U.S./World Sports category, Page 256
Bob MacIntyre battles world No. 1 Dustin Johnson to a drawVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Bob MacIntyre grew up playing the rough-and-tumble Scottish sport of shinty, and he had more than enough fight to give Dustin Johnson all he could handle Thursday in the Dell Technologies Match Play. Johnson had to rally late with an eagle and a clutch birdie to send...
Top-ranked Ash Barty overcomes match point for Miami Open win
MIAMI — Because of canceled flights, it took Ash Barty 45 hours to travel from her native Australia to Florida for a tennis tournament. Her stay at the Miami Open will be longer than that, thanks only to an improbable comeback Thursday. The top-ranked Barty rallied from a big third-set...
Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger retires after 35-year careerVideo
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger announced his retirement Thursday, ending a 35-year career that included taking five schools to the NCAA Tournament — with two of them reaching the Final Four — and more than 650 career wins. The 68-year-old Kruger led Florida to the national semifinals in...
Hornets acquire former Pitt star Brad Wanamaker from WarriorsVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets acquired guard Brad Wanamaker, a former Pitt star, from the Golden State Warriors, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday. The teams exchanged heavily protected future second-round picks, according to the person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because...
Trade deadline passes, Kyle Lowry remains with RaptorsVideo
Kyle Lowry stayed with the Toronto Raptors, and the Miami Heat got Victor Oladipo instead. And on a trade deadline day where moves were getting made right up until the last possible moment, the Denver Nuggets took a big swing at getting better for a playoff run while the Orlando...
U.S. beats Jamaica in exhibition in AustriaVideo
Sergiño Dest scored his first international goal with a spectacular 25-yard shot, Sebastian Lletget added a pair of second-half goals and the United States beat Jamaica 4-1 in an exhibition Thursday night at Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Brenden Aaronson scored for the U.S. in the 53rd minute. Jamal Lowe got Jamaica’s...
NCAA hires law firm to evaluate potential equity issues
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA is hiring a law firm to review potential equity gender issues related to how it conducts its men’s and women’s championship events. The NCAA has been criticized the past two weeks for not providing equal amenities to the teams in the men’s and women’s Division I...
Few Black women coaches lead Power Five basketball programs
Dawn Staley and Joni Taylor embraced before and after the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship, savoring a historic moment in women’s basketball. It took 41 years for two Black women head coaches to meet in a tournament championship of a Power Five conference. For it to happen quicker was statistically improbable...
How did your March Madness bracket get busted? One coach explains the path to all those upsets
Is your March Madness bracket busted? Yeah. Mine, too. Whose isn’t? If ever there was a year to “expect the unexpected” in the NCAA tournament, this is it. After all, with the odd circumstances affecting almost every conference — and nearly every team that qualified for the tournament — it...
This date in sports history: March 25Video
1934 — Horton Smith wins the first Masters golf tournament by one stroke over Craig Wood. 1947 — Holy Cross, led by George Kaftan, beats Oklahoma, 58-47, in the NCAA basketball championship. 1958 — Sugar Ray Robinson regains the middleweight title for a record fifth time with a 15-round decision...
Match Play championship brings out emotions, upsetsVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay thrust their fists in celebration with birdies on the final hole to win, the kind of emotions typical for a final round. In the Dell Technologies Match Play, every day can feel like Sunday. The opening round of group play Wednesday featured...
Experience still matters to teams in NCAA Sweet 16Video
Michigan’s second-round game against LSU was intense from the start. Up and down the court the teams went, trading runs and momentum swings with the season on the line. One player for the Wolverines seemed calm and steady: guard Eli Brooks. “I think just all the amount of reps we...
Syracuse stay defenders of the zone as other NCAA powers man upVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — It had been nearly a decade since West Virginia coach Bob Huggins had to draw up a game plan to beat the infuriating zone defense run by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, going all the way back to their time together in the old Big East. The job hasn’t...
Betting sites offer software blocks for compulsive gamblers
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Some sports betting companies are offering tools that allow compulsive gamblers to block themselves from most online sites. Unibet last week announced it was making software from U.K.-based Gamban available to customers in the U.S. The tools allow customers to in effect ban themselves from gambling...
Ohio State player E.J. Liddell speaks out about social-media abuse
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State star E.J. Liddell says he’ll continue speaking out against social-media users who direct racist, abusive and threatening messages at him and other athletes. Liddell was rattled by a social-media rant directed at him after the Buckeyes were upset by Oral Roberts in the first round...
Big Ten alters attendance policy to reflect local guidelines, restrictions on coronavirus mitigation
The Big Ten announced Wednesday it will allow schools to host fans at games in accordance with local health guidelines and restrictions for the rest of the 2020-21 regular season. The policy is effective immediately, and it also covers spring football games. Previously, Big Ten competitions were closed to the...
Analysis: More madness likely in NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16
INDIANAPOLIS — Your bracket is shot. We know it. Ours is, too. A year after the NCAA Tournament was canceled, the madness returned with an opening weekend full of upsets. No. 1 seed Illinois, gone. So is Ohio State. High seeds Texas and Virginia also are out, replaced by upstarts...
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter receives new ban from FIFA
GENEVA — Sepp Blatter was banned for a second time by FIFA on Wednesday for financial wrongdoing, seven months before the 85-year-old former president’s first ban expires. Blatter has recently been in poor health and was put in an induced coma for one week after undergoing heart surgery in December,...
Drew Timme’s time is now as key to Gonzaga’s bid for perfection
INDIANAPOLIS — He was already enjoying a terrific season, and now Drew Timme is one of the stars of March after two games of the NCAA Tournament. His game? It’s pretty good, as evidenced by what he did in Gonzaga’s second-round victory over Oklahoma, helping keep the top-seeded Bulldogs unblemished...
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, UConn’s Paige Bueckers dominating women’s tourney
SAN ANTONIO — Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark seem to be playing a personal game of horse on the national stage. After one delivers a highlight-filled performance, the other has a top-this moment. The captivating basketball exploits by the heralded freshmen have created a buzz around the women’s NCAA Tournament,...
This date in sports history: March 24
1936 — Detroit’s Mud Bruneteau ends the longest game in NHL history with a goal after 116 minutes and 30 seconds (six overtimes) to edge the Montreal Maroons, 1-0, in the semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. 1941 — Long Island University wins the NIT championship with a 56-42 victory...
Shawnee State wins program’s first NAIA Tournament title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — James Jones had 27 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and Shawnee State (Ohio) claimed the program’s first NAIA Tournament championship with a 74-68 victory over Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Tuesday night. Shawnee State (31-2), a No. 5 seed, won its...
Jordan Spieth rounding into form for fickle week of Match Play
AUSTIN, Texas — As much golf as Jordan Spieth likes to play, it took as much discipline as he could muster to not play at all. When he left the Masters on Nov. 15, the only two rounds of golf he played were of the recreational variety. One was a...
Preakness to run in front of 10,000 fans in May
The Preakness will be run in front of a limited capacity of 10,000 fans May 15 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Organizers of the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown announced the decision Tuesday. Churchill Downs has said it expects the Kentucky Derby to be run in front...
NCAA President Mark Emmert agrees to meet protesting players after March Madness
The National College Players Association said Tuesday that NCAA President Mark Emmert has informed a group of basketball players who started a social media campaign to protest inequities in college sports that he will meet with them after March Madness. NCPA executive director Ramogi Huma said in a statement he...
