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Ok, now I am not saying that this is real. Mike Trout does not call me up and confide in me. But I do find the coincidence of the timing to be delicious. When Team USA won the WBC the other night, this marked the final MLB participation of Jim Leyland’s career. He goes out on a high note. So he won’t be back for the next WBC, in 2021. This…

NCAA TOURNAMENT SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Trevon Bluiett scored 25 points, Sean O’Mara scored inside with 40 seconds left and No. 11 seed Xavier upset No. 2 Arizona 73-71 in the West Region. Xavier (30-13) stayed with the second-seeded Wildcats behind Bluiett’s 18 first-half points and tracked down the Wildcats after they tried to pull away in the second half. O’Mara scored on a power move inside, but missed a…

Bill Murray appears to be stuck in a Groundhog Day of sports success, and he isn’t trying to escape from it. Not even five months after he got to celebrate his beloved Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, he has come along for the Cinderella run of the Xavier Musketeers in the NCAA tournament. Murray, whose son, Luke, is an assistant coach for the Musketeers, was among those cheering wildly…

You haven’t heard of him because his improbable rise wasn’t possible in America. Hillman’s portrait of the very dapper Richmond from 1812.   Richmond was born into slavery on what’s today the New York borough of Staten Island on August 5, 1763. When the British landed there in 1776, at the start of the American Revolution, Richmond did what many slaves of the day did: he enlisted in the British…

Locally owned Blue 32 opened its fourth sports bar in Chandler.(Photo: Al Payne/Special for The Republic) Construction of a Chandler building began 10 years ago. Then the recession hit and it sat unfinished and vacant, except for a pair of owls. The Alamo Drafthouse and a charter school eventually sprang up nearby at Arizona Avenue and Chandler Heights Road, but the half-finished structure remained empty. Until recently. Blue 32 opened there,…

In its fourth iteration, the World Baseball Classic proved to any and all doubters the sheer awesome power of an international baseball competition. With record-setting attendance, exciting play and big moments that likely put a strain on Twitter’s servers when every baseball fan needed to shout “WOW” into the void, 2017’s tournament may have been the best one yet.  Now that it’s over, and with 10 days to go until…

NCAA TOURNAMENT SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Trevon Bluiett scored 25 points, Sean O’Mara scored inside with 40 seconds left and No. 11 seed Xavier upset No. 2 Arizona 73-71 in the West Region. Xavier (30-13) stayed with the second-seeded Wildcats behind Bluiett’s 18 first-half points and tracked down the Wildcats after they tried to pull away in the second half. O’Mara scored on a power move inside, but missed a…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Thanks, Michigan. It was fun while it lasted. So who’s going to be the lovable underdog in the NCAA Tournament now? Take your pick: Xavier or South Carolina. The Musketeers are a No. 11 seed after losing their starting point guard to a knee injury in late January and finishing seventh in the Big East. They stomped No. 3 Florida State by 25 points to make…

You haven’t heard of him because his improbable rise wasn’t possible in America. Hillman’s portrait of the very dapper Richmond from 1812.   Richmond was born into slavery on what’s today the New York borough of Staten Island on August 5, 1763. When the British landed there in 1776, at the start of the American Revolution, Richmond did what many slaves of the day did: he enlisted in the British…

Four decades ago, T&B Sports supplied game jerseys to the Oakland Raiders and equipment to UC Berkeley’s football program, as well as gear for Sonoma County Little League and school teams. The Santa Rosa store is closing at the end of the month after 35 years here in three locations. The business on West Steele Lane has been winding down since last fall, but the county’s teams still will be…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Purdue coach Matt Painter stopped short of calling Kansas invincible on Thursday night. Not by much. After watching the top-seeded Jayhawks run roughshod over his overmatched Boilermakers in the Midwest Regional semifinals, Painter was asked whether anybody can stop Kansas – a team that has won its first three NCAA Tournament games by an average of 30 points. He hemmed and hawed a bit, and Painter…

Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment sports + biz + culture + lifeGet REDEF delivered to your inbox rantnrave:// Mercifully, the NFL intends to do something about the nasty commercial/kickoff/commercial sequence that pops up during games — which has long made viewers angry. It’s part of the league’s plan to reformat games. Commercial breaks, replays and in-game timing are all on the table. While the MLB has fixated…

NASCAR returns to Southern California this weekend with a new race format, a new series sponsor and most of the sport’s biggest names looking for their first win of the season. Stock-car racing’s top circuit is now called the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after energy drink maker Monster Beverage Corp. took over title sponsorship this year from Sprint Corp. The Auto Club 400 on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway…

Ryan Newman broke a 127-race NASCAR Cup series winless streak Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. It also snapped a 112-race streak without a victory for Richard Childress Racing, which hadn’t had a car in Victory Lane since Kevin Harvick won at Phoenix in November 2013. Here are five questions with Newman, speaking with reporters after Sunday’s race: Q. Is this victory any more meaningful than others you’ve had? A. It’s…

Check out the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program and the women who are looking to make history in the sport. CONCORD, N.C. — Clinching their air impact wrenches, Brehanna Daniels and Breanna O’Leary crouch like tigers waiting to pounce. They focus on the rumbling stock car that screeches to a halt in front of them and then they’re off, sprinting around the front and rear of the car. Daniels quickly…

You haven’t heard of him because his improbable rise wasn’t possible in America. Hillman’s portrait of the very dapper Richmond from 1812.   Richmond was born into slavery on what’s today the New York borough of Staten Island on August 5, 1763. When the British landed there in 1776, at the start of the American Revolution, Richmond did what many slaves of the day did: he enlisted in the British…

Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment sports + biz + culture + lifeGet REDEF delivered to your inbox rantnrave:// Mercifully, the NFL intends to do something about the nasty commercial/kickoff/commercial sequence that pops up during games — which has long made viewers angry. It’s part of the league’s plan to reformat games. Commercial breaks, replays and in-game timing are all on the table. While the MLB has fixated…

The NHL may be nearing a deadline to decide whether to allow the world’s best hockey players to participate in the Winter Olympics next year in South Korea. “I hope we can find a compromise in the next two or three weeks,” International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel told The Associated Press on Thursday in a telephone interview from Russia. “We need to know by the end of April…

Ryan Newman broke a 127-race NASCAR Cup series winless streak Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. It also snapped a 112-race streak without a victory for Richard Childress Racing, which hadn’t had a car in Victory Lane since Kevin Harvick won at Phoenix in November 2013. Here are five questions with Newman, speaking with reporters after Sunday’s race: Q. Is this victory any more meaningful than others you’ve had? A. It’s…

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