U.S./World Sports category, Page 238
USFL relaunching next year, 4 decades after its birth
The USFL is relaunching in 2022, four decades after the spring football league’s short-lived run that featured such stars as Reggie White, Herschel Walker, Steve Young, Jim Kelly and future president Donald Trump. The new USFL announced Thursday it will play next spring with a minimum of eight teams “and...
Same strong field at Memorial gets new look for golf course
DUBLIN, Ohio — Jon Rahm was motoring to victory along the back nine of Muirfield Village last year at the Memorial, and just as compelling was the activity on the front nine. Heavy equipment was inside the ropes, ripping out huge strips of turf. Rahm returned to what tournament host...
Fox Chapel’s Skirboll, Highlands’ Bonnett ready for Olympic trials
Zoe Skirboll was among the spectators at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha, Neb., and she watched the best in the nation compete for spots on the team that competed a month later in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “It was breathtaking,” said Skirboll, an Aspinwall resident. “I had...
Japan’s vaccine push ahead of Olympics looks to be too late
TOKYO — It may be too little, too late. That’s the realization sinking in as Japan scrambles to catch up on a frustratingly slow vaccination drive less than two months before the Summer Olympics, delayed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, are scheduled to start. The Olympics risk...
Kei Nishikori grinds out another 5-set win at French Open
PARIS — Two matches. Ten sets. A total of 628 points played. Just another Grand Slam filled with five-setters for Kei Nishikori. The former U.S. Open finalist rallied past 23rd-seeded Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the third round of the French Open — after...
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski to coach next season, then give way to Jon Scheyer
Mike Krzyzewski will make a final run at a national championship with Duke. The Hall of Famer and winningest coach in the history of Division I men’s basketball announced Wednesday that next season will be his last with the Blue Devils program he has built into one of college basketball’s...
Penn State’s LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny join Reggie Bush among 1st-timers up for College Hall of Fame
Former Southern California star Reggie Bush, who had his Heisman Trophy victory in 2005 vacated for committing NCAA violations, is among the players making their first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year. The National Football Foundation announced on Wednesday the players and coaches eligible for...
Brad Stevens replacing Danny Ainge as team president in Celtics shakeup
BOSTON — Danny Ainge, who helped bring two NBA titles to Boston as a player and another as the team’s basketball boss, stepped down from the Celtics front office just hours after they were eliminated from the postseason, and coach Brad Stevens is giving up his job on the bench...
Medina Spirit drug test confirmed; Bob Baffert suspended 2 years
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert is on track to have his record seventh Kentucky Derby victory taken away and won’t be able to run any horses in the prestigious race for the next two years. Churchill Downs on Wednesday suspended the Hall of Fame trainer for two years after an...
This date in sports history: June 2Video
1896 — Hastings, ridden by H. Griffin, edges Handspring by a neck to capture the Belmont Stakes. 1908 — Royal Tourist, ridden by Eddie Dugan, posts a four-length victory over Live Wire in the Preakness Stakes. 1909 — Joe Madden, ridden by Eddie Dugan, wins the Belmont Stakes by eight...
Grand Slam leaders pledge to address Naomi Osaka’s concernsVideo
The leaders of the four Grand Slam tournaments reacted Tuesday to tennis star Naomi Osaka’s stunning withdrawal from the French Open by promising to address players’ concerns about mental health. The pledge came in a statement signed by the same four tennis administrators who threatened the possibility of disqualification or...
Doug Ferguson: Jack Nicklaus has plenty of advice for anyone who asksVideo
DUBLIN, Ohio — Jack Nicklaus is rarely at a loss for words no matter the subject, except for those occasions when he knows as much as anyone. And then he waits. One of the topics Tuesday at his Memorial Tournament was how often players from his era would help each...
Rafael Nadal’s opponent flubs set points at French Open
PARIS — Winning a match against Rafael Nadal at the French Open is difficult, of course: He went into Tuesday with a 100-2 career record at the place. Just taking a set off the guy is nearly impossible, too. So when Alexei Popyrin twice came within a point of doing...
MLB .236 batting average though May lowest since 1968Video
NEW YORK — The major league batting average rose slightly in May, though it remained at its lowest level in 53 years. Hitters batted .239 in May, up from .232 in April and the lowest average for May since .237 in 1972, the Elias Sports Bureau said Tuesday. The .236...
Florida governor bans transgender women from school sports
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Republican governor signed a bill Tuesday barring transgender females from playing on public school teams intended for student athletes born as girls, plunging the state into the national culture war over transgender rights. “In Florida, girls are going to play girls sports and boys are going...
Mark Madden: Behavior of select NBA fans is deplorable
Fans are trickling back into the stands at American sporting events, and it’s not all good. That applies particularly at NBA games. Ja Morant’s parents were bombarded with racist language when Morant’s Memphis team played at Utah. Washington’s Russell Westbrook had popcorn dumped on him at Philadelphia. Atlanta’s Trae Young...
End of recruiting pause has football programs catching up
Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck spoke for many coaches nationwide last December when he noted he still hadn’t shaken the hands of about half the prospects who were about to sign with his program. Those days finally are coming to an end. The NCAA has lifted the recruiting dead period that has...
This Date in Sports History: June 1
1925 — Lou Gehrig bats for Pee Wee Wanninger in the eighth inning and replaces Wally Pipp at first base to start his streak of 2,130 consecutive games. 1946 — Assault, ridden by Warren Merhtens, wins the Belmont Stakes to become the seventh horse to capture the Triple Crown. 1968...
Serena says dealing with media scrutiny made her strongerVideo
Serena Williams says she can identify with anxiety regarding news conference scrutiny and has experienced it frequently after matches. “Many of them I’ve been into where I’ve been — very difficult to walk in in those moments,” she said. “But, you know, it made me stronger.” Williams made her comments...
Arkansas top seed in NCAA Tournament after dominant SEC run
OMAHA, Neb. — Arkansas was rewarded Monday for its dominant run through the Southeastern Conference, landing the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA baseball tournament. The Razorbacks (46-10) won all 10 of their SEC series and wrapped up their first conference tournament championship on Sunday. After losing three straight...
NASCAR returns to sense of normalcy at CharlotteVideo
CONCORD, N.C. — Practice, qualifying, happy fans and a Hendrick Motorsports driver winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway: It doesn’t get much more normal than that in NASCAR. “It just feels like we’re back,” car owner Rick Hendrick said Sunday night after his newest driver, Kyle Larson, won the Coca-Cola 600...
Virginia edges Maryland to repeat as NCAA lacrosse champVideo
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Matt Moore and Connor Shellenberger scored four goals apiece and goalie Alex Rode made a huge save in the final seconds, and Virginia held off previously unbeaten Maryland 17-16 Monday to win its second straight NCAA men’s lacrosse championship. The Cavaliers (14-4) won their seventh national...
4-time Slam champion Naomi Osaka pulls out of French Open
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday and wrote on Twitter that she would be taking a break from competition, a dramatic turn of events for a four-time Grand Slam champion who said she has “suffered long bouts of depression.” Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid, confirmed in an email...
Osaka: ‘Best thing’ for French Open would be her withdrawal
Naomi Osaka wrote on Twitter on Monday that “the best thing for the tournament” would be if she withdrew from the French Open, a dramatic turn of events for the four-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player. A spokeswoman for the tournament said the French Open was not...
This date in sports history: May 31Video
1927 — Detroit first baseman Johnny Neun records an unassisted triple play in the ninth inning to end the 1-0 win over the Cleveland Indians. Neun grabs a Homer Summa line drive, tags Charlie Jamieson at first and outruns Glenn Myatt to tag second. 1938 — Henry Armstrong beats Barney...
