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The owners of America’s baseball teams, gathered at a Houston hotel last year, were discussing once again how their games had become so plodding. This time, however, the explanation was different. Two Major League Baseball officials and a statistician told the group that the sport was being brought to a standstill by the very phenomenon that has revolutionized it in recent years—the embrace of data analytics to drive strategy. Baseball…

In the normal course of human events, it has been easy these past few years to forget that while we look at the Yankees and October as interchangeable, as one and the same, they haven’t always been that way. Your father’s Yankees once endured a stretch of 14 seasons without playing even one postseason inning, 1981-1995, a time when the prevailing thought was that dynasties were dead. George Steinbrenner got…

One way, new for this postseason, is placing GPS units in every truck. That allows a shipment to be tracked down to the second it is delivered, but also deters any shenanigans from sinking BDA, and the team, as they nearly did in the 1992 N.B.A. finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Portland Trail Blazers. Light-up buttons, the scheduled Game 4 promotion in Portland, were coming from a supplier…

Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe after a victory for their major league team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1949. Bettmann/ Getty Images During the Nashua Dodgers’ 1946 season, a local chicken farmer offered 100 baby chicks for every home run hit. That season, a newcomer to the team, catcher Roy Campanella, hit 14. Campanella sent all 1,400 chicks to his father, who used them to start a poultry farm just outside…

In today’s film news roundup, Columbus Short is developing a film based on the life of major league baseball player Dock Ellis, Patricia Arquette gets her first feature directing gig, and “The Deuce” star Emily Meade joins “Trial by Fire.” PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Columbus Short and Artistry Films are developing a film based on the life of the late major league baseball player Dock Ellis, Variety has learned exclusively. The project,…

CONCORD, N.C. — After several seasons of reducing downforce and limiting horsepower, NASCAR’s 2018 rules package won’t take quite as big of a bite out of the aerodynamic platform currently employed by teams competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. There are changes, but overall the 2018 package, delivered to teams Tuesday, is more about maintaining the positive momentum from years prior. “We’ve got some things we would still…

Laurene Powell Jobs, a billionaire philanthropist, entrepreneur and president of the Emerson Collective, is buying a significant stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a sprawling $2.5 billion complex that includes the NBA Wizards, NHL Capitals and Capital One Arena, people familiar with the deal said. Powell Jobs’s investment, estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars, will give her the second-largest stake — about 20 percent — in Monumental, the…

During my summer training-camp trip, I chatted with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff. We talked about his development, how much he liked the new offense under first-year coach Sean McVay, his confident demeanor and many other things. As he walked away, I remember telling him that this would be a building year and that next year would be the year the Rams would compete for a playoff spot. Wrong….

The Atlanta Braves announced on Monday that general manager John Coppolella and special assistant to the GM Gordon Blakeley resigned, part of a fallout stemming from MLB’s investigation of the team for circumvention of international signing rules. The Braves’ statement read: “The resignation comes as a result of a breach of Major League Baseball rules regarding the international player market.” John Hart takes over as Atlanta’s acting general manager until…

Betting on sports isn’t legal in most of the U.S., but that isn’t stopping entrepreneurs from building a new digital media platform that will be solely dedicated to the practice. Media and technology firm Chernin Group, led by media mogul and investor Peter Chernin, said it acquired three sports betting- and fantasy sports-data sites that will combine to a form a new venture called Action Network. The new platform will…

The 2017 postseason gets started in a matter of hours with the AL Wild Card Game. That game of course pits the Twins against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium for the right to advance to the ALDS and face the Indians. Naturally enough, your stable of CBS Sports MLB scribes made predictions on pain of termination for this game. We now unfurl these predictions with the opposite of pride ……

Robert Yates, a master engine builder and longtime NASCAR team owner, died Monday. He was 74. In May, Yates was selected for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018. He had been battling liver cancer, requiring multiple rounds of immunotherapy treatment. His son, Doug Yates, announced his father’s passing on social media Monday night. “Hero — my dad’s my hero,” his son, Doug Yates, said in a…

The Diacks and the businessman, Arthur Cesar de Menezes Soares Filho, whose holding company made the payments, have been accused of corrupting the voting process that took the Olympics to South America for the first time. Investigators want to know whether Société Générale acted lawfully when Soares attempted to transfer funds to the younger Diack. Photo Prosecutors in France are investigating the role that Société Générale played in the transfer…

DOVER, Delaware — As NASCAR transitions to a younger generation of drivers, they will have their chance to influence the sport as Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others have. This past weekend’s racing at Dover International Speedway gave the sport’s new kids a chance to show how to do things and possibly influence younger competitors elsewhere. Ryan Blaney set the tone after winning Saturday’s Xfinty race. He celebrated at…

I’ll admit that it can be a little odd to practice your skills in front of a screen, but the virtual trainer does a great job of not being obtrusive. All you see is the ball, your feet and, depending on the lesson, a set of digital cones and a speed bar that show how well (or not) you’re doing. The companion application gives you access to more than 100…

The Atlanta Braves announced on Monday that general manager John Coppolella and special assistant to the GM Gordon Blakeley resigned, part of a fallout stemming from MLB’s investigation of the team for circumvention of international signing rules. The Braves’ statement read: “The resignation comes as a result of a breach of Major League Baseball rules regarding the international player market.” John Hart takes over as Atlanta’s acting general manager until…

Champion car owner and engine builder Robert Yates, elected in May as part of the 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class, died Monday, his son, Doug Yates, confirmed. Robert Yates was 74 and had been battling liver cancer. Yates led the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting for the five new inductees, named on 94 percent of the ballots cast. His vote total was the highest for a nominee…

I’ll admit that it can be a little odd to practice your skills in front of a screen, but the virtual trainer does a great job of not being obtrusive. All you see is the ball, your feet and, depending on the lesson, a set of digital cones and a speed bar that show how well (or not) you’re doing. The companion application gives you access to more than 100…

German Coach Joachim Low will guide the reigning World Cup champions against Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan. (Oli Scarff/AFP-Getty Images) All times are Eastern THURSDAY 8:30 a.m.: Playoff first leg, Syria vs. Australia ESPN3, WatchESPN Noon: Armenia vs. Poland ESPN Deportes, ESPN3, WatchESPN Noon: Azerbaijan vs. Czech Republic FS2, Fox Deportes, Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer Match Pass, fuboTV 2:45 p.m.: England vs. Slovenia FS2, Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer Match…

CLOSE The Nashville investor group bidding for a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Music City unveiled preliminary designs Monday for a 30,000-seat stadium that would transform the aging Metro-owned Fairgrounds Nashville. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee A rendering shows the proposed Major League Soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville.(Photo: Submitted / HOK Architects) Nashville Mayor Megan Barry on Monday proposed an estimated $250 million Major League Soccer stadium…