Sport

8:00 AM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment Ask folks in the industry about teams trying to save money in racing, and the responses range from eyebrows raised with rolled eyes to nervous laughter. The honest truth: Teams will spend all the money they can get their hands on through winnings and sponsorship. For teams to save money, the owners have to show self-control. Or they cut…

Almost every team, though, saw the value of a player like that, a squad member capable of adapting to any and every position. They had their own place in soccer’s lexicon: the prosaic “utility player” in English, and the more poetic tuttofare (“does everything”) in Italian, or todoterreno (“all terrain”) in Spanish. Photo On a 1990s Barcelona team filled with stars, Manager Bobby Robson reserved special praise for Luis Enrique,…

Almost every team, though, saw the value of a player like that, a squad member capable of adapting to any and every position. They had their own place in soccer’s lexicon: the prosaic “utility player” in English, and the more poetic tuttofare (“does everything”) in Italian, or todoterreno (“all terrain”) in Spanish. Photo On a 1990s Barcelona team filled with stars, Manager Bobby Robson reserved special praise for Luis Enrique,…

Team GB officials say they are “bullish” that next year’s Winter Olympics will be the most successful in their history – and have identified 10 to 12 realistic medal prospects. With only 101 days to go before the Games get under way, the British Olympic Association has confirmed it expects to name a 60-strong squad for Pyeongchang and believes it will surpass the four medals the team won in Sochi…

Before multiple cameras filmed skiers flying through the sky at enormous heights and snowboarders flipping in the air, Nordic skier Thorleif Haugh sped down the slopes and earned three gold medals. That was in 1924, at the first official Winter Olympic games in Chamonix, France, where 16 countries gathered to compete in sports like figure skating, speed skating, hockey, curling and more. While that was nearly a century ago, the…

When smartwatches were first teased, companies like Google promised they would unplaster our faces from our ever-present smartphone screens and wisp us into a new age where we could remain connected without feeling addicted. It didn’t happen. They’re good for fitness tracking and feeding smartphone notifications to our wrists, but smartwatches remain more of a computing side dish than a main course. But as side dishes go, the 2017 Samsung…

Toyota is kicking off its global Olympics sponsorship with a new ad that squeezes 100 people—ages 1 to 100—into a 120-second video that positions the automaker as a mobility provider, creating more than just cars. The term “mobility” has emerged as a buzzword in automotive marketing as brands look to remain relevant in the age of car- and bike-sharing and self-driving vehicles that are expected to hit roads in the…

Almost every team, though, saw the value of a player like that, a squad member capable of adapting to any and every position. They had their own place in soccer’s lexicon: the prosaic “utility player” in English, and the more poetic tuttofare (“does everything”) in Italian, or todoterreno (“all terrain”) in Spanish. Photo On a 1990s Barcelona team filled with stars, Manager Bobby Robson reserved special praise for Luis Enrique,…

Before multiple cameras filmed skiers flying through the sky at enormous heights and snowboarders flipping in the air, Nordic skier Thorleif Haugh sped down the slopes and earned three gold medals. That was in 1924, at the first official Winter Olympic games in Chamonix, France, where 16 countries gathered to compete in sports like figure skating, speed skating, hockey, curling and more. While that was nearly a century ago, the…

Before multiple cameras filmed skiers flying through the sky at enormous heights and snowboarders flipping in the air, Nordic skier Thorleif Haugh sped down the slopes and earned three gold medals. That was in 1924, at the first official Winter Olympic games in Chamonix, France, where 16 countries gathered to compete in sports like figure skating, speed skating, hockey, curling and more. While that was nearly a century ago, the…

Before multiple cameras filmed skiers flying through the sky at enormous heights and snowboarders flipping in the air, Nordic skier Thorleif Haugh sped down the slopes and earned three gold medals. That was in 1924, at the first official Winter Olympic games in Chamonix, France, where 16 countries gathered to compete in sports like figure skating, speed skating, hockey, curling and more. While that was nearly a century ago, the…

NBC Universal is going small for what might be the broadest and most universally appealing TV event. The peacock is targeting its marketing approach to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea to different pscyhographics. The peacock is putting Olympic viewers into six such segments—including those drawn to the games for the athletes’ heartfelt stories and those who only watch the highlights—and is creating content specifically geared toward each type…

On Sunday night at Martinsville Speedway, the NASCAR community collectively learned something it always knew: We need more short tracks. And honestly, to hell with the excuses, NASCAR. We’re all sick of hearing about the five-year sanctioning agreements, the lack of hospitality space, nearby casinos or whatever reason big league stock-car racing has evolved into weekly cookie-cutter slot-car events. The people have spoken. It’s been awhile since a…

NBC expects ad revenue in its upcoming coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics to surpass the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi by a low double-digit percentage, and says commercial time in the Super Bowl is “extraordinarily well sold.” “Our marketplace is healthy and sales for both Super Bowl and Winter Olympics games is brisk,” Dan Lovinger, executive VP of advertising sales at NBC Universal Sports Group, said during a press…

Chase Elliott wrecked late in a NASCAR Monster Energy Cup playoff race in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) NASCAR now has a template for regenerating some of the interest in stock-car racing that had faded away: Put on more shows like the First Data 500, Sunday’s race at Martinsville, Va., which ended with a frenzied finish, a pile of crumpled cars and four seething drivers hollering in one…

Kyle Busch advanced to the championship race for the third consecutive year with his win on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, but there are other implications from the race as well. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Sunday’s First Data 500 race: 1. One golden ticket down has been punched For all the drama that went down on Sunday, the easiest takeaway is that Kyle Busch won and in doing…

There should be no confusion about the intensity of NASCAR’s playoffs after Sunday’s show at Martinsville Speedway. Chase Elliott could have won, same for Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin, too. It was Kyle Busch, though, who punched his ticket into NASCAR’s championship race with a victory in overtime of a race that turned wild very, very quickly and ended with a multicar accident after Busch took the checkered flag. Busch…

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — South Korea is preparing to welcome the world, with Wednesday marking 100 days until the start of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. Here are 18 things to know about the Games: 1. The Olympic flame will begin making its way around South Korea this week. The relay’s theme is “Let Everyone Shine,” and about 7,500 torchbearers will participate. Along its path to PyeongChang, the torch will…

x Embed x Share CLOSE SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Nancy Armour breaks down the current security concern for 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea. USA TODAY Sports The IOC intends to decide in December on Russia’s participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics.(Photo: JEON HEON-KYUN, EPA-EFE) The International Olympic Committee intends to decide on Russia’s participation in the Pyeongchang Games in December. The IOC has been waiting on the findings…

x Embed x Share CLOSE SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Nancy Armour breaks down the current security concern for 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea. USA TODAY Sports The IOC intends to decide in December on Russia’s participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics.(Photo: JEON HEON-KYUN, EPA-EFE) The International Olympic Committee intends to decide on Russia’s participation in the Pyeongchang Games in December. The IOC has been waiting on the findings…