U.S./World Sports category, Page 346
More Tour frustration for France but future looking bright
PARIS — “Now or Never.” That was the headline running across the front page of France’s biggest-selling sports newspaper L’Equipe three weeks ago, amid nationwide hopes a homegrown rider finally could win the Tour de France. In the absence of many big names, including four-time champion Chris Froome, France’s top...
With 8 medals at worlds, swimmer Caeleb Dressel establishes own standard
GWANGJU, South Korea — Exhaustion and relief flooded Caeleb Dressel. Maybe now the comparisons with Michael Phelps can fade away. Dressel earned eight medals, including six golds, at the world swimming championships, the biggest meet outside the Olympics. Two years ago in Hungary, he tied Phelps’ record of seven golds...
JGR driver Erik Jones overcomes slow start to inch into playoff contention
LONG POND — Erik Jones started the season on the hot seat for Joe Gibbs Racing. Now, 21 races into the season, he is on a hot streak for the best team in NASCAR and making an easy case for a new contract. With five races left before NASCAR sets...
Plum native Pat McAfee to serve as ESPN college football analyst
Pat McAfee, the former All-Pro punter with the Indianapolis Colts who has been involved several years in such media ventures as a podcaster, in-studio guest for the NFL Network and an on-air personality for WWE, now will serve as a color analyst for ESPN’s Thursday night college football. Both McAfee...
‘Huddle Up with Gus’: KDKA’s Larry Richert on broadcasting career, relationship with Bruno Sammartino
Among Larry Richert’s fondest memories in his long broadcasting career involve another Pittsburgh icon. Richert went with Bruno Sammartino to his hometown in Italy in 2010 to learn more about the WWE superstar’s life. When they got there, Richert quickly realized how much Sammartino meant to his hometown. Locals expressed...
Koepka rolls to first World Golf Championships title at St. Jude
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Brooks Koepka knows everyone wanted to see a tight final-round duel with Rory McIlroy. “That would have been incredible for the fans, for everybody that showed up, and I’m sure that’s what everybody wanted,” Koepka said. Too bad Koepka drained all the drama Sunday on the way...
Denny Hamlin pulls away after restart to win NASCAR race at Pocono
LONG POND — Denny Hamlin had enough speed In his Toyota, enough confidence in his crew chief and just enough fuel to reach the finish line. Hamlin got the win Sunday at Pocono Raceway — his fifth at the tri-oval track nestled in the mountains — but so much more...
John Steigerwald: Equality Act could create major problems for women’s sports
Do you have a daughter, granddaughter or niece who plays a sport in high school or college? If so, you might want to think about contacting your congressperson and ask about the Equality Act. Especially if that congressperson is a Democrat. That party voted unanimously to pass the Equality Act...
Colombian Egan Bernal wins historic Tour de France
PARIS — On the Champs-Elysees fittingly bathed in the yellow of a golden dusk, a Tour de France for the ages crowned a champion of an unusually young age Sunday: 22-year-old Egan Bernal, South America’s first winner of cycling’s greatest race. “I cannot believe it. It’s just incredible. I am...
Egan Bernal wins Tour de France
PARIS — Egan Bernal has become the first Colombian to win the Tour de France as the three-week race ended with the 21st and final stage on the Champs-Elysees. At 22, Bernal is the youngest Tour winner in the post-World War II era. Bernal succeeded Ineos teammate Geraint Thomas as...
NASCAR’s Kyle Busch seeks rare 3-peat at Pocono
LONG POND — Kyle Busch has swept race weekends across all NASCAR series, so perhaps the idea of driving four times in next year’s packed Pocono slate would hold some appeal for the sport’s winningest driver. “Hell no,” Busch said to laughter. “Not unless they put up a 50-grand bounty...
Southwind Ozzi cruises to 7-length victory in $400K Adios
Five weeks after undergoing emergency hernia surgery, Southwind Ozzi won the $400,000 Delvin Miller Adios by seven lengths on Saturday at The Meadows. Driven by Brian Sears, the 3-year-old pacer finished in 1 minute, 48 seconds, the second-fastest mile in the 53-year history of the race. It was the third...
Ex-wife of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright pleads guilty
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The ex-wife of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright agreed to a deal Thursday in which she pleads guilty to facilitation to first-degree murder and receives a 30-year prison sentence. Sherra Wright entered the plea during a hearing in Shelby County Criminal Court. Lorenzen Wright’s body was...
Book by soccer star Megan Rapinoe to be published next year
NEW YORK — Soccer star Megan Rapinoe has scored again, this time with a book deal. Penguin Press announced Thursday that Rapinoe’s book, currently untitled, will be published in Fall 2020. Penguin is calling the book a “perfect vehicle” for an “honest, thoughtful, unapologetic” take on everything from soccer to...
Ryan Blaney hoping to right inconsistent season at Pocono
It has been a season of inconsistency for Ryan Blaney. On one hand, the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford has run well enough to win. Through 20 races, he has led 362 laps and posted six top-five and eight top-10 finishes. Ranked 11th in the standings, he...
Dustin Johnson, Thomas both with titles to defend at WGC event in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dustin Johnson made it clear. Even though he won the last time the PGA Tour visited TPC Southwind, he is not the defending champion. That would be Justin Thomas, who is looking to become the first repeat winner at this World Golf Championships event since Tiger Woods...
Julian Alaphilippe, Geraint Thomas bracing for Tour de France showdown
GAP, France — Picture the final showdown in “High Noon.” But at more than a mile above sea level. With an Alpine trilogy of stages including six climbs in rarefied air, forecasts of stormy weather and only 39 seconds separating five riders determined to topple yellow jersey holder Julian Alaphilippe,...
Tribute planned at nationals for late runner Gabe Grunewald
DES MOINES, Iowa — Justin Grunewald carries a lock of her hair with him as a remembrance. He has countless photos of her on his phone, along with rich stories from so many. He feels closest to his late wife, Gabriele — “Gabe” to everyone — at random moments: on...
Dominant Clemson, Alabama sit atop college football throneVideo
Clemson and Alabama have turned college football largely into a two-team show with blowouts wins, conference domination and national championships. The Tigers and Crimson Tide have split the last four national titles, matching the combined number of losses they’ve had against the rest of the country. They are making league...
Tim Benz: 13-year-old Franklin Park kart star looking for major win
It could’ve been really bad. A blow to the face after a Little League game. Right around the eye. He got knocked out. “I was walking home, drinking my apple juice,” said Franklin Park’s Luca Mars, describing the worst injury of his life. “And a girl on the swings with...
Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. says he cut iconic hair for ‘fresh start’
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — Odell Beckham Jr. has a new hairstyle to go with his new team. The Browns superstar wide receiver said Tuesday he had his iconic curly, blond locks cut in recent weeks because he wanted a change. He reserves the right to dye his hair again because many...
Doug Ferguson: Shane Lowry’s British Open caps off big year in majorsVideo
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Winning the British Open didn’t sink in right away for Shane Lowry. It apparently didn’t take long. A celebration that began on the 18th fairway of Royal Portrush extended well into the night in Dublin. The European Tour posted a video on Twitter of Lowry, still...
Russian boxer Maxim Dadashev, 28, dies after brain injury in ring
MOSCOW — Boxer Maxim Dadashev died Tuesday, two days after suffering a brain injury in a fight in Maryland. He was 28. The Russian Boxing Federation said Dadashev suffered a brain swelling in Friday’s light-welterweight fight with Subriel Matias at the Theater at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md....
Lamoureux twins giving back to community while training for Olympics
BISMARCK, N.D. — Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, stars of the United States’ gold medal-winning hockey team in South Korea, are hard at work training to make another Olympic team in 2022. But they also are carving out time to do good off the ice, launching a foundation Monday that...
Shane Lowry can ‘create his own shadows’ after Open victory
PORTRUSH, Ireland — No longer in the shadows of Irish golf, Shane Lowry now has his name etched on the base of the silver claret jug. It’s on there with more than a century’s worth of the best who have conquered the links to win the British Open. Lowry gazed...
