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RELATED: Full injury timeline | Junior out for 2016 DARLINGTON, S.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. is continuing to make progress in his recovery from a concussion, and the Hendrick Motorsports driver says he has every intention of returning to competition once he receives medical clearance. That, in a nutshell, was Earnhardt’s message during a visit to Darlington Raceway, site of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500. HMS officials announced the NASCAR…

CHICAGO — U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem Sunday night before the Seattle Reign’s game against the Chicago Red Stars in support of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the anthem to protest racial injustice and minority oppression came to public notice when he remained seated on the bench before a preseason game against Green Bay. On Thursday night in San Diego, he…

Former U.S. soccer star Lauren Holiday has been diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant, and her husband, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, is taking indefinite leave from the NBA club to care for his wife, the Pelicans said Sunday. “We are all praying for a healthy delivery of their first child and a successful surgery for Lauren,” Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said in a prepared statement…

Martin Truex Jr. continues to be at his best on NASCAR’s biggest stages this season. Now he hopes he can finish it with something even more grand. Truex finished strong Sunday at Darlington Speedway, holding off Kevin Harvick to win the Southern 500, one of the sport’s signature races. He started the summer by running away with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, another of NASCAR’s so-called “crowned jewels.”…

RELATED: Full injury timeline | Junior out for 2016 DARLINGTON, S.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. is continuing to make progress in his recovery from a concussion, and the Hendrick Motorsports driver says he has every intention of returning to competition once he receives medical clearance. That, in a nutshell, was Earnhardt’s message during a visit to Darlington Raceway, site of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500. HMS officials announced the NASCAR…

Tony Stewart appeared to deliberately cause Brian Scott to crash during Sunday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Scott was four laps behind the lead and just ahead of Stewart when he bobbled and drifted up the track and into the path of Stewart, who was running on the same lap as leaders at the time of the incident. Stewart had to slow to avoid hitting the rookie, then…

Former U.S. soccer star Lauren Holiday has been diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant, and her husband, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, is taking indefinite leave from the NBA club to care for his wife, the Pelicans said Sunday. “We are all praying for a healthy delivery of their first child and a successful surgery for Lauren,” Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said in a prepared statement…

CHICAGO — U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem Sunday night before the Seattle Reign’s game against the Chicago Red Stars “in a little nod” to NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the anthem to protest racial injustice and minority oppression came to public notice when he remained seated on the bench before a preseason game against Green Bay. On Thursday night in San Diego,…

In a finish that looked like something straight out of a Hollywood movie, John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer got into a fight following a close result in Sunday’s NASCAR Truck Series race. Nemechek crashed Custer to win the race, then Custer retaliated by tackling Nemechek as he waited to receive the checkered flag from officials. Nemechek was trailing Custer entering the final corner at the Canadian Tire Motorsport…

Anze Kopitar helped Slovenia punch its ticket for the 2018 Winter Olympics. USATSI We don’t know if the NHL will be releasing their players for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, but NHLers were a big part of this week’s Olympic qualifying tournament at three different European sites. Germany, Norway and Slovenia each topped their groups in the round-robin format to solidify their spots at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South…

Former U.S. soccer star Lauren Holiday has been diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant, and her husband, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, is taking indefinite leave from the NBA club to care for his wife, the Pelicans said Sunday. “We are all praying for a healthy delivery of their first child and a successful surgery for Lauren,” Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said in a prepared statement provided…

x Embed x Share USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Gluck breaks down the Bojangles’ Southern 500 and the story lines that fans should keep an eye on at Darlington. USA TODAY Sports Cars race around Darlington Raceway during the 2015 Bojangles’ Southern 500.(Photo: Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports) DARLINGTON, S.C.  — It’s NASCAR race day at Darlington Raceway, and we’ve got some essential information you need to get ready for Sunday’s…

RELATED: Race results | At-track gallery | Standings | Chase Grid SHOP: Sadler gear DARLINGTON, S.C. — Elliott Sadler had a passenger for Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway — in spirit at least. After a breathtaking battle against Denny Hamlin over the closing laps, Sadler crossed the finish-line .454 seconds ahead of Hamlin to win for the first time at the Lady in Black — and immediately…

New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday is set to miss the start of the 2016-17 season as his pregnant wife,?former U.S. women’s national team soccer player Lauren Holiday, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Lauren Holiday, a two-time gold medalist and 2015 World Cup winner, will undergo surgery about six weeks after the birth of the couple’s first child. The tumor, which is benign, was found on the…

RELATED: Cast your vote   DARLINGTON, S.C. (Sept. 3, 2016) — Voting for the National Motorsports Press Association Sprint Most Popular Driver Award will officially open Sunday, Sept. 4.   The award, sponsored by Sprint and administered by the NMPA, is the only major NASCAR award determined solely by fan vote. It has been presented annually since 1953.   The 2016 voting period will open at 12 a.m. ET Sunday…

Athletes paddle to shore near the Olympic rings after a men’s kayak double 1000-meter heat on Aug. 17. (Luca Bruno/AP) The Rio Olympics certainly didn’t go off without a hitch (remember the green pool water?). But one of the biggest fears concerning last month’s Games has not come to fruition: There have been no new confirmed cases of the Zika virus connected to the Olympics, according to the World Health Organization….

(UMD) (GU) Maryland and Georgetown added another chapter to a growing men’s soccer rivalry Friday night with a riveting match decided in the final minute before an overflow crowd in College Park. The seventh-ranked Terrapins prevailed, 2-1, when Gordon Wild, who shared the national scoring crown last year while at a small program in South Carolina, converted the rebound of his failed penalty kick with 44 seconds left. Wild, who drew…

Hope Solo warms up prior to a match against France at the Rio Olympics on Aug. 8. (Daniel Oliveira/EPA) Hope Solo doesn’t think her comments calling her Swedish opponents “cowards” during the Olympics are what made U.S. Soccer suspend her for six months and terminate her contract with the national team. The 35-year-old goalkeeper instead thinks she was punished because she’s been fighting for equal rights for women in the…

When NASCAR canceled qualifying on Saturday, Kevin Harvick’s season-long consistency put him on the pole for Sunday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Harvick holds the preferred starting spot on the tricky South Carolina track due to being ranked first in the standings, as NASCAR canceled qualifying and set the lineup based off owner points. He will share the front row with Brad Keselowski, with defending race winner Carl…

In the lead up to the Rio Olympics, there was a flurry of panic around whether the games might act as a super-spreading event for the Zika virus, flinging cases out of the hot zone (Brazil) and into the far corners of the earth. Some worried critics even called for the games to be postponed or moved. Some athletes dropped out in fear of the virus. But researchers studying…