U.S./World Sports category, Page 356
Analysis: Nadal, and everyone else, should stop doubting him
PARIS — This time, about a month out, even Rafael Nadal had his doubts about what his chances were going to be for yet another French Open title. He wasn’t alone. But that part was nothing new: Folks have been questioning him for years, wondering when his body would break...
Deputies urge woman in Robert Kraft-related sex ring to say she was trafficked
STUART, Fla. — The Chinese masseuse shrinks into her chair as the Florida sheriff’s detective tells her deputies installed hidden cameras in her spa’s ceiling. He knows she and other women had sex with men for money. But you can save yourself, Martin County Detective Mike Fenton and others tell...
Omaha bound: Vanderbilt, Texas Tech wrap up super regionals
Vanderbilt and Texas Tech won Game 3s in their super regionals Sunday and joined Louisville in earning spots in the College World Series. Austin Martin hit two of Vanderbilt’s five home runs in a 13-2 win over Duke the day after the Commodores’ Kumar Rocker threw the first no-hitter in...
Seven players from district colleges earn CFL roster spots
Once again, the Canadian Football League will have a handful of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference players in its ranks. They will be joined by two former Division I standouts from district schools. The Division II PSAC has five players on CFL rosters after Saturday’s final cutdowns: Trevor Harris (Edinboro), Ian...
Rain postpones NASCAR Cup race in Michigan until Monday
BROOKLYN, Mich. — The break in NASCAR’s Cup Series schedule will have to wait at least an extra day. Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway was postponed because of rain. It was rescheduled for Monday at 5 p.m., the second time in just over a month that a Cup race...
Can Kevin Durant provide Warriors with ‘storybook’ ending?
TORONTO — Kevin Durant played basketball Sunday. The Golden State Warriors hope he will again Monday. With the Warriors’ backs to the wall in the NBA Finals, Durant — now out for more than a month with a strained calf — was taking the practice floor Sunday in an effort...
Nothing decided yet as Warriors, Raptors prep for Game 5 of NBA Finals
TORONTO — The word of the day Sunday that best summed up the NBA Finals was “yet.” As in, Golden State isn’t ready to give up its throne — yet. Kawhi Leonard hasn’t bought any property in Toronto — yet. The Raptors don’t see any reason to start celebrating —...
Rafael Nadal beats Dominic Thiem for 12th French Open title
PARIS — For a few, fleeting moments Sunday, Rafael Nadal found his French Open supremacy seemingly threatened by Dominic Thiem, a younger, talented opponent challenging him in the final for the second consecutive year. A poor game from Nadal allowed Thiem to break him and even things at a set...
One-shot lead for Jeongeun Lee6 going into final round of LPGA event
GALLOWAY, N.J. — Jeongeun Lee6 was finishing up a lackluster second round Saturday at the ShopRite LPGA Classic before buckling down over the final two holes. Standing at 1-over-par for her round after 16 holes, the reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion put together a birdie-eagle finish, sinking a 4-foot putt...
Rory McIlroy moves into 3-way tie at Canadian Open
ANCASTER, Ontario — Rory McIlroy added the Canadian Open to his schedule as a tune-up for next week’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Now he has a chance to add another national championship to his already impressive tally. The Northern Irishman shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 64 on Saturday to move...
Ford drivers hope for more success at Michigan International
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Yes, victory lane this season has been dominated by Joe Gibbs’ Toyotas, but this weekend the NASCAR Cup Series is in Michigan. That means Ford’s drivers should be motivated, and history suggests they will be tough to beat. “I had the privilege of having dinner with the...
Novak Djokovic’s 26-match Grand Slam win streak ends in French Open semis
PARIS — Novak Djokovic’s 26-match Grand Slam winning streak ended in the French Open semifinals because he made some odd strategic choices, because the wild weather bothered him, because the chair umpire got under his skin. Mostly, though, because Dominic Thiem managed to outperform Djokovic at his own brand of...
Warriors’ NBA Finals hopes hinge on Kevin Durant coming backVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — When Game 4 was over, while Toronto fans were waving Canadian flags in celebration inside an otherwise-stunned Oracle Arena, a glum-faced Kevin Durant was outside the Golden State locker room to greet equally glum teammates as they sauntered off the floor. That’s been his only visible role...
Sir Winston earns unexpected win at Belmont
NEW YORK — Sir Winston provided a perfect finish to a crazy Triple Crown. After a disqualification in the Kentucky Derby and a runaway horse in the Preakness, of course the Belmont Stakes goes to a 10-1 long shot. Sir Winston captured the $1.5 million race Saturday, holding off favored...
Ash Barty throws party at French Open women’s final
PARIS — Ash Barty knew she needed a break from tennis, from the pressure and expectations, from the week-in, week-out grind. So she stepped away in 2014 and tried cricket, joining a professional team at home in Australia. After almost two years away, Barty was pulled back to the tour....
NCAA clears Glenville State’s Phil Bledsoe after agent-rule mistake
The NCAA cleared Glenville State’s Phil Bledsoe for his senior season after the Division II college basketball player mistakenly used a new rule permitting only Division I players to declare for the NBA Draft and sign with an agent while maintaining college eligibility. He has been “reinstated immediately with no...
With Kawhi Leonard leading way, Raptors on cusp of 1st NBA titleVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — There was a moment, not long before the postseason started, when Toronto coach Nick Nurse learned all he really needed to know about Kawhi Leonard and what makes the man of few words tick. The conversation was about the 82-game regular season. Leonard shrugged and described those...
Franklin Regional grad Jon Stickel leaves Hamilton hockey at head of the class
Jon Stickel stuck with a steadfast in-season rule: no “heavy-lifting study sessions” after practice. If that meant the Franklin Regional graduate and hockey player at Division III Hamilton — a prestigious liberal arts college located in Clinton, N.Y. — hit the books at 7 a.m., Stickel knew what worked best...
Raptors win on road, push Warriors to 3-1 brink in NBA FinalsVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kawhi Leonard’s hot hand is sending the Raptors home to Toronto on the cusp of a startling upset for Canada. Leonard outdueled the Splash Brothers for 36 points and 12 rebounds, and the Raptors moved within one victory of the franchise’s first championship by winning a second...
Tim Dahlberg: Equal treatment in NBA means more than just suspensionVideo
Mark Stevens will have to watch on TV when the arena he and his fellow investors are building in San Francisco opens next season with what they hope will be another championship-ring ceremony for the Golden State Warriors. The billionaire venture capitalist’s yearlong punishment for shoving Toronto’s Kyle Lowry courtside...
Mickelson going for elusive U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach, where he has 5 wins
There was the hospitality tent at Winged Foot. There was Payne and the pager at Pinehurst. There was a near-miss at Merion. To list all of Phil Mickelson’s close calls, meltdowns and shortfalls at the U.S. Open is to peer into a particularly tortured chapter of the history of one...
Belmont will cap bizarre Triple Crown
NEW YORK — There has been a buzz about thoroughbred racing since the Kentucky Derby and it just might increase when the “What if?” Triple Crown comes to an end with the Belmont Stakes. Think about it. What if Maximum Security, the first colt across the finish line, had not...
Nadal tops Federer in 3 sets to reach 12th French Open final
PARIS — Rafael Nadal made quick work of Roger Federer in their first French Open meeting since 2011, beating his rival 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 Friday in strong wind to reach his 12th final at Roland Garros. Nadal has never lost a semifinal at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament. Never lost...
Keegan Bradley leads by 1 after 1st round of Canadian Open
ANCASTER, Ontario — Keegan Bradley had a 7-under-par 63 for a one-shot lead after the first round of the RBC Canadian Open on Thursday. “Today I was in complete control of my ball,” Bradley said. “Then when you couple that with feeling good on the greens, that’s when a 63...
Trainer Bill Mott trying to win Belmont, and without mayhem
NEW YORK — Standing outside his barn at Belmont Park and wearing a New York Yankees cap, trainer Bill Mott was finishing a conversation about Roger Maris. Mott had thought the man who broke Babe Ruth’s record was from his home state, South Dakota. Actually it was North Dakota, although...
