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The world champion U.S. women’s national soccer team asked a federal judge on Thursday to clear the way for it to strike over alleged pay inequities just two months before the start of the Summer Olympic Games. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, who heard arguments in Chicago from lawyers for the players’ union and for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF), didn’t say when she might rule, The Associated Press…

Nothing comes easy for or against the Alabama baseball team. It’s the story of coach Mitch Gaspard’s seven-year tenure. As usual, the Crimson Tide battled from the first pitch to the last out Thursday in an SEC Tournament elimination game against Florida. As has been the case too often for the taste of Alabama fans, their team came up just short in a 5-4 defeat, and now comes the long…

(Photo: The Associated Press) CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Martin Truex Jr. put himself in good position for another strong showing at the Coca-Cola 600, a race he thought he should have won last year. Truex turned a lap of 192.328 to grab the pole away from Joey Logano on his final lap of qualifying Thursday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Logano, who had the top time in the first two…

Martin Truex Jr.’s expectations were pretty low entering the final round of qualifying Thursday for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Truex’s Toyota was 12th fastest in the first round and fifth in the second round. Then came the final round, during which Truex’s No. 78 Toyota found enough speed to overtake Joey Logano. Truex’s lap of 192.328 mph was good enough for the pole. [Our annual list of…

The world champion U.S. women’s national soccer team asked a federal judge on Thursday to clear the way for it to strike over alleged pay inequities just two months before the start of the Summer Olympic Games. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, who heard arguments in Chicago from lawyers for the players’ union and for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF), didn’t say when she might rule, The Associated Press…

Major League Baseball has completed its investigation into Saturday’s national anthem mix-up involving the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus and has reaffirmed the Padres‘ findings that it was caused by human error, according to a statement released Thursday. The investigation was announced early this week, after the choir’s performance was drowned out by a recording of a woman singing the national anthem prior to a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers….

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Victoria Pendleton has claimed she would have performed better at the London Olympics, where she won silver and gold medals, and could now be heading to compete in Rio if it was not for the corrosive culture at British Cycling that forced her to quit. The former track cyclist, who successfully switched to jump racing in an experiment backed by a leading bookmaker, has been outspoken in her support for…

Jennie Finch is set to coach the Bridgeport Bluefish this Saturday in a move that will make her the first female manager in pro baseball history. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) Former Olympic great Jennie Finch’s name has been etched in the softball history books for nearly two decades; now, she will make her mark on America’s national pastime. With the help of a promotion from an independent team, Finch is set to become the first…

Major League Baseball has completed its investigation into Saturday’s national anthem mix-up involving the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus and has reaffirmed the Padres‘ findings that it was caused by human error, according to a statement released Thursday. The investigation was announced early this week, after the choir’s performance was drowned out by a recording of a woman singing the national anthem prior to a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers….

If you don’t believe there’s magic in SEC baseball, you didn’t watch in person from the edge of your seat all 14 innings, 34 players, 19 hits, four errors, five great escapes, one inspired defensive shift and one successful replay review that made up the delicious gumbo of LSU 5, Florida 3 to close Day Two of the SEC Tournament, a game that started Wednesday night, ended Thursday morning and…

Hoover, Ala. The SEC will decide on potentially moving the SEC tournament from Hoover to another location next week at the spring meetings in Destin, Fla. It’s safe to say South Carolina would be happy with a change of scenery. USC was eliminated from the SEC tournament with a 4-1 loss to Texas A&M Thursday morning at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The Gamecocks stranded eight runners and finished 0-for-6 with runners…

The high school baseball community is mourning the death of former Holliston High School coaching legend Harvey Krupnick. The 71-year-old Krupnick passed away this morning while in hospice care at the McCarthy Care Center in East Sandwich. “It’s sad to have to learn of this news, I heard he wasn’t doing well and actually just dropped a card in the mail to him,” said former North Reading baseball coach Frank…

About 22 years ago, ESPN made the fateful decision to air the later rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest on TV. In including the act of spelling difficult-to-spell words in front of an audience of mostly family members, ESPN was signaling then and there that those contestants are, and forever would be, considered athletes. (Case closed on that front, I’m afraid. No way around it.) And we all know…

When Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber collided with Dexter Fowler last month and was carted off the field with a torn left ACL, it was a reminder of one of sports most painful truths. “It’s a cruel, cruel game sometimes,” manager Joe Maddon said afterward. There was another reminder this spring when Illinois wide receiver Mikey Dudek tore his right ACL for the second-straight season during spring practices. Shortly after,…

Briles had received a 10-year contract extension in 2013. The new deal had him being paid more than $4 million to start. Briles’ on-field work since arriving at Baylor after the 2007 season has bordered on remarkable, ranking with Bill Snyder (Kansas State) and Gary Barnett (Northwestern) in terms of program building. “The job that Art is doing on Baylor is going to be viewed as one of the greatest…

Talks between Jose Mourinho and Manchester United have lasted three days A deal has been agreed for Jose Mourinho to become Manchester United’s new manager, after three days of talks. Negotiations between Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes and senior United officials have concluded, although no contract has been signed. An official announcement from the club is expected on Friday. The Portuguese will replace Dutchman Louis van Gaal, who was sacked on…

RELATED: 2016 Cup schedule | Memorial Day weekend schedule Changes to the rear spoiler, front splitter and rear deck fin will be put into play for two upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races as the sanctioning body continues to reduce aerodynamic downforce and sideforce in an effort to promote closer competition on the race track.   The changes, announced Thursday morning, will be in effect only for upcoming races at Michigan International Speedway…

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 26, 2016) — NASCAR® is collaborating with Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh on a feature film entitled Logan Lucky, starring Channing Tatum alongside Katherine Heigl, Daniel Craig, Riley Keough, Adam Driver and Seth MacFarlane. Depicting a theoretical heist at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the project will mark Soderbergh’s first feature film since announcing his retirement from the film industry in 2013. Soderbergh, who also directed heist film Ocean’s Eleven,…

RELATED: Photos of Voting Day, inductees   NASCAR.com was privileged to have two ballots cast as part of NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Day on Wednesday. Senior writers Kenny Bruce and Holly Cain each submitted their five nominations for induction in the Class of 2017 and a vote for the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.   A spirited discussion and voting process created one of the most intriguing…