World Sports

Is debating whether bridge is a sport or a game a sport or a game? It’s neither, is it, because a conclusion isn’t arrived at under a specific set of rules that govern the manner in which points can be scored. This is the defining thing that sports and games have in common. Another thing that sports and games have in common is that the conclusions of such competitions only matter to…

In an attempt to lure millennials back to television, Turner Broadcasting Systems will begin airing live video game competitions during prime-time on Friday nights next year. The network, which created its own league with WME/IMG as part of the effort, aims to reach the rapidly expanding audience for professional gaming—which was over 200 million worldwide in 2014, and climbing, according to gaming researcher NewZoo. The move underscores the fact that…

ENLARGE East Lansing, Mich. For all the abuse heaped on the NCAA for its handling of big-budget college athletics, the group’s leaders have always had a ready retort for critics: Most of the institution’s efforts are focused on servicing smaller sports like volleyball and gymnastics that allow legions of fame-less student-athletes to compete at the highest levels. But what if universities began to back away from that service? Would they…

Sports media company Perform Group is taking steps to launch a livestreaming sports service, saying it is positioning itself to become the “Netflix of sports.” The yet-to-be named subscription product, which will launch in 2016, is an over-the-top service that will allow users in Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Austria to livestream sports games and original content from teams around the world for about $10 a month. …

You didn’t have to be in Ohio Stadium or in front of a television on Saturday to see Michael Thomas make an acrobatic touchdown catch for the Ohio State Buckeyes. You could have been looking at your phone, your tablet or your computer and witnessed the catch in near real-time. Within moments of Thomas’ reception in OSU’s 20-13 win over Northern Illinois, video of the play from the ABC broadcast…

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TOKYO Japan’s sports minister Hakubun Shimomura, a close conservative ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has tendered his resignation over the scrapping of plans for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics centerpiece stadium after a cost blowout. Shimomura told a post-cabinet meeting news conference on Friday that Abe had asked him to stay on until a cabinet reshuffle planned for next month. He will return half his pay for the six months…

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Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated is expanding its slate of long-form video programming with the launch of SI Films, which is slated to debut six new features this year on the web. The move by SI is designed to capitalize on the 61-year-old magazine’s legacy of in-depth storytelling and reporting — and it’s another challenge to ESPN, which has built up its own stable of documentaries with ESPN Films. “With changing…

The Texas high school football coach accused of ordering two of his players to slam a referee to the ground earlier this month has resigned. Mack Breed admitted to his principal at John Jay High School that he ordered Michael Moreno and Javier Rojas to strike official Robert Watts in a game against Marble Falls on 4 September because, according to Breed, the official had used racist language and made…

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Why do the New England Patriots keep winning? They won the Super Bowl last season, of course. They have won four Super Bowls. Maybe it’s that Tom Brady is great or that coach Bill Belichick is a genius. Critics, of course, are already screaming at the radio that it’s because they bend the rules, something the Patriots were accused of even before Deflategate. So you can offer…

There are curses and cheers, flashing bulbs and blinking phones. On the manicured field here at Gillette Stadium outside Boston, before some 67,000 crazed fans, Tom Brady is about to take the first snap of the 2015 NFL season. The atmosphere is electric, and everyone—from the cheerleaders to the beer vendors—seems to be watching the quarterback’s outstretched hands. Except for Jason Robins. The 34-year-old chief executive of DraftKings, the ascendant…

Being a sports camera operator has a lot in common with being an athlete: It takes endurance, athletic knowledge, and teamwork. And while you’re at work, millions of people are sitting on their couches, crumbs on their shirts, judging your every move. Joe Sonnenburg has filmed a wide variety of sports events for TV for almost a decade, and he posts highlights of his exploits on Instagram. He recently…

Turner Broadcasting and WME/IMG are about to find out whether live video-game competitions are ready for primetime TV: The companies have formed a new e-sports gaming league, with TBS set to broadcast 20 live events over the course of 2016. The parties cut a deal with game publisher Valve to feature its “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” first-person shooter (pictured above) as the title that five-person teams will square off in head-to-head matchups…

The Boom has returned to the Legion. After nearly eight weeks of being absent and losing out on potentially more than $2 million, Kam Chancellor returned to the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday. His holdout is over and the menacing presence of No. 31 could be back on the field for Seattle as early as Sunday. “I just feel like the time is now. I’ve always been a guy who follows…