U.S./World Sports category, Page 314
NCAA to lift moratorium on voluntary on-campus workouts June 1Video
The NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to lift a moratorium on voluntary workouts by football and basketball players effective June 1 as a growing number of college leaders expressed confidence fall sports will be possible in some form despite concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was confirmed by...
Body found on L.A. beach identified as WWE pro Shad Gaspard
LOS ANGELES — The body of former World Wrestling Entertainment pro Shad Gaspard was found early Wednesday on Los Angeles’ Venice Beach, where he was caught in a rip current last weekend, police said. Patrol officers were flagged down around 1:25 a.m. by a person reporting that a body had...
Power 5 conferences spend big on lobbying Congress about athlete compensationVideo
The Power 5 conferences spent $350,000 on lobbying in the first three months of 2020, more than they had previously spent in any full year, as part of a coordinated effort to influence Congress on legislation affecting the ability of college athletes to earn endorsement money. The SEC was the...
Live sports draw strong TV ratings over weekend
Fans who had been starving for live sporting events had their appetites sated last weekend. At least a little. Network executives knew the first weekend with multiple live events would draw good numbers, but, for the most part, they exceeded expectations. The Bundesliga’s return drew record numbers on Fox Sports...
On the Fringe: U.S. Open loses part of its identityVideo
The U.S. Open lost a big part of its identity. And it has nothing to do with par. For years, the USGA has boasted — and rightly so — it was the most democratic of all majors. Half of the 156-man field had to go through some form of qualifying...
Belmont set for June 20 without fans, leads off Triple CrownVideo
The Belmont Stakes will be run June 20 in New York without fans and serve as the opening leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown for the first time in the sport’s history. The New York Racing Association on Tuesday unveiled the rescheduled date for the Belmont, which also will be...
Column: NASCAR managed small miracle in problem-free returnVideo
DARLINGTON, S.C. — The odds were against NASCAR flawlessly executing its reopening plan, which was a potential standard-setting moment for other professional leagues to follow in this new normal of sports. No plan is ever perfect and all the assistance from outside health officials couldn’t protect NASCAR from the obvious...
LeBron James: ‘Definitely not giving up on the season’Video
LeBron James reiterated Monday he is hopeful the NBA season can resume, with the caveat that the health and well-being of players won’t be jeopardized by a return to play. The Los Angeles Lakers star, speaking on the Uninterrupted platform’s “WRTS: After Party” show that was released Monday, said it...
Kevin Harvick wins NASCAR’s return race at DarlingtonVideo
DARLINGTON, S.C. — This was a 400-mile drive unlike any other in modern-day NASCAR. The grandstands were empty. There wasn’t a tailgate inside the track. Everyone wore face coverings — some with the team logos, others opting for plain disposable medical masks. It was nothing close to the corporate sponsorship,...
College football season remains possibility at 3 schools in California State systemVideo
SAN DIEGO — The California State University system’s plan for a mostly virtual fall semester because of the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t necessarily close the door on football at its three schools that play in the far-flung Mountain West Conference. San Diego State is looking at having football players return to...
All quiet in Berlin as Bundesliga soccer returns without fans and without incidentVideo
BERLIN — A strong police and media presence outside the stadium provided the only clues Union Berlin was about to play Bayern Munich in its biggest — and quietest — Bundesliga game of the season Sunday. Only a few diehard soccer fans showed up outside Union’s stadium and quickly were...
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...
