U.S./World Sports category, Page 49

Brittney Griner continues to try to settle into a normal routine after being released from a Russian prison 17 months ago. Life isn’t what it once was for the perennial WNBA All-Star. The 6-foot-8 center looks different and has different priorities. Gone are her familiar dreadlocks that couldn’t be maintained...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson came around Chris Buescher on the final lap and banged doors with him all the way to the finish line Sunday, where he was declared the winner of the Cup Series race by officials at Kansas Speedway in the closest finish in NASCAR history....

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown could be missing 150th Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan and other co-stars, quashing hopes for a rematch after the thrilling three-wide photo finish in the milestone race. Trainer Kenny McPeek and the horse’s ownership wouldn’t confirm whether the colt...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the 150th renewal, you could not have asked for a more thrilling Kentucky Derby. Trained by Lexingtonian Kenny McPeek, Mystik Dan edged hard-charging $2.3 million colt Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a three-way photo finish by a nose (if that) to win a breathtaking Derby...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson began what will become a busy month of May on a small dirt track nestled in a crook of the Missouri River, where he started outside of the top 10 in his sprint car Friday night and managed to climb to third place by...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The 150th Kentucky Derby produced one of the most dramatic finishes in its storied history: three noses at the wire. Mystik Dan desperately fought to hang on with two challengers coming to him in the closing strides. He did, too, after a delay of several minutes while...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Twenty horses stampeding toward the first turn in a battle for position. A screaming crowd of 150,000 and maybe some showers that dampen the Churchill Downs dirt strip. It’s the 150th Kentucky Derby. Beyond a couple early wagering favorites, it’s a wide-open race. Post time is 6:57...

The 2024 Kentucky Derby will be an all-day affair at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and the 2024 event has even more meaning with Saturday being the historic 150th Run for the Roses. The 2024 Derby has a 6:57 p.m. EDT scheduled post time with TV coverage on NBC and...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As a record crowd cheered, American Pharoah rallied from behind and took aim at his remaining two rivals in the stretch. The bay colt and jockey Victor Espinoza surged to the lead with a furlong to go and thundered across the finish line a length ahead in...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Fate has not been kind to Mike Repole in the Kentucky Derby. The outspoken owner is 0 for 7, although he is perhaps best known for his two champions that never made the starting gate. In 2011, Uncle Mo was scratched the day before the race because...

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham on Friday after just two seasons in charge. The Lakers announced on social media that they were dismissing Ham four days after their season ended with a first-round playoff loss to Denver in five games. Ham led Los Angeles...

McKINNEY, Texas — Matt Wallace was relegated to watching the Masters amid a self-described “terrible” season when he found himself pondering what makes some of the best golfers in the world so good. Asked if Scottie Scheffler was among the players he was watching, Wallace stumbled over his words just...

GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Michael Blowen can step outside his house any day of the week and visit retired racehorses at Old Friends, the thoroughbred retirement farm he founded in Kentucky two decades ago that attentively cares for former winners and losers alike. From his home’s backdoor, Blowen can watch one...

Just a few minutes into the Indiana Fever’s media day, general manager Lin Dunn was asked to compare Caitlin Clark to a pair of Birds — Sue, whom Dunn drafted No. 1 overall in 2002, and Larry, who turned the NBA’s Boston Celtics into an instant contender in 1979. Whether...

SCOTTDALE, Ariz. — Before the realigned Big 12 — sans Oklahoma and Texas —even kicks off, the expanded College Football Playoff’s new revenue structure has created a perception that the conference is no longer the equal of the Big Ten and SEC. Instead of a Power Five, college football now...

The wave of incoming rookies such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso and the return of popular players A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces have led to unprecedented demand for WNBA games on one of the world’s largest ticket resale platforms. StubHub...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As a record crowd cheered, American Pharoah rallied from behind and took aim at his remaining two rivals in the stretch. The bay colt and jockey Victor Espinoza surged to the lead with a furlong to go and thundered across the finish line a length ahead in...

LONDON — German tennis legend Boris Becker was discharged from bankruptcy court in London after a judge found Wednesday he had done “all that he reasonably could do” to repay creditors tens of millions of pounds. Becker fell far short of repaying his creditors nearly 50 million pounds ($62.5 million)...

DENVER — The futures of LeBron James and Darvin Ham with the Los Angeles Lakers are murky after their first-round playoff exit. One might choose to leave, and the other might not have a choice. For James, the decision is his — whether he wants to wear purple and gold...