U.S./World Sports category, Page 167
French Open: No. 1 Iga Swiatek enters on 28-match winning streak
PARIS — Here’s one measure of just how dominant Iga Swiatek has been as the French Open begins Sunday: The 28-match winning streak accumulated by the new No. 1 in the WTA rankings has been surpassed by only three women since 2000 — Venus Williams (35 in 2000), Serena Williams...
Tiger Woods plays through pain, makes another major cut at PGA
TULSA, Okla. — Tiger Woods clenched his jaw when the pain hit. He limped, occasionally used a driver like a cane, and pushed his rebuilt right leg over and through the hills and swales of Southern Hills on Friday with a singular mission: to get to the weekend at the...
Not much wind and a lot of Will as Zalatoris leads at PGA Championship
TULSA, Okla. — The wind finally relented Friday in the PGA Championship. Will Zalatoris never did. From the fairway or the rough, Zalatoris kept hitting the golf ball on the button at Southern Hills and took advantage of gentler conditions late in the afternoon for a 5-under-par 65, giving him...
Paul Newberry: A wildly entertaining spat between 2 college coaching starsVideo
Why did they wait so long to allow college athletes to make a few bucks on the side? Think of all the wildly entertaining shenanigans we’ve missed out on over the years. Let’s play the feud! Jimbo Fisher is downright livid at former boss Nick Saban for saying the Texas...
Analysis: With Jordan Addison on campus, pressure to win will build on highly paid USC coach Lincoln Riley
The Jordan Addison conversation won’t go away anytime soon (sorry to be the bearer of bad news), but it’s become clear why USC coach Lincoln Riley was so intent on adding the Biletnikoff winner to his already loaded wide receiver group. He needs to win — and win now. The...
Speeds hit 243 mph as weather disrupts Indy 500 prepVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — First came the wind — 41 mph gusts that created some of the most challenging conditions in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history — and the rain was expected to follow. It put IndyCar on its heels on “Fast Friday” as race officials scrambled to save qualifying for the Indianapolis...
Runner-up Brad Keselowski in different spot for NASCAR All-Star
FORT WORTH, Texas — Brad Keselowski was the runner-up in the NASCAR All-Star race at Texas last year and has led more laps on the 1 1/2-mile track than anyone who never has won here. Keselowski is in a much different position going into Sunday night’s All-Star race, the non-points...
Naomi Osaka at French Open news conference: ‘I think I’m OK’
PARIS — Naomi Osaka cracked jokes at Roland Garros on Friday — and, yes, laughed at those jokes. She smiled after some reporters’ questions. She paused to contemplate, as is her wont, before offering answers. All of which seemed to confirm this assessment that she offered during an 18-minute pre-tournament...
Near-record heat for Preakness another test for Epicenter
BALTIMORE — Epicenter lost the Kentucky Derby because of a hot pace. Now he’ll face hot temperatures in the Preakness. Two weeks after getting passed by 80-1 long shot Rich Strike just before the finish line at the Derby, Epicenter goes into Saturday’s Preakness as the favorite and clearly the...
Aston Martin cleared of suspicion it copied Red Bull design
MONTMELÓ, Spain — Formula One team Aston Martin was cleared of suspicion that it had broken competition rules by allegedly copying a design from a Red Bull car, FIA said Friday. The governing body for F1 said an investigation had concluded that Aston Martin had not reverse engineered parts of...
McIlroy seizes early lead at PGA Championship; Woods strugglesVideo
TULSA, Okla. — Rory McIlroy was more interested in his own history in the majors than the peculiar heritage at Southern Hills on Thursday at the PGA Championship. Southern Hills has proven to be favorable to frontrunners. As for McIlroy, he has failed to break par in the opening round...
A happier Andretti returns to Indy 500 as part-time racerVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Marco Andretti doesn’t want to be at the track if he’s not racing. He’ll watch on television, though, and offer advice from 650 miles away. Andretti was at home in Nazareth, Pa., watching Andretti Autosport race the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week when he had...
Tiger trouble: Woods winces way through opening 74 at PGAVideo
TULSA, Okla. — By the time Tiger Woods walked toward the fifth tee box Thursday, the hot start to his return to the PGA Championship had turned cold, and what quickly was becoming a steamy day at Southern Hills also had become an agonizing grind. Two early birdies that had...
SEC spat: Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban exchange accusations over NIL deals
The Southeastern Conference spring meetings will be held in person for the time since 2019 in a little less than two weeks. It is unlikely two of the league’s superstar coaches will be chumming around Destin, Florida, together. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher called Nick Saban a “narcissist” on Thursday...
Female referees to officiate men’s World Cup for 1st time
GENEVA — Female referees will make World Cup history this year by working games at a major men’s tournament for the first time in Qatar. Three female referees and three female assistant referees were announced Thursday by FIFA among 129 officials selected for World Cup duty, including one man who...
Another Triple Crown long shot? Fenwick is 50-1 in Preakness
BALTIMORE — Rich Strike winning the Kentucky Derby at 80-1 may not be the only big upset this Triple Crown season. Not if Fenwick has anything to do about it. Two weeks after Rich Strike became the second-biggest long shot to win the Derby, Fenwick could join him in the...
Bryson DeChambeau withdraws from PGA after testing repaired wristVideo
TULSA, Okla. — Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the PGA Championship on Wednesday after practicing for two days at Southern Hills to test his surgically repaired left wrist. The former U.S. Open champion practiced with a wrap that extended several inches up his left forearm. He tweeted Tuesday it had “held...
Pac-12 scraps divisions moments after NCAA paves way; Big Ten, SEC, ACC considering changesVideo
Moments after the NCAA Division I Council tossed out requirements that dictate how football conferences can determine a champion, the Pac-12 announced Wednesday was scrapping its divisional format for the coming season. The Pac-12 now will match the teams with the highest conference winning percentages in its title game after...
Black club pro hopes to thrive, inspire at PGA ChampionshipVideo
TULSA, Okla. — The numbers are not in his favor at Southern Hills, which is nothing Wyatt Worthington II hasn’t faced before. Worthington, who spends his working hours giving lessons at The Golf Depot in central Ohio, is among the 20 club professionals who qualified for the PGA Championship. In...
Spieth among PGA favorites in quest for career Grand SlamVideo
TULSA, Okla. — Not long ago, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Jordan Spieth would capture golf’s career Grand Slam. Even more recently, it seemed as if he might never contend again. After scorching a Tiger-esque path through his first three years as a pro, including triumphs at the Masters...
Raise makes Ohio State’s Day one of highest-paid coaches
Ohio State is hiking Ryan Day’s annual salary to $9.5 million as part of a two-year contract extension that will put him among the nation’s highest-paid college football coaches. Day’s raise makes him the latest coach to crack $9 million per year, making him one of the highest-paid coaches along...
Restored to glory, Southern Hills ready for PGA showcase
TULSA, Okla. — Matt Kuchar was flopping shots out of the rough during his practice round at Southern Hills on Tuesday when he chunked one so fat that it came up several yards short of the hole, teetering precariously on the edge of the green. “Knock that back to me,”...
U.S. Soccer equalizes pay in milestone with women, men
The U.S. Soccer Federation reached milestone agreements to pay its men’s and women’s teams equally, making the American national governing body the first in the sport to promise both sexes matching money. The federation announced separate collective bargaining agreements through December 2028 with the unions for both national teams on...
Magic Moment: Orlando wins NBA draft lottery, lands No. 1 pickVideo
CHICAGO — The Orlando Magic won the NBA draft lottery Tuesday night and landed the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since they got Dwight Howard in 2004. It’s the fourth time lottery luck struck for the Magic, who won in back-to-back years in 1992 and 1993, taking...
Column: Best to never win major label starting much earlierVideo
TULSA, Okla. — Jerry Barber holds a distinct place in history at the PGA Championship. He was 45 when he won an 18-hole playoff at Olympia Fields to become the oldest first-time winner of a major. Viktor Hovland already is being asked about winning his first major. He’s 24. One...
