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facebook twitter googleplus tumblr pinterest NASCAR returns to Michigan for the second time this season for both the Sprint Cup and Camping World series. The Xfinity Series will run separately at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Kurt Busch won the Sprint Cup Series race when the series came to Michigan earlier this season. Jeff Gordon won last year’s second race and the pole at Michigan. Jeff Gordon and Amanda Mertz (Brian…

0 Shares Print LAS VEGAS — Could the lasting image to cap Kobe Bryant‘s basketball career be of him donning a gold medal at the end of the 2016 Rio Olympics? USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Thursday at the conclusion of Team USA’s minicamp that he has had a conversation with the Los Angeles Lakers guard about that very scenario and has not ruled out Bryant for the 12-man roster next summer. “I was…

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page. Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli, 25, will reject the chance to join Lazio and Sampdoria on loan as he is due a six-figure loyalty bonus if he is still at Anfield when the transfer window closes. (Daily Mirror)  Juventus are considering a move for Liverpool’s Brazil midfielder Lucas, 28,…

1) Andre Agassi No great professional athlete truly hates their sport. That would be impossible. No one can fake those hours of workouts and practice. But there are players who love sports more than others, whose lives become the game they play for a living. This is about those others, the ones who were either never consumed by their sport or came – for a time – to despise it….

FOOTBALL GOSSIP Celtic have closed in on signing Hibernian midfielder Scott Allan from under the noses of Rangers. (Daily Express)  And Hibs boss Alan Stubbs insists he only ever said he would not sell midfielder Allan to Scottish Championship rivals Rangers, who have had three bids for the player rejected. (Sun – subscription required)  Allan, who grew up a Rangers…

On Wednesday, the Electronic Sports League (ESL) – an international competitive video game league – announced that it would adopt illegal-drug testing practices similar to those used during the Olympics. The most recent announcement, which a spokesperson made on Reddit, comes a month after the league’s first statement that it would test for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) during competitions. Some see it as direct response to a top player admitting to taking…

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page. Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli, 25, will reject the chance to join Lazio and Sampdoria on loan as he is due a six-figure loyalty bonus if he is still at Anfield when the transfer window closes. (Daily Mirror)  Manchester United’s pursuit of Sergio Ramos, 29, is over, with the…

0 Shares Print Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR this week: Turn 1: You have $100 to spend. How are you spreading it around as you bet on who’s going to win the championship? Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: Half of my money is going on Kevin Harvick, who, from where I sit, is the driver to beat for a second consecutive year. The…

Were the postseason to begin today, the National League’s second- and third-best teams would play each other in a single winner-takes-all game for the honor of going on the road and playing a series against the best team in baseball. In the meantime, the teams with the fourth- and fifth-best records in the league would face off for a ticket to the NLCS. If this seems screwed up, it’s because…

Click photo to enlarge For Bella Bowler, Oz Sailors is as big of a role model as they come. Bowler, 12, a bat girl for the San Rafael Pacifics independent minor-league baseball team, has been the only girl on her baseball team since she was 5 years old. “My brother’s been a big inspiration for me, and my mom and my dad,” Bowler said between innings Wednesday. “Softball is not…

CHICAGO (AP) Major League Baseball wants to help the top contenders for openings in baseball operations, especially women and minorities. MLB announced Thursday it had retained a search firm to assist candidates who reach the interview process. It also said it had instructed Korn Ferry to provide special emphasis to help for some of the most underrepresented groups in the baseball hierarchy. There has never been a female general manager…

An increase in the number of female student-athletes drove an overall rise in the number of teenagers participating in high school sports nationwide and in Maryland during the past school year, according to annual statistics released Thursday by the National Federation of High School Associations. Maryland, which ranks 23rd among all states in overall high school sports participation, added 1,278 female athletes, but unlike the national average, the state also saw a…

MONTREAL (AP) — Online gaming company Amaya is bolstering its entry into fantasy sports betting by acquiring U.S.-based Victiv for an undisclosed price. The daily betting site launched last September will be rebranded StarsDraft and be ready for the upcoming NFL season and offer a venue for league soccer play in Europe. The site will allow players to build a roster of their favorite sports stars and compete for money….

Next month will mark the one-year anniversary of Tim Kennedy’s last fight in the UFC, which came at UFC 178 against Yoel Romero. That bout — which ended in a controversial third-round TKO after a sequence in which Kennedy thought he won to end the second — left a bad taste in his mouth. During an appearance on The MMA Hour shortly after the Romero loss last fall, Kennedy expressed…

Sign-up now to receive a free download of the new O’Reilly report “Data Analytics in Sports: How Playing with Data Transforms the Game” when it publishes this fall. Julien Vervaecke and Maurice Geldhof smoking a cigarette at the 1927 Tour de France. Public domain photo via Wikimedia Commons. One of my favorite books from the last few years is David Epstein’s engaging tour through sports science using examples and stories…

Nick Kyrgios has apologised after being fined $10,000 (£6,400) for an “insulting remark” he made to Stanislas Wawrinka during their Rogers Cup match. On-court microphones apparently picked up Kyrgios, 20, making a lewd suggestion about Wawrinka’s girlfriend. French Open champion Wawrinka, 30, said it was “unacceptable” and called for the Australian to be punished. “My comments were made in the heat of…

0 Shares Print Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR this week: Turn 1: You have $100 to spend. How are you spreading it around as you bet on who’s going to win the championship? Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: Half of my money is going on Kevin Harvick, who, from where I sit, is the driver to beat for a second consecutive year. The…

What do you like to do at baseball stadiums? Do you like to watch baseball? Do you like to sink low in your seat and blink at fireworks after watching baseball? Do you like to sing baseball songs, and eat baseball foods? Do you like to play baseball? Just a giant cat puppet. A photo posted by Karen Larson (@kelarson1976) on Aug…

The 2015 MLB season continues to roll along with less than two months before October. Most daily fantasy owners have likely gotten into a groove at this point, but the names at the top of lists are constantly changing. Some players have risen to the task in August, while others have fallen off under the pressure of a playoff push. Ahead of Thursday’s slate of games, here’s a look at…

Dr. Art Mollen(Photo: Richard Buchbinder) If your sons or daughters are playing high school sports this fall, listen up. The injuries from high school sports can be significant enough to cause long-term, chronic injuries. The injuries that occur may affect them long-term because high school athletes are still growing, which makes them more susceptible to muscle, tendon and growth plate injuries. Most injuries will occur to the shoulder, knee, neck,…