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Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) looks for an opening past Philadelphia 76ers forward Jerami Grant (39) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center.(Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports) Markieff Morris is more than just a hot-blooded, ill-tempered basketball player. He’s the greatest in-house villain in Valley sports history. The latest outburst from the beleaguered Suns forward occurred during Wednesday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors, when Morris shoved teammate Archie…

The fourth-largest U.S. sporting goods chain is headed for bankruptcy, a reversal of fortune analysts blame on Sports Authority’s staggering debt and the retailer’s failure to adapt to changing consumer tastes. The Englewood-based retailer is nearing the end of a 30-day grace period on a $21 million interest payment it skipped in January. Failure to pay by Valentine’s Day would trigger a default on its $343 million of subordinated debt….

At the age of 24, Joseph N. Gagliano coordinated the ASU basketball point shaving scandal, still one of the largest scams in sports history.  He is the author of No Grey Areas (Rebel Publishing, 2016). He wrote this editorial for LawNewz.com Whenever money or benefits can be had, especially when it is contingent upon individual performance, there is a solid chance that corruption is not too far away.  The days…

Former UFC heavyweight champion and two-time NCAA champion wrestler Kevin Randleman has died at age 44. Sources told FOX Sports on Thursday that Randleman had been admitted to a San Diego hospital for pneumonia and later passed away due to heart failure. He had been living in Las Vegas. Long before he was one of the most feared men in the Octagon, Randleman was already a legend on the mats…

The News previously reported that FC Barcelona will own one of the New York teams and that Atletico Madrid, Boca Juniors of Argentina and Corinthians of Brazil will have full or partial stakes. On Wednesday, The News learned that Portugal power Benfica has been part of discussions to be affiliated with one of the PFL teams, as have at least two powerhouse European clubs that have yet to be made…

(Photo: The Associated Press) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jeff Gordon will be in the booth and Tony Stewart in a bed when the NASCAR season begins. Neither NASCAR star will be in a car when Daytona International Speedway opens Friday for preparations for the Feb. 21 season-opening Daytona 500. Gordon, arguably NASCAR’s biggest star, retired at the end of last season and the four-time champion will now be a…

With the advent of the Charter System, NASCAR has announced new changes for qualifying procedures in the Daytona 500 and the 35 remaining points races on the 2016 Sprint Cup Series schedule. For the Daytona 500, all 36 Charter teams will be guaranteed a starting position, with the final four slots going to non-Charter teams, which NASCAR refers to as “Open teams.” Four Open teams will make the Daytona 500…

Among other problems, Dynamo Moscow has been losing many of its best players, like Aleksandr Kokorin (right), shown here in a 2013 match against CSKA. Credit PHOTOGRAPH BY DMITRY KOROTAYEV / EPSILON / GETTY The Russian soccer team Dynamo Moscow has its roots in a factory club that was founded in 1887, at the Morozov mill, on the city’s outskirts. In the spring of 1923, the club was co-opted by…

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The fourth-largest U.S. sporting goods chain is headed for bankruptcy, a reversal of fortune analysts blame on Sports Authority’s staggering debt and the retailer’s failure to adapt to changing consumer tastes. The Englewood-based retailer is nearing the end of a 30-day grace period on a $21 million interest payment it skipped in January. Failure to pay by Valentine’s Day would trigger a default on its $343 million of subordinated debt….

Media playback is not supported on this device ‘Doping commonplace in Kenyan athletics’ Kenya has missed a deadline to prove to the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) it is tackling cheating in athletics. It comes after a spate of positive drugs tests among the country’s athletes and fresh allegations of corruption. Kenya has not been able to provide the assurances Wada is seeking and will be placed on a ‘watch-list’ of…

Among the conventional model-types we’re used to seeing in Sports Illustrated’s annual Swimsuit issue will be one woman who stands out—56-year-old plus-size model, Nicola Griffin. Though she won’t appear in the official editorial pages of the magazine, she’ll take up one page of a three-page ad buy by Swimsuits for All, a company that describes itself as “the leader in swimwear for curvy women,” particularly between sizes 10 and 34….

‘Sports Illustrated’ is known for one body type gracing its pages but that stereotype is slowly changing. Plus-size model, Ashley Graham, confirms she’ll be one of the magazine’s 2016 swimsuit rookies. Keleigh Nealon (@keleighnealon) has the story! Buzz60

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5:30 PM ET print NASCAR has tweaked its qualifying and points formats to go along with its reduction of Sprint Cup fields from 43 to 40 and its new guarantee of starting spots to 36 cars. It also has changed its rules regarding the “overtime” green-white-checkered procedure as it prepares to open the season this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR announced Tuesday that it had agreed to license —…

To save articles or get newsletters, alerts or recommendations – all free. Don’t have an account yet?Create an account » Subscribed through iTunes and need an NYTimes.com account?Learn more » Need to connect your Home Delivery subscription to NYTimes.com?Link your subscription »

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Their Olympic gold medals and other memorabilia have been spending more time in safety deposit boxes than on display, so Bill Christian and Dave Christian decided the time was right to auction them off. The father-son collection, currently up for online bidding, will be sold later this month. As treasured as the items are, parting with them wasn’t as difficult as people might have assumed. “Whether or not we have…

Big data has quickly changed baseball. The wisdom learned from defining probabilities is killing off sacrifice bunts (last season saw the lowest rate in recorded history, since 1884), intentional walks (lowest in recorded history, since 1955), stolen bases (lowest since 1973) pitchouts (all but extinct) and the eight position players defending from traditional spots. But sometimes the truths we long have held as self-evident are confirmed by big data—and I…