U.S./World Sports category, Page 84
Plans to accommodate transgender swimmers at a World Cup meet scrapped because of lack of entries
BERLIN — Plans for the first “open category” swimming races to accommodate transgender competitors at a World Cup this weekend have been scrapped because of a lack of entries. World Aquatics said Tuesday it had received “no entries” for the open category events scheduled to take place at a World...
Column: Blaney does rare burnout to celebrate sliding into next round of NASCAR’s playoffsVideo
Early in his NASCAR career, Ryan Blaney didn’t do a celebratory burnout after a victory, a decision that caught the attention of Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman. “Dale Inman pulled me aside one day, and he said, ‘Hey, you don’t see the winner of the Kentucky Derby get...
Luke Donald urged to stay as European captain for Ryder Cup defense as new generation emerges
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — European captain Luke Donald was delivering his Ryder Cup victory speech in front of a giddy crowd at Marco Simone when his celebrating players standing beside him started a chant that quickly swept through the grandstands. “Two more years” was the cry, seemingly led by Rory...
Fever’s Aliyah Boston unanimous choice as WNBA Rookie of the Year
INDIANAPOLIS — Aliyah Boston had an incredible first season and was honored by the league as the WNBA Rookie of the Year on Monday. The No. 1 pick in the draft started every game for Indiana averaging 14.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks. She shot 57.8% from...
Forced kiss claim leads to ‘helplessness’ for accuser who turned to Olympics abuse-fighting agency
DENVER — When Kirsten Hawkes, a one-time elite fencer, reached out to her childhood coach for advice about starting her own fencing club, their meeting turned awkward right away. It began, she said, with an unwanted kiss on the lips when the two met at a bar during a fencing...
Ryan Blaney beats Kevin Harvick in drag race at Talladega to advance in NASCAR playoffsVideo
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ryan Blaney beat Kevin Harvick to the Talladega Superspeedway finish line by 0.012 seconds Sunday to advance into the round of eight of NASCAR’s playoffs and keep Harvick winless in his final season before retirement. Blaney used a crossover move from the outside lane to the inside...
AP Top 25: Georgia’s hold on No. 1 loosens, but top 7 unchanged
Georgia’s hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll loosened Sunday as the Bulldogs received a season-low 35 first-place votes out of possible 62 while extending their streak atop the rankings to 16 straight weeks. The Bulldogs needed a late touchdown to escape with a win at...
Ryder Cup in Rome stays right at home for Europe
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — The best collection of players at Marco Simone had flags from their eight countries draped around their shoulders as they took turns clutching and thrusting the gold Ryder Cup, the very trophy that turns them into one nation, one team, with one purpose. The celebration was...
Chase Elliott looks for his first win in a season of disappointment for NASCAR’s most popular driverVideo
TALLADEGA, Ala. — It has been a year since Chase Elliott won a Cup Series race, a drought that played a role in NASCAR’s most popular driver missing the playoffs in what is guaranteed to be the worst season of his career. As Elliott returns for Sunday’s race at Talladega...
Europe builds 5-point lead in Ryder Cup, but Patrick Cantlay gives Americans hopeVideo
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Europe has a five-point lead and history on its side in the Ryder Cup. No team has ever come back from that large a deficit going into the singles session. The Americans have not won on the road before a flag-waving crowd in 30 years. The...
Matt Fitzpatrick ends losing streak at Ryder Cup with a performance Rory McIlroy could only applaudVideo
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — All Rory McIlroy could do was stand back and applaud. His playing partner, Matt Fitzpatrick, was in the midst of one of the great Ryder Cup scoring stretches, and McIlroy had the best seat in the house at Marco Simone. Six straight one-putts. A birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie run....
Europe’s Big 3 of McIlroy, Rahm and Hovland back up their heavyweight status at the Ryder CupVideo
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Viktor Hovland got the party started by chipping in on his opening hole in the morning and then sunk a decisive putt on 18 in the afternoon. Jon Rahm made long putts and chips all day long during his two trips around Marco Simone and produced...
Koepka takes a shot at Rahm’s behavior after tough Ryder Cup dayVideo
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Blunt as ever, Brooks Koepka took a dig at Jon Rahm on Friday after a bruising day for the Americans in the Ryder Cup. Koepka accused Rahm in a brief television interview of acting like a child. All that was missing was context. Koepka and Scottie...
Europe strikes back in Ryder Cup and ties record for largest lead
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Europe had the stars, all the pivotal shots and a delirious home crowd pushing them to a record-tying lead Friday in the Ryder Cup, an opening day performance so dominant the Americans never won a match. It was a rude welcome and a harsh reminder to...
Ryder Cup skipper Zach Johnson: Time to let thoroughbreds loose
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Big winners two years ago in Wisconsin, the Americans know a Ryder Cup victory away from home has been out of reach for the last 30 years. Among the challenges is a pro-European crowd ready to cheer and jeer every miss. So it was no surprise...
Next on the Tee: 4-time U.S. team member Mark Calcavecchia relives Ryder Cup memories
The Ryder Cup is about to tee off, and Next on the Tee with host Chris Mascaro welcomes a four-time U.S. Ryder Cup team member, Mark Calcavecchia, on this week’s podcast. Mascaro also talks with Bobby Clampett, an amateur player, broadcaster and instructor, as well as two-time Tennessee teacher of...
Michigan State fires Mel Tucker for bringing ridicule to school, breaching contractVideo
Michigan State fired Mel Tucker on Wednesday, saying the suspended football coach failed to present adequate reasons why he should not be fired for cause after having what he described as consensual phone sex with an activist and rape survivor. The school said it terminated what’s left of Tucker’s $95...
Reports: Bucks acquiring All-Star Damian Lillard from Trail Blazers in 3-team dealVideo
Damian Lillard is being traded by Portland to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, according to multiple reports Wednesday, a deal that ends his 11-year run with the Trail Blazers and a three-month saga surrounding his wish to be moved elsewhere in hopes of winning an NBA title. The seven-time...
Tommy Fleetwood is a Ryder Cup leader. Luke Donald says he ‘absolutely could be a future captain’
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Tommy Fleetwood was on the 12th green during his first official practice round of Ryder Cup week when something beyond the course caught his attention. The long-haired Englishman’s heroics from 2018 in France were being shown on a jumbo screen nearby and Fleetwood stopped to watch...
Mel Tucker’s attorney: Michigan State doesn’t have cause to fire suspended coach over phone sexVideo
Mel Tucker’s attorney said Monday that Michigan State does not have cause to fire its suspended football coach because Tucker did not “engage in unprofessional or unethical behavior” when he had phone sex with an activist and rape survivor whom the university paid to speak to his team. Brenda Tracy,...
European captain Luke Donald is going with statistics over history at the Ryder CupVideo
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — In the eternal city steeped in history, at a Ryder Cup packed with nearly a century of golf, European captain Luke Donald figures his best bet lies with modern-day statistical data. As captain of the home team, Donald has the final say in how Marco Simone...
With Pac-12 unsettled, CFP managers meet to make difficult decision on number of reserved bidsVideo
College Football Playoff managers will meet this week, but with the future of the Pac-12 still unsettled, it will be difficult to make a final decision on whether the number of places reserved for conference champions in the soon-to-be expanded field should be six or five. The 10 conference commissioners...
Byron advances to NASCAR’s round of 8 with win at Texas, the 300th overall for Hendrick MotorsportsVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — William Byron took the lead for the first time after the final restart with six laps left to win at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, advancing to the round of eight in the NASCAR playoffs while giving Hendrick Motorsports its 300th victory. With Bubba Wallace and...
Megan Rapinoe gets triumphant send-off as United States beats South AfricaVideo
CHICAGO — Megan Rapinoe got a triumphant send-off, and the United States beat South Africa 2-0 on Sunday. Trinity Rodman and Emily Sonnett scored, and the U.S. sent its captain toward retirement with one final victory as a member of the national team. The 38-year-old Rapinoe was presented a framed...
Reachable par-4 is highlight on Ryder Cup course built for drama
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Rory McIlroy’s chances of winning the Italian Open a year ago at the Marco Simone course that will host this week’s Ryder Cup vanished when his tee shot on the reachable par-4 16th splashed into the pond right of the green. That came two days after...
