U.S./World Sports category, Page 377
Lindsey Vonn to retire after world championships
Lindsey Vonn says she will retire from ski racing after this month’s world championships in Sweden. The women’s all-time leader in World Cup wins had been planning to retire in December but changed her plans because of persistent pain in both of her knees, which she fully realized after failing...
NCAA bans Missouri from postseason after academic misconduct
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NCAA handed one-year postseason bans and other penalties to Missouri’s football, baseball and softball programs while placing its entire athletic department on probation Thursday after a two-year investigation revealed academic misconduct involving a former tutor. The penalties mean that the Tigers’ highly regarded football team...
Be it age or injury, Woods now begins year at a slower pace
SAN DIEGO — Tiger Woods wrapped up his week at Torrey Pines with a 67 to tie for 20th and said it was good to shake off some rust and see what needs work. It was his first competition in seven weeks, and only his second event since the Ryder...
Rose holds off Scott to win Farmers Insurance Open
SAN DIEGO — Justin Rose missed a short birdie putt that felt like another bogey. His three-shot lead was down to one through six holes of the Farmers Insurance Open, and the biggest battle was trying not to panic. That’s when he scratched a line on his scorecard after six...
‘Amazing’ Djokovic tops Nadal for record 7th Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic was so good, so relentless, so pretty much perfect, that Rafael Nadal never stood a chance. Djokovic reduced one of the greats of the game to merely another outclassed opponent — just a guy, really — and one so out of sorts that Nadal even...
Duke’s Daniel Jones sparks North to Senior Bowl victory
MOBILE, Ala. — Daniel Jones got his bad Senior Bowl moments out of the way long before kickoff. The Duke quarterback threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score in the third quarter to lead the North to a 34-24 victory over the South on Saturday, putting a nice...
Osaka wins Australian Open for 2nd Slam title, No. 1 ranking
MELBOURNE, Australia — So close to victory, Naomi Osaka suddenly was letting the Australian Open final slip away. Three championship points? Gone. A sizable lead? Soon all gone, too. She was playing poorly. She yelled at herself. Slammed a ball. Tugged at her visor’s pink brim. Trudged to the locker...
53rd matchup for Djokovic, Nadal in Australian Open final
MELBOURNE, Australia — It was fascinating to hear Novak Djokovic explain what it will be like to face Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final. “The intensity that he brings on the court is immense,” Djokovic said. “Without a doubt, probably the most intense tennis player that I have witnessed...
Swedish teammates help save man’s life before World Cup training
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — Three Swedish skiers competing in this weekend’s women’s World Cup races helped save a course volunteer’s life before their first downhill training session. Lisa Hoernblad, who gave the stricken man first-aid after he suffered what she thought was a heart attack, followed up by finishing second in...
Courtney Force ends successful Funny Car career
YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Courtney Force, the winningest female Funny Car driver in NHRA history, is stepping away from driving. Force is a 12-time Funny Car winner, was the No. 1 qualifer 28 times and ranked in the top 10 of the NHRA standings in six of her seven seasons....
Fifty years after last Grand Slam, Laver says it’ll happen again
MELBOURNE, Australia — Fifty years after Rod Laver won the last true Grand Slam in men’s tennis, he is fairly confident the feat will be replicated one day, unlikely as it may seem. “It’s got to happen again,” the Australian left-hander said Wednesday at the Australian Open. While Steffi Graf...
1 point away, Serena stunned by Pliskova at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Four times, Serena Williams was only one point — a single point — from closing out a victory in the Australian Open quarterfinals. On the first such chance, at 5-1, 40-30 in the third set, she turned her left ankle awkwardly. The owner of the best serve...
Hobbled Serena Williams knocked out of Australian Open in quarters
MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams was one point from quite a comeback victory in the Australian Open quarterfinals when she turned her left ankle. Everything unraveled from there. In a startling reversal and result, Williams wasted four match points along the way to dropping the last six games of a...
Well-traveled QB Gardner Minshew hoping to find NFL home
MOBILE, Ala. — Gardner Minshew carved his own meandering path from walk-on to NFL prospect. He began as a walk-on at Troy, took a sharp left to junior college, bounced over to East Carolina, made a beeline toward Alabama and finally ended with one terrific season at Washington State. “I...
Doping agency forgives Russia, but says more work needed
The World Anti-Doping Agency straddled the wide gulf between vindication and capitulation Tuesday, agreeing to keep Russia’s anti-doping operation in business after receiving much-sought-after lab data that could be used to prosecute hundreds of cheaters. But the decision came with a warning: Fool us again, and we can bar you...
Tennis players can cause quite a racket by smashing rackets
MELBOURNE, Australia — Way behind in a match he soon would lose, Alexander Zverev leaned forward in his Australian Open sideline seat to repeatedly, and violently, crack his racket against the court with a reverberating thwack. — Eight times in all, before throwing down the offending, and now-mangled, piece of...
Tennessee moves to No. 1 in AP Top 25, Duke drops to No. 2
Top-ranked Duke went down early in the week. No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 Virginia, the last of Division I’s unbeaten teams, both fell over the weekend. In all, six top-10 teams lost. Tennessee kept rolling amid chaos across the AP Top 25. The Vols are the new No. 1...
‘Time to say goodbye’: Vonn in too much pain to continue
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — What was evident all weekend for Lindsey Vonn became clear to everyone else on Sunday. The American skier’s surgically repaired knees simply don’t let her apply the power she requires to win races anymore. The pain is too severe; the psychological impact too much to bear;...
Phil Mickelson drains long birdies for Desert Classic lead
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Phil Mickelson made three long birdie putts on the back nine Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Desert Classic. Making his first start of the year, the 48-year-old Mickelson shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 on the Stadium Course at PGA...
Serena Williams untested heading into Week 2 of Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Maybe Serena Williams will be tested in the Australian Open’s fourth round, because no one has come close to making her work too hard so far. Playing clean and powerful tennis, Williams overwhelmed 18-year-old Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, 6-2, 6-1, on Saturday. Williams grabbed a pair of...
Glen Wood, auto racing pioneer and patriarch, dies at 93
Glen Wood, the courtly and innovative patriarch of the famed Wood Brothers Racing team who had been the oldest living member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, died Friday. He was 93. He died on Friday in Stuart, Virginia, after a long illness. Wood Brothers announced the death of its...
Focused Roger Federer advances at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Roger Federer has played on Rod Laver Arena a hundred times and has six Australian Open crowns in his collection of 20 Grand Slam titles. The 37-year-old tennis statesman has developed a loyal following over 20 consecutive visits for the season-opening major. After beating 21-year-old American Taylor...
Professional bull rider Mason Lowe dies after being stomped during competition
A professional bull rider died as a result of being bucked off his bull at the National Western Stock Show on Tuesday night in Denver. Mason Lowe, 25, was on the ground when the bull, weighing between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds, landed on his chest with its hind legs, according...
Sharapova, Wozniacki brace for early showdown at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — A side effect of not playing much for Maria Sharapova is the likelihood of having to face highly ranked rivals in the first week of a major. It doesn’t come much tougher in the third round than a match against the defending champion. That’s the equation at...
Bob Costas leaving NBC after 40 years
Bob Costas is officially leaving NBC. The legendary sportscaster and 28-time Emmy Award-winning journalist is wrapping up a 40-year career at the network, according to the New York Post. “It’s all settled quietly and happily for all concerned,” Costas, 66, told the publication. An NBC representative confirmed with the Post...
