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The University of North Carolina confirmed to Yahoo Sports on Tuesday that it is investigating a training camp incident between football players that escalated from what multiple sources described as an alleged hazing into a group assault of a teammate. “We are aware of an incident involving members of the UNC football team that took place earlier this month. We take this allegation seriously and the University is conducting a…

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By Seth Gruen | August 26, 2014 Instant replay. Night games. The designated hitter. Related Sounds like a baseball purist’s list of grievances. Over the past century, America’s pastime has proven that it’s willing to change (sometimes at a faster pace than the country itself), but why? Well, an obvious answer is to make the game better. A more specific answer is to make it more watchable. …

For a list of confirmed transfers, check out the transfers page. TRANSFER GOSSIP Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal wants to sign Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal, 27, in a £34m deal that would take the two-year transfer spend at Old Trafford through the £200m barrier. (Independent)  United could use the Italian club’s interest in striker Javier Hernandez, 26,…

As videogames become a spectator sport, Amazon.com Inc. just bought the world’s largest arena. The e-commerce giant said Monday it agreed to acquire Twitch Interactive Inc., a popular Internet video channel for broadcasting, and watching, people play videogames, for about $970 million in cash. The deal is Amazon’s second biggest, and underscores the popularity of online gaming. Though little-known outside of tech and gaming,…

Karlos Williams (9) leads a Florida State running back corps that is deep and diverse.(Photo: Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports) The USA TODAY Sports college football staff projects the winners of college football’s five power conferences and the College Football Playoff: NICOLE AUERBACH Conference picks ACC ATLANTIC: Florida State | COASTAL: Virginia Tech CHAMPION: Florida State BIG TEN EAST: Michigan State | WEST: Iowa CHAMPION: Michigan State BIG 12 CHAMPION:…

Helmets are at the center of the NFL’s concussion quandary.(Photo: Adam Hunger, USA TODAY Sports) NEW YORK — Sports as different as football and Olympic horseback riding events such as jumping and dressage (a.k.a. the “horse ballet”) all have a common denominator: concussions. The international governing body for equestrian sports was in attendance over the weekend at an National Football League-hosted “think tank” on concussions and how to better prevent,…

View gallery . EA Sports prides itself on accuracy and realism in its sports video games, from the ratings of players to the “if it’s in the game, it’s in the game” graphics.  But Ryan Reaves of the St. Louis Blues found one facet of its NHL series lacking in its attention to detail. Let’s just say it’s an off-color misstep: Somebody’s f*!?in’ up pic.twitter.com/3VhkmvkMCh — Ryan Reaves (@rreaves75) August…

As videogames become a spectator sport, Amazon.com Inc. just bought the world’s largest arena. The e-commerce giant said Monday it agreed to acquire Twitch Interactive Inc., a popular Internet video channel for broadcasting, and watching, people play videogames, for about $970 million in cash. The deal is Amazon’s second biggest, and underscores the popularity of online gaming. Though little-known outside of tech and gaming,…

Maggie Kassenbrock, 15, who plays softball year round , works with coach Keith Smith at Champions Edge training facility in Indianapolis.(Photo: Joe Vitti/The Star) Numerous times a week, Maggie Kassenbrock unloads her glove and bat. Twice for travel team softball practices, once for her weekly conditioning session, another for hitting and pitching lessons, and then there are the weekend tournaments. And that’s just her fall schedule. Since Kassenbrock, a sophomore…

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During a preseason soccer scrimmage at Downingtown High School East, an incoming freshman going for a header collided with another player and fell to the ground in tears. After that, her coach did something that used to be routine, but has increasingly come under scrutiny: He put her back in the game, according to a lawsuit filed by her family last week in U.S. District Court…

Longtime soccer coach George Scarpelli doesn’t hold back. Not when praising his boys team at Somerville High School. Not when talking about US Soccer’s academy system. Ever since the academy program switched to a 10-month schedule in the fall of 2012 and prohibited players from high school competition, Scarpelli has harbored concerns about the direction of youth development in Massachusetts and across the country. “It’s a disgrace,” said Scarpelli. “It’s…

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series gets closer to the Chase, selecting your Group B drivers becomes more difficult. Most fantasy teams at the top of their league standings do not have many, if any, selections left with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. My team falls under this category. My strategy the rest of the way is to use the Team Penske drivers for qualifying points and find two other…

Australian Hockey Player Celebrates Goal By Sliding On Head Across Ice (Video) The hockey goal celebration game was recently taken to an entirely different level, in Australia of all places. Ric Del Basso scored a game-winning shootout goal on Saturday night for the Perth Thunder in Australian Ice Hockey League action. That was cause for celebration, and Del Basso upped the ante when it comes to celebratory antics. After netting…

Former Boston College baseball captain and ALS awareness advocate Pete Frates will be honored at the 21st Oldtime Baseball Game on Monday night. (Conor Ryan/WEEI.com) Pete Frates is no stranger to the Oldtime Baseball Game. Just a few months after the initial news that the former Boston College baseball captain was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis –€“ also known as Lou Gehrig‘€™s disease — Frates took part in the baseball charity…

The Jamaican bobsled team may have company at the Winter Olympics one day. (USATSI) Everyone loves an underdog. That’s why we have a litany of underdogs in the movies, from Rocky Balboa to Rudy to a bobsled team from the island of Jamaica. Now there’s a new real-life underdog story being written and again it’s Jamaicans at the heart of this tale. Graeme Townshend, the first Jamaican-born player in the…

BRISTOL, Tenn. – NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin got spun out and wrecked while racing as the leader by Kevin Harvick at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Hamlin later fired his HANS (or Head and Neck Support) device at Harvick’s car as it passed under caution. The incident happened on the 161st lap. Hamlin had been leading, but Harvick was on his trail for some laps. As Hamlin continued, Harvick…

BRECKENRIDGE — Tejay van Garderen has seen both the horrors and wonders of the famed individual Vail Time Trial, a 10-mile uphill grind that Saturday will be the site of the penultimate stage of this year’s USA Pro Challenge. Sitting once again in the overall race lead, it is his tour to lose — though his advantage is the slimmest it’s ever been before attempting this course: 20 seconds over…