U.S./World Sports category, Page 33
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...
Joel Embiid signs 3-year, $193M contract extension with 76ersVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Already an NBA MVP and an Olympic gold medalist, All-Star center Joel Embiid now has until the end of the decade to try to win his first NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers. With another maximum contract secured, Embiid wants to chase that title in Philly — and...
NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski leaving ESPN to become GM of St. Bonaventure basketball teamVideo
NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski is retiring from ESPN to return to his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, to take over the newly created position of general manager of the men’s basketball program, the Atlantic 10 school announced Wednesday. Wojnarowski will oversee a wide range of responsibilities while working alongside coach Mark...
Philadelphia mayor strikes deal with the 76ers to build a new arena downtown
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have a new teammate in their bid to build a new $1.3 billion arena downtown. Mayor Cherelle Parker announced Wednesday that she has forged a deal with team owners to keep the NBA franchise in town and will send it to city council. The decision...
College football guarantee games pay millions to small-budget schools but opportunities could shrink
Ohio State and Kent State, separated by 135 miles in the same state, occupy extreme ends of the spectrum of major college football. Buckeyes football pulled in $127 million in revenue in 2023. Golden Flashes football has a budget of about $9 million. Still, Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork...
Florida State is college football’s most disappointing team, and it’s not even close
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Few expected Florida State to run the table again in the Atlantic Coast Conference and coast into the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff. Not after losing quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, and a handful of standout defenders. However, no...
Buescher plays spoiler at Watkins Glen in chaotic NASCAR playoff race
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — William Byron’s Chevy skidded down the track and came to rest tilted against the wall with a tire jammed into Brad Keselowski’s driver-side window in a late fight for position between two NASCAR playoff drivers. Ryan Blaney never got so lucky to remain in the second...
England could be barred from UEFA competitions if new regulator’s powers are not ‘strictly limited’
MANCHESTER, England — England and English soccer teams could be removed from UEFA competitions if a new regulator is considered to be “Government interference” in the sport. In a letter sent by UEFA to the U.K.’s new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, European soccer’s governing body raised concerns about a proposed...
Drivers on edge as NASCAR moves to 2nd round at Watkins Glen
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Martin Truex Jr. tried to stay optimistic about his slim chance at winning a NASCAR championship in his final season before he conceded, “no matter what we do, it is wrong.” Chase Briscoe is last among the 16 playoff drivers, but he says count him out...
Pac-12 to add Boise St., Fresno St., San Diego St., Colorado St. in 2026, poaching Mountain West
The Pac-12 is adding Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State, starting in 2026, to join Oregon State and Washington State in a rebuilt Conference of Champions, the league announced Thursday. The additions rob the Mountain West of four of its more prominent schools and successful football...
Aces star A’ja Wilson breaks WNBA single season-scoring record in win over Fever
INDIANAPOLIS — A’ja Wilson broke the WNBA single-season scoring record with her 941st point just before the first half of the Las Vegas Aces’ game against the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night. Wilson hit a jumper from the free-throw line with 26.4 seconds left in the second quarter to surpass...
Pochettino embarks on ‘journey’ with U.S. men’s soccer team
Mauricio Pochettino didn’t expect to be here. His appointment as United States men’s national team coach was not in the plans when he signed a two-year contract at Chelsea last season and made his triumphant return to the Premier League. But soccer management is a fickle industry, and the U.S....
Mauricio Pocchetino hired to succeed Gregg Berhalter as U.S. men’s national team coachVideo
Former Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was hired Tuesday to succeed Gregg Berhalter as U.S. men’s national team coach, 21 months before the Americans host the 2026 World Cup. A 52-year-old Argentine, Pochettino became the 10th U.S. coach in 14 years and its first foreign-born leader since Jurgen Klinsmann...
Biden honors NCAA basketball champs South Carolina and celebrates surging interest in women’s sports
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden cheered NCAA basketball champs South Carolina and Coach Dawn Staley for helping spark a surge of interest in women’s sports during a White House celebration Tuesday to mark their historic title run. South Carolina went 38-0 on the way to its latest women’s title. It...
Joey Logano wins NASCAR playoff opener at Atlanta to advance to 2nd roundVideo
HAMPTON, Ga. — One of the first things Joey Logano said after winning NASCAR’s playoff opener was that the postseason is his time of the year. And, in 10 initial playoff appearances, he typically slid his way through the rounds, winning two Cup titles and never finishing lower than eighth...
Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in U.S. Open men’s final weeks after doping exonerationVideo
NEW YORK — Jannik Sinner started slowly at the U.S. Open, dropping the first set he played after being exonerated in a doping case no one knew about until shortly before play began at Flushing Meadows. If that episode initially hung over him during the tournament, Sinner was able to...
Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Fritz in the U.S. Open men’s final weeks after doping exonerationVideo
NEW YORK — Jannik Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with a relentless baseline game to win the U.S. Open men’s championship on Sunday, less than three weeks after being exonerated in a doping case. The No. 1-ranked Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, won the second Grand Slam trophy...
Texas on top! Longhorns take over at No. 1 in AP Top 25 for first time in 16 years, jumping Georgia
Texas is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the first time in 16 years, replacing Georgia on Sunday after the Bulldogs struggled to remain unbeaten. The Longhorns moved up a spot from No. 2 and received 35 first-place votes and 1,540 points. The Bulldogs,...
Aryna Sabalenka beats Jessica Pegula to win U.S. Open for her 3rd Grand Slam titleVideo
NEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka left the U.S. Open in tears 12 months ago as the runner-up. She exited in the semifinals each of the two years before that. This time, Sabalenka was in a joking mood after winning her first championship at Flushing Meadows and the third Grand Slam...
Suarez returns to the site of the closest finish in NASCAR history looking for a playoff payoffVideo
HAMPTON, Ga. — The best year of Daniel Suarez’s life began in February when he won the NASCAR Mexico race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, an event essentially staged with Suarez as the star. Later that month came the closest finish in NASCAR history, a photo-finish victory at Atlanta...
Florida high school football player dies after collapsing during game
PANAMA CITY, Fla. — A Florida Panhandle high school football player has died after collapsing during a game, officials said. Port St. Joe High School wide receiver and defensive back Chance Gainer collapsed during Friday night’s game at Liberty County High School. The 18-year-old senior was playing cornerback when a...
NASCAR’s charter disagreement at breaking point as playoffs arrive
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After Tyler Reddick battled a stomach virus throughout the Southern 500 to eke out a 1-point win over Kyle Larson for NASCAR’s regular-season championship, he and the 23XI Racing ownership group went to collect the trophy. Reddick stood next to the trophy, team co-owner Michael Jordan by...
Jessica Pegula never gave up hope on way to U.S. Open final
NEW YORK — Back in January, when Aryna Sabalenka was winning a second consecutive Australian Open title, Jessica Pegula was bowing out in the second round with a straight-set loss against someone ranked 51st. It wasn’t the first setback for Pegula, of course. There have been many of those through...
Alex Morgan leaves women’s soccer ‘in an amazing place’ to focus on expanding her familyVideo
SAN DIEGO — Alex Morgan walked into her retirement news conference Friday thinking she would be the only player there from the San Diego Wave. She was surprised by an ovation from her teammates who packed the first two rows. “This is your day off!” Morgan said, clearly touched by...
Jannik Sinner reaches the US Open men’s final by beating Jack Draper after both need medical helpVideo
NEW YORK — Taylor Fritz surged with a six-game run against a fading and frustrated Frances Tiafoe to come out on top 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in an all-American matchup at the U.S. Open on Friday night and reach his first Grand Slam final. The No. 12-seeded Fritz’s momentum-shift-filled...
