ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The day before Tony Gonzalez was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this month, he was asked about being a something of a pioneer at tight end. A guy who changed his position — and the game itself. Gonzalez sort of shrugged. “I guess everyone is doing it […]

Led by a decline in football for the fifth straight year, participation in U.S. high school sports dropped in 2018-19 for the first time in 30 years, according to an annual survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations. The 2018-19 total of 7,937,491 participants was a decline of 43,395 from the 2017-18 school […]

NEW YORK — A few hours after winning his third Super Bowl, Rob Gronkowski said he was in bed in tears after playing a vital role in the Patriots’ 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. He couldn’t enjoy it because of the pain. Gronkowski was hit in the quadriceps during the game, leaving him […]

DENVER — Jackie Bradley Jr. opened Boston’s three-homer night with a solo shot into the third deck, and the Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 10-6 on Tuesday. Bradley’s estimated 478-foot blast in the second inning was the seventh-longest this season, according to Statcast. It gives Coors Field four of the top eight homers by […]

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — For nearly a decade, the tight end position was one of the greatest strengths of the New England Patriots’ offense. But that’s changed rather quickly. First came the retirement of Rob Gronkowski, one of the most productive tight ends in NFL history, following the 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in […]

DENVER — His name was written in pen on a sign over his locker. His Boston jerseys neatly dangled inside on hangers. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia was back with the Red Sox — if only for a quick visit. He hobbled through the clubhouse Tuesday on crutches, his surgically repaired left knee on the mend. […]

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — With time growing short before their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New England Patriots suddenly have an unexpected hole in the middle of their offensive line following the weekend hospitalization of starting center David Andrews because of blood clots in his lung. Andrews, 27, was released from the hospital Monday […]

A season that began with Tiger Woods celebrating a fifth Masters title ended with a fifth surgery on his left knee. This one wasn’t serious. Woods said Tuesday on Twitter he had arthroscopic surgery last week to repair what he described as minor cartilage damage. In a statement Woods released on social media, Dr. Vern Cooley said […]