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Working the count to three balls and two strikes, the man Mets fans knew as “Professor” dug back in the box. A little nervous, he called for time to collect himself. One of the greatest careers in the history of American sports was coming to its crescendo. Professor’s prolific home run hitting not only brought baseball back to prominence in American popular culture; he brought African-Americans back to the game….

It was the mid-1990s when Gov. George Pataki asked Randy Gordon of the New York State Athletic Commission his opinion regarding UFC and mixed martial arts. Gordon watched videos of UFC 1 and UFC 2 and figured he had seen enough. Gordon went before the State Legislature in Albany and compared the UFC to “street fighting without the beer bottles” and offered this scathing assessment: “I said, ‘If you allow…

The atmosphere and aura surrounding Mexico’s quadrennial trip to Columbus for World Cup qualifying are storied among American soccer fans. Columbus has been considered a fortress by US goalkeeper Tim Howard, who on Friday devoted a Players’ Tribune piece to describe just how much mystique surrounds the place when it comes to soccer. The qualifiers in Columbus come with a mystique of their own, as each of the games –…

Since Indiana’s unexpected defensive resurgence last January coincided with James Blackmon’s season-ending knee injury, the 6-foot-4 guard became a scapegoat for the team’s inability to generate enough early-season stops. There was even a misguided school of thought that the Hoosiers were better off without their second-leading scorer. You won’t find any Indiana fans making that argument this season after Blackmon’s brilliant performance during the 11th-ranked Hoosiers 103-99 overtime victory over third-ranked Kansas on Friday night in…

It was the mid-1990s when Gov. George Pataki asked Randy Gordon of the New York State Athletic Commission his opinion regarding UFC and mixed martial arts. Gordon watched videos of UFC 1 and UFC 2 and figured he had seen enough. Gordon went before the State Legislature in Albany and compared the UFC to “street fighting without the beer bottles” and offered this scathing assessment: “I said, ‘If you allow…

Next week, a UNC-Chapel Hill class on college sports will delve into the athletic and academic scandal that has dogged the university for years. On Tuesday, according to the syllabus, the topic will be “covering up.” The course, “Big-Time College Sports and the Rights of Athletes, 1956 to the present,” is taught by history professor Jay Smith, a frequent critic of the university administration and co-author of a 2015 book…

Gregg Popovich spoke to the media ahead of Friday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons and ripped into the election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States, according to MySanAntonio.com. Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a stunning election result that has sparked conversation about how the country will move forward. Popovich said that he was still trying to formulate his thoughts…

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We’re a nation bitterly divided. And, no, I’m not talking about who should be the fourth-ranked team in the College Football Playoff. A presidential election like no other has come and gone, sending half the nation into the streets for a euphoric dance, the other half into the streets for a defiant protest. There seems no middle ground, nothing we can all agree on. It’s time for sports to bring…

9:00 AM ET Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email print comment FORT WORTH, Texas — NASCAR just left Texas Motor Speedway, and as they say, everything is big … … aw, c’mon, who are we kidding? Nothing seems bigger about NASCAR these days. Despite a year where the racing has genuinely improved and a year where the major car owners and NASCAR took the first step of many toward a more manageable…

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Upon his arrival in Phoenix Thursday, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano spent time at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital where he met with kids, handed out NASCAR merchandise and made a $5,000 donation to the hospital through his Joey Logano Foundation.   Such efforts always leave a lasting impression; Thursday’s even more so.   Only one day earlier, Logano and his wife, Brittany, attended the funeral…

9:00 AM ET Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email print comment FORT WORTH, Texas — NASCAR just left Texas Motor Speedway, and as they say, everything is big … … aw, c’mon, who are we kidding? Nothing seems bigger about NASCAR these days. Despite a year where the racing has genuinely improved and a year where the major car owners and NASCAR took the first step of many toward a more manageable…

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Trying to make some sense about where the green sports movement goes from here in the immediate aftermath of Donald J. Trump’s election as President of the United States and to see if there are any silver linings, I spoke to Allen Hershkowitz, co-founder and former president of the Green Sports Alliance and co-founder of Green Sports International. He did not sugarcoat the seriousness of the election results for the…

The versatility of the South Carolina baseball roster means several position battles might be in store for the Gamecocks this season. Coach Chad Holbrook is planning to place players in positions they might not be used to and will make adjustments as the season progresses. “It is new for us because the faces are new,” Holbrook said at a news conference Thursday. “I’ve got some athletic guys that I want…

Baseball season is done. The urge may strike to visit a ballpark, but you’ll find them empty, waiting for the action to return in spring. As always, I conclude my column for the year with a recommendation to help you get through the winter and satisfy that longing for mano-a-mano action while cheering for your favorites during the frosty days to come. All you have to do is pay a…

x Embed x Share Hall of Fame quarterback says he would ‘like nothing more’ than to see Tebow become a Major League Baseball player. USA TODAY Sports Tim Tebow is following his baseball dream with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League.(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports) SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — This week, a month after Tim Tebow made his debut in the Arizona Fall League as a member…

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – For three days, the brain trusts of all 30 Major League Baseball teams gathered at a ritzy resort in this wealthy desert suburb and tried to find common ground. The start of a baseball offseason is traditionally slow, and in a year when a new collective bargaining agreement is due, the action was even quieter. …