Sport

It has been a year of celebration and controversy in world soccer, with the U.S. winning the largest and most competitive Women’s World Cup in history while FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, was embroiled in chaos after the U.S. Justice Department unsealed 41 indictments against high-ranking soccer and sports marketing officials. Here’s a look at some of the key events of the last year and what to look forward…

After years of indoor training, Michael Phelps is really enjoying sunny Tempe. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) Michael Phelps has had his fair share of success in the pool. Eighteen Olympic gold medals. Twenty-two overall. Thirty-nine world records. And having already committed to retiring, presumably for good this time, following this summer’s Rio Olympics, it appears he is already thinking about what he will do beyond the pool — or at least out…

File/Associated Press KITCHENER, Ontario — Milton Schmidt, one of the six Schmidt kids raised here at 130 Shanley Street, knew of the bigger rinks with their glassy-smooth ice surfaces. They were the era’s few and coveted indoor arenas, with boards and regulation hockey nets, scoreboard and clock. Barely a mile away, right around the corner from the downtown’s elegant Walper Hotel, stood the Kitchener Auditorium. In the 1920s, young Milt…

It has been a year of celebration and controversy in world soccer, with the U.S. winning the largest and most competitive Women’s World Cup in history while FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, was embroiled in chaos after the U.S. Justice Department unsealed 41 indictments against high-ranking soccer and sports marketing officials. Here’s a look at some of the key events of the last year and what to look forward…

Torie Costa, stepdaughter of NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series crew chief Scott Zipadelli, passed away Friday night after a long battle with cancer.  Throughout her battle with cancer, Torie’s following and support group within the NASCAR community grew. One of Torie’s biggest supporters was Sherry Pollex, longtime girlfriend of Martin Truex Jr. who has fought her own battle against ovarian cancer over the past two years.  For the…

0 Shares print HELSINKI — Louis Belpedio and Auston Matthews scored in a 41-second span late in the third period to give the United States a 4-2 victory over Canada on Saturday in their first round-robin game in the world junior hockey championship. Belpedio, a defenseman from Miami of Ohio, broke a tie with 3:18 left. Matthews completed the scoring with 2:37 to go. He plays for ZSC Lions Zurich…

By Sasha Yodashkin The NHL returns with a nine-game slate Saturday after a three-day Christmas hiatus. A battle between the division-leading Capitals and Canadiens promises to be the highlight of the night, but the quality of play should be very high overall with all but two of the games featuring at least one team in playoff position. The extended time off has given owners a chance to do some extra lineup…

Torie Costa, stepdaughter of NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series crew chief Scott Zipadelli, passed away Friday night after a long battle with cancer.  Throughout her battle with cancer, Torie’s following and support group within the NASCAR community grew. One of Torie’s biggest supporters was Sherry Pollex, longtime girlfriend of Martin Truex Jr. who has fought her own battle against ovarian cancer over the past two years.  For the…

Undecking the NASCAR Hall of Fame WCNC

Accrington Stanley were due to host Carlisle – the visitors’ own stadium was left under water earlier this month by Storm Desmond Several Boxing Day sporting fixtures have been postponed across the UK after heavy rain fell on Saturday. The Championship football match between Blackburn and Middlesbrough and League One games Blackpool v Oldham and Wigan v Sheffield United were called off. More than 200 flood warnings and alerts have…

Soddy-Daisy’s Kelsey Henry, left, heads the ball next to East Hamilton’s Gabby Larson during their prep soccer match Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015, at East Hamilton High School in Chattanooga, Tenn. Soddy-Daisy’s Kelsey Henry, left, heads the ball next… Photo by Doug Strickland /Times Free Press. Concussion Brain injuries is the focus of a the movie Concussion, starring Will Smith, that was released Christmas Day. The film portrays Bennet Omalu, the…

10:44 AM ET 0 Shares print CHICAGO — Diana Olczyk can still remember the color of the pamphlet her oldest son, Eddie Olczyk, handed her more than 40 years ago, the one that started it all. The yellow pamphlet was an invitation to learn how to skate at Ballard Sports Complex in Niles, Illinois. The Olczyks had been more of a football and baseball family to that point, but 6-year-old…

Katie McLaughlin wasn’t enamored with the idea of going to the Learn to Skate Program with her mother and younger sister Mikayla. “She cried all the way. I was the one who enjoyed it,” said Mikayla. “One time, I wouldn’t get off the bench. I wouldn’t get on the ice. And I didn’t want my mother (Cindy) tying my skate laces,” recalled Katie. But the next year, after watching older…

Ted Trozinski(Photo: Courtesy of Domineque Scott/United Through Sport) Teddy Trozinski was doing all the usual senior year stuff. He finished his last soccer season at Randolph, committed to the University of Colorado’s engineering program on May 1, and graduated on June 18. But when most of his friends were packing and heading off to college, Trozinski and his suitcases headed to Port Elizabeth, South Africa to start a gap year….

This festive season, 10,000 people will brave biting cold water at one of the 100 or so Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day swims around the UK. For some, it will be their one outdoor dip of the year, but many who take to the water in mid-winter are dedicated cold-water swimmers, who plunge into the sea, rivers, lakes and lidos across the country all year round. You’d…

This is the first in a series of 2016 NASCAR team manufacturer previews. We begin with Toyota: What a year it was for Toyota. Thanks to Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing, the manufacturer won its first Cup championship. With JGR continuing to be at the forefront of the sport, it’s likely not the final time Toyota will win a title, either. Joe Gibbs Racing Busch’s march to the title,…

A St. Paul-based youth soccer foundation has been selected to lead a two-year athletic exchange between Minnesota and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Sanneh Foundation is one of 10 organizations across the world that will run international exchanges on behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s SportsUnited program. A $250,000 federal grant will cover about a third of the cost of the exchange. Sanneh will work with 108 young people between the…

BY GREG WYSHYNSKI AND DAVID M. SINGER (Puck Daddy presents its annual look back at the year in hockey. Check back every day through the New Year for our many lists and hot takes.)  Yes, there’s still fighting in hockey. No, it’s not necessarily found in the National Hockey League anymore.  Once again we called upon our friend David Singer of HockeyFights.com for guidance on what fights rung the bell…

Oakwood soccer player Lily Behnke suffered a concussion in the first high school match of the season in late August. She wasn’t cleared to return to action until two weeks ago. “I took an elbow to the back of the head and remember hitting the ground. I got up and knew I wasn’t OK,” Behnke said. “I went on for another two minutes and started almost dry-heaving. After that, I…

Prince Harry and Prince William play soccer at their annual Christmas Eve charity match near Sandringham. (Photo: EPA) The tradition continues, as it would when you’re talking about Britain and talking about royals. So no surprise that Prince William,33, and Prince Harry, 31, would spend more than a hour playing soccer in wretchedly windy and wet conditions Thursday, because it’s their annual tradition to play a Christmas Eve soccer match for…