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Even steady showers couldn’t dampen the sunny smiles surrounding opening day of the new Miracle League of Stanislaus County. The baseball league for children with physical and mental disabilities held the unveiling of its new specialized field Saturday morning amid persistent rainfall. The downpour meant the teams couldn’t play, but they could still show off their jerseys and celebrate the accomplishment eight years in the making together. The nonprofit group…

There was something different about the crowd noise in the Copper Box and it took me a while to work out what it was. About 10 minutes into the first quarter of the game, I realised: it was the octave level. The netball match was a sell-out – a high-stakes encounter between Hertfordshire Mavericks and Surrey Storm – and the 6,000-capacity arena thrummed, as it’s designed to do, with the…

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RELATED: Full starting lineup   Chase Elliott ‘s No. 24 Chevrolet will move to the rear of the field for Saturday night’s Duck Commander 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) due to a transmission change, NASCAR.com has learned.   Elliott had qualified his Hendrick Motorsports machine fourth Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, but will now start on the back row.   A contender for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, Elliott has…

There was something different about the crowd noise in the Copper Box and it took me a while to work out what it was. About 10 minutes into the first quarter of the game, I realised: it was the octave level. The netball match was a sell-out – a high-stakes encounter between Hertfordshire Mavericks and Surrey Storm – and the 6,000-capacity arena thrummed, as it’s designed to do, with the…

x Embed x Share USA TODAY Sports’ Brant James previews the top story lines at the upcoming Duck Commander 500. USA TODAY Sports Carl Edwards (shown) and Joey Logano will start on the front row for the Duck Commander 500.(Photo: Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports) It’s NASCAR race day at Texas Motor Speedway, and we’ve got all the information you need to enjoy Saturday’s Duck Commander 500 Sprint Cup Series race. START…

“I have been hitting a ball with a bat my whole life so it was just a matter of it changing from going straight to bouncing and swinging the bat more vertically. Once I started doing those things the right way, hitting a cricket ball came naturally,” Collins says. “The hardest part is being able to control the ball and judge the different shots to play. In baseball you take…

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WEST HARTFORD — Eighteen young, local baseball ambassadors started their long journey to Holguin, Cuba, early Saturday morning, with nearly half a ton of school supplies, baseball equipment and musical instruments in tow to be donated to locals. “I’m really excited for the kids and this opportunity that they have,” said Tim Brennan, assistant coach and one of the program leaders. “They will be building new relationships, and our countries…

The debate on Europe quintessentially echoes the tugging forces of the human condition. The current divisions on Europe are not new and the view from this side of the Channel has tended to pinball between boarding the train to an unknown destination and not wanting to be left alone on the platform. While the big political beasts of the jungle joust to convince us of their vision of Britain’s place…

Andy Carroll became the first Premier League player to score a hat-trick against Arsenal since Wayne Rooney in 2011 Andy Carroll’s hat-trick dealt another blow to Arsenal’s already slim Premier League title hopes, despite the Gunners fighting back to draw at West Ham. Arsenal are 10 points behind leaders Leicester with six games to play. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez converted Alex Iwobi passes to put Arsenal 2-0 up but…

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Michael Jordan has his own line of shoes. Tiger Woods has his own line of golf apparel. And now Ruqsana Begum, a Muslim muay Thai fighter, has her own line of sports hijabs. “I’m fighting for a world title and launching my product at the same time, so this is huge for me now,” said Begum, the British champion of female Atomweight muay Thai boxing. As…

Local athletes, coaches, trainers, students and fitness fans who attended the international Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) Symposium, held recently at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, have cited the event as a success. Over 150 participants who pre-registered for the symposium themed ‘The Science and Practice of Running’, were engaged in discussions on sports nutrition and exercise science by local and international experts. The topics, aimed at helping attendees…

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MOSCOW (AP) — No one will face criminal charges over the worst doping scandal in Russia’s history, the country’s sports minister said. A report in November by a World Anti-Doping Agency commission alleged systematic, state-sponsored drug use in Russian track and field and a widespread cover-up of doping. The former head of the Russian track federation was also accused of a role in extorting 450,000 euros ($500,000) from a marathon…

RELATED: Race results FORT WORTH, Texas — Kyle Busch broke his NASCAR XFINITY Series “losing streak” on Friday night and in the process moved into rarefied air in the Lone Star State. With a dominating victory from the pole in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, Busch won for the fourth time in five XFINITY starts this year. His only loss in that stretch was a second-place run after a late blown tire…

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