World Sports

It’s a demand that anyone who has ever written about sports has heard; an old refrain from readers who just want you to stay in your lane: “Stick to sports.” Any time analysis strays from the confines of a field or locker room to, say, what one thinks of the latest U2 album (it’s bad) or our current political climate (also bad), the call comes out: “Stick to sports.” Sports,…

Facebook may have openly distanced itself from live streaming prime-time sports. But soccer chiefs believe it’s only a matter of time before the social network will rival broadcasters for rights, and the world’s biggest sports will be watched regularly on Facebook as well as Amazon and Google. Facebook did, after all, attempt to get the digital rights to cricket’s Indian Premier League earlier this month. Meanwhile, Amazon is getting ready to live…

Inside sports business Word last week that a planned $600 million renovation of KeyArena could be exempted from a city bylaw prohibiting sports subsidies has raised eyebrows locally. But two creators of Initiative 91 said what’s most important is whether the bylaw’s “spirit’’ was followed during the city’s negotiation with Los Angeles-based developer Oak View Group (OVG). Nick Licata and Chris Van Dyk said much has changed since I-91 was crafted…

1. I think these are my quick (and apolitical) thoughts of Week 3: a. I can’t imagine the all-22 tape exonerating the official who called the offensive pass interference against San Francisco’s Trent Taylor in the last seconds of Rams 41, Niners 39. Huge call. Mega-huge call. And I will wait before judging, but man, that looked like the ultimate marginal call, and you’ve only got 16 of these football…

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Trump said Sunday the White House has “totally finalized” a tax plan, but the particulars are substantially different from what’s been reported about the proposal. The rates he cited seem low. The Supreme Court opens its new term Oct. 2. David G. Savage has a preview of the major questions before the court, involving Trump, immigration policy, religious liberty, gay rights and partisan gerrymandering. What’s a dotard, anyway? ABOUT THAT…

Trump tries to sack NFL, NBA Athletes, executives hit back at president Admit it: Wouldn’t you rather have Donald Trump hurling verbal grenades at football and basketball stars than a guy with nuclear weapons? I’m not minimizing the seriousness of the controversy. But Trump has an acute sense of when it’s in his interest to fight the culture war—and at least this is a war fought with words,…

Fox and CBS broadcast the national anthem live during football games Sunday — a notable shift away from the usual practice. NBC says it will do the same in prime time. ESPN, which also abandoned its usual pregame chatter to talk politics, will air the anthem live on Monday. And as photos of athletes kneeling and locking arms during the anthem streamed in, the news media quickly repurposed those images,…

Believe me, my friends, I wanted to “stick to sports” this weekend. After the prior week of ESPN madness, I was eager to get back to the goofy. You know: My usual, meaningless sports insanity, with a couple of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes sprinkled in for fun. Maybe, for a column, I’d take my kids to the annual meatball-eating contest at the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy….

President Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 22. (Brynn Anderson/Associated Press) Of all the National Football League franchise owners, Bob McNair is probably one of President Trump’s most generous donors. The Houston Texans owner donated $2 million in 2016 to a pro-Trump super PAC. He is also among the eight NFL franchise owners who collectively doled out millions of dollars for Trump’s inauguration, helping the New York billionaire…

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and outside linebacker Eli Harold kneel during the playing of the national anthem before an NFL game in 2016. John Bazemore/AP hide caption toggle caption John Bazemore/AP San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and outside linebacker Eli Harold kneel during the playing of the national anthem before an NFL game in 2016. John Bazemore/AP In the span of less than 24 hours, President Trump…

Media captionWarriors head coach Steve Kerr: Trump comments ‘awful’ US President Donald Trump is facing growing condemnation from the sports world after his criticism of players. On Friday, Mr Trump said the National Football League (NFL) should fire players who protest during the US anthem. High-profile football players as well as basketball star LeBron James openly criticised Mr Trump in response. One NFL team owner said Mr Trump’s comments were…

This is a barely recognizable president. It also is a barely recognizable generation of pro athletes. Thank God for the latter. Photo Stephen Curry at the Golden State Warriors’ media day on Friday. Curry, whose team won the N.B.A. championship in June, explained why he thought the team should skip the champions’ customary visit to the White House. A day later, President Trump posted on Twitter that Curry was not…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump and the sports world engaged in an intensifying spat on Saturday after he called for National Football League owners to fire players who protest during the U.S. national anthem and disinvited a National Basketball Association star from a White House visit. Responding to Trump’s attacks on football players who protested during the national anthem, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Saturday that Trump’s statements…

Image via Twitter Consecutive temper tantrums had President Donald Trump calling for “son of a bitch” NFL players to be fired for protesting during the national anthem, and then trying to rescind a non-existent invitation to the White House from Golden State Warriors players who’d already said they’d decline any such invitation. For this latest spree of humiliating and disturbing behavior, the big dumb idiot is being thoroughly dragged by…

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is celebrating the 87th anniversary of its foundation this weekend with a big program of concerts and performances, including a pageant operetta on Saturday evening which allowed women to enter the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh for the first time. The festivities are part of a government move to boost national pride and improve quality of life for Saudis. Also on offer is a…

Trump ignites controversy with comments on NFL players Democratic strategist Robert Patillo and GOP strategist Sean Noble react Professional sports has been caught in President Trump’s crosshairs as of late after he issued stinging attacks against protesting athletes and team owners. “If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect …,”…

Donald Trump was the subject of startlingly strong abuse from major sports stars on Saturday, after he criticised NFL players protesting racial against injustice and appeared to withdraw an invitation for the Golden State Warriors to visit the White House, breaking a tradition dating back to the Reagan years. On Friday, point guard Steph Curry, the NBA champions’ star player, told reporters he planned to vote no when the players…

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is celebrating the 87th anniversary of its foundation this weekend with a big program of concerts and performances, including a pageant operetta on Saturday evening which will allow women to enter the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh for the first time. The festivities are part of a government move to boost national pride and improve the quality of life for Saudis. Also on offer…

Mountain West action abounds on Saturday as the undefeated San Diego State Aztecs are facing off against the Air Force Falcons in a primetime showdown. San Diego State is looking to maintain its undefeated record against the 1-1 Falcons, who suffered a difficult loss to Michigan last Saturday in a grueling game. The Air Force defense limited Michigan throughout the game, although the triple option offense sputtered. SDSU is coming…