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Top NCAA executive Oliver Luck is leaving his post to become the commissioner of a reboot of the XFL, professional wrestling mogul Vince McMahon announced Tuesday. Luck, who is a former NFL quarterback and father of Indianapolis Colts star Andrew Luck, will start his new gig July 1 with the league set to launch in 2020. He said that the XFL will allow him to reimagine how football is played on the field and delivered to fans. “Opportunities like this come along very infrequently,” Luck told the Associated Press. “You've got Vince, who is a visionary. A well-capitalized effort. A...

“I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants to get invited anyway,” James said at a news conference Tuesday. “It won’t be Golden State or Cleveland going.” Stephen Curry, after he was relayed James’ thoughts, said, “I agree with Bron.”

Philadelphia’s Mayor Democrat Jim Kenney slammed President Trump for disinviting the Eagles from visiting the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win. In a sharply worded statement Kenney defends his city’s NFL team writing, “Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend.”

I’m not a guy who’s going to be trying to bash people over the head with the Bible. I want people to know when they see me play that something is different, that I play for something different, and whether I’m talking about it [or not], I just hope by the way I carry myself and by the way I play the game, they can see there’s something different about that guy. And they find out what it is and then they know. It’s part of who I am. Those are the words of Stephen Curry, the superstar point guard...

TAKE A KNEE by Stanislaus Drew Take a little trip to Valley Forge in January. If you don’t know where that is, just Google it from the sidelines. Hold a musket ball in your fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won’t be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle, so just wait your turn. Take your cleats and socks off to get a real experience. Then take a knee. Then, take one at the beach in Normandy where man after American man stormed the beach, even as the...

The first ever state-sanctioned bare-knuckle boxing match got a bloody ending Saturday night -- and a big response from a raucous crowd. Arnold Adams, a 32-year-old MMA heavyweight, pounded ex-UFC fighter D.J. Linderman's face into a bloody mess in front of 2,000 rowdy fans at a hockey rink that usually hosts birthday parties and skating lessons in Wyoming's capital. Tens of thousands more tuned in for the pay-per-view event, which featured 10 bouts, including four heavyweight fights in a tournament format.

Park officials said the climbers had been attempting to climb the Freeblast Route, according to a post on the Mariposa Gazette’s Facebook page. Authorities withheld the identities of the climbers pending notification of next of kin. The investigation was ongoing. Saturday’s incident came nearly two weeks after a hiker fell to his death while ascending the Half Dome trail during thunderstorm activity, officials said.

The Russia World Cup 2018 is now under two weeks away - with the excitement building, you can start planning your summer months of football viewing. Last December's draw put England in Group G with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama and all three of the games have been scheduled at times which will please office workers country-wide. The full World Cup fixture schedule is below, with timings, venues and TV channels included. All times BST. Local times are BST +2 apart from games played in Kaliningrad (+1), Samara (+3) and Ekaterinburg (+4). Final Sunday 15 July Moscow (Luzhniki), 4pm

Hats are the most popular giveaways for the teams. Rainbow-colored hats are the giveaway of choice for 11 Major League Baseball teams that have LGBT Pride games this season. The Blue Jays, Braves, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Rays, Reds,Marlins and Twins are all giving Pride hats to people who buy a ticket to their game. This is the first year the Reds are having a Pride night. The Brewers, Cardinals and Dodgers have shirts with a rainbow theme, the Athletics and Mariners have wearable Pride flags and the Giants have a backpack. The other seven teams with Pride nights...

Five former Houston Texans cheerleaders are suing the NFL franchise, alleging the team failed to fully compensate them as required by law and subjected them to hostile work environment in which they were harassed, intimidated and forced to live in fear. The lawsuit was filed Friday in Houston federal court. At a news conference, Hannah Turnbow said she and other cheerleaders were treated "the lowest of the low."

Fans in Cleveland probably will need awhile to get over the Cavaliers’ overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals — in particular, JR Smith’s blunder in the final seconds of regulation that cost the team a chance to win. And they’re not alone. There are plenty of other fans from other sports towns (or in one case, an entire country) who have felt the same way after some athlete’s boneheaded play at a critical point in a huge game. Here’s a sampling, starting with Smith’s woeful tale (sorry, Cavs fans). With the score...

Jaelene Hinkle’s decision not to play for the U.S. women’s national soccer team last summer was, she said, a simple one. Because of her religious beliefs, and a decision by U.S. Soccer to highlight LGBTQ pride month with special jerseys during their June 2017 friendlies, Hinkle declined a call-up from the team, something she said she had dreamed about her entire life. “I just felt so convicted in my spirit that it wasn’t my job to wear this jersey,” Hinkle said in an interview with “The 700 Club,” a Christian talk show, that was published this week.

Delaware will become the first new state to offer sports betting following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the federal ban on sports gambling, Governor John Carney announced. The betting will begin Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at all three casinos in the state. Betting will include single game and championship wagering on professional baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer, golf and auto-racing. The Supreme Court made the decision May 14.

It was a powerful TV moment that could have helped a new morning TV show put a stake in the ground. After Reuben Foster of the 49ers was charged with multiple felonies for allegedly beating up his girlfriend, Michelle Beadle of ESPN's new "Get Up" criticized GM John Lynch's position that the team should let the justice system play out before making a decision on the second-year linebacker. Instead, the 49ers should "do the right thing" and proactively dump Foster, said Beadle last month.

The Cleveland Indians starting pitcher tonight is up from the Minors just for today's game. It's his 23rd birthday. His name is Shane. Shane Bieber !

The Boise Black Knights were on their way home after winning the championship on Memorial Day when they saw a couple in distress at an accident scene near Jordan Valley, Oregon. The players first pulled a man out of the overturned vehicle and helped him to the side of the road. A woman was stuck in her seat belt, so the players cut it with a knife. After cutting the seat belt, the players then gathered and raised the car to get the woman out.

Several N.F.L. teams determined cheerleading programs had a scarcity problem on game days. If cheerleaders were on the sideline dancing, none were available to serve as scantily clad hostesses who could mingle with fans high up in the cheap seats or in the luxury suites, where teams catered to big-money customers. To address that shortcoming, some teams created a different kind of cheerleading team — one whose members did not do any cheering or require any dance training. They were hired mainly for their appearance. Their visits with male fans, the teams believed, produced a better game-day experience, akin to...

HAMILTON — Johnny Manziel is expected to make his CFL debut on Friday night in the Ticats’ pre-season opener, Head Coach June Jones revealed Monday. Jones told reporters after a hot, humid session Monday that Manziel will be second in line for reps on Friday following starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. The Ticats open their pre-season schedule at Tim Hortons Field vs. the Toronto Argonauts. Jones noted Manziel has made strides since signing with the team on May 19, the day before the start of training camp. “He’s starting to ask the right questions and he’s seeing the right things,” Jones...

As sports fans, we sometimes take things for granted. It’s not entirely our fault. In this day and age, it just seems as if we’ve just seen everything. So when something truly special happens, it doesn’t always attract the appreciation it deserves. Such is the case for the amazing rivalry that has developed between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers over the last few seasons. We have seen some mighty clashes over the years. There’s no denying that the competition during the 1980s between Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics was...

SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - Longtime Padres play-by-play announcer and former KFMB Stations sports anchor Ted Leitner will be leaving the broadcast booth to fight kidney cancer. Leitner announced on his Twitter account that he has cancer, "and will be off the Padres broadcast indefinitely after Wednesday’s game." He thanked his fans for their support over the years. Have always tried to be honest with the radio & TV audience. So will do that now also: I have cancer-and will be off the #Padres broadcast indefinitely after Wednesday’s game. Thank you Padres fans and #aztecfamily for all your support all...