U.S./World Sports category, Page 321
Shaka Smart to remain at Texas next seasonVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas will stick with coach Shaka Smart next season after the Longhorns won five of their final six games and were fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament before it was canceled amid the coronavirus scare. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte told the Austin American-Statesman,...
Roger Penske talks postponing Indy 500, other racing issuesVideo
Roger Penske, at 83 and considered high risk for the coronavirus as a 2017 kidney transplant recipient, still makes the daily three-minute commute to his Bloomfield Hills, Mich., office. He works 12 or more hours a day from his conference room at Penske Corp., which has a skeleton crew practicing...
Live tweeting replays helping fill the college hoops voidVideo
Kansas had kept Derrick Rose in check well into the 2008 national championship game when coach Bill Self decided it was time to change defenses against the Memphis star. Bad idea. “Well. They have momentum. I made mistake,” Self said while live tweeting a replay of the game recently. “Had...
For Loyola’s Sister Jean, pandemic is new territoryVideo
CHICAGO — Even to Sister Jean, the lovable nonagenarian nun who became a star during Loyola Chicago’s stunning run to the Final Four two years ago, this is new territory. The coronavirus pandemic has brought big chunks of the world to a near standstill. “This is very different,” said Sister...
Keeping fit with no gyms open a new NBA challengeVideo
Denver’s players, if they’re so willing, have the same assignment each day: Go to their phone or tablet, launch an app and view their individualized daily workout plan that was created by the Nuggets’ strength and conditioning staff. For now, it’s the best idea the Nuggets have — as they,...
Big Ten extends ban on organized team activitiesVideo
The Big Ten extended the suspension of all organized team activities through May 4. Big Ten officials said this is an additional measure to the previously announced cancellation of all conference and non-league competitions through the end of the 2019-20 academic year, including spring sports that extend beyond the academic...
No games, big losses: Money crisis faces U.S. Olympic sportsVideo
DENVER — The postponement of the Tokyo Games has catapulted the sports organizations that make up the backbone of the U.S. Olympic team into crisis. At least one has already started layoffs, and others are desperate to stay solvent. Some are expecting a major downturn in membership dues, while others...
Santa Anita ends live racing because of coronavirusVideo
LOS ANGELES — Santa Anita canceled live racing Friday because of the coronavirus pandemic after instructions from the Los Angeles County Health Department. The track in Arcadia, Calif., was preparing to stage eight races when the cancellation was announced about 30 minutes before the first race. It’s not immediately known...
ESPN’s Doris Burke reveals positive coronavirus testVideo
ESPN NBA broadcaster Doris Burke, a Curt Gowdy Award recipient by the Basketball Hall of Fame for excellence in her field, said she tested positive for the coronavirus. Burke made the announcement Friday on an ESPN podcast hosted by NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski. Burke said she started feeling extreme fatigue...
Jimmie Johnson prepares for future by entering IndyCar iRaceVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson joined the field for IndyCar’s inaugural online race as he contemplates driving in that series following his retirement from full-time stock car racing. IndyCar followed NASCAR, IMSA and Formula One in setting up a virtual racing series to give fans content during...
2 Olympic champions among 4 Russians with new doping chargesVideo
MONACO — Two Olympic gold medalists were among four Russian track and field athletes charged with doping offenses. Andrei Silnov, the 2008 Olympic high jump champion, and Natalya Antyukh, the 2012 champion in the 400-meter hurdles, are facing charges of using a prohibited substance or method. The Athletics Integrity Unit...
LeBron James regrets missing out on Cleveland homecomingVideo
LeBron James wanted to look to the rafters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday night and gaze at the 2016 NBA championship banner again. But the Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s lone game in Cleveland might have been wiped out after the league suspended play more than two weeks ago because...
Pandemic fallout: NCAA slashes distribution by $375 millionVideo
The NCAA will distribute $225 million to its Division I members in June, a whopping $375 million less than had been budgeted after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the big-money men’s basketball tournament. Ohio State president Michael Drake, chairman of the NCAA board of governors, said the association...
Harlem Globetrotters great Curly Neal dies at 77Video
Fred “Curly” Neal, the dribbling wizard who entertained millions with the Harlem Globetrotters for parts of three decades, died at age 77. The Globetrotters said Neal died in his home outside of Houston on Thursday morning. “We have lost one of the most genuine human beings the world has ever...
UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones arrested, accused of DWIVideo
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones has been arrested on suspicion of DWI and other offenses after officers heard gunshots and found him in a parked car with a handgun and a half-empty bottle of liquor early Thursday, Albuquerque police said. The 32-year-old Jones was arrested...
Indianapolis 500 postponed until August because of covid-19Video
The Indianapolis 500 has been postponed until August because of the coronavirus pandemic and won’t run on Memorial Day weekend for the first time since 1946. The race will instead be held Aug. 23, three months later than its May 24 scheduled date. “The month of May at the Indianapolis...
WNBA draft will be virtual event this season amid pandemic
NEW YORK — The WNBA draft will be a virtual event this year. The league announced Thursday that its draft will still be held April 17 as originally scheduled, but without players, fans or media in attendance because of the coronavirus pandemic. “The WNBA draft is a time to celebrate...
IOC’s Thomas Bach invokes Trump in defense of Olympic decisionVideo
GENEVA — A day after officially postponing the Tokyo Olympics, IOC president Thomas Bach invoked comments by President Donald Trump to defend himself from criticism Wednesday. Bach spoke to about 400 reporters on a conference call and was quizzed why, despite growing concern from athletes, it took so long to...
Nona Blues: Graeme McDowell concerned with restaurants and his golfVideo
Graeme McDowell finds motivation in short supply as he tries to keep his golf game sharp without knowing when the next tournament will be played. In that respect, he’s no different from most players. His concern goes beyond golf during the shutdown from the spread of the new coronavirus. McDowell...
Without spring practice, football coaches try to fill voidVideo
Since taking over as Florida State coach in December, Mike Norvell has spent seemingly endless hours laying the foundation of his program. Winter is time for coaches to deliver a consistent message, build the culture they want and get players to buy into a way of going about their business...
Karl-Anthony Towns says mother hospitalized, in coma with covid-19Video
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns says his mother is hospitalized and in a medically induced coma after contracting the coronavirus. Towns talked about the condition of his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, early Wednesday on his Instagram page and urged his followers to take covid-19 seriously and practice social distancing....
Olympic delay leaves athletes uncertain about sponsorshipsVideo
Aside from figuring out how to maintain their health and fitness for an additional year, athletes such as Ryan Crouser suddenly faced another concern when the Olympics were postponed until 2021. They also have to make the money stretch that far. Crouser still hopes to defend his shot put gold...
Tiz the Law set as favorite for Saturday’s Florida DerbyVideo
MIAMI — The Florida Derby is set to have a full field and empty stands. A field of 12 has been entered for Saturday’s Florida Derby, typically one of the biggest Kentucky Derby prep races and the crown jewel of the Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla....
AP Player of the Year Obi Toppin declares for NBA DraftVideo
Dayton’s Obi Toppin is headed to the NBA after leading the Flyers to a 29-2 record and No. 3 ranking as a redshirt sophomore. Toppin tweeted his decision Wednesday, a day after he was honored as the Associated Press’ men’s college basketball player of the year. The Flyers’ Anthony Grant...
US Justice Department: Don’t treat transgender athletes as girlsVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — The U.S. Justice Department is getting involved in a federal civil rights lawsuit that seeks to block transgender athletes in Connecticut from competing as girls in interscholastic sports. Attorney General William Barr signed what is known as a statement of interest Tuesday, arguing against the policy of...
