In both cases it's just usage. Where I come from you're just as like to hear "math" as "maths". You're just as likely to hear "sport" as "sports". And vice versa for both. Unless you are explicitly talking about a number of different sporting codes at once, both take the singular verb.

Like I said, it's just usage. It's not even a USn, non-USn thang!


The idiot also known as Capfka ...