World Sports

WHAT: An unexpected new sport gets a Nike-style ad. WHO: Colonfine Gotas, Ogilvy & Mather El Salvador WHY WE CARE: It’s no secret that around here we love our inspirational sports ads. Whether it’s Nike, Under Armour, Beats By Dre, whomever, the right combination of story and sport is ripe goosebump territory for any brand to plunder. Here that combination is used for comedic gold, a la Dodgeball, but played…

In an attempt to gin up support in basketball-mad Indiana on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz tried to compare his candidacy to the underdogs in the movie “Hoosiers.” It was a strained comparison. But by somehow referring to the hoop as a “basketball ring,” Cruz instead showed that he perhaps has never actually seen “Hoosiers,” or a basketball game or maybe even a basketball. [Ted Cruz invokes “Hoosiers,” fails…

When do “mean tweets” cross the line from harmless to flat-out harassment? Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you can’t look the recipient in the eye while reading your clever insults, it’s probably not OK. A group of well-meaning men got a firsthand look at the bizarre torrents of online abuse faced by female sports journalists when they were asked to read real tweets the women had received. The…

Athletics How are they shaping up? Mo Farah. Greg Rutherford. Jessica Ennis-Hill. Four years on from London 2012, those familiar names from Super Saturday remain British Athletics’ best hopes of gold in Rio. Farah insists he is in exceptional shape but will be wary of the challenge of the young Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor, who beat him at the world half-marathon championships. Rutherford showed he had wintered well with a recent…

When Vice Sports launched online in June 2014, it played a different game than a lot of the shock-value content in which its mothership brand traffics. With the debut tomorrow of Vice World Of Sports on Viceland, that canny sensibility could make it the breakout show for the burgeoning but often blasé cable channel. As I say in my video review above, VWOS is a contender and worth getting a ticket for. Hosted…

Sports Authority won’t be restructuring and is instead planning to liquidate. The Wall Street Journal reported that Robert Klyman, legal representation for the sportswear retailer, said that the company decided against attempting to reorganize itself. “It has become apparent that the debtors will not reorganize under a plan but instead will pursue a sale,” Klyman said in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday, according to the Journal.

Get all of Richard Deitsch’s columns as soon as they’re published. Download the new Sports Illustrated app (iOS or Android) and personalize your experience by following your favorite teams and SI writers. Skip Bayless personified the worst of ESPN, from the network’s pathological need for self-aggrandizement to its penchant for disagreement as theater. ESPN executives enabled this professional wrestling heel for years because his show—the unctuous First Take with Stephen A….

Next up: Bobby Knight. The long line of celebrities from the sports world to endorse or support Donald Trump’s campaign for President of the United States of America has a new member to add. First, ex-Yankees like Paul O’Neill and Johnny Damon made their opinions known. Then Jets center Nick Mangold introduced Trump at a rally. When the Ohio primary took place, an even more infamous ex-baseball star has joined Team Trump: All-time hit king,…

Ability360 player Nick Springer reacts after scoring during practice April 18 at Ability360 Sports + Fitness Center in Phoenix.(Photo: Ben Moffat, Ben Moffat/ASU) With technology expanding at an exciting pace, it’s not hard to imagine that the world will look much different in 2040. But what will sports look like? Will we have new competitions? Will technology play a bigger role in helping athletes? Will athletes and robots play sports in space? The…

Women in sports media face a uniquely vile mix of aggression and harassment online. The problem is widely known — yet how to stop it is more tricky.  A new online video campaign starring two prominent reporters serves as a call to action and puts the harassment of women in media in stark perspective.  SEE ALSO: Sports Media Misogyny: What Is Fans’ Problem With Female Commentators? The four-minute video, called…

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Being an elected official in California has its perks. Want proof? Consider all the free tickets to sporting events that members of the Legislature accepted last year as gifts from utilities, unions, law firms and other firms. Among the top gifts disclosed on annual forms members of the state Assembly and Senate are required to file: Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin…

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 »

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 »

The past few months haven’t been very good for sports retailers. In this segment from the Industry Focus: Consumer Goods podcast, Sean O’Reilly and Vincent Shen talk about a few of the biggest players that have struggled in the changing retail landscape — Sports Authority, City Sports, and Vestis Retail Group (operator of Eastern Mountain Sports, Bob’s Stores, and Sports Chalet stores) — and explain where each of the companies is looking to go. The…

The Lakers did Sunday what many troubled organizations do in crisis, and fired their coach. Tickets and merchandise have to be sold. Sponsorships have to be renewed. Television ratings have to be improved. The appearance of change was necessary, so they let Byron Scott go. Fair or not, this is how the business of sports entertainment works. Now comes the hard part: actual change. The Lakers’ ability to do so…

Temba Bavuma became the first black African cricketer to make a Test century for South Africa in January 2016 South Africa’s sports minister has banned four of the country’s sport federations from bidding for major international tournaments after they failed to create enough opportunities for black players. Rugby, cricket, athletics and netball are the affected federations. The South African Rugby Union had said it would bid for the 2023 Rugby…

SANDUSKY, Ohio – The youth-sports travel industry in the United States is worth an estimated $7 billion a year, fueled by millions of young soccer and softball players and their parents, who travel to tournaments near and far. Next year, they’ll have a new place to play: The Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, a new venture between Cedar Point, Erie County and Georgia-based Sports Force Parks. Officials broke ground…

Sarah Spain and Brad Zibung View Full Caption CHICAGO — Sarah Spain and Brad Zibung both believe they’re a perfect sports media match. Spain, who stars on several ESPN platforms, will marry Zibung, the creator of the satirical sports site The Heckler, in May. The River North couple met at a charity bowling event hosted by Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook in…