Sport

The State of U.S. Swimming: Thumbs Up! New swimming facilities in the United States are keeping pace with the country’s growing number of competitive swimmers. Author Chuck Warner discusses the growth of competitive swimming facilities, as well as the independence many coaches have taken in owning their own pools in the first half of the article, while fellow author Annie Grevers draws upon the knowledge and experience of Pat Hogan, USA Swimming’s…

It’s hard to say what’s more annoying about Canada’s failure at the world junior hockey championship – the quiet exit or the fact that Ron Wilson called it. When he was coaching the Maple Leafs, Wilson proved spectacularly incapable of subtlety or gamesmanship. He was perpetually baffled by the passive-aggressive nature of local fandom. That tone deafness is what killed his career in Toronto. But over in Finland, leading a…

The last time we brought you a highlight from the University of North Dakota hockey team, it was a great show of teamwork, with the players on the ice completing one of the cleanest passing plays you’ll ever see. This time, though, it’s all about the individual. That individual, who was also part of that amazing passing play, is senior Drake Caggiula. He also happens to be one of the…

Canadian Press January 3, 2016, 11:53 AM Canadian Press   January 3, 2016, 11:53 AM HELSINKI — Tom Renney came to the defence of Canada’s coaching staff at the world junior hockey championships on Sunday. The president and chief executive officer of Hockey Canada spoke a day after Canada dropped a 6-5 decision to Finland in the quarter-finals of the international event, guaranteeing a sixth-place finish at the tournament. It is…

The history of the No. 41 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series spans from the first Strictly Stock race on June 19, 1949 all the way to present times, but the list of drivers may surprise you. The first driver to carry the number in NASCAR’s Premier Series was 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Curtis Turner. The hard-nosed driver carried the number during that inaugural Strictly Stock season, earning…

Two foreign tourists, from China and Australia, died Saturday in separate swimming accidents at the southern Thai resort island of Koh Samui, police said. Police Lt. Col. Apichart Jansamret said the two died while swimming off Chaweng beach during high tide. Two other people were injured. He said there were “no swimming” signs and red flags in place to warn tourists about the dangers of swimming there. Apichart said that…

Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry has warned against celebratory gunfire after the upcoming South Asia soccer final against India, hoping to avoid a repeat of the raucous celebrations that followed the national team’s victory in 2013. Afghanistan will defend its title against India on Sunday in an eagerly awaited match seen as a point of pride in the war-ravaged country. Afghanistan, which defeated Sri Lanka 5-0 to advance to the finals, is…

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page. Southampton and Senegal striker Sadio Mane, 23, could be a target for Manchester United with his future at the Saints in doubt after he turned up late for a team meeting and was dropped on Saturday. (Mail on Sunday) But Southampton manager Ronald Koeman says that Mane would cost £62.5m. (Sun on Sunday) The Old Trafford club…

OLYMPICS AND PARALYMPICS: Rio de Janeiro, starts 5 August & 7 September A long old trek but, well, these are the Games and it’s not too late to be part of what is always an exceptional experience in live sport – the very best in the world, facing off for the highest honour. The first three ticketing phases are already complete but the official ticket seller for both the Olympics…

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (KMSP) – The jersey of Patrick Schoonover, the 14-year-old hockey player who died during a game last year, was retired at the Eastview High School boy’s hockey game Saturday afternoon. Schoonover collapsed and died during a game in Brainerd, Minn. on November 14, 2014. His sudden death during the game came from two undetected heart defects. Following his death, his family started the Patrick Schoonover Heart Foundation,…

Count Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson among the many professional athletes who use swimming as cross-training exercise to improve performance in their primary sport. Wilson was asked about his outstanding durability, and the Seattle Seahawk credited his time in the pool. “I love being in the water, in the pool,” he said, according to ESPN.com. “I think that helps a lot getting your body back. That’s a big thing for me.” Playing…

Mackenzie Blackwood said it all in a single expression. When asked how he felt about the wild 6-5 quarter-final loss to Finland that eliminated Canada from the world junior hockey championship Saturday, the goaltender took a deep breath, exhaled, then loudly swore. “Terrible,” said Blackwood after a pause. “It’s the worst thing ever, losing. “I hate it. Just gotta learn from it and move on.” Mitch Marner’s two power-play goals…

It was inevitable that at some point the NHL’s decision to allow hockey fans to vote for participants in the NHL All-Star game would result in the arrival of an unconventional candidate. That finally happened this year, when enforcer John Scott was voted the captain of the Pacific division for the 2016 All-Star game. There will be no shortage of columns explaining why this is a terrible thing. Social media…

Marc Kohn wanted to turn his grief over the death of his stepdaughter into something that would honor her memory and serve the community. So he built an ice rink in his backyard. “She was a huge hockey fan,” Kohn said. “She just loved it.” Since the rink opened three weeks ago at his Poolesville, Md. home, it has been filled with neighborhood children, skating with smiles on their faces…

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Less than an hour remained before the puck was dropped for the inaugural Outdoor Women’s Classic between the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League and Les Canadiennes de Montreal of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan was beaming. Rylan’s league and her sport were about to take center stage on the eve of the NHL’s signature regular-season event, the 2016…

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Less than an hour remained before the puck was dropped for the inaugural Outdoor Women’s Classic between the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League and Les Canadiennes de Montreal of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan was beaming. Rylan’s league and her sport were about to take center stage on the eve of the NHL’s signature regular-season event, the 2016…

With the dawn of a new year, the NASCAR world will soon be hard at work again in preparation for Daytona Speedweeks 2016 and the upcoming Sprint Cup Series season. But for even the most intense competitors, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve offer an opportunity for one last hurrah before getting down to business. From the Harvicks and the Buschs to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and fiancee Amy Reimann,…

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Today the puck officially drops on Kraft Hockeyville USA 2016 at the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic featuring the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins broadcast on NBC at 1 p.m. ET. This year’s search for America’s most passionate hockey community reunites an all-star roster of partners, including the USA Hockey, National Hockey League Players’ Association, National Hockey League and NBC Sports Group. Through the program, hockey communities across the U.S. can now…

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Less than an hour remained before the puck was dropped for the inaugural Outdoor Women’s Classic between the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League and Les Canadiennes de Montreal of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan was beaming. Rylan’s league and her sport were about to take center stage on the eve of the NHL’s signature regular-season event, the 2016…

Getty Images A judge has ruled for big mean football at the expense of kids playing soccer. OK, actually, a Santa Clara Superior Court judge ruled in favor of a Super Bowl over a rec soccer league, but it sounded more sinister the first way. According to Kimberly Veklerov of the San Francisco Chronicle, the judge denied the request to stop the city from handing over three soccer fields to Levi’s Stadium, which will…