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The threat of terrorist attacks in France has put paid to fans’ hopes of watching the World Cup on big screens in public spaces, France’s ministry for the interior announced. “I remind all publicly-elected officials of the fact that ‘big screen’ zones are completely forbidden in public spaces,” said a statement from the ministry. France has been subject to several terrorist attacks in recent years, leading to an increased security presence all round.“In the current climate of terrorist threats, the security procedures used at the last European Championship must be deployed again, with the same degree of efficiency.” …

Serena Williams was the No. 1 tennis player in the world in January of last year. She had just beaten big sister Venus to win the Australian Open for a seventh time. Oh, and she did it while being 8 weeks pregnant. It was an incredible feat. Yet, Serena's pregnancy, which obviously kept her off the professional tennis circuit for months, is now the reason she has fallen to No. 453 in the world. She is making her comeback grand slam debut at this month's French Open in Paris. But, because her maternity leave prevented her from competing for awhile,...

"For a long time the English were considered the strongest," he said, but they were no match for Russians with martial-arts training. "There were guys sitting there with a Birmingham banner and we went up to them. 'Either we're taking your banner or you stand up and fight for it.' The Birmingham guys decided they didn't need the banner that much." The violence on Marseille's streets and in the stadium was greeted with jokes and even praise from some Russian lawmakers and officials. President Vladimir Putin called the fighting "sad," then questioned "how 200 Russian fans could beat up several...

Game 6 star Klay Thompson picked up three fouls inside the first four minutes of Game 7 and was forced to take an early seat. It left Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green to carry the offensive load for the Warriors but they shot a combined 3/14 from the field for 13 points to trail 24-19 after the first quarter.

Violent Russian thugs who attacked Liverpool fans in Ukraine have issued a stark warning to England supporters planning to attend the World Cup. Trouble Company, a notorious hooligan group, said fans traveling abroad will face 'hell' during the 2018 competition. The group's followers have released a string of messages on social media claiming responsibility for the violence in Kiev, which saw Brits hospitalised.

As noted here last week, the adjustment to the national anthem policy should remove any impediment to the employment of quarterback Colin Kaepernick and safety Eric Reid, since neither will be able to kneel during the national anthem. Some players reportedly have come to the same conclusion. Shaun King, an independent reporter who has had several anthem-related stories in recent months, contends that “[s]everal NFL stars have told me they are considering sitting out the season until the de facto ban of Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick is removed and both men are given spots back on rosters.”

LeBron James and the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers won’t get any sympathy from the Celtics when they return to Boston for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. Already laboring to reach his eighth straight NBA Finals with a supporting crew made mostly of cast-offs and throw-ins, James lost the only other All-Star on the roster on Saturday when Kevin Love was declared out for the series finale with a concussion. Now, in what could be his final game in a Cleveland uniform — again — James will have to do it largely on his own. In Boston, where the Celtics...

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Washington Capitals Golden Knights: 12-3 (defeated Los Angeles Kings 4-0 in first round, San Jose Sharks 4-2 in second round, Winnipeg Jets 4-1 in third round) Capitals: 12-7 (defeated Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 in first round, Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in second round, Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in third round) Season series: VGK 2-0-0; WSH 0-2-0

Chris Froome has won the Giro d'Italia to join legends Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault with his third consecutive Grand Tour victory - the 'Tiger Slam' of cycling. The four-time Tour de France champion had no trouble in maintaining his 46-second lead over defending champion Tom Dumoulin in the mostly ceremonial final stage through historic Rome.

Monte Carlo FIRST GRAND PRIX 1950 NUMBER OF LAPS 78 CIRCUIT LENGTH 3.337KM RACE DISTANCE 260.286KM LAP RECORD 1:14.820 by Sergio Perez (2017)

Keith Olbermann is coming back to ESPN's airwaves. The outspoken sports and politics commentator has been granted an "expanded role" with the Disney-owned sports broadcasting giant, a Friday report from New York Post claims. "Since we started this, my sixth separate tenure with ESPN, in January, I’ve found the variety of assignments to be the most fun and energizing of all my stints,” he said in a statement on his new gig. “Adding stuff, like being a rookie 59-year-old play-by-play guy, plus the Rip Van Winkle of SportsCenter, only adds to the smorgasbord. Can’t wait, and at my age, I...

Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul will miss Saturday's Game 6 of the Western Conference finals at Golden State with a right hamstring strain, the team announced Friday. Paul will travel with the Rockets to Oakland, California, for the game, coach Mike D'Antoni said, and will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston. "It's obviously not something we wanted," D'Antoni said before Friday's practice. "I hate it for him above all. He's practically won us the past two games. But it's a great opportunity for other guys, and we have plenty to choose from. We'll be ready." Asked if...

Terrorists murdered eight people and wounded another 45 by detonating three bombs at a cricket match in Afghanistan. The explosives went off nearly simultaneously in crowds of spectators at the match in a Jalalabad stadium late on Friday night. Among those killed was the deputy provincial mayor of neighboring Laghman province and the organiser of the night time 'Ramadan Cup' tournament.

There's reportedly one big reason why the NFL took sweeping action Wednesday in adopting a new national anthem policy prior to the start of the 2018 season. And he resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington. “Our league is f-----g terrified of Trump. We're scared of him,” one unnamed source told Bleacher Report as reaction to the plan poured in. After a tumultuous 2017 season, which saw NFL attendance and TV ratings drop as President Trump and others criticized on-field protests by many of the league's players, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced this week that the league would fine any...

Various NFL players are reportedly discussing different forms of protesting in response to a new policy requiring players to stand for the national anthem. “I talked to a former NFL player yesterday who has said that players are already talking about other ways in which they can protest," NBC's Craig Melvin said on "Today" on Thursday. Melvin did not specify which players he spoke to, or what other forms of protesting they were considering.

Full title......................New York Jets chairman, brother of Trump ambassador, says he'll pay fines for team players who protest during anthem...........................The chairman of the New York Jets said he will pay the fines for players on his team who protest during the national anthem, hours after the NFL announced a new policy penalizing players who do so. Jets chairman Christopher Johnson told Newsday that he never wants “to put restrictions on the speech of our players.” The NFL announced the new policy earlier Wednesday, saying that teams can avoid fines by allowing players to stay off the field during the anthem....

FULL TITLE: 'Maybe they shouldn’t be in the country': Trump suggests NFL players should leave the U.S. if they don't stand for the national anthem after rule change banning the controversial protest President Donald Trump backed an NFL rule change Wednesday that bans kneeling during the national anthem and hits violators with fines. However, the president — who instigated the new policy with his withering rebuke of players refusing to stand during the tribute to America — said the measure doesn't go far enough. 'I don’t think people should be staying in the locker rooms,' he told Fox & Friends...

On a sun-splashed spring morning scripted by the local chamber of commerce, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald hops into his Lincoln Navigator and flips on his Under Armour sunglasses. He’s driving from Northwestern’s current antiquated football facility to its resplendent new one, a mile expanse from the program’s musty past to its glistening future. Fitzgerald tells the story of his favorite reaction to the new $270 million athletic facility, Ryan Fieldhouse and Walter Athletics Center, which opens next month. The facility looks as if a rendering from “The Jetsons” dropped on the shores of Lake Michigan, with 45-foot floor-to-ceiling windows that...

Full title..................Liberal media outraged after 'racist' NFL adopts ‘un-American’ policy to combat national anthem protests............... CNN’s Marc Lamont Hill urged all players to remain in the locker room. The CNN star added, “The worst part is that we’ve just accepted the idea that the national anthem has to be sung before each game as an article of faith.”

On Tuesday, NFL owners put three hours aside for a privileged session to speak—amongst themselves and family members—about the most sensitive of topics. One was how the league will handle players kneeling during the national anthem going forward. An idea being floated in the room goes like this: It would be up to the home team on whether both teams come out of the locker room for the anthem, and, should teams come out, 15-yard penalties could be assessed for kneeling. The league is currently being sued by Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, with the two unsigned free agents alleging...