Sport

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 8, 2016) — NASCAR, in collaboration with broadcast partner NBC Sports Group, Kansas Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway, today announced adjustments to start times and network coverage for NASCAR XFINITY Series races at both tracks this fall. The Kansas Lottery 300 from Kansas Speedway on Oct. 15 will air on NBC at 3 p.m. ET, while the penultimate race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase from Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 12 will air…

RIO DE JANEIRO—Most hockey fans are fixated on the ongoing Stanley Cup finals between the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins. But at another competition a bit farther south, the members of Team Brazil—a group of misfits and weekend warriors mostly plucked from the country’s in-line roller-skating leagues—are focused on some of the simpler aspects of ice skating. Like, for instance, ice skating. “They all really struggle.” said Jens Hinderlie,…

How USA Soccer Soared To New Copa America Heights, Thumped Costa Rica In 2016 “Waste not, want not” applies to soccer perhaps more than any other sport. The United States men’s national soccer team roared back into Copa America 2016 contention Tuesday with a resounding 4-0 victory over Costa Rica. Clint Dempsey led the way with the goal and two assists in the first half, helping Jermaine Jones and Bobby…

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By Joe Minihane, for CNN Updated 5:09 AM ET, Tue June 7, 2016

Former soccer player Pele speaks with children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2014. The athlete’s auction of memorabilia begins today and a portion of the proceeds will go to a children’s hospital in Brazil. – YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images The auction of Brazilian soccer star Pele’s personal collection of soccer gear and awards started off with a big sale Tuesday — the boots he wore in a 1981 film sold for more…

The British Olympian Greg Rutherford has frozen a sample of his sperm before attending the Olympic Games in Rio because of his concerns over the Zika virus. Rutherford’s partner, Susie Verrill, said the couple, who have a son called Milo, decided to freeze his sperm because they wanted to have more children in the future and were worried about the risks of the disease. Zika infections in pregnant women have…

The U.S. Women’s national soccer team has won three World Cups. The men’s team has won zero. And the women are still paid less. But that pay gap is more complicated than it sounds. In March, five of the best-known players on the team filed an official complaint accusing U.S. Soccer of wage discrimination. The complaint garnered much discussion and debate, as every story about gender pay gap does—but this…

CHICAGO New research attempting to calculate the risk of the Zika virus at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro may reassure organizers and many of the more than 500,000 athletes and fans expected to travel to the epicenter of the epidemic. Controversy about the global gathering in August has grown as more about the disease becomes known. The mosquito-borne virus can cause crippling birth defects and, in adults, has been…

By Joe Minihane, for CNN Updated 5:09 AM ET, Tue June 7, 2016

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SOCHI, Russia — In under two weeks Russia will learn whether it will be allowed to compete at this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. On June 17, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will vote on whether to lift a suspension on Russian athletes, which was imposed last November after a years-long cover-up of widespread doping by the country was uncovered. Russia has been rushing to prove…

Chinese retail giant Suning has taken a controlling stake in iconic Italian soccer club Inter Milan — the latest high-profile overseas acquisition by Chinese investors increasingly dabbling in the so-called beautiful game. Suning, a household name in China comparable to America’s Best Buy, has secured a 69% stake in the 108-year-old club — officially called Internazionale Milano, but nicknamed I Nerazzurri (the Black and Blues) — for $307 million. “Football…

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry will not participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, and he might not be the only one from the team to opt out. Various sources told Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group that Curry “has already told USA Basketball that he will not be playing for a gold medal. He will let his right knee heal.” Curry has played through…

KIEV Ukraine’s state security service said on Monday a French citizen detained in late May on the border with Poland had been planning attacks in France to coincide with the Euro 2016 soccer championship it is hosting. The Ukrainian border guard service reported on Saturday that the unnamed 25-year-old had been arrested with an arsenal of weapons and explosives including rocket launchers and Kalashnikov assault rifles in his vehicle. SBU…

GIF via Fox Sports Brad Keselowski’s car was held in the pits longer than it’s crew would have hoped at Pocono Raceway this afternoon thanks to a fender slam by one of his crew members that got caught by NASCAR officials. NASCAR told them to put the fender back, and the crew was just like, “What? No.” Dents on the side of the car increase aerodynamic sideforce and improve handling…

One of the few positives to take from USA’s 2-0 loss to Colombia on Friday came 15 minutes after the final whistle. Despite an anemic performance from the US, the American Outlaws, the team’s most famous supporters’ group, remained behind to sing for the team, in the hope of motivating them for Tuesday’s match against Costa Rica. For the Outlaws, these shows of diehard support are nothing new. They sold…

Chinese retail giant Suning has taken a controlling stake in iconic Italian soccer club Inter Milan — the latest high-profile overseas acquisition by Chinese investors increasingly dabbling in the so-called beautiful game. Suning, a household name in China comparable to America’s Best Buy, has secured a 69% stake in the 108-year-old club — officially called Internazionale Milano, but nicknamed I Nerazzurri (the Black and Blues) — for $307 million. “Football…