORE: Texas A&M 12, Florida 5. NINTH INNING * Florida goes 1-2-3 and Texas A&M wins. EIGHTH INNING * Gators don’t score. * With one out and 2 on, Eddy Demurias on to pitch. Bases loaded walk to the 9 hole hitter Homan makes it 8-5 and we’re at our 2nd pitching…

The best quality Central Missouri will have when it heads into its elimination game against Franklin Pierce 3 p.m. ET Tuesday in the Division II Baseball Championship in Cary, North Carolina, is its resiliency. The Mules are coming off a tough, 4-3 loss to Lander on Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in which the winning run scored with one out in the bottom of the…