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x Embed x Share USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Gluck previews the top story lines at the upcoming AAA 400 Drive for Autism. usa today sports Brad Keselowski has two victories in 2016, including the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.(Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports) As the freshness of the new NASCAR season wears off, there’s renewed concern over the Chase for the Sprint Cup’s impact on the…

A Canadian public health expert wants to delay or move the 2016 Olympics in Brazil because of the Zika threat. “But for the games, would anyone recommend sending an extra half million visitors into Brazil right now?” wrote University of Ottawa Professor Amir Attaran for the Harvard Public Health Review. He is a biologist and lawyer who researches health issues. Zika, which is spread by mosquitos, has been linked to…

A lab director at the 2014 Olympics says that he provided athletes with a three-drug cocktail of banned substances mixed with liquor in a systemic and state-run doping operation by Russia, according to an investigation by The New York Times. The operation reportedly involved 4 members of Russia’s cross-country ski team and two bobsledders who won two gold medals. Russian antidoping experts and members of the country’s intelligence services would…

As the opening ceremony to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro fast approaches, Brazil faces a slew of problems that could overshadow the highly-anticipated games. Here are some of the major issues plaguing Brazil less than 100 days before games commence: The Zika ‘Health Disaster’ Unless the Olympics are postponed, the games could cause a “full-blown public health disaster” due to the Zika virus, according to a…

Will lug nuts — or the lack thereof — be an issue again this week at Dover International Raceway, site of Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive For Autism NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (FS1, 12:30 p.m. ET)? Maybe, maybe not. After receiving numerous complaints from drivers about racing on just three or four lug nuts, on April 24, NASCAR sent a bulletin to all teams, stating, “All tires, wheels and all…

Media playback is not supported on this device Everton: Are you Wigan in disguise? Everton have sacked manager Roberto Martinez after three years in charge. Martinez’s side, 12th in the Premier League, were beaten 3-1 by champions Leicester on Saturday and lost 3-0 at Sunderland on Wednesday. The Toffees lost in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and League Cup this season. The club praised the Spaniard, 42, for his…

Three NASCAR personalities have made TheDrive.com’s list of top 10 most influential car people in sports.    It’s a curious list, to be sure, with an eclectic selection of athletes and others on it.    Coming in at No. 7 was Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. “Since the death of his father in 2001, Junior has been the most popular and, arguably, the only ubiquitous race car driver, in…

i Kids in Uganda get goalkeeper training from Soccer Without Borders. Courtesy of Soccer Without Borders hide caption toggle caption Courtesy of Soccer Without Borders Kids in Uganda get goalkeeper training from Soccer Without Borders. Courtesy of Soccer Without Borders i Soccer is only part of the program at Soccer Without Borders in Uganda. Its youth center offers English lessons and other classes. Courtesy of Soccer Without Borders hide caption…

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The troubled Rio de Janeiro Olympics could get a boost from the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, according to the spokesman for the local organizing committee. “Now that the political focus has moved forward, the games will greatly benefit,” Mario Andrada told The Associated Press on Thursday. But the shift of attention from politics to the opening of South America’s first games could also be a detriment, thrusting the games’…

By Joshua Berlinger, CNN Updated 1453 GMT (2253 HKT) May 11, 2016

NASCAR levied a P3 penalty against the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driven by Kyle Busch for infractions in the Sprint Cup Series GoBowling 400 event on Saturday at Kansas Speedway. Adam Stevens, crew chief, was fined $20,000, suspended from all NASCAR Series Championship points events through May 18 and put on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31. The No. 18 team’s front tire changer, Josh Leslie, was suspended through May 18 and put on…

A seven-figure payment from the successful Tokyo Olympic bid team to a notorious account linked to the son of the disgraced former world athletics chief Lamine Diack was apparently made during the race to host the 2020 Games, the Guardian has learned. The alleged payment of around €1.3m (£1.03m), now believed to be under scrutiny by French police, will increase pressure on the International Olympic Committee to investigate properly links…

My theory is that the former British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton has been hacked and is now being run as a parody human. His best counter to an accusation of sexism by Victoria Pendleton was to claim bafflement. After all, Shane explained, he had repeatedly “held her in my arms in the track centre when she has capitulated”. I’m no sports scientist, but this sounds like cycling-ese for “She…

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Vladimir Putin isn’t the force he once was. Not in terms of politics, mind you—the Russian president’s approval rating is a robust 82%. This is about Putin in the hockey rink. For the past five years, Putin has played exhibition hockey matches with former pros, ministers, oligarchs, and others. The games take place during galas for the Night Hockey League, an amateur organization that Putin founded in 2011 to promote…

Earlier in the day, Mr Putin said Russia’s new weapons have proven their worth in Syria, helping turn the tide of the civil war which has killed hundreds of thousands and left millions forced to flee the country. Speaking at a meeting with military officials, Mr Putin said that Russian warplanes have flown more than 10,000 combat missions since the air campaign began on September 30. He said they struck more than 30,000…

Brazilian soccer legend Rivaldo has warned tourists, advising them to skip the Rio 2016 Olympics due to concerns of violence, according to the Associated Press. The former Barcelona star, who won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil, fears for tourists after a 17-year-old woman was killed on Saturday in Rio in a shootout. On Instagram, according to the AP, Rivaldo wrote, “Things are getting uglier here every day. I advise…