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10:00 AM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment CONCORD, N.C. — Martin Truex Jr., who has been able to pass just about anything and everything this year, didn’t have an answer for how he will make a pass in the 2018 opening-round elimination race next season. That race will take place on the 2.42-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway “roval” — a road course that uses nearly all of…

x Embed x Share CLOSE SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale breaks down the state of the MLB playoffs, after Los Angeles clinched a spot in the Fall Classic. USA TODAY Sports A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell, right, visits 9-year-old A’s fan Loren Jade Smith to present him with new gear after his A’’s memorabilia was destroyed in the California wildfires.(Photo: USA TODAY Sports Images) Nine-year-old Loren Jade Smith lost his…

This past Saturday night, like many observant Jews across the country, I watched the Yankees vanquish the Cleveland Indians in Game Five of the American League Division series. This would be unremarkable except for the fact that the game had been played three days earlier. Thanks to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and then Shabbat—during which religious Jews eschew electronics—I had completely missed the entire exciting affair. I’d heard the Yankees had…

They came from all over dressed in Dodger blue. From Boyle Heights and Long Island, N.Y. From Oklahoma, Iowa and San Pedro, all convinced that their date with destiny would come right here in the Windy City. It had been more than a quarter of a century since the Dodgers made it to the World Series — when a Kirk Gibson home run made grown men and women weep like…

Welcome to SEC Country’s weekly Arkansas sports mailbag with reporter Eric W. Bolin. In this edition, we discuss potential next Arkansas football coaches, the very real chances Arkansas still goes bowling and both Razorbacks basketball and baseball projections. Feels like the end Where does the football team go from here? – WayneHawg Let’s see what happens Saturday. Arkansas could hang around. Heck, Arkansas could beat Auburn. To some that’s the…

The Orioles still believe that 2014 fourth-round draft pick Pat Connaughton has more promise throwing fastballs than shooting 3-pointers, but Connaughton’s performance in the Portland Trail Blazers’ regular-season opener Wednesday night proved that his NBA career still has life. Connaughton, 24, opened his third NBA season by scoring a career-high 24 points in Portland’s 124-76 blowout victory over the Phoenix Suns, making nine of 14 shots, including four of seven…

This past Saturday night, like many observant Jews across the country, I watched the Yankees vanquish the Cleveland Indians in Game Five of the American League Division series. This would be unremarkable except for the fact that the game had been played three days earlier. Thanks to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and then Shabbat—during which religious Jews eschew electronics—I had completely missed the entire exciting affair. I’d heard the Yankees had…

The Orioles still believe that 2014 fourth-round draft pick Pat Connaughton has more promise throwing fastballs than shooting 3-pointers, but Connaughton’s performance in the Portland Trail Blazers’ regular-season opener Wednesday night proved that his NBA career still has life. Connaughton, 24, opened his third NBA season by scoring a career-high 24 points in Portland’s 124-76 blowout victory over the Phoenix Suns, making nine of 14 shots, including four of seven…

Rocky Mount, N.C. — A 15-year-old Rocky Mount High School student was hit by a .22-caliber bullet while on the baseball field before practice Thursday afternoon, according to a letter sent to parents by the school’s principal. The student, who was waiting for baseball practice to begin, said he remembered hearing a distant popping noise and then felt pain in his neck, according to police. He was taken to UNC…

There is increasing evidence that contact in sports has negative long-term health consequences. The constant hitting — the jarring of the brain at each hit — can have negative effects even if there is no apparent injury. But when an obvious injury does occur, there are also short-term costs from the injury itself — such as medical costs, time lost from various activities, and costs associated with the pain and…

The Raiders win the best TNF game in a long time, a crazy scientific discovery, a catfishing with a happy ending and more.  So I Guess I Should Have Watched This It looks like I made a big mistake not watching Chiefs-Raiders last night. By all accounts, it was the best Thursday night game in recent memory. The Chiefs scored on a miraculous tip-drill play that went 63 yards. Derek…

LOS ANGELES — Even when the game was over, when the pullover was on, when the fans were headed to the parking lots and the players to the locker rooms, Lonzo Ball could not escape. Back came Patrick Beverley, charging at him from 94 feet away, in his face and his chest and his ribs one more time. It wasn’t enough that Beverley had stripped him and smothered him, crashing…

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….

Here’s why Anthony Herron says Jim Harbaugh’s No. 19 Michigan will dominate No. 2 Penn State Just now

Everton and Lyon, exchanging pleasantries. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson) Things got a little chippy during Thursday’s Europa League group-stage match between English club Everton and French side Lyon in Liverpool. In the 64th minute, Everton captain Ashley Williams appeared to shove Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes into the sideline advertisement boards as he retrieved the ball from the corner. The usual pushing and shoving commenced along the edge of the field, close…

This past Saturday night, like many observant Jews across the country, I watched the Yankees vanquish the Cleveland Indians in Game Five of the American League Division series. This would be unremarkable except for the fact that the game had been played three days earlier. Thanks to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and then Shabbat—during which religious Jews eschew electronics—I had completely missed the entire exciting affair. I’d heard the Yankees had…

The Orioles still believe that 2014 fourth-round draft pick Pat Connaughton has more promise throwing fastballs than shooting 3-pointers, but Connaughton’s performance in the Portland Trail Blazers’ regular-season opener Wednesday night proved that his NBA career still has life. Connaughton, 24, opened his third NBA season by scoring a career-high 24 points in Portland’s 124-76 blowout victory over the Phoenix Suns, making nine of 14 shots, including four of seven…

BASEBALL CHICAGO (AP) — Corey Seager is expected to be in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup for the opener of the World Series after missing the NL Championship Series because of back pain. Seager, an All-Star shortstop, watched from home as the Dodgers eliminated the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs in Game 5. Manager Dave Roberts says Seager is “doing everything he can to get healthy” and the Dodgers…

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….

Dale Earnhardt Jr., stands on the grid with his wife, Amy, prior to a NASCAR race at Brooklyn, Mich., on Aug. 13. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (who else?) made the biggest news in NASCAR this week when he said he and his wife, Amy, are expecting their first child, a daughter. This caused the crew at the “Glass Case of Emotion” racing podcast to playfully suggest…