U.S./World Sports category, Page 382
Coaches push for changes to targeting rules, kickoffs and eliminating Friday night games
Looking to provide some clarification for the sometimes ambiguous targeting rule, coaches taking part in the annual American Football Coaches Association Convention this week have put forth a proposal that would create a two-fold penalty. The concept put forth by the group, which consists of college football coaches from every...
Former St. Francis (Pa.) standout Lorenzo Jerome signs with Calgary of CFL
Former St. Francis (Pa.) defensive back Lorenzo Jerome signed an entry-level contract with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, the reigning Grey Cup champions. Jerome made the San Francisco 49ers’ opening-day roster in 2017 and appeared in four games before being released. This past season, he spent time in camp with the...
Clemson coach Swinney already looking forward to defending national title
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Dabo Swinney won’t be celebrating for long. After leading Clemson to its second national title in three years, the coach is eager to get started on the next one. Swinney will be back in the office Friday — meeting with players, going over the schedule for...
Very early college football rankings: Ready for Alabama-Clemson, Part 5?
A perfectly reasonable ranking of any college football season in the late 2010s can be summed up as follows: No. 1. Alabama or Clemson No. 2. Alabama or Clemson Nos. 3-roughly 130. Cannon fodder But though the Crimson Tide and the Tigers have traded national titles and met in the...
Watch: Hulk Hogan, WWE honor ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund on Raw
WWE and Hulk Hogan paid tribute to the late “Mean” Gene Okerlund on the Jan. 7 edition of “Monday Night Raw.” The wrestling legend returned to WWE television for the first time since being fired in July 2015 after racist comments he made in 2006 leaked. Despite some pushback from...
Clemson is No. 1 for 3rd time in AP poll; ‘Bama 2, Ohio St 3
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Clemson finished No. 1 in The Associated Press poll for the third time after routing Alabama in the national championship game. The Tigers received all 61 first-place votes. The Crimson Tide, which was trying to become just the third team to go wire-to-wire as the No....
Alabama has plenty of work to do in offseason
Alabama coach Nick Saban is famously quick to start focusing on his postseason to-do list, whether the Crimson Tide just won a national championship or fell short. It’s how he’s wired, and there’s plenty of work to do this offseason. Saban needs to regroup from easily the worst beating of...
Clemson blows out top-ranked Alabama to win national title
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Dabo Swinney kissed the championship trophy and proclaimed this Clemson team the greatest of all time. He’s got a case. With stunning ease — and a freshman quarterback — Clemson toppled college football’s greatest dynasty again to become the first perfect playoff champion. Trevor Lawrence passed...
Troy Polamalu, Vince Young, Goodyear Blimp part of 2019 College Football Hall class
Texas quarterback Vince Young and Notre Dame speedster Raghib Ismail have been selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, along with 11 other players and two coaches. Young was the Heisman Trophy runner-up and led the Longhorns to the 2005 national championship with a memorable performance in...
Soccer star Wayne Rooney charged with public intoxication
Soccer star Wayne Rooney was arrested last month on a public intoxication charge and taken to jail to sober up after he triggered a door alarm at a Washington-area airport, authorities said Sunday. Rooney was arrested Dec. 16 by police at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after he caused the...
Cal defensive back Bryce Turner dies after collapsing during workout
Nearly a week after he experienced a “medical emergency” during a non-team workout, 19-year-old California defensive back Bryce Turner died. The death of the redshirt sophomore from Lakewood, Calif., was announced Saturday by the school. “We are so deeply saddened by Bryce’s passing,” Justin Wilcox, the team’s football coach, said...
Alabama-Clemson IV: Can Nick Saban’s dynasty reach new heights?
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Alabama coach Nick Saban and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney went through the familiar routine Sunday. Joint news conference, during which Swinney does most of the talking. Saban compliments Swinney’s Tigers. Swinney compliments Saban’s unprecedented run with the Crimson Tide. Handshake. Pose for a picture with a...
Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr. follows in steps of father, O.J. Howard
Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr. was determined to be a wide receiver in high school. Never mind that he’s the son and nephew of former NFL tight ends and is built for that position, too. He caved to the reality his junior year at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans...
Penn State basketball coach says he will do better next time, apologizes for shoving player
Penn State basketball coach Patrick Chambers apologized after appearing to shove a player during a game Thursday night. ESPN cameras caught Chambers pushing player Myles Dread during a timeout in the first half of a game versus Michigan. At a press conference after the game Chambers addressed the incident. “I...
No. 1 UConn’s 126-game win streak ends at No. 8 Baylor
WACO, Texas — Geno Auriemma knew that top-ranked UConn couldn’t keep winning every regular-season game it played, even though the Huskies had won 126 in a row. That winning streak of more than four years ended with a 68-57 loss Thursday night at No. 8 Baylor, which won against a...
Suspended Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence, 2 others to miss national championship game
Clemson will be without star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence in the national championship game, the school announced in a statement Thursday afternoon. Lawrence is one of three Tigers suspended ahead of the Cotton Bowl last week for testing positive for the banned substance ostarine along with tight end Braden Galloway...
Women navigate toxicity, other barriers in esports
NEW YORK — Susie Kim thinks the women gamers are out there. As general manager for a championship esports team, she would know. She’s not surprised none of them are on her roster. The Entertainment Software Association reported this year that 45 percent of U.S. gamers are female, yet women...
Clemson carrying memories of year’s loss into title game
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson center Justin Falcinelli remembers the quiet, hollow feeling in the locker room after last year’s Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama. He vowed not to forget it. Not that Falcinelli could have even if he wanted to. Clips of the 24-6 defeat to the Crimson Tide in...
Wanna bet on sports? Here’s what you need to know
First, make sure you know what you’re doing — and the odds against you. Seven U.S. states now offer legal sports gambling, and as many as 30 more will consider jumping on board in 2019. So here are some of the basics — as well as some more esoteric aspects...
WWE announcer ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund dies at the age of 76
WWE announcer “Mean” Gene Okerlund has died, according to the wrestling organization. He was 76. Okerlund whose full name was Eugene Arthur Okerlund, was known for his ringside interviews with wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior. He spent most of his career with the...
Ehlinger’s 3 TDs lead Texas past Georgia in Sugar Bowl
NEW ORLEANS — Bevo’s pregame strategy was to run right at the Bulldogs. Once the football started, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger took the same approach with outstanding results. Ehlinger ran for three touchdowns, the Texas defense largely held Georgia’s offense in check, and the Longhorns earned their first 10-win season...
Dabo Swinney fulfills promise with Clemson’s best decade
Dabo Swinney had no doubt Clemson was headed in the right direction to be a national power again. He just wasn’t sure he would be around to be part of it after the 2010 regular season ended with a three-touchdown home loss to an instate rival. When Swinney got to...
Rory McIlroy’s next chapter of career all about America
KAPALUA, Hawaii — With a blue sky above and the blue Pacific on the horizon, Rory McIlroy was walking off the putting green at Kapalua when he smiled and said to a trio of writers: “You don’t need to win a tournament to be here. I do.” McIlroy is the...
Oklahoma, coach Lincoln Riley agree to contract extension
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma and Lincoln Riley agreed to a contract extension, which should quell speculation about the second-year coach being lured away by an NFL team. Oklahoma announced Tuesday contract terms were being finalized and would be subject to approval by the board of regents late this month. “We...
Ohio State sends off Urban Meyer with Rose Bowl win
PASADENA, Calif. — Dwayne Haskins passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and Urban Meyer finished his coaching career at Ohio State with a 28-23 victory after the Buckeyes held off Washington’s thrilling fourth-quarter comeback in the 105th Rose Bowl on Tuesday. Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Rashod Berry caught...
