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.....FIFA, the powerful and polarizing governing body for soccer, came under prosecutorial assault from two fronts Wednesday. Acting on an indictment by the U.S. Justice Department, Swiss police arrested several top FIFA officials, including two vice presidents, during an overnight raid in Zurich on charges of corruption Wednesday. The U.S. investigation targets alleged wrongdoing that spans 24 years. U.S. prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 14 people, on charges ranging from money laundering to fraud and racketeering.

Swiss authorities began an extraordinary early-morning operation here Wednesday to arrest several top soccer officials and extradite them to the United States on federal corruption charges. As leaders of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, gathered for their annual meeting, more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel, an elegant five-star property with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. The officers went to the registration desk to get keys, then headed upstairs toward the hotel rooms. One FIFA official was led by the authorities from his room to a side-door exit...

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Brian Burke believes the Montreal Alouettes signing of Michael Sam is a tipping point in professional sports. The Calgary Flames president of hockey operations, who co-founded You Can Play in memory of his late son, says the arrival of the openly gay player in the CFL will be a watershed moment. "I think it's huge," Burke told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. "To me, this is one of those 20, 30, 40 years from now, people will look back and say 'remember when Michael Sam signed with the Alouettes?' "We know we have gay athletes in...

By KEN BELSONMAY 25, 2015 The Chicago Bears released defensive lineman Ray McDonald after he was arrested Monday in California on a domestic violence charge, the latest in a string of run-ins that have tested the boundaries of the N.F.L.’s tougher personal conduct policy. McDonald’s release came nine months after he was arrested in a separate domestic violence case and just two months after the Bears signed him to an incentive-laden free-agent contract. McDonald was not charged in the first case, and the San Francisco 49ers, his team last season, did not penalize him. But in December, three months later,...

MADISON — Critics are blasting Wisconsin legislators after the state's budget committee passed a surprise motion last week that would allow private, home-schooled and online charter students to participate in public school district athletics and activities. The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee passed a motion early Wednesday morning that included the plan. The plan wasn't addressed in the meeting. "For that to be done in a sneaky, behind the scenes fashion and passed at 1:30 in the morning without any discussion ... that's a problem," said Larry Kaseman, executive director of the Wisconsin Parents Association. While nonpublic school students in some...

Marques Haynes, the legendary Harlem Globetrotters showman often called the greatest dribbler in basketball history, has died. He was 89. He died Friday in Plano, Texas, of natural causes, the Globetrotters said. CEO Kurt Schneider said “basketball has lost one of its most iconic figures.” Haynes made the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998, the first Globetrotter to be so honored. He had two stints with the touring team — from 1947-53 and 1972-79.

...MLB faces headwinds that have been years in the making and forces that are outside its direct control. In 2002, nine million people between the ages of 7 and 17 played baseball in the U.S., according to the National Sporting Goods Association, an industry trade group. By 2013, the most recent year for which data is available, that figure had dropped by more than 41%, to 5.3 million.

"I want it all and I want it now!" - Queen The Tortoise and the Hare. One of the most widely-known of Aesop's Fables, the timeless children's classic tells the story of an arrogant rabbit and a methodical turtle. After the supremely confident rabbit had talked more trash than Kevin Garnett, the tortoise challenged the hare to a race. As it began, the rabbit took a significant lead but decided to take a nap, only to be awakened by a cheering crowd as the tortoise crossed the finish line. After that crushing loss, the hare was always quick to remind...

In an interview with ESPN.com, Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy answered a series of questions about his childhood growing up in Pennsylvania, his place in the league as a 26-year old running back, his new team, his new coach (Rex Ryan) and his former team and coach, the Philadelphia Eagles and Chip Kelly. [Snip] There's a reason. ... It's hard to explain with him. But there's a reason he got rid of all the black players -- the good ones [Snip] McCoy is now the second former member of the Eagles to hint at possible racism on Kelly's part...

With THE PLAYERS Championship set to start next week, the PGA tour mourns the loss of Calvin Peete ...

The Buccaneers front office can spin it in whatever manner it wishes but on Draft Eve the brain trust has to be less comfortable than grandpa at a One Direction concert. While you won't hear anything close to a "maybe" in his public presentation, Lovie Smith's tummy has to be flipping faster than a chef grilling fillets at Bern's.

RUSSELL BERMAN APR 28, 2015 When the Baltimore Orioles host the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards on Wednesday, it won't really feel like a baseball game. There will be no cheering, and no booing. Nor will there be heckling, hot dogs, or beer. There will be no fans in the stadium at all, in fact. After riots in the city forced the postponement of games for two straight days, Major League Baseball announced that the Orioles will play on Wednesday, but the game will be closed to the public. RELATED STORY Two States of Emergency in Baltimore For a...

The NBA developing a relationship with Cuba is not especially big news in 29 of the league’s 30 cities. For all but one franchise.... Heat officials learned of the story via news reports, and were dumbfounded that the league would not have first spoken, at least as a courtesy, to the one franchise actually affected by any NBA/Cuba relationship. .....former NBA commissioner David Stern was extremely active in Democratic politics and a major financial contributor throughout his years in office. New commissioner Adam Silver also was an ardent early supporter of Obama and has donated to the party.....

The NBA opened the first training academy of a professional US basketball league in Cuba on Thursday, made possible by the diplomatic thaw between Washington and Havana, reported dpa.

Science News Teach children outside to save their vision, say scientists By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor 5:35PM BST 23 Apr 2015 Children should be allowed to study outside to stop them becoming short-sighted, a new study suggests. Researchers believe that youngsters are spending so long inside for lessons that it is damaging their eyesight. In China, pupils are already being taught in huge translucent boxes to try and halt their vision decline after a study found that 80 per cent of children in Beijing were short-sighted. Around 40 per cent of Britons suffer from myopia, or short-sightedness, with experts warning...

About a minute after tickets to next week's Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight went on sale Thursday, they were sold out. Tickets to the May 2 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena went on sale at noon on Ticketmaster, after a week of back-and-forth between the two fighters' camps. The cheapest tickets that were being sold went for about $1,500, not including service fees. Within about 60 seconds, using the “best available” search method to find tickets on the website returned a message that said, “Sorry no tickets from the venue currently." However, FOX5 found ring-side tickets were...

The stat comes from a new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. It may be hard to believe that professional athletes, who earn so much money at such a young age, could possibly end up bankrupt. But nearly 16% of those in the National Football League do—just not right away. According to a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), 15.7% of NFL players have filed for bankruptcy 12 years after they retired. The paper, entitled “Bankruptcy Rates Among NFL Players with Short-Lived Income Spikes,” examines the traditional model of consumption smoothing (save money...

In its wisdom the University of Michigan decided it should still show a movie so it replaced "American Sniper" with Paddington. Yep, that Paddington. The one about a Bear...who talks...and wears a rubbery maize hat. One of the greatest schools in the world cancelled the showing of a movie that would spark discussion and debate in exchange for a movie about a talking caniform. If you asked someone to define higher ed in America today this was it.

Andrew Harrison’s disdain for Wisconsin and Frank Kaminsky was evident after the Wildcats lost in the Final Four Saturday. Not only did Andrew and twin brother Aaron skip out on postgame handshakes, leading Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig to take a shot at them, but Andrew was also caught dropping a curse word and potential slur about Kaminsky.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid, an iconic new destination experience located in downtown Memphis, will celebrate its grand opening Wednesday, April 29 at 6 p.m. with a special Evening for Conservation event.