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Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment NEW YORK — At age 36, Roger Federer is defying all tennis odds. When injuries sidelined him for a good chunk of 2016, fans and experts alike predicted that he would never be the same Federer again. But he has proved them wrong this year, winning the Australian Open — after a vintage Federer-Rafael Nadal final — and Wimbledon. On Monday, Federer…

They methodically began to remove padded sections of the outfield wall. Less than two hours later, the wall had vanished from left-center to right-center. So had the pitcher’s mound and both bullpen mounds. Sit down, baseball. Time for football. Here in 2017 — a time when stadiums with retractable roofs are common and sparkling sports palaces dot the landscape, coast to coast — the Coliseum counts as a relic. It’s…

The first full week of the 2017 college football season ends tonight when No. 25 Tennessee plays Georgia Tech in Atlanta at 8 on ESPN, and if this is an indication of things to come, then it’s going to be a wild season. …

College football returned to our lives this weekend, and it gave us just about everything we could have hoped for in just its first few days. There were close games between great teams, miraculous comebacks, ridiculous highlights, and — given the point spread — the biggest upset in college football history. It’s very easy to get excited about everything that you saw this weekend, but even as I was taking…

Major leaguers continue to pound home runs at a record pace, and along the way they’ve reached milestones on both sides of town. Through Sunday’s games and with less than a month left in the season, there have been 5,189 home runs, or 1.27 per team per game. The record is 5,693 in 2000, or 1.17 per team per game. At that pace, the 2017 total will be a record…

After the Detroit Tigers traded two of their top players, USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale explains how these big moves could change the complexion of the MLB playoffs. USA TODAY Sports

In the old days, there was the talk-show apology tour, a trip to Oprah’s couch or The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Then came the reality era, with fare like Dancing With The Stars geared toward rehabbing reputations. These days, you might as well become a television analyst for Fox and FS1 if you are looking to change your image with the public. Last month, the network added to its…

By Daniel Cancel and Noris Soto | Bloomberg News Baseball is a religion in Venezuela. The country cheers Felix Hernandez, Miguel Cabrera and other local boys who’ve made it in the Major Leagues up north, then turns its attention to its very own winter league that runs from September through the end of the year. They’re raucous games featuring drumming, cheerleaders and copious amounts of beer. Alongside hot dogs, vendors…

Matt Mika, the lobbyist who was shot multiple times on June 14 when a gunman opened fire at lawmakers practicing for a charity congressional baseball game, spoke out, recounting the harrowing scene. “Time stopped. It just stopped,” he said. “I could see his eyes and the gun, but that was it,” Mika, 38, said of the moment he saw the gunman, in an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America.” “After…

In the old days, there was the talk-show apology tour, a trip to Oprah’s couch or The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Then came the reality era, with fare like Dancing With The Stars geared toward rehabbing reputations. These days, you might as well become a television analyst for Fox and FS1 if you are looking to change your image with the public. Last month, the network added to its…

They methodically began to remove padded sections of the outfield wall. Less than two hours later, the wall had vanished from left-center to right-center. So had the pitcher’s mound and both bullpen mounds. Sit down, baseball. Time for football. Here in 2017 — a time when stadiums with retractable roofs are common and sparkling sports palaces dot the landscape, coast to coast — the Coliseum counts as a relic. It’s…

Sky Sports News presenter Kirsty Gallacher arrives at Slough Magistrates’ Court Sky Sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher has been banned from driving for two years as she blames the ‘stress of divorce’ on being three times the drink-drive limit. The 41-year-old, from Virginia Water in Surrey, admitted driving a vehicle while above the legal limit, at Slough Magistrates’ Court. She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service and…

John Bradshaw Layfield, who is known in the WWE as JBL, publicly announced his departure from his current role as a SmackDown Live television commentator this past Friday evening. Layfield stated on social media that he will now be entirely focused on working with at-risk youth for his Bermuda-based charity, but will remain part of the WWE family. Sources close to the situation informed Sports Illustrated that the decision for…

Striker Wilfried Bony’s only two Premier League goals for Stoke City came against Swansea last season Swansea striker Wilfried Bony will be the focus of a High Court case after the Swans were accused of paying £8m in “secret commissions”. Bony claims that two football agents who used to represent him received under-the-table cash between 2013-2015. The agents, Gilbert Kacou and Czech Dalibor Lacina, are now being sued alongside the…

The lobbyist who was shot multiple times earlier this year when a gunman opened fire at lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game spoke out, recounting the harrowing scene of the shooting when, he says, “Time stopped, it just stopped.” “I could see his eyes and the gun, but that was it,” Matt Mika, 38, said in an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America,” of the moment he saw the…

Sky Sports News presenter Kirsty Gallacher arrives at Slough Magistrates’ Court Sky Sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher has been banned from driving for two years as she blames the ‘stress of divorce’ on being three times the drink-drive limit. The 41-year-old, from Virginia Water in Surrey, admitted driving a vehicle while above the legal limit, at Slough Magistrates’ Court. She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service and…

I recently watched the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics play a listless afternoon of baseball, as what should have been a mildly interesting contest between a playoff contender and an also-ran devolved into a languid slugfest. Both teams trotted out middling starting pitchers with earned run averages over 5.00, and the only real excitement came from learning the players’ nicknames during Players Weekend (note to A’s shortstop Jed Lowrie: “Jed”…

After Emperor Augustus defeated Antony and Cleopatra to bring Egypt under Roman rule in 27 BC, the Senate decided a suitable honor was renaming things after him. So the calendar’s eighth month became Augustus, later shortened to August in English. It was given 31 days instead of 30 because the previous month named after Julius Caesar (July) had 31 and the Senate didn’t want to shortchange the man who conquered…

12:22 AM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment DARLINGTON, S.C. — Martin Truex Jr. clinched the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship by winning the opening two stages Sunday night in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Truex nearly made it a sweep of the night, but suffered a flat tire when trying to hold off Denny Hamlin for the win with two laps remaining. He…

RELATED: Complete results | Playoff picture | Detailed breakdown | Every 2017 winner BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has a knack for hosting dramatic finishes, and Austin Cindric created one of his own in today’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. A dramatic last-lap incident saw Cindric push his No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford into the back of the No. 33 GMS Racing Chevrolet of Kaz Grala…