Sport

LONDON — A small league soccer pitch in a British coastal town seems an unlikely setting for a giant step forward in soccer equality. But when Ryan Atkin steps onto the field at Eastbourne Borough Tuesday, he will become the first openly gay man in English professional soccer — a sign of how far the sport lags behind others in overcoming homophobia despite its vast wealth and corporate support. The…

It’s the big time or nothing for Danica Patrick. The NASCAR racer said she has no interest driving full-time in the second tier Xfinity series next season if her team fails to find an anchor sponsor for her Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car. “Cup only,” she said on Monday, according to NBC Sports. Patrick signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Nature’s Bakery in 2016, but it…

(Reuters) – A total of 2,042 mascot designs have been received for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after a competition launched earlier this month invited Japanese residents to submit their proposals, Games organizers said on Tuesday. According to the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, a quarter of the total applicants were in their teens or 20s, while almost half of the submissions were received from people aged 30 to 49. There were…

To the editor: I am not sure why the Los Angeles City Council is in a rush to sign a contract with the International Olympic Committee to host the 2028 Summer Games. (“Six reasons to worry about the 2028 Olympics,” Opinion, Aug. 10) Small time frames are frequently used in negotiations by one party to get a favorable settlement by not allowing the other side to effectively evaluate offers and…

The Australian Olympic and world champion track cyclist, Stephen Wooldridge, has died aged 39. Born in Sydney, Wooldridge won gold in the 4,000m team pursuit at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and claimed four world titles in the same discipline. He was inducted into the NSW Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. Cycling New South Wales said in a statement it was “deeply saddened” by the loss of an “outstanding…

NASCAR executives spend a lot of time wondering why fans don’t go to races or watch them on television like they used to in the good old days of, say, 10 years ago, but Sunday’s race at Michigan provided another clear example. Take a look at the numbers posted immediately after the race. Kyle Larson, one of the sport’s rising stars, won the 400-mile race with an average speed of…

BI Intelligence See Also This story was delivered to BI Intelligence “Digital Media Briefing” subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. Esports is being considered as a medal event for the 2024 Olympics Games, according to The Guardian. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is expected to award the 2024 Games to Paris, and co-president of Paris bid committee Tony Estanguet plans to speak to the IOC and esports executives about including…

BUY TICKETS: See the Southern 500 live Stewart-Haas Racing driver Danica Patrick will honor 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Robert Yates with a throwback paint scheme on her No. 10 Ford Fusion during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 race at Darlington Raceway next month. “The throwback race at Darlington is such a cool event,” said Patrick, in a team release. “The track has done such a…

Kyle Larson’s ambitious weekend ended in triumph. Larson slipped between cars on an overtime restart and won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. The victory capped a busy stretch for Larson after team owner Chip Ganassi allowed him to go to Iowa to compete in the Knoxville Nationals on Saturday. He finished second at that sprint car event before returning to Michigan and earning his…

Last weekend in Charlottesville, hundreds of people espousing white nationalist, neo-Nazi and Klux Klux Klan ideology marched in the dark through the University of Virginia campus spewing racist taunts while illuminating the night with tiki torches in hand. Until then, the fire-tipped poles were mostly associated with backyard barbecue ambiance, kitschy Polynesian luaus and mosquito-repellent. Now, tiki torches are among the growing list of products and logos being used by white nationalists. Corporations, in a…

Kyle Larson slipped between cars on an overtime restart, capping his wild weekend with a victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. Larson was in the spotlight after team owner Chip Ganassi allowed him to go to Iowa to compete in the Knoxville Nationals on Saturday. He finished second at that sprint car event before returning to Michigan and earning his third Cup victory of the…

Another nice race day at Michigan International Speedway for the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Pure Michigan 400. We will see mostly sunny skies and a pleasantly warm afternoon. Temperatures should reach the upper 70s to near 80 degrees. Winds will be be light out of the south between 3 and 8 mph. Perfect weather to race 400 miles. Odds of racing Sunday’s NASCAR Monster Energy Pure Michigan 400 are 100…

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 26: Day 4 of NASCAR for FOX Sports on February 26, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Tonya Wise/Fox/PictureGroup)

Tom E. Puskar/Associated Press Sam Hornish Jr. led 61 of 75 laps to win his fifth career NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday, taking the checkered flag in the Mid-Ohio Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The win marked Hornish’s first of the season in just his third start, as he drove away from rookie Daniel Hemric in the closing laps to preserve the victory. Here is a…

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Kyle Larson was there at the end, but fell one spot short in the prestigious Knoxville Nationals sprint-car classic on Saturday night. A final attempt at a pass on eventual winner and sprint car legend Donny Schatz didn’t materialize, and Larson settled for second place at sprint-car racing’s most prestigious event at Knoxville (Iowa) Speedway, a half-mile banked dirt track. Saturday night’s race was the culmination of a week-long social…

RELATED: Wallace savors triumphant Truck Series return After a season full of highs and lows, drivers and others in the NASCAR community sent warm congratulations after Darrell Wallace Jr.’s win at Michigan in the No. 99 MDM Motorsports Chevrolet. Wallace Jr. made a bold move with 11 laps to go for the lead then held off Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’…

Image via screengrab Here’s cyclist Lars Boom celebrating his victory on stage five of the Binckback Tour with an emphatic “up yours”: Fuck yeah, dude. The bras d’honneur. Boom was reportedly fined 1,000 Swiss Francs for the gesture, which was apparently an expression of joy and not bloodthirst: “It indeed brings a lot of joy,” said Boom. “The spring classics didn’t go as well as expected. Afterwards, I was close…

Ernie Irvan keeps all the trophies from his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career in a display case. He and his family are moving this weekend from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Ocala, Florida, and he recently packed the trophies to prepare for the movers’ arrival. He won the Daytona 500, the night race at Bristol and both road courses. He won at Talladega, the longest track in the sport, and…

by: Chris Jose Updated: Aug…