Blog

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…

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…

The most striking trend of the 2017 Major League Baseball postseason was established minutes into the very first game. With three runs in and only one out recorded in the first inning of the American League Wild Card game, the Yankees manager Joe Girardi pulled ace starting pitcher Luis Severino from the mound, commencing a parade of relief pitchers. In the bottom of the third inning, the Twins manager Paul…

How’d this happen? Who the heck knows? (AP Photo/David Dermer) The Cleveland Indians entered the playoffs having gone 33-4 since Aug. 23.  Even after their 22-game winning streak — the longest by any American League team ever, the second-longest in baseball history — ended, they won 11 of their final 14 regular-season games. One of baseball’s greatest untruths-presented-as-truth is that a team needs to be hot entering the playoffs. Here,…

x Embed x Share CLOSE SportsPulse: Trysta Krick and Steve Gardner break down the Cubs’ dramatic win, the Nationals’ continued heartbreak and how the next round shapes up. USA TODAY Sports Jose Lobaton was picked off first base to end the Nationals’ eighth-inning rally.(Photo: Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports) Another pro sports season, another heartbreak for the Washington, D.C., sports fan. The Nationals, one of the best teams in baseball…

Hispanics are reshaping sports in America. With Hispanic Heritage Month upon us, SI is honoring the 30 most influential Latinos in sports who aren’t athletes: the coaches, journalists, CEOs and other innovators who shape American sports culture and industry.This list, which is unranked, defines influence by how each person affects the fan experience. These household names don’t just offer a diverse perspective—they enrich the American sports landscape. Linda G. Alvarado…

From Da Coach, Mike Ditka, to Da President, Donald Trump, fired-up critics of kneeling and fist-raising during the national anthem have suggested that protesting NFL players are un-American. “That’s a total disrespect of our heritage,” Trump told a crowd in Alabama last month. “If you don’t respect our country, you shouldn’t be in this country playing football,” Ditka said in a radio interview Monday. Strictly speaking, the NFL is actually the…

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…

The most striking trend of the 2017 Major League Baseball postseason was established minutes into the very first game. With three runs in and only one out recorded in the first inning of the American League Wild Card game, the Yankees manager Joe Girardi pulled ace starting pitcher Luis Severino from the mound, commencing a parade of relief pitchers. In the bottom of the third inning, the Twins manager Paul…

8:00 AM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment The Yankees are a year ahead of schedule and the Astros are right on schedule as they meet in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees weren’t supposed to make the playoffs. They weren’t supposed to beat the Indians, especially after losing the first two games of the AL Division Series. And now they are winning for Joe Girardi,…

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…