U.S./World Sports category, Page 3
Former Grizzlies guard Tony Allen arrested on drug charges
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Former Memphis Grizzlies defensive stalwart Tony Allen, a mainstay from the team’s Core Four success era, was arrested on drug charges in Poinsett County, Ark., on Wednesday. Allen, 43, faces two charges of drug possession. A car, driven by William Hatton, 33, of Memphis, was stopped on...
Victor Conte, who sold undetectable steroids to elite athletes in baseball and track, has died at 75
Victor Conte, the architect of a scheme to provide undetectable performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes including baseball stars Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and Olympic track champion Marion Jones decades ago, has died. He was 75. Conte died Monday, SNAC System, a sports nutrition company he founded, said in a...
Kyle Larson wins second NASCAR championship, denying Denny Hamlin in overtime
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Larson knew he wasn’t going to catch Denny Hamlin in the final laps on Sunday, not without the sort of help that only a caution flag can bring. Larson got his lucky break. Hamlin only got heartbreak. Larson is now a two-time NASCAR champion after denying...
Hamlin in search of elusive NASCAR Cup Series title as he prepares for Championship 4 race at Phoeniz
Five out of nine. That’s how many times Denny Hamlin has had mechanical problems in the playoffs, and if there is ever a time not to have problems under the hood, it is Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. The Championship 4 travels...
How a ‘betfluencer’ from Washington, Pa., wound up at the center of an NBA gambling scandal
PHILADELPHIA — On the green felt of a Bellagio baccarat table, Shane “Sugar” Hennen flaunted $3,125 in winnings from a Pittsburgh Pirates game in June 2014. It was a drop in the bucket for Las Vegas moneylines. But on Instagram, Hennen called it “#2dayswork.” He was burnishing his brand as...
Lindsey Vonn never doubted herself in comeback as she vies for Olympic returnVideo
NEW YORK — Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic comeback story kicks into high gear this week as Wednesday marks 100 days until the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, but the American skiing great said she was staying cool under the glare of the spotlight. The 41-year-old fan favorite announced her retirement in...
U.S. athletes ‘conscious’ of American image at 2026 Winter Olympics
NEW YORK-U.S. athletes are preparing for anti-American feeling ahead of the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) leaders said on Tuesday, a little over three months before next year’s global event. U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime and other policies, including strict travel bans, have sparked...
Byron secures spot in NASCAR’s Championship 4 with victory at Martinsville
William Byron beat Ryan Blaney in an 11-lap dash and won the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, putting him in the field with teammate Kyle Larson for next weekend’s championship race after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 finale in Martinsville, Va. With Blaney leading and the pair charging...
Memphis returns to AP Top 25-based College Football Playoff bracket, top 4 seeds remain the same
The top four seeds remain unchanged on the College Football Playoff bracket based on The Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday, but three of the four first-round matchups would change and Memphis returned as the Group of Five representative. Only slight alterations were required on the mock bracket because the...
Tennis-Sinner fights back to beat Zverev and claim second Vienna Open title
VIENNA - Italian top seed Jannik Sinner produced a spirited comeback to defeat Germany’s Alexander Zverev 3-6 6-3 7-5 in the Vienna Open final on Sunday, securing his fourth ATP Tour title of the season and his second triumph in Austria’s capital. Sinner, who beat Zverev in straight sets at...
Sports betting is a booming business. The FBI’s NBA probe is putting it in the spotlight
NEW YORK — The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people, including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures, on charges of illegal sports betting has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of professional sports gambling across the U.S. Since widespread legalization,...
Mafia-backed sports betting scandal involves NBA coach, star player
NEW YORK — The head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a player for the Miami Heat were arrested Thursday along with more than 30 other people in two cases alleging sprawling criminal schemes to rake in millions by rigging sports bets and poker games involving Mafia families, authorities...
Franklin Regional grad Nico Megaludis returning to mat in Real American Freestyle league
Nico Megaludis was comfortable being done with wrestling. But the Franklin Regional graduate wasn’t anticipating the Real American Freestyle league gaining steam since he retired this past May. After a few weeks off the mat, Megaludis was back to training. He was excited with what they had to offer and...
Chase Briscoe scores overtime win in NASCAR playoffs at Talladega
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe roared to victory in overtime Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 8 middle playoff race, the YellaWood 500, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. The No. 19 driver moved below leader Bubba Wallace on the backstretch and beat Todd Gilliland by 0.145 seconds...
McDowell earns pole for crucial NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Michael McDowell might be competing for a new team this year, but the Spire Motorsports driver still proved himself one of the fastest at a superspeedway. He earned pole position for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. McDowell turned in a lap of 182.466 mph in the...
Denny Hamlin charges to emotional 60th Cup win at Las Vegas, secures spot in NASCAR finale
LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin became the first driver to lock up a spot in NASCAR’s championship-deciding finale, winning Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his career-goal 60th Cup Series triumph. Hamlin, considered the best driver in NASCAR history to never win a Cup title, is back in the...
Aces flip odds to cap season comeback for the ages with WNBA title
NEW YORK — The Las Vegas Aces flipped the odds to lift their third WNBA championship in four years Friday, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury in four games to put a golden finish on a season that once appeared to be a bust. A’ja Wilson earned her second Finals MVP honor...
NASCAR’s great 8 looking to strike it rich in Vegas
And then there were eight. After the NASCAR Cup Series trimmed a starting group of championship chasers from 16 to a dozen, the field was slashed to eight last weekend at the Charlotte Roval — three Toyotas, three Chevrolets and a pair of Fords. Half of the remaining drivers have...
MVP A’ja Wilson leads Aces to WNBA Finals sweep
PHOENIX — League MVP A’ja Wilson scored 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury, 97-86, in Game 4 on Friday to sweep the WNBA Finals and win their third title in four seasons. Jackie Young contributed 18 points and eight assists, Chelsea...
Sister Jean, Loyola Chicago’s beloved basketball chaplain, dies at 106
CHICAGO — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the chaplain for the men’s basketball team at Loyola Chicago who became a beloved international celebrity during the school’s fairy-tale run to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2018, has died, the university announced Thursday night. She was 106. Health issues caused...
Former NBA player Paul Pierce found asleep in car, arrested on suspicion of DUI
LOS ANGELES — Former NBA player Paul Pierce was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of driving under the influence on a Los Angeles highway after he was found asleep behind the wheel, state police said. California Highway Patrol officers responded at about 10:40 p.m. to an unrelated car crash involving...
Lakers’ LeBron James out at least 3 to 4 weeks with sciatica
LeBron James was diagnosed with sciatica on his right side and will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers announced Thursday. James will miss the season opener against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 and, per the team’s timeline, won’t return until November at the...
4-time WNBA MVP Wilson still treated like a kid by her parents
PHOENIX — No matter how old and accomplished you are, your parents are always going to see you as their child. A’ja Wilson said Thursday that her parents, Roscoe and Eva, have been living with her for the past two months while watching her and the Las Vegas Aces chase...
Pacers guard T.J. McConnell out at least a month with hamstring injuryVideo
Indiana Pacers point guard and Chartiers Valley graduate T.J. McConnell will be sidelined at least a month with a left hamstring injury, coach Rick Carlisle confirmed Thursday. The veteran backup exited during the second quarter of Tuesday’s preseason game against the host Minnesota Timberwolves and did not return. The Pacers...
Report: Global basketball league set to launch next fall
The international basketball league that includes several high-profile athletes as investors does not have an official name but is set to launch next fall, Front Office Sports reported on Wednesday. Headed by former Facebook executive Grady Burnett and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice, the league will include 5-on-5 men’s and women’s...
