Sports

Sports

Russia's Hockey Coach Faces Media After Team's Loss

8:57am February 20, 2014

Coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov met members of the press after Russia's devastating 3-1 loss to Finland. A reporter asked if the coach would lose his job, since his predecessor was "eaten alive."

Queue Listen Now

Yuna Kim, of South Korea, won gold in Vancouver. She's leading the field after Wednesday's short program.

Female Figure Skaters Compete For Gold — And The Sport's Future

8:55pm February 19, 2014

by Sonari Glinton

The competition is fierce: the defending South Korean champion, a 15-year-old Russian phenom who has thrilled the figure skating world, and three Americans heading into Thursday in the top 10.

Queue Listen Now

U.S. Women's Bobsled Team Features 2 Summer Olympians

11:03am February 18, 2014

by Robert Smith

Bobsled used to be an all-male sport until 2002. Even now, the women only race two-man, not four-man bobsled. Team USA features 2 summer Olympians as brakemen. Lauren Williams is a gold and silver medalist in the sprint. Lolo Jones did the hurdles in Bejing and London.

Queue Listen Now

Darrell Wallace Jr., a graduate of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity Program, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 26 in Martinsville, Va.

Sports

Drive For Diversity, NASCAR's Commitment To Race

9:18pm February 15, 2014

by Karen Grigsby Bates

NASCAR's fan base is about 60 percent male and 80 percent white. In an effort to embrace the country's rapidly changing demographics, the sport is pushing hard to diversify its lineup of crews, drivers and fans.

Queue Listen Now

U.S. Men's Hockey Team Triumphs Over Russia In Shootout Ending

1:13pm February 15, 2014

The American and Russian men's ice hockey teams faced off at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, and it wasn't pretty. From Sochi, correspondent Robert Smith tells NPR's Scott Simon about the game that went into overtime.

Queue Listen Now

Sports

What's Important In Sochi? Depends Where You Ask

7:58pm February 13, 2014

Melissa Block speaks with an array of international correspondents covering the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, to hear what stories are playing big with their home audiences.

Queue Listen Now

Jeremy Abbott suffered a brutal fall during his short program Thursday.

In Men's Figure Skating, U.S. Pins Hopes On A New Class

7:58pm February 13, 2014

by Sonari Glinton

The U.S. is defending its gold medal in men's figure skating, but without the star power of previous games. Two skaters in Sochi, 19-year-old Jason Brown and 28-year-old Jeremy Abbott — represent the near future of the sport in America.

Queue Listen Now

Hockey fans cheer for Russia during the men's game against Slovenia on Thursday.

In Front Of A Home Crowd, Russia Has Hockey History On Its Mind

3:07pm February 13, 2014

by Robert Smith

Team Russia — led by Alexander Ovechkin — and its fans talk constantly of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" and the team's loss four years ago in Vancouver. On Saturday, they'll meet a young and "hungry" Team USA.

Queue Listen Now

Snowborder Shaun White Will Leave Sochi Without A Medal

7:57am February 12, 2014

by Robert Smith

American snowboarder Shaun White had hoped to win his third consecutive gold in these games. Instead, he's going home empty-handed. Not a single member of team USA was on the podium for the snowboard halfpipe event.

Queue Listen Now

Devin Logan practices during a ski slopestyle training session in Sochi on Friday. She says she doesn't stress about competing, even on a course that some have called dangerous. "What we do is scary in general," she says. "But we know how to do it."

Slopestyle Skier Devin Logan Keeps It Cool, But She's 'All In'

7:01pm February 11, 2014

by Sam Sanders

Much of the attention on the Olympic slopestyle events has focused on snowboarders, but the downhill event is also done on skis. Devin Logan enters Tuesday's competition as the world's top-ranked female freestyle skier. And at 20, she'll compete before she can legally celebrate with a beer.

Queue Listen Now