World Sports

To save articles or get newsletters, alerts or recommendations – all free. Don’t have an account yet?Create an account » Subscribed through iTunes and need an NYTimes.com account?Learn more » Need to connect your Home Delivery subscription to NYTimes.com?Link your subscription »

Sports Direct had hinted at the time of its full-year results that it was considering a buyback while the shares were depressed. Meanwhile, the company’s arch-rival JD Sports said that full-year profits would be at the upper end of expectations, between £170m and £190m, after strong trading.  JD Sports sales have benefited from an exclusive replica kit contract with the Welsh football team, who had unexpected success at the Euros.

One issue that constantly clouds youth sports is the unrealistic expectations many adults have that younger girls and boys will star in high school sports and earn scholarships to play in college. Many parents even believe their child will go on to become a professional athlete. I hate to burst their bubble, but the facts say otherwise. The National Council of Youth Sports has reported that more…

Jaunt, one of the bigger names in virtual reality filmmaking right now, has partnered with the e-sports league ESL to film a series of short 360-degree documentaries about its biggest tournaments. The first of those documentaries is called CLG: Win Everythin’ (typo intentional) and follows the team Counter Logic Gaming during a League of Legends competition. The documentary is just over five minutes long and is available now through Jaunt’s apps…

OLYMPICS BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Eleven weightlifters, including three Russian medalists, have tested positive for banned drugs in the latest retests of samples from the 2012 London Olympics, the International Weightlifting Federation said. The IWF said in a statement that all 11 athletes, six of whom were medalists, had been provisionally suspended until their cases are closed. Four of the 11 are Russians, who all tested positive…

For 27 years, Target’s bull’s-eye has been a triumphant fixture on the IndyCar scene, connected to more than 101 victories including four Indianapolis 500 wins. But not for much longer. The Minneapolis-based retailer said Wednesday that it will end its longest-running sports sponsorship and one of the longest-running in all of motor racing. The partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing and its IndyCar Series team led by driver Scott Dixon will…

Twitter has signed a deal with Sky Sports to show Premier League highlights and goals on the social media site from the 2016/17 season. As part of the agreement, Twitter users in the UK and Ireland will be able to see video clips of key moments and goals from all games broadcast by Sky in real time via the SkyFootball Twitter account. The Sky Sports Football Centre app will also…

OLYMPICS MOSCOW (AP) At least 105 athletes from the 387-strong Russian Olympic team announced last week have been barred from the Rio Games in connection with the country’s doping scandal. International federations in canoeing, sailing and modern pentathlon ruled out eight, including an Olympic gold medalist. Rowing added 19 more athletes to three that had previously been announced. Swimming has also barred some athletes. Some appeals are likely. The vast…

Sevens rugby players are runners. They’re fit, hard, athletic sports people. Their bodies are fat-less and trim – strong thighs, cut calves. They’re not fit like competitive body-sculptors or cross-fit types. Sevens players are purpose-built to run. We’re watching the Australian women’s team train at the Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation in Narrabeen. It’s a couple of days before the team flies out for Rio. And though they’ve been…

The ACC celebrated the announcement of the long-awaited ACC Network during the league’s annual “Football Media Days,” but one sports media expert writes that there is still significant work to be done. John Ourand, a writer with The Sports Business Journal, reportedly spoke with “several anonymous distribution executives” who suggested the league might struggle to find cable companies willing to carry the network. Ourand, one of the industry’s leading writers…

OLYMPICS At least 105 athletes from the 387-strong Russian Olympic team announced last week have been barred from the Rio Games in connection with the country’s doping scandal. International federations in canoeing, sailing and modern pentathlon ruled out eight on Tuesday, including an Olympic gold medalist. Rowing added 19 more athletes to three that had previously been announced. Swimming also has barred some athletes. Some appeals are…

On the morning that Britain voted to leave the European Union, I was in Paris covering Euro 2016, and quite honestly football was the last thing on my mind. I walked the streets of Oberkampf and Le Marais listlessly and without purpose, trying and failing to organise my thoughts, engulfed in a quiet, private devastation. As the repercussions began to jolt into motion, as politicians sank without trace, as markets…

Archery Has a decision been reached? Yes All three Russian athletes selected for Rio have been cleared to compete by World Archery, which says they have been tested extensively. None of the three has previously been sanctioned for doping. The World Archery president, Prof Dr Ugur Erdener, said: “The World Archery executive board was satisfied that, within the framework established by the IOC, archery’s three qualified Russian Federation athletes should…

Too muscular. Too short. Too stocky. Too young-looking. Former gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson was called a lot of things by the media in her time as an athlete. Often, few of them had anything to do with her athleticism. Her mother would tell her over and over: “Honey, look at your success. Look how happy you are when you are out there on the floor. Don’t let…

Philly sports fans have a reputation. They’re loud. They’re drunk. They’re occasionally violent. It’s possible that a Philly sports fan might not even realize that a teen running out on the field mid-game until he’s tasered into submission by a security guard is unusual behavior until one leaves their hometown. However, if there’s one thing that people from at least 100 miles outside the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area love doing,…

Archery Has a decision been reached? Yes All three Russian athletes selected for Rio have been cleared to compete by World Archery, which says they have been tested extensively. None of the three has previously been sanctioned for doping. The World Archery president, Prof Dr Ugur Erdener, said: “The World Archery executive board was satisfied that, within the framework established by the IOC, archery’s three qualified Russian Federation athletes should…

The IOC’s ruling against a blanket Olympic ban for Russia was met with disappointment by many.(Photo: James Lang, USA TODAY Sports) Thomas Bach asserted, reiterated and repeated that, yes, indeed, the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to ban Russia from the Rio Olympics was in the interest of clean sport. In delegating the decisions about the eligibility of athletes in a state-sponsored doping program, the IOC was respecting the rights…

The IOC’s ruling against a blanket Olympic ban for Russia was met with disappointment by many.(Photo: James Lang, USA TODAY Sports) Thomas Bach asserted, reiterated and repeated that, yes, indeed, the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to ban Russia from the Rio Olympics was in the interest of clean sport. In delegating the decisions about the eligibility of athletes in a state-sponsored doping program, the IOC was respecting the rights…

A Russian whistleblower who helped uncover the biggest doping scandal in decades has told Reuters that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is more concerned about protecting the organization than ridding world sport of drugs cheats. A day after the IOC rejected a request by his wife, former Russian drugs cheat Yulia Stepanova, to run in the Rio Games as an independent athlete, Vitaly Stepanov said an invite to attend the…