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Not that long ago, the World Series was a widely shared, unifying experience. In 1980, the majority of American households — 56 percent, to be precise — tuned in to a series that featured neither a big-market dynasty nor a storied franchise, but rather the humdrum Phillies and expansion Royals. It was baseball, and that was enough. No more. The last five “October Classics” were watched by just 16…

SI.com’s Week in Wrestling is published every Wednesday and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling. News of the Week: The Latest on Neville & WWE Nine days ago, 31-year-old Benjamin Satterley—better known to the wrestling world as Neville—reached an epiphany and made a bold, emphatic statement. Frustrated by the dizzying direction of his character and the lack of pay-offs, as well as the notorious WWE…

Cubs center fielder Albert Almora Jr. was stone-faced and sternly focused on one thing before Wednesday’s playoff game: More. Clearly, he sought more October baseball this time around as the Cubs took the field trailing the Dodgers three games to none in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. But Almora, 23, also has his eye on much more coming behind this third consecutive Cubs run through the NLCS. Javy Baez…

1. Charles Barkley, who likes to play the game that he doesn’t seek attention while always seeking attention, weighed in on the NFL’s national anthem protests on Tuesday. Barkley’s big message? The media has made everything worse. Here’s what he said on a conference call: “I’m sick of these media guys who have hijacked the whole Colin Kaepernick situation and made it about who’s protesting, who’s standing for the Anthem….

Ten NBA media items following the opening night of the 2017-18 season. • When a sports television broadcaster is presented with the kind of gruesome injury Celtics forward Gordon Hayward suffered in the first quarter of Tuesday’s Cavs-Celtics game, the goal above all is to cover the injury with accuracy, reporting thoughtfulness. Last night was not an easy situation for TNT but I thought they did very well, especially the…

Pole-dancing is emerging as a sport — and a clean one in more ways than one. Their clothes stay on and top-level participants must comply with World Anti-Doping Agency standards. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images) No strip club necessary. Pole-dancing now stands on its own as a provisionally recognized sport thanks to the Global Association of International Sports Federation, which granted the activity’s international governing federation “observer status” earlier this month….

Jay Wright tells Nick and Cris what he is most proud of about his Villanova program 4 hours ago

Emmitt Williams is the No. 21-ranked prospect in the nation, according to 247Sports. 247Sports Five-star prospect Emmitt Williams was arrested early Wednesday in Florida and charged with sexual battery and false imprisonment, according to police records. A coach who has been recruiting Williams further confirmed the arrest to CBS Sports. Williams, a senior at Oak Ridge High in Orlando, is ranked 21st in the Class of 2018, according to 247Sports….

Let’s all welcome back basketball, shall we? Welcome back, basketball Yes, after a long offseason full of petty social media strife and bonkers trades, Tuesday night brought the return of the NBA, now with all kinds of zany new subplots. Kyrie Irving is on the Celtics! Chris Paul is on the Rockets! Carmelo Anthony is finally free of the Knicks! And the first night of the season gave us plenty…

Discovery Communications’ Eurosport and Snap, Inc have entered a strategic advertising and content agreement that will bring Snapchat users coverage of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. This is the first time that Snap has committed to a European, multi-language deal for the Olympics. The Olympics content will include behind-the-scenes action from events such as snowboarding, downhill and freestyle skiing and ice hockey — as well as from athletes…

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Scattered rain showers may have forced some creative track scheduling Tuesday morning at New Smyrna Speedway, but it was all sunny skies ahead for the 12 NASCAR Drive for Diversity candidates turning laps and turning heads. The talented group of drivers representing all regions of the country — and even Mexico — took part in Day Two of a three-day combine by running two 10-lap…

San Diego’s new professional soccer team has a name: 1904 FC. The FC stands for Football Club, a standard abbreviation for soccer teams around the world. The 1904 is not quite as obvious. It is not the year the city was established (San Diego was in 1769), or the year the club began like Germany’s FC Schalke 04, which was founded in 1904. It is a numerical representation of “SD,”…

reader comments 16 As Ars’s resident car guru Jonathan Gitlin tears through the racing nuts and bolts of this week’s new racing video game, Gran Turismo Sport, he has asked me to kill time by reviewing its higher-end elements. Namely, Jon owns neither a PlayStation VR headset nor a 4K HDR display, and both of those are specifically and uniquely supported by the latest Gran Turismo game (and first in the series…

As thousands of Californians take stock of the damage caused by wildfires, one boy’s story has at least half of the teams in Major League Baseball rallying behind him. In a letter to the Oakland Athletics, posted on Twitter by Katie Utehs, an ABC 7 News Bay Area journalist, 9-year-old Loren Jade Smith writes about his love of the team and the loss of his beloved baseball collection in the…

<!– –> VISIT CNBC.COM Home Entrepreneurs Leadership Careers Money Specials PRIMETIME Careers Careers 5 Hours AgoCNBC.com Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer’s home run during a game against the Cleveland Indians this past May was one of the season’s most epic. And it wasn’t just because of the distance and velocity — an estimated 469 feet at 110 mph — it was also because of the bat. Hosmer wasn’t…

Rob Tornoe Rob Tornoe/Cartoon of the Day Baseball fans are all abuzz after Baseball America’s Tracy Ringolsby wrote there is a “growing consensus” within the MLB to expand the league to 32 teams, with the likely expansion cities being Portland and Montreal (I was rooting for Mexico City). The question I would ask is why anyone, other than MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, clamoring for more baseball teams? I guess it’s…

If you haven’t noticed, Major League Baseball hasn’t added any teams since 1998. That’s the longest stretch without new teams since baseball added four teams, including the Twins, in 1961 and 1962. The prevailing wisdom for most of that time is that baseball had run out of cities that could sustain new franchises. But, as a recent story in Baseball America pointed out, there’s an ownership group in Portland, Ore.,…

Ryne Sandberg’s basement is a treasure trove of baseball curios and tributes to his 16-year career. The Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman has his nine Golden Glove arranged pyramid style on a wall There’s a three-dimensional painting for Sandberg which he views through 3D movie glasses A rhinoceros figurine in a Cubs uniform (“Ryno,” get it?) stands guard by the fireplace Sandberg keeps old gloves in…

Cris Carter gives Dez Bryant a strong ultimatum 2 hours ago