World Sports

At a presentation at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco today, Microsoft announced a new set of tools that will make it possible for game developers to run competitive tournaments through Xbox Live. Called the “Xbox Live Tournaments Program,” the new initiative is described by Jason Ronald, head of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, as “easy to integrate tournaments” that will be powered by Xbox Live and can be…

Julian Herbert/The FA via Getty Images A sugar tax will be levied on makers of sugary soft drinks, chancellor George Osborne has announced. The so-called sugar tax, announced in the chancellor’s latest budget, is expected to raise £520 million in its first year, but that number will fall over time as sugar levels are reduced by producers. “Today, I…

Winners of the Youth Sports Safety Ambassador Award: USA Football represented by Steve Alic, Senior Director of Communications; Project ADAM, represented by Laura Friend, Project ADAM Texas Coordinator at Cook Children’s Hospital; U.S. Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr., and Scott Sailor, president of the National Athletic Trainers Association (Photo: Renee Fernandes) ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Youth sports safety experts and advocates discussed insights on preventing catastrophic injuries for student athletes Tuesday at…

DETROIT, March 16 Several major U.S. sports leagues are pushing to add the drug that led to a positive test for Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova to their banned list, but in many cases they will need player approval before they can hit that goal. Sharapova, who last week revealed she had tested positive for the banned drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January, is facing suspension of up…

Rankings are common practice in sports, but LGBTQ inclusivity is rarely in the mix. A health advocacy group, with the help of some of Australia’s most prominent sporting organisations, launched a first-of-its-kind benchmarking system Wednesday that will grade teams on how they support their LGBTQ players, staff, spectators and supporters. SEE ALSO: I’m bisexual and I refuse to leave the LGBT community The national Pride in Sport index will annually rank…

The first round of the Ultimate Sports Uniform Bracket was full of upsets. Sporting Kansas City took down Notre Dame and, in doing so, received the most votes of any team in the field. We now move on to the Round of 32, where we have several intriguing matchups, including a fierce college football rivalry. EAST 1. Boston Celtics v. 8. Maple Leafs The Celtics had no trouble getting past…

Meet Brock “The Problem” Kucao, aka Spider “The Spider” Spider. He may not look like much with his neon wildman hairdo and 29 instances of the same tattoo, but he’s gonna win the crap out of the UFC featherweight title. I’ve played about seven hours of EA Sports UFC 2 now, and I’m digging it… with a few reservations. For the most part, combat strikes the right balance between complex…

Those free T-shirts and hats players get at the race and sports book when they bet on a big race like the Kentucky Derby? Technically, it may not be legal for books to give them to players. But race and sports books across the Las Vegas Valley routinely hand them out to customers placing wagers, so much so that it has become an accepted industry practice. Now, a major operator…

Rebecca Lobo during the 2015 Women’s Final Four semifinal game (Photo: Scott Clarke, ESPN Images) How much of an impact has sports had on Rebecca Lobo? “There was never a time when sports were not a key component of my life,” she says. That continues to this day in her 12th year as a WNBA and college basketball analyst for ESPN and as a coach for her kids. Lobo is…

The heavily branded environment at Fightball might seem a little bizarre for America’s sport’s culture that wants to believe in its own purity. Photograph by Naima Green. Ad Policy Since the fall of 2014, the one-on-one basketball tournament Fightball has been held four times. It’s a new take on an old game, merging sport and nightlife. While there is no condoned fighting, the eight-minute games have limited foul rules. Each…

The Sports Direct founder, Mike Ashley, is to be formally summonsed to appear before MPs to explain his company’s treatment of its workers. Ashley will be issued with a demand to appear before the business select committee on 7 June after refusing to agree to a number of dates suggested by MPs. A spokesman for the committee said it was reserving the right to take the matter further, “including seeking…

Hamish Reid was living life on the marketing fast track. Starting out with Pepsi and Fonterra Dairy in his native New Zealand, Reid went global with Group Danone, building its businesses in Paris and London. In 2005, the avid sports fan established Saatchi & Saatchi’s sport and music consulting business along with some partners. While at Saatchi, Reid started to connect the dots between his passion for sports and his talent…

Like its predecessor, EA Sports UFC 2 captures all the pomp and circumstance of Mixed Martial Arts’ biggest promotion. In this case, of course, that pomp is more like an electrifying “pow!”; and the circumstance is human beings pummelling the hell out of each other within the confines of an octagon-shaped cage, but you get the idea. This is bloody and brutal entertainment, and EA Canada captures the very essence…

The Sports Direct founder, Mike Ashley, is to be formally summoned to appear before MPs to explain his company’s treatment of its workers. Ashley will be issued with a demand to appear before the business select committee on 7 June after refusing to agree to a number of dates suggested by MPs. A spokesman for the committee said it was reserving the right to take the matter further, “including seeking…

PRO FOOTBALL WASHINGTON — An NFL official has acknowledged a link between football and the brain disease CTE for the first time. Jeff Miller, the NFL’s senior vice president for health and safety, spoke about the connection during an appearance at a congressional committee’s roundtable discussion about concussions. PITTSBURGH — Martavis Bryant’s blossoming NFL career took another significant hit when the NFL suspended the talented but troubled wide receiver for…

According to the reports, a confidential dossier produced for the tennis authorities in 2008 found 28 players had performed in a manner warranting further inquiry but the matter was not followed up. The latest files were said to include references to at least 37 players, 29 of whom had been ranked in the top 50. Prosecutors were said to be still investigating how many of those named were actually approached and…

BASKETBALL Red Claws’ Frazier again named week’s top player Tim Frazier of the Maine Red Claws was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week for the second straight week. Frazier has now won two this season to go with the three Performer of the Week honors last season with Maine, when he was named NBA D-League MVP and Rookie of the Year. In eight games with Maine, Frazier is averaging…

Conte led Juventus to three Serie A titles Antonio Conte will step down from his position as manager of Italy following Euro 2016. Conte has been heavily linked with the managerial vacancy at Chelsea and this move increases the prospect of him taking over at Stamford Bridge. The 46-year-old was appointed Italy manager in August 2014 shortly after resigning as coach of Juventus. “He feels the need for the pitch,…

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