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Former Santa Monica High and UCLA standout Tim Leary pitched 13 years in the big leagues and had his best season for the 1988 World Series-champion Dodgers, going 17-11 with a 2.91 ERA in 35 games. The right-hander threw three scoreless innings in Game 1 of the 1988 series against Oakland and 32/3 one-run innings in Game 3. Now 58, Leary is serving as a guest analyst for the World…

ARLINGTON, Texas — A Texas school district apologized Friday after a high school football broadcaster repeatedly used a racial slur when referring to African-American players on the opposing team. The Cleburne Independent School District apologized for online audio comments made last week in a matchup between Cleburne High School and Seguin High School in Arlington, according to Leslie Johnston, spokeswoman for the Arlington Independent School District. Seguin is in Arlington,…

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — It’s been a while since a pair of Burtons hit the track for a NASCAR national series race — nearly a decade to be exact. That will change Saturday as Harrison Burton and Jeb Burton, sons of former drivers Jeff and Ward Burton respectively, will race in the Texas Roadhouse 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1). The two cousins…

RELATED: Full Martinsville schedule | Old track vs. young drivers MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The smallest track on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is also the one that’s been around the longest. But Martinsville Speedway, measured out at just a shade over a half-mile, might not have been H. Clay Earles’ first attempt at stock car racing. “Clay, he run one little ol’ race … he took a motor grader…

The race is hours away but pit road is humming already. Over-the-wall guys hustle to get their stalls ready. Tire changers check their air guns. Tire carriers align their Goodyears just so. Jackmen make sure their jacks are safely out of sight. With NASCAR’s stage racing offering more chances to win points, those pit crew athletes’ performances have become more important than ever. It used to be that a bad…

By Michelle R. Martinelli October 27, 2017 1:46 pm Follow @MMartinelli4

It’s a parlor game popular with sports fans and sports media alike: anointing one athlete in each pro sport the “face” of their league. In the NFL, popular consensus is that the face of the league is likely one of its two star quarterbacks: Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. Some might point to JJ Watt, who has earned plaudits for his community service in Houston, but there arguably isn’t an…

DeAndre Hopkins has not been on the Houston Texans‘ injury report since before Week 6, but the Pro Bowl wide receiver was an unexpected no-show at practice Friday, local media reported. That’s because, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, he wasn’t injured at all. His absence was actually a response to reported comments by team owner Bob McNair, who was quoted in a Friday ESPN story as referring to protesting NFL…

(Reuters) – Australian swimmer Cate Campbell professed a new-found love for her sport after breaking the 100 meters freestyle short course world record upon her return from a long break. The 25-year-old clocked a time of 50.25 seconds at the Australian Short Course Swimming Championships in Adelaide to beat Swede Sarah Sjostrom’s record time by 0.33 seconds. It was Campbell’s first competition since the 2016 Rio Olympics where she failed…

PHILADELPHIA – Comcast announced today the finalists for the 2017 Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award, which was created to recognize the charitable efforts of individuals associated with the NASCAR industry. Comcast’s Xfinity brand has been the Official Entertainment Provider of NASCAR® and entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR XFINITY Series™ since 2015. The 2017 finalists are: Jimmie Johnson, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver and founder of the Jimmie Johnson…

Next season for NASCAR’s 2018 Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway is ditching its traditional 1.5-mile oval and will incorporate a windy, infield road course into it, creating a 2.42-mile, 18-turn loop. Drivers tested on the “roval” last week, and their reactions were varied. Martin Truex Jr. called it unique and crazy, Kurt Busch said it’s too slow and Jamie McMurray said the best word to describe it is…

Competitors play bridge at the Acol Bridge Club in London in 2015. (Tim Ireland/AP) The card game bridge is many things. It is a game of strategy and skill, with complex rules and a rich history played by millions of people, with tournaments held every year around the world. But bridge is not — according to a European court — a sport. On Thursday, the European Court of Justice ruled…

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The home run is the greatest play in American sports — not only the most efficient way to put numbers on the board but also the most beautiful. The slugger swinging from his heels, driving the ball as a hammer drives the nail deep into the wood. Boom. Just like that, it’s a white dot in the sky, a God-ball that ascends to heaven, breaking a million hearts as it…

Competitors play bridge at the Acol Bridge Club in London in 2015. (Tim Ireland/AP) The card game bridge is many things. It is a game of strategy and skill, with complex rules and a rich history played by millions of people, with tournaments held every year around the world. But bridge is not — according to a European court — a sport. On Thursday, the European Court of Justice ruled…

“I feel fortunate because it’s like having your cake and eating it, too,” Mr. Shanus said. “You get a lot of pleasure in holding it, but if you sell it, it’s an appreciating asset.” Photo A baseball signed by Ronald Reagan, as shown, and also Mikhail Gorbachev, not pictured, in Mr. Shanus’s collection. Credit George Etheredge for The New York Times Unlike, say, fine art or coins, the growth in…

When Jonida Lagji was contacted by Fort Worth-based Touchdown Sports about buying a banner and 1,000 T-shirts to support the local high school, she thought it was a good way to raise awareness for her insurance agency in Old Bridge, N.J. She had just opened a few months earlier and also wanted to support the schools in her community, which is about 35 miles south of New York City. Lagji…

– He contacted his head, because his head didn’t get down on the ground. – So that’s a dirty hit. – No– it’s not a dirty hit. It’s illegal. – Right. Dirty implies either some malice, or that he was trying to hurt the guy. The reality is this though, CC. This– that play only happens to quarterbacks, and it only happens quarterbacks because we are trying to protect quarterbacks….

The home run is the greatest play in American sports — not only the most efficient way to put numbers on the board but also the most beautiful. The slugger swinging from his heels, driving the ball as a hammer drives the nail deep into the wood. Boom. Just like that, it’s a white dot in the sky, a God-ball that ascends to heaven, breaking a million hearts as it…

Competitors play bridge at the Acol Bridge Club in London in 2015. (Tim Ireland/AP) The card game bridge is many things. It is a game of strategy and skill, with complex rules and a rich history played by millions of people, with tournaments held every year around the world. But bridge is not — according to a European court — a sport. On Thursday, the European Court of Justice ruled…