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Colin Wehrle snapped this photo with his GoPro while fishing in Iowa. He posted it on Facebook, tagging the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, May 26.(Photo: Colin Wehrle of Moline, Ill.) An Illinois fisherman snapped a photo that’s gone viral of a huge snake munching on a bullhead catfish in Iowa waters. Colin Wehrle of Moline, Ill., sent the Iowa Department of Natural Resources his photo via Facebook on May…

There’s always some grumbling and discontent when the selection committee releases its field of regional host sites for the college baseball tournament — everybody has a slightly different way of evaluating deservedness. But one of the near-unanimous gripes when the field was unveiled this week was UC Santa Barbara, arguably the softest 1-seed in the country, earning a host site at a minor league park three hours from campus. …

Conference tournaments have come to a close, the field of 64 has been set, and meaningful post-season baseball is ready to begin this weekend in the 2015 edition of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Rebel baseballers find themselves in Los Angeles regional paired with No. 1 overall seed, UCLA, the WAC champion, CSU Bakersfield and Maryland. The Rebels will face off with the Terrapins and their stud pitcher Mike Shawaryn…

It’s finally here: the first weekend of the college baseball tournament. Over the next four days, 64 teams in 16 cities spread across the country will play between 96 and 112 games — at least 29 more than are played in the entire month of March Madness combined. That’s a lot of baseball to watch — and yes, you can watch every single game through WatchESPN.com — so to make…

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 OK, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each…

Auburn’s Cole Lipscomb prepares to pitch in the first inning of the Tigers’ NCAA regional game against College of Charleston on Friday. (Mike Herndon/mherndon@al.com)Mike Herndon | mherndon@al.com  No. 3 seed Auburn (35-24)opens the Tallahassee Regional today at 11 a.m. Central against No. 2 seed College of Charleston (43-13) The Tigers are throwing right-hander Cole Lipscomb (8-2, 2.38 ERA, 84 Ks), while Charleston sends right-hander Taylor Clarke (13-1, 1.34, 136 Ks)…

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0 Shares Print Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR this week: Turn 1: Should NASCAR have its own traveling safety team like the IndyCar Series? Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: I do not think it’s as big a priority as focusing on the racetrack and covering up every inch of concrete with SAFER barrier. Having been airlifted from the track twice in my career,…

ASU baseball hopes to have starting catcher Brian Serven back from injury for NCAA regional play starting Friday.(Photo: Jessie Wardarski/azcentral sports) There is an unmistakable urgency about this postseason for Arizona State baseball. The Sun Devils are likely to lose their top three pitchers and entire starting outfield to graduation and/or pro baseball with no guarantee that the replacements will be good enough or certainly seasoned enough to have them…

Briana Scurry played in four World Cups for the U.S. women’s soccer team, winning a title in 1999.(Photo: Jennifer Packard, special to USA TODAY Sports) Briana Scurry woke up to the news Wednesday that nine officials of FIFA, international soccer’s governing body, and five others had been indicted on corruption charges, 10 days before the Women’s World Cup begins in Canada. Scurry was the USA’s goalie at four World Cups,…

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FIFA and official licensee Electronic Arts announced today that EA SPORTS™ FIFA 16 will feature 12 Women’s national football teams for the first time in the game’s history when it launches later this year.   The game which is due for North American release from 22September 2015 onwards, will feature the women’s national squads of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of…

The head of world soccer’s crisis-wracked governing body faced open dissent Thursday — including calls to resign — a day before a vote on whether to keep him at the helm amid devastating charges that the sport’s leadership is riddled with corruption. “I know many people hold me ultimately responsible,” said FIFA President Sepp Blatter in his first public comments on the growing scandal. But he said he “cannot monitor…

After decades of appeasement and countless futile attempts to reach an understanding, America finally lashed out at its greatest enemy: soccer. The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a 47-count indictment Wednesday morning charging 14 international soccer figures — including some members of FIFA, the sport’s governing body — with “racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offenses, in connection with the defendants’ participation in a 24-year scheme to…

LSU freshman pitcher Alex Lange, who is 10-0 on the season, says the Tigers can’t afford to look past anyone this weekend or they could lose a home regional for the second consecutive season.(Photo: AP) BATON ROUGE – Houston, LSU still has a problem nearly 365 days later. The Tigers have played 58 games, won 48 of them and have been ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of…

In the midst of the greatest season in Arkansas baseball history, sophomore outfielder Andrew Benintendi has been named the National Player of the Year as announced by Collegiate Baseball Thursday morning.(Photo: University of Arkansas Communications) FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In the midst of the greatest season in Arkansas baseball history, sophomore outfielder Andrew Benintendi has been named the National Player of the Year as announced by Collegiate Baseball Thursday morning. Benintendi…

FIFA and official licensee Electronic Arts announced today that EA SPORTS™ FIFA 16 will feature 12 Women’s national football teams for the first time in the game’s history when it launches later this year.   The game which is due for North American release from 22September 2015 onwards, will feature the women’s national squads of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of…

Vice Sports editor-in-chief Tomás Ríos has left the company in what was described by a source as a mutual agreement to part ways. The Vice Sports masthead has been updated and no longer lists Ríos—or any other staffers—as it did previously. Vice launched its sports vertical last June and was immediately beset by problems, as Vice Sports publisher Ryan Duffy left the company as it debuted. Ríos was hired as…

By MAE ANDERSON, AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department’s targeting of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, has put a spotlight on the powerful role that marketing firms play in the global sports arena. Such firms act like talent agencies: They work with athletes, teams and athletic associations to sign sponsorships and advertising deals. In some cases, they buy and resell media and licensing rights. Big…

Sepp Blatter has refused to resign as Fifa president following a request from Uefa chief Michel Platini. The 79-year-old Swiss held an emergency meeting with key Fifa officials on Thursday after world football’s governing body was subjected to yet more damaging corruption claims. Platini then made a personal appeal for Blatter to quit but was told it was “too late” to resign. …