World Sports

The Kicker: SNL head writer builds sports comedy website for the ‘fan in all … – The Guardian

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Bryan Tucker who recently took over the head writer position at Saturday Night Live, just unveiled a new sports comedy website, the Kicker. The site is part of SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels’s Above Average digital network – home to web series like Hudson Valley Ballers and Vanessa Bayer’s Sound Advice – hopes to become the go-to digital destination for fans of sports, comedy, and naturally, sports comedy. The site…

Goodbye to Grantland, ESPN’s Home for Actual Sports Journalism – The Nation.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

(Grantland / ESPN) A genial windbag named Grantland Rice was the pre-eminent voice of America’s first golden age of sports, larding his newspaper columns, radio shows, speeches, and newsreel appearances with metaphors and pseudo-classical allusions that included this famous (though typical for him) lede: “Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only…

November 1, 2015, was an epic "Sports Equinox" – CBS News

Monday, November 02, 2015

Every now and again, there happens one day per year when no sports fan should go wanting, and many have taken to calling it the “Sports Equinox.” It is a perfect confluence of schedules where every major North American, and many European, sports compete. According to fivethirtyeight.com, there have been 15 of them since 1971, and Nov. 1, 2015, was the first one since 2010. Additionally, it appears that the…

The Sports Equinox Is Upon Us – FiveThirtyEight

Monday, November 02, 2015

Game 5 of the World Series is tonight, and it could be a deciding one: The Kansas City Royals are looking to finish off the New York Mets after going ahead 3-1 in the series. But Sunday also includes 12 NFL games, seven NBA matchups, and five NHL contests. That makes today a very special day: a sports equinox. A sports equinox occurs when the four major U.S. leagues —…

Gossip column: Mourinho, Capello, Costa, Guardiola, Rooney – BBC News

Monday, November 02, 2015

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page. Former England boss Fabio Capello wants to replace Jose Mourinho if he is sacked by Premier League champions Chelsea. (Sun)  Mourinho will be given a stay of execution as Blues manager – but must win back the players. (Daily Mirror)  Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is…

Women now using sports to bond in the workplace – The Seattle Times

Monday, November 02, 2015

Inside sports business Root Sports NW reporter and producer Jen Mueller had listened to a group of female accounting friends discuss how male colleagues hustled up new clients by taking them to sporting events. The women were frustrated by how sports bonding was helping the men get ahead, despite education and experience levels similar to theirs. Onetime high-school athlete Mueller, 37, wondered why more women couldn’t bond with business colleagues…

Optus’s EPL coup: the new player in Australia’s sports media rights battle – The Guardian

Monday, November 02, 2015

In surprising news, Optus has secured the media rights to the English Premier League (EPL) for three seasons commencing from the 2016-17 season. Optus already has the rights for the EPL in its hometown in Singapore. The new deal includes the broadcast and digital rights (broadband and mobile) for all 380 matches broadcast in Australia. Related: Foxtel loses English Premier League broadcast rights in Australia to Optus The Optus bid…

The integrity of the sport of curling hangs in the balance — over a new broom – Washington Post

Monday, November 02, 2015

Team USA lead Ann Swisshelm, left, and second Jessica Schultz compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters) Curling — that Olympic sport where players vigorously sweep brooms to guide heavy stones down the ice — may be having its aluminum bat moment. Somewhat like Major League Baseball never allowing metal bats due to fears that advanced equipment could trump human ability, the World Curling Federation, the sport’s…

One of Chelsea’s players would rather lose than play for manager Jose Mourinho … – BBC Sport

Monday, November 02, 2015

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page. One of Chelsea’s players would rather lose than play for manager Jose Mourinho, it has been claimed. (Daily Mail)  Former England boss Fabio Capello wants to replace Mourinho if he is sacked by the Premier League champions. (Sun)  Mourinho will be given a stay of…

Holmen adaptive sports league lets students experience athletics, teamwork – La Crosse Tribune

Sunday, November 01, 2015

HOLMEN — Before he joined Holmen’s adaptive sports team, junior Ethan Nelson didn’t have a place where he really fit in. An avid sports lover but also a special-needs student, Nelson wasn’t able to play varsity sports such as football, his mother Julie Nelson said. The adaptive sports league gives students such as Ethan a place where they can interact with their peers and be accepted no matter what. “All…

Season-Long Fantasy Sports Now a Question in Nevada – ABC News

Sunday, November 01, 2015

Nevada has already decided daily fantasy sports are gambling and that people can’t put their dollars down on DraftKings and FanDuel until those sites obtain a license in the state. State gambling regulators haven’t been as clear about paid season-long fantasy games offered by such longtime operators as CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports, which make a profit and pay cash prizes. Yahoo has pulled out of Nevada out of caution…

Follow Game 4 of the World Series live with Yahoo Sports – Yahoo Sports (blog)

Sunday, November 01, 2015

The New York Mets made a statement in Game 3 of the World Series — starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard wanted to make the Kansas City Royals uncomfortable and did so by firing the first pitch near Alcides Escobar‘s head. From there, the Mets’ offense woke up, the Royals’ defense got spotty and the Mets got their first win of the series. Now onto Game 4, in which the Mets send…

ESPN’s Shuttering Of Sports And Culture Site Grantland Prompts Backlash – NPR

Sunday, November 01, 2015

i Founded in 2011, ESPN’s popular sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down on Friday. Jun Tsuboike/NPR hide caption itoggle caption Jun Tsuboike/NPR Founded in 2011, ESPN’s popular sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down on Friday. Jun Tsuboike/NPR Known for its talented writers and in-depth reporting, ESPN’s sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down early Friday afternoon. The sports media giant released a…

Season-long fantasy sports now a question in Nevada – U.S. News & World Report

Saturday, October 31, 2015

By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada has already decided daily fantasy sports are gambling and that people can’t put their dollars down on DraftKings and FanDuel until those sites obtain a license in the state. State gambling regulators haven’t been as clear about paid season-long fantasy games offered by such longtime operators as CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports, which make a profit and pay cash prizes….

ESPN’s Shuttering Of Sports And Culture Site Grantland Prompts Backlash – NPR

Saturday, October 31, 2015

i Founded in 2011, ESPN’s popular sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down on Friday. Jun Tsuboike/NPR hide caption itoggle caption Jun Tsuboike/NPR Founded in 2011, ESPN’s popular sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down on Friday. Jun Tsuboike/NPR Known for its talented writers and in-depth reporting, ESPN’s sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down early Friday afternoon. The sports media giant released a…

Can Rugby Finally Conquer America? – The Atlantic

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Still, for a century, the widely beloved game remained a prisoner of its hierarchical origins. In the 1970s and 1980s, all-white Union rugby teams broke the anti-apartheid boycott and toured South Africa, where in 1974 their brawlers left their opponents looking “as if they had been in a road accident,” according to Collins. In the 1980s in England, class divisions still ran deep. The forwards had day jobs as grocers…

ESPN’s Shuttering Of Sports And Culture Site Grantland Prompts Backlash – NPR

Saturday, October 31, 2015

i Founded in 2011, ESPN’s popular sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down on Friday. Jun Tsuboike/NPR hide caption itoggle caption Jun Tsuboike/NPR Founded in 2011, ESPN’s popular sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down on Friday. Jun Tsuboike/NPR Known for its talented writers and in-depth reporting, ESPN’s sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down early Friday afternoon. The sports media giant released a…

ESPN’s Shuttering Of Sports And Culture Site Grantland Prompts Backlash – NPR

Saturday, October 31, 2015

i Founded in 2011, ESPN’s popular sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down on Friday. Jun Tsuboike/NPR hide caption itoggle caption Jun Tsuboike/NPR Founded in 2011, ESPN’s popular sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down on Friday. Jun Tsuboike/NPR Known for its talented writers and in-depth reporting, ESPN’s sports and culture website, Grantland, was suddenly shut down early Friday afternoon. The sports media giant released a…

Why Vegas sports books should be worried about this high-tech startup – New York Post

Saturday, October 31, 2015

When it comes to making odds on NFL games, Las Vegas sports books are facing a new, high-tech challenger. The Crowd’s Line — a New York-based startup — sources its football forecasts from thousands of online participants, it said in a recent interview. In fact, the company claims its spreads this season have been noticeably more accurate than those coming out of Vegas. How much better? Anywhere from 10 to…

Australia’s fearless flanker David Pocock shows sport and politics can mix – The Guardian (blog)

Saturday, October 31, 2015

The great sports writer Jimmy Cannon once nailed his colleague Howard Cosell as “a guy who changed his name, put on a toupee and tried to convince the world that he tells it like it is”. For all his faults, Cosell, ABC’s top sports commentator in the 70s and early 80s, knew how to pick and hit his targets. He described himself as “pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a show-off”….