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Wednesday espnW broke the story that the U.S. women’s national ice hockey team players would boycott the upcoming 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championships unless contract talks with USA Hockey were able to progress. Chief among player complaints were paltry pay, unequal support of the men’s and women’s developmental programs (citing $3.5 million dedicated annually to the boys’ development while no complementary girls’ development program existed) and lack of games and…

Photo credit: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images; phrase quoted from TV Helper You, dear reader, may or may not like NASCAR. That’s fine. I’ve found a wonderful place that explains it in no detail with no sense. Think of it as a Waltrip brother as heard through a garbage disposal, except written out in all its glorious weirdness. Meet TV Helper, the world’s best motorsport commentator. Advertisement TV Helper describes itself as…

GIF via BarriKimi 3 Retaliation! It’s the word of the day from today’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race at Phoenix. Full-time Xfinity driver Cole Custer collided with Cup Series regular Austin Dillon, putting Dillon’s car in the wall and collecting Ryan Sieg’s car in the process. So, Dillon drove right into Custer’s car under caution. This dumb retaliatory stunt got Dillon immediately parked by NASCAR, per Fox Sports’…

There was a point in time where Bobby Labonte had a slightly different outlook on the direction he wanted to take in life. Before breaking onto the NASCAR scene, Labonte almost went from “Drivers, start your engines” to “Surf’s up, dude.” The 2000 Cup champion sat down with @TheBuzzer’s Daryl Motte to explain how he almost turned in go-karts for surfboards. Play Now!

Monique Lamoureux, right, celebrates a goal against Team Finland in the 2014 Four Nations Cup. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff Bassett, File) Monique Lamoureux-Morando started noticing the slights not long after she earned her spot on USA Hockey’s women’s national team in 2009. While the teenagers and young men on USA Hockey’s world junior (under-20) men’s team had a seemingly endless supply of sticks, 27-year-old Lamoureux-Morando said, she and her…

By Michelle R. Martinelli March 18, 2017 1:43 pm Follow @MMartinelli4

There was a point in time where Bobby Labonte had a slightly different outlook on the direction he wanted to take in life. Before breaking onto the NASCAR scene, Labonte almost went from “Drivers, start your engines” to “Surf’s up, dude.” The 2000 Cup champion sat down with @TheBuzzer’s Daryl Motte to explain how he almost turned in go-karts for surfboards. Play Now!

Drew Doughty was just 15 when his parents asked him to make a decision that would affect the rest of his life: Did he want to pursue a career in soccer or hockey? “I was just as good at soccer as I was at hockey,” Doughty says now. “But living in Canada, it’s going to be tough to make it [in soccer] anywhere. So I kind of gave it up.”…

2:38 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment SCHLADMING, AUSTRIA — The parade of athletes at Saturday’s opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Winter Games will be short two delegations, as the teams from Ghana and Afghanistan were denied visas to travel to Austria to compete in the event. “We are deeply saddened that the delegations from Special Olympics Afghanistan and Special Olympics Ghana were not…

Monique Lamoureux, right, celebrates a goal against Team Finland in the 2014 Four Nations Cup. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff Bassett, File) Monique Lamoureux-Morando started noticing the slights not long after she earned her spot on USA Hockey’s women’s national team in 2009. While the teenagers and young men on USA Hockey’s world junior (under-20) men’s team had a seemingly endless supply of sticks, 27-year-old Lamoureux-Morando said, she and her…

8:23 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR met with drivers Joey Logano and Kyle Busch prior to practice Friday, and everything appears not so great. Kyle Busch appears angry. When drivers don’t want to throw fuel on the fire but also don’t want to apologize or clarify their actions, they respond to questions the way Busch did for more than 40 seconds…

BUY TICKETS: See the races in PhoenixRELATED: Full schedule for Phoenix AVONDALE, Ariz. — The start to the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season hasn’t gone the way Daniel Suarez would have hoped.   Pressed into service at NASCAR’s highest level by the abrupt departure of Carl Edwards during the offseason, Suarez crashed out of the Daytona 500 in 29th place and finished 21st and 20th in the subsequent…

ST. CHARLES – Minnesota captain Lee Stecklein could barely hold her emotions back Friday night. Stecklein was asked about her four-year career, which came to an abrupt end with a 4-3 loss to No. 2 Clarkson in the NCAA Frozen Four Women’s Ice Hockey semifinals at the Family Arena. “It’s definitely a different feeling, one I would’ve loved to have never felt,” Stecklein said. “It’s been a great four years…

UMass Lowell advanced to its fifth straight Hockey East title match with a 5-1 semifinal victory over Notre Dame last night at the TD Garden. The top-seeded River Hawks (25-10-3) will face Boston College, the winner of last night’s other semifinal, 3-2, over Boston University. Tonight’s final faces off at 7 p.m. at the Garden with the winner taking the Lamoriello Trophy. UMass Lowell won the crown in 2013 and…

Monique Lamoureux, right, celebrates a goal against Team Finland in the 2014 Four Nations Cup. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff Bassett, File) Monique Lamoureux-Morando started noticing the slights not long after she earned her spot on USA Hockey’s women’s national team in 2009. While the teenagers and young men on USA Hockey’s world junior (under-20) men’s team had a seemingly endless supply of sticks, 27-year-old Lamoureux-Morando said, she and her…

8:23 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR met with drivers Joey Logano and Kyle Busch prior to practice Friday, and everything appears not so great. Kyle Busch appears angry. When drivers don’t want to throw fuel on the fire but also don’t want to apologize or clarify their actions, they respond to questions the way Busch did for more than 40 seconds…

ST. CHARLES – Minnesota captain Lee Stecklein could barely hold her emotions back Friday night. Stecklein was asked about her four-year career, which came to an abrupt end with a 4-3 loss to No. 2 Clarkson in the NCAA Frozen Four Women’s Ice Hockey semifinals at the Family Arena. “It’s definitely a different feeling, one I would’ve loved to have never felt,” Stecklein said. “It’s been a great four years…

8:23 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR met with drivers Joey Logano and Kyle Busch prior to practice Friday, and everything appears not so great. Kyle Busch appears angry. When drivers don’t want to throw fuel on the fire but also don’t want to apologize or clarify their actions, they respond to questions the way Busch did for more than 40 seconds…

CLOSE x Embed x Share USA TODAY Sports’ A.J. Perez explains why the USA women’s hockey team is boycotting the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship. USA TODAY Sports The U.S. women’s hockey team is threatening to boycott the world championship because of a wage dispute.(Photo: Julio Cortez, AP) USA Hockey went public Friday with the negotiations it is having with women’s national hockey team, releasing financial terms…