World Sports

Justin Wilson, right, shakes hands with a fan prior to Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway. (Matthew O’Haren, USA TODAY Sports) LONG POND, Pa. — The fading of the helicopter blades revealed how unsettlingly quiet Pocono Raceway had become just minutes after the end of the Verizon IndyCar Series race Sunday. Ryan Hunter-Reay had won, and a muted celebration would begin in victory lane. Even he and his team seemed to struggle…

By Tom Fordyce Chief sports writer in Beijing Usain Bolt produced perhaps his greatest miracle of all as he put a troubled build-up behind him to beat two-time doper and clear favourite Justin Gatlin to retain his world 100m title. The controversial Gatlin came into the final on a 28-race unbeaten…

Imagine careening through the forest chasing Stormtroopers on speeder bikes as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia did in a famous scene from “Star Wars,” flying around trees and ducking under branches. A group of drone operators created that sensation for Internet viewers when they recently raced their camera-equipped robotic quadcopters through a forest. The video went viral. It is that virtual reality experience of sitting inside the small flying machine’s…

By Tom Fordyce Chief sports writer in Beijing Britain’s Jessica Ennis-Hill produced a display of immense focus and fortitude to be crowned world heptathlon champion once again and complete a remarkable sporting return. The 29-year-old Olympic champion only decided to compete in Beijing within the past month, having returned to training…

A new sport is heating up the beach in Burlington this weekend. While beach tennis is a hit in other parts of the world, it’s just getting started in the U.S. “You play to music, it’s really fun, the culture is friendly, you high-five each other when you switch, you don’t get angry at each other,” said organizer Mark Bonfigli. The first beach tennis tournament in New England is being…

Buy Photo Cousino high schools Nick Palmer hands off to Steven Charles Jr during first half action Friday, October 10, 2014 at Grosse Point North.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo Steven Charles Jr. transferred from Warren Cousino in January and expected to play football at Clinton Township Chippewa Valley this fall because he sat out one semester. After Charles Jr. transferred, his father called Cousino coach Brad Nettles…

Updated August 23, 2015 08:26:16 Photo: Transgender man Daniel George said he has never felt comfortable playing sports after making transition. (ABC News: Alkira Reinfrank ) Despite sport being an integral part of the cultural fabric of Australia, many transgender and intersex people say they have been ostracised by sporting communities. Transgender man Daniel George has not played soccer in two decades due to fear of not belonging in…

By Tom Fordyce Chief sports writer in Beijing Mo Farah made it six global distance titles in a row as he retained his 10,000m crown despite a last-lap stumble to win Britain’s first gold of the 2015 World Championships. Seven years ago in…

An atheist group is targeting two Georgia schools with demands they abolish the position of sports chaplain. The group wants UGA and Georgia Tech to replace the chaplains with “character coaches.” The group Freedom from Religion thinks chaplains promote Christianity over other faiths and use their positions to try and get converts. Students Channel 2’s Richard Elliot spoke to at Georgia Tech say they don’t mind chaplains, but think sports…

Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes) Imagine with me. You are a sportswriter who for reasons entirely unclear entered a hermetically sealed chamber in 1965 only to wake up in 2015. After shaking off the cobwebs, taking a much-needed shower, and having a stiff drink, you are immediately confronted with two stories fighting for space in the sports pages. One involves…

I got a message today 104.3 The Ticket had retired from the sports talk business, and flicked on my radio to hear some rock song that could be the insipid lead-in to a sports show. Only the song kept going. And going. And is still going. So it’s true. The sports radio market shrunk, sort of, as the only FM component returns just to being 790-AM The Ticket (104.3 turns…

“Most homophobic” is not exactly something anyone would want to boast about, but a groundbreaking new study of sports players around the world has found the United States to be the English-speaking country with that dubious title. And as the Washington Blade reported, you might be surprised where it’s worst: not in the locker room. Spectator stands and school physical education classes were ranked as the two places with the…

We’ve come a long way from Pong, everybody. This is how you market a sports video game in 2015: In honour of the Madden franchise releasing their latest ridiculous commercial on Friday, we thought it was a good time to take a (totally biased) look at the best sports video games of all time, as categorized by sport. Sport: Hockey Video game: NHL ’94 (1993) Why it’s the best: One-timers….

Sonny Liston got the game. Or at least he got the business. “A boxing match is like a cowboy movie – there’s got to be the good guys and there’s got to be the bad guys. And that’s what people pay for – to see the bad guys get beat.” Liston was one of the bad guys. A…

Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes) Imagine with me. You are a sportswriter who for reasons entirely unclear entered a hermetically sealed chamber in 1965 only to wake up in 2015. After shaking off the cobwebs, taking a much-needed shower, and having a stiff drink, you are immediately confronted with two stories fighting for space in the sports pages. One involves…

This is the first of a two-part series on Youth Baseball and MLB’s challenges in growing the sport. Part I deals with broader challenges of maintaining interest in the sport, while also providing information that helps the next generation in the current climate of sports specialization. Part II will deal with racial and socio-economic issues that MLB is seeking to address, to make sure the sport remains diverse and available as…

Ex-Ravens cheerleader will serve every other weekend in jail for two years. (YouTube) A Delaware judge on Friday ordered Molly Shattuck, an ex-Baltimore Ravens cheerleader, to serve every other weekend in jail for the next two years. Shattuck was facing up to 15 years in prison after she pled guilty to one count of fourth degree rape back in June. Just over a year prior, Shattuck began a physical relationship…

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Buy Photo Detroit ranked No. 8 in ESPN’s “Uni Watch” rankings for the best-dressed sports cities.(Photo: Free Press news service photos)Buy Photo If only the Detroit Lions didn’t drag everything down with that black trim. ESPN’s “Uni Watch” ranked the best-dressed sports cities this week – the 20 cities with at least three major pro sports teams – and placed Detroit at No. 8, just behind Toronto and the New York…

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