U.S./World Sports category, Page 324
Dayton’s Obi Toppin voted AP college basketball player of the year; Flyers coach Grant earns top honorVideo
Obi Toppin and Anthony Grant spent the season transforming Dayton from an unranked team that wasn’t even picked to win its conference into one of the nation’s best, complete with the most wins in program history. The pair behind the Flyers’ remarkable rise claimed the Associated Press’ top individual honors:...
Olympics to be postponed until 2021Video
TOKYO — The IOC announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Summer Olympics on Tuesday, bowing to the realities of a coronavirus pandemic that is shutting down daily life around the globe and making planning for a massive worldwide gathering in July a virtual impossibility. The International Olympic Committee said the...
In the Pits: Virtual race a real success for bored NASCARVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Seated inside a simulator in his living room, Denny Hamlin grew thirsty as he virtually raced some of his top rivals. He asked his one allowed crew member — his 7-year-old daughter — to get him a soda, and she handed him a bottle of slightly shaken...
Survey: 7 in 10 U.S. Olympic hopefuls favor postponementVideo
DENVER — Nearly seven in 10 U.S. Olympic hopefuls say they don’t think the Tokyo Games will be fair if they are held in July, prompting leaders of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to conclude “it’s more clear than ever that the path toward postponement is the most promising.”...
All signs point to Tokyo Olympics being postponedVideo
IOC members, national Olympic committees and athletes all were racing toward the same conclusion Monday: The Tokyo Olympics are not going to take place this summer. Craig Reedie, a longtime member of the International Olympic Committee, told the Associated Press everyone can see where things are headed, with the coronavirus...
Ex-Olympians Christa Harmotto, Lauryn Williams feel for athletes, IOC amid uncertainty of ’20 Games
Christa (Harmotto) Dietzen was looking forward to an exciting summer. She and her husband, Derek, are expecting their first child in early July, and she had visions of sitting by the TV, holding her son and cheering on Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics. But concerns over the spread of...
Report: 2020 Tokyo Olympics postponed because of covid-19 pandemicVideo
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed as a result of the global coronavirus outbreak, according to a senior member of the International Olympic Committee. IOC member Dick Pound confirmed the news Monday to USA Today. “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound...
South Carolina’s Dawn Staley named AP women’s coach of the yearVideo
Dawn Staley helped guide South Carolina to No. 1 and has earned coach of the year honors from the Associated Press for the first time. The veteran Gamecocks coach received 20 votes from the national media panel that selects the Top 25 poll each week. “It’s a great feeling. It’s...
Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu is AP women’s player of the yearVideo
Sabrina Ionescu capped off a unprecedented college career by entering an exclusive club. Oregon’s star guard was a unanimous choice Monday as the Associated Press women’s basketball player of the year, receiving all 30 votes from the national media panel that selects the Top 25 each week during the season....
UEFA formally postpones Champions League final amid shutdownVideo
NYON, Switzerland — UEFA formally postponed the Champions League final Monday — an inevitable move with European soccer in total shutdown and four Round of 16 games yet to be completed. The final was scheduled for May 30 in Istanbul before the spreading coronavirus pandemic forced the four remaining second-leg...
Japan PM Shinzo Abe: Delay an option if Olympics can’t be held fullyVideo
TOKYO — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday said a postponement of Tokyo Olympics would be unavoidable if the games cannot be held in a complete way because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was commenting on the International Olympic Committee’s plan to examine the situation over the next few...
IOC looking at postponing Tokyo Olympics, but not cancelingVideo
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The IOC will take up to four weeks to consider postponing the Tokyo Olympics amid mounting criticism of its handling of the coronavirus crisis that now includes a call for delay from the leader of track and field, the biggest sport at the games. The IOC is...
Half of NBA and NHL coronavirus cases are linked to Staples Center. What happened?
LOS ANGELES — The NBA’s reach extends across the globe, broadcasting to more than 200 countries and territories while generating almost $9 billion in annual revenue. Its top players are the most powerful in sports, able to reach tens of millions and spark change with a single social media post....
Global athletes group calls for postponement of Olympics
A worldwide group representing Olympic hopefuls is calling on the IOC to postpone the Tokyo Olympics until the coronavirus pandemic is under control. “As the world unites to limit the spread of covid-19 virus, the IOC … must do the same,” Global Athlete said in a news release Sunday. This...
NBA’s Adam Silver seeking answers, which are in short supplyVideo
NBA commissioner Adam Silver finds himself almost constantly looking at financial numbers and projections. And like the rest of a world that is dealing with the seismic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, he still isn’t sure how bad things will get. Silver said Saturday the league is considering all options...
Wells Bayou wins $1 million Louisiana Derby in front of empty grandstandVideo
NEW ORLEANS — As Wells Bayou completed a wire-to-wire victory in the $1 million Louisiana Derby, there was hardly a cheer to be heard — other than the isolated triumphant shouts of trainer Brad Cox and his stable crew. In the 107th running of the qualifying points race for the...
Drivers use simulated racing games to stay sharp as virus shuts tracksVideo
DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Le Mans winner Neel Jani won’t feel his tires grip the road in a competitive environment for quite some time with the Formula E season suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. That doesn’t mean he can’t find a race worth his time. To do that, he’s been...
Italy virus cases soar again; N.Y. eyes temporary hospitals
The coronavirus pandemic took an increasingly bleak toll Saturday in the U.S. and Europe, producing staggering caseloads in New York and Italy and setting off a desperate scramble to set up thousands of additional hospital beds at convention centers and college campuses. Italy, at the heart of western Europe’s rampaging...
USA Swimming urges USOPC to ask for delay of Tokyo GamesVideo
DENVER — The head of USA Swimming urged the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to push for a 12-month postponement of the Tokyo Games, signaling the first fissure between powerful American factions attempting to maneuver the U.S. team through the coronavirus crisis. CEO Tim Hinchey sent a letter Friday to...
Pittsburgh native Matthew Driscoll gets extension as North Florida men’s basketball coachVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — North Florida and men’s basketball coach Matthew Driscoll agreed to a three-year contract extension. Athletic director Lee Moon made the announcement Friday, saying Driscoll, a Pittsburgh native and Northgate graduate, “has established a standard for developing a championship-level culture both on and off the court.” “He has...
Horse racing ‘living on borrowed time’ as it grapples with risks running during pandemicVideo
Horse racing is quickly learning it is not totally immune to the effects the coronavirus pandemic has had on other sports, and now it’s grappling with the risks of continuing operations. The Louisiana Derby for now is still set for Saturday, the world’s richest day of races is scheduled to...
XFL cancels comeback season because of coronavirus pandemicVideo
NEW YORK — The XFL has canceled the remainder of its return season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league played five games of a 10-game regular season in eight cities. It was a revival of the XFL that played one season in 2001. Commissioner Oliver Luck released a statement...
Marbles, obscure sports rule in coronavirus pandemicVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Welcome to the Marble Universe, where the rushing of glass balls down race tracks, around sandy beach corners or getting thumped by fidget spinners has suddenly become as captivating as any dunk contest. Losing your marbles looking for sports to watch during the coronavirus pandemic? Get in on...
The shots that helped put the madness in MarchVideo
This is the time of year people usually start tweeting at Ali Farokhmanesh. The Northern Iowa fans who remember his back-to-back buzzer-beaters to beat UNLV and Kansas and usher the Panthers to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament a decade ago. The Missouri and Kansas State fans still thankful...
NBA shutters facilities as more players test positive for coronavirusVideo
The number of known coronavirus cases within the NBA doubled to 14 on Thursday, when Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics pleaded with people to take social distancing more seriously and the league ordered all teams to shutter their training facilities indefinitely. Smart revealed he tested positive, and the Los...
