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Matt Kenseth is a master of deflection—and he’s had plenty of practice heading into Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC). Ever since Kenseth announced at Kentucky Speedway in July that he wouldn’t be driving for Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2018 season, the 2003 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion has been the subject of rampant rumors and speculation. For his part, Kenseth…

In the early hours of Friday the 13th in the 13th season of the Nationals in Washington, you could hardly blame even the team’s most sensible fans for wondering if something had gone cosmically awry with a club that has mastered the art of merely getting close. Unlike some other cities, Washington has no cute anecdotes about baseball jinxes – no “Curse of the Bambino,” no billy goats said to…

Today is Friday the 13th, a date long associated with bad luck, which was certainly the case in the wee hours this morning for the Washington Nationals and their fans. Bad umpiring, too, which hardly salves the wound. “Baseball has the largest library of law and lore and custom and ritual,” former Major League Baseball commissioner and classics scholar A. Bartlett Giamatti once noted. For that reason, he added, “in…

Mater Dei graduate Zach Haake has no second-guesses about his decision to leave Arkansas State for John A. Logan College in 2016. Haake, a right-hander, parlayed the transfer into a dream job with the Kentucky Wildcats, of the Southeastern Conference, a league in which he had always wanted to pitch. “Any college kid who wants to play baseball, their dream is to play in the Southeastern Conference,” said Haake, 21….

The Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs played a dumb, hilarious, captivating Game 5 that lasted eight hours and 47 minutes, give or take. There was a dropped third strike that led to runs (but maybe shouldn’t have), catcher’s interference, an intentional walk to bad hitters, and an HBP with the bases loaded, and that was just the top of the fifth. It was a delirious, horribly stupid piece of art…

As the trail runner representing the go-ahead run, Washington Nationals catcher José Lobatón had no business getting picked off at first in the eighth inning of a winner-take-all game. He put himself in a bad situation by roaming too far away from the bag, allowing Willson Contreras’ snap throw to induce a slide. Lobatón’s mental error at the season’s most important moment shouldn’t be ignored. Nor should his physical error…

NASCAR’s business model keeps downsizing to the scale of Groupon and Overstock.com, with a dash of the Dollar Store. Everyone wants to pinch pennies. Faced with drops in sponsorships, the inability to pay top drivers, sagging attendance and drops in TV viewership, NASCAR is in scramble mode going into the 2018 season. But that’s not just me talking. NASCAR Chairman Brian France admitted over the weekend that the sport could…

“We’ve got a lot of things on our agenda, including a World Cup bid that is due in the end of March, and a decision in June,” Gulati said when asked, repeatedly, why he was not resigning. “And so I don’t plan to do that.” Arena’s departure, which was revealed Friday morning in a statement from the coach, was hardly a surprise. He was under contract only through next summer’s…

Jimmie Johnson pits during Sunday’s NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) The Charlotte Motor Speedway announced in April that it was moving its October NASCAR Monster Energy Cup race from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon, its news release noting the switch would foster “on-track competition and a schedule-friendly weekend format for families.” Jimmie Johnson was quoted in the release, saying, “A day race will…

The Motorsport.com NASCAR team of Jim Utter and Lee Spencer answer this week’s questions from fans. Could a victory burnout really be used as a cover up for illegal modifications? – From Ray Ray, in theory, an area of the car which had been manipulated prior to or during the race could be “covered up” per se from damage during an extensive burnout. But that would require foreknowledge…

RELATED: Key players in NASCAR’s silly season | Truck Series Playoff standings Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Christopher Bell will compete full time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series next season. Bell, 22, currently leads the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota. The Oklahoma native has made four XFINITY starts this season, netting a pole position at Iowa Speedway and a best finish…

The Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs played a dumb, hilarious, captivating Game 5 that lasted eight hours and 47 minutes, give or take. There was a dropped third strike that led to runs (but maybe shouldn’t have), catcher’s interference, an intentional walk to bad hitters, and an HBP with the bases loaded, and that was just the top of the fifth. It was a delirious, horribly stupid piece of art…

Visiting team fans celebrating in Washington, again. (By Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP) Figured we should put these all in one place. So we don’t have to look them up all over again in May. Also, because they are almost impossible to believe. 69: Consecutive seasons played by the Nationals, Capitals, Redskins and Wizards without advancing to a conference final. It is the longest such streak in North American sports, by…

After the Nationals’ Game 5 failure against the Cubs, the infamous Washington, D.C. championship drought is guaranteed to reach a full 26 years.  The last time one of Washington’s four biggest professional sports teams won a championship was 1992, when the Redskins won the Super Bowl. Since that game was played on Jan. 26, 1992, and this season’s Super Bowl—the next major championship for which a D.C. team is technically eligible—is…

“Look, Portland’s a great soccer market, there’s no question about it,” said Merritt Paulson, the owner of the Thorns and their affiliated Major League Soccer club, the Portland Timbers, who have sold out 122 consecutive home games and counting. “But there are other great soccer markets in this country. The N.W.S.L. can succeed, and succeed well, in a lot of markets. We don’t have fairy dust that’s unique to Portland.”…

In Friday’s Hot Clicks, we look at the 30 most influential Hispanics in sports, plus a look at the lovely Penny Lane. The 30 Most Influential Hispanics in Sports What do Tony Romo, Alex Rodriguez, Oscar de la Hoya and Jess Mendoza have in common? They’re all included in our feature looking at the 30 Most Influential Hispanics in sports. Also, they’re all Hispanic. But seriously, I spent a lot of…

We live in a great era for play-by-play voices. The list of quality game-callers is deep and sports broadcasting has become far more inclusive than ever as evidenced by women (Tiffany Greene, Beth Mowins, Kate Scott, etc…) regularly getting play-by-play assignments that have traditionally been the domain of men only. Given the quality of talent among play-by-play voices, I thought it would be a fun parlor game to list the…

It is the greatest privilege for any coach to manage their country’s National Team, and as I leave that role today I am honored and grateful to have had that opportunity twice in my career. When I took the job last November, I knew there was a great challenge ahead, probably more than most people could appreciate. Everyone involved in the program gave everything they had for the last…

NASCAR’s business model keeps downsizing to the scale of Groupon and Overstock.com, with a dash of the Dollar Store. Everyone wants to pinch pennies. Faced with drops in sponsorships, the inability to pay top drivers, sagging attendance and drops in TV viewership, NASCAR is in scramble mode going into the 2018 season. But that’s not just me talking. NASCAR Chairman Brian France admitted over the weekend that the sport could…

Cubs catcher Willson Contreras whacked an infield single. Ben Zobrist, the MVP from the Cubs’ curse-breaking World Series win last year, came off the bench to loop a pinch-hit single into center field. Addison Russell sizzled a double past third baseman Anthony Rendon to score Contreras and Zobrist. It was 5-4. Those were the only two runs the Cubs would score all night on a clean hit. What happened next…