U.S./World Sports

LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin became the first driver to lock up a spot in NASCAR’s championship-deciding finale, winning Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his career-goal 60th Cup Series triumph. Hamlin, considered the best driver in NASCAR history to never win a Cup title, is back in the...

NEW YORK — The Las Vegas Aces flipped the odds to lift their third WNBA championship in four years Friday, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury in four games to put a golden finish on a season that once appeared to be a bust. A’ja Wilson earned her second Finals MVP honor...

And then there were eight. After the NASCAR Cup Series trimmed a starting group of championship chasers from 16 to a dozen, the field was slashed to eight last weekend at the Charlotte Roval — three Toyotas, three Chevrolets and a pair of Fords. Half of the remaining drivers have...

PHOENIX — League MVP A’ja Wilson scored 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury, 97-86, in Game 4 on Friday to sweep the WNBA Finals and win their third title in four seasons. Jackie Young contributed 18 points and eight assists, Chelsea...

CHICAGO — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the chaplain for the men’s basketball team at Loyola Chicago who became a beloved international celebrity during the school’s fairy-tale run to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2018, has died, the university announced Thursday night. She was 106. Health issues caused...

LOS ANGELES — Former NBA player Paul Pierce was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of driving under the influence on a Los Angeles highway after he was found asleep behind the wheel, state police said. California Highway Patrol officers responded at about 10:40 p.m. to an unrelated car crash involving...

LeBron James was diagnosed with sciatica on his right side and will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Thursday. James will miss the season opener against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 and, per the team’s timeline, won’t return until November at the...

PHOENIX — No matter how old and accomplished you are, your parents are always going to see you as their child. A’ja Wilson said Thursday that her parents, Roscoe and Eva, have been living with her for the past two months while watching her and the Las Vegas Aces chase...

The international basketball league that includes several high-profile athletes as investors does not have an official name but is set to launch next fall, Front Office Sports reported on Wednesday. Headed by former Facebook executive Grady Burnett and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice, the league will include 5-on-5 men’s and women’s...

If LeBron James has proven one thing, aside from his basketball greatness, it’s that he’s also an elite showman. James, the 40-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star who is set to enter his record 23rd season in the NBA, teased an announcement on social media that will take place at noon...

His mates on the Braddock High School basketball team didn’t seem too interested, but Billy Knight was fascinated by the newest game in town. In 1967, the Pittsburgh Pipers were one of the charter members of the American Basketball Association, and Knight, whenever he could make his way to Civic...

The NASCAR Cup Series playoff Round of 12 has its elimination race Sunday at the center of it all in Charlotte, N.C. While the trip to the track will be a short one, the added pressure on about six drivers will be immense. That’s because the playoffs are headed to...

LAS VEGAS — Cathy Engelbert accepted some responsibility for WNBA players’ disapproval of the job she’s done as commissioner while denying certain remarks that Napheesa Collier alleged she said in a pointed statement earlier this week. Engelbert faced reporters ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Las...

LeBron James reiterated the end of his NBA career is near, and he’s not sticking around for another son to make it. This was the latest clue the Los Angeles Lakers star was willing to offer at the team’s media day Monday while discussing potential retirement and his motivations to...

Chase Elliott won for the second time Sunday, but the 2020 champion wasn’t quite sure how it happened. The Hendrick Motorsports driver roared from eighth place on a wild, two-lap shootout in overtime to win the middle race of the NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 12 playoffs, the Hollywood Casino...

LOUDON, N.H. — In a race in which Fords were fastest at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney barely was best in class for the second-round opener of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The 2003 Cup champion led 116 laps in his No. 12 Mustang, including the final 39, but...

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is back in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the first time in eight years, which means Ryan Blaney is back in his happy place. “I love the area itself, and there’s something about the northeast that I really enjoy,” Blaney said. “You get into September,...

Muhammad Ali’s refusal to sign his Vietnam-era military draft card upended the boxing champ’s life and added a powerful voice to the anti-war movement. Now that piece of history is coming up for sale. There’s a blank line on the card where Ali was supposed to sign in 1967 but...

Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers was a runaway choice for WNBA Rookie of the Year after one of the best debut seasons in league history. Bueckers received 70 of the 72 votes from sportswriters and broadcasters in balloting announced by the league Tuesday. The other two went to Washington Mystics...

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech is moving forward after the firing of fourth-year football coach Brent Pry, both for the rest of the season under an interim coach and toward a larger reshaping of the Hokies’ athletics operations. Athletic director Whit Babcock spoke to reporters Tuesday without taking questions two...

WASHINGTON — For many dedicated sports fans, keeping up with their favorite teams has become a juggling act. Activate an NFL package in August, unsubscribe after the Super Bowl and before the NBA playoffs get underway, then subscribe to the NBA’s service. Grudgingly keep paying the cable bill because it’s...

AUSTIN, Texas — Arch Manning admits he has to play better than he has so far. The Texas quarterback is playing far below what was expected when he started the season as an early Heisman Trophy favorite and leader of what was then the No. 1 team in the country....

The WNBA playoffs get underway Sunday with all four series beginning. Minnesota plays Golden State, Las Vegas takes on Seattle, Atlanta faces Indiana and Phoenix goes against New York. While the playoffs will be missing the league’s young stars as Caitlin Clark is sidelined with a groin injury and Angel...