Sport

When the U.S. women’s soccer team launches its quest for a World Cup Monday night against Australia, there will be 30,000 fans in the stands at Winnipeg Stadium – but not a single blade of grass on the field. Despite their protests, the best female soccer players in the world are being forced to play all the games of the 2015 Women’s World Cup on artificial turf. “It’s kind of…

It was arguably the biggest moment in the history of American women’s sports, and the single most memorable and reproduced image of the celebration. Brandi Chastain had just converted the penalty kick that cemented the 1999 Women’s World Cup for the United States over China. She then experienced a fit of irrational and spontaneous exuberance: perched on her knees on the turf of the Rose Bowl, the white jersey that…

A Special Olympics Maryland athlete died after participating in a swimming competition Saturday, according to the organization. lRelated Maryland 45th annual Maryland Special Olympics Summer Games held in Towson See all related Special Olympics Maryland officials and police at Towson University, where the event was held over the weekend, identified the athlete as Tresaraie Dalana Shavers, 48. She had addresses listed in Baltimore and Reisterstown in a police report. A…

It’s not winning on the pitch but Manchester United has claimed another title: The world’s most valuable soccer brand. The English club is the first brand to be worth more than $1 billion, according to a Brand Finance report released Monday which ranks the 50 most valuable teams. The team knocked off Germany’s Bayern Munich to take the top spot — thanks largely to a record-breaking television rights deal —…

(CNN)Bradley Wiggins added the world hour record to his impressive list of cycling achievements as he covered a distance of 54.526 kilometers (33.88 miles) at the Olympic velodrome in London Sunday. The former Tour de France winner smashed the previous best by fellow Briton Alex Dowsett of 52.937 km set in Manchester last month. The UCI Hour Record is considered one of the most grueling tests that can be attempted…

It’s not winning on the pitch but Manchester United has claimed another title: The world’s most valuable soccer brand. The English club is the first brand to be worth more than $1 billion, according to a Brand Finance report released Monday which ranks the 50 most valuable teams. The team knocked off Germany’s Bayern Munich to take the top spot — thanks largely to a record-breaking television rights deal —…

P.K. Subban truly is one of the coolest characters in the NHL. He’s hardly afraid to show his charitable side. And he made some kid’s day, by crashing his street hockey game in Montreal. The above video shows the Canadiens defenseman shooting on 8-year-old Jack Fraser. Also, love Subban’s outfit. Nice threads man.  Via BuzzFeed: Star NHL defenceman P.K. Subban was out for Sunday dinner at a Montreal restaurant. As…

Getty) WINNIPEG — Amy Rodriguez got into squat position and all of the sudden felt light lightheaded. It was one of her first workouts after giving birth to her now one-and-a-half-year old son Ryan, and the speedy U.S. forward was determined to get back into soccer shape, 30 pounds heavier. “I thought I was gonna die,” Rodriguez said. “I was like this is so much harder than I thought it…

0 Shares Print LONG POND, Pa. — Fans couldn’t see just how the Martin Truex Jr. win Sunday swept through the NASCAR community at Pocono Raceway. Sure, fans could get an inkling if they saw highlights from the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 celebration in Victory Lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of his best buds and a business partner in some real estate deals, poured a soda over his head….

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It was an excellent trip to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, for Martin Truex Jr., as he was able to take home the checkered flag after leading 97 laps.  The win is the first for Truex in 2015 and moves him closer to points leader Kevin Harvick in the Chase standings. The points race has been a tense battle with three drivers, including Truex, starting the day within 100 points of Harvick.  …

ENLARGE LONDON—Bradley Wiggins, the first British victor in the Tour de France and a medal winner at four Olympics, Sunday traveled 54.526 kilometers (33.881 miles) in an hour, comfortably setting a world record. The record had been held by fellow Briton Alex Dowsett, who rode for 52.937 kilometers in May. Mr. Wiggins was ahead of the record pace from the start, locked in an aerodynamic position in which his upper…

Hope Solo and Team USA open World Cup play Monday against Australia.(Photo: Bruce Fedyck, USA TODAY Sports) WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Success always comes with a price, and the latest firestorm surrounding Hope Solo makes it abundantly clear the Americans have paid far too much for theirs. In choosing to stand by Solo and all of her baggage — we’re talking steamer trunks, not carry-ons — U.S. Soccer and the women’s…

Bravery takes many forms, and on Sunday mornings at a near-empty ice rink on Chicago’s West Side, it assumes the shapes of part-time burlesque artist Ali Lawrence, general contractor Stephen Spargur and Cook County Circuit Judge Diana Kenworthy. They are all north of 30 years old. Until very recently, they did not know how to skate. Now they want to learn to play hockey. Blame in part the Chicago Blackhawks….

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With the NASCAR XFINITY Series taking a break in the action this weekend, series regular Jeffrey Earnhardt made the trip overseas to try his hand at racing in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.  NASCAR’s third international racing series, the Whelen Euro Series races on a mix of oval and road courses throughout Europe. This weekend, the series is taking part in the American Speedfest III at the historic Brands Hatch…

Cycling Pro/YouTubeAn official from the International Cycling Union inspects the bike of Spain’s Alberto Contador at May’s Giro d’Italia. See Also You’ve probably heard way too much about doping and cycling and the sport’s notorious “dirty era” long ruled by one Lance Armstrong. As is well known, Armstrong and many others in pro cycling used performance-enhancing drugs like EPO to get ahead. But now there’s possibly a…

Pocono Raceway is classified as an oval, but really it is anything but. A glance at the 2.5-mile track’s layout clearly shows it is a giant triangle featuring three distinct corners. When designed back in the late 1960s, Pocono incorporated parts of three other classic tracks whose histories date back to before World War I. Turn 1 is patterned off the first corner of the now-defunct Trenton (N.J.) Speedway;…

The 2015 Women’s World Cup has the potential to be by far the most interesting ever held. Just like the Men’s World Cup did in 1982, the tournament has expanded to 24 teams from 16, allowing a whole bunch of newcomers into the elite ranks – a step toward a much bigger tournament and a much bigger deal. The usual suspects are still going to dominate, of course. The United…