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1) Twenty years ago ITV thought it was ahead of the curve when it recorded a show called The X Factor. The problem was that instead of recording teenagers with sculpted hair belting out pop songs before collapsing in a puddle of their own tears when they’re told they won’t be getting a run at the Christmas No1 slot, this version was a hellish light-entertainment pilot in which Tom O’Connor,…

Texas second baseman Rougned Odor has been suspended eight games for punching Blue Jays outfielder José Bautista in the face on Sunday, forcing baseball to suffer more than a week without its most accomplished pugilist. The 5ft 11in, 195lbs infielder with predictable nickname “Stink” has a reputation for packing a heavyweight punch despite his cruiserweight size. Long before Odor socked Bautista square in the jaw for baseball crimes ranging from…

Texas second baseman Rougned Odor has been suspended eight games for punching Blue Jays outfielder José Bautista in the face on Sunday, forcing baseball to suffer more than a week without its most accomplished pugilist. The 5ft 11in, 195lbs infielder with predictable nickname “Stink” has a reputation for packing a heavyweight punch despite his cruiserweight size. Long before Odor socked Bautista square in the jaw for baseball crimes ranging from…

10:00 AM ET print Maybe it’s inevitable. Maybe it’s unavoidable. Maybe it’s simply built into the fabric of the sport. Maybe baseball games are just destined to take three hours to play. No matter what clocks are ticking. No matter what rules are changed. No matter what, period. Maybe. Just don’t tell that to the commissioner. “I’m not prepared to accept the fact that we’re always going to play three-hour…

Yoenis Cespedes is a baseball player. As a baseball player, he is equipped with a very good and very functional baseball glove. A glove is great for catching baseballs hit at high speeds. For whatever reason, Cespedes decided he didn’t need to use a perfectly good glove when he could use his chest instead. What’s cooler than cool? @ynscspds: https://t.co/Fn9pG4H2Im pic.twitter.com/2nOHsvVl4T — Cut4 (@Cut4) May 19, 2016…

Texas second baseman Rougned Odor has been suspended eight games for punching Blue Jays outfielder José Bautista in the face on Sunday, forcing baseball to suffer more than a week without its most accomplished pugilist. The 5ft 11in, 195lbs infielder with predictable nickname “Stink” has a reputation for packing a heavyweight punch despite his cruiserweight size. Long before Odor socked Bautista square in the jaw for baseball crimes ranging from…

RELATED: Kenseth survives for Dover victory NASCAR officials handed down a P3-grade penalty Wednesday to the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 team of driver Kasey Kahne for infractions last weekend at Dover International Speedway. The Hendrick No. 5 team was found in violation of sections 20.17.3.1.2 (post-race general inspection measurements); 12.5.3.4.2 a, b, c, d; and 12.5.3.4.1 n,o (that spell out P3 penalty examples) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book. NASCAR fined crew chief…

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position: GOALKEEPERS (4): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC) DEFENDERS (10): Whitney Engen (Boston Breakers), Jaelene Hinkle (Western New York Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Gina Lewandowski (FC Bayern Munich), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC),…

Usain Bolt has said that the announcement that 31 athletes from the 2008 Olympics have tested positive for banned substances after their samples were re-examined is “really bad news” – and marks another “rough” moment for the sport. The Jamaican, who won gold in the 100m and 200m at the Beijing and London Games, added that it was clear that drug use was “something that has been tarnishing the sport…

A contingent of players from newly crowned English Premier League champions Leicester City arrived in Bangkok in the early hours of Wednesday morning to be met by local media and a few dozen eager soccer supporters. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, forward Shinji Okazaki and manager Claudio Ranieri were among those who posed for photos and greeted Thai fans with the traditional Buddhist gesture of a wai. The celebrations mark what has…

Texas second baseman Rougned Odor has been suspended eight games for punching Blue Jays outfielder José Bautista in the face on Sunday, forcing baseball to suffer more than a week without its most accomplished pugilist. The 5ft 11in, 195lbs infielder with predictable nickname “Stink” has a reputation for packing a heavyweight punch despite his cruiserweight size. Long before Odor socked Bautista square in the jaw for baseball crimes ranging from…

What a disgrace, those of us in sports journalism protested to you in the immediate wake of the news Tuesday that Fredi Gonzalez was fired as Atlanta’s skipper. How can Major League Baseball, we demanded, look itself in the mirror in 2016 with Gonzalez having been the lone Latin manager in a game where over a quarter of the players are of Spanish-speaking origin? How preposterous are such optics in…

10:00 AM ET print Maybe it’s inevitable. Maybe it’s unavoidable. Maybe it’s simply built into the fabric of the sport. Maybe baseball games are just destined to take three hours to play. No matter what clocks are ticking. No matter what rules are changed. No matter what, period. Maybe. Just don’t tell that to the commissioner. “I’m not prepared to accept the fact that we’re always going to play three-hour…

Reds reliever Steve Delabar entered Tuesday’s game against the Indians in the fifth inning with his team already down 8-0. Delabar came in with the runners on first and third and one out. After walking Jason Kipnis to load the bases, Delabar struck out Francisco Lindor. One more out and Delabar was out of the jam. Instead, the 34-year-old reliever walked four straight Indians with the bases loaded, all on…

High school sports teams call themselves families so often, that it’s become cliche. Most dismiss it as the lip service it usually is, just coaches and athletes assigning a bond that doesn’t actually exist. But when J.J. Smith needed family the most, he found it in his Basic baseball teammates. Smith’s father, Jerry, died after a long illness May 8 at the age of 49. Two days later, the Wolves…

Sports Authority, once the nation’s largest sporting goods retailer, will close its remaining stores after failing to find a buyer for them. The bankrupt company plans to conduct going-out-of-business sales at all of its locations that weren’t already slated to close, according to a new bankruptcy court filing in Delaware ‘; for (i = $allParagraphs.length-1; i > 0; i–) { if (i > 4) { afterParagraphFour = true; } $currentParagraph…

PRAGUE (AP) — Usain Bolt called it ”really bad news” for sport after the announcement that 31 athletes were caught doping in retests from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. ”It’s rough. It’s rough in the sport,” the Jamaican great said Wednesday. ”Something that’s been tarnishing the sport for years.” Bolt was speaking a day after the International Olympic Committee announced that the 31 athletes could be banned from competing at the…

Editor’s note: Tuesday was opening day at The Undefeated, a new ESPN website that explores the intersections of race, sports and culture. In an introductory letter, Kevin Merida, its editor-in-chief, says the site won’t shrink from covering challenging subjects with a mix of original reporting, innovative storytelling, provocative commentary, must-see video, narratives and investigations. At FiveThirtyEight, we’re so excited at having a new sibling that we’ll be running several of…

Texas second baseman Rougned Odor has been suspended eight games for punching Blue Jays outfielder José Bautista in the face on Sunday, forcing baseball to suffer more than a week without its most accomplished pugilist. The 5ft 11in, 195lbs infielder with predictable nickname “Stink” has a reputation for packing a heavyweight punch despite his cruiserweight size. Long before Odor socked Bautista square in the jaw for baseball crimes ranging from…

x Embed x Share A look at the teams from Monmouth and Ocean counties that have distinguished themselves as the best of the best over the years Buy Photo Wall players celebrate a pair of seventh inning runs in their win over Raritan in the 2004 NJSIAA Group III final.(Photo: File photo)Buy Photo There’s nothing like the sight of players spilling from a dugout and meeting on the diamond in…