World Sports

Activision Blizzard is creating an internal e-sports division, the company announced today. With e-sports and streaming becoming so ubiquitous, a move like this isn’t surprising, and it’s likely that other publishers will follow suit. What’s more interesting are the names hired to run the new division: Major League Gaming co-founder and former president Mike Sepso will serve as the division’s Senior Vice President, while Steve Bornstein, who has served as…

Sport is about triumph, passion, pain and belonging. Yet it loses every iota of truth and meaning for fans when dirty money corrupts the players and referees. Unfortunately, in 2015, it’s hard to think of a sport left untouched by the spindly fingers of organized crime and match fixing. It doesn’t matter if you’re into sumo wrestling, NBA, boxing, college football or the English Premier League — at some point,…

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page. Chelsea and Belgium forward Eden Hazard, 24, is seeking a move away from Stamford Bridge to join Real Madrid. (Independent via L’Equipe)  Belgium coach Marc Wilmots is increasingly concerned about Hazard burning out at Chelsea and would welcome him moving to the Bernabeu. (Daily Mirror)  …

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When you see the instance of Julie DiCaro receiving hate-filled speech for covering the Patrick Kane case, in a scenario like that, what are your thoughts as a woman in sports media?I’ll say this: When I worked in “First Take,” when Jay Crawford was making the switch over to “SportsCenter” and I was filling in, I was working with “Numbers Never Lie” [now “His & Hers”] and Michael Smith. And I…

The NCAA is pulling the plug on daily fantasy sports games. In a letter sent Tuesday, college sports’ largest governing body notified executives from DraftKings and FanDuel it would cancel future meetings and ban advertising from the two popular websites during NCAA championship events such as the men’s basketball tournament. Because the NCAA believes the fantasy games meet the definition of wagering, it has decided to ban all advertising, on…

WASHINGTON American rock-climbing wizard Alex Honnold insists he would not compete in the Olympics even if his sport gets the nod for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Games. It is not that Honnold does not care for the Olympics or does not like to compete. The man widely considered the best free climber of his generation says he just is not good enough. “The real reason I wouldn’t compete in…

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page. Raheem Sterling’s agent Aidy Ward says the 20-year-old forward should “probably” still be a Liverpool player, but adds there was an “underhandedness” and “sly remarks” during contract negotiations before his summer move to Manchester City. (Daily Mail)  Daily Express back page Barcelona have no intention of…

View photo . FILE – Chris Webber works as an analyst on the sideline during the first half of an NBA basketball game between … One of the NBA’s most culturally aware retired stars and most visible announcers is about to take on a new role — college professor. Wake Forest University revealed Monday that five-time All-Star and current Turner Sports announcer Chris Webber will teach a class in the school’s…

The New York federal prosecutor who shut down the U.S. online poker industry four years ago has now set his sights on the daily fantasy-sports business, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office in the Southern District of New York is investigating whether the business model behind daily…

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Corina Hernandez is a massive Chicago sports devotee. From the Cubs to the Bears and the Bulls, there is rarely an idle moment in her year. But since moving to a new place on the Southwest Side, Hernandez has run into a slight obstacle as the Cubs push for the National League pennant : No cable. “It’s so expensive,” said Hernandez, 35, as she watched Game 2 of the National…

UPDATE: Rick Pitino released a statement to Yahoo! Sports: “The NCAA has asked me not to comment on this matter and I will abide by it. But I will say one thing … There’s only one person who can speak on this matter, and that’s Andre McGee. He owes it to his teammates, coaches and the university to tell the truth. The truth has got to come out, and not just…

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Fans cheered as players lined up on opposing computer keyboards ready to wage virtual war, while in the background coaches prowled around in the manner of soccer’s Jose Mourinho. Over the road, fans huddled outside the Wembley Hilton hotel for autographs of their favourite players. E-sports is a generic term for events ranging from virtual warfare games to computer-simulated soccer matches, often played for big prize money….

Michigan Wolverines punter Blake O’Neill made one of the most infamous plays you will ever witness on Saturday against Michigan State. O’Neil needed to just punt the ball away and seal a huge win for Michigan. Instead, he fumbled, and the rest is history. Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad history. But O’Neill is in good (in a relative sense) company. Just a day later, the Indianapolis Colts tried one…

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Reuters/Alexandra BeierFinger-pulling championships are a serious sport in some parts of Germany. Baseball may be America’s pastime, but citizens of other countries are entertaining themselves in altogether different ways.  Cultural tradition has informed a whole range of strangely fascinating sports around the world — balancing on bamboos, for example, or wrestling on horses.  While some games are unique to a particular country, others can be found in several nations in…