Sports

An NFL-commissioned study found that retired players suffer from dementia and other memory-related diseases at many times the normal rate. The findings support prior independent research that the NFL has tried to discredit.

On Sept. 23, 1845, the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club was founded. Its bylaws, which included rules on how to play the game, are considered the basis of modern baseball rules.

An Illinois pastor swam across the English Channel to raise money for building a school in Angola.

NFL Pro Bowlers Matt Birk, Lofa Tatupu and Sean Morey will donate their brains to a program studying chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurological disorder caused by blows to the head.

Melanie Oudin isn’t the first U.S. tennis star to break onto the scene as a teenager, but her style of play has injected some of Justine Henin into the current U.S. team.

The Folds of Honor Foundation holds its annual fundraiser, Patriot Golf Day, to provide education scholarships for the spouses and children of American veterans.

On Sept. 1, 1980, amputee Terry Fox was forced to stop his 5,000-mile run across Canada for cancer research after it was discovered that his bone cancer had spread to his lungs. He died 10 months later, but not before realizing his dream of raising one dollar for every person in Canada.

South African runner Caster Semenya is being tested to determine whether she is a female amid suspicion that she may actually possess the genetic characteristics of a male.

After three players—David Wright, Ian Kinsler and Hiroki Kuroda—were hit in the head by a pitch or line drive, we look back on the most frightening incidents of players being struck in the head.

On Aug. 16, 1920, Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman was struck in the head by a pitch. He died a day later, becoming the only player in major league history to die from a pitched ball.

Tennis superstar Roger Federer is a force to be reckoned with, pummeling opponents in tournament after tournament. Born in Switzerland in 1981, Federer is now a confident player with a laundry list of wins and titles, and is leading men’s tennis into a new generation of high intensity, skillful play. But this emotional phenom has had to overcome heartache, reign in his strong temper and raise his game to new heights to succeed.

As athletes are increasingly sharing their personal lives and opinions on Twitter, leagues struggle to balance fan engagement with inevitable controversy.

On July 27, 1996, a bomb killed one and injured 111 visitors at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Security guard Richard Jewell was wrongfully accused of planting the bomb and defamed by the media.

On July 24, 1983, the Royals’ George Brett wildly charged toward umpires after his ninth inning home run was disallowed because there was too much pine tar on his bat.

As a new professional football league, the United Football League, prepares to begin play this fall, we look back at the professional football leagues that have failed in the last four decades.

A senior softball team is offering to teach the New York Mets the fundamentals of baseball, after a dreadful first half marked by a succession of spectacular blunders.

Before the first pitch of the 80th MLB All-Star game, we look back at the 10 most memorable moments, be they exciting, disappointing, historically significant or bizarre.

On July 12, 1979, a promotion mocking disco music backfired when a crowd of 90,000 swarmed the field and trashed the stadium, causing a forfeit.

On July 11, 1914, 19-year-old George Herman “Babe” Ruth played his first major league baseball game as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

On July 10, 1969, British sailor Donald Crowhurst’s boat was found adrift in the Atlantic, ending a bizarre eight-month fake voyage around the world in a sailing race.

On July 6, 1933, Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward organized the first All-Star game as a part of the Chicago World’s Fair.

On July 4, 1939, in a farewell speech at Yankee Stadium, a terminally ill Lou Gehrig declared himself the “luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”

As leagues, teams and athletes increasingly become the “creators of coverage,” sports journalism may be compromised by conflict of interest.

At just 24 years old, swimmer Michael Phelps is already one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history, with 14 gold medals and two bronzes. At the 2008 Beijing Games, he won eight gold medals, breaking Mark Spitz’s 36-year old record.

The U.S. soccer team made an outstanding run in the Confederations Cup, but fell short against Brazil in their first-ever FIFA tournament final.

On June 20, 1967, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was sentenced to five years in prison for refusing to serve in the military.

Months after the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked, Pakistani officials say they have broken up a terrorist network and identified six other individuals believed to have been involved.

This is not the first time that exercise professionals have come under fire for working their clients to the point of exhaustion—or worse.

Seventeen Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and a host of other tournament wins make Venus Williams one of the most recognizable figures in professional tennis. Yet her resume off the court is nearly as impressive. She’s launched her own line of clothing, founded an interior design company and has been named one of America’s most powerful women by Ladies Home Journal.

The Confederations Cup will provide of glimpse of how South Africa will handle hosting next year’s FIFA World Cup, the first to be hosted in an African nation.