Sport

By Michelle R. Martinelli June 29, 2017 5:52 pm Follow @MMartinelli4

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo announced the birth of twins via a surrogate mother on Thursday with an intimate Instagram post. The 32-year-old soccer player wrote, “So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life.” So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life 🙏❤ A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) on Jun 29, 2017 at 10:09am PDT The…

Like Ledecky, a five-time medalist in the 2016 Rio Games, Olmstead emerged from the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome as the outstanding female teenage swimmer, with four medals, including three golds. Only two freestyle events were on the women’s program, and Olmstead, then competing under her maiden name, von Saltza, raced in both. She placed second in the 100 freestyle to the Australian superstar Dawn Fraser and won the 400…

Ryan Blaney is only 23 years old, and he’s already living the American dream. The third-generation NASCAR driver gave the storied Wood Brothers Racing Team its 99th victory on June 11 when he took his first checkered flag in a Cup race in the Pocono 400. Now he’s hoping to trip the odometer to 100 for NASCAR’s longest tenured race team, which has notched wins in each of…

As in ancient times, any discussion about hockey and Canada begins with the climate, which is why our forebears, in an effort to battle back against the winters in this ridiculously inhospitable land, took to strapping on skates. They found the nearest frozen pond or river or prairie slough, fashioned a stick, invented the puck and stayed out until darkness fell in mid-afternoon or their toes turned blue, whichever came…

It will be hot, it will rain, and all eyes will be on Dale Earnhardt Jr. all weekend long. The first two are unavoidable facts of nature in midsummer at Daytona International Speedway, and the third might as well be. The 14-time most popular driver always garners heavy attention at NASCAR’s most famous track. That will be multiplied even more than usual this weekend, and rightfully so. Saturday night’s Coke…

Photo: Peter Dejong/AP Canadian rider Antoine Duchesne‏ was one of the last cuts from Direct Energie’s Tour de France team. The team decided not to bring sprinter Brian Coquard, which made Duchesne’s role on the team somewhat unnecessary. All that training for nothing is a huge bummer, especially because Duchesne turned his legs into statuesque vein monsters. Because cyclists basically rely on nothing but their legs to do their jobs,…

Barry Devonside, whose 18-year-old son, Christopher, died in the Hillsborough soccer disaster, reacts after families of the 96 people killed were told charges are being filed Wednesday. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Barry Devonside, whose 18-year-old son, Christopher, died in the Hillsborough soccer disaster, reacts after families of the 96 people killed were told charges are being filed Wednesday. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Six former officials…

RELATED: Appreci88ion for fans prevalent in Junior’s final season For his final full-time season as a driver, NASCAR.com will offer an analytical preview on Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of every remaining Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Race: Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway Date: Saturday, July 1, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Previous five results at Daytona: 37th, 21st, 36th, 1st, 3rd RELATED: See…

There’s one club in the world with a settled midfield, and it’s the team that just won back-to-back Champions League titles. With Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, Real Madrid have two midfielders with a claim to the being the world’s best. It’s a pairing that essentially can’t get any better. Everyone else is searching for the missing piece (or pieces) to solve the midfield puzzle. As such, it’s Europe’s most…

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 27, 2017) – As part of the continued efforts to show appreciation for the United States Armed Forces through NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola, NASCAR XFINITY Series™ drivers will bear the names of active military units and installations on their race car windshields during Friday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Military installations like U.S….

Facebook will stream more than a dozen matches from European soccer’s top tournament, the highest-profile event to join the small but growing lineup of live sports programming. UEFA Champions League Credit: UEFA Starting in September, the social network will show live Champions League matches in the U.S. through a partnership with Fox Sports. The deal with the sports division of 21st Century Fox Inc. includes double-headers during the group stage,…

TENNIS Serena Williams Responds to McEnroe Serena Williams has no interest in John McEnroe’s thoughts on what would happen if she tried to play on the men’s tour. Williams responded via Twitter to comments McEnroe made during a weekend interview with NPR to promote his latest book. In her post, Williams tells McEnroe, “I adore and respect you,” but she asks him to “please please keep me out of your…

Video: Selanne, Andreychuk, Recchi, Kariya elected to HHOF Selanne, who set an NHL rookie record with 76 goals for the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93 and scored 684 times in 21 NHL seasons, was elected in his first year of eligibility. He broke the previous record of 53 set by Hall of Fame forward Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders in 1977-78, and his 132 points also are a record…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are getting closer with 16 of the 26 regular-season races in the books. When the circuit heads to Chicagoland Speedway in September, 16 drivers will be competing for a championship. Here is a look at where things stand heading into this weekend’s fast-track race at Daytona International Speedway: Locked in Kyle Larson: The No. 42 driver clinched a spot in the playoffs in…

LM Otero/Associated Press It took Jesus Ferreira just 18 minutes to become Major League Soccer’s youngest goal scorer since Freddy Adu.     The 16-year-old phenom, the son of former league MVP David Ferreira, made his debut for FC Dallas‘ first team June 3, entering a match against Real Salt Lake in the 71st minute. A little more than a quarter-hour later, he demonstrated why there’s so much excitement about…

The boss of the Bruins is now headed for hockey immortality.  Jeremy Jacobs, the team’s owner, was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame today in the builder category.  Jacobs has long owned the Bruins and oversaw the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup title run. He is also the chairman of the NHL’s Board of Governors.  “I am flattered to be included in with this great group of 2017 inductees, and I am…

Fruitful seasons for riding the Algarve The summer heat would make southern Portugal particularly challenging for cycling, but spring and autumn – with cooler temperatures and coastal breezes – are perfect for it. This new cycle holiday from Chapters Holidays is a week-long trip around the lesser-known eastern Algarve based in Monte Gordo and starting this autumn. Cyclists will ride around 25km a day on coastal paths, finding secret beaches…

For decades, promising youth hockey players in Illinois have not had an opportunity to play college hockey in their home state. Since 1996, when Illinois-Chicago’s varsity program disbanded, the state has not had any Division I college hockey programs. That may be changing. The University of Illinois is partnering with the NHL and league’s players association to evaluate the addition of hockey as a varsity program, the league announced Friday…

Kevin Harvick scored his first win at Sonoma Raceway and first in a Ford with Stewart-Haas Racing.  Check out the social media reaction from the Toyota/Save Mart 350: