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Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels is the most feared hitter of his generation — one of the greatest ever to step into a batter’s box. He ranks eighth all-time in home runs, seventh in extra-base hits and 10th in total bases. At his peak, he won three MVP awards and was also the best position player in baseball — according to wins above replacement (WAR)1 — three times…

The Dayton Dragons set an all-time U.S. pro sports record when they recorded their 815th consecutive sellout. The streak has now passed 1,200 games.John Grieshop/Getty Images There was a time, not all that long ago, that coming to downtown Dayton, Ohio, meant settling for ballpark food without a ballpark to eat it in. “I came back here in 1985 to run the family business, and the area was not in…

You have to credit Samsung for its chutzpah. The company’s tried every way it can think of to make its smartwatches happen, refining its line of Gear products year after year. Still, not even the latest Gear S3—one of the best smartwatches on the market—was enough to put Samsung in the conversation with Apple on the smartwatch side, or Fitbit on the fitness side. Now, Samsung’s hoping to take on…

Sports provide relief from catastrophes like the recent flooding in Houston. In turn, the lucrative fraud of the Floyd Mayweather–Conor McGregor fight provided relief from the banal late-summer sports journalism monotony of NFL training camps (ACL injuries, quarterback battles), the dog days of baseball and the exhausting search to find half-decent American tennis players to spotlight at the U.S Open. So thanks to both HBOs Real Sports for a superb…

Ward and Endres began raising money in 2012, but struggled to persuade possible landlords that they could generate enough revenue to pay the rent from something called esports. But after looking at potential sites across Southern California, the owner of the 95-year-old building saw their proposal and agreed to rent them his building. The space they built — much of it by hand, laying carpet and running heavy-duty internet infrastructure…

Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment sports + biz + culture + lifeGet REDEF delivered to your inbox rantnrave:// EA Sports’ Madden NFL 18 dropped, and the new feature everyone’s buzzing about is its longshot mode, the new narrative feature that follows Devin Wade as he reaches for football stardom. It’s a playable movie within a video game, like a first-person narrative arc found in role-playing games. Waypoint’s…

Ross Barkley scored five goals in 36 Premier League games last season Everton have rejected a £25m offer from Chelsea for Ross Barkley, but the England midfielder could still leave the club before Thursday’s deadline. Chelsea’s offer was below Everton’s original £50m price tag – but it is likely this will be reduced as Barkley has one year left on his contract. The 23-year-old has turned down a new deal…

The Hall of Fame was one of the stops on this year’s Grand Tour. (via Shane Tourtellotte) I needed this trip. I needed some time away from Asheville, N.C., for reasons not connected to baseball. I needed some time with Paul Golba, my friend in northern New Jersey whom I could see only occasionally after my move eight years ago. I just wasn’t sure I needed another Grand Tour. “Grand…

Ben Hansen, left, watches data on a hand-held device as Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Matt Benedict throws a ball. Benedict is wearing sensors that recorded 39 sets of measurements. Tamara Lush/AP hide caption toggle caption Tamara Lush/AP Ben Hansen, left, watches data on a hand-held device as Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Matt Benedict throws a ball. Benedict is wearing sensors that recorded 39 sets of measurements. Tamara Lush/AP In a stats-driven sport…

ST. PETERSBURG — The rains continue to pour. The flood waters continue to rise. People have died. Many are missing, almost certain to be found drowned in the days to come. Related News/Archive Tampa Bay: A major-league baseball breeding ground 2 Months Ago Could juiced balls be behind Major League Baseball’s home-run surge? 2 Months Ago Major League Baseball is ‘failing’ in its attempt to increase front-office diversity 2 Months…

Wichitans can hope for an announcement on a new affiliated baseball team coming to Wichita by the end of 2017, Mayor Jeff Longwell says. “By the end of this calendar year, we feel confident that we will be able to announce a team, who the team is, all of the above,” Longwell told The Eagle Tuesday afternoon. “We hope that we can complete all of those conversations by the end…

NCAA president Mark Emmert offered Japanese sports industry leaders advice on forming their own collegiate athletics association on Wednesday. Japan is seeking to become one of the few countries outside the United States to establish an NCAA-type governing body for college sports. Emmert spoke to sports officials and representatives from more than 20 Japanese universities at a seminar in Tokyo. “When I was asked to come over here and talk…

Ben Hansen, chief technology officer of Motus Global, left, watches data on a hand held device as Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Matt Benedict throws a ball. Benedict is wearing sensors that recorded 39 sets of measurements ranging from shoulder rotation to hip speed to stride. Tamara Lush/AP hide caption toggle caption Tamara Lush/AP Ben Hansen, chief technology officer of Motus Global, left, watches data on a hand held device as Pittsburgh…

Ward and Endres began raising money in 2012, but struggled to persuade possible landlords that they could generate enough revenue to pay the rent from something called esports. But after looking at potential sites across Southern California, the owner of the 95-year-old building saw their proposal and agreed to rent them his building. The space they built — much of it by hand, laying carpet and running heavy-duty internet infrastructure…

An athletically gifted teenager growing up in northeast Texas seemingly has one destiny: Play high school football under the glare of Friday night lights. For Michael Kopech, however, it was always about throwing a ball with stitches rather than one with laces. That obsession helped turned Kopech into one of baseball’s top prospects and the pitcher with a thunderbolt in his right arm is a key component of the White…

Joe Maddon expressed his displeasure with travel ball during his first spring training as Cubs manager in 2015. And Maddon wasn’t shy Tuesday about expressing his thoughts on children directed toward concentrating on one sport. “Specialization, especially at an early age, is obnoxious to me,” Maddon said. As a youngster in Hazleton, Penn., Maddon played three sports in high school but gave up on basketball because of shin splints during…

A controversial study suggesting that doping in sport is far more prevalent than was found to be by conventional testing has finally been published after years of wrangling. The research, based on anonymous surveys carried out at two elite athletics competitions in 2011, found that up to 57% of competitors admitted doping in the previous 12 months, a figure far surpassing the 1-2% identified by blood and urine tests carried…

Hendrick Motorsports will drop the No. 5 Chevy from its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series lineup starting in 2018. The team announced Tuesday night that the current No. 24 team with driver Chase Elliott will campaign the No. 9, while newcomer William Byron will take over the No. 24, with that team coming from the current No. 5. The No. 9 is significant as Chase Elliott’s father, Bill,…

When NASCAR dropped the overtime line rule earlier this month, drivers and fans alike were pretty stoked about it. It was a good idea in theory to have the overtime line differ from the start/finish line, but when implemented, it often created confusion and controversy. So starting with the 22nd race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the rule changed, and the overtime line and start/finish line became…

An athletically gifted teenager growing up in northeast Texas seemingly has one destiny: Play high school football under the glare of Friday night lights. For Michael Kopech, however, it was always about throwing a ball with stitches rather than one with laces. That obsession helped turned Kopech into one of baseball’s top prospects and the pitcher with a thunderbolt in his right arm is a key component of the White…