U.S./World Sports category, Page 57
Caitlin Clark of Iowa is the AP Player of the Year in women’s hoops for the 2nd straight season
Caitlin Clark is capping her illustrious college career with another record-breaking season and another set of prestigious awards. The star guard from Iowa was honored Thursday as The Associated Press Player of the Year in women’s basketball for the second consecutive year. Clark received 35 votes from the 36-member national...
UConn men delayed ahead of Final Four because of plane issues
STORRS, Conn. — Defending national champion UConn’s trip to a second consecutive Final Four is having a tough time getting off the ground. The Huskies were still in Connecticut on Wednesday night after the plane they were supposed to take to Arizona experienced mechanical issues getting to the East Coast....
Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau press for golf unification
DORAL, Fla. — Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau will be the in the same place next week when they head to Augusta National for the Masters. They’re saying the same things this week, albeit a golf world apart. Sounding an alarm going into the year’s first major, McIlroy and DeChambeau...
Women’s Final Four ticket on resale market selling for average of $2,300, twice as much as for men
The average price paid for a ticket on the resale market this week was twice as high for the NCAA women’s Final Four compared with that for the men’s semifinals, according to a technology company that analyzes prices across multiple platforms. The average price of a ticket sold to the...
Owner of Baffert-trained Muth sues Churchill Downs seeking to allow horse to run in Kentucky Derby
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The owner of Arkansas Derby winner Muth has sued Churchill Downs Inc. and is seeking a temporary injunction against what it called the track’s “illegal” ban of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert that keeps the colt he trained from competing in next month’s 150th Kentucky Derby....
Former PSU assistant James Johnson links Final Four upstarts N.C. State, George Mason
In many ways, the regional finals of the NCAA tournament are comparable to the NFL conference championship games. Just getting to the Final Four is a lot like getting to the Super Bowl. Except it’s not quite such a bummer if you don’t grab the college basketball championship. Just based...
LSU star Angel Reese declares for WNBA draft via Vogue photo shoot, says ‘I didn’t want to be basic’
BATON ROUGE, La. — Bayou Barbie is WNBA bound. LSU star Angel Reese formally declared for the WNBA draft less than two days after the Tigers’ season ended with a loss to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Elite Eight round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Reese made her announcement...
Increased physicality in men’s volleyball has changed the game, boosted its popularityVideo
Though he has made his living as a volleyball coach, Penn State’s Mark Pavlik is a student of all sports, just as likely to talk about screen passes and slap shots as he is spikes and side-outs. Pavlik, a Derry grad, recently was watching highlights of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers....
Caitlin Clark will take stage in Final Four loaded with star players, power programs
CLEVELAND — The final shows for Caitlin Clark’s tour are booked in an arena just a short drive from the Rock & Roll Hall Fame. Hello, Cleveland. College basketball’s biggest act — men’s or women’s — will close her magnificent Iowa career this weekend in the Final Four after Clark...
12.3 million: Iowa’s victory over LSU is the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record
BRISTOL, Conn. — Caitlin Clark can claim another highlight — the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record. Iowa’s 94-87 victory over LSU in Monday night’s Albany 2 Region final averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen. Clark scored 41 points as the Hawkeyes avenged last year’s loss...
Analysis: For Nelly Korda, this could be the start of a special yearVideo
Nelly Korda finally gave herself a break from the high stress, thrill-a-minute golf that has produced the best start on the LPGA in more than a decade and returned the 25-year-old American to No. 1 in the world. All she had to do for her third straight win — the...
N.C. State’s Final Four double has Wolfpack fans howling with March Madness delightVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — The grave sits perched on a hill in the historic 72-acre Oakwood Cemetery near downtown. It bears “Valvano” carved in large letters on polished black stone, honoring N.C. State’s charismatic coach who sold big dreams then lived them in an unforgettable run to the 1983 national championship....
March Madness: Tournament ratings up after most-watched Elite Eight Sunday in 5 years
NEW YORK — The Elite Eight game between N.C. State and Duke produced the largest audience for an Easter Sunday telecast on any network in 11 years. The Wolfpack’s 76-64 victory over the Blue Devils in the South Region final averaged 15.1 million viewers on CBS, according to Nielsen. The...
The women’s NCAA Tournament had center stage. The stars, and the games, delivered in a big way
There were plenty of people at a movie theater in central Iowa on Monday night, though very few of them were watching an actual movie. They were there to see Caitlin Clark. And they weren’t alone. Not even close. Millions of people — the preliminary viewing numbers are expected sometime...
Paige Bueckers lifts UConn back to the Final Four with win over JuJu Watkins, USCVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — After being a spectator a year ago, Paige Bueckers is headed back to the Final Four after scoring 28 points and lifting UConn to a 80-73 win over Southern California in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday night. Bueckers outdueled fabulous USC freshman All-American JuJu Watkins, sparking...
Caitlin Clark scores 41 as Iowa gains revenge on LSU, earns trip to Final Four
ALBANY, N.Y. — Caitlin Clark made nine 3-pointers and finished with 41 points and 12 assists in a sensational performance as Iowa knocked defending national champion LSU out of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 94-87 victory Monday night, advancing the Hawkeyes to their second straight Final Four. Top-seeded Iowa...
Joe Gibbs has good problem after Denny Hamlin’s pit crew steals win from Martin Truex
RICHMOND, Va. — Joe Gibbs probably expects the organizational meeting of his four NASCAR Cup Series teams to be somewhat challenging this week, even after a weekend sweep at Richmond Raceway. After Chandler Smith led a 1-2-3 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series race Saturday, the owner...
UConn, Purdue, Alabama, N.C. State ride transfers into Final Four
Connecticut and Purdue needed the right fit. Alabama needed more bodies. N.C. State had big holes to fill in the backcourt. They all mined the transfer portal effectively enough that those pieces are key reasons that they’ve reached the Final Four, headed to Glendale, Ariz., with a chance to hoist...
Tall Final Four task: Beating reigning champion UConn will not be an easy task in the desert
The 2024 version of March Madness has apexed with a trio of streak busters in the desert. N.C. State is in the Final Four for the first time since Jim Valvano ran around trying to find someone to hug after the 1983 national championship. Purdue and big man Zach Edey...
Late caution gives Denny Hamlin a 2nd chance to beat Joe Gibbs teammate Martin Truex Jr. at Richmond Raceway
RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin won the race off pit road with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. after a caution with two laps to go and won in overtime at Richmond Raceway on Sunday night. Truex dominated the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series race — he...
Nelly Korda rallies to win 3rd straight LPGA Tour start at Ford ChampionshipVideo
GILBERT, Ariz. — Nelly Korda won her hometown event in a playoff after closing eagle-birdie. She withstood brutal wind in Southern California to win in another playoff last week. The world No. 1 made it three straight by staying steady through a soggy Sunday in the desert. Korda became the...
NCAA women’s roundup: Undefeated South Carolina tops Oregon State, advances to Final 4
ALBANY, N.Y. — Tessa Johnson scored 15 points, Kamilla Cardoso added 12 and undefeated South Carolina advanced to the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 70-58 win over Oregon State on Sunday. South Carolina made it to the national semifinals unbeaten for the second straight season. The...
N.C. State headed to 1st Final Four since 1983 after upsetting Duke
DALLAS — Bruising big man DJ Burns Jr. scored a season-high 29 points, DJ Horne had 20 and 11th-seeded N.C. State reached its first Final Four in four decades, beating ACC rival Duke, 76-64, in the South Region final Sunday. N.C. State (26-14) is back in the national semifinals for...
Zach Edey goes big, sends Purdue past Tennessee and into Final Four
DETROIT — By the time all the scrapping and scratching and diving on the floor was over, it felt like a shame that both those teams, and both those players, weren’t moving onto the Final Four. Just don’t expect Purdue to feel bad about it. Boilermakers big man Zach Edey...
Iowa, LSU women ready to meet again in rematch of 2023 national championship game
ALBANY, N.Y. — Iowa and LSU would rather not be playing each other Monday night. It’s not that they don’t relish the challenge of a rematch of last year’s national championship game, but both teams wish the stage was just a little bit bigger. “We talk about growing the game,”...
