U.S./World Sports category, Page 331
Bubble watch: Purdue makes push for NCAA bid-securing finishVideo
Purdue is positioned to chase down an NCAA Tournament bid, thanks in part to the Big Ten’s depth of quality teams. The Boilermakers had 10 losses by the end of January and are one game better than .500 in conference play. Yet they are ranked No. 26 in the NCAA’s...
Kevin Harvick parks distractions, keeps eyes squarely on NASCAR roadVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kevin Harvick put a mic drop on his TV broadcasting career and turned off the dial on his radio show. The moonlighting gigs have been parked, minimizing his distractions, maximizing his family time, but certainly not accelerating any thoughts about retirement. If he kept his talk...
No. 1 Baylor earns top seed in NCAA committee’s initial rankingsVideo
San Diego State has rolled through its schedule, charging into February as the only Division I team still undefeated. But if teams were selected for the NCAA Tournament today, the Aztecs would travel across the country to play in New York. The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee gave San...
New XFL kicks off with entertaining debut in DCVideo
WASHINGTON — The debut of the new XFL had a punt blocked for a touchdown, a juiced-up crowd roaring for big plays and a player swearing during an in-game TV interview. The actual football was hit and miss. College national championship-winning former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones was the biggest...
Spring training: time for pitchers, catchers and cheatersVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Baseball returns to the field next week when pitchers, catchers and cheaters report to spring training. Fans await the annual sunny scenes of favorites stretching on bright green grass in Florida and Arizona. This year the players bring along dark clouds of scandal — the 2017 World...
Vanessa Bryant announces ‘A Celebration of Life’ for Kobe and Gianna
LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant posted on her Instagram account Friday that “A Celebration of Life” for Kobe and Gianna Bryant will take place on the morning of “2-24-20” at Staples Center. She said more details were to come for the 10 a.m. PST memorial service that is taking place...
Jason Day looking like old self as he moves into contention at Pebble BeachVideo
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Jason Day received a warm reminder Friday at Pebble Beach how good it feels to hit shots the way he wants, make a bunch of putts and see his name high on the leaderboard. Day made two long birdie putts across the green, holed a 40-yard...
Jimmie Johnson drops ‘Chasing 8’ motto before final NASCAR seasonVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jimmie Johnson has been chasing NASCAR history for so long that his relentless pursuit of rewriting the record books has become part of his legacy. Johnson, tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with seven Cup Series titles, has been racing for sole possession of the...
No. 1 Baylor, No. 3 Kansas head of strong Big 12 classVideo
Baylor coach Scott Drew and his team don’t spend time pondering those final five minutes in Alaska the first week of the season that led to the only blemish on their record. The No. 1 Bears (20-1, 9-0 Big 12) since have won 19 games in a row and are...
Hailie Deegan begins march to NASCAR’s big leagues at DaytonaVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There was nothing special about Hailie Deegan’s sports car debut as she raced around the road course last month at Daytona International Speedway in a feeder series. She was just an 18-year-old Ford factory driver trying to get seat time. That she’s a woman was also...
Phil Mickelson looking for momentum after year getting ‘crushed’Video
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Optimism is never in short supply for Phil Mickelson, and it was especially high when he left the Monterey Peninsula last year with his 44th career PGA Tour victory and his fifth title in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He had the entire year ahead of...
2nd-ranked Gonzaga gets boost from international contingentVideo
SPOKANE, Wash. — Assistant coach Tommy Lloyd has been to so many countries looking for the best international talent during his 19 seasons on the Gonzaga staff. So many passport books filled. So many stamps. “I had a cool one from Zimbabwe. They had a sticker, and you had to...
Flyin’ high: No. 6 Dayton having best season in half-centuryVideo
DAYTON, Ohio — NCAA Tournament fans will be talking about Dayton a lot this year and not only because of the First Four. With March around the corner, the Flyers are No. 6 in the country with a re-energized fan base that hasn’t seen anything like them in a long...
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio retiring after 13 seasonsVideo
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio announced his retirement Tuesday, ending a 13-year run in which he guided the Spartans to heights they hadn’t reached in decades. Dantonio went 114-57 as Michigan State’s coach and won Big Ten titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The last of those three seasons included...
ESPN draws huge ratings for Kobe Bryant tribute gameVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers’ first game since Kobe Bryant’s death was the second-most watched regular-season NBA game on ESPN. The game Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers averaged 4.41 million viewers. The only telecast to surpass that since ESPN resumed NBA coverage in 2002-03 was a January...
Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic reclaims No. 1 rankingVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings Monday after winning his eighth Australian Open title, and Sofia Kenin’s first Grand Slam trophy boosted her to a career-high No. 7 — and made her the leading American — on the WTA list. Djokovic’s 6-4, 4-6,...
NASCAR readies for season of much-needed changesVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The sky isn’t falling — or at least it doesn’t feel that way — as NASCAR heads into the first of two seasons full of change. In the three months since Kyle Busch won his second championship, NASCAR took its awards ceremony to Nashville, Tenn., and...
Chiefs coach Andy Reid finally earns elusive Super Bowl titleVideo
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — When Andy Reid walked into an interview with the Philadelphia Eagles armed with a 6-inch binder containing notes on how to build a winning team, management was sold. But it took him 21 years and two teams to win it all. Big Red finally got his...
Baylor strengthens hold on No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll; Penn State to No. 22Video
Baylor has strengthened its hold on No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. The Bears received 49 of 65 first-place votes in Monday’s poll to stay comfortably ahead of Gonzaga and Kansas. That was up from 44 first-place votes from the previous week, with the Bears...
Colin Kaepernick’s Super Bowl close call has lasting impact on NFLVideo
MIAMI — One play. Five yards. A flag that wasn’t thrown. Seven years ago at the Super Bowl, history was made when a 49ers receiver, unable to break free from the prying hands of a harassing cornerback, could not grab a pass on fourth-and-goal that would have given San Francisco...
Djokovic rallies past Thiem to win 8th Australian Open title, 17th SlamVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic was looking weary and worn down. He felt dizzy and trailed Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open final — miscues mounting, deficit growing. Djokovic did what he does, though. He refused to lose, waited for a chance to pounce and found his best tennis when...
Tony Stewart seizes spotlight on night of celebrating SmokeVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For one of the first times in his life, Tony Stewart showed up overdressed. Smoke wore a tuxedo to his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and the blue honorary jacket is just a regular sport coat, not flashy enough to match the rest of Stewart’s...
Living ‘American Dream,’ Sofia Kenin wins her 1st Grand Slam titleVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Back in 1987, 11 years before new Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin was born, her parents left Moscow for New York City, eager to escape the Soviet Union and live in the United States because, as her father, Alex, put it: “You want to see the world....
Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth honor Kobe Bryant with emotional ‘See You Again’ halftime performanceVideo
The Los Angeles Lakers’ first game after the tragic death of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant was filled with heartfelt tributes. Friday’s game at the Staples Center, “The house that Kobe built,” featured the Lakers hosting the Portland Trailblazers. At halftime, Pittsburgh’s Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth performed their hit song...
Kyle Lowry headlines list of new-look NBA All-Star reservesVideo
The All-Star Game is going to have plenty of new faces. The NBA released the list of the players Thursday voted by the league’s head coaches as reserves for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago, including six who will be All-Stars for the first time. Kyle Lowry of the NBA...
