Free Republic

Soccer may be the world’s most popular sport, but in the U.S., its rise to mainstream status has been anything but smooth. Despite steady growth, the game still faces hurdles that have slowed its acceptance, from cultural disconnects and stiff competition from other major sports to challenges in youth development and infrastructure. While more Americans are embracing the sport, breaking into the country’s deeply rooted sports culture remains an uphill battle. The question isn’t whether soccer can thrive in the U.S., but what it will take to finally cement its place among the nation’s biggest sports. 16. Resistance to Adopting...

Drag star John Force announces retirement. Official statement posted by his team page.

A senior member of the athletics staff at a community college in Oakland, California, was shot on campus Thursday, the second time in two days the city has had a shooting at a local school. The Oakland Police Department said it was investigating the shooting that occurred just before noon at Laney College, where officers arrived to find a man with gunshot wounds. The victim was taken to a hospital and his condition was unknown. The man later was identified as John Beam, the current athletic director and former head coach of the Laney football team. Beam and the Laney...

Fool's Ball, Week Eleven Your home for all things Fool's Ball! In Memoriam Danny Lee (BENDER2)

Madrid expects a return of more than 70 million euros for the first official NFL game in Spanish territoryThe NFL will officially debut in Spain this weekend with the game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins at the renovated Santiago Bernabeu, a historic event that promises a huge economic and media impact for Madrid. Madrid City Council estimates a minimum direct impact of 16.37 million euros, although it hopes to exceed the 70.2 million generated by the match played in Munich in 2022, according to estimates by Intelligence 2P, the strategy and market intelligence unit of 2Playbook. An...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR released official start times and networks for the 2026 season for its three national series. FOX kicks off the NASCAR Cup Series season at Bowman Gray Stadium (Sunday, Feb. 1, 8 p.m. ET). Its first FS1 events are Daytona 500 Qualifying (Wednesday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m. ET) and the Daytona Duel (Thursday, Feb. 12, 7 p.m. ET) that set the field for the Daytona 500 on FOX (Sunday, Feb. 15, 2:30 p.m. ET).

Orange is the New Black star Ruby Rose has slammed Sydney Sweeney for playing queer boxer Christy Martin in the new biopic which was received badly at box officeSydney Sweeney is once again at the centre of online controversy as Ruby Rose has launched a fierce tirade against the actress, branding her a “cretin” and accusing her of ruining her new biopic, Christy. This outburst is just the latest clash between Sydney and a left-leaning Hollywood figure, after many have criticised her over her political affiliations in recent years. Ruby, 39, took to Threads on Monday evening to share her...

Some spectators booed as President Trump appeared on the videoboard at a Washington Commanders gain against the Detroit Lions. The jeering continued while Trump read an oath for members of the military to recite as part of an on-field enlistment ceremony during a break in the game.

Two Major League Baseball pitchers allegedly conspired with sports bettors to rig pitches they threw so the bettors would profit from illegal wagers, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and the FBI announced in an indictment on Sunday. Cleveland Guardians player Luis Leandro Ortiz was arrested Sunday at Logan Airport in Boston. Emmanuel Clase, also of the Guardians, was not yet in custody as of Sunday afternoon. According to the indictment, the pitchers started conspiring with sports bettors in 2023 on specific pitches they would throw during MLB games. The bettors then used that information to place prop bets worth hundreds of...

NEW YORK (AP) — Two Major League Baseball pitchers were indicted Sunday on charges they took bribes to give sports bettors advance notice of the types of pitches they’d throw and intentionally tossed balls instead of strikes to ensure successful bets. Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, both of whom pitched for the Cleveland Guardians, have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July while Major League Baseball investigated unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched. Clase, 27, and Ortiz, 26, were both charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and...

Members of the Football Association of Ireland voted overwhelmingly on Saturday for its board to request that Uefa immediately suspends the Israel Football Association from European competitions. A resolution passed by FAI members cited alleged violations by Israel’s FA of two provisions of Uefa statutes: its failure to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy and Israeli clubs playing in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

Oregon teens Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard scored a win in their legal battle against the state’s high school sports association after they stepped down from a medal podium to protest a trans athlete in May. Anderson and Eckard’s lawsuit against the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) alleges the league excluded them from official photos after the protest and even withheld their medals. The suit argues the girls’ First Amendment rights were infringed upon by the officials. US District Court Judge Youlee Yim You denied the OSAA’s motion to strike a portion of the lawsuit that highlighted what forms of...

CONCORD, N.C. – After making 11 appearances in the NASCAR (O'Reilly Auto Parts) Series in 2025, 19-year-old rising star Corey Day will compete full time on the circuit next season in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet fielded by Hendrick Motorsports. Day signed with Hendrick Motorsports in December 2024 and made his O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debut March 29 at Martinsville Speedway. The dirt racing phenom ran nearly 30 pavement events in 2025 across multiple series, including nine starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (one pole position and a best finish of second). In the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, Day...

The NBA is formally targeting an October 2027 launch date for its new European League and its list of preferred team cities in the new venture include London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens, and Istanbul. Speaking at a Football Business Forum in Milan hosted by Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday, George Aivazoglou, managing director for the NBA’s European and Middle East offices, cited those cities as well as Manchester (U.K.) and Lyon (France) as targeted locations for permanent members of commissioner Adam Silver’s league, which Aivazoglou said is headed toward a tip off in about 23 months,...

Kentucky quarterback Zach Calzada apologized Friday for sending a video to someone on social media in which he boasted about the amount of NIL money he has received from the Wildcats this season. The video, which was posted to X by a different person, showed Calzada counting a large stack of $100 bills. Calzada, who turns 25 on Saturday, said he sent the video to someone who had apparently criticized his play this season. In the video, Calzada tells the fan, "Hey, what you need to do, Garrett, is your ass needs to stop hatin' and go get you some...

President Donald Trump has approved a pardon for baseball legend Darryl Strawberry, according to a White House official. Strawberry is a three-time World Series champion and eight-time MLB All-Star who “served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion,” the official said. “Following his career, Mr. Strawberry found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade — he has become active in ministry and started a recovery center which still operates today,” the White House official said. Strawberry thanked the president in a post on Instagram. “Thank you, President @realdonaldtrump for...

Antonio Brown, a former NFL star and wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was extradited from Dubai to the United States on Thursday and faces an attempted murder charge. It can be recalled that Brown, joined by ex-teammate Le’Veon Bell, spoke at a Trump rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in October 2024, where they endorsed his presidential run. During his remarks on stage before tens of thousands of Trump supporters, Brown slammed Trump’s Democrat opponents while defending his support for the 45th and 47th President. “I know the media is going to call me crazy, me and Trump crazy, for having...

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: This was an awesome weekend of college football. Week 10’s slate saw now-No. 13 Texas fend off a 21-point fourth quarter from Vanderbilt to get to 7–2 on the season and keep their playoff hopes alive, Hugh Freeze get fired by Auburn after going just 15–19 over his first two-plus seasons, Julian Sayin become the Heisman Trophy favorite after bringing No. 1 Ohio State to 8–0 to begin the year, and Shedeur Sanders visit his father, Deion, at Colorado during the Browns’ bye-week.

2025 FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRANDE PRÊMIO DE SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL Circuit: Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo First Grand Prix: 1963, Number of Laps: 71, Circuit Length: 4.304 km, Race Distance: 305.354 km, Lap Record: 1:10.540 Valtteri Bottas (2021)

Former NFL star Antonio Brown has been arrested on an attempted murder charge stemming from a shooting after a celebrity boxing event in Miami, police confirmed Thursday. Miami police spokesperson Mike Vega said Brown, 37, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. He was flown to Essex County, New Jersey, where he is being held pending extradition to Miami, Vega said. It was unclear why Brown was taken to New Jersey first or how long he had been in Dubai, although he has posted several times on social media over the past few...