Sport

England’s Josanne Potter, right, consoles Laura Bassett (6) after a 2-1 loss to Japan in a semifinal in the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer tournament, Wednesday, July 1, 2015, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) (The Associated Press) MANCHESTER, England –  England’s national teams keep finding ways to make agonizing exits from major soccer tournaments. Penalty-shootout defeats? There have been six of those by England’s men alone…

NBC Sports’ crew of Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte conduct a dry run during last month’s race in Brooklyn, Mich.(Photo: Timothy Buckman, NBC Sports Network) BROOKLYN, Mich. — The broadcast to no one had just gone to a commercial for nothing when Steve Letarte pounced into a chair and began computing. Moments earlier, in glass-walled booth 402B atop Michigan International Speedway, the former Daytona 500-winning crew chief, lead…

EDMONTON, AB – JUNE 22: Alex Morgan #13 and Abby Wambach #20 of the United States celebrate after Morgan scores her first goal against goalkeeper Stefany Castano #1 of Colombia in the second half in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 Round of 16 match at Commonwealth Stadium on June 22, 2015 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) The U.S. women’s national soccer team beat Germany 2-0…

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Major League Soccer turned its attention away from Minneapolis on Wednesday in an attempt to put a franchise in Minnesota. The league said it would now look more closely at St. Paul as a possible site for a new soccer-only stadium. Mark Abbott, the MLS deputy commissioner, said in comments to a local radio audience that a July 1 deadline for a stadium plan to emerge in Minneapolis had passed…

DRIVER’S SIDE PASSENGER WINDOW COVERED IN PLASTIC. IT WAS A HUGE VICTORY FOR THE U.S. WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM. AMERICANS TOOK GERMANY 2-ZERO, SENDING TEAM U.S.A. TO THE WORLD CUP FILES. THE TEAM U.S. HAS TIES TO HOUSTON. RANDY McILVOY JOINING US WITH JEFF VAN GUNDY’S TIE TO THE U.S. SOCCER TEAM. WE REMEMBER VAN GUNDY’S NAME AS THE HEAD COACH OF THE ROCKETS’ FOR YEARS. HE LOVES THE GAME OF…

It’s like deja-vu, all over again. A month after a fan photographer caused a horrible crash at Italy’s top bike race, another DSLR shooter has caused a crash at the British National Road Race Championships. The man was using a DSLR and a telephoto lens on Sunday, photographing the cyclists with one foot in the cobbled Lincoln road. When cyclist Kristian House came near, instead of moving off the…

Ratings continue to rise for the FIFA Women’s Cup, with Tuesday’s semifinal between USA and Germany on Fox drawing 8.4 million viewers — the third largest audience ever for an English-language telecast of women’s soccer in the States. According to Nielsen, the only bigger crowds for women’s soccer have been the USA-China Women’s World Cup Final in 1999 on ABC (17.97 million) and the USA-Japan matchup in the 2011 World…

Joie Chitwood III — president of Daytona International Speedway — urged NASCAR fans to bring Confederate flags to Daytona over the Fourth of July weekend as part of NASCAR’s flag exchange. “For us, we’re celebrating the American Flag this weekend,” Chitwood said Tuesday. “It’s our nation’s birthday. We’re going to have a flag exchange opportunity. So fans who would like to fly the American Flag, we’ll trade with you on whatever…

Ratings continue to rise for the FIFA Women’s Cup, with Tuesday’s semifinal between USA and Germany on Fox drawing 8.4 million viewers — the third largest audience ever for an English-language telecast of women’s soccer in the States. According to Nielsen, the only bigger crowds for women’s soccer have been the USA-China Women’s World Cup Final in 1999 on ABC (17.97 million) and the USA-Japan matchup in the 2011 World…

The Abby Wambach huddle is becoming a fixture between the first and second half of matches for the United States this World Cup. The entire team huddles around its biggest star, who screams words of wisdom, encouragement, and more than a few expletives. The rest of the team nods silently in agreement, focuses in on the task at hand. When the huddle breaks, they take the field, and finds a…

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — US Olympic officials on Tuesday effusively praised the “remarkable progress” they see in Boston 2024’s new Olympic plan and insisted they are not considering dropping the bid or replacing Boston as the US bid city. But members of the US Olympic Committee remain concerned about the lack of public support for the bid and want to see poll numbers improve, “the sooner, the better,” USOC chairman…

UPDATE (July 1, 7:20 a.m.): Tuesday night, the U.S. women’s national team beat Germany 2-0, making this article’s headline even more prescient than usual. Below, Benjamin Morris looks at how America’s unique youth soccer culture has helped ensure the dominance of the USWNT. Even though the United States is a bit insecure about its place in the world’s most popular sport, the U.S. women’s national soccer team has been dominant…

Daytona International Speedway will not ban the Confederate flag but will offer a flag exchange for fans attending this weekend’s NASCAR races there. “I think the goal of any NASCAR event, and specifically Daytona, we want to be inclusive to everyone,” Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway, said Tuesday. “The last thing you want is for anyone to come to a sporting event and really not enjoy that experience…

REDWOOD CITY, California — US Olympic officials on Tuesday effusively praised the “remarkable progress” they see in Boston 2024’s new Olympic plan and insisted they are not considering dropping the bid or replacing Boston as the US bid city. But members of the US Olympic Committee remain concerned about the lack of public support for the bid and want to see poll numbers improve, “the sooner, the better,” said USOC…

Brendan Gaughan leads Justin Marks during a 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.(Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images) As racing teams plan and plot through the middle months of the season, some NASCAR officials are designing far beyond autumn’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. Over the next several weeks, sanctioning agreements will be signed with speedways across the continent with a goal of making 2016…

The U.S. Women’s National team defeated Germany Tuesday night to advance to the final of the Women’s World Cup. The Women’s National Team took the lead in the 69th minute with a goal from Carli Lloyd after Germany racked up a yellow card. Annike Krahn took down Alex Morgan inside the box two minutes before to be booked for the foul. Then Kelley O’Hara knocked in another goal in the…

The heartbroken family of a 10-year-old girl who died after collapsing on a soccer field Monday during her first day of summer camp in Queens remembered their child as a great friend and sister with a bright future as they struggled to cope with their unbearable loss. …

We’re required to remind you that these strong takes are SATIRE. Sorry, not sorry. All spelling errors are intentional, we think. -Ed. Well its happening again ladies and gentleman. The US Womens National Soccer Team is meeting the Germans in tonights world cup semi-final. Now Im not one for soccer normally but anytime my nation takes on the pinko national SOCIALIST commie reds from China Germany I’m gonig to…

NASCAR is examining a pit road incident involving a safety vehicle and Matt DiBenedetto and will review a rule after this season that penalized Jeff Gordon at Sonoma Raceway, a series official told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday morning. DiBenedetto spun when he tried to turn into his pit stall during Sunday’s race and was clipped by a safety vehicle. “An unfortunate incident,’’ Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and…