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Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each…

0 Shares Print ST. LOUIS — So you think it’s easy to “fix” the baseball postseason, huh? Oh, really? You might find out it would actually be easier to fix, say, your carburetor. What’s easy, after watching those 98-win Pittsburgh Pirates get sent home by Jake Arrieta in the wild-card game, is to say: This isn’t right. This isn’t fair. And in the next few days, when either those 97-win…

CHICAGO (AP) A cable TV ad salesman by day, Matt Smerge had hoped to join in the Chicago Cubs‘ smashing success this year – the 19th selling his own, low-budget baseball magazine for $2 a copy right outside Wrigley Field. Nearly all the profits, he says, go into a college fund for his teenage son. But just as the Cubs won the right to go deeper into the playoffs –…

David Price couldn’t resist showing a little school spirit. The Blue Jays ace had just pitched seven shutout innings to win at Yankee Stadium in early August, boosted by Justin Smoak’s grand slam. A half-hour later, while Smoak talked softly in the middle of the clubhouse about his big shot, Price sneaked up behind him. “S-E-C! S-E-C!” Price hollered. Waving toward Toronto teammate Josh Donaldson, the lefty from Vanderbilt let…

LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: It’s time now for sports. It was a big night in the National League playoffs. The Chicago Cubs drew even against the St. Louis Cardinals. And the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers took the phrase breaking up a double play to new highs, or new lows if you’re a Mets fan. Mike Pesca, host of Slate’s The Gist podcast, joins me now. Hi, Mike….

USA TODAY Sports’ Brant James breaks down this weekend’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. USA TODAY Sports

The United States is in danger of missing its second straight men’s Olympic soccer tournament. Alberth Elis scored in the 24th and 77th minutes, and Honduras beat the U.S. 2-0 Saturday to qualify for next year’s Rio de Janeiro Games. To reach the Olympics for the first time since 2008, the Americans must beat Canada on Tuesday in the third-place game of North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying, then…

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each…

A cable TV ad salesman by day, Matt Smerge had hoped to join in the Chicago Cubs‘ smashing success this year — the 19th selling his own, low-budget baseball magazine for $2 a copy right outside Wrigley Field. Nearly all the profits, he says, go into a college fund for his teenage son. But just as the Cubs won the right to go deeper into the playoffs — boosting hopes…

David Price couldn’t resist showing a little school spirit. The Blue Jays ace had just pitched seven shutout innings to win at Yankee Stadium in early August, boosted by Justin Smoak’s grand slam. A half-hour later, while Smoak talked softly in the middle of the clubhouse about his big shot, Price sneaked up behind him. “S-E-C! S-E-C!” Price hollered. Waving toward Toronto teammate Josh Donaldson, the lefty from Vanderbilt let…

In daily fantasy sports, players buy into competitions and can make cash based on the performance of the athletic lineups they pick. Laws vary by state, but the competitions generally are categorized as games of skill, so they’re not regulated like gambling is. Read MorePro sports teams’ secrets just got more valuable Venture capital darlings DraftKings and FanDuel came into the national spotlight with a…

The United States is in danger of missing its second straight men’s Olympic soccer tournament. Alberth Elis scored in the 24th and 77th minutes, and Honduras beat the U.S. 2-0 Saturday to qualify for next year’s Rio de Janeiro Games. To reach the Olympics for the first time since 2008, the Americans must beat Canada on Tuesday in the third-place game of North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying, then…

David Price couldn’t resist showing a little school spirit. The Blue Jays ace had just pitched seven shutout innings to win at Yankee Stadium in early August, boosted by Justin Smoak’s grand slam. A half-hour later, while Smoak talked softly in the middle of the clubhouse about his big shot, Price sneaked up behind him. “S-E-C! S-E-C!” Price hollered. Waving toward Toronto teammate Josh Donaldson, the lefty from Vanderbilt let…

0 Shares Print It was a nice day of baseball. The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals with some surprising tactics, Zack Greinke and Noah Syndergaard were locked up in another pitcher’s duel at Dodger Stadium … and then Chase Utley tried to kill Ruben Tejada, and everybody lost it. 1. The slide. In my view, Utley’s slide on Tejada is not how the game should be played. I’d…

Austin Gorrell, pictured playing for J.W. North High School.(Photo: Heston Quan/MaxPreps) Austin Gorrell, a freshman catcher on the Wolf Pack baseball team, died in the hours between Friday night and Saturday morning. No cause of death was given, but the Wolf Pack announced in a news release that Gorrell had a previous known medical condition. Gorrell, 19, from Riverside, Calif., joined Nevada in August after committing to the team last November….

Baseball may be getting younger, but 2015 has had its share of old guys who have played very well and added leadership to their teams. If you had to pick the Old Guy of the Year, you’d lean toward David Ortiz, who finished the season with 37 home runs, 108 RBIs, and a .913 OPS. Continue reading below We’re not homing in on a certain age, but it’s obvious which…

For many players, Philadelphia becomes merely a second home. What we aim to do is take a look at those whose squirming, shrieking forms first breached within our city limits before setting off on their grand baseball adventure somewhere else in the vast world. *** William “Yank” Robinson DOB: September 9, 1859 What was happening in Philadelphia at the time: Little did 1859 Philadelphia know, but…

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page. Suspended Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Uefa counterpart Michel Platini face being banned from football for years after new evidence was provided to the ethics committee of world football’s governing body. (Mail on Sunday)  Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood, 46, is under increasing pressure as he prepares for…

FOOTBALL GOSSIP Gordon Strachan is poised to make a decision on his future as Scotland manager next week, but he has given the strongest indication to date that he will stay on and orchestrate the bid to reach the World Cup finals in Russia in 2018. (Sunday Herald)  Scotland manager Gordon Strachan has been heartened by the response from those members of the…

The big story last week to rock the NFL world was the potential scandal involving daily fantasy football giants DraftKings and FanDuel. As a quick recap: A DraftKings employee mistakenly published on Twitter sensitive information prior to last Sunday’s kickoffs about which players were being used the most by participants, then won a $350,000 contest on FanDuel. Continue reading below The two companies stated that the employee published the information…