U.S./World Sports category, Page 208
18 ex-NBA players charged in $4M health care fraud scheme
NEW YORK — Eighteen former NBA players were charged Thursday with pocketing about $2.5 million illegally by defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan in a scam that authorities said involved claiming fictitious medical and dental expenses. “The defendants’ playbook involved fraud and deception,” U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss told...
IndyCar rookies Jimmie Johnson, Romain Grosjean take first laps on Indy’s famed ovalVideo
Jimmie Johnson’s “childhood dream came true” Wednesday when he drove an Indy car on the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for the first time. Next up the Indianapolis 500? Not quite yet. “I’m as close as I’ve ever been,” Johnson said. “The racer in me is taking a real serious...
QB, line questions haunt No. 14 Notre Dame ahead of game at Virginia TechVideo
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Coach Brian Kelly knows who No. 14 Notre Dame’s starting quarterback is and he doesn’t plan to reveal it before Saturday’s game at Virginia Tech. “We know exactly who it is,” Kelly said Monday. “We’re going to have one guy, and we’re going to let him...
Pacers sign former Pitt star Brad Wanamaker to dealVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers signed former Pitt star Brad Wanamaker to a training camp deal Wednesday. The 32-year-old guard split his time with Golden State and Charlotte last season with combined averages of 5.5 points, 2.9 assists and 1.7 rebounds. Wanamaker played for Pitt from 2007-11 and was an...
Column: Tiger Woods brings it home, a quarter century laterVideo
LAS VEGAS — Davis Love III was in contention, as if anyone cared. He played before a handful of mostly silent fans who couldn’t help but notice the ruckus unfolding a few holes ahead as Tiger Woods made his way through the back nine on what would become an historic...
Doug Ferguson: Cognizant, Aon share wealth in golf sponsorshipVideo
The 13 women who founded the LPGA Tour would have reason to be proud this week. It goes beyond the tournament named in their honor, featuring nine of the top 10 players in the women’s world ranking. It’s not just that it will be played at Mountain Ridge, a Donald...
Column: The hate follows Bubba Wallace on his biggest dayVideo
TALLADEGA, Ala. — It has been nearly 16 months since Bubba Wallace was waiting out a rainstorm in his motorhome in the Talladega Superspeedway infield when NASCAR informed its only full-time Black driver that a noose had been found in his garage stall. Wallace never saw the noose, never even...
Veteran Pau Gasol announces retirement from basketball
MADRID — Wishing his “older brother” Kobe Bryant could be there by his side, Pau Gasol finally put an end to a basketball career that went “way beyond my dreams and expectations.” Gasol announced his retirement from basketball on Tuesday after a career that lasted more than two decades and...
Milestone for Bubba Wallace as he earns 1st NASCAR victoryVideo
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Bubba Wallace became just the second Black driver to win at NASCAR’s top Cup Series level when rain stopped Monday’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. Wallace had driven through a crash and to the front of the field five laps before the second rain stoppage of the...
This date in sports history: Oct. 4Video
1895 — Horace Rawlins wins the first U.S. Open. Rawlins beats Willie Dunn with 36-hole total of 173 at the Newport Golf Club in Newport, R.I. 1927 — John Longden rides the first official winner of his career, named Hugo K. Asher, in Salt Lake City. 1940 — Fritzie Zivic...
Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins ends covid-19 vaccine holdoutVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins has received his covid-19 vaccine and will be eligible to play in all games. The Warriors said coach Steve Kerr made the announcement to reporters Sunday after practice before the team traveled to Portland to play its first preseason game. Wiggins...
Iowa up to No. 3; Clemson out of Top 25 first time since ’14
Iowa is gearing up for its biggest home game since the 1980s, Cincinnati has its highest ranking in 12 years and Clemson is on the outside looking in at The Associated Press college football poll for the first time since 2014. Alabama and Georgia are the only constants during this...
This date in sports history: Oct. 3Video
1942 — With a victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Whirlaway becomes the first horse to amass more than $500,000 in lifetime earnings. 1951 — Bobby Thomson hits a three-run homer off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give...
NASCAR charges into Talladega for unpredictable playoff race
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Denny Hamlin is already through to the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs with nothing to worry about at Talladega Superspeedway. His championship rivals? Not so much. NASCAR’s challenging second round of the playoffs — three wildly different circuits — moves Sunday to the behemoth 2.66-mile Alabama superspeedway...
This date in sports history: Oct. 2Video
1950 — Jim Hardy throws six touchdown passes, including five to Bob Shaw, as the Chicago Cardinals pound the Baltimore Colts, 55-13. 1970 — Fourteen members of the Wichita State football team are killed in a plane crash in the Rocky Mountains. 1980 — Larry Holmes registers a technical knockout...
Will Zalatoris shoots 61 to share lead at PGA’s Sanderson FarmsVideo
JACKSON, Miss. — Will Zalatoris felt like he couldn’t miss on the green and rarely did Friday in setting the course record with an 11-under-par 61 to share the lead with Nick Watney and Sahith Theegala in the Sanderson Farms Championship. Zalatoris, voted the PGA Tour rookie of the year...
AP Source: NWSL commissioner out amid scandal involving allegations of sexual harassment by former coachVideo
National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Lisa Baird is out after some 19 months on the job amid allegations a former coach engaged in sexual harassment and misconduct toward players, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of...
NCAA accuses Louisville, men’s basketball coach Chris Mack of additional allegationsVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The NCAA has amended its Notice of Allegations against Louisville, adding additional violations committed by the men’s basketball program that include impermissible activities and accusations coach Chris Mack did not promote an atmosphere for compliance. Already under review by the Independent Resolution Panel (IRP) for violations related...
This date in sports history: Oct. 1Video
1903 — The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Pilgrims, 7-3, in the first World Series game. Jimmy Sebring hits the first Series homer, Deacon Phillippe is the winning pitcher and Cy Young the loser. 1961 — Roger Maris hits his 61st home run of the season, against Tracy Stallard of...
Greg Cote: If sports had a spine, unvaccinated athletes such as Kyrie Irving wouldn’t be allowed to playVideo
MIAMI — The NBA steps into its third season affected by the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, poised to welcome back full arenas as America and sports take off the masks, replace them with blinders and pretend the public health crisis of our time is over even though all know it is...
This Date in Sports History: Sept. 30
1916 — The Boston Braves snap the 26-game winning streak of the New York Giants with an 8-3 victory in the second game of a doubleheader. 1927 — Babe Ruth hits his 60th home run of the season in the eighth inning off Tom Zachary to lead the New York...
After thrilling win, Georgia Tech believes it’s only getting startedVideo
When Georgia Tech nearly upset then-No. 6 Clemson two Saturdays ago, the possibility loomed that the Yellow Jackets might not be able to summon the same energy and focus for their next game against then-No. 21 North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets’ 45-22 throttling of the Tar Heels at Mercedes-Benz Stadium...
ACC race looks wide open amid No. 25 Clemson’s strugglesVideo
It took less than a month to dramatically change the look of the ACC race and likely knock the league out of the national-title hunt. Six-time reigning league champion and 25th-ranked Clemson has an early league loss against one of its top division challengers and two losses overall. North Carolina...
NCAA to start using ‘March Madness’ for women’s tournament
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament will start using “March Madness” in marketing and branding beginning this season. Using the phrase, which has been associated with the men’s tournament for years, was one of the recommendations stemming from an external review of gender equity issues of the tournaments. The report released...
For CFP to expand by 2024, plans need approval in 4 months
ROSEMONT, Ill. — The college sports leaders who run the College Football Playoff have about four months to come to an agreement on a new format if expansion is to be implemented for the 2024 season. If they can’t get it done by then, any change to the way major...
