U.S./World Sports category, Page 311
Mac Engel: Ex-sports columnist explains why he felt Mavericks shouldn’t have drafted Michael Jordan at No. 4 in ’84Video
Randy Galloway figures suggesting the Dallas Mavericks should not draft Michael Jordan was not his biggest screw-up. “Out of many, but it’s one of the two of my bigger screw-ups,” Galloway said. “The first is when I wrote (Dallas Cowboys coach) Jimmy Johnson didn’t get enough in the Herschel Walker...
Bye buy games? Smaller college football programs could lose millions in Power 5 payoutsVideo
In 2018, with his school facing the possibility of cutting staff to make up a huge shortfall in state funding, Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier added a football game at Florida State to the Huskies’ schedule. The road trip came with a $1.6 million payout to NIU. “Florida State,...
Preakness rescheduled for Oct. 3, 1 month after Kentucky DerbyVideo
The 145th Preakness Stakes was rescheduled for Oct. 3, an announcement delivered Saturday less than hour before the original post time for the Triple Crown race. Traditionally held at Pimlico Race Course on the third Saturday in May, the Preakness was postponed April 3 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The...
NASCAR picks up at tricky Darlington after 10-week hiatus
DARLINGTON, S.C. — NASCAR will not be as you remember it when racing returns at old egg-shaped Darlington Raceway. There will be no elaborate infield tailgates, inflatable pools or hundreds of American flags that fly above the campers. The grandstands will be empty gray rows, no spectators allowed. Darius Rucker...
Alex Bowman signs 1-year extension with Hendrick Motorsports
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Alex Bowman has signed a one-year contract extension to remain with Hendrick Motorsports through 2021. The announcement Saturday came the day before NASCAR resumes its season at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Bowman goes into the event already qualified for the playoffs as winner at California on...
Report: Bryant crash pilot had no drugs, alcohol in system
LOS ANGELES — The pilot flying Kobe Bryant and seven others to a youth basketball tournament did not have alcohol or drugs in his system, and all nine sustained immediately fatal injuries when their helicopter slammed into a hillside outside Los Angeles in January, according to autopsies released Friday. The...
WNBA working on scenarios to play this summerVideo
NEW YORK — WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is focusing on about a half dozen scenarios for the league to begin play this summer Engelbert did not go into detail about each scenario but told the Associated Press on Friday the league is looking at playing at one site — and...
Many struggling in horse racing hope return brings lifelineVideo
Instead of the Preakness running Saturday in Baltimore with perhaps another heralded Kentucky Derby winner looking to capture the second jewel of the Triple Crown, horse racing is in the midst of transition. And lower and middle class owners are in the cross hairs. Owner Maggi Moss was concerned about...
All eyes on Germany as Bundesliga gets ball rolling on soccerVideo
Basketball and hockey arenas shuttered along with ballparks. Tennis and golf tournaments wiped out or postponed. Motor sport circuits silenced. The spread of the coronavirus paused every major sport and left a hole in the lives of billions during two months of weekends without any live elite competition to watch...
NASCAR puts its safety plans to test as racing prepares to returnVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Crew chief Chad Knaus won’t get a look at the car Hendrick Motorsports built for Darlington Raceway until he gets to the track Sunday morning, a few hours before the race. Kurt Busch? He already sat in his Chip Ganassi Racing car and met with his crew...
NASCAR restart is latest chapter in Darlington Raceway’s storied historyVideo
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Harold Brasington III recalls riding around the infield at Darlington Raceway as a youngster with his late grandfather, track builder Harold Brasington, watching as his granddad said hello to the likes of Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt. The younger Brasington, 52, will see...
Bowling Green drops baseball to save money amid pandemicVideo
Bowling Green dropped baseball as part of a move to ease financial stress because of the covid-19 pandemic. The school said it’s reducing its athletic budget by $2 million. “This is a very difficult but necessary, decision,” athletic director Bob Moosbrugger said. “As a baseball alumnus, my heart breaks for...
Ryan Newman eager to race again after violent Daytona accidentVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ryan Newman says he has no memories of his harrowing accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500. He doesn’t remember being in the hospital, who came to visit or anything else about his two-night stay for treatment of a head injury. The first thing Newman...
PGA Tour Champions will combine 2020, 2021 seasonsVideo
The PGA Tour Champions, which already has canceled eight tournaments because of the covid-19 pandemic, decided to combine 2020 and 2021 into one season. Tour president Miller Brady says combining two seasons into one is the best solution. The 50-and-older circuit, on which Greensburg’s Rocco Mediate plays, is scheduled to...
Nassar-related case dismissed against ex-Michigan State presidentVideo
DETROIT — A judge dismissed criminal charges Wednesday against former Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon, who was accused of lying to investigators in 2018 as they tried to learn what she knew years earlier about sexual assault complaints involving Larry Nassar. Simon last year was ordered to trial in...
Vince McMahon defends firing Oliver Luck just before shutting down XFLVideo
STAMFORD, Conn. — Lawyers for XFL owner Vince McMahon argued in court filings Wednesday that the wrestling magnet was justified in firing league CEO Oliver Luck last month just before the football operation shut down. Luck filed a federal lawsuit last month over his April 9 termination, alleging McMahon breached...
Florida governor says his state is willing to be restart site for pro sportsVideo
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida is willing to be a restart site for professional sports leagues, just like Arizona, when play resumes after shutdowns caused by the new coronavirus. “One thing I am going to do, probably this week, is all professional sports are welcome here for practicing and for playing,”...
Evander Holyfield responds to Mike Tyson with training videoVideo
Not to be outdone by the fighter he bested twice during the duo’s heyday, Evander Holyfield responded to Mike Tyson’s training video by posting one of his own. Holyfield, 57, a former undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight champion, announced last week that he’d make a comeback to the ring with a...
NBA now up to 10 teams back for voluntary workoutsVideo
MIAMI — The NBA is now one-third of the way back, at least in terms of voluntary workouts. With Miami re-opening its doors Wednesday, 10 of the league’s 30 teams have gone forward with on-court individual workouts — the first permitted sessions since the league ordered teams to close their...
Former WPIAL great Tanisha Wright starts WNBA coaching career in Las Vegas
Tanisha Wright retired from the WNBA in 2019 to cap a 14-year playing career. Now the former West Mifflin and Penn State star is returning to the women’s professional league as a coach. Wright on Wednesday was named an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces, coached by former Detroit Pistons...
Smithley, Ganassi among those ready to get NASCAR back on track
Over the weekend, UFC led the way for the return of live sports during the coronavirus pandemic, and on Sunday, NASCAR will follow suit. The series plans to resume its racing schedule at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The 400-mile race will kick off a stretch of seven races in...
North Allegheny grad Stephen Savchik honored by University of Rochester
His diving career did not end as he hoped, but North Allegheny graduate Stephen Savchik earned an impressive honor as a senior on the Rochester men’s swimming and diving team. Savchik, 21, of Franklin Park, was the recipient of the university’s Louis Alexander Alumni Award for 2020. The award is...
PGA Tour to test key personnel, enact other safety measures at tournamentsVideo
Players, caddies and key personnel will be tested once a week at tournaments and have their temperatures taken every day as part of a PGA Tour plan to limit the risk of the new coronavirus when golf resumes next month in Texas. The plan offers a glimpse into significant changes...
On the Fringe: Golf gets de facto restart with made-for-TV matches, Arizona eventVideo
The next few weeks might resemble a return to the silly season. Except this is serious business. Besides, this isn’t the cash grab from the old “silly season” days of the Skins Game, the Skills Challenge, the Diner’s Club Matches. In two notable events, there’s no prize money at all....
English Premier League clubs could play at home after ‘positive’ talks with policeVideo
MANCHESTER, England — Premier League clubs could be allowed to complete the season at their own stadiums after police pulled back on their insistence neutral venues were the only safe way of staging games during the coronavirus pandemic. The league’s leadership held talks with police Monday night after being told...
