U.S./World Sports category, Page 315
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...
PGA Tour’s Memorial to have fans, will use chips in ticket badges to monitor fan movementVideo
The PGA Tour said only the first four events upon its return at Colonial next month will not have fans. That means the Memorial — now scheduled as the sixth event (July 16-19) — is planning to have spectators. Just not as many. Dan Sullivan, the tournament director, said there...
Kobe Bryant’s sports academy retires ‘Mamba’ nicknameVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Southern California sports academy previously co-owned by the late Kobe Bryant has retired his “Mamba” nickname and rebranded itself nearly four months after the basketball icon’s death in a helicopter crash. Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others were killed as they flew to a...
WWE’s Becky Lynch announces pregnancy, ‘going away for awhile’Video
One of the biggest current stars in WWE is set to add another title to her collection: mom. Becky Lynch announced her pregnancy at the opening of “Monday Night Raw” on Monday. Before making the big announcement, an emotional Lynch recounted her start in WWE, coming to the U.S. while...
Commentary: NASCAR set for ‘huge microscope’ as racing returnsVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR’s season started with the Secret Service doing a security check on the firesuit-clad pole-sitter for the Daytona 500 and thousands of fans waiting hours in line to pass through a metal detector. When the season resumes Sunday, some 13 weeks later, drivers will have their temperatures...
English Premier teams split on restart as player tests positive for covid-19Video
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said sports can resume — if only members of your own household are playing. How the Premier League can restart should become clearer in the coming days. Any restart during the coronavirus pandemic is not just reliant on the government, which is planning Tuesday to...
UFC could provide blueprint for other pro sports to restartVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — UFC president Dana White wanted a major fight card weeks ago. He was confident his team could pull it off whether it took place on a tribal land, on a private island or in any of the 10 states offering to host it. Coronavirus testing. Fan-free arena....
Knoch grad Geist focused on future shot put events, including Olympic Trials
In the most recent world rankings for the men’s shot put, Jordan Geist checked in at No. 19, fifth among his American colleagues. Those rankings came out the last day of March, and in the weeks prior, Geist, who owns a personal record of 21.59 meters (70 feet, 10 inches),...
Tessitore, McFarland out on Monday Night Football. Here’s what ESPN is considering.Video
Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland are out as ESPN’s Monday Night Football announcing team, two industry sources said Saturday. The network is planning to fill those two jobs internally, according to a source. Steve Levy has emerged as the most likely candidate to replace Tessitore on play-by-play, two sources said....
Last surviving player from ‘A League of Their Own’ team diesVideo
Mary Pratt, who played for the Rockford Peaches and Kenosha Comets in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, died. She was 101. Pratt died Wednesday. Her nephew, Walter Pratt, told The Patriot Ledger she passed away peacefully at a nursing home. Pratt pitched in the women’s league from 1943-47. The...
As pandemic threatens to scramble Triple Crown schedule, trainers and historians say they’ll welcome races wheneverVideo
BALTIMORE — From the first year the Preakness Stakes was run in 1873 until the race settled into its current place on the calendar in 1932, it preceded the Kentucky Derby 11 times and was contested on the same day twice. In 1945, as thoroughbred racing emerged from a blackout...
Where have you gone, Evgeni Malkin? Local bettors turn to obscure Russian hockey leagueVideo
Even while all major North American team sports are shut down because of the coronavirus, Pittsburgh continues to add to its reputation as a hockey town. While gamblers usually would be making wagers on the NBA and NHL playoffs and the early part of the MLB season at this time...
US approves new coronavirus antigen test with fast results
U.S. regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country. The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corp. of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of...
Vanessa Bryant files claim against LA County sheriff over Kobe Bryant crash site photos
LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant has filed a claim against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over deputies sharing “unauthorized” photos of the scene of the helicopter crash that killed her husband Kobe Bryant, their daughter and seven others. According to the claim filed Friday, Sheriff Alex Villanueva “personally assured...
Some NBA practice facilities re-open; some teams to begin testing players for coronavirusVideo
MIAMI — The NBA took tiny steps toward a return to normalcy Friday, as a small number of practice facilities reopened for workouts and at least one team received permission from the league to test players and staff for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, NBA commissioner Adam Silver took part in a...
