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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Research shows that kids who play sports are healthier, get better grades and four times more likely to go to college. That’s why experts are so concerned about this: Fewer and fewer kids are playing team sports. According to a national study by the Sports Fitness Industry Association, participation among kids ages 6-to-17 has declined more than 9 percent in the last five years. And many experts…

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By DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge on Monday rejected the requests of daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel for temporary restraining orders to block the state attorney general’s attempt to shut them down. In separate complaints filed Friday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, FanDuel and DraftKings first asked a judge for an injunction, arguing that Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wrongly characterized…

A New York judge on Monday denied temporary restraining orders from DraftKings and FanDuel to continue running their respective daily fantasy sports operations in the state, according to a report from Reuters. The decision creates the possibility that both companies, which let players wage real money on imaginary sporting outcomes, will be forced to close up shop in the state until a court decides whether they constitute illegal online gambling. …

“This is Your Brain on Sports” is a weekly podcast from Sports Illustrated in which SI executive editor Jon Wertheim and Tufts University psychology professor Sam Sommers explore the intersection of sports and human nature—what the world of sports has to teach us about who we are, what we care about and the forces that shape our behavior. On this week’s episode, Sommers talks with University of St. Thomas head men’s basketball…

RELATED: Chase Grid | Full Chase rules The final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway is all about order of finish. No bonus points are awarded for laps led, most laps led or for winning the race. So the best finisher from the Championship 4 group of Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. will be crowned the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. The Championship 4: 1. Kevin Harvick, 5,000 points 2. Jeff Gordon, 5,000 points 3….

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France met with Matt Kenseth on Monday, before the Joe Gibbs Racing driver returns from a two-race suspension this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  According to NASCAR senior vice president and chief communications officer Brett Jewkes, France was “pleased with the dialoge” of the conversation with Kenseth.  NASCAR’s Brian France met with Matt Kenseth today in CLT. Brian was pleased with the dialogue. Now all focus…

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John Oliver set aside a large portion of his show “Last Week Tonight” on Sunday to launch an attack on daily fantasy sports. Oliver’s 20 minute segment pointed out the similarities between daily fantasy sports and professional poker, ultimately using it to support his opinion that daily fantasy sports is gambling, and should be dealt with as such: “By any rational definition, daily fantasy is gambling, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. People clearly love…

If you don’t spend a lot of time on YouTube, you may not have heard of Whistle Sports, a digital video network that launched just over one year ago. But you could be regularly watching Whistle Sports videos without knowing it. Whistle Sports produces a range of videos (often funny, often viral) for a range of platforms (YouTube, Xbox, AppleTV, Roku and others), and at least one organization thinks what…

Now that the dust has settled and we are somewhat back to our senses after Holly Holm shocked the world Saturday night with a scintillating second-round knockout of the seemingly indestructible Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, it’s time to put into perspective how big of an upset this was in the history of combat sports. Let’s be clear: regardless of whatever revisionist history takes place over the next several months…

Another New Orleans defensive debacle has spelled the end of Rob Ryan’s days as the unit’s coordinator. Multiple sources told FOXSports.com that Ryan is being removed from the position following Sunday’s 47-14 loss at Washington. The move should be official at some point on Monday. Head coach Sean Payton said Monday that changes were coming but said he hasn’t made decisions regarding the coaching staff or other personnel, including Ryan….

Throughout the world of sports, players and teams paid homage to the victims of Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris over the weekend. From Denmark, to Sweden, to Great Britain, to the U.S., and China, here are images of a weekend of tributes to the French national colors of bleu, blanc, rouge. The following gallery has been republished from our sister site, Slate.fr.

During a playoff where contentious misdeeds have been the topics du jour, it almost seemed appropriate NASCAR’s four-driver championship field was principally determined by a controversial penalty and when an inevitable rain shower would begin to fall. The inclement weather every team had been anticipating finally intervened with little more than a 100 laps remaining in Sunday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway, the penultimate event of the season leading…

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In the past year the Braves have dealt a lot of talent, trading away Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Craig Kimbrel, among others. Late last week the Braves traded shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Angels. Yesterday Ken Rosenthal reported that Atlanta was now shopping Freddie Freeman. While most of the trades the Braves have made have resulted in nice returns in terms of either young talent coming back or big salaries going…

If Jaylon McLaughlin didn’t have baseball in his blood, he certainly had it in his eyes. Born when his father was playing the sport in college, McLaughlin was around the diamond from a very young age and quickly took a liking to it. Indeed, baseball strengthened a bond that has blossomed over the years into a good-natured father-son rivalry. “We’re really competitive,” said McLaughlin, a senior shortstop at Santa Monica…

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Jeff Gordon, left, and Kyle Busch, will compete for the 2015 Sprint Cup Series championship along with Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. (not pictured).(Photo: Sean Gardner, Getty Images) AVONDALE, Ariz. — One of the strangest seasons in NASCAR history got another bizarre twist in setting the field for its championship race Sunday night at Phoenix International Raceway. The four drivers themselves, though, will give NASCAR a great chance to have…

NASCAR’S final four set Ricky Craven breaks down the attributes of Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick as they prepare for the Sprint Cup championship.