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Russian athletics is not devoting “enough energy” to rid itself of doping and has a “steep hill” to climb if it wants to compete at this year’s Olympics, according to Dick Pound, the investigator whose coruscating investigation into Russian track and field led to it being suspended from international competition. “There seems to be some evidence that they’re just changing deckchairs on the Titanic,” Pound told an anti-doping conference in…

@BiertempfelTrib The two frames showing just how close the bat was to the boy’s head. pic.twitter.com/7VwnfWp8L1 — Christopher Horner (@Hornerfoto1) March 6, 2016 To celebrate his son Landon’s ninth birthday this weekend, Shaun Cunningham took him to his first baseball game. It was a spring training match between the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates, at a stadium in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Pirates outfielder Danny Ortiz was swinging when…

BRANDON — When Tony Saladino III was growing up, the baseball fields off of Parsons Avenue in Brandon were more than a just place of play, it was a safe haven, even a second home. On Feb. 20, the opening ceremonies for South Brandon Baseball — its first season under the umbrella of Pony Baseball after transitioning from Little League Baseball — once again brought Saladino…

TOKYO—Three top executives at Japan’s oldest and most prestigious baseball team, the Yomiuri Giants, will step down after a fourth player admitted this week to betting on baseball games. The latest revelation, just weeks before the start of a new season, is attracting widespread attention and some hand-wringing in Japan. Chief Cabinet…

You could argue, convincingly, that Mookie Betts already busted out in 2015. The Boston Red Sox outfielder hit .291, after all, with 18 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 145 games. But it’s a testament to the height of Betts’ ceiling that it still feels like he’s just getting started. The big news for the Red Sox this winter was the offseason additions of potential game-changers like ace David…

By Peter Schwartz » More Columns These days, the world of sports isn’t just about balls and strikes, goals and saves, or even attendance. There’s so much more that goes into evaluating players, winning games and selling tickets, and it all has to do with analyzing statistics. In other words, if you want to establish a career in sports, you have to have some knowledge of analytics. “I think it comes…

Intel is diving further into 3D technology, and it’s hoping to bring sports fans along for the ride. The company announced overnight that it acquired the Israeli company Replay Technologies, which makes “free dimensional” 3D video technology. Intel has been partnering with Replay since 2013, and most recently the two companies joined forces during the NBA All-Star Weekend, where fans got to experience a full 360 degrees of the popular Slam…

The Sports Direct founder, Mike Ashley,has been warned he could be found in contempt of parliament after failing to give MPs a date to answer questions about his company’s treatment of workers. The move represents the latest setback to the tycoon and owner of Premier League strugglers Newcastle United. Ashley has seen almost £1bn wiped from his personal fortune after a downturn in trading at the store chain and a…

Authorities searched the offices of France’s soccer federation and seized documents to help a Swiss investigation into former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Switzerland’s prosecutor said on Wednesday. The operation, carried out a day earlier, was linked to a 2 million Swiss franc ($2 million) payment to France’s Michel Platini at the heart of proceedings against Blatter, Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said. Swiss prosecutors said in September they…

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The parents and neurosurgeon of paralyzed MN hockey player Matt Olson meet with reporters in Chicago to offer an update on his condition.  (Photo: KARE) CHICAGO – A Minnesota hockey player could benefit from experimental stem cell therapy after he was paralyzed during a game last month. Matt Olson, a 20-year old defenseman for the Chicago Cougars Junior Hockey team lost control during at a game on February 21 crashing…

When Khalida Popal arrived alone at an asylum camp in Denmark – having been forced out of her native Afghanistan by death threats – she turned to her greatest passion as a source of strength: soccer. “You feel so alone and so unhappy in an asylum camp,” Popal tells PEOPLE. “The women there didn’t have any opportunities, so I encouraged them to come fight their stress and depression by playing…

  Just three seasons after creating the Minnesota United FC brand, local professional soccer seems headed for a name reboot. “Minnesota FC” is the name Major League Soccer registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 18, according to the Empire of Soccer blog. The filing occurred one day after a Sports Illustrated report that MLS did not want expansion franchises Atlanta and Minnesota entering the league with…

When Khalida Popal arrived alone at an asylum camp in Denmark – having been forced out of her native Afghanistan by death threats – she turned to her greatest passion as a source of strength: soccer. “You feel so alone and so unhappy in an asylum camp,” Popal tells PEOPLE. “The women there didn’t have any opportunities, so I encouraged them to come fight their stress and depression by playing…

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, admits that NASCAR officials probably should have thrown the caution flag sooner when Cody Ware wrecked with 63 laps left in Saturday’s XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ware, who hit the wall in Turn 2, was clobbered by the oncoming car of Darrell Wallace Jr., who had nowhere to go in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford….

The family of the former Totino-Grace High School hockey player who was paralyzed in an accident during a game with his junior hockey team expressed their gratitude for the support they’ve received from the tight-knit hockey community. Posted:Mar 08 2016 05:41PM CST Updated:Mar 08 2016 08:50PM CST Family of paralyzed Minn. hockey player amazed by support for son [  ] Hide Caption [  ] Show Caption Photo courtesy of Matt Olson’s GoFundMe…

  Just three seasons after creating the Minnesota United FC brand, local professional soccer seems headed for a name reboot. “Minnesota FC” is the name Major League Soccer registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 18, according to the Empire of Soccer blog. The filing occurred one day after a Sports Illustrated report that MLS did not want expansion franchises Atlanta and Minnesota entering the league with…

Furniture Row Racing officials have withdrawn their appeal request for penalties incurred earlier this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and crew chief Cole Pearn will serve his one-race suspension this weekend when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Phoenix International Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM).   The organization made the announcement via news release Tuesday.   In Pearn’s absence, former FRR crew chief Todd Berrier will take over calling the shots for the…

HAMILTON — Shortly after Jacob J. St. Phard declined an offer to play soccer at a particular college he’d visited, the teen’s club team coach Julian Richens received a phone call. It was from the college coach, but he wasn’t upset. “He called to say what a great kid he was,” Richens said of St. Phard, who was killed by a train Sunday night in Hamilton. Richens said he has several similar…

Expect to hear a lot more about 3-(2,2,2-trimethylhydrazinium) propionate dihydrate in the coming days, weeks and months. Like a warped version of the Christmas standard, by Tuesday we were up to potentially nine Ethiopian distance runners, six Georgian wrestlers, two Ukrainian biathletes, two Russian speed skaters and a multimillionaire five-times grand slam tennis champion who had tested positive for the Latvian-manufactured heart drug more commonly known as meldonium. It was…