U.S./World Sports category, Page 32
NASCAR playoffs roll into reconfigured Roval at Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. — It’s elimination time in NASCAR’s playoffs at the reconfigured Charlotte Motor Speedway, where changes to the hybrid road course/oval called The Roval have created an uneasiness for the drivers racing for a championship. The field of 12 will be cut by four drivers after Sunday’s race, and...
2 teams suing NASCAR ask court to recognize them as chartered while antitrust case proceeds
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two teams suing NASCAR asked a judge for a preliminary injunction Wednesday so they can compete next season under the charter system they are challenging as their antitrust case moves through federal court. 23XI Racing, which is owned by Michael Jordan, veteran driver Denny Hamlin and...
Rays say it may take ‘weeks’ to fully assess damage at Tropicana Field
The Tampa Bay Rays said it may take weeks to fully assess how much damage was done to Tropicana Field, which saw its roof ripped to shreds by the force of Hurricane Milton as the deadly storm barreled across much of Florida. The team said no one was injured when...
22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will retire from tennis after next month’s Davis Cup finals
MADRID — Rafael Nadal announced Thursday he will retire from tennis at age 38 following next month’s Davis Cup finals. Nadal won 22 Grand Slam singles titles during an unprecedented era he shared with his rivals in the so-called Big Three, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. “Really, everything I have...
Hurricane Milton forces NHL’s Lightning, other sports teams to alter game plans
The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have left Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton to practice the rest of the week in the Raleigh area for their season opener at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. Milton, currently a Category 4 hurricane, is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area...
Ricky Stenhouse snaps 65-race losing streak at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. snapped a 65-race losing streak by winning in overtime at Talladega Superspeedway after a late crash collected more than half the field, including eight of the 12 championship contenders. Stenhouse is not in the playoffs, and his victory Sunday marked the second consecutive week...
NASCAR playoffs roll into Talladega under cloud of lawsuit
TALLADEGA, Ala. — It’s most fitting that NASCAR this weekend races at Talladega Superspeedway, sight of one of the first major disputes between drivers and the top stock car series in the United States. It was at the Alabama track’s 1969 debut race when the NASCAR-despised Professional Driver Association led...
Keanu Reeves spins out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in pro auto racing debut
INDIANAPOLIS — Hollywood star Keanu Reeves made his professional auto racing debut on Saturday in an event in which “The Matrix” star spun out at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reeves spun into the grass without a collision on the exit of Turn 9 a little more than halfway through the...
Report: Former Jeannette standout Terrelle Pryor suing Big Ten, Ohio State, others over NIL use
Former Jeannette standout Terrelle Pryor is suing the NCAA, Big Ten, Ohio State and Learfield Communications seeking restitution for the use of his name, image and likeness, according to multiple media reports citing a legal filing. Pryor, who also is suing on behalf of others similarly affected, asserts that the...
Kyle Busch is in danger of snapping his NASCAR-record 19-year winning streakVideo
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Time is running out for Kyle Busch to stretch his remarkable winning streak to 20 consecutive NASCAR seasons with at least one victory. There are only six races remaining as Busch heads to Talladega Superspeedway, where he has won twice in his career. He has won just...
Simone Biles’ post-Olympic tour is helping give men’s gymnastics a post-Olympic boostVideo
PITTSBURGH — Simone Biles simply wanted to mix it up when the gymnastics superstar invited some of the top American men to join her post-Olympic Tour. “Bringing the guys on board was designed to show what men’s gymnastics has to offer,” Biles said. “And I just think that over the...
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark a near-unanimous choice as WNBA’s Rookie of the YearVideo
NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote, giving the Indiana Fever back-to-back winners after Aliyah Boston won the honor last season. A national panel of sportswriters and sportscasters gave Clark 66 of 67 votes in balloting released Thursday. Chicago Sky...
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever guard, is near-unanimous choice as WNBA’s Rookie of the Year
NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark has been named WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote, the league announced Thursday. A national panel of sportswriters and sportscasters gave the Indiana Fever guard 66 of 67 votes. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese received the other. Clark, the No. 1 overall...
Dikembe Mutombo, a Hall of Fame player and tireless advocate, dies at 58 from brain cancer
Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday from brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58. His family revealed two years ago that he was undergoing treatment in Atlanta...
Chastain passes Truex on late restart to win NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Ross Chastain finally got to smash a watermelon for the first time this season Sunday at Kansas Speedway. He smashed the hopes of a bunch of playoff drivers trying to earn an automatic berth in the next round, too. The seventh-generation watermelon farmer took the lead...
Chase Briscoe is on baby watch as the NASCAR driver tries to stay alive in Cup Series playoffsVideo
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Chase Briscoe headed to the hospital Friday when his wife, Marissa, started to feel contractions, and the driver of the No. 14 car for Stewart-Haas Racing wasn’t quite sure whether the twins they were expecting in October were arriving early. Turned out to be a false...
Xfinity Series playoffs set to open this weekend at Kansas with van Gisbergen studying the rules
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Welcome to the Xfinity Series playoffs, Shane van Gisbergen. Now here’s a copy of how the system works, so study up. The New Zealand driving sensation — who won the first Cup Series race he ever entered with a victory last year on the street course in...
Swiss teenage cyclist Muriel Furrer dies after crashing at road world championships
ZURICH — Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer died on Friday, one day after crashing at the road world championships. She was 18. “Muriel Furrer sadly passed away today at Zurich University Hospital,” race organizers said in a statement. Furrer suffered a head injury on Thursday in the junior women’s event raced...
7 Mountain West schools agree to stay, steadying the conference amid realignmentVideo
Seven Mountain West schools agreed to remain in the league amid overtures by the Pac-12 to lure away at least one more of its teams, the conference announced Thursday. The move comes after the Pac-12, which was reduced to just two teams after last summer’s realignment, announced two weeks ago...
WNBA semifinals feature marquee players, a finals rematch and teams looking for 1st titlesVideo
NEW YORK — Star power, a quest for a three-peat and two franchises looking for their first championships highlight the WNBA semifinals that begin Sunday. The Las Vegas Aces will face the New York Liberty in a WNBA Finals rematch from last season, and the Connecticut Sun play the Minnesota...
‘Gold Over America’ gymnastics show designed by Western Pa. nativeVideo
Mark Swanhart doesn’t mince words when it comes to the U.S. gymnastics team, which came home from this summer’s Olympic Games with nine medals, including three golds. “They’re rock stars,” said Swanhart, a Cambria County native and Point Park University dance major with more than 25 years of experience creating...
Derrick Rose, a No. 1 overall pick in 2008 and the 2011 NBA MVP, announces retirement
Derrick Rose’s last act as an NBA player came in the form of a letter to the game of basketball, addressing the highs and lows that he experienced over a 16-year pro career. And with that, his career ended on his terms. Rose, the No. 1 overall pick in the...
Stray puppy that brought Hamlin bad luck gets to stay after driver advances in NASCAR playoffsVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The dog can stay, at least for another round of NASCAR’s playoffs. The future of little Lulu, the stray puppy Denny Hamlin’s daughters found under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis in June, has been in doubt ever since Hamlin decided the addition to his household had...
Kyle Larson wins at Bristol as 2 former NASCAR champions eliminated from playoffsVideo
NASCAR champions Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. were among the first four drivers knocked out of the playoffs Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Kyle Larson cruised to an easy victory. The first of three elimination races in the 10-race playoffs began with Denny Hamlin, Truex, Keselowski and...
A trio of NASCAR stars in danger of playoff elimination at Bristol cutoff race
The first elimination race of NASCAR’s playoffs has a three-time Daytona 500 winner and a pair of former Cup Series champions in danger of being bumped from title contention Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The trio also happen to be among NASCAR’s biggest stars in a 16-driver playoff field...
