U.S./World Sports category
NASCAR’s ‘Chase’ returns: What fans need to know about the 2026 format
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR’s nearly two-year study into an overhaul of its championship-deciding format concluded Monday with the reveal that, in 2026, the stock car series will return to a 10-race version closely resembling the first iteration introduced 22 years ago. The system will return to a 10-race format consisting...
Transgender teen athlete in a Supreme Court fight knows the upcoming sports season could be her last
WASHINGTON — Becky Pepper-Jackson finished third in the discus throw in West Virginia last year though she was in just her first year of high school. Now a 15-year-old sophomore, Pepper-Jackson is aware that her upcoming season could be her last. West Virginia has banned transgender girls like Pepper-Jackson from...
Defending champion Crystal Palace loses to 6th-tier Macclesfield 2-1 in massive FA Cup upset
MACCLESFIELD, England — Macclesfield beat title holder Crystal Palace 2-1 in one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history on Saturday to reach the fourth round. Macclesfield is a team playing in the sixth tier of English soccer, five levels below its Premier League opponent, and took the lead...
NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps resigns after inflammatory texts revealed in trial
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps on Tuesday announced his resignation after more than 20 years with the top racing series in the United States and a nasty federal trial in which inflammatory texts he sent during contentious revenue-sharing negotiations were revealed. Phelps will leave the company at the...
Czechia beats Canada 6-4 in world junior hockey; Sweden outlasts Finland
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Tomas Poletin scored on a deflection with 1:14 left, and Czechia beat Canada, 6-4, on Sunday night to advance to face Sweden in the first all-European final in the world junior hockey tournament since 2016. Earlier, Anton Frondell scored in the eighth round of a shootout...
Tyson Fury says he is coming out of retirement in 2026
MANCHESTER, England — Tyson Fury is returning to the ring after announcing on Sunday that he will step out of retirement. The former heavyweight world champion confirmed his comeback in a post on social media, which sets up the prospect of a long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua. “2026 is that...
Anthony Joshua posts his first public update since the car crash that killed two of his friends
LONDON — Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua issued his first public update on Sunday following the car crash that killed two of his friends in Nigeria. Joshua posted a picture on his Instagram account of him sitting on a couch with his mother and three other women, one of...
Finland stuns 2-time defending champ US 4-3 in OT in world junior quarterfinals
ST. PAUL, Minn.— Arttu Valola scored at 2:11 of overtime, and Finland stunned the two-time defending champion United States, 4-3, on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarterfinals. Last year in the final in Ottawa, Ontario, the Americans beat the Finns, 4-3, in overtime. “Got to give credit to...
Kotelnicki returns to Kansas as associate head coach after stint as Penn State offensive coordinator
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Andy Kotelnicki will return to Kansas as associate head coach after not being retained as offensive coordinator at Penn State, Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold announced Friday. Kotelnicki and Leipold have worked together a combined 11 years at Kansas, Buffalo and Division III UW-Whitewater. Kotelnicki was Kansas’ offensive...
Seven Fields native Ava McNaughton picked for U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team; Hilary Knight to make 5th Olympics appearance
Hilary Knight is set to make her fifth Olympic appearance, and this time lead a younger, faster U.S. women’s national team that’s favored to win gold at the Milan Cortina Winter Games next month. The 36-year-old Knight headlines the list as USA Hockey released its 23-player Olympic women’s roster on...
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic hyperextends left knee, will be evaluated in 4 weeks
MIAMI — Nikola Jokic is only going to miss a few weeks, which is surely cause for the Denver Nuggets to take a giant sigh of relief. The Nuggets’ superstar center has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, the team said Tuesday, adding that the three-time MVP will be...
Father of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin dies after house fire, mother critically injured
RALEIGH, N.C. — The father of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin died and his mother was critically injured after a weekend fire heavily damaged the North Carolina home where they lived, officials said Monday. Firefighters arrived Sunday night at a two-story home near Stanley that was mostly engulfed in fire, with...
Tiger Woods turns 50. It’s the one time golf’s greats can relate to him
Talk to any golfer who played against Tiger Woods and there is sure to be at least one story about one shot so sublime they were certain it could not be hit by them or anyone else. He was just different. Better. The 2-iron Woods hit into the par-5 10th...
Mikaela Shiffrin keeps streak going with come-from-behind win in World Cup night slalomVideo
SEMMERING, Austria — Mikaela Shiffrin came from behind to win a World Cup night slalom in tough conditions Sunday and extend her winning streak in the discipline to six races. The American was fourth, more than half a second off the pace, in the opening session on a rapidly deteriorating...
Minnesota looks to stretch bowl winning streak to 9 when it faces New Mexico in Rate Bowl
PHOENIX — Opting out has become the in thing to do. Every year, players regularly choose not to play in bowl games, some wary of injuries affecting their pro prospects, others leaving for another school, or sitting out after a coaching change. Entire teams even opt out. Minnesota still finds...
Mikaela Shiffrin is perfect in slalom. She’s got big post-Christmas plans with Olympics approaching
Mikaela Shiffrin has plenty to celebrate this Christmas. The American skiing standout is off to a perfect start in slalom during the Olympic season — with four wins in four World Cup races. And she’s regaining her form in other disciplines, too, following the two biggest crashes of her career....
John Robertson, two-time European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest, dies at 72
NOTTINGHAM, England — John Robertson, a former Scotland winger who won the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest and scored the only goal in the 1980 final, has died. He was 72. The Premier League club said in a statement Thursday that it was “heartbroken to announce the passing of...
WNBA players union authorizes negotiators to call a strike if needed during CBA talks
NEW YORK — WNBA players have authorized their union’s executive council to call a strike if necessary, the union announced Thursday as it continues to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the league. The WNBPA and league have been negotiating a new agreement for the past few months, extending the...
Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash
STATESVILLE, N.C. — A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said. The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It...
Threat of equine virus looms over major rodeo event in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Declaring Las Vegas a “cowboy town,” dozens of riders on horseback have traditionally kicked off the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by galloping into the arena and then lining up their horses side by side as the riders tip their hats to cheers. But an equine virus outbreak...
NASCAR settles federal antitrust case, gives all teams the permanent charters they wanted
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan and NASCAR chairman Jim France stood side-by-side on the steps of a federal courthouse as if they were old friends following a stunning settlement Thursday of a bruising antitrust case in which the Basketball Hall of Famer was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit accusing...
A’ja Wilson wins AP Female Athlete of the Year following historic 4th WNBA MVP
A’ja Wilson stood atop the WNBA again in 2025, winning an unprecedented fourth MVP as her Las Vegas Aces earned a third championship in four seasons. For that, she earned The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday for the first time in her career. It’s the second...
NASCAR chairman refuses to budge on team charters in testimony during Michael Jordan’s lawsuit
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR chairman Jim France testified Tuesday in Michael Jordan’s federal antitrust lawsuit against his family that he still has not changed his mind on granting teams permanent charters, and evidence showed he entered negotiations on a new revenue-sharing agreement determined to thwart teams’ efforts for a better...
Longshot Duke beats Virginia in OT to claim 1st outright ACC championship since ’62
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke won its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1962 and threw the College Football Playoff into chaos Saturday night when Darian Mensah connected with Pine-Richland graduate Jeremiah Hasley for a 1-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play in overtime, and the unranked Blue Devils held on...
Indiana stuns Ohio State to end Big Ten title drought, stake claim to top playoff seed
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza made all the big plays Saturday night. Then his Hoosiers teammates and their fans celebrated like it was 1967. Mendoza’s neatly tucked 17-yard pass to Elijah Sarratt gave the No. 2 Hoosiers the lead they needed and the defense shut down No. 1 Ohio...
