Messi with teammate Neymar. Wikimedia Commons Barcelona, Feb 14 (EFE).- Lionel Messi was outstanding on Sunday in Barcelona's 6-1 drubbing of a hapless Celta Vigo at Camp Nou, a victory that kept the Catalan club atop the Spanish First Division soccer standings. It was Messi getting the home squad on the board first in the 28th minute on a fabulous left-footed direct free kick, but then Swe...

FEDEFUTBOL file photo CONCACAF Media Release - FRISCO, Texas -- Karla Villalobos and Raquel Rodriguez Cedeño struck for three goals each as Costa Rica kept its hopes alive of reaching the 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship (CWOQ) semifinals with a 9-0 victory over Puerto Rico on Saturday at Toyota Stadium. The Central Americans improved to 1W-0D-1L, while Puerto Rico was ...

Wikimedia Commons New York, Feb 13 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- The New York Yankees and Cuban star closer Aroldis Chapman agreed to a one-year, $11.3-million contract, avoiding salary arbitration. The Yankees will pay Chapman, whom they acquired this offseason from the Cincinnati Reds, $11,325,000 in his first season in the Bronx, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal said. Chapman, who turns 28 this...

By Anders Henrikson - a_49_5562, CC BY 2.0, Hope Solo kept a clean sheet against Costa Rica as her teammates routed Las Ticas 5 – 0 yesterday in Texas on the road to the 2016 Olympics; however, the star goalkeeper has indicated that she may not travel to Rio de Janeiro due to her concerns about the Zika virus. A press release by the U.S. Soccer Federation indicated that Team USA U.S. opened...

Olympic mascots are seen at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome, Feb. 7, 2016. (Reuters OMX) NEW YORK (Reuters OMX) The United States Olympic Committee told U.S. sports federations that athletes and staff concerned for their health over the Zika virus should consider not going to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August. The message was delivered in a conference call involving USOC of...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Arsenal.com News Release - Joel Campbell says his fine recent performances are a result of an upturn in confidence. The Costa Rica forward has impressed since establishing himself in the Arsenal team towards the end of 2015, scoring his first three goals for the club and producing a series of hardworking displays. That run of form has led to praise from Arsène W...

Source; FEDEFUTBOL Press Release by the International Sports Press Association - MIAMI, February 3, 2016 - The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) today announced that Costa Rica will host the CONCACAF Futsal Championship 2016, to be played May 8-15 in San Jose. In confirming the site of the Championship, CONCACAF also announced the official dr...

San Francisco, Feb 7 (EFE; local reporting by The Costa Rica Star).- Security is tight at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where the Carolina Panthers will take on the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday evening. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies will be out in force at the facility in the San Francisco Bay Area in the wake of the terrorist attacks late last year...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Los Angeles, Feb 3 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- The Los Angeles Lakers got 38 points from Kobe Bryant in a 119-115 victory here over the Minnesota Timberwolves, avoiding what would have been a franchise-record 11th straight loss. The 37-year-old Bryant made 10 of his 21 shots from the field, including going 7-of-11 from distance, grabbed five rebounds and dished out ...

Source: FEDEFUTBOL Not even the lone goal of the match between the National Men’s Football Teams of Costa Rica and Venezuela could salvage the night at La Carolina stadium of Barinas, the home state of the late Hugo Chavez, former leader of the Bolivarian Revolution.   The friendly international match was not sanctioned by FIFA, and that was probably a good thing. Both National Team...

Rahmat Alizadah Twitter Kabul, Jan 31 (EFE).- Murtaza Ahmadi, the 5-year-old Afghan boy whose photo wearing a homemade Lionel Messi jersey went viral on social media, will get to meet his idol, Afghan soccer officials said Sunday. "The management of the Afghan Football Federation (AFF) has received e-mails from Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona regarding the meeting," the federation's spokesman...

Serena Williams. Source: Wikimedia Commons International Sports Desk, Jan 30 (EFE).- Germany's Angelique Kerber defied the odds to stun Serena Williams in Saturday night's Australian Open final, using superior consistency and strong defense to defeat the world's top-ranked player 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The seventh-seeded Kerber, who saved a match point in her opening contest in Melbourne, a first-r...

Pixabay Commons LA Galaxy Press Release - FOX Sports announced today that it has secured multi-platform media rights to the historic 2016 Copa America Centenario, a soccer tournament coming in June that features the national teams from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States. The Copa America Centenario, a once-in-a-lifetime soccer event, which honors 100 years of the Copa America t...

Wikimedia Commons Las Vegas, Jan 25 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- The Carolina Panthers will take on the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 7. The Broncos won the American Football Conference championship by edging the New England Patriots 20-18 on Sunday, while the Panthers crushed the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 to claim the National Footb...

Wikimedia Commons Cleveland, Jan 23 (EFE).- David Blatt has confirmed that the Cleveland Cavaliers fired him as their head coach, a position that his assistant, Tyronn Lue, will now occupy. Blatt led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals last season and coached the team to an Eastern Conference-best 30-11 record through the halfway point of 2015-2016, but, according to U.S. media outlets, his ina...

Source: Joel Campbell's Facebook Timeline Miami (Friday, January 22, 2016) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today that Javier Hernandez and Carli Lloyd are the 2015 CONCACAF Male and Female Players of the Year, respectively, as winners in eleven different categories for the annual CONCACAF Awards were revealed. In an equal...

Wikimedia Commons VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC confirmed today that defenders Jordan Smith and Kendall Waston have been called up to the Costa Rican national team for an upcoming training camp and friendly versus Venezuela. Smith and Waston will join the Ticos when they hold camp from January 18 to 20 in San Rafael de Alajuela, Costa Rica, after which they will report to Whitecaps...

Zinedine Zidane. Wikimedia Commons Madrid, Jan 16 (EFE; additional reporting by The Costa Rica Star).- Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane said FIFA had made an "absurd" decision in barring the club from registering new players until July 2017 as punishment for its alleged breach of rules against the international transfer of under-18 players, predicting that the ban would be overturned. ...

Wikimedia Commons Swedish tennis star Bjorn Borg is part of a generation of players who dazzled fans with not only blistering court performances but also with their off-the-court hedonism and excesses. Along with Vitas Gerulaitis, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, Borg was known as an international tennis playboy whose personal life was filled with a succession of wild parties and sexy celebriti...

Source: NY Cosmos NEW YORK (January 14, 2016) – The New York Cosmos announced today the signing of forward Jairo Arrieta pending a physical examination. As per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Arrieta, 32, arrives in New York having made 27 appearances and 15 starts for D.C. United during their 2015 Major League Soccer (MLS) campaign. He scored five goals and picked up two ass...

Campbell speaks to a young Tico fan. Source: NanoSeventeen Twitter Arsenal Football Club Press Release - Joel Campbell is this season's Francis Coquelin, according to Arsène Wenger. The Costa Rica forward was the catalyst for Arsenal's FA Cup comeback on Saturday, scoring the equaliser and playing a major part in Aaron Ramsey 's goal as the Gunners came from behind to beat Sunderland. We...

Houston, Jan 10 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- The Kansas City Chiefs rolled to a 30-0 win over the Houston Texans, while the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 18-16 in the American Football Conference wild card playoff games. Quarterback Alex Smith led the Chiefs to their first playoff win in 22 years. Kansas City will play the New England Patriots on Jan. 16 in the div...

Pixabay Commons Press Release by Seattle Sounders FC - The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) confirmed this evening the completion of the field for the historic 2016 Copa America Centenario, to be played this June in stadiums across the United States. In a pair matches contested in Panama City on Friday evening, Panama defeated Cuba and Ha...

Wikimedia Commons International Sports Desk, Jan 9 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic trounced Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-2 in Saturday's final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open to capture the 60th title of his career and edge ahead of the Spaniard in their career head-to-head for the first time. Nadal fought hard to make the match competitive but was ...

Wikimedia Commons Paris, Jan 7 (EFE).- Michel Platini, who was suspended last month from world soccer for eight years, said Thursday he was ending his bid for FIFA's presidency to focus on his defense against corruption allegations. "I withdraw my candidacy" for the Feb. 26 election, Platini, head of European soccer's governing body, UEFA, since 2007 and member of FIFA's executive committee...

Flickr Commons Denver, Jan 4 (EFE).- Veteran quarterback Peyton Manning came off the bench in the third quarter, replacing Brock Osweiler and helping lead the Denver Broncos to a 27-20 win over the San Diego Chargers that secured the top playoff seed in the American Football Conference. "I've just never been through anything like that before," the 39-year-old Manning said. "I've never misse...

Flickr Commons Madrid, Jan 2 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- Atletico Madrid moved into first place in La Liga with a 1-0 win here Saturday night over Levante, a victory only secured in the 81st minute with a goal by Ghanaian midfielder Thomas. The match at Vicente Calderon Stadium appeared to be a mismatch on paper, as the Valencia side sits at the bottom of the table with just 11 points while ...

"Stephen Curry 2" by Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA - Stephen Curry. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Houston, Jan 1 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- Shooting guard Klay Thompson lifted the Golden State Warriors in the absence of his superstar backcourt mate, scoring 38 points in a 114-110 victory here over the Houston Rockets. The Warriors (30-2) suffered just their second...

Wikimedia Commons For most people in Costa Rica, the holiday season means being able to take time off from work. Such is not the case for those employed in the online sports betting industry, which happens to be very busy during this time of the year. From the end of the NFL regular season to the NBA Christmas Day action and from the UEFA Champions League matches to the NCAA college bowl ga...

Messi Poster in Buenos Aires Barcelona, Dec 27 (EFE).- FC Barcelona on Sunday returned to its training routine here to prepare for its Dec. 30 matchup against Betis at Camp Nou, although Lionel Messi was absent because he was in Dubai to be honored as the world's best soccer player at a 2015 gala. The team enjoyed several days of vacation after defeating River Plate 3-0 for the Club World C...

Flickr Commons Philadelphia, Dec 27 (EFE).- Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw four touchdown passes to help the Washington Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-24 on the road and take the NFC East title. Head coach Jay Gruden engineered a tremendous turnaround this season for the Redskins (8-7), who went from a 4-12 record and last place in the NFC East in 2014 to division champions. Co...

"Dwyane Wade" by Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA - Dwyane Wade. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Miami, Dec 25 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- Power forward Chris Bosh scored 30 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 94-88 overtime victory here Friday over the New Orleans Pelicans in the first of five NBA games scheduled for Christmas Day. Bosh, who scored seven of his points in o...

Wikimedia Commons New York, Dec 23 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- The Carolina Panthers have an NFL-best 14-0 record with two games remaining in the regular season, and they also lead the league with 10 players selected to the Pro Bowl. Quarterback Cam Newton, considered a leading candidate to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, earned Pro Bowl honors for the third time in his career, while...

Source: Saprissa Oficial Twitter After a tumultuous championship drought and a humiliating exit from the CONCACAF Champions League, Costa Rica's most celebrated football club returned to glory by winning the 2015 First Division Winter Tournament. Against all odds, Deportivo Saprissa beat rival club Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA) at the Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium near downtown Alajuela ...

Wikimedia Commons Philadelphia, Dec 23 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- Spanish center Marc Gasol led the way for the Memphis Grizzlies in their 104-90 victory over the hapless Philadelphia 76ers, who once again failed to snap their second double-digit losing streak of the season. Gasol made seven of his 15 field-goal attempts and all five of his free throws to finish with 19 points Tuesday night...

Tom Brady on the beach in Costa Rica with his family. Source: Facebook Pressnews.biz (Press Release) Dec 18, 2015 -- San Jose, Costa Rica. Over the past months, Patriots’ QB Tom Brady has been questioned about his feelings for Republican candidate Donald Trump and asked a few times which way he would vote in the coming election. Although, Brady has skillfully said nothing to all the questions ...

Serena Williams. Source: Wikimedia Commons New York, Dec 14 (EFE).- U.S. tennis icon Serena Williams was selected Monday by Sports Illustrated to be its Sportsperson of the Year. During 2015, Williams won three Grand Slam titles, had an individual 53-3 record on the court, took home her seventh WTA Player of the Year award and she is also the first U.S. woman in 32 years to be selected by S...

Source: Facebook A young forward-striker from Costa Rica is making quite an impression in the prestigious Bartclays English Premier League. As recently explained by sports writer Max Jones of Arsenal.com: Arsène Wenger says Joel Campbell is proving he has the talent to be a key player for Arsenal. The Costa Rica forward has impressed for the Gunners during his first full campaign, claiming...

Source: Wikimedia Madrid, Dec 5 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).- Real Madrid, which has endured two turbulent weeks, culminated by its elimination from the Copa del Rey tournament for use of an ineligible player, restored some order by routing Getafe 4-1 here Saturday. The team's troubles have included the legal woes of Karim Benzema but the striker shook off his troubles related to an alleged pl...

XTERRA World Tour arrived in Guanacaste in March 2014 December 2, 2015 (Honolulu, HI) – TEAM Unlimited, owners and producers of the XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon World Tour, today announced the formation of the XTERRA Pan American Tour which connects the sports’ major events in South, Central, and North America as well as the Caribbean. The inaugural 10-stop series for both amateur and professi...