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Was this the year of the activist athlete? NPR’s Scott Simon looks back on the year in sports with Howard Bryant of ESPN.com.

Matt McClain/Assistant Sports Editor The last sport that comes to mind in December is baseball. That mindset is the precise reason as to why Morton baseball coach Jesse Crawford and former Morton baseball star Will Headean held a camp Dec. 28-30 at the Brenkman Memorial Indoor Baseball Facility in Morton. The camp, for kids in grades three through eight, was designed to get kids…

Dec 29, 2016 Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment Bryce Harper‘s hat seemed to say it all: “MAKE BASEBALL FUN AGAIN.” It was a bold mission statement for baseball, from one of its brightest young stars, challenging a sport that some call too long, too slow — and too boring. We say: Bah, humbug, haters. Baseball didn’t need to be made fun again — it’s been fun, and…

LAS VEGAS – Ronda Rousey was once again pummeled by a striker and lost her second consecutive bout. The former women’s bantamweight champion was completely outclassed in the striking game by Amanda Nunes, who stopped Rousey at 48 seconds of the first round to retain her women’s bantamweight championship in the main event of UFC 207 at T-Mobile Arena. Nunes landed a big right just seconds into the fight that…

Dec 29, 2016 Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment Bryce Harper‘s hat seemed to say it all: “MAKE BASEBALL FUN AGAIN.” It was a bold mission statement for baseball, from one of its brightest young stars, challenging a sport that some call too long, too slow — and too boring. We say: Bah, humbug, haters. Baseball didn’t need to be made fun again — it’s been fun, and…

Follow along for live updates from UFC 207 in Las Vegas where Ronda Rousey will face champion Amanda Nunes, ending her long layoff after a loss in late 2015 against Holly Holm. Join the Los Angeles Times’ boxing and MMA writer Lance Pugmire for news and analysis as it happens. Also, check out the scene from around Las Vegas in what promises to be one of the biggest UFC events…

Dec 29, 2016 Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment Bryce Harper‘s hat seemed to say it all: “MAKE BASEBALL FUN AGAIN.” It was a bold mission statement for baseball, from one of its brightest young stars, challenging a sport that some call too long, too slow — and too boring. We say: Bah, humbug, haters. Baseball didn’t need to be made fun again — it’s been fun, and…

We’re a few short days away from 2017 so it’s a good time to look back at the top 25 baseball stories of 2016. Some of them took place on the field, some of them off the field and some of them were creatures of social media, fan chatter and the like. No matter where the story broke, however, these were the stories baseball fans were talking about most this…

In a few days, 2016 will come to a close. It was a memorable year – especially for the Chicago Cubs and their fans – filled with great plays, outstanding performances, and things we will never forget. As we begin to look forward to 2017, David R. McCullough takes a look back at at a few of the players and broadcasters baseball lost in 2016. Many beloved artists – Prince,…

When the 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame class is announced next month, the next group of ex-stars will be headed toward Cooperstown. While it’s always tough to guess how yearly voting will go, keeping track of public ballots gives an indication of how the final tally will look. Thanks to Ryan Thibodaux’s work on Twitter, one baseball fan has compiled every single ballot that becomes public–including NJ Advance Media columnist Steve…

Though Major League Baseball teams are ending 2016 with a whimper — it’s been some time since we had a meaningful signing or trade — not all teams are going gently into the new year. That’s because Team USA reportedly made a pair of important additions to their roster on Thursday, just about two months from the start of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Those additions? Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman…

Britain’s sporting elite has been rewarded in a New Year honours list in which Rio Olympic medallists Andy Murray and Mo Farah are made knights and Katherine Grainger and Jessica Ennis-Hill become dames. Olympians and Paralympians make up 10% of the 2017 list, which also includes knighthoods for Kinks frontman Ray Davies, 72, comedian Ken Dodd, 89, actor Mark Rylance, 56, and a damehood for actor Patricia Routledge, 87. Murray’s…

Andy Murray wins Wimbledon again – 10 July 135mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 1000 Championship-winning point at Wimbledon is always a bit nervy for me even though I have done many of them over the years. There are some pretty big decisions to be made – what lens do you go on as you don’t know where on the court they will celebrate? Do you go upright or landscape? Are…

facebook Share twitter Share As this Olympic Year 2016 comes to a close, we see that sport is one of the few things with the power to unite all people in an increasingly fragile world. Sport is an anchor of stability for so many people, regardless of background, nationality or belief. For me, this is the underlying reason that…

It’s 58 days until the 2017 Daytona 500 is televised live on FOX, bringing to mind the unusual history of the No. 58 in NASCAR’s Premier Series. It has gone to Victory Lane just once. That happened on June 16, 1962, when little-known (then and now) Johnny Allen took his No. 58 Pontiac to Victory Lane in the Myers Brothers 200 at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A…

Dec 29, 2016 Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment Bryce Harper‘s hat seemed to say it all: “MAKE BASEBALL FUN AGAIN.” It was a bold mission statement for baseball, from one of its brightest young stars, challenging a sport that some call too long, too slow — and too boring. We say: Bah, humbug, haters. Baseball didn’t need to be made fun again — it’s been fun, and…

Ezra Shaw/Getty 2016 was a wild year for sports. There were comebacks, like the Cleveland Cavaliers coming back from a 3-1 deficit and then winning the NBA championship in a dramatic Game 7, giving Cleveland its first NBA title. There was the Chicago Cubs’ breaking a century-old curse and winning the World Series in a gripping seven-game series over, coincidentally, the Cleveland Indians. Elsewhere, Peyton Manning concluded one of the greatest…

Andy Murray wins Wimbledon again – 10 July 135mm lens 1/1600 f4 ISO 1000 Championship-winning point at Wimbledon is always a bit nervy for me even though I have done many of them over the years. There are some pretty big decisions to be made – what lens do you go on as you don’t know where on the court they will celebrate? Do you go upright or landscape? Are…

In a Wall Street Journal article earlier this year, reporter Ben Cohen wrote, “In an age of hyper-specialization, Curry has reached the pinnacle of his sport by doing the exact opposite. He played basketball, but he also played some baseball, football, soccer and basically everything else in a sports buffet. What worked for Curry, experts say, could work for everyone.”

NEW DELHI: The Indian Olympic Association was on Friday suspended by the Sports Ministry after failing to respond to the showcase notice issued to it questioning the decision to confer life presidency on Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Chautala. While Kalmadi voluntarily refused the position till he is absolved of all corruption charges, Chautala has been defiant, claiming he would give up the post only if asked to do so by…