U.S./World Sports category, Page 200
Derby winner Medina Spirit collapses, dies in California
Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit collapsed and died after a workout Monday at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old colt trained by Bob Baffert had just completed five furlongs in his second workout since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic a month ago at Del Mar, according to Craig Robertson, Baffert’s...
Analysis: What if 12-team College Football Playoff was here?
IRVING, Texas — A fun thing to do this season has to been ponder how the College Football Playoff race would have played out if expansion to 12 teams had already happened. The CFP selection committee set the four-team field on Sunday, matching top-seeded Alabama against No. 4 Cincinnati in...
Oklahoma hires Clemson’s Brent Venables to replace Lincoln RileyVideo
Oklahoma hired Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables as its coach to replace Lincoln Riley on Sunday night, bringing back a former Sooners assistant with a long track record of success. Venables will be introduced Monday morning on the campus in Norman, the school said. The 50-year-old Venables was on Oklahoma’s...
Hovland rallies to win from 6 back and deny Morikawa No. 1Video
NASSAU, Bahamas — The 24-year-old rising star put a nice ribbon on a three-win year in golf by posing with Tiger Woods at the trophy presentation Sunday in the Hero World Challenge. It just wasn’t the winner anyone imagined. Not even Viktor Hovland thought it was realistic he could rally...
Lewis Hamilton’s win takes thrilling F1 season to final showdownVideo
The increasingly tense Formula One title fight between defending champion Lewis Hamilton and his formidable challenger, Max Verstappen, will head to the last race of the season with the fierce rivals level on points. Next weekend’s Abu Dhabi showdown will see Hamilton crowned for a record eighth time — or...
College Football Playoff set: Alabama vs. Cincinnati, Michigan vs. Georgia
IRVING, Texas — As college football’s postseason evolved from disconnected bowls to the BCS to the current four-team playoff, it never truly embraced the underdog the way the NCAA Tournament does. From Tulane to Utah, Boise State to TCU and then UCF, the upstarts occasionally got a chance to play...
AP Top 25: Alabama reclaims No. 1; Georgia slips to No. 3
Alabama will head into the postseason the same way it started the regular season: No. 1 in the nation. The Crimson Tide reclaimed the top spot in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday after beating previously top-ranked Georgia. Defending national champion Alabama, which was No. 1 for the...
No. 2 Michigan takes Big Ten in rout, makes playoff pitch
INDIANAPOLIS — Hassan Haskins ran for two second-half touchdowns and broke a school record while running back Donavan Edwards threw a 75-yard TD pass to help No. 2 Michigan capture its first Big Ten title in 17 years and a probable playoff berth with a 42-3 rout Saturday over No....
Utah State routs No. 19 San Diego State, wins Mountain WestVideo
CARSON, Calif. — Brandon Bowling caught two touchdown passes from Logan Bonner during the decisive third quarter, and Utah State won its first Mountain West Conference title with a 46-13 rout of No. 19 San Diego State on Saturday. Bonner passed for 318 yards and four TDs, and fellow Arkansas...
No. 3 Cincinnati claims AAC crown, possible playoff spotVideo
CINCINNATI — Jerome Ford rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes as No. 3 Cincinnati broke open a close game in the third quarter and rolled past No. 16 Houston, 35-20, in the American Athletic Conference championship game Saturday. The Bearcats who are...
No. 20 La.-Lafayette tops Appalachian State for Sun Belt titleVideo
LAFAYETTE, La. — Levi Lewis scored on a career-high 56-yard run and passed for another touchdown, and No. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette capped soon-to-be Florida coach Billy Napier’s time with the Ragin’ Cajuns by defeating Appalachian State, 24-16, on Saturday in the Sun Belt Conference championship game. Emani Baily rushed for 117...
Playoff bound: Alabama rolls No. 1 Georgia for SEC titleVideo
ATLANTA — Bryce Young stunningly carved up the nation’s top-rated defense, giving Nick Saban and Alabama a shot at another national championship. Young threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide rolled over No. 1 Georgia, 41-24, in the SEC championship game Saturday, a result...
Morikawa pulls away in Bahamas, takes big step toward No. 1Video
NASSAU, Bahamas — Tiger Woods joined the broadcast booth for his Hero World Challenge, and what he saw from Collin Morikawa must have looked familiar. Morikawa carved up Albany Golf Club to build a five-shot lead Saturday over Brooks Koepka, and too many pursuers faded from contention with a series...
Big 12 commissioner: CFP expansion for 2024 ‘in some jeopardy’
ARLINGTON, Texas — Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby says expanding the College Football Playoff as soon as the 2024 season is “in some jeopardy” if an agreement on a new format cannot be reached soon. Speaking Saturday to reporters before the Big 12 championship game between No. 5 Oklahoma State...
Northern Illinois wins MAC championship over Kent St.Video
DETROIT — Quarterback Rocky Lombardi ran for three touchdowns, and Jay Ducker ran for 146 yards on 29 carries to power Northern Illinois to a 41-23 victory over Kent State in the Mid-American Conference title game Saturday. It is the Huskies’ (9-4) sixth MAC title in the last 11 years...
Baylor holds on for Big 12 title, knocks Oklahoma State out of CFPVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — Dezmon Jackson came up inches short on a desperate, fourth-down dive with 24 seconds left, and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State fell to ninth-ranked Baylor, 21-16, in the Big 12 championship game Saturday, knocking the Cowboys out of contention for a playoff spot. Blake Shapen threw three TDs while...
Akron hires Penn Hills native Joe Moorhead as head football coach
AKRON — Akron hired Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as head coach on Saturday, bringing back a former assistant for the Zips to take over a struggling program. Moorhead, a Penn Hills native, has been a head coach at Mississippi State (14-12 in two seasons) and FCS Fordham (38-13 in...
No. 14 Utah beats No. 10 Oregon for 1st Rose Bowl bid
LAS VEGAS — As the Utah players celebrated the Pac-12 championship surrounded by roses and confetti, the memories of two teammates who couldn’t share in the moment was paramount. The past year marked by tragedy following the deaths of Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe will end with the long-coveted Rose...
This date in sports history: Dec. 4
1945 — “Mr. Inside” Doc Blanchard of Army becomes the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy. Blanchard also becomes the only athlete to win both the Heisman and Sullivan Award. 1951 — Princeton triple-threat tailback Richard Kazmaier wins the Heisman Trophy. Kazmaier led the nation in total offense and...
Maryland, men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon part ways 8 games into seasonVideo
Mark Turgeon’s tenure at Maryland is over, less than a month after the start of his 11th season at the helm. Again, the Terrapins were struggling to reach their potential — although the abrupt change still came with a jolt, just eight games into the 2021-22 campaign. “After a series...
DeChambeau leads Hero World Challenge, which is shaping up to be more than just a holiday eventVideo
NASSAU, Bahamas — This holiday event in the Bahamas is taking on a little more meaning for Bryson DeChambeau, seeking a small measure of revenge, and for Collin Morikawa, pursuing a more noble goal of reaching No. 1 in the world. One week after getting whipped by Brooks Koepka in...
Notre Dame promotes Marcus Freeman, 35, to replace Brian Kelly as coach
Notre Dame promoted defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to head coach of the Fighting Irish on Friday to replace Brian Kelly. Freeman, 35, takes over less than a week after Kelly’s surprising and abrupt departure for LSU with the Irish still in contention for the College Football Playoff spot. Kelly hired...
Rory McIlroy part of 3-way tie for lead in Hero World ChallengeVideo
NASSAU, Bahamas — Rory McIlroy has gone from tears at the Ryder Cup to some of his best golf of the year, and right now his only complaint is the calendar. “I wish it was the end of March,” McIlroy said Thursday after a 6-under-par 66 to share the lead...
Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall stepping down after bowl gameVideo
Bronco Mendenhall said the thought that it was time to do something else first came to him the day after his team’s dispiriting loss to Virginia Tech. In the ensuing days, Virginia’s coach considered other solutions, but as the week progressed he felt more clarity. He announced Thursday he’s stepping...
Iowa vs. Michigan is the Big Ten title game almost no one expectedVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa opened this season as the trendy pick to finish second in the Big Ten West. Michigan was unranked in the preseason poll and wasn’t even supposed to contend for the East Division title. So much for predictions. Two of the conference’s traditional powers will play Saturday in...
