U.S./World Sports category, Page 323
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...
All England Club to decide Wimbledon’s fate next weekVideo
The All England Club said it still is evaluating whether to postpone or cancel Wimbledon because of the coronavirus pandemic and plans to make a decision next week when the club’s main board is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting. Main-draw play at Wimbledon is scheduled to start June 29,...
Game Zero: Spread of coronavirus linked to Champions League match
ROME — It was the biggest soccer game in Atalanta’s history and a third of Bergamo’s population made the short trip to Milan’s famed San Siro Stadium. Nearly 2,500 fans of visiting Spanish club Valencia also traveled to that Champions League match. More than a month later, experts are pointing...
Jim Litke: The ‘no-win’ Olympics gets another chanceVideo
Money talks, which is the short answer for why it took this long for the swells at the International Olympic Committee to listen to reason. For weeks, IOC leaders framed their refusal to shut down Tokyo 2020 as a noble cause instead of a cash grab. But that’s because they...
Olympians face uncertainty with Tokyo delay because of coronavirusVideo
Would-be Olympians and their coaches have gone from days and weeks of mulling one sort of uncertainty raised by the coronavirus pandemic — are the Tokyo Games going to be held as scheduled? — to a whole other set of questions now that an indefinite postponement is official. To begin...
USA Basketball’s next move hinges on new Olympic scheduleVideo
USA Basketball is hoping the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will be held around the same time next year as they would have been this year. Otherwise, an already-complicated situation could get even tougher for coaches and players. USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said Tuesday he has “hit the pause button”...
Hallandale official: Gulfstream Park won’t shut down, threatens legal actionVideo
Gulfstream Park plans to continue racing Wednesday and hold Saturday’s Florida Derby as scheduled, despite Broward County’s ban on nonessential business and the city of Hallandale Beach asking the horse racing track to shut down and postpone the Derby, Hallandale Beach Vice Mayor Sabrina Javellana told the Sun Sentinel on...
Colonial planning for PGA Tour event that might not happenVideo
Michael Tothe was supposed to be at the World Golf Championships event this week in Austin, Texas, to resume recruiting players for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. Even though the tournament is still two months away, this is the time to beef up advertising and fill out the roster...
Western Pa. native John Calipari has done charity work before, but this time it’s personalVideo
Vincent Calipari was 55 years old when he got laid off from his job in Pittsburgh as a fueler for the airline industry. “He went part-time for three years trying to build himself back,” John Calipari said Tuesday of his dad. “I know what my mother and father went through...
