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So far, more than 140 women, including athletes who competed at the highest levels of gymnastics, have come forward to say that Nassar had touched them inappropriately during medical appointments. Unlike Weinstein, Nassar is in jail, awaiting trial on multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct. He already has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges — he denies the many accusations of sexual assault — and faces decades of prison time….

With nine NHL games, three NBA games, an NFL game and an MLB playoff game — made possible by the Chicago Cubs’ victory in Game 4 of the NLCS on Wednesday — Thursday is your (first) sports equinox of 2017. What’s a sports equinox? As my former colleague Reuben Fischer-Baum wrote on a couple of occasions, it’s when all four major U.S. sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, NHL and…

An Italian soccer player is being punished this week for leaving a little too much on the field. Giovanni Liberti, who plays for the lower-tier squad Turris, has been ordered to sit out the next five matches after he “urinated in the direction of the away section, making obscene and vulgar gestures, while showing his genital organ,” Serie D’s disciplinary committee said in a statement on Wednesday. The incident occurred…

Photo Marc Bamuthi Joseph, left, and Amara Tabor-Smith in “/peh-LO-tah/” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Credit Rebecca Greenfield A line in the dance-theater show “/peh-LO-tah/” hits a timely raw nerve: “The Defender explains why Americans suck at soccer.” When these words flash on the back wall of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater, they are a biting reminder that the U.S. recently failed to qualify for the next…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads back to Kansas Speedway for the final playoff race in the Round of 12. When the checkered flag flies on Sunday, four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention. As it stands, two former champions — Matt Kenseth (2003) and Kyle Busch (2015) — are below the cutline. Kenseth began the round in 11th and has since moved up to 10th while Busch…

Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press After the United States men’s national team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Bleacher Report surveyed American soccer experts to plot out a solution.  Here’s a truth: If the United States doesn’t score an unlucky own goal. Or give up a stupendous rip from distance. Or Clint Dempsey‘s late shot doesn’t ping off the post and instead equalizes against Trinidad and Tobago. Or…

United States’ Christian Pulisic, left, fights for control of the ball with Trinidad and Tobago’s Joevin Jones, right, during a 2018 World Cup qualifying soccer match this month in Couva, Trinidad. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press) Afshin Molavi is co-director of the emerge85 Lab and a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. You may have never heard of Paul Caligiuri — unless, of course,…

With nine NHL games, three NBA games, an NFL game and an MLB playoff game — made possible by the Chicago Cubs’ victory in Game 4 of the NLCS on Wednesday — Thursday is your (first) sports equinox of 2017. What’s a sports equinox? As my former colleague Reuben Fischer-Baum wrote on a couple of occasions, it’s when all four major U.S. sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, NHL and…

So far, more than 140 women, including athletes who competed at the highest levels of gymnastics, have come forward to say that Nassar had touched them inappropriately during medical appointments. Unlike Weinstein, Nassar is in jail, awaiting trial on multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct. He already has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges — he denies the many accusations of sexual assault — and faces decades of prison time….

Image via ESPN This week, ESPN premiered a new show on ESPN 2 called Barstool Van Talk, hosted by Barstool Sports personalities and Pardon My Take podcast co-hosts PFT Commenter and Dan Katz. According to sources familiar with the situation, ESPN originally did not want the Barstool Sports name and logo associated with the new show, but caved after Barstool president Dave Portnoy insisted on the branding. Given that Barstool…

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ NFL insider Lindsay H. Jones previews the three must-watch games this week. USA TODAY Sports

Image via Getty Pole dancers who find themselves constantly having to explain how much strength and agility it takes to swing your human body around a pole without plummeting to the ground have been vindicated. As of early October, pole dancing was granted “observer status” by the Global Association of International Sports Federation, which means it’s conditionally recognized as a sport and may be a step closer to qualifying for…

OK, kids, gather ’round. It’s time to play the game that’s fun for the whole family: “How Stupid Is Major League Baseball?’’ The latest episode occurred with a runner on first and one out in the top of the eighth inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Curtis Granderson struck out on a ball Cubs catcher Willson Contreras couldn’t hold, but the Dodgers outfielder began arguing he…

McClure-Longo baseball camp When: 9 a.m., Oct. 21 Where: Mentor High School Ages: 8 to 18 Cost: $80 (walk-ups welcome day of the camp) Kade McClure doesn’t just remember the first time he faced Mitch Longo in the batter’s box. It was the moment he saw him in a baseball uniform that really stands out….

If sports networks and organizations haven’t hopped on the digital train, the doors might close in their faces. ESPN has become the face of the seismic shift in sports broadcasting after losing subscribers and laying off employees at a disturbing rate over the past five years for what most attribute to its outdated commitment to billion-dollar TV packages. As more and more sports fans cut the cable cord and transplant…

The Yankees are unstoppable, Eddie Olczyk is tough as nails and more.  27 Ringzzzzzzz (For Now) I’m a Yankees fan (sorry, growing up in the 90’s an hour from the Bronx will do that to you) and it’s been way too long since I had a championship to celebrate. I mean, I was in high school the last time they won, for crying out loud. Good thing the Yanks are…

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ George Schroeder breaks down the matchup between Michigan and Penn State. USA TODAY Sports

Martin Glenn and Greg Clarke faced questions from MPs in parliament on Wednesday Sports minister Tracey Crouch has urged the FA to improve, after its handling of discrimination claims against ex-England women’s boss Mark Sampson. She has previously warned the governing body could lose £30m-£40m of funding if it does not reform. “I hope that the FA learns lessons from this whole sorry saga,” said Crouch. She called on the…

ATHENS (Reuters) – Champions League winner Park Ji-sung will be the first South Korean to carry the flame for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics after the torch lighting ceremony in Olympia next week, the Greek Olympic committee said on Thursday. Park, 36, who won a string of titles with Manchester United and Eindhoven before retiring, will be the second torchbearer in Olympia, site of the ancient Greek Olympics, after Greece’s Nordic…