U.S./World Sports category, Page 116
Kentucky Derby races on amid 7th death, scratched favorite
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A star-crossed Kentucky Derby lost its early favorite when Forte was scratched and two more horses died, making it seven in all, at Churchill Downs earlier Saturday, further blows to a sport already reeling from a series of doping suspensions and breakdowns. “This is part of racing...
Early Kentucky Derby favorite Forte scratched from race
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The early favorite for the Kentucky Derby was scratched Saturday hours before the race. Forte was declared out of the 149th Derby, according to Churchill Downs spokesman Darren Rogers. Co-owner Mike Repole said Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarians had concerns about a bruised right front foot. It...
19 horses to tangle in wide-open 149th Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The cast of characters for the 149th Kentucky Derby was rewritten in the days before the race. What didn’t change: Forte is the early 3-1 favorite Saturday in a seemingly wide-open field of 19 horses. Four horses were scratched — Practical Move, Lord Miles, Continuar and Skinner...
Former Michigan star Hunter Dickinson will transfer to Kansas
Former Michigan center Hunter Dickinson, a 7-foot-1, 260-pound two-time first-team all-Big Ten selection, referred to by Mlive.com as the “most accomplished player ever to enter college basketball’s transfer portal,” has decided to transfer to Kansas, he announced Thursday morning via video on his Twitter account. Dickinson, who entered his name...
Rory McIlroy shoots 68 in return; Tommy Fleetwood leads Quail Hollow
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A little time away from golf paid off for birthday boy Rory McIlroy. The world’s third-ranked player shot a 3-under-par 68 at the Wells Fargo Championship on Thursday in his first tournament since missing the cut at the Masters, leaving him three shots behind first-round leader Tommy...
Alabama fires baseball coach after report of suspicious bets
Alabama fired baseball coach Brad Bohannon on Thursday after a report of suspicious bets involving his team, with the school saying he violated “the standards, duties and responsibilities expected of university employees.” No details were disclosed on why Bohannon was let go after five years on the job, but the...
Bucks fire Mike Budenholzer as coach after early playoff exit
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks fired coach Mike Budenholzer just over a week after their stunning first-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat spoiled a season in which they owned the NBA’s best record. Budenholzer’s ouster comes two years after he directed the Bucks to their first NBA title in...
Churchill Downs investigates 4 horse deaths ahead of Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Churchill Downs suspended trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. indefinitely, and Lord Miles, who is trained by Joseph, was scratched from the Kentucky Derby on Thursday, days after the sudden death of two of his horses at the track. The suspension prohibits Joseph, or any trainer directly or indirectly...
Brittney Griner back to work on, off court after whirlwind tripsVideo
PHOENIX — Brittney Griner caught a flight to Washington, D.C., to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, landed back at Phoenix around 4 a.m. and was up five hours later for the start of training camp. After going through her first workout with the Phoenix Mercury, she hopped on...
U.S. sprinter, Olympic medalist Tori Bowie dies at 32
Tori Bowie, the sprinter who won three Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, has died. She was 32. Bowie’s death was announced Wednesday by her management company and USA Track and Field. No cause of death was given. “USATF is deeply saddened by the passing of Tori...
Reports: Lionel Messi set to leave PSG at end of seasonVideo
Lionel Messi is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain when his contract expires at the end of the season after two years with the French club, according to multiple reports Wednesday. Reports said Messi’s departure was a mutual decision, with his contract effectively allowed to run down since January. The news...
Triple Crown winner Secretariat still dominant 50 years later
Secretariat had an unusually large heart, an engine that propelled him to a Triple Crown sweep 50 years ago. The colt nicknamed Big Red remains the heartbeat of an industry that has yet to see such dominance on and off the track replicated. His name recognition, even among those who...
76ers’ Joel Embiid wins MVP for 1st timeVideo
Philadelphia 76ers center and league scoring champion Joel Embiid earned his first NBA MVP trophy Tuesday night, topping two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. The 29-year-old from Yaounde, Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points to win his second straight scoring title, averaged 10.2 rebounds and tied a career high with...
Central Pa. thoroughbred horse is a Kentucky Derby contender
The Kentucky Derby, the most celebrated horse race in America, usually is won by thoroughbreds who were born and raised in the Blue Grass state. In its 148 years, 107 winners of the Triple Crown’s first jewel were bred in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It’s about pride for the industry’s...
FIFA warns Europe of Women’s World Cup broadcast blackout
GENEVA — Publicly criticizing broadcasters for offering too little to screen the Women’s World Cup has not worked out yet for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is now threatening a blackout in major European markets. A public standoff that started last October was intensified by Infantino late Monday when he...
Martin Truex Jr. wins NASCAR race at Dover for 3rd time on a Monday
DOVER, Del. — Martin Truex Jr. mastered the Monster Mile on a Monday for the third time in his career, and the former NASCAR champion snapped a 54-race winless streak overall in the Cup Series at Dover Motor Speedway. Thanks to a race postponed a day because of rain, it...
Forte is 3-1 favorite for Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Todd Pletcher-trained colt Forte and Brad Cox’s filly Wet Paint are the morning line favorites, respectively, for the 149th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Forte, the 2-year-old champion whose 190 points led the Derby qualifying trail, drew the No. 15 post at 3-1 odds...
Suns-Nuggets NBA Playoffs spread play, 76ers-Celtics total: Best bets for May 1
BY SPENCER URQUHART | Home Field Sports Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer. Here are...
Springdale grad Sean Dugan putting his stamp on outside linebackers as Austin Peay assistant
Sean Dugan’s football playing days ended only six years ago, but in that short time, the college football landscape has experienced a seismic shift. The creation of name, image and likeness opportunities; the transfer portal; and shifting conference memberships have coalesced to produce an environment that is as head-scratching as...
NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover rained out, moved to Monday
DOVER, Del. — Chase Elliott missed so many races because of a broken leg that NASCAR’s most popular driver likely needs to win one just to make the playoffs. How does a repeat rainout victory at the Monster Mile sound? Elliott picked up the win on a Monday last season...
Larson: Aftermath of violent Talladega wreck ‘unsettling’
DOVER, Del.— Kyle Larson has survived near-death experiences on the track in all kinds of racing series. Even by those harrowing standards, the 2021 NASCAR champion still found the aftermath of the full-contact hit from Ryan Preece last week at Talladega “unsettling.” It twisted and busted the support bars in...
IndyCar banking on new docuseries to boost interest
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The first episode of “100 Days to Indy” featured a behind the scenes look at the IndyCar series and its personalities, and even a shirtless Josef Newgarden. It’s meant to lure in new fans, after all. “They made sure that Josef Newgarden was shirtless for the first...
NBA playoffs clincher and digging deep for an MLB pick: Best Bets for April 28
BY ZACH EWING | Home Field Sports Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer. Here are...
Hawks’ Dejounte Murray remorseful for ref bump, says history a factorVideo
BOSTON — Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray expressed remorse Tuesday for the one-game suspension he received for bumping and verbally abusing an official — a suspension that’ll happen Tuesday night, when his team could be eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. Murray said at the team’s morning shootaround...
Notre Dame QB Tyler Buchner says he will explore transfer options
Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner said Tuesday he will enter his name in the transfer portal, but did not rule out remaining with the Fighting Irish. Buchner posted on Twitter that he loves Notre Dame, but decided to explore other options after competing with Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman for...
