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MPs on two parliamentary select committees have challenged Sports Direct over claims it is deliberately under-paying couriers by mislabeling heavy items, including bicycles, as lightweight packets to avoid paying the fair delivery cost. Frank Field, Labour MP and chair of the Commons work and pensions select committee, said he had written to Mike Ashley, the billionaire Sports Direct founder, to demand answers following concerns raised by a whistleblower at delivery…

The coach of British Bobsleigh has resigned in the wake of allegations of bullying and discrimination within the Olympic programme. Dominik Scherrer has left less than five months before the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Although he is not personally accused of any wrongdoing he claimed a change in strategy at the governing body had made him feel unable to do his job. Bobsleigh is one of several sports…

Photo Fans displayed an anti-racism sign between the top and bottom of the fourth inning during a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park. Credit Winslow Townson/USA Today Sports, via Reuters Four fans were ejected from Fenway Park after in Boston they unveiled an anti-racism banner over the Green Monster on Wednesday night. “Racism is as American as baseball,” the sign said. The banner…

7:19 AM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment Tim Tebow contributed to the greatest rise in minor league baseball attendance in 23 years. That number is quite appropriate because only one man, Michael Jordan, has done more for minor league baseball crowds than Tebow did this year. And Jordan had the benefit of playing Double-A with bigger ballparks to fill. Thanks to Jordan, the Birmingham Barons’ 1994…

Along with his father’s baseball intelligence, Justin Jirschele has inherited the deep perfectionism that runs through his family. They are particular people. In his winters, Mike Jirschele, World Series champion, still works in the basement of the Clintonville furniture store where he has worked for more than three decades, repairing broken night stands and touching up nicks in bed frames with wax and paint. He has become expert at using…

But in 2014, his shoulder ached. His velocity fell sharply, and hitters hammered his mistakes. He was sent to the minors, traded to the Chicago Cubs, then dealt to Houston, where he barely pitched. With the blessing of the Astros – whose general manager, Jeff Luhnow, has toured Driveline and consulted with Boddy – Straily went to Driveline after the 2015 season to strengthen his shoulder. He knew that harder…

A Cleveland Indians fan shows his support for the team before Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians won the game and set a new American League record with 21 wins in a row. (Jason Miller/Getty Images) For more than 100 years, American League teams have gone on winning streaks of varying lengths — short ones, long ones, double-digit ones. Nothing, though, like the one the…

Danica Patrick isn’t driving for Stewart-Haas Racing next season, and analyst Ricky Craven says her days in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series are over. Craven discusses other potential options for Patrick to be on the track in 2018. Danica Patrick has said she doesn’t want to live a miserable life of racing in the back half of the NASCAR Cup field. If she can’t race competitively, she doesn’t need…

The world’s leading anti-doping agencies have come together to demand that Russia be banned from next year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang – and to warn the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that it must stop paying “lip service” to the fight against doping. In strongly worded comments following a meeting between 17 anti-doping agencies in Colorado, which included officials from the US Anti-Doping Agency and UK Anti-Doping, the organisations also warned…

The Winter Olympics are a time for athletes from around the world to show off their athletic prowess. They might also be a time for North Korea to demonstrate the strength and dexterity of its rapidly advancing weapons. It’s become clear of late that Pyongyang times its missile launches and other tests to increase the amount of attention they receive, such as during long US weekends or important international meetings….

Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment BOSTON — Four fans seated above the Green Monster at Fenway Park dropped down a sign that read “Racism is as American as baseball” during the fourth inning of the Red Sox‘s game against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night. The sign was draped over the top, middle section of the Green Monster and had a black background with white letters. The…

Six years later, when Dr. Wadler testified at a House Government Reform Committee hearing about steroid abuse in Major League Baseball, he said that early drug testing by the sport had exposed an unacceptably high number of positive results. He excoriated M.L.B.’s testing policy as one “designed to silence its critics” but not strict enough to detect all possible drug abuse. “Why should we care?” he asked. “We should care…

Coverage of women’s sports is peppered with “disguised” sexism, according to new research. The 25-year study suggests dull, lackluster coverage makes female sports events seem less exciting than men’s – harming everything from women athletes’ salaries to ticket sales. Researchers found new segments on women’s sport are shorter, include fewer interviews and less entertaining commentary. And coverage of womens’ sports features matter-of-fact reactions which make female athletes seem less exciting,…

BASEBALL CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians won their 21st straight game on Wednesday, 5-3 over the Detroit Tigers, to set a AL winning-streak record and join only two other teams in the past 101 years to win that many consecutive games. Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer off Buck Farmer (4-3) and Mike Clevinger (10-5) won his fourth straight start as the Indians matched the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the…

Journalist Jemele Hill attends ESPN The Party on February 5, 2016 in San Francisco, California. ESPN had a great idea when it started The Undefeated, a strong daily foray into sports, race, culture and politics. Alas, that nexus is now rancorously exemplified by ESPN’s own Jemele Hill, an engaging show host who leaves no doubt what she thinks of President Trump. In a twitter storm, she wrote, “Donald Trump is a white…

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 WWE superstar Bayley is currently recovering from a separated right shoulder, but she has designs on re-entering the Raw women’s title picture as soon as she is cleared to compete. Yet she has grander plans than simply retaining the women’s championship. “I plan on headlining WrestleMania by…

Danica Patrick isn’t driving for Stewart-Haas Racing next season, and analyst Ricky Craven says her days in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series are over. Craven discusses other potential options for Patrick to be on the track in 2018. Danica Patrick has said she doesn’t want to live a miserable life of racing in the back half of the NASCAR Cup field. If she can’t race competitively, she doesn’t need…

11:22 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment When his world stops spinning, when the interviews and congratulatory handshakes start to slow, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti will put pen to paper and write a note to his 5-year-old daughter, Maya, explaining why Sept. 13, 2017, meant so much. She won’t be allowed to open the letter until 2028, on the day the Olympic Games officially return…

Perception is everything, and brand marketing adds an important element that drives the conversation in all businesses, including NASCAR. Look out your window. That busted-up jalopy crawling up the highway reflects NASCAR’s current Q score, or the measure of familiarity with a brand. The run-up to the playoffs in Richmond, Va., should have been a great opportunity for the sport to gain momentum going into the 16-driver, 10-race scramble for…

Ken Willis @HeyWillieNJ Danica is done, the King is teetering and, oh by the way, NASCAR’s playoffs are starting this weekend. Remember when everything NASCAR touched turn to gold? Nowadays, those folks can’t buy a good headline. Not sure how many boats need to run aground before someone questions the navigators, but man oh man, we should at least knock on the cabin door. On the…