U.S./World Sports category, Page 332
NBA changing All-Star Game format, adding a Kobe tributeVideo
Kobe Bryant’s final jersey number will be something this year’s NBA All-Stars play to reach. The NBA announced major changes to the All-Star format on Thursday, turning every quarter into a mini-game for charity before an untimed final quarter with a target score that will decide which team wins. Scores...
Vanessa Bryant statement: ‘We are completely devastated’
Vanessa Bryant made her first public comment Wednesday since the helicopter crash that killed husband Kobe Bryant, one of their daughters and seven other people, taking to Instagram to thank people for the global outpouring of support since the tragedy. She also announced the formation of a fund to help...
Illinois a factor as Big Ten race reaches midway pointVideo
After a dramatic victory at Michigan last weekend, Illinois coach Brad Underwood was asked about the fact his team had taken sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. “I don’t even think like that,” he said. “I’m thinking about enjoying this one for a minute and figuring out...
Kobe’s boyhood hero Oscar Schmidt celebrates ‘annoying kid’Video
SAO PAULO — For little Kobe Bryant growing up in Italy, the player who amazed him as a child was a skinny and half-bald Brazilian guard who often beat his father’s teams with long-distance shots. Oscar Schmidt, one of basketball’s all-time leading scorers with almost 50,000 points, played with Italian...
Grieving Lakers return to practice, plan to make Kobe Bryant ‘proud’Video
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers ended practice with a few somber laughs. As they left the court, they passed under the oversized 8 and 24 outlined in white on the black wall above the door to their locker room. Anthony Davis and several other Lakers paused and...
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal bested in epic Australian Open quarterfinalVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Outplayed at his own brand of physical tennis for much of the match, Rafael Nadal finally claimed a set to try to start a comeback against Dominic Thiem. Nadal marked the moment by hopping in a crouch at the baseline and vigorously pumping his right arm four...
Kobe Bryant’s body, other crash victims identifiedVideo
LOS ANGELES — The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant didn’t have a recommended warning system to alert the pilot he was too close to land but it’s not clear it would have averted the crash that killed nine because he may have lost control as the aircraft plunged into a fog-shrouded...
‘Citizen of the world’: Kobe Bryant promoted basketball globallyVideo
ROME — At a Lakers preseason game in Beijing in 2013, the arena rang out with chants of “Kobe! Kobe!” — despite the injured superstar not even having suited up. From Los Angeles to Italy, Asia and beyond, Kobe Bryant was bigger than just a basketball player. He was the...
Kobe Bryant leaves lasting impact on women’s basketballVideo
HARTFORD, Conn. — Kobe Bryant always had an interest in women’s basketball, one he shared with many in the sport even before his daughter Gianna started excelling at the game. Whether it was mentoring players such as Diana Taurasi, Jewell Loyd and Sabrina Ionescu or working out with Gabby Williams...
Roger Federer saves 7 match points in Australia; Novak Djokovic up nextVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Roger Federer was not going to go gently, of course, no matter how daunting the number of match points — his opponent accumulated seven — no matter how achy his 38-year-old legs, no matter how slow his serves, no matter how off-target his groundstrokes. Federer still plays...
Kobe Bryant’s helicopter had tried to climb to avoid cloud layerVideo
CALABASAS, Calif. — The pilot of the helicopter that crashed into a hillside outside Los Angeles, killing former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and eight others, told air traffic controllers in his last radio message that he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer, an accident investigator said Monday. The pilot...
WPIAL, local college players dot XFL rosters with opener nearingVideo
Final roster cutdowns for XFL teams were Monday, and several former WPIAL and local college players are scattered around the league. Pitt has James Folston (linebacker, Dallas Renegades), Dewayne Hendrix (defensive lineman, St. Louis Battlehawks) and Belle Vernon’s Dorian Johnson (guard, Defenders) in the upstart league. Penn State is represented...
Los Angeles mourns death of adopted son Kobe BryantVideo
LOS ANGELES — The chants rose in the plaza across from Staples Center. “Kobe!” and “MVP! MVP!” They came from hundreds of fans gathered to mourn the death of Kobe Bryant. Candles burned alongside hand-lettered messages scrawled on signs and the pavement. Bunches of flowers piled up, some with purple-and-gold...
Nadal advances to Australian Open quarterfinals with win over rival KyrgiosVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal left the muttering and the preening, the underarm serving and the ‘tweening to his younger, flashier opponent, Nick Kyrgios. Nadal was content to collect the win in the latest installment of their rivalry. The No. 1-ranked Nadal kept his thoughts to himself and limited his...
Canadian canoeist wins doping case, citing bodily fluids from boyfriend
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — A world champion canoeist won a doping case on Monday after persuading a tribunal that her positive test was caused by bodily fluid contamination from her boyfriend. The International Canoe Federation ended its investigation into 11-time world champion Laurence Vincent Lapointe, who tested positive for a steroid-like...
Baylor remains No. 1 in AP Top 25; Penn State lands at No. 24
Baylor is No. 1 for a second straight week in an AP Top 25 poll that had no major changes at the top, a rare bit of stability in a wildly unpredictable season. The Bears stayed well ahead of No. 2 Gonzaga in Monday’s poll, part of an unchanged top...
Kevin Gorman: Kobe Bryant’s death brings back Pittsburgh memories of his ‘Mamba Mentality’Video
Rick Bell is a hoops junkie, so he was watching the Maryland-Indiana college basketball game when he received a text message from his son, RJ, a junior guard at Geneva. Did you hear about Kobe? No, Bell replied, asking what happened. He was killed in a helicopter crash. That was...
Before starring in NBA, Kobe Bryant was a Philadelphia high school prodigyVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Kobe Bryant, a prodigy at Lower Merion High who leaped into the NBA at 17 and became a basketball legend during two spotlit decades with the Los Angeles Lakers, was killed Sunday when his private helicopter crashed in Calabasas, Calif. Bryant was 41 and had been retired since...
Kobe Bryant photos: Looking back at an NBA legendVideo
Kobe Bryant, the former Pennsylvania high school phenom who became a five-time NBA champion, died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Southern California. He was 41. Bryant won five titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, who acquired him in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets after he was selected 13th...
Sports stars react to Kobe Bryant’s deathVideo
Kobe Bryant, considered one of the greatest players in NBA history, was among nine people who died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning in Southern California. He was 41. The cause of the crash is under invesitgation. Bryant, who attended high school at Lower Merion in eastern Pennsylvania, retired in...
Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, 7 others killed in California chopper crashVideo
LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a helicopter crash Sunday. He was 41. Bryant died near Calabasas, Calif., about 30 miles...
Washington State’s Anthony Gordon leads North over South in Senior BowlVideo
MOBILE, Ala. — Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon is used to waiting his turn. Gordon, who didn’t start until his senior year, led the North to three touchdowns in the third quarter in a 31-17 victory over the South in the Senior Bowl on Saturday. The Cougars’ prolific passer entered...
Oregon’s Justin Herbert, other top quarterbacks on display at Senior BowlVideo
MOBILE, Ala. — Jalen Hurts and Shea Patterson started for Power 5 programs, Justin Herbert passed for 10,000-plus yards for another and Jordan Love became a highly rated prospect without playing for one. The Senior Bowl quarterbacks followed different paths to potential NFL careers, but they started this week on...
LSU rewards Ed Orgeron with 6-year, $42 million contract extensionVideo
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU coach Ed Orgeron agreed to a contract extension worth more than $7 million annually that runs through the 2026 season, the university announced Friday. The six-year agreement comes on the heels of the Tigers’ 15-0 national championship season that concluded earlier this month with a...
Youth served: Gauff wins, Serena loses at Australian OpenVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Perhaps Serena Williams, now 38, will win a 24th Grand Slam title someday. And maybe Coco Gauff, still just 15, never will earn her first major championship. Sure felt, though, as if a generational shift was being signaled Friday at the Australian Open, with a pair of...
