Better times are ahead, and in sports as well as life, better times require health and normalcy. Here's a list of what could make 2021 an uncommonly good sports year.
Assistant Principal Sharif Ford knew just who to call when an athlete at East St. Louis High School in Illinois needed a new pair of shoes. The same woman helped a high school junior outside Chicago secure a sparkling new kit as she chases a scholarship to play college soccer.
Fans in Myanmar of soccer teams from England's Premier League have banded together to join the popular movement protesting the country's recent military takeover.
The Instagram user who racially abused Swansea player Yan Dhanda will not be banned from the social media network, a lenient policy that has drawn criticism for lacking rigor.
Olympic powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah will go on trial in Switzerland this month in a forgery case he has said is linked to political rivalry within Kuwait's royal family.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber sounded little near-term optimism about big crowds at stadiums, calling them unlikely "for probably most, if not all, of the season.''
MLS announced Monday that teams can begin preseason training on Feb. 2 for opening games on the weekend of April 3-4, a delay owing to the late finish of the pandemic-altered 2020 season.