U.S./World Sports category, Page 187
Center of attention: Karl-Anthony Towns wins All-Star 3-Point Contest
CLEVELAND — Karl-Anthony Towns gave big men everywhere something to shoot for. Minnesota’s 7-footer became the first center to win the 3-Point Shooting Contest, defeating seven guards during the NBA’s All-Star Saturday and providing a memorable moment on a night the dunk contest barely got off the ground. Towns, who...
Joaquin Niemann stays on top at Genesis as major champs can’t keep up
LOS ANGELES — Joaquin Niemann couldn’t find a fairway over the final two hours at Riviera, and it didn’t matter. He still pieced together a 3-under-par 68 to set the 54-hole record and build a three-shot lead in the Genesis Invitational. Cameron Young, the 24-year-old PGA Tour rookie, tried to...
Ex-Talbots standout Layrn Edwards back for final push at Loyola (Md.)
Former Hampton standout Laryn Edwards feared her college basketball career was over when her right knee gave out going up for a layup against Mount St. Mary’s in early December. “It was just instant pain,” said Edwards, a senior point guard for Loyola (Md.). “I didn’t know what to expect....
Joaquin Niemann breaks 36-hole record at Riviera, only leads by 2
LOS ANGELES — Joaquin Niemann was playing so well and having so much fun in the opening round at Riviera that he didn’t want to stop playing. He returned Friday morning, and nothing changed except his place in the record book. His opening-round 63 still fresh in his mind, Niemann...
Leafs, Raptors owner to discontinue fan proof of covid vaccinationVideo
TORONTO — Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment said Friday it will discontinue the proof of vaccination requirement for fans entering its venues, beginning March 1. MLSE owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, NBA’s Toronto Raptors, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts. The move follows...
Sustaining women’s hockey growth still post-Olympics issueVideo
BEIJING — Speaking less than 24 hours apart over the final two days of the women’s Olympic hockey tournament, the two captains’ messages were emphatic, emotional and similar in their desire to grow the sport. Kendall Coyne Schofield choked back tears following the United States’ gold-medal loss to Canada at...
Favored Russian men’s hockey team back in final at Olympics, now faces FinlandVideo
BEIJING — The Russians are back in the gold-medal game at the Olympics, just like they were expected to be. This run hasn’t been as dominant compared to four years ago, but they are still one victory away from winning back-to-back men’s hockey tournaments at Winter Games without NHL players....
Clemson struggling to win games year after NCAA Tournament bidVideo
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson hoped to use its run to the NCAA Tournament last year during a pandemic-impacted season as a springboard to more success. Instead, the Tigers are in the midst of a five-game losing streak — their longest since 2017 — with their chances of playing beyond next...
Column: Olympic ideal exposed as farce on sad night in ChinaVideo
BEIJING — No matter how the IOC tries to spin it, the enduring symbol of the Beijing Games — and really, the entire Olympic movement — is a sad little girl put in an untenable position by adults who have no shame. A lot of serious issues will need to...
NASCAR revs up at Daytona with new car, new teams, new look
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Brad Keselowski knew his father was losing his battle with cancer when he promised him he’d win last year’s Daytona 500. His effort ended in a fireball when Keselowski was involved in a last-lap crash while racing for the victory. “I knew he was pretty sick,...
CFP to remain 4 teams through ’25 after expansion talks fail
What started last summer with the enthusiastic unveiling of a plan for a 12-team College Football Playoff has come to a halt with the cold, hard reality that expansion will not happen until at least 2026 — if at all. The CFP is set to remain a four-team format through...
Skiing for joy, Gu wins 3rd Olympic medal — a halfpipe gold
Pure joy on the halfpipe looked like this on a sunny, windswept day at the Beijing Olympics: —It was multinational freeskiing sensation Eileen Gu learning her gold medal was secure, then falling to her knees at the top of that halfpipe, covering her mouth with her mittens and screaming “Oh...
Niemann seizes glorious day at Riviera with 63 to lead by 3Video
LOS ANGELES — Joaquin Niemann had an idea how Riviera was playing Thursday when he saw no one from the morning draw posting better than a 5-under-par 66. He hit the ball so well in the Genesis Invitational that he didn’t even bother paying attention to anyone else. When his...
Olympics drama creates uncertain future for top Russian figure skatersVideo
BEIJING — The gold medalist said she felt empty. The silver medalist pledged never to skate again. The favorite left in tears without saying a word. After one of the most dramatic nights in their sport’s history, Russia’s trio of teenage figure skating stars each enter an uncertain future. Her...
Driver Greg Biffle trying to race into Daytona 500 after 5-year NASCAR absenceVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Greg Biffle grabbed a seat on stage and flexed a bicep as he posed for pictures. He smiled, exhaled and summed up his return to Daytona International Speedway in four words: “It’s been a while.” Nearly six years, to be more precise. The former NASCAR Cup...
Michigan raises Harbaugh’s pay back to over $7 million per year
Michigan has once again made Jim Harbaugh one of the highest paid coaches in college football. Harbaugh’s reworked five-year contract with the school, obtained Thursday through a records request, runs through the 2026 season and guarantees he will make more than $7 million annually. Harbaugh’s salary starts at $7.05 million...
Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympics: 5 individual races, no medals, 3 DNFs
BEIJING — There was simply no way to predict this. Not for anyone, including Mikaela Shiffrin herself. That the American skier would go 0 for 5 in individual races at the Beijing Olympics, leaving without a medal from any and with a best showing of ninth place, was hard enough...
Anna Shcherbakova wins figure skating gold as Russian teammate Kamila Valieva, at center of doping scandal, falls short of medals podium
BEIJING — Anna Shcherbakova won a stunning gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Beijing Games on Thursday night, relying on her experience to deliver a clean performance, while Russian teammate Kamila Valieva tumbled out of the medals in a mistake-filled end to her controversial Olympics. Shcherbakova performed a...
Bubba Wallace, Kurt Busch vow to turn Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing into champs
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kurt Busch first met Michael Jordan in a board room last summer as the free-agent driver weighed his racing options. Busch was star-struck in an “awesome moment” when the 6-foot-6 NBA Hall of Famer stood and shook hands with his future 23XI Racing employee. The basketball...
Poulin leads Canada women to Olympic gold in 3-2 win over U.S.
BEIJING — Marie-Philip Poulin reminded everyone of her Captain Clutch reputation. And Canada regained its place atop the women’s hockey world. It was only fitting that Poulin delivered at a time her team needed it most by scoring twice, including her third Olympic gold-medal clinching goal, in Canada’s 3-2 win...
The meticulous path to ideal Olympic curling ice
BEIJING — Curling ice has come a long way in the 600 years since the Scottish began sliding stones across frozen lochs. A modern curling sheet like one at the Ice Cube venue in Beijing is made with ultra-purified water and maintained at a precise range of temperature and acidity....
U.S. women’s soccer coach earned 28% of men’s coach’s salary
NEW YORK — Vlatko Andonovski earned $357,597 over his first full year as U.S. women’s soccer coach, less than 28% of the $1,291,539 that went to men’s coach Gregg Berhalter. The figures were revealed in the U.S. Soccer Federation’s tax filing for the year ending on March 31, 2021, which...
Slovakia stuns U.S. in shootout, Americans out of Olympics
BEIJING — The United States is out of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics in stunning fashion after blowing a late lead. Marek Hrivik scored with 43.7 seconds left in regulation, Peter Cehlarik had the winner and Slovakia beat the U.S., 3-2, in a shootout Wednesday to knock the...
Alex Hall leads gold, silver U.S. finish in Olympic ski slopestyle eventVideo
ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Freestyler skier Alex Hall led a 1-2 American finish in the men’s Olympic slopestyle competition on Wednesday with a trick on his first run where he stopped his rotation midair and turned in the other direction before softly landing. Hall’s opening run drew a score of 90.01,...
Slowed by hamstring, James Harden to make 76ers debut Feb 25Video
CAMDEN, N.J. — James Harden has an MVP and several scoring titles on his mantle — and now he’s ready to add a championship trophy. Harden was introduced by the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday after last week’s blockbuster trade that sent disgruntled guard Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets. Asked...
